BARD (7)
Time flew by like an arrow.
After the full performance of Millennium, Izumi held a talk segment with a famous entertainer that even Ayane had heard of.
Yahiro jumped in here and there as the comic relief to keep the conversation flowing, while the entertainer skillfully coaxed out behind-the-scenes stories about BARD that even the fans didn't know.
The BARD fans burst into laughter at the slightest things, but Ayane and Tae-il remained unfazed.
No, only Tae-il was unfazed.
It's so awkward!
It had felt better even just moments ago during Millennium.
Now, in stark contrast, she was getting anxious over their overly textbook audience reactions.
Ayane had felt so united with the strangers in the crowd while listening to Izumi's song, just as Tae-il had said. But now, she felt like she'd been dropped into another world all alone.
It was the opposite of Tae-il, who was comfortably watching like he was enjoying a spin-off from the original story.
Later on, Ayane fidgeted so much on her own that Tae-il couldn't help but butt in.
"Ayane, you okay?"
"Y-yeah! I'm fine. Probably."
Her face screamed that she was anything but fine—it was obvious to anyone.
This is Ayane's first time.
A fan-meeting-style event as part of the broadcast.
If you weren't a fan, you couldn't possibly relate, and you'd naturally feel like you were floating above it all.
"I get the feeling. It's awkward, right?"
Tae-il recalled his first time seeing a band live.
It wasn't a band he particularly loved or knew well. He knew some of their songs vaguely, but he'd only gone out of loyalty because a close older brother figure was sessioning for them.
The vocalist chatting with the audience and sharing memories during breaks between the setlist.
Even in standing seats, Tae-il had felt utterly detached.
"At first, it's awkward and unfamiliar because you don't share the experience. But give it a little time—later on, once you realize you're all kindred spirits, the distance disappears."
"Kindred spirits...?"
"Yeah. It's like how you easily bond with people at school over shared interests."
Of course, Ayane wasn't kindred spirits with the people gathered here. Who knew if she ever would be, even with time.
"So no need to force it. That's totally normal."
At Tae-il's comforting words, Ayane hid her embarrassed face and grumbled.
"Shin-kun knows all that so well, so why doesn't he have even one friend at school?"
"Hey."
"Ehehe. Just kidding."
But thanks to that, her tension eased.
Not because she thought of the people here as her kindred spirits, like Tae-il said.
Ayane shifted her mindset.
At first, she'd come with the mindset of just a date. But now, it was different.
Her gaze turned hostile toward Izumi on stage, like staring down an enemy general.
Shin-kun's staring at that Izumi person so intently.
He wasn't showing it on his face like the other BARD fans, but it was obvious he was paying serious attention. No matter how much he pretended otherwise, he couldn't hide it from Ayane.
It was probably just fan admiration, but for some reason...?
It seemed like more than that.
Every time she saw Tae-il's wistful yet pleased smile, Ayane felt it.
A woman's intuition rang alarm bells.
Tenma Izumi—this woman inspired some kind of fear in her.
Am I overthinking this?
It might just be narrow-minded paranoia.
A scandal between a star and a fan?
That only happened in dramas. And in this day and age, writers would get flamed by viewers for a plot like that. Ayane herself would write a 5,700-character complaint to the network.
Tenma Izumi.
There was something between that woman and Tae-il that she didn't know about.
Ayane was convinced, without a shred of evidence.
And as if to confirm it for her, Izumi timely turned her head and looked out at the audience.
Her gaze swept across the seats before stopping at one spot.
Huh?
Ayane's eyes went wide.
She was looking right at them.
Unlike the cheering fans around her, Ayane furrowed her brow.
Their eyes met.
Izumi gave a soft smile and lightly waved her hand.
Fan service?
No, it felt different.
Ayane thought otherwise.
"Stars really are stars, huh."
Tae-il muttered under his breath.
It was in Korean.
He sometimes slipped into Korean like that when lost in thought.
Mostly when he didn't want to share his thoughts with others.
Back in middle school, Tae-il always acted so mature in front of others, but behind their backs, he'd curse in Korean. That was the day Ayane realized he had a childish side despite always pretending to be grown-up.
"She's even more radiant than five years ago."
Ayane, who had learned Korean to surprise Tae-il, was inwardly shocked by his next mutter.
Five years ago?
Ayane recalled the BARD wiki she'd pored over to keep up with Tae-il's conversations.
Five years ago from now...
That was before BARD even released their first album.
What? Shin-kun knew BARD before they even debuted?
Ayane clenched her fist on her lap.
Actually, it wasn't that strange.
Tae-il had been wandering around Live Houses, Shinjuku, and Shibuya parks since he was young, checking out indie bands.
Running into pre-debut BARD wouldn't be odd.
In fact, that was the logical explanation.
But then what was this?
This nagging, uneasy sensation like something was stuck in her throat.
Suddenly, Ayane felt uncomfortable in this place.
If Tae-il weren't beside her, she would've bolted.
She squeezed her eyes shut.
Imagining the worst-case scenario, she designated Tenma Izumi as her enemy.
A lonely battle began—one that might earn mockery from everyone, but was hers alone.
Were stars just stars, like Tae-il said?
Izumi shone.
Even accounting for being the band's sole spotlight on stage, she shone brilliantly.
Especially the way she handled cheeky questions with graceful, feminine poise—it clearly showed the mature charm that Tae-il liked.
She's a rival...!
Tenma Izumi.
For the first time in her life, she had a rival as a woman.
But could a mere high school girl beat a national star?
No—what couldn't she do?
Ayane tuned into the talk on stage.
The nasal tones that captivated men, the whining, the coquettishness.
She absorbed every hand gesture, expression, and glance.
Everything emanating from Izumi would be useful to her.
Finally, the shoot wrapped up.
"Huaaah. Ayane's completely wiped out...."
Ayane slumped in her seat like a slime, her legs giving out.
She'd concentrated too hard, and now her head hurt.
No wonder she's tired.
Tae-il checked the time—it was already past 7 p.m.
Ayane's exhaustion stemmed from something entirely different, but with breaks included, the shoot had dragged on for over six hours, so Tae-il didn't suspect a thing.
"Wanna rest a bit before we go?"
"Yeah...."
She wasn't the only one worn out.
Groans rose from seats here and there.
"If we eat dinner here, we won't get home till 10 at the earliest...."
"Will we get seats on the way back?"
"Even if there aren't any, I'll make sure you sit, so don't worry."
"Shin-kun's so sweet~."
Ayane giggled goofily.
"But I really didn't expect it'd just end with the shoot."
"Usually there's more?"
"I don't know the details, but with all these fans gathered, I figured there'd be something extra."
In Korea, for example, there were goodies at idol music show fan meets.
Getting tickets to those was a fan club privilege, unlike these lottery-based ones that just required some luck, so the effort differed.
"Feeling bummed?"
"Eh, I'm not really into collecting merch anyway, so...."
Tae-il glanced at Ayane.
He smiled awkwardly at this Ayane, so different from the one in the original story who gushed endlessly about BARD goods.
Well, expecting her to be hooked on BARD already might be too soon.
She'd reacted positively to the first, second, and even third songs.
In Tae-il's eyes, Ayane seemed utterly charmed by BARD.
Yeah.
Or at least, that's how it seemed.
If not, oh well.
Tae-il thought that as he asked Ayane,
"What do you want for dinner?"
"Something super filling!"
"Not very girly order."
"That's sexism, Shin-kun!"
Ayane bared her teeth like a cat and whined.
Her weak fists pummelled Tae-il's stomach.
Way too cute for no reason.
Tae-il couldn't even respond through his laughter.
To keep the conversation going, he blocked her fists and pulled out his phone to search for restaurants.
Tae-il ticked off food types on his fingers one by one.
"Ramen, curry, donburi, katsu, or Famires. Which one?"
"Doesn't every option sound too good, Shin-kun?"
"This is a lineup focused on satisfaction, you know? Personally, I recommend Famires."
Famires.
Family restaurant, in other words. Unlike in Korea, you could stuff yourself on a variety of food at decent prices. Taste not guaranteed, and not great for dates with girls.
SNS had once buzzed with memes saying you were blessed if your girlfriend would go to one with you, complete with proof pics.
But Tae-il wasn't suggesting just any Famires.
"There's a pretty good one in Akihabara. A bit pricier, but popular."
"That's fine?"
"Well, I stole six hours from you, didn't I? Gotta pay up for that."
"That's a totally unexpected form of payback. Shin-kun, you're the type who's never had friends besides Ayane, right?"
"Shut up. Dutch pay is basic even between friends."
"We're way past dutch pay already, aren't we...?"
Roughly calculating minimum wage at 900 yen, that came to 5,400 yen owed to her. Pricey for students, but Tae-il had his mom's card handy.
Adults' cards made 5,400 yen a steal.
Truly the fire-attribute filial son, Shin Tae-il.
"Shin-kun, you can subtract the ticket cost, okay?"
"It was a gift."
He'd settle the real cost later, but no need to bring it up in front of Ayane.
"Alright, let's go. Can you walk yet?"
"Uh, not quite?"
Ayane awkwardly gripped the armrest, stood, then plopped back down.
"M-my legs won't work! They won't!"
"Still? Want me to hold your hand?"
Tae-il extended his hand while scanning the now-deserted Live House as people filed out.
With equipment teardown ahead, there probably weren't more schedules, but lingering felt awkward anyway.
Grab it or not?
Ayane hesitated at his outstretched hand.
Asking for a piggyback out of nowhere might be too much, huh?
In that case, maybe compromise with linking arms here...
"Excuse me, do you have a moment?"
While Ayane agonized, a man approached them.
He wore a rumpled suit, dark circles under his eyes making him look utterly exhausted.
"Us?"
"Yes, specifically the young man there...? I have business with him."
"With Shin-kun?"
Ayane shot up and clung to Tae-il's arm.
"Hey, didn't you just say your legs gave out?"
"Shin-kun, be quiet!"
"Well, if you're with him, you're welcome to join. Here's my card."
The man handed over a business card.
"Next Generation...?"
Tae-il's eyes widened at the card.
"Shin-kun? Next Generation—that's definitely..."
"Yes, the agency BARD belongs to. I'm Hatsukawa Masato, their manager. Though I don't usually tag along for non-agency broadcast stuff."
In short, a manager. But why hand his card to him?
Am I handsome enough to be scouted as an idol?
Tae-il got ahead of himself.
"Izumi-san asked for you. I'm here to escort you."
Ptooey!
Tae-il spat it right back out.
He'd never planned on being an entertainer anyway, but embarrassed by his presumption, he scratched his neck—then startled at the mention of Izumi.
"Uh, the Izumi-san you just mentioned is...?"
"Yes, BARD's vocalist, Tenma Izumi-san."
"Izumi-san wants to see me?"
"Yes. We don't usually encourage private fan meetings, but even Yahiro-san agreed..."
Hatsukawa chuckled ruefully about his troublesome charges.
"Whoa! Shin-kun, Next Generation has BARD, plus famous bands like Lion, and even the songstress Tachibana Ritsuka!"
Ayane, who'd quickly wiki'd it on her phone, smacked Tae-il's arm excitedly.
Tachibana Ritsuka was a big name even Tae-il knew, despite his narrow interest in band music.
"Haha, even if they're under us, they're all so focused on music we rarely see them at the agency. Joking around, our encounter rate's like Venus-level..."
"Venus?"
Ayane tilted her head.
"Pocketmon."
"Oh, right! Pocketmon!"
"Guess it's a generation that doesn't know Pocketmon anymore, huh. Haha."
Venus had gotten much easier to catch by gen 5, but Hatsukawa seemed unaware.
"Anyway, is that okay?"
Hatsukawa pressed again.
Tae-il looked to Ayane instead of answering.
Strictly speaking, today's purpose was for her. Any unplanned detours needed her okay.
Ayane was thrilled amid it all that Tae-il was considering her.
"Let's go, Shin-kun."
"You sure?"
"Yeah! Ayane's curious too..."
For Ayane, it was a golden chance to check out the "stray cat" in person.
"So let's go! Don't you wanna see her too, Shin-kun?"
"Well, if I wanna see her, yeah, but..."
As Tae-il kept hesitating, Ayane poked his side.
"Are you a girl or what, Shin-kun? Man up here!"
"That's sexism..."
Well, fine then.
Tae-il sighed and nodded.
"Sure, I'll go."
"This way, then."
This might be an opportunity for Tae-il too.
Ayane hadn't fully fallen for BARD yet. But meeting Izumi face-to-face and talking might change that.
Like starlight from light-years away reaching Earth, innate stars had a unique aura that moved people.
No matter how brilliant the aura on stage, it paled against feeling it up close. That's what stars were. And Izumi was undeniably one of the best.
Plus, this is the Girls Do Band world, no matter what.
Izumi in Girls Do Band was practically a deus ex machina, an all-purpose solver.
Fans praised or mocked her as a "DEM" worthy of a heavenly horse.
Tae-il's attitude had leaned toward the latter before meeting BARD.
That flipped 180 degrees five years ago, after witnessing their busking in Shibuya Park.
The real-life aura is no joke.
A manga-style production might even trigger.
With quiet anticipation, Tae-il followed Hatsukawa.