Ch.154Chapter 154

Mi Sol Do.

If you’re wondering why I suddenly mentioned these musical notes, it’s because they’re the perfect sound effect for my current situation.

That sound effect that plays in Gourmet’s Hound before the protagonist gets hungry.

At least there, the protagonist takes the initiative, but I could only stare blankly at whatever was passing in front of me.

“Aha! Perfect. I bought water too, so we’re all set!”

Chiyo said that while deliberately sitting right next to me and starting to fiddle with the remote.

Given the seating arrangement, she could have left a space between us, but why did she have to sit so close!

While I was thinking that to myself, Chiyo looked at me strangely and gave me a mischievous smile.

“Don’t tell me, oppa, you’re embarrassed being alone with a girl?”

“W-what are you saying! That’s not it.”

I completely denied Chiyo’s words—though they were partly true.

The karaoke room was a place I usually visited alone.

When listening to anime theme songs or pop songs, I would unconsciously start practicing because I wanted to sing like that, and as a result, I often came to karaoke rooms to sing for about an hour.

At first, my vocal technique was so poor that I even developed vocal nodules.

“…I always come to karaoke alone, so I’m just not used to coming with someone else.”

“What?”

Chiyo made an expression of disbelief.

“Did I never go to karaoke with you when we were in school?”

“Hmm, did we? I only remember going alone.”

“Aish, don’t say that! Why do you have to be so lonely?”

Chiyo said that and unnecessarily pressed her shoulder against mine.

Hey, I appreciate the sentiment, but why are you getting closer?!

“Do you still go often these days?”

“Y-yeah. I guess so?”

“Then you must call me every time you go! Otherwise, I’ll be upset.”

I stared blankly at Chiyo as she said that with a grin while operating the remote.

How should I put it?

I was speechless because I simultaneously felt a sense of absurdity and a completely separate emotion that was welling up inside me.

Everyone else had been busy avoiding me, so why was she so eager to be with me?

I couldn’t understand why.

I could only stare silently at Chiyo.

“Okay! I have to sing this song. Oppa, do you know this… W-what?! Why are you crying?!”

Chiyo looked at my condition in great confusion.

Haha.

Sometimes she seems too aggressive, but at times like this, she’s the one who gets more flustered.

I wiped my tears with my fingertips and smiled.

“Yeah, the song you chose is just so moving.”

“…Aish, what’s with you? Crying over something like that. You scared me.”

The song had already started playing a gentle accompaniment, and Chiyo erased her incredulous smile and closed her eyes, immersing herself in the emotion.

She sang one verse, then another.

She perfectly finished the chorus, reaching the climax and then quietly regulating her emotions as she continued singing.

When was the last time I saw someone singing?

I think it was the first time since elementary school when I played guitar with the only friend I was close with.

But that’s all in the past now.

When the song ended, Chiyo slowly opened her eyes and gave a somewhat seductive smile.

“Hmm, so? Did you fall for me?”

She seemed to be joking again, but because I had been so focused on the song, I unconsciously blurted out what was in my mind.

“…Yeah, almost.”

“U-um…?”

Since I wasn’t aware of what I had just said, I couldn’t understand why Chiyo suddenly made that expression.

But when I realized something was off and carefully recalled my memory, I was horrified.

“Ah, no! That’s not what I meant! I almost fell for the song! Oh my, this is why you shouldn’t omit the subject!”

“…U-um.”

I tried to attach all sorts of excuses to what I had said, but Chiyo just blushed and scratched her cheek with her finger.

Oh my goodness!

I’ve gone and ruined the mood with unnecessary words.

As I was at a loss for what to do, Chiyo hurriedly grabbed the remote and handed it to me.

“Q-quick! S-sing something! Time’s passing.”

“O-okay!”

Taking the remote Chiyo handed me, I started searching for a song.

Hmm.

What song should I sing?

To be honest, typical male songs were difficult to sing in my vocal range.

Thanks to recent vocal training, I had managed to break through the dreaded male vocal range up to the A in the second octave, but it was still hard to sustain it.

And being in a situation with someone else, I was nervous and probably wouldn’t be able to reach even that high.

So… this one.

I unhesitatingly entered the name “Im Dong-yeol” in the artist search.

He was a singer with an attractive low voice.

“Oh, you’re singing this? Oppa, it should suit you well with your deep voice.”

At Chiyo’s words, I made an awkward expression and focused on the emotion of the song.

This song was quite difficult because you had to sing it without belting.

But since the vocal range itself wasn’t high, it was perfect for singing in this situation.

I held the microphone and regulated my breathing.

Hoping that all my respiratory muscles wouldn’t spasm, I slowly delivered the first verse.

“…”

I didn’t know what kind of look Chiyo was giving me.

Because the moment I started singing, it felt like everything around me disappeared.

They say “loneliness in a crowd.”

That phrase perfectly expressed what I was feeling right now.

At first, my respiratory muscles weren’t working properly due to nervousness, but as the chorus approached, they gradually started to obey, and the tone I intended began to emerge.

The tone I hear of myself is subjective, so I couldn’t evaluate myself.

But at least, I had practiced until I thought it wouldn’t be embarrassing to let others hear.

“Now!”

I finally entered the highlight chorus.

Was it the adrenaline flowing because I thought it was going better than expected?

My voice was coming out more solid and precise than usual.

Thanks to that, my tone was firmer and warmer than my usual singing voice.

The song was gradually coming to an end.

The part where the highlight appears twice at the end was the challenge, but with my current state…

“Nothing else-ACK!”

…Ah.

I was too complacent.

Too excited, I failed to control my breath and strained my vocal cords, resulting in what’s technically called a “voice crack”!

My face flushed with embarrassment that suddenly washed over me.

Ah, can’t I be perfect even in moments like this?

Was it a mistake to choose such an emotional song?

If I had known this would happen, I should have chosen a more upbeat song, even if it seemed less refined.

All sorts of regrets flooded in, but I still sang diligently to the end to finish the song.

As soon as the song ended, I felt a bit depressed.

But knowing that Chiyo’s ears must have been hurt by that voice crack, I turned to her with an awkward expression.

“Ahaha, sorry. I tried to sing a song that was too ambitious…”

I couldn’t finish the excuse I was trying to make.

Chiyo was staring at me blankly, with an expression similar to the one I had been wearing.

Ah, that expression.

It was the kind of expression I often made when I became deeply immersed in something.

Why was Chiyo making such an expression while looking at me?

“…Chiyo?”

When I called her name once more, Chiyo closed her eyes with a pleased smile.

“What’s this, oppa? You were a deceiver.”

“Huh?”

“You sing so well, yet you stared at me like that?”

What?

She knew?!

My face flushed with embarrassment for a different reason.

“N-no. I didn’t sing well. I even had a voice crack.”

“Even professional singers have voice cracks.”

Chiyo denied my words and gave a bright smile.

“Thank you for letting me hear such a good song, oppa.”

The feeling of fullness I had felt when watching Chiyo sing rose up once more.

Perhaps it stemmed from the feeling of having my hobby, which I had cultivated and enjoyed alone, being acknowledged.

Looking at Chiyo, I smiled too.

“Yeah, thank you for listening to my song, Chiyo.”

#

“Phew! That was great. Time passed faster than when I sing with others! Next time we could sing for two hours, right?”

“Ugh, give me a break. Even I find it hard to sing without resting.”

“But you sang well until the end! By the way, oppa, ballads suit you well, but pop songs seemed to suit you even better?”

“Oh, really? I should practice those more.”

Chiyo and I chatted satisfactorily as we finished tidying up the room.

When was the last time I had this much fun?

Is it okay for me to be this happy?

My empty heart seemed to be filling up in a different way.

“Oh, oppa! The water bottle there! Be careful!”

“Wh-what?!”

Lost in my emotions, I accidentally knocked over the water bottle on the table with my hand, and as I stepped on it, I lost my balance.

Chiyo came forward to support me, but it’s not easy for a woman’s body to catch a man’s.

Thump.

Fortunately, the karaoke room’s chairs were made of cushions, so it didn’t hurt much.

But the current situation was extremely embarrassing.

It looked like I was pinning Chiyo down.

Time seemed to stop.

All airflow ceased, and it felt like any sound approaching us was being deflected from a certain distance.

In that embarrassing silence, all I could see was Chiyo looking at me with trembling eyes.

What should I do?

I need to get up.

But Chiyo seemed to have different thoughts.

She averted her gaze as if a bit embarrassed, and then suddenly closed her eyes.

Ah.

Chiyo.

No matter how much of a shut-in I was, I couldn’t misunderstand what this signal meant.

I see.

I’ve realized it.

Why Chiyo came with me to the karaoke room.

And going further back, why she kept hanging out with me at school.

Yes, that was it.

“…Nutriche.”

I carefully uttered that name.

“You said you’d give me what I want, but in the end, you’re just tending to the wounds in my heart from another world.”

And the moment I said those words.

The karaoke room transformed into pitch-black darkness, and the school uniform of Chiyo, whom I had pinned down, gradually changed into the sexy nightgown I had seen earlier.

As horns grew from her head.

“…Seriously, you can’t read the mood.”

I could see Nutriche looking at me with an expression of disbelief.