Act 9: Whimsically 7
There’s a thing called ‘obli’.
Well, it sounded quite cool. Obli – it sounded almost elegant from how it flowed out of your mouth… but it wasn’t anything great in fact.
It was similar to casual jobs done by musicians.
For example, playing an accompaniment at a marriage ceremony, singing wedding carols or singing at a church. For occasional one-off jobs like that, we expressed it as ‘going on an obli’.
Usually, students studying music would start this during their university days and the main objective was naturally, money. Since they went around playing after entering university, their pockets would soon become empty, requiring them to go on oblis and make money using their major.
Besides, it was a type of stage experience.
After hearing my explanations, Lee Suh-ah leaned back onto the seat and looked forward. As the train vibrated and twitched, my shoulder touched Lee Suh-ah’s before being separated.
“…So, you want to do that thing called ‘obli’ with me?”
“Yeah.”
Hearing my casual reply, Lee Suh-ah made a slight frown.
“Didn’t you say we were entering a contest together? Why did it change to a one-off job? Are we allowed to do that even though we’re learning classical music?”
I made a puzzled expression in response and tilted my head.
…What was with this reaction despite me finding a job for her?
That was the thought running through my head before I suddenly realised that she was still a high schooler. She would have never tried anything like oblis and would therefore not know how thankful she should be right now.
After giving a nod, I slowly started explaining it.
“All the classical seniors do it after entering uni so don’t worry about it. And of course we’re entering contests – although they’re small and the prize pool won’t amount to much, it would become fairly large after going through a handful of them. But since there’s the admission time as well for contests, it would take some time for it to start and besides we’re not prepared enough yet either. So in the meantime, we can work and use our time effectively right? It will be on casual things like recordings and…”
After that, I started a downpour of explanations regarding the jobs I found. They were all one-day jobs or some casual jobs that lasted at most three to four days and yet, the pay was decent.
Those were all hard-to-find jobs, which college students would be dying for but I got really lucky.
This industry was a closed one and was close to impossible to find jobs without connections but… I was able to form a firm connection rather recently.
It was none other than the head of an opera company, Han Seungjoo who visited our school as an external examiner. Seeing him, I suddenly thought of oblis and stopped him in the corridor which turned out to be a great fortune.
“Umm sir.”
“Oh, student Jo Yunjae. What’s wrong?”
“Are there perhaps jobs I can take casually during the holidays?”
“Jobs? Of course there are.”
That was how the conversation went.
In fact, I just tried talking to him without great expectations but he returned a rather amiable reaction. He talked about all the jobs he could think of on the spot and later even gave me his phone number and explained in more detail via phone.
In any case, after hearing my explanations, Lee Suh-ah stared at me with a blank gaze and murmured to herself.
“You’re unexpectedly quite resourceful…”
“Unexpectedly?”
When I asked back, she quickly came to herself and turned her face away.
“Anyway! So, what are we doing today?”
“Today, we’re recording. Ah, this is our stop.”
After arriving at the studio, the rest was quite simple. We gave them our names and said we were here to record.
“Job?”
“Yes. Director Han Seungjoo said we just had to come here…”
As soon as I said that, the man who was poking his face out through the small gap between the door and the hinge immediately pushed the door wide open.
“Ah, from Mr Han Seungjoo. I didn’t know you would be this young. Please come in.”
As I thought, his reaction changed in the blink of an eye when I mentioned Director Han Seungjoo’s name.
Although these jobs were usually undertaken by university students, if the singers’ qualities were guaranteed by the middleman, it didn’t really matter how old they were. Also, although we were still underage, we just needed our parent’s agreement to have a casual job like this so it was okay on that front as well.
We successfully entered the studio after which was a rough introduction of the job from that man. He called himself a music director and that he would be recording a song that would be used as a background OST of a web drama. Today, we were just recording one classical song there.
“A drama huh…”
“Yes. It’s a drama called ‘The Genius Author’…”
When I asked about the drama, the music director started talking nonstop with a bright expression. Hearing that, I nodded.
A song I sang will be used in a drama huh…
This was also why oblis were fun.
While I was lost in the midst of a re-evaluation, the man handed us the music sheets before continuing his explanation.
“It’s a song called Caro Mio Ben. You just have to sing this okay? You know how to read the sheets right?”
“Of course I do. I’ve sung this a few times as well.”
Lee Suh-ah immediately showed her temper and was quite hilarious. I mean, how many times would she have received a treatment like that after starting opera?
However, from that person’s standpoint, she was nothing but a high school girl so it was natural for him to doubt us. Besides, we also mentioned how it was our first time working like this.
After giving a shrug with his shoulders, the music director opened his mouth.
“Well yeah… so, should we start right away?”
“Yes. We just have to sing into this right?”
“Yes.”
Like that, the recording began with her full of confidence and perhaps it was natural for her to be confident.
Caro mio ben was such a famous song in the first place and he wasn’t asking us for a great performance either. It was just background music flowing by during the drama. Plus, opera fans would sing it quite often as well.
However, when the song actually began, the accompaniment immediately stopped as the stop sign appeared.
“You got the beat wrong just then. We’ll do it again.”
“…Yes.”
When I turned over, I could see Lee Suh-ah wearing a crumpled expression. The proud number 1 soprano of Future Arts High got the beat wrong? On top of that, on a familiar song she had sung dozens of times?
It must be humiliating.
However, it was in fact okay for her first time recording and as if to prove that, the music director sitting at a distance did not have a single change in his expression.
While waiting for the accompaniment, I quietly whispered to Lee Suh-ah.
“It’s alright. Everyone does that at the start.”
In response, Lee Suh-ah faced me with a grumpy look and murmured.
“It was just a mistake okay?”
“Ohh is that so?”
But of course, there wasn’t anything miraculous like her succeeding on the second try happening. She got it wrong, again and again.
After another mismatch with the beat, Lee Suh-ah ground her teeth irritatedly and while watching from the side, I thought,
‘Recording…’
It was most likely her first time recording professionally. There’s no way she would’ve made an album and there was no need to go to a recording room during high school.
But later, when making an album or recording for an obli, we had to visit a recording room and it was very common for opera singers to miss the beat entirely in a rather silly manner.
Why though?
Why would opera singers who sing for a living that sang hundreds and thousands of songs get something meagre like rhythm wrong?
The answer was simple.
It was because we sing by matching the accompaniment performed by living people.
“Ah…”
Seeing Lee Suh-ah lower her head after getting the beat wrong again, I opened my mouth.
“Hey, take it off.”
“What?”
With a flick, I took the headphones away from her head and after laying it off to the side I looked directly into her eyes.
I could see her quivering pupils.
“…”
She probably lost her confidence after making mistakes on the song she was confident in. After clicking my tongue, I explained it for her.
“You sang this a lot right?”
“…Yeah.”
“With an accompanist yes?”
“…Most of the time, I guess?”
“That’s why.”
“?”
She made a frown as I nodded my head.
That was how classical music was. Since it was a song made by people working together, the beat was naturally all over the place.
Even if it’s written on the music sheet, it was still the same.
Andante – slowly. Let’s say that was written on the sheet. So, how slow did they want it? It would be awesome if they wrote down the bpm but that doesn’t exist in classical music.
We just had to sing according to what our instincts told us.
Because of that, every performer had their own playing speed and each section had different speed depending on the person.
And yet now, she had to sing it according to an accompaniment made by a machine so it was rather natural for her to be struggling. Plus, since she was singing it with me, even a small mistake in the beat would be made obvious.
After another click of my tongue, I stared at her and opened my mouth.
“Just don’t listen to the accompaniment and follow my voice. That might be easier.”
“…What difference would there be?”
“Just do as I say.”
Perhaps due to her pride being attacked, she wore a deep frown before eventually heaving out a sigh and nodding.
Since I had prior experience, I should lead her, a newbie along the way.
Soon, the accompaniment started flowing into my ears while Lee Suh-ah had hers taken off. Within that rather odd scene, the familiar sound of Caro mio ben started being played.
In line with the mechanical accompaniment which only I could hear, I calmly opened my mouth.
“Caro mio ben–”
I broke away all the rhythm and beat I had personally built up and by fitting it completely into the music sheet, I laid them down perfectly, without a single error.
These were all things I had plenty of experience in from the ensemble and from previous recording experiences so it was easy, because after all I just had to sing as is, according to the sheet drawn by the composer.
Suddenly, the relaxed expression of Yu Minji-sunbae flashed past my head.
“Credimi almen–”
But if I ended it with that, it was just a repeat of showing Lee Suh-ah a mechanical song and it would be no different from a mechanical accompaniment flowing through the headphones.
Thus, I added a little bit of humanness into it. A tad bit; just a little so that it didn’t create disharmony with the accompaniment, I tweaked the beat. I made it easier to sing, into a form familiar to Lee Suh-ah and brought it into a place which was comfortable for us opera singers.
I weaved the song together.
“Tanto rigor…”
This was easier said than done.
It wasn’t just my song and I had to take care of Lee Suh-ah as well. Although the database I held was immense due to listening to the future Lee Suh-ah’s songs, the process of weaving hers to mine was difficult.
However, there was no other choice but to do it.
Thinking back on the song she had been singing and the practices I had with her, I changed the song. With my eyes, I could see Lee Suh-ah forming an odd expression.
“Tanto rigor…”
When the song ended, Lee Suh-ah quickly wore the headphones back on.
“Give the accompaniment again please. Quick!”
“Huh…? Uh, right.”
When the music director rapidly resupplied the accompaniment, our song started to fill up the recording room.
Lee Suh-ah and my voice.
Listening to the song flowing out without a single error, I made a smile.
It was as expected of Lee Suh-ah. I had a lot of trouble back in the days with this and yet she immediately got it in one go.
Turning my gaze over, I could see Lee Suh-ah with closed eyes, wearing a passionate expression as she sang.
Her lips uttered lyrics in drops as her inner eyelids trembled due to the overwhelming emotions within her words. Naturally, her straight throat repeated the process of retraction and contraction.
Plus, there was her elegant voice.
In a daze, I watched the scene before me and just matched her for the rest of the song.
…As expected, Lee Suh-ah was a genius.
Even if I brought her abruptly and told her to sing; even while singing at a completely foreign environment, and even within the terrible condition of having an unfamiliar beat,
She was a genius that could sing a beautiful song.
‘Did I have the qualification to take her position?’
Biting my lips, I closed my eyes.
*
After the recording ended, the music director handed us an envelope.
“Iya, couldn’t have expected more from the talents Director Han Seungjoo recommended. Thank you for the songs and this is your payment for today.”
“Thank you.”
With a blank expression, Lee Suh-ah received the envelope and stared deeply at the white envelope in her hands.
Perhaps that was the first money she ever earned with her own hands.
Getting your hands on the first ever payment gave an unforgettable feeling after all. There was also the fact that today’s recording was harder than we thought.
“Then, be careful on your way back! Please watch our ‘The Genius Author’ which is about to air soon as well!’
“Yes! Thank you for having us!”
After throwing a glance at the back of the music director who was on his way back to the studio, I looked at Lee Suh-ah blankly ripping apart the sim of the envelope.
Taking the money out, she murmured.
“Fifty dollars…”
“That’s not a bad amount.”
She glared at the old lady printed on the note and let out a smile.
“You’re right. It’s only been a few hours.”
Yeah, that’s why music college students did these casual jobs. Future Central Concour which Lee Suh-ah entered before was an extremely large one but only had a prize pool of around 500 dollars. Plus, there was the entry fee.
With my chin raised up, I said.
“Hey do you finally know how thankful you should be? Towards me who scavenged such a dream job?”
The odd expression she faced me with slowly started to change. From her usual cold expression, her eyelids slowly bent down and her glossy lips had its corners raised as liveliness entered her eyes.
Then, she smiled.
“Thanks.”
Seeing that, I stopped before changing the topic in embarrassment.
“That’s good then… by the way, why does this damn school only give a scholarship to one student? Does this make sense? Didn’t you get other awards like prac high-achievers award or something?”
With a flinch, Lee Suh-ah avoided my eyes.
“N… nn. I guess?”
“And yet they’re not even giving you a scholarship? Haa… it makes zero sense. Hey at the very least, I’ll help you earn as much as that scholarship over the holidays.”
“Uh? That, actually…”
“Let’s go. We still have a lot of contests to apply for.”
“Wai…”
Lee Suh-ah tried to say something but I pulled her by her arm and walked forward in large strides.