Chapter 14
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 14
Chapter Title: We Delivered an Absolutely Killer Performance!
-----------------------------------------------------------------
A faint aftertaste of disappointment lingered on the stage, where the large monitor already displayed the name of the next team.
The chilly silence and letdown left by Joo Jinwoo's team hadn't even faded yet, but the venue's energy began to ignite with a strange sense of anticipation, as if eager to fill the void.
That was because the next team was another highly anticipated lineup.
The audience in the seats buzzed chaotically after Joo Jinwoo's performance ended. But the moment Seo Siyeon's name was called, the noise died down in an instant.
"Hey, next up is Seo Siyeon. Did you see that preview earlier? The one with Park Hansu?"
"First time hearing of her... Is she famous?"
"Dude! You don't know Black Canary? They're top-tier in the domestic band scene."
"I don't listen to bands."
The judges' table had a subtle atmosphere too. Yoo Sanghyeon, who had been scowling fiercely at Joo Jinwoo's discordant mess, now twirled his pen while staring intently at the stage entrance.
Seo Siyeon.
The first time he saw her, Yoo Sanghyeon had pegged her as just a kid with a cute face, nothing more.
Yet after only three performances, his chest was already swelling with the expectation that she would deliver something extraordinary.
"Jina, did you see that preview clip? Did you know Siyeon could play the violin too?"
"No. It's an instrument that's hard to pick up at such a young age... Where did she learn it?"
Surprisingly, at the orphanage.
A teacher funded by a national program came once a week to teach music, and that's when she learned the violin.
Of course, the skill Seo Siyeon had now wasn't from those lessons, but it served as a convenient excuse for knowing how to play.
Jina leaned forward with sparkling eyes, brimming with anticipation.
Even Yoo Sanghyeon, usually quick with harsh critiques, couldn't hide his pure curiosity as a music professional this time.
After just three stages, everyone was eagerly waiting to see what Seo Siyeon would show next.
In the meantime, Seo Siyeon and Blooming took the stage.
It took a bit longer since they needed band instruments, but no one in the venue found the wait boring.
Everyone was too pumped with excitement for what was coming.
"Please welcome our original song, Glassy Sky."
Silence blanketed the stage as Siyeon tucked the violin under her chin.
The lights dimmed until only a single cool pin spotlight illuminated her petite silhouette.
It was a stage effect she'd requested from the production team in advance—a setup for maximum impact right from the start.
And it worked. The moment she raised the bow to the strings, even the audience's breathing hushed completely.
Screeeeech—
A sharp yet silky violin high note sliced through the studio air.
An elegant melody, like the opening of a classical piece, resonated outward.
As Siyeon's fingers danced busily across the fingerboard, weaving a dreamy intro, Park Heesu's bass joined in with a heavy presence.
Thump, thump—
The violin melody, so classically refined, transformed in an instant into funky vibes with the bass kicking in.
Park Heesu's bass, honed under Black Canary's guidance, was far sharper and more aggressive than before.
Just as the two instruments tangled like they were invading each other's territory, the crisp hi-hat from the drums burst in, ramping up the tempo.
Blooming's members exchanged glances with Siyeon, and finally, Yoo Seolha took a soft breath before gripping the mic.
Her voice was clearer than usual, but the way she trailed off at the ends of phrases meshed perfectly with the song's hazy mood, creating an oddly addictive pull.
-Feels like I'm trapped under a crystal-clear sky.
-Walking on shards of broken glass... so cold.
Even while playing, Siyeon controlled the session's dynamics with her eyes.
Whenever her bow dug fiercely into the strings, the band sound surged like a wave. When she switched to light pizzicato plucks, it dipped into a momentary hush.
If Joo Jinwoo's stage had been a battlefield for individual egos, Seo Siyeon's was a perfectly controlled organism.
No one tried to stand out, yet their harmony hit the audience's eardrums harder than any scream.
As the song built to its climax, Siyeon set the violin down and stepped to the mic.
Layering over Yoo Seolha's crisp high notes came Siyeon's low, dry chorus.
No childish highs here—just a calm low tone that tickled the ears.
-Glassy Sky, shimmering like it's about to shatter...
-To the end of this world that imprisons us.
Their harmonies clashed with the band sound and exploded.
Jo Naeun gritted her teeth, adding groove with the sharp cutting technique Park Hansu had taught her on electric guitar—an astonishing leap in just two days.
Gasps of awe rippled through the audience seats.
At the judges' table, Yoo Sanghyeon had already dropped his pen, mouth agape.
He saw it: how the nine-year-old's conducting from her fingertips had transformed a high school band into pro-level artists.
Maybe this talent was even more valuable than her singing or composing skills.
Siyeon stood stock-still at center stage until the final echoes faded.
Her small hand clutching the bow, the sweat-beaded faces of Blooming's members.
The moment that visual filled the screens, after ten seconds of silence, the studio erupted in deafening cheers and applause.
The fragments of disappointment from Joo Jinwoo's team were long gone.
Even after the violin's last echoes scraped the studio ceiling and vanished, a heavy silence hung over the judges' table for a while.
Yoo Sanghyeon stared blankly at the stage, pen still clutched in hand. Jina had both hands clamped over her mouth.
The silence broke with Yoo Sanghyeon's deep sigh.
He slowly removed his glasses and set them on the desk.
His eyes held a reverence utterly different from his reaction to Joo Jinwoo's stage.
"You told me back in the preliminaries that even unconventional emotion can move people, Siyeon. Today, you proved it perfectly."
He scanned Blooming's members one by one before continuing.
"It's not just your violin skills that amaze. Blooming has leveled up several notches from round one."
He pointed to each member, lavishing praise without restraint.
It might have been a style unfamiliar to him, but he showed no bias—pure raves.
Next, Jina grabbed the mic with a trembling voice, her eyes already reddening.
"Seolha, have you finally realized how captivating your voice truly is?"
Yoo Seolha blushed and bowed her head shyly, drawing cheers from the audience.
"Your singing style always risked coming off as dated. But the song Siyeon made today turned that flaw into a strength."
She added, looking at Siyeon,
"Siyeon instinctively knows how far to draw out others' talents. This was the most sophisticated stage of the season."
Even Kayseop, who loved dishing out brutal critiques, was left shaking his head in admiration.
"Honestly, I was skeptical, thinking they got a boost from Black Canary. Like, we judges are right here—why bring in an outside mentor? Kinda rubbed me wrong."
Laughter erupted from the audience at his cheeky joke.
"But no. Park Hansu taught them technique, sure, but Siyeon breathed the soul into this stage. I think it's the best of the season too."
With passing the rest obvious even without seeing further acts, we grinned and high-fived.
Backstage, Joo Jinwoo watched the scene on the monitor, crumpling his cold hot chocolate cup as he hung his head.
"......Total wipeout this time. They really rigged the whole board."
His low mutter drowned in the cheers, but his sense of defeat filled the waiting room more vividly than ever.
Right after the broadcast aired, Korea didn't exactly flip upside down.
In a society with fragmented tastes, TV shows no longer commanded nationwide hype.
But in the niche music industry, it was enough to turn the continent on its head.
The unfamiliar track "Glassy Sky" stormed the real-time charts on Melon and major sites the moment the episode ended.
A song written by a nine-year-old girl—in the fringe band sound, no less—overtook idols and established singers to claim #1.
It didn't just peak and drop; within a day of release, it hit daily #1.
And weekly #1 for that chart.
With no major idol comebacks scheduled anytime soon, no one knew how long it might reign.
As communities buzzed with speculation about a potential long run,
I, the creator of Glassy Sky,
"Nom."
"Whoa, you eat so well!"
"Heehee. It's yummy!"
Life at the orphanage had passed the three-month mark, and I'd mastered chilling there comfortably.
Right now, I sat on the lap of Seo Nahee—high school senior and de facto leader of the third-years—leaning into her chest as she fed me snacks.
Kids gotta act like kids, after all.
In my past life, this would've gotten me reported and jailed, but an second-grader on a high school senior's lap? Totally normal.
Ex-delinquent turned model student, she had support from both the goody-two-shoes faction and the rough crowd inside the orphanage—practically the absolute ruler of Evergreen Sky Nursery.
Hell, she might even outrank the director in power.
"Nahee, what'd you get on this mock exam?"
"Dude, she's all 1s again."
"Sis only missed four total. Med school easy mode?"
And her grades were top-tier nationally.
Honestly, these days I found myself thinking she was more impressive than me, the one cheat-ing via possession.
Anyway, Singer Star Season 5 Friday rolled around again at the orphanage.
The kids huddled in front of the TV. Last episode had run through my stage, cramming the remaining four into one jam-packed hour.
Made sense—the rest were too vanilla.
No practice footage or stage highlights worth editing.
So as the kids started yawning from boredom,
All stages wrapped, ending with Joo Jinwoo scraping by on judges' top mercy to advance.
Yet somehow, five minutes remained till credits.
I tilted my head.
What the heck were they padding with? Then suddenly, my face filled the screen.
"Pores and all..."
"Siyeon's still cute, though."
The scene cut.
A young woman stood there—somewhat plump build, sharp features.
The instant her face appeared, I realized what the production team had saved for those filler minutes before end credits.
Mid-episode was a snooze even for them, so they slotted in the juiciest dopamine bomb at the end.
The woman on TV glared venomously and spoke.
"For my next round opponent, I choose Seo Siyeon."
The camera whipped around like it was waiting: judges' shocked faces, audience gasping with hands over mouths and wide eyes.
Finally, a close-up of nine-year-old me blinking blankly, clueless.
"More than her innate talent, I want to prove that my time and effort hold greater value."
Her arrogant yet resolute declaration of war. The screen cut back to me.
"We'll see... If you're a musician, prove it on stage, not with words."
As I smirked with one corner of my mouth quirked up, a pounding end credits beat kicked in, and the broadcast ended.
"...Hold up."
I furrowed my brow hard and yelled at the air.
"D-Doesn't this make me look like the final boss villain?"
Seo Nahee, peeling a tangerine, snorted dismissively at my flustered outburst.
"Nah. That pig bitch charging seriously at a nine-year-old kid is the villain. Total inferiority complex explosion—what're you on about?"