Group Sound Ignites the Stage
"Next up... We've got a lot of students here from other schools! Yoo Seoha, second-year at Suyeong High School, Choi Iseo, first-year at Han Seung High School, and Ha Suyeon, first-year at Han Seung High School!"
The moment Suyeon was introduced, the auditorium began to buzz. Whispers rippled through the crowd: Is that really Ha Suyeon? Why's she here... doing music?
This kid was famous enough that just her name alone gets students from other schools murmuring.
"And with Jeong Hyeona from second-year Class 2, it's the band Group Sound! Give it up for them!"
The applause and cheers erupted as expected—lackluster, half-hearted. The volume held steady when Seoha and Hyeona took the stage, ticked up a bit with Iseo... and then exploded when Suyeon stepped out.
"Suyeon's so pretty!!"
What's that idiot doing? A deep, booming voice cut through from the audience, sending the crowd into peals of laughter. Whoever it was seemed close to "Ha Suyeon," but the voice didn't ring any bells in her memory.
Whatever, no need to sweat the small stuff.
Myeongjeon gave a slight turn of her head, claiming the center spot on stage. The MC naturally handed over the mic—standard protocol to chat while the band set up.
"Uh... hello."
Cheers exploded. Most were about her looks, it seemed. Apparently, in these parts, being this pretty was enough to make you locally infamous these days.
"Looks like a lot of you know who I am. But I don't really know any of you. As you might've heard, a few months back I crashed my kickboard, cracked my skull, and lost some memories."
Sudden silence blanketed the room. Only scattered coughs broke the quiet.
But Myeongjeon didn't miss a beat.
"They say when death's knocking, people try stuff they never would otherwise. Well, I nearly died, so I figured I'd do something I never did before. What was it? Guess you can tell since I'm up here. Yeah, music."
She lightly plucked the guitar strings. The pro-level motion and tone drew an impressed whoa from the crowd.
"Sorry for the ramble. I hear I wasn't like this before. Hey, teacher—maybe crack your head open once and you'll change too? Anyway..."
Myeongjeon glanced back. Setups complete, the girls nodded with steely resolve.
Alright then, let's kick this off.
"First song, starting now."
A high-pitched clean tone pierced the air to hype the mood, followed by four sharp crashes on the cymbals. The performance launched.
For the clueless audience, it was the drums and bass's brutal low-end that got them moving. Boosted to the max the school auditorium could handle, those lows shook the floor to the ceiling.
Didn't matter what song it was. Myeongjeon barely knew it herself. But did you have to know a song to enjoy it? Unknown tracks could slap just as hard.
The crowd stared at the stage in dazed silence—exposed to music they'd never heard, frozen without judgment yet. Kids who let others decide what was good or bad, holding off on a verdict.
Admit it. Heed the cry from deep inside. Admit this performance rocks. If you can't... I'll make you.
In a brief bass pause, Iseo scanned the audience.
They're totally entranced.
Hardly surprising. Suyeon's orders: boost the lows till ears rang tomorrow. The amped bass and drums were dragging everyone into a trance.
And mine too. With that thought, Iseo yanked the strings again.
Worries gone. The gnawing fear of screwing up the performance—washed away like cotton candy in a stream. Pure ecstasy filled the void.
These kids didn't know the song. No reactions at first. She'd worried, but now? Screw it.
I'm performing. Who cares about them? They're just the audience. This stage is mine.
A sharp sound halted Iseo's thoughts. One clap became two, two to three, three to four, four to six, seven, nine. Growing, swelling.
Faint applause built, echoing stronger through the hall. Kids clueless about the song... but the stage spoke their language anyway.
The bass rode the rhythm harder in response. Drums intensified. Keys grew more intricate.
Pushing to their rehearsed limits. Burning stamina like they had one day to live. The frenzy raged on.
Incredible.
The thought on most minds here. Most still didn't know whose song it was, what it meant, or the language. A few sneered knowingly... but to the students, none of that mattered.
Who cared? If it sounded good and the show was fun, that was it.
The third and final song built to climax. Claps couldn't match the tempo, shifting to a steady 4/4. Some boys bobbed heads in their seats, others jumped up dancing and cheering. All enjoying it.
As the last lyrics spat out, Myeongjeon prepped her guitar solo—longer than the original, primed to milk the crowd.
Stepping forward across the stage, she shredded flashy lines. Closer to the audience, fiercer the playing, nearer the cheers soared.
Tempo had blown past speedy into blistering—territory even her old self rarely touched.
Raising the neck high amid drums, bass, keys, and waiting pyrotechnics... boom—lightning struck the auditorium.
The second the show ended, Myeongjeon bolted backstage. Too many grabbing hands in the crowd.
The other two had dipped quick too, leaving Hyeona as the sole sacrifice to the hyped audience.
"When'd you learn this?!" "Dude, that's insane!!" "Hyeona, what the hell...!" Overwhelmed by the barrage, Hyeona lost her mind as Myeongjeon and the rest bailed from the gym.
"That was so fun."
"Feels great to really cut loose after so long."
Iseo's first gig, Seoha's many—both buzzing with thrill, relieved after the grind, faces lit with "one more?" vibes.
"Should we really leave Hyeona-unnie like that?"
"She's at this school, she'll be fine."
"Yeah... probably?"
Lame exchange. But what could they do? Step back in to save her, and they'd all get mobbed. One sacrifice it was.
"Next show... we're doing another, right?"
"Next show?"
"You won't end it here, will you?"
Iseo's question. Myeongjeon halted mid-stride, guitar slung over her shoulder.
Next show, huh. Staring at the silent Suyeon, Iseo felt a twinge of unease.
They'd poured everything in as a unit, but today's magic was Suyeon. Swap her for any other guitarist, and the response wouldn't have hit this hard.
The three had scrambled to deliver rehearsals. Not bad—most bands barely hit half. Exceeding practice as rookies? Triumph.
But Suyeon was different. Did she even need practice? She'd filled gaps with unrehearsed wizardry, then crushed the rest with sheer vibe—no room for words.
Without her...
"Next show? Dunno. When?"
Myeongjeon twirled her hair, speaking up. Fun experience for her too—worlds apart from session gigs.
Other guitarists, singers, musicians... they hogged all this?
She clenched and released her fist. That rush—commanding a dazed crowd into frenzy with one hand. Too damn exhilarating.
Might get hooked. Wanted to.
But dissatisfying bits lingered. Sound, especially.
"Gotta do it soon, though."
Her low murmur lit Iseo's face.
"What song this time?"
"Dunno. Original maybe. Not repeating these... might take time."
"Why?"
The blurted question. Myeongjeon glanced at Iseo, then forward.
"Stuff to buy."
Not fully satisfied.
For her standards, she needed to reclaim her guitar tone—at least somewhat.