Self-Shoutout
"...Do you like Jisul?"
The question echoed between the two of them.
Kwon Dain swallowed hard. Even for her, asking this required a great deal of courage.
"..."
Yoon Seolah, who had been lying face down on her desk looking drowsy, stretched her arms out wide.
She rubbed her eyes a few times and tilted her head.
"Do I look like I do?"
Seolah's face was filled with genuine curiosity. There wasn't a single trace of embarrassment or fluster on her face.
"...You don't?"
"No. I mean, I like him as a person... but it's not like I want to date him or anything."
Seolah replied calmly as she stuffed her nap pillow back into her bag.
"Don't you like Jeong Jisul too, Dain? He's a really stable, grounded guy."
"...He is a good person."
"Being around him just makes you feel comfortable."
Seolah let out a long yawn, her eyes blinking sleepily. She was already preparing to drift back to dreamland.
The warm May afternoon sunlight. The distant sounds of a soccer game echoing through the window. The quiet laughter drifting across the peaceful classroom.
Everything was tranquil.
Except for one thing. One single thing could not find peace.
...Why was I so afraid to ask?
The source of the unrest was the tangled mess inside Kwon Dain's head.
Seriously.
Had she ever felt this frustrated in her entire life? Born into a wealthy family and raised with everything she could ever want, this kind of emotional suffocating was a completely foreign, agonizing ordeal for Dain.
"Seolah, you can't sleep. The others told us to come down as soon as we woke up."
Dain gently shook Seolah, putting on her usual pleasant smile.
Her mind was in a chaotic whirl, but she could still manage a smile. Even so, the corners of her mouth felt unusually heavy today.
"...We're getting it right on the very first try?"
As soon as we gathered in the music room, we started playing together. It wasn't a serious practice session, just a quick warm-up to loosen our fingers.
Since it was our first run-through, I expected some mistakes as we warmed up our stiff hands, but...
"You guys must have practiced a lot. Not a single mistake."
For the first time ever, we finished a song perfectly without a single error.
"Heh-heh."
Choi Saeron placed her hands on her hips and puffed out her chest.
...Is she trying to be Superman?
"You have no idea, Jeong Jisul! You don't know how hard I practiced at home!"
She suddenly pointed her left hand dramatically at me.
"Did you practice that much?"
"Of course! I practiced until my hands smelled like metal!"
"...Smelled like metal...?"
When I asked with concern, Saeron's dramatic persona slipped a bit.
"...Why? Is it bad if they smell like metal?"
"If they smell like metal, it usually means the coating on your strings has worn off."
"Oh..."
"Bring some new strings next time, and I'll change them for you."
"...Okay."
Saeron's shoulders slumped. I hadn't really done anything wrong, but seeing her look so deflated made me feel a bit guilty.
"You can think of the worn-off coating as a badge of honor. It means you practiced hard enough to wear it down."
"...Really?"
"Yeah. You said you practiced hard. If you finished in one month what takes others two or three, it's only natural the coating would wear off."
"Hehe!"
At my single word of praise, Saeron's cheeks flushed with joy. The transition was so fast I wondered if her previous dejection had been an act.
...Is she bipolar? Can someone's emotions change that quickly?
Well, all's well that ends well.
I offered Saeron one more word of praise, telling her she did a great job, and then looked forward. My eyes immediately met a pair of blue ones.
"..."
"..."
"...What?"
"What about me?"
"..."
What was she talking about? Was she asking for praise too?
"You did great too, Seolah. Since you don't have a way to practice outside of school, it's really impressive that you didn't make any mistakes."
I awkwardly gave her a thumbs-up. I never expected Yoon Seolah to fish for compliments like this.
"Hmm..."
A faint smile played on Seolah's lips. It seemed she was quite pleased with my praise.
"Anyway... let's start recording the video. As you know, your faces won't be shown, so don't worry."
I set up a tripod in front of the music room blackboard. Then, I mounted my phone and pressed the record button.
"It's fine if you make mistakes, so just think of it as practice. Try not to focus on the camera."
. . .
"We can upload this one."
The recording session wrapped up after about an hour.
"Good job, everyone."
Playing the same song repeatedly for an hour was much more exhausting than it sounded. Even though there was still one class period left before club activities officially ended, I decided we should take a break.
There were currently three people left in the music room: me, Yoon Seolah, and Choi Saeron.
The class president... had gone down to the school store by himself. When I suggested we go together, he dashed out of the room without even answering.
He's probably overthinking things again.
I figured he was probably dwelling on that "extra" nonsense again.
"But why are we uploading the video anyway?"
Saeron, who was browsing bass strings on her phone, asked.
"Didn't I tell you before?"
"Nope."
"To build up some recognition."
"Recognition?"
"Yeah. Building up a following now will give us a head start when we debut."
"Ah, so this kind of thing is important for you and Seolah."
Right, she's the only one who doesn't know.
Come to think of it, Saeron was the only one who didn't know I had already signed a contract.
"Yeah. And you know that show School Band that just finished its season?"
"Oh, that! The one where professionals visit schools to judge them!"
"They're doing Season 2 around autumn, and I plan to apply. But it's easier to get cast if you already have some recognition."
"You've... really thought this through, huh?"
Saeron tilted her head, surprised by my foresight.
"Maybe you're just the one without a plan?"
"...What?"
Saeron flinched. Then, she placed a hand on my shoulder and slowly nodded.
"...Actually, you're not wrong."
She was surprisingly self-aware.
This is the complete opposite of how she acted when she insisted on playing an Orchid song.
I wondered just how obsessed she was with Orchid. Just then, Saeron spoke up again.
"But if we go on School Band, won't our faces be revealed?"
"Yeah. That's why I wanted to ask for your opinions today."
"Hmm..."
Saeron tapped her index finger against her bass.
"I don't mind, but isn't the real issue you?" she asked back.
"Me?"
"Yeah, you hate having your face out there. You even deleted all your Instagram posts."
"I don't hate it. I'm just being cautious."
"Oh, is that so? Good to hear."
Saeron grinned, showing off her pearly whites, and stepped back to her spot.
"Ah...! I really hope we make it big! You and Seolah need to become absolute legends in the music industry!"
"..."
"That way, you can collaborate with Orchid and get me their autographs!"
Watching Saeron shout enthusiastically made me chuckle. I couldn't help but wonder what percentage of her brain was occupied by Orchid.
Time to get editing.
Now that we'd rested enough, all that was left was to edit the video. It wasn't anything fancy—just cropping out our faces and adding the lyrics as subtitles.
"Hmm..."
As I edited, a new desire began to brew.
I really want to record this properly and upload it to YouTube.
Specifically, the desire to record this song with Seolah's voice.
How much does a recording studio cost these days?
I recalled it definitely being under ten thousand won an hour. Even the expensive ones were probably around six thousand won.
"Hey, guys."
I called for their attention.
"Do you want to pick a day and go to a recording studio? Technically, we're only recording the vocals, so it'll just be me and Seolah... but we can all go together just for fun."
As soon as I finished speaking, both of their eyes lit up. It seemed they had been secretly hoping for something like this.
Seolah's reaction, in particular, was striking.
The moment the words left my mouth, her eyes locked onto mine, holding her breath for a brief second. Unlike her previous lethargic posture, her pupils dilated slightly, and the clarity of her eyes seemed to brighten.
I should ask the class president too.
"...So, you want to include Jisul in your album's behind-the-scenes video?"
"Yeah."
Bae Sol had paid a rare visit to Seong Haein's studio.
"I thought you said we shouldn't expose a minor to the media."
"We just won't show his face. We can blur it out."
"..."
"Honestly, Jisul has more than earned the right to be in the video, hasn't he?"
"True."
"He is the biggest contributor to this album, after all."
"Alright, I'm on board. The public is starting to shift their attention from me to Fuzz anyway."
Rumors and curiosity about Fuzz had begun spreading beyond online communities to the general public. Some reporters had even visited HS Entertainment directly, asking, "Who is Fuzz?"
Showing a glimpse of Fuzz's physical presence now would guarantee a massive viral response.
Having made her decision, Bae Sol immediately contacted Jeong Jisul.
The next day.
"Just say whatever you want. It's not a one-take shoot, so we can do multiple takes. Don't be nervous."
"Understood."
Jeong Jisul arrived at Seong Haein's studio.
The behind-the-scenes shoot wasn't anything grand. It was just a casual interview sharing thoughts on the album.
"First of all... I would like to express my deepest gratitude to Seong Haein-sunbaenim and CEO Bae Sol for giving a rookie composer like me this opportunity."
Jisul gestured to the two women sitting beside him as he continued.
"Speaking of the album, we can't leave out the sampling. It's true that it was heavily influenced by hip-hop. Lately, I've been listening to a lot of music by Noise, who recently won Producer of the Year."
After a series of standard expressions of gratitude, Jisul glanced over at Bae Sol.
"...Um, CEO Bae."
"Yes?"
"Would it be alright if I mentioned a band I've been listening to lately?"
"A band? Sure, go ahead. As long as they aren't controversial."
"Got it."
So it's fine.
The band Jisul intended to mention was, of course, his own. The reason was simple: it had been two days since they uploaded their video, and the view count hadn't even broken 100 yet.
"Also, there's a band I recently discovered called Haeyul. If you search for them on YouTube, they'll pop up. I highly recommend giving them a listen."
"Lastly, I have an upcoming collaboration with OnlyOne, so please look forward to it."
With those final remarks, Jisul's interview concluded.
The atmosphere had been a bit stiff, but since he had said everything he wanted to, Jisul felt at ease.
Three days passed. Seong Haein's 7th album behind-the-scenes video was released on YouTube.
"Hey, hey...! What is this?! Fuzz gave us a shoutout?!"
The moment Choi Saeron arrived at school, she rushed over to Jisul.
"The... the views keep going up...!"