Chapter 245: Again After Rainfall (21)

Chapter 245: Again After Rainfall (21)

‘What can I say to the members if I want them to understand?’

The biggest problem was not being able to objectively judge where the line of what was permissible lay. I had experienced too much, but my story seemed unbelievable. Moreover, I was not eloquent enough to make it comprehensible.

Above all, our conversation was being recorded by cameras. In this situation where more was forbidden than allowed, the only thing I could rely on was the belief that Goh Yoo-Joon would understand even if I didn’t voice my thoughts out loud.

'Why worry about such things by yourself? It's okay, it's okay. I sort of figured it out already.'

As I imagined Goh Yoo-Joon responding with his usual breezy laughter...

“I'm sorry for dropping out of nowhere. Your mom asked me to check on you. You weren't answering her calls, so she was worried."

“At least answer the phone. If not for your parents, then for mine....No, sorry, I will leave. It seems like I am no help to you."

I was reminded of the twenty-three-year-old Goh Yoo-Joon, who had been cautious even to meet me as he was unsure how to treat me after my life had seemingly crumbled. Perhaps he would have understood my situation as a friend back then.

However, rekindling a friendship with someone that I had drifted apart from at some point and exposing even a part of my pain was not easy. The dark and serious Goh Yoo-Joon of that time wasn’t like that in this timeline. Instead, he had been replaced by a twenty-year-old who laughed as if there was nothing to worry about in the world...

“Are we allowed in here? This place serves alcohol."

“It's fine. They don't just serve alcohol."

“Then I will have tacos. What about you?"

“Same for me."

Goh Yoo-Joon ordered the same dish, but a different variation of it. Neither of us were really here to eat, so we opted for something simple. After placing our orders, we pretended to look around the shop and paused our conversation. It wasn't that we had nothing to talk about. We were just biding our time, figuring out who should start and when.

Just as we were dragging out the silence, Goh Yoo-Joon casually broke it as if nothing was amiss. “Hey, are you feeling alright?"

“Huh? Oh."

He was referring to the incident at the airport.

I nodded. “I'm fine. Were you worried?" I asked teasingly as I expected him to deny it as usual, but he surprisingly just smiled quietly.

“Hey, what's up with you? You are not seriously hurt or anything, right?" Goh Yoo-Joon reached out and turned off the camera. “The camera is getting in the way and making it hard to talk freely. Let's have a comfortable chat now. We can turn it back on when the food arrives."

“Hey, are you upset?"

“No, it's just that it reminded me of the fight with Joo-Han hyung. Ugh."Upstodatee from n(0)/ve/lbIn/.(co/m

So what? I shrugged it off lightly and said, “It’s nothing, but...”

“..."

“I didn't know this about myself... But I'm scared of crowds."

“...Isn't it more like a fear of flying?"

“...That's it?"

Was that all? Just that one statement? No further commentary, praise, feedback, or eagerness to perform the song?

Joo-Han looked at Callia and nodded. “The song's good."

“Good is a given, right?...So, you’re not really eager about the song, huh?" she asked him.

Callia's sneer was met with Joo-Han's typical indifference. “It's not really Chronos' style."

“That's why I called you here. To adapt it to your style."

"Haha, what am I to say? This part might get better if you change a bit." Joo-Han pulled the mouse toward him and significantly, or rather slightly, altered a part of Callia's song.

Callia's eyes widened as she jumped out of her chair. “Who said you could change it?"

“It's not even saved yet, so what's the big deal? You wanted my opinion, right?"

“I said to give your opinion, not to change it at will. What are you doing?"

“It's not saved, so..." Joo-Han cut off Callia's protest by playing the song. Callia was about to scold Joo-Han, but stopped mid-sentence as the song played. Being mad was one thing, but once the song played, she had no choice but to listen.

After listening to Joo-Han's unauthorized modification, Callia begrudgingly admitted, “...It's not bad."

“See? Whether to save it or not is up to you, Callia."

“It's my first time saving something someone else edited. You are quite talented."

Callia saved the track and then re-modified some parts Joo-Han had changed. She played back the changed section.

“I want Yoo-Joon to sing this part. It will still sound good with these changes."

Kang Joo-Han maintained his tired expression, but listened to the song. His eyebrows subtly twitched. 'Damn.' She had made a frustratingly good adjustment. Unfortunately, their musical tastes aligned quite well.

He suppressed his admiration and casually remarked, "It's good, right?"

“Right? What do you think? Should we go with this?"

“...What do you mean?" Joo-Han asked nonchalantly.

Callia's face hardened. “Are we going with this or not?"

Kang Joo-Han shook his head as if he was confused. “It's not our style, remember? We are fine with not getting this song."

Callia's face turned sour with irritation. “What's wrong with you? You know I am offering you a song. Do you have a problem with me?"

Joo-Han sighed deeply and retorted, full of disbelief, “You still haven't apologized to us."