Flower and Bird Relations (5)
Pa-bam!
Tae-il felt like comic-book fanfare was blaring behind Iris, who had appeared out of nowhere in the practice room.
Her sudden arrival, without any warning whatsoever, was just that jarring.
Tae-il stuttered without thinking.
"A-Arisugawa, why are you here...?"
"Found you!"
Found us? Why, though?
Iris didn't offer any answers to the mounting questions piling up in his head. Instead, she hooked her sunglasses onto her chest and turned around.
"Ah, yes! This is the place. Thank you, stylish mister!"
"Haha! This young lady's got an eye for quality!"
"And Kiriko. You stand watch outside."
"Pardon?"
From beyond the space hidden by Iris's figure, the voices of the practice room manager and an unfamiliar woman drifted in.
Kiriko... that's gotta be Iris's lackey...
She was the tragic side character who stubbornly stuck to her black suit and sunglasses year-round, never once revealing her face in the entire run.
Even in the beach episode where everyone was in swimsuits, she alone insisted on her suit, shocking everyone.
Still, with her surprisingly pretty face beneath it all, and her comic relief vibe, she'd ended up more popular than expected.
She'd even cracked into the popularity poll rankings, threatening the main quartet's spots.
The author had once said they'd reveal her face if she hit the top five...
Eh, whatever.
The author had left a postscript saying something like, It's the unseen that makes her all the more beautiful.
I probably shouldn't go over there right now...?
Tae-il was dying to see Kiriko's real face up close, but he forcibly suppressed his curiosity.
"Sh-Shin-jjang..."
"Haha. Things are getting kinda weird."
For now, priority one was calming Ayane, who was flustered by Iris's sudden appearance.
While Tae-il soothed Ayane, Kiriko let out an incredulous shriek from outside.
"Outside? It's scorching out there right now...!"
"Just wait in the car."
"Sure, that'd be sweet as honey, but..."
"But...?"
"I gotta keep watch over you up close!"
Kiriko's mission in life was protecting Iris.
She might pull off the occasional act of insubordination, but her loyalty to Iris was the real deal.
Kiriko furtively peeked inside the practice room, looking anxious.
There was a guy and a girl.
They looked awfully close at a glance.
No wonder school rules ban guy-girl dating...!
To Kiriko, who had weathered her share of interpersonal storms, this practice room might as well have been a bomb.
Iris might end up hurt again.
If the young miss gets depressed, there's no fun in teasing her...!
In her razor-thin margin for error at work, Iris was her sole sanctuary.
Kiriko didn't want to lose that.
To safeguard her peaceful job, she had to monitor Iris's band activities from right beside her.
But Iris wouldn't budge, despite Kiriko's earnest pleas.
She shot back with a bored look.
"No, you don't know the first thing about music anyway. You'd just be in the way."
"I've got ears, you know! I can tell good music from bad!"
"I don't really need your ears for that..."
Kiriko's tone-deaf ears, which couldn't even distinguish classical pieces, were genuinely unnecessary.
"Just listen to me for once. You'd just make the others nervous and get in the way."
Even with Iris's blunt order to get lost, Kiriko refused to give up.
"Young miss...!"
"Anyone'd think I was firing you. Go on already. You want me to get mad?"
Iris ruthlessly shoved aside her pleading maid.
Despite multiple rejections already, Kiriko kept clinging, and Iris's expression soured more with each attempt—she was starting to get annoyed.
"Forget me being a bother— you always get weird about band stuff, so I have to keep watch...!"
"Ugh, enough! These guys are fine!"
"How can I trust your word on...!"
Iris, locked in argument with Kiriko, slammed the door shut in irritation.
Click.
Not content with that, she locked it too.
Kiriko's muffled protests and pounding on the door echoed from outside, but Iris breezily ignored them.
"Whew. She's so damn stubborn."
She dusted off her hands like she'd wrapped up some annoying chore.
Lifting her head, she met two pairs of eyes staring awkwardly at her.
The harsh scowl from moments ago melted away like a lie, replaced by a beaming smile exclusive to Iris—one that could melt any heart, male or female.
She hurried over with an apology.
"Sorry! You guys waited a ton, huh?"
"Nah."
We weren't waiting in the first place.
Ayane shook her head firmly, rejecting Iris.
Even though her near-90% success rate charm failed, Iris didn't falter and clung even more familiarly to Ayane.
"She's just so shy deep down!"
"We really weren't waiting at all..."
"Whaaat, but you're cute, so I'll let it slide! Ayane looks great in loose oversized stuff too!"
Iris pulled Ayane into a hug like she was doting on Rena and rubbed their cheeks together.
"Euuugh."
Ayane writhed in agony.
Tae-il spoke up to Iris to rescue her.
"Um, is the person you came with okay...?"
"Kiriko?"
Iris paused mid-cheek-rub and glanced at the door still thumping away.
"Just leave her. She's always a drama queen like that."
More importantly.
Iris kept Ayane locked in her arm around the nape and pointed accusingly at Tae-il.
"Right. You ignored my calls on purpose, didn't you, Shin Tae-il?"
"Calls?"
Were there calls?
Tae-il checked his back pocket. Empty.
"Huh?"
Tae-il rummaged through his vest inside and out, but no phone.
Iris sighed and called Tae-il's phone herself.
Silence.
The practice room held nothing but the amp's signature buzz—no ringtone.
"No ring. On silent?"
"No. I don't even set it to silent at school."
Tae-il rubbed his nape awkwardly.
Guess he'd forgotten to grab it amid all the rushing around.
Iris let out a hearty laugh.
"What? That's it? I was cursing you out the whole way here for ghosting me. Sorry. My bad."
"Y-You were cursing me out...?"
"But."
Iris shot a chilling glare at Ayane nestled in her arms.
"I'll let you off, Shin Tae-il. But why'd our Ayane ignore my calls?"
"On silent."
"Oh?"
Iris called again. Ayane's phone this time.
Silence returned.
Ayane wriggled free of Iris's embrace and clung to Tae-il.
Their eyes met in midair.
Sparks practically crackled.
In the tense atmosphere, Tae-il swallowed unconsciously.
"Ahaha! What? That's all it was? I thought..."
Tae-il caught the faint tremor in Iris's voice, which had turned cold and sharp.
She wiped a tear from the corner of her eye with her index finger.
"...I thought you two were ditching me on purpose."
"No way!"
"Right? Guess I overreacted."
Iris apologized, saying she had a bit of trauma about stuff like this and jumped to conclusions.
Tae-il, knowing her backstory, comforted her with a "that must've been tough," but Ayane, whose date had been crashed, stayed sulky and silent.
"Seriously, sorry."
Iris's loose smile dissolved the powder-keg tension in an instant.
Tae-il flapped his shirt to cool off.
The AC was blasting, but he was drenched in cold sweat anyway.
"How'd you know we were here, though?"
"Oh, that? I did some digging around!"
"Digging?"
"Went to your house first."
"My... house?"
Tae-il doubted his ears.
No one should be home at his place right now.
Shin Young-hoon had headed out fishing early morning, and Yu Hana was over at Ayane's.
"But no one was home."
"Yeah, figures..."
"So I swung by Ayane's too!"
"You went to my house too!?"
Ayane's turn to panic.
"Yup. Your mom was super nice and explained—said you grabbed your bass and headed to Shin Tae-il's."
"For real!?"
Ayane reeled in shock at her mom's unforeseen betrayal.
Iris nodded with a cheeky grin, like a kid who'd pulled off a prank.
It felt good landing a hit on Ayane, who kept eyeing her warily.
"But neither of your parents knew we'd be here, right?"
"Easy."
Ayane took her instrument and went to Shin Tae-il's. But if they weren't home, only one option left.
The two had gone out with their instruments.
That narrowed down the spots they'd hit.
"I had three candidates in mind."
Iris, fingers splayed from thumb to middle, listed them: school, practice room, instrument repair shop.
"Solid choices."
"Right?"
Process of elimination led her straight to them in the practice room.
"School was out first. You know why."
"Practice rooms are reservation-only. We just applied for the club yesterday—no way we get school room time."
Reservations opened officially on Monday, when clubs got created.
Why Tae-il scheduled their first meeting then.
"Repair shop was lower priority."
"Too many to check?"
"Yep."
Tokyo had instrument repair spots everywhere.
Specialty repair shops, music stores, even used gear places offered basics.
Even starting nearby, it'd take all night to scour them.
"So practice room was last standing."
"Bingo. And it panned out. Right?"
Iris puffed her chest, egging Tae-il on to praise her detective skills.
"Haha. Yeah. Impressive."
"I'm killer at mysteries. Escape rooms too?"
"Whoa. I'm trash at that stuff."
Tae-il clapped dry, soulless applause with a hollow cheer.
Logical, sure. But if they weren't here, wouldn't she have torn the neighborhood apart for real?
Her action-hero energy was honestly impressive.
Ayane muttered under her breath, displeased.
"Couldn't just wait till Monday like a normal person..."
Iris's sharp ears caught it, and she teased Ayane right back.
"Sorry. I was so excited for time with Shin Tae-il, I couldn't help myself?"
"With Shin-jjang...?"
"Yup. With Shin Tae-il. Sorry if I crashed your date? It's cool, right?"
"You wouldn't care if Ayane said no."
"True that!"
Iris laughed boldly, subtly looking down at Ayane.
Ayane fired back, glaring up with all her might.
The two smiled while shooting daggers at each other.
In the original, their shared love for BARD kept talks smooth, but here? Friction already.
Especially Iris's gaze on Ayane—not as friendly as in canon.
She's still putting Shin Tae-il over the band.
Leaning on him warily even now—it was infuriating.
Doesn't she trust herself to hold onto her own guy?
She'd faced blatant jealousy from other girls before, but Ayane took it further.
Getting her to drop Tae-il would solve it, but things never went that easy.
Iris needed talent like Shin Tae-il right now too.
How can he trust a girl like that with anything...?
They were already in the same boat, but Iris couldn't trust Tae-il's pick of Ayane as a member.
His unlimited faith in her was oddly irritating.
In band matters, shouldn't Iris take priority over Ayane?
Sure, she was the intruder here, technically being unreasonable. But showing up and getting this vibe? It soured her mood.
At least, this wasn't the picture Iris had in mind.
Her surprise cameo gets a reluctant smile from Tae-il, they jam together, band stuff happens.
But the atmosphere now?
Forget jamming—they might kick me out.
This wasn't the band she wanted.
Not some tea-party gigglefest school band, either.
She felt wronged somehow.
Iris stubbornly ignored her own feelings like that.
"Umm..."
Spotting the iffy vibe, Tae-il belatedly jumped in.
"I get how you found us now."
"What else you wanna know?"
Tae-il nodded.
"We planned meetings for Monday, right?"
"Yup."
"So why show up unannounced today?"
What wind blew her here without a word?
Tae-il was purely curious.
"Oh, that?"
Iris snapped her fingers.
"Saw Ayane's messenger profile."
"Profile?"
"Yeah. Changed to a bass guitar pic?"
That's what led her here—Ayane buying bass. Iris grinned.
"My mistake..."
Ayane flinched, realizing her blunder.
Her small hand trembled, then balled into a fist—she bonked her own head in self-reproach.
Too thrilled, she'd changed her profile pic to brag. Fatal error.
No pic change, no scent for Iris to sniff out.
She'd blown their cozy alone time. Ayane teared up inwardly.
Tae-il gently wrapped her self-punishing wrist, accepting the situation calmly.
She'd worked hard to join—no way he'd boot her now.
"Fine. Since it's like this, no choice. Let's practice together."
"Heh. Jam session?"
Iris hummed happily, setting down her guitar case.
"Just you and me cool?"
"Ayane out?"
"She hasn't memorized all the chords yet. Tough."
"Really?"
Iris eyed Ayane curiously.
"What."
Ayane snapped back irritably.
"Guess it's true."
Otherwise, no glare like that.
Iris smirked at Ayane from an angle Tae-il couldn't see.
"So, what for the jam?"
"You can do anything?"
"If I know the song?"
Iris pulled her guitar from the case, slung it over her shoulder, and pondered song choices.
Moments later, she looked up.
"Promenade."
"BARD track, right?"
Tae-il chuckled—classic Iris—and brushed off his butt to stand.
He took off his cap to wipe sweat-matted hair.
Iris stared blankly at him for a sec, then...
"Too easy for jamming. Why that one?"
"Huh? W-Well, Promenade seems doable for Ayane too..."
"Hmm."
"Too hard...?"
Iris tilted her head, peering up to gauge Tae-il's expression.
Through sweat-slick bangs, she saw the worry in his eyes.
Tae-il chewed his thumb lip in thought, then nodded.
"Okay. Let's try."
"Wait, Shin Tae-il—you serious?"
Iris looked genuinely thrown—a rare sight.
"Dead serious. What's the harm? You cool, Ayane?"
"Sh-Shin-jjang...?"
Tae-il took Ayane's hand—her face anxious—and pulled her up.
"Ever heard Promenade, Ayane?"
"Th-Think so..."
Ayane's voice lacked confidence.
"Let's listen once more then."
"Shin-jjang. One listen enough for Ayane?"
"Let her hear and decide."
Tae-il pulled up the track on the laptop atop the synth.
"Playing?"
A leisurely tempo melody flowed from the laptop speakers—way too chill.
10 seconds. 20. 30 passed, no vocals from Izumi.
"Shin-jjang, is this instrumental...?"
"Vocals come soon. Focus on the bass line, though."
No need for earbuds or fancy speakers.
Promenade was so laid-back and calm, every part rang clear at leisure.
Reverbed guitar evoked city-pop sweetness, backed by bass and drums.
Tae-il whispered to Ayane, absorbed in the song.
"How's it?"
"Bass sounds the same nonstop..."
"Still catchy, right?"
Ayane nodded.
Not just bass.
Drums looped the same beat and rhythm endlessly too.
Guitar was the only variation.
But no melody lasted forever. Around a minute in, mood shifted.
Drums down to just hi-hat, bass chords changed for the first time.
The guitar solo arpeggio, haughty and aloof, gradually lowered its posture.
One reason.
Tenma Izumi had descended upon the track.
A faint hum from afar—unmistakably Izumi's voice.
It grew louder.
As if the distant singer strolled this way.
[Hmmm~]
Finally, Izumi's soft hum rang clear from the laptop.
The wordless hum rode the melody gently, peeking forward.
But it was brief.
The hum synced to the melody peaked then, and faded as if retreating.
Volume dipped below bass, then Izumi's voice vanished.
Instruments reclaimed presence gradually.
Ayane, zeroed in on bass as instructed, snapped her eyes open.
Chords...
Changed exactly twice.
Once when Izumi's hum swelled.
Once as it faded.
Yet rhythm stayed constant from start to finish. Unchanged.
Song ended.
Iris, arms crossed, nodded pleased.
"A serene promenade in a moonlit city, where a mysterious woman strolls, humming a pleasing tune."
The intro description when the MV first dropped on YouTube.
Iris poked Ayane's side, who stared blankly at the laptop.
"Not too hard, got feel too. Nice, right?"
"Y-Yeah..."
"From their second album, intro insert. BARD loves intro-outro gags."
"They skip singing even when it feels like song start?"
"Exactly! You don't sing this part? Like whoa~!"
BARD talk fired Iris up—she clapped with Tae-il in sync.
"Anyway, that's it. You got this, Ayane?"
"Two more listens..."
"Earphones?"
"Yeah!"
Tae-il handed over earphones; Ayane looped the track instantly.
Anyone could see she was hooked on the music.
Tae-il sidled up beside Iris, watching Ayane focus.
"Kinda surprised."
"Huh?"
"Promenade. Picked it for Ayane?"
"Not really..."
Iris disliked Tae-il's positive spin.
It was a fave of hers—though all BARD songs were—but she'd picked it to mock Ayane.
Can't even play something this easy? Skill gap's huge.
She wanted to humiliate her, push till she quit voluntarily.
Even if Tae-il hated her for it—she could sweet-talk him later.
But Tae-il said let's try, then listen first.
"Ayane's still a beginner, low confidence."
"I can see that."
"Was pondering how to build it."
Only way to confidence? Practice.
Endless reps reduce errors; nailing a song error-free floods you with it.
But Ayane wasn't there yet—time for a hack.
Tae-il loved hacks since forever.
Time to quit 'em mostly, but one last time.
Practice on a track with stupidly simple bass line.
The hack bands use when bassist flakes: grab any rhythm-keeper buddy to fill seats with basic loops.
Jam session was inevitable sooner or later anyway.
Tae-il wanted to show Iris his chops, ease her mind.
"Hey, Shin Tae-il. You..."
"Yeah?"
"Shin-jjang! I think I got it now!"
"For real?"
Tae-il beamed, heading to Ayane.
Iris pouted, sidelined again.
This time, for real.
"Tch."
You're in for it later.
Iris grumbled inwardly, adjusted her guitar alone, and forlornly set up amp and all.