19
## Chapter 19 — Came Like the Wind, Left Like the Dew
Reporter Kim Bori of *Hyeonseong Daily*… no, simply twenty-nine-year-old Kim Bori who loved music, was extremely satisfied she had come to the [Time-Traveling Haenam National Music Festival].
Because she arrived early, she secured a great seat near the front.
And more importantly, the participating teams were unexpectedly high-level.
As Kim Bori enjoyed the festival alongside the cool sea breeze, one particular team caught her attention.
“Alright! Please give a huge round of applause for <The Stretched Band>!”
“<The Stretched Band>…?”
At first, it was simply the unusual band name that drew her interest.
And then—
“Pfft.”
Her eyes landed on the guitarist wearing a rabbit mask.
It was a rabbit she recognized.
Wasn’t its name *Tokki-Kking*?
A long time ago, she had once emptied her wallet buying toys for her niece.
Every season, dozens of new toy products were released, to the point adults jokingly called the character “Bankrupt-Kking.”
“Oh! Mom, look! Tokki-Kking!”
“Hahaha, you’re right. That mister’s wearing Tokki-Kking on his face.”
The children and parents who recognized it burst into laughter upon seeing the guitarist wearing the rabbit mask.
But the guitarist himself looked as though he couldn’t hear the laughter at all.
Even through the mask, his face looked deathly pale, and he was so nervous he couldn’t properly answer the MC’s interview questions, rambling incoherently instead.
‘Can he even perform in that state?’
To make matters worse, that same guitarist was apparently the band’s vocalist too.
Naturally, Kim Bori couldn’t help worrying about the Tokki-Kking member of <The Stretched Band>.
And everyone else felt the same way.
And so, with expectations for <The Stretched Band> at rock bottom, the performance began.
But then—
—*This song is dedicated to everyone in this world suffering in pain.*
The stage lights went dark, and as the narration flowed together with the VCR, the atmosphere changed completely.
The VCR showed scenes of a child being born, celebrating their first birthday, taking their first steps, and entering school for the first time.
Combined with the calm narration, the audience instantly became immersed in emotion.
And then the verse began.
—*I saw you crying on your bed in a dark room*
—*Even if I tell you it’s okay, you probably won’t believe me*
The lyrics were beautiful—
but more than that, Tokki-Kking’s voice pierced directly into the hearts of the audience.
It carried the same warmth and emotional pull as a mother telling bedtime stories beside your bed when you were little.
—*You still shine*
—*You’re still my pride*
And when the rough yet emotional chorus of the other members of <The Stretched Band> layered on top, the rich sound completely captivated everyone listening.
“…Ah.”
As the song progressed, Kim Bori’s mouth slowly fell open.
The reason she loved art was because it moved people emotionally.
Music was the same.
Just as beautiful paintings could touch people’s hearts, beautiful music could do the same.
It nourished dry souls.
It healed exhausted hearts and minds.
Just like now.
Thump.
No one living in modern society lived entirely without pain.
Most people dragged themselves through each day, forcing themselves to do things they hated.
And on days they made mistakes, they wanted to give up on everything.
But this song comforted all those people.
It told them that today’s failures were merely part of the process leading to tomorrow’s happiness.
That today’s happiness was built upon the failures of yesterday.
It gently embraced people suffering from the pain of failure.
“…Wow.”
With a small gasp of admiration, Kim Bori closed her eyes and immersed herself in Tokki-Kking’s singing.
Fwaaa—
The same level of emotion she felt when she first saw creep’s murals seeped into her entire body.
And as she listened to Tokki-Kking’s song, she found herself thinking—
that he felt exactly like the music world’s version of creep.
“WAAAAAAAHHHHH—!!”
“WOOOOOOAAAAAAAHHHHH—!!”
The moment the performance ended, she cheered together with the rest of the audience.
“Who *was* that guy?! Is he actually a professional singer?!”
“That song was insane—!!”
“Tokki-Kking! Tokki-Kking!”
The gloomy feelings she’d carried from failing to find creep’s third mural in Haenam vanished completely during that one moment.
---
But not everyone was happy watching unexpected dark horse <The Stretched Band> completely destroy the stage.
Especially not Son Myungwoo, the former vocalist of <The Stretched Band>, who was preparing for the next performance backstage.
‘W-What…?! What the hell…?!’
He was horrified seeing that <The Stretched Band>’s original song [A Story I Want to Tell You] had reached a level of completion far beyond anything he remembered.
‘T-These old fossils…! Were they secretly hiding the song’s true quality from only *me*?!’
But even more shocking than the song itself—
was the vocalist’s skill.
The emotional voice was powerful enough that even Son Myungwoo himself momentarily became immersed in the feelings of the performance.
‘T-That timid-looking guy sings *like this*? Where the hell did they find a vocalist this good in some countryside dump like this…?!’
Ah.
At that moment, a sudden thought flashed through Son Myungwoo’s mind.
What if <The Stretched Band> had planned to replace him with that rabbit-mask vocalist from the very beginning?
That had to be it.
That’s why the members of <The Stretched Band> arranged things so he would voluntarily leave the band.
That way nobody could accuse them afterward.
“T-Those dirty bastards…!”
While Son Myungwoo trembled with feelings of betrayal, his new bandmates asked him:
“Hey, Myungwoo. Didn’t you say that was the band you used to sing for?”
“Wow… the song’s freaking amazing. Why’d you leave them and come to us?”
Annoyed by their innocent curiosity, Son Myungwoo snapped irritably:
“How should I know?! I think I got thrown away, alright?!”
If he had known [A Story I Want to Tell You] was this good, he never would’ve left <The Stretched Band>.
Grinding his teeth while listening to the rabbit vocalist sing, he thought:
‘That song should’ve been *mine*…!’
His life had always been like this.
Sometimes opportunities appeared before him—
but every single time, unexpected bad luck and interference from other people ruined things.
‘My life turned out like this because of those bastards.’
And so, still consumed by bitterness, Son Myungwoo climbed onto the stage for the next performance after <The Stretched Band> finished.
Following a phenomenal stage was already an enormous burden.
“Wow… seriously the best live song I’ve heard all year.”
“I already recorded it on my phone. I’m uploading it to YouTube later.”
The audience still hadn’t escaped the lingering emotions of the previous performance.
And with Son Myungwoo blinded by inferiority and jealousy on top of that, there was no way he could properly perform.
His band delivered a disastrous stage filled with small mistakes and unstable vocals before leaving bitterly.
“Damn it—!!”
The moment they stepped backstage, Son Myungwoo immediately blamed his teammates.
“What the hell was that drum timing earlier?! Why’d you hit the snare so hard during my solo section?! Got a problem with me, asshole?!”
“What? You done talking?”
“Done? I should’ve stayed with my old band! I ruined my performance joining this shitty band instead!”
The other members, who had already sensed something off about Son Myungwoo for a while, completely lost all affection for him after this.
“That’s enough. We’ve actually discussed this already—we can’t keep working with you anymore.”
“Fine! I don’t wanna stay in this trash band either!”
And just like that, Son Myungwoo got kicked out of yet another band.
“Fuck!”
How many times had this happened already?
Once again, believing himself unfairly expelled because of others, he stormed away angrily—
only to encounter someone he least wanted to see.
The new rabbit-mask vocalist of <The Stretched Band>, still wearing the mask.
“You…”
“…Oh, hello.”
Completely unaware of his feelings, the rabbit mask greeted him politely.
Enraged by that innocent reaction, Son Myungwoo grabbed him and started a fight for no reason.
“Lucky bastard…”
“…Excuse me?”
“That spot was supposed to be mine.”
Blinded by jealousy, he believed the rabbit vocalist had stolen his position and spoke rudely despite barely knowing him.
“You happy stealing my spot and taking my song too?”
“……”
“I helped compose [A Story I Want to Tell You] too! …Damn it, my whole life’s filled with shitty people ruining my chances while guys like you just show up and steal finished opportunities…”
The rabbit mask, who had merely been trying to walk past quietly, stopped after hearing those words.
Son Myungwoo hoped the guy would get angry.
But instead, the rabbit mask merely looked at him with pity.
“I think I understand now why Park Sajang said he felt sorry for you.”
“What did you say?”
“Stop blaming your failures and pain entirely on other people. If you keep doing that, your life will stay miserable forever.”
Today’s failures and pain existed for future happiness and success.
But no matter how long someone waited, happiness would never come to a person who only blamed others.
And even if opportunities did appear, someone like that would only complain again, lose them, and blame everyone else afterward.
Feeling genuine pity for Son Myungwoo, the rabbit mask gave him sincere advice.
Of course, Son Myungwoo only felt insulted instead.
“You little bastard—how dare you lecture me?!”
Finally losing control, he raised his fist and charged at the rabbit mask.
But—
Whoosh.
CRASH.
“…Ghk!”
The rabbit mask easily dodged his clumsy, rage-filled attack.
Son Myungwoo tripped over his own feet and slammed face-first into the ground.
The rabbit mask gave him one final sentence before walking away.
“I hope someday you can live a truly happy life too.”
“…Urgh.”
Of course, that day would probably never come.
Even after hearing the rabbit mask’s sincere final advice, Son Myungwoo merely gritted his teeth in hatred.
“Those bastards… what the hell did I ever do wrong? Damn it, why’s my life such a mess…?!”
Even with his face pressed against the dirt, he continued blaming the world.
His bad luck.
His circumstances.
Everyone around him.
Everyone except himself.
---
The final performance of the festival ended.
“And with that final stage, this year’s [Time-Traveling Haenam National Music Festival] officially comes to a close!”
“Awwww—”
At the audience’s disappointed groans, the MC grinned and shouted:
“But don’t be too disappointed! We’ll now begin the awards ceremony!”
“WAAAAAAAHHHHH—!!”
Together with dramatic background music, the MC announced the Encouragement Award, Excellence Award, and Grand Excellence Award winners one by one.
Each time a team’s name was called, the audience cheered loudly.
Kim Bori did the same.
Every time one of the bands she supported won an award, she screamed at the top of her lungs.
And when the Grand Excellence Award was announced—
“The Grand Excellence Award goes to… congratulations! <Night Nest Band>!”
“WOOOOOOAAAAAAAHHHHH—!!”
Her cheering grew even louder.
One of the strongest candidates for the Grand Prize had been eliminated, meaning the ultimate winner was now practically obvious.
“And now, only the Grand Prize remains~ Wow, honestly I have no idea who’s going to take it, right?”
“Hahahaha!”
And so, the moment everyone already expected arrived—
“The glorious Grand Prize winner of this year’s [Time-Traveling Haenam National Music Festival] is…! <The Stretched Band> with [A Story I Want to Tell You]!”
“WOOOOOOAAAAAAAHHHHH—!!”
As expected, the audience—including Kim Bori—erupted into celebration the moment <The Stretched Band> won the Grand Prize.
But then—
“<The Stretched Band>, please come onto the stage to receive your award!”
“……”
“Hmm? <The Stretched Band>? Is <The Stretched Band> not here?”
Despite winning the Grand Prize itself, <The Stretched Band> didn’t appear on stage.
Only after staff frantically searched for them did the members finally run onto the stage.
“Yes! <The Stretched Band> is here!”
“Hahaha! Hurry on up! But, um…?”
The audience quickly noticed something strange.
‘Why are there only three people?’
Only three members had come onstage.
The Tokki-Kking vocalist who had completely enchanted the audience with his beautiful singing was nowhere to be seen.
As the crowd began murmuring in confusion, the MC finally asked the band leader directly.
“Leader! Congratulations on winning the Grand Prize! Hahaha! But where is your rabbit-mask vocalist? I think everyone here’s very curious about him!”
“Ah… well…”
Holding the microphone awkwardly, the leader of <The Stretched Band> answered with an embarrassed smile.
“Ah… haha. Well, that friend has extremely severe stage fright, and… he only joined us temporarily while traveling across the country…”
“…So?”
“…After finishing the song, he… um… yes. He left for his next destination.”
“…????”
Kim Bori had become a complete fan of the Tokki-Kking vocalist during this festival.
Once the event ended, she planned to find him and ask his name—and where she could go to hear him sing again.
But he just… left?
After mesmerizing over a thousand people with one song, he disappeared without telling anyone his name or anything else?
“……”
“……”
For a moment, neither the MC nor the audience could process what they’d just heard.
And then a few seconds later—
“…Excuse me?! He just LEFT?!”
The entire crowd exploded into chaos.