Save a Failed Idol’s Life

Chapter 77

#076. Nothing Goes As Planned

[Prize Money Doubled If Donated]

The prize was so small that no one could even see what it was.

‘How could I get something like that?’

It was supposed to be a prize upgrade, but it was more like a confiscation of the money.

‘The Star Discovery’ was a special program that only aired on holidays.

It was a show that the whole family could enjoy, and it had an option for the winner to donate the prize money according to their wish.

‘Only one person out of four winners actually chose to donate.’

I remembered that even then, the public opinion was not very favorable. 

They said that the show should just donate separately and give the winner the full amount.

I never imagined that they would use it like this.

“Wow… What kind of prize is this?”

The other audience members seemed to share the same thought.

“If you win later and don’t donate… You’ll be called selfish for wasting the upgrade.”

“Why don’t they just get rid of the prize money and make it all donation? What are they doing?”

The MC tried to salvage the situation by making some jokes.

[Let me make it clear, the prize money donation is entirely up to the winner! You can choose freely if you win later.]

There were boos and complaints from all over the seats, but the MC was unfazed.

Well… He was just doing his job for money. I couldn’t blame him. I crossed my arms and looked at the stage with a dissatisfied expression.

I had to watch carefully what kind of prize they would give to the other side.

[Alright, then, let’s have the seventh contestant spin the roulette!]

The seventh contestant hesitated for a moment, not knowing that there was such a terrible prize on the roulette, and spun it.

What will come out this time? Everyone stared at the roulette with their eyes wide open, and the spinning speed started to slow down.

[Well, well! What will be the prize for the seventh contestant!]

Tick, tick, tick, the sound of rubber pads rubbing and hitting each other continued, and soon the roulette stopped completely.

[Judges’ score x 2]

I knew it. The audience was restless.

The final round was based on 50% live viewer votes, 20% audience votes, and 30% judges’ votes.

It was a game where the one with the higher final score wins, but I had no idea how they would reflect it in the end…

‘If it’s double… Unless the judges’ score is really bad, I’d better assume that they will win.’

“What are they doing, calling all the audience here?”

“Didn’t they have no roulette last time?”

Of course, the viewers were not stupid, and they must have been dissatisfied with this outrageous ‘upgrade’.

I knew that there was a controversy because the winner of the fifth round had to reduce the tour schedule drastically due to personal reasons.

But I never imagined that they would set up this device to pick a winner that suits their taste.

‘If they liked both of the finalists, they wouldn’t have to do this, so they must have not announced it beforehand.’

The situation was too unfavorable. Seong-won knew that too. 

They announced that the tour and album activities were ‘adjustable’, but they came out so meanly…

Should I say that we were naive not to know this? Or should I regret that I underestimated Seong-won too much, thinking that he did well just by making it to the final?

It was too late to worry now, so I decided to show everything I had prepared.

“That’s so… ruthless.”

Sunwoo hesitated for a long time and muttered quietly.

“I mean, I get that they’re doing it for the money… but their method is too cruel.”

They should have said no to the tour schedule that was impossible to coordinate in the first place. 

They shouldn’t have entered if they couldn’t participate. It looked like he had swallowed his words up to his throat.

It was better to be second than not to appear at all… I waited for the final stage to start with my mouth shut.

[Now, let’s decide who will go first and second!]

The two contestants drew balls at the same time in front of the spinning lottery machine.

The contestant number 7 showed the contents of the ball to the camera first.

[Second]

Naturally, Seong-won’s team got the first ball.

Was his luck only up to the second round? Seong-won moved calmly and stood in the center of the stage. The devices on the stage hid their traces neatly.

And at the same time, all the lights that illuminated the stage flickered.

[From now on, the final round of contestant number 24! Let’s start the stage.]

The MC’s announcement echoed in the darkness. I couldn’t even guess how many people were working hard to make the live broadcast stage on the darkened stage.

“Seong-won hyung… are you okay?”

Sunwoo glanced at me and Kyung-hwa and whispered.

“Of course he’ll be okay.”

Kyung-hwa comforted Seon-woo, who seemed nervous.

“When have you ever seen him mess up because of tension? He’s a guy who lives on his own pride.”

Oh Ye-jun also tried to calm Seon-woo down, but… um… didn’t we have a big fuss a few weeks ago because of his mistake? I didn’t bother to argue.

A moment later, the lights flickered on the ceiling, signaling that everything was ready.

That was it. We had done everything we could, and now it was his turn to step up.

In the darkness, a beam of light shone down on Seong-won, and the stage began without any accompaniment.

[Someday I told you, at the end of the road we’re walking together-.]

The audience gasped in surprise at the first word, which started calmly without any prelude.

The spectators over 50 looked a bit puzzled, but those from 10 to 30 recognized what song it was as soon as they heard the first word and pitch.

[There will surely be days when we can laugh together.]

The spotlight on Seong-won was still the only light on the stage. The first two lines were sung without any common accompaniment, just his voice. Thanks to that, Seong-won’s characteristic raspy and calm breathing filled the entire auditorium.

[Hold my hand now, give me strength.]

[Then we will surely win-!]

Seong-won raised his hand and clenched his fist, pulling it close to his chest along with the lyrics.

And at that moment, the whole stage lit up and flames shot up along the edge of the frame.

“Oh, I’m going crazy, this is ‘Opening the Future Together’.”

He was a guy who got 80% of his charm from his face. It was not easy to make the stage glamorous without showing his face.

It was not enough to win with just singing well.

He needed something more, something that came from his ‘flair’, whether it was a poignant appeal or a powerful vocal.

‘We did what we could, since it was hard to make that in a short time.’

To compete with the senior singers who had been in the business for 20 or 30 years, Seong-won had no choice but to use the audience.

How could we create a stage that would make the whole audience cheer and respond? After racking our brains, Ye-jun came up with an idea.

‘How about a nostalgia cheat key?’

I wondered what he meant by that. 

He brought out the theme song of an animated movie that had once swept the nation with a taekwondo craze.

I knew what it was. 

Our rival company had collaborated with this work and sold products with sticker seals.

I was dumbfounded when I saw those character seals selling like crazy.

‘The original song is a catchy rock band style, so it would go well with Son Seong-won’s voice. And the chorus is low, so it’s easy to sing along.’

Our team(?)’s arranger producer was Ye-jun, so I decided to trust his judgment.

And the result was…

[My pathetic self, I must look like a fool now-]

[But if we’re together, we can move towards a bigger dream!]

It was a success. 

The audience’s age range seemed to be fairly diverse, but the energy and voice of the generation we had gambled on were overwhelming.

As the song progressed, the majestic drum sound and guitar filled the ears.

Everyone’s mouths were twitching, and they whispered the lyrics along.

“Wow, I haven’t heard this in a long time. I memorized the lyrics and sang it with my friends every day at school.”

“What grade was that? Fifth grade?”

Seong-won, who pulled out a hand microphone from the stand and held it in one hand, stood in the middle of the stage and showed off his vocal power. 

He looked like the main character of the cartoon who stood on the podium.

[There can’t always be happy things.]

[Even if we’re shaken and fall by the harsh trials-.]

As the song reached its climax, the drum sound stopped and all the accompaniment stopped.

What was he trying to do? 

Everyone was surprised and looking forward to the next act when the whole light flickered.

It was our turn to go out. 

The light spun around, looking for someone, and shone on the cheering seats where we were sitting.

And the camera also pointed at us. 

As we had planned in advance, Ye-jun got up from his seat and stretched his fist toward the stage.

[If you and I are together, we can surely win-!]

Seong-won sang in the dark, matching Ye-jun’s mouth.

When did we ever stop growling at each other? 

Now we looked like the comrades in the boy’s cartoon. 

And at the same time, the accompaniment started again and the light came on.

“What? Cheering seats? Who are they?”

“Hey, how can you not recognize them, that’s Ye-jun!”

“Ahh…. I want to take a picture. Will I get kicked out if I rip off my phone seal and take it?”

“I can only hope that some brave fan sneaked in and took it for us. Let’s just keep it in our eyes for now.”

Screams and compliments poured in from around us, but we had to ignore them for now.

I couldn’t help but smile, thinking that I had fallen for it as planned, and sang along with Ye-jun.

[Someday I told you, at the end of the road we’re going together-.]

[There will surely be days when we can laugh together.]

Seon-woo and Kyunghwa also got up from their seats and shouted the lyrics. While the guitar solo played in the interlude, Seong-won shouted to the audience.

[Everyone, sing along!]

Everyone got up as if they had been waiting. 

Naturally, the spotlight that had shone on the cheering seats disappeared and the whole audience was brightly colored.

[Hold my hand now, give me strength.]

[Then we will surely win-!]

As Seong-won lifted the microphone high in the air with ease, the audience cheered loudly.

[Then we will surely win-!]

The chorus followed and his voice grew louder. I wondered if he would lose his voice tomorrow if he kept singing like that. 

I felt a surge of excitement from him, even though his face was hidden behind a mask.

He looked like an ice princess most of the time, but his heart was pounding in front of the crowd.

I thought it was worth all the trouble to see him like this. It was a priceless moment.

[One more time-!]

This time, he pointed the microphone towards the audience and young voices from teens to thirties joined in.

[Then we will surely win-!]

“Then we will surely win-!”

The song ended with a majestic drum sound and a fiery shout from the audience.

In the center of the stage, Seong-won gracefully waved his long arms as if he was a conductor.

‘This is it.’

Seong-won was happy, everyone was happy, and the whole theater was buzzing with enthusiasm.

The result didn’t matter anymore. 

That was something only the money-hungry adults cared about.