A New Career Singer Who Can Read The Future [EN]: Chapter 50

The Concept of Freedom

As soon as I heard the words ‘concept of freedom,’ one thing came to mind.

A concept I had always wanted to try if I ever got on stage.

I really wanted to show off the abs I had been consistently working on since my beast-idol days.

How much chicken breast have I eaten!

Not only that, but I also worked out diligently.

Even after the team disbanded, I continued to manage myself as a singer.

Pumped muscles, but not excessively so. I wanted to show them off and try a sexy concept. Not a concept that blatantly shouts, ‘I’m really beast-like sexy!’ like a beast-idol, but a concept that teases and seduces.

The concept I had in mind was as follows:

Wearing only a jacket, with nothing on my upper body, revealing my abs and chest muscles. And on my exposed chest, I would have the laurel wreath of victory from the [Six of Wands] tarot card hennaed on before going on stage.

If it ended here, it would be an underestimation of the fans’ hearts. If a slightly wet hairstyle is added, it becomes perfectly sexy. It’s possible to tantalizingly seduce the fans. And if dark smoky makeup is added to that?

My handsome appearance, my slightly sharp features, would shine even more.

Just imagining it made me feel good. The decibels constantly ringing out for me!

And me, seizing victory!

“…Dohyun, what are you thinking about?”

Ah. I was talking about the concept with the staff.

I was imagining it all by myself without saying it out loud.

“The concept I have in mind is…”

* * *

Dohyun, who had decided on the concept in advance on the evening of the music show, devoted himself to practice this weekend without going out or checking his phone.

It was a concept he had always wanted to try if he ever held a solo concert.

It was an honor to be able to try such a concept at this mini-concert.

I’m thinking of doing it at an even higher level if I ever have a solo concert.

Dohyun practiced every single movement of his fingers.

He even researched how to hold a standing microphone in a sexy way.

After practicing alone like that, a band session practice was scheduled for the following Monday.

It was better to complete and show the concept he wanted by the time he was with the band session.

Dohyun was a complete professional in that regard.

It wasn’t for nothing that he was challenging his fourth debut as a singer.

When Monday came, Dohyun matched the song with the band session.

They selected three rocking songs with overflowing sexiness.

These were songs that he originally intended to play the guitar and sing with a seductive voice on the music show.

But not this time. Dohyun decided to transform into a siren who seduces people outright.

Dohyun sang in a different way than usual. He slightly dragged out the pronunciation, slowed down the breathing, and added breath sounds so that listeners could immediately associate the image of ‘sexy.’

“Oh! Number 23, it looks like you’re really committed to this concept?”

“It’s my fourth competition! So I have to work hard!”

The person in charge of the electric guitar praised Dohyun to the skies.

“Wow, a veteran singer is different… I’m not being sarcastic, I’m sincerely impressed. If you wear stage costumes and get makeup here…”

“It will surprise people.”

Dohyun was confident that he would surprise people.

If his previous image was mild, he was planning to show the spiciness of hot flavor this time.

The tarot cards he had drawn just yesterday also showed the same result.

[Ace of Wands]

[Knight of Wands]

[King of Wands]

The wand symbolizes ‘fire’ among the four elements. From the Ace of Wands, where heavenly luck follows, to the Knight of Wands, who dynamically steps on the flames and advances with a burning wand, to the Wand card finally sitting on the throne.

Dohyun thought that the card combination matched well with this fiery sexiness.

“Number 23, please contact us later even after this program is over. I really want to keep performing on stage.”

Dohyun felt the same way. He got along well with the band session, so he wanted to perform on stage together again if he had the chance.

“I feel the same way! Thank you for seeing me in a positive light! Shall we focus on practicing then?”

Dohyun and the band session started practicing again.

Sexiness was even on Dohyun’s fingertips.

The gesture of slowly stroking the microphone was extremely sexy.

The face of the youngest staff member, who was filming this from the front, turned red.

I’m seducing you

You probably don’t know it

I’m seducing you now

I invite you to our deep night

Dohyun’s voice echoed in the practice room.

It was the voice of a siren seducing people, itself.

The faces of the band session were filled with happy smiles.

It’s usually not easy to get in sync on the first performance, but Dohyun was a professional front man leading the band session.

Not only the band session, but also the production crew filming were making satisfied expressions at his skill.

‘I’m going to tear up this stage.’

Dohyun’s determination was great.

* * *

On the day of the fourth competition.

This time, as it was a mini-concert, many audience members came. About 3,000 spectators entered. The audience was divided into standing seats and second-floor seats.

The stage was set up from the main stage to the protruding stage.

As it was a mini-concert, the production crew also paid attention to the stage set.

The audience’s expectations grew even higher with the protruding stage.

Among them, the expectations of the so-called ‘homemasters’ – also known as *homma* for short [fans who take and share high-quality photos/videos of idols] – were high.

Jangchung Gymnasium was not very big, but if you were to shoot the protruding stage from the standing area, you could shoot well enough with the telephoto lens that is usually used.

In particular, as the number of fans increased due to the buzz [increased public interest], many homemasters also entered. Usually, filming is prohibited on such broadcasts, but homemasters have increased their skills in secretly filming. They mainly performed actions such as shooting and immediately bending down to change positions.

As the viewership of this program rose to about 18%, the influx of *jjikdeok* [fans who are dedicated to taking photos/videos of idols] was also enormous.

*Jjikdeok* usually travel in groups, not just themselves. They sometimes shoot one person from each location and upload the video in multi-view. It’s not for nothing that fancams [fan-recorded videos] come out from various angles.

With even *jjikdeok* entering in large numbers, the stage setting was perfectly set up.

Before the stage began, Hayeonho greeted the audience with a welcome.

“Hello everyone, it’s been a while. I’m MC Hayeonho!”

“Kyaaaaaaak!”

Cheers were heard from the audience, as if anticipation for the upcoming stage was rising.

Hayeonho smiled coolly and continued.

“Welcome to KBC ‘I Want to Be Your First Singer’ mini-concert! Are you looking forward to today’s stage?”

“Yes!”

“I’m so excited!”

“I’m so excited to see which participant will shine. The reason why we are not putting the participants on stage right now is because each person’s concept may be leaked. Please give a lot of cheers and applause for today’s mini-concert!”

The production crew did not inform the audience that the decibels confirmed by applause and cheers would determine the score in this mini-concert competition. The script was written so that they could only notice it through the MC’s comments.

* * *

“Okay, 1st and 2nd place. There are two people left. Number 23 and Number 33, please come forward.”

Dohyun, with dark smoky makeup around his eyes and a body glistening with sweat.

If Dohyun crossed the precarious boundary, Hyoseop showed off a still clumsy sexiness.

Hyoseop did not reveal a body as sculpted as Dohyun, but completed the stage by dancing in see-through and backless all-black costumes.

“Let’s hear from Number 23 first.”

“First of all, I was able to do the concept that I really wanted to do. I’m so grateful to be able to show this stage to everyone.”

“I see! It was a concept you really wanted to do! It was a very sexy stage! Then Number 33, after watching Number 23’s stage, you showed another sexy stage, how was it?”

Hyoseop took a deep breath, perhaps because the tension had not subsided, and then answered.

“Really… this is my first time with this concept, so I was very nervous while doing it. This is my fourth competition, so I took this concept with the idea of showing everything about me.”

Hyoseop took another breath and then continued.

“The concept name was ‘All eyes on me’. I did it with the feeling that everyone’s eyes were on me… I’m glad that I was able to complete a better stage than I imagined.”

“Good! I’m glad to hear good stories. The two of you will be divided into 1st and 2nd place. Today’s concept also overlaps in ‘sexy’. Both are also from idol groups. You have been competing as rivals.”

Hayeonho paused and continued.

Dohyun felt more nervous.

More so because it was being measured in decibels, not anything else.

From what he heard, the difference in decibels between him and Hyoseop was not that great.

“There is a reason why we brought the two of you forward. None other than… 1 decibel!”

“…Yes?”

Dohyun couldn’t help but answer.

“Participant Number 23, you seem surprised. 1st and 2nd place. Quick-witted audience members may have already noticed, but there are decibel meters installed everywhere here. And the audience’s loud applause and cheers will lead to an evaluation of the stage.”

“Woah! Where is that!”

Hayeonho laughed heartily at one audience member’s shout and answered.

“Were you curious about how the fourth competition’s voting would be conducted? It was decibels. And…”

Hayeonho’s gaze reached Dohyun and Hyoseop once each.

“The difference between 1st and 2nd place is only 1 decibel.”

“…! Oh my god.”

“How can there be such a difference…”

“You can’t believe it either, right? I couldn’t believe it either when I checked the results! Now, let’s reveal 1st and 2nd place.”

Only 1 decibel difference.

That 1 decibel that will determine the victory or defeat.

Dohyun wanted to be the main character with 1 more decibel.

Dohyun closed his eyes tightly.

“Nowwwwwwwww, the main character of 1 decibel isssssssss!”

Hayeonho dragged out the end of his words.

Then, not long after, he announced.

“Congratulations! It’s this person!”