Ch.9797. Competitors

“Again!”

“Hmm… no! Again!”

“Juyeon! Try this one on again too.”

A scene similar to their first regular performance unfolds.

Hana, carrying piles of clothes, kept putting the two of them in and out of the fitting room repeatedly, as if changing outfits on character dolls.

“…Hana.”

“What?”

“Aren’t these all just white shirts in the end?”

Some fitted perfectly, others were oversized.

Some had short sleeves, others long.

Suhyeok wondered if all this fuss was really necessary.

“Yes, that’s right. But I want to pick the one that suits you best, so that’s why I’m doing this.”

“Hahaha. What’s wrong? Is Suhyeok tired?”

Seo-eun, who had already decided on her outfit, approached the two.

Having finalized her stage attire, Seo-eun exuded a mature aura.

She had the vibe of a working professional rather than a college student.

“I’m not tired, but honestly, I don’t really get it.”

“Hey, don’t doubt me. Your big sis has a plan here.”

She had asked Juyeon and Suhyeok how much money they brought precisely for this purpose.

When it comes to clothes, the more expensive ones are usually prettier and have better texture.

In that context, Suhyeok’s options were very limited.

The total amount he proposed for both top and bottom was around 80,000 won.

Juyeon had about twice that amount, but that was because she had money earned from her streaming.

“Alright, Mr. Lee Suhyeok. Let’s try on this last one.”

After reluctantly going through everything she asked, Hana finally confirmed the final selection.

In front of a large full-length mirror.

The 23rd generation members, dressed in black and white, stood closely together.

“Ha. One. Two. Three?”

The one holding the phone was Juyeon, the shortest.

With a click, a group photo that could pass for an album cover was taken.

“Oh, nice, nice! We really look like a band!”

“…We are a band.”

“No! Not just a club! A true original group!”

At the word “original,” Suhyeok glanced at Hana.

He suddenly remembered what she had said when she was working part-time.

“Now everyone go home and meet at the bus stop tomorrow morning at 10! You’re dead if you’re late!”

Seo-eun warned solemnly.

For regular practice, being 10 minutes late was usually overlooked, but for competitions or performances, that was absolutely unacceptable.

“Yes.”

“Okay.”

“I’m leaving.”

“Everyone practice individually at home!”

After the president’s dismissal, Suhyeok, as discussed, was going to walk Juyeon home.

“Juyeon.”

“Yeah?”

“Have you thought about creating and singing original songs on your broadcasts?”

Everything is difficult only the first time.

Going down a path you’ve already traveled isn’t that hard.

This would be his second time working on a song.

Of course, Juyeon hadn’t arranged the session herself, but what she had learned by watching over his shoulder would provide a solid foundation.

“Hmm… I’m not sure, I don’t have much ambition for that.”

“If you’re interested, I can help you.”

Though still a novice, Suhyeok was gradually learning about composition through his studies with Hana.

“But can’t you only handle band sounds?”

“Uh… right? Ah, you want to try making a different genre of music. Well, in that case, I definitely…”

Suhyeok scratched his head in embarrassment.

If what Juyeon wanted was EDM or electronic-based music, Suhyeok would be completely useless.

“Heh. I’ll let you know if I ever decide to do it.”

Though not completely giving up on the idea, she had lost her motivation and couldn’t make any promises for the future.

“Okay. Your fans would like it too.”

Fans.

Fans, huh…

For someone suffering from misguided fan obsession like her, it wasn’t exactly pleasant to hear.

Passing the crossroads, the two arrived at Juyeon’s building.

Standing at the door, Juyeon slightly bowed her head to Suhyeok.

“Thanks again for today.”

“It’s nothing. We’re going the same way anyway.”

“Suhyeok.”

“…Yeah?”

Juyeon pressed her lips slightly.

“How’s your… dating plan going?”

A bold plan to confess her feelings despite knowing it would be postponed.

Juyeon was curious about his current status.

Suhyeok nodded, indicating it wasn’t going badly.

“So-so.”

“Do you think that friend will fall for you?”

“Hmm…”

It wasn’t 100%, but recently his relationship with Hana felt like it was heading in a positive direction.

He still couldn’t be certain of the success of his confession, but at least he could tell that Hana was quite favorable toward him.

More than just a close friend.

“I’m slightly hopeful.”

“How much?”

“About as much as my fingernail?”

Suhyeok showed her his fingernails, which were cut short for playing guitar.

“I see. You know you have to tell me when you get results, right?”

Juyeon smiled broadly, which was rare for her.

“Yeah, I’ll tell you.”

“Should I come over to listen to your woes?”

“Do you want me to fail?”

Suhyeok responded with a laugh, but Juyeon didn’t answer.

“Suhyeok.”

“Yeah.”

“Let’s do well tomorrow.”

If Maze was Hana for Suhyeok,

Juyeon’s maze was the man standing in front of her.

It was Suhyeok.

“Yeah. We have to win a prize for sure.”

Maze was the song that would show them the answer.

* * *

Morning broke.

Hana, who had arrived at the bus stop earliest due to nervousness, spotted Suhyeok and waved.

“Hey, Lee Suhyeok.”

“…Hi.”

“What’s with you? You look half-dead.”

His sunken eyes.

The way he was dangling his hard case made him look like a graduate student marinated in fatigue.

“I was trying to become friends with the Les Paul and…”

Suhyeok showed her his left hand.

“Let’s just say I was slightly rejected.”

Having calluses didn’t mean the skin above them couldn’t tear.

Bits of flesh torn apart as if ruptured here and there.

Hana could immediately tell what kind of struggle had taken place just by looking at it.

“Doesn’t it hurt?”

Hana grabbed his hand abruptly as if to take a closer look.

“It won’t affect your playing, right?”

“Yeah, it’s fine. I already have calluses, so it doesn’t hurt.”

Whenever Hana casually initiated physical contact like this, Suhyeok’s gaze reflexively turned elsewhere.

“Let’s go! Time to kill it!”

When Choegang, dressed in a shirt and black slacks, said something like that, Suhyeok felt like he was standing next to a gang boss or mafia don.

“Everyone, check one last time that you haven’t forgotten anything!”

If someone said they’d left their equipment behind after arriving, there would be no solution.

The venue was an hour away from here.

“Nothing forgotten.”

“Let’s go!”

The members started boarding the bus one by one.

The morning rush hour had passed so it was quite empty, but boarding public transportation with a bunch of instruments was still quite a noisy process.

Hana, who was also carrying an effects pedal bag, simply ordered Choegang to carry it for her.

Since he only needed to bring his drumsticks, he had the least to carry.

After an hour of traveling,

Having crossed a distance equivalent to going from one end of the city to the other, they arrived at a spacious venue on the outskirts of Seoul.

As they approached, they saw crowds of people with guitars everywhere on the street, as if advertising the competition.

“…There are so many.”

“Yeah.”

“Are all these applicants?”

Inside, teams that had already arrived were sitting in the audience seats, taking out their instruments to practice.

“Wow, a PRS.”

“Whoa, there’s even a Tyler.”

“That’s a custom shop, I wonder how much it costs…”

With music majors also participating in the competition, they could have been intimidated by the instruments alone, but today’s Suhyeok wouldn’t be discouraged.

It was all thanks to the treasure bestowed by their senior.

Thanks to Mr. Les Paul.

Like birds building a nest, the 23rd generation found a corner in the audience seats.

At the same time, a man who appeared to be staff took the stage with a microphone.

“We will now begin the preliminaries.”

Even if each team took only 3 minutes, with 50 teams that would be 2 hours and 30 minutes.

And that’s just for the performances—adding the time to get on stage, set up, and adjust would make it about 5 minutes per team.

Judging by the number of people gathered, it seemed like it would take a good 5 hours.

“Then please come up in order, starting with number 1. Number 1, Platinum Blade, please come up.”

Already knowing their turn, a group of men hurriedly went up on stage.

After busily connecting cables and strumming a few times, they gave the okay sign.

The vocalist with a voice like a deep cave stared straight ahead.

Naturally, being first, everyone’s eyes were on him.

“Hello! We are Platinum Blade. We’ll start now!”

The greeting was short and concise.

This wasn’t a concert venue.

Soon the performance began.

What pierced their ears was a psychedelic sound that had never used a Spirit.

No, more precisely, they didn’t even know how to use it.

A melodic riff layered over a flanger effect that felt like flying through space.

“Wow.”

An exclamation naturally escaped Suhyeok’s lips.

The richness of the sound itself was different.

A professionalism that seemed too overwhelming to be amateur.

Hana didn’t want to admit it, but she felt the wall between them.

“…We’re screwed, aren’t we?”

She seriously thought they might not even have a chance and could fail miserably.