Chapter 184: Fulfillment
Chapter 184: Fulfillment
At the WAX Channel broadcasting station in New York, USA, a black van glided into the VIP-only underground parking lot.
Screech—
The moment the vehicle stopped, the local security staff and personnel who had been waiting moved swiftly.
The security was so tight it looked as though they were guarding a president.
Slide—
The appearance of the first person to step out of the van was rather flamboyant.
It was the look of a deer that seemed as though it had come straight out of a Disney film.
It had been made so realistically that every strand of fur seemed alive.
Inside the costume, Ryu Sunho muttered to himself, ...The scale of America really is different.
In Korea, all they had done was make him wear a mask that covered his face.
But here in America, they had wrapped him up from head to toe in a full-body costume and hidden him completely.
The intention was clear: to conceal not only his face, but also his build, skin color, and even his gender.
“Pffft!”
What made it even stranger was that it was not only one contestant stepping out in costume.
Team Leader Jo Sehun, road manager Jeong Daeyeop, makeup artist Yoon Heeju, and the rest.
The team members were also wearing black face coverings, sunglasses, and even gloves.
If a whole group of Asian staff came pouring out, it would become too easy to identify the contestant’s race.
That had been the production staff’s reasoning.
Thanks to that, they walked down the hallway looking like a deer accompanied by a gang of bank robbers.
“This way, please.”
At last, they arrived at the waiting room.
The moment everyone entered, the door shut with a solid click.
“Phewww!”
Only then, together with the breath they had been holding in—
“Puhahaha!”
Laughter burst out.
“Ah, this is already so fun! It really feels like I’m filming a variety show too.”
“Seriously! Thanks to Sunho, I keep having all kinds of experiences. When else would I ever walk into a New York broadcasting station wearing a face covering?”
“Shh. Keep your voices down. The sound from the waiting room could leak outside too.”
“Ah, yes.”
At Team Leader Jo Sehun’s warning, the styling duo zipped their lips shut.
Meanwhile, Ryu Sunho sat in front of the mirror.
He removed the suffocating deer head and placed it on the table.
His forehead, beaded with sweat, was exposed.
“Sunho, how’s your condition?”
“It’s at its best. My throat’s fully loosened up too.”
“Mm, that’s a relief. But are you really sure it’s okay that you changed the song selection? I still think it’s way too challenging for a Round 1 song...”
“You have to go at least this far if you want to survive in America. Don’t worry. I’ll do it perfectly.”
Separate from Team Leader Jo Sehun’s worries, Ryu Sunho’s voice was full of confidence right now.
Before the full-scale recording even began, the studio atmosphere was already blazing hot.
The reason was the panel seats.
Each time another panelist came up, murmurs spread through the audience.
“Wow... just how much did they spend to bring all those people in?”
“They probably paid them less than their usual rates. All they have to do here is listen to music and talk.”
“Even so, our eyes are getting the full luxury treatment because of it. Heh.”
Just as they said, pop stars, actors, comedians, and more.
Big-name stars had gathered in one place.
“Hey! Long time no see!”
Because their careers operated on such a global stage, even people in the same industry rarely got to see each other face-to-face, so they greeted each other warmly, exchanged updates, and talked.
Among them, Olivia, the global pop star who had served as a fixed panelist since Season 1, spotted someone and hurried over with obvious delight.
“Wow! My God! James Rogers? How long has it been?!”
“Olivia. Your voice is still as strong as ever.”
Unable to contain her delight, Olivia threw her arms around him.
As though used to it, James Rogers patted her on the back.
“How have you been? I kept hearing that you’ve been going all-in on producing that musical film.”
“Well, I’m still all-in on it. Just not landing it.”
“Why not? Investors should’ve been lining up based on your name alone. There’s no composer in the world more expensive than you.”
“Money’s not the problem. People are.”
James Rogers, with his long hair, scratched his forehead.
“There’s no one who can perfectly pull off the songs I wrote.”
“Oh, come on. There are so many people in Hollywood and on Broadway who can sing well.”
“There are plenty who are good at one or the other. The problem is, either their acting is shit, or their singing is shit. No one has both.”
James Rogers looked utterly worn down by the casting troubles that had dragged on for years.
Olivia playfully pointed to herself.
“What about me? I’m still the person who put one of your songs at No. 1 on Billboard, and with my debut song at that. Doesn’t that qualify me?”
“Hmm, have your acting skills improved?”
“I can manage five minutes of acting.”
“Hahaha, then that won’t do. Every other role’s already cast. It’s the lead role that’s giving me this headache.”
There was an uncompromising firmness in his voice.
A perfectionist.
That was both the reason James Rogers had become a legend and the curse that tormented him.
“Isn’t your standard too high?”
“I’m pouring my entire composing life into this. I have to go this far. I can’t waste all those songs.”
“All right. Then I won’t ask you to put me in the movie. Just give me one song later.”
“Mm, if I’m in a good mood today, I’ll think about it.”
“I’ll pray that you leave here grinning from ear to ear.”
At Olivia’s encouragement, James Rogers shrugged.
Well now, could that really happen?
“Welcome, everyone, to the greatest music show on earth!”
With the MC’s thunderous shout, the studio lights exploded to life.
As if demonstrating the very essence of the American entertainment industry, the scale of the stage was incomparably larger and more overwhelming than anything in Korea.
“Wow!”
The performances were sensational.
A monster covered in fur from head to toe sang rock, and a contestant with a pineapple-shaped head spat out rap.
As if conscious of the success of the previous season, the costumes had become even grander and the stage devices even flashier with each new season.
“I seriously can’t take my eyes off it for even a second!”
“This is it!”
“Thank you so sincerely for inviting me onto this program!”
The stars seated at the panel desk cheered with exaggerated gestures whenever a contestant appeared, spilling out broadcast-ready reactions.
That was their job, after all.
But amid all that enthusiasm, the legendary composer James Rogers sat there with a bored face, giving only mechanical reactions.
As expected, none of this is really moving me.
When the request first came for him to appear on the show, he had intended to turn it down.
But a producer he knew had earnestly asked him, and he had accepted because he thought the show’s concept—judging purely by voice without prejudice—might somehow help.
However, the more the recording went on, the fainter that hope became.
It wasn’t that I was looking at people with prejudice. Their skill really was lacking.
Just as he swallowed a sigh and glanced at his watch—
“Our final contestant for Round 1!”
The central door on the stage opened, and the last contestant walked out.
The deer mask with its splendid antlers made a strong impression.
Even the name was Flower Deer.
Looks like visuals are the strong point.
That was his deduction based on the previous seasons.
They had always dressed contestants in costumes that connected, to some degree, with the contestant’s traits.
If so, then this one was probably a model or someone from acting.
Naturally, his expectations sank even further.
This stage will probably be the breather round.
Setting aside his expectations, James Rogers interlaced his fingers and leaned back against his chair.
Then the speaker boomed grandly, and the intro began.
Bam— ppabababababam-bam—!
A powerful pipe-organ intro.
James Rogers’s brows twitched.
...This song?
It was such a famous song that the other panelists widened their eyes the moment they heard the intro too.
“Oh?”
“Isn’t that The Phantom of the Opera?”
“They’re singing this here?”
As delight and anticipation mingled in the air, the first line flowed out from inside the mask.
“......!”
The noise in the studio vanished in an instant.
A clear, pure soprano tone.
“Oh, that’s good.”
“That vocal tone is really elegant.”
“A diva has arrived.”
The panelists became convinced it was a female singer.
James Rogers too folded his arms again, thinking only, She’s quite a good female singer.
“Wait, but isn’t this a duet song?”
“Huh? It is. The male part should be coming up soon.”
“Is someone else coming up later?”
Just as they said, the song was a duet.
After the female soprano part passed, the male section followed, requiring a heavy low register.
James Rogers, having remembered that as well, tilted his head.
Then—
“......?!”
Flower Deer kept singing without taking the microphone away.
The clear voice from moments ago was gone without a trace.
Instead, a heavy, rough male low tone, as if resounding from deep inside a cave, tore through the speakers.
“What?!”
“Wasn’t that a woman?”
“That voice right now is totally a man’s! And a bass, at that!”
“How is that possible?!”
“Is there another person hidden somewhere?”
The panelists looked behind the stage in shock, but no matter how much they searched, there was only Flower Deer on stage.
The audience was no less stunned.
The moment a man’s voice burst from Flower Deer’s mouth, gasps and cries of admiration poured out all at once, loud enough to bury the accompaniment.
“Huhhh...”
The studio fell into confusion.
Meanwhile, the very person who had thrown that enormous chaos into the room sang on, unbothered.
The highlight section, where the male and female vocals exchanged a dialogue.
The voice changed without even a 0.1-second gap.
The longing of the woman and the pressure of the man went back and forth like ping-pong.
It was not simply a matter of changing vocal tone.
When it was the woman’s voice, the posture became delicate and elegant.
When it was the man’s voice, it shifted into something rough and forceful.
The acting of one person playing two roles had melted into the song itself.
Th-This... what is this...?
James Rogers trembled all over.
Because he knew better than anyone just how insane that was.
He’s changing the point of vocal cord contact in an instant and adjusting the resonance. He’s using a countertenor’s head voice and a bass’s chest voice at the same time? Is that even physically possible?
James Rogers leaned his whole body toward the stage.
He wanted to confirm that impossible sound from even closer up.
“What on earth is this person’s identity...?”
“There aren’t two people inside that mask, are there...?”
“This is driving me insane... this isn’t even just singing anymore. It’s a stunt.”
“This is literally a crazy stage...!”
Before anyone knew it, the song had reached its climax.
Ryu Sunho gripped the microphone tightly.
A sharp light flashed in his eyes inside the mask.
—Aah-!
The ad-lib of the female part began.
It was not a breathy falsetto, but a high note rich with resonance.
Because of that, instead of feeling like it was tearing at the ears, it brought crashing waves of deep emotion.
“......”
“......”
Now everyone gave up on reacting and simply fell silent.
They had decided to use that time to fully take in the stage.
—Aah Ah-!!!
The final ultra-high note stretched long, and then the song ended.
His voice reverberated along the walls, and silence fell.
One second.
Two seconds.
Three seconds.
Waaaaaaahhhh!!!
Explosion.
A thunderous roar poured out from the audience.
The panelists were no different.
The panelists, who had remained seated throughout the recording, rose to their feet and burst into a standing ovation.
“Oh my God...”
And in the middle of all that, James Rogers was mentally striking out the final ad-lib’s ultra-high note on an imaginary keyboard in his head.
This is insane... fourth octave...! And he changed tone instantly from a male voice to produce that...!
His heart felt as if it were going to burst.
Without even grabbing a microphone, he shouted with his own voice, “Who on earth are you...?!”
The boredom had vanished from his eyes, replaced with blazing light.
Now James Rogers was looking forward to Flower Deer more than anyone else.
And his expectations—
“How many voices do you even have?”
—were fulfilled several times over in the next round.