A New Career Singer Who Can Read The Future [EN]: Chapter 44

When Do-hyun arrived at the dorm, it was 30 minutes before the scheduled time.

He went to the auditorium early and saw the other participants.

Now that Participant 17, the troublemaker, was gone, everyone seemed more relaxed.

However, Do-hyun found this atmosphere unsettling.

‘No one stood up for me and Hyo-seop.’

He knew logically that avoiding trouble was the best way to survive, but he couldn’t accept it emotionally.

‘They couldn’t even do that simple thing for me.’

While everyone else chatted, Do-hyun remained silent.

The other participants noticed Do-hyun’s uncharacteristically blank expression and avoided talking to him. He was usually so bright and smiling.

Do-hyun eagerly awaited the mission announcement.

“Participant 23, are you okay?”

Participant 41 approached him cautiously.

They had trained together under the same mentor.

However, Do-hyun wasn’t thrilled that Participant 41 had spoken to him.

“Ah, well, I’m fine.”

“Hang in there. Everyone knows you’re not like that, Participant 23.”

Some participants glanced at Do-hyun after those words.

Do-hyun found their gazes burdensome.

“Ah, yes.”

Do-hyun answered vaguely and looked straight ahead.

Then, at 2 PM, the main director stepped forward and took the microphone.

“Today, we received a message from one of the participants saying they would not be returning.”

Do-hyun was puzzled. The mission was so close, and someone was giving up now?

Were they not desperate enough?

“That participant is… Participant 3. They said they were under a lot of stress during the program and would voluntarily withdraw. It’s unfortunate.”

Now there were only eight left.

“Tomorrow, eight people will be on the music show stage. The past week was for self-promotion, right? How was it?”

At the main director’s words, Hyo-seop (Participant 33) said that the Cheonggye Plaza [a public square in Seoul] live performance was a good memory. Other participants agreed it was a very good week.

Everyone had a pleasant week, but Do-hyun hadn’t.

It was probably because Participant 17 had openly targeted him. If he had done a live performance like Hyo-seop, the week would have been less unpleasant.

When he checked the real-time voting results before returning to the dorm, he was barely 200 votes ahead of Hyo-seop. Regardless of the truth, casual fans would have turned away because of the bullying controversy.

“Since it’s a live broadcast, the music show has to proceed quickly. You can’t put your heart and soul into each stage like you do in ‘Be the First Singer.’ Please understand that there are some compromises.”

The main director’s eyes turned to Do-hyun.

Do-hyun knew he would have to pretend to play the guitar on the live broadcast. He wouldn’t get a chance to play properly unless he did a pre-recording.

He also knew that playing instruments on Korean music shows was almost always hand-syncing [miming playing an instrument], so he understood what the director meant.

‘He’s telling me to practice hand-syncing or not play the instrument at all.’

He wanted to invite a live band, but he didn’t know if that would be allowed.

‘I should ask anyway.’

“From 7 PM tonight, you’ll have a chance to perform on stage in the exact same environment as the music show! It’s a one-time rehearsal for tomorrow’s stage! You won’t even get that opportunity tomorrow!”

At the main director’s words, the other seven participants murmured, except for Do-hyun.

Hearing this, he realized that doing a live band performance in one day would be difficult.

The production team probably wouldn’t approve it.

Do-hyun decided to request AR [Accompaniment Recorded, a backing track] and went to the practice room.

* * *

7 PM.

Everyone gathered in the auditorium.

The gathered people got on the bus with the staff.

The bus headed to the KBC headquarters.

Having heard about the rehearsal, fans of ‘I Want to Be Your First Singer’ gathered in front of the KBC music show entrance.

Click, click, click—

Along with the flashing strobes, the fans cheered.

Some called for Do-hyun, others for different participants.

Some tried to push past the bodyguards and hand over gifts.

“Don’t push! Don’t get close!”

The bodyguards and staff shouted, but it was already chaotic.

Do-hyun was pushed around and ended up holding several shopping bags. He wasn’t used to this.

He didn’t know whether to thank the fans or tell them to be careful.

He had debuted three times, but Do-hyun was embarrassed because he had never experienced this before.

“Oppa [term used by younger women to address older men]! Take this too!”

“This too!”

The fans followed him to the entrance, where he needed an access pass, and held out gifts.

The bodyguard blocked them. Do-hyun apologized and went inside.

“Wow, that’s really scary.”

One participant said.

“I know. Everyone’s acting like they’ve lost their minds.”

Do-hyun almost frowned at another participant’s words.

“Participants 23 and 33 must be happy. They have so many fans.”

Do-hyun was annoyed by the sarcastic tone, but he smiled.

Since there was a huge difference in real-time votes and they were likely to be eliminated, he tried not to waste energy on unnecessary emotions.

“My fans came a lot today. Thank you, really. It was a great strength.”

Some of the other participants frowned at those words.

However, Do-hyun, who was going back and forth between 1st and 2nd place in real-time voting, couldn’t say anything.

Moreover, they didn’t want to be kicked out of the competition for causing internal conflict like Participant 17.

Do-hyun was a little embarrassed, but he filled his seat with the gifts the fans had carefully packed. There was a clear difference compared to the other participants.

Only Hyo-seop had about the same amount as Do-hyun.

If it wasn’t the day to return cell phones, he could have taken a picture and posted a thank you message on SNS [Social Networking Service] to increase the voting rate, but it wasn’t Saturday.

Then, the FD [Floor Director] came inside.

“Everyone, it’s time to decide the order.”

Guided by the FD, the eight people moved.

Do-hyun felt his heart pounding at the sight of the music show stage for the first time in a while.

It was more thrilling than the competitions he had been doing so far.

How desperate he had been for this music show stage!

While Do-hyun recalled his past debut stages, the main director stepped forward.

“We will decide the order by drawing lots. Since the staff’s quitting time is approaching, there is only one chance for stage rehearsal. We will give you monitoring time tonight.”

The participants flocked to the main director.

There was no order to draw. Do-hyun looked at the number he had drawn.

Lucky number, 7.

For a moment, [Seven Of Pentacles] from the tarot cards came to mind.

The card depicts someone wondering which of the seven gold coins to mine.

It meant that whatever you choose, you can get a good reward because it was the result of your efforts.

‘Hmm, it seems like I can get good results no matter what song I choose. I like the number 7. If the order is seventh out of eight, I think I can show off my skills well.’

“Okay, is the order set? Get ready in order!”

At the main director’s words, the first participant went on stage.

Wearing in-ears and holding a microphone.

He had been doing the same thing in the competition stages, but this time it was different.

It was important to capture the hearts of the age group that mainly watched music shows.

Music show ratings usually don’t go beyond 0% to 1%, but they also serve as a place to discover new talent. Even if you don’t win, it’s good if you catch the eye of a good agency. So he had to do his best.

“The rest of the participants, wear your in-ears and get ready!”

Since Do-hyun was seventh, he slowly put on his in-ears and watched the second participant’s stage.

The participants were having problems with off-key notes and unstable pitch and rhythm because it was a different stage than the competitions. It was pathetic.

The fourth stage was Hyo-seop. Hyo-seop was in relatively good condition. Because he was challenging his second debut, he completed a decent stage because he had a little more experience.

Do-hyun was confident that he would be number one among them. Even because of the bullying controversy that had been tormenting him, he had to get a better score and widen the gap with Hyo-seop.

“Okay, let’s go up, seventh participant, number 23. Hurry up!”

Do-hyun jumped and went on stage, but he sprained his ankle.

“……Ah.”

The staff’s attention focused on him as he tumbled.

The youngest staff member approached and asked if he was okay.

“No, it’s a little hard to walk.”

“Then go to the hospital in a bit… Let’s do the rehearsal first.”

A tingling sensation rose from his right ankle, but Do-hyun was the most professional of the participants.

The AR played, and Do-hyun sang, making the most of his charm points.

The stage was about two minutes long. All participants were only given about two minutes, meaning they had all arranged songs that were over three minutes long. The same was true for Do-hyun.

Do-hyun limped off the stage.

The youngest staff member held out a camcorder and conducted an interview.

“Participant 23, you got hurt going on stage, are you okay?”

“I think I’m okay. I think I just sprained it a little.”

Do-hyun pretended to be calm, but his right ankle was swelling, and the pain was getting worse.

“I’m sorry, but… can I go to the hospital now?”

“You have to go with me anyway. Let’s do a little more interview.”

After finishing the questions about whether he could complete a good stage despite his leg injury, Do-hyun was allowed to go to the hospital.

The problem was the fans waiting near the entrance.

The production team, anticipating bad rumors if the fans saw him limping, moved Do-hyun from the main building to the annex and put him in the car. Do-hyun walked for about 10 minutes despite the pain.

The fans didn’t expect Do-hyun to come out to the annex, so no one was there.

“We’ll go to the emergency room at a nearby hospital.”

Do-hyun traveled in the staff’s SUV.

At the emergency room, the medical staff examined him and said he had only sprained his ankle and his ligaments were strained, so he would only need a cast. It was fortunate.

Just as he was about to receive treatment and return to the dorm,

“Ah, F***!”

The youngest staff member swore, looking at something.

Do-hyun looked puzzled and saw the screen the staff member was looking at.

[The fourth debut, the hidden truth behind it! Finally revealing, Na Do-hyun! Your truth!]