I was thinking so much about everything that I couldn't sleep.

Oh? It looks like someone is here. Who could be here this early?

Good morning.

[Fade in/out.]

Morning?

Do you always arrive this early, Mia?

I screwed up. It's already this late? Looks like I've pulled another useless all-nighter.

All-nighter?! Does that mean you haven't even been home yet?!

It's whatever. That aside, you're here pretty early.

Yes, I suppose I am.

You're lookin' pale too. Couldn't sleep?

Oh no, that's not…

Whatever, it's none of my business. You don't have to tell me.

Do whatever you want if you're practicing. I'm gonna work on this song some more.

Would it be all right if I observed you for a bit?

Suit yourself.

[Fade in/out.]

Do you look over this mountain of data every day? That's amazing.

Of course! Something like this is par for the course for me. Same with me being amazing.

With all this information at your fingertips, it's no wonder all your songs are hits.

That's not it. All the information that comes my way is garbage.

Huh? If so, then why do you gather so much of it?

So that I know what it smells like.

What it smells like?

If I gather and analyze all of this data, then I can get a good idea of what song to make. But that's the same as anybody else.

Data is just results expressed as numbers. So most of it is garbage. Unless you can find a grain of something useful in it, there's no point in gathering all this data.

But, hardly any of it is worth anything. It's like looking for a needle in a haystack.

Um… So you're saying that it's really hard to find. Is that right?

Yup. Shizuku, you're in the international exchange course, right? You really know your stuff.

Thank you very much.

To find that needle, I'm always gathering as much data as I can.

I'm not like those other marketers that fall all over themselves trying to make songs by analyzing data.

I get to know the smell of the data and use that as the base inspiration for the songs I make. I'm a creative.

You should be grateful that you get to sing my songs.

……

Oh my, you two sure are here early. But, that's just perfect.

Ah, good morning Lanzhu.

Mornin' Shizuku. Mia, have you made any progress on that song we talked about?

I finished that ages ago.

Okay, then let's hear it.

[Fade in/out.]

What do you think?

Is this our next song?

It's just for you. And here's the write up of the choreography and stage plan you'll use.

Me?!

I think Karin and Ai are spectacular, but your experience as a stage actor makes you the best match for our club's concept.

This is the conclusion we came to after discussing it with the stage producers. So I hope you reproduce our vision perfectly. We're expecting great things from you.

So what're your thoughts on the song?

It's wonderful. The song and the stage plan are absolutely phenomenal. They're impeccable.

Naturally. You can expect nothing less from me.

(Then why? Why don't I feel moved like when I watched Kasumi's show? Why doesn't it strike a chord in me the same way?)

Did you make this song just for me?

Eh, more like it ended up being your song. Basically, after going through all the data about what's popular at this school and what the students like, you're the best match.

To get it just right, Mia ended up scrapping thirty whole songs. She's that picky.

Did I toss that many? I don't bother remembering songs that won't pop off.

Um… How should I go about singing this song?

The story and theme we want to go with are all written in that plan I gave you. Use that to create a world of your interpretation. That's what you're good at, right?

What I'm good at… Yes, that's right.

I'm excited to see what kind of performance you're going to give us at the next live show.

Thank you very much. I'll do my very best.

[Fade in/out.]

I can grasp the story and theme. And I think this is a wonderful song that suits it all perfectly…

This is something I can do well, and I get a really strong feeling that all this will make everyone watching happy…

There aren't any mistakes. The pros did their best job as pros and finally, they've entrusted it all to me.

As a performer, it's my job to present this in the best way possible and please the audience.

This is the correct way to do things. Isn't it? I'm sure that even the stage plays I love so much are made just like this.

……

Until yesterday I would have been giddy with excitement, trying to figure out how I can best express all this in my own way.

But now I can't get Kasumi's performance out of my head. Just how should I perform this song?