After breaking up, my ex asked me to win her back

livehouse·Starry Sky.

This is an underground rock venue located in Shimokitazawa, relatively small in space, a medium-sized livehouse.

This is where Karen's band, Red Pepper Band, will perform today, with a set lasting half an hour.

This also happens to be their first attempt at playing continuously for such a lengthy period.

Ruzaki Mami and the other band members had arrived early, nervously tuning their instruments in the green room.

Onstage, the performance of the previous band was nearing its end, yet the lead singer of Red Pepper Band had not yet arrived.

"Karen is so slow, where is she now?" Hoshimi Nana, the lead guitarist of Red Pepper Band, paced back and forth in the room, constantly checking her watch.

"Eight minutes ago, she was still on the train," Ruzaki Mami said, checking her phone. "I'll ask her again."

Everyone waited in silence.

But before they could get a reply, the door to the green room burst open, and Ai Cheng Karen and Kagura Hikaru walked in.

"Sorry everyone, I'm late!" Ai Cheng Karen apologized immediately upon entering.

"Karen!"

"Geez, you took forever!"

The band crowded around her, one taking out a makeup case, another using a handkerchief to wipe her sweat, all clumsily applying makeup to Ai Cheng Karen.

From Kagura Hikaru's perspective, it was like a group of fiery red-lipped, leather-clad girls rushed forward, determined to turn Ai Cheng Karen into a Shibuya-style high school girl.

He was so frightened that he froze on the spot.

"Ai Cheng, are these your band members...?"

"Yeah," Ai Cheng Karen replied with her face still being covered in dark makeup, and turned around to see Kagura Hikaru's expression. She chuckled awkwardly, "This, this is our band's style... It's very rock, isn't it?"

"...You're not playing heavy metal, are you?"

"No, no, no, no, it's really just a styling thing!"

That's some styling indeed!

Has the recent rock scene really evolved to this kind of style??

Just then, another band came down off the stage, passed by the dressing room—a refreshing contrast to Red Pepper Band.

Both groups were too embarrassed to look at each other and left with their heads down.

"Their makeup really is weird," somebody muffled.

"They're trying to look like gyarus."

"Shhh! Don't let them hear you!"

The passing band whispered amongst themselves.

But because the room was small, Ai Cheng Karen and the others heard every word loud and clear.

Even through the thick coat of dark makeup, Kagura Hikaru thought he could see their faces turning bright red.

If you're going to be shy about it, then why put on such an extravagant act!

"That, that!"

At this moment, a small-statured girl from Red Pepper Band approached, nervously fiddling with her fingers: "Mr. Kagura, do you remember me?"

"Hm?" Kagura Hikaru looked at her puzzled, "I'm sorry, do we know each other?"

"I'm Ruzaki Mami..."

"...Sorry, I have no memory of you."

"Is that so," Ruzaki Mami bowed her head, "Karen-chan said Mr. Kagura, you had amnesia from a car accident, it's true, huh."

"Don't say that, Mr. Kagura~" Hoshimi Nana complained while still doing Ai Cheng Karen's makeup.

"Teacher?"

"You used to teach us guitar," Ai Cheng Karen explained.

"Right, I already had some basics, but Karen was like a baby you raised from scratch, nourished bit by bit. You even bought the guitar together with Mr. Kagura," Hoshimi Nana cheekily winked with her right eye as she said.

"Bit by bit...?" Ai Cheng Karen scrunched up her face.

"Is that so?" Kagura Hikaru asked curiously.

"Of course not!"

Ruzaki Mami picked up Ai Cheng Karen's guitar bag from the corner, unzipped it, and took out a metallic red-colored Telecaster, holding it out with both hands for Kagura Hikaru to see, "This is Karen-chan's guitar, Mr. Kagura. Do you remember this?"

"No."

"Well..." Ruzaki Mami said, disappointed, and set the guitar on the nearby stand.

At that moment, a livehouse staff member entered to remind them that they had five minutes before going on stage.

Ruzaki Mami and the others dared not chat anymore and began applying makeup to Ai Cheng Karen all the more vigorously.

Right before going on stage, Ai Cheng Karen handed an orange pick to Kagura Hikaru.

"What's this?" Kagura Hikaru held the plastic pick and examined it from all sides as he asked.

"It's the livehouse's ticket. I had Zhen Chun and the others save one for you in advance," Ai Cheng Karen said with a smile. "With this, you can exchange it for a drink outside and watch the show. You should head out now; we're about to go onstage."

"Thank you."

"You better cheer for us from down there, Mr. Kagura," Hoshimi Nana said with a smile.

Kagura Hikaru pocketed the pick ticket and said with a smile, "I wish you a successful performance."

That smile caused a stir.

Everyone except Ai Cheng Karen froze, and they huddled together to whisper, "Did Mr. Kagura ever smile before?"

"Never seen it."

"Woah, looks like amnesia can cure resting bitch face."

"He's not a resting bitch face; he just didn't like to smile!" Only Ai Cheng Karen clarified for Kagura Hikaru.

Kagura Hikaru gave an awkward smile, waved his hand, and left backstage to go outside, where he exchanged the ticket for a Coke at the counter.

Just as he got his Coke, he saw Ai Cheng Karen and the others walking onto the stage under the lights.

The audience below immediately started cheering; it seemed many were there for them.

Kagura Hikaru hadn't expected this. He had thought Ai Cheng Karen's band was just a group of high school students messing around, but their popularity was actually quite high.

He found a good angle from below the stage and watched while holding his drink.

"Good afternoon, everyone! We are the Red Pepper Band!" Ai Cheng Karen, with the metallic red electric guitar strapped to her, energetically yelled into the microphone.

There was an immediate response of applause from below. Discover stories at My Virtual Library Empire

"Then let's start with the first song, a cover—'Sun Inch Performance'!"

The drums sounded like birds swooping by, followed by the distortion of electric guitar. Ai Cheng Karen and Hoshimi Nana simultaneously picked their strings as lights flickered on stage.

After the intro, Ai Cheng Karen grabbed the microphone and began to sing.

It was a cool Japanese rock song, and whether it was the lead singer's voice or the performance of the other band members, it was all surprisingly good, beyond Kagura Hikaru's expectations.

The livehouse's small space helped immensely, as the unseen waves of sound kept crashing and reflecting off the walls, maximizing the atmospheric effect.

By the end of the song, Kagura Hikaru realized he had goosebumps.

They were impressive.

He almost underestimated them because of their comical makeup.

After the first song, Ai Cheng Karen introduced the band members, then suddenly told a bad joke, causing a chill to fall over the audience. She quickly moved on, embarrassed, into the next song.

The Red Pepper Band continued to play for twenty straight minutes, maintaining the high quality of the first song.

Kagura Hikaru's drink was almost finished.

"Hey, buddy."

At that time, a portly fat man who had been standing beside him suddenly started talking to him, "What do you think of this band?"

Kagura Hikaru looked at him, puzzled, "Not bad, what about it?"

"How about compared to a professional band?"

"Ah?"

"Haha, sorry, I was too abrupt." The fat man said with a laugh and wave of his hand, explaining, "Actually, I'm a talent scout for a music company. I've been following this band for a while."