My ears were ringing.
The guitar, bass, drums, and vocals blended with the keyboard.
The music created by the band became increasingly clearer.
In contrast, the other noises didn't bother me.
The rustling static caused by the slightly misaligned in-ear monitor.
The constant sound of my breathing.
The noise made by the audience.
None of these could capture my attention.
Instead, I felt like I was underwater.
Suddenly, I remembered the first time I swam on that deserted island.
Back then, I knew nothing about Uncle Miller.
He had told me to jump into the waterfall pond.
At the time, I couldn’t even swim, and I didn’t fully understand what he was saying.
Still, I knew what he wanted.
He wanted to give me freedom.
At first, I was scared.
How was I supposed to know whether this foreign man I had never seen before would eat me or not?
Well, even so...
I decided to trust him once.
When I hesitated, he gave me encouragement and support.
I drew courage from that.
So I ran.
And when I realized it, I found out that I could run.
Without a second thought, I dived into a deep waterfall pond, the bottom of which I couldn't even gauge.
That moment is still vivid in my mind.
Even as I submerged deeply into the water, with my ears ringing from the pressure, my eyes sparkled.
There were various sounds I could hear underwater.
The bubbling sound of air bubbles.
The roaring thunder of the waterfall crashing down.
The soft rattling of pebbles being swept by the current.
But there was one sound that stood out clearly.
It was the voice of the man calling out to me, and the sounds of the various pieces of music I carried within me.
The pond, which had been a source of fear at first sight, became nothing the moment I jumped in.
Instead, it became a joy.
Even now, it was the same.
There was no real need for me to participate in this performance. Even without me, Dae-sung hyung would surely have found a solution, and the crisis would have been handled one way or another.
The world keeps moving just fine even if I don't dive in.
But the moment I dive in, the world inevitably changes.
Anyone who has made a ripple, even just once in their life, would understand that truth.
That’s why I stepped onto this stage.
'Because I said I would.'
And that’s why I sat down to play the keyboard here.
'Because I thought I could.'
The measures etched in the sheet music passed in an instant.
With my eyes following the next part and my hands touching the keys I needed to press, I played.
"Coincidence" was a wonderful song.
A story of young people living under the neon signs of the city.
Inferiority and superiority.
Noise and silence.
Anger and calm.
It sings of the countless coincidences born within those contrasts.
There are electrifying moments, like a guitar riff.
And there are bland moments, like a dull bass line.
But if we keep walking the path to the end, we discover the treasure called "coincidence."
Coincidence is amazing.
Two people passing by on the street become friends,
People who fought at work become lovers,
Lyrics scribbled in a sleepy haze become an immortal masterpiece.
I, who know coincidence well, could fully understand this song.
So I played without hesitation.
Doing my absolute best.
I wanted to ask, just once.
Is my performance fitting for "Coincidence"?
Or could I do even more?
I was curious.
As the song reached its finale, Dae-sung hyung turned to look at me.
I looked back at him immediately.
Just as a conductor gives silent cues to musicians in a classical concert hall, we felt like we could understand each other with just a glance.
He asked me.
Could I see it through to the end?
I answered.
I could see it through to the end.
Our silent conversation ended far too quickly.
Ten seconds.
That’s how long until the highlight of Coincidence.
There were only a few measures of the score left.
Normally, my performance would end ten seconds later.
The piano solo part that follows was supposed to be replaced by Il-sung hyung's electric guitar.
I heard that they often did it that way. So, that’s how we passed over it in the rehearsal as well. This was a decision made to ease the burden of me playing the keyboard for the first time today.
Five seconds.
But I knew I could do it.
I thought Dae-sung hyung, who was listening to my performance, would understand.
Three seconds.
The decision always lies with the band leader. I’m just a guest performer. I'm not even an official member, and our connection could simply be fleeting.
One second.
Even so, I looked at him. My performance was on the verge of stopping. My role in *Coincidence* ended here.
Expecting anything more would be overstepping.
Dae-sung hyung glanced at me again.
For a fleeting moment, our eyes met.
And then he,
understood me.
Hong Dae-sung shouted to the audience loudly.
"Keyboard solo!"
As if it had been predetermined, I played the keyboard. Countless notes passed through the score and disappeared from the keys.
Every instrument except mine had stopped playing a while ago.
The drums, which had been dividing the beat, the bass that had carried the low end, the guitar that was supposed to do the solo part, and even the vocals—none of them remained.
In the concert hall, only my keyboard resonated.
As if it were a scene from a movie.
For my very first audience watching this stage,
I gave it my all.
* * *
“Is there anywhere to sit?”
There was no chair in the backstage area. So, I flipped over an empty plastic box and sat on it, barely perching my hips on the edge. I even took off my mask.
I was set to perform exactly four songs on the keyboard for this live.
Originally, those songs were supposed to be spaced out in the middle of the setlist, but today, they had all been moved to the front of the performance.
Dae-sung hyung rearranged the order, worried I might get nervous and confused by the original sequence.
Thanks to him, I was able to step off the stage just 15 minutes after the concert began.
The backstage was incredibly hot.
Sweat beaded on my forehead.
The excitement I felt on stage just a moment ago didn’t seem like it was going to stop anytime soon.
I clenched my fists tightly, then opened them. A red and yellow flush briefly appeared on my palms before fading away.
This excitement didn’t seem like it would calm down easily.
"Hey! You were really amazing! Your keyboard skills are out of this world!"
"Ah… thank you."
It was the sound director who had been helping me during the rehearsal.
He pulled a water bottle out of his bag and handed it to me.
"Here, drink this. It's hot in here, right?"
"I guess the air conditioning isn’t working."
"No, it’s working fine. It’s just because of the crowd. You’ve got almost 300 people jumping around in here, so there’s no helping it. That’s part of the charm of Hongdae."
I twisted open the cap of the bottle he handed me with a crack. I took a sip. Gulp, gulp. The water flowed down my throat.
Phew.
"I feel a little more alive now. I didn’t even realize it, but I must have been thirsty."
"After performing so passionately, it’s no wonder you’re thirsty. I’ve got some soft drinks too, want one?"
"No, this is fine for now."
"Well then..."
The sound director pulled a small portable fan from inside his bag. He turned it on and held it up to my face. A pleasant breeze blew over me.
I took the fan and also accepted a towel from him.
What a fascinating bag.
"You’re a sound director, but you seem to carry everything."
"Oh, this? Actually, my nickname is Doraemon. People call me a sound director, but I actually take care of all sorts of odd jobs at Star Live House. Naturally, I’ve developed a multi-purpose bag. There’s nothing I don’t have in here."
A nice man.
That was the exact impression he gave.
“How’s the performance? Are the audience reactions okay?”
“Huh? Didn't you just see the audience? They were practically losing it when you stepped off the stage.”
“Really?”
“You really were out of it, huh? Anyway… They say the world is full of talented people, but I never imagined I’d see a kid like you on stage. And not just for some short skit, but for a full performance. This is going to become a legendary story in Hongdae one day.”
“Totally! Even I was completely blown away! Are you a trainee at some agency by any chance?”
At that moment, a woman dressed in black chimed in on the conversation. Judging by the words printed on her clothes, ⌜Rocking the End of Summer in Hongdae!⌟, she seemed to be a staff member.
And these staff members began to multiply.
“For real! How old are you anyway? You were so cool on stage!”
“I feel like I’ve seen you somewhere before… Have you been on TV? Like as a child actor or something? You definitely look familiar…”
“Can I get your autograph? Oh, and why were you wearing a mask on stage? Are you shy or something?”
“So cute! Should I buy you some tteokbokki after the show? I could swing it after I get my part-time pay. How about it?”
“......”
Um… tteokbokki?
Before I could say anything in my exhausted state, the sound director’s stern voice echoed through the space.
“Hey, you idiots! Aren’t you supposed to be working? What if an accident happens while you’re all goofing off?”
“Come on~ We were just taking a quick break since it’s our shift change. We saw this kid that caught our eye on stage and came backstage to check him out. Right?”
“Yeah. And for the record, we’ve been cleaning the bathrooms every hour!”
“The floor is spotless, and we’ve already settled the ticket sales. We finished all our work ages ago. How’s that? Pretty awesome, right?”
Part-timers who never back down from saying something.
The sound director scratched his head in frustration and warned them again.
“Can’t you see how exhausted he is? You might be saying just a word each, but how many words does he have to say? Huh? Are you not leaving? Do I have to dock your pay? Even if I deduct 10,000 won from your daily wage, it's still above minimum wage. You get that?”
At this point, the part-timers began to back off one by one. A few even apologized to me.
But then—
“The promise about tteokbokki with you is real, okay? Call me anytime if you’re free. I’m always around Hongdae anyway. Got it?”
A university student, who looked to be in his early twenties, left me a note and disappeared.
A piece of paper with her Instagram ID on it.
The sound director, who had been watching this, chuckled.
“I’ve always heard band members are popular, but you’re something else already.”
“What’s so great?”
“Heh, it’s nothing. Anyway, kid! The stage today was great. You were awesome. So for now, just rest up. If anything happens, call me.”
He patted me on the shoulder and then vanished somewhere.
After catching my breath for a moment, I stood up.
The heavy bass was vibrating through the speakers all the way to the backstage, piquing my curiosity about the ongoing performance.
I moved closer to the stage and peeked out, but all I could see at first was the dark audience seating.
I took a few more steps forward and stood near the standing area. That’s when the brightly lit, dazzling stage came into full view.
The four band members were creating one song together.
The thumping bass from the giant woofer speakers reverberated through my body.
Caught up in the excitement, I found myself unconsciously tapping my foot.
The performance was reaching its peak.
Beads of sweat formed on the foreheads of the *Daesunghaja* members.
Even though the air conditioning in the venue was blasting, it felt like nothing could stop their heat.
After finishing the song, Dae-sung hyung thanked the audience.
Since Daesunghaja had performed even the encore songs in succession, it felt like this was his final farewell.
With the cheers of the audience behind them, the band members moved backstage.
I too slowly started walking towards where they were.
Even before I reached the backstage, I could hear the voices of the hyungs. They were excited. Il-sung hyung, the first to spot me, shouted loudly.
"Hey! You bastard! Are you even allowed to perform this well? Wow, you tiny guy, you were amazing!"
"You're better than most keyboardists out there. You did great."
"In short, you killed it! You didn’t mess up the timing even once today, huh? How could you improve this much after just one rehearsal? You were a hundred times better than during the rehearsal! Bastard!"
Feeling slightly embarrassed, I thanked them and said good job to each of the hyungs in turn.
But then...
Dae-sung hyung responded with a question.
"Hey. Why are you saying 'good job'?"
"What?"
"Isn’t 'good job' something you say when the work is all done? Are you saying that now?"
"…?"
'...The work isn’t done yet?'
Just as I was trying to figure out what he meant, I started to hear a certain chant coming from the audience.
Dae-sung hyung looked at me and gave a sly grin.
"That's right. You need to join in too. You can play at least one more song, right?"
I nodded while listening to the echo of the audience, forcing a clueless smile.
"One song should be possible."
"Then let's go. If we wait any longer, there's no saving them."
"Really?"
"Yeah. All our fans are crazy."
As we started walking toward the stage, Lee Yeon hyung handed me a mask. He's such a meticulous person.
I put on the mask and stepped onto the stage.
The cheers of the audience resonated directly through my body.
Their chant of "Encore! Encore!" made my skin tingle.
The encore song, which wasn’t originally planned, was *Coincidence*.
The audience would hear the same song twice.
But it didn’t seem like they minded at all.
The familiar drum beat kicked in.
I played the intro on the keyboard.
Dae-sung hyung glanced at me, Deuk-soo hyung, Lee Yeon hyung, and Il-sung hyung before gently setting his guitar on the floor.
Then, gripping the wireless mic, he shouted to us.
"This is why I can never quit performing. Seojin, you're starting to get it now, aren't you?"
He ran toward the audience.
And yet, he was still shouting something at them.
Hong Dae-sung jumped into the air like a character from a comic.
Surprisingly, the audience expertly caught him as he dove into the crowd.
This obviously isn't the first time he's done this.
Hong Dae-sung blended in with the audience and sang Coincidence's song.
The remaining members continued creating the melody on stage.
As if there were no barriers between the singer and the audience, everyone in the venue gave their all to enjoy the performance.
And then.
In that heated atmosphere,
Our performance, sadly, came to an end.
* * *
Outback Steakhouse.
Here, where we came for an after-party, someone was sitting in despair.
It was Il-sung hyung.
"What? Why me...! Sniff! I've been in this band for years! I'm the lead guitarist! Teacher! Didn't you say the guitarist is supposed to get the most attention in a band?"
Of course, even amid all this noise, the delicious food was steadily being served. The T-bone steak that arrived in front of me... Mmm. I sliced a piece and took a bite. Ah! It melts in my mouth.
"Seriously! How are you all managing to eat right now? Huh? Hyungs! Does this even make sense?"
Il-sung hyung’s lament.
Deuk-soo hyung, who had been holding back, finally spoke up.
"Il-sung."
"Yes!"
"Is it really that big of a deal that Seojin... got a girl's phone number?"
Tears welling up in his eyes, Il-sung hyung protested.
"Of course it is! How is it not a big deal? Huh? Why am I the only one without one? You all have girlfriends! Some of you are even married! That kid is only 12 years old! Why am I the only one without one? This is a scam! It's a North Korean conspiracy!"
“Hey, take a look in the mirror. Seriously, look at yourself. You look so shabby. Who would want to date you?”
“Hyung, I've actually been to his house, and there’s really no mirror in the bathroom. That’s probably why he can’t objectively assess himself. But somehow, he still has high standards. As if he’s ever going to find someone that way.”
“Tsk. No wonder he’s been looking worse these days. There’s always a reason for someone being single all their life.”
“Wow... That’s gotta hurt a bit, doesn’t it? Go easy on him. What if he starts crying in front of Seojin?”
“No way. And honestly, even if he does get a girlfriend, Seojin would probably get one first.”
“Well, I can’t argue with that.”
“True.”
“Craaaughhh!”
Hit with unfiltered truths, Il-sung hyung let out a deeper cry.
Meanwhile, I watched him and mindlessly continued eating my steak.
Yum.
