Chapter 54: Vocal Competition, Part 1

Looking back on it now, what should Min Hayoon call her first three years of high school?

It could be described as the life of a recluse.

Early in the morning.

She woke up around 6:40 AM and went to school by 7:30 AM.

After that, she would draw for about 30 minutes, make progress during breaks, and focus on it during lunch break.

In the afternoon, she rested a bit, and when she got home, she would immerse herself in drawing until around midnight before falling asleep.

There were hardly any people who talked to Min Hayoon, who lived such a life.

If someone asked her if she would spend another three years in seclusion like that, she honestly thought it was impossible.

So, Min Hayoon’s second high school life has to change.

Then how should it change?

On Thursday, Min Hayoon started her commute whilE thinking about that.

It’s only been about two weeks since she started commuting, but now she’s roughly memorized the route.

She was able to arrive at the bus stop without any major problems even while thinking about other things.

And from now on…

‘I also need to think about how to spend my school life…’

That was not easy.

Min Hayoon hates wasting time.

That’s why, even though she knows she needs to come up with a plan for her school life, her hand was taking out the tablet from her bag.

This is Min Hayoon’s problem.

This temperament that extremely averse to wasting time.

Because of this, even in her previous life, she couldn’t adapt to high school life.

The national language, math, social studies, and English? I’m not going to college anyway, right? I’m just going to draw and be satisfied with earning 2 million won a month, right?

It was a typical rebellious mindset.

Because of this mindset, Min Hayoon was always an outsider.

To be honest, she has tried to fix it.

Until the first year of high school, she actively tried to make friends, and she even participated in a school game competition with four classmates and reached the semifinals.

But, nothing ever worked out properly.

After all, friendships from high school rarely last into your 30s and 40s.

From the moment she felt that this friendship was useless and that immediate money was sweeter, Min Hayoon’s relationships deteriorated uncontrollably.

“I really lived without a plan.”

As she got off the bus and headed for the school gate, Hayoon realized once again that her past self was a hopeless guy.

No, is she any different now?

What about Min Hayoon now?

She contacted Choi Arin to use Live 2D technology and became close to her, and she found Do Jin-ho as a person to entrust with programming and made him a team member.

Isn’t it even more vicious now?

At that time, she struggled through three years alone in a corner, but now she is employing those two people as an employer.

Maybe, the relationships of these two people are being ruined because of Min Hayoon.

Choi Arin says she doesn’t have any friends herself, but even in the absence of friends, maybe Min Hayoon is taking away the time to make friends.

At first, she didn’t think much of it, but when she looked back on Min Hayoon’s school life, she couldn’t help but feel guilty.

“I’m doing something I shouldn’t be doing…”

The two people whose chances of making friends have been significantly reduced because Min Hayoon called them.

However, Min Hayoon is only thinking about work like this and not having any human interaction with the two…

Isn’t this just adding two more people like Min Hayoon from her previous life?

“Should we go hang out together…?”

At first, it started as a trivial thought about wanting to have some fun at school, but this is a more important issue than she thought.

If Min Hayoon goes crazy about work like in her previous life and goes around alone, the two people’s lives might lose their memories of high school life.

“Hmm…”

However, Min Hayoon doesn’t know what memories of high school life are.

Min Hayoon is a person who is too far from such memories.

Honestly, she doesn’t know how to make the two of them look back on their time in the Game Release Club fondly in the future.

Min Hayoon was also far from ordinary.

In this case…

“Is the only way to talk to them directly?”

Yes, it would be better to think about it together.

So that someday this conversation can be remembered as a memory.

#

With about 20 minutes left until the morning assembly.

Min Hayoon left her bag in the classroom and came over to the club room, and the door to the club room was already open.

Unless asked, Park Geun-soo didn’t lock the club room door.

Then, the person inside now is highly likely to be Choi Arin.

Because Min Hayoon and Choi Arin have the spare keys.

“I wonder who it is…”

Min Hayoon muttered briefly, opened the club room door, and went inside.

And what was waiting for Min Hayoon inside.

-Crunch.

It was making that sound, chewing on that familiar snack.

It seemed like she had already eaten two bags, as they were rolling around on the desk.

As expected, Choi Arin was inside.

“Ugh, ugh? Ummm!”

Did she put it in her mouth in one bite?

Choi Arin, covering her mouth with one hand, waves her hand in greeting.

Min Hayoon also smiled awkwardly at her frivolous appearance and waved her hand.

She naturally went to the seat in front of Choi Arin, turned the chair around, and sat down.

“Why are you eating so much from the morning? You should eat rice in the morning.”

“…You sound like my mom.”

“They say Koreans get their energy from rice.”

“You didn’t eat either, did you?”

As she poked the snack bags rolling around on the desk, Choi Arin swallowed the snack in her mouth and answered bluntly.

“I didn’t eat. How can I eat when I come at this time?”

“Right? Then you must be hungry. I can’t help it. I have to take out another one.”

“Yes?”

“You must be hungry. Eat this and cheer up, and I’ll have some too.”

This person…

Seeing her trying to eat even one more piece, using Min Hayoon as an excuse, it seems that her snack addiction is severe.

Even Min Hayoon, who had no contact with women, roughly knew from posts floating around in the community that when women are hooked on a snack, they only eat that.

But this much…

“Phew, okay.”

“Hehe…”

Choi Arin, with a sly smile, broke a snack in half and handed it to Min Hayoon.

Min Hayoon took it with her hand and put it in her mouth.

-Crunch.

When she chewed it, the addictive taste of the snack’s unique soy sauce chicken-based sauce certainly tickled the tip of her tongue.

Certainly, it’s a snack that Min Hayoon also ate often during her school days.

This stable and addictive taste.

The price is only a few hundred won, so it’s understandable that Choi Arin can’t let go of it.

-Crunch crunch.

Min Hayoon chewed the snack a few more times, then turned her gaze and checked on Choi Arin.

Choi Arin was chewing the snack with a blissful expression.

Including the one from a little while ago, it’s her fourth bag.

She doesn’t seem to get tired of it.

She seemed happy with just this small ramen snack.

‘Am I thinking too seriously?’

Maybe she was feeling too much responsibility for someone who can be happy with just a snack like this.

It was true that she thought that, but…

‘But it’s irresponsible to just let it go without saying anything.’

She’ll ask Do Jin-ho the same question anyway.

Then…

Yes, it’s right to bring it up when it’s just the two of them.

“Sister.”

“Hmm?”

“Is there anything you want?”

“Want?”

“Something you want to do when the game is successfully released, or something you want to do during the rest of your high school life. It feels like you’re just being dragged along with whatever I suggest.”

“Hmm…”

Of course, from Choi Arin’s perspective, who is being asked the question, it’s a bit surprising.

Choi Arin is enjoying this life right now.

She feels comfortable with Min Hayoon, with whom she can freely discuss illustrations, and she likes the money that Min Hayoon will give her.

She’ll receive at least several million won, so how can she not be excited?

No matter how you look at it, Choi Arin’s life is happy right now.

Compared to the past year when she had no proper friends and only focused on self-improvement, it’s many times better.

But.

If she had to choose one thing she wanted…

Just one.

There is something Choi Arin wants.

“A get-together? Should I call it that…?”

“A get-together?”

”
You know, like a pajama party. Or going on a picnic to eat meat in the summer? I heard that when you go to high school, kids do that kind of thing a lot, but everyone here is busy preparing for employment, so there’s no such thing.”

“Oh?”

In short, she wants to have an after-party, isn’t it?

She wants to have fun together once to strengthen the bond with the Game Release Club members…

“If you’re going to the sea, it would be better to go in the summer, right? If you really want, it’s possible to book a pension. I have plenty of money, and I have enough time to rest for a day or two.”

“Really? We’re going to the sea? Really?”

Choi Arin seems to have never had such an opportunity, and she’s already showing signs of excitement.

‘Okay, first, I’ll fulfill my sister’s bucket list by taking her to the sea, having a pajama party, and chatting at night…’

Next is Do Jin-ho.

However, Do Jinho seems to be a late sleeper…

He didn’t come to the club room this morning.

Instead, as if to make up for it, during lunch break, as the first to eat lunch as a senior, he came to the club room first and tried to carry out programming work.

“You’re here?”

“Huh? Aren’t you going to eat?”

“Right now is the 2nd-year lunch distribution time. The 1st-years have to wait another 20 minutes to get their lunch, so I stopped by for a bit.”

“Oh my.”

Do Jin-ho, whom she met in the club room during lunch break, grumbled about how they are discriminating based on who gets to eat.

He said that being discriminated against when it comes to food is the most upsetting thing.

After chatting for a while, the two of them moved on to a slightly more serious conversation, starting with Min Hayoon’s question.

And Do Jin-ho’s answer to that was…

“Hey, shouldn’t we get a vocalist?”

“A vocalist?”

“No, I mean. Even if it’s not a character song sung directly by the voice actor, I think it would be nice to have an opening or ending. I looked it up, and it seems that the music revenue is quite good when selling visual novels.”

If you ask if this is the answer Min Hayoon wanted, it’s a bit ambiguous, but…

It was fully usable.

The process of selecting a vocalist is also a piece of memory from their school days.