Chapter 60
Chapter 60
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 61
Chapter Title: Finding Ye-eun's Voice
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“Why? Isn’t it safe?”
“Safe isn’t good enough.”
Jiyeong shrugged at Yeonwoo’s words.
“I get that, but we still have to consider acting and popularity.”
“That’s for the PD uncle and writer lady to judge. We’re just looking at the singing.”
“Fair enough. In that sense, what do you think of Han Sanghee?”
“Not great.”
Yeonwoo turned his gaze to look at Han Sanghee.
“There’s no power in her singing. She just has a naturally good voice, but she’s not actually good at singing.”
“A good voice gets you halfway there, doesn’t it?”
“But the stuff I make is rock. Even if it’s light punk rock or pop-punk vibes, you need power in the voice.”
Yeonwoo said firmly.
Jiyeong looked at Yeonwoo anew. She was surprised not only by how much his speech had improved in such a short time but also by how deeply he’d delved into rock subgenres.
“You’re serious?”
“Music is always serious.”
“Got it. So, no power in the voice, doesn’t fit the band. Write that down?”
“Yeah.”
Han Sanghee’s audition ended, and the next person came in.
Yeonwoo made an X with both arms the moment he heard the guy sing.
Jiyeong didn’t ask any more.
Even she—no, even a regular person—could tell his singing had no connection to music whatsoever.
The auditions continued like that.
“This one’s too low. Needs a bright, cheerful voice.”
“This one’s low too.”
“This one’s off-beat?”
“This one sings really well, but doesn’t fit this band. Too mature.”
Yeonwoo coldly evaluated the parade of applicants.
They’d already seen ten, but Yeonwoo showed no sign of fatigue.
“Yeonwoo, you okay? Should we take a break?”
“No. This is fun.”
“Not boring?”
“How could picking singers for my song be boring?”
Yeonwoo said that and stared intently at the screen.
Around such a Yeonwoo, the blue fairy and yellow fairy had set up camp, watching the auditions together.
Sharing Yeonwoo’s consciousness, they were evaluating people in their own serious way.
If they thought someone was decent, they chattered in unintelligible sounds while emitting light; if not, no reaction.
But no passing reactions had come up even once yet.
Yeonwoo was the same.
No one had felt like the right fit yet.
-Alright, that’s it for today. Same time tomorrow for more auditions. Please don’t be late!
How many had they seen like that?
The first day’s auditions ended.
Even after filtering, there were sixty applicants who wanted the lead role of Ye-eun, including today’s, so they’d decided on three days of auditions.
Day two.
No one particularly noteworthy that day either.
“Really not one?”
“Yeah… No 100s.”
Jiyeong asked as Yeonwoo spoke with a sullen expression.
“If 100’s the benchmark, what’s the highest score so far?”
“Hmm… 52?”
“Wow, aren’t you grading harsh? Yeonwoo, this is a drama. Shouldn’t we keep that in mind?”
“I know.”
Yeonwoo wasn’t stupid.
He was only judging singing, so even if he gave 100, there was no guarantee that person would be the lead.
That’s why Yeonwoo figured he’d be happy with around 70.
But there wasn’t even a 70 in the world.
Grandma had said there were lots of actors who sang well and people who did both singing and acting, but almost none had shown up so far.
Even the good singers didn’t match the songs he had in mind.
And so day three arrived.
Yeonwoo stared at the screen, hoping desperately for someone he liked today.
-Any decent ones so far, Writer Yoon?
PD Park Sung-guk’s voice came from the screen, where they were judging.
-Um, well… No Ye-eun like I imagined yet. You, Director?
-Me neither. No one that clicks.
Yeonwoo nodded.
Looks like he wasn’t the only one unsatisfied.
-Gotta have someone who just nails the vibe today.
-Yeah.
-Alright, let’s bring in today’s first applicant. Come on in!
Day three began like that.
But no real standouts today either.
Someone worth maybe 60 points showed up, but it didn’t meet Yeonwoo’s minimum of 70+.
Yeonwoo couldn’t hide his disappointment.
How could none of the sixty applicants be any good?
-Hoo… This is a problem.
-What now, PD?
-Might need to call back some who got cut on paper but have decent looks or singing.
-Yuin the composer, send over the evaluation sheets first. Okay with extra auditions?
Jiyeong said it was fine at Park Sung-guk’s question and immediately sent the compiled evaluation sheet with Yeonwoo’s comments.
-Ah, even skimming it, looks like Yuin the composer didn’t like anyone either?
“Yeah. I designed the song for a teen vibe, all bright and upbeat, but no one fit.”
-Got it. We’ll do extra interviews then. Let’s move on to the other member auditions.
With lead vocalist Ye-eun still open, guitar, drums, and bass auditions remained.
Guitar and bass went smoother than expected.
They fit Yeonwoo’s standards, as well as Park Sung-guk’s and Yoon Jina’s, so casting was locked in right away.
Ye-eun wasn’t set yet, but anyway, next up was drums, which would’ve been last per original plan.
The drummer character joined last in the story: a delinquent who didn’t hang with the tough crowd and had no interest in school.
Maybe because of that, lots of auditionees came in tomboy styles or with tough makeup.
Yeonwoo looked at athletic backgrounds or builds, not just looks.
Invincible’s drummer Park Soo-hyuk had said drums were about stamina and strength.
Hitting drums wasn’t easy for a woman.
Sure, in modern times, female drummers had increased, and Korea even had a top-tier one countable on three fingers, but she wasn’t made overnight.
A woman who’d never touched drums taking a band slot? Definitely not easy.
Most applicants had considered that.
Not just looks—many had done sports before entering entertainment.
But the most buzz went to an actress who drummed as a hobby.
Solid basics meant no extra training, so high scores inevitable.
Yeonwoo gave her his highest too, and Park Sung-guk and Yoon Jina were inwardly set on casting her for drums.
But they couldn’t end auditions there.
Someone waiting might outdo her or fit the image better.
-Next.
With an frontrunner basically set, later auditions got shorter, consciously or not.
No spark, no need to linger.
A few left like that.
The new applicant who entered had the slimmest build of anyone so far.
Yeonwoo, whose focus had waned, straightened up and stared hard.
Compared to others, faint but there—the blue fairy had appeared.
The blue fairy never showed without music ties, so he had to pay attention.
But could that build handle drums?
While Yeonwoo wondered, Park Sung-guk asked.
-Looks like you applied for Ye-eun too?
She applied for Ye-eun?
At Park Sung-guk’s question, she answered shyly.
-…Yes.
“…!!”
Yeonwoo shot up from his seat.
“Whoa, her voice is good.”
Even her shy whisper was firm and stuck right in the ear.
And the voice itself was great.
The innate kind where even casual speaking sounds like good singing—halfway there on voice alone.
Yeonwoo checked her application.
‘Lee Si-eun.’
Yeonwoo memorized the name and stared at the screen.
-Um, uh… Could you sing a bit?
Seems Yeonwoo wasn’t the only one who sensed something special from her voice.
Park Sung-guk suggested she sing—not drum.
-Yes? Sing? Oh, uh…
-No thoughts on that…?
-Ah! No! I’ll sing!
She cleared her throat, shrugged her shoulders like counting beats inwardly, then opened her mouth.
“Huh, ‘Fighting, Today Too’?”
“Yeah.”
Yeonwoo listened closely. Definitely gifted.
Firm voice, not huge volume, but it hooked the ear.
Just didn’t suit this song. ‘Fighting, Today Too’ leaned on Chae Hayeon’s mid-low tones.
But that made it appealing in a way.
Her voice was bright.
Even this mellow tune rang out clear and crisp—proof of that power.
“Auntie, I want her for Ye-eun.”
“Singing… needs polishing, but yeah, I get it. So, Yeonwoo’s score?”
“Exactly 70! Would’ve been 100 if she sang even better.”
Yeonwoo said that and focused on Lee Si-eun right there.
Hearing her voice sparked melodies blending with the song he’d envisioned.
With her voice, blue fairies born in harmony created staff lines of bright blue light in his mind, sketched notes, and hummed along.
Their actions seemed to say this had to be the main OST.
“Auntie, tell PD uncle she’s got the voice that fits Ye-eun best? Right now.”
“Got it. Soon as she’s out, I’ll call Park PD.”
Yeonwoo nodded.
His face, worried for days over no good Ye-eun, lit up.
“Our Yeonwoo’s excited?”
“Yeah. Wanna make the song quick and hand it over.”
While Yeonwoo buzzed like that.
His smartphone pinged with a message.
“Hm?”
Yeonwoo usually ignored messages. Mostly ads or scams.
Unlike Korean contacts forced onto KakaoTalk, his Japanese ones didn’t use it, so they texted—and he had a special tone for them.
Yeonwoo checked his phone quick at the sound.
“Auntie Himari?”
What’s up with someone he hadn’t heard from in a while due to busyness?
Yeonwoo checked the message fast.
-Yeonwoo!! My album’s finally done. Been too busy, so I shipped it—check it please.
Ah.
The album with many of his tracks, plus the tribute for Heo Ok they made together.
It was finally complete.
“Can’t wait.”
News of her new album—the one where she’d taught him composition—made Yeonwoo’s heart race for no reason.