Chapter 78
“Dain. Have you seen this?”
It was lunchtime. A girl from the neighboring class approached Dain, who was hanging out with two friends. The festival timetable was open on her phone, and the name ‘Group Sound’ was displayed there.
“No. I’m seeing it for the first time.”
“Isn’t this Suyeon’s band? You said before that she was in a band.”
At the neighboring classmate’s words, Dain tried to recall what had happened. Had there been something involving them…
“Oh, is that what she was talking about a little while ago?”
“What is?”
“You know how Suyeon said she was going somewhere? A festival or something. Isn’t this it?”
At Chaerin’s words, Dain felt a vague memory surface. Come to think of it, she did seem to remember hearing something like that.
“I think it was. But why?”
“Ah… I was going to ask whether you had any guest passes if you knew. I originally went to find Suyeon, but she wasn’t around. So I thought maybe you might have one…”
At the friend’s bashful question, Dain felt a profound sense of time passing. When they had first entered the school, this girl had been casually bullied by Suyeon. Perhaps because of that, even after Suyeon changed, she had not trusted her and had been one of the last people to accept her apology.
And now she had become close enough to seek Suyeon out herself and ask about guest passes. Dain thought Suyeon’s reputation had recovered tremendously.
“Oh, I think I got a guest pass. I think she said to give it to anyone who wanted one.”
“I didn’t get one, though?”
“That’s because you weren’t there.”
Meanwhile, Suhyeon, who had been listening to the conversation, seemed to remember something. She took out a piece of paper and handed it to the girl from the neighboring class. The friend practically bounced away, repeatedly thanking her.
“The kids really have changed a lot.”
“I know.”
Fiddling with her hair, Dain glanced out the window for a moment. Suyeon’s strategy of ‘improving her reputation’ certainly seemed to be working.
There was nothing they could do about the rumors that had spread outside the school, but at least the victims—or, more accurately, the students at Hanseung High—clearly no longer viewed Suyeon as a school bully or delinquent.
Even so, there were still gaps that had been left behind. Those things…
‘As her friend, I’ll have no choice but to help her.’
That was what Dain thought.
* * *
“Those are the kids? Our preceding act?”
[Yoon Hyunjun Band] was an indie band that championed modern rock. Hyunjun, the band’s leader and vocalist, unconsciously asked his bandmates that question.
“Apparently.”
So those were the ‘Group Sound’ kids that Kim Cheolyeon of Tailored had slotted into the lineup.
“They’re all pretty.”
One of the session musicians muttered that. Hyunjun agreed. How had they managed to find nothing but kids like that? It almost felt as though they had formed the band based on looks rather than ability.
“Has anyone heard their songs?”
“I’ve heard the title track…”
“How was it?”
“It was kind of easy listening. It wasn’t bad, but it was so safe and ordinary.”
At the bassist’s words, Hyunjun scratched his head. He generally paid no attention to the rumors circulating through the indie scene—‘Kim Cheolyeon has finally lost his mind,’ ‘Kim Cheolyeon is having an affair,’ and ‘I heard Kim Cheolyeon is connected to a major agency and is making a rookie idol band.’ Other bands’ business was none of his concern.
The problem was that, even if he wanted to ignore it, as Yoon Hyunjun, the leader of [Yoon Hyunjun Band], he had no choice but to care. Hyunjun had performed at one or two other festivals, but as far as Bytailored was concerned, he was making his first appearance, just like those kids.
‘I’m honestly not confident at getting the crowd going.’
His band played bland modern rock. Their songs could earn applause when they finished, but they were not the kind that created an atmosphere where people jumped around.
[Hungry Socrates], on the other hand, was a punk-rock band that was incredible at creating an atmosphere where the crowd could let loose. Hyunjun had heard that their live performances were amazing, so he had felt relieved that they could carry the mood. But now…
“This is bad.”
Hyunjun muttered that as he stepped out of the waiting room. Rehearsals were still going on, and he spotted several bands he knew.
“Oh~ Old man Yoon~”
“How’s the headliner show coming along?”
“Ours? Uh, we just need to run through it once… and then go, ‘Still got it~.’ We just did that, and everything matched up perfectly.”
“What year was that catchphrase popular?”
Hyunjun and the other band continued bantering for a while. When the conversation reached a lull, the other band suddenly asked him a question.
“Your preceding act is those kids, right? That, whatchamacallit, high-school girls’ band.”
“Yeah.”
“Are they pretty? Have you seen their faces?”
At that, Hyunjun looked at the other man with a faintly pathetic expression.
“You fucking girl-chaser. You don’t even ask whether they’re good—you jump straight to what they look like. And you have a girlfriend.”
“Hey. Huh? Humans are living creatures. And what is the most important mission of a living creature? Reproduction. I’m just carrying out that reproductive mission, that’s all.”
Leaving his companion to spout his usual lunacy, Hyunjun described their appearances. One had a large chest, a hime cut, heavy makeup, and distinctive clothes. The other had a small chest, long hair brushed back from her forehead, light makeup, and an outfit that was entirely black.
“What about the songs?”
“I heard that song that got onto the Melon chart…”
They were called [Group Sound], if he remembered correctly. Hyunjun had heard that they performed regularly every month at Paradox, a place he visited from time to time, but he had never gone to see them play.
The same went for their songs. After hearing the session musician mention them, Hyunjun had listened to [Leap Across That Distance]. He thought it was well made, but he had not found it particularly amazing.
At best, it was a solid piece of work—nothing more. It was the kind of song that so-called ‘normies’ unfamiliar with rock would like, but… would the audience at the festival enjoy it? It might just pour cold water over the atmosphere.
“But I heard it was Cheolyeon-hyung’s pick.”
“That’s true.”
“Maybe he knows something we don’t. Or did they really give him something?”
His companion muttered that he had heard the person who bought [Echosound] was a member of the Group Sound band’s family. Hyunjun laughed and brushed off the absurd claim.
“CEO Seong of Echosound is extremely meticulous about managing his label, so why would he sell it? The story that it was sold is probably just a baseless rumor.”
“No, I’m telling you, it’s true. My friend visited Echosound recently to release something, and said all the staff had been replaced!”
“I guess a few people just left.”
Hyunjun muttered that and sighed. What were they supposed to do? He only needed to perform well himself, but if they wanted to satisfy the audience, the preceding act mattered too…
“Oh? Looks like they’re going up now.”
“They are.”
The girls climbed onto the stage. Two or three keyboards were set up, along with one or two guitars. Overall, their live setup looked quite heavy.
“Do they really need all that?”
Hyunjun muttered that. Their setup looked much heavier than the other bands’. He was also curious whether they could actually use all of it…
* * *
‘Ugh, I’m dying.’
Ayoon muttered that to herself. Even when she had been an idol fan, she had never attended a festival performance like this. She had bought stacks of CDs to go to a fansign, but that was different.
How had she ended up paying this much money—a one-day ticket cost 80,000 won—to come to a rock festival? Was this why people said you had to choose your object of fandom carefully?
Fortunately, the transportation was not too inconvenient, and the weather was fine as well. It was a little hot, but bearable.
“It’s four o’clock now…”
Judging by the singing she could hear, the performances had already begun. To put it crudely, if she wanted to get her money’s worth, she should watch some of those performances and have fun. But she did not particularly feel like it.
Her plan was to take a walk and look around, watch the Group Sound girls, then see the famous bands performing later in the day before heading home.
“Hey, let’s go! We need to get a spot now~!”
“Hey, don’t push.”
As Ayoon reached the beer booth, a man and woman hurried past her, making a huge fuss. They did not seem like a couple. Maybe they were siblings? That was what Ayoon thought.
“One beer, please.”
“Five thousand won.”
Ayoon was surprised by the price. Cheaper than she expected? She had assumed that most of the food sold at a place like this would be wildly overpriced, but the beer was not bad at all. At 5,000 won for 500 milliliters, it was practically cheap enough to drink while pretending it was coffee, wasn’t it?
“Takoyaki, please.”
“Thirteen thousand won for twenty.”
Of course, that thought was obliterated in an instant. The takoyaki she received after waiting in line for thirty minutes came at the insane price of 13,000 won for twenty pieces.
What country’s takoyaki cost 13,000 won for twenty pieces? But Ayoon accepted the food with tears in her eyes and a lump in her throat. She had to take care of dinner somehow, didn’t she?
“What? Wasn’t Socrates next?”
Ayoon had been sitting at the back of the venue, munching on takoyaki and watching another band perform. Then she heard voices filled with discontent. People were looking at the festival timetable and complaining about how things had ended up this way.
“If this was going to happen, I wouldn’t have come. Who are these guys? Another bunch no one’s ever heard of…”
“They’re a girls’ band.”
“What the fuuuuuck is a girls’ band~~”
The curses and complaints poured out indiscriminately. Ayoon looked up at the sky and chewed another piece of takoyaki.
‘It’s been ages since the schedule changed, so why don’t they know yet? At this point, is it just an intelligence problem?’
She wanted to slap them and ask what her girls had done wrong, but as an exemplary democratic citizen, Ayoon had no choice but to restrain herself.
‘Why don’t they watch the performance before talking? Where are there musicians who play live as well as our kids? Seriously, Iseo, Hyuna, Seoha, and Suyeon are all insanely skilled…’
Still grumbling, Ayoon took out her phone and opened social media. When she searched #Bytailored, a flood of posts similar to what she had just heard appeared. Who was Group Sound? Had they paid Kim Cheolyeon? That rumor kept coming up.
“Thank you!”
Sure enough, people began leaving as the band in front finished its closing greeting. Noticeably more people were leaving than after the other bands. Ayoon threw her takoyaki box and beer cup into a trash can, stood up, and walked toward the front.
‘I mean, it’s nice that I can enjoy the show from the front if you’re not going to watch their performance…’
Even so, why did she feel so bitter? There was no one who performed as well as her girls. It would obviously be more fun if everyone watched them together.
‘But if they gain too many fans, there won’t be any room at Paradox… It’s complicated…’
“Who are these guys?” “No idea.”
“Ah, this is so fucking annoying. Why isn’t Socrates coming on?”
“Why are girls coming up?”
“Have you ever listened to their music?” “Their music is fucking amazing. [Ashen Days] is completely insane.”
“Go, Group Sound~!”
“Are they high school girls?”
“Wow, they’re pretty~”
As she made her way through the crowd, Ayoon heard comments like those. Only a small number of people knew Group Sound. The rest either did not know who they were, had no particular opinion, or were voicing their complaints.
But Ayoon thought all of this would be overturned in one fell swoop. As soon as her girls started playing.
“Ah. Hello. We’re Group Sound.”
It seemed their setup was complete, because Suyeon’s dry voice drifted softly through the speakers. The audience offered only a muted response.
“You don’t really know who we are, do you?”
That drew a slightly stronger reaction. There was some laughter, along with drunken shouts of “Who the hell are you!!” and another burst of laughter. A few fans responded, “We know!!” and “Group Sound!!”
“Actually, it’s the same for us. We don’t really know who you are, either. Is there any point in dragging out a long conversation between people who don’t know each other…”
Without any signal, the drums began to rumble softly behind Suyeon. The cymbals and tom-toms cried out lowly, announcing that the performance was drawing near.
“What more is there to say? What matters is the music. Then let’s begin.”
Suyeon’s guitar began to ring out.