A New Career Singer Who Can Read The Future [EN]: Chapter 49

Dohyun strived to create a stage that was 200% of what he could offer.

Even with that level of effort, the two minutes he had on stage felt too short.

That’s why he had to work even harder.

As his ankle improved, he added a dance break that wasn’t in the original choreography. He felt confident in his dancing. As an audition program contestant who had to show off both ‘beastly’ and ‘pretty-boy’ charms, as well as dance, to get into the rankings, he might not be as polished as a professional dancer, but he could handle most choreography without any problems.

Dohyun’s practice ended well after midnight.

When he returned to the dorm, all the other participants’ practice room lights were already off.

‘I’ll show them everything this time, to make up for the time I wasted worrying about those rumors.’

* * *

Finally, the day of the music show arrived.

Dohyun carefully chose his outfit to give off the freshest vibe possible.

A yellow vest, a white t-shirt, and wide denim pants.

In the waiting room, he warmed up diligently.

He couldn’t afford to make the injury worse.

The sprained ankle was fine now, but the ‘what if’ factor still lingered in his mind.

He had to be careful and cautious.

The live broadcast was scheduled to start at 5 PM.

The ‘I Want to Be Your First Singer’ team gathered in one waiting room to get their makeup done and change clothes.

The ‘I Want to Be Your First Singer’ team was receiving a lot of attention. Other singer teams came to say hello. Dohyun, being the most senior in terms of experience, had junior singers coming to him, saying they looked up to him.

He didn’t remember receiving such greetings before. He could definitely feel that this program was receiving a lot of viewership and buzz.

The broadcasting station’s waiting room wasn’t just for staff. Normally, reporters weren’t allowed, but they were sometimes let in as a favor between agencies.

Taking advantage of this, a group of reporters who had sneaked in for an interview tried to approach him.

“Dohyun! Do you have a moment?”

Dohyun refused, hearing the unfamiliar voice.

The youngest staff member covering Dohyun chased the reporter away, saying, “Excuse me, are you a reporter?”

‘Ah, it’s chaotic. Is it because it’s my first music show in a while? This nervousness of having to perform live… it’s both touching and exciting!’

Dohyun continued to repeat the choreography in the corner of the cramped waiting room.

Dohyun, who had adjusted the dance to minimize ankle strain, looked in the mirror and imagined commanding the stage.

Since the stage, which had been performed as a group with synchronized movements, was now being done solo, he planned to use large upper body movements to fill the stage without putting too much stress on his ankle.

Hearing the cheers, Dohyun felt confident this performance was going to be a success.

‘Good. If it keeps going like this, it’ll be great.’

* * *

After the music show, the cast went to board the bus together.

The sound of camera shutters didn’t stop, even on the way there.

The shouts calling Dohyun and Hyoseop’s names were the loudest.

“Dohyun, I love you!”

“Hyoseop! Oppa [term of endearment used by younger women to address older men]!”

“Dohyun, say hi!”

“Hyoseop! Have a great day!”

Dohyun and Hyoseop’s fans shouted alternately, as if competing with each other.

Because of that, Dohyun and Hyoseop, who were walking side by side, burst into laughter.

After getting on the bus, Dohyun and Hyoseop pulled back the bus curtains and waved to the fans.

Flashy strobes went off.

“Hello, everyone?”

A familiar voice—it was Hayeonho.

Hayeonho was also riding the bus.

“Hello!”

“Greetings!”

“Nice to see you!”

“Long time no see!”

The cast members responded in their own ways.

“I will be moving to the dorm with you all. After arriving at the dorm, please change into your group uniforms and move to the auditorium! Now, please rest comfortably until we arrive at the dorm!”

* * *

After arriving at the dorm, the cast changed into their group uniforms.

Then, they immediately moved to the auditorium.

Hayeonho was sitting on a chair, casually looking through cue cards.

He didn’t seem to need a teleprompter.

He was indeed a master of hosting.

When all the cast members gathered, Hayeonho stood up, received the microphone, and began.

“Everyone, how was today’s music show performance? Do you think you did well? Or did you create a more disappointing stage than you thought?”

Everyone had their own thoughts, but no one spoke up.

In the live broadcast stage, which was different from the competition, some people had vocal cracks, some missed the beat, and some sang with trembling voices.

“I think you all have mixed feelings. You must be very curious about the scores, right?”

Hayeonho shouted in a very loud voice.

“We will now announce the combined results of the real-time votes and the judges’ votes! Right now!”

It was a heart-pounding moment.

The numbers from 1 to 8 were spinning around on the electronic display.

“We will reveal 1st place first!”

Dugun dugun [onomatopoeia for a heart beating fast]—

It was a very nerve-wracking moment.

“1st place is!”

Hayeonho drew out the pronunciation in his unique way.

Dohyun desperately hoped and wished that it would be him.

And the shout that followed from Hayeonho was!

“Contestant number 23! Despite the ankle injury, he showed overwhelming performance and singing skills! Congratulations!”

Dohyun finally opened his eyes wide.

Yes—!

What he had hoped for had come true.

He had once again solidified his position as number one.

“Now, while sending congratulations to contestant number 23, who has maintained his number one position, I would like to hear his thoughts on preparing for this stage.”

At Hayeonho’s words, a staff member brought the microphone to Dohyun.

“First of all, although I was singing an existing song again, I remember practicing with a different arrangement and adding a dance break. I was worried about whether I would be able to show a good performance due to my ankle injury, but I am satisfied that I seemed to have completed the stage I wanted, and I am grateful that the viewers also seemed to have enjoyed it!”

Thus, the ranking announcements continued in order.

The top 3 remained unchanged.

2nd place was number 33, and 3rd place was number 41. It was like an unbreakable wall.

The rankings of the remaining participants had slight changes, but they were unable to break into the top 3.

It was admirable that the participants completed their passionate performances even though they could have lost motivation.

After the ranking announcement ended, Hayeonho took a short break and then asked a question.

“Next is the introduction to the fourth competition! Are you curious?”

Hayeonho’s words were enough to arouse curiosity.

“Right away! These people will be with you!”

Four people came up on stage.

Dohyun had a familiar feeling.

Those people are…….

‘……Band session?’

It was none other than a band session.

There was a very high probability that this competition would be a live band performance.

That also meant that it was advantageous for contestant number 41.

Dohyun had also been immersed in indie bands and British rock bands for a long time, so he didn’t feel immediately threatened, but he was still worried.

“There seem to be some of you who have recognized who these people are! That’s right, it’s a band session!”

Hayeonho said energetically.

“This fourth competition is a mini-concert with a band session! Aren’t you excited?”

The participants waited calmly.

Hayeonho continued to explain the rules.

“You are free to choose any genre, whether it’s rock, ballad, or an arrangement of a dance song, and each person will be given three opportunities. After the stage, the decibel level of the audience’s cheers will be measured to determine the score.”

Hayeonho paused to drink some bottled water and continued.

“Aren’t the existing button-pressing votes boring? That’s why we have replaced the audience votes with a decibel measurement method!”

Dohyun tilted his head.

Dohyun thought that the decibel level could sound different depending on where the decibel was measured.

“There seems to be a participant who has a question. Number 23, what are you curious about?”

As expected, it was Hayeonho. He sensed it with his experience of hosting audition programs.

“If we are going to measure decibels, the measurements will be different depending on the measurement location. I am curious about where and how the decibels will be measured!”

“Good! That’s a good question! It would definitely be unfair if we measured the decibels in only one place! That is also something the production team has carefully considered! We plan to place decibel meters in exactly five zones and measure the decibels. Do you understand?”

“Yes! I understand!”

Perhaps they would divide the area in front of the stage into four zones and hang one in the air to capture the overall figures. He thought that if they took the average, a fair decibel measurement could be achieved.

“Everyone, do you have any more questions?”

“What should we do for the concept?”

“As I said before, you can decide. As we get closer to the final competition, the production team will fully support the concept you are trying to do!”

“What is the budget limit?”

Hayeonho cleverly responded to that question.

“Anything is possible, as long as you don’t want to bring an elephant from the zoo!”

All the participants laughed. Although the rankings had been revealed, it was a time to think about the next competition and cheer up.

Dohyun had already finished planning in his head what concept he would do.

‘If I go with that concept, it’s a guaranteed win. I guess that’s why I’ve been eating chicken breasts without stopping for this day.’

Dohyun smiled contentedly, thinking only of ‘that’ concept.

“Contestant number 23, have you decided on a concept?”

Hayeonho, who had noticed that smile, asked.

Dohyun nodded instead of answering.

“That’s fast. As a contestant who showed a refreshing stage today, we look forward to seeing what kind of stage you will present this time! Thank you!”

Hayeonho came down from the stage, and the staff who would design the concept approached each participant.

Dohyun and the staff moved to the practice room.

“Contestant number 23, what kind of concept……?”

“There are three keywords: wet hair, tattoos, and a solid body.”

Dohyun’s confidence was evident in his voice.