Devil’s Music

Tokyo's Shibuya Scramble Crossing at 7 PM.

Featured in "Resident Evil 5" and "The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift," this crossing was crowded with office workers heading home as the sun began to set.

Thousands of people waiting for the traffic light to change at the crossing, which one must pass through to get to the Shibuya subway station, included two high school girls having a loud conversation.

"Hoshino, is there any new article on Fantagio?"

The girl, neatly tying her ponytail and wearing a navy blue school uniform, asked Hoshino, who was looking at her phone screen. Hoshino shook her head in response.

"Nothing. It's been 8 days since the first video about the angel's return was posted, and there's been no follow-up news. I'm dying to know. Aren't you curious, Hikari?"

Hikari stomped her feet in frustration.

"I'm dying of curiosity too! Why doesn't Kay come to Japan? It's just next door, but he's always in the US, and after returning to Korea from Nepal, he just left again. It'd be nice if he could stop by."

Hoshino, with a dreamy expression, interlocked her fingers and said,

"Me too! Ever since I saw that fundraiser broadcast, he's even appeared in my dreams."

As Hoshino looked at Hikari, she let out a strange laugh.

"Isn't it because you watch weird videos at night?"

Hikari, terrified, waved her hands in denial.

"Yikes! Don't say such things in a crowded place! I don't watch that stuff!"

Hoshino, revealing her teeth, said,

"Last time, your sister told me you keep watching weird stuff, hehe."

Hikari quickly covered Hoshino's mouth, looking around cautiously before whispering,

"Keep it down! People can hear!"

Hoshino, with a playful glint in her eye, noticed the traffic light change and shook off Hikari's hand.

"Let go. The light's changed. Let's go!"

Hoshino, stepping onto the pedestrian crossing ahead, turned back to Hikari with a playful smile and shouted as she ran forward,

"It's okay for a spirited high school girl to see such things!"

"Hey!! Will you keep it down!"

Chasing after Hoshino, Hikari swung her fist. Embarrassed, Hikari continued to chase Hoshino but paused when she suddenly stopped and bumped into her, falling backward.

"Kyah! What, Hoshino!"

As Hikari, with scraped elbows, looked up at Hoshino, she saw Hoshino pointing at something with a dazed expression.

"Kay?"

On the large TV screen, Kay was seen sitting with a smile, placing a J-200 on his lap, nodding his head to the beat before starting to play.

The performance, not meant for a song from the start, showcased an intricate acoustic guitar solo by Kay. The camera then switched to a man in a black hat sitting with a blue bass guitar.

The sound of Kay's guitar continued, overlaid with the groovy sound of the bass guitar. The man in the black hat had long, pretty fingers, though his face was not visible.

As the guitar and bass began playing, another guitar sound entered, this time from an electric guitar. Shortly after, the camera zoomed in on the moving hands playing the guitar. Hikari, lying down, murmured,

"That's a White Falcon... Is someone else playing Kay's guitar?"

Hoshino, standing still and staring blankly at the screen, covered her mouth with her hand and said,

"Shh! Listen to the music."

The performance evoked a sense of nostalgia, but it was a beautifully hopeful song. More than depicting longing, Hikari felt the hidden hope in the music as she took a deep breath.

Another guitar sound joined the performance, as if three Kays were playing in unison. The guitars, in harmony with the drum sounds, reached a climax. The screen only showed the drummer's foot pedaling, with a rhythmic bass drum play adding a groovy feel.

The screen switched again, showing Kay in front of a microphone screen with headphones, smiling with his eyes closed as he began to sing.

"If I could change the world. (If I could change the world.)

Back in time, I'll be back then. (If I could turn back time, I'd go back to that time.)

When I had to hide in a place where no one knew. (When I had to hide and could only watch from a place unknown to anyone.)

If you can go back then and save you. (If I could go back and save you.)

Kay's voice, moving between falsetto and chest voice, captivated the listeners. Many people passing through Shibuya Scramble Crossing stopped in their tracks, fixing their gaze on the large TV screen, familiar with the segment already released through the video.

The screen transitioned to black and white, showing Kay blowing a kiss to the camera with a smile.

Hikari clasped her hands to her chest, her eyes turning into hearts. The screen then showed a black and white scene of a parking lot, with Kay lying on the hood of a Mercedes-Benz C-Class, holding the White Falcon and singing.

In front of the parking lot flowed a massive river, and Kay, looking at the river from the car, had a deep sadness in his eyes.

"I would be the sunlight in your universe. (I will be the light in your world.)

Sweetheart, if I could change the world. (My dear, if I could change the world.)

And I Know there'll be no more tears in heaven. (And I know, there will be no more tears in heaven.)

The bass guitarist, sitting with his legs hanging off the embankment and nodding his head to the beat, gradually moved away until he appeared small in the distance.

"If I could be Your child even for a day. (If I could be your child, even for just one day.)

I'd take you as my queen. (I would make you my queen.)

But for now I find. (But now I've realized.)

It's only in my dreams. (It's only in my dreams.)

The screen shifted to Kay standing in the river, his arms spread wide and bending backwards as he sang against the backdrop of the river and wearing black pants and a white shirt, blending beautifully with the scenery behind him.

"But I'm different. (But I've changed.)

Everything is different. Me and you, and now the person next to me. (Everything has changed. Me, you, and now the person next to me.)

I will not miss you anymore. (I will not miss you anymore.)

Because now everything is precious. (Because now, everything is precious.)

As soon as the lyrics ended, the screen split into four parts, showing eight hands playing four guitars.

On the top left was the hand playing the White Falcon, next to it was the J-200, on the bottom left another acoustic guitar, and on the bottom right a hand playing the bass guitar.

Although the song was medium tempo, the hands moved intricately, playing different notes but coming together as a cohesive performance.

The seamless play by the hands, as if one person had eight hands, continued without a break in the solo parts, each guitar taking its turn in a perfectly coordinated performance. Hikari, watching with a stunned expression, muttered,

"Amazing... even the bass is playing solos."

As she said, the bass guitar, usually providing rhythm and support, added harmony with its heavy notes.

After the bass played its final note, a dazzling drum solo entered. This time, the person twirling the sticks and playing the drums was shown, but only their head, wearing a red hat and bowed, was visible, concealing their face.

"If I could change the world. (If I could change the world.)

I would be the sunlight in your universe. (I would be the sunlight in your universe.)

Sweetheart, if I could change the world. (Sweetheart, if I could change the world.)

And I Know there'll be no more tears in heaven. (And I know, there will be no more tears in heaven.)

The song ended with the same lyrics as the beginning, but if the first song conveyed a feeling of distant longing, this version was filled with hope.

As the last lyrics were sung, all the instruments stopped at once, leaving a lasting impression.

Kay, sitting on the car playing the White Falcon, closed his eyes to feel the music, then opened them and smiled in one direction. The camera moved to show a bass guitarist sitting alone by the riverbank, who threw his hat into the river and turned around with a laugh. People watching the screen pointed and exclaimed,

"Kay! It's Kay! Kay was the bassist!"

Kay, having removed his hat, walked over and extended his hand to the guitarist holding the J-200, helping him up. The screen showed two Kays smiling at each other.

"Goodness! The J-200 was also Kay!"

As the two looked in one direction and laughed, another guitarist sitting on a fishing chair stood up and joined them, laughing.

"The other one was Kay too! Cough!"

The three stood side by side, walking to the drum set and giving a thumbs up to the drummer, who raised his head and grinned. Hoshino, still sitting next to the fallen Hikari, muttered,

"The... the drummer was Kay too..."

The screen showed all five Kays in front of the drum set, each holding their instrument and smiling. The camera then zoomed out rapidly, moving away to show the Hudson River next to the parking lot from a bird's-eye view, until the image was far enough to reveal the entire scene. As the camera pulled back, elegant script appeared on the screen:

If I could change the world...... (If I could change the world.)

Then, in a slightly smaller font at the bottom right of the screen, the credits appeared:

Composition by Kay.

Lyrics by Kiska Miocic.

The screen faded to black, but the people standing at Shibuya Scramble Crossing remained frozen in place, unable to move, their eyes fixed on the now-dark screen.

Even though the traffic light had changed, the drivers, noticing that everyone outside was still looking in the same direction, craned their necks to see the screen too, and no one honked their horns.

On that day, thousands of people on the streets of Shibuya were as if time had stopped, fixated on the blackened screen, sharing a moment of collective awe and wonder at the spectacle they had just witnessed.

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