Dance is Music Too (1)
“Whoa…… Senior, is this really your house? Not a hotel?”
The moment we stepped through the front door, Naeun's mouth fell open as she dashed around the living room. Han Doyun, on the other hand, looked torn about whether to take off his shoes.
“Come on in, make yourselves at home. I won't bite.”
I grabbed three bottles of chilled sparkling water from the kitchen.
“Here, everyone sit down. Things are about to get seriously busy for us.”
We sat facing each other across the table.
“Let me run down the schedule we got from the broadcasting station earlier. First off, the premiere of Voice of Legend is in three weeks. It'll start with the Round 1 edits and our interviews.”
“Three weeks? That's more breathing room than I thought!”
Naeun sounded hopeful, but I doused her enthusiasm without mercy.
“No, we've only got two weeks. Round 2 filming starts right after that. And something even more important.”
I held up one finger.
“In one week, the station's calling our team in separately. They'll follow us around all day shooting behind-the-scenes footage. Practice sessions, rehearsals, how we bicker…… That kind of observational camera style.”
“S-so…… we have to finish the arrangement and practice in one week?”
Doyun asked in a trembling voice.
“Senior……”
Naeun's voice trailed off timidly.
“I'm confident in my dancing, but can I really pull off that mature vibe? And Doyun oppa……”
She glanced at Doyun. He was muttering with a dazed look on his face.
“Country…… my soul's sanctuary…… Western sunsets…… Country……”
Doyun looked like his soul had already left his body.
“I get it, so focus on advancing to the next round first, then chase sunsets or herd cows later.”
At my icy tone, Doyun jumped and stared at me, his eyes peeking desperately through his shaggy hair.
“I've never touched any genre besides country my whole life! And the male part is just that super short rap at the end!”
Naeun nodded cautiously beside him in agreement.
“Um, senior…… I think Doyun oppa has a point. I can't even wrap my head around how to rearrange this song for a team mission. The Round 2 theme is reinterpreting eras, right? Don't we need something bold to catch the judges' eyes?”
Naeun's eyes shook with anxiety.
“We're not rearranging it.”
“……What?!”
“……Huh?!”
Their screams filled the living room.
Naeun half-stood from her chair, asking frantically.
“Senior! The theme is reinterpretation! No arrangement means it's just a cover stage!”
Doyun shouted like he was grasping at straws.
“Right! Might as well infuse my style and make it country-flavored…… Add some upbeat acoustic guitar riffs!”
“Don't make me sigh.”
I cut him off sharply, and Doyun clamped his mouth shut. I placed my smartphone in the center of the table and played the original video of Invitation. Kang Soyoung in 1998, shaking up Korea. Long straight hair, red lips, and choreography so restrained it was dizzying.
“Watch closely. This song is already perfect as is. The melody's flow, the instrumentation, the concept, outfit, and choreography that Kang Soyoung brought to life. The moment you add or subtract anything, you shatter its unique aesthetic.”
Naeun tilted her head.
“So…… you're really not rearranging at all? Then what are we reinterpreting?”
“Not rearranging means not tearing apart the sheet music, but it doesn't mean we're not building a stage.”
I pointed to Kang Soyoung's gaze on the screen.
“People think reinterpretation means turning the original into hip-hop or rocking out the beat. But true reinterpretation is how perfectly we, in the present, embody the spirit of that era.”
I looked at them alternately.
“We'll restore the original's sensuality in a classic way.”
Naeun nodded at my bold declaration, then asked as if it just occurred to her.
“Then how about part distribution? You should take the main, senior, to make the visuals pop.”
Doyun, who had been spacing out, spoke with resignation.
“Yeah…… obviously. You open flashily with the first part, Naeun takes the second. I'll just stand in the back like wallpaper and handle that short rap. It's more like spoken word than rap……”
His suggestion was perfectly logical. That's all a guy could do in this song. But I shook my head firmly.
“No. I'll do the rap part.”
“……Pardon?”
“Huh? You, senior? The rap?!”
Their reactions were near-screams.
“……”
I closed my eyes instead of answering.
In truth, I'd been bluffing coolly like I had a plan…… but inside, I was burning up.
Damn production team!
Profanity erupted in my mind. I'd boasted I'd prove myself with voice alone and entered this audition, only for them to toss us this bombshell song on purpose.
What kind of song is this? The pinnacle of Korea's sexy diva era. Reinterpretation or not, performing it on stage means embodying that intoxicating atmosphere with your whole body.
Just imagining it made my head throb.
Me…… in a sleeveless dress clinging to my body, dancing, seducing the camera with my eyes?
No way in hell. I won't do it!
That's why I'd thought of the rap part as a loophole. It's something you can spit out relatively dryly from the back or side of the stage.
“No way, senior! You have to do the first part! This song lives in that opening breathy vocal!”
“Naeun, hear me out. Rap needs rhythm too……”
“No! Waste your beauty on that rap?!”
Naeun's eyes sparkled brighter than ever. Is this kid secretly enjoying this?
I cracked my eyes open slightly.
“……Haa.”
A deep sigh escaped.
Instinctual revulsion stabbed every corner of my brain cells.
But.
……How long are you gonna run away, Han Jiyeong?
I stared at the guitar I'd placed in the middle of the living room.
Hadn't I declared in front of everyone that I'd prove myself again, approach music with sincerity? Music is the stage lights, the singer's expression, the tremble in their fingertips, and the atmosphere enveloping it all.
To complete the dense tension of Invitation, someone had to nail that role perfectly.
And in this team, like it or not, only I could bear that weight.
Fleeing to the rap for comfort would just be deceiving music all over again.
Right. Dance is music too. Performance is an extension of the melody.
I calmed my chaotic mind. I shoved the old me—the one craving escape—into a corner and accepted this moment's me, Han Jiyeong.
No more cowardice. If you're drawing the sword, at least don't let it break.
“……Fine. I'll do the first part.”
The words had barely left my mouth when Naeun lunged forward, grabbing both my hands tightly.
“Yay! For real? You're really doing it, senior?!”
She bounced with joy, shaking my whole body from how hard she gripped.
……Why is she this thrilled?
Perplexed, my lips twitched awkwardly.
……I'm screwed. I've never danced in my life.
“Senior? Why do you look pale all of a sudden? Are you okay?”
Naeun leaned in worriedly.
“No…… Just, dance practice seems brutal.”
“Don't worry! I've got the dancing covered!”
Naeun thumped her chest confidently with a grin. Doyun, watching from the side, chimed in cautiously.
“Um, so…… Do I have to dance too?”
Our eyes—mine and Naeun's—snapped to him simultaneously. Faded checkered shirt, shaggy hair, the full country singer vibe weathered by life's storms.
“Doyun……”
I hesitated, then shook my head.
“If you dance too, the stage gets too cluttered.”
Doyun visibly relaxed, sighing in relief.
Only you get to escape, you sneak.
Jealousy bubbled up inside, but as team leader, I couldn't take back my words.
“Still, we'll tweak the arrangement a bit without straying from the core. When I said no rearrangement, I meant not gutting the structure—not using the 20-year-old sound MR as is.”
“Ah…… Yeah, it wouldn't match modern broadcast sound, right?”
I nodded at Naeun's question.
“Let's call it here for today. Doyun, practice your rap part.”
“Yes, got it! I'll do my best!”
Doyun grabbed his bag swiftly.
“And Naeun.”
I fixed my gaze on her as Doyun headed out.
It was hard to spit out, but I swallowed my pride.
“You…… teach me some dance.”
“Pardon? Now?”
“N-no, not right now. Once I refine the track, starting tomorrow……”
“Aww, senior! Of course I'll help! No, this is my mission!”
Naeun cut me off, eyes gleaming.
……What's with her? Kinda scary.
I stepped back, waving my hands.
“Wait, hear me out. Not today— I need time to mentally prepare……”
“Mental prep happens once your body's sore!”
Doyun, who'd been watching, interjected urgently.
“Th-then! Jiyeong, let me know when the track's done! Call anytime if you need help!”
Click.
The door shut coldly behind him, echoing through the living room.
“Senior, stretching first?”
Naeun cracked her knuckles with pops.
“Hey, Naeun. I haven't slept, got arranging to do……”
“Arranging goes better after moving! Sit on the floor. Spread your legs as wide as possible.”
“Wait, hold on! Naeun! Argh! My legs! They're ripping!!”