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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 9
Chapter Title: Chapter 9
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“Um… well, we heard you. Trainee Yoon Hye-sung, how old are you this year…?”
Vocal trainer Yoo Jung-ah said, flipping through the application.
“You’re nineteen? Why did you choose a song like this?”
*That scared me. I thought she’d found out my real age.*
“Ah, it’s a song… my mother likes.”
In truth, it was a song Hye-sung used to listen to in elementary school.
“Your voice is husky, so it’s surprising you chose this song. The song itself has a very clear and wistful feel, doesn’t it?”
*That’s because my throat is a bit shot from the quest…*
I couldn’t say that, of course.
“Actually, my voice is usually like a clear glass bead, but I practiced so much that…”
Hye-sung acted like a diligent, hard-working trainee. She had indeed worked hard, so it wasn’t a complete lie.
“I see. But for all that practice, do you think you did well?”
S-One, a male R&B singer and vocal trainer, cut in. He was basically saying that even if she practiced, she wasn’t good.
“…I believe I did my best.”
I’d expected it, but hearing it to my face was a little discouraging.
“You’re not terrible, but your vocalization and singing technique are still very lacking.”
“Yes…”
As I was getting a semi-harsh critique from S-One, I saw Seol Han-na whisper something in Minty’s ear.
*Eonni, your stats are probably similar to mine. Don’t bad-mouth me too much to Ha-hyun eonni.*
At that moment, my eyes met Minty’s.
*Gasp.*
“It looks like your training period is very short, right? It says six months of personal practice here, but it feels like you’ve trained at a company for less than three months.”
Minty said, tapping the application.
*…This is the first I’m hearing about a six-month personal practice period. I guess the six months I spent messing around count.*
“Yes… It’s been one month.”
“A month? What about an academy?”
“I didn’t attend one.”
“Hmm, one month at a company…”
*Please don’t be too hard on me. I bought 198 copies of your solo debut album.*
“You’re pretty good for just one month, though. You can express emotion, you seem to have a sense of rhythm, and I see potential for growth. As for your voice… well, vocal care is part of your skill set, but in this case, I’ll consider it a sign of passion.”
Minty said with a slight smile.
“You’ve got the basics down for someone who’s only trained a month. I mean, you can’t really learn anything in just a month.”
Hearing that, Yoo Jung-ah chimed in.
*That’s my Ha-hyun eonni. You didn’t throw me to the wolves. I don’t regret buying 198 copies of your album.*
“But you barely danced.”
Minty, who had been surprisingly warm, landed a sharp blow.
*…Ah, Eonni. Come on.*
“Do you have a song prepared?”
Dance trainer Jade asked.
“…I do.”
Saying I didn’t would obviously get me labeled as insincere, so I had prepared a dance. The problem was that if I showed it, they’d probably cut me off after one second and send me off the stage.
*I wish the status window would help me out right about now.*
*Ding.*
[You have successfully completed your first stage! A special reward will be given.]
[Would you like to accept the reward?]
*Wow, the status window can really read the room. Of course, yes!*
[You have accepted the reward. You can obtain one random trait between Common and Rare grade.]
[Acquiring random trait!]
[Trait ]
[You are filled with a surge of baseless confidence and feel as if you are something special. However, as this confidence is baseless, there are no changes to your stats. You are literally just posturing!]
[Upon acquisition, the random trait will have a 100% activation rate on its first use.]
*Th-th-this is insane! What kind of reward is this?!*
[Trait activating!]
*No…!*
Before I could do anything, the posturing began to take over my entire body.
“I have a song prepared. But I’ll be going with freestyle.”
*Flick.*
Hye-sung lifted her chin. She looked so confident that anyone would mistake her for a dancer who had made a name for herself on the street scene.
*I must be crazy. Words just came pouring out of my mouth. How am I supposed to do freestyle?!*
“Oh? You seem confident.”
The eyes of dance trainer Jade, known as the hit K-pop choreographer, glinted.
*…I’m screwed. Jade’s going to have it out for me.*
“Then please play track number 17.”
*Tat-tat! Woong-stat! Dong-. Tattatattat. Du-woong.*
The intro, with its heavy bass line and an intense, fast beat, began to play. The moment Hye-sung heard it, she knew. This wasn’t just screwed; this was annihilation.
[The sky has collapsed
The sun has abandoned me
In the endless darkness, I
Am. A. Ban. Doned.]
The song’s late-nineties-esque lyrics, heavy with teenage angst, and the unnatural, AI-dubbed-like vocals felt somewhat eerie.
*Of all the songs… No, this has to be intentional. Even if I’d asked for number 258 instead of 17, this would have played.*
Hye-sung was right. No matter what number Jade had chosen, the PD would have instructed them to play this song.
. The controversial song, which had received complaints from religious groups due to its title implying the killing of God, was the debut track of Strawberry Killa, the most talked-about new girl group from D&F.
For a group from a major agency, their concept was so bizarrely off-putting that it was expected to flop. However, it became a meme on social media, spreading like wildfire and gaining considerable popularity from the end of last year to the beginning of this year.
It was a song completely unsuited for freestyle, but that didn’t matter to the PD. He was already grinning, thinking about using the footage of Hye-sung, who came with the D&F label, alongside the currently trending Strawberry Killa for the show’s teaser.
*…Yoon Hye-sung, a woman who gets things done. I’ll just do it. Let’s get it!*
Completely consumed by the posturing, like a gangster covered head to toe in tattoos, Hye-sung, under the delusion that she was a tough woman, started moving to the beat with her stiff body.
*Heh. This beat awakens the black flame dragon within me.*
She untied the scarf she had worn to look innocent and create a retro vibe for and wrapped it around her right arm like a bandage. It was an expensive Hermès product she had secretly swiped from her mom.
[The world has abandoned me
Faith has abandoned me
Now, I have abandoned the world]
The lyrics were so bewildering that she felt her mind going blank, but Hye-sung clenched her teeth and contorted her body, her joints creaking and clanking.
“Pfft.”
“Hmph.”
The trainees covered their mouths, either in shock or to stifle their laughter at the bizarre spectacle Hye-sung was creating. On the judges’ panel, the trainers stared at Hye-sung on stage, their faces expressing disbelief, as if they couldn’t trust their own eyes.
“What is that… It’s scary…”
For nearly the entire first verse, Hye-sung’s movements resembled those of a possessed wooden puppet.
[From my tattered wings
Red tears flow
Digging into my wounds
No one
Can heal them]
As the beat, which had been pouring down like a rainstorm, subsided, Hye-sung, who had been twisting her body as if it would dislocate, slowly stopped moving and took a step forward.
Then came the narration.
[That day… I killed God.]
Hye-sung muttered along with the narration, covering half of her face with her right hand.
Her one visible eye, gleaming with a chilling light as if she had truly killed something, and the scarf wrapped around her right arm, as if sealing something away, stood out.
[I'm a god slayer… Deicide.]
Just then, the music stopped, and the posturing wore off. As she became aware of the situation, her face turned beet red, and she felt like crawling into a hole to hide.
*…What have I done?!*
“Uh… Trainee Yoon Hye-sung?”
Jade called out to Hye-sung, a look of distaste on his face.
“Yes? Yes!”
“This dance just now… what was that?”
“Th-that was…”
There was nothing she could say. She had confidently declared she would do freestyle, only to display movements like a demon being exorcised.
“I know the song is difficult, but that was quite startling. And a little… scary.”
“Why? I thought it was fun. It was like performance art.”
Vocal trainer Yoo Jung-ah chimed in. Since it wasn’t her area to judge, it just seemed funny to her.
“Her face is cute, but she has a touch of madness. Can you show me that last move one more time? The one with the black flame dragon in your right arm, *chwak!*”
“Ah, Jung-ah. Don’t do that. I’m telling you, it was scary!”
Minty and the dance trainers put down their microphones and exchanged a few words before Minty picked hers up again and spoke.
“Trainee Yoon Hye-sung.”
“Yes…”
“Why did you say you would do freestyle?”
“……”
Hye-sung couldn’t say a word and lowered her head.
“It looked like you were trying to do popping, but not a single move was executed correctly. You could have at least stayed on beat.”
Minty shook her head and continued.
“When you were singing earlier, you were sincere. I saw your passion. I had a good feeling about your potential for growth…”
“That’s why I wasn’t going to send you to F class even if your dancing was a bit lacking, but after seeing that, I can’t.”
Jade cut in.
“You know that clanking and jerking thing you were doing? You have that weird quirk. A bad habit. If you want to be an idol, you have to get rid of all of it.”
“Jade, it’s not a ‘quirk,’ it’s a habit. Let’s use nice words.”
“That habit, I’ll completely reform it for you. Anyway, Trainee Yoon Hye-sung, you get an F grade.”
“…Thank you.”
Having bombed her evaluation, Hye-sung trudged down from the stage.
“Eonni…”
Na Yeon-woo approached Hye-sung, her eyebrows drooping with worry.
“Yeon-woo, I… Ugh, I’m so embarrassed.”
As Hye-sung crouched down, covering her face with her hands, Na Yeon-woo and their fellow trainee gathered around to offer their own form of comfort.
“It’s okay, you worked hard… You can just climb up from here!”
“That’s right! Eonni, I think you’ll get a lot of screentime, at least!”
“Why did I do that? Why freestyle…”
Hye-sung shot a resentful glare into the air.
*I could just kill it. But I can’t.*
“You guys, don’t do anything spontaneous. Just stick to what you prepared… and do well.”
After Hye-sung returned to her seat, the next contestants, Gil Ah-yeon and Namgung Seol from 2M Planning, both received A grades.
*They came out in a pair, and the previous pair both got A’s. Yeon-woo must be feeling the pressure. I hope she does well…*
Na Yeon-woo, looking visibly nervous, walked onto the stage.
“Oh my~ Look at her eyes. They’re so bright.”
“They look great on camera, these two.”
“Doesn’t the one named Yeon-woo have the vibe of a Hong Kong actress?”
“You’re right. Just like their company name, their visuals are A-grade, A-grade.”
As Na Yeon-woo and her partner appeared, the trainers showered them with compliments on their visuals. A reaction like this had only happened a few times so far.
*Come to think of it, the influencer who was paired with Yeon-woo is gone this time.*
I guess her enzyme products are selling well without her needing to be here. Hye-sung was secretly relieved by the absence of the stiff visual. She thought the source that would have dragged her favorite down was gone.
*My girl is the best. She’ll do great.*
Forgetting that she was currently the number one stiff dancer, Hye-sung clasped her hands and prayed for Na Yeon-woo.
“We are Cha Ju-yeon and Na Yeon-woo from Management A. We look forward to your guidance!”
“Alright, shall we see your performance?”
What song would it be? Hye-sung listened with a pounding heart.
