TBHMSE 07

Chapter 7

“Hey Sinu, nice to meet you. Have you already found a crew, by any chance? If not, could we talk for a moment?”

Someone was calling my name. So going up on stage and making my presence known had worked after all.

I wonder who my first crew member will be.

With the corners of my mouth lifting slightly, I turned toward the voice when…

“Ah.”

Without realizing it, my brow furrowed.

Of all people, why does it have to be that bastard?

Autumn Scott, a music major in production. Brown hair, light brown eyes, a height in the high 170s, and a slightly fleshy build. Creepily enough, his first impression was that of an innocent, warm-hearted type. But that façade would collapse in front of everyone before long. As time went on, his bad words and behavior toward Asians grew more and more blunt and bold. In the end, during the final exam period of first year, he laid hands on an Asian female student and was expelled from the school.

And the one who reported it to the school was me.

I couldn’t just stand by and watch while a Korean girl did nothing out of fear. So I persuaded her and notified the school.

I figured a few people would take an interest and approach me after the performance. But I never expected trash like this to show up right at the start.

I felt sick. But there were other people here now, so I couldn’t let that feeling show. I wasn’t going to ruin my first impression on everyone else because of a bastard like him. So I smiled awkwardly and answered him.

“Sorry. I’m still too keyed up. Let’s talk a bit later.”

Autumn Scott’s eyes wavered in momentary confusion, then he let out a magnanimous-sounding laugh.

“O-of course! You might still be shaking! Asians are shy, so getting up on stage and singing in front of people can be hard!”

This bastard.

Ha. A hollow laugh slipped out. He was wrapping it up as if he were looking out for me, but those words laid bare his prejudice against Asians.

As expected of someone notorious for racism.

How should I respond to his welcome? I looked at Autumn Scott, who held his nose up high as if granting me his great generosity. After thinking for a moment, I turned my head and looked to his side.

“Hey, you were watching the stage from when I was sound checking, right? Nice to meet you. What’s your name?”

Beside Autumn Scott, Hjalmar Johansson, who had been quietly waiting for his turn, looked bewildered. His eyes rolled back and forth between me and Autumn, and then he broke into a bright smile and came over to the table where I sat.

“Nice to meet you! I’m Hjalmar! Hjalmar Johansson! I’m from Norway and my major is bass! I’ve never played a professional stage yet, but I do have school stage experience…”

“Oh, bass. Cool.”

He didn’t need to explain. I already knew that Hjalmar Johansson’s bass skills were the best at LSPA. Honestly, it was enormous luck that he had approached me. In the past, he had been the bassist every band in the school wanted to recruit.

He was popular, as much for his character as his skill.

While chatting with Hjalmar, I glanced at Autumn Scott standing behind him. He had approached me first with a crew that looked ten strong, and I’d turned him down with an excuse, yet here I was chatting warmly with a bassist who had come alone.

“…”

Autumn Scott’s face turned red, then blue. His pride must have been badly hurt. But whether it was or not, it wasn’t my concern. His predictable reaction only made me chuckle. I shifted my gaze back to Hjalmar. When I looked at the two beers in his hands, Hjalmar raised his eyebrows.

“Oh, right! I almost forgot.”

He held one of the beers out to me.

“Here. I wanted to buy you a drink to say thanks for the amazing performance! Your voice is so good, and the song was great. It sounded like a professional musician’s song, you know? Your name is Sinu, right?”

“Yeah. You remembered.”

“Of course!”

I looked at the Guinness set before me. It was surely a coincidence, but how had he picked the beer I liked? I lifted the glass and took a sip of the Guinness, its foam not yet faded, when…

“By the way, Sinu, if you’re recruiting band members, could I take the bass spot?”

“Pfft.”

I nearly choked. I hadn’t even formed a band yet. Even if Hjalmar Johansson seemed very interested in my music, I hadn’t expected him to say he wanted to join my band the moment we met. As I blinked at the sudden proposal, he gave a sheepish laugh and continued.

“Or at least I’d like to join your crew. If I get close to you, someday I’ll get the chance to be your band’s bass.”

I felt real passion in his blue eyes sparkling at me. I had heard that in the past he’d never approached any band like this. I didn’t know why he was coming at me this hard, but since it had turned out this way…

I can’t let a big fish I’ve already hooked get away.

I sipped my beer again, thought for a moment, then smiled.

“I haven’t formed a crew yet. I’m not in one, either.”

“Then you can start one now. And it would be an honor to be that crew’s first member.”

“Hmm, is that so?”

Good. Hjalmar Johansson was going to become my first crew member without any trouble. But I couldn’t let my delight show openly. So I stalled, pretending to deliberate, then spoke again.

“Have you had dinner? If not, let’s eat together. There’s a place selling Kentucky chicken in front of the hotel where I’m staying for now.”

Maybe he realized it meant welcoming him into the crew I was just beginning to build. Hjalmar’s slightly nervous face brightened at once.

“Oh! I love that chicken too! When should we go? Now? Or after the open mic is over?”

“Anytime works for me.”

Truthfully, I’d wanted to gather more crew members. But I had already brought in Hjalmar, the biggest fish of all, and I’d shown my skills on the open mic stage just now. With those two things alone, there would be more chances to bring in good crew members later.

“Then let’s go now. I was actually getting hungry.”

“Really? Great.”

As I stood up with Hjalmar, my eyes met those of Autumn Scott, who had been watching the two of us with a stunned face.

His face is red. His pride must really be hurt.

But whether it was or not, his circumstances didn’t matter to me. I shifted my gaze from him to the crew members standing behind him.

Still, those guys are really unlucky.

Just by being tied to Autumn Scott, they would later fall into the abyss along with him. Just as they had in the past. Come to think of it, they had done nothing wrong. But after Autumn Scott was expelled over that ugly incident, they had been socially buried by the rumors that spread through the school. Merely having been in Autumn Scott’s crew had become a label. After that, they could only go through school life quietly, like shadows.

Still, it can’t be helped. I want to be as untangled from Autumn as possible.

As I ignored Autumn’s crew and was about to leave the canteen…

Wait.

Among them, one person caught my eye as if he were glowing. A man with a blond, green-eyed face and long dreadlocks tied back like Bob Marley’s. Comfortable but stylish clothes. A warm, genial impression.

Why is Itai in there…?

Itai, the drummer from Israel. A talent who had been performing with professionals since he was ten. Back home he was called a genius drummer and had already built a fan base. And his skill was astounding: in any genre, once he heard a song, he could improvise a drum line on the spot. He was also round and easygoing, with good character, quick to get along with anyone. I looked at Itai mixed among the people again and tilted my head.

But by the time Autumn got kicked out of school, Itai wasn’t in that crew.

I couldn’t understand why Itai was in Autumn’s crew now. After thinking hard for a moment, my eyes flashed.

Right, Itai only did one semester and then went back to his home country. What was the reason…? I think he said living expenses were too much to attend LSPA.

Itai had come to Liverpool with his fiancée to start school. So he only had to pay tuition for himself, but living expenses covered two people. At the time, his fiancée had thought she could find work here in Liverpool, but in the end she couldn’t, and he said they were going back home. Yes. That was why, in the second semester, when Autumn’s incident with the female student occurred, Itai wasn’t in his crew. He’d already left the school.

It’s too much of a waste for Itai to be in that crew. And it’s a waste for him to go home after only one semester.

The best bassist, Hjalmar Johansson. And if the best drummer, Itai, joined my crew too, I could build the backbone of my future band from the most elite members. The quality of the band would naturally rise. In band music, drums and bass are like the guides that lead the performance. Hmm. After a moment of thought, I spoke to the crew members standing in a group behind Autumn Scott.

“If anyone likes Kentucky chicken, come along. And while we’re at it, if anyone’s curious about life in Liverpool, you can ask Derek.”

“Derek?”

Hjalmar tilted his head at me. I raised my eyebrows and answered.

“He’s the manager of the hotel where I’m staying. He told me to ask him anytime if I don’t know something about living in Liverpool. Things like life here, part-time jobs, and so on, you can ask him all sorts of things.”

At that moment…

“I’ll come.”

Itai, who had been holding his place behind Autumn Scott, walked past Autumn and came up to me. I chuckled at him.

Just as I thought. It worked.

I had expected this. Part-time jobs. Right now, that was exactly the information Itai and his fiancée needed.