‘No way?’
Nadine usually paid attention to the overall atmosphere during a shoot rather than checking each person’s face one by one.
So, she often saw the details of the rest for the first time during the developing process.
Sometimes, there were funny expressions or awkward postures, but as long as they didn’t disrupt the atmosphere, she considered them points that brought the photos to life.
‘As expected of a MeTuber?’
While checking each photo, he discovered a peculiar point.
A girl with dark reddish-brown curly hair.
She had a lot of smiles and a variety of expressions, making it difficult for Nadine, who usually took one or two shots per photo.
In an indoor setting without additional lighting, the shutter speed slowed down, making it inevitable to get what is commonly called ‘derp shots.’
‘But her expression is stable?’
Nadine’s eyes widened.
She checked each photo of Angela… they were all A-grade.
Her bright smile and playful eyes. The usual mischievous look always on the lookout for fun things was well captured.
‘She’s aware of the camera.’
Even if others couldn’t tell, Nadine’s discerning eye couldn’t be fooled.
Angela was ‘acting.’ She could sense the exact moment Nadine was about to take a photo and prepared in advance.
As expected of a national MeTuber with excellent camera awareness. Thanks to that, she was the only one without any embarrassing photos.
‘Or maybe not?’
She did find one. It wasn’t exactly an embarrassing photo. It was just a shot where Angela had an uncharacteristically blank expression.
A photo of her looking at Hyunsu from a distance.
Nadine examined the photo closely with interest.
‘Affection? Obsession? Admiration?’
Angela’s gaze towards him was complex.
Comparing it with other photos, Nadine found another peculiar point.
‘It’s not just Angela.’
Even if they weren’t talking to Hyunsu, many people glanced at him at least once.
His parents, Jesse, Charles, Dianthe, and most of the party attendees did.
‘He’s a child everyone trusts.’
Nadine had observed many people, but Hyunsu was a unique subject.
How could such a child exist at such a young age? At that age, he himself was in a juvenile detention center with no hope for life.
‘It’s amazing that he found me. Sending a DM after seeing a small Instagram account with only about 50 followers.’
Nadine continued her work.
She planned to gift an album of well-arranged photos as a token of appreciation.
Fortunately, the results seemed good, giving her some comfort.
“…?”
Towards the end of her work, Nadine was checking the last photo absentmindedly and was startled.
…It wasn’t a photo she had taken.
It couldn’t be.
Because standing in the middle of the photo was herself.
‘Did Hyunsu take this…?’
Nadine looked at the photo with a bittersweet smile.
Though she had a stern face, it was a kind of defense mechanism.
Nadine still felt awkward mingling with the group. She preferred to be an observer hiding behind the camera.
Holding a camera meant she didn’t have to stand awkwardly and receive curious glances, nor did she feel the pressure to start conversations.
Thankfully, Angela and Charles had asked her various questions at that moment, easing some of her discomfort.
‘They’re being kind and forcing themselves to hang out with me. Otherwise, they wouldn’t bother talking to me.’
At least, that was how Nadine felt.
“…….”
But looking at it now, Angela’s curious expression wasn’t an act. Charles was also genuinely interested in listening to her.
‘Am I the only one overly conscious?’
Though Nadine had felt very awkward at that moment, seeing it from a third person’s perspective made her think it might not have been necessary.
The more she looked at the photos, the clearer this thought became.
‘Maybe I don’t always need to hide; I could occasionally communicate with the subjects?’
Nadine couldn’t take her eyes off the photo. It was inspiring, clearing her mind. She looked at it repeatedly until it was etched in her memory, fearing it might disappear.
In the end, she stayed up all night but felt more refreshed than ever.
Someone who knew her well might mistake her subtle change for a smile.
“Did you sleep well? I’ll take you to the airport later.”
When she packed her bags and came down to the living room, Hyunsu was already there, reading a book.
“Thank you. …This is a small gift.”
“Is it finished already?!”
Hyunsu was so grateful while flipping through the album that Nadine felt embarrassed.
“It’s the best gift ever. Wow! As expected of a golden hand. Mom will love it.”
“It’s nothing. You’ve helped me so much, and I had no other way to repay you… If you need my help again, call me. I’ll come anytime.”
Then Hyunsu looked at her straight and said something meaningful.
“When you become a super famous photographer, don’t forget. Promise you’ll come no matter what.”
“Don’t worry, that won’t happen.”
“Hehe, you never know with life. Thank you for your hard work, and we might meet again sooner than you think.”
“That would be great for me.”
It sounded like a mere formality.
But seeing Hyunsu so happy about the promise made Nadine confused.
‘Does he really think I’ll become famous?’
Nadine pondered Hyunsu’s reaction all the way down to LA.
Time flew by.
[Son, how are you?]
His mom, as an honor student, was juggling Pete’s classes and RR’s ‘Dream’ lineup launch project, spending three days a week in New York.
With his dad frequently on business trips, Hyunsu spent a lot of time alone, having daily video calls with his mom.
“I’m fine. But there are too many weeds in the backyard, so I’m thinking of starting a vegetable garden. Angela said she has some leftover tools from her content.”
[You’re working hard~. I’m sure you’ll do well.]
“So don’t worry about me and do everything you want. Your son excels in studies, sports, and has no girlfriend issues, so you can rest easy.”
[That’s what worries me. Who leaves home empty on purpose?]
“…Okay. I’ll hang up. I’ll meet you at the airport on time.”
[Thank you!]
‘Shall I start my day now?’
After ending the morning call with his mom, Hyunsu would clean the house.
If he didn’t regularly ventilate and use the vacuum, he could feel the dust accumulating.
Unfortunately, such a drawback existed due to Hyunsu’s sensitive sense.
‘What should I eat today?’
After cleaning and showering, he ate breakfast.
In the past, he’d skip meals unless someone forced him to eat, but since his regression, he’d get dizzy if he skipped even one meal.
His metabolism seemed monstrous; honestly, he couldn’t remember the last time he felt full.
‘Does this make biological sense?’
He usually took the bus to school.
On the way, he studied while looking out the window. It was a process to enhance his understanding by recalling the contents of the specialized books he had read in advance.
Initially, he used to study sitting normally, but he changed his method, feeling more brain stimulation when multitasking.
“Are you here?”
“Hyunsu~.”
When he arrived at the locker room, familiar basketball team members greeted him. The flashy hand gestures had become natural.
“What are you doing! Still not changed? Hurry up!”
“Yes, sir!”
With the football season ending and the basketball season opening soon, morning was for physical training and afternoon for tactical training.
Hyunsu participated in the training with the intention of warming up lightly.
“Are you going to eat right after? Let’s go together.”
Since they went directly to lunch after training, he went with Charles and Dianthe.
- Wasn’t that originally the loser’s table? Now even popular kids casually take seats there.
Why do you think that is?
The cafeteria tables were subtly divided by groups.
Scholarship students with scholarship students, athletes with athletes. There was an invisible line with regular students.
Hyunsu, who originally had no friends, always used an empty table. The table closest to a row of trash cans, which everyone avoided.
“I told you we should eat out.”
Jesse sighed and sat next to Hyunsu.
“Ho, hasn’t this place gotten quite clean?”
Charles looked around and took a seat across from him, impressed.
“Is this seat taken?”
“Can I sit here?”
Other familiar faces gradually filled the remaining seats.
“It’s a bit cramped, isn’t it?”
Jesse hinted, but they only flinched momentarily.
“Sit comfortably. She’s just outwardly prickly, so don’t mind her.”
At Hyunsu’s words, time flowed again.
“Would you like to try some sauce chicken I made this morning?”
He took out a large lunchbox and handed out pieces of chicken to the students around him.
“Oh? You’re giving it to us too? Wow. It looks delicious.”
“Amazing. It’s so tasty. Is this really chicken?”
“What kind of sauce is this? Can’t you sell it??”
“…….”
Jesse watched with displeasure, and Charles nudged her with his elbow.
“Why? Do you feel like your share is being taken?”
“……. Do you think I’m like you?”
“Chuckles. Well, if you don’t want to admit it, fine. I’m also reluctant, but we can just ask him to make more on the weekend~.”
“…….”
Seeing Dianthe’s faint smile, her expression twisted even more.
Some classes are divided into two quarters per semester.
A schedule for short-term classes that don’t require as many dates as regular classes.
The special music class by Mr. Alberto, which Jesse and Hyunsu decided to take, fell into that category.
“What? This isn’t your class.”
She frowned, making it clear that she ‘hated’ him without any misunderstanding.
“Oh, I’m also taking this class. Didn’t you know I have a talent for music?”
Of course, Kyle, used to such expressions, showed no reaction.
“Hey, Hyunsu? I heard close people call you Hyunsu, so I’ll call you that too.”
“Do you have any shame? Knowing that, you still say that?”
Hyunsu chuckled, watching them bicker.
“I envy you two. It must be fun to have a sibling.”
For once, both of them looked at him with identical expressions of grievance.
“You envy this? How tough a life have you had?”
“You envy this idiot?”
“Well, maybe it’s enviable to have a multi-talented sibling like me, rather than a nagging girl.”
“Multi-talented? Ah, so that’s why you took this class? A football player showing off his musical skills?”
“…Ha. Ha. That’s a harsh joke. What if Hyunsu believes it?”
“What would I do? Just think you’re a fool.”
The siblings exchanged barbs without pause.
“It’s really chaotic. Did they come to play?”
Some onlookers clicked their tongues.
“How can they bring such an attitude to Mr. Alberto’s class?”
“Aren’t the Goldstein siblings well-known? How uncultured can they be?”
“They’re just rich upstarts. Families without tradition are like that.”
Mostly, they were music scholarship students who had studied in Europe for a long time.
“Why aren’t we having separate classes with other track scholarship students this semester?”
“Right. Why mix us with other track scholarship students? It’s a waste of time.”
Mr. Alberto’s special music class was originally divided into a class for general scholarship students and a class for music scholarship students.
But this time, for some reason, the two were mixed into two classes.
“If I knew this would happen, I would have increased my private lesson time.”
“But we can’t help it because of the Christmas concert.”
“That’s true. I’m already worried. What on earth is he planning?”
The music scholarship students took this class, reducing their private lesson time, not only because it was an opportunity to be guided by a maestro like Mr. Alberto, but also because the class itself was preparation for the year-end concert.
“We must do well in this concert…”
The concert, held in a symphony hall rented with the enormous budget of Johannes High School, invited not only family but many industry professionals.
Although the basic purpose was to give students a chance to organize a professional stage and hold a concert that the whole family, including parents, could enjoy…
Doing well in the concert alone had led to many receiving scholarships and entering prestigious music colleges, making it an unofficial additional audition and interview.
There was no reason for music scholarship students not to participate.
“Well, it’s probably to stimulate us by having us prepare for the concert together. Just practicing in the same space as performers at our level is a big influence.”
“Yeah. They say you learn the most when you teach. It might be an opportunity to reinforce our basics.”
Although the concert highlighted the music scholarship students’ stage, it was a festival where general scholarship students and even regular students could stand if they passed the audition.
“That makes sense.”
“Phew, I worried for nothing.”
Considering that, such a class composition wasn’t entirely unreasonable.
Everyone thought that Mr. Alberto’s arrival would settle the controversy, but…
…that was a huge mistake.
Mr. Alberto, who entered right on time, made a shocking announcement.
“To have a more diverse performance this year, we’ve decided to change the participation method.”
“What do you mean…”
“From now on, I will draw lots to pair participants for the concert. Each pair will consist of one music scholarship student and one from another track. You can choose whether to perform as a duo or form a larger team with other pairs. However, you cannot change your partner.”
“…!”
It was a disaster for the music scholarship students, who had already somewhat formed teams, and a burdensome task for the other track students.
Amidst the chaos… Mr. Alberto immediately started the draw.
