Today, all five of us happened to be together at the office.
Practice and the meeting were already over, and we had a little free time.
There wasn't anything special planned.
Then Ruka pulled out her phone.
π©΅ Ruka: "Since everyone's here, why don't we take a photo?"
𧑠Hinata: "Let's do it!"
π©· Aine: "Good idea! We're all in casual clothes today too!"
π Shizuku: "Where should we take it?"
π Rei: "In front of the equipment?"
π©΅ Ruka: "That suggestion is way too Rei."
We only meant to take one photo.
But once we started, one photo quickly turned into many.
One in front of the sofa.
One with everyone making the same pose.
One with all of us standing a little closer together.
One where Hinata moved at the last second.
One where Aine laughed so hard that her eyes were closed.
One where Shizuku still looked slightly nervous.
And one where I was looking at the equipment behind us instead of the camera.
𧑠Hinata: "We took so many!"
π©΅ Ruka: "The later ones looked much more natural."
π©· Aine: "Were my eyes open properly?"
π Rei: "They were closed in a few."
π©· Aine: "A few!?"
π Shizuku: "But everyone looked like they were having fun."
After we finished taking photos, we gathered around the monitor to look through them.
The screen was filled with group shots that looked similar at first glance, but each one was slightly different.
π©΅ Ruka: "Okay, let's choose the best one."
𧑠Hinata: "They're all good!"
π©΅ Ruka: "That doesn't help us choose."
Aine pointed to a photo where everyone was smiling.
π©· Aine: "I like this one! Everyone looks happy!"
𧑠Hinata: "Me too!"
π Shizuku: "It feels very natural."
Hinata chose one where she was standing slightly farther forward than everyone else.
𧑠Hinata: "Doesn't this one have more energy?"
π©΅ Ruka: "Only your energy is jumping out of the picture."
𧑠Hinata: "That's what makes it good!"
After thinking for a while, Shizuku chose a photo where everyone was standing close together.
π Shizuku: "I like this one."
π©· Aine: "That feels very Shizuku."
π Shizuku: "Everyone looks warm and gentle in it."
Ruka zoomed in and checked every photo carefully.
The way everyone's hair fell.
Their facial angles.
Their hands.
Their clothes.
The space between each member.
π©΅ Ruka: "This one is good overall, but Hinata's hand is a little blurry."
𧑠Hinata: "That proves how energetic I am!"
π©΅ Ruka: "In a photo, that's just called blur."
Once everyone had chosen their favorites, they all looked at me.
π©· Aine: "Which one do you like, Rei?"
π Rei: "I've already decided."
π©΅ Ruka: "That was fast. Which one?"
I stepped closer to the monitor and pointed at one photo.
Everyone went silent.
The photo wasn't one where all five members were framed perfectly.
There was a light at the edge.
Cables on the floor.
Speakers and audio equipment in the back.
And the members themselves were slightly cut off to one side.
𧑠Hinata: "β¦This one?"
π©· Aine: "Rei, some of us are cut off."
π©΅ Ruka: "We're choosing a group photo."
π Rei: "I know."
π©΅ Ruka: "Then why this one?"
I zoomed in on the corner of the image.
The equipment in the office was captured clearly.
π Rei: "This speaker is at a good angle."
Everyone went silent again.
𧑠Hinata: "You were looking at that instead of us!?"
π Rei: "The cables are arranged neatly too."
π©΅ Ruka: "Your judging criteria are completely different."
π©· Aine: "What about our expressions?"
π Rei: "Not bad."
π©· Aine: "So we come after the equipmentβ¦"
Shizuku laughed softly.
π Shizuku: "That is very Rei."
π Rei: "This photo also shows the equipment layout clearly."
π©΅ Ruka: "We're checking our photo, not the equipment layout."
π Rei: "The equipment matters too."
𧑠Hinata: "If Rei chooses, this is going to turn into an office equipment catalog!"
Apparently, no one understood why I thought it was the best photo.
But the balance of the equipment in the frame really was good.
The way the light hit it wasn't bad either.
The cables were tidy.
The speakers were positioned naturally.
In the end, we kept the photos chosen by Aine and Shizuku, and Ruka checked the final details.
The one I chose was saved in a separate folder under the name:
"Equipment Reference."
π©΅ Ruka: "You're really keeping it?"
π Rei: "It could be useful later."
𧑠Hinata: "You really were only looking at the equipment!"
I didn't answer.
I simply zoomed in on the speaker one more time.
We were supposed to be choosing a group photo.
But the thing that caught my attention most was still the equipment in the corner.
It wasn't that I hadn't looked at the members.
Everyone's expressions were fine.
It was just thatβ
the equipment happened to look a little too good.
To Be Continued...