Chapter 6 (1/2)
Chapter 6
Track No03 – On the Melody (2)
The concert that Sangah-noona had been preparing over the past year had attracted more attention than I had expected it to — some of the fans, those who shared a more personal connection to her, had actually lined up at , even though there appeared to be no need for that
Sangah-noona was the only band e to be in a band alone, that was how things were in this caseWhenever she had a concert to play, or music to record, Noona would call on her acquaintances, just like she had noith Myungjoo-hyung and Jinhee-noonaNeither were ues
I could still recall the time when I had asked her why she ran a one member band, when people normally formed bands with other peopleShe had answered that she wouldn’t have been able to do whatever she wanted if she was in a group
It made senseNo matter how friendly one ith the other reements, such as differences in worldviews and preferred courses of action
Music bands were no different
The members would conflict with each other on topics like what direction to take therestrained like thatA one-man band really seemed like the best option for her
‘Margaret’ was the product of that attitudeThe creation of apersonal freedoet past their creative differences and
Our entire faah-noona had been dragged back hoonna ht across the faceSangah-noona herself had told everyone what had happened, likely trying to expunge the shaht her adh, had been chastise her parents worry
Nevertheless, now, three years since those events, she had a group of dedicated fans and a track record of concerts with other bands that had taken a liking to her music
She had faced so times, of course, but she had overcome all of thatHer love of freedo those atching over her from the side smile
That emotion was probably what had attracted everyone to this place tonight
Just fewtickets, the audience had been wearing several layers of clothing, but when I looked through the black curtains now,
I could see the the concert with their jackets off
Rock never cared about the cold, according to the star of the nightThat is what she thought, so that was hoould be
Sangah-noona was excited by being able to hold a concert after such a long ti the stage, accohs and wild cheersAfter that, the chattering, cheering, excited people started to stream out of the venue
I greeted the exiting people from a merch booth located next to the exitThe saet in was now full of those on their way out, some of whom stopped to buy CDs and other merchandise
One person shouted fro from her behaviour, she must have been a winner of the raffle that had been held at the end of the eventAs expected, the girl soon handedthe crowd for every last bit of attentionI found her chatter obnoxious
However, I quickly put her out ofwas unexpectedly highSoPerhaps they were gifts for soI could understandAfter all, Sangah-noona had boldly announced that there were no new products on sale this time around
There was one person who stuck out like a sore thumb in that queue of oddballs
My eyes were drawn to the large, oversized parka, the beanie pulled deep down onto the forehead, and scarf and e, but not that unusual, since the person ht have simply rushed out of their ho a pair of sunglasses in this dark, underground venueI wondered if they could even see anythingIt was an outfit thatin their direction feel stuffy
After a while, the queue had progressed enough for that person to have their turn at the stallThey spent quite a while browsing themy earlier nosiness
Finally, when a discontent gru behind the stranger, their gloved hand pointed at a large bath towel that had “Margaret” naah-noona had asked someone to make in the past
“That will be 13,000 won, please”
(ED: For those ould like an easy conversion, that’s a bit less than 13 USDJust divide by 1,000 for a rough overestimate
)
I handed them the bath towelThey accepted it and took out their wallet, reh their banknotes with a shockingly pale handIt took er than I expected, but they finally took out some moneyIt was only 8,000 wonI refused to withdraw my hand and waited for the rest they ohich seelasses a little, perhaps to read my face better while they recounted the notes, and I saw their eyes
Eyes that contained a lingering, light brown hue
The stranger, the girl, turned on a died to say anything
“Are you doing alright?”
With h the back door, having apparently finished his work on stageHe was quite a famous drummer in our neck of woods, and his appearance raised a cheer from the crowdI took that as my cue to dash out
“Hyung, look after the booth for a bit! Thanks!”
I dashed towards the entrance that the girl had disappeared to, ignoring his confused questionsThe venue was deep underground, and the staircase that led out was still ja up, but it would be just as hard for her, if not harder, given the difference in our build
Kinize those eyes
I didn’t get why she had coht now, that wasn’t important
What she had done was a crimeThat 5,000 as part of my pay today
As I expected, she had no chance of getting through the throng of people with that sht up quickly
First, I saw the beanieI irabbed her handShe atteripI could feel her arh the fabric — so slender that it felt like it would break
Our struggle on the stairs slowly attracted the attention of bystandersWhen she noticed, she i and stared at me motionlessly
“Hey—”
Before Ielse, she covered ed me up the stairs
I was about to protest, but I realized that it was in neither of our interests to attract attention here, so I followed her up the stairs without resistance
We ended up inside a men’s bathroo housing the venueThere was onenonchalantly entered and pushedout the fa with the screen
Was she really trying to tell irl?
To my relief, the delicate issue resolved itself when the other hed in relief, rabbed the back of ed me into an empty stall
I heard the click of a lock
I weakly flopped onto the toilet seat and watched her relassesHer otherworldly eyes that I hadn’t seen for a ere frozen in a cold gaze, just like back then
“Um—”
“Shut up and don’t moveI’m about to die from the embarrassment here”
She pulled her mask down and shut el0 was e men’s bathrooms