[Short Story] Fans

I moved to Tokyo because I wanted to become a musician.
When I was in junior high school, I was shocked by the Beatles playing on the radio and genuinely thought, 'Wow!'
I started a band with my friends when I entered high school.
Of course, I was in charge of the guitar.
And I was also in charge of vocals.
As soon as class ended, I would meet up with my friends and play instruments in an abandoned building owned by one of their parents.
We used guitars, drums, and basses borrowed from upperclassmen.
We hadn't been taught, so our chords were a mess.
Even so, it was fun.
Before I knew it, becoming a musician had become my dream.
I chose a university in Tokyo.
...Though, since I hadn't studied, it was a pretty low-tier university...
And my bandmates from high school had all come to Tokyo as well.
Four guys in a six-mat room.
It was cramped and there was no bath.
There were only two shared toilets.
It couldn't be helped since we had no money.
Even so, the time we spent playing instruments was more fun than anything else.
The days spent working part-time jobs continued, but I didn't mind it when I thought it was to rent a studio.
Though, I was technically a university student... and it felt stupid to pay for classes I barely attended, so I dropped out.
Only one person actually attended for four years and graduated.
And we spent our days writing songs and going to record companies to pitch them.
The world isn't that easy.
How many times has it been? How many years have passed?
Even though our hearts felt like they were going to break, we never gave up on our dream of becoming musicians.
Finally... truly finally, a song we brought in was accepted!
Seven years had passed since I moved to Tokyo.
When they said, 'It's a good song! Do you want to try debuting with this?', we all jumped for joy.
'Please do!' we all bowed in unison.
And so, our debut was decided!
But there was no sign of us selling at all.
Since our singles weren't selling, nobody knew who we were.
To appear on TV, you have to sell to a certain extent.
We sang anywhere we could to get people to know us.
On the street, of course, on the rooftops of department stores, in places that were just wide parks, and in places that were more like studios than concert venues.
We sang everywhere.
As we worked hard like that, one day we got a call from our manager.
'Congratulations! You're number one on your first appearance!'
Yes!
The single we released a week ago had reached number one.
From there, the world changed.
We began to climb the stairs to become undeniable stars.
Every song we released started hitting number one.
We did it! Finally, we made it this far!
We left the agency that had taken care of us and started our own company.
Of course, we naturally started a fan club too.
To think the day would come when we would tour the country with concerts!
I got goosebumps every time we held a concert at a large venue.
Little by little, the number of fan club members increased.
I'm really glad we worked this hard without giving up.
We succeeded.
Living those days... I noticed a blind spot.
Malicious fans started following us around for calendar shoots, pamphlet shoots for concerts, and newsletter shoots.
I never thought it would be our fans... I had heard rumors to some extent, but our fans, that couldn't be...
Naturally, shooting is work.
More and more fans were ignoring the staff's warnings.
On top of that... I don't know how they found out our schedule... but fans even started following us wherever we went.
I ended up having to hold my head in my hands over this.
They wouldn't listen to the staff's warnings.
If that was the case, we would have to speak up ourselves.
We issued a warning in the newsletter saying, 'Please stop stalking us!'
...But it was a waste of effort.
Even on-site, we warned them, 'We are working,' but they ignored us, saying things like 'Smile!' or 'Take a picture with me!', and it was out of control.
At worst, there were even fans who would suddenly interrupt during a shoot.
We finally began to understand what it meant to 'sell'.
What should we do?
Those malicious fans are only a handful.
All the other fans follow the rules.
'It can't be helped.'
We decided.
A ban on so-called malicious fans.
They won't be allowed to participate in concerts.
They are banned from the venue.
Expulsion from the fan club.
Just in case, we also created a blacklist.
If we went this far, maybe they would think about it a little.
But fans think too.
When they realize they are on the blacklist, they use fake names.
The blacklist also includes photos of the faces of people who wouldn't listen even after we warned them.
So it's the same even if they use a fake name...
Even if they join the fan club under a fake name, for our current concerts, we check things that can identify their face.
That's because scalpers started running rampant.
So it's the same...
Anyway, we took drastic measures to protect the many fans who follow the rules.
I feel like the number of malicious fans decreased little by little.
But this time, it was social media.
The malicious fans who were kicked out started posting malicious content all at once.
Some of them are writing critical things about fans who are posting normally.
I was helpless against this.
As expected, there is nothing we can do about social media.
We try to post as much as possible, writing 'Don't worry about it!' over and over, but it's just a cat-and-mouse game.
Is this what it means to 'sell'?
We are still continuing to sing even now.
We are also continuing to fight against malicious fans.
We are active while cherishing the normal fans who support us.
The battle against malicious fans will likely continue from here on out.
Even so, we will continue to sing.
Because that is what we decided...

The End