Chapter 64
Chapter 64
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 64
Chapter Title: Do You Feel the Difference in Power?
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Do you feel the difference in power?
The Korean drama scene had been swept up once by Reply 1989.
There were various factors one could point to as the reason for that work's success, but most people highlighted two big ones.
One was the outstanding acting skills of the performers, who turned simple everyday moments—like a common kimchi stew—into something utterly delicious.
And the other was...
The fantastic OST that perfectly captured the drama's mood, keeping it from ever feeling loose.
Sometimes vibrant.
Sometimes bittersweet.
And sometimes sweet.
Those songs, which tickled the listener's ears so vividly, were still receiving heaps of attention and love from people even now.
Among those OSTs, the most famous one.
-Carrying Her Song.
The exact identities of the two singers who performed it remained unknown.
Many speculated that one was probably Lisa from The Fisher,
but the other singer's info was still a complete mystery.
Regardless of that fact,
this song—which served as the drama's ending theme and its symbol—was receiving the highest praise from everyone.
It was the perfect blend of hopeful lyrics, a bright melody, and above all, the singer's exceptional vocal prowess that stirred people's hearts.
As a result, questions like "When's this OST getting uploaded separately?" kept popping up regularly on the viewer boards. In response, PD Lee Dong-cheol and the production team were seriously considering releasing a standalone OST album.
And right at this moment.
As the song in question,
'Carrying Her Song', echoed through the studio,
every judge present—save for the one person who knew the truth—was sitting there with their mouths agape.
'Wha... what the hell is this...'
'Am I... am I really hearing this right now?'
The little girl right before their eyes,
Chae Seon-hwa.
She was just 9 years old, barely in the second grade of elementary school.
Yet, in this moment, the sound coming from this child's mouth was like that of a top-tier adult singer at the peak of their powers.
With the lyrics long since memorized, her pronunciation was pitch-perfect, without a single deviation.
There wasn't even a trace of the usual mumbling you'd expect from a kid.
If it had been just that, they wouldn't have been so shocked.
A perfectly refined breathing technique,
Volume unwavering without a hint of falter.
And above all,
the emotions so vividly captured within the song.
An overflowing, intense 'joy'.
And...
A warm 'compassion' that promised to bring hope and happiness to everyone.
'Incredible... Is this... is this really the skill of a 9-year-old kid?'
'I'm getting chills just listening. How does someone...'
'To infuse emotions this deeply... This is basically impossible without pro-level talent...?'
At that moment.
'...Huh? Wait a sec...'
'No way... this couldn't be...'
As they listened to the mind-boggling song, the judges belatedly started to realize.
Even though these judges sitting here had taken bribes, their skills were the real deal.
To them, a song was like a fingerprint.
Just by hearing it, they could roughly predict who the singer was.
And right now,
they were beginning to cautiously guess who this child before them was...
Who Chae Seon-hwa really was.
'Was it... this kid?'
'No way, the mystery singer from that Reply 1989 OST was really...?'
'The timbre matches perfectly. Even the breathing sections line up exactly... Ha... but how could a kid this young...'
It was the second singer from the Reply 1989 OST, which had been a hot topic among them for a while.
Alongside Lisa from The Fisher, her five OST tracks were all masterpieces worthy of awe.
At this level of skill, fellow singers would feel astonishment—and some, wariness.
But the fact that the culprit might be this little child delivered an even deeper shock.
'If... if this kid really is that person...'
'Then this child is... the real genius...'
By all rights, they should have been beaming with smiles at the appearance of this prodigy, who lacked nothing to be called a child genius.
In a talent-scouting show, discovering a fully bloomed flower was the best possible news for ratings.
However, this true genius's emergence was only complicating things for the judges.
'This is driving me nuts... What do we do?'
'W-We... have to pass her at least, right?'
'No idea... PD Ma Ju-seok will handle whatever comes next.'
In that agonizing mood, before a song that left no room for nitpicking, the judges shakily wrote down 10s with trembling hands.
Among them,
Park Chan-su, for the first time since sitting down today, felt a sense of relief as he jotted his number on the paper.
9.
It was the highest score he'd given so far,
but the reason it wasn't a 10 was to maintain at least a minimum sense of fairness—as her teacher and alongside Lisa.
Meanwhile, watching the judges cower and tremble before this 'overwhelming power',
the man overseeing the whole event,
PD Ma Ju-seok, was sweating bullets from his forehead even more than they were.
'Fuck... Of all people, Chae Soo-jeong's daughter—no way to edit this out... But if we air it as is...'
Of course, failing Chae Seon-hwa in this situation would be utterly ridiculous.
But if she advanced to the finals like this, their prearranged rankings would all go up in smoke.
Especially the most critical issue: Seo Han-sol's guaranteed win mission.
Even to his eyes, the current Seo Han-sol absolutely couldn't beat Chae Seon-hwa.
There was a colossal gap between them—like an aspiring singer versus a pro,
a freshman versus a professor.
(For reference, the other fraudulent passers couldn't even make it past the entrance exam, let alone college.)
Forcing Seo Han-sol's win in the face of such a massive gap...
It wouldn't just lead to backlash—it could flip the viewer boards upside down and spark an investigation.
As a broadcaster who knew better than anyone the terror of 'investigative reporting kicking off', it was a spine-chilling prospect just to think about.
On top of that, carrying out the chairman's order to handle things without letting Seo Han-sol catch on was now impossible.
Thus, PD Ma Ju-seok found himself trapped with no way forward or back.
At this pivotal moment where his life hung in the balance, the sudden nuclear bomb had left him seething with frustration...
But instead of venting his anger and resentment here,
he chose a different path.
'No choice... Things have come to this... Time to change the plan.'
Plan B, which he'd only thought about as a contingency.
He knew full well that executing it would be... incredibly difficult.
A horrific option he wouldn't dream of—or even be able to—choose under normal circumstances.
But people can summon extreme strength in the face of death.
With the conclusion that he had no choice but to charge ahead without looking back,
PD Ma Ju-seok immediately pulled out his phone.
"Get everyone under you up here to me right now."
* ◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Our proud daughter, Chae Seon-hwa,
singing a soul-stirring song right before my eyes.
Watching this scene—which, following the audition, was bringing her mom yet another wave of happiness—
I barely suppressed the lump in my throat, quietly dabbing my tears with a handkerchief as best I could.
If I could, I'd wail in overwhelming emotion, but with so many people around,
and the judging still in progress, I couldn't make a scene like that.
'Ahh... As expected of our daughter... My goddess... How can such a child even exist?'
As I felt myself drowning in, my sparkling eyes naturally drifted to the judges seated nearby.
Unlike their earlier firm declarations of elimination,
now they sat dumbfounded, like they'd swallowed honey, staring blankly at Seon-hwa.
Watching them,
I recalled a line that perfectly fit the situation.
'Do you feel the difference in power, humans?'
* ◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ The sudden emergency summons from the PD.
The Child Star production team rushed over, dropping everything mid-shoot.
However, despite the annoying situation interrupting their work, they already knew exactly why they'd been called.
Chae Seon-hwa.
The genius girl whose song was right now clawing at everyone's insides—yet whose skill they had no choice but to acknowledge.
Toward the production team, now harboring even 'fear' of this child who might chop off their heads if things continued,
PD Ma Ju-seok spoke in a grave tone.
"Things have come to this... We have no choice but to use that method."
"! B-But PD? Is... is that even possible?"
"That means scrapping every plan we've made so far. No matter how I think about it, time-wise..."
"You wanna all die like this, then?"
"!"
"Ugh..."
The chilling words froze the production team solid.
Watching them, PD Ma Ju-seok said in a serious voice,
"Do it. If you want to live."
The utterly uncompromising order from PD Ma Ju-seok.
The production team—who'd each already pocketed their cut—could only obey without a word.
And so, a full week of all-nighters was locked in,
with even going home banned.