Chapter 22 — Music Sent After School

The night before the announcement, Nhien couldn't sleep. She opened the computer, looked at the list of audio rights and then closed it. Mom's message appeared three times, each time just asking if she was home for dinner. Nhien typed "yes", deleted it, then wrote "I'm busy". Finally, she sent a recording of the sound of rain as an answer.

In the motel room, Duy repaired the old tape recorder. He removed the cover, wiped the dust off the magnetic head, and replaced the power cord with the piece of wire Aunt Huong gave him. Each time the machine runs, a small clicking sound is heard. Duy wrote it down in his notebook as "the beginning sound". He knew the equipment could fail at any time, but that didn't mean they had to wait until everything was perfect before speaking up.

Lam sent the roster to the group. Khang is in charge of backup, Ms. Mai is in charge of the speaker, Nhien keeps the minutes, Duy keeps the original recording. No one keeps it all. They split the data into chunks so that one person's mistake doesn't wipe out everyone's hard work.

In the evening, Nhien listened to the conversation with Minh Quang again. There were places she wanted to cut because his voice was shaking, but then remembered her rule: don't make a confession cleaner than real life. She marked sensitive passages, sent them to him to listen to first and waited for his approval. He replied after nearly an hour, with just one sentence: “Thank you for letting me speak my truth.”

Turn off the screen. Outside the window, the street was still bright. She didn't know who she would disappoint tomorrow, but she knew she was prepared enough to not turn that disappointment into a new lie.

The meeting about Mr. Tran did not have a camera, but there was a minutes to read each sentence. The principal asked him if he wanted psychological support; he declined but thanked him for being asked.

Duy sat by the window, not directly facing it. Record the break time between questions. Lam brought water and Khang checked that the recorder did not automatically record the sound outside the room.

Father and son are at both ends of the table

The principal said the administrator account's password was leaked many years ago. He didn't know who logged in. Khang checked the log and saw that the session lasted only seventeen seconds, enough to edit metadata and send files. No download data available.

Lam asked: “What if someone just wants to make us suspicious of the principal?”

“Maybe,” Nhien replied. “But they chose the teacher's account.”

The principal convened the IT team, changed the password and temporarily blocked the right to send files. Ms. Mai told the club not to investigate the school account itself. Duy agreed, although he clearly wanted to break all the locks.

Minh Quang asked Nhien to go home. He placed the ownership proposal on the table, next to the train ticket to another city.

“I want you to take three months off from the club,” he said.

“Because of the account?”

"Because Vu Tan has filed a preliminary lawsuit. If the media knows you're at the center, they will use you as an image."

“I am not the image of my father.”

“I know.”

“But dad still wants to take you away.”

“Dad wants to protect you.”

“Protect by making decisions for your child.”

Minh Quang looked at the train ticket. “You can study at another school for a while.”

“What about Duy?”

“He can work with a lawyer.”

“What about the club?”

“Miss Mai and you will continue.”

"If they don't have you, they'll still continue. But I'm taking you away because I'm afraid others will see that I'm wrong."

He did not deny it.

“I used to think silence was protection,” he said. “Now I'm afraid every choice will hurt someone.”

Nhien sat down. “So I asked you what you want.”

“I want to stay.”

“Dad, I'm scared.”

"I'm scared too. But I want to choose for myself."

Minh Quang tore the train ticket in half. "Okay. But I won't let the company use your name if you don't agree."

“I agree.”

“And I will make the record public, including the part I was wrong about.”

Nhien did not hug him right away. She just put her hand on the table, letting him know the conversation didn't end with an apology.

At school, Duy received an internship offer from an independent sound studio. The founder heard the sound map and wanted him to be his summer assistant. Good opportunity, but lasted six months in another city.

“Are you going?” Nhien asked.

"I don't know yet."

“You always wanted to make sounds.”

“But if I go, room 3C will lose a technician.”

“Room with Khang.”

Khang shouted from the next table: "I heard it!"

“Kang can do it.”

“And the music?”

“Let's write before you leave.”

Duy looked at her. “Are you sure?”

“No. But it's probably better than keeping you out of fear.”

Lam laughed. “This is the first time I've heard of a breakup that hasn't happened yet but still has a potential happy ending.”

The group meeting agreed to complete "Frequency of Tomorrow" in two weeks, while training Khang and two new members. Duy will intern if the studio commits to letting him record on the warehouse opening day.

The founder agrees.

But at that moment, news about Vu Tan's lawsuit appeared on an entertainment site. The article calls Duy "the boy who takes over the family music", Nhien "the lady behind the company". The sentences in the article are taken from the recording but the source is not credited.

Lam wants to post a response immediately. Ms. Mai asked to wait for a lawyer. Duy looked at the screen, not speaking.

Nhien drafted a correction that only included data: time, rights, appendix page, and Ms. Lan's permission. She did not mention her personal life. Minh Quang approved it in a legal capacity, but let Ms. Mai sign as a school.

The correction is posted on the school page. The response split in half, but at least there was no longer a complete gap.

That night, Duy and Nhien recorded the chorus. Duy plays the guitar, Nhien adjusts the beat with the sound of his footsteps. They tried twelve times. On the thirteenth time, Duy accidentally made a mistake, Nhien laughed. She kept the laughter in the recording.

“Do you give permission?” Duy asked.

“I allow it.”

“Write in log.”

Nhien wrote: **Nien's laughter — agreed to be broadcast in Tomorrow's Frequency.**

Duy looked at the text. “You learn quickly.”

“I have a good teacher.”

“Miss Mai?”

“No, you.”

Duy turned away, but his ears were red.

From outside the room, Lam played the jingle at the wrong beat to tease. Khang shouted that she lost a file. The group ran out and saw that the screen only showed a warning that the hard drive was full.

“No files lost,” Khang said. “Just lack of space.”

“Like my life,” Lam replied.

They clean out the warehouse, delete the temporary version, keep the original. I set a rule not to delete files unless there are three copies and a responsible person. Duy agrees, even though it makes the storage drive fill up faster.

Before leaving, Nhien received a call from her father. He said a former employee of Ha Audio found the camera in 2014. The image showed that the person who opened the door was not Trong but someone with an administrator card.

"Who?" Nhien asked.

"Miss Lan recognized her. She was the person in charge of the school radio room at that time."

"Who?"

Minh Quang was silent for too long.

"Dad."

“It's the old vice principal, Mr. Tran.”

Mr. Tran is currently retired, but is still an advisor to the school board. The principal_bm account may have been belongs to him.

The principal invited Mr. Tran to work in a closed meeting with a lawyer. He confirmed that he used an administrator account but did not edit files in recent days. Old passwords may be copied from the handover records.

He also admitted that in 2014 he received money from Vu Tan to open the warehouse. He did not know that Vu had taken the tape, but knew that the project was in dispute and remained silent. Truong recorded his testimony and did not force him to admit things without evidence.

Duy listened to the meeting recording, then said: "I don't need him to be humiliated. I need him to tell the truth."

Trong and Ngoc agreed to be witnesses. Bao provided a copy of the diary. The data pieces are placed next to each other, forming a clearer time series: door open, access, copy, delete name, replay.

Vu Tan still denies. His lawyer sent a settlement proposal. Ms. Mai said reconciliation does not mean removing responsibility; The group agreed that all agreements must include provisions to protect students.

While waiting, Duy finalized the internship offer. Nhien did not keep him. She helped prepare a plan for Khang to take over technical duties, Lam to be in charge of content, and a new member to manage rights.

“I'm delegating tasks like a moderator,” Duy said.

“I learned that no one should keep a key alone.”

The two recorded a short goodbye. Nhien talked about the sound of the school yard, Duy talked about the sound of the train. They didn't call it love, but the listeners in the room noticed the gap between the two voices had changed.

At the end of the session, file 22 appeared with a sentence: "If you leave, how will the song live?"

Duy replied in his diary, without sending it out: "By letting many people keep it."

Nhien looked at Duy. The person who opens the door, the person who holds the key, and the person who edits metadata may be involved in the same network.

In the hallway speaker, a whisper rang out:

“Don't trust the person who closed the door the first time.”

Duy listened to the meeting recording, then said: "I don't need him to be humiliated. I need him to tell the truth."

“I'm delegating tasks like a moderator,” Duy said.

“I learned that no one should keep a key alone.”

Duy listened to the meeting recording, then said: "I don't need him to be humiliated. I need him to tell the truth."

“I'm delegating tasks like a moderator,” Duy said.

“I learned that no one should keep a key alone.”