Chapter 55: Vocal Competition, Part 2

“Hey, should we contact a vocalist?”

When asked if there was anything special he wanted to do during his remaining high school years, Do Jin-ho answered like this.

“A vocalist?”

“Well, yeah. 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.”

It’s more like a sound feedback on the direction of game development rather than something he wants to do in high school.

Certainly, the Game Release Club is currently operating entirely within Min Hayoon’s assets.

If he wants a stable salary, it’s natural to want to increase the sources of income. But…

“Is that really all?”

“Well… Even if I wanted to do more, it’s not possible because of COVID.”

“Ah.”

“Even if we go on a field trip, we have to rent a valley or a seaside pension, and it won’t be easy to rent these days, right? So let’s just pick a vocalist. I’m satisfied with that.”

Do Jin-ho’s words were not wrong.

It’s difficult to plan something while talking about memories of high school because of the current situation.

Even if they go on a field trip, they will have to choose a destination under quite strict conditions.

Then…

“Should we hold a contest?”

“What contest?”

“If we’re going to outsource a vocalist anyway, let’s look for a vocalist in our school first.”

“Hmm, really…?”

Do Jin-ho expressed his reluctance at Min Hayoon’s suggestion of an in-school vocal contest.

Honestly, he thought it would be enough to ask a Utaite YouTuber or an indie band.

Since Min Hayoon has never shown any difficulty in managing funds, he wanted to use a professional if possible…

“You’re graduating next year, senior.”

“Ah.”

“If you graduate, we either have to disband the club because we can’t meet the minimum number of members, or we have to accept new members…”

“Instead of hastily filling the gap, let’s find someone who can sing and put them in advance?”

“That’s right! If they want to be a ghost member, they can do that, and we can have them sing for us sometimes like a jukebox. This way…”

A new member who is on the verge of being a team member who does not help the project and muddies the waters, which Min Hayoon initially worried about, is coming in.

Anyway, it’s true that they are contributing to the team, and if they think they got the wrong person, they can just call them during the mandatory two-hour club meeting every month.

“Of course, if they can’t sing well, there will be no such exception.”

“Right, if we’re going to fill my spot with someone who can’t sing, it’s better to just recruit someone next year.”

“To be sure, it’s right to have an interview before joining.”

“That’s good too. If we let in someone without a vision, it’s just a burden for people like us who are gambling with our lives.”

“Gambling with our lives?”

“Why? It’s not exactly wrong.”

Gambling with our lives…

Min Hayoon couldn’t refute Do Jin-ho’s words that stuck in her ear and just chuckled.

I think that Meister and specialized high school students are out of the ordinary.

At least Min Hayoon is.

Because they are people who have abandoned the easiest success formula, studying, and are prioritizing learning skills and getting a job by directly experiencing things.

And Min Hayoon, Choi Arin, and Do Jin-ho are even more unique among them.

Because they are people who are preparing for a business while attending a meister high school.

As Do Jin-ho said, they are gambling with their lives.

Even though they know that their lives will become very difficult if things go wrong even a little.

“But I think it’s like gambling with a flush in my hand.”

“A flush?”

“Well, yeah. Once we release a game, it’s experience, right? If we take that experience and get a job at a game company, it won’t be a problem to make a living, right?”

“Now that you mention it, that’s true. That’s also why I joined this team.”

Of course, even in gambling, if you look carefully before you lie down, you won’t suffer a big loss.

Min Hayoon and Do Jin-ho are people who looked at the place to lie down and participated in the gambling project called Cosplay Holic.

“Now let’s go find more members for this gambling table.”

“Are you going to the teacher?”

“If you look at how he keeps supporting us, he’ll probably hold an in-school contest, right? Even if we hold an in-school contest on our own, it won’t be well promoted.”

“Okay. Let’s go see the teacher first.”

Min Hayoon and Do Jin-ho headed to Park Geun-soo, who was taking a break in the teachers’ room, to find a new face to join this gambling table.

“But what about your lunch?”

“I’ll get some snacks from my senior later, so it’s okay.”

“Can women be full from eating that? I was still hungry even after eating another half bowl of rice.”

“That’s just you, senior…”

“What?”

“Nothing.”

“Why do you stop talking halfway?”

“I thought I was going to say something very rude…”

“Then just keep it to yourself…”

“Hehe.”

It seems like it’s almost the first time she’s talked to Do Jin-ho like this, but she felt like she found a business partner who she can communicate well with.

#

“A vocal… So, you want to hold an in-school contest to recruit a singer?”

“Yes, that’s right, sir.”

Do Jin-ho answered Park Geun-soo’s question boldly.

“The reason?”

“The idea of recruiting a vocalist was mine, and Min Hayoon asked if it would be better to recruit from within the school since we’re going to recruit a vocalist anyway. Since I won’t be here next year.”

“Ah.”

Park Geun-soo nodded as if he understood the purpose.

But…

“Do you think a vocalist who is serious about your project will come forward?”

“That’s…”

Park Geun-soo’s point was quite sharp.

This is a school that focuses on employment, a Meister High School.

It is treated as inferior to specialized high schools when it comes to college entrance, so it is a battlefield for job seekers who have made a do-or-die decision.

“To be frank, you guys are the odd ones out. There are many cases where students get direct job offers from large corporations if they do well in school, but even if there is someone who sings well, would they really join the Game Release Club…?”

Park Geun-soo supports students’ proactive activities, but that doesn’t mean he’s a yes-man who supports projects that will be absurd.

He’s good at being objective.

“Still, if you look, wouldn’t there be one or two?”

Of course, there is no such thing as absolute.

Min Hayoon, who had been standing back for a while, took a step forward and started talking.

“It’s true that you can only transfer to a general high school until the first year, but there must be people who couldn’t decide during that one year, went up to the second year, and couldn’t adapt, right?”

“That’s true. There are always kids who can’t adapt.”

“If there is someone among those people who sings well, wouldn’t they be tempted to join our club, which is one step removed from the in-school job competition and offers a decent pay?”

“That’s an assumption.”

“Well, that’s true…”

She doesn’t think the probability is high.

A Meister High School is different from a specialized high school.

Unless you have a clear vision and have managed your grades since middle school or have overwhelming practical skills, it is not easy to even get in.

She wonders if there will be anyone among the people who got in through that competition who couldn’t adapt but didn’t quickly transfer to a general high school and stayed until the 2nd or 3rd year, but…

“Still, you have to try to know.”

“Yes, you have to try to know. I’ll bring it up as a topic at the faculty meeting next week, so you guys should design a poster to spread the word about the contest. And, what was the prize again?”

“We’re thinking of three whole chickens. One for each of the top three.”

“Tsk, tsk… Do you think that’s enough?”

“Yes?”

Just when they were about to finish talking and go back.

Park Geun-soo, with a frown, shook his head.

“I’ll give you the activity fee for this semester early, so prepare six whole chickens. You have to differentiate the prizes clearly, like three for 1st place, two for 2nd place, and one for 3rd place, so that more people will sing with sincerity, right?”

As expected from Park Geun-soo, who supports students’ proactive in-school activities.

He’s not someone who’s held an event like this once or twice.

Min Hayoon and Do Jin-ho nodded their heads in gratitude and left the teachers’ room.

“Um, I’m going to get some lunch.”

“Oh, okay. Eat and let’s talk more later.”

The conversation ended sooner than expected, so there is still enough time to grab lunch.

Min Hayoon hurried to the cafeteria, and Do Jin-ho went back to the club room and started thinking about the recruitment guidelines.

“The old fogies will obviously say that singing makes you spit and spread germs, so we should make it so that we receive song videos online…”

Do Jin-ho was taking this project quite seriously.

Because he is someone who thinks that songs are essential in otaku games.

If he didn’t have this basic knowledge, he wouldn’t have been able to come up with the sensitive nickname M4BabyRoomGuard

“We can judge it ourselves, the three of us.”

This was the best stage for him, who has N years of experience in otaku culture, to shine.

“If any normies try to come in…”

He was planning to eliminate anyone who sings ballads, hip-hop, or anything like that.

Because to sing an otaku game OST, you needed a soul that understood the genre.

Do Jin-ho was planning to evaluate based on that.