181. First Recording

(Haruna POV)

***

Haruna picked up a cookie and dipped it in milk, biting into the delicious sweetness almost robotically.

She was quite distracted.

How could she not be?

Just a week ago, she had no idea that she could even sing, and now she was going to record a cover with semi-professional equipment that would be posted online for the world to see.

Leaving aside the obvious nerves regarding the feasibility of the entire plan, she wasn't sure how to feel about Reiji investing so much into the various equipment, which she could tell weren't cheap despite her lack of knowledge in the area.

When someone has more confidence in you than you have in yourself, it's both reassuring and stressful.

And then she frowned.

While the cookie was still in her mouth, she slapped her cheeks with both hands simultaneously, a loud smack echoing through the room.

Reiji flinched in surprise and looked over to see Haruna chug her glass of milk like it was a pint of beer, small droplets leaking down her chin due to the speed at which she was drinking it.

She placed down the now-empty glass and exhaled blissfully, leaning back in her seat with a smile.

'I can't overthink this. I'll just sing and leave the rest up to fate!' she thought.

".....Why the hell did you do that?" Reiji spoke up, his brows raised in confusion.

"Don't ask."

Haruna got up from the table and walked into the kitchen with her cutlery, rinsing them at the sink with her back turned to Reiji.

She felt a little embarrassed at her display, but it somehow helped her calm down.

If Reiji had this much confidence in her, then all she had to do was do her part without feeling sorry for herself, no matter how difficult that may be.

'I can do this!'

***

"I can't do this," Haruna wailed, adjusting her clothes.

She had changed into a mostly black outfit to hide her curves and make it harder to identify her, but as soon as she stepped up to the microphone, her heart started pumping at breakneck speed.

Reiji, who was sitting on a chair a few meters away from her, smiled wryly and got up.

"Okay, let's do a practice run first with the microphone off. It won't be recorded, so just sing and let yourself get used to the environment. Do you need me to bring up the lyrics?"

"No, I have it memorized. If I read it, I might get distracted....."

"Fine. Then I'll play the background music, you just sing at the right time."

Reiji reached for the mouse and pressed play, the music from the speakers filling the room.

Haruna took her time to breathe in and out, waiting for her cue.

And once it came, she started to sing.

"I'm faaaaallliiing.....Falling freeeeeee. Through the wind, and over the seaaaaaaa!"

Her voice was a little shaky, but Reiji's eyes widened despite this drawback.

Because her control, tone, and range were drastically better than the time she had sang last week, and he could feel the raw emotion in her delivery.

The cover they had chosen was a soul-pop song that was extremely popular a few years ago, but the main reason he landed on this option was because of the message behind it.

It was a song about freedom and the drive to explore while pushing through the uncertainties of the future, which was a near-perfect fit for Haruna's situation.

In the game, her first song was one renowned for its depressing lyrics and heart-wrenching score, which was maximized by the emotional breakdown she was going through at the time.

Since that couldn't be replicated, Reiji spent quite a while researching something that could mesh well with the current scenario, and eventually landed on this.

He was hoping that this could make up for his interference.

'.....I was right.'

Reiji held back a proud chuckle as he listened to Haruna slowly settle in and adjust her mindset to improve her delivery as the music progressed.

And by the end, Reiji knew he had made the right choice.

If he closed his eyes at this moment and purely listened to her version, he'd probably be able to imagine himself flying through the sky like a bird.

"And so....I'll be freeeeeeeee."

As the last note ended and the music came to a close, Reiji raised his hands and started clapping.

"Seriously...How the hell did you improve so fast?? Just how much did you practice?"

He knew that Haruna needed some support and assurance right now, so he wasn't stingy with his praise.

She blushed slightly as he continued to hurl compliments at her, which she knew wasn't faked because of how he specifically pointed out certain parts of the song in which she had made small changes to fit her style better.

"Al-Alright, that's enough! I'm gonna get a big head if you keep this up!" she giggled, her bright eyes exposing her joy at being acknowledged.

"Fine, fine. Let's do a run with the proper procedure now. I'll turn the camera and microphone on."

He got up and made some adjustments, opening the recording software to ensure everything was working before giving her a thumbs-up.

This time, they both put on headphones, and Haruna stepped up to the mic.

The round pop filter at the front covered half her face, revealing only her sparkling green eyes and a few strands of blonde hair that escaped from the cap she was wearing.

They were going to make two video recordings.

The first is where she is actually singing, and her face is hidden by the mic, and another one where she will just lip-sync to the audio recording while wearing a face mask, pushing the mic a little to the side.

The one that looks better and more appealing would be the visual that'll be chosen.

After getting confirmation, Reiji pressed play, and the recording started with the background music playing through their headphones.

Haruna closed her eyes and focused, wiggling her fingers to try to remove the tension.

And then she sang once again.

Just once more.

Because she didn't need to do it a third time.

***

"....Do you believe me now?" Reiji asked with a confident smirk on his face as he took off his headphones.

Haruna bit her lip and turned away, her red ears showing her inner feelings.

To see how the song would sound with both Haruna's voice and the instrumental playing in the back, Reiji simply overlaid her audio with it and listened to it once more.

Of course, it still needed a bit of editing to sound right, but the preliminary version was already really good.

Seeing Haruna not respond, he chuckled and moved on, opening up Scrollz to show her something.

"By the way, I've already set up your account. Take a look and let me know if you want to change anything."

During school, they had discussed possible names for the online alias that she would go by, and they cycled through quite a few options.

In the original game, she had simply called herself 'Ilikemusic', in English.

It was quite funny at a glance, but it didn't have much allure to it.

So they talked about it and eventually landed on something they both liked.

HiddenMelody.

It was simple, yet perfectly encapsulated the mystery they were going for.

Haruna leaned over and looked at the account page, which still didn't have a profile picture, so she pointed it out.

"What about the pfp? Do you have any ideas?" she asked.

"Yeah, what about a close-up of your eyes? I can take a screengrab from the video we recorded, and it should work pretty well."

"M-My eyes? Isn't that a little embarrassing?"

"You think that because it's your eyes, but I'm pretty sure the people who'll look at it will like it a lot."

"I...I'll listen to you for now, but if it doesn't look nice, we'll change it!" Haruna groaned, patting her flushed cheeks.

"Sure, sure," he nodded before turning back to the screen. "Now...Let me get to polishing this up."

Reiji was not experienced in this sort of thing, but he'd watched a few tutorial videos, completed a short course, and even practiced finetuning some random amateur songs he found online.

He was far from an expert, but he could still improve the overall quality of the finished product by a level.

In any case, he didn't plan to be the editor in the long-term.

Once the account exploded in popularity, it would be better to hire someone to help him with this, for which he already knew who it would be.

But that was still a while away.

For now, he spent the next few hours making small changes, listening to the song again and again, and ensuring there were no major criticisms that were glaringly present.

"Aaaaaand done!"

Reiji collapsed in his chair and stretched his tired body, which had become stiff from the stagnant posture.

Haruna did the same, since she was sitting next to him the entire time, making some suggestions and keeping him company.

"Are we posting it now?" she asked nervously.

"Yes. You want to press the publish button?"

Reiji handed her the mouse and crossed his arms with a smile.

Haruna hesitated for a second and then shook her head.

"L-Let's do it together!"

Reiji's eyes widened slightly before he reached out and held the mouse with her, their hands overlapping slightly.

"Ready?"

"Yeah....."

"3....2.....1...*CLICK*"

"Holy shit, holy shit, holy shit! It's live!" Haruna squealed, covering her face and looking away.

"Geez, don't freak out! It'll still take a while to see any result, you know?"

"Ughhh....This is not a good feeling."

Though it might be a gross over-exaggeration, Haruna felt that everything rested on the success or failure of this song, and she did not like the feeling of being in the dark until the results came out.

Reiji rolled his eyes and flicked her on the forehead.

"Do me a favor and don't check the progress of the video until you come over tomorrow, okay?" he stated, not wanting her to lose sleep over this.

"...Fine."

Reiji could see her fear, but he could only laugh inwardly.

Because he was sure this wouldn't fail.

He had a secret weapon, after all.