By Zephyria 
There would be no more having to face those sassy four in the dorm every day.
If it’s me, I’ll be treated well wherever I go… I won’t have to worry about money either. The penalty could be added as a contract condition, so the side that wants to take me would have to pay it off.
‘The problem is that if I join the government, Jae-ha might really misunderstand me as a stooge of the Management Bureau…’
[But why do you look so unhappy?]
Potato tilted his head and asked from above my head.
“…Me?”
[You’ve always wanted to get out of here.]
[But now that you can get out.]
[I feel a very confused heart wave.]
[Did you get attached to this place more than you thought?]
“…There’s no way.”
This wasn’t a place for me to be.
It was where ‘Yeon Yujin’ was.
I fell here as a stranger from the beginning.
What right do I have to say whether I want to be here or not?
“…Not at all.”
I shook my head, but Potato narrowed his eyes, humming.
[I don’t think so.]
“Stop it.”
I was talking to Potato in a small voice so no one could hear, but in the end, I couldn’t help but raise my voice at this part.
“Um… Yujin-ah. What are you telling him to stop?”
As soon as I saw the President’s face, which clearly showed the expression ‘Were you not paying attention?!’, I stood up in a docile posture.
“No… It was a slip of the tongue.”
“If so, then that’s fine. So… Re-examination of Esper levels is a mandatory duty for Ability Users, so you must take care of it. I’m telling you to know in advance.”
“Thank you.”
“Ideally, whether you get an A-grade or an S-grade, I hope you stay with our company.”
As expected of the President. It seemed like the President had the same thought as me.
“I’m saying I want you to stay here even if it’s not for the penalty. The timing is right. Secreety, and you, your reputation has risen a bit due to the Dungeon Break incident, so you should prepare as quickly as possible and release the next album.”
Next to the President, who was burning with enthusiasm, the Director and Manager clenched their fists and burned together.
“Of course, President. It’s time to show the world how good our kids are.”
“Besides, Yujin sings so well! I heard him practicing in the recording studio and he was really good. It was a voice that could handle all the B-sides alone!”
Huh?
“W-wait a minute.”
“Yes?”
“Hyun-soo Hyung… When did you hear it? Me practicing singing?”
“Yoon-chae was making such a fuss that I had to listen to you sing, so I listened to the recording. Why?”
“Agh!”
As I screamed and covered my face with both hands, the Manager Hyung rushed over.
“Why, what’s wrong! Are you sick?”
“It’s not that… I’m embarrassed. The other members only told me that I was decent. So I practiced harder.”
The President and Director’s expressions brightened at my words.
“You practiced?! You?”
“Oh my, oh my goodness.”
“…I’m going to sing on a music program, I can’t make a squealing pig sound.”
I was serious, but Seo Yoon-chae, who was standing far away, started huffing and puffing again and stepped forward.
“T-this hypocrite. You knew you could sing well, but you compared it to a pig squealing?”
“Huh?”
“You sang really well. Your voice itself is good, so I was wondering… Even when you sing, your breathing doesn’t falter, and your falsetto and true voice go up stably. I felt like you were a main vocal, not a sub, so I was embarrassed.”
“Wow…”
“Why, what’s wrong?”
“Seo Yoon-chae, you… you’re someone who can give compliments instead of insults?”
Was it because I tilted my head too much? I was so curious that I looked closely to see if this was the real Seo Yoon-chae, but it sounded like something was about to explode from Seo Yoon-chae.
“G-get away. Do you think I’m not a person?”
“I thought you weren’t.”
You were such a pain in the ass that I thought you didn’t treat me like a person, so I wasn’t going to treat you like a person either.
I didn’t bother to add the rest. It was because Seo Yoon-chae’s face looked like it was about to explode.
“Hey!!”
“Thanks for the compliment anyway. I really thought I couldn’t sing.”
I had never been praised for anything other than combat.
‘It’s the first time I’ve heard this from someone other than Jae-ha.’
I’ve lived my life thinking that everything other than surviving today is a luxury.
“I’m really grateful that you, Seo Yoon-chae, the main vocal, evaluated my skills as good.”
I don’t know what my expression was like at this time.
I thought it was a strange expression, mixed with joy and sadness, pain for the past and gratitude for the present, and a subtle joy that I could do something else even in the midst of confusion.
Strangely, everyone in the room except me was staring at me with their mouths open. With ambiguous expressions.
‘What is it?’
Why is everyone reacting like this?
“Hey. Seo Yoon-chae. Are you listening?”
“…Uh-huh.”
Seo Yoon-chae had a face like a tomato that had completely ripened and burst.
“Why is he like this? We have a schedule tomorrow, is he catching a cold?”
When I touched his forehead with my hand, heat rushed up. Seo Yoon-chae suddenly became strangely quiet.
“He needs to go to the hospital.”
“…It’s not that.”
“That’s not it.”
“Yujin-ah, that’s really not it…”
The President, Director, and Manager shook their hands in turn, desperately telling me that he didn’t have a cold.
“Is that so? Then that’s a relief.”
As long as it’s not a pig squealing sound, that’s fine.
“It’s okay as long as it’s not unbearable.”
“No, you really sing well? Like someone who’s been singing in the practice room all the time.”
“No, I haven’t.”
What karaoke. In my past life, I didn’t have the luxury of enjoying such convenient facilities.
The only time I’ve ever sung was when I needed a dirge for my fallen comrades while fighting monsters from the Dungeon Gate. Even that was sung together, and everyone was immersed in sadness, so there was no time to judge singing skills.
The only time I sang alone was when I barely had time to rest.
When I was so upset that I had become a human shield fighting just because I was an Esper.
Singing was what I did when I felt frustrated.
There was no other entertainment. There was a side effect of feeling even more sad when I went to a remote corner alone and sang any song I remembered.
‘But if I hadn’t done that, I might have collapsed from frustration.’
The only audience was Hyeon Jae-ha, who would appear like a ghost and quietly listen.
He praised me for singing well, but I thought it was just a courtesy, a comforting word.
I was given weapons to fight monsters, but I didn’t even have a simple recorder, so I had no idea what my singing voice sounded like.
But the praise didn’t feel bad.
‘I’m hearing these compliments after living my life.’
Even if it’s a lie.
“You don’t have to give me unnecessary lip service. Thank you for trying to praise me.”
I was sincere, but there was an even more intense reaction from the people around me.
“No, I’m serious?”
“Isn’t that why we’re so embarrassed!”
“Someone who used to work hard when they were a trainee… Even better now than then.”
“Why do you think Yujin was a sub? Your skills were ambiguous to give you a more important position.”
“But this is really… a groundbreaking level.”
“It’s not just a joke that you’re on par with Yoon-chae’s skills, who’s the main vocal?”
Everyone’s faces were flushed and their eyes were shining brightly, so it didn’t seem like a lie…
“…Really?”
“That’s right!”
The President and agency officials enthusiastically praised my singing skills, so I couldn’t help but glance at Seo Yoon-chae one more time.
Seo Yoon-chae, whose face was still red, flinched when he saw me.
“W-what. Do you have something to say?”
“No. I was wondering if it was real since you’re not saying anything even though you have a dissatisfied expression.”
Seo Yoon-chae’s temper is terrible, but his tone when he sings is surprisingly clear and pure.
There was a reason why he was in charge of the main vocal position.
At my words, Seo Yoon-chae frowned again and muttered.
“If I knew you could sing this well, I would have revealed your skills sooner…”
“What?”
“No. Never mind. Forget you heard it.”
Sorry, but I heard everything, baby Esper Seo Yoon-chae.
‘…My singing skills, they’re not just decent, they’re quite good.’
My heart fluttered. Like pouring a bunch of soft cotton candy into my heart.
It was strange, but it wasn’t a bad feeling.
‘Was I someone who could feel these emotions?’
Maybe it’s because the only thing I was praised for in my past life was my Guide skills. I could feel my cheeks getting hot. So I lowered my head without realizing it.
Then, Shin Tae-beom pointed at me with his finger and widened his eyes.
“Hey, you’re…”
“Huh?”
“Are you crying?”