CHAPTER 1
-Hello!- The girl greeted as she walked in the door of the bar.
-Darksan!- Exclaimed with surprise the owner of the place as he opened his arms to greet her- How much time has passed? Three years at least?-
-Nearly three years Lee, and don't call me Darksan, those were other times- She gave him a kiss on the cheek and walked over to sit at the bar.
-What brings you to Seoul after so long?- With a gesture, he offered her something to drink.
-Business, a few months ago I met a guy in Japan, he offered to sponsor a project-She watched the glass of liquor that her friend had served.
-I see you're not convinced-
-Honestly, for a few years now he has been in the business of dramas and has not fared very well, he only succeeded in the first one and it was thanks to the soundtrack- She took a sip from her glass and stood up.
- Don't tell me that you're talking about ... -
-Yep- She turned to Lee.
-Really?-
-Really, but let's talk about something else-
It was three in the afternoon, the place was empty, it looked huge and the stage was lost in the darkness, the girl walked to the side and turned on the lights.
- Woow! I hardly remembered what it looked like, it even looks bigger.
-Confess Darksan, you're dying to get up there again-
-I don't have to confess, you know it, I'm dying to, but I can't do it, maybe one day for fun- She got on the stage, picked up a guitar that was in the corner and played a few chords. Returning the instrument to its place, she got down and turned off the lights.
She walked back to the bar, and this time, got behind it and started to scrutinize the things there and suddenly she found a CD that caught her attention.
-And this?- The girl asked.
-Oh! I'd forgotten it was there, it's the album of a band that usually plays here, the record is over there on the Wurlitzer- He gestured toward to the front.
The record machine was right across the bar, the girl walked towards to it, looked for a song and the music started.
-They sound good, I like it. Can I borrow it? -
-In my office I have a few copies, I'll bring you one- The guy slipped through a door on the side of the bar, the girl, closed her eyes, shook her head to the beat of the song playing, and had sunk deep into those chords when her friend returned and interrupted.
- Hey! Apparently it's your style- He said smiling.
-They are good- she said.
-You can take it, I have multiple copies. Commercially they haven't had much success, but they fill the place when they have a show-
-Mmmm- She thought – Do they have any shows coming up?-
-On Saturday- he said- Will you come?-
-Sure! Since I have no meetings or commitments, I will have free time for about two weeks, it will be great to remember the old days.-
The girl took the disc, said goodbye to her friend and left the place. It was still early, so she walked the streets of Hongdae, she took a long walk. Without realizing it, dinnertime came and so she popped into a restaurant to eat something.
Being the daughter of a Korean father and a Latin mother, she didn't have the ingrained customs from Korea within her; she liked to drink, but not to the extent that people usually did there.
She sat down and ordered from the waitress; as she waited, she looked around, and her gaze stopped at a table that was on the other side of the place. At it, four boys chatted cheerfully drinking soju and they had their instruments in their cases backed into a corner. One of them was quiet, only taking the small glass to his mouth from time to time, seeing how the others laughed and talked nonsense.
They seemed to have been there for a long time, there were many empty bottles on the table. She concentrated on watching, but the ahjumma interrupted her concentration by bringing the food.
Her outfit was unusual for a Korean girl, she wore worn jeans and a black blouse, a black leather jacket, no makeup, but she was still very pretty, her features were not entirely asiatic so her mixed blood was noticeable.
The guys got up from their seats to leave, they were very drunk and happy. As they passed the girl's table, one of them noticed her and went over to talk to her.
-Hi beautiful, I've never seen you before. Where're you from?- The smell of alcohol was escaping from his mouth.
The girl covered her nose with her hand, making a gesture of disgust which did not please the Korean boy.
-Hey! Why did you do that? Don't be rude-
-You reek of alcohol! Don't you realize? Furthermore, you are the rude one, bothering and interrupting someone you don't know-
- Bothering? Interrupting? Interrupting what? Your date with "Mr. Nobody"?- The boy answered taunting her.
-You're a drunken idiot- The girl answered with disgust.
All this was observed from behind by the quiet guy from before. He decided to take his friend's arm and pull him away because he was pushing too much. Knowing him, he knew he could cause problems.
-Yo Han that's enough, let's go- He said quietly.
-Why Hyung? She insulted me-
-You are the one that is bothering her!-
-Yo Han, listen to Hyung and let's go, don't start any more trouble- Said one of the other boys.
-Are you also going to go against me Ri No? I will not go until she apologizes for calling me a drunken idiot-
The girl didn't take her eyes off of the "Hyung" of the drunk boy who was bothering her.
-Sorry- She turned toward him as she got to her feet -Your voice seems very familiar to me... -
The boy was silent, his eyes moved over her from head to toe.
-We have never seen each other before- He said and without even a backward glance he left with his friends.
She sat back down deep in thought, trying to remember where she had heard that voice. After eating, she paid the bill and went to her hotel.
Upon arriving, she sat on the bed, still remembering what happened and to distract herself, she turned on her laptop and put in the CD that Lee, her friend from the bar, had given her earlier.
She leaned back and closed her eyes. The first song that played was the same as the one she had heard at the bar, she was in love with the chords in the introduction. The sharp guitar sound was impressive, then it continued with the strong pace of the drums and bass, then the guitar again with a more serious and powerful rhythm.
When she heard the singer's voice, she opened her eyes, after a few seconds she sat up quickly.
-His voice! This was where I had heard it!- she exclaimed aloud –It was him! The guy from the restaurant is the one who is singing!- she continued talking to herself.
She took the CD case, opened it and took out the cover booklet. Inside were the lyrics of all the songs and towards the end was a description of the band, with photos and names of the members. She confirmed that she was not wrong, Ri No and Yo Han were part of the band, and there was also the photo and name of the other guy, the one who didn't get into the fight, Re Oh, he was the youngest.
She chuckled when she saw the photo of the drunk boy's "Hyung", it had been a great coincidence, meeting them that way.
She began singing and reading the lyrics, since she used to lead a rock band a while ago, it was easy for her to learn the songs after hearing them a few times.
In addition to her laptop, which never failed to accompany her wherever she traveled, was her old guitar; at her home in Boston, USA, she had a special room where she kept her "Instrument Arsenal", her babies as she liked to call them, more than ten guitars of all kinds.
But she always carried with her one that was very special, an electroacoustic, it was the first guitar that she had bought with her own money, many years ago, when she moved to Boston from New York.
Despite being from a wealthy family, her father, a strict Korean, never let her have her way in this. For him it was a waste of time and money for someone to be devoted to music.
When his only daughter said she wanted to form a band, his refusal was absolute. It wasn't possible that she could want to make music, let alone rock music. The thought was inconceivable for a successful Wallstreet businessman.
This led her away from her father, and so she went to live alone in Boston, the birthplace of the Hard Rock. She got a job as a waitress at, in her opinion, the best place: The Hard Rock Café.
Thus began her adventure, she met many people, musicians, producers, sound engineers. She made great friends, including a few Korean ones. They were struck by the name of the girl, Sandra Park.
She was the daughter of Park Shin Soo and a Latin woman, Sandra Liebermann, a Chilean of European descent and wealthy family. This mixture had left its mark on the girl, her long black hair was very smooth and was inherited from her father, as well as some subtle Asian features. From the European Latin beauty of her mother had inherited her splendid figure. She was born in Seoul but was brought up in America from when she was about three or four years old. At the demands of her father she had studied Korean, she spoke it perfectly, and English of course.
This had always attracted the attention of men. Korean girls were typically short and thin, they weren't very voluptuous unless they had had surgery. Sandra wasn't like that, she had many curves and was tall. Her upbringing and Latin descent had given her a great personality, enthralling.
She also had a powerful voice, she made people feel the strength of rock when she sang, she had become a lead singer, and it was striking to see that in a rock band, so she had already enjoyed a certain level of local popularity.
They had had about three years playing in bars and clubs in Boston when they decided to go try their luck in her native country the following year. So they came to Korea in 2011, but they didn't get to stay long as in just a few months Sandra's father died and she had to travel back to the United States.
The pain of not ever reconciling with him remained hidden in her heart and was a thorn that bothered her every time she remembered how she left her home, raging against her father's rejection of her musical career.
This made her feel responsible for her family's finances, she thought it was a way to make it up to him and to her mother who had been left alone.
Sandra had studied finance in college, but she had never worked in that field. She was intelligent and had not forgotten what she'd learned, so it was relatively easy to take the reins of the company she had inherited, deciding to invest in other areas.
She merged her new job with what she loved most, music, and now was devoted to sponsoring bands and related projects.
On a trip to Japan at the end of that next year, she had met a guy a couple years older than her. He was a businessman, who was a producer of dramas in Korea.
They got along right from the start, he also loved music but because of a problem in one of his hands he couldn't play guitar.
Like Sandra, this guy also took over the family business because of the demands of his father and his refusal to accept his music. The only difference was that he had been obedient and never rebelled against his father's wishes. Their stories made them get along very well and they became kindred spirits.
They agreed to work together, he had a project in mind and Sandra would be the sponsor. The rest was already arranged, according to him, he had a great music director with whom he had previously worked and had been successful.
It was Friday night and the guys from the band that Sandra had met at the restaurant had a show. Because of the all-nighters that they usually pulled and because of how cold it was, their lead singer was feeling sick and it was hard for him to sing, but despite his friends' warnings he wanted to continue with the show at all costs.
-Hyung, tomorrow we play at Lee's bar, you know it is the most important place, the one that fills up the most. If you keep pushing yourself like this then tomorrow you will be worse-
The boy looked at him for few seconds and without a word took his guitar and went towards the stage. He was stubborn as a mule, they would never convince him to go back on a commitment, unless he was dying.
They completed the show but they struggled, it showed in the face of the singer who had a sore throat, but he continued to the end.
After they were finished playing, as always they went to get a drink. They sat at one of those street stands and asked for a few bottles of soju.
This time, it was Sandra who was there first, she had come out for a drink. She was feeling a little sad because a few hours earlier, she had spoken to her mother on the phone and they had reminisced about her father.
The boys sat at the table right next to the girl. When she saw them, she could not take her eyes off of them. The singer noticed they were being watched.
He cocked his head to one side, frowning, the girl looked familiar.
-So how drunk were you last night that you don't remember? - She asked.
The boy opened his eyes wide and his friends began to nudge him.
-Hyung, you didn't say you were back at it again-
-Me? Are you crazy? What's wrong with you?!-
-Last night at the restaurant, "Drunken Idiot"- With a gesture, the girl indicated his friend –Don't you remember? -
-Oooh!- The boy nodded.
Instantly a horrible cough invaded him, it was easy to tell that he was feeling ill, the girl was concerned, she knew they had a show the next day and she also liked the band. She had heard the CD so many times now that even she could grab a guitar and play the songs.
-Are you okay?- She stood up and walked over.
-Yes, don't worry- He kept coughing.
-You cannot sing tomorrow like this- She claimed.
Between his cough and his surprise at what he heard her say, the boy stood up somewhat puzzled and annoyed at the same time.
-And how do you know that I'll sing tomorrow?-
-I just know- She said smiling.
-Are you one of those crazy stalker fans?- The singer stepped back with an exaggerated face of terror.
-You wish that I'd be after you, Ha!- The girl shook her head as she laughed -This is fun but I gotta go, I hope you're feeling better tomorrow, take care, your voice is the most important thing for someone like you- She bowed and left.
-Hyung, who is she? You know her? – Yo Han asked.
-You really are an idiot- He said as he sat down.
-It's that girl from last night at the restaurant, you were bothering her you idiot- Ri No told him -You were so drunk that you don't remember anything-
-Aaaah-
- "Aaaah"- The singer mocked.
On Saturday night at the bar the atmosphere was getting tense. The band was taking too long to go on stage, the audience's whistling were making Lee desperate, he told Sandra to watch the bar for him for a few moments, as she had arrived early.
-What's up guys?-
-Hyung can't stop coughing, I don't think that he can sing tonight-
- What! The place is full, you have to go on stage!- Lee's face fell, if the boys didn't go on it would be a disaster.
-I can do it! - Shouted the singer between fits of coughing.
Sandra had not stayed at the bar, she was listening to everything, she was sure the guy was not going to be able to sing.
They took the stage amid the shouts of the crowd. The first notes sounded and when the boy began with the song his coughing again betrayed him and the others stopped. When he could speak again he apologized and started to play guitar once more.
He was going to open his mouth to start singing again and a strong female voice beat him to it.
He was watching her, the girl knew the lyrics to perfection. She waved at him to keep playing since he had stopped for a few seconds.
After singing some songs, the show ended. The audience was a bit confused by the intervention of the girl, but they liked it.
The singer took her hand and dragged her backstage, he was furious.
-Who do you think you are?-
-Hey, calm down! I just wanted to help- she explained.
-Nobody asked for your hel...- His cough interrupted his words.
-Are you okay?- Sandra approached him.
But the boy was still furious, in his mind, this woman was an intruder, a meddler that shouldn't have taken the stage.
-Let go of me!- He shouted, standing up and removing her hand roughly.
At that moment, Lee and the rest of the guys of the band, who were watching the scene with surprise at the reaction of their friend, came in.
-She just wanted to help- Lee said.
-I didn't ask her for help- the boy countered.
-Hey, don't be like this, you know you wouldn't have been able to sing in that condition- The girl again approached him to try to reason with him, but the singer got up and sidestepped her with the intention of leaving.
Someone else had arrived, a female voice interrupted the scene.
-Still as stubborn as ever Kang Moo Kyul-
(to be continued...)
-thenatcat