The Musician at the Audition (2)
The tremor of the final string faded into the studio's air.
"……."
Ding-! Ding-! Ding-! Ding-!
The floor beneath my feet shimmered with brilliant gold light.
The first to grab the mic was the senior legend of the music world, judge Kang Soyoung. She stared at me with a dazed expression before slowly parting her lips.
"Wow…… I was rubbing my arms from the chills. Your voice is so beautiful. It has the power to scrape at people's emotions. But above all, that audacity in rearranging a current top girl group's song like it was nothing. That's what I love most."
I adjusted my guitar and bowed my head.
"Thank you."
Next, Terry Oh pushed up his crimson-tinted glasses and stared straight at me. His eyes held curiosity mixed with a strange skepticism.
"Jiyeong, just one question. Did you really arrange this yourself? Honestly, it's a quality that's hard to pull off in such a short time."
His tone was like asking, 'Did you really do this yourself?' The suspicion that someone else was helping me from the shadows was blatant.
I pulled the mic closer. I couldn't tolerate anyone doubting the body of work I'd built across my past and present lives.
"Yes, I did it myself. I twisted the original's 4/4 shuffle rhythm into a 12/8 blues base. To emphasize the dreamy intro feel, I layered fifth-interval harmonies with a loop station and deliberately added a reverse delay effect. In the mid-bridge section, I used subdominant minor chords to suppress the original's bright vibe and maximize the lonely sentiment. For the guitar tone, I cut the low frequencies and applied a reverb bus……"
"Ah, hey! That's enough! Stop there!"
Terry Oh waved his hands in flustered interruption, overwhelmed by my barrage of technical knowledge. He let out an awkward laugh and glanced at CEO Kim Taesung beside him.
"Got it. It's really your work. Wow, impressive. Seriously…… I can't fathom how they let a talent like this slip away right under their noses. Someone must be suffering indigestion and sleepless nights right now. Great performance."
Kim Taesung's face turned ashen at Terry Oh's pointed joke.
Next up was singer-songwriter Park Jinwoo. His expression was as impassive as ever, but the weight in his brief feedback was anything but light.
"Flawless vocal technique, no frills. Perfect breathing between guitar and voice. Even setting aside biases about established singers, it was an overwhelming stage. Well done."
Finally, Kim Taesung's hand trembled faintly as he took the mic. He cleared his throat a few times, then forced a calm tone.
"……I never expected a Velvet Night song reinterpreted like this. A completely different, very clever arrangement from the original. I'm surprised at the extent of your potential, Jiyeong. Well done."
It sounded like praise, but his voice was laced with unconcealed humiliation.
"Great job, Jiyeong!"
The staff behind the stage parted ways with eyes full of awe. I gave a light nod and entered the passers' waiting area.
It was a fairly spacious room. I sank into a corner sofa and watched the large TV.
On screen, the next contestants' performances were being broadcast live. Numbers 2, 3, 4…. Regrettably, several who followed me had to step down amid the judges' harsh critiques. Maybe my all-pass had poisoned their chances, raising the bar too high.
As I watched indifferently for a while, an intriguing voice rang out.
"Participant number 14, take the stage."
A male contestant came out with an acoustic guitar and started his original song. It had a distinct American Western country vibe, but to my ears, the flaws floated up like notes on sheet music.
The chords are too straightforward. A tension chord in the bridge would've made it so much more sophisticated.
Number 14 passed with Park Jinwoo's super pass.
After that, I instinctively scored the other contestants.
That kid keeps closing his nasal passages on high notes. The sound gets muffled. Better to drop half a key and lean into the emotional line more.
I rested my chin on my hand, staring at the screen. If I'd produced that song, I'd have funked up the guitar riff a bit, slotted a cello solo after the chorus to max out the lyricism. Or maybe chop the rhythm into bossa nova style for fun.
This solitary time enjoying the monitor in the empty waiting room gave me a strange sense of superiority. Everyone gathered here was desperate. For some, this was their last shot at life; for others, they'd poured their souls into proving their worth.
But to me, they just looked like unpolished gems or players fumbling the wrong path.
Everyone's playing it too nice.
An audition is war. Singing politely isn't enough. You need the venom to seize the audience's heart and shake it, plus the smarts to sublimate that venom into art.
The silence filling the empty waiting room didn't last long. One by one, passers clutching their tickets began trickling in. They hesitated upon spotting me on the sofa.
"……."
No one greeted me or struck up conversation. They just sat far off, sneaking glances and whispering.
As time passed, the empty seats filled up. Out of 81 participants, about half had survived.
Almost the end now.
The large TV showed the subtitle for participant number 81. The final act to close this round.
I watched indifferently, then suddenly bolted upright without realizing.
"……Huh?"
The girl on screen. Small, pointed face with puppy-like eyes, but the aura she exuded the moment she hit the stage was no joke.
That's……
In front of the Luminus Entertainment Building main entrance. The kid who'd mistaken me for Velvet Night's Ria and bowed 90 degrees.
"Kim Naeun……?"
That was her name, for sure.
Behind the stage, Naeun's fingertips trembled faintly.
Fifteen years old. It felt like just yesterday she'd knocked on Luminus Entertainment's doors with the single dream of becoming a singer, but four years had already flown by.
"You got this, Naeun. It's what the company sent you for. Just do your best."
"Participant number 81, please move to the stage."
At the staff's call, Naeun nodded energetically and strode to center stage.
The blinding lights and the imposing judges' panel. Naeun grabbed the mic, forcing an even brighter smile to hide her nerves.
"Hello! Participant number 81 here!!"
Her trainee's signature brash greeting echoed through the studio.
Naeun immediately moved to the intro of her prepared dance track. Crisp choreography, steady live vocals. The fruits of four years of machine-like practice unfolded on stage.
She tried to enjoy it, beaming bright energy and making eye contact with the judges.
But as the performance progressed, the judges' mood shifted away from her expectations.
Tak- Tak- Tak-.
Even before the song ended, ominous sounds rang out one after another.
[FAIL] [FAIL] [FAIL]
Kang Soyoung, Kim Taesung, Park Jinwoo's monitors lit up red.
Naeun's heart plummeted. As the song ended, heavy silence blanketed the set.
Only Terry Oh, who'd been grinning throughout, tilted his head quizzically upon seeing the three [FAIL] marks.
Kang Soyoung spoke first.
"Great dance, stable vocals. But…… that's it. This show's about finding legends, not ready-to-debut idols."
Park Jinwoo added his sharp critique.
"No emotion. Pitch-perfect, but the lyrics don't hit the heart. Felt like a machine singing."
Her own CEO, Kim Taesung, skipped comment and passed to Terry Oh.
"Hold on, aren't you all being too harsh?"
Terry Oh grabbed the mic and scanned the judges.
"I love this kid's energy. Rare healthy vibe these days. Sure, she's trapped in a typical mold now. But crack that mold a bit, and she'll shine brighter than anyone—a raw gem."
Terry Oh winked playfully at Naeun and pressed his button.
Grand sound effects boomed as golden lights flooded the studio.
Naeun gaped at Terry Oh in disbelief.
"Participant number 81 advances to the next round on Terry Oh's super pass! Congratulations!"
"Haa…… Thank you! Thank you so much!"
Naeun collapsed on stage, sobbing uncontrollably.
The waiting room buzzed. Snide remarks erupted about wasting a precious super pass on mere trainee level.
"Come on, that skill level's a dime a dozen?"
"Terry Oh's getting sentimental this time. Just picked her 'cause she's cute, right?"
Ignoring the contestants' murmurs, Jiyeong stared intently at Naeun bawling on screen.
Idiots. Can't see the real thing, just judging the shell.
But Terry Oh—and I—saw it. That subtle vibrato twist right before her high note, as she steadied her breath.
You can't teach that.
Instinctive sense and raw talent.
"Terry Oh…… still got the ears."
I pulled out my smartphone from my pocket and opened the notes app.
Kim Naeun. You're on my list now.