EP

“Nice to meet you. I’m Ha Suyeon, the guitarist and leader of the band Group Sound.”

A half-exposed forehead, swaying hair. A thick sweatshirt and a pleated skirt with a checkered pattern, reaching about halfway down her thighs. White socks covering her calves slightly, and adorable white shoes.

Applause poured down from the audience. Cheers like “Pretty!” rang out as well, but the guitarist greeted the audience without paying them any mind, as if she were used to it. The band members were introduced next: bassist Choi Iseo, keyboardist Jeong Hyuna, and drummer Yoo Seoha.

‘I’d heard it already, but they really are all pretty girls.’

Had they selected them based on their looks and then put them through brutal training? Suryeol wondered. The girl who looked like the leader was the prettiest, though the others varied slightly.

“And as announced on Twitter, today we’ll be performing the prerelease track from our upcoming EP, [Ashen Days], along with several other unreleased songs.”

The audience answered with cheers. Suryeol swept his gaze over them.

The outdoor venue was packed so tightly that there was hardly room to watch the performance. There were fans who seemed to have heard about it in advance, passersby who had come simply to see what was going on, and high-school girls who appeared to be recording videos. Even though people who looked like fans were voluntarily organizing the crowd, it was still this packed.

And the hardcore fans organizing the crowd… looked like people who had absolutely nothing to do with the indie band scene.

‘How strange.’...