CH16

Here's the text with a bit more spacing:

Han Si-On: 40 points

On Sae-Miro: 35 points

Kim Hae-Un: 33 points

Nam Seong-Il: 32 points

Lee Ye-On: 32 points

Sim Ju-Wan: 30 points

Kim Seong-Woo: 28 points

Choi Jae-Seong: 27 points

Go Tae-Hwan: 25 points

Park Seong-Joo: 25 points

What the heck?

Why'd they have to spell out everyone's scores like this? Like, do we need to know?

"As we said before, the order for the next show depends on the preliminary ranking."

Why are they making such a big fuss about the order? I didn't know.

Anyway, whether it's skills or just some rating logic, the results will speak for themselves.

BLUE kept explaining about the next stage, but I was just grumbling under my breath.

Then it hit me.

"...Ah."

I'm totally out of it right now.

I haven't fully recovered from the emotional high I was in a while ago.

It's not good if I stay in this state.

I got to chill out, ASAP...

But how? How can I do so?

"Now, Han Si-On, our first place. Please pick your performance order."

"I'll be up first."

"...First?"

"Yes. The very first."

I can hear groans coming from here and there.

It's especially loud from the participants who I stole the stage from during the preliminary mission.

But hey, it's none of my business.

"Are you sure you want to go first?"

"Yes."

Guess I'm the bad guy now.

I feel a little better when I see the participants making tearful faces.

The first stage of this performance is a solo song mission.

It looks a lot like the prelims, except that I just have to sing a whole song this time.

"If this was a national singer audition, I wouldn't have asked you for anything."

For this performance, the judges get involved in song selection.

"I would have just let you sing whatever you wanted and applauded."

BLUE, who was chosen as my mentor, continued.

"But Si-On, this is an idol audition, right?"

"Yes."

"So you have to show us your dance."

"You're telling me to cover other idols' songs?"

"Wouldn't it be more appropriate to say 'this is the song of my seniors' on the broadcast?"

"Ah, my apologies."

BLUE's got a point.

Guess I'm not fully in tune with this idol thing yet.

Nodding along quietly, BLUE chuckles and shoos away the camera filming us.

"Off the record, you're not exactly idol material, are you?"

"Not really. But I'm really interested now. I want to be an idol."

"Why's that?"

"Because I want to sell a lot of albums."

I'm being dead serious.

"Then lemme ask you off the record."

"What is it?"

"I got the impression that dance wasn't considered when you were scouted for Team B."

Thinking back, Lion Entertainment's rookie development team didn't even ask me to bust a move.

I don't know what they were thinking.

What were they going to do if I danced like a wooden doll?

BLUE's face scrunched up when he heard what I said and shook his head.

"Oh, that was an oopsie."

"Oopsie?"

"Yeah, you sang so damn unique, we forgot about the dancing part."

"...?"

Choi Soo-Yeon probably thought I was suspicious because of that.

"But, you're right. As you know, Team B is likely to end up as a stepping stone for Team A."

Are you going to say that out loud?

It's a well-known fact, but it's different when the judges say it.

"Team B is more likely to have members who excel in specific fields. Individually, they're outstanding."

"But when it comes to group performances, they get overshadowed by Take Scene."

"True that."

BLUE side-eyes CEO Choi Dae-Ho.

"But it'd be a snooze if it ended like that. I want to see Team B take down Take Scene."

I don't know why BLUE is saying this.

It could be he's genuinely sincere without any ulterior motive, or maybe he's just making it crystal clear at least one judge is Team B all the way.

Good cop, bad cop. Old-school negotiation moves, but it works in most situations.

"Now, shall we go back in front of the camera?"

BLUE waves the VJ over to get filming rolling again.

"So, time to show off that dance."

"You want me to cover a senior idol's song?"

"Exactly. Right now, you're looking like a solo virtuoso. You don't need to be an idol."

But what's so wrong with that?

When I was rapping, I wasn't exactly head over heels for hip-hop.

Even when hip-hop sales tanked, I dropped an R&B album and it hit big.

At first, the hip-hop heads called me a sellout, but that faded quickly.

Good music is good music.

GOTM's the same.

I had never shown any grandiose affection for band music.

I just wanted to please the folks who dug my tunes.

I was proud of the time people supported me, and I wanted to make sure the money they spent on my music wasn't wasted.

This is not a pretense but sincerity.

Money, fame, honor – none of that could save me.

The only thing that matters? My fans.

So, to me, whether I'm cranking out hip-hop, rock, or K-pop? It doesn't make a damn difference.

But is being an idol that whack?

BLUE answered that question of mine in a surprisingly straightforward way.

"If that's your vibe, and you can show that it's for real, that's all that matters."

"Do we have a song able to prove that?"

"Well..."

BLUE mulls it over, then blurts out.

"Your favorite song, just as it is, without any arrangement. You'll have plenty of opportunities to show your singing and arranging skills in the future."

I know what he means.

I don't have much in common with BLUE, so this is our first real chat today. But I think I've gotten some pretty good advice.

I thought about a few songs in my head and had a light conversation with BLUE.

BLUE's curious where I picked up music chops, but I had no choice but to answer that I was self-taught.

"Oh, right. Who do you think is the cream of the crop among the bunch?"

"At this point, it has to be On Sae-Miro, right? He's got pipes."

"You say 'at this point', so I guess it might be different if we consider future potential?"

It was a question I didn't really want to answer, but BLUE was more persistent than I thought.

"Go Tae-Hwan?"

"Go Tae-Hwan...? Are you for real?"

I get why BLUE's bugging.

Go Tae-Hwan came dead last in the prelims.

To be exact, he tied for 9th and 10th place with 25 points.

Total score from the judges? 25. Which means the average score was only 6.25.

But I'm seeing things differently.

"Yes. The guy's rhythm is no joke."

"What genre and song are you thinking for him?"

"Rap's his lane. Not the old-school kind, more bass-heavy."

"Hmm."

I was only going to give my take, but BLUE threw me a curveball.

"Tae-Hwan's my mentee too. You and him are on my watchlist."

It makes sense with both the top and bottom scorers on his roster.

"I'm going to make space, so please drop some advice on him."

"Me? Wouldn't it be better if the mentor did that?"

"Honestly, I don't see much spark in Tae-Hwan. He works hard, but that's all he does."

"That makes me a little uncomfortable."

"It's lunchtime soon. I'll bring it up naturally then. I swear that it won't come off weird in the show."

It's hard to say no when the mentor's asking like this.

In the end, I agreed after receiving a promise that he would keep it light and bail if Go Tae-Hwan didn't seem interested.

"Deal. Hit me up when you've got your song selection sorted. The sooner the better. Trainers are in short supply."

There are 10 contestants, but only 5 trainers: 2 vocals and 3 choreos.

Those who finish the song selection first will get help first…

Perhaps, because there are only 8 hours left until the actual competition, the other contestants seem busy.

With that, BLUE leaves, and I begin to think about the song selection.

While BLUE did tell me to cover my favorite song, I didn't necessarily think that way.

If it's between repping hard as an idol or putting on a killer stage, I'm picking the latter.

Sometimes, fans seem to idolize singers.

But no one's idolizing an artist who's dropping duds year after year.

In the end, music's what matters most.

As I sort my thoughts, I get a feel for the song I need.

A song that can showcase a traditional K-pop performance while also showing off my skills.

A song that makes the general public feel Han Si-On can pull off anything he sings.

If I'm to get real ambitious, it would be nice if a solo stage doesn't feel dull, and it would be nice if the song selection was unexpected...

At that moment, a song flashed through my mind.

I've been listening to K-pop consistently since I was confirmed to appear on <Coming Up Next>.

Among them, there were some bangers that were good enough to make me applaud, and there were also some stinkers that were bad enough to give me chills.

The song I'm eyeing is somewhere in between.

It was definitely a song that could have been amazing, yet I found the production baffling.

<Flowers Bloom>.

What's the singer's name again?

Oh, Way From Flower.

They're probably a top group that has consistently dominated for the past few years.

And <Flowers Bloom> was their flop debut.

While I'm watching Way From Flower's dance video, BLUE rolls in with Go Tae-Hwan, carrying three lunch boxes.

"It's too small here with three guys. Lounge, shall we?"

"Yeah."

"Sure."

And just like that, lunchtime in the lounge kicks off with some chit-chat.

"Where do you stay, Tae-Hwan?"

"I live in Dangsan."

"With your parents?"

"No. I live alone."

I thought he was older than me just by looking at his face, but Go Tae-Hwan is also 20 years old.

"We have many 20-year-olds in this bunch. By the way, Si-On, have you sorted out your song selection yet?"

"Yes. It is based on your suggestion earlier."

"Already? What is it?"

BLUE tilted his head when I told him it was Way From Flower's debut song.

"You're taking on a Flower Girls' tune?"

Flower Girls? Is that Way From Flower's nickname?

Since he's a senior in the industry, it could be a nickname he uses because of their personal relationship.

"Yes. I think it'll be lit."

"Honestly, I wouldn't recommend it. Covering a girl group track that is."

"Why's that?"

"The dance moves are different. The overall vibe is different too. Can you really pull it off to your advantage? And…"

BLUE glanced around before continuing.

"That was a flop song, right? It's an old song so the details are hazy, but I think it was their debut that failed miserably."

"I checked the stats. It didn't flop. And I think it's a good song."

"You'll perform it without any rearrangement?"

"Yes."

"Hmm."

BLUE, who had been looking at me quietly, asked.

"You're not trying to show off by nailing the high notes by singing a girl's song in the original key, are you?"

"Of course not."

Seriously, what kind of question is that?

TL/n - 

You can read 5 chapters in advance on p@treon.com/inkbound