A Legendary Encounter at the Expo

"I thought it was just going to be some overhyped event with a grand name, but there's actually a ton of stuff here," Seoha muttered, looking around the venue. Suyun, carrying her guitar on her back, looked out over the hall with the same sentiment.

There were easily over a hundred corporate booths. Some were flashily decorated to grab attention, others had instruments piled up haphazardly, and one booth had even constructed a literal throne out of amplifiers. Moreover, seeing names related to sharing platforms, practice room rentals, and live house chains, it was clear that the expo wasn't just limited to instrument manufacturers.

What was even more surprising was the sheer volume of people weaving through the maze of booths. Not only were they wandering around, but they were also sitting at tables scattered throughout the venue, sipping coffee, chatting, and test-playing instruments.

"I heard Japan has a lot of bands, but I didn't expect it to be this crazy," Seoha said.

"Tell me about it," Suyun replied, twirling a strand of her hair. An indie band had once told her that the Japanese band scene boasted a population of around a million people. She had dismissed it as an absurd exaggeration back then, but looking at this crowd, it actually seemed plausible.

"Oh! Warwick!"

After taking in the sights, they began to slowly browse the booths. Passing by legendary brands that any musician would recognize instantly—Fender, Gibson, Ibanez, ESP—Iseor suddenly gasped and darted toward a booth. On display were antique-looking basses that beautifully preserved the natural grain of the wood.

"Didn't you almost buy a fretless before but backed out?" Suyun asked.

"I'm thinking of giving it another shot lately. Excuse me, could I try this out?"

"Of course. Please, feel free to play as much as you like," the staff member sitting at the booth replied, standing up to turn on the amplifier for her.

Excited, Iseor hopped into the booth, sat down, and plucked the strings. Hearing the distinct, sliding tone, Suyun couldn't help but reflect on how much had changed since she had first arrived in Japan and tried playing a fretless herself.

"Wait, now that I think about it, how do you do string bends on this?"

"You can't bend strings on a fretless the way you do on a regular bass."

"What? Then how do you do it?"

"Like this."

Suyun stepped closer to Iseor, took the neck, and slid her finger up and down along the string to create a rolling vibration. A unique vibrato, distinctly different from that of a standard fretted bass or guitar, resonated through the air.

"Man, if that's the case, I'd have to start practicing all over again from scratch."

Iseor set the bass down, promising the staff member she ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠would return later. Suyun let out a soft chuckle and led the members further into the exhibition hall.

"Do you happen to have a Univox Uni-Vibe? An original 1970s model."

"Ah, I'm sorry. Even for us, something that rare is... If you're open to a reissue, though..."

"No, that's alright. Thank you."

Suyun dropped by a vintage effects pedal booth to inquire about a rare pedal she had been hunting for.

"I want to buy that."

Iseor, who rarely showed interest in anything other than the bass itself, hovered longingly in front of an Ampeg amplifier booth.

"Um, if I... if I just have this... I feel like I could... practice really well..."

"That doesn't really fit your usual playing style. Did you see it in some anime again?"

"Absolutely... not..."

Hyun-ah muttered in front of a Roland AX-Synth—a keytar designed for mobile live performances—insisting she would practice diligently if only she had one.

"Everyone else is talking about buying stuff. Can't you buy me something too?"

"What, are you trying to build a fortress out of drums?"

Suyun ended up dragging Seoha away as the drummer stared at a massive wall of tom-toms and bongos, muttering about wanting to add them to her kit.

Like that, Suyun and the girls wandered from booth to booth at the expo, sometimes just passing by, sometimes test-playing the instruments. Along the way, quite a few people recognized them—or rather, they recognized Suyun.

"Excuse me, but... are you by any chance Guitarist Ha Suyun, who was on that broadcast recently?"

"Huh? Ah, yes."

She was test-playing a guitar from a brand she had heard of but never actually played before. As she strummed out of curiosity, the booth representative stared at her intently before speaking up.

"I watched Super Guitarist! Your performance was absolutely incredible. I never imagined a female guitarist could play 'Acid Rain' so flawlessly."

"Ah, well... the world is a big place," Suyun replied, lightly plucking the strings.

What flowed effortlessly from her fingertips was the solo from Dream Theater's "Under a Glass Moon." Though her hands moved with casual, effortless grace, the sound blasting from the external amplifier instantly commanded the attention of everyone nearby.

"It's her." "Do you think we can get an autograph?" whispers began to ripple through the crowd.

"It's a nice guitar," Suyun said, standing up. The build quality was solid, but it didn't spark any real interest. It had that quintessential, sterile 'Made in Japan' feel.

Hearing her polite praise, the booth representative hesitated for a moment before speaking.

"Would you perhaps be interested in signing an endorsement contract with our brand?"

"An endorsement..."

Faced with the unexpected proposal, Suyun twirled her hair. Behind her, she could hear Iseor whispering.

"What's an endorser?"

"It's like a sponsorship," Seoha explained. "They give you a guitar and ask you to use only their brand, or at least play it during gigs. Since he mentioned a contract, it might involve advertisements or even a signature model..."

"Whoa. Isn't that only for, like, super pros?"

"We are pros... Even I got a drum kit from a Yamaha distributor for endorsement purposes before I joined this band."

"Why am I not a super pro then?"

Seoha gave Iseor a look of pure pity, while Suyun, though she didn't turn around, let out a silent sigh.

"As you've just experienced, our guitars are of exceptional quality. And I'm actually a big fan of Group Sound's music. If you sign an endorsement deal with us, we can immediately provide you with our premium models—even before the formal contract is finalized. Once the contract is signed, we're also open to developing a signature guitar for you depending on how things progress."

"We were actually planning to send you an email proposal, but since we happened to run into you like this, I figured I'd bring it up," the employee concluded.

Suyun twirled her hair once more, gave it a brief moment of thought, and delivered her answer.

"Thank you for the offer. However, I don't think I can accept."

"Oh... I see. That's a shame. If you don't mind me asking, is there a particular reason...?"

"I only play Fender Stratocasters."

Suyun pointed to the gig bag resting beside her. Inside was her lifelong companion, the Black Strat—a guitar that had been played for decades and modified so many times ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠by her own hands that it could barely be considered to have its original form.

"Are you completely uninterested in endorsements?" Seoha asked.

"Well, I might consider it if a better brand approaches me later... but to be honest, that guitar was just a bit boring. There's no reason to tie myself down to a boring instrument just to make a quick buck."

Answering Seoha's question, Suyun walked past the booths and headed deeper inside. They were entering the networking zone—an area set up with tables, amplifiers, and small stages designed for bands to interact. While the booth area had been crowded, this section was absolutely packed.

"Oh! Suyun-san!"

As if to prove just how crowded it was, someone recognized Suyun the moment they stepped into the networking zone. A group of people sitting at a table near the entrance, who had been chatting among themselves, called out her name.

"Good to see you, Hashimoto-san," Suyun greeted.

"Hello! And are these ladies...?"

"Ah, yes. My bandmates."

"Hello!"

"He-hello..."

"Nice to meet you."

It was Ryukenbu, an indie band Suyun had run into occasionally while going back and forth to the practice rooms. She had heard rumors that they were in talks with a major label, and judging by their bright expressions, things seemed to be going well.

"So you guys are Group Sound? Wow, you're all so pretty!"

"See, I told you! When I saw them at the live house before, they were all gorgeous."

"Did you buy anything today?" Suyun asked.

"No way! We're completely broke because of our upcoming album. We couldn't buy anything, so we just came to listen to some band seminars and network today."

As Suyun was chatting with her acquaintances, she suddenly felt a heavy gaze on her and turned her head. Only then did she realize that a crowd had gathered nearby, staring at them as if they had just spotted a group of A-list celebrities.

"What in the world..."

"Excuse me, are you really the band Group Sound?"

"Ah, yes, we are..."

Faced with a sea of completely unfamiliar faces, Suyun blinked blankly for a moment before answering.

"Can I ask you a question then?"

"What's the Korean music scene like?"

"Can I get an autograph...?"

"Hey, hey, do you have LINE? lol"

"I loved you on Super Guitarist!"

"Are you open to doing session work...?"

The moment she confirmed their identity, a barrage of questions flew at them. While she had experienced this plenty of times in Korea, it was her first time facing such a crowd in Japan. Moreover, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Suyun wasn't the only one drowning in the wave of inquiries; her bandmates were struggling just as much.

"I'm sorry, but we need to keep looking around..."

This sudden frenzy only subsided after they managed to field a few questions. The fact that most of the crowd had gathered to ask for autographs or photos—did that mean Group Sound's popularity was higher than they had anticipated?

With that thought in mind, Suyun bid farewell to the members of Ryukenbu.

"If anything comes up, feel free to contact me," Suyun said.

"Oh? If you say that, I might actually call you, you know?" Hashimoto, the smiling female vocalist, teased.

"...Please contact our agency instead," Suyun quickly corrected.

Hashimoto and the other members chuckled. Suyun gave them a small wave and headed deeper into the venue.

As they walked further into the zone, they saw a large crowd seated in front of a stage. Standing on that stage was a guitarist whom even Suyun knew very well.

"Huh, I feel like I've seen him somewhere before..."

"That's Asano Shohei. The guitarist for Blue Moon Harmonics," Seoha answered, chiming in beside Iseor.

Blue Moon Harmonics. Active since the '90s, they were one of Japan's legendary rock bands, selling hundreds of thousands of albums during their peak. And their guitarist, Asano Shohei, had been a towering figure in the Japanese guitar scene for decades. If anyone were to compile a list of the greatest technical guitarists, his name would undoubtedly be on the very first page.

"Is he performing?"

"Doesn't look like a performance."

Answering the quiet chatter, Suyun approached the stage and looked at the sign standing nearby.

Checking her watch, she saw that it had started about thirty minutes ago, leaving about thirty minutes remaining.

"Should we listen to this for a bit?"

"Sure."

They quietly slipped in and took seats near the front. A person sitting next to them, who had been listening intently to the seminar, glanced over—and their eyes nearly popped out of their head upon seeing Suyun's face. Recognizing the look, Suyun simply gave a subtle nod and turned her attention to the stage.

"One of the most important aspects of tone-making is spatial effects pedals. People often overlook this, but if you properly apply compression to a chorus pedal..."

Topics like 'tone-making' and 'how to play a great solo' were fundamental areas of interest for any guitarist. Suyun found herself enjoying the lecture quite a bit.

In the middle of it, someone in the audience raised their hand to ask a question.

"Asano-sensei, how do you usually practice? What is your motivation, or perhaps your mindset?"

"Oh, that's an excellent question. Actually, I've been thinking a lot about that lately."

Hearing the question, Asano Shohei adjusted his glasses and spoke.

"I don't remember how it was in the past, but lately, I've been practicing with a real sense of urgency. There are so many incredible guitarists out there these days, right? My mindset is to actively feel jealous of them."

"Pardon?"

"I think to myself, 'Why can't I play like that? I can do that too! I'm not old yet!' I watch videos that fire me up and put in an immense amount of effort. For example, if I see a great guitarist on YouTube, I tell myself, 'I can play at least that much!' and throw myself into practice."

Suyun nodded, deeply relating to his words. Motivation was crucial. You needed that mindset of ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠constantly pushing yourself. Seeing him speak like this, it was clear why he was such a phenomenal guitarist.

"The thing that fired me up the most recently was that broadcast, Super Guitarist. That girl who played 'Acid Rain'... she was absolutely incredible, wasn't she? And on top of that, she was stunningly beautiful. I was completely fired up. I wanted to meet her. I wanted to meet her and ask how she plays like that! How did she get so good?!"

His expression turned dreamy, as if he were searching for a long-lost lover. The sheer passion in his voice made it clear just how deeply devoted he was to the guitar.

"With that in mind, I've been searching everywhere with fire in my eyes. I even visited a few live houses for the first time in ages. Because recently, one of my juniors told me they saw her... Ha Suyun-san, at a live house. So I've been wandering around, thinking that if I saw her face, I'd ask her right away. But I couldn't find her."

As he spoke, Asano Shohei looked over toward where Suyun was sitting.

"Yeah, just like that pretty girl sitting right there in the middle of the audience... She looked exactly like... Huh?"

Suddenly, his expression froze.

And staring right back at Asano Shohei, Suyun's expression froze as well.

What in the world is happening right now...?