184 - I Unknowingly Rejected My Favorite

EP.184 #184. Paper Airplane One by one, the completed recordings start to pile up. Out of the six songs, only two required an actual trip to the studio for offline recording. They were all recordings done at my brother’s company. YM offered to book the studio whenever needed, but no one volunteered to go on their own. Considering the group was filled with virtual YouTubers, it seemed strange to ask them to step outside to work rather than play. [Great job everyone!] When the seemingly endless recording finally concluded, we cheered in our chat like university students celebrating the end of exams. [Aaaah! It's finally over!!!] The person who was happiest was obvious. The undisputed number one in the re-recording rankings. Humulyn. She sent a barrage of emoticons, nearly in tears. [Dear Luka... we finally survived...] A playful urge began to rise within me. When I'm not face-to-face with someone, my antics double, and I immediately began crafting a long, playful message. [Um... I know it's strange for me to say this, but being lumped into the 'bad at singing' category doesn't sit well with me.] [I... at least attend singing classes and do 'music activities'...] [Didn't you have to 're-record' yesterday too?] Members familiar with the meme burst into laughter, while Leah was left questioning what it meant. [Wow... Luka, you're seriously cruel. Just like how frogs forget they were once tadpoles.] [Oh, whatever~] There was only one more step below me, but that fact brought immense comfort. I didn't aspire to climb higher, nor did I think it was possible. Subjectively, the singing tiers among our members might look something like this: Humulyn < Luka <<< Jennifer < Clover <<<<<<<< Leah Previously, we seemed similar, but now I thought I was marginally better than Humulyn. [Did you guys see the music video?] [What music video?] [The group dance avatar work for ‘I Cheer for You!’, looks like it's almost finished.] As expected, Jennifer, who interacts most with the manager and staff, got the scoop first. [Oh my gosh, I want to see it too.] [You know you can't leak it, right?] Even though it was only a 10-second clip, inside it were avatars of us all lined up doing a cute routine. Whether it was more of a dance or a rhythmic movement seemed debatable. My avatar, with its fluttering pink hair, appeared increasingly charming the more I looked at it. [Wow... I guess that means VR shooting is up soon.] [They said they'd inform us separately.] [LOL, I’m the center for this album! It's me!] Having five members means a clear center exists. I got the center once for the first album, missed it during the second, but got to play the ending fairy. Saying I wasn't ambitious would be a lie, but no one complained about the distribution among us. They assured us everyone would eventually get their turn, as we didn’t actually perform anything on stage. Waving your arms around from a corner hardly makes a difference when it comes to positions. [Ah... but after we release this album, doesn’t it mean we’ll only have one left?] First album. Second. Participatory album. And lastly, the third. Releasing a song each season meant the dreaded 'end' was looming after this one. [Can’t we extend it... somehow...?] Tapping my thumb, feeling residual longing. The dwindling time felt like a karaoke session running out of time, where the desperation for an extension grew sharper and more immediate. [Nothing's come out yet. But I heard they're preparing for a second generation or the next project.] Jennifer's words left us all in contemplative silence. [Once the second generation debuts, are we just thrown away?] [Hey! We're not expired convenience store items!] Clover snapped back at Humulyn's comment. [Surely this isn’t the end. With how popular we are, the company would only lose if they let us go.] It wasn’t meant as a comforting lie; it seemed like the truth. A golden goose. Closer, the first generation. Releasing the five of us all at once would be a tough decision for both us and YM. [Let’s just keep doing our best with broadcasts until we hear anything.] I hoped that by autumn, we'd all receive some good news. The whirling sound of the fan was chasing away the heat in my stuffy rental room. * * * "Here, it's the contract." The gap between the deliverer and its contents was significant. "Looks fancy, doesn’t it?" “I didn’t make it. The company hands these out for artist recruitment.“ No wonder it seemed too neat and organized to have been prepared by the instructor. The logo and calligraphy of “Bitdam” adorning the cover were particularly striking. I ran my hand over the glossy, laminated cover, flipping through the pages to look at the contents. “Well, you can just read through it, but do you need an explanation?” “Yes, an explanation would be helpful.” “Oh. Sure. Whether you’re under our management or not, you need to know how to deal with it if you get an offer.” The instructor pulled up a chair beside me and began explaining with that distinct teacher-like tone. “What do you think is the most important when you see documents like these?” “Uh... perhaps... copyright?” “Yep. Just listen. I’ll only explain this once, okay?” After asking a token question, he flipped through the pages, pointing out crucial parts composers normally needed to check. “But! You still need to read through it all, got it?” “Of course.” “I’ve seen a few people sign without fully understanding, only looking at the numbers, and they ended up in a mess.” “I’ll keep that in mind.” The contract followed the standard template as anticipated, provided by Bitdam. Honestly, knowing that my teacher used the same contract serves as the most reassuring endorsement I could hope for. I should read it over one more time and then sign it. “Hey, Taemin. I'm not trying to nag, but before you leave today, tidy up your desk a bit.” “Sure, I’ll clean it up later.” It felt a bit unfair, as my desk wasn't all that spacious. A single laptop, a keyboard, a few reference books given by the teacher, and a tablet—just these filled up the space. Adding even a coffee cup made it seem crowded. Plus, I had forgotten to throw away a ramen container from yesterday, giving the teacher sufficient reason to complain. “What’s this? Did you make a paper airplane?” The teacher picked up a paper airplane next to my pen holder. “Oh... yeah, kinda.” "Hey! I bought that for you to take notes in class, not for this!" In a mockingly scolding tone, he began to unfold the paper to see what was inside. “…Huh?” I sucked in a breath. Maybe I should have just thrown it away. I hadn't imagined that the contact information I'd scribbled down from Leah would be caught by the teacher. "What’s this? Did you write this?" "No, my handwriting isn't this cute." "Then who wrote it?" "The owner of the name." The teacher's eyes, usually not that large, widened immensely, comparable to Doa’s at that moment. “What! Leah gave this to you? When?” “The day you didn’t come... at the recording…” "And what about me?" For a moment, I was at a loss for words in response to his child-like tone, as if pouting over not receiving one himself. "Well, it was in case there was an issue with the recording that needed fixing." “She never said anything like that when working on my songs!” “You did such an excellent job that they praised you for finishing in one take, so Leah didn’t feel the need, I suppose.” For him to expect Leah to regret it and come back for a redo seemed ridiculous after he praised himself that much. “If I’d known, I would’ve pretended to be bad at singing!” The teacher, evidently dismayed, started ruffling his hair in frustration. “But why didn’t you contact her for a re-recording, and why didn't you tell me about this! When did you even do it?” “I didn’t.” “…What?” “I didn’t. It wasn’t necessary.” If I had, I would’ve told you because we would need the studio, right, teacher? “Then the number is…” “I didn’t need it, so I was planning to dispose of it.” As I snatched the note from his hand and shredded it to pieces, his eyes widened in disbelief. “Hey! Why are you tearing it up!” “It’s personal information. What if someone else found it and pranked her?” “No! That's not what I meant! You, you brat!” See what I mean. Leaving it would have surely been used for nefarious purposes. “Didn’t you say you never act this way around idols in your work, so what’s this?” “That’s for 3D!” Leah walked in here in 3D too, you know? Seeing my playful smirk, he exhaled sharply like an angry bull. “Get out.” “Am I getting expelled for something like this?” “You, give me that contract.” “Ah~, why are you being like this!” Unable to piece the shredded note back together, the teacher knelt in despair in front of the trash bin. Meanwhile, on my way home, as usual, I called Doa and detailed the day’s events. [Wow... your teacher must be quite the fan of Leah, huh?] [You don’t even know. He’s completely sincere about it.] [But hey, oppa.] [Yeah?] [Why didn’t you ever tell me Leah left her phone number for you?]