(Transted/Edited/Slight Proofread: Snow) (pls, let me know if there's any mistakes!)

  Taeil squeezed every drop of his memories and experiences to somehow recreate the opening of Show Band.

  Being a part of the fandom is truly an incredible thing.

  It helped that in his past life, he had practiced uploading cover songs.

  Even so, there were still countless things that needed to be torn down and rebuilt. Did this even resemble a song at this point?.

  Taeil watched the opening track, BURNING!, from Show Band, the one he had painstakingly restored.

  "It’s different."

  It fell far short of the original.

  Of course, it did.

  BURNING! was crafted by top-tier composers and producers in Japan—a masterpiece born from colboration at the highest level.

  For an amateur like him to attempt to recreate it was bound to expose limitations.

  No matter how much effort you put in, creative work doesn’t always improve just because you spend more time on it.

  To make matters worse, sampling the original song was impossible here. He had no choice but to rely on his imperfect memory to reconstruct the arrangement.

  And the result?

  "This is just a roughly arranged version of BURNING!..."

  The essence of the original song remained, but this version—anyone who heard it would immediately recognize it as Taeil’s take.

  The chorus, striking and iconic, was nearly identical to the original, but the verses and bridge had been reshaped entirely by his own taste.

  Still, since it was a band piece, as long as the vocalist delivered it well, the changes might not be too noticeable.

  But no! This was an unforgivable bsphemy.

  "Ugh..."

  Guilt pressed heavily on Taeil’s chest.

  He had tarnished a masterpiece.

  Yet, if he wanted to refine it, he had to keep listening.

  Closing his eyes, he pyed his arranged version of BURNING! once more.

  In his mind, the virtual stage lit up, and four girls took their pces.

  Drums: Lena.

  Lead Guitar: Sakuya.

  Bass: Ayane.

  Rhythm guitar and vocals: Iris

  Intro.The song opens with a mellow J-Pop piano melody, flowing out like a quiet prelude.

  Moments ter, Iris lowers her voice, her neutral tone weaving seamlessly into the atmosphere as she begins to sing.

  Lena sets the beat with a precise hi-hat, and Ayane’s bass rises to meet the rhythm in perfect sync.

  As Iris’s monologue comes to a close, the soft piano transitions into the distinct electronic hum of a synthesizer. At the same time, Iris picks up her guitar, seamlessly continuing the rhythm.

  Verse.The tempo remains steady, but the rhythm shifts.

  Like a quiet announcement, Sakuya begins plucking the guitar strings in earnest, adding depth to the sound.

  Meanwhile, Iris and Ayane engage in a musical conversation, exchanging notes that feel like a pledge to each other.

  Chorus.Then, a surge—Sakuya’s guitar and Lena’s dazzling drum fills the soundscape.

  And in that moment, Iris unleashes her greatest weapon—her powerful, neutral-toned high notes, striking yet fwlessly controlled.

  If you focus, you can just barely hear Ayane’s bass—it doesn’t dominate, yet its presence is undeniable.

  But Taeil hears it clearly.

  Not just from Iris, who carries the melody, but from every member of the band, he can feel it—

  The fiery passion, the relentless determination, the unshakable resolve to push forward toward their dreams, burning with intensity.

  Verse Again.The same pattern returns, but the lyrics shift.

  If the first verse told the story of Iris and Ayane’s meeting, the second verse sings of Lena and Sakuya—how they found each other, how their true feelings begin to surface.

  A Short Refrain.Iris steps forward once again, effortlessly showcasing her vocal range.

  Bridge.The chorus, brief but impactful, fades.

  With a steady voice, Iris narrates the hardships of the road ahead, yet there is no hesitation, no wavering.

  Iris does not falter simply because the path is difficult.

  Final Highlight.Then, the moment of decration.

  Iris boldly procims to the world that they will achieve their dreams.

  Here, she challenges the very limits of her voice, soaring three octaves up to a piercing high A, holding the note for a breathtaking ten seconds.

  This isn’t just raw talent. This is mastery.

  The product of fifteen years of singing and voice acting, refined into perfection.

  Outro.As the final high note fades, the background dissolves into silence.

  Then, a st touch—

  A short monologue, sting no more than five seconds.

  And just like that, BURNING! comes to an end.

  “Hehe..."

  Laughter escaped Taeil’s mouth.

  Tears slipped past his tightly shut eyelids, trailing down his cheeks.

  They say human memory is imperfect—that the hazy past is inevitably polished, beautified by time.

  Especially when it comes to something as deeply emotional as music.

  Taeil’s heart pounded as fragments of his past life seamlessly linked to his present. He knew it was happening, yet that awareness didn’t make it any less exhirating.

  "I did it!"

  From a professional’s perspective, the song was still rough, unfinished. But his version of BURNING!—fueled by the power of its vocals—held a quality that, while not perfect, was undeniably there.

  The only things that tethered Taeil’s past life to this one were the songs he remembered and his old bass guitar, still sitting broken in his room.

  Now, a new link has been formed.

  "Oh, why am I crying?."

  A chuckle escaped him as his emotions swelled, more sentimental than he’d expected.

  He tried bming it on the te hour.

  "Wait, no—this isn’t the time for this."

  Quickly wiping his tears, Taeil returned to his music composition app.

  The list of edits was daunting, and working on his phone instead of his computer was a struggle.

  ‘Should I turn on my computer and work properly?.’

  ‘No—if I do that, I'll break the flow.’

  What mattered now was concentration.

  His fingers, slick with sweat, gripped the small device as he poured every ounce of focus into it.

  The song wasn’t finished yet. Not because it cked vocals—because it cked his voice.

  "There's still plenty of time..."

  Time didn’t guarantee creativity, but it certainly helped.

  Taeil resolved to become the Bill Gates of time.

  Even if he couldn’t surpass them, he had to stand shoulder to shoulder.

  This was his final act of defiance.

  ****************************

  "Haaam.”

  A sleepy yawn filled the air.

  "Shin-chan, did you oversleep again?.”

  "No."

  "Then did you sleep too much?"

  "No."

  "Huh?"

  Ayane tilted her head in confusion.

  Then… What was it?.

  "I didn’t sleep."

  "You stayed up all night again?!"

  Ayane practically jumped at Taeil’s bold confession.

  Now that she looked closer, his dark circles were even worse than yesterday.

  "Are you pnning to have breakfast on the rooftop again?"

  "Who knows?"

  "What the heck? Shin-chan, have you forgotten that I’m a member of the disciplinary committee?"

  It was as if she was wearing an armband that read "Ayane’s Style", like some kind of school-city teleporter character.

  "As a member of the disciplinary committee, I absolutely will not allow Shin-chan to be reckless!"

  "Really? Then I’ll just go rest in the infirmary because I’m ‘sick.’"

  "Are you seriously going to skip css like that? That’s way too much!"

  Ayane’s dumbfounded expression only made Taeil ugh.

  "Ahhh! You’re teasing me again, aren’t you, Shin-chan?!"

  "Puhahaha!"

  "Shin-chan, you’re the worst!"

  Taeil ughed loudly, but then—suddenly—he stopped walking.

  Ayane, trailing behind him like a duckling following its mother, came to a halt as well.

  "Hey, you know..."

  His gaze was the same as usual, yet somehow… different. Ayane could feel it.

  If yesterday was doubt, today was certainty.

  "Wh-what? Even if you stare at me like that, I won’t allow it!."

  "Ayane."

  Taeil’s voice—deep, smooth, and serious—sent a shiver down her spine.

  Ayane, sensing something was coming, instinctively straightened her posture.

  "Wh-what is it?"

  Almost unconsciously, she brushed her hair back, leaving her ears fully exposed.

  No matter what he was about to say, she was ready.

  Even if it was… a confession!

  "You know..."

  Here it comes—!!

  "Do you like BARD?."

  …Huh?

  "Wait, what?."

  That wasn’t a confession?!

  "Ayane, don’t tell me… you don’t know who BARD is?"

  Hearing the slight disappointment in Taeil’s voice, Ayane quickly shook her head.

  "O-of course, I do! Ayane totally knows famous singers like BARD!"

  Ayane couldn’t help but get annoyed at Taeil for ignoring her.

  Sure, she wasn’t exactly interested in celebrities, but even she knew about singers who had made it big. BARD wasn’t just any artist—they were a nationwide sensation, a staple at the year-end Kohaku Uta Gassen. Every year, her whole family would gather in the living room to watch the event, ringing in the new year together.

  So the idea that she didn’t know BARD? Ridiculous.

  Yet, despite her passionate insistence, Taeil still looked unconvinced.

  "You're not just pretending to know, are you?"

  "Ayane knows! She knows! They're the most famous female vocal band in the country!"

  Only when she was on the verge of half-sobbing did Taeil finally back down.

  'Am I that dumb?'

  Ayane wanted to cry out of sheer frustration.

  But her suffering wasn’t over yet.

  "Then you know their songs?"

  "Huh? Songs?"

  "You don’t know?."

  Taeil’s voice was ced with disappointment.

  Ayane, sensing it, immediately panicked.

  ‘Why? Why do you sound so let down?!.’

  ‘Was Taeil… a huge BARD fan?.’

  If that was the case, she was more than willing to study up on them!

  "I-I don’t know the names!."

  Puffing out her chest, she shouted with false confidence.

  If she left it at that, Taeil would definitely be disappointed. So she decided to bluff—about 20% truth, 80% lies.

  "But I can hum along to their famous songs! There’s a guy in my css who pys BARD every single lunchtime. He’s a hardcore fan, always preaching about them!"

  If Taeil suddenly hummed a song right now, she’d be exposed.

  ‘Please, please, please don’t test me!’

  Ayane swallowed hard, nervously awaiting his response.

  "Oh? I see..."

  Taeil nodded thoughtfully… and resumed walking.

  …Huh?

  That’s it?!

  Relieved yet strangely disappointed, Ayane hurried after him, still confused.

  Then, suddenly, she remembered something.

  Yesterday, she kicked Taeil in the shin and argued with him over something trivial.

  ‘Wait… did I pick a fight for no reason yesterday?’

  A strange anxiety settled in her chest.

  What if Taeil had lost interest in her because of all the teasing?

  ‘Idiot! Yesterday’s Ayane was a total idiot!.’

  She cursed her past self.

  Meanwhile, as misunderstandings stacked up, Taeil calmly accepted reality.

  ‘It’s disappointing… but expected.’

  Despite her attempts to feign interest, Ayane Katsuragi had zero knowledge about BARD.

  She wasn’t even a fan of Izumi, let alone the band itself.

  ‘This makes it nearly impossible to recreate the original…’

  Yet, one unresolved question remained.

  Ferrero Rocher chocotes.

  Has Ayane always liked them? Or was that just another misconception?

  But that detail didn’t matter now. What mattered was that one of her key identities had vanished.

  ‘What do I do now?’

  Taeil’s thoughts tangled into a frustrating knot.

  Deep down, he had secretly hoped that yesterday’s song would pique her interest.

  At first, he imagined Burning Bze without Ayane and him taking her pce.

  The thought sted precisely five seconds before he scrapped it.

  Burning Bze without Ayane wasn’t Burning Bze.

  The band needed all four original members.

  ‘But if I suddenly ask her to form a band, she’ll refuse without hesitation. So how do I do this…?’

  Taeil had never forced his interests on Ayane—he never even tried to bond over them.

  It wasn’t easy to coordinate their schedules. Weekdays were out of the question, and even weekends were packed.

  Ayane was busy with her own growing popurity, while Taeil was constantly hopping between live houses and busking spots.

  She knew he was into music, but they had never really talked about it in depth.

  Not because of her.

  Because Taeil always avoided the topic.

  All these small hesitations had snowballed into this frustrating situation.

  But whether he admitted it or not, Taeil wanted to pull her into this world. Even if it was a little earlier than it was supposed to happen.

  ‘If she takes even a little interest, our conversations will naturally start shifting toward music.’

  And once that happened…

  He could lead her to composition.

  In the original, Ayane had an undeniable talent for songwriting.

  Give her a chance, and she wouldn’t just compose something decent—she’d create something incredible.

  He wouldn’t need to force her or praise her into it.

  She’d figure it out on her own.

  Even if Ayane never developed her skills as a composer like in the original, it wouldn’t matter.

  Because Taeil had already decided—he would support her no matter what.

  Still, for his pn to work, Ayane had to show some interest in music.

  And if that interest happened to be in BARD’s Izumi, all the better.

  Of course, if he just asked outright, "Ayane, want to form a band with me?", everything would be solved instantly.

  Unfortunately, Taeil, an incompetent idiot, doesn't realize it at all.

  ‘Ayane is different from me. Once she starts, she’ll unlock her talent faster than anyone else.’

  Last night, Taeil had tossed and turned, unable to sleep.

  And after hours of worrying, he came to a conclusion.

  If Ayane was destined to suffer because she couldn’t do music, then why not just start now?

  If she really was as talented as the original implied—if she truly had a genius-level gift for composing—then she wouldn’t need to go through the same heartbreak.

  She could write a great song right away.

  Taeil understood better than anyone how much talent mattered in this industry.

  He had thrown himself into countless challenges, only to crash into his own limitations over and over again.

  He knew himself—objectively.

  He wasn’t bad. But he wasn’t particurly exceptional either.

  His journey had been anything but smooth. There were moments when the frustration was so overwhelming that he escaped into manga and anime just to forget.

  A thorny path to nowhere.

  People often talked about how Korea’s band scene was unfair and biased, but that was never a real excuse.

  The truth was simple:

  Taeil had his chances. He just wasn’t good enough to seize them.

  No.

  That wasn’t an excuse either.

  That was just the brutal reality of skill.

  There was a psychological concept called the Dunning-Kruger effect—the incompetent overestimate themselves, while the truly skilled doubt their abilities.

  A frog in a well.

  That phrase suited Taeil perfectly.

  And yet…

  The ghost of his past life haunted him—bloodshot red eyes, filled with exhaustion and regret.

  Taeil shook his head, pushing the memory away.

  Instead, he focused on Ayane.

  A girl with bright, innocent eyes, smiling happily just from making eye contact with him.

  He hesitated.

  Then finally spoke.

  "Hey, Ayane…"

  She turned to him expectantly, noticing the hesitation in his voice.

  "What? Just say it already!."

  Ayane nodded, her tone pyful.

  Taeil took a deep breath, steadying himself.

  This was it.

  "Ayane, are you interested in band performances?"

  "Huh? A band? Where’s this coming from all of a sudden?."

  "Well… a friend of mine can’t make it, so he gave me two tickets."

  "Really?!"

  Ayane’s eyes lit up with excitement.

  Anyone watching from the outside could clearly see—this was a date invite.