Chapter 38: Is this true?

“CEO, Manager. We’re going to play a game when the members arrive in a little while.”

“A game?”

The CEO asked with an interesting expression.

“We’re going to try to guess each other’s names. I don’t know what Koharu and Sara look like, and they don’t know us either.”

Sera tilted her head.

“Is there any point to that? There’s no way they won’t recognize you when they see you, Ria.”

“If I choose first, the remaining person has to choose the other person.”

“Anyway, it’s your first time seeing each other today. It’ll be fun to see their reactions. Should we just watch quietly?”

I nodded at the CEO’s question.

“Yes, please don’t call out our names.”

“Alright. I’ll be quiet.”

The CEO and Sera suddenly shut their mouths, even though I didn’t mean they couldn’t talk at all. So we waited in silence until the members arrived.

Knock, knock.

“Come in.”

“Hello. We met at the entrance and came together. Who came first…?”

A woman with a slender face, distinct features, and slightly raised, sharp eyes. I would say she has a cool, cat-like appearance.

She greeted us with a mature and calm voice that suited her, but her voice trailed off at the end.

Her eyes widened as she looked at me, and her initial sharp impression immediately disappeared.

The other woman was definitely short. Around 150cm, give or take. She had a petite figure and small hands. With her wavy hair, flushed cheeks, and voluminous figure, she reminded me of a doll that would look good in a dress.

Her dazed, unfocused eyes were aimed directly at me. Her slightly parted lips didn’t say anything, but they gave the impression that she was about to mutter something.

When the two of them stood there speechless, silence fell in the room again. Karen, who was standing behind them, chuckled and sent me a look.

“Wait a minute! Is this.. Really Ria unnie? Is this real? Is this a real person? Am I seeing this correctly?”

The mature and calm impression was an act. A high-pitched, bright, and cheerful voice. It was just Koharu.

In the first place, even if it wasn’t for the voice, the moment she called me ‘unnie’, it was already over.

“It’s Koharu. You have no intention of hiding it at all.”

“Ah. I should have spoken first.”

Karen, who was beaten to the punch by me, looked slightly annoyed.

“Haru. Reflect. You made the game too easy.”

If she had kept hiding her voice, it would have been really difficult… Because, just looking at their appearances, neither of them immediately reminded me of their own models.

The small and cute Taoist seemed to suit Sara better, and the cool-looking magical girl seemed more similar to Koharu’s impression.

If I had to find one similarity, Koharu had the raised eyes of the Taoist avatar, and Sara had the large chest of the magical girl avatar… But looking at the overall atmosphere, it seemed more fitting for them to be switched.

I guess that’s why they suggested trying to guess. Because it would be hard to choose.

Anyway, it’s really hard to find an honest VTuber. Why is everyone so different from their real selves? It wouldn’t be bad to be moderately similar, even if not to my extent.

“Is that important right now?”

Koharu’s loud voice broke my thoughts.

“Wow, really… Unnie. How can you be like this?”

“What did I do?”

“It’s unbelievable! How can you look the same as a VTuber, no. How can you look similar but even prettier!”

“That’s right… It’s really unbelievable…”

Sara muttered next to me.

“The order is reversed. It’s not that I look similar to a VTuber, it’s that the model was made based on my appearance. It’s not that surprising, is it?”

“It is surprising! How can you hide this so completely! CEO, you knew, right? And Manager. And… Karen unnie too?”

“Ahaha.”

The CEO burst out laughing at Koharu, who was flustered and waving her hands. Sera also had a smile on her face.

“It’s definitely fun to watch this from the perspective of someone who knows.”

“Wow, wow… CEO. I’m starting to feel betrayed. You all hid this huge fact except for me and Sara unnie.”

The CEO looked at Koharu with a smile and said.

“Haru, what do you mean betrayed? We didn’t intentionally hide it. It’s just that Ria is a very unique case, so it was hard to talk about.”

The CEO gestured towards the three people still standing near the door.

“Okay, okay. Don’t feel too betrayed. Everyone, take a seat.”

Koharu and Sara were still glancing at me as they pulled out their chairs.

“Everyone seems to be adjusting well after their debut. But it’s still early, so we’ll help you as much as we can, okay?”

***

After that, we talked about any difficulties we had while streaming for the past three days and received specific feedback. We also got advice on the direction we should take in the future.

Then we all went to the recording studio on the 4th floor. It was for the members’ cover songs, and for me, it was for the suddenly decided original song’s test recording.

When we entered the recording studio, the CEO spoke.

“Everyone practiced a lot with the cover songs you chose, right? Today’s recording will be used as material to send to the studio. Based on this, they’ll prepare for what direction to take during the final recording.”

Koharu tilted her head and asked.

“But why do we do the final recording outside? This place seems really nice too.”

Sera explained instead.

“At the studio, everything from the equipment to the environment is in the best condition. We can get the basic tone and style here, but the final audio production can be done much more precisely there.”

At that moment, a man opened the door of the recording studio and entered.

“Hello. Congratulations on your debut, everyone. I came to briefly check your tone and give you feedback today.”

“Junho!”

Everyone seemed to know who he was. Only I stared blankly at the man. He approached me first.

“I think this is the first time I’ve met Ria. I’m vocal trainer Lee Junho.”

He seemed momentarily surprised when he saw me, but he quickly composed himself.

“Yes, nice to meet you.”

“I heard from the CEO. He said that training is meaningless for you. I guess I’ll be able to confirm that for the first time today.”

“Sir. Have you never heard Ria’s singing before?”

Sara interrupted.

“No. I heard she did a song stream yesterday, but I was going to hear it in person today anyway.”

“I’m jealous. I wish I could buy ears that have never heard Ria’s singing before. To feel that shock again.”

At Sara’s words, the other members nodded vigorously. Did they all watch my stream yesterday? I haven’t been watching the members’ streams except for their debuts… Should I start watching them a little from now on?

“If it’s that good, I’m really looking forward to it. Shall we start recording then?”

As always, we start with Koharu first. She chose a cheerful song and sang it brightly and cutely.

“You captured the mood really well. But there’s a bit of tension in the high notes. If you relax a little more and sing more naturally, it will be much better.”

Next was Sara. She chose a song with an intense atmosphere and sang it energetically.

“Sara, you’ve definitely improved a lot since I first met you. If you express the last climax a little more strongly, it will leave a more intense impression.”

And then Karen. She chose a song with a serious atmosphere and sang it calmly.

“It feels stable. Especially in the low notes, the emotional delivery was excellent. However, if you push the emotions a little more in the latter part, the song will come alive more.”

Finally, it was my turn. The trainer expressed his reluctance after being informed that we would proceed without MR.

“I understand that you want to do it that way since there’s only the melody right now, but will you be able to perform the song properly without MR? It’s often difficult to grasp the flow without accompaniment.”

“Junho. Just try it once. You’ll understand right away.”

At the CEO’s words, the man tilted his head.

“How good can she be… Okay, Ria. Let’s start recording!”

Just like on the stream, I focused on my emotions and sang the song.

Since there was no feedback for a while, I just came out of the booth.

“Sir, your expression is really funny.”

Koharu giggled.

Only then did the trainer stammer out.

“No.. How… You embodied the overall structure and harmony of the song with just your voice. There was no wavering in the tempo at all. The emotional delivery was also excellent. I dare say there’s no part I can give feedback on.”

“Thank you.”

“Ria finished it in one take, so we saved a lot of time. Right?”

Karen approached me and said.

“So is today’s schedule all done!”

When Koharu got excited, the CEO nodded.

“Yes. Good job, everyone. It’s your first group day off tomorrow, so have fun and go home.”

“”Yes!!””

Everyone answered vigorously and went outside. I put my sunglasses back on.

“So, where are we going?”

Sara asked.

“To a cafe, of course. Since we made a bet.”

I answered.

“What bet…? Ah, are you talking about guessing who’s who? Wasn’t that invalidated?”

“Why would it be invalidated?”

“Why? Because your very existence is cheating, Ria. How can you look exactly like a VTuber?”

“Since Koharu guessed correctly under the same conditions, it’s correct to say that you lost, Sara unnie.”

“That’s right! Sara unnie, you’re being mean! Accept your crushing defeat!”

As I took her side, Koharu teased Sara by pressing down on her head.

“Die.”

Sara raised her small fist. Meanwhile, Karen hurriedly intervened.

“Wait, wait. Ria, you guessed correctly after hearing Haru’s voice. Shouldn’t there be a penalty for Haru for not being able to hide it properly?”

“Unnie. What are you talking about? There’s Ria unnie here, who has no intention of hiding it at all.”

“That’s true….”

Karen admitted, still with a dissatisfied expression.

“Then, Ria unnie. Shall we, the winners, enjoy ourselves? Let’s order a lot of desserts!”

Koharu, who was clinging to me, suddenly put her arm around mine, which surprised me a little.

Why are you so close to me? Do you know that you have no defense if I were an assassin?

My mouth opened slightly, but I didn’t say what I was thinking out loud.