Chapter 3
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 3
Chapter Title: Taking the Audition at the PC Bang Because I Have No Home
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Evergreen Sky Nursery.
Nicknamed Nulnul Nursery or Double Nul Nursery for short, a day spent at the orphanage was incredibly monotonous.
In the morning, after waking up, I'd fold my own blanket and also take care of folding the blankets for the girls who whined and fussed about it.
Then came the hellish commute to school.
Fortunately, the nursery and school were pretty close.
It took just fifteen minutes to walk there. Considering my legs were still short and my steps slow, once I hit the upper grades, I could probably make it in ten.
"Come to think of it, I'm a little short."
Second grade elementary school—my height right now was 122 cm. That was from the health checkup the nursery did last month, so it had to be accurate, no big margin for error.
I didn't really have a feel for just how short 122 cm was, but lately, when we'd lined up by height, I'd learned I was the second shortest among the girls.
The average height for a second-grade girl was 126.5 cm. I was a whopping four centimeters below average!
Honestly, what did height matter anyway? If I were a boy, maybe it'd be different, but right now I was a girl with zero interest in romance.
Lost in such idle thoughts, I'd arrive at school, slip into the classroom where no one greeted me, and take my seat at the very back.
That's right. Seo Siyeon was the class pariah, the kind of position they called a social outcast these days.
There were a bunch of complicated reasons why things had turned out that way.
For one, Seo Siyeon had an extremely shy personality. She had trouble speaking to others first and even struggled to keep a conversation going if someone talked to her.
And with a personality like that, fate had conspired against her—no same-age kids from the nursery ended up in her class.
The kids from Nulnul Nursery usually stuck together tightly.
It came from growing up side by side, and after going through first grade, they instinctively knew the other kids were different from them.
That tendency had its upsides, like naturally shielding the nursery kids from isolation or bullying at school. But if luck wasn't on your side, it could trap you in a miserable year of friendless school life.
Sure, the kids got called "Nulnul orphans" at school and faced this subtle rejection, but most of them ended up turning into little delinquents, influenced by the nursery seniors who'd been bad seeds for years.
In that environment, quiet types like Seo Siyeon could coast through school life relatively comfortably under the protection of their peers.
Which made Seo Siyeon a real unlucky case.
With all of twenty-five Nulnul Nursery kids in second grade, it was pure bad luck that not a single one landed in her class.
That was the old Seo Siyeon's perspective, though. Things were different after I possessed her.
From my standpoint, having no one talk to me was actually a huge relief.
Honestly, even if the other kids tried chatting me up, it was tough for an adult like me to give responses that matched their emotional level.
I'd kill time during lessons lost in my own thoughts, and before I knew it, the end-of-day bell would ring.
Being low grades meant classes wrapped up early in the afternoon.
I'd bolt straight for the PC bang.
"Hi, Uncle."
"Hey there. Siyeon, huh?"
I'd gotten pretty close to the owner lately, exchanging greetings every single day.
Close enough that he knew what I was up to and even let me use his smartphone to audition for Singer Star.
"Made you an iced Americano just how Siyeon likes it. Want some?"
"Ah, thank you."
Actual legal coffee! For someone like me who'd only ever chugged instant coffee her whole previous life, an iced Americano was like the elixir of life.
I bowed at the waist.
Spending a little time living as a kid had taught me one thing: you don't turn down incoming kindness.
Doing so might come off as too mature and create unintended awkwardness.
Kids get the most love when they act like kids.
The image I was probably projecting to the owner right now was that of a girl who'd grown up a bit too fast without parents around.
Made sense why he doted on me so much.
How could anyone not like a hardworking, pretty orphan kid?
At first, it was probably half him seeing potential to use me and half just because I was cute. But now, I could tell from his gaze that it was mostly pity—he just wanted to look out for me.
"Go on, future diva—wet your throat! I'll call you the second the phone rings!"
"Yes!"
I'd already passed the first preliminary round for Singer Star Season 5.
It was submitting an audio file through their site, and I'd made it by singing a bouncy, trendy idol track.
Once I cleared the second round—the phone interview—the third would mean showing up in person, right in front of the cameras.
'Seo Siyeon's voice is better than I expected.'
It still had that childish high tone, but I could leverage it to hit highs even higher than the original.
And in my past life, I'd done my own guide vocals—I could actually sing decently.
Hell, when the company was a dumpster fire, I'd even coached the idol kids on their vocals.
Here, with spotty practice adjusting my vocalization, I'd reached solid elementary-school singer level.
Not quite "call me a genius" territory, of course.
"Aah."
Today's song was a pop track blowing up lately.
It leaned more on a clear voice than vocal power, which I figured suited me pretty well.
Someone might ask why not an original composition, but for a remote judging like this, sticking to familiar songs was the smart play.
The judges were all regular folks, after all.
The real pros only came in from the third round.
They might actually appreciate one of my originals.
Worst case, oh well. Either way, the title of "elementary kid who composes her own songs" would carry me to the higher rounds.
Once you're famous, even crap gets applause. Nail the upper rounds for buzz, and the rest gets easier.
"Siyeon! Phone's ringing!"
The owner's booming call drew glances from the surrounding customers.
Hiding the hot flush of embarrassment those looks brought, I scurried to the counter.
At the same time, in a meeting room at JBC's Sangam-dong broadcasting station, Kang Junhyeong—the main producer for Singer Star Season 5—irritably swept back his hair.
Was it because they'd reached season 5 now?
He could feel the applicants' quality was disastrously worse than in past seasons.
"Season 5 already... no freshness left. Have all the real geniuses already come and gone?"
If season 4 hadn't been such an unexpected smash hit, there probably wouldn't even be a season 5.
At this rate, it'd be smarter to end it after season 4 on a high note.
In the flood of audition programs, viewers wouldn't give you the time of day without a gritty backstory or genuine genius talent.
This season was packed with the same old mediocrity. If nothing changed, the show would probably die with it.
Kang PD sighed and scanned the list for the second-round phone interviews.
The interviews were split among various PDs and staff. As the main PD, his list focused on the noteworthy applicants.
"Next up... second-grade elementary? Seo Siyeon?"
Way too young. Kids that age usually sang nursery rhymes or did a half-baked impression of an adult singer before bombing. Kang PD set aside any expectations and spoke in a flat tone.
"Yes, this is Singer Star PD Kang Junhyeong. Briefly state your motivation, then start your prepared song."
The voice on the other end of the line was, as expected, pure childish chirp. But her response made his brow twitch.
"Hello. I'm Seo Siyeon. I applied because I want to get famous."
'What an honest little kid.'
He chuckled inwardly.
So very elementary-schooler. At that age, getting famous for no real reason probably sounded great.
But the moment the singing started from the phone, his attitude flipped 180 degrees.
A cappella, no backing track. There was some ambient noise from the public space, but the tone flowing through the phone was so clear and pure it drowned everything out.
The intro to that pop song sweeping the charts lately spilled from Siyeon's lips.
"I’m not looking for a hero to save you..."
'Flyer?'
He'd heard the song a million times already. Being so hot right now, tons of applicants had picked it.
But this was different from all the others.
It wasn't just pitch-perfect. The way she controlled her breathing—like she fully grasped the lyrics' meaning—and blended it with that uniquely childlike clear high note created this bizarre addictiveness.
Kang PD found himself pausing his pen and pressing his ear right up to the speaker.
'A little... fast?'
A tempo just a hair quicker than the original.
But it didn't feel off—instead, it meshed perfectly with her voice.
Silence hung after the song ended. Kang PD's heart started pounding.
This might be the real deal he'd fished out.
"Miss Seo Siyeon, that song just now... did you arrange it yourself? It felt different from the original."
"Ah, I pulled the rhythm forward a bit to fit my vocal tone. Singing it too squarely didn't seem to suit my age."
Her calm reply sealed it for Kang PD.
This was either a genius or something pretending to be one. Either way, she'd be this season's savior.
"Good. You pass the second round, Siyeon. You know the third is an in-person audition, right? Guardians are required..."
"I'll tell the nursery director and come alone. I'm good at finding my way."
And on top of that? She lived at an orphanage.
This was gold. He was absolutely convinced.