Chapter 173
Chapter 173
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 173
Chapter Title: Lulu-chan is a Growth-Type Idol!
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We had lunch together first and wandered around a bit.
Since the President said she'd treat us all the way until dinner and that we should eat before heading home.
Naturally, our plans settled on splitting up after dinner.
"Yuna's off today, right?"
"Yeah, that's right."
Unlike the President and me, Yuna's streams usually started pretty early.
But since today was her day off, she could hang out without any worries.
Thanks to that, after lunch, we all headed to a karaoke spot together.
Come to think of it, I'd been out and about with the members plenty of times.
But I'd never been to karaoke before.
It felt a little strange, somehow.
"Whoa..."
I'd figured going underground would mean a stuffy vibe.
But I let out a small gasp at how surprisingly clean the interior was.
Faint singing voices leaked through from the soundproof walls around us.
"Da-jeong, want some water?"
"Oh, yeah. How much?"
"Nah, it's nothing. I'll get it."
While I was dazedly looking around, Yuna seemed right at home here.
She pulled three 500ml water bottles from the fridge behind the counter.
Even as I gestured to pay, she waved it off, headed to the counter, settled the bill, and followed after the President.
Ooh, kinda cool.
This might sound a bit rude, but she gave off total "cool big sis having fun" vibes.
We found an empty room and stepped inside, and just like that, the surroundings went dead silent.
Wow, they must have some top-notch soundproofing here.
The singing from the next room was super faint.
Yeah, a place like this would be perfect for chatting and messing around with friends.
"Oh, wait—Da-jeong, is this your first time at karaoke?"
I was sitting there politely with my hands folded, just staring around blankly.
The President, who was taking off her cardigan in the corner, spotted me and widened her eyes.
She probably hadn't expected someone who'd never been to karaoke before to be in the mix.
"Hehe... Yeah. First time."
"It's not hard at all. Just hit the search button here, find the song you want, and queue it up."
"Aha..."
From what I'd seen before, you had to look up numbers in some book or something.
But now it just pops right up when you search the title.
Technology sure is convenient.
"Alright, who wants to kick things off?"
"I'll do it!"
"Sounds good. Yuna first, then."
"Yayyy!"
And just as I'd figured, Yuna was picked to choose first.
Well, yeah—she's the ultimate mood-maker, after all.
[Romantic Puppy]
True to her mood-maker rep,
Yuna picked a bright rock song perfect for firing up the room.
It was pretty old, but a classic I listened to now and then myself. Yep.
"Oh, Yuna sings stuff like this too? Kinda unexpected."
"Come on, President. When you're at a place like this, you gotta go all out!"
Seemingly pleased with the pick, the President let out a little gasp of admiration.
Yuna flashed a grin her way and grabbed the mic.
That confident vibe of hers looked absolutely dazzling to me.
♬~
"I'm gonna head off far away~."
"Whoa!"
Yuna's song kicked off, and I couldn't help but cheer.
It wasn't just that she sang well.
The slightly raspy, husky edge she put on to fit the rock genre really stood out.
Come to think of it, Ji-ah unnie had said something like that on stream once.
If you asked who in Blue LUV sang the best, she'd say herself.
But the one who pulled off any song the most charmingly? Yuna—Yuki-chan.
I totally agreed a hundred percent.
Sometimes cute and pouty, sometimes bursting with energy, sometimes calm and soothing.
Her chameleon-like charm shone through whenever she sang, delivering such a rainbow of voices.
Watching her honestly made me feel a little intimidated.
I mean, I didn't have anywhere near that many charms.
For someone like me who didn't even know the right way to sing until recently, Yuna might be the one I envied most in a way.
How on earth does she pull off all those colors?
I was genuinely curious.
"Heading off alone──!"
"Whoooaa...!"
When Yuna nailed the high note in the final highlight,
Goosebumps prickled up my arms without me even realizing.
I swear she'd said before, "My high notes are so weak."
But that was laughable—it climbed so cleanly.
Clap clap clap─
"Whoa, Yuna, you killed that. Been getting vocal training, huh? Your form's leveled up big time."
"Ehehe! Right? Right?! Totally worth shelling out for that extra training!"
The second the song ended, my applause and the President's praise poured in.
Yuna bounced in place cutely, beaming like a total kid.
Oh, right.
She'd mentioned recently getting private vocal lessons from someone outside the company trainer.
It wasn't that our company vocal coach lacked skill or anything.
She was just so busy that she wasn't always around.
So Yuna signed up for an academy and went there on her own.
You could really feel the difference.
I was basically clueless about singing,
But somehow, it felt way more powerful than her first cover songs.
"Alright, Da-jeong next. Let's hear it."
"Eh? M-Me...?!"
I'd been clapping in a daze, marveling at Yuna's growth.
Then the President suddenly handed me the mic and passed the turn to me.
I jumped in surprise and pointed at myself.
She smiled like I was asking the obvious,
Hands on her hips, nodding her head.
"Who else is Da-jeong in here besides you? Hurry up and pick something to hype up your President."
"Whoa, getting all boomer on us..."
"Our Yuna's really climbing the ranks these days, huh?"
"Eep! I didn't say anything! President!"
There was a little mishap in the middle,
But anyway, mic in hand, I decided to look for a song I could sing.
I'd been listening to a bunch lately on the members' recommendations.
Maybe one of those would work... Ah!
As I racked my brain, a song I liked popped into my head.
Problem was, it was super mellow.
I worried it'd kill the vibe Yuna had just built up.
But the President and Yuna weren't the types to nag about that.
Plus, our vocal coach had praised it before.
Since it was a rare chance, I figured I'd go for it and searched it up.
[My Adolescence]
The title popped up on screen, and I sneaked a peek at them,
Wondering if they'd hate it.
"......"
"What're you waiting for? Sing."
For some reason, both of them stared at me with these tender, affectionate looks.
Urging me on like, "Go ahead."
So I carefully took the mic and started singing.
"The world I longed for was so terribly dark."
"Maybe it'd be easier if I just vanished like this."
This song was basically mellow and a bit melancholic.
True to the title about adolescence, it confessed the hardships of youth.
But I never sang it with those sad feelings.
That didn't mean I couldn't relate.
It's just that singing it sadly felt wrong—the light that came after the darkness was too radiant for me.
So when I sang this, I did it with this mindset:
No matter how much darkness hangs over you now, it'll clear someday.
Instead of dwelling on the painful past me, I focused on the happy present me.
The original artist might not have intended it that way.
But for me, this made it easier to connect—and happier.
Singing from happiness rather than sorrow just felt a bit more fun.
"How hard it must've been for you."
I'd only come out to have fun, but I put my heart into it and finished.
Suddenly, the room felt wrapped in silence.
I set down the mic and checked their reactions—they were staring right through me.
Gasp...!
D-Did I mess up with such a gloomy song?
But nothing else came to mind...!
"P-President...? Yuna...?"
"...Yeah."
I called out to them cautiously, and Yuna mumbled while staring blankly.
Her voice was so quiet I barely heard it.
I leaned in to ask her to repeat.
"Huh? What'd you say? Yuna? I didn't catch it—could you say it again... Mmph?!"
Well, I tried to ask.
If Yuna hadn't suddenly rushed over and hugged me tight.
Squeeze─
"Da-jeong! When did your singing get this good?! You were amazing! I was shocked!"
"Mmph...! Y-Yuuna... L-Let go a little...!"
Caught off guard by the praise storm and body slam, I flailed my arms uselessly in the air.
"Let go of her, you."
"Kek!"
If the President hadn't stepped in and yanked Yuna back by the collar, I might've suffocated.
"But yeah, like Yuna said, you really nailed it. When did your singing improve this much, Da-jeong?"
"R-Really...?!"
"Yeah, I was seriously impressed. I knew you had a good handle on emotion, but your vocals have come a long way too. Ri-ah coach would approve."
"Ehehehe..."
Our President was pretty strict about singing, too.
Getting face-to-face praise like this from her made me so happy,
I couldn't stop grinning ear to ear.
Hehe, guess all that practice paid off.
Hard to tell on my own if I'd improved,
But if the President and Yuna were saying it outright, it had to be objectively better than before, right?
"I'll have to tell the viewers tonight when I get home. Say our Lulu's singing has skyrocketed, and to look forward to the new track."
"P-Please don't...!"
But my joy was short-lived.
I stretched out my hands in desperate protest at the President's plan to shatter fans' expectations tonight.
S-Sure, maybe I'd improved,
But the new song was at least three months out!
You can't hype them up yet! Stop!