Heartbeats in Syncopation

The girl stood right in front of me, looking at me with curiosity. Meanwhile, Yasu approached us, holding three different drinks, seemingly trying to understand what was going on.

“O-okay, sure,” I replied, still surprised. Was she a hardcore Lyola fan, offended by my feedback? Maybe she was about to argue with me, call me out in the middle of the store, or try to prove me wrong. I couldn’t tell what she was thinking behind that mask.

For about two or three minutes, I explained the small mistakes I had noticed during the concert. Every time I pointed out an issue, she asked, “What do you think might have caused that?” Her expression didn’t show anger or any strong emotion—she simply looked at me attentively, as if she had come to listen to a speaker at a lecture. My friends, as well as the girl’s friend—who I assumed was with her—were quietly looking between me and her, trying to follow the conversation.

When I finally finished speaking, a brief silence followed. By then, we had all finished paying for our items and had moved to the store entrance, continuing our conversation there.

“That’s all I can think of for now,” I said in a slightly tense, flat tone.

“Thank you for sharing your thoughts,” the girl said in a formal tone. Then, as if realizing something, her eyes widened. She quickly continued, “Oh! I just barged into your conversation so rudely. I didn’t even introduce myself—my apologies.” She gave a small bow, her voice becoming even softer, like a delicate hum or melody. Her diction was incredibly refined.

“It’s no problem,” I replied. Honestly, it hadn’t even crossed my mind, and it wasn’t something I cared about.

“I’m Lyra. And this is my friend, Noa. Nice to meet you,” she said.

“Whoa, a foreigner or maybe mixed?”  Ray whispered behind me. Her deep green eyes, almost like a pine tree’s color, and slightly larger-than-average eyes certainly stood out.

“I’m Yuta, and these are my friends, Ray—I mean, Rei, and Yasu. Nice to meet you.”

She didn’t make any extra comments about my feedback. The only thing I could say about her expression was that she seemed slightly surprised at times during our conversation.

“Did you guys come for the concert today?” Lyra asked curiously.

“Uh, yeah,” I answered. The area around us was already filling with people heading to the concert.

“Do you like Lyola?” Lyra continued.

“I think she’s an amazing singer! We go to every concert whenever she comes to town!” Ray suddenly jumped into the conversation. His voice startled me—why does he always have to butt in like this? Seriously, this guy is creepy…

“I’m glad to hear that.” Lyra’s eyes softened slightly, almost as if she was smiling with them. She seemed pleased with Ray’s response.

“Hey, if you guys came to the concert too, why don’t we—” Ray excitedly stepped forward, practically launching himself at them.

Just then, Lyra’s phone rang, cutting Ray off mid-sentence. She quickly pulled her phone from her pocket and glanced at the caller. A brief look of panic flashed across her face before she turned toward the exit.

“Excuse me. We should get going now. Thanks again for your feedback, Yuta. It was nice meeting all of you. See you around.”

“Hey, wait—” Ray tried to step forward, but before he could say another word, Lyra had already opened the door and hurried out, practically dragging a bewildered Noa along with her.

The three of us stood in silence, watching them disappear from sight. Even the store clerk glanced at us with mild curiosity.

I pushed open the door, and we stepped outside.

“What the hell was that?!” Ray grumbled, his brows furrowed as we walked.

“I mean, isn’t it natural for her to leave? If a bunch of unfamiliar guys suddenly invited me to hang out, I’d run away too,” Yasu said in a matter-of-fact tone, subtly hinting at how absurd Ray’s behavior had been.

“She’s probably not even going to run into us again unless it’s by pure coincidence. So why did she say, ‘See you around’?” Ray, now realizing what Yasu meant, got even more worked up. “And what does my invitation have to do with anything?! Her phone rang, are you blind?!”

“Oh, right. So that’s why Noa looked terrified of us?”

“Well… I dunno about that part…” Ray’s fiery frustration suddenly died down, and he sulked like a small, defeated animal.

I had remained silent the entire time. She had seemed like a polite person, so why did she rush out in such a hurry at the end? She had listened to me so seriously, asking for more details even when I tried to keep things general.

“I hope it’s nothing bad…”

“Huh? Yuta, what are you mumbling about?” Ray gave me a confused look. Damn, I must have accidentally said that out loud. I tried to think about what had just happened, but honestly, I wasn’t the best at figuring out things like this.

We arrived at the concert venue. Our drinks were already finished along the way. Even though there were still about two hours until the show, the line outside was massive. This was probably going to be the most crowded concert the city had seen in a long time. The line stretched for meters, leading up to the largest concert hall in the city.

Of course, since we were students, we had the cheapest tickets, which meant our seats were at the very back. Not that it really mattered—everywhere had the same speakers. And since Lyola’s performance was mostly displayed like a hologram, the only thing that really mattered was the visual effects.

After a long and tedious process of getting in, we finally found our seats. Surprisingly, the concert started right on time. Even more shocking, the first song was the one Lyola usually saved for the finale.

This song was known for its intense vocal technique, requiring a lot of throat and belting, making it one of the most physically demanding songs for the singer.

“Hey, Yuta, isn’t this starting off way too intense?!” Ray yelled right into my ear, practically vibrating with excitement.

“Yeah,” I replied, raising my voice over the noise.

Something was different. The minor vocal resonances I had noticed before were nearly gone. It even seemed like she was breathing differently than in the last concert…

The first song ended, and the second one began. The setlist was different than usual, but this song was more typical. The audience was going wild, completely immersed in the energy of the performance.

One of the most noticeable changes was the difference in her vocal tone compared to the music video. And again… compared to the previous concert, she had improved.

Again, and again, and again… 

Even as someone who listens with such a critical ear, I could feel that she had worked hard.

For the first time, I could truly feel the rhythm of her songs, the real emotion behind them.

This was what made Lyola different. She had an aura, a unique way of singing that set her apart from all other artists.

How had she managed to improve so much in such a short time? Though, really, I shouldn’t be surprised—after all, she was the only artist I followed this closely.

She was the kind of artist who could recognize her own flaws and fix them by herself—like a true work of art.

At the start of the concert, as usual, I had been analyzing everything—the tone shifts, the breath control, the vocal technique. But at some point, my brain just… let go.

The energy of the audience was shaking the entire venue, the ground vibrating beneath us. Lyola was pouring all of her energy into us.

I just wanted to lose myself in the moment. To stop thinking and simply drown in the music.

The last thing I remembered was jumping in sync with my friends, arms linked, waving the glow sticks we had been given like crazy.

For once, it was time to set aside my perfectionist tendencies and just enjoy the experience.

And the one who made that possible for me… was none other than Lyola herself.