A Night at the Coin Karaoke
Even setting aside my thoroughly unremarkable past, nothing like being dragged off somewhere in a dream and told, Actually, you're a goddess! had ever happened to me—no sudden revelation of I was a goddess all along!
It was more of a shrug and a huh, okay then kind of thing.
Which made sense, really. Nothing had changed.
It wasn't as if I could suddenly cast magic I'd never been able to use. No brand-new power had popped into existence with a sparkle and a flourish. You need something to actually feel different before it sinks in.
What mattered right now was the duel with Aquamarine bearing down on me tomorrow. Win that, and maybe the story would finally start moving.
If I'd awakened as a goddess and started flinging magic around left and right, sure—I'd have felt it, and it would have been great. But that wasn't happening, so honestly, none of it landed.
What does she want this time?
I'd just finished a hot shower and was drying my hair when Eve messaged me.
Answering right away would be a little too eager, wouldn't it? Let her stew a bit.
I tossed my phone onto the sofa and deliberately ignored it.
She hadn't planted someone in my apartment again, or stuck a camera somewhere… right?
I pulled a can of beer from the fridge, sank deep into the sofa, and cracked it open.
At this point I was starting to wonder if maybe I was the problem. Twenty-seven years of a fairly uncomplicated life, and the moment I became Mother, the number of lunatics in my orbit had skyrocketed. I was half tempted to call for a quarantine, though it wasn't quite that bad.
Thinking about it—starting with Precure and running all the way to Aquamarine. And Eve, who I'd assumed was normal, turned out to be anything but. I'd thought she was a magical girl sworn to light and justice. What I got was more like a lawless girl.
I let out a long sigh. Nothing changed.
All I could do was the best with what I had.
A sudden buzz from my phone jolted me awake. Ah. I'd dozed off for a second. Falling asleep with a beer can still in my hand—I must have been more tired than I thought.
I peered at the phone I'd thrown onto the sofa cushion. A familiar name lit the screen.
What was Dusick still doing up at this hour, texting…
Whatever power that little nap had given me, I felt fine now.
If Dusick said she'd found a good place, it was probably a good place. I agreed without a second thought, and a reply came back almost at once: meet her downstairs in ten minutes.
I cracked open the bedroom door. Kabe was snoring softly, Keru clutched tight in her arms. Even with the heat on, kicking off the blankets in this cold was a surefire way to catch a chill, so I tucked her back in properly and eased the door shut.
Kabe slept through the night these days. Once she was out this deep, it would take a lot to wake her.
I threw a white parka over my sweats and headed downstairs. Dusick was already waiting.
"Been waiting long?"
"No, I just got here."
Dusick beamed and latched onto my arm.
"Come on, hurry~!"
"Where are we going?"
"You'll see when we get there!"
Half dragged along, I walked the night streets arm in arm with Dusick.
The moonlight was truly lovely.
I've always been fond of the moon. It isn't admired by everyone the way the sun is—bright and radiant, lighting up the whole world—but it quietly illuminates the night from behind. I was never going to be the protagonist of anything, so I'd always wanted at least to be someone who quietly held her place. Maybe that was why I loved the moon so much.
And so, beneath the moonlight that shone on us both, Dusick and I walked the streets together.
After a while, our steps came to a stop in front of a large commercial building.
"Second floor!"
"Second floor?"
I looked up at the building—eight stories or so. Second floor. The sign on the second floor…
"A coin karaoke?"
"Yep!"
"Are you good at singing, Dusick?"
"Nope. Terrible."
"Then why karaoke?"
"Come on. If you sing well, you become a singer. You go to karaoke to practice because you can't sing."
Well. Hard to argue with that.
Watching Dusick stick out her tongue and grin, I couldn't help laughing myself.
Karaoke… It had been a long time. The last time I'd gone was ages ago, and even then I hadn't been the one singing—I'd been the tambourine shuttle, if I remembered right. Hostesses everywhere, the whole scene…
Ugh. What was I even thinking.
"Unni, do you not like karaoke?"
"No."
Who doesn't like singing? I deliberately put on a bright smile so Dusick wouldn't feel awkward.
"Dusick, this unni happens to be pretty decent when it comes to singing."
The real question was whether any of the songs I liked would even be in the machine.
"Thank goodness. Then let's go! Once you've blown off all that stress, tomorrow's victory is as good as yours!"
That much, huh?
"Sure. If Dusick says so, it must be true. Let's go!"
Fine. Let's go. Belt out a few songs at karaoke, shake off the stress, and the nerves would loosen right up.
"…Huh."
This was nothing like the karaoke I'd imagined. When she said coin karaoke, I'd assumed it was just a place named Coin. I hadn't expected an actual system where you fed in coins or bills for a set number of songs.
I'd been glancing around for a counter when Dusick took my hand and pulled me inside, and that was that. She dug a couple of thousand-won bills from her wallet, fed them into the machine, and—ta-da—six songs.
"Want to go first, Unni?"
"Uh, no… No, I'll pick something. You go first."
I barely knew any songs to begin with. The ones I could actually sing were all by male artists, and with my current voice that would be… not a little awkward. Extremely awkward.
Could I change the key? That would help, but I still wasn't sure I could capture that distinctive male-vocalist feel. Without it, I'd just end up with something neither here nor there…
"Okay then, I'll start!"
"Go ahead. Unni'll just watch."
The booth wasn't large. A monitor, speakers, and once Dusick and I were inside, it was about half full—designed for three or four people at most. Still, they'd put a tambourine in there for the full karaoke experience. The essentials were covered.
"Oh… Dusick, starting with Tears? Going hard right out of the gate."
Wasn't that a tough song to sing? Dusick looked supremely confident.
*
"Johnnyyyyy! I'm a womaaaaaan! Don't you daaaare look down on meeee~!"
Dusick had a point, all right. If you sing well, you become a singer. You practice at karaoke because you can't.
To put it bluntly, Dusick was not a good singer. But what did that matter? She belted it out with full So Chan-whee energy, complete with gestures, and watching her made me happy too.
"Whew, I'm out of breath. Next song is… uh, Unni, what's this?"
"Mm."
I took the mic she held out and stood up.
This was a song I listened to constantly—so often I'd memorized every lyric—but with my old male voice, I'd never been able to come close to singing it. A Finnish metal band: Nightwish. The Escapist.
The lyrics were fairly dark and bleak, but it was still my favorite track, and my voice now was a decent match for it. Perfect chance to finally give it a try.
"Whoa, Unni. The intro's got so much atmosphere."
"Right?"
The intro ran a bit long, but this wasn't a timed booth, so who cared?
The song proper kicked in, and my voice spilled out through the mic, filling the room. Dark, heavy, but powerful—it poured into every corner of the booth.
"It all starts with a lullaby—"
Wow. It actually worked. Those high notes—I could hit them. I could barely believe it was me singing.
"Wow… Unni, you're amazing."
"Right? I'm pretty good, huh…"
"I had no idea you could sing pop songs too!"
Ah.
That was the part she was impressed by?
Even I thought I'd sung it really well. I hadn't expected the awe to land on you sang a pop song.
I followed it up with the same band's She Is My Sin, fed in more money, and after Dusick had her fun belting a few more, only one song remained.
Huh.
I knew this one. The intro alone was instantly familiar.
"Unni, let's sing this one together."
I took the mic she held out and stood up again. But as far as I knew, this song…
"Dusick, wait, this is…"
Before I could finish, Dusick transformed. Now a full head taller than me, she looked down with a sly little grin.
Ah. Right… Then there was no problem at all. Yeah. Of course. That tracked…
And before I could get another word out, the song began.
"Every day on the bus to school, I always see her sitting in the same seat—"
Dusick tore through the male part with gusto, then shot me a wink. Time for the female part—my cue, I supposed.
"No, I'm fine—don't feel pressured—I don't even have a boyfriend right now, but why won't you say anything~ I know you need me right now—"
Jaja's On the Bus. A good song. Mm-hmm.
*
"That felt great."
"Right?"
By the time we finished with On the Bus and stepped out of the shop, the night had grown deep. Hardly anyone was out on the streets, and on the way back to our officetel—tucked away in a slightly out-of-the-way spot—there wasn't a single pedestrian.
Even so, the streetlights stood close enough together that it never felt dark. Their glow burned the darkness back, and our shadows stretched long behind us. We walked forward, but the shadows lengthened toward the rear. At the next streetlight they tipped forward again, then stretched back once more.
"Unni."
Dusick's hand slipped into the pocket of my parka. Her fingers were ice-cold; I took them in mine, and she giggled, clearly pleased.
"I've been really happy lately."
"Have you."
I didn't know why, but if Dusick was happy, that was a good thing. When Dusick was happy, I was happy too.
"Ever since I met you, Unni, every single day has been happy."
"That's good to hear."
Dusick stopped dead in her tracks. With her hand still in my parka pocket, I had no choice but to stop with her. Wondering what was wrong, I turned to face her.
"Unni."
"Yeah."
Dusick was smiling at me, bright and clear. Under the streetlight, her golden hair shone brilliantly. The orange glow and that gold hair looked wonderful together. Just as I was getting lost in the sparkle, she spoke.
"Turn around."
"Like this?"
I turned my back to her.
"Unni."
"Yeah."
Her arms wrapped around my waist from behind. Warmth seeped through the parka.
"I'm sorry."
"For what?"
"Because we're not enough. Because we always end up leaning on you…"
"…"
I said nothing. Or rather—I couldn't. That was the better way to put it.
Dusick rested her face against my back. My parka rustled softly.
"I'm sorry we keep putting all the burden on you alone."
"Dusick."
"If we'd just been a little stronger, we could have taken so much of that weight off you."
"…"
Well.
She was still right in the middle of adolescence. Maybe that was why she was getting so sentimental. She didn't really need to think that hard about it.
"I want to get stronger too—fast—so I can be someone who helps carry your load."
What was I even supposed to say to that?
If I told her she didn't have to think that way—that I just wanted us to keep living like this, like a family—would that even count as comfort?
"I promise I'll get so much stronger than I am now, so I can actually be of use to you."
I said nothing.
Even knowing how she felt, anything I might offer—thank you, you're fine just as you are—would fall short of the pure heart she was handing me right now.
So I simply turned without a word and pulled Dusick into a hug.
"It's cold. Come on, Dusick. Let's head inside."
"Yes, Unni!"
The face that answered me with that wide, bright smile looked somehow freer and lighter than it had even when we'd left the karaoke—cleaner, somehow, than before.