Song Recording
The composer was... Boram unnie's older brother?
While I was still sitting there stunned, Kang Ho-yeon called us in.
"Alright, enough chatter. Composer, we'll be in your care."
"Leave it to me. It's been a long time since I felt this fired up."
We followed the composer into the recording studio. From what I'd heard, the lyrics were already finished—only a little of the composition was left. The finishing touches could be completed during the session, and we were short on time, so we decided to record while he worked.
"We'll start with Lee Yuwol."
"Sure. But... if you could call us by our nicknames here instead of our real names, I'd appreciate it. For security, if nothing else."
"Ah... understood. Luna, then. Please put on the headset."
Lee Yuwol stepped into the booth alone. She stood before the mic and slipped on the headset.
"I'll play the track once. Let me know if you can't hear it clearly."
This wasn't the composer's own studio—it was JO Entertainment's—so they needed to run a few checks first. After about ten minutes of testing, Yuwol's recording began.
"Ah... aaah...♪"
Just listening to it, that pleasant timbre filled the entire studio. Yeah, she was good... She'd already released tracks as a VTuber idol. A real talent. I guess it was only natural.
I closed my eyes and let myself enjoy the song.
"Hold on. The pitch wavers a little at the end. Let's take it up just a touch."
Huh? That already sounded pretty solid. And he wasn't satisfied? So this was what a real composer was like?
I remembered spending a whole day recording for the VTuber Music Project. That was already two months ago... Time flies. Back then, I still hadn't gotten used to this girl's body.
And now...
"Jiwoo-chan? Are you sleeping?"
"Shh. She's probably exhausted. She was shooting until dawn yesterday."
"Yeah... and she was running around just now getting her homework checked... Jiwoo-chan, come over here and lie on my lap!"
What were those two even talking about. I wasn't sleeping. See? Perfectly fine... wait?
My body wouldn't listen. I started listing sideways.
Thump.
"Yes! Jiwoo-chan can snooze right here! When it's your turn, Tsuki will wake you up!"
Between the round-the-clock schedule, fatigue had piled up without me noticing. Alright. I'd impose on her for just a little while. My eyelids grew heavier. I closed them and drifted off on Tsuki's lap.
How much time passed after that?
"Screeeeeech!!"
"...Huh?"
What was that sound? Did a baby water deer just wander through?
And this water deer is...
I lifted my head a little and checked my surroundings. I'd been sure I was in a forest. When I opened my eyes, I was lying in the recording studio. Yuwol's recording had finished at some point. She'd come out of the booth and was sitting in a chair, waiting.
"When did you finish?"
"You're already awake? It's only been an hour. Jina just went into the booth."
"Ah..."
So that was why a water deer had been roaming around inside the recording booth. Used to be a whole herd of them shrieking. Now it was just one. She'd grown a lot. Her skills had improved, too.
Jina had already passed the company's vocal evaluation. The only reason she still sounded like a water deer this badly was one thing.
She's not finding the pitch?
When she found the pitch, the rhythm fell apart. When she locked the rhythm, the pitch fell apart. At her first test, the vocal coach had even told her she might as well give up on being an idol. But Jina never quit. She kept grinding to the end.
"Relax your throat a little."
"Aaa!... Aaaa... Aa..."
With the composer's active help, Jina started finding the notes quickly.
"Aaa♪"
"That's good... just like that... don't tense up. Slow..."
When she sang calmly, Jina performed above the average person. The problem was that every time she sang, her shoulders and neck locked up, and a water deer came bursting out whether she wanted it to or not.
"Whew... Let's have Jina take a short break and record again later. Next... shall we go with Kuro?"
"Me?"
The composer pointed at me. I'd been asleep until a second ago. My voice wasn't even warmed up. I asked for a moment, stepped into the booth, and started warming up my throat. Slowly. Don't rush it.
"Aaa~"
Still a little hoarse. Trying to record with a just-woke-up voice... maybe that was why I was getting nervous. My throat started to hurt a little. I took a sip of the water they'd set out in the booth and warmed up again.
"Brrrrrr..."
I buzzed my lips, loosening my mouth. Huh? Wait... how do I put this... My throat was still locked up today, but my mouth felt free—like it could move however it wanted. Like the chains that had been holding me down had finally come off, and I was tasting freedom. Of course, it could've just been my imagination. Still, just in case.
"I'm ready."
"Your voice isn't warmed up yet. Are you sure? If you hurt your throat..."
"I don't know why, but... I think I'll be fine right now."
It wasn't anyone else saying it—the artist herself said she was fine. The composer must have figured there was no point arguing. He started playback and recording at the same time.
The song came through the headset. I'd already heard the guide vocal, but... the lyrics were so good. They weren't finished yet. It wasn't just a song stuffed with hope. A bright melody and a fast rhythm cranked the energy even higher, and lyrics that handed hope to whoever was listening made forgotten dreams surface again.
That's right. This is the song I'll use to tell the world I'm an idol!
I stood in front of the mic. And with a voice that still hadn't fully loosened, I sang with a hint of huskiness.
"Ah—♪"
Singing: B → B+
"Incredible. Easily the best I've ever worked with. Didn't you say this was her first time?"
"I get surprised every time I see it too. She was never bad before, but today..."
Faced with the composer's question, Kang Ho-yeon couldn't close her mouth. If you went by extra practice hours alone, Jiwoo put in the least of anyone. And yet her skill climbed the fastest. At this rate, the other members might get jealous...
Kang Ho-yeon glanced behind her. Everyone was sitting there dazed, completely absorbed in Jiwoo's singing.
Yeah, jealousy my ass.
She already knew how close the members were. If anything, she could feel their will: I won't lose. I don't want to lose. I want to stand right beside her.
Kang Ho-yeon had seen a lot of idols. She'd jumped into the industry the moment she graduated high school. From road manager to where she stood now, it had taken ten years. In that time she'd seen celebrities who played ugly politics out of jealousy and spite toward their own members. Celebrities who bullied, who used every kind of violence and verbal abuse. One slip of the tongue and even a currently top-tier celebrity would have to bow their head and issue a public apology—that was how many skeletons they had.
And yet... how were these girls this close? Because Jiwoo was kind? Because she was pretty? That wasn't enough of an explanation. There was clearly something else... she just couldn't put her finger on it.
"Okay! That's a wrap on Kuro's recording."
"Ah... my voice just loosened up. Could I do one more take with my real voice?"
"This is already great, but... alright. Let's go again."
Through the booth glass, Jiwoo looked this way. More precisely, she looked at Jina. The intro was still playing. Jiwoo mouthed something at her.
It wasn't scolding her for failing, and it wasn't pity either. Just encouragement. You can do it. And the member who received that encouragement—
"Hoo... alright. Let's try even harder."
She clenched her fist, overflowing with fight.
Every now and then, people like that exist. People who, just by existing, hand courage and hope to everyone around them. And in this room, that person was Jiwoo.
Kang Ho-yeon realized it then, and finally understood why the members had chosen Jiwoo as leader, why they wanted to follow her.
I was just planning to use Jiwoo. As a self-proclaimed first fan, I'm disqualified.
Jiwoo remembered her first autograph as going to PUG's director. But the first person to get Jiwoo's signature was actually her—when Jiwoo signed the contract. If someone asked whether a contract signature and a fan autograph were different... well, it was still the same signature, wasn't it? All the approval documents would be stored in the CEO's office. If she asked the CEO and somehow just took the signed portion...
No. That's illegal.
As a self-proclaimed first fan, she couldn't do anything that would hurt Jiwoo.
Jiwoo's second take wrapped, and Jina stepped into the booth as the next batter.
"Unnie. You've got this. You can do it! Relax! Drop your shoulders!"
"Yeah... I can do this. Let's go!"
Buffed by Jiwoo's encouragement, Jina went into the booth. It took a full four hours, but—
"Okay! We'll go with this."
She finally got the okay.
"Jiwoo! I did it!"
"You did great! I knew you'd pull it off, Unnie!"
The two of them high-fived, and then came the grand finale.
"Tsuki. You can do this, right?"
"Yeah. If Jiwoo-chan gives Tsuki a good-luck kiss..."
"Don't talk nonsense. Get in there!"
"Hiiing... you're only mean to Tsuki."
While Tsuki grumbled her way into the booth, Jiwoo stared straight at Kang Ho-yeon.
"You got something to say?"
"Yes. We locked in July 28th for the song drop and our debut, right?"
"That's right?"
"When that day comes... we don't have any other competitors?"
"..."
Did the word competitors hit a nerve? Well, the number of idol groups introduced every year ran into three digits... and the ones that survived were maybe one or two. And the big agencies ate all of those.
"Then how about this?"
"You've got a plan?"
"Yeah. It's not even that hard."
Kuro's popularity had dipped a little compared to before... but that was only because she hadn't been active, and the public's attention had drifted elsewhere. So all they had to do was turn that attention back.
"What if Kuro dropped a solo track about a week before?"