Chapter 2

Chapter 2

In the original history, the time I joined the band was one year later, in 2018.

And I was the last member to join.

After an injury ended my taekwondo career and I wandered for a while, I joined half by chance at Lee Doyoung’s suggestion.

Looking back, I still don’t know what Lee Doyoung saw in me to make that offer.

At the time, even I didn’t know about my own musical talent.

But more than that, what I was curious about was how these guys ended up coming together in the first place.

I know the rough outline.

Lee Doyoung and Heo Junseong, who went to the same school as me, formed the band first, and later recruited Kim Jihu and Kang Min as members.

Kim Jihu learned instruments at the same practical music academy as Heo Junseong, as far as I know, and Kang Min...

I have no idea.

And finally, I joined as the vocalist.

But that was just the simple result.

I didn’t know the process of how they became close and came to work together.

Besides, they’re all high school students, right?

I’m an exception as a sports team member, but normally there’s the pressure of the CSAT.

It probably wouldn’t be entirely easy to come together as one team.

Maybe this is fine...

At this point in time, I knew nothing besides taekwondo, so I didn’t even have any close relations except with Heo Junseong.

If I had to say, it was just that I was in the same class as Lee Doyoung?

But I don’t even know if we ever properly greeted each other.

Swept up in a sense of being at a loss, I eventually thought I should just throw it out there and opened the classroom door.

“Hey, Heo Junseong.”

Standing in front of Heo Junseong with unusual momentum, I called his name without preamble.

Heo Junseong, who had been sitting crookedly listening to music, took out his earphones and looked up.

Maybe because he looks like a delinquent, his impression is truly something else.

Of course, he’s actually a good guy.

“What?”

“Let’s form a band with me.”

Of course he’ll refuse.

It’s not like I’ve shown anything besides taekwondo.

So I should first hear the rejection line from this most approachable guy, analyze it, and then think about how to approach.

Still, I had quite a few points of contact with Heo Junseong.

We were desk partners, and the guy without any shyness would talk to me whenever he was bored.

Heo Junseong, who had been staring at me blankly, said.

“You’ve been not fully awake from yesterday until now, right?”

“Didn’t you know? This is inside a dream.”

“Huh?”

“You play guitar, right?”

“How do you know that?”

“I saw you playing.”

“What? When?”

“On the street?”

“Ah, busking... I only did it a few times, that’s surprising.”

I probed roughly and it seemed to be correct.

Well, is there anyone who plays guitar a bit who hasn’t tried busking at least once?

“But what?”

“Let’s do it, a band.”

“What about taekwondo?”

“I quit.”

“Seriously?”

“Yeah.”

“Why?”

“Because I really want to do music.”

“Seriously?”

“I said I am.”

Heo Junseong blinked as he looked at me.

I don’t know what he’s thinking, but this is why high school is good.

Once you go out into society, a desperate dream doesn’t become a reason, but right now it can, right?

“Then I’m the guitar?”

“Did you think I called you to play the recorder?”

“Alright, let’s do it.”

“That’s it?”

“Then will you at least give me a signing fee?”

“No.”

As I bumped fists with the one Heo Junseong held out, I thought.

Isn’t this too easy?

Don’t tell me everyone gathered like this?

“But what’s your position? Ah, wait. Let me guess... bass?”

“Wrong.”

When I raised my eyebrows as if telling him to guess, it was fun because the guy seemed to be thinking a bit.

“Then drums? The sense of rhythm from splitting taekwondo kicks?”

What even is the rhythm from splitting kicks.

“I’m going to do vocals.”

At my words, Heo Junseong immediately frowned.

“What? It doesn’t suit you at all.”

“Why?”

How many years of vocal experience do I have?

“Your voice is good, but... how should I put it? You have no change in expression. Always a sullen face.”

Heo Junseong suddenly crossed his arms, leaned back, tightly closed his lips, and furrowed his eyebrows hard. Then he made a listless expression and indifferently scanned the surroundings.

Is that my expression?

With my idol and acting career, I was confident in facial expressions.

“Doesn’t it look exactly the same?”

“No.”

I consistently ignored the guy who was acting cute in a way that didn’t suit him.

“Hmm, want to go to karaoke after this? Let’s go hear how good you are.”

“Later.”

“Why?”

“When we gather more members, I’ll surprise everyone at once. Surprising them one by one is boring.”

“What is this? This confidence.”

Half of it is sincere, half is an excuse.

My singing skill right now isn’t that good.

Ordinary people would think I’m good, but I haven’t trained enough yet to bring out the feel from my previous life.

Vocals need tuning too.

Still, I have the know-how, so in about a month I’ll become pretty decent.

After about a year, I’ll reach a level similar to my previous life.

“But besides me, is there a member you have in mind?”

“Are you a bit close with Lee Doyoung?”

“Lee Doyoung? The class president?”

After thinking for a moment, Heo Junseong soon opened his eyes wide with a face that asked if I was serious.

Even at this time, Lee Doyoung was definitely playing bass.

I thought they had some friendship since the two of them formed the band, but it seems that wasn’t the case now.

“Lee Doyoung plays bass.”

When I did the band with them in the past, the band composition was like this.

Vocals, me.

Guitar, Heo Junseong.

Bass, Lee Doyoung.

Keyboard, Kim Jihu.

Drums, Kang Min.

“I can’t imagine the class president doing a band...”

I could understand Heo Junseong’s feelings.

When Lee Doyoung first suggested doing the band together, I also thought Lee Doyoung and a band didn’t suit each other.

The Lee Doyoung I remember was quiet and diligent.

He didn’t like standing out and was a typical well-behaved model student.

When a guy like that suggested doing a band together, the first thought that came was this.

‘Is he rebelling late?’

Among the well-behaved ones, there were surprisingly those who harbored a rebellious streak inside. I thought Lee Doyoung might be that kind of guy.

But Lee Doyoung was more sincere about music than anyone.

Even after I withdrew and the band disbanded, he taught kids at a practical music academy and did session work without giving up on his dream.

Usually when you hit the wall of reality you end up compromising, but he didn’t stop and kept trying until the end.

Right up to the moment he died.

The fact that he chose bass was also one of the things that let you glimpse his sincerity toward music.

The bass that holds the center of the band suited Lee Doyoung, who always explored the fundamentals of music, very well.

So I thought there was no one who suited bass as well as Lee Doyoung.

Well, if he takes off his glasses, his looks are also decent.

Some woman said that.

Even if you look at him upside down, he has the look of a secondary male lead.

It was such a memorable line that I memorized it, but I still don’t know why.

Is there a separate male lead look and a secondary male lead look?

If you’re good-looking, isn’t that enough?

Of course, he’ll need to lose a bit of weight compared to now.

“Lee Doyoung will do well. Anyway, are you close?”

“Just the level of greeting when we pass by?”

At Heo Junseong’s words, I shrugged.

“Then he’s closer than me.”

“If we say that?”

“Don’t just say it, go and seduce him. Tell him to do the band together.”

“How?”

“You’re good at it. Talking to people you don’t know. I’m an I.”

“I? Like a kid...?”

Thinking about it, MBTI wasn’t popular in this era.

“Hey, what kind of crazy guy would just okay forming a band out of nowhere?”

When I stared silently, Heo Junseong let out a hollow laugh.

“Ah? So I was the crazy guy.”

“If you know, go.”

“Uh, um... but it seems like he’s already listening to our conversation?”

* * *

At the same time, Lee Doyoung, who was sitting in his seat, was swept up in confusion.

He was looking at a workbook, but none of it was entering his eyes.

Originally he had planned to self-study until homeroom time, but he was on high alert because he was surprised to hear his name coming from behind.

Just as he was about to put in earphones and play a song. The words Cha Seoha and Heo Junseong were saying captured his ears.

They’re talking about me right now, right?

How did they know I play bass?

Cha Seoha has few words and a blunt impression, and only hangs out with the taekwondo athletes.

Heo Junseong, contrary to his delinquent-like impression, is sociable enough to have warm conversations with everyone in the class, and his reputation is good.

But he also hangs out with the so-called delinquents, so he was a bit scary.

Both are good-looking enough to stand out, but because of the impression that somehow made them hard to approach, he had thought they were scary.

But eavesdropping on the conversation, they seemed like ordinary peers, so he felt a bit more intimacy than before.

However, the end of their conversation is a bit scary.

“Uh, um... but it seems like he’s already listening to our conversation?”

In the midst of that, a long shadow fell over his field of vision.

When he looked up, he saw the faces of Cha Seoha and Heo Junseong smiling awkwardly.

“Hi?”

Heo Junseong seemed to be trying to make a friendly smile, but somehow that awkward smile felt even more menacing.

Scary.

Perhaps because that appearance was funny, he could see Cha Seoha behind him holding back laughter.

As Lee Doyoung froze in surprise and just stared at them, Heo Junseong scratched the back of his head awkwardly and opened his mouth.

“Class president, can we talk for a bit?”

As expected, scary!

Maybe because of their good physiques, the intimidation was no joke. With the two of them surrounding him, the once spacious seat suddenly felt cramped.

“Huh?”

“We have something to talk about.”

Are they really going to suggest doing a band?

They’re trying to persuade me, right?

They’re not trying to overpower me, right?

Words came out of Heo Junseong’s mouth just as Lee Doyoung expected.

“Want to do a band with us? I’d like it if you played bass.”

Cha Seoha and Heo Junseong, and a band.

In an instant, countless thoughts went through Lee Doyoung’s head.

He also thought it seemed like an interesting combination.

But a refusal reflexively popped out of his mouth.

“Sorry, thanks for the offer, but I’ll refuse.”

He was flustered because he didn’t know why he gave that answer, but he just thought he wouldn’t be able to do it.

After finishing his answer and deeply lowering his head, he felt stinging gazes above his head.

They must be upset, right? They went out of their way to make an offer to someone like me. Out of fear, he couldn’t even look at the two people’s faces.

Then a calm voice flowed from above his head.

“As expected, it’s not that easy, huh?”

“...What?”

At the unexpected words, Lee Doyoung unconsciously lifted his head again.

He thought they would be in a bad mood, but Cha Seoha actually looked like he was in a good mood.

On Cha Seoha’s face, which always looked blunt, somehow interest was embedded.

The face that didn’t smile often felt cool with a smile on it, but Lee Doyoung instinctively felt aversion from that smile.

He had never seen someone like Cha Seoha in his life.

Refusing an offer and then smiling as if it was fun instead.

As his mood was about to turn strange, Cha Seoha returned his expression to normal as if he had never smiled, then tapped Heo Junseong’s shoulder.

“Hey. This is all because you look scary.”

“Who’s one to talk?”

At Cha Seoha’s words, Heo Junseong glared at him as if he was dumbfounded.

The two people who hadn’t seemed that close besides the point of contact of being desk partners looked quite close as they bickered.

Then the bell signaling homeroom rang.

Cha Seoha, still wearing a smile that was knowable yet unknowable, returned to the back seats with Heo Junseong at a slow pace.

Class started soon after, but strangely, none of the teacher’s words entered his ears.

Even though he was the one who refused the band offer, somehow they accepted it too easily, so he felt like the one who had been rejected instead.