Chapter 40 |
In summer, this kind of thing often happened.
While wandering outside, you entered a store, and the store clerk pointed a finger at your shoulder.
When the question, “Customer, did you intentionally place that on your shoulder?” came your way, it was only then that you noticed it: a strange cicada perched on your shoulder like a parrot.
“Eeek!”
That’s exactly what happened now.
Baek Kiryang screamed and tried to run forward.
But I had already grabbed him by the neck, so I didn’t let go.
“Kiryang-hyung.”
When I called his name, he trembled like an aspen tree, as if he had seen a ghost. As a bonus, he flinched and avoided my gaze at such close range.
“Wha-what are you talking about…..” Baek Kiryang hesitated, glancing around nervously, and answered in a voice as small as an ant’s.
“I knew all along that you kept glancing nervously at Do Yuda on the bus.”
“No. I …. I didn’t. I don’t know.”
You didn’t see him? On the bus, he checked Do Yuda’s complexion every ten seconds, and on the rehearsal stage, even though he couldn’t say a word, I saw him open and close his mouth dozens of times. What didn’t?
For this type of guy, triggering guilt and pushing strongly would work well.
“You pretended not to see it even though you clearly knew what kind of situation Do Yuda was in, right? Because you were scared.”
“…….”
He had a naturally good temperament, but lacked the guts to fight back against unfair situations, a person who was easily swayed by those around him. That was Baek Kiryang.
“Kiryang hyung? He’s a bit shy, but he’s really nice. He even gave me some snacks. I think he feels a bit sorry for me.”
“You didn’t say a word during the rehearsal feedback … you hand him a few snacks and expect everything to be forgotten?”
“I’m afraid things will get worse if I step in … I-I’m not the kind of person who can be of any help.”
“…….”
“I’m telling the truth…..”
As I stared at him intently, he eventually started shrinking into the corner. Even though there was no escape route to flee to, he seemed to be running away blindly because he was scared.
It seemed true that he wanted to help, but couldn’t because he was afraid it would only make things worse.
My current goal was not to punish the one who had committed the wrong. Therefore, Baek Kiryang’s intentions for only watching the situation were of no concern to me.
‘Punishment should be postponed until after the second mission is finished.’
What mattered was the fact that Baek Kiryang was feeling guilty and that he was an S-Class skilled trainee.
I withdrew the fierce anger I had been directing at him and smiled brightly.
“I’ll give you a chance to make it up to him.”
“….Huh?”
“Do Yuda said he likes you, hyung. He doesn’t even resent you.”
“…You’re lying.”
“I’m not lying. Are you just going to leave such a kind child alone? Don’t you want to help him from now on?”
“It would be nice if I could..…”
Baek Kiryang looked at me, his eyes shining as if he had found hope.
Would I really be the one to give him hope?
‘The show is at 7 PM … so there are 28 hours left.’
Okay, let’s figure it out in 28 hours.
Of course, sleeping was not included in the calculation.
Where would there be time to sleep? We’re under an immediate crisis right now.
***
The day dawned, and the day of the second round of the competition finally arrived.
While I had control over the order of the trainer midterm evaluations, I couldn’t do anything about the competition stage, so once again, our order was last.
I took a break while waiting for the stage to proceed in order, but I was still tired.
‘I’ve got a real knack for messing up my own fate.’
It was directly due to the aftermath of the early morning practice. After my conversation with Baek Kiryang yesterday, I spent the entire night reassigning the parts, constantly pestering both Baek Kiryang and Do Yuda.
It was a relief, or should I say fortunate, that my team members, who had already completed all the preparations perfectly, were fast asleep early, their skin covered in sheet masks and other skin treatments.
There was only one change I could make in the short period of a day.
To create a space for Do Yuda to breathe properly.
‘It may seem like a small change at first glance, but this is the most effective method.’
After all, the high-pitched parts still had to be handled by Do Yuda. As the members of Do Yuda’s team had claimed, he was the only one capable of handling such high notes.
I had Baek Kiryang practice singing parts of Do Yuda’s lines, making sure to stay within a comfortable vocal range. The idea was to have two people singing the same part as if they were competing, and to make sure they had enough space to breathe.
‘It gave a different vibe from the original song, and since it looks like there’s some teamwork starting to form … the stage quality has improved, at least.’
I didn’t know whether Baek Kiryang originally had no say in the team, but he had been given very minor parts, regardless of his ability. Ironically, having Baek Kiryang share parts with Do Yuda actually created a more harmonious sound.
‘He really does seem like a total pushover. He can sing that well, but he’s satisfied with such a small part.’
Baek Kiryang used to be an S-Class, so his basics were solid, and he was able to sing the suddenly increased parts comfortably. Even though it was a part he was singing for the first time, every time I saw him sing it as if it had always been his, my blood pressure skyrocketed. And yet, he seemed completely oblivious.
“I memorized it all…….”
“Whoa, hyung, that’s amazing! You’ve already memorized all my lines? Even the parts where we double up? What about the choreography?”
“I just … memorized it?”
Memorizing all the lyrics in such a short amount of time was a bonus.
I was really starting to wonder if it’s a universal rule that people who wear glasses were bound to be smart.
“Now, the Domination team and Motorcycle team will take the elevator in order. Please check if everything is in place with their outfits and makeup!”
“Yes!”
That’s how it was, I was really busy making revisions to Do Yuda’s team’s performance and continuously taking care of my own team members without rest.
‘I might die from overwork in this life…….’
I didn’t understand why there were so many obstacles when I was just trying to bring in some decent people and make a debut.
I closed my eyes tightly and opened them, then stood up and lined up the members.
‘One, two, three, four…….’
It was to check if there were any missing members. Since the trainees still didn’t have a manager, the leader had to take on all the responsibilities that a manager would normally handle.
“Okay. Everyone’s here. Let’s head to the elevator. No one forgot to go to the bathroom beforehand, right?”
“No! How old do you think we are!”
“Uh-uh, okay. Close the elevator door.”
“Yes.”
Ding! The elevator dinged to a halt as it reached the floor where the stage was located.
And as soon as the elevator doors opened, we couldn’t help but hold our breath.
The venue for the first round of the competition was a gymnasium modified to resemble a concert hall, so the presence of the audience could be faintly felt even in the waiting room. But this second round was different.
“Euphoria came to me, making me drunk.”
“WAAAAAAAH!”
“HWAYOUNG-AH!”
As soon as the doors opened, it felt like a whole different dimension unfolded.
The intense heat and the relentless cheers of the audience overwhelmed me, and for a moment, I felt breathless.
‘……This could be a bit of a problem.’
When I went to the waiting area behind the stage, as expected, Do Yuda was nervously shifting his gaze around and arguing with the staff.
“You need to be on standby soon, you can’t go anywhere right now.”
“Really, really, just for a moment. I’ll be back soon.”
I grabbed his arm and he turned around, startled.
“Hyung!”
“What’s wrong?”
“I think I need to go out for some fresh air. I’ll be right back.” Do Yuda answered my question by trying to pretend to be okay.
However, it was clear to me.
The anxiety was making it difficult to breathe again. He must have been trying to get out because he thought he would feel better if he got some cold air, but it was uncertain if that would actually work. The problem wasn’t the air quality, but his mental state.
I grabbed him as he tried to sneak out and turned him around.
“Even if you go out now, nothing will change. You can’t leave.”
Someone as slow-witted as Do Yuda needed to be told of his situation.
His current unsteady breathing wasn’t just because he wasn’t feeling well.
“You’re having trouble breathing right now because you’re scared. You’re scared of that song.”
PRISM’s Domination boasted an incredibly high level of difficulty. The high notes, which seemed like they could tear the singers apart, were the most famous, but if that was all there was to it, it wouldn’t have earned the nickname ‘Idol Execution Song’.
‘Contrary to what people think, how high the note is doesn’t really matter.’
After breaking through a certain vocal range, the difficulty of a song was determined by how rapidly it switched between low and high notes, how challenging the emotional expression was, and how little rooms there were to breathe.
Domination not only constantly switching between the D5 and the lower registers, but also required long parts to be sung in a single breath. This was the exact reason it became known as the ‘Idol Execution Song’.
The members of Do Yuda’s team even redistributed the parts, ignoring all the breathing sections that I had provided, so the burden must have been even greater.
But that was a problem I had already solved. Do Yuda was still drowning in memories of the horrible first rehearsal, which happened before I intervened.
“The high note in this song is a D5. It’s lower than the highest note you can reach.”
Having been trained by vocalist Seezy, Do Yuda was already a better singer than I could ever be. It meant he was not lacking in vocal abilities.
Advice like “it’s a note you usually hit with ease, so there’s no way you can’t do it” was something he’s already aware of. Words like that wouldn’t solve the current problem.
So, I decided to break down the wall of fear that had trapped Do Yuda in panic, one by one. Sometimes, objective analysis could bring greater reassurance than abstract comfort.
“There aren’t many rooms to breathe in Domination. That’s why you were constantly out of breath, and since you couldn’t do proper diaphragmatic breathing, you couldn’t hit the notes you’d normally be able to.”
One,
“But it’s different now. Baek Kiryang will create parts where you can breathe properly.”
Two,
“Since it’s changed to Live MR, the trembling in your breathing will become even less noticeable.”
Three.
With every word I spoke, warmth began to return to Do Yuda’s hands, and a sparkle returning to his once dull eyes.
He realized how insignificant the unknown monster that had been haunting him was.
“You’re trembling over a problem that’s already been solved.”
“……A good song cannot come from bad breathing.” Do Yuda nodded, repeating the words I had emphasized to him before.
“So, what are you afraid of?”
Some problems had not been solved.
The teammates who completely destroyed Do Yuda’s self-esteem, the overly burdensome high-note parts, and the merciless choreography all remained unchanged.
But those were problems that couldn’t be fixed right now.
What he needed was confidence. A mantra that could compress all his current problems and make them seem like nothing.
“You know, right? I’m really picky. But that picky me has my eyes set on you as the main vocalist. I wouldn’t be satisfied with anyone else.”
Language has a mysterious power. Humans can have their whole lives changed in an instant by even one sentence encountered by chance.
“Don’t let anyone underestimate you. You’re the best.”
The suffocating reality had not changed.
Neither had the reality that Do Yuda had already performed a song with much higher keys than this one.
“Domination Team will move to the stage! Standby!”
Perhaps he didn’t realize this,
If this kid had the time, he might be able to pull off this song.
“Hyung, I!”
“It’s okay. Nothing bad will happen. You can sing well.”
I smiled as I pushed Do Yuda’s back toward the stage.
There was no way he couldn’t sing the song I made.
Because,
“Because you’re the main vocalist I chose.”
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Translator’s Corner:
I was super confused at first because I read the high notes explaining like … in very literal international way. It said third octave so I thought it must be the notes 3 but like, that’s not very high???? So when I thought about this chapter I just realized that KOREAN LITERALLY USED DIFFERENT COUNTING FOR THEIR RANGE STANDARDS KDSHJFDKFHFDHFJGFFD I already corrected the early chapters. You know how in international, the counting is like 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 right …. the Korean turned out to be counting starts from -2 ….. so -2 -1 0 1 2 3 4 5 …………. so when MC talked about the highest note of Domination song is only 3옥타브 레 (read literally Re in third octave), (in doremifasolasido, re is D) he’s not talking about D3 but D5 kdjkfdhjdjdjk
No wonder I used to be confused because ???? is 3 even main vocalist material ??????????? T_T
Also this one of my favorite chapter ending lines T_T the bro in bromance is peaked