Devil’s Music

Chapter 309: Liverpool Sound City

The group that landed at the airport joined Son Lin, who was waiting in front of the gate. Having heard about Kiska from Byung-jun in advance, Lin checked Geon's expression and said,

“You’ve had quite the journey coming all the way to England, Mr. Geon…”

Geon smiled faintly and replied,

“Is there more work than what you’ve done by coming here first?”

Lin paused her gaze on Geon for a moment before greeting an elder, Carlos, with her eyes.

“Good work, Carlos.”

Carlos grinned widely and extended his hand.

“It’s been tough. I heard you’re planning to release the live performance as a recording? That’s a great idea.”

After shaking his hand, Lin smiled and glanced at Kevin.

Kevin flashed a good-natured smile and said,

“What hard work have I done, anyway? But how’s the promotion going?”

As Lin turned around and walked away, she said,

“You’ll see for yourself.”

Apparently, the news of Montana's arrival had already spread, as the airport was crowded with journalists. Aware that Fantagio’s artists don’t grant interviews unless scheduled in advance, the journalists simply took photos of their arrival without shouting or requesting interviews, allowing the group to leave the airport easily. They loaded their instruments into a white van marked with the Fantagio logo. Jose, having the most luggage as the drummer, was the last to get on the van. Lin instructed the Asian driver.

“Let's head to the Hilton Liverpool.”

As the car started, Kevin, who was in England for the first time, stared out of the window at the British landscape with wide eyes and suddenly gasped. Unable to continue his sentence, Kevin elbowed Carlos sitting next to him.

“Ouch! What are you doing?”

Kevin pointed out the window with his finger and said,

“Look over there.”

Carlos leaned out the window and chuckled.

“I’m used to it. You should take it all in.”

Kevin was pointing at a large billboard above a building advertising Liverpool Sound City. The event name was flanked by photos of Carlos and Geon facing each other. Kevin, overwhelmed by the size of the billboard as big as the building, then turned to Geon to say something but remained silent, realizing that Geon might be accustomed to such spectacles.

“Is this just fascinating to me?”

Lin, sitting in the passenger seat, turned back and said,

“Not just in Liverpool, but news of Montana's participation has been announced all over the UK, and you two have been chosen as the main models for this Liverpool Sound City. It’s a natural outcome.”

Kevin looked at Lin with a troubled expression and said,

“Is it okay to advertise like this when I’m only performing one song?”

“That’s right, just one song. But Montana is the only one performing on all three days of Liverpool City. Many people have been inquiring with the management committee about Montana’s performance times and locations. The committee has been overwhelmed with inquiries.”

Carlos chuckled lightly as Kevin looked tense.

“Ah, it’s your first performance, isn’t it? It would be good for you to realize you’re part of the band Montana. You’ll see this kind of scene wherever you go in the world.”

Seeing Kevin sweat nervously, Lin looked out the window with a sympathetic gaze towards Geon, wanting to somehow lift his spirits. After a moment of thought, Lin said,

“Mr. Geon.”

Geon turned to Lin with wide eyes.

“Yes?”

“There’s a Korean Day showcase at Liverpool Sound City. I heard that Koreans participating in the event are staying at our hotel, would you like to meet them?”

Geon leaned forward slightly, showing some interest.

“Korean musicians? Who are they?”

Lin opened the glove compartment in the passenger seat and pulled out a folded paper to read.

“There’s a band called Kate Flower and another called Broken Heart participating. There’s also an idol group called ATS and a female musician named Rai.”

Geon, uninterested in the idol group and unfamiliar with the bands, leaned back again and shook his head.

“I don’t really want to meet anyone in particular.”

Lin folded the paper back up and tossed it into the glove box, saying,

“I thought so, but I just mentioned it.”

Geon chuckled.

“Haha, even the manager can make uninteresting remarks sometimes.”

“I don’t do it with anyone else.”

“Ha ha, I’m honored.”

As the car arrived in front of the Hilton Liverpool hotel, Lin looked outside with a puzzled expression and exclaimed.

“What’s going on in front of the hotel?”

The driver also looked alarmed and quickly picked up his phone. Kevin, hearing the employee finish a call, saw thousands of people apparently sitting in front of the hotel. Dumbfounded, he heard Lin shout.

“Who on earth is the resident employee who let it come to this without reporting it?”

“That, that’s because there are popular idols

staying in the same hotel, we thought it was their fans.”

“Whose fans they are doesn’t matter! What do you think will happen if we get off here! Tell the resident employee to submit a report right away!”

“Yes, yes…”

Seeing Lin fuming, Kevin felt really unprepared for the situation and started fidgeting, but Geon remained calm and said,

“Let’s just go into the hotel.”

Byung-jun, crumpled in the back seat, lifted his head and said,

“What? Are you crazy?”

“It’s fine.”

Lin looked puzzled, but Geon grinned and said,

“This is England. Eastern fans might scream and rush towards musicians when they sing or show up, but British fans are different. They have a haughty look as if to say, ‘Let's hear you sing. If your song is good, I’ll pay.’ They probably won’t rush us if we get off.”

Carlos pursed his lips and nodded.

“Well, now that you mention it, nothing happened at our last concert in England. But... I’m fine, the problem is with you, Kay.”

Geon chuckled and suddenly opened the car door. Startled, Byung-jun reached out from the back to grab Geon’s collar, but Geon had already stepped out of the car and was walking into the hotel. Byung-jun kicked the front seat as he shouted.

“Damn it! Kevin! Clear this up! Get out quickly!”

The flustered group quickly got out of the car, and Byung-jun, the last to jump out, looked in shock at the thousands of fans. As Geon waved to the fans sitting on the ground, holding banners with Kay’s name or greeting him, the fans sat still, shaking their banners or greeting him.

“Wow~!! Kay, thanks for coming to the UK!”

“We’ll definitely go to the concert too! It’s at Liverpool One Shopping Center, right?”

As Geon nodded naturally or responded, the excited fans continued to talk.

“I love this song! If Kay ever releases an album, I’ll definitely buy it! I’ve even bought a CD player!”

“You’re with Montana, so you’ll be playing Fury, right?”

Geon smiled and nodded as he moved among the fans. Fans further away stood up and approached, but those nearby remained seated, only calling out to him loudly. Kevin, relieved, managed a weak smile.

“What were we worried about, really.”

Seeing the situation turn around, Lin quickly said,

“While Kay is holding them off, let’s go in quickly, Director Byung-jun? Come in with Kay. Get the instruments down.”

Following Lin’s swift instructions, the group safely entered the hotel lobby, still looking worried as they waited for Geon. A moment later, Geon entered the hotel nonchalantly, leaving the cheering fans behind.

“See? Nothing to worry about.”

Byung-jun slapped Geon on the back hard as he came in last.

“You! Even if that’s the case, what if something dangerous had happened! Don’t ever do that again!”

“Ow! Why, it ended up fine!”

“Anyway! If you do something like that again, I’m really going to get angry.”

“Geez! Okay.”

Lin, having all their passports, checked them in and handed out the keys.

“Rest today. There’s a performance tomorrow evening, so please don’t go out of the hotel before then. We’ve urgently requested security personnel, but it’s dangerous if you act individually.”

The group took the elevator to their rooms, and the members entered the rooms they were assigned. Last to remain, Geon was about to enter his room when Lin approached him with a worried look.

“Mr. Geon.”

Geon, key in the door, turned his head as if asking what was the matter.

“Yes? Go ahead.”

Lin looked serious and said,

“Are you okay?”

Geon chuckled lightly.

“Haha, yes, I’m fine, don’t worry.”

“Mr. Geon.”

“Yes?”

Lin looked straight into Geon’s eyes and said,

“That behavior just now wasn’t like you.”

Geon looked into Lin’s eyes and forced a smile. Seeing Geon give no definitive answer, Lin continued,

“It could have been a dangerous situation, even if you had prior knowledge about England. It wasn’t something the usual Mr. Geon would do.”

Geon quietly looked down at the room key in his hand as Lin’s expression grew worried.

“Is it because of Kiska?”

At the mention of Kiska’s name, Geon flinched and lowered his head. Lin watched his profile for a while and gently stroked his back.

“Does it hurt... your heart?”

Still holding the key in the lock, a tear dropped onto Geon’s hand. After a moment of silence between them, Geon quickly wiped the tear with his hand and smiled.

“Haha, no. I’m fine now

, Manager. You must be tired, please rest.”

As Geon opened the door and entered his room, offering a nod, Lin watched the closed door and murmured to herself.

“He’s hurting, a lot.”

With a sympathetic look, Lin said,

“When a man says he’s not hurting, that’s when he really is in pain. You are really hurting right now.”

Geon stood in front of his room door looking at the empty guest room. Behind him, the sensation of Lin’s presence through the closed door remained, but he just blankly stared at the bed in the vacant room and sighed. Pulling out his phone from his pocket, he tossed it onto the bed and muttered quietly.

“Should have gifted a phone at least…”

After sitting on the bed and blankly letting time pass, a knock on the door startled Geon. Opening the door, he saw Carlos holding a can of beer and smiling.

"Shall we have a drink?"

>

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