Chapter 8

"You're the one who did 'Spotlights', right? I was clapping so hard when I saw that!"

"Haha... thanks."

"I'm a lot younger than you, so you can feel free to talk to me! But wow, you're really handsome..."

The petite trainee who'd suddenly appeared in front of me stared at me with his mouth open like a child.

His wide-eyed expression and curly permed hair naturally reminded me of a poodle.

It's been a long time since I've been the recipient of such one-sided attention, so I smirked and stepped back slightly.

Then the petite trainee took a step forward, matching my stride.

"I have something to tell you!"

"Haven't you been talking to yourself all this time...?"

"I've heard around town that you're a really good singer, so if you wouldn't mind me asking, do you think you'd mind helping me out?"

Looking at the trainee who bowed his head sheepishly, I desperately tried to remember his name.

I thought I'd seen him at a level test, but he hadn't made much of an impression on me, that I couldn't even remember his last name.

"Oh, my name is Yoo Ha-woon!"

"Nice to meet you, I'm Yu Si-hwan."

"Si-hwan, you even have a cool name!"

"Actually, I'm here to practice with my friends."

At the sound of the word friends, the faces of Kang Sun-woo and Ma Si-hyuk, who had been watching this with great amusement behind me, instantly brightened.

Adding to the Yu Ha-yun in front of me, and I felt like a teacher that was being surrounded by kindergarteners.

"So, if you don't mind-"

"Yes, absolutely!"

Before I could finish my sentence, Ha-woon grabbed my hand.

His eyes opened even wider.

"I was going to ask you if you wanted to practice with three people."

I glanced towards Ma Si-hyuk's direction.

I hadn't seen him that long, but judging by his behavior, he didn't seem to be the kind of guy who would make a big deal out of it, so I passed.

My concern was specifically for Ma Si-hyuk, who'd wore an embarrassment passive on his big body.

But somehow he's immune to this trainee, and he nods at me.

"I don't care."

"Neither do I."

"Wow, thanks everyone!"

And just like that, my strategy for the first half of 'Idol Stardig Season 2' was rendered completely utterly useless.

Staying quiet is seriously a bitch.

While playing 'HIT' on my phone, I checked out the cameras around the practice room.

'I didn't want to be so visible at first, but now I'm the practice group leader.'

I don't know how ridiculous the editing will be, but it's almost certain that Yu Si-hwan will become an insider from the very beginning.

'I don't know anymore.'

I sighed inwardly and let go of the string I'd been holding on to for dear life.

'Okay, let's just enjoy what's happened.'

"You only get one chance, so don't miss it~."

"Oh, Si-hyuk, you sound better now."

Three days before the final grading.

Ma Si-hyuk, who had been furiously taking Yu Si-hwan's vocal lessons, sang the last line of the song with a better voice than before.

Min Si-hyun, who was writing things down with a pen, gave him a favorable review while slightly raising her eyebrows.

"Go, thank you."

"Well, I wouldn't call it good singing yet, but it's still much better than the first time I heard it."

Ma Si-hyuk blushed and shook his head. Then he shuffled back to his seat next to me, as if he was very embarrassed to be singing at the front of the practice room.

At least he's in the same class, so I can check in on him often.

{Master, you know that Yoo Ha-woon you asked about before.}

"It's weird to say this, but what did it smell like?"

{It's not a strong smell at all, but somehow it makes me feel energized. I feel like I should be paying close attention to him."}

Ever since I'd asked Cerberus, I've been a little worried about Yoo Ha-woon.

The first time I saw him in the practice room, he had been practicing alone.

I wondered if I hadn't made any friends here yet.

So I brought them all out to the practice room to observe the main characters in one place.

Yoo Ha-woon, who was wearing a bright smile today, greeted Ma Si-hyuk, who was following behind me.

"Si-hwan, Si-hyuk, hello!"

"Yeah, did you sleep well?"

"Ma, good morning."

Ma Si-hyuk nodded to his brother, who was two years younger.

Then, as if he couldn't lose, Yoo Ha-woon bent his back even further towards a 90-degree angle.

I raised my eyebrows at the two with strangely similar personalities.

"Are you guys just going to say hello?"

"Oh, no!"

"Oh, come to think of it, what about big brother Sun-woo?"

"Oh, him? He went to talk to some people he knows."

Kang Sun-woo had been networking with other trainees from other big agencies he knew.

It's one of the most effective things you can do in a program like this, but I've never been one to put myself out there.

'I'm tired.'

"Then practice hard today, together!"

"Yeah, yeah."

I snapped back to reality as I watched Yoo Ha-woon pump his fists in the air and Ma Si-hyuk shouting back.

'Who was I to judge.'

At 18, Yoo was on the younger end of the spectrum.

However, when we talked to him, he told us that he had already worked as a trainee for two and a half years at a small and medium-sized agency.

So, his dance moves were easy to follow and his learning ability was good.

Similar to Ma Si-hyuk, I was disappointed with his vocals. To be more precise, he lacked breathing.

No matter how easy you think idol singing is compared to other genres, if you do it at the same time as choreography, you can't help but get out of breath. If you get out of breath and fail to manage your breathing, you won't be able to naturally reach up to the top note.

So what I instructed Yoo Ha-woon was to first build up his lung capacity so that he wouldn't have to gasp out for air while dancing 'HIT'.

"Gonna make it HIT!"

"You've been practicing a lot. This is what it feels like to at least sing it without dropping a note."

"Huck, huck. I think I know what you mean!"

"Well, why don't we all try it from scratch then?"

Time flies when you're too focused on one thing.

Looking at the clock, which was now past midnight, I cut the music.

"Okay, that's it for today, good work."

"Thanks again for today, bro!"

"Good luck practicing tomorrow. We're about to record a song, so let's do our best."

"Yes!"

I watched Yoo Ha-woon's back as he walked down the opposite hallway by himself before returning to my room with Ma Si-hyuk.

When I stopped walking, Ma Si-hyuk patted me on the arm.

"Hyung?"

"It's nothing, let's go."

The next three days flew by, and the long-awaited day of final grading arrived.

Yesterday afternoon, the sound recording of 'HIT' was completed. I'm sure the other trainees felt comfortable singing it, since it was a mix of 100 voices and it was hard to tell who was who.

I was in charge of the high-pitched climax in the second half, so I recorded it with a little pressure.

To summarize, the situation couldn't have been any better for the contestant, Yu Si-hwan.

I can definitely imprint my voice on a group theme song where individual voices can be unconditionally buried.

Since I have a solo part, the main platform is probably a lock.

Thanks to the image of a teacher that has been formed against my will, I will be able to get the most airtime.

However, I can't say that this attention is good.

The more prominent a participant is from the beginning, the more pressure there is.

This means that my every move and word on 'Asri 2' will be watched by millions of people.

You never know what could happen if you slip up.

I didn't want to take that risk, so I tried to control it as much as possible.

"Okay, trainees. Has everyone been doing good this past week?"

"Yeah."

"Haha, that's a cool and not-so-cool answer, so let's get to that stage where your final grade will be determined, the final grading!"

I said silently to myself as I joined the other participants in an involuntary clap.

I've said it before, but there's really no going back now.

The path of retreat has already been blocked.

You go straight through.

***

"Participant Dong-kyung Choi's final grade is a C. Thank you for your hard work."

"Thank you!"

"We're going to take a break!"

With the last student thanking them for their low ratings, the judges were escorted down the podium by staff for a short intermission.

"Why are we so nervous watching this?"

"You did that last season."

"I did, but somehow this time, with the way it's been going, the way it's going now, I feel like I'm getting my chi up faster."

There was a good reason why Lee Jin-hak was so tongue-in-cheek.

For one thing, last year's final ratings were delivered via video.

The judges would watch each trainee's video individually and then meet with each other to assign a grade for them.

This year's event was held live, rather than on video, 'for a more authentic and realistic assessment'.

And not just for the judges, but on an open stage in full view with the other 99 contestants.

I wondered if the producers of 'Asri 2' were intentionally trying to dry the trainee's blood.

What's worse is that the order of the contestants was not predetermined in advance, but was chosen on the spot by MC Ko Hyun-joo.

In short, you have to be on your toes because you never know when your name will be called.

It's not surprising that we kept seeing participants who couldn't handle the extreme pressure.

Some of the judges, who had spent a week in training sessions with the contestants, were disappointed to see them perform so far behind their usual standards.

The number of people who didn't perform to their full potential and settled for a lower grade increased.

Some of the judges who were constantly judging performances that were below their expectations started to get tired.

"How many did we have?"

"I think we had about 30."

"That's still a long way off."

As fate would have it, MC Ko Hyun-joo avoided all of the judges' favorites and picked only the bottom performers.

After a short break, everyone returned to their seats, hoping to see someone who could lighten the mood.

"The next contestant for the final rating is..."

Pulling out one of the nametags, she looked at what was written inside and smiled slightly.

"This is the trainee who gave us a fresh twist in the last level test with his outstanding skills. Contestant Yu Si-hwan."

As Yu Si-hwan's name was called, the expressions of several of the judges visibly changed.

In particular, Min Si-hyun, who chose Yu Si-hwan for the main vocal position in <HIT>, couldn't hide her excitement.

Lee Jin-hak, who was sitting next to her, whispered to Min Si-hyun.

"Was he that good, like, up to the 'HIT' note?"

"Senior, you'll know when you hear it."

It was puzzling enough for Lee Jin-hak. After all, it wasn't every day that a survival audition theme song was suddenly changed to match a contestant's performance.

But the moment he saw Yu Si-hwan's expression on stage.

"Hello."

His puzzlement disappeared in an instant.

Despite standing alone on such a vast set.

Even though there were 99 other trainees looking at you.

The laid-back smile he showed during the level test was still there. No, he's calmer and more confident.

"Mr. Si-hwan, how have you been?"

"Very well, I've made a lot of good friends, and the best part is that I get to sing and dance every day like this."

"Haha, the other participants said that the grueling schedule was hard, but not for you, Mr. Si-hwan?"

"I was happy every minute, I don't think I've ever had more fun than now."

The judge in charge of the rap burst out in laughter at the overflowing laughter.

"If you put it that way, I'm going to have to watch the stage, so let's get to it."

"Okay."

Yu Si-hwan nodded, and the accompaniment to 'HIT', the song the judges had heard so many times, began.

And the look in his eyes at the introduction.

Everyone was stunned.

First and the foremost was the judge who had been coaching his dance training for a week.

He dropped the pen from his hand and muttered to himself.

"Who the hell is he really?"