Chapter 182: A Private Word
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 182: A Private Word
I thought he’d at least show up for work.
It was the recording day for my self-composed song, “Summer Records.”
But my teacher didn't even come to the studio.
I wondered if he could just skip work so brazenly, but he was a freelancer, after all.
On days without projects, there was no particular reason for him to be at the studio.
Leah and Luka were scheduled for Wednesday. Fumurin was set to come on Friday.
Since Leah and Luka had a stream scheduled for later, they had let me know in advance that they would visit during the day.
With the air conditioner blasting, I simply waited for the two of them to arrive.
They said they’d be here at two, so why aren’t they here yet?
The clock had already ticked past 2:10.
No message from Doah, either. Should I contact her first?
Just as I picked up my phone.
Knock, knock, knock.
I shot up from my seat and hurried to open the door.
“Hello!”
“Hello...”
Doah greeted me with a bright smile, and Leah followed her inside.
Leah looked at least ten centimeters taller than usual, which made Doah seem particularly petite today.
“Ah, come on in.”
Last time, my teacher had explained everything, but today, I was the one in charge, and it felt a little awkward.
“So... the process is the same as last time. I’ve arranged the parts based on what I had in mind. If something doesn’t work out, we might have to make some adjustments.”
“Okay!” Doah replied with excessive cheerfulness.
I wasn’t sure why she was being so over-the-top, but after finishing my explanation, I asked Leah to step into the recording booth.
That left just Doah and me.
Sitting right next to me, Doah placed a hand on my thigh and started messing with me.
“Hey. Kim Doah. I’m working right now.”
The first recording was about to start, and I was too tense to have the luxury of playing along.
“Aww, what’s wrong? I want to play with you, Oppa.”
“We can play after. After this is done.”
“But I have to go stream right after this.”
Then she should have come separately later.
Why did she have to act like this when she came with another member?
I glanced to my side and saw Doah pouting, as if protesting my lukewarm reaction.
“Did something happen today?”
“No.”
“Then why are you acting like this?”
“...I don’t know. Let’s just get to the recording.”
I had a nagging feeling, but work was work.
“Ah, ah. Can you hear me?”
The mic test began.
After checking the audio, I immediately gave her the okay sign.
Leah’s voice flowed through the speakers.
Hearing a professional sing a song I made was an incredibly moving moment.
I’d felt something similar when working on my teacher’s songs, but with a track that was entirely my own, the feeling of being overwhelmed with emotion was on a different level.
Hearing the lyrics I wrote with my own ears also felt a little embarrassing.
An unidentifiable, ticklish feeling rose from deep within my chest.
“Was that okay?” Leah asked me as soon as the music stopped.
“Ah, yes. It was good, but let’s try the chorus one more time.”
“Leah’s so good,” Doah commented beside me, swinging her feet back and forth with her cheeks puffed out.
“Come on, you’ve seen Leah’s skills far more than I have.”
“You just thought Leah was cute because she’s a good singer, didn’t you, Oppa?”
It was a baseless accusation.
“No. I wasn’t thinking that.”
“She’s taller than me and has a bigger chest, so you really don’t think she’s cute? And she’s a great singer, too?”
...Would telling her she was cuter because she was smaller be the right choice here?
Getting into the details felt like it would only deepen the misunderstanding, so I quickly doused the flames.
“Yeah, I don’t think she’s cute, so let’s save the chit-chat for later. We need to record again.”
I gave the signal that the track was ready, and Leah sang the requested part once more.
Her clear, high notes felt like they could blow the summer heat away.
Sigh... There was a reason my teacher called Leah his one-pick.
I didn’t know much about her personality or looks, but her singing alone was in a league of its own.
“How was it this time?”
“Um... I think we’ve got the chorus. Let’s move on to the next part, shall we?”
The song was just over three minutes long.
Excluding the instrumental parts, it was about two minutes and thirty seconds.
Divided by five members, that came out to roughly thirty seconds per person.
In my heart, I wanted to distribute the parts equally, but in reality, that was difficult.
Some sections were awkward to split, and some parts were simply impossible for certain members to sing.
I hadn’t told Doah, but I did feel a little sorry for her after distributing the parts.
Because Luka’s part was twenty-eight seconds.
Two seconds less than the average.
Leah, on the other hand, had about thirty-six seconds.
It felt like she had about two or three more lines of lyrics.
“Okay. You worked hard.”
Confirming that the recording was almost perfectly aligned with my initial vision, I gave Doah’s butt a gentle pat.
“It’s your turn now, Luka-ssi.”
“My confidence is shot. I need some courage.”
It sounded like a joke, but it might have been true.
Even in school, the person who had to present right after the top student always felt awkward.
“What can I do for you?”
“Send me a dono.”
“I’ll recharge when I get home.”
“You better actually do it.”
Why did she keep making promises she couldn’t keep?
As Leah returned to our side, Doah naturally grabbed a water bottle and entered the booth.
“Wow. Thank you again for doing such a great job today.”
“Ah... no, not at all. The song is so good... I think that made me work even harder.”
Even if it was just empty praise, it made me feel good.
I’ll never get tired of hearing that I made a good song.
“Leah-ssi, if you have somewhere to be, you can head out first. I don’t think you’ll need to re-record anything.”
“Ah, it’s okay. I’ll leave with Luka.”
...Did they have plans to hang out afterward?
Not knowing the details, I simply nodded in understanding.
“Ah, ah. Can you hear me clearly?”
She didn’t have to raise her hand.
Beyond the glass, Doah held her hand high in the air.
She seemed so much like a real idol that it was a little funny.
“Yes. Loud and clear.”
“Then play the music, please!”
Doah was speaking to me in her perfect broadcast tone.
Instead of replying, I played the track.
Doah nodded calmly and began to sing in time with the beat.
It was obvious she had practiced a lot.
Sorry to my teacher, but it seemed like she’d practiced my song much more.
As that realization hit me, the sight of the young woman holding the water bottle became all the more lovely.
“Should I do it again, teacher?”
Without being prompted, Doah called me teacher. I told her it was fine to move on to the next part.
“That was good, Luka-ssi. I like the high energy, but let’s try the beginning with a slightly calmer feel, okay?”
“Okay...”
Doah dropped her voice to the floor.
Hey, if you keep joking around like that, you’ll get us caught.
As I let out a helpless laugh, Leah, who had been watching, turned her head toward me.
“Um... RKRO-nim, I think you said Luka was your favorite among our members. Is that right?”
Yes. You can confirm it in my YouTube videos, and I’ve already stated it in my award acceptance speech.
“Ah, yes. I used to watch Luka-ssi’s streams often.”
“So that’s why you’re so happy right now?”
“Pardon?”
“Ah... it’s just that your reaction seems a little different from when I was recording...”
Was it that obvious?
I was trying my best to be fair and professional.
I had no idea what could have given her that impression.
“No, not at all~ Unlike my teacher, I’m not the type to let my personal feelings get in the way.”
A lie to cover up a lie.
I was a max-level simp.
I was the man who had captured the heart of Luka, the idol of the global Pink Army.
If this fact ever got out, I might become a wanted man with a ridiculously high bounty on my head.
“But Ashblock wasn’t that rude that day, either.”
“Was he really okay? I was watching and wondering why that guy was acting like that.”
“When you stream, you see so many weird comments that maybe I’ve just become desensitized. Haha.”
Leah gave me a gentle smile.
“Ahh... It’s true there are a lot of people online who take things too far.”
“But I think it’s a price we have to pay, since there are also many fans who support and love us just as much.”
It was a conversation I’d had with Doah several times.
So this was the fundamental mindset streamers had to have.
Without that kind of mentality, the online world was a jungle too harsh to survive in.
“Hey! Hey! Excuse me! Teacher! When are we starting?”
I had gotten distracted talking to Leah and forgotten to play the music. I quickly moved the mouse.
“Starting right now.”
Luka’s recording session ended sooner than I had expected.
I had based my estimate on how long my teacher’s song took last time, but we finished about an hour earlier.
I organized the final files and stood up from my chair to say goodbye to them.
“Thank you both for doing such a great job. I’ll send the finished version through the company once it’s ready.”
“Okay~ You worked hard too, Lucario-nim~”
“Thank you!”
Ah, just call me RKRO! Kim Doah!
Why did she have to use my embarrassing nickname?
“Let’s go, Leah!”
Just as Doah grabbed Leah’s wrist.
“Luka. You go on ahead.”
“Huh? Why?”
“I have something I need to say to RKRO-nim privately.”
My gaze went to Doah before I even registered Leah.
Doah’s once-gentle eyes turned sharp.