Chapter 23 — Music Sent After School

After sending the correction, the group received many mixed responses. Some people say they're overdoing it, some people ask why they don't name all the people involved. Lam reads each comment and then categorizes it into three columns: questions that need answering, criticisms that need thinking, and statements that just want to hurt others. She said not all sounds need to be amplified.

Duy suggested opening the behind-the-scenes part of the program, where they tell how to verify a recording. Khang created an illustration using the sound of a door, a pen, and a fan. Nhien read the quote, emphasizing that a file with a creation date does not automatically prove who spoke. Evidence needs context, a confirmer, and the right to respond.

At the end of the session, a student sent a recording of the sound of the soccer field, asking to use his real name. You say you want to prove that even normal sounds are worth keeping. The whole group listened, no one looked for secrets in it. They only heard the sound of running shoes, the sound of bouncing balls and the sound of friends calling each other. Nhien smiled, because sometimes the best answer is not to force a sound to tell more than it has.

On Duy's internship day, he checked his work list with Khang. Each item has a replacement, there is no "Only will do" box. Lam gave him a cake and told him not to use the sound of being hungry in the recording.

Nhien stood at the gate, not saying a word. She gave him a piece of paper with Binh Minh's broadcast time, saying that if she heard another bell, just send it back when she had the right to.

Invitation to go away

Duy accepted the internship, but wanted to perfect the music first. He made a detailed schedule: study in the morning, room 3C in the afternoon, aunt Huong's booth in the evening, and studio on weekends. Lam said that calendar is not human.

“I slept on the bus,” Duy replied.

“That's not sleep, that's self-charging error.”

Nhien helped him divide the work. Khang is in charge of equipment, new members are in charge of licenses, Lam is in charge of content. Only keep the composition and quality control. This was the first time he let someone else touch the data without standing nearby.

“I'm trusting them,” Nhien said.

“I'm creating a process.”

“Can you name the emotion exactly once?”

“No data yet.”

Nhien laughed.

The studio sent Duy a better recorder. He only accepted after reading the loan terms. The founder said you can bring it back as long as you return it intact. Duy asked about recording rights; The studio confirms that all songs he wrote himself still belong to him.

“There are adults who are not afraid of contracts,” Lam said.

“There are adults who write a proper contract,” Ms. Mai replied.

While Duy was preparing to leave, the group went to meet Mr. Tran. He lives in a quiet apartment, with photos of the 2014 festival hanging on the wall. He admitted that he once kept the key to the radio room, but said he only opened the door on Minh Quang's orders.

“My dad doesn't remember,” Nhien said.

“Young people often remember what hurts them, adults remember what helps them sleep.”

Mr. Tran gave a camera recording. The image was blurry but I saw him open the door, Vu Tan came in with Dat, then Minh Quang stood in the hallway. They took the tape box. Mr. Tran said he was forced because the school owed money.

“You edited the principal_bm account metadata?” Khang asked.

Mr. Tran shook his head. “I no longer have access.”

“But the old password still works,” Lam said.

Mr. Tran looked at them. "There is one person who still has a copy of the account. That person worked as a school system administrator in 2014."

The name is **Ngoc** — a retired technician, currently working for SoundSeed.

The clue gave them back to the sponsoring company. SoundSeed denied, but school logs showed that the visitor account had the same address as Ngoc's. The school's lawyer asked the company to explain.

Ngoc sent an email asking to meet Duy privately. She said she did not play the file, only edited the metadata at Vu Tan's request to hide the source. After many years, she sent the audio clips anonymously for fear of being implicated.

“Why didn't you say it sooner?” Duy asked.

"Because I need money to treat my mother's illness. Vu Tan knows and uses that."

Nhien does not defend her, but understands that the story is not just about good people and bad people. Some people make mistakes because of fear, some people stay silent because of lack of choice.

Ngoc handed over a copy of the original log: the person who logged in at 17:16, 2014 was Minh Quang's account, but the tape download command was run from Vu Tan's machine. Minh Quang did not take the tape, but his signature allowed access.

Duy looked at the data and said: "The truth is not as clean as I want."

"If it's not clean, you need to write it all down," Nhien replied.

Ngoc agreed to be a witness in the public hearing, on the condition that the school protect her mother's information. Lawyers draw up agreements.

Duy had to go to practice the next day. Before getting in the car, he gave Nhien an old headset.

“Hold it.”

"Why?"

“Let me listen to the new demo while I'm away.”

“Can't you send it yourself?”

“I want you to be the first to hear.”

Nhien received the headphones. She wanted to say something bigger, but Lam stood next to her, reminding her of the bus time.

"If two people are going to hug, do it quickly. Cars don't wait for emotions."

Duy got into the car, then turned back. “I'll call after school.”

“Do other cities also have dismissal times?”

"Yes. Only the bell sounds different."

The car leaves the gate. Nhien wore headphones and listened to the demo Duy sent. The song has the sound of the school, the sound of the present rain, and a very long space before the chorus. In the void, she heard herself laughing with permission.

The first day without Duy, room 3C was chaotic. Khang plugged in the wrong source, the new member forgot to save the consent form, Lam read it too fast. Nhien did not fix everything for them. She asks questions, guides, and lets them take responsibility for themselves.

“I'm more difficult now that he's gone,” Lam said.

“Because I have to replace him.”

“No, I'm replacing myself.”

Nhien did not answer.

At the end of the session, Duy made a video call. Behind him is a studio full of lights. He said he had recorded the train sound and wanted to add it to the music. Lam requested to send it immediately. Khang asked for parameters. Nhien just asked: "Have you eaten yet?"

Duy was silent for a beat. "Already."

"Really?"

"Bread."

“Bread again.”

“Chewing sounds are not included in the article.”

The group laughed. The call ended with an appointment after school.

That night, the hidden account sent the last message: **Tomorrow, the cut version will be posted. Viewers will choose for themselves who tells the truth.**

Nhien looked at Duy's headset, then opened the data warehouse. She discovered a new file created when Duy made a video call.

File name: **24 — voice changed.**

Don't open the file right away. She sent a warning to Duy, then called Khang to check the file generator. The timestamp coincided with the video call, but Duy's device at the studio was not connected to the school. Someone created the file remotely using an old copy.

“They want you to think that everyone here doesn't trust you,” Nhien said.

“I don't need people to believe blindly.”

“You need them to check.”

Duy sent Nhien a recording of the Chinese language, only to listen to it privately. She asked permission to use ten seconds on the show, and he agreed. City distance okay connected by a small clause.

In Binh Minh, Lam did a survey that didn't ask listeners who they liked, but what data they believed. The results show that many people choose sources with clear names and verifiable originals. Nhien puts the data into the report.

Khang changed all passwords, remotely locked logins, and enabled immutable logs. He explained that no system is absolutely safe, but a good system must let you know when something goes wrong.

“You talk like an adult,” Lam said.

“I just don't want to have a blown fuse again.”

Duy returned on Friday afternoon, bringing with him the sound of the train and a box of cakes. Lam asked if the cake had a license, making him laugh.

Nhien and Duy listened to file 24 in the presence of Ms. Mai. The voice is changed, the background sound is mixed. Khang confirmed that the part "I need a song" was taken from another conversation, in which Duy talked about the right to fix the counter. There is no sentence "to leave Aunt Huong".

They made a correction and did not broadcast the private part. Duy wrote the lyrics himself: "I once said I wanted a future. No one has the right to turn that sentence into proof that I abandoned the person who raised me."

Nhien read it again and asked if it needed to be corrected. Duy said no, this is what he wants to keep.

The broadcast ended with the sound of a train. The listener doesn't need to know where he's going; Just know that a person has the right to tell their own future.

Nhien did not reopen the cut clip. She saved the correction in the repository, along with the sound spectrum data and Duy's permission. If anyone wants to check, they can watch the process; No one has to believe just because of a statement.

Studio sent Duy a new internship schedule. He will work on documentaries, recording sounds at stations and markets. Nhien asked him to put the allowed sounds into Open Frequency, but did not request it.

“I will ask each person,” Duy said.

“You already know this sentence.”

“Belonging doesn't mean doing it right every time.”

Lam prepared an orientation session for new members, including how to say "no." Khang made a kit that doesn't require a network, so people without smartphones can still send audio using a memory card.

Minh Quang sponsors shipping costs, but the terms clearly state not to access the content. Nhien read, Duy signed, Ms. Mai saved the original.

At night, Nhien received a file of train station sounds. There are no words, just the train doors opening and closing. She asked Duy if he agreed to include it on the map. He replied: “If the writer allows it.”

Wait for the signature, then listen more.

“I will ask each person,” Duy said.

“You already know this sentence.”

“Belonging doesn't mean doing it right every time.”

Wait for the signature, then listen more.