In the end, no one could remember the name of the tea Shizuku brought.
Royal Floral Moonlight Blend.
...I think.
Probably.
But something stayed with me more than the name.
It was the sound of break time.
After everyone left, the studio was a little quiet.
The lights were slightly dimmed.
There were still cups and small snack bags on the table.
The sound of a cup being placed down.
The sound of a chair moving.
Hinata's voice saying, "Refill!"
Ruka's phone shutter.
Aine's small laugh.
Shizuku's slow, gentle way of speaking.
They were all sounds I usually wouldn't pay much attention to.
But today, for some reason, they stayed in my ears.
π Rei: "...The sound of break time, huh."
I murmured that and took off my headphones.
The sound of the air conditioner.
The faint standby hum of the equipment.
The small clink of a spoon touching a cup someone had left behind.
They didn't become a song.
They didn't become a beat.
But they were all overlapping, little by little.
Then Hinata came back.
𧑠Hinata: "Oh! Rei-chan, you're still here!"
π Rei: "What happened?"
𧑠Hinata: "I forgot my snacks!"
π Rei: "...I knew it."
Hinata looked around the table and found a small bag of cookies.
The moment she saw it, she smiled.
𧑠Hinata: "There it is!"
π Rei: "That's not something you forgot. You were saving it."
𧑠Hinata: "No! It's a present for my future self!"
π Rei: "You only changed the wording."
Hinata held the cookies and looked at me.
𧑠Hinata: "It's rare to see you without your headphones, Rei-chan."
π Rei: "I was just listening to the sounds a little."
𧑠Hinata: "Sounds? Is something playing right now?"
Hinata looked around the room.
The studio was quiet.
But it wasn't completely silent.
π Rei: "The air conditioner. The equipment standby noise. Things like that."
𧑠Hinata: "Is that fun to listen to?"
π Rei: "It's not exactly fun. It just interests me."
𧑠Hinata: "That's so like you, Rei-chan...!"
π Rei: "Was that a compliment?"
𧑠Hinata: "Probably!"
After that, Aine came back too.
π©· Aine: "Oh? You two are still here?"
𧑠Hinata: "I came back to recover my snacks!"
π©· Aine: "Recover?"
π Rei: "She says it's a present for her future self."
π©· Aine: "That sounds very Hinata."
Aine said that and laughed softly.
Her laugh echoed gently through the studio.
Then Ruka appeared.
π©΅ Ruka: "What's this? Are we still having a tea party?"
𧑠Hinata: "It's a snack recovery party!"
π©΅ Ruka: "Another new party just started."
Ruka raised her phone and took a photo of the cup left on the table.
Click.
That sound stood out strangely clearly today.
π Rei: "...That shutter sound is pretty noticeable."
π©΅ Ruka: "That's what you noticed?"
π Rei: "Yeah."
π©΅ Ruka: "You really do start from sound, Rei."
π Rei: "Is that bad?"
π©΅ Ruka: "Not at all. It's very you."
Finally, Shizuku came back.
π Shizuku: "Oh my... everyone is still here."
π©· Aine: "We somehow gathered again."
𧑠Hinata: "The snacks called us!"
π Rei: "No, they didn't."
π Shizuku: "Hehe. Maybe the tea aroma was still lingering here."
Shizuku looked gently at the empty cups.
Her voice felt calm, just like today's tea.
I listened to the studio again.
The sound of Hinata opening the cookie bag.
Aine laughing softly.
Ruka's finger tapping as she checked her photos.
Shizuku lifting her cup.
And the feeling of everyone being in the same place.
It wasn't flashy.
It wasn't a strong sound.
But it wasn't bad.
π Rei: "These kinds of sounds are nice once in a while too."
When I said that, everyone looked a little surprised.
π©· Aine: "It makes me kind of happy to hear you say that, Rei-chan."
π©΅ Ruka: "Can we use that in the blog?"
π Rei: "Don't."
𧑠Hinata: "What? But it was such a good line!"
π Shizuku: "Hehe. Let's keep it in our hearts."
π Rei: "That's fine."
The sounds of break time.
Cups.
Laughter.
Snack bags.
A camera shutter.
Footsteps of someone coming back.
I usually search for sounds to make music.
But today, I was listening to sounds that didn't need to become a song.
Sounds that are calming just because they are there.
I think those kinds of sounds are important too.
𧑠Hinata: "Rei-chan, want a cookie?"
π Rei: "Just a little."
𧑠Hinata: "Here!"
π Rei: "...Is this one Shizuku brought?"
π Shizuku: "Yes. I thought it would go well with the teaγ"
π Rei: "It does."
π©· Aine: "You're very honest today, Rei-chan."
π©΅ Ruka: "I wish I had recorded this instead of taking photos."
π Rei: "Don't."
Everyone laughed.
That sound wasn't bad either.
To Be Continued...