A Gift in Return
"Well then, shall we go?"
Following behind Manager Jung Yuyoung as she spoke, Ayun and the other Group Sound fans began to trudge along. Passing through the cold air of the darkest hour of the night, they entered the broadcasting station. After a series of dimly lit hallways, they suddenly arrived in front of a heavy steel door. The door swung open, and Ayun walked forward without hesitation.
Climbing up a flight of stairs about two stories high, they reached the middle of the spectator seating. And the stage visible below them... Ayun swallowed hard without even realizing it.
A towering steel framework. Drooping vines. Broken televisions, refrigerators, and various other props scattered haphazardly across the stage. It looked like a city in ruins.
And placed amidst those ruins were four instruments. A guitar, a bass, a keyboard, and a drum kit. Four tools left in solitude, as if waiting for their owners.
"The atmosphere is insane," someone muttered as they walked toward the seats. Ayun silently agreed. She had heard that music show pre-recordings went all out on stage design, but this was truly on another level.
"Hello." After a brief wait, the four members walked onto the stage. Amidst the erupting cheers, Suyun grabbed the microphone and greeted them.
"You've been waiting since the crack of dawn, and we don't really have anything we can do for you. I'm so sorry."
"No, it's fine!!"
"Just performing for us is more than enough!!"
"That's a lie. How can anyone actually feel that way?"
"It's true!!"
"Sounds like a lie to me..."
"Hey, why don't you believe our fans? They said it's true."
"When you're sick and your parents ask if you're okay, do you tell them you're dying? No, you say you're fine, right?"
"I tell them I'm sick, though?"
"Yeah, you're hopeless."
Suyun clicked her tongue and shook her head. "What do you mean hopeless?" Iseor grumbled, elbowing Suyun hard in the ribs. As Suyun groaned in pain, a mix of worried gasps of "Oh no!" and widespread laughter erupted from the crowd.
After a bit more banter, the members moved to their respective positions.
"We will now begin the camera rehearsal! Please give us a cue when you're ready!" a staff member called out. The members of Group Sound looked at each other and nodded. Then, the drumsticks came down. One, two, three, four.
On the road leading away from school, the Wi-Fi signal cuts out. Inside the frozen screen, a person stops like a doll with its strings cut.
A low, murmuring voice drifted out. Then, the bass and drums joined in. The rhythmic resonance of the two instruments carried a heavy weight that seemed to vibrate deep within the listener's heart.
If it's a connection destined to be discarded anyway, ending it like this might... No, looking back, maybe it shouldn't have been that way.
A sharp, brief guitar stroke cut in. Strum—
Leaving the main line to the bass, Suyun sang while playing short, sparse chords on her guitar, as if this was her only role in this song.
Like a disconnected Wi-Fi signal, today again I drift through the sky, merely staring at this fleeting moment of passing connections.
The song was delivered in staccato, two-syllable phrasing. Lacking any official fan chants, the Group Sound fans tapped their feet to keep the rhythm. The pitch gradually climbed, leading into the highlight of the first verse.
From now on, you must pay a fee. How long did you expect to use it for free? Everything in this world is built on give-and-take. Know that from now on, you have to pay. That's just how things are.
Cryptic, yet strangely captivating lyrics echoed through the hall. Suyun let her hand fall away from the guitar strings and raised her voice to sing. Then, the bass resumed its gentle guiding rhythm.
"They don't look nervous at all."
"Right?"
"Well, they've always been the type to just wing it, even at big concerts."
Ayun took advantage of the brief instrumental break to whisper with the fans around her. Even though they had done a few broadcasts before, this was a proper music show. You'd expect them to be at least a little tense, but these four girls showed no signs of it. If anything, they seemed too relaxed. During the instrumental bridge, Suyun was smiling warmly and waving at the crowd.
Like a locked Wi-Fi password, today again I yearn for the past, only muttering memories of the time we sat facing each other.
The vocals resumed. Ayun clenched her fists and glanced at the people beside her. This was something they had discussed while waiting outside—an event they wanted to pull off at least once. To celebrate the band's very first music show appearance, even if it was just during the camera rehearsal.
Didn't you know?
"That's just how society is!"
A sudden fan chant erupted from a section of the audience, answering Suyun's lyrics. The band's instruments faltered for a split second before instantly locking back into the groove. Suyun's eyebrows twitched in surprise, but a smile spread across her face as she seamlessly continued singing.
You still "haven't learned properly," in this world of deception "that's just how things go," but at least "it's a relief you know now..." because there's no way back.
The bass bridge swelled once more. Iseor's fingers danced brilliantly across the fretboard. Over the top of it, Suyun's vocals soared.
When time won't turn back even if you try, when you grieve endlessly over missed opportunities, if the Wi-Fi signal pulls me back again, perhaps it was all just a dream...
Then came the humming part that marked the end of the song. Suyun strummed her guitar and looked out at the audience, as if expecting what was to come. In response, the crowd joined in, humming along in perfect, pre-planned unison.
The brief four-minute connection drew to a close.
"We think it would be better to include the fan chant in the broadcast. What do you think?"
"We're completely fine with that."
The fan chant had burst out at a completely unexpected moment. The music show staff member said, "We were actually a bit worried because the crowd was so quiet at first, so this is a relief."
Apparently, fans of other idol groups participating in the pre-recording usually came prepared with elaborate fan chants, waving lightsticks, screaming, and shouting slogans. Because Group Sound was a band, their fans didn't have any of that, making the initial response seem a bit lacking.
"Do you not have official fan chants?"
"We're a band. We don't really do those."
"Ah, I guess bands don't..." The staff member nodded, then asked, "Then what about the 'ending fairy' shot? You didn't mention anything earlier, so we skipped it."
Suyun stared at the staff member, completely clueless. Seoha quickly popped up beside her to explain.
"At the very end of the song, the camera does a long, lingering close-up on one member to leave a lasting impression. That's what they call an ending fairy..."
"Do we really have to do that?" Suyun asked.
"It would be great if you could choose someone," the staff member replied. "It's pretty much standard practice these days."
"You should do it, Suyun," Iseor chimed in. "You know how it works, right? The ending fairy always has to strike a haughty, fatal pose. Right when the song ends, you look into the camera with a super sexy, smoldering expression—"
"I heard your bass line slip when the crowd started chanting earlier," Suyun interrupted flatly. "Just wait until we get back to the office."
Having jumped at the chance to tease Suyun only to be brutally shut down with a professional critique, Iseor slumped in defeat. Suyun spoke with the staff member for a moment longer before concluding, "Well, let's get on with the actual recording then."
"We're going to record the stage one more time, but please don't leave right after we finish! Please head back to the original meeting spot! If you leave, you will seriously regret it! I'm not joking!"
Manager Jung Yuyoung's urgent plea echoed.
Then came the final recording. Ayun, dragging her sleep-deprived mind and exhausted body, desperately wanted to go home and crash, but she held out because of Manager Jung's words. Not only that, she did her best to keep other fans from slipping away.
"You shouldn't leave just yet."
"But I'm so tired..."
"Manager Jung doesn't usually joke about things like this. Let's wait a bit longer."
Ayun took her responsibility as the former fan club president seriously, keeping the crowd in check. Despite her efforts, a few fans still managed to slip away. Just as everyone's patience was wearing thin, two large black vans pulled up and stopped right in front of them.
"Hello."
"Hi, everyone! Wow, so many of you are still here!"
"He... Hello..."
"Why do you still not trust our fans?"
"Ah... Hello!"
Stepping out of the vans were the members of Group Sound. While some fans whispered in disbelief, asking, "Am I seeing things?" or "Is this real?", Suyun walked straight up to Ayun and grabbed her hands.
"Oh my, you must have been freezing. Thank you so much for your hard work."
"Huh?? What???"
Ayun was completely speechless, instantly thrown into a state of pure panic. Suyun gently rubbed Ayun's hands to warm them up before turning to give the fan next to her a warm hug. Now, there were two people in a state of absolute shock.
"To thank everyone who waited for our pre-recording today, we've prepared a quick signing session, photo-op, and some gifts! If you could line up behind us, we'll get through everyone as quickly as possible!"
Manager Jung Yuyoung's voice rang out through the chilly dawn air. The fans fell into an orderly line with military precision. Ayun, still dazed, found a shopping bag placed into her hands by Suyun before she could even process what was happening.
"Thank you for braving the cold today. Please take care of yourself and stay healthy. Even though we invited you, standing out in the cold like this isn't good for your health. We love that you listen to our music, but your health is always the top priority."
"Ah, yes, yes..."
Listening to Suyun's warm, caring words, Ayun made a silent vow. She would pledge her eternal loyalty to Group Sound. And she would make sure the entire world knew of this grace...
Suyun looked at a post titled "[Current State of Band's Pre-recording Fan Support Gifts, Holy Crap... .jpg]" on an online community.
The fan support event, which had been Hyun-ah's idea, was receiving immense praise and positive reviews across various online communities, generating incredible publicity. After scrolling through the post and taking screenshots of a few malicious comments for future reference, Suyun moved her mouse back to YouTube.
It was the video of their music show performance. Strangely, the view count was incredibly high. Despite only being uploaded a short while ago, it had already easily surpassed one million views.
Our video shouldn't have much to look at since we don't have individual member fancams or anything like that...
She recalled what Manager Jung had told her recently. These days, music shows had largely shifted away from traditional television ratings, essentially transforming into massive, K-pop-dedicated YouTube studios. While ratings still mattered, the entire industry had restructured to generate revenue through YouTube views.
"The PD told me the other day when he was drunk that his variety department director praised him. He kept asking if you guys could come back on..."
"I'd rather not. It breaks my heart to make our fans go through all that trouble again."
"That's true. For a band like us, keeping our TV appearances rare is actually a form of marketing in itself."
Remembering her conversation with Manager Jung Yuyoung, Suyun watched the video again. After a standard performance, the camera finally zoomed in on her face for the ending shot. Finding it too cringeworthy to bear, Suyun quickly closed the video.
"Hey, this is huge! Huge, huge!"
Just as Suyun was about to shake off the embarrassment and get back to work, Iseor's voice interrupted her. Running into the room as if she had urgent news to deliver, Iseor shoved her phone screen right in front of Suyun's face without any explanation.
"Look at this!"
"Look at what? At least tell me what I'm supposed to be looking at."
"Just look!"
What Iseor was shoving at her was an Excel spreadsheet containing user information. Although the names were written in the English alphabet, they felt distinctly foreign.
"Wait, how do you read this?"
"Takahashi Naoto. Next to him is Watanabe Sayaka. And Kobayashi Misaki."
"Those are Japanese names."
Suyun tilted her head. Japanese? Why are Japanese people signing up? Well, of course, we get international sign-ups occasionally, but...
"Assistant Manager Park from the general affairs team said we're getting quite a few premium membership sign-ups from Japan right now! They're ordering merchandise from overseas, and we're even getting inquiries about a tour!"
"Really?"
At Iseor's words, Suyun paused. She opened YouTube again and replayed the video she had just closed. While the comment section was mostly filled with Korean fans, she sorted the comments by "Newest First"...
There were quite a few Japanese comments mixed in.