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I was momentarily confused, but quickly found my peace of mind.

“Could you show me how it’s done?”

It was absurd, but surely the Composer wouldn’t say it for no reason.

I mentioned that I wanted to see how it was done, and the Composer promptly pulled out his phone to show me.

“Alright, as you can see in the recording studio…”

“Ah ha.”

Well, seeing it in person, I roughly understood.

I had seen something like this a few times before.

“Isn’t this something you only do for drama OSTs? They always show scenes from the drama in the middle. Is it okay if we do it?”

However, what I had seen didn’t just consist of a singer recording alone.

Scenes from the drama were added in between, but we didn’t have anything to insert, did we?

“No.”

Despite my concerns, the Composer spoke as if it didn’t matter at all.

“You don’t have to show anything in between.”

The Composer said that while looking straight into my eyes.

With an intensely serious gaze… no, not just a gaze.

“Do you see my face right now?”

“Just having a visually captivating presence is a huge advantage for video media.”

Oh… that makes sense.

But to say such a thing while looking at my face… depending on the perspective…

“Wait, is this sexual harassment?”

“Crazy.”

“Pfft!”

The Composer let out a swear word, causing Lee Kang-jun, who was next to him, to spit out the water he was drinking.

Was that a bit too much?

“I’m just kidding.”

As I shrugged, Lee Kang-jun looked at me as if he couldn’t believe it.

“If you joke twice, someone might die.”

“Shall I hit you one more time?”

“….”

“Hey now, don’t make that face, it’s just a joke.”

If I were to have a truly troubled expression, what would that make me?

Of course, I knew what the Composer meant.

Even more so, the Composer…

Trying to leech off of me like this.

Having a music video would definitely help with YouTube views.

Well, I suppose if it’s something like this, it wouldn’t be too burdensome.

If things go well, there’s even a chance it could be wrapped up in one take.

The only downside would be that we can’t have a faceless singer!

I mean, it was caught in the group photos, but this is officially different.

“You don’t have to decide right now.”

Noticing my dilemma, the Composer spoke up.

“Aren’t we supposed to decide quickly?”

Though it was postponed for a bit, the schedule shouldn’t be too relaxed either.

“Well, I suppose it’s not urgent for us.”

Not urgent? Wasn’t there another plan? If this was an additional schedule, it would have to be tight.

Could it be…

“Is there a plan coming up soon—actually, there isn’t, right?”

“…There is. Of course, we’ll have to see the timing a little more closely.”

…Isn’t the Composer being too cautious?

No, given my process of working with Lee Kang-jun, it wasn’t slow either.

It seemed he was deep in thought, so I didn’t say more.

Well, if given time calmly, that would be fine by me.

“Then, I’ll think about it.”

Yeah, I guess I’ll take my time considering the music video.

“Please contact me whenever you come to a decision.”

With that, our conversation in the Composer’s Workshop ended.

After having lunch and spending a little more time, I returned home.

***

Upon returning home, I entered the already created Discord Channel.

A group channel where all first and second generation members were gathered.

In this place established while I was away, everything needed for the collaboration was being discussed wildly.

Plugin application methods and server addresses, etc.

Even though there was still some time left, I looked at the bustling Discord chat and applied one by one for testing.

In fact, it wasn’t a particularly difficult task.

I may only have a faint memory of it now, but I’m still an engineering grad, right?

I’m used to handling computers.

Come to think of it, could I code again?

Hmm… might be a stretch.

If I think about it, I didn’t go into engineering because I liked coding.

I just ended up there in a vague pursuit of future prospects or academic standing.

Isn’t that meaningless now?

What could I possibly use coding for after all this time?

Perhaps it’d be better to study Japanese instead.

Since I seem to be going to Japan often in the future, knowing the language wouldn’t hurt.

The more languages I know, the better!

Should I try learning it a bit now?

The preparations needed for the collaboration were already complete.

Yet, with a bit of extra time, I thought I might as well give it a shot.

Wondering if I could study like before, I fetched the notebook and pen I had bought, claiming that Kim Soo-hyun (Female) was pretty, and sat down in front of the computer.

These days, there are so many great lectures on YouTube, so a notebook should be enough.

Thus, I began studying after quite a long time.

Jumping into studying Japanese unexpectedly turned out to be surprisingly doable.

Maybe it’s because I’ve seen a little of it in everyday life? It didn’t feel too awkward. After all, Hiragana and Katakana are easy to memorize.

The real challenge would probably be vocabulary or Kanji.

Thinking I could learn it quickly if I just took some time, I memorized for a while before stepping out of the soundproof booth to use the bathroom.

As I stretched my stiff back from sitting in the chair and started to leave the room…

Beep—wing—

My phone, thrown onto the bed, rang.

What’s going on?

Looking at the caller ID, it was Anna.

Did something happen before the collaboration?

I contemplated what could be so urgent and answered the call…

[Su-hyun!!]

“Uh, yeah?”

Suddenly, a loud voice rang out.

[What are you doing? Did you just wake up?]

“No? Not at all?”

Why is she in such a hurry? I was bewildered by her urgency.

[Only 5 minutes left for the collaboration!]

“What?!”

Only 5 minutes left?

For a moment, I took my phone away from my ear to look at the time.

Oh right, it really is!

How did I not notice?

“I’ll be right there.”

Ah, no, I didn’t even think to check the time.

I thought for sure I was an hour late.

Then again, I had always lost track of time when studying before….

I had just forgotten since it’s been so long.

After hanging up, I quickly stopped by the bathroom before sitting back down at my computer.

The other members had already turned on the stream and logged into the collaboration room before we started.

So, I too started the stream a little late.

[Mark Collaboration]

“Ah, ah.”

-???

-You finally arrived

-Damn, we thought you wouldn’t show up, lol

It seems the viewers had noticed something was off as chat messages began flooding in eagerly.

“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry.”

-Being sorry doesn’t fix things.

-Does that mean your military service is over?

-Take responsibility!

“I got delayed because I lost track of time studying.”

-LOL

-Yeah, right!

-You’re a high school graduate, aren’t you?

That’s actually true.

Even if I find it ridiculous to say, “I’m just saying.”

“Well, if you don’t believe me, that’s fine. Just don’t be too surprised later.”

Thinking back, maybe if I learn Japanese properly, I could hold broadcasts in Japanese later on?

The Korean viewers may not understand, but the few Japanese fans might appreciate it.

-Ehh

-But have you finished preparing for the collaboration?

“The preparation? That’s all done.”

-Oh, lol

-So you did it before sleeping!

-You’re really well-prepared!

What do these people think of me?

But I still have my wits about me.

“Alright, shall we dive into today’s collaboration on the Mark server?”

-Ready, set, go!

-Let’s go!

-Just don’t leak the server address!

“Leaking? Not a chance.”

There’s no way I would make such a rookie mistake.

I entered the server using the address that had already been written.

Fortunately, while I was studying, it seemed nothing strange had been added; everything appeared normal.

“Oh, everyone’s already here.”

A world made of square blocks, and each character adorned with skins that match them.

“Wow, there are a lot.”

-For real, lol

-So crowded!

It felt genuinely packed, not just counting me there were eleven people.

This would definitely be a fun content day.

“Let’s go to my spot?”

The first and second generations had separate spaces.

As I got closer, I distinctly began hearing the voices of the other members.

This was one of Mark’s modes, apparently, and it’s said that you can hear each other’s voices when getting close—cutting-edge technology.

Is it really cutting-edge? I feel like it’s been around for a while, but anyway.

[Why are you so late!]

“Hahaha.”

I laughed awkwardly at Anna’s teasing.

If I hadn’t gone to the bathroom then, it could have been a huge issue.

[Are we starting now?]

“Yep.”

And just as I entered, the collaboration kicked off immediately.

By the way, fortunately, I wasn’t late for the collaboration time.

Thanks to my swift movements, I arrived just in time.

[Alright! Let’s get started!]

Anna naturally took charge of the proceedings.

[Hope you make friends through the Celestial Realm Project! I will explain now!]

Truthfully, there wasn’t much content for today’s collaboration.

Basically, it was for the first and second generations to pair up and build structures.

I heard they wouldn’t just do it today, but keep it open as a long-term project.

Anyway, the important part was deciding teams now.

Personally, I was hoping for Seolha or Haeil?

I secretly yearned for the cute juniors I saw last time.

However, this wasn’t something I could just wish for.

Because the teams had already been determined by The Six.

[Now, I will reveal the teams!]

With that, as Anna proceeded, teams started being announced one by one.

Anna and Gan were paired first.

Next came Haeun and Mile.

Then, the moment it was announced that Harbin and Maho were the third team, I sensed it.

Oh.

Damn age order.

[Next up is Haeil and Haru!]

“Ugh.”

After that, as if sealing the deal, Seolha and Loa were paired.

Next to me, I ended up with the friend I had predicted.

[Oh, hello…!]

“…Yeah, nice to meet you.”

-LOL

-Crazy match-up, wow

…As expected.

I felt something like this would happen.

It seems Celestial Realm has a tendency to go by age order.

-LOL

-That funny girl is in your group right? LOL

-Should we kick her out again like last time?

The viewers must be thrilled.

[Nice to meet you too…! Mi, Miro-senpai…!]

She seems excited, but…

“…Let’s do our best.”

And thus.

The first collaboration between the first and second generations began.

 

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