Maybe I'll Call You Unnie?
Do you know when people become the most desperate? Obviously, when they're backed into a corner—right on the edge of a cliff.
That's exactly how I felt at the start of Singer Star.
No matter how I thought about it, I couldn't picture myself spending my school years in the orphanage. And submitting demos wasn't going to land me a decent agency either.
With Singer Star as my only real escape route, I had no choice but to throw everything into that audition.
So what about Lee Hye-na?
Was she backed into a corner?
I could answer that confidently: no.
Even if she got eliminated here, she had the recognition and fandom to debut somehow.
She could even make a decent living as a solo artist.
And yet, right now, Lee Hye-na was desperate.
Desperate enough to pick Fall for Me again—the song that had taken her career to its peak—as her performance for this round.
She knew better than anyone that even a slight drop in quality would have massive repercussions.
She had a loyal fanbase, sure, but that came with a ton of antis too.
At the center of those antis were the fandoms of the three girls who debuted amid rigging scandals from her prodigy days.
And naturally, as fans of the ultra-popular Starlight, they were a massive force.
With criminal complaints filed and police investigations underway, that giant fandom had nowhere to vent their rage—until Lee Hye-na showed up on Singer Star, right in their crosshairs.
Even in the last round, where she just put on a mediocre show, mockery tweets got retweeted by the tens of thousands, burying her in hate.
Imagine messing up a stage with Fall for Me in her hands?
What would happen... just thinking about it is terrifying.
But that's exactly why I liked her.
Taking that kind of risk meant she had the guts and resolve to match.
Win or lose this round, my gut told me Lee Hye-na was destined for success.
Two weeks prep time. That's annoyingly long.
Truth be told, I didn't have much to prepare for my stage this time.
It wasn't a tough song, so no special tweaks like last round—just sing it the way I always did.
It might've stumped the old Seo Siyeon, but for me now, it was straightforward, low-difficulty stuff.
"Still, gotta practice for some screen time... I'll ask Grandpa Yoo Sanghyeon to watch when he comes."
"Siyeon, if you're free, wanna help us out...?"
"Huh?"
I turned around to see Yoo Seolha standing there, looking awkward, eyes darting everywhere.
That's when I remembered the promise from last time.
The one where she practically forced me into it, in exchange for that fan-shaped instrument.
"Oh, right—the song... I was gonna give you one, yeah?"
"W-we can't afford to lose here...!"
"Y-yeah."
Blooming had drawn Joo Jinwoo for this round, of all people.
The moment the matchups were announced, they all thought they were doomed—a matchup so unpredictable it was anyone's game, and pretty much the worst possible draw.
Which meant Blooming and Joo Jinwoo had to prepare meticulously and deliver their absolute best.
But their condition is a total mess.
The Blooming members looked mentally shaken by the surprise powerhouse opponent.
Maybe because they were young? They'd forgotten that with calm prep, they had a solid shot—and even if they lost, revival round odds were high.
So I laid it all out for them clearly, and their response was...
"We... we know that already~."
"So why are you overreacting?"
"Because if we win this round, they promised a group trip to Hawaii after the audition! We were so set on winning... and then this matchup."
"Filthy rich bourgeois jerks."
Okay, time for a quick refresher on Blooming's member profiles.
They'd been friends since English kindergarten, going through elementary, middle, and high school together in Gangnam-gu.
Well, Park Heesu went to arts high, so they split a bit in high school.
Take Yoo Seolha as the prime example.
She's the ultimate rich girl among them—daughter of a mid-tier powerhouse company worth tens of billions, basically a chaebol-level conglomerate.
Not a full chaebol family, just one company, so people called it mid-tier...
What mid-tier? It's straight-up a mega-corp.
For reference, everyone except Jo Naeun's parents has their own Wikipedia page.
Does that even make sense?
Yoo Seolha somehow dragged all these elite daughters into music—a total dilettante pursuit—and what a lineup it is.
Which makes it even harder to understand.
Was going to Hawaii really a big deal for them?
For these girls, overseas trips were like going from Incheon to Seoul—whenever they wanted.
"Our parents are so strict... We've never been abroad except that one middle school group trip to Japan..."
"Ah."
That made it... somewhat understandable? Hell no.
Were they seriously saying that in front of an orphan like me?
"Haha... so, can you help us out?"
"A promise is a promise. I'll help."
"Yay!! Make us another glassy sky!"
"That... might be tough."
glassy sky was still dominating every chart at #1.
It showed no signs of budging, ruling like a dictator. My pray for and Joo Jinwoo's ballad from last round had come closest at #2 and #3.
It's wild that my biggest hit isn't from my past life, but this one.
I hadn't even made glassy sky with commercial success in mind.
Yet here it was, crushing it.
Though it'll drop next month when Starlight comes back.
No way it could beat a monster project group dropping albums every half-year.
"Wanna pick one yourselves?"
"Huh? C-can we?"
"Why not? Honestly, it's better if you find a song that fits your voice perfectly on your own, rather than me handpicking everything."
I couldn't produce for them forever.
Blooming needed to develop an eye for clothes that suited their voices.
With that educational(?) intent, I dashed to my room, grabbed my laptop, and came back.
"Sound quality's kinda iffy, but bear with it. Pick from the finished guide tracks only—I don't have time to rearrange or tweak unfinished ones right now."
"That's more than enough! Hehe, our cute little Siyeon is spoiling unnie."
"Real talk, though."
"Isn't she basically our band's producer now?"
Couldn't argue with that. They had zero original composition skills, so they desperately needed outside production—and I'd been monopolizing that role.
Honestly, I kinda enjoy this setup.
Blooming was like an endless mine of potential.
Watching these rough gems get polished up close was pretty satisfying.
I plugged in my treasure trove of a USB—the pink one with the dangly character keychain.
"Whoa, new USB? So cute!"
"Needed more space with all the new tracks. Asked someone I know to get me a fresh one."
Park Hansu hooked me up, but he brought back this kindergarten-level character USB. Not my taste, but free is free—no complaining.
That guy knew damn well this isn't my style and picked it on purpose. Pisses me off subtly.
I'd gotten so much help from him, so I swallowed it, but it still stung.
"Hehe, now that's more kid-like. Your tastes and habits are so grown-up otherwise."
"Huh, you think?"
If they saw it that way, no harm.
The Blooming members started combing through the hard drive tracks, hunting for one that fit Yoo Seolha's tone perfectly.
"Hey, this one's good?"
"Me too. Nice vibe."
"But Seolha, can you actually sing this?"
"Psh, I can push through something like this, right?"
I narrowed my eyes at Yoo Seolha's cocky grin, half in disbelief.
The song she picked demanded highs two keys above her known range.
Plus tricky control flipping between true and falsetto—a high-difficulty beast.
Great track overall, but those exhausting high notes kept it from lingering long on past-life charts—a tragic gem.
I liked it personally, so I'd restored it, but of all things, she picks that?
I had to butt in.
"Sorry, but that's gonna be tough. The high register is insanely demanding."
"R-really?"
"Yeah. Nail it perfectly on the first try without practice, and I'll grant you a wish. That's how hard it is."
"For real?"
Yoo Seolha's eyes sparkled instantly.
Hooked on "wish" more than my warning about the difficulty.
But no way could she handle it with her current skills.
"Yep, for real. You absolutely can't nail it."
"Then if I do it now, you all call us unnie! Deal?"
My brow furrowed hard at that proposal.
Wasn't that wish a bit too vicious?