Devil’s Music

Four days after sending the guitar part recordings to Arthur via email, Geon, filled with anticipation that Arthur, who had flown in from England, was joining them for the first time, reached for the door handle of the school studio when he was startled by a shout bursting from inside.

“What? What’s wrong with the person joining today?”

Hearing the shout, which seemed to belong to Kevin, Geon stiffened as he was about to open the door, only to stiffen again at the pointed voice of the ever-calm and kind Shizuka.

“No, hello, who are you to nitpick Kay’s music? Are you qualified to do that?”

Geon swung the door open after confirming even Shizuka, usually serious only about music, raising her voice.

Inside the rehearsal room, a flushed-faced Kevin was standing up, and Shizuka was sitting at the keyboard, looking restless as if worried she had been heard raising her voice.

Arthur, who seemed to hesitate, not expecting his words to provoke such anger, looked apologetically at Geon.

Geon spoke after surveying the three of them for a moment.

“What’s going on, Kevin?”

“Ah, no… it’s…”

As Shizuka awkwardly tried to deflect, Arthur stepped forward and said,

“I apologize, it’s my fault.”

Geon looked at Arthur and asked,

“Could you explain what happened, Arthur?”

“That is…”

Arthur recalled the earlier incident.

Arthur, who had come to the U.S. excited just by the prospect of meeting Geon’s band, had been too busy with a new product launch to listen to the guitar part Geon had sent and had arrived in the U.S. unprepared.

He was able to start rehearsing right away, so on the taxi ride from the airport to Juilliard, Arthur put on his earphones and listened to the music, grimacing slightly.

“The timing is... slightly off. Well, it’s inevitable since the drums should have been recorded first, but it’s still impressive. It seems like he didn’t even use a metronome, but such rhythm sense, definitely Kay.”

Upon arriving at Juilliard, Arthur, visiting the school of musical geniuses for the first time, looked around like a country bumpkin and knocked on the rehearsal room he had learned about in advance.

Knock, knock.

Hearing an invitation to enter, Arthur opened the door and saw a blond beauty sitting on the floor.

“Oh, you must be Kevin? I’m Arthur Hodgson.”

Kevin, staring blankly at Arthur, realized he was Geon’s drummer and got up with a smile.

“You’re here, welcome. I’m Kevin Winston.”

“Haha, please take care of me.”

Arthur’s first meeting with Kevin was very pleasant. Kevin, who had a knack for making people comfortable, quickly became friends with Arthur, and soon after, Shizuka joined them, quickly warming up with Kevin’s jokes.

The problem arose after they started discussing music. Shizuka, looking serious, flipped through the music sheets and said,

“Kevin, have you finished practicing? It’s our first session together today.”

Kevin scratched his head and shook it.

“No, something’s weird. It’s supposed to be an easy piece, right? Honestly, Fury is much harder. This one is slow. But somehow, it just doesn’t click. It feels off.”

Shizuka sighed deeply and said,

“I feel the same, it doesn’t seem like it would be this hard to play even the classic masterpieces said to be made by great musicians. It’s not feasible to get the right feel with just a few days of practice.”

Kevin sighed along with Shizuka and looked at Arthur.

“Did you get a chance to practice, Arthur? Ah, you didn’t have much time, right?”

Arthur took out his drumsticks, scarred from use, and said,

“It seems we need to start recording from the drum part.”

Kevin clicked his tongue as if it was the most obvious thing.

“Of course, it’s normal to start recording music from the drums, that’s why Kay started with the guitar, even Carlos can’t do that.”

Arthur casually swung his sticks and said,

“The timing was slightly off.”

Kevin and Shizuka simultaneously looked up.

“What?”

“The recording Kay gave us to practice with. The timing is off, we need to record the drum part first and then redo the guitar part.”

Kevin and Shizuka’s eyes turned fierce. They couldn’t accept that someone was saying their leader and most respected musician, Kay, was wrong. Kevin began to shout.

“What? Do you even know who Kay is to talk nonsense like that?”

Startled by Kevin suddenly raising his voice, Arthur dropped his sticks. An alarmed Arthur turned to Shizuka, who also glared back with a sharp voice.

“I’d like to see if

you are even qualified to criticize Kay.”

Arthur looked back and forth between the two, raising his hands.

“No, that’s not what I meant, I was just talking about the timing…”

Kevin shouted again.

“Isn’t timing part of music?! How dare you criticize Kay, are you even qualified!?”

As the conversation turned to timing, Arthur, who prided himself on his sense of timing, flared up.

“Is Kay infallible? Of course, I respect him and think he’s a great musician, but even he can be off-beat at times. Is it such a crime to point that out?”

“What?! What’s wrong with someone who just joined today?”

“No, hello, who are you to nitpick Kay’s music? Are you qualified to do that?”

That’s when Geon, entering the room, looked at the three with a cold gaze.

“This is what happened. I’m sorry for causing a disturbance, Kay.”

Arthur, who stood and bowed his head, was approached by Geon, who patted his shoulder.

“You did nothing wrong, sit down.”

As Geon defended Arthur, Kevin stepped forward and shouted.

“Are you saying it’s okay to let a drummer who criticizes the leader on his first day go?”

Geon looked at Kevin and Shizuka. Shizuka, sharing Kevin’s sentiment, looked at Arthur with force in her eyes, uncharacteristic of her.

“You two. Are you doubting me?”

Taken aback by Geon’s unexpected words, Shizuka stammered.

“What? What do you mean, doubting Kay?”

Kevin also shouted as if it made no sense.

“I trust Kay more than my own mother! What are you talking about?”

Geon, arms crossed, said with a serious face.

“You two. You’re my friends, right?”

“Of course!! I’m obviously your friend!”

“Absolutely! The only people I can call friends are Kay and Kevin.”

As the two shouted in unison, Geon smiled and placed his hand on Arthur’s shoulder.

“See, he’s the drummer I chose. Why do you think I chose him?”

Kevin hesitated as he hadn’t thought about that part, and Shizuka spoke softly.

“Well… because he’s skilled, right?”

Stung by Shizuka’s words, Kevin added,

“Is there anyone here without skills?”

Geon chuckled and said,

“That’s right, everyone here is skilled. Even if we are friends, we wouldn’t be together if we didn’t have skills. It might be harsh, but that’s the truth.”

Though it might have sounded harsh, it was also a recognition of their skills, so Shizuka and Kevin nodded in satisfaction. Seeing them, Geon gripped Arthur’s shoulder firmly.

“I don’t have the confidence to play the piano better than Shizuka, or to perform a groovier bass than Kevin.”

Kevin, swallowing the words "You could play better than me if you really wanted," looked at Arthur.

“Then… Arthur too?”

“Yes, I don’t have the confidence to play more accurate timing than Arthur. That’s why I brought Arthur here.”

“Wasn’t he a clockmaker?”

“Yes, that’s right. The most accurate clockmaker in the world.”

Kevin’s face softened as he looked at Arthur, who was slightly older and extended his hand first.

“I should have thought more before speaking. I’m sorry if I offended you.”

Arthur shook Kevin’s hand, who turned away and feigned indifference.

“Ah... well, I’m sorry too.”

Arthur approached Shizuka, extending his hand.

“I’d like to be your friend too, Shizuka.”

Shizuka took Arthur’s hand with a hesitant voice.

“Yes…”

As apologies were exchanged, Geon clapped his hands and said,

“Since it’s our first meeting, let’s drink today!”

At the mention of alcohol, Kevin, excited, nearly threw his bass guitar aside as he stood up.

“Woooo!! That’s right, men become friends over drinks!”

Shizuka quickly organized her music sheets and stood up, as Geon playfully said,

“There are more guests today. You’ll probably be able to drink to your heart’s content.”

Kevin shouted with excitement.

“Woooo!!! Yeah! Bring them on, let’s drink to death today!”

“Hehe, let’s see if you can still laugh in two hours.”

“What are you talking about! There’s no one who can outdrink me!”

“Hehe, we’ll see.”

The four headed to the Bibiking Club. The staff, happy to see Geon after a long time, led them to the VIP room, and as soon as the ordered food and drinks began to arrive, Kevin kept raising his beer glass and cheering.

“When is this guest arriving? Just one person?”

“No, two. They should be here any minute.”

And that day, Kevin met the God of Wine. Snoop Dogg and Eminem, having received a call from Ge

on, came to the Bibiking Club and kept feeding Kevin drinks until he looked like his great-grandfather and collapsed on the table within an hour.

Next to him, Arthur, also collapsed, was sleep-talking with his hand on Kevin’s shoulder.

“Mmm... stop it, Snoop...”

Neminem, sitting with his feet up on a chair and giggling continuously, was surprised by Geon’s increased alcohol tolerance and kept ordering drinks. Geon, barely hanging on, collapsed soon after the beer switched to whiskey.

Snoop, intoxicated with the satisfaction of victory, made a V-sign, while Neminem looked at him with a disdainful gaze.

Everyone except Shizuka had collapsed asleep. Shizuka went to the restroom for a moment, and Snoop looked around at the sleeping people and said,

“It looks like Kay’s band is finally complete, huh?”

Neminem, playing a game on his phone, nodded.

“Yeah, now that the drummer’s here, it’s complete.”

Hearing something muttered by Geon, who was sleeping next to him, Snoop leaned in and asked,

“What? What’s he saying?”

Neminem, also curious, leaned closer to Geon, and they heard his sleep-talking voice.

“Mmm... just need Kiska... then... it’s complete.”

Snoop frowned and looked at Geon, then shrugged.

“Guess it’s not complete yet, huh?”

>

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