Tucking Tails and Tuning Guitars
"Confidence isn't necessary. Winning is a given. Are you in? Or are you going to tuck your tail like a dog and run?"
"...What?"
The sarcasm in her voice was dripping with excessive, almost violent provocation. Yet Suyun spat the words out without a shred of hesitation, as if she were entirely used to speaking this way. Hearing this, Shimizu, the leader of the band Strange Straight, flushed red with pure rage.
"Me? Tuck my tail like a dog and run?"
"If not, let's make a bet. Why don't we see who actually wins?"
The other people in the room darted their eyes back and forth, completely bewildered by the sudden turn of events. They looked between Shimizu, who had stood up from her seat, trembling with uncontrollable anger, and Suyun, who remained comfortably seated, looking up at her opponent with a mocking smirk.
"Excuse me, but could you please settle personal disputes after the meeting is over...? If you don't mind..."
"Y-yeah. Let's finish the meeting first..."
A staff member desperately tried to steer the conversation back on track, and a few other bands nodded in agreement.
"My apologies, but this won't take long," Suyun interjected, completely ignoring the anxious atmosphere. "And who knows, she might run away again like last time."
"I ran away?"
"Didn't you? The moment the meeting ended, you bolted without a single word. So, are you in or out?"
Suyun didn't care in the slightest about the discomfort of the people around her. The room fell dead silent once more. Shimizu slowly unclenched her fists, gritting her teeth as she forced the words out.
"...What are the terms?"
"Terms? Well, the audience's reaction should make it pretty obvious, don't you think?"
"And how exactly are you going to judge the audience's reaction?"
"I think it'll be plenty clear. Because there's no way our performances will be even remotely comparable."
Every single word Suyun uttered was laced with blatant provocation. As Shimizu's face flushed an even deeper shade of crimson, her bandmates frantically reached out to hold her back.
"Shimizu-san, calm down. There's nothing to gain from arguing like this. Besides, it's true they're good, so why get so worked up..."
"Shut up! You expect me to just take that lying down? You're saying we're worse than some kids who just rolled in from Korea?"
"That's not what I meant!"
With the band members arguing among themselves, their voices began to rise. While the event staff's expressions grew increasingly miserable, Suyun's voice rang out across the meeting room once more.
"Where did the person go who claimed they didn't run away with their tail between their legs? I asked a question. Why aren't you answering?"
"...Fine! Let's do it! Let's go!"
Unable to control her temper while arguing with her own bandmates, Shimizu finally snapped and accepted the bet. Her bandmates desperately tried to pull her back, only for her to turn her anger on them.
She really knows how to push buttons... Morikawa thought as he watched the spectacle unfold.
According to what he had read on the internet, this girl was supposedly a former delinquent who had reformed after picking up the guitar. Well, she might have reformed her lifestyle, but with a tongue that sharp... some things about human nature never change.
"Are you sure about this?"
On their way back to the lodging, they had stopped by a cafe. Seoha had insisted on trying a dessert called Shironoir, so they had ordered one. While Suyun stared at the massive pancake topped with a mountain of soft-serve ice cream, thinking, What kind of bizarre culinary abomination is this... a worried voice drifted from her side.
It was Choi Iseor, her face practically dripping with anxiety.
"About what?"
"The bet."
"What about it?"
"Did you really have to do that?"
While Seoha scooped up a massive dollop of ice cream onto a piece of pancake and stuffed it into her mouth, Suyun looked at Iseor with a flat, unimpressed gaze.
"Were you planning to just sit there and take it after hearing what she said?"
"No, it's not that... but still, wasn't there a... more peaceful way to handle it...?" Iseor's voice trailed off, growing smaller.
Suyun let out a heavy sigh and shook her head.
"Hey, have you learned nothing from everything we've been through? Hongdae, the auditions... the world is crawling with lunatics. If we let it slide there, they would've called us pushovers. We got insulted to our faces, and you wanted us to just seethe in silence and go home?"
"I don't think it would've been that bad..."
"Oh, it absolutely would have. Band geeks aren't office workers; they have nothing but pride and time on their hands. You think they'd watch their mouths? They would've talked trash behind our backs instantly. 'Look at those Koreans lol, can't even talk back lmao, typical inferior race lol'—something like that."
Seoha, her mouth smeared with ice cream, chimed in to support Suyun's argument. She mimicked a robotic text-to-speech voice, repeating the insults before stuffing another piece of pancake into her mouth. While Hyun-ah casually wiped Seoha's face with a tissue, Suyun added to her point.
"To be blunt, think about it. If we were a Japanese band, would anyone have dared say that to our faces? They only would've whispered it. They saw we're Korean, we're outsiders, so they figured they could walk all over us. Am I wrong?"
"Um..." Iseor scratched her head awkwardly.
Suyun twirled a strand of her hair, recalling the events of the meeting. The opponent had taken the bait and accepted the bet. There was no monetary reward involved. The loser simply had to bow their head and admit their wrongdoing in front of everyone. And the judgment would be based on the audience's reaction.
"But... isn't there a bit of a problem with how we're judging the bet...?" Hyun-ah asked quietly.
"Why?"
"Yeah, I was thinking the same thing," Iseor agreed. "'Audience reaction' is so vague. It's not like we're conducting a survey."
"That's why we have to put on an overwhelming performance," Suyun replied. "One they can't possibly dispute."
"What if they buy off the crowd? Like, pay people to cheer for them, or bribe other bands to skew the judgment..."
"Listen to yourself. There are over a thousand people in the audience, not just one or two. You think they can bribe all of them?" Suyun looked at Iseor as if she were looking at a fool.
"I mean, isn't it possible? If they spend enough money..." Iseor muttered.
Suyun let out another deep sigh.
"Even if they try to pull some cheap tricks, I'll handle it. You guys just focus on practicing. If you guys don't play your best, it's over anyway."
"You don't trust us? We've been practicing like crazy every single day."
"If you're so dedicated, why didn't you practice this hard from the start?"
Suyun stabbed her fork into the last remaining piece of pancake. Seoha's eyes widened in shock, but Suyun ignored her completely, popping the ice-cream-covered pastry into her mouth.
Still, Suyun thought, at least this incident had finally gotten the girls to start practicing voluntarily and creatively. Even if they were still a long way from being truly creative...
As the opening of Tokyo Wheels drew closer, several rumors began to circulate within the Japanese indie band scene.
'A fight broke out between bands at Tokyo Wheels!'
'They were grabbing each other's collars, pulling hair, it was complete chaos!'
'They made a bet on who's better at music!'
'The loser has to leave the Japanese indie scene forever!'
'They were screaming curses at each other!'
'Factions are forming, and the Tokyo indie scene is split right down the middle!'
As is always the case with such rumors, they grew more and more exaggerated with every retelling. Tokyo Wheels was a massive event featuring over a hundred bands, including those who had made it through the auditions. Since it was impossible for all the bands to meet in one place, they had naturally been split into smaller groups for the meetings.
"Dude, I was at the meeting yesterday. Those Korean band girls straight-up picked a fight with Shimizu-nee from Strange Straight..."
"Seriously? That actually happened?"
"I went to the Tokyo Wheels meeting yesterday, and man, the fight was no joke. Who was fighting? I can't say. But there was screaming, shouting, total chaos..."
Although no one officially published articles or blog posts about what had happened, the story spread like wildfire through word of mouth. And why wouldn't it? It was incredibly entertaining. There was an old saying that watching a fight was the most entertaining thing in the world. But two bands not just fighting, but holding a musical duel? It was like injecting pure dopamine straight into the veins of the indie scene.
The sudden influx of hot gossip into the usually quiet Japanese indie scene, which rarely saw anything more dramatic than occasional relationship drama, sparked immense curiosity. This heightened interest gradually drove up ticket sales for Tokyo Wheels.
And just like that, the day of the festival arrived.
Tokyo Wheels, Day 1.
"Man, there are so many people..."
Despite the chilly weather, the venue was packed to the brim. A male spectator wiped a thin layer of sweat from his brow with a towel and looked ahead. Staff members were carefully checking wristbands before letting people into the live house.
I don't think it was this crowded last year. Is it because of that rumor?
He recalled the story that had been circulating recently—that two of the participating bands had gotten into a physical altercation and decided to settle it on stage. Perhaps because of the rumor, the venue even had signs posted explicitly stating that shouting and chanting were permitted.
"But who actually fought?"
"No idea. One of them is supposed to be Strange Straight..."
Scratching his head, he listened to the conversation of the couple walking ahead of him. It seemed everyone was curious about the drama.
Strange Straight. They were one of the long-standing pillars of the indie scene, and he had listened to their music quite a bit. They were known for their crisp, high-pitched vocals and danceable tracks, and they always drew a great reaction from the crowd.
Who is their opponent?
If he remembered correctly, the band performing right before Strange Straight was called Pearlpull, but they were nowhere near the same level, so he ruled them out. That left only one possibility.
Group Sound... maybe?
Between their Rock in Japan interview and their recent activities, they were easily the most talked-about band in the Japanese indie scene right now, despite being from Korea. He wondered if they were the ones, but quickly shook the thought away. Enjoying the music was what mattered, not who was fighting whom.
"Thank you!"
As Strange Straight finished their set, the vocalist's farewell was met with a massive roar of cheers. He clapped and cheered along, thoroughly impressed.
Can anyone actually top that? I don't know.
As if to prove they were indeed the subjects of the rumor, Strange Straight had performed like they had a point to prove. Their playing was incredibly tight, and they kept the crowd engaged from start to finish. The audience had jumped and danced as if there were no tomorrow, giving them an explosive response.
"That was even better than usual."
"Who's next? I'm kind of tired, should we just head home...?"
Amidst the murmurs of the crowd, the restless movement in the room slowly began to quiet down. Sensing the sudden shift in the atmosphere, he looked up from his phone.
He saw a single figure standing on the stage.
Perfectly styled, wavy black hair. A cold, aloof expression. She possessed the kind of striking beauty that felt more suited for a television screen than a local live house stage. In her hands, she held a guitar with a black body and a maple neck.
In the midst of the sudden, heavy silence, she stood alone and lightly plucked a few strings. Even though the performance hadn't even begun, he felt a strange, overwhelming pressure radiating from her.
"Um... Hello, hello. Nice to meet you. I'm Ha Suyun of Group Sound."
Her low, calm voice drifted over the crowd, instantly captivating them and erasing the lingering energy of the previous performance. It was as if the stage had been wiped clean, urging them to forget what had just happened and focus solely on what was to come.
Behind her, the other members of Group Sound quietly took their positions.
"Well then, let's begin."
With her final words, the live house plunged into pitch darkness.
After a brief moment of silence.
Like the faint, gradual glow of a sunset rising over the horizon, a soft but steadily growing drum beat began to echo through the dark.