Allen: That was all the people that showed up, huh... it's not nearly enough.
Hajun: Please don't ask for the impossible. This live house is already just about at capacity.
Anne: Get your expectations in check. We should be grateful, yeah?
Allen: 'Grateful'? There's no point if they're not having to turn people away at the door.
Anne: Maybe so... I'll be honest, I'm not satisfied with just this many people either.
Hajun: Do you have any plans for how to attract more people?
Allen: Not really. We just have to make good music. That'll be enough.
Anne: Typical Allen, huh?
Allen: My music is going to prove who we are.
Girl 1: Hajun-kun! Can I take a picture with you? I-- I buy every magazine your photos appear in!
Hajun: Do you, now? I'm happy to hear that. Well, then... shall I appear in your dreams tonight as well? [laughs] Please enjoy. <See you again.>
Anne: There goes our smiling prince.
Hajun: This, too, is one of the secrets of success.
Anne: Is that what it is? ... ah, hold on a second. I'm gonna run to the bathroom. You guys go on ahead to the VIP room.
Allen: 'Ight.
Hajun: Hm. I'll go as well.

Man 1: [aside] (Hey, get an eyefull of that chick!)
Man 1: Hey, hey, onee-san, where you going? That's the men's room. Ah, don't tell me-- you're feeling lonely and just can't resist?
Anne: (Haha... so, there are still people who don't know who they're dealing with. Guess I'll have a little fun.) ^[1]
Anne: If that were the case, what would you do about it? O-nii-san.
Man 1: Well, a-ah, I was just thinking, that, I, could--
Hajun: Alright, that's quite enough.
Man 1: Hah? You got a problem? I'm just about to--
Anne: Come on, Hajun--
Hajun: Anne, is this really the proper time to be playing around? Come on. Let's go.
Man 1: The fuck you say? Watch your fuckin' mouth, you bastard--
Hajun: Is there a problem?
Man 1: ...
Hajun: This person is, put simply, far out of your league.
Anne: Haven't you made your point? I'm just giving him a hard time. The fun's already gone. Let's go.

Hajun: ... ah, I'm sorry. Are you alright?
Anne: For real... how can you smile like that after pulling a stunt like that just now?
[sfx: automatic door]
Allen: You guys took your time. Where did you go?
Hajun: You see, Anne got sidetracked by being hit on by a drunk guy yet again.
Allen: Come on... try to handle it gracefully when that happens, at the very least. People get the wrong idea about you enough as it is.
Anne: Ha? Do you have a problem with that? I've told you time and time again, I'm going to live the way I want to.
Allen: ... sorry.
Anne: And I don't want to hear it from you, Allen, considering you only think about music, and--
Hajun: Alright, alright. This fight is over.
[sfx: papers]
Anne: Oi. You dropped something.
Hajun: Oh, my bad.
Allen: What is that? It looks like some kind of letter.
Hajun: I wonder what it is. It looks like it's addressed to us. But when did this get here...?
Anne: Well, what is it? Fanmail? Eviction notice?
Allen: ... hey, Hajun, let me see that!
Anne: Is something wrong? You've gotten all pale. Is it some kind of scandalous picture of you and an ex-girlfriend or something?
Allen: ... "Paradox"...
Anne: ... Allen, what was that just now...?
Hajun: CLUB Paradox?
Anne: "Paradox" as in... that Paradox?
Allen: Yeah! Every phantom rapper knows that name! The place where the very first Phantom Lives were held over ten years ago! You can't talk about the current hip hop scene without talking about Paradox! Even now, it's--
Hajun: It was the home base of the legendary MC team Buraikan, yes? We've all heard it a million times.
Anne: Hajun, let him have this. Now he's going to say, 'and one day, I'm going to surpass Buraikan'.
Allen: They completely took over the charts across the world in less than a year... they sold over two billion albums! They're the origin and pinnacle of Phantom Lives! And, they're the goal that we absolutely have to surpass, no matter what!
Anne: So what would this "Paradox" want to do with us?
Hajun: And it's not clear if it's real or a hoax.
Anne: It's kind of interesting, isn't it? Let's take a look.
Hajun: "<Invitation>"... so, it's an invitation of sorts, is it?
Anne: It looks like there's another piece of paper in the envelope, too. Let's take a look at that.

Allen: So that's what it is... The new people in charge are going to hold an event to determine who's the strongest team.
Hajun: Oh? Well, wouldn't that be interesting?
Allen: Yeah. But only if it's for real.
Hajun: That's true.
Allen: The live house Paradox vanished ten years ago, the same time that Buraikan retired.
Anne: See, I can understand a team retiring, but why would the club go under, too?
Allen: That... that's something I don't know. It just completely vanished overnight.
Hajun: It just makes this sound all the more suspicious. That invitation is probably just a hoax or a prank, don't you think?
Allen: I don't know what they're getting at, but they sure have a lot of guts to throw the name Paradox around.
[sfx: phone tapping]
Anne: ... huh? What's this? What's going on?
Hajun: Anne? Is something wrong?
Anne: Take a look at this.
Hajun: Hm? ... ah, this is...
Anne: Hey, do you guys think... maybe, this may be a bit more than a prank? It looks like there are a lot of posts about Paradox on all sorts of social media... it's really catching fire.
Allen: L-let me see that! ... it's real... then, that means that Paradox--!
Hajun: An invitation, and talk of a club that's supposed to have vanished into thin air... it does seem to be a bit elaborate to be a prank, doesn't it?
Allen: Yeah.
Anne: So... I suppose the invitation might be for real?
Hajun: I wouldn't jump to conclusions so easily. But it does seem a bit more convincing now, doesn't it?
Anne: You said a minute ago it was going to be a competition to determine the "strongest team", but how would you even go about doing that?
Allen: Like it says, it looks like they're going to gather up all of the teams they invited and determine a winner out of them. A total of four teams have been chosen, and they'll compete round robin style. The team who gets the most support from the audience will win a cash prize of ten billion yen, and the opportunity to challenge Buraikan...!
Hajun: Haha! They really are pulling out all the stops!
Anne: It's really hard to tell if that kind of thing is a scam or not!
Allen: Yeah... but this is our chance! If we could challenge Buraikan, we'd be that much closer to our goal!
Anne: ... yeah, that's true, but...
Hajun: If Buraikan were going to come back, they would certainly be involved with CLUB Paradox, after all. If we were to win against Buraikan there...
Allen: We'd be legendary! ... and, I'd like to see Buraikan if it were at all possible.
Anne: You hip hop maniac...
Hajun: We still don't know for sure if it's legit or not, do we? So what are we going to do?
[sfx: lighter, Anne taking a drag of a cigarette]
Anne: We don't really have a choice but to play along, do we? That said, if the ten billion prize is real, I totally want it. [giggle]
Hajun: I wouldn't mind it, either. But, of course, dividing ten billion between three people, that would just be a bit over three billion per person. That's hardly anything at all.
Allen: [sigh] Whenever you talk, I feel like you have a completely different understanding of value than I do... is that just what happens when you're the son of a conglomerate head?
Anne: For real. Hajun has a pretty face, but his personality is something else.
Hajun: I'm going to take that as a compliment!
Anne: But I can't say I hate that about you.
Hajun: Allen, what are you planning to do?
Allen: I mean, even if it's a ten-thousand to one chance, if there's a chance to challenge Buraikan, then of course it's worth taking.
Anne: I knew you'd say something like that.
Allen: So we're decided, then?
Hajun: And if we're going to decide to do it, then we have to win? Something like that?
Anne: Do we even have a choice?
Hajun: Even setting that aside, it's clear that the day that the world acknowledges me will come.
Anne: Acknowledges what, that you're a horrible person?
Hajun: Anne.
Anne: Ooh, sca~ry.
Allen: Anyway. If CLUB Paradox is coming back for real, then there's no better stage to stand on. No matter what kind of people the other participants are, we'll beat them with our music!
Hajun: We'll stand on stage and shine bright, and let them serve as foils to make us shine all the brighter.
Anne: I don't know, I think it'd be nice if they weren't pushovers.
Hajun: But now that we've decided we're going to do it, we'll have to work on a song, won't we?
Allen: Yeah. We'll start on it tomorrow, in my room. I'm going to warn you, we're going to be so busy we're not going to have the time to eat proper meals.
Anne: Okay. In that case, shall we make a real party out of it?
Allen and Hajun: Yeah!

[sfx: BaNG!!! instrumental, keyboard]
Allen: Ah, dammit!
Hajun: Allen, getting mad won't make the song complete itself.
Allen: We have to win the Paradox Live, there's no point in putting forth something half-assed!
Anne: That's true, yeah, but...
Hajun: I wonder what the problem is? That track you played just now wasn't bad.
Allen: Let's try changing how we're approaching the beat on Anne's part. Alright! One more time!

Allen: This... isn't working! This isn't working at all!
Anne: Hey, Allen... if we don't take a break, our throats are gonna be shot before we finish the track.
Hajun: Allen, what part of the track are you unhappy with?
Allen: It's the foundation... the part that's supposed to be the core is weak. It's not about skill. It's about emotion-- it's about vibes!
Anne: We can't do anything about that... we're getting tired as it is. And--
Allen: Don't be stupid! Do you think this is good enough!? Are you forgetting why we took up our mics in the first place!?
Hajun: Are we forgetting, did you say? ... please don't spout nonsense. I haven't forgotten my purpose for a single second of my life, let alone a day. What the Yeon family did to me... the days of humiliation I faced...
Anne: Me, too. I... my awful mother... that woman who kept my father from me... I can never forgive her.
Allen: That's right. We have to get them to acknowledge who we are. The audience... society... our parents who threw us away!
Hajun: I swear... I swear, I will make them kneel at my feet.
Anne: Yeah... yeah! We're going to make it happen as BAE!
Allen: If we fail here, then it's all for nothing. If we just keep on the way we have been, then we're nobodies. We won't be able to become any more than that. We'll just stay barking stray dogs that ran away from home.
Anne: I'd die before I accept that!
Hajun: Even if we died, that wouldn't be the end of it.
Allen: Winning is just a checkpoint along the way. More than winning, we have to make our existence known. If we can't get there, then there's no point to any of it.
Hajun: So there's only one thing to do.
Anne: Yeah. We just have to do it.
Allen: It's not about skill. We don't have to stick to the lyrics we wrote. Just pull it out of the depths of yourself and put that into it! Shoot for an audience you can't see!

[sfx: birds chirping]
Anne: Ah, crap... I fell asleep... Hey, Hajun. Hajun!
Hajun: ... nn. What is it? Anne? ... this blanket. Anne, did you--?
Anne: It wasn't me. I passed out and woke up on the sofa. Did Allen...? ... ah, that's right. Where's Allen?
Hajun: Give me a minute. I'll go look for him.
Anne: Ah, hold on, I'll come too!
[sfx: knocking, door opening]
Allen: Ah. Hajun. Anne. You guys're up.
Anne and Hajun: Allen!
Allen: S'done.
Anne: It's done?! How did it turn out?
Allen: ... sl...
Anne: Huh?
Allen: Goin't'sleep. Nothin'... left.
[sfx: thud]
Hajun: Ah. He fell over.
Anne: Pushing himself that hard... what a hip hop maniac.
Hajun: [yawn] It looks like he made something he's happy with, though.
Allen: ... zzz... definitely... win...
Anne: Come on, Allen. At least get to your bed--
Hajun: Just let him sleep, Anne. I'll carry him to his bed. You go get that blanket.
Anne: Got it.
Hajun: And? What about the song?
Anne: The title is... "BaNG!!!". ... hm? It has a good feel to it. Allen has a knack for this.
Hajun: All that's left for it is to judge the finished product, then.
Anne: Hajun. Here, headphones.
Hajun: Ah, thank you.
[sfx: keyboard]
Hajun: Ah, this is... Anne. Here. Listen.
Anne: Mmm. ... this... is really, really good! This sounds so good!
Hajun: Haha. I'm looking forward to performing it.

[1] Some early material is way worse about Anne's gender than later material is. I just want to put forth that if you are new here: the series gets much better about its treatment of Anne later on, and early material that leans into transphobic rhetoric should be taken with a grain of salt. [Back]