After Hyun-woo dropped two Yonsei students off in front of their dorm, he looked longingly at the guitars on their sweaty backs before driving off. It wasn’t like him to linger. Yet the guitars reminded him of a distant past.
He used to be well known in his neighbourhood for his soulful lyrics and melodic voice. But after moving from Pohang to Seoul to chase after his dream, he quickly learnt that Seoul was filled with other young men who could sing and play the guitar too. Other young men with deeper voices. Other young men with quicker fingers on the guitar. After months of trying, he finally found a small entertainment company willing to take him in as a trainee. But his dream ended almost as soon as it began when the company went bust. He ended up trading his guitar for a steady income behind the steering wheel to pay his growing bills.
When can I sing again?
Jeongsin charyeo. He shook his head hard to pull himself together before planting his hands firmly back on the steering wheel.
He drove towards his favourite gisa sikdang, hoping that a piping hot bowl of bibimbap would bring him back to his senses. As he waited for his rice to cool, a charming new shop adorned with bright pink fairy lights caught his eye. He found himself drawn to the tarot shop and its promise of answers.
He tried to take a bite of his bibimbap but it was still too hot to swallow. Maybe that was the sign he needed. He laid his chopsticks on the table and strode across the road.
Yu-jin’s first customer had a defined jawline, high cheekbones and a wonderfully symmetrical face. He was conventionally handsome, but he had an unspeakable sadness in his eyes.
“What question do you have?”
“When can I sing again?”
His words were desperate, but Yu-jin appreciated his deep and warm voice. She was sure any song he sang would sound lovely.
The first card he chose depicted a beggar. When he saw the card, the man’s eyes looked sadder than they were before. They reminded Yu-jin of her own lifeless eyes that used to greet her in the mirror when she was still working her old job as a receptionist.
“Go forth and chase your dream.”
Yu-jin knew that wasn’t what the card meant, but she couldn’t help herself. It was probably the man’s first time at a tarot shop. He deserved to dream again, just like she did when she opened her shop.
“How can that be true?”
“It’s true,” Yu-jin assured him, “A beggar has nothing to lose, and neither do you.”
Hyun-woo quickly walked back to his cab, eager to get back to his guitar and his long-forgotten dream.
He had told his mother not to worry about him, so even after the company shut down, taking his savings with it, he refused to return home. He couldn’t let her know he was struggling. She had sacrificed too much already, toiling away on the family farm while her only son was off in the big city chasing after his dream.
He dusted off the guitar hiding in the back of his closet and started strumming as he sat on the barren floor. He sang of his hopes, his dreams, and how he wouldn’t give them up again. He was out of practice, but by the end of the night, he could feel his heart beat with purpose once more.
After his fateful visit to the tarot reader, Hyun-woo’s life still moved like clockwork. He’d start the day with some banchan along with instant rice. He’d then walk down the steps from his second-floor apartment to his bright orange cab, his trusty companion for the day. But every night, he’d return home to his guitar, his voice, and the passion he thought he had lost forever.
After a few months, he started to upload his music to SoundCloud, one song after another, wishes into the void. For weeks, he barely had any new listeners. But one day, a DJ chose to play one of his songs on her morning radio show, and his music started to find its audience.
Yu-jin was listening to the radio before she started her workday, a short reprieve before customers began streaming through the door.
“This next song is Kkum”, announced the DJ.
She recognised the deep, warm voice immediately — it was the voice of her very first customer all those months ago. She never thought that she’d end up lying to a customer, much less her first, but as his dreamy voice filled her shop with light, she was grateful she did.
They were all trying.
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