LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 66: My kid did better than him
Chapter 66 My kid did better than him
The only consolation was that the waiting room had a separate monitoring screen that showed the stage and the judges.
It probably wouldn’t happen, but… just in case Seong-won failed the audition and got eliminated, I would know right away.
The best thing was not to get eliminated, of course, but even if he did, there was still a chance to come back in the loser’s revival round.
This was the same for both the preliminaries and the finals.
I don’t know how many people they saved in the preliminaries, but in the finals, each judge could use a free pass ticket for one person.
In the third round, the contestant who used the free pass won the competition and created a huge buzz.
‘I bet they’ll try to use any provocative element that can boost the ratings this time too.’
I was sick of broadcasting ever since I had a fight with the PD over the editing issue of Boys in Crisis episode 2.
How could I cope with this when I hadn’t even made a proper comeback yet? I glared at the screen with a gloomy look for a moment.
‘What do you mean, cope?’
I had no choice but to endure and do my best in this industry.
It was enough of a help that I was not one of those who would do anything for money, sitting at the top of the field.
But for now, my priority was to keep my lifeline intact for at least three more months.
“Alright, then. Now that we have explained the rules for the preliminaries, let’s start with the first match right away!”
“Marina, please pick the first song as the representative of the judges!”
At the request of the main MC, the female singer with long blonde hair as her trademark drew a ball from the lottery machine.
“Oh~. The first song is out! The Scent of Marseille!”
What was that song? I had definitely heard the name before. I vaguely remembered that it was from some kind of thriller soundtrack.
It wasn’t a song that required a lot of skill or technique, but it wasn’t easy either.
It was a catchy song that anyone could sing along to, but that was also its drawback.
It was hard to stand out from the other contestants with such a song.
‘I’ve seen some people who tried to sing it in a weird way and failed miserably.’
I was sick and tired of watching the previous episodes over and over, trying to come up with a strategy that would give me the best chance of winning, after I got the audition ticket from Seong-won.
It would be easier if I just had to sing a song that was high-pitched or had a strong personality. That would be the real test of my skills.
But since Seong-won was so good at the basics, we hoped that he would get a difficult song.
“Alright, let’s draw the first challengers for the duel!”
The MC reached into the lottery machine, where numbers from 1 to 30 were spinning around, and grabbed two balls.
Everyone in the waiting room swallowed their dry saliva and checked their numbers.
“Number 3, number 24! Please come up to the stage right now!”
Seong-won, who had been staring at the monitor with a stiff expression, flinched and shrank his shoulders.
“Go ahead.”
I didn’t bother to say anything else. Seong-won was better than me when it came to singing.
In the finals, they would provide key adjustment and arrangement for each contestant, but there was none of that in the preliminaries.
When the program was established, the contestants with narrow vocal ranges naturally protested.
But then they heard some nonsense that the difficulty caused by the vocal range was the program’s unique selling point.
Thinking about that… I wondered if I should be grateful that I got a song that matched my original key.
Seong-won nodded and looked down at me.
“I’ll be back soon.”
I noticed that Seong-won’s hand was trembling.
Sigh. I felt like I was giving a piece of cake to a jerk, as usual. I grabbed Seong-won’s shaky hand.
“…?”
“Come on, come on, you can do it.”
I lightly squeezed his hand and shook it before letting go. Seong-won glanced at me as if I was crazy and turned around to open the door.
He seemed a bit baffled, but at least he looked less nervous.
Soon, the lights came on in the booths on both sides of the stage, indicating that he had entered one of them following the staff’s guidance.
“The first battle, starting right now!”
The band started playing along with the sound of drums.
[The image of you by my side when I close my eyes]
The speakers on both sides played different voices.
The third contestant who was chosen as Seong-won’s opponent was someone I could recognize just by his voice.
Of course, young people wouldn’t know.
He was Heo Taekyun, a veteran singer who had disappeared after releasing a hit ballad song in the early 2000s, and who was now over forty.
‘I bet he’s running low on money by now.’
Lately, I saw a lot of people who were active around the same time as him on cable TV shows for middle-aged people.
He wanted to make a comeback as a singer, not through a live broadcast, but through a competition program.
I didn’t know what he had been doing or where he had been, but he was not someone to be underestimated.
Seong-won didn’t seem to care about his unknown opponent, and continued the first verse without losing his pace.
[Your shadow that scatters like a mirage]
[I wander in another sleepless night]
It was not yet a verse that could give an impact. Mr. Heo Taekyun also seemed to think the same, and he slowly built up the atmosphere without rushing.
He sang well. But he still hadn’t captivated the judges completely.
[With just a fleeting memory]
[The person who kept me alive]
Heo Taek-eon also sang with a bitter emotion that made him stick out his tongue. It was a different feeling from the fresh sorrow that melted in Seong-won’s song.
“Wow… this is really a matter of taste, isn’t it?”
A young male singer in the waiting room stuck out his tongue. It seemed that no one had expected such a skilled contestant to face off in the first preliminary round.
“I know, right? I prefer the younger one a bit more. But Mr. Heo’s voice is so unique that it might be disadvantageous if there is a fan among the judges who recognizes him.”
A female staff who seemed to be related to the contestant answered with a light voice that sounded like a smirk.
The highlight of the first verse was coming soon.
That meant the winner would be decided in the next 20 seconds.
Seong-won’s short and low breaths echoed through the speakers via the microphone.
“Wow, he even knows how to use his breathing.”
“Nice~. This would be so awkward if someone cheesy did it. But I like this kind of thing.”
Both sides felt the pressure to leave a strong impression with whatever they did next.
They had to show their skills without overdoing it, and catch the judges’ ears.
Before Seong-won went on stage, his slightly offbeat exhale drew admiration from all over the waiting room.
[I’m waiting for you here right now]
[The moment we were happy]
[To You Then-!]
Seong-won’s breath grew rough as he steadily pulled up a high note and finished the first verse.
Everyone was captivated by Seong-won’s low breathing, and no one remembered how Hotaek sang.
‘I won this.’
The moment I was sure of it, the results of the four judges were displayed on the screen.
Middle-aged male producer, number 24.
Middle-aged female planning company president, number 24.
Famous female singer in her thirties, number 24.
I was hoping for a unanimous decision when Kang Yugeon’s result came up.
Male idol in his twenties, number 3.
‘That bastard.’
I unconsciously glared and almost cursed out loud in the waiting room.
I was curious about his reason for picking number 3, as if he wanted me to see it, after he checked the number earlier.
Was it revenge for asking him for various favors, like choreography and staff? Then he should have refused. I was so dumbfounded that my head was ringing.
There was a privilege of being exempted from the second round if you went up unanimously in the first round.
He knew that and still picked number 3. He was saying he wouldn’t let me go easily.
While I was chewing over Kang Yugeon alone, Hotaek’s microphone was turned off before I knew it, and only Seong-won’s voice was flowing out.
I felt uncomfortable watching the middle-aged singer’s passionate gestures.
And at the same time, I was relieved that it wasn’t Seong-won whose microphone was turned off.
‘These guys will do anything for ratings.’
Soon after the song ended, the judges’ comments followed.
“Wow, thank you for showing us such a great stage from the first match. I loved both of you so much that it was really hard to decide.”
“Me too, I pressed the button right before the count ended. I wanted to listen to both of you until the end.”
“Both of you sang perfectly, but I guess the 24th contestant’s poignant breathing was the ace in the hole.”
“That’s right, wow, it was so good how it hit the low notes and scratched my eardrums.”
While everyone was admiring the strength and weakness of the breathing, Yugeon, who had kept his mouth shut all along, grabbed the microphone,
“Ah, I also liked the breathing a lot. But the 3rd contestant’s emotional voice line with a lot of appeal was more impactful to me.”
“That’s right, ah~. It’s a pity that such amazing people faced each other in the first stage. 3rd contestant, please come out and reveal your identity!”
Shut up. How did you recognize Heo Taekyun. I wanted to punch Yugeon’s head, but I held back and took a deep breath.
Calm down, Im Hyunsung. You’ve been through worse than this in your life.
But this guy was more annoying than me, being young and reckless and irresponsible.
He was a guy who I couldn’t tell if he was an enemy or an ally.
“Now, 3rd contestant, please reveal yourself!”
As expected, a middle-aged male singer walked out of the booth and the 24th contestant escaped through a special route.
While the 3rd contestant’s short interview and the next draw were in progress, Seong-won returned to the waiting room with a calm expression.
“Wow~. The young friend sings well. How old are you?”
People who had no interest in Seong-won when he first entered the waiting room came over one by one and talked to him.
As expected. Seong-won, who had no manners towards adults, looked at the seniors blankly.
“This friend is 22, and I’m 24. Senior!”
I felt my energy drain as soon as I finished my brief introduction and squeezed in. Each team took about ten minutes, so I had to wait another two hours before the second round started.
My manager said he couldn’t come today because he had another schedule. It was awkward sitting across from each other in silence. Sweat trickled down my face.
Seong-won glanced at me and asked out of the blue.
“How did I do earlier?”
“What do you mean?”
I raised my eyebrows as if he was talking nonsense.
“Did I do well?”
Why would he ask such an obvious thing? I answered hesitantly.
“Of course you did well. I thought you would get a unanimous vote.”
“…”
Seong-won didn’t reply right away and paused for a moment. Then he turned his head and added.
“I’ll do better next time.”
“Huh? Sure.”
He kept looking at me expectantly, tilting his head slightly. I had no idea what he wanted.
What does he want me to do…? Tell him to buzz off? I narrowed my eyes in confusion and Seong-won grabbed a water bottle and got up from his seat.
“What, why?”
“I need to use the bathroom.”
“…?”
He was a mystery to me, with that small and pretty head of his.