Raising a Neglected Singer-Songwriter - Chapter 29



Only Krnovel

29. Honestly, I’m a little scared

“Whoa, it’s over.”

Seol Hye-yoon takes off her headset and hangs it on the stand.

I just finished recording a cover song that I did over the weekend.

The song title is ‘Touch Your Body’.

This is a song by the girl group Sisters, which is at the top of the Kiwi charts.

The growth that had been on a steep upward trend right after participating in the ’26’ challenge quickly slowed down as uploads became less frequent, and in order to bounce back, he covered popular songs. He hopes to gain momentum again through this song.

Meanwhile, Yuna’s ’26’, currently covered by Seol Hye-yoon, is recording 1.7 million views.

“There are about 300,000 left.”

Seol Hye-yoon mutters quietly after checking the number.

Here, 300,000 is the number needed to reach 2 million views.

The ‘duet promise’ with Cha Sung-jun is at stake.

“I wonder how long it’s been over there now.”

Ddalgak-

Seol Hye-yoon goes to Devoice’s channel from one of her few subscription channels.

The cover of ’26’ is featured on the top video of the channel.

The number of views for this video is –

“2.5 million. It’s gone up since then.”

We’ve already surpassed our goal.

And this means,

‘Then are you really singing a duet?’

It meant that the duet with Cha Sung-jun would be imminent.

“Today is Saturday, so maybe Monday···.”

Judging by the trend of increasing views, the goal is likely to be achieved by the end of this weekend.

If we include the cover song we sang today, it will be even more powerful.

‘I guess we should talk about what song we should sing at work.’

Normally, I would hate to even think about going to work on a Monday…

Somehow, I feel like I’m really looking forward to this time.

“Okay~ Then let’s edit the video now.”

Seol Hye-yoon, who had been stretching, returned to her work with a serious expression on her face.

There was a faint smile on Seol Hye-yoon’s lips that she wasn’t aware of.

*

*

*

Meanwhile, at that time, at Ilsan JBS Studio.

The eyes of the Who’s the King contestants, including Cha Sung-jun, are fixed on the screen as if they were nails.

Because the main set has been unveiled.

As the dry ice scattered for staging cleared away,

“Wow… awesome…!!!”

A full view of the set has been revealed that makes one wonder and admire just how much money was spent on it.

Like other survival programs, it is a pyramid-shaped stage with differences based on ranking.

At the highest point stands alone a throne that we had first seen.

A ‘throne’ with red velvet and gold trim, something you might only see in American medieval dramas.

Then, the number of chairs increases by 3, 7, and 15 per level in the lower tiers.

On the other hand, the quality of the chairs is getting lower and lower, and there aren’t even any chairs at the lowest level.

I guess he’s telling me to stand.

Anyway, it was clear that it was a flashy and brutal set that would make viewers sway.

Park Hye-shin said to the participants who were staring blankly.

“The inauguration ceremony is a place for you to let the public know what kind of charm you have as a singer-songwriter. In other words, it’s like a time for self-introduction. You just have to present one of your own compositions that you submitted when applying to the program.”

Those words send a shiver of tension through the waiting room.

It may sound like a really casual self-appeal time, but I knew in advance from the staff that it wasn’t like that.

“I said it was a self-introduction, but as you all might have guessed, it’s not an ordinary self-introduction. This is because today’s inauguration ceremony stage will be used to evaluate how fit you are to be a king. The closer you are to the throne, the more royal symbols, or ‘crowns,’ you will receive. Now, let me introduce the judges of ‘Who’s the King’ who will evaluate the inauguration ceremonies of the candidates!”

At Park Hye-shin’s declaration, the camera captures the opposite side of the pyramid set.

A long, straight desk.

At the front, there is an LED in the shape of a ‘crown’, which is the symbol of the program and was mentioned by Park Hye-shin earlier, and there are seven judges sitting at each seat.

Soon, the LED lights came on one by one from the center and the introduction began.

First, we will start with composer Ryu Young-seok, who is well known to the public as the host of the music talk show ‘Drawing Book’.

“Next up is the judge for K-pop hit song maker ‘Brave Cat’!”

“We have had a hard time inviting a truly respected senior. The vocalist of the legendary 80s band ‘Halla’, judge ‘Choi Kang-san’!”

“Judge ‘Choi Hana’, a star lyricist, and judge ‘JayJay’, a trendy hip-hop musician and producer!”

Next, there is emotional singer-songwriter ‘Lee Mirae’ and the leader of the talented self-produced boy group ‘Monsta Z’, ‘Jiwoong’, produced by program production company MXM Entertainment.

“These are the ‘Seven Consuls’ who will elect a new king.”

Each of these individuals introduced is a major figure who dominates the current Korean music industry.

“Wow, the lineup is crazy!!!”

“This is almost like Avengers. How much did it cost to produce the program?”

The waiting room is once again in an uproar after confirming the judges’ identities.

Voices mixed with excitement and nervousness.

Meanwhile, Choi Kang-san, the most senior judge and representative, took the microphone.

His trademark dark sunglasses and neatly trimmed gray beard.

Choi Kang-san, who exudes overwhelming force from his visuals, opened his lips.

“It is an honor to meet such great singer-songwriters. I look forward to the music the candidates will present.”

The inauguration ceremony opened with a simple but weighty word worthy of a legend.

As the staff became busy, contestants number 26 and 27 were immediately called.

Number 26 is put into the main set after 5 minutes of practice time.

Number 27 is waiting at the bottom of the set in the meantime.

“I’ll be back!”

“Number 26, fighting!’

The contestant who left to enthusiastic cheers soon appears on the screen.

And so the full-scale recording began.

*

*

*

A little over half a day later.

Before we knew it, the recording was nearing its end.

“Please wait for the next participant number 46!”

As the remaining few participants were called out one by one.

In the interview zone, filming is in progress of some contestants who have returned from the stage and are giving warm reactions.

Meanwhile, the waiting room looked much quieter than before.

This is because most of those who had been practicing tirelessly, whether it was playing the guitar, warming up their throats with lip bubbles or scales, or suddenly shouting out high notes or memorizing the lyrics, finished their performance on stage.

In addition,

“Hmm.”

As someone’s small yawn suggests, the static atmosphere was also created by the accumulated fatigue as the recording went on for a long time.

As a result, all the participants ended up dying together.

“Hmmmm~”

There was just one face that looked pretty neat and humming…

“Aren’t you tired, number 49?”

Even though it was the last turn, one of the contestants stuck out his tongue and asked at the sight of the lonely, blue-eyed man.

Then, a reply comes back from number 49.

“I’ve been working out hard recently, so I’m in pretty good physical shape.”

“What kind of exercise do you do? Fitness? Or soccer?”

“I cycle. Six hours a day.”

“Huh?! Six hours every day?! Wow~ That’s why you’re so energetic.”

A participant nods his head as if he immediately understood the word cycling.

He probably wouldn’t know it even if he woke up dead.

The cycle that number 49 is riding is an activity in a game, not in reality.

Also, 49 vitality,

[Stamina Lv.2]

This is because of the newly acquired [Physical Strength] stat.

‘The timing was good.’

Number 49, Cha Seong-jun raises the corners of his mouth with satisfaction as he looks at the status window.

Since opening up cycling activities last Tuesday.

After completing 36 hours of total neglect for 3 consecutive days, twice a day in the morning and afternoon, on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, the stat finally bloomed on Friday evening.

[Thirty and six hours. The time it took for my body to change.]

With a phrase that you might find written in a gym full of emotion.

And it was thanks to this [physical strength] stat that I was able to maintain a pretty good condition.

It was also effective to raise the level of stats by turning the idle while recording.

I heard that the fatigue that had built up was completely recovered, perhaps due to the level-up effect.

Anyway, while I was once again amazed by the cheating nature of ‘Bangsingki’,

“Please prepare the last contestant number 49.”

Finally, it was my turn.

I grabbed my guitar and headed backstage, where I saw contestant number 48 singing on stage.

The vocals were not very good, whether it was because of the tension, or because the waiting was long and the throat was hoarse or the body was sagging.

The judges seemed to feel the same way and pointed that out.

“Unlike the recorded version, the live version is a bit… unstable.”

“I think this is a chronic regret that studio artists have. The sound source is recorded by breaking up each section into pieces, so it’s nice to listen to, but when it’s actually performed live, it’s shaky.”

“I think it probably didn’t have much of an effect because I waited so long since I was in the latter part of the order. However, managing my condition is also one of the virtues of a pro, or rather a ‘king’.”

Afterwards, the song’s composition was not bad, and it was given the number 48.

Number 48 passing by with a gloomy expression.

“Let’s bring in the final candidate.”

Upon Park Hye-shin’s introduction, the staff gives a signal to go up.

“Okay, let’s go.”

After taking a deep breath, I climbed the stairs and stood on the stage.

As I stand with both feet in the center, I am suddenly overcome by an overwhelming feeling.

‘This is the stage······.’

It’s a completely different level of intimidation than when I saw it on the screen in the waiting room.

The set is gorgeous, but each and every judge’s gaze is sharp and fierce as if they are going to devour you.

If you were a person with weak gall, your mind would have gone blank.

However, Cha Seong-jun was calm.

‘It’s less tense than when Yuna and Director Baekseok were watching right next to me.’

Because I happened to get a harsh preventive injection a few days ago.

Here, the SR-grade skill [Clearness Index], which helps maintain composure, was also applied.

Let’s stand and wait for a moment. Soon, judge Ryu Young-seok came to greet us.

“Nice to meet you, candidate number 49. I’m sorry you had a hard time waiting for so long.”

“No. The packed lunch was delicious, and it was nice to listen to other people’s songs and pamper my ears.”

The skill level is pretty good, so she even starts to whine.

The judges smiled faintly at the relaxed attitude.

“You said the lunch box was delicious? You came to the audition right now, right? Wow, this is not an ordinary mentality~”

“There are a few people like that around me. They’re either geniuses or just weirdos. I’m curious to see which one you are, number 49.”

“If you look at the stage, you’ll know the answer right away. Then, what about the self-composed song you prepared today?”

Cha Seong-jun answered the judges’ questions.

“Yes, it’s a song called ‘Drink me like coffee.’”

“Does that mean you want me to drink you like coffee? The title feels good. I’ll listen to it as soon as I’m ready.”

He nodded and went to where the microphone and chair were set up and sat down.

Cha Seong-jun closes his eyes for a moment before starting to play.

‘······Honestly, I’m a little scared.’

I’m afraid of professional evaluation.

Because you will come face to face with your own limitations when viewed with a cool head.

As my vocal trainer said in an apologetic voice a long time ago.

I’m afraid that I’ll be sentenced to, ‘Unfortunately, your talent ends here,’ and that the trauma will reoccur.

But······

‘The me now is not the me then.’

There is one thing that is clearly different from the past.

[Raising a Neglected Singer-Songwriter]

Talent, skill, sense, inspiration.

You have obtained the miracle of being able to level up without limits.

‘So, it’s okay even if your skills are a little lacking right now.’

Today is the day when I feel the most gloomy and sloppy.

As long as there is ‘Bangsingki’, tomorrow will definitely be one step further.

Because this way, day by day, certain growth is guaranteed.

Whatever feedback you receive, it will all be valuable experience and building blocks.

‘So don’t be scared and just let me sing.’

The covered eyelids slowly rise.

Then, Cha Sung-jun’s fingers plucked the guitar strings.

*

And 10 minutes later.

“······Can I listen to one more song?”

Judge Ryu Young-seok asked with a strange look in his eyes.

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