"Uu... my tongue... my tongue hurts."
A teary-eyed Nijika worked her tongue, which felt numb from Rin Ito's sucking, and cast resentful glances at the main culprit.
Rin Ito didn't rush Nijika to go back and continue recording; he waited quietly for her to adjust her mindset.
"Mmh..." After a while, Nijika let out a deflated sigh, pouring out her frustrations. "Whenever I try to play along with the backing track, I get anxious... I panic a bit..."
"Panic a bit? Isn't this just like what you normally do? Why panic?"
"I... I'm the drummer. Usually, on stage, I'm always watching them from behind... Mmh, like you said, I'm like a mother."
"Although it's not like that anymore, Ryo used to borrow money everywhere, Bocchi has social anxiety, and Kita is addicted to social media... So I have to be serious and set a good example for them. But now, with them staring right at me, I panic easily."
"The drums are the most liberated instrument. Everyone plays to your beat. Try not to blend in at first; play to your own rhythm, just like you do normally when you push everyone forward."
"Like I normally do...?" Nijika thought about it.
"Exactly..." Rin Ito held back a laugh and teased. "It's not like you guys haven't lost the beat during your regular performances, anyway."
"..."
Being teased by Rin Ito actually made Nijika feel much more relaxed.
"Phew!" Letting out a long breath and lightly slapping her cheeks, Nijika turned around and headed back toward the soundproof booth. But before taking two steps, she stopped and touched her ears.
"No... my ears are still too hot. I can't go back yet. If I go back now, Ryo will definitely laugh at me."
"Pfft..."
Rin Ito couldn't hold it in and burst out laughing.
Nijika waited until the blush on her cheeks and earlobes faded before pretending nothing happened and returning to the recording studio with Rin Ito. By then, the person standing in the soundproof booth was Kita.
"You... you guys are all done?"
Nijika stared at Ryo and Bocchi in astonishment... I was only out for 20 minutes, tops, right? And Ryo is already done!?
"It's just recording."
Ryo looked at Nijika somewhat proudly.
Ryo's first recording attempt had also failed, but she quickly adjusted and passed on the second try.
As for Bocchi... after plugging in her guitar, she hid in a corner where Miss Uemura couldn't see her and nailed it in one take.
Fortunately, Kita had to try several times, otherwise, Nijika really would have doubted her life choices.
...
Kita spent over an hour working in the soundproof booth before she finished. Aside from being nervous like Nijika, it was because she had to record twice.
Kita is the lead vocalist and guitarist for the band.
Even though Kita's guitar parts are very simple, she's still a beginner.
She went back and forth on the vocal parts multiple times, and then back and forth on the guitar parts multiple times. After more than an hour, Kita was almost reduced to a dried husk.
"Miss Uemura, thank you for your hard work."
With a slight bow, Nijika ran back into the soundproof booth and put on the headphones. This time, she didn't blindly chase the backing track but prioritized her own rhythm.
She would wait until her rhythm was solid before trying to blend in with the backing track. After two attempts, Nijika passed on her third try.
"Wait here for a moment. I'm going to make a rough cut for you to listen to."
Nanami raised her hand and ran over to Uemura. "Um... can I try?"
"Hmm? Do you also play in a band, Miss Aoyama?"
"No, no... I'm studying to become a voice actress. I'm making a game with my friends, and I'm responsible for the voice acting. I want to test the difference between the recording quality here in the studio compared to recording at home."
"No problem~"
Miss Uemura agreed and briefly adjusted the settings to suit human voice dialogue.
"This is to record, this is to save, and if you press this button, you can talk to the person in the soundproof booth. Just ask your friend to help operate it."
"Thank you so much!"
Rin Ito was about to step forward to help, but Kaede beat him to it.
"I'll help."
Without thinking much, Nanami ran into the soundproof booth, put on the headphones, took out her phone, and opened the script for How to Train a Boring Girlfriend.
"On that slope where cherry blossoms danced, I met the heroine of destiny..."
Her cheeks flushed slightly with embarrassment. Nanami kept her head down, trying to ignore the eyes outside the soundproof booth and immerse herself entirely in the world of the script.
Standing outside the booth, Kaede listened through the monitor headphones. At first, even an amateur like Kaede could hear the rawness and shyness in Nanami's voice.
As Nanami gradually immersed herself, the rawness and shyness vanished, and Nanami seemed to truly become the heroine from the script.
About half an hour later, Uemura, who had finished a rough cut of the sample, called the four members of Kessoku Band and Miss Shima into the adjacent room.
Although it was only a rough sample, facing their very first recorded song, even the usually nonchalant Ryo was a bit nervous, let alone the others.
The trembling, anxious Nijika and Kita were practically hugging each other, while Bocchi remained rather calm... No, wait! She was on the verge of fainting!
As Miss Uemura pressed the play button, the familiar intro filled the room.
The four tense girls instantly held their breath, a single thought filling their minds...
This is our music. This is Kessoku Band's music!
It wasn't until the sample finished playing that the four let out a long breath.
Their eyes met, and after a brief silence, they burst into smiles. Even Bocchi couldn't help but speak up.
Bocchi: "That was super cool!"
Nijika: "Yeah, yeah, yeah, it's amazing! Is this really our song?"
Kita: "It sounds just like a song from a professional band!"
Ryo: "As expected of me!"
After hyping each other up, the four didn't forget to thank Miss Uemura, praising her until she felt a bit embarrassed.
Relaxing, the four girls began pointing out their own flaws, almost like comparing answers after an exam. It wasn't long before Miss Uemura came over to summarize for them.
"Finding your flaws is a good thing. Every band discovers their shortcomings during the recording process. However, it's not enough to just find them; if you're satisfied with that and don't correct them, your band's growth stops right there."
Uemura was about to continue her lecture when Miss Shima cut her off.
"In short, promptly solve the problems you discovered during this recording. But... to put it bluntly, if the sales for this EP are poor, there won't be a next time."
"Anyway... there are three more songs to record. One tomorrow, and two next weekend... Alright, today's recording session is over!"
The excited girls chatted loudly about where to hold their celebration party as they returned to the recording studio. Meanwhile, Nanami was still reading her lines.
Rin Ito turned his gaze to the still-flushed Nijika.
"How was it?"
"It was amazing!" Nijika smiled shyly. "When our EP is released, I'll show it to you first~"
"Not your sister?" Rin Ito teased.
"My sister... my sister will also see it first."
"This is an EP we made by sacrificing our futures as students," Ryo nodded deeply beside them. "Therefore, we have to eat something really good at the celebration party!"
"You're the only one who sacrificed anything." Rin Ito knocked on Ryo's head. "Eat your head! It won't be too late to eat after all four songs are recorded."
After a brief moment of commotion, the girls all turned their attention to Nanami behind the soundproof glass. Rin Ito could see fine beads of sweat on Nanami's forehead, and her lips were slightly pale from dryness.
An official recording is certainly done line by line, but today Nanami was just testing the waters. Yet, even for an audition, she gave it her all.
Nanami only stopped because her throat was dry, and upon getting distracted, she noticed Kita and the others practically pressing their faces against the glass. Her sense of shame exploded under their intense stares, making it impossible to continue.
Nanami took off the headphones and walked out of the soundproof booth. Then, Kaede flashed a wicked smile, switched the playback setting from headphones to speakers, and then...
Click.
With a slight movement of the mouse and a crisp click, Nanami's voice instantly filled the entire recording studio.
"On that slope where cherry blossoms fall..."
"AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!"
Nanami screamed, trying to drown out the speakers, but how could a human voice overpower an amplifier? To make matters worse, Kaede had mischievously turned the volume up.
All Nanami could do was cover her furiously blushing face. To her, this public execution was even more shameful than her first party.
"Uu... don't, don't listen!!!!"
The group erupted in laughter, and the recording studio was filled with a joyful atmosphere.