Chapter 148
Chapter 148
Accompanied by the audience's applause, a microphone appeared in front of the hologram of the singer character named ‘May Groom.’
It was a stand mic.
The marble stand, something that could never exist in reality, was intricately entwined with ornate flower vines and white lace.
‘May Groom’ bowed politely.
Then, he gripped the stand mic with both hands, clad in white gloves.
[What kind of voice will ‘May Groom’ show us?!]
The high school student, who had barely recovered from the shock of the ornate flower bouquet object head, tapped his feet restlessly.
“What’s with this concept try-hard?”
He felt a slight surge of antipathy, thinking the guy was just trying to look cool for girls.
However, the slightly eerie and bizarre vibe that pierced through the glamorous and pure image of the wedding theme was intriguing.
‘Guys who act all cool usually suck at singing.’
The high schooler tried to deny his growing interest as he watched the screen.
The accompaniment began.
The sound of two luminous pianos and bright, cheerful brass notes blossomed over the drum beat.
—With the most beautiful heart
The confession I offer to you
“Huh?”
It was a very famous proposal song.
In the first preliminary round, where a total of ten contestants appeared, it was a rule to sing songs that stayed true to the character’s concept.
So, the song choice was naturally predictable, but there was one thing the viewers hadn't anticipated.
He was incredibly good at singing.
—In the blooming month of May
Our youth in full bloom
With a heart more virtuous than any other
The love I give to you
A neat and pure voice produced low, rich tones.
It wasn't a high note or a display of technique that sent shivers down one's spine. However, it was a voice that suited this song perfectly.
It sounded as if the song was always meant to be sung this way.
—When you hear love
Please think of me
Today and tomorrow
I love you
Without any jarring parts or disappointments, it was a beautiful song that made one want to keep listening.
And since only one minute and thirty seconds were allowed in the preliminaries, the song cut off just as it was getting tantalizing.
[The sweet song of a proposal]
Beyond the applause and the captions, ‘May Groom,’ having finished his song, bowed politely once more.
“Ooh.”
He’s actually pretty good.
The high schooler nodded his head. He didn't seem like an actor or a model; he seemed like a professional singer.
‘Is he a ballad singer?’
While he didn't have explosive vocal power, it seemed like he would easily pass the first round.
[The resonance is so rich, I can feel his experience.]
[It was such a beautiful voice~]
[He is definitely a singer.]
Regardless of what the musicians invited as judges said, ‘May Groom’ didn't show any particular reaction.
He just stood there in a neat posture, tilting his head at their questions.
In other words, the bouquet swayed.
“Ugh, this concept try-hard, seriously.”
The high schooler groaned, wondering if it was some old singer appearing on a variety show.
The movements and atmosphere were so convincing that he kept getting immersed, which made him feel a sense of self-loathing.
[We enjoyed the performance~]
Soon, after hearing all the critiques, ‘May Groom’ vanished from the stage.
The subsequent first-round performances were mostly mediocre, except for one or two.
This meant the list of finalists announced after the mid-roll commercial was predictable.
[The third singer to advance to the finals is… ‘May Groom’!]
‘I knew it.’
The high schooler admired his own keen eye for correctly guessing all but one of the six finalists.
‘I’m seriously amazing.’
Even then, the high schooler had no expectations for ‘May Groom’s’ next stage.
He thought what he saw in the first round was the limit.
‘I’ll bet a thousand won he’s just pushing through with his vocal color.’
“……?!”
A moment later.
His thousand won vanished miserably.
[Aaaaaah!!!]
The high schooler’s jaw dropped.
…There were a few reasons why things turned out this way.
In the finals, where six people advanced, they had to sing a designated song. Thus, the contestants had practiced one of the three songs presented by the production team in advance.
Originally, the fun was in seeing which character chose which song and comparing the contestants who chose the same one.
However, an anomaly occurred this time.
A whopping four people chose the same song.
It was the classic 90s ballad, ‘Winter Night.’
And ‘May Groom’ did not escape this probability; he had also selected that song.
With four people singing it, the arrangements were bound to overlap.
However, ‘May Groom’ used a bit of a trick.
—Drunk in this dawn
Even if I sing
The winter night remains the same
The snowstorm is fierce
He took a ballad song that was originally sorrowful with the pain of parting and rearranged it into a sophisticated orchestral piece in a musical style, overflowing with tragic beauty.
What that meant was that the high notes in the climax were monstrous.
—When the night of tears passes
When the cold morning comes
Through the sunlight at the window
I, who will find you again
He even took the notes that originally ended in a low register and pulled them all the way up into the ultra-high range.
In contrast to the gentle and quiet first song, the overflowing, storm-like high notes and the solid vocalization came as a shock.
And in a live performance, this kind of vocal acrobatics parade always worked exceptionally well.
[Waaaaah!!]
The applause and cheers after he finished were incomparable to the first stage.
Even the high notes, which could have been excessive enough to ruin the lingering emotions, ended up giving only thrills thanks to the grand arrangement.
It was like winning a one-on-three bare-handed duel in the Colosseum.
“That’s insane.”
The high schooler marveled out loud.
The person he had assumed was a washed-up singer appearing on variety shows had suddenly transformed into a ‘genuine singer who couldn't see the light of day because he was ahead of his time.’
‘Even considering the post-processing, isn't he on par with top-tier singers?’
If he’s that good, I’ll acknowledge the concept try-hard act.
The high schooler nodded.
He was refining his guess to either an indie singer with an artistic streak or an old guy trying to look cool, when he suddenly noticed something.
It was his biological female elder.
“……What are you doing?”
The high schooler’s older sister, a fan of Kim Rae-bin, was staring at the TV with her mouth agape.
It seemed she had heard ‘May Groom’ singing while passing by. Or perhaps she had rushed out because it sounded so incredible.
The high schooler said, feeling unnecessarily proud.
“Heh, did you see that? That’s what a real singer is!”
Thinking that his sister had finally recognized true talent instead of those skinny male idols who just dance, the high schooler felt proud of the rare common ground they found.
The Kim Rae-bin fan shouted.
“That’s Moon-dae…!”
“……?!”
The high schooler doubted his ears for a moment.
If it’s Park Moon-dae… he was one of the male idols his sister liked!
“Stop talking nonsense. He didn't have a voice like that—he can sing like that?”
“I can tell just by listening, you idiot!”
“Why are you being so embarrassing, seriously!”
The siblings began to point fingers and shout at each other.
And this conversation was happening exactly the same way on the internet.
“Have a safe trip back, Mr. Moon-dae~”
“Thank you.”
On my way back after finishing this week’s counseling session.
Seon A-hyun had already left for a solo cosmetic commercial shoot after saying goodbye via text.
[Moon-dae, I was sad I couldn't monitor ‘The Singer I Made’ yesterday because of my schedule, and I’m even sadder that I’ll only be able to see it later because today’s schedule is also packed. I’ll make sure to find time to watch it somehow…… (See more)]
‘…It’s a long one again.’
It was practically a letter.
I sent a moderate reply, saying, ‘It’s really fine, so rest when you can.’
‘Come to think of it, is this a good time to check?’
My stage… I mean, the stage of ‘May Groom’ that I created.
Since the broadcast ended last night, clips must have been uploaded to the internet, so the reactions should have piled up by now.
‘Let’s check it now.’
I accessed WeTube.
[Looking for a Bride. | ‘May Groom’. 〈A Day in May〉 | 〈The Singer I Made〉 Preliminary Stage | 202X0611]
Fortunately, the view counts for both stages were quite good.
‘I thought the first stage might have fewer views.’
Since I sang a song without any particular climax.
However, it seemed there were quite a few people interested in the character’s design.
-Holy Shit, the bouquet head is insane, I love it ㅠㅠ
-Honestly, the flower head is a bit scary, but the moment he starts singing, it all disappears and he’s photoshopped into a handsome man.
-Thank you for the proposal. Where is the wedding hall?
-Look at how immersed he is in the character. How can a flower be this cute and handsome? ㅋㅋㅠㅠㅠ
-A white suit and a veil? A stand mic with flowers? It’s a combination that can’t be forgiven unless he’s handsome. Therefore, he must be handsome.
“Oh…….”
Perhaps because the song matched the character I set up, I saw people who were more immersed than I expected.
‘As long as they find it interesting.’
I shrugged and checked the next video. The comments on the ‘Winter Night’ video from the finals followed this trend:
-He’s seriously so f*ing good. It’s so refreshing.
-I’ve been playing this all day. Please release a digital single ㅠㅠ
-I see a win coming next week~
-I’m so~ curious who it is ^^ Just looking at his movements, he’s so handsome it makes my heart flutter… I’m really looking forward to it…
-The head is weird, but the singing is top-notch.
-Even if the bride dies young, he’s a master singer of a groom who would go all the way to the afterlife to find her.
…It seemed to have appealed well to the older generation.
‘Is it because I arranged it in a bit of an old-fashioned way?’
Anyway, the comments were overflowing with overall praise and anticipation.
I straightened my back.
‘The strategy seems to have worked.’
I took into account that the first and second stages would be aired in the same episode.
‘If they both come out in one episode, they both become the first impression. Then a build-up structure is appropriate.’
Even if the first stage is a bit weak, people will see the later stage all at once.
So, I made the first stage focus on bringing the character to life, even if it was a bit weak, and saved the strong arrangement for later.
‘I’m glad it worked out well.’
I let out a small chuckle.
However, when I sorted the stage reactions by the latest, a bit of conflict was revealed.
To summarize, it was like this:
-I think it’s Park Moon-dae…
-Park is good at singing, but I don't think it’s him. The vocal color is different~
-You idiots, when idols come on shows like this, they purposely create funny characters to hide their identity. Seeing how he made a blatantly cool character, he’s not an idol, okay?
└ Maybe he’s an idol who flipped that logic?
└ There are many idols who sing well… Hmm, the Park Moon-dae I saw on Idol Inc. wasn't at this level.
└ Look at what he sang on the American program. He’s really good. I think it’s Park Moon-dae (Link)
└ Oh, he’s good, but the voice is different. I don't think it’s Groomy.
In this way, those who suspected it was ‘Park Moon-dae’ were being pushed into the minority.
Fortunately, thanks to the fact that ‘Park Moon-dae’ was somewhat known for singing well, there wasn't a particularly mocking atmosphere.
“Hmm.”
This wasn't a situation I aimed for.
Actually, I didn't expect the speculation that ‘May Groom’ was Park Moon-dae to be this weak.
Of course, I thought it would be better to maintain the fun of guessing and the tension, so I purposely tried to produce a slightly different voice.
I even tried a different vocalization than when I usually sing in the group.
‘…Still, I intended to keep it at a level where people would be uncertain.’
I thought people who had heard Park Moon-dae sing a lot would be able to notice.
But perhaps because the character was too strong, public opinion was more stubborn than expected.
‘Should I have just gone with a bipedal cat?’
I briefly regretted it, thinking of the Phantom Thief Cat that was a candidate until the end, but I soon cleared my head.
‘I liked this one better.’
Actually, I was being a bit conscious of the advice I received during counseling.
-Instead of the objectively best choice, why don't you practice choosing what you, Mr. Moon-dae, like? Even just once or twice a week.
-Your homework this time is to make a list of ‘what I like.’
Well, since the expert said so, I tried it on a large scale.
‘It’s not a problem directly related to the current status effect, so it should be fine.’
Anyway, it was more comfortable to see human limbs mimicking my movements than cat paws.
‘And people seem to like it.’
I shrugged and got off in front of the dorm, heading inside.
‘The character profile will be revealed next week.’
I looked through the pre-made profile, checking if there were any parts I wanted to edit.
At the same time, I opened the dorm door and went in. Coincidentally, the person sitting in the living room acknowledged me.
It was Ryu Cheong-woo.
“You’re back?”
“Yes, hyung.”
“I bought some ice cream. It’s in there. Have some.”
Ryu Cheong-woo said, lightly pointing toward the refrigerator, then naturally stood up from the sofa and turned around.
In that moment, I knew.
‘Is he giving me space right now?’
He was getting up because he thought I might be uncomfortable if he was in the living room. So that I could be in the living room at ease.
‘…Good grief.’
Somehow, the tension in my shoulders faded. The remaining awkwardness subsided like a knot being untied.
I opened the refrigerator and called out to Ryu Cheong-woo.
“Hyung, you should have some ice cream too. What flavor do you want?”
“…Ah, should I?”
“Yes.”
Ryu Cheong-woo, who sat back down on the sofa, grinned.
“Then give me the orange one.”
Then, someone came running excitedly from behind.
“Give me ice cream too!”
‘Where did you pop out from?’
After tossing an ice cream to Cha Yu-jin, whose grammar had instinctively become more natural, I went to the sofa and sat down.
And we watched the rerun of 〈The Singer I Made〉 together.
“His head is a flower! Cool!”
“Thanks.”
“You really sing well, Moon-dae.”
“It was nothing.”
It wasn't that uncomfortable.
The moment my stage ended, Ryu Cheong-woo asked.
“The next episode, you just finished filming it, right?”
“Yes.”
“How was it?”
“…It was fun.”
I chuckled.
Because I was quite looking forward to next week’s broadcast.