Devil’s Music

At Charlie Brion Newspaper in Paris, France, François was walking around the office, offering donuts from a large box to his colleagues.

"Here, take one. It's on Manager Bangsang."

As François handed out donuts with a smile, he approached Bruno, who was intensely staring at his laptop behind horn-rimmed glasses, and offered him a donut.

"Eat up, Bruno. What are you looking at so intently? There's hardly any news these days. Even the Nepal incident has wrapped up."

Bruno, resting his chin on his hands, repeatedly pressed F5 and responded.

"Is it good that there's no news? We're journalists, if there's no news, we starve."

Despite François tempting him with the donut, Bruno kept his focus on the laptop. François then took a tissue, placed it on the desk next to Bruno, and set the donut on it.

"Eat it later then. We bought plenty, there's enough to spare. Olivier, you should have some too."

Olivier, with his long hair pulled back with a spring headband, held up his takeaway coffee cup and said,

After rummaging through the donut box, François grinned and pulled out a plain donut.

"Got one left. Here."

Taking the donut from François, Olivier bit into it and sat down, asking Bruno,

"Still no news? The evening edition's deadline is coming up, what do we do?"

Bruno glanced at the clock on his desk and said,

"There's still 30 minutes till the deadline, I'll keep looking. Have you finished your piece?"

As Olivier chewed on the donut he held in one hand, he said,

"I'm done. I'm on the society section this month. There's never a shortage of big and small news in society. But isn't the entertainment section easier? If there's no news on celebrities, just dig through their social media for private photos or something."

Bruno waved his hand dismissively and replied,

"Do we even need articles for that? Just post a photo and mention what they're doing. If nothing comes up by the deadline, that's what we'll do, but those titles take a minute to write."

Olivier, propping his chin with his hand, clicked on the laptop's touchpad, which was in screensaver mode, and asked,

"Any news on Kay? It's been quiet for about a month. What's he been up to?"

"I don't know, it's weird."

"Weird how?"

"It feels like something's preventing anything from getting to Kay. Isn't it strange? With Kay's level of fame, you'd expect paparazzi to be on him, but there's no news or photos from Nepal. Seems like he's already left for Korea or the US, but not a single article or photo? That's odd."

"Hmm... Yeah, that is strange. But he's just a celebrity. Who would prevent access to him? He's not a high-profile national figure or anything."

"I heard from a senior journalist who retired when I joined, about Marley from Jamaica, you know? The pioneer of reggae music."

"Who wouldn't know that?"

"Well, he was classified as a dangerous individual by the government, and journalists were blocked from approaching him. They said it was because he incited the public."

"Haha, he had reasons for that. But Kay isn't involved in activism or making political statements through his music."

"Right? Maybe I'm just being sensitive."

"Haha, you should have a coffee like me then. Clears the head."

Resigned, Bruno entered the Fantagio website's URL and pressed enter, then turned to Olivier without looking at the screen.

"Do you want this donut? My stomach's a bit off."

As Olivier leaned in to grab the donut from Bruno's desk, he glanced at Bruno's screen and tilted his head.

"Huh? What's that?"

"What?"

Bruno saw a black loading icon on the banner ad that appeared on the screen and looked puzzled.

"What the? I thought I entered Fantagio's website, but did I type it wrong? No, it's correct..."

As the banner finished loading, it turned to a black-and-white screen. A drum set in what seemed to be a recording studio appeared in the slightly shaky, amateur-shot video. Olivier scooted his chair closer and said,

"Turn up the volume."

When Olivier increased the volume, the sound of tuning a guitar could be heard. François, who had been folding the empty donut box, came over after seeing the two of them glued to the laptop screen.

"What's up? Found a story?"

Bruno, without taking his eyes off the screen, gestured for silence with his index finger over his mouth, indicating they might be onto something. François, sensing something was up, hurried over.

"What is it? What is it?"

On the black-and-white screen, the legs of someone standing in front of the drums appeared. The long, slender legs seemed to be wearing black skinny jeans, though the black-and-white screen made it hard to determine the exact color.

Someone approached the figure in front of the drums and handed over an object. The person in the black skinny jeans lifted whatever was handed to them and then lowered it.

"Looks like he's strapping on a guitar?"

"Shh! Quiet! Let's focus."

As the figure lowered their hands, a guitar appeared from above their waist. Olivier stood up abruptly, pointing at the screen.

"White Falcon! It's Kay!"

"Whoa! Really! It is the White Falcon!!"

The colleagues, who had been seated at their desks, rushed over to Bruno's desk. After seeing the video, they hurried back to their stations to access Fantagio's website. Bruno pressed the space bar to pause the video, then stood up and shouted,

"Where's Manager Bangsang! Tell him to push back the evening edition deadline!"

A female colleague quickly stood up and entered the manager's office, and soon, loud noises followed as Manager Bangsang rushed out.

"Did news about Kay break?"

"Yes, Manager!"

"Alright! Christina! Call the publishing company and tell them to extend the deadline by 30 minutes! Bruno, you write the article!"

"Yes! Understood!"

Manager Bangsang, satisfied, gave a thumbs-up.

"Well done! I expect you to keep hunting for articles till the last minute in the future."

Bruno grinned, and Manager Bangsang smiled back before returning to his office. Bruno, feeling pleased, looked at Olivier, who was looking at him enviously, and shrugged.

"Jealous? You could join the entertainment section."

Olivier chuckled and pointed at the screen.

"Just play it already."

Bruno smiled, sat down, and resumed the video. The man holding the White Falcon began a guitar solo. It seemed like a practice session as he freely played before taking off the guitar and reaching out for someone to hand him another. This time, a blue-necked guitar, apparently a bass guitar, appeared, and Olivier pointed out,

"A bass guitar? He plays the bass too?"

"People who play guitar often learn the bass too. The techniques are different, but the understanding of chords and playing is similar."

The figure, only visible from the waist down, began to play the bass guitar. It seemed like a practice session, but the skill level was evidently high. Olivier remarked,

"Do guitarists usually handle the bass guitar at that level?"

Bruno, mouth agape and looking stunned, watched the screen silently. Olivier licked his lips and looked at the screen again, then said,

"Uh? He's moving towards the drums?"

As the man in the black skinny jeans sat at the drums, his face became visible. Bruno stood up, shouting,

"It's Kay! Definitely Kay!"

Geon smiled, picking up a drumstick and spinning it around to loosen his wrists before starting a drum solo.

The short performance was impressive, utilizing double bass for a groovy beat that amazed both watchers. As the solo ended, they looked at each other and simultaneously exclaimed,

"Did you see that?"

"Was that Kay playing? Really??"

While they were astonished, the scene shifted to what seemed like vocal track recording with a microphone visible behind a windscreen. Nobody was in the recording studio until someone entered and put on headphones.

Although it was a black-and-white screen, the man's strikingly handsome features were enhanced, captivating the screen with Geon's beauty.

Bruno, with his jaw practically on the floor, heard the sound of a guitar played in a blues style. The beautiful guitar melody was hauntingly beautiful, conveying a deep sense of longing. The young man with headphones began to sing with a sweet voice, transitioning between falsetto and full voice.

"I would be the sunlight in your universe."

"Sweetheart, if I could change the world."

"And I Know there'll be no more tears in heaven."

After singing the short piece, Geon looked into the camera, smiled beautifully while lifting his thumb.

The screen then turned black, and in elegant, flowing script, words slowly appeared from left to right.

‘The angel is back.’

As the words faded, new text emerged.

‘He will go to see you soon.’

The screen turned black again, and a notice that the playback had stopped appeared. Bruno and Olivier, with their mouths wide open and a dazed expression, watched the screen. Olivier was the first to regain his composure and spoke,

"Does this mean an album is coming out?"

Bruno, snapping back to reality, shook his head vigorously.

"Ah, I lost my mind there for a second. Damn. There's no clear indication if it's an album or not. No mention of when it might be released."

Olivier, looking frustrated, said,

"Why do they make it so complicated? They don't even tell us when it's going to open."

Bruno, still with a stunned look on his face, pointed at the paused screen and said to Olivier,

"Are you missing the point here?"

"What do you mean?"

"It means that until the day it's released, Fantagio's website will be the focus of fans and journalists waiting for any bit of news."

Suddenly, there was a loud commotion.

"Wow! It's exploded!"

François, who had knocked over his chair in his excitement, exclaimed. Olivier turned to him, asking,

"What exploded?"

"The Fantagio website is down! It's a server crash! It must be flooded with journalists and fans!"

The door to the manager's office burst open, and Manager Bangsang, looking exhilarated, yelled,

"Get that article on the evening edition now! We can't be beat by anyone else!"

>

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