An Invitation to a New Rhythm

"What?" I turned my head toward them in astonishment. They were all smiling at me. Suddenly, a tiny chocolate cake was placed on my lap. Was this the "piece" they were talking about?

The air was filled with the deafening noise of people and the explosions of fireworks. The sky was witnessing a colorful spectacle, and they were clapping along to the rhythm of Happy Birthday as they sang my name. What was going on?

"Did we hide it well?" Ray asked with a grin.

"Where did you hide the cake?!?" I had to shout over the booming sounds of fireworks and the crowd. How had they managed to bring it without me noticing?

They all burst into laughter. Wait a minute—were the girls in on this too?

"Did you guys know it was my birthday?!?" I turned to Lyra in shock. She was smiling at me. For some reason, the expression in her eyes silenced all the questions in my mind, making my head spin.

"No, Yasu told us on the way here," she replied. I turned to Yasu.

"I was looking for a lighter for the cake. I ran into them while searching. I mentioned it in passing during our conversation. After I told them, they helped me find a lighter. So, in return for their help, I decided to bring them here," he said, smiling.

While the people around us cheered enthusiastically and fireworks of all sizes exploded in the sky, these people had come together to celebrate my birthday.

Out of embarrassment, I wanted to say something like "You didn’t have to," or "Oh, really? That’s nice." I didn’t know what to do, but I felt incredibly flustered. Still, I didn’t want to look expressionless when they had put in so much effort.

Because deep down—
I was truly happy.

I held my breath. Under the glowing fireworks in the sky, as I watched their smiling faces, something inside me unraveled.

"Thank you. Thank you all so much."

I ate the cake while enjoying the spectacle in the sky. At one point, everyone fell silent, simply watching the fireworks. The girls sat cross-legged on the mat, while the others sat with their legs stretched out.

Among the dozens of questions swirling in my head, for some reason, this moment made me feel like I was in the most special place in the world. When was the last time I had experienced something like this? I didn’t know.

The fireworks started slowing down. Breaking the silence, Lyra spoke.

"Hey Ray, did you like the gift Yuta and I got you the other day?"

Wait a second—there were people here who didn’t know about this… I had never mentioned it to Yasu. I also noticed Noa, sitting behind Lyra, looking at her in surprise.

"What? Oh, um, yeah. I really liked it, thanks," Ray stammered, stumbling as if he had crashed into a tree.

"You guys got him a gift?" Noa and Yasu asked in unison.

Honestly, that was an expected reaction, and I wasn’t surprised at all. Still, for some reason, Noa seemed way more shocked than Yasu. In fact, there was a different kind of concern in her eyes.

Lyra and I briefly explained what had happened. Oddly enough, as if in unspoken agreement, we both left out the part about going to the café afterward. Only Ray knew about that.

"What a coincidence," Yasu said in a monotone voice.

Lyra nodded as if to say, "Yeah, exactly."

Thinking about how surprised they were just about us running into each other—(including Ray’s reaction)—I wondered how they would have reacted if we told them we sat together at a café. Not that it mattered, since it wasn’t anything special anyway. After all, she had a boyfriend.

Speaking of which, she clearly hadn’t come with her boyfriend today. Maybe he had work. Or maybe they were in a long-distance relationship. Whatever—it wasn’t my concern.

After chatting for a while, the fireworks came to an end. People were slowly getting up. A gentle breeze blew from the river, cooling us down, and the lingering smell of fireworks drifted through the air.

"By the way, Yuta told me that Ray plays an instrument. Yasu, do you play too?"

"Yeah. I play the drums."

"Wow, a guitarist and a drummer. Do you guys have a band?"

"It's more of a club thing."

"Ah, right. Yuta mentioned it."

"We’re having a practice session soon. If it goes well, we might perform at the university festival."

"That’s awesome! They put a lot of effort into those events at my school too."

"Oh? What school is that?"

"University of the Arts."

"W-wait, you mean that prestigious school? You guys study there?" Yasu looked at Lyra and Noa in shock. This guy had barely reacted when we ran into each other earlier, and now he was like this?

"Yep. Noa’s in Fine Arts. I’m in Music," Lyra said.

"Wow, that’s impressive…" Yasu’s enthusiasm faded like a withering flower.

I couldn’t blame him. For us engineering students, constantly drowning in exams, music and other creative pursuits were often considered luxuries. But we still pursued our hobbies. Meanwhile, they were studying what we considered hobbies as their actual profession. How could we not respect that?

Wait a second. Did Lyra just say Music?
Was Lyra studying music?

She had always said, "I go to an art school," but I had never asked about her major.

"You… study music?" My voice came out higher than I intended, unable to hide my surprise.

Lyra tilted her head slightly and looking at me puzzled. "Yeah. Didn’t I mention it?"

"No…" I answered weakly, feeling drained.

I didn’t want to be surprised by anything else today. In fact, I had already reached my limit for birthday surprises. Nothing could possibly top this in the future.

We talked about music for a while, and the conversation eventually shifted to songs.

"We’ve been trying to play Lyola’s music, but we’re struggling with the accuracy of the chords and notes," Ray said.

"What kind of struggle?" Lyra’s interest suddenly peaked compared to earlier. She turned her body toward us—or rather, toward me, since Ray and Yasu were to my left and Lyra and Noa were to my right. Lyra’s sudden shift meant all eyes were now on me.

Feeling slightly uncomfortable under their direct gazes, I leaned back a little. At least now, she could see Ray and Yasu better.

"We’re having trouble with transposition. No matter how we play the song, we can’t match our vocalist’s range."

That was Lyola’s biggest quirk. She sang in such a unique way that it was difficult for anyone to imitate her voice. My team was incredibly talented—no complaints there—but without matching Lyola’s vocal style, the song’s entire tempo and intensity suffered.

"Is the problem on your end or with your vocalist?"

For the first time today, Lyra looked completely serious. She seemed to be deep in thought.

"I think it’s us, but Yuta won’t admit it," Ray suddenly shifted the blame onto me. Great. After weeks of arguing this point, I was still trying to convince them.

All eyes were now on me. I let out a deep sigh.

"The problem isn’t with you or the vocalist."

"Then what is it?" Ray asked, ready to argue again.

"It’s Lyola herself."

An awkward silence fell over the group, as if my words carried some kind of heavy truth.

I explained everything I had in mind. I wasn’t sure if I should be more surprised that no one argued back or embarrassed that I had confidently shared my opinion in front of someone actually studying music.

"You might be right," Lyra said flatly.

Wait. Lyra agreed with me? That meant I was right, didn’t it? After all, she was a legitimate music student.

"So what do we do? Avoid her music altogether?" Yasu mused.

"I have an idea," Lyra said. She lifted her head, her eyes filled with determination—though she looked a bit hesitant and nervous.

"What is it?" I asked curiously.

"Can I come to you guys next practice? I want to see it firsthand."

"What?" The three of us responded at the same time, then exchanged glances.

Ray and I, in particular, shared a bewildered look.

Was this a joke?

"Sure… I guess?" I replied automatically.

Once again, for some unknown reason, this stranger wanted to help.