Damn Idol - Chapter 5

The Crossroads Devil.

 

Or The Devil at the Crossroads.

 

It might sound funny at first, but it’s no laughing matter among musicians.

 

The Crossroads Devil was first introduced to the world by Robert Johnson, who was called the ‘The Father of Rock ‘n Roll.’

 

Robert Johnson made a deal with the devil at the crossroads and gained guitar skills and rock music.

 

He also released songs about this story, such as <Crossroad> and <Me and the Devil Blues.>

 

This had a great influence on why rock and blues were once called the Devil’s music by westerners.

 

Rumors about the Crossroads Devil have always been circulating in the music industry since Robert Johnson’s time.

 

The Beatles’ most famous photo on an album cover is the one of them crossing a crossroad.

 

People used to say that it was a hint that they had made a deal with the Crossroads Devil.

 

I came across this information on YouTube, and of course, I thought it was just gossip that was far from the truth.

 

It’s funny that we’re still on about the Crossroads Devil in the 21st century.

 

But…

 

When the devil appeared before my eyes, it wasn’t just tabloid fodder anymore.

 

[Do you want to live?]

 

I looked up at the voice that I couldn’t believe belonged to any living creature on earth.

 

A piece of the mangled car, piercing my father’s chest.

 

My mother, bleeding from her head, was no longer breathing.

 

[Or do you want to save them?]

 

At that moment, I think I instinctively realized that the being in front of me was the devil.

 

The devil waved their hand.

 

The shard that was stuck in my father’s chest disappeared, and the wound healed.

 

My mother also started breathing slowly but surely.

 

In this unbelievable situation, I managed to stay surprisingly calm and collected.

 

It wasn’t my will.

 

The devil had forcibly activated my reason and intellect.

 

[If you achieve your goal, they will live.]

 

“And what about them now?”

 

[They’re just not dead. It’s like they’ve hit pause on death. Do you get it?]

 

“Then the goal is…….”

 

I couldn’t help but think of murder, terrorism, and cult religions.

 

But the devil’s answer to this was hilariously mundane.

 

“An album? The album I know?”

 

Selling 200 million albums is the goal.

 

At first, I thought it was the devil’s joke.

 

Why would a being that I could hardly believe existed care about album sales?

 

Of course I get his angle now.

 

But I was clueless back then.

 

Especially about how herculean a task 200 million albums sold was.

 

At that moment, I spoke up.

 

“Wait! I want to bargain.”

 

[…….]

 

“200 million is too much for a human. How about 100 million?”

 

[…….]

 

“Maybe count self-purchases?!”

 

[…….]

 

“If I’m going to do 200 million, include digital singles too! How can you only count physical albums?”

 

[…….]

 

“Even Bruno Mars barely hit 30 million in physical sales!”

 

After ranting to the devil for a while, I realized.

 

It was a pipe dream.

 

***

 

“Haha.”

 

It’s ridiculous.

 

Dreams usually dive into my past dealings right after a regression.

 

And obviously, the contract with the devil, which was the starting point of everything, is the most recurring one.

 

 But haggling with them in my dream? That’s a first.

 

Should I say it’s thanks to that?

 

Cause the damp mood I had before I fell asleep last night disappeared.

 

And even though it was a pipe dream, what I said in my dream mirrored my genuine feelings.

 

In fact, if digital singles or mini albums had been counted, hitting 200 million copies wouldn’t have been that difficult.

 

Bruno Mars barely sold 30 million physical albums, but if you include all his single albums and produced tracks, he’s over 100 million copies.

 

But what can I do?

 

The devil is not a being that can be negotiated with.

 

Riiiiing-

 

My phone buzzed with [Great-Uncle] flashing on the screen.

 

I could tell that this gentleman was about to lose his patience because the call didn’t even ring for long before it was cut off.

 

“Guess it’s about that time.”

 

My uncle is going to try to come to my house this Friday, which is the day after tomorrow.

 

He won’t be able to get in because of the special security door lock, and he’ll go back down to Gwangyang on Sunday evening.

 

Of course, that’s not the end of it.

 

In about two weeks, he’ll take leave from work to stake out my house for about 3 days.

 

Regression doesn’t mean that everything goes exactly the same way, but this uncle’s schedule never changes.

 

I guess it’s because she has to take her vacation on a set date because of his company’s policy.

 

Normally, I wouldn’t have to try to avoid my uncle.

 

“Cause I wouldn’t be in Korea in the first place.”

 

But this time, it’s a little different.

 

I think I’ll have to leave the house on Friday and Saturday to avoid his visit.

 

But it’s not that I plan to camp out at a motel or Uncle Hyun-Soo’s place……….

 

“Hello. Is this the recording studio?”

 

-Yes, hello. This is LB Studio.

 

“I’d like to make a reservation. This Friday at noon to Sunday at midnight. Full session, please. Oh, and skip the drums.”

 

-Friday at noon to Sunday at midnight? You mean 60 hours?

 

“Yes.”

 

I’m going to hole up in the studio and crank out the music that I’ll use in this life.

 

***

 

The music student who works part-time at LB Studio lit up when he saw the reservation sheet.

 

Someone had rented the most expensive, premium studio for a full session for 60 hours.

 

There was only one case like this.

 

‘A celebrity!’

 

Of course, indie musicians also rent studios for long hours for album recordings.

 

But they carefully calculate the sleeping time, eating time, and resting time,renting it out on a tight schedule.

 

This is because the hourly rental fee is expensive.

 

In contrast, celebrities often include the recording process in their music videos or make making-of films.

 

Inevitably, they need camera equipment to film it, and it is quite a lot of work to set up and take down the camera.

 

That is why they go for a bulk booking and use it as a place to set up their equipment.

 

Of course, there is also the possibility that it is for a variety show shoot.

 

‘There’s no way broadcasters gave away money instead of asking for sponsorship, right?’

 

In other words, this rental is for a celebrity.

 

‘I wonder who it could be?’

 

He hoped it was an idol.

 

A male idol that he likes.

 

Of course, the odds were slim.

 

Nowadays, idols favor concept MVs, so it is rare for them to include a recording scene.

 

Besides, they would not have rented instruments if it was an idol.

 

But hope dies last, right?

 

What if we could see our boys smiling brightly and playing the guitar?

 

With that anticipation, the part-timer waited for Friday noon, and the moment it arrived, the door of the studio opened.

 

A punctual appointment.

 

But contrary to his expectations, the visitor was a young boy.

 

The boy looked at the posters next to the studio’s entrance for a while before approaching the desk.

 

“Hello.”

 

“Are you Han Si-On, here for Studio A?”

 

“Yes. That’s me.”

 

He looked very young in appearance.

 

About nineteen, or maybe twenty?

 

But there was a strange aura of him that did not make him feel young.

 

He seemed melancholy and obsessive at the same time, and he looked like he would suit an ashy color.

 

And yet, he had a fair and handsome face.

 

‘An aspiring singer? Idol trainee?’

 

After the part-timer filled out the rental contract and asked if he needed help setting up the studio, the boy shook his head.

 

“I’ll take care of it.”

 

“It might be a little difficult to handle the equipment……. We have some new things that came in recently.”

 

“I’ll let you know if I need any help.”

 

He did not really believe him, but it was difficult to say anything more.

 

The boy went into the studio, and the part-timer went back to his work.

 

It was Friday, so there was more work than usual.

 

How much time passed?

 

The part-timer suddenly thought that he should monitor the sound in Studio A.

 

Not to eavesdrop, but because it was a clause in the rental contract.

 

The equipment in the studio was worth a lot of money.

 

Usually, they checked it when the renters were acting suspiciously, but in this case, it was pure goodwill.

 

The equipment in Studio A was state-of-the-art and had quite a few tricky parts, so he might be struggling.

 

The sound he heard when tuning in was…….

 

“……?!”

 

It was guitar playing he had not heard even from professors.

 

It was sharp and edgy.

 

But it was not unpleasant to listen to. It was soul-stirring.

 

Of course, there were some aspects of the technique itself that were lacking.

 

There were frequent misses in the picking and sliding, and there were some parts where the pitch was unstable.

 

However, the feeling was crazy.

 

The level of (Feel) disregarding such minor mistakes was insane.

 

It was to the point where he thought that this might be how Keith Richards played in his unknown days.

 

‘Just who the hell is this person to have playing like this at that age….’

 

At that moment, the playing stopped abruptly, and the boy’s voice came through the monitoring headset.

 

-Ah, crap. This isn’t working.

 

The music major part-timer had a thought as he listened to the genius boy grumbling.

 

Should I drop out……?

 

***

 

When a new regression begins, it takes time to tune my body.

 

My previous life saw me as a 70-million-album-selling band’s vocalist. 

 

Singing was, of course, second nature.

 

But not now.

 

It’s not that I can’t sing, just not up to my standards.

 

Contrary to what people think, the vocal cords are muscles that need training, and timbre takes time to fine-tune

 

People say that tone is innate, but it’s not an area that can never be changed.

 

In about a year, I’ll be able to make the sound I like, and in about two years, I’ll be able to hit my prime.

 

Instruments, though, demand far more effort than this.

 

When I challenged myself to become a producer, I was an excellent pianist and a great guitarist.

 

When I formed a band as an instrument player, I was an outstanding bassist.

 

To be honest, I can play most instruments at the top level, except for drums (skinny Asians on drums don’t exactly scream popular).

 

But that’s not the case now.

 

I know my knowledge is intact, but my body lags, where there are too many parts that my body doesn’t follow.

 

I tried playing the piano once, but there were so many missed touches that I stopped, and playing the guitar made me feel inferior because I was so eager to make a sound.

 

“Damn. This sucks.”

 

I know it’s a problem time will solve, but I get pissed every time.

 

Even if I stack up remarkable achievements, I can still feel the impact of my sudden regression.

 

Of course, there are some things I don’t need to practice at all.

 

That’s right, composing.

 

Composing is not a live performance, so one take is not important.

 

You just have to play it a hundred times and get a good take just once.

 

Besides, if you’re as experienced as I am, you can always maintain the same feel, so you can split the performance and merge it.

 

If that’s not enough, you can even use a computer program to record the notes.

 

These days, there are more people who compose entirely with VSTs (virtual instruments) than with real instruments.

 

So, I’m a composer who can churn out hit songs anytime.

 

I’ve released countless self-composed songs and been successful.

 

I haven’t made much K-POP idol music, but I was confident.

 

There is only a difference in genres of music, not in level.

 

If you make a good song and hire an arranger who is good at idol music, that’s it.

 

With that in mind, I started setting up the equipment for composing.

 

The first song I’m going to make has already been decided.

 

Whenever a new cycle begins, I write a song based on my reflections from the previous one.

 

A tradition of mine to pay homage to the last cycle.

 

Since I’m the only one who remembers the previous regression, I think I should leave at least one song in the world.

 

After finishing all the setups, I looked at the blinking composition program screen and lost myself in thought.

 

<Session Title : >

 

How do I wrap up my past life?

 

Perfect band?

 

Funky player?

 

Nah, that’s all too cheesy.

 

Like, I know talent expressions can be cheesy, but ‘the funky player’ is just……….

 

The members of GOTM were like a bunch of happy pills, zero cheese, all while being hardcore music nerds.

 

I found those people and brought them together, and they kinda dug my vibe too.

 

At that moment, a good word came to mind.

 

‘ProKkuner’

 

No, the plural form would be better.

 

<Session Title : ProKkuners>

 

This will be the first self-composed song of my life.