Save a Failed Idol’s Life

Chapter 65 What do you mean by preliminaries?

Of course, the finals were scheduled to be broadcast live on the holiday. 

The winner would be decided by real-time voting, so the only thing that was pre-recorded was the preliminaries.

The edited version of the preliminaries, which was filmed with invited audience members, was aired an hour before the live show, introducing the contestants and their performances.

In other words, the sponsors could support them until the preliminaries, but how far they could go in the finals was up to the contestants themselves.

‘This guy… I have to admit that he has the skills, but still.’

The finals were where each contestant prepared their own song, while the preliminaries were randomly selected from the candidates that were announced beforehand.

They called it a candidate song, but the range was so wide that it was no different from ‘Challenge 999 Songs’.

As a result, some contestants who had won the previous rounds slipped in the preliminaries with ridiculous song choices, while others soared with the help of their selections.

‘I remember a famous rocker got stuck with a children’s song in the second round.’

The viewers were also confused and flooded the bulletin board with complaints, so the blatant bad choices decreased.

But it was still common for singers with powerful voices to lose when they got songs that required thin and delicate vocals.

It was obvious that songs that allowed them to scream high notes were advantageous in the live competition.

‘I just have to pass the preliminaries and worry later. I hope I get lucky in the preliminaries.’

But that was only a moment of worry. Time flew by and the day of the preliminaries arrived.

Seon-woo had a PT session, Ye-jun had a guest appearance on a hip-hop crew YouTube channel, Kyunghwa had a variety show appearance on a seniors’ channel, and I was the only one with a free schedule.

“Do you want to go with me if you don’t want to go alone?”

I couldn’t take my eyes off the cat until the last minute. I asked Seong-won, who had a strangely uneasy look on his face.

“What? No, it’s not necessary…”

He said that, but his expression didn’t say ‘don’t come’. 

He never said ‘don’t come’ directly, but it was the same as saying ‘come with me’ in a roundabout way.

He was such a cute guy, but not in a cute way. He should have just been honest and asked me to go with him.

“I’ll go too. Seon-woo will be here soon, so you can just ask him to look after the cat.”

Seong-won glanced at the cat as if he was worried, then hesitated and looked away.

“Come if you have time left.”

He should have been more honest like Seon-woo or Oh Ye-jun. He was the kind of guy who made a thousand debts with his words.

***

We arrived at the preliminary filming site together. The manager only helped us with the pick-up and left to help another team with their schedule.

Even though it was the preliminaries, it was a very popular large-scale program, so there were as many staff members as the finals.

“Contestant number 24, please wait in room C.”

“Okay.”

Seong-won and I walked to the waiting room without saying anything.

Should I say something? He didn’t seem too nervous.

But he wasn’t the type to enjoy the stage like Oh Ye-jun, so I wasn’t completely unconcerned.

“Do you need anything? I can buy it for you at the convenience store.”

I remembered the convenience store in the basement of the broadcasting station and asked Seong-won carefully.

“I don’t need anything right now. There’s water in the waiting room, so I’m fine.”

I had to finish whatever I wanted to say before entering the waiting room, because there were cameras and recording devices installed there.

I didn’t have much time left, but I had no idea what to say to him.

With the other guys, it was relatively easy to talk to them. I could have told them not to be too nervous, or that they would do well.

But the only times I had a long conversation with this guy were when we had a heated argument, or when I had to comfort him when he was sobbing.

‘Neither of those situations are helpful right now.’

After a long and stupid dilemma, I shouted at his back.

“Fi, fighting.”

I could have said that even after entering the waiting room. I felt regretful, but he had already put his hand on the door handle.

“Yeah.”

With his bland response, the door opened with a click.

On the door of the waiting room, there was a sign that said participants 21-30. It seemed like a waiting room for 10 people.

‘Wow… there are so many people.’

It was a broadcast where the faces were not shown, so there were no makeup staff. But everyone had at least one or two managers or coordinators with them, so it was very crowded.

As soon as I opened the door and entered, the eyes of the people inside focused on him.

I could tell what they were thinking by their faces.

‘He’s an idol.’

They didn’t seem to recognize which group or who he was.

But the glamorous appearance of various singers, actors, and talents, and the young age proved that he was an idol.

“Oh my, you’re Climax, right?”

After a long period of searching, one trot singer recognized us and greeted us from her seat.

She was one of the few young women in the waiting room. The others looked at least in their early thirties, some even in their fifties.

“Ah, yes. Hello.”

Was this person a senior or a junior to Climax? I couldn’t remember, since they weren’t that famous.

Climax was a nobody idol who had been active for too long, so it was hard to tell on their side too.

“Are you here as a participant today?”

What else would I be here for? I thought sarcastically to myself as I answered.

“Yes, this friend here is number 24.”

I glanced at the number under the woman’s shoulder. It was 26.

“Oh, is that person the main vocal?”

They said ‘that person’ instead of ‘Seong-won’, which meant they didn’t know us well.

“Yes. They sing really well. They will show you their best today.”

At that moment, a low voice of a middle-aged man grumbled from a corner of the waiting room.

“Singers should sing well, of course. What can these wannabes do with their superficial charms?”

I couldn’t tell who it was, but I heard it clearly.

“Oh my…”

The 26th participant looked unhappy. Maybe they thought it would turn into a fight if they provoked Seong-won, so they smiled awkwardly and laughed.

“You must have prepared hard. Let’s do our best!”

“Yes, fighting!”

We ended the awkward conversation and sat down at number 24. Silence fell again.

I wanted to say something nice, but I didn’t know what they liked.

Seon-woo liked food, Oh Ye-jun liked exercise, Kyunghwa liked planning or entertainment talk.

But this guy had only been hostile and confrontational with me, so I had no idea what to talk about.

‘The only thing I know they might be interested in is…’

But I couldn’t ask what they were going to do with the cat here.

I felt like I had to say something in the silence, so I searched for the identity of the 26th participant on my phone.

“That person from before, they’re our junior.”

I whispered quietly and Seong-won twitched his eyebrows.

“They debuted last year. Trot singer Oh Jiseon.”

“So?”

“Just saying.”

That was the end of our short conversation. Silence returned. Then, a large monitor on the ceiling of the waiting room lit up.

“Thank you for waiting! The preliminary stage of ‘Star Discovery’ will begin soon!”

It was a big project with thirty participants, so the filming was supposed to last until midnight.

Why couldn’t they just let the participants enter one by one according to their time?

Some would finish quickly and leave, some would wait. They said they randomized the order of the matches to prevent unfairness.

‘Who is this fairness for?’

It was a ridiculous idea, but none of the participants who came with the hope of a last-minute reversal could complain.

‘The broadcasting station guys are the bosses.’

I spent the time gloomily, when someone opened the door and came in.

Who is it? A staff member?

I turned my head to check the entrance.

“Huh?”

Someone we already knew was coming in.

“Long time no see?”

“What are you doing here…?”

He was a celebrity among celebrities, who turned the waiting room upside down with his mere appearance. Kang Yugeon smiled slyly at us.

“I’m here as a judge. I only got the list of participants after I came to the waiting room.”

Well, that’s fine, but why did he have to come all the way here? I had no idea.

“Oh… I see.”

I had never heard him sing live, but he was also a survival show alumni with an A-grade vocal.

They always put one idol in the judging panel for the sake of buzz, and this year it seemed to be him.

“Seong-won is the main vocal, right? Good luck.”

He tapped Seong-won’s shoulder, and it made me feel oddly annoyed. Do your best, as if he was looking down on him.

I reflexively lifted Kang Yugeon’s wrist and pulled it off Seong-won’s shoulder, smiling.

“Yes, our main vocal is really talented. You’ll be amazed when you hear him live.”

I was smiling brightly, but he could clearly tell I was displeased.

Kang Yugeon suddenly laughed and pulled his hand back.

“Wow, just like you said before, you guys are really close as members. I’m looking forward to seeing your great performance.”

He was smiling too, but his eyes were not.

A strange tension arose between me and Yugeon, when someone knocked on the door. This time, it was a real staff member who came to get Yugeon.

“Yugeon, please wait at the judges’ seat.”

“Yep, got it~. See you later!”

Yugeon grinned as if he had never glared at me, and replied in a cute voice.

Ugh, he and Oh Ye-jun were both amazing in many ways. I shivered at the goosebumps that rose on my skin, and glared at Yugeon’s back as he disappeared.

“You saw that?”

I whispered in Seong-won’s ear, and he blushed and moved away.

“You don’t have to whisper in my ear, I can hear you.”

He was rude too, but at least he was on our side.

“Do well. You’re good anyway.”

“You don’t have to say that, I’ll do well.”

Seong-won exhaled deeply. Soon, the monitor announced the real start.

“We’re going to start the preliminaries of ‘Star Discovery’! The rules of the match will be explained by the judge, Floss Kang Yugeon!”

Kang Yugeon’s face filled the screen and he began to explain the rules.

Two participants would enter an opaque booth and sing along to the accompaniment. So far, it was a typical variation of a plan.

The reason why Star Discovery became famous as a crazy program was from then on.

First, the judges’ headset would play participant A’s voice on the right and participant B’s voice on the left.

Then, after the first verse, they would choose which participant’s song they wanted to hear.

When the winner was decided, the loser’s microphone would be turned off and only the winner’s song would be heard.

The participants would only find out if they won or lost after they came out of the booth.

They had to keep singing a song that no one was listening to, without knowing if they lost or won.

‘They’ll film the loser’s face and use it for the preview.’

They were a bunch of ruthless bastards.

On the screen, Yugeon was still smiling brightly as he explained the devil’s rule.