Gyubin: Illit's Young Prodigy

To Become a Musician

In the streets of Seoul stood a fourteen-year-old girl with a large guitar strapped to her shoulders. Her long black hair swayed along the cool summer breeze. She has this bright smile like no other. With the pluck of the strings of her guitar she started singing. Her voice has a melody that was pleasant to hear. It wasn't too powerful, yet it wasn't too subdued. It was a soft voice that welcomed any listener in. Right beside her was her younger sister placing a flower hat on the ground as if they were collecting change.

"Gyubin unnie we got some change!" Her sister counted the money with a satisfied grin.

"What a wonderful start Taebin-ah. Just focus on meeting people by and I'll focus on the music." Gyubin instructed her.

She then plucked an old Lee Moonsae tune. Despite being her very young age, Gyubin has learned to appreciate music of the old generation. There were some charms of those artists long before Kpop was even a thing. Lee Moonsae was her favorite and she introduced it by her own parents. The fact she knows old Korean ballads sets her apart from students her age.

An old couple tipped a few coins. She could tell they were satisfied by the performance.

"You are very talented young girl. I'm so surprised you even know about Lee Moonsae most kids these days have no clue about music outside of idol groups." The old man stated.

"I'm very grateful you liked it ajusshi! What drew me into music was love ballads. I hope the music brought you great nostalgia."

"It certainly did. It felt we were living in the eighties all over again. We were highschool students when our country became a democracy. We wish you best wishes in the future." His wife waved before the two left.

"And that's another happy face." Gyubin placed her guitar down feeling tired from standing. The sun was starting to set, and less people were passing by, presumably to spend time with their family. Korea has this system where hard work is encouraged and even rewarded if they meet the demands. It's a very tough system to live, but that is what a young musician like Gyubin knows.

She sat beside her little sister drinking some fresh juice they brought from the store. Tasting the bright cherry felt so satisfying that it cooled her down. She played with the ends of her sundress. It was yellow colored with flowers decorated on it. She thought it was cute enough to wear and the fabric was breathable enough to keep her cool.

"Today is so hot unnie. How long are we going to be out?" The ten years old girl kicked her sandals in boredom. She wore a similar dress as Gyubin.

"Just a little longer Taebin-ah. I'll perform one more song and we'll call it day." Gyubin looked up seeing the sunlight shine over her. It was definitely the peak of summer by the looks of it. South Korea, despite being far up north from the equator did not mean the summers couldn't get hot in fact it always did. She felt her body sweating and seeing the little Taebin exhausted she decided it was time to put away the guitar and head inside.

"Alright I suppose we can end this today, but only because it's too hot. Let's eat something refreshing how about pizz" it didn't take a scientist to see her sister beam up with excitement. It was as if life has been rejuvenated. Walking a few steps down the sisters entered a small pizza shop that was air conditioned.

"Ah Gyubin-ah you're here once again and I see you brought your little sister with you. Hungry perhaps?" The man in front smiled at them.

"You have no idea. We've been practically out the whole day. I didn't think it would this hot." Gyubin fanned herself.

"I would be careful young lady. Standing outside for long isn't healthy. Your needs fuel to keep itself going and you look like you're one shade away from becoming a rip tomato." The owner teased. Gyubin could her baby sister laughing at her.