Taking a Break from Practice

"Make sure to contact me. If there's anything I can do to help, I'll absolutely help you."

"Ah, yes. Thank you."

After the young (actually old) veteran's nagging disguised as a lecture finally came to an end, Asano handed Suyun his business card, repeatedly emphasizing that she should get in touch with him. He was incredibly persistent about it.

Suyun wondered if he really needed to go that far, but she quickly shook the thought off. If the man himself claimed to be that deeply moved, who was she to argue? It wasn't like she would lose anything by just humoring him, so she simply accepted that he must have been profoundly inspired.

She had absolutely no idea that she had just driven the poor man into practice hell.

"Also, I think I might have a reason to call you in regarding some guitar-related matters sometime soon. Would you be able to make it then?"

"What kind of matters... for example?"

"Like a seminar, or a gathering. Not so much for the band, but inviting you from the perspective of the individual guitarist 'Ha Suyun'..."

Hearing Asano's words, Suyun thought about it for a moment before nodding. She figured he wouldn't expect her to just show up and talk for free, so there would probably be some kind of compensation involved.

Satisfied with her response, Asano gave an approving nod and disappeared, mentioning he had somewhere else to be.

After that, nothing particularly unusual happened to Suyun and the band members while they explored the rest of the expo. At most, a few more bands recognized them, some approached them wanting to collaborate with Group Sound, and the members bought some new gear.

If there was one slightly unusual occurrence...

"Would you perhaps be interested in becoming an endorser for our brand... if I may ask?"

"Huh? Me?"

It was the fact that Iseor received an endorsement offer. It wasn't a widely known brand, but it was one that was slowly gaining a reputation through word of mouth for making decent bass guitars.

"Oh, I'd—!"

"Hold on. An endorsement offer? Please send the details through our agency."

Iseor's voice was clearly brimming with excitement. However, Suyun cut her off before she could give a hasty answer. It was dangerous to make promises on the spot without knowing the exact terms of the contract.

"Ah, I see. In that case, I will send the details via email."

"Thank you."

Wrapping up the conversation, Suyun and the band members moved on to look around other booths. As they walked, Suyun noticed that Iseor's lips were pouted in a massive sulk.

"What? Did something upset you?"

"Yes, actually."

"Really? Like what?"

"You answered right on the spot when you got offers, so why wouldn't you let me?"

Ah, so it's about that. Suyun looked at Iseor. Her face practically screamed that she was deeply offended. Suyun swept her hair back from her forehead and sighed.

"I was going to reject whatever offer they made anyway, but you might actually want to accept yours."

Even with that explanation, Iseor's pout didn't fade in the slightest. Suyun twirled a strand of her hair. She had a pretty good idea of what was going through the bassist's head.

Hearing rumors like "So-and-so is endorsing this brand" or "This brand just signed so-and-so" wasn't just about advertising. It also represented the status that the musician and the brand held in the market. After all, brands didn't ask people with zero influence to be their endorsers, and vice versa.

Therefore, an endorsement was more than just a commercial deal—it was a form of validation.

And Iseor had never really received that kind of validation before. During practice, she was constantly nagged and pushed to her limits by Suyun, and on the internet, people were always criticizing her bass skills. It was only natural that she was starving for this first taste of recognition.

Maybe I should praise her more often... Suyun thought as she caught up to the sulking girl and patted her back. They said praise could make even a whale dance, so perhaps she had been too stingy with her compliments.

But on the other hand, Suyun felt she couldn't be blamed for not wanting to praise her. The girl only practiced for four hours a day on her own. What on earth was there to praise about that? There are twenty-four hours in a day. Even if you can't dedicate all of them, you should be practicing at least twelve...

She truly possessed the mindset of a hardcore believer in the gospel of raw effort.

Following the broadcast of Super Guitarist and the conclusion of the Indies Music Expo, posts related to Group Sound firmly established themselves in the corners of major online communities. They were so ubiquitous that one didn't even have to look for them; they simply appeared whenever one scrolled.

Iseor, who was sitting in the living room of their lodging, fully charging her dopamine and need for recognition by consuming this content, suddenly had a thought.

"Hey, by the way."

"Yeah?"

"Don't you think we're barely making any content for our Korean fans?"

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

"Hmm..."

"Uh... I guess you have a point..." Hyun-ah murmured.

"Right? I'm not the only one who thinks so, right? Let me check when we uploaded our last video."

Muttering to herself, Iseor looked up the official channel of Label Echo Sound, Suyun's personal channel white room, and Group Sound's official channel. The upload dates were all either before or right after their advancement into Japan. The comment sections of the latest videos were filled with fans crying out for updates.

"Shouldn't we make something?"

"But we don't have the time."

"True."

Suyun was busy composing songs under the new concept and preparing for the full album. Hyun-ah and Seoha were busy making songs with the old vibe to cover for her. And Iseor herself was busy translating lyrics. The reality was that they simply lacked the time to produce "self-made content."

Moreover, they didn't even know what kind of content they should make. Asking the office staff felt wrong when those people were already working overtime every single day. Since the agency hadn't brought it up, initiating something on their own felt a bit awkward...

"It's a bit ambiguous," Iseor muttered.

Although advancing into Japan was important, they were still a band based in Korea. As the sole conscience of Group Sound (self-proclaimed), shouldn't she show some consideration for their Korean fans? Shouldn't they make some content for them?

As Iseor was pondering this, a post on a minor community caught her eye.

"Ah, this is fun."

"What's fun?"

Iseor showed her phone screen to Suyun. Suyun looked at it with a face that clearly said she didn't understand what was so amusing. Hyun-ah, who took the phone from Suyun's hand, reacted similarly.

However, when the phone was passed to Seoha, Iseor saw sparks fly in her eyes.

"Just being compared to you like this is an insult to me."

"That has got to be the funniest thing you've said all year, unni."

"If you have nothing better to do, go to your room and play your bass. And you, go to the practice room and hit your drums. What's all this nonsense about fashion?"

Suyun's words instantly cut through the tense atmosphere in the living room. As Iseor took her phone back from Seoha, the two exchanged a sharp look. A showdown was bound to happen sooner or later.

A few days later, at a live house near Tokyo.

"Great music. You certainly live up to your reputation."

After their short performance ended, Suyun and the band members returned to the waiting room to cool down. The person who spoke to them was the owner of the live house, who hadn't been seen before the show. He mentioned he had been at a meeting in the nearby shopping district.

"Thank you."

"To think musicians of your caliber have to advance abroad... I can't even fathom how barren the Korean market must be."

"Well, Korea is a country where band music isn't very welcomed," Hyun-ah replied in perfect, fluent Japanese.

While Suyun was thinking, Was she born in Korea but actually has a Japanese soul? the conversation with the owner continued.

"How's the pay? Is it better than Korea?"

"We haven't officially started our main activities yet. For now, our income is much lower than it was in Korea..."

"Still, once you get going, earning more than you did in Korea is only a matter of time. Japan has a massive market, after all."

It was a subtle form of encouragement, yet it carried an undercurrent of looking down on Korea. Suyun furrowed her brow. This is why these Japs are useless... wait, maybe that's going too far. My Japanese is just bad, so I probably misread the nuance.

"Doesn't it feel like he's looking down on Korea a bit?"

"Just let it go."

But listening to the exchange between Iseor and Seoha, it seemed Suyun wasn't the only one who felt that way. The two of them began whispering to each other in Korean, spouting nonsense.

"Should we show him the power of kimchi? Son Heung-min, Lee Kang-in, BTS, NewJeans, let's go."

"Ah, stop talking nonsense."

"Even if we only sold 30,000 copies, our annual revenue is still in the hundreds of millions... 'Never look down on Korea again!' *Flaps flag*. Taegeukgi thumbnail. 'Abe is shocked...'"

"Abe is dead. He got shot."

"...'Kishida is shocked, Biden is trembling ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠in fear! There is a Korean rock band, but that's not all? What are ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the medicinal effects of Group Sound's 1st Japanese studio album made with chestnuts, jujubes, green peppers, ginger, cinnamon, angelica root, thyme, and rosemary? *Bishung-bashung*. Please like, subscribe, and hit the notification bell!'"

"...Stop being crazy..."

Just how far was this brain rot going to go? Suyun physically covered Iseor's mouth with her hand to shut her up. The owner, watching this play out while talking to Hyun-ah, let out a soft chuckle, as if suddenly remembering something.

"Ah, I didn't come here just for this. Actually, I came to talk about something else."

"Oh, is there something you'd like to say?"

"Well... are you guys interested in music festivals? If you are, I think the organizers might send an invitation your way."