Chapter 175
Chapter 175
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 175
Chapter Title: 57. When the Shrinking Bud Blooms (3)
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Heading to the PR Department.
Yoo Gaeul muttered to herself.
"Phew. Why am I shaking like this over something so small?"
Yoo Yeoreum replied.
"Shaking?"
"Yeah. I'm scared of being judged by people."
"Then judge them back."
"Huh?"
"Those judges or whatever—they're just scoring you. That guy's got no clue about music but acts like he does. Four points. That one's bald. Two points."
"Hehe. What kind of thing is that?"
Yoo Gaeul laughed foolishly. But her anxiety didn't fade, and soon she muttered again after walking a short distance.
"Ugh... Ajusshi. What if I mess up and hit a sour note?"
"Ever hit one before?"
"No... But I could by mistake."
"If it seems like you will, I'll smash the speaker for you."
"Pardon?"
Yoo Gaeul let out a small laugh. Then, with a slightly brighter expression, she continued.
"Of course, of course. If you think someone does better than me, knock them out too...!"
"If they judge you harshly, I'll kill the judges too."
"Eek...! Oh, right! What if cameras are rolling!?"
"Want me to buy a hammer on the way?"
"Kyaa— Ahahaha! You're not really going to do it, right? I feel like you would, Ajusshi...!"
The silly banter eased her tension a bit more. Yoo Gaeul started chattering animatedly to the kids in a much improved voice.
"Anyway, ignoring the nerves. The bigger problem is I don't really get the song."
"Don't get it?"
Bom asked.
"Yeah. This song's about persevering through hard times now so you can be happy someday, right?"
"Right?"
"Maybe because I'm happy right now? I just can't relate?"
"So?"
"Hmm, not sure, but when I sing it, I feel something, and expressions come out? As I practice, I sense something. But I don't even know what that feeling is."
"Can't do much about it right now."
"Yeah... If I just knew what it was, I could do better."
By then, the PR Department was right in front of them. The Yoo family entered through the back door and was assigned a waiting room.
The makeshift rehearsal was on a small theater stage.
As expected, the stage had cameras and lights set up. A few PR staffers were seated.
Since it was a rushed rehearsal, the wait wasn't long. Soon, an announcement echoed in the waiting room: 'Song festival participants, please take the stage.' Yoo Gaeul put on her chick mask and followed the staff to the stage. Yoo Ji-tae and the kids decided to watch from the waiting room.
Team Leader Yong Do-hee recognized Yoo Gaeul but didn't let on.
The opponent was a cadet in a rabbit mask. What was this? Her outfit was shockingly revealing.
"Wham-mem-me?"
Yoo Yeoreum frowned.
The dress was slit from the shoulders straight down to the chest.
"That bitch comes to sing and leaves her tits hanging out like that?"
It wasn't even the real rehearsal, yet she wore a performance outfit. And sky-high heels that looked like she'd trip any second. She was battle-ready.
In contrast, Yoo Gaeul, hiding her identity, wore baggy sweats and shorts.
"Jeez. Not even a fraction of Yoo Gaeul..."
For some reason, the comparison irked Yoo Yeoreum, who grumbled.
"That's her, right?"
Bom asked around then. Yoo Ji-tae nodded.
He'd seen her a few times accompanying Yoo Gaeul and remembered her mana signature. Closing his eyes, he sensed the mana. The rabbit mask was indeed Jeong Yu-ran.
Winter gripped a cushion discontentedly.
The makeshift rehearsal soon began. In the judges' seats sat the PR Director, Yong Do-hee, and two team leaders. Four in total.
— We'll just use MR backing track.
One team leader spoke up.
— We'll check just the one song each of you applied for. Depending on results, one of you may need to change songs.
— No script prepared, so we need to decide order. Any of you two participants have stage experience?
The rabbit mask shot her hand up.
"I've done some shows back home."
A voice like she'd inhaled helium. Voices get modulated before and after performances.
— How much?
"Three song festivals. About ten proper shows. Busking? Can't even count."
— Song festivals? Placed anywhere?
"Yep yep. I can show documents if needed."
— Sounds like you brought them.
"I did!"
— Haha. You're pumped. No need.
Meanwhile, Yoo Gaeul just clutched her mic blankly. No other words.
— Rabbit mask has solid experience. What about chick mask next to you?
"Uh, uh, I don't."
— First time on stage ever?
"No. Once..."
Her voice somehow deflated. The team leader removed his mic and explained something to the director, who nodded.
— Which of you two wants to go first?
"I'm fine yielding. But if no experience makes it burdensome... I can go first."
As she slyly moved to center stage, her intent to go first was clear. 'Uh, I'll go later...' Even modulated, her tension seeped through. Yoo Gaeul quietly stepped back, the stage darkened, and lights came on.
The cue dropped, and the MR track started.
She opened with humming not in the original. No bluff—her performance experience showed as the rabbit mask naturally gestured and dominated the stage. Smooth. Flashy. The judges looked impressed, faces drawn in deeper as the song built. 'Totally captured them. Singer level.' In the waiting room, Yoo Yeoreum irritably chugged water. Winter, in a foul mood too, snatched and drained Yeoreum's bottle.
— Whew. That was great. Thought we invited a pro singer.
As the song ended, the team leader's praise sparked nods and a chain of compliments.
"Damn idiots."
"...That person's a cadet too?"
"What superhuman cadet. She's a damn entertainer."
Yoo Yeoreum scoffed. Winter nodded fiercely, eyes bulging. Skill aside, they just didn't like her.
The judges even suggested she pursue singing over cadet life. Rabbit mask bashfully covered her chest and bowed. The judges beamed. The mood had swung her way.
She retreated far, emptying the stage. Only after the team leader called did Yoo Gaeul belatedly hustle to center.
"Tch, hey. Winter."
"...Yeah?"
"If things go wrong. Don't uselessly comfort her."
"...Why?"
"She's the type to bottle it up. If everyone goes 'it's okay,' she'll whine and bitch more."
"...Yeah. ...But she'll do well."
That'd be nice. As they all thought that, the backing started. Cameras focused on the chick mask.
The kid awkwardly holding the mic's lower half stayed quietly still during the intro melody. No humming to set mood or gestures to draw eyes. So the 30-second intro felt longer than expected. The judges found the standing girl boring.
The regressor watched the unfolding with half doubt. He remembered the chills when, in the 80,000-seat Ark Stadium, BY's breath signaled the song's start.
At last. Intro ended. Yoo Gaeul began.
Yoo Gaeul closed her eyes.
The mask already narrowed her view. Closing eyes made surroundings vanish, like floating alone in space.
At first, she followed notes, words, mimicked Jeong Yu-ran's expressions from memory. But suddenly, all that washed away.
From hard times. What blooms? Thinking brought Yoo Ji-tae to mind.
Yoo Gaeul didn't know why Ji-tae. But thinking of him made the tough emotion feel more natural. Someday hard times pass. Some fruition. Some happiness approaches. Digging deep suddenly turned the mood strange, melancholic.
As the song peaked, that feeling intensified. So Yoo Gaeul had to halt immersion at some line.
The song cut off.
"What? Why'd she stop?"
"...Ah."
"Hey! Why stop!"
Yoo Yeoreum yelled from the waiting room.
The PR Director couldn't believe his ears.
Right after the song started. A crystal-clear voice softly filled the stage. Like a drop of forget-me-not blooming vivid blue at noon after rain, pure and clean tickled everyone's ears.
That's when surprise spread across the bored judges' faces. The director hastily lifted his reading glasses to peer at the cadet. What person's voice is that?
No gestures. No exaggerated expressions. Just voice and song made backgrounds fade for viewers. Scales to weigh them? Vanished. Like butter melting. Before they knew, thoughts of judging blackened out, immersed in feeling.
Then the song abruptly stopped. Backing continued, but no voice.
One team leader urgently signaled. MR halted. He shouted.
— Chick cadet. You holding the mic now?
"Ah, yes, yes..."
— Sound team! Didn't check the setup properly?
Mistaking for mic issue, the team leader snapped. The director readjusted glasses and checked profiles. Chick mask. Second-year cadet. No name or ID listed. Felt like he'd heard this voice... But recalling the masked festival's point, he stopped there.
Anyway, chaos ensued. Team leaders muted mics and chattered. Try again. Too shocking. Mic definitely off? Not mid-cut? Opinions flew. Then the director keyed his mic, drawing eyes.
— Chick cadet. One more sabi.
"Sabi?"
— The last chorus. I'll cue the track.
The team leaders, eager for the cut-off part, welcomed the order.
Someday was less calm, more spilling surging emotions. Even good starts needed enduring the late buildup and chained high notes.
Rabbit mask handled range with thin, floating tone. But as pitch rose, chick mask's voice seemed to expand like a resonating chamber. Like a master's. Higher notes demand bigger resonance. Could that small body deliver? Yet as she sang, they forgot judging again, sucked in.
The clear voice gained tension climbing. Expanding chamber brought raw edges, metallic rasp thrilling listeners. Pitch rose. At climax. Chick mask's body curled slightly forward, rasp burst. Finally, high note screamed like a laser.
"Whoa...!"
Yong Do-hee felt chills from her hands. Thrills poured from her scalp. Another unwittingly stood, then glanced around sheepishly. No one noticed.
Utterly overwhelming. Depth of expression differed. Yet no one guessed chick mask was still suppressing, barely restraining her delivery.
High note ended. Song closed with frail sobs. The director felt fingertips numb. Clenching hands, sweat slicked palms. He let out a disbelieving chuckle. For a moment, forgot this was a cadet festival rehearsal.
As the song finished, Yoo Gaeul snapped out of immersion and unwittingly glanced backstage. Rabbit mask stared back. Mask hid it, but clenched fists trembled in shock.
A spark of rivalry flared. Yoo Gaeul covered her unbusted sweats chest and bowed at right angles.
Rabbit mask's fists shook harder. Watching oddly lifted her mood.
Eh? Why so good? I'm not like this...
But the petty energy clash ended there.
Click—
The director keyed the mic.