Ensemble Leveling

  Chapter 49: Bad Apple

  After that rapturous performance before, exchanging parting words and paying his respect to the troupe for having allowed him to join even in this performance, Jihoon returns to his given seat in his usual clothes again quietly with such casual ease as though he just returned from the bathroom break and missed the entire performance just now. Not that he regretted the performance—not at all. But the last thing he wanted was even more attention placed on him than he already had.

  “How’s the performance? I hope that it measures to your standard”. Jihoon said as he took a shallow breath, exhaling as he leaned back in his seat. Even though the performance had ended, the energy from it still lingered in the air, like the final note of a song that refused to fade completely.

  “Well, I certainly don’t know what the song before you participate would sound like. But it certainly wouldn’t be the same without you and Alvorna performing in it.” Karim said as the wood elf gave his most objective remark since he himself isn’t the best when it comes to music or its intricacies. He enjoyed it, but not its inner workings and theory.

  Jihoon tilted his head slightly at that. Coming from Karim, that was a sufficiently high praise.

  “What about you, Alvorna? Did you have a good time performing on stage with him?”. Karim asked as his gaze turn toward the Harpy.

  Alvorna simply nodded. Nothing more. Perhaps between one another, during the performance, each note, movement, gesture toward one another imparts too many things to be spoken through just words alone. She simply finds this nod an appropriate summarizing answer to Karim’s question.

  With that, the climax of the Night Festival comes to an end as the group eventually departs from the teahouse back to the inn. For everyone else, the night is over. But for Jihoon, it is still painfully young.

  By the time they returned to the Perfect Cherry Blossom, the warm glow of the inn’s lanterns greeted them, casting long shadows over the pathway leading to their rooms. The others were ready to retire for the night, the exhaustion of the festival beginning to catch up to them.

  But Jihoon had one last thing to do.

  As they walked through the inn’s corridors, he glanced briefly at the hallway leading to the chamber where his therapy awaited.

  His steps slowed. His gaze lingered. He already knew why they had come to Lotus-Eater Island in the first place. Not for the festival or for a temporary escape from the trials of Odyssey.

  But for this.

  “My lotus chamber dream therapy.” Jihoon muttered the words to himself, almost as if testing its weight on his tongue. “Guess they worry about me enough to make me go through this procedure.”

  A humorless chuckle left his lips.

  He had spent so much time immersed in the music, in the festival, in the unexpected depth of the performance—that he had almost forgotten. That he is still someone with an immeasurable amount of mental baggage shown in actions that they felt that they must take action for him before he collapses and burn.

  But now, standing here at the threshold of the night’s true end, he could no longer push it aside. Because now, it was time to face the ghosts of his sown past.

  “Let’s do this…”. Jihoon only said to himself as he marches toward what he truly felt as the point of no return. Even if it is truly nothing to be worried about in the first place. He took a slow breath, his fingers flexing slightly at his sides before curling into loose fists.

  The Lotus Chamber Dream Therapy was a widely recognized treatment, one available in all high-class inns and clinics across Lotus-Eater Island.

  The process was simple in theory:

  A recipient would spend the night in a chamber nebulized with lotus essence, allowing them to delve deep into their own memories in clear, vivid detail. It was said to be a lucid dream so realistic that one might fail to recognize that one would fail to even recognize that they were dreaming—until the experience reached its natural conclusion, or until they fell asleep inside the dream itself.

  A simple concept on paper. But terrifying in practice.

  It was safe. It was controlled. It was meant to heal.

  But none of that stopped the uncomfortable weight pressing against Jihoon’s ribs as he entered the chamber once his scheduled appointment arrived.

  The room was dimly lit, the air already carrying the faintest trace of floral musk.

  As soon as he stepped inside, a group of attendants revealed themselves, dressed in traditional robes embroidered with delicate lotus motifs. They moved with practiced grace, their presence calm, methodical—almost ritualistic.

  "We have carefully dosed the lotus oil for your therapy, Master Jihoon." One of them bowed slightly, her voice gentle yet firm.

  "The compound has been adjusted to guide you toward the best parts of your past. A sanctuary of memory, untouched by sorrow."

  A place where he could reconnect with the light that had once existed in his life.

  It all sounded reassuring to the locals of Absence. Yet, having his own mind tampered with by outsiders—even if only indirectly—would have scared any normal person. And Jihoon was no exception.

  But he didn’t fight that repulsive feeling back at all. Because if he kept running from his past, then the past would eventually catch up to him.

  And when it did, it wouldn’t be on his terms. It had already happened before.

  He had met his past face-to-face when Jin Sarae reappeared in his life. His junior from his previous occupation, the bright, young recruit he had once known—now fallen to the path of a Black Hunter, consumed by the very darkness they had sought to survive.

  He had seen it in Sarae’s eyes, in the way their hands trembled around the grip of Der Freischütz—the cursed firearm that had become their last, desperate lifeline in the abyss. A weapon that had kept them alive in the darkest of times—until it didn’t.

  Until it corrupted them completely.

  Jihoon closed his eyes briefly, forcing the thought away. ‘Not tonight.’ He thought to himself, mustering all the reassurance he has. Tonight, he wasn’t going to run. And tonight, he was going to face it all.

  "Begin the procedure."

  The attendants moved swiftly, the air thickening with the heady scent of lotus as the therapy began in earnest.

  As Jihoon sank down onto the prepared bedding, the surrounding clear water reflecting its surroundings. His breathing slowed, his eyelids growing heavy as the mist wrapped around him like unseen hands, pulling him downward.

  Downward—

  Into the depths of his own memories.

  He descended, searching for his closure in the echoes of his past.

  After unimaginable amounts of time passed in his mind. He opened his eyes once more, in a familiar yet simultaneously not apartment room of his. He recognized it as a place that he might have lived in but after changing places so many times because of the Gates bringing destruction everywhere it goes spontaneously without warning, he forgot what his original place even looks like. But still, the feeling of everyday peace that was unimaginable now returned as though all that of pain and hardship never existed.

  It truly does feel like he’s back to a paradise that he took for granted. And that it could have been worse after all. Suddenly, he truly felt and understood the sentiment of the Odysseus’s crews when they had the taste of the lotus fruit and don’t want to return. Because just maybe… this dream was a better reality after all.

  The date is… that pandemic… Been that long huh?

  He recalled that a widespread global pandemic forced everyone to basically stay and work in their home. Alone with himself and his instruments to do play and perform whatever he wants, it technically is a good memory but he certain that it can’t possibly be the only reason.

  Then he heard the pings of his laptop resounding. He checked it to see that he is being invited by his coworkers of Arisen Studio to a group call. Without hesitation, he immediately accepts the call as he is brought into the fold. And only now did he remember his online handling and how it didn’t exactly represent him best at all.

  CookieXI – Hey, our edgy manhwa boy finally accepts our call. XD.

  ToxicXEternity – Can you please stop compare me to those mass-produced slops ‘PrEtTy’ boy!? It’s not like I can change my 10-year-old username at will!

  OneByteDrummer – But either way, what’s going on your end? Hope the pandemic homestay treats you well.

  ToxicXEternity – Ain’t nothing like a long dream of Gates suddenly appear does to make the mind clear.

  CookieXI – See, I told you that you are a natural-born manhwa protagonist!

  ToxicXEternity – Shut up!

  A laugh escaped Jihoon before he could stop it. ‘God, had they really been like this?’

  It had been so long since he had last heard these voices. Too long. And yet, here they were—exactly as he remembered. For a brief, fleeting moment, it felt like he was truly back where he belonged. Like he had never left.

  He had forgotten. Forgotten how ridiculous his old online handle was. Forgotten how loud they all were when they got together. Forgotten what it felt like to just… talk. When life was not about survival. Not about monsters or war. Just—normal human things.

  For the first time since stepping into this dream, Jihoon allowed himself to sink into it. Because in this moment— He was just another musician. No more, no less.

  ToxicXEternity – Either way, do we have any contract to do or not?

  SilvaGun_GildedSun – Nah, director didn’t say anything at all. So we’re free to do whatever we want. For another day.

  GrimoreCroiX – What are you up to now? Another shitposting yet again on your NewTube page? Where did you even get the ideas to even do this for years daily!?

  SilvaGun_GildedSun – That’s why director placed me as creative director isn’t it? I’m pretty sure that none of you can match up in terms of creativity.

  TripleKill – Then again, you don’t play any instrument technically. I’m the editor stitching all the playback together in the soundtrack while doing the same thing as you did. And I don’t get special treatment like you do.

  Right… it was long enough that he forgot virtually every real name and role of everyone he worked with back in Arisen Studio. He could probably ask the name again but that would probably raise suspicion and that they would probably not answer truthfully thinking he just play an amnesia joke.

  On another note, on the off chance that he will meet any of his old colleagues yet again… They probably are not going to be happy like he is. His meeting with the little goddess through his music was such a massive stroke of luck that he didn’t need to dirty his hand or going down the forbidden path.

  ToxicXEternity – So is everyone here? I assume.

  TarmaSpaghetti – I think that is all there is… I don’t think we’re missing anyone else here.

  TearsOfTragedy – Not that it is a common occurrence. It’s not often that someone would just decide that they have enough for today and cut off all communication.

  Jihoon felt a tinge of guilt because that sounds like it is precisely him doing that.

  SaraeJinnae – Hey, this is my first time in the group call! I just didn’t expect that there would be a pandemic a few months in my career. I thank you all for not laying me off to cut cost!

  ToxicXEternity – Bruh, where the hell do you even work before coming here to consider this as special treatment!?

  LeonMight - Ouch. Not even I was that desperately pleading you know.

  Something tightened in Jihoon’s chest at the sound of it. That was… Jin Sarae, his old junior. Before gotten hold of Der Freischutz. Before everything that had gone. And here they were, laughing, joking—like nothing bad had ever happened.

  Like the future he knew for them didn’t exist.

  Jihoon’s hand instinctively curled into a loose fist in responses. Even though this was just a recreated dream, it truly felt like he was living in the past and his self-conflicting denial is getting him nowhere.

  He simply no longer wants to know after feeling somehow exhausted in the memory already. He didn’t want to know. Instead, he simply leaned forward, elbows on his desk, his voice slipping back into old habits.

  "So what’s everyone been up to? You all just sitting on your asses waiting for new projects, or is someone actually doing something?"

  The conversation shifted, flowing into casual talk about their daily lives—what they were working on, what they were listening to, the random creative ideas that would never see the light of day but were fun to entertain.

  Jihoon listened, occasionally throwing in a comment or a snarky remark, playing his part perfectly.

  The conversation flowed naturally, filled with the usual banter, lighthearted teasing, and general nonsense that Jihoon had long since become accustomed to. For a moment, it was almost too easy to fall back into the rhythm of it all, to pretend that things were exactly as they had been before.

  And then— SilvaGun_GildedSun suddenly clapped her hands, cutting through the chatter with an unmistakable sense of authority.

  "Alright, since everyone’s here for once—"

  There was a pause. And Jihoon already had a bad feeling about this.

  "—we’re doing a fusion collab."

  ToxicXEternity – Hah? The hell do you mean? On what? And just like that?!

  SilvaGun_GildedSun – Oh, you probably already know what. And yes, just like that. It’s been too long since we’ve all played together properly, and this is the perfect chance. Consider it both practice and a much-needed morale boost. We could all use something to break the monotony of isolation, and this’ll do it."

  OneByteDrummer - Fair enough, I’ve been going stir-crazy with the length this pandemic is going on.

  Jihoon blinked as a link popped up in the group chat. His eyes skimmed over the text— And then froze. Because of course this was the song that SilvaGun would pick.

  The song that had long surpassed its origin, becoming a cultural phenomenon in its own right. A song with a dramatic, heavy-hitting lyricism that resonated far beyond its humble roots.

  A song that had been recreated, remixed, fused, and brought to life through shadow artistry in ways that no other piece of music had ever quite managed to capture. SilvaGun in particular had a long-running tradition of creating fusion collabs, blending it with other tracks in ways that had no business working yet somehow always did.

  A song that, even now, was still instantly recognizable to anyone who had spent any time in music circles.

  ‘Bad Apple.’

  CookieXI - YO, NO WAY.

  TripleKill - Oh, we’re really going there, huh?

  ToxicXEternity - Oh, come the fuck on, we’ve played this song to death already.

  SilvaGun_GildedSun - And yet, it’s still a banger every single time.

  TripleKill - More like you never get tired of throwing this song’s soundfont into literally everything and calling it a fusion remix.

  SilvaGun_GildedSun - And you say that like it’s a bad thing.

  TearsOfTragedy – A certified classic. Good choice.

  Jihoon exhaled slowly, his fingers hovering over his keyboard as he considered his options. The last time he had heard ‘Bad Apple’ had been… ‘God, how many years ago?’

  And yet— Even as he clicked the link, allowing the first few notes to filter through his headset, something settled in his chest. Like slipping into a well-worn memory, like walking through a shadow cast by his own past.

  The music started. Slowly at first. That unmistakable melody—a creeping, hypnotic refrain that swayed like a pendulum, rising and falling in slow, deliberate waves. The lyrics followed shortly after—and the moment the first line was sung, Jihoon froze. Because of course. Of course it would be this song.

  A song about doubt and isolation. About self-reflection. About being trapped between light and shadow, unable to tell which side one truly belonged to. A song that, despite its fan origins, had become something far greater—a cultural touchstone, a piece of art that had transcended language and borders, finding its way into so many different interpretations.

  And now, as Jihoon listened— He couldn’t deny it even from the beginning. The lyrics, the theme—it fit him too well. Even if it was just the nature of music to make listeners see themselves in it.

  "Am I the same as before?"

  "Am I still who I used to be?"

  "Or have I already been consumed by the darkness?"

  These lines of thought unsettled him, lingering in the back of his mind as the others enthusiastically began assigning parts for the collab.

  SilvaGun_GildedSun - Alright, so obviously, I’ll be handling the fusion layering. CroiX, you’re taking the piano lead, no arguments.

  GrimoreCroiX - Ugh, fine. But I swear to god, if you make me do another four-hand duet, I’m walking away from this.

  TripleKill - I’ll take care of the percussion and backing synth. Need to make sure it doesn’t turn into a goddamn reverb mess again as part of SilvaGun’s idea of ‘joke’.

  OneByteDrummer - I'll work out the drum sequences with Triple.

  SilvaGun_GildedSun - Jihoon. You already know what I’m about to say.

  Jihoon let out a dry chuckle.

  "Guitar, huh?"

  SilvaGun_GildedSun - You were made for this, man. Your tone work is perfect for the raw edge of ‘Bad Apple.’ I need you on lead.

  Jihoon considered saying no, intent to brush it off saying that he hadn’t played the song in years. That he wasn’t in the right headspace, that he didn’t think his style fit— But none of that was true. For these long-time colleagues would see through his hollow lie with absolute clarity.

  So instead—

  "Yeah. I got it." Jihoon only said with resignation.

  There was a wave of excited confirmations, and just like that—the session began.

  His fingers hovered over his keyboard, his mind already shifting gears. It had been years since he’d last played it and yet— As he clicked play on the track, letting the familiar melody pour through his speakers for the first time in what felt like an eternity. It all came rushing back in total clarity.

  His grip on his mouse tightened slightly as the words sank in, deeper than they had any right to. This was just a cover collab, a fun throwback between old colleagues and yet— As he sat there, relistening to it after all these years—

  It felt like a message from the past, meant only for him.

  SilvaGun_GildedSun -Alright, parts division. Jihoon, you still remember your old arrangement, or do you want me to send over a reference?

  Jihoon blinked, snapping back to reality. A small smirk tugging back on his lip.

  ToxicXEternity - Pft. Do you really think I forgot? C’mon, I could probably play this in my sleep. But just send the damn thing anyway.

  He leaned forward, reaching for his electric guitar. Past or not, this was happening either way. And if he was going to do this, he is going to make it count.

  “Alright… Let’s do this”. Jihoon said his phrase again. At this point, it may well be his catchphrase already.

  Key signature, D# minor. The key sign of depression, deep distress.

  D#- D#- D#- D#-_D#-_D#-_D#-| D#- D#- D#-_D#- D#-| D#- D#- D#- D#-_D#-_D#-_D#-| D#- D#- D#-_D#- D#-|

  Through the group call, CookieXI played her first introductory melody. The steady tempo of one same note played, a creeping, hypnotic refrain that swayed like a pendulum, rising and falling in slow, deliberate waves. The sound of chiptune played is harsh yet its irreplicable timbre distinct from classical instruments making it stood out and attention-catching right at the start. All of that yet the melody retained the same emotional weight.

  D# D# D# D#_D#_D#_D#| D# D# D#_D# D#| D# D# D# D#_D#_D#_D#| D# D# D#_D# D#|

  Her signature chiptune synthesizer carried a sharp, synthetic timbre, one that stood out instantly—harsh, distinct, impossible to ignore. Jihoon knew no one who wielded digital sound like CookieXI. She had always had a knack for bridging the gap between the artificial and the organic—creating arrangements that felt both familiar and alien, nostalgic yet unpredictable.

  And if there was anyone in Arisen Studio who could make a song unreasonably difficult, it was her. She’s the one who created the first-ever rage-inducing happy song that virtually all her coworkers absolutely hate to perform on their own instrument due to how ludicrously fast its tempo is. Fingers were cramped, and wrists were broken. It was not a pleasant day at that time.

  Worst is that her music got into a rhythm game’s highest difficulty. She learned of it, proceeded to ace it in such a way that she is still her own record holder of her own songs.

  Raising the note progression by a register, she prepares the song’s opening stage with the next part following the introduction. If she had been particularly cruel today, she would have cramped a ton more notes just within the few measures somehow, but she abstained her hands this time.

  This time, Jihoon officially performs.

  D#- D#-_D# D#_C# D#_D#-| D#- D#-_D# D#_C# D#_D#-| D#- D#-_D# D#_C# D#_D#-| D#- D#_F# G#- F#_G#|

  D#- D#-_D# D#_C# D#_D#-| D#- D#-_D# D#_C# D#_D#-| D#- D#-_D# D#_C# D#_D#-| G#- F#_G# D#- D#_F#|

  The electric guitar hummed to life in Jihoon’s hands, his fingers moving with instinctual precision, the notes falling into place like they had never left him.

  There was a reason why ‘Bad Apple’ had transcended its origins and far surpassed it. Within a song, conveyed a feeling understood by many intuitively.

  A melancholy cycle that looped endlessly, mirroring the internal battles that never truly ended. And Jihoon understood every single moment and essence that it meant to convey.

  The cyclical repetition of the note progression, locked in D# minor, anchored by the minor seventh (C#), brought with it a persistent dissonance—a longing without resolution. Every rise to G# and F# seemed to offer hope, a flicker of light breaking through the shadows, but it was always fleeting. Inevitably, it returned to the grounded D#—to reality, to sorrow.

  To a place where resolution was always just out of reach.

  A perfect reflection of what it meant to struggle with oneself. To constantly search for closure, for peace— And all that to only find nothing but temporary relief.

  As Jihoon’s fingers moved instinctively, his electric guitar hummed with steady, deliberate motion. His unwavering tone laid the foundation of the song’s emotional weight, and then—

  Then, OneByteDrummer joined in. A percussive performance lay beneath the melody. The rhythm pulsed, measured, matching Jihoon’s tempo like footsteps in deep contemplation. Seamlessly falling into place, his percussion keeping a deep, rhythmic pulse, like a heartbeat echoing through the abyss.

  A grounding force. Something to hold onto amidst the spiral of emotions.

  D#- D#-_D# D#_C# D#_D#-| D#- D#-_D# D#_C# D#_D#-| D#- D#-_D# D#_C# D#_D#-| D#- D#_F# G#- F#_G#|

  D#- D#-_D# D#_C# D#_D#-| D#- D#-_D# D#_C# D#_D#-| D#- D#-_D# D#_C# D#_D#-| G#- F#_G# D#- D#_F#|

  CookieXI’s electronic pulse setting the scene.

  Jihoon’s guitar weaving the melody of longing.

  OneByteDrummer’s percussion anchoring them to the present.

  A haunting, hypnotic loop—both familiar and infinite.

  Jihoon closed his eyes for a second, letting himself sink into the sound. "

  Damn."

  It really had been too long. And yet, as the song drew them in, its rhythm wrapping around them like an old, inescapable memory

  D#~~~| D#-~~~| D#~~~| D#_F_F#~ F-F#_G#~ G#_A#+_B+ B+_C#+_D#+~|

  Slowly strumming the root note before picking up his pace, Jihoon’s finger dances across the string in ascending arpeggio before preparing for the transition toward the bridge. This extension didn’t exist in the original as this is officially his first official impromptu after getting back into his musical career.

  A#+ D# A#+ D#| G# F# F F#_G#| A#+_C#+ D#+ A#+ C#+| D#+_F#+ A#+_C#+ D#+~|

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

  CookieXI applies her own chiptune harmonic in the backdrop. From the opening motif alternating between the tonic and dominant notes, creating a strong and stable interval, thus evoking the sense of grounding and determination. The repetition of this harmonic pattern establishes a rhythmic drive, of forward motion and persistence. Of a sense of purpose and effort.

  Then the descent to the chromatic note F then the rises to the minor 7th (C#+) evokes the sense of yearning and unresolved tension, combined with the feeling of struggle and vertical climb as the note progression moves to higher registers as if reaching for something just out of grasp. Which only adds a bittersweet quality to the progression.

  Then with the last measure introduced the highest note so far, F#+ which brough upon the sense of fragile and fleeting hope before falling to D#+~ (sustained tonic) to brings upon the sense of closure. But the lingering tension from the previous measures keeps the emotional tone complex and layered.

  With that, the song officially enters the chorus.

  D# F F# G#|A#+~~~| D#+ C#+ B#+~| D#~~~|

  Ever on and on~, I continue…

  A#+ G# F# F| D# F F# G#| A#+~~~|

  Circling with nothing but my hate...

  G# F# F D#| F F# F D#| D F~~|

  In a carousel of agony, I...

  This time, TearsOfTragedy joined the performance as the studio’s best female lead vocalist. She is someone who could change the pitch of her voice and tone in an almost undiscernible manner in ways that seemed almost unnatural.. From her usual voice, she can stretch her own pitch in undiscernible ways—one moment childlike innocence, the next, the weight of an elderly soul..

  SilvaGun had once joked that she could voice an entire audiobook by herself, covering every role flawlessly, and no one would notice until they checked the credits.

  All jokes aside, vocal tracks are her utmost specialty. Almost no one could measure up to TearsOfTragedy in how much she could evoke emotions out of the lyrics like she did. The human aspect of her tone was visceral and real as though she merged with the character she was supposed to embody with. The way her tone wove itself into the melody, threading emotions into every note as if she were not just singing, but living the words.

  Jihoon was relegated to the backdrop. His guitar still played, still bled into the music, but now— he was just supporting her as a coworker should.

  The one laying the foundation rather than standing at the front. Because as the lyrics unfolded, as he listened to them again for the first time in years. They cut close and deep.

  From the very first opening phrase, there was already tension. The ascent from tonic (D#) to dominant (A#+) carried a searching, restless quality—like reaching for something unseen. Then the sudden jump into higher register (D#+), creating a sense of elevation and aspiration. All before the sudden drop to just tonic note (D#) again like a reverie coming to an end. Like a fleeting dream that suddenly snapped back into reality.

  Then with the next section starting high once more, only to be dragged downward. The descent—(A#+ G# F# F)—felt like a retreat, a moment of introspection, the chromatic movement (F# to F) adding an edge of melancholy, unease. With the final phrase, with its repetition and the accidental D, leaves the listener with a lingering feeling of ambiguity. Of unresolved emotions. Of questions left unanswered.

  And as the chorus continued, Jihoon found himself passively registering the lyrics. But the more he played— The more he listened—

  The more the words began to sink into him.

  "Ever on and on, I continue…"

  Jihoon’s fingers moved automatically, muscle memory guiding them across the strings but in his head, he was somewhere else. That line—it felt like it was speaking to him directly.

  A constant cycle, repeating. No destination. No closure. Just moving forward because stopping wasn’t an option.

  "Circling with nothing but my hate…"

  His other hand instinctively tightened around his guitar neck. He had tried so hard not to let anger define him, to not become someone consumed by resentment, bitterness, or regret. Even until now, in a memory that held no weight, he understood too deeply of the resentment he has toward what had become the world he lived in.

  Buried deep, lurking beneath the surface. Because no matter how much time may have passed, no matter how much he tried to move on— The past never let him go like a master holding the chain of its slaves.

  "In a carousel of agony, I…"

  The words lingered in the air as though his mind is about to turn blank taking in the lyrics. When you’re happy, you enjoy the music. When you’re sad, you understand the lyrics. Jihoon’s focus even though is mostly in his performance, still dissecting the lyrics to no end even though subconsciously. As though his miserable circumstances actively searching for any help in sight, searching for any understanding no matter how ephemeral.

  He was no stranger to circles. No stranger to repeating the same things over and over, expecting something different to occur.

  A cycle. Over and over. The same emotions. The same spiral that he was subjected to be part of without any consent.

  Jihoon exhaled sharply, forcing his mind to direct entirely on the music. It was just a song. Just a performance. That was all there should be to it.

  As he strummed, as TearsOfTragedy’s voice poured emotion into every syllable— He couldn’t deny it any longer that the song had its hooks in him. Complete with line and sinker too as though a fish pulled out of the water. Even if he wanted to ignore, ‘Bad Apple’ had already become a mirror reflecting things that he didn’t want to face.

  D# F F# G#|A#+~~~| D#+ C#+ B#+~| D#~~~| A#+ G# F# F| D# F F# G#| A#+~~~|

  Slowly I forget, and my heart starts… vanishing and suddenly I see

  G# F# F~| G#~ A#+~ | B#+~~~|

  That I can’t break free—I’m…

  The progression refrained once more, going through the same evocation all again as it reinforces the theme. The melody repeating like an inevitable cycle, with each note, each phrase, each inflection—the same emotions resurfacing again and again.

  The final phrase of the section however altered as the progression now felt hesitant, stalled, like someone second-guessing their steps. A moment of introspection, uncertainty threading through the melody. The held chromatic F~ brought lingering tension as it resurfaces.

  The movement to G#~ and A#+~ feels like a gentle climb, reintroducing a sense of hope or forward motion. Which is pretty ironic when the lyric of this section is just filled with only despair and hopelessness.

  The final resolution to B#+~~~ introduces a sense of longing or transcendence. The major 7th (B#+) is a note of tension in D# harmonic minor, and its sustained presence creates a sense of unresolved tension and longing. Thus evoking a feeling of reaching for something just out of grasp, or a moment of transcendence that isn’t fully realized. Like reaching for something just beyond grasp—

  Not with finality, not with resolution. But with longing. Like standing at the edge of a cliff, staring at a future you don’t believe you deserve.

  The lyrics sank deeper than before. Jihoon’s fingers moved automatically, his focus split and shift between playing and listening. Between performing the music—and being consumed by it.

  Jihoon’s mind blanked for a moment, again. As though he keep pressing his own trauma trigger then proceed to tank through it because crying about it solved nothing for him. The words lingered in the air, pressing against his chest like an invisible weight.

  Because after the Gate Outbreak, after everything that had happened— Hadn’t he felt this exact way? Hadn’t he lived these words?

  "Slowly I forget…"

  His old life. His old self. The person he had been before the world fell apart.

  "And my heart starts vanishing…"

  The days spent wandering. The nights spent wondering if he should even keep going. The feeling that, piece by piece, he was becoming someone unrecognizable. He had spent so many years surviving that he had forgotten what it was like to simply live. Many thing that he had lost along the way.

  Dreams. Aspirations. Parts of himself. And worst of all— There were times he wasn’t even sure what he had lost anymore.

  Because after the Gate Outbreak, after the world turned into something unrecognizable, after everything fell apart— He had kept moving forward.

  Because there was no other choice.

  "Suddenly I see that I can’t break free—"

  The weight of his past. The memories that haunted him. The knowledge that even if he wanted to go back… there was nothing left to return to. All of them combined into his multitudes of failure that he can’t hope to fix with all his lifetime of efforts. Like chains and shadows, no matter how much he tried to run, no matter how much he wished to sever. It will always forever remain there.

  All of his combined mistakes, failures and regrets. Forming the shackles that bind him spiritually as though there is nothing capable of removing.

  From the people he couldn’t save. From the people who had walked different paths than him. From the people he had been forced to leave behind. The phantom gazes of others lay upon him as the multitudes tighten its grip.

  Jihoon exhaled sharply, his grip on his guitar tightening for just a moment.

  This wasn’t real. This was just a dream. It is only a memory, an illusion, a moment of the past wrapped in the sound of a song that had outlived its own origins. But somehow—

  It had found him anyway.

  And as the chorus pressed onward, he played on. Because what else could he do?

  He wasn’t sure if he was leading the song—or if it was leading him. It spoke of him so perfectly as though fate is laughing at him in mockery at his expense.

  But the performance isn’t ending, and there is no reprieve for performers till the bitter end.

  // guitar backdrop

  D# F F# G#|A#+~~~| D#+ C#+ B#+~| D#~~~| A#+ G# F# F| D# F F# G#| A#+~~~|

  //D#~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~| C# B~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|

  Slowly through the crack… of a dark e~ternity with nothing but my pain…

  G# F# F D#| F F# F D#| D F~~|

  //C#~~~|~~~~|~~~~|

  And the paralyzing agony. To—

  D# F F# G#|A#+~~~| D#+ C#+ B#+~| D#~~~| A#+ G# F# F| D# F F# G#| A#+~~~|

  //D#~~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~| C# B~~|~~~~|~~~~|~~~~|

  Tell me who I am~. Who I was~. Un—certainty enveloping my mind

  G# F# F~| G#~ A#+~ | B#+~~~|

  //C#~~~|~~~~|~~~~|

  Till I can’t break free— And…

  The chorus refrained once more as TearsOfTragedy’s voice pierced through the soundscape, unwavering, unshaken. Relentless in every breath and chord that she sang. As Jihoon’s guitar wailed, OneByteDrummer’s percussion and CookieXI’s chiptune harmonic surged beneath her. Not once did she falter as her voice threading between despair and defiance.

  The control that she has with her own voice is frightening in its own way. The perfect balance of masculinity and feminine evoke from the same chord makes her own identity solely unique to her. Like an angel of battle screaming and marching into her war.

  Most vocalists—any other vocalist—during a live performance at this moment would have choked by now, gasping for air between lines. But TearsOfTragedy displayed none of that to be discern.

  She’s a master of her own profession. The studio director even said it once.

  She doesn’t just sing, she breathes in music itself.

  Microbreathing. A technique so that she could inhale air without breaking her vocal delivery—a skill that allowed her to sustain her voice longer than anyone else Jihoon had ever met. To say that the director got his talents at a bargain price is understating and perhaps all of Arisen Studio fits those criteria in some way.

  His fingers moved, sustaining the backdrop notes, letting her voice carry the weight of the song. Even without his conscious input, his mind was already dissecting the lyrics again.

  “Slowly through the crack… of a dark eternity with nothing but my pain…”

  Isn’t that just his life post-Gate Outbreak? A world where its own law of existences altered and changed irrevocably where survival become an endless cycle without a true end in sight? Perhaps, someone is enjoying that new era with their own awakened power that no can deny them. But for people like him who lost everything they had to it and remain in its dark crevice, it was nothing but just a hopeless hell that they have no hope of getting out unless by pure random chances.

  Someone’s heaven… is another’s torment.

  “To tell me who I am, who I was. Uncertainty enveloping my mind until I can’t break free”

  That is what had become his existence until now, wasn’t it? Is he still the musician as he was before the Gates or a wandering survivor lost in a world that he no longer felt belong to?

  Who had he been? And who was he now? Even until now, this question continues to chain itself upon him. And he had no satisfying answer.

  Even as his hands remained perfectly steady, even as his playing didn’t falter, his thoughts were spiraling. The lyrics followed him like ghosts. Reminders of everything he hadn’t come to terms with.

  C#+ D#+ A#+ G#| A#+~~~| G# A#+ C#+ D#+| A#+ G# A#+~

  Maybe it’s a dream. Maybe nothing else is real.

  G# A#+ G# F#| F C# D#~| C# D# F F#| G# A#+ D#~|

  But it wouldn’t mean a thing, if I told you of how I feel.

  Jihoon’s fingers moved without thought, following the familiar structure of the piece, but his mind lagged behind, processing the words even as his body performed on autopilot.

  The immediate start from minor 7th (C#) to tonic (D#) creates a brief moment of fragile resolution and the descent to dominant note (A#) introduces a gentle, reflective quality. A sound that hovered between stability and something left unfinished.

  With the sustained dominant bringing about an unfinished resolution and the minor tonality keeping the mood introspective. Then with the next measure scaling with upward motion up to tonic (D#) creating a sense of aspiration before repeating the same introspective resolution again, as though a moment of self-reflection isn’t enough. Thus creating a complex emotional landscape, evoking the feeling of inner conflict or unresolved emotion.

  The repetition of this motion, this climb-and-fall, mirrored something deeply human— Self-doubt. Reflection. The search for meaning. The melody lingered, as if it too wasn’t sure of its own truth. As though a moment of self-reflection wasn’t enough— And so it repeated itself.

  Because how many times must one think about the same thing before it makes sense? How many times must one try to understand before the answer actually comes?

  Then with the next section introduced a more complex melodic structure. The descending phrases (G# A#+ G# F# | F C# D#~) and the chromatic movement (F to F#, vice versa) evoke a sense of hesitation or introspection, as if grappling with difficult emotions. The back-and-forth motion between the G# note portrays the feeling of hesitation and unease, a feeling of grappling with something too large to hold.

  The resolution with tonic feels like temporary but the subsequent phrase (C# D# F F#) reintroduces tension with the chromatic movement from F to F#. Like an emotion that kept flickering, refusing to settle. Its progression try to reach for the closure, only for it to realize that it didn’t exist.

  The final resolution to D# tonic feel stable as a conclusion but didn’t resolve any of the lingering tension built between, painting narrative of introspection, struggle, and quiet acceptance, leaving the listeners with a sense of both beauty and complexity. The bittersweet quality of D# minor, combined with the melodic fluidity and unresolved tension, makes this progression deeply evocative and reflective.

  Jihoon’s thoughts kept spiraling alongside the music. He knew this song wasn’t written for him. But just like before when he and Alvorna put themselves in ‘SAKURA in full bloom’. Jihoon felt undeniably connected to it in an intrinsic level.

  "Maybe it’s a dream. Maybe nothing else is real."

  How many times had he thought the same thing?

  That the world after the Gates—the one filled with horrors, with loss, with death—was some cruel illusion? Some awful jokes that hopefully someone steps outside some unseen shadow and say, “It’s just a prank, bro!” and everything conveniently return to normal?

  That maybe, if he closed his eyes long enough, if he let himself forget, he’d wake up in his old life?

  That none of it had actually happened?

  But the truth was crueler than that. Because even if it was a dream— Even if the life he had now was an illusion— It wouldn’t change the fact that he had already lived it. That the emotion he felt of the people he had lost still etched upon indelible. Scars, both seen and unseen would never fade. And even worse… No one is awaiting him on the other side either.

  Because there was no other side to cross to begin with.

  "But it wouldn’t mean a thing, if I told you of how I feel."

  Jihoon exhaled sharply, fingers tightening against the guitar again for uncountable number of times already.

  ‘Yeah… Even that, too, hit far too close’ Jihoon’s though echoes to himself.

  Because who the hell was there to tell? Who, in both worlds, would actually truly understand? The ones who could have understood were either lost to time, lost to themselves, or simply… gone.

  And the ones who remained or that he told— They had their own struggles. Their own burdens to carry.

  He had always been the one who listened. The one who played his music for others.

  Never the one who spoke. Never the one who let others in. Because even if he did—

  What difference would it make?

  And still—the song continued. Because music, like life didn’t wait for its performers to catch up. It simply moved forward. And so, despite the weight pressing against his chest— Jihoon played on.

  A#+ C#+ C#+ D#+| A#+ G# A#+~~| G# A#+ C#+ D#+| A#+ G# A#+~

  So I’m tired of all the pain, all the misery inside

  G# A#+ G# F#| F C# D#~| C# D# F F#| G# A#+ D#~|

  How I wish that I could live, feeling nothing but the night.

  A#+ C#+ C#+ D#+| A#+ G# A#+~~| G# A#+ C#+ D#+| A#+ G# A#+~

  You can tell me what to say, you can tell me where to go

  G# A#+ G# F#| F C# D#~| C# D# F F#| G# A#+ D#~|

  But I doubt that I would care, and my heart would never know

  The chorus section refrained once more to further reinforce the theme, TearsOfTragedy still sing with all her vocal volume without a single shortness of breath in between. Even he can’t imagine anyone else keeping up with her by now while maintaining such intensity. Even though the rest of the ensemble played their part flawlessly, she had become the soul of the performance itself.

  Again though, his mind in high acceleration analyzes the lyrics as though a moment is stretching eternity within his mindscape. Even more ways that his spirit’s restlessness continue to discover so that it could keep torturing him.

  "So I’m tired of all the pain, all the misery inside."

  "How I wish that I could live, feeling nothing but the night."

  Jihoon’s stomach twisted as the lyric sank into his gut like cold edges. He didn’t want to relate to such words with profound connection like this. Yet that is what exactly occurred.

  No matter how much time may passed, no matter how much he tried to move forward with his life after the fact. His soul was so battered by the entirety of it that the exhaustion couldn’t left no matter how much he wished to just lay himself to rest. So deeply ingrained that it no longer just being physical. Permeating into his physical body, his thoughts, his very existence.

  Years have passed since the Gate was opened. And all he felt was that he barely holds everything together. So much of it that he once wished that his existence ceased entirely, consumed by helplessness as the darkest night of his life goes on.

  "You can tell me what to say, you can tell me where to go."

  "But I doubt that I would care, and my heart would never know."

  His fingers moved on instinct, his body still playing, still keeping pace with the song— But his mind is racing against the night, stretching each second into eternity of its own. Caught between the present and the past, between music and meaning, between performance and self-reflection.

  "You can tell me what to say, you can tell me where to go."

  Hadn’t that been his entire life since the Gates opened? Orders. Commands. Missions. Expectations. A world that didn’t care whether he wanted to be part of it— It simply pushed him forward, forcing him to move, forcing him to act. 5 years fighting for his life in an era of chaos brought about by the Gate and he received zero recognition of it despite being forced into conscript against said ceaseless horde all the way. So much so that if it mattered, he wouldn’t have been an F-rank Hunter when he started the career to begin with.

  Did he ever really have a choice? When even survival itself becomes a luxury that he can’t afford no matter what?

  "But I doubt that I would care, and my heart would never know."

  Because the truth was— He had stopped caring a long time ago. Until that moment at the very least.

  Not about people. Not about music. But about himself. Somewhere along the way, he had lost the ability to even recognize what he wanted anymore. Hadn’t it for the Forgotten Melody, for the little goddess giving him a new hope again no matter how flickering it is. It pulled him back from the abyss that he would have wasted away, feeling nothing but the ‘night’. To find his determination to live and carve a place in a world he no longer belonged in.

  He began to wonder, however. Had he really changed? Or had he simply repackaged his suffering into something a bit more bearable?

  A#+ C#+ C#+ D#+| A#+ G# A#+~~| G# A#+ C#+ D#+| A#+ G# A#+~

  If I make another move, there will be no more turning back.

  D#+ F+ F#+ F| D#+ C#+ A#+~| G# A#+ G# F#| F C# D#~

  Because everything will change, and it will all fade to black.

  With the final section performed, which a finishing variation is played instead, the opening note is changed to a dominant. A small but intentional disruption to the usual pattern, then progressing to the repetition of minor 7th (C#) which create tension right at the start before reinforced with unresolved tension, like a thread unraveling but never fully breaking. Before the usual measure brought back to grounded, reflective pace.

  The next part of the section, however, brought to higher register along with chromatic movement and descent (F+, F#+), creating a sense of elevation followed by tension. The chromatic descents (F#+ to F+) adds a darker, more dissonant flavor, as F is outside the D# natural minor scale but fits into the D# harmonic minor scale. The resolution to D#+ C#+ A#+~ feels like a partial release, but the lingering tension from the chromatic movement keeps the emotional tone complex.

  Then with the final measures, return to the back-and-forth motion (G# A#+ G# F#) as the dissonance of harmonic scale with natural scale apply twice successively, bringing about tension and unease. As though between hesitation and introspection, as if grappling with difficult emotions. The final resolution to D#~ feels stable but not fully resolved, as the lingering tension from earlier in the progression keeps the emotional tone ambiguous. Acceptance but carried with is unresolved longing.

  As Jihoon stared blankly as the song plays him instead of the other way around, he felt it within his thought and heart. Because for all this time, he had convinced himself that he was moving forward. That he was getting better slowly but surely. That he was no longer having suffering defining his way of life.

  But perhaps that wasn’t true at all. Maybe, he simply made his suffering as a whole of his own identity. That it had become such a huge and integral part of him so much that the mere thought of changing and truly letting go of his past, would mean that he no longer feel like himself.

  He is no longer certain of what scared him more. The idea of continuing to exist in this pain forever— Or the idea of letting it go and realizing he had nothing left.

  No suffering. No weight. No purpose.

  Just… Nothing.

  Jihoon barely registered that his fingers were still moving. That the performance was still happening.

  That the song hadn’t ended yet. But at this point, the music was playing him, not the other way around. And as the final notes of the section loomed closer, one thought lodged itself deep into his mind.

  "If I make another move, there will be no more turning back."

  Wasn’t that exactly what he had been avoiding? Making a choice. Actually moving forward—not just going through the motions. He had spent so long running from the past while at the same time clinging on to it paradoxically, from his own emotions, from his own pain— Because deep down, he was terrified of what would happen if he truly let go. What would remain?

  What would be left of him? Would there be anything at all?

  The performance wasn’t over yet, but Jihoon could already feel it. That something inside him had changed, something had been pulled to the surface. And even if after the performance is completed, he would not be able to bury it again ever.

  A#+ C#+ C#+ D#+| A#+ G# A#+~~| G# A#+ C#+ D#+| A#+ G# A#+~

  Will tomorrow ever come, will I make it through the night?

  G# A#+ G# F#| F C# D#~| C# D# F F#| G# A#+ D#~|

  Will there ever be a place, for the broken in the light?

  The other instruments become silent as the song’s chorus section still goes on except for the vocalist and Jihoon’s guitar. The air felt hollow without the rest of the ensemble, the absence weighing down on the soundscape, leaving behind something raw, exposed, utterly vulnerable.

  Jihoon’s sustained chords hummed beneath her vocals, their presence gentle yet unyielding, holding everything together like a lifeline in a vast, empty void. As his sustained chord plays while she sung with all her breath. As though one is screaming into the void all their misery, pain and longing. And only a distorted echo is all that returns from it.

  A#+ C#+ C#+ D#+| A#+ G# A#+~~| G# A#+ C#+ D#+| A#+ G# A#+~

  Am I hurting or am I sad? Should I stay or should I go?

  G# A#+ G# F#| F C# D#~| C# D# F F#| G# A#+ D#~|

  I’ve forgotten how to tell. Did I ever even know?

  Then the percussion of OneByteDrummer and chiptune harmonics of CookieXI made their re-entrance like one slowly regain their own previous fervor. A feeling of reclamation, like one finding their way back. Even if with all the bitterness and misery that is ingrained into one’s being.

  A#+ C#+ C#+ D#+| A#+ G# A#+~~| G# A#+ C#+ D#+| A#+ G# A#+~

  Can I take another step? I have done everything I can.

  G# A#+ G# F#| F C# D#~| C# D# F F#| G# A#+ D#~|

  All the people I see, they will never understand.

  A#+ C#+ C#+ D#+| A#+ G# A#+~~| G# A#+ C#+ D#+| A#+ G# A#+~

  If I find a way to change. If I step into the light

  G# A#+ G# F#| F C# D#~| C# D# F F#| G# A#+ D#~|

  Then I’ll never be the same. And it all will fade to white.

  Jihoon felt another sharp pull in his chest. Just another self-afflict torture in this agonizingly long session.

  "Will tomorrow ever come?"

  A question that had haunted him for years after the Gates opened. A question he had stopped asking himself long ago.

  Because for the longest time, he had assumed the answer was no.

  When the world had turned into a waking nightmare, when the Gates had twisted everything he once knew, when survival had become a cruel game of chance— Back when the world was still unraveling, back when each day felt like it could be his last. He had spent so long never thinking about the future, only focusing on making it through another night, another battle, another hunt. Eventually, he had simply stopped expecting a future.

  Tomorrow was never promised. So, he never let himself hope for it.

  “Will there ever be a place for the broken in the light?”

  That… That was something he didn’t know how to answer. Hadn’t he already decided that he didn’t belong anywhere in his world?

  That no matter how much time passed, no matter what he did, he would always be an outlier—a man out of sync with the world around him?

  And yet, even now, even with all his doubts, with all of his hesitation— He was still here, because of them…

  "Can I take another step? I have done everything I can."

  "All the people I see, they will never understand."

  Even now—after everything, after every nightmare, after every mistake, after every failure— Could he keep moving forward regardless?

  And if he did— Would anyone understand what it cost him? Would anyone see past the surface? Would they realize the weight he carried? Would anyone even care?

  …

  No.

  That wasn’t true anymore, was it? Perhaps if it aimed toward him before his arrival at Absence that it may have hold true but… He could speak with certainty that he of today had surpassed him of previous in one aspect.

  Alvorna, Karim, Aquarius, Rosa. His compatriots in Absence.

  The people who had given him a reason to fight, a reason to stay, a reason to keep playing. The people who had refused to let him fall into the void. The people who had never given up on him, even when he had long given up on himself.

  Wasn’t that proof enough? Wasn’t their kindness, their faith, their relentless belief in him—wasn’t that proof that he wasn’t just suffering and nothing else?

  He was no longer alone for they had seen everything through the mask into his pain. And instead of turning away, they stayed for his sake even without any promise of their efforts repaid by him.

  Alvorna, who had never once hesitated to stand by him. Someone who had watched over him even when he wasn’t watching over himself. Who had shown him endless grace, even when he didn’t think he deserved it.

  Even now— Even when he still didn’t understand what he wanted, who he was, or where he was going—

  She was still here. With that confident smile and grace of a life soaring above his height and standing. Even without counting her, others did the same for him.

  Maybe that wasn’t the end of the story. That truly there is more to his life than just his suffering.

  And so, Jihoon arrived at the truth that had been buried beneath everything else. One that took an embarrassing amount of recollection and self-reflection, and facing everything he had ignored to arrive.

  [His suffering was not all that he was.]

  For a very long time, Jihoon believed himself only to be what he had lost.

  The truth remains that he had been indelibly shaped by said suffering, defined by the tragedy and carried forward by the bitter feelings of failure. But to say that was all he ever was, is close-minded and shallow. And doing injustice to everything he had gone through and experienced. Spending so long believing that only his past is what defined him entirely that he failed to recognize everything else that is also transforming who he is today.

  The past will always be a part of him, there’s no rebuke or denying that. The weight of it will never disappear for certain. But they were not everything.

  He is becoming more than that. His time in Absence forced him to establish connections again, that he must allow himself to care about those around him while not wallowing in his despair. To empathize with the circumstances of those around. And the most important of them all is… That he recognized that people of Absence saw something in him beyond just suffering.

  In their eyes, they don’t see a hopeless, broken man that is beyond salvation. They see him as a prodigious musician and performer of greatest caliber. A Maestro fastest to achieve his title in entirety of Absence’s academic. With reverence, they were moved by his music performance and that is easily the biggest counterargument against all that hopeless pessimism spelled out before which he drowned himself in years.

  The song transitioned into its bridge, the refrain building once more. And as Jihoon continued to play— His mind was clearer than it had been in years.

  G# A#+ G# F#| F C# D#~|

  D#- D#-_D# D#_C# D#_D#-| D#- D#-_D# D#_C# D#_D#-| D#- D#-_D# D#_C# D#_D#-| D#- D#_F# G#- F#_G#|

  D#- D#-_D# D#_C# D#_D#-| D#- D#-_D# D#_C# D#_D#-| D#- D#-_D# D#_C# D#_D#-| G#- F#_G# D#- D#_F#|

  Without hesitation, he faced his own fear as he answered the burning question with all the pride and dignity that his self-loathing being could muster.

  ‘I am all of me – the past and the present’

  Right when he affirmed the answer in his heart. The song progression slowly transitions away from the usual bridge that is played in the beginning as everyone in the ensemble seems to share an impromptu in mind. There was no verbal cue, no plan… Yet everyone in the ensemble seemed to share the same impromptu instinct.

  Everyone else who remained silent until now of the performance joined as the distinct voices of their respective instruments. TearsOfTragedy abstained because there is no lyric for this impromptu but knowing her, she would probably have made one on the spot. But as the saying goes, less is more sometimes.

  The soundscape then reduced to a few muted percussions. Like a heartbeat still palpating in tension within the moment of silence and self-reflection, as one becomes one with the stillness around them.

  D#~ D#_C# D#|~~~~|C# D# F# G#| A#+ D#~ D#|C# D#~~|

  Then slowly other instruments of other performers of Arisen Studio joined, slowly filling in their place of the soundscape without interfering with anyone else. The sound of piano from CroixGrimmoire, the violin of LeonMight, CookieXI’s chiptune, the acoustic guitar from Jin Sarae and then his own electric guitar as all the pieces fell together, forming an orchestral. As each individual perform the bridge to synchronize with one another.

  D#- D#-_D# D#_C# D#_D#-| D#- D#-_D# D#_C# D#_D#-| D#- D#-_D# D#_C# D#_D#-| D#- D#_F# G#- F#_G#|

  D#- D#-_D# D#_C# D#_D#-| D#- D#-_D# D#_C# D#_D#-| D#- D#-_D# D#_C# D#_D#-| G#- F#_G# D#- D#_F#|

  Then finally, as all thoughts united as one. Without a word spoken beforehand toward one another, their thoughts converged toward the one and only melody.

  The chorus of the original Bad Apple, the one that the popular fan version took direct inspiration from. Returning to the root where it all began, so that one may find the answer to their own existential question. It’s not one-to-one recreation but this is meant to pay tribute to the original that gave steps to its derivative creation that exceeded it. A melody that had paved the way for its fan rearrangement to rise beyond it, to become a cultural legend in its own right.

  D#~~~|C#~~~| D#~~~| D# F F# G#|F#~~~| A#-~ F F| F# D#~~|~~~~|

  C#~~~|D#~~~|D# F F# G#|F#~~~| A#-~ F F| F# D#~~|~~~~|

  C#~~~| F# F# G# A#+| G#~ F~| G# G# A#+ F#|~~~~|

  C#~~~| D#~~~| F F# F~| D~ G# A#+|~~~~|G#~ F#~| D#~~~|

  The repetition of motifs, those long-sustained notes stretched across time measure itself, creating a sense of cyclical reflection. The feeling of being trapped within the spiral of one’s own emotions, whether negative or positive. The sustained notes prevent the melody from just rushing forward. Searching for a resolution it might be, it continues to explore, search and contemplate as its flow mirror the ebb and flow of one’s inner emotions. The weight of introspection, the longing for something beyond reach.

  Thus, to summarize, this impromptu is a meditative trance which a restless soul caught between the turmoil of the past and present. Reflecting back the emotions that had driven this performance from the start.

  SilvaGun_GildedSun – Good work, everyone. But this isn’t a fusion collab.

  SilvaGun_GildedSun – This is just a usual performance. A collab requires everyone to perform their respective part before changing performance role to someone else. Which goes on until the song ends.

  A brief moment of silence, then…

  ToxicXEternity – Fuck off, ma'am.

  The explosion of groans, laughter, and mock outrage erupted all at once in the voice chat.

  CookieXI – Boooooo, let us have our moment, you corporate shill!

  OneByteDrummer – We get one legendary impromptu moment, and you gotta be a textbook about it?

  LeonMight – This is why you have nobody wants to be your friend, Silva.

  SaraeJinnae – Don’t bring our suffering into your textbook definitions, man.

  Jihoon just chuckled, shaking his head. It was chaotic, and ridiculous all the same. But it was also comforting in a way he hadn’t felt in a long time.

  Because in that one moment, in that one shared performance— He didn’t care about the music itself. Instead, it was about the people. About connections, past and present and the fact that even when everything else felt lost, there were still things worth holding onto.

  Even if it was just a single song. Even if it was just a fleeting moment.

  It was enough.