Chapter 61: To You (3)
61. To You (3)
(Somehow) The Cleopatra game had turned into a battle for the pride of the main vocalists. That thrilling contest of honor ended more quickly than expected.
—Hel-lo, Cleo pat... Ah, I'll stop.
The first to drop out was naturally Han Seong-woo, who wasn't mentally prepared to have his humiliating moment captured on camera.
Unable to withstand the pressure of 'the anxiety of potentially cracking' + 'the embarrassment of seeing himself struggle,' he declared his surrender.
—Hel! lo! Cleo pa! tra!
—Hello!! Cleopatra!!!!
—Hel!!! lo!!! Cleo!! pa!!! tra!!!!
The most unexpected performance came from Jung Si-woo. The sight of him, usually called 'Miro's Noble Son,' with his face flushed red as he belted out high notes left countless trainees in shock.
—I surrender.
—...Hyung, I had no idea you were this good at this.
—If I couldn't even do this much at a music college, I wouldn't survive drinking parties.
—!!!!
—I could actually go further, but the order doesn't matter anyway. Can't risk straining my throat.
—Wait, hyung. Then why didn't you stop earlier?!
—Why should I? It was a chance to wreck the main vocal of the opposing team.
—!!!!!!?
—See? Who told you to provoke me first?
'Why do I feel like I lost?'
Kang Hajin couldn't close his mouth in disbelief. The quiet, composed model student senior he thought Jung Si-woo was turned out to be a slightly unhinged schemer.
"Alright, Trainee Kang Hajin. You've shown great enthusiasm in the game. Now, please choose your performance order."
"Ah, yes. We'll..."
In any case, Hajin was the winner. Having fought hard—even calculating camera angles like Seo Tae-hyun and pulling off dramatic performances—he needed to make the right choice.
Hajin thought back.
'Kim Won-ho said the Cinderella team was aiming for the first slot.'
The Cinderella team, led by Jung Si-woo with Gong Seok, Kim Won-ho, and Joo Eun-chan, had prepared a concept centered around a glamorous masquerade. With elaborate stage setups and the vocal condition of main vocalists Gong Seok and Si-woo being crucial, they preferred an earlier slot.
'Blue Scandal would naturally want the last spot.'
This wasn't based on hard data but rather Hajin's deduction from Han Seong-woo's personality. The song itself was grand, and they'd want to stand out by closing the show.
"Hmm..."
Hajin alternated his gaze between Si-woo and Seong-woo as he pondered.
'Well, why not give them what they want?'
"We'll take the second slot."
Everyone, including Seong-woo, looked surprised at Hajin's choice.
After all that effort, they were deliberately choosing second? It wouldn't have the same impact as the first slot, nor the lingering impression of the last.
"Sad Ending Team has chosen the second slot. Any particular reason?"
"I've always had a center's aura. I wanted to boldly claim the center spot in the performance order too."
"Hahaha, but isn't the center of Sad Ending Team not you, Kang Hajin?"
"...Which is exactly why I wanted to seize the center position, even if just in the performance order."
Seriously. This guy keeps trying to make small talk with me since last time.
Grumbling internally, Hajin flashed a grin. Regardless, thanks to his choice, the remaining slots were quickly decided.
〜〚TO THE TOP〛〜
Cinderella
SAD ENDING
BLUE SCANDAL
"Finally, the performance order for Miro Maze's second mission, 'To the Top,' has been decided. Today's mission features special mentors, so we hope you'll give it your all to ensure a performance you won't regret."
At Seo Tae-il's closing remarks, the trainees erupted in applause. It was almost admirable how they'd grown accustomed to filming without freezing up.
Once Tae-il and the production team left, each team returned to their assigned seats.
"Hyung. Are we really okay going second?"
"Of course. We can win even from the second slot."
Dan Ha-ru asked nervously as they headed back to the waiting room. Hajin patted his shoulder reassuringly and smiled.
"Ha-ru, you just need to do well."
"Gasp."
"Ah, hyung! Don't scare him!"
"Our center. You'll do great today, right? I believe in you."
"Stop putting pressure on him!"
Whether Tae-hyun tried to stop him by slapping his back or not, Hajin gave Ha-ru a confident thumbs-up.
"......!"
Dan Ha-ru's eyes sparkled as if he'd realized something from Hajin's gesture. Seventeen years old. The new center of <To You>.
Nodding at Hajin's words of faith, Ha-ru mirrored the thumbs-up.
"Yes! I'll do my best!"
"That's the spirit. What's our goal?"
"Make people cry!"
"How much? Goals should be specific."
"Uh... Sob so hard they can't breathe?"
"Hey, Kang Hajin! Stop teaching him weird things!"
The recording for Miro Maze's second mission, 'To the Top!', began. When the stage—resembling a relocated canal—was revealed, the trainees in the waiting room gasped in awe while watching the PGM monitor.
'They really went all out with the set since it's a proper stage.'
The only ones unfazed by the scale were Seo Tae-hyun, who had experienced the grandeur of 'Boyhood Under Heaven,' and Hajin, who had once rushed around backstage on sets like these daily as an artist manager.
'After always running around with an intercom, sitting in the waiting room like this feels oddly new.'
Just as he was pitying the busy assistant directors with a sympathetic gaze—
The monitor revealed the identity of the 'special mentors' Tae-il had mentioned.
—Today's special guests are none other than...
—The original artists of the songs our trainees will perform!
"Whoa, no way."
At Tae-il's words on-screen, all the trainees held their breath. Soon, familiar faces appeared on the monitor.
—Endway's unchanging center! Mentor Choi Yeon-woo.
—Hello. I'm Choi Yeon-woo of Endway.
—And this next guest... a familiar face. YUPIA's main vocalist, Mentor Cheong Han-sol.
—Hold on, hyung. Why no 'proud' prefix for me? Am I embarrassing?
—And a long-awaited return—the undisputed queen of ballads, Mentor Sarin, has joined us today.
"Hyung, what do we do?"
"I'm a huge fan of Choi Yeon-woo sunbaenim! Ah!"
"We're performing in front of them? This is insane."
'Sarin's here?'
While everyone was reeling from the original artists' appearance, Hajin stared at Sarin on the monitor in shock.
'She practically disappeared from the industry around this time in my past life. Did she come because she's close with Seo Tae-il?'
Seeing Sarin after so many lifetimes, she looked noticeably older than he remembered.
'After getting married, she only occasionally sang OSTs... then vanished from the music scene entirely.'
A vivid memory surfaced—when he worked under PD Kwon, she had tried to book Sarin, only to be harshly rejected, leading to a heavy drinking session.
"First up, Cinderella Team. Please head to the stage."
"Fighting, Cinderella!"
"Fighting!"
At the assistant director's cue, the first team moved to the studio. Fireworks erupted on stage, signaling the start of the mission.
Hajin exhaled, shaking off the tension, then suddenly shouted:
"Jung Si-woo, pride of Gaon Arts University's Practical Music Department! Tear up that stage!!!!"
Si-woo, who had been stretching his neck as he headed out, stumbled at Hajin's words. The other trainees giggled, turning to look. Unfazed, Hajin just shrugged and grinned.
'Might as well wreck the stage properly before you go.'
Hajin smirked, eyeing Seong-woo's back.
A grand finale? I won't even let you dream of it.
'They're all so good.'
Sarin watched the stage intently.
The beautiful masquerade. <Mood Night>, reinterpreted with the concept of a spy accidentally encountering fateful love at a ball, shone thanks to the two main vocalists' solid harmony.
The grand orchestral arrangement paired with a dazzling performance was almost too much for trainees to handle. But Joo Eun-chan, the center, anchored it well with his tall frame and long limbs.
'They said the trainees choreographed this themselves too?'
Circling the note on the evaluation sheet—'Choreography by Trainee Kim Won-ho'—Sarin fell into thought.
"Now, Mentor Sarin, would you like to share your thoughts?"
"......."
"Sarin-ssi?"
"...Ah! Sorry."
Startled by the call, Sarin quickly grabbed the mic.
'Get it together, Lee Sarin. You're here to judge, not cause trouble.'
Snapping back into professional mode, she flashed a practiced smile.
"My apologies. The performance was so mesmerizing I kept reading the evaluation sheet."
"Aren't you paying a bit too much attention to other people's kids?"
"Exactly. How do I steal them for my company?"
"First Ria-ssi, now you? You're all hopeless."
Thankfully, Tae-il's quick wit turned the moment into playful banter. Noticing the trainees awaiting her feedback, Sarin continued swiftly.
"Ah, it was truly amazing. Jung Si-woo, was it? Your vocals are incredible. I caught myself thinking, 'I wish I could sing like that again'..."
"No, sunbaenim! If you say that, the rest of us might as well quit singing!"
Endway's Choi Yeon-woo, the youngest mentor, reacted dramatically, prompting laughter. But Sarin meant every word.
"Oh, no. After giving birth, I just can't sing like I used to."
The words slipped out before she could stop them. Even Sarin was surprised, but the others mistook it for humility, waving it off with 'That's Sarin for you.' Her tongue felt bitter.
"...Still, as a mentor, I should offer advice. Kim Won-ho?"
"Yes!"
"Personally, I felt your dancing exudes confidence in group formations, but that energy dips slightly during your solo parts."
"Ah... I see."
"This might be the ballad singer in me talking, but believing in yourself when singing is crucial. For singers, their voice is precious."
Everyone nodded at her sincere advice. With Sarin's evaluation concluded, the first team left the stage.
Next up—the trainees covering her own iconic song.
"Sad Ending Team! Please come up to the stage!"
At Tae-il's cue, five boys in mismatched school uniforms stepped onto the stage.
"Sad Ending Team, introduce yourselves first."
"Yes. We'll greet you now."
The sharp-featured boy—likely the leader—exchanged glances with his teammates, adjusting their spacing.
On his count—
"Hwaaang—"
"Aigoo!"
"Sniff... Sob..."
They immediately burst into exaggerated crying. All five had distinct crying styles—some collapsing, some pounding the floor, some waving handkerchiefs dramatically behind them.
"What in the world?"
"Ah. Because they're 'Sad Ending'?"
"They're hilarious."
The mentors couldn't help but laugh at the boys who skipped introductions to cry instead. After about five seconds of melodramatic sobbing, the boy in the center wiped his face and grabbed the mic.
"Hello, we are the team that sings about all kinds of goodbyes—"
"SAD ENDING TEAM!"
The others chimed in mid-sob, striking their crying poses. The musical-like greeting made Sarin burst into laughter.
'They're fun. ...Never would've thought of this concept.'
Her curiosity and interest in them grew naturally. Her eyes returned to their performance summary on the evaluation sheet.
<Stage One-Liner — To My Most Beautiful Moment>
'I hope they do well.'
His sincere wish dissolved silently in the air.