Semi-Final (2)
“Waaaaaaaaah—!!!”
Amid the roar that shook the stage, the MC seized the center with a smile on his lips.
“Yes! The Voice of Legend semi-final! At last, that grand curtain has risen!”
Lightly gripping the cue sheet in his hand, he slipped into the moment when the audience’s cheers crested and began to fall.
“Today’s stage will be hotter than ever before—and more merciless. To the studio audience who have filled every seat to witness the results with your own eyes, and to every viewer watching beyond the screen right now: welcome!”
With an easy stride, the MC turned his body toward one side of the stage.
“Now, allow me to introduce the five producers who hold the fates of today’s contestants! First, the diva of the music world, Producer Kang Soyoung!”
When Kang Soyoung waved, cheers erupted from the seats.
“Next, Producer Terry Oh! And Producer Park Jinwoo, whose sharp barbs hide a warm heart! And then…….”
The MC’s gaze swung to Kim Taesung. A mischievous smile spread across his mouth.
“The one who broke into a cold sweat last matching when no one chose him until the very end? Head of Luminous, Producer Kim Taesung!”
Laughter burst from the audience at the pointed joke.
Kim Taesung cleared his throat and took the mic.
“Well, I may not have been chosen at first, but I can say with confidence that the contestants on my team have undergone the most complete transformation for today’s stage. Just wait and see.”
“Oh, strong confidence! We’ll be looking forward to it. And finally…….”
The MC’s voice rose a full tone higher.
The studio lights converged on the white-haired gentleman seated at the far end.
“The living legend of Korean music! Joining us as special producer for the semi-final—Producer Seo Geonwoo!”
“Waaaaaaaaah—!!!”
A standing ovation and roar on an entirely different scale from the previous judges crashed through the studio as if it might lift the roof.
Seo Geonwoo offered a leisurely smile and a light bow.
The MC tossed him a sly question.
“Producer Seo Geonwoo. You’ve taken on the team at the very center of today’s buzz. How does that feel?”
At the question, Seo Geonwoo brought the mic to his lips and laughed heartily.
“How it feels? Every single day was torture. Both of them were so outstanding I was ready to tear my hair out deciding who to choose. Don’t my white hairs look even thicker now?”
The master’s cheerful grumbling softened the air at once.
“Senior, stop with the dramatics. We’re all in the same boat, aren’t we?”
Kang Soyoung chimed in from beside him, and Park Jinwoo nodded in agreement.
“That’s right. One of those two has to leave the stage today without singing a single line.”
“Exactly as Producer Park Jinwoo says. To every viewer watching at home, and to every member of the studio audience here: allow me to explain once more the merciless rule of today’s semi-final.”
A heavy bass background track began scraping across the studio floor, ratcheting up the tension.
“This semi-final is a one-on-one match. Two contestants form a team with one producer and rehearse an original song the producer has written.”
The audience held its breath, hanging on every word of the MC’s explanation.
“But this is not a duet. In a moment, both contestants will step onto the stage side by side. And the microphone waiting for them is…….”
The MC raised a single index finger.
“Only one.”
Short gasps of “Hah!” burst from pockets of the seats.
“Right before the performance, the producer will hand that microphone to the single contestant he judges to be the most perfect fit for today’s stage.”
The MC’s voice rang into every corner of the studio like a blade.
“The contestant who receives the microphone will stake their name on a full performance of the original song. But…….”
He paused, gaze turning toward the closed gate backstage where the contestants waited.
“The contestant who does not receive the microphone is eliminated on the spot.”
“Ahh…….”
“Insane. That’s actually brutal…….”
Shock and pity spilled from the audience’s lips.
“Hey, does that mean Han Jiyoung could actually get cut?”
“Exactly! Her opponent is Kang Minhyuk. Kang Minhyuk crushed the last round.”
“And the producer is Seo Geonwoo. That man ignores every scrap of buzz or name recognition and picks only the person who fits his song perfectly…… so there’s a real chance Han Jiyoung doesn’t get the mic.”
“Are you kidding me? I took a day off and fought like hell for tickets just to hear Han Jiyoung’s original live—if she packs up and goes home without singing a single line, what am I supposed to do?”
“Whichever one drops, isn’t that basically a broadcast disaster? Just imagining it is already drying my blood…….”
A thick unease deeper than simple tension began to settle over the audience’s faces.
“The hour of destiny has arrived.”
The MC raised his voice again and pointed to center stage.
“Two people locked in a blood-drying struggle for a single song. The result will be decided right here, right now! Voice of Legend semi-final! Please welcome the first team onto the stage!”
Lights spun wildly; a majestic siren filled the studio.
“Producer Terry Oh’s team! Contestant Baek Taehyun and Contestant Yoon Jiu! Please come up to the stage!”
The way the stage was run turned out to be simpler than expected.
Both contestants were brought up first for a brief interview and a few words of feeling, then sent back down.
Behind the stage, the producer himself handed the microphone to only one of them.
So they don’t broadcast the actual handing-over of the mic live.
Of course not. That would be far too cruel to the contestants, and it would also spoil the result for both the viewers at home and the studio audience.
Baek Taehyun and Yoon Jiu of Producer Terry Oh’s team, the first pair up, finished their interview and went down.
A short while later, under a grand BGM that cranked the tension higher, the gate opened and the winner who walked out into the lights was Yoon Jiu.
But…….
“Pitch is a little shaky.”
The stage seemed to finish decently enough, yet the tremor and the unstable breath came through clear as day.
Was it extreme nerves, or the pressure of this merciless rule? Yoon Jiu’s live was unmistakably a step down from rehearsal form.
The public’s gaze can be a spotlight that makes a stage shine—or a poison that eats away at a performer’s mind.
Death matches continued after that, and before long the fourth slot arrived.
Producer Park Jinwoo’s team—Han Doyun and Lee Seojun—took the stage.
After a short interview the two went down; when the gate opened again, the one who walked out was Han Doyun.
Just as I thought.
I had sensed it faintly even in rehearsal, but the Han Doyun who stood on the real stage had clearly gone through some kind of closed-door training.
Call it learning how to enjoy the stage itself.
On top of that, even though this song had stripped away a great deal of its country flavor into something far more mainstream, he digested it perfectly.
Producer Park Jinwoo must have put serious work into this.
Sharp producing that hid weaknesses and maximized strengths, and a contestant’s fierce effort that soaked it all up like a sponge. An excellent synergy.
When Han Doyun’s stage ended, I quietly rose from my seat amid the enormous cheers pouring from the audience.
“Now! The long-awaited final slot!”
The MC’s voice, wound to its highest pitch, rang through the waiting-room monitor.
Kang Minhyuk, who had been sitting on the opposite sofa, stood without a word.
“Producer Seo Geonwoo’s team! Contestant Han Jiyoung, Contestant Kang Minhyuk! Please come up to the stage!”
Guided by staff, I stepped onto the stage stairs. Blinding white light poured down so hard I could barely open my eyes; the heat and roar of the audience slammed against my eardrums.
“Waaaaaaaaah!! Han Jiyoung!! Kang Minhyuk!!”
“This is insane!! I love both of you!!”
The MC stood between us and held out the microphone.
“How are both of you feeling right now? In front of this many people, only one of you will be able to open that gate and walk out again.”
Kang Minhyuk took the mic first.
“It has been a great honor to prepare a single song alongside an outstanding artist like Han Jiyoung. Whatever the result, I will humbly accept Producer Seo Geonwoo’s choice.”
Warm applause poured from the audience, and then the microphone came to me.
The seats fell dead silent in an instant.
The producers at the judges’ table and every spectator in the room were watching only my lips.
“Same for me.”
I swept a glance across the audience, then continued in a calm, almost indifferent voice.
“I gave it everything I had. Now it’s time to prove it.”
My short, dry answer drew an “Ooooh—” of admiration and a burst of applause from the seats.
“Excellent! We can feel both of your firm resolve all the way over here. Now then—both of you, please go backstage and receive the producer’s final decision!”
We turned and walked down the stairs behind the stage. Producer Seo Geonwoo was waiting for us.
“You’re here?”
He spoke in a peaceful voice.
“Both of you performed my song so beautifully that, as a composer, I can only be grateful.”
Like a man still unable to decide, his eyes shifted back and forth between me and Kang Minhyuk, trembling, before he opened his mouth.
“Kang Minhyuk.”
At the sound of his own name, Kang Minhyuk’s eyes flew wide as if he could not believe it.
“……Yes?”
“From the moment I first sketched my Track No. 17, The Way Back, the perfect ideal I painted in my head was your voice, Kang Minhyuk.”
The instant I heard those words, my heart plummeted with a dull thud. Mentally I had steeled myself for this outcome hundreds of times already.
It was an audition. It was survival. I might be the one who fell. No matter whose hand was raised, I had sworn over and over that I would smile and congratulate them.
So this is as far as I go.
Tears threatened to spill at any second, yet I bit down hard on my lower lip and fought to hold the feeling in.
“But…….”
Seo Geonwoo slowly turned his head and met my gaze—the gaze that had been about to drop to the floor—dead-on.
“The one who completely surpassed that ideal…… seems to have been you, Han Jiyoung.”