Chapter 60
“We’ll take a short break, then start filming. We’ll begin at :40, so come back then.”
At the director’s words, the staff got to their feet. Myeongjeon watched while sucking down his coffee.
Some people slipped away in orderly fashion to prepare for filming. Others quietly went off to smoke. Some even checked their phones, thinking, ‘It’s starting soon, so I can rest for now, right?’ It was just an ordinary filming set.
“Ah, I keep getting nervous. This is driving me crazy.”
But he seemed to be the only one thinking that way. When he turned his head, all three of them looked slightly pale, perhaps because they were nervous.
“Why are you getting so nervous?”
“You’re not nervous?”
“A video interview is the most we’re doing, and it won’t even get many views anyway. Why get so worked up?”
Myeongjeon stated the facts. The 2022 Band Pioneer TOP 6 interview had not even reached two thousand views. 2023? Around fifteen hundred. Then what about 2024? It would probably be similar, wouldn’t it?
Honestly, Myeongjeon wondered why they were even filming this interview. Even if he uploaded it to his own channel, it would probably get more views than that.
‘No, there is a reason to film an interview.’
He wondered whether he could film a review of the interview afterward. He could talk about what it was like, what they had asked, what he had said that got cut, what he had said that made it into the video, and what had been distorted… Then he could milk it for some views.
“All right, then, we’ll start filming the interview~”
While he was thinking that, a staff member gave them a signal. The trio, who had gone somewhere else to fool around, quickly took their seats…
* * *
[“Hello. I’m Ha Suyeon, leader and guitarist of Group Sound.”
“Hello! I’m Choi Iseo, Group Sound’s bassist!”
“Hello… I’m Jeong Hyeona, and I play keyboard in Group Sound…”
“Hello. I’m Yoo Seoha, the drummer.”
<Congratulations on making it to the 2024 Band Pioneer TOP 6! Please give us a few words about making TOP 6!>
“Hmm. This may sound a little arrogant, but I had a feeling we’d be selected. I don’t know—just a feeling? That’s how it was.”
⋮
<What inspired you to form the band?>
“I didn’t really think about it at all.”
“I suggested we form it! Actually, I’d never thought, ‘I’m going to start a band!’ or anything like that.”
“After the accident, I thought, ‘Ah. Ah, well, I was in a pretty serious accident.’ After I recovered, I picked up a guitar and went to Nakwon, and that’s where I met Iseo.”
“I didn’t know a thing about playing guitar! Then she suddenly said she played guitar. We talked for a while, and the next day, I think? I asked her to play something, and she was just—wow… She played so well it was almost absurd. So I said it right away: ‘Hey, omae! Become my comrade!’”
“It was pretty absurd. What were you basing that on? I mean, now that we’re talking about it, the gap in our skill was huge. Back then, I was basically just an ordinary person who’d taken lessons for a year as a hobby, with a tiny bit of talent. That’s it. After that, you could say I made musicians out of them. But the funny thing is, after that, these kids…”
“We’re not kids; we’re your older sisters.”
“…Older sisters? Should I be calling you unnie? Hyeona-unnie? Seoha-unnie?”
“No, don’t do that…”
⋮
<One word about your resolve for the 2024 Band Pioneer!>
“It’s a little surreal to have reached a place like this just one year after forming, but since we’re here, I want to cause a little trouble. We’re definitely taking first place. Thank you!”]
= What is with these people’s confidence? lol
= ‘The King of Paradox’
= The guitarist is seriously insanely gorgeous ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ Where can I see them perform?
ㄴ They perform every Saturday at Paradox in Hongdae.
= Guitar… lol… She was famous in Jongno-gu lol~ I don’t know anything~
ㄴ What happened?
ㄴ Don’t fucking string it out like a pussy—just say it already lol
ㄴ Kyeeeeeeeee
“Did this really happen? Did you really ask them to start a band like that?”
“Would I have lied?”
In response to Dain’s question while they watched the interview video, Myeongjeon answered that way. The trio giggled, apparently finding it hilarious.
“So you went to buy a guitar right after recovering from the accident? How serious were you about guitar, anyway?”
“Well, I was kind of like that.”
“You didn’t even let on that you were learning guitar before.”
“I didn’t remember anything, and what little I vaguely did remember wasn’t good. I figured I might as well get my act together and play guitar, and that’s how it happened…”
Myeongjeon organized the timeline that way. It wasn’t true, of course, but even if these three were willing to help him, there was no need to tell them everything that had really happened.
It was foolish to tell someone a secret and ask them to keep it. A truly secret matter should never be spoken of in the first place. Only things that could safely leave his mouth should be spoken, while things that needed to stay inside should remain there. That was the wisdom about life Myeongjeon had learned.
Instead, there was something he could tell them.
“And there’s a song I participated in for an OST recently. Our name hasn’t been revealed yet, but it should be revealed soon.”
“Really? Something like that exists?”
Myeongjeon showed them the prereleased OST. The trio were unable to hide their surprise when they saw its title.
“No way. I’ve actually been listening to this lately. You made this, Suyeon?”
“I didn’t make it; our band did. I arranged it, though.”
“This has been trending all over TikTok lately. I listened without thinking much, but people were going crazy asking who the band was. Juhyeon was baiting people like crazy, too. So it’s you guys?”
Myeongjeon nodded instead of answering. It seemed Hwiseok’s proposed strategy had been exactly right. Even ordinary people like these had become curious about who the band was.
“Can I tell people about this?”
“It’s not far off, so I guess you can. They’re probably leaking it on their end anyway. As long as you don’t go online baiting people with ‘It’s so-and-so,’ I think it’ll be fine.”
“Wow~ Thanks to having a friend like you, I get to pretend I know a celebrity now. Nice.”
The trio crowded around Myeongjeon, saying things like that. Dain suddenly lifted her head as though she had thought of something.
“Oh, are you guys not doing any offline performances or anything?”
“Looks like we will.”
“Then give me some tickets. I’ll bring everyone from school to the show. Ever since word’s been going around that you’re in a band, everyone’s been incredibly curious.”
“Would that be okay?”
When Dain asked why, Myeongjeon answered, “I mean, considering what happened before.” The trio giggled at that.
“People probably won’t care much these days. They did back then, but after you went around apologizing, there aren’t really any people like that anymore. Ah, there are some who still care.”
“Who?”
“Kwon Jihye was saying before that she missed the days when you used to get drunk and smoke, asking what happened to you.”
Why is she like that? Myeongjeon tilted his head slightly as he thought about it. They would film the online competition this week, then hold the offline competition the following week…
“We’ll probably perform next week. If tickets come out or something, I’ll give you some.”
“Thanks, thanks~”
* * *
“Thank you!”
Even without an audience, they had to thank the people watching the online competition video. More than that, they had to perform while assuming that an audience was cheering passionately beyond the cameras, just as it normally would. Otherwise, the heat of the performance would not be conveyed properly.
With that thought in mind, Myeongjeon stepped off the stage. The staff members who had been watching the online competition applauded. The atmosphere was quite heated.
“That was a great performance!”
“Let’s get Group Sound first place!!”
Several staff members suddenly let out loud cheers. Laughter erupted all around. It seemed that Group Sound had gained some fans among the staff as well, which put Myeongjeon in a slightly better mood. Gaining a fan was a pleasant thing, whoever they might be.
But when Myeongjeon passed the staff and reached the judges, he felt an entirely different atmosphere from before. Something was clearly wrong.
“Group Sound, could you come in for a moment? There’s something important we need to discuss.”
“People are very sensitive about things like this these days. So honestly, I don’t think we’re at that stage yet, but since we’re linked with the government, we had no choice but to call you in.”
The person who had brought it up was the leader of a fairly famous rock band, with whom Myeongjeon had become somewhat acquainted through the memorial concert. They were close enough to exchange a few jokes, but seeing him put on such a serious expression made it seem like something grave had happened.
“What is this about?”
“I can’t say where we heard it, but we received a tip regarding Ms. Ha Suyeon. About school violence.”
So it had finally come. Myeongjeon swept his hair back and looked at the trio. Their eyes were filled with anxiety.
“They said they’d only heard it as a rumor as well… but anyway, these days… especially with incidents continuing to erupt in the entertainment industry, we have no choice but to be sensitive about school violence.”
“But it’s still only at the rumor stage, and in any case, we thought we should hear your side as the people involved, so we’d like to give you an opportunity to explain. Is there anything you’d like to say about it?”
Starting with the rock band’s leader, they each said a word or two. It was all quite understandable. They could not impose sanctions based on a rumor alone, so they were giving her an opportunity to explain herself.
“What happens if we give our explanation?”
“We’ll have to investigate on our end, of course. And I think Ms. Suyeon will need to submit any evidence she has related to the matter.”
Myeongjeon had been steadily gathering material for this moment. If he released it all, they would somehow be able to continue participating in the competition.
It might cause some controversy, but it was something he could not hide any longer. If that was the case, things would somehow work out. Not because that was a good thing, but because that was simply how Korean society worked. It was a society where, whenever someone voiced an opposing opinion, many people treated it as a ‘topic of debate’ and complained that it was ‘exhausting.’
Of course, the situation would be far worse than it was now. But it was something he had to endure. As long as he was living the life of ‘Ha Suyeon,’ he had no choice.
“Since the victim herself hasn’t come forward to us, we’re also being careful about what we say.”
Just as Myeongjeon was thinking that and preparing to say he would give an explanation, one phrase caught his ear. [The victim herself hasn’t spoken to us.]
‘Wait, could this… be steered toward resolving the controversy, instead of merely ending with one?’
Something flashed through Myeongjeon’s mind.