Episode 12
"Ha, I told you. Your rap mistake there was a big deal."
The ensemble practice room of Seoun Arts High.
Students sat gathered in front of their instruments.
It wasn't class time. The team members who had participated in the last Open Stage had gathered separately.
Before advancing to the preliminaries, it was to give feedback on the lacking parts.
"I honestly agree. No, if it were unavoidable, that'd be one thing, but you messed up because of a lack of practice, right?"
Things they couldn't easily bring up at first.
But once one person opened the floodgates, similar testimonies began pouring out one after another.
Though they hadn't been able to say it, it meant everyone was thinking the same thing.
"That's right. This was something we needed to address at least once."
When even the one remaining person who had been maintaining neutrality joined in, public opinion reached a single conclusion.
"Answer us, Lee Hyeonsang. Why exactly didn't you practice this time?"
The reason this team had almost been eliminated during the last stage performance was Lee Hyeonsang's lazy attitude.
And now, with it happening again in this ensemble practice as well.
They had to solve that problem.
"...So you're saying it's all my fault?"
Blaming gazes converging on him.
Lee Hyeonsang, who had come with the intention of firing everyone up and boosting morale, was bewildered.
'No, you guys had your fun too!'
He felt it was unfair.
For starters, that female guitar major who had spoken up first was the same.
She wasn't even a vocal major, yet she went to karaoke so often.
Anyone would think she was appearing on Hey Pop Star.
'That couple over there is the same.'
The drum–keyboard couple who had agreed with her opinion were no different.
Hadn't they gone on a picnic nearby because the cherry blossoms were in bloom?
Unable to hold back any longer, Lee Hyeonsang finally burst out with complaints.
"Honestly, is there anyone here who can say they didn't hang out and have fun?"
Just try to say something. I'll release the evidence I have one by one.
He had been gearing up like that, but he had to shut his mouth at the following words from the guitarist.
"So did we slack off and skip what we were supposed to do?"
He had nothing to say.
Among the music they were supposed to cover, there were some that simply didn't suit his taste.
So he practiced songs he usually liked more.
And sometimes when friends went out to hang out, he went along too.
Even though he hadn't even started on the covers yet.
"...I'll admit my practice was a bit lacking."
Lee Hyeonsang nodded reluctantly.
Of course, that didn't mean he fully accepted it.
If only a song worth pouring his passion into was selected, he was confident he could do better than anyone.
Lee Hyeonsang truly thought that.
"But if it's a song I want, I really do work hard."
"Hah...."
At that shameless attitude, the guitarist clicked her tongue.
"If that's how you feel, bring one yourself."
The guitarist slammed the door and went out.
In the midst of urgent times, with the ensemble practice falling through as well, the team members' expressions darkened.
'So what, what do you want me to do about it.'
Lee Hyeonsang rushed outside as if fleeing after the guitarist.
He was frustrated too. It was a time when no song sparked his interest.
'Huh?'
It was in front of a student's practice room that Lee Hyeonsang stopped walking.
Without realizing it, he found himself blankly listening to the music flowing out from inside.
'...This is it.'
He immediately took out his phone.
To not forget, he recorded it, then opened his messenger.
[Pin Legs group chat.]
—Hey guys, want to try a song I wrote?
After arriving home, he immediately opened his composition program.
He kept humming the song he had accidentally heard at school.
* * *
Time passed quickly, and before they knew it, it was late April.
Final exams were right around the corner, but the expressions of students coming to school weren't dark.
'Finally, today is the day.'
Because today was the day of the concert's preliminary round.
"Didn't they say it's being held at Seoun Hall today?"
"Yeah. I heard they're doing it in a concert format since only the teams that passed last time are advancing."
The conversation of students entering the school.
They were talking while looking forward to the afternoon performance.
Of course, not everyone was waiting for the preliminaries.
"You're going too, right?"
"I told you, I don't really want to go. I'll take one more photo during that time."
"That's hurtful, really."
"...Who doesn't know you're planning to upload a video on Pavebook?"
Not everyone loved music.
'Later, I want to make music that even those kinds of people can nod along to.'
Passing by the students, I entered the classroom.
Morning classes continued, but the atmosphere was restless.
Because there were many students nervous about the preliminaries coming up soon.
"I'm nervous even though I practiced so much."
Seonji said while reviewing the sheet music.
"Really? Should we practice more next time?"
"...No. The practice was enough."
I laughed at Seonji shaking her head.
For sure. We had practiced until we were sick of it.
Preparations were complete.
Time passed like that, and finally, with the rehearsal over as well.
[Preliminary Round Student Waiting Room.]
The performers gathered in the waiting room.
"Now, it's one step until the concert. Everyone, don't make mistakes, alright?"
With the main performance right around the corner, a teacher gave the students a pep talk.
In the waiting room where a strange tension hung in the air, I checked the order sheet once more.
[3rd Year Preliminary Round Order Sheet.]
...
7. Pin Legs.
8. Seonji & Jahun.
Eighth out of eleven 3rd-year teams.
'The team in front is Lee Hyeonsang's?'
When I thought of him, my brow automatically furrowed.
Because I already knew what he would pull today.
The concert's preliminaries—meaning today at Seoun Arts High—a noisy incident would occur.
"Seonji, do you remember the music they performed during rehearsal earlier?"
"Huh?"
While giving Seonji a hint, I looked at one team in the waiting room with a pitiful heart.
A trio quietly gathered together warming up.
"Ugh, I'm nervous."
"Don't be so nervous. The song we prepared is good enough."
The sight of them comforting each other made it all the more so.
Because they would soon be swept up in a plagiarism controversy.
—We really are the original creators...!
The voice I had heard in my previous life came to mind.
It was what the leader, who had just been comforting the team members, had said.
But until the truth was revealed, they had suffered quite a bit.
'He set up the board cunningly.'
Two identical stages unfolded on the same day.
The one who committed that despicable act was none other than Lee Hyeonsang.
'I should think about helping them if it comes to it.'
I didn't have any special feelings for the trio, but this case was different.
Because it was an act of damaging another person's creation.
—Plagiarist rapper Bard!
Suddenly, an unpleasant memory came to mind.
...It seemed I didn't have no special feelings after all.
'And it's not like I don't know the heart of someone who couldn't protect their own song.'
The trio in a similar situation. I was feeling a sense of kinship.
"Keh, finally getting to hear your music today? I've waited so long too."
While I was thinking that, Kim Drum approached us.
"...Why do you look so bad?"
"Ah, I was just thinking for a moment."
"It'd be nice if you thought about me too. Why did you guys only do a sound check during rehearsal and not let me hear it? I was really looking forward to it."
Seonji smiled bashfully at Kim Drum's question.
"We wanted you to be surprised at the main performance."
"...Annoying. You guys are annoying."
"Well, it's not like we're the only ones who didn't."
I pointed to a spot with my chin.
It was Lee Hyeonsang's team.
'They must have hidden it during rehearsal on purpose so they wouldn't get caught plagiarizing.'
What a cunning bastard.
He left no room for teachers to intervene before the stage.
"What, Park Yunseok's team?"
But Kim Drum suddenly mentioned another student's name.
'Ah, they didn't do it either.'
Honestly, it was understandable for Park Yunseok.
They probably had no lacking parts, to the extent that they didn't need to practice together until rehearsal.
"But are you okay not warming up?"
"Ah, I usually prefer to go up after relaxing comfortably, so I'm fine."
Drum acted leisurely in response to Seonji's question.
'I'll have to pretend I don't know he was hitting practice pads before coming to us.'
There was no other reason he came to find us.
It was because he needed someone to talk to relieve his tension.
'He probably came here because being with his team members makes him keep thinking about parts where he might make mistakes.'
To think he knows his own way of controlling his nerves.
He was quite a capable guy for a young student.
—The long-awaited! 3rd Year Concert Preliminaries! Starting right now!
Even as that happened, time kept flowing, and finally the preliminary round began.
Various teams went up and down on the stage.
The student audience who came to watch cheered along with their stages.
—Waaah!
Cheers echoed from outside the waiting room.
'Park Yunseok's team is definitely popular.'
Our turn had approached before we knew it.
If I remembered correctly, the only teams that received the biggest response were Park Yunseok's and Kim Drum's teams.
"I'm looking forward to it."
The certainty that what we prepared would hit.
Perhaps she felt that too, as Seonji slowly began warming up her hands.
"Team Pin Legs, come up when you're ready!"
The stage of Lee Hyeonsang's team, who were right before us, began.
—The song we prepared is...
'An original song, I suppose. And a plagiarized one at that.'
It was a moment when the trio waiting for their stage became pitiful.
"Isn't that the kid who caused problems last time?"
"Well, it's not just one or two."
Kim Drum, who had returned after finishing his own stage, pointed at the monitor.
To the extent that students from other classes knew, Lee Hyeonsang seemed to be a problematic guy.
Even today, he was planning to add one more to his history of mistakes.
—It's an original song. We'll begin right away.
The past I knew was playing through the monitor exactly as before.
'Shameless beyond belief. Is that your song?'
The moment the stage began like that.
—!
"Huh?"
Seonji opened her eyes wide in surprise.
'...What.'
I was surprised too.
The stage was flowing in a completely different direction than I had expected.
It wasn't that he hadn't plagiarized.
However, the plagiarized music wasn't the trio's song like in my previous life, but...
It was my original song that our team had prepared.
"...That bastard."
My head rang, ding.
'Once wasn't enough, so he did it twice.'
Having been hit with this kind of twist by Lee Hyeonsang twice, rage welled up from within.
He was shamelessly spewing out the music we had worked hard on for weeks as if it were his own.
"What, the song's pretty good?"
"I thought he was just a troublemaker, but he's pretty good?"
The students in the waiting room who didn't know the situation each added a word.
'I was waiting for him to find the path to his own ruin....'
Should I have pulled out the roots earlier?
Many thoughts came to mind. If only we had played the song during rehearsal, it wouldn't have been like this.
'No, if we had, we wouldn't have made it to the stage, and a crack would have formed.'
"...Hoo, what do you think?"
As the stage was ending, I asked Kim Drum, who wasn't joining in the praise alone.
"Huh? Uh... it's good, but."
Kim Drum looked at me as if perplexed.
"But something, I can't believe it. There aren't many people who construct flows like that... Yeah, that's a line you'd write."
"Me?"
"Yeah, so I wondered if you had helped him out a bit? But looking at your expression, I'm starting to get a sense."
He nodded as if he understood now.
'...He means it's distinguishable enough.'
He probably didn't say it knowing, but it helped me compose my mind to some extent.
The situation was already spilled milk anyway.
There was only one thing I needed to focus on.
'I have to show them through the music.'
"...Seonji. Let's go up now."
I looked at Seonji, who had been in a panic together with me, steadfastly.
"We have to show them. The song we prepared."
As I spoke, Kim Drum chimed in from the side.
"Yeah, I've been waiting until now, you know?"
At the behavior as if nothing had happened, Seonji also let out a short laugh.
"...Got it."
'I should rather thank him for plagiarizing my song.'
Because it was the opportunity for me to send him packing myself.
I spoke into the tightly gripped microphone.
"We've also prepared an original song."
Without realizing it, the corners of my lips went up.
"First Martini. We'll begin right away."
As I walked up to the stage like that, I looked around.
Students filled the audience seats that had been empty during rehearsal.
Their sparkling eyes and the cameras they held were gazing at the stage.
Regressor on the Beat