A New Career Singer Who Can Read The Future [EN]: Chapter 34

I opened my eyes.

And what I saw was…

Question marks hovering over the photos of the 1st and 2nd place contestants.

It was impossible to tell who was in 1st and who was in 2nd.

“Ah, our production team is so mischievous, keeping us in suspense! Not revealing 1st and 2nd place until the very last moment.”

The staff’s camera was fixed on me and Number 17.

The production team was really making me sweat with anticipation.

Then, in that unguarded moment!

The face of the 1st place contestant was revealed!

“Congratulations! Contestant Number 23! This means Contestant Number 17 will be in 2nd place!”

I had taken 1st place in the real-time online voting by a huge margin last time, and even though the gap had narrowed this time, I still managed to secure 1st place!

“How do you feel about winning 1st place?”

“Thank you! I want to dedicate this honor to everyone who supported me today!”

“Contestant Number 17, who came in 2nd, how do you feel?”

“I’m disappointed to have come in 2nd, but I’ll work harder to improve! Thank you to everyone who enjoyed my performance!”

After the speeches were finished.

Cost flipped over a cue sheet and said.

“We need to talk about this week’s competition stage, right? Don’t you think?”

“That’s right!”

“Please tell us quickly! I’m sleepy!”

“You must be sleepy. You’ve been working so hard for days. So, I’ll announce it early. This week’s competition is very easy!”

When Cost said it was easy, I wondered what kind of easy mission it could be.

Performing the song that got the best reaction during busking again in the competition?

Well, that seemed too easy.

Showcasing the stage you are most confident in—but haven’t shown yet?

I had a feeling that might be it.

If so, which song should I choose?

“It’s like I can see what’s on your minds. You must be wondering what kind of stage to do. The answer is very close. It’s to sing one of our judges’ songs. It doesn’t matter if there are overlaps!”

“……Oh.”

It was a really easy mission.

Especially for someone like me who had performed Ocean’s ‘I Love You’ on stage before.

I had already decided to put ‘I Love You’ on stage.

“I know some of you have performed the judges’ songs through busking stages. If so, it will be a pretty easy stage for them, right?”

Correct.

It would be a really easy stage.

Moreover, Ocean’s ‘I Love You’ is Ocean’s hit song, and it was also the stage that got the best reaction from my Gangnam Station busking. Of course, I’m not going to sing it exactly as I did during busking. Busking and a formal stage are different. I will present a stage that is one step higher, or rather, close to perfection, based on the audience’s reaction. Otherwise, I shouldn’t take the risk of singing the same song.

“Well, that’s all for today. Everyone, you’ve worked hard.”

* * *

Although I wasn’t given a day off, I slept soundly until 10 a.m. to recover. I ended up skipping breakfast, but it didn’t matter.

Rather, I tend to concentrate better on an empty stomach.

After quickly washing up and moving to the practice room, I picked up the guitar again and started practicing Ocean’s ‘I Love You’.

It seemed like a good idea to change the order of ‘I Love You’, which was originally after busking, to the front. Thanks to that, I was able to get a good reaction from busking and solidify my position as number one in real-time voting.

“Ah, ah! Aeiou… Um, umm, umm, umm!”

I also hummed to loosen my throat.

I could sing ‘I Love You’ with my eyes closed.

After singing the song once, someone came into my practice room.

It was none other than Mentor Seon Hwa-seung.

It was the first time Mentor Seon Hwa-seung had visited me.

We hadn’t even faced each other in the mentor-mentee duet battle, and he hadn’t visited my practice room in the meantime, so we were quite awkward.

But why did he visit?

“Contestant Number 23, it’s my first time visiting like this.”

“Yes, nice to meet you!”

“There’s no need to be happy. Have you chosen a song?”

He was still cold. It was like the cold wind of Siberia was blowing.

I remembered Hyo-seop grumbling about Mentor Seon Hwa-seung.

“I’ve decided on Ocean’s ‘I Love You’.”

After hearing my words, Seon Hwa-seung made a sound as if he was contemplating something.

“Hmm…”

At that sound, I felt my mind momentarily become uneasy.

Were there more contestants singing the hit song ‘I Love You’ besides me?

“Let’s do another song besides that one.”

“Suddenly, when the competition is not far away?”

“There are three more contestants singing that song besides Number 23.”

Wait, there are three more?

That means 4 out of 10 people will be singing ‘I Love You’…

The possibility of being buried is very high.

“Could I possibly know who they are?”

“That’s a secret. The reason I came to find you like this is for one reason.”

Surely he’s not asking me to sing Seon Hwa-seung’s song.

But the feeling was telling me that.

“No contestants are singing my song.”

That’s because Seon Hwa-seung doesn’t just sing well, he sings ‘incredibly’ well, and because of his perfectionist tendencies, people are afraid that their scores will be deducted if they sing Seon Hwa-seung’s song wrong.

The reason was obvious.

Ocean seemed like he would give generous scores no matter how his hit song was sung.

“Are you suggesting that I sing your song, Mentor?”

Seon Hwa-seung did not deny my question.

“That’s right. I came to ask you to sing my song. I hope Number 23, who has a variety of vocal colors, will sing my song.”

“But since I’m going to sing it in my style, my score will be deducted if I sing it wrong, and my ranking might change. And…”

I looked at the staff and added.

“Is it okay to make a direct suggestion like this? It’s my second time appearing on an audition program, but it’s the first time I’ve experienced this.”

The staff briefly put down the camera and said.

“One of the things Mentor Cost didn’t say yesterday was that mentors could recommend their own songs. The five mentors can ask each contestant to sing their song. It’s up to the contestant to accept it or not.”

I completely understood the staff’s explanation.

I also understood why Seon Hwa-seung, who seemed to have a lot of pride in his songs, was making a request.

“I’m grateful that you said I have a variety of vocal colors, Mentor. But even though I know all of Mentor Seon Hwa-seung’s songs, I don’t have enough time to prepare from now on…”

I said up to that point, took a breath, and continued.

“Besides, mentors can recommend songs, but aren’t we supposed to sing without the help of mentors from this week’s competition?”

Seon Hwa-seung’s expression was subtle.

“Hmm…”

After making a sound as if he was contemplating, Seon Hwa-seung continued.

“It’s just a recommendation. I won’t deduct points just because you don’t choose my song.”

“I see… It would be an unfair fight if that happened.”

“Since I’m meeting Contestant Number 23 for the last time, I’m even more concerned. There’s a song called ‘Under the Trumpet Creeper’ among my songs. Do you know it?”

Seon Hwa-seung was also famous for trying various genres.

Among them, he was known for releasing historical drama-style songs from time to time.

I also listened to the entire album containing ‘Under the Trumpet Creeper’ because I couldn’t focus on just one emotional line [emotional depth of a song].

Of course, it was also because of the emotional line, but it also included the idea that singers should consistently listen to other singers’ albums. If I only listen to my songs, I might lose what my characteristics are. I could be trapped in my own world.

“I know the song well. But will it suit me?”

“I only recommended very easy songs to other contestants. More popular ones. But ‘Under the Trumpet Creeper’ is a song that I only recommend to Number 23.”

“You’re recommending it because you think I can pull off this song, right?”

“That’s right. It would be good to arrange it to suit the guitar performance, and if you sing a song that no one else sings, it might feel different and get a better score.”

“What if I get a low score instead? My fourth debut is very important to me. There are only three public competitions left until the upcoming competition. I’ve been keeping my ranking by taking first place in real-time voting so far, but if I perform well and don’t get a good score because it’s an unfamiliar song…”

My concern was one thing.

By singing an unfamiliar song, my popularity becomes a minus. If that happens, my appearance on this program and my fourth debut could collapse.

“Don’t worry about that. Even if I can’t give you direct help, I’m sure that if you arrange and sing this song, Contestant Number 23 will win this competition.”

I heard those words and relieved my worries.

Whether I was worried or not, Seon Hwa-seung played the guitar arrangement version of the song that he sang.

Ah, I guess this is acceptable in terms of program progress.

Will my love come?

Waiting for my love

Under the trumpet creeper

I ended up crying

Only the footprints of my love leaving remain

Missing my love, the seasons pass

…

After listening to the complete song, I was surprised.

Because it was so good.

I felt that the historical drama-style song was completed by adding a guitar arpeggio [a chord whose notes are played in succession, rather than simultaneously]. Seon Hwa-seung seemed to have grasped that in a short time.

“How is it? It’s worth singing, right?”

“…I feel it’s much better than I thought.”

“‘Under the Trumpet Creeper’ will feel more unique than ‘I Love You’. Even if you don’t take first place anyway, you have a contract with HU Entertainment… I think it’s better to think of it as an opportunity to broaden your scope as a singer, right?”

To be honest, it’s a safe bet. I signed a contract with HU Entertainment for 100 million won because of my appearance on ‘I Want to Be Your First Singer’, and even if I fall to 2nd or 3rd place, I can still release an album because I have a contract with the entertainment company.

But… the reason I really wanted to be number one was because of the name ‘Namoo Myung’, and I wanted to show my successful fourth debut.

I wanted to let people know the true value of singer Na Do-hyun, and I wanted to escape anonymity now.

I hesitated for a moment.

Seon Hwa-seung gave me time to think.

After thinking about it, I gave him an answer.

“I’ve made up my mind.”

“What are you going to do? Are you going to sing this song? Or are you just going to do the Ocean senior’s song you were originally going to do?”

To those words, I confidently replied.

“No. I’ve decided not to sing ‘I Love You’. I want to try singing ‘Under the Trumpet Creeper’ with a guitar arpeggio version!”