Interlude

Near Hongdae.

Despite the early hour, quite a crowd was already lined up in front of the live club. She looked around while blowing a portable fan at herself, as everyone did their best to endure the heat with their own ways of staying cool.

“I’m dying of heat.”

“Hang in there a little longer.”

Her friend grumbled. She soothed her for a moment, then looked inside the club. The staff were darting around in a panic at the crowd, shouting things like, “Call the owner!” and “Yes, we’re Paradox. We’re sorry, but so many customers have shown up… Would it be possible to rent an air conditioner on short notice?”

She thought it was understandable. It was still well before the scheduled opening time. And despite that, several dozen people were already standing in line.

She had discovered Group Sound on the real-time music charts. Aside from a few songs, the charts were mostly filled with idol music. Even when she dug around looking for something to listen to, it was always more or less the same.

One day, she found a song she had never seen before. It was slowly climbing from around ninetieth place, near the bottom of the twenty-four-hour chart.

The song was called ‘Error.’

It had started simply because the name caught her interest. An unfamiliar singer called ‘Group Sound’ and the bland song title ‘Error.’ She played it while wondering whether some ballad singer had used viral marketing to settle into the charts again…...