I Won't Give Up
About an hour had passed, give or take.
The score held by the third contestant — the one everyone had been calling a favorite to win — was finally broken.
"Wow! Congratulations! At last, a new favorite for the win has appeared! A score like this, and you've got a real shot at taking it all, don't you think? How are you feeling right now?"
"Thank you so much for the kind words!"
"If you win today and take home the two-million-won prize, mind if I ask what you'd spend it on?"
"Uh... well, first I'd give half to my parents, and with the rest I was planning to buy some clothes and shoes. Whatever's left, I'd like to put toward audio equipment."
"Ah — are you an aspiring singer, by any chance?"
"Haha, yes... I'm currently working hard to become one."
The appearance of an aspiring singer sent a ripple through the crowd. Unlike the contestants so far, there was a real solidity to his vocalization and breath control. Purely in terms of singing ability, he was on par with idol trainees. It felt like the level of the field was climbing, little by little.
And sure enough —
The next contestant's stage ended, and the entire crowd rose to its feet in a standing ovation. The host's voice was thick with excitement.
"Wow... where have you been hiding all this time? Everyone, a true talent has finally appeared!"
The cheers rolled in. A storm of applause.
"If you don't mind my asking... what do you do for a living?"
"Ah, I'm currently working as a vocal trainer. I teach idol trainees."
The crowd stirred in earnest. Even to my ears, this contestant was on a completely different level. Listening to her sing, there wasn't a single gap to be found — it was the textbook definition of what a vocalist ought to sound like.
Fortunately, though, my heart didn't start racing. She was incredibly good, that much was true. But it didn't leave a deep impression. Of course, she sang far better than I ever could.
"Alright then — let's reveal the results!"
"Whoa... that's a record turnout. Now, will the result live up to it...?"
"Wooow! Everyone — we've finally broken into the eighties! She's currently in first place! Congratulations!"
"Thank you."
Even I was stunned. The contestant who'd been sitting in first just moments ago had scored a sixty-five. To skip the seventies entirely and land an eighty in a single leap...
"A score like this on our show... you can pretty much consider the win locked in."
"Really?"
"Yes. Most of the people who've taken the win scored somewhere in the high seventies to low eighties."
That was when someone tapped me on the elbow from behind. I turned. It was Hayoung, her expression considerably more serious than usual.
"Oppa..."
"Yeah?"
"That unnie just now was pretty good, huh? Vocal trainers really are on another level..."
"Hmm... so, losing your nerve?"
Hayoung snorted a little laugh at that.
"No. She's good, that's true... but today, I'm definitely going to win."
A pleased smile tugged at the corner of my mouth.
"That's the spirit. Otherwise we can't take the prize money and eat fried chicken."
"......"
Clumsy motivation, maybe. But mindset was what mattered, one way or another.
"Alright — let's welcome our next contestant!"
The next contestant stepped onto the stage, and the crowd started murmuring all over again. She hadn't even started singing, and already everyone wore a look of stunned recognition.
"Huuuh!"
Hayoung clapped a hand over her mouth, eyes wide. And once again, I was the only one standing there with no idea why.
"What...?"
"Th-that person..."
"Who is it? Someone you know?"
"...That's a singer."
"What?"
"She made it all the way to the Top 10 on Super Great Star K a while back..."
Super Great Star K. The nationwide televised singing audition — the one that had been the most popular show of all among the trainees at our company. Now that she mentioned it, the face on that stage did look vaguely familiar.
Up on the platform, the host clasped both hands together in a prayer, tipped his face to the sky, and looked thoroughly over the moon.
"Ah! Thank you, God! You've finally sent her to us! Thank you! I'll work even harder from now on!"
Beaming from ear to ear, he handed the contestant a microphone and launched into the interview.
"Please give us a brief introduction — who you are, and where you're joining us from."
"Hello... I'm Han Jisu. I made it to the Top 10 on Super Great Star K some time ago, and I'm a singer."
An aspiring singer, a vocal trainer — and now an actual, genuine singer had appeared.
"I have a new song coming out, and... I wanted to do a little promotion, so I signed up today."
A real working professional, still actively promoting. The thought that we might not be taking home that two-million-won prize after all turned my face to stone. We'd already been standing here waiting for nearly two hours...
"...Isn't a real singer cheating?"
"It's not against the rules. It says singers are allowed to enter."
"Okay, but why would a singer even..."
"To promote her new song?"
"Not for the prize money?"
"Come on, no way... singers do show up here sometimes."
Yeah, but why did it have to be today? That was the part that bothered me. It was starting to feel suspiciously like a well-written script. The host secretly books the singer in advance. Instead of an appearance fee, she takes the prize money.
The singer gets to promote her new track on a massive YouTube channel, the YouTuber rakes in the views — everybody wins. And if she curb-stomps a field of ordinary contestants with raw vocal skill and walks off with the cash, nobody can even object. The rules say singers are allowed, after all...
"The song I'll be performing today is a remake that received a lot of love back on Super Great Star K. I'm not sure how many of you will remember it, but... I'll give it everything I've got."
A familiar intro spilled from the speakers. Mouths fell open around us. I was still wearing a look of half-recognition, not quite placing it —
When the chilled wind brushes past~♪
In that instant, an exclamation point flashed on in my head. I knew this song.
On this road we used to walk together, I'm left standing here alone~♪
Familiar lyrics. Familiar melody. A familiar voice. I couldn't quite recall the singer's face or her name — but I knew the song.
Hayoung was mouthing along, her lips moving in a small, unconscious murmur. A delicate, emotional vocalist who wielded a soft tone as her weapon. All around us, people listened as if they'd been put under a spell.
As expected of a working professional — her singing was extraordinary. Frankly, it was so far beyond anything I was qualified to judge that it wasn't even funny. A hollow feeling washed over me, and the strength drained right out of my shoulders. I'd stood here for two hours with nothing but that prize money on my mind.
Trying to erase your traces, I just bite my lip like a fool again.
"Ah..."
I shouldn't be like this... she's a rival. The enemy...
For a moment her voice was so sweet I nearly fell into it myself. Even the smallest catch of her breath carried a warmth you could feel. Her live performance was insane. There was a reason she was a professional singer.
"Oppa..."
"Huh?"
"You scared?"
"...No."
"Your face is screaming that you're terrified... loosen up a little."
Hayoung patted me on the back with her small palm, a quiet little comfort.
"A magnificent stage from singer Han Jisu! A big round of applause, everyone!"
The crowd erupted. Cheers, a thunder of clapping.
"Wow — with Han Jisu's appearance, the chat is going absolutely haywire right now."
The live chat window popped up on the electronic display.
"Even I have to admit — this really is an all-time performance. So then, will the score be all-time as well? Let's reveal the vote!"
"Whoa... the vote count just smashed past twenty thousand!"
The score dropped, and the host bellowed at the top of his lungs, face flushed with excitement.
"Wooow! We've just recorded the highest score in Coin Karaoke history!"
"Haha, guys. Please stop spamming. I'm in the exact same boat as all of you. But as you know, on this show, only the contestant in first place gets to do an encore."
Watching the chat, the remaining contestants began, one by one, to declare they were giving up.
"Ah, you're forfeiting? Ah, yes. Understood. Thank you for coming out. Please do come back next week."
As one, then two of them bowed out, the contestants still waiting surged forward in a crowd.
"Thank you for your time. We'll refund your 10,000-won entry fee. Please come back next week for sure. Honestly, nobody's beating this today."
Even as the contestants forfeited, there wasn't any real disappointment. Thanks to Han Jisu, today had already produced a legendary video.
The full video's hitting three million views minimum...
Far from disappointed, the thought of the view count brought a smile to his face all on its own.
Yeonghoon turned toward the last remaining contestant, standing off by herself in the distance, and called out.
"You're forfeiting, right?"
Fully expecting her to quit, he'd already pulled out a 10,000-won bill to refund the entry fee. But —
"......"
Yeonghoon tilted his head slightly and gave the contestant a quick once-over from head to toe. A short girl in a school uniform.
"...You're still going to?"
"Yep. That's why I waited over two hours..."
"But the atmosphere right now..."
He'd been planning to ride the chat's fever-pitch excitement over Han Jisu straight into an encore stage and a smooth plug for her new song. The sudden appearance of this bold schoolgirl made the whole flow feel like it had been cut off at the knees.
"...Are you any good?"
"I wouldn't have signed up if I wasn't..."
"......"