Chapter 11.13 - Act 11: Slowly 13 (2/2)

“I saw a few timess!”

Seeing Chloe shooting her hand up into the air, I threw her a question.

“Did Pavarotti open his mouth like you in those videos? No, right? It must have been quite large – at least three times larger than yours.”

“Ohh…”

What was there to ‘ohh’ about?

Letting out a grin, I gave a clap and organised the situation.

“Even Pavarotti opens his mouth like that and it’s not like you guys sing better than him, right.”

“Yeah.”

“That’s why, open your mouth as wide you can. By opening your mouth wide, you will be able to secure enough room for resonance.”

That alone should be able to get rid of the fundamental problems. A flat sound made due to a lack of resonance, and a nasal sound resulting from too much air escaping through the nose.

All these could be solved by securing enough space inside the mouth. It was something I learnt in the past while going to lessons myself.

‘Of course, some minute details need to be corrected but…’

It would definitely make it less harder to train the three of them.

With a nod, I stared at the three students who had different expressions than before.

Sitting down with lively expressions, they started diligently singing their own sections.

*

The practice sessions with the three disciples went smoothly.

“Sunbae. After practising this, you can now sort of understand what it means to contract your vocal cords right? You go boom.”

“Un un!”

She, who had a much brighter expression, seemed to be feeling less pressured about the society.

“Chloe, I see that you have quite a good timbre. It’s more mature than I expected.”

“Huhuhuh. Reallyy?”

Since Chloe was originally someone who played instruments, her sense of pitch was extremely good. Seeing her grow exponentially after a few words made the teaching a rewarding experience.

“Hmm. Yes your nasal sound has disappeared a lot.”

“Wow…”

Hearing her own singing, the Dancing Department girl was baffled and stared at me with flushed cheeks.

“So you really are from the Opera Department.”

…Was that a compliment?

What did she think I was from… No matter how much I thought, I couldn’t find a decent answer.

In any case, as the zealous practice sessions continued during club activities, the school’s calendar progressed diligently and it was soon time for the mid-sem exams.

“Haa… hasn’t even been that long since holidays ended and yet mid-sems already…”

While Noh Jusup was powerlessly lying down on the table, I replied with a smile.

“You’re right. There is more stuff to do as is, and yet it feels like the exams are being done earlier than before.”

“I know right…”

He took out an exercise book from his bag while grumbling and began lazily going through it. Throwing a glance at it, I could see that he had made more progress than I thought and it appeared that he had been somewhat studying.

‘Had he studied in the second semester in the past?’

I stared at him with a faint doubt but soon turned around with my chin resting on my hand.

There was the crisp, scribbling sound of pens echoing inside the classroom. Feeling the classroom atmosphere which was a level heavier than the first semester, I slowly came to an understanding.

It might be burdensome for Jusup to play by himself when the surroundings were like this.

While nodding to myself, I sat still and waited for the self-study session to end when Lee Suh-ah, sitting nearby, threw a glance at me and frowned.

‘What.’

I looked back at her while questioning that with my eyes and soon, Lee Suh-ah opened her mouth.

“…You.”

“Un?”

Biting on her lips, she seemed to be in deep thought as she started scribbling on her book. The tip of her pen continued drawing a ‘W’ as it wandered.

I stared at the pen while thinking about the reason behind her strange actions when Lee Suh-ah finally opened her mouth.

“Why aren’t you studying?”

“‘Why’?”

When I lowered my gaze after hearing that question, I found an empty table with not a single book on top. Compared to the other kids studying like crazy next to me, my table was like a vast wasteland.

Feeling slightly embarrassed, I scratched my cheeks and reflected.

Indeed… it had been quite some time since I studied. I had a hard time remembering the last time I took out an exercise book.

…Of course there was a reason for me not studying.

First off was the club activity, and other school events like the practice for Subscription Concert. Due to these, it was hard to allocate time to studying.

Second, was that I couldn’t get motivated for it.

Since our family’s financial situation was eased out due to the scholarship I received last time, plus the money invested into Future Electronics stock, there was no real reason to force myself for a scholarship.

As there was now no reason to study with all my heart and soul, it became really difficult to be motivated. If I had time to study, I wanted to sing instead.

With such thoughts in mind, I replied with an awkward smile.

“It’s a bit busy these days right. I really want to be in the Subscription Concert.”

These days in the Subscription Concert practices, Kim Wuju and Jun Shihyuk soared up like crazy and it would be us three taking turns at being the main vocals.

Being busy with practices was a legitimate excuse. But Lee Suh-ah, seemingly unconvinced, let out a snort.

“You, busy? Last semester, you were studying a lot even while practising for the prac test though.”

“…”

Well, that’s because the house might collapse if I did nothing. Of course I had to study as if my life depended on it.

When I remained silent, Lee Suh-ah gave a frown before heaving out a sigh and continuing her words.

“Don’t tell me you’re doing this because you’re pitying me right? It’s fine. Although we are in the Opera Department, don’t you know that we still need to care a lot about our school marks? Are you an idiot or something…”

Resting my chin on my hands, I looked back at her in seriousness. Flinching from that gaze, Lee Suh-ah struggled to open her mouth.

“W… what?”

“Hey.”

After thinking for some time, I tilted my head and asked.

“Didn’t I get a higher mark than you in the final exams last semester?”

“Nn…?”

As she made a dumbfounded expression, I suppressed the laughter from escaping and playfully opened my mouth.

“No, it’s a bit weird right. If I’m an idiot, then you, who has a lower mark than me…”

In an instant, her gaze facing me turned cold.

“…Annoying.”

Seeing her flick her head away, I shook my head with a grin.

She worries about the smallest of things.