Chapter 5: Ji-soo and Bin, Separately Practicing the Same Song

The email arrived at 8:14 on a Wednesday morning, addressed to Bae Academy's general inquiry account, which meant Ji-soo saw it before anyone else because Ji-soo was always the one who checked the general inquiry account, and had been since she was sixteen and her mother had decided that someone reliable should do it, and reliable had always meant Ji-soo in the way that the eastern window always meant morning light—not assigned exactly, just arrived at through the logic of what was already true.

The subject line read: Accompanist Request — Community Cultural Showcase, Hongdae Arts District — this Saturday.

It was from a HanStar production coordinator named Park Min-ji. The body of the email was three paragraphs, professionally composed, and explained that BINX would be performing an acoustic segment at the Hongdae District Community Cultural Showcase on Saturday afternoon—one of three events HanStar had arranged as part of their Hongdae community integration initiative, a phrase that appeared twice and which Ji-soo noted without comment—and that their usual accompanist had sustained a minor hand injury during rehearsal Tuesday. The group needed a pianist. They had been referred to Bae Academy by the event coordinator. The fee was listed clearly, which Ji-soo appreciated. The scheduling requirements were modest: one sound check Friday evening, one rehearsal Saturday morning, performance at two o'clock.