Realizing My Shortcomings
A quiet Monday morning. The walk to school looked the same as last week, but my phone kept buzzing in my pocket with NewTube notifications every few minutes.
To manage NewTube, I'd installed the studio app this morning. Views had already surpassed 5,000, landing me on the hype rankings.
The moment I stepped into the classroom, I spotted Jisu sitting in my chair. She jumped up with a slightly agitated expression and marched right over to me.
"Haru! What'd you do all weekend? No contact at all!"
Jisu grabbed my arm the second she saw me. The peach scent was even stronger than before.
"Ah... just... messing around with stuff at home."
"Messing around? Suspicious... You've been acting super weird ever since you bumped your head, Jisu..."
My heart sank at her words, but I brushed it off with a vague reply. Luckily, she didn't press about the lack of contact and switched topics quickly. Before I knew it, homeroom was starting while we chatted.
"Any announcements for today... Nope, nothing. See you at the end of the day."
I turned off my phone and handed it in right away. Honestly, I wanted to keep watching the channel grow, but school rules left no choice. Classes dragged on, filled with breaks chatting with Jisu, and time flew by.
Come to think of it... wasn't there something?
No matter how hard I tried to remember, ever since gaining the memories of that lonely man, my life as Lee Haru felt overshadowed by his vast ones.
Third period was music. Normally, it'd be a filler theory lesson, but for some reason, my steps toward the music room felt heavy today.
"Ugh, I hate music performance evals the most. You practice a lot, Haru?"
"Huh...? Performance eval?"
That's when it hit me—what I'd forgotten. I'd been so absorbed in making music with the Vocaloid Program that the performance evaluation slipped my mind. Looking back at my memories as Lee Haru, I'd only heard the assigned song in class, never practiced it separately.
"Alright, everyone knows today's performance evaluations, right?"
"Yes!"
"Assigned songs... you all know them. We'll go in number order."
The kids looked tense at the music teacher's instructions. In both the lonely man's memories and my own, these evals were like public executions. Even good singers couldn't handle belting it out in front of everyone stone-cold sober.
I sat in the corner with Jisu, staring blankly at the lyrics of our song. I couldn't read notes anyway—just shapes to me—so I waited for the others, sensing the words as words.
Honestly, this song didn't exist in the lonely man's world. That meant relying purely on Lee Haru's memories.
Sigh... gotta give it a shot.
I'd hardly sung as Lee Haru. Even Jisu, my closest friend, had only heard me during these evals. Students went up one by one in order, singing their assigned songs.
That's when a grounded confidence surged. Whether from my past life or not, my ears had sharpened. They dissected each performance down to the details.
Sure, kids make mistakes, but being later in line let me analyze patterns from the others and piece together the best parts.
"Next up... Lee Haru. Come on up."
I walked to the front at the music teacher's call. All eyes locked on me—minus my own. As Lee Haru, an extreme outsider except for Jisu, the sudden spotlight was crushing.
Lee Haru had lived shyly, hating attention when singing. Even with the lonely man's memories, my hands and feet trembled.
A deep breath, and the intro played. Neither set of memories had taught me singing techniques.
But my one edge... those sharpened ears. I believed I could leverage them. Like with the Vocaloid Program songs—analyze, then copy-paste.
"When the sky comes~"
The first line burst out better than expected. Just outputting what my ears captured through my vocal cords. Rough around the edges, but reproduction nailed.
Plus, this body's timbre—cleaner than I'd realized via my keen hearing. The real issue hit next. My mind demanded perfect replication, but breath ran short. Front flawless, back a disaster.
"Haru... great voice, but short breaths and unstable projection? You need diaphragmatic breathing practice."
I bowed my head at the teacher's blunt feedback. Breaths cut out midway, overall lacking. Blueprint for a brick house, ended up a thatch hut. Easy song for an eval, yet botched—dreaming of tackling something high-level like Farewell Declaration was laughable.
Figures... info in my head isn't enough.
First priority: grow the 'HALU' Vocaloid channel. But now, train my own singing as Lee Haru. After school, home for Farewell Declaration MR tweaks—but singing practice too.
"Jisu. Know any good coin karaoke near school?"
"Huh...? Coin kara? From you? I begged to go before and you always said no."
"Feels like... I need practice."
Jisu beamed at my answer, linking arms with me on the way back to class. Classes done, cleaning finished, we headed to a rundown shopping center's second floor—coin karaoke packed despite the dim, narrow halls. School proximity, probably.
"Come on in! Right this way, Lady Lee Haru!"
Jisu bowed playfully, beckoning. Tiny room—two people filled it. Sitting side-by-side, that sweet peach scent wafted again. First time at karaoke with anyone as Lee Haru.
"So~ what'll our Lee Haru sing?"
"Hmm... dunno? You first?"
"You got it! Gotta kick things off for your first time."
I fed two 500-won coins in. Screen flashed 2. Jisu's energy spiked higher than usual—thrilled for our first coin kara together.
"Stars in the sky..."
Her singing shone brighter than in class—maybe passion for the song or confidence. My timbre wasn't bad, but her practiced skill outshone.
Mic down, score: 95.
"Your turn, Haru!"
"Uh... yeah."
Her hyped vibe today amped the pressure. Song in mind: a Vocaloid hit from this world. Jisu's reaction? Unknown, but going for it.
Intro flowed. Barely listened a few times last night, but trusting my sharpened ears. Class went decent minus breath control.
"Ahh..."
Famous Vocaloid tune here—top ranks in the Japanese section of karaoke machines.
Breath hitched midway. But recreating the feel from memory. Doesn't matter if bad—it's for improvement.
Your effort is awesome! 73 points
Result: worse than hoped. But better than a flat 50—self-consolation. Next time... perfect score. Probably.