Chapter 87
‘I want to make an overwhelming impression…’
Myeongjeon scribbled in his notebook, then rested his pen against his lips. He had said, “I'm going to crush them from the very beginning!” But now that he was actually trying to do something serious, nothing seemed to be coming together.
“What are you doing?”
Dain plopped down beside him. She looked at the scribbled notebook as if wondering what he was working on.
“Are you composing? Can you do that without hearing it?”
“It's possible if you study.”
There had always been plenty of people who could compose well without knowing how to read music or understand theory. But Myeongjeon hadn't been one of them, which was why he had desperately studied composition. He had learned everything from harmony to blues and jazz theory in a haphazard rush.
What he was composing now was also based on the theories he had learned back then. Even without actually playing the song, he could form a rough idea in his head by combining the theory he had studied with ‘Ha Suyeon's’ talent.
Of course, even if that was possible… he still hadn't managed to produce a song for them to perform in the next episode.
“Dain.”
“Yeah?”
“What do you think is overwhelming?”
Dain looked at Myeongjeon as if he were speaking nonsense, then raised her head and gazed up at the ceiling. “Something overwhelming?” The words slipped quietly from her lips.
“Why do you ask?”
“I told you before. We're going on an audition program.”
“You did.”
“The first assignment is ‘utopia,’ and with this theme, I want to make it impossible for the others to even think, ‘We could beat those guys, right?’ I want to show them such overwhelming skill that the thought never occurs to them.”
Dain nodded. Myeongjeon scratched his head vigorously, looking troubled, and said,
“But I only have this vague image of something overwhelming, so nothing comes to mind. That's why I'm asking. I wondered if anything might occur to you.”
“I don't know… I've never really thought about what it means to be overwhelming.”
Dain folded her arms and fell into thought. While she was doing so, two members of the trio came in late. Myeongjeon told Suhyeon and Chaerin the same thing. Chaerin suddenly burst out laughing.
“Did you eat something weird? What's with you?”
“What's wrong with Kangchae?”
The other two were startled by Chaerin's behavior. Myeongjeon was too. What had gotten into her all of a sudden?
“Ah~ When you said ‘overwhelming,’ it reminded me of the past.”
“What past?”
“You know, the day Suyeon slapped Senior Joohee across the face. At the time, I really thought, ‘Wow, this girl is an overwhelmingly crazy bitch. We must never mess with her.’”
It was a story he'd heard once before. Chaerin began recounting how she had felt back then.
“How should I put it? Back in our third year of middle school, the wild girls and their older friends used to engage in all this psychological warfare among themselves.”
“They did.”
“So I thought she'd get drunk, mouth off to her senior, answer back to everything she said, and refuse to lose the power struggle while acting like, ‘I'm a tough-as-fuck bitch~’ or something. But then she just slapped her senior across the face. Didn't everyone think the same thing at that moment? ‘Wow, she's beyond saving. I can't even imagine trying to imitate that…’”
Excited, Chaerin continued her story. As he listened to this absurd tale about her past self, Myeongjeon felt a certain image of what ‘overwhelming’ meant beginning to form.
“You mean something people can't even imagine trying to imitate?”
“Huh? Uh… is there really anyone who'd dare imitate slapping a senior across the face?”
Chaerin seemed slightly flustered by Myeongjeon's sudden question. As the conversation continued with things like, “By the way, Dain, what happened with that? The thing involving Senior Joohee.” “Gwonji said she had something to tell me about that…” Myeongjeon ignored the girls and began scribbling notes in his composition notebook.
* * *
Invasion from Seoul 2. Its official title was INVASION FROM SEOUL 2024.
Because the first installment had not been particularly successful, whether the second installment would even be produced was highly uncertain, and there had not even been an official production presentation.
However, judging by an anonymous notice recruiting [participants for a band audition program], filming scenes of bands appearing throughout Seoul, and the rumors that had recently begun circulating online that [Episodes 0 and 1 of Invasion 2024 had been filmed, and Episode 2 was currently being filmed]… it seemed clear that Invasion 2024 was being shot.
‘Damn, it's really a pain to attend this as an audience member.’
And there was someone who had been waiting for Invasion 2024 more eagerly than anyone else.
No one knew how she had managed it, but she was a woman who had practically smuggled an appa-baektong (a Canon telephoto lens) and a DSLR into the venue in her handbag.
She was a diehard fan of the boy band [2MAJOR]. More precisely, she was a fan of [2MAJOR]'s guitarist, ‘Han Seungyun.’ She had been a fan since his promising trainee days and had valued Han Seungyun's debut as a male idol more highly than her own college entrance exam, but…
Unexpectedly, she herself got into a good university, while Han Seungyun made some bizarre decision and became an idol in a band instead of debuting in a boy group.
Even while tearing her hair out and wondering what the hell he was thinking when he couldn't even play guitar well, she continued supporting Han Seungyun and [2MAJOR], 50 percent out of affection and 50 percent out of duty.
‘No, fuck this. Why are they sending him on a show like this instead of just making him do concerts and booking variety-show schedules?’
That was how she grumbled. But what else could she do? Honestly, [2MAJOR] was in a position where they had to be satisfied if they could appear on a program like this somehow, show even a little of their skill, gain some attention, and take home a few photos.
The one consolation was that idol bands like [TWR] and [WEKIDS], which had recently been gaining attention, were also appearing on the program. (Honestly, when it came to being idol bands, they were all much of a muchness.)
‘At least there are some reasonably famous ones here.’
She knew perfectly well that [2MAJOR] didn't have the skill to win, but being eliminated instantly while standing alone among indie bands was an entirely different matter.
If that happened, the fans wouldn't even be able to show their faces in public. It was a relief that they had some fellow losers to go down with.
After signing a pledge not to leak spoilers, she waited for the filming to begin from the audience seats. Just as sleep was beginning to creep in because of the dim, warm surroundings, filming started.
“Today's stage will feature a competition of the bands' original songs. Audience members may vote using the voting devices they have been given…”
Those were the staff member's instructions about the voting method. After waiting a little longer, the bands entered. With the stage in the center, fifteen teams on each side, thirty teams in total, sat waiting on the tiered seating.
“Thank you all for waiting. Today's first performance! Please welcome them with a big round of applause! Four-Man Bandit Gang!”
The first performance began, and the four band members came up and started explaining their song. This and that. The audience could barely hear them, so she discreetly turned on her phone and checked the list of bands in the audition.
‘Four-Man Bandit Gang… A-tier.’
It was a list made by an indie-band fanatic. All thirty bands had been organized, with their strengths and weaknesses, tiers, and chances of winning laid out. According to the list, the band currently performing was an A-tier band—a band with a real chance of winning.
‘Their looks aren't bad either. I can't really hear the song, though. Is it the sound equipment?’
What good was improving if they still showed their small-agency cheapness in such basic production quality? Grumbling about Mtown, she looked at [2MAJOR]'s position again. B-tier. A band whose skill and chances of winning were both middling.
Fortunately, [WEKIDS] and [TWR] were B-tier as well, so at least she wouldn't have to hear them dismissed with something like, ‘Handled at the ~ level.’
‘Those guys are really good.’
Was the band's name [Mystica]?
Earlier, [Cuban Missile Crisis]—an A-tier band, no less—had seemed to have prepared something, only to falter and fail to perform properly. Then there were [Woollim Stones], whose vocalist had cracked, and NOTK, which sounded terrible even to her ears, though she hadn't listened to much band music besides [2MAJOR].
This performance felt distinctly different from those bands'.
“We'll pick Mystica.”
“We'll select Mystica as well.”
“Wow… I didn't expect the competition to get this intense. But we'll pick them too.”
“Ah, this is bad… We'll join in for now.”
Perhaps that was why four mentor teams picked Mystica. The MC made a huge fuss over the mentors' reactions.
“Ah! Four mentor teams have picked Mystica! Is this going to be a four-way battle? Have they been saving their picks until now just for this moment?”
‘2MAJOR only got one pick… Were they saving it for a competition like this?’
Still, at least they had received a pick. Some bands had gotten zero picks and been eliminated immediately. Thinking that, she watched with interest as the mentors argued over who would get the band.
“There were no mentor teams that picked [Kim Suchan Band]. How unfortunate.”
The band that had just finished performing lowered their heads. But it had been an understandable result. Even to her, the performance had only conveyed that they had tried to do something grand. It was easy to understand why they hadn't received a pick.
The band went down, but there was no immediate cue for the program to continue. The venue fell briefly quiet. Looking toward the side of the set, she saw what appeared to be the staff and MC holding a meeting.
After several minutes, the audience began murmuring, saying things like, “What is it?” and “Is something wrong?” As if to bring the disorder under control, the MC went up onstage and began to speak.
“With this, we've already had our sixth team receive zero picks. We never expected this situation to arise. If the mentors don't use up all their picks, everyone will get another turn.”
The venue grew noisy at the MC's words. Some people repeated, “Is revival possible?” while one band, unable to contain themselves, shouted “Yesss!!” from the waiting area.
Something about this situation seemed strange to her. Why were the mentors saving their picks? They had apparently been given four chances. Was that really a reason to hold back?
‘Come to think of it, during the explanation of the rules, they said that if a team under a mentor won, the mentor would receive prize money too…’
When she thought about it that way, it made sense. If a strong contender remained, perhaps the mentors could pick that band to increase their chances of winning the prize money. She looked over the band list once more.
‘But even Mystica, an S-tier band, has four picks. So who's left after this?’
There was only one team in the S tier… Thinking that, she moved the finger covering part of her phone screen.
One more band name remained.
“Then at last, we've reached this turn. The very turn so many of the mentors have been waiting for!”
The bands suddenly began murmuring at the MC's words. They had reacted that way during Mystica's turn too, but this felt far more intense. Some of the voices were loud enough to reach the audience seats. “Them?” “We're fucked.”
Then, under the attention of all the bands, four girls walked down onto the set. They were so small that they might have been invisible among the bands… college students at most, and more appropriately, high school students.
Yet the filming set was filled with more tension than ever. It was as if those four girls possessed enough skill to defeat everyone gathered here, even if they faced them all at once.
She scrolled down her phone and read the band's description.
[A band that debuted in 2024. They're speed-running in a single year all the milestones that ordinary bands need two or three years to achieve: releasing an album, holding regular club performances, making their festival debut, and more. … Currently the most talked-about band in Hongdae's music scene. … There are so many guitarists who've heard this band's guitarist, smashed their own guitar necks, and quit guitar that they can't be counted.]
Beneath that was even more content packed with dazzling embellishments. As if hypnotized, she scrolled back up and stared at the band's name.
‘The band's name is…’
Before she knew it, the setup was complete. The guitarist standing at center stage swept her hair back and said,
“Hello. We're Group Sound.”