Chapter 7

When two contestants said Yu Si-hwan's name in unison, Min Si-hyun tried to manage her expression as best she could.

'Okay, at least they know!'

It wasn't her intention, but she'd knew she wanted to hear this high-pitched part in Yu's voice.

So I wanted to somehow get that heavy-handed student to come forward.

Thanks to the quick-thinking students, I succeeded.

"I don't know if this'll work..."

'Yes, it will.'

Yu Si-hwan smirked, still hesitant, but Min Si-hyun had no time for such polite behavior.

Because she'd already had another idea inside her head.

"Can you read the lyrics and sing it?"

"Um, no, I've read the lyrics a lot in the back, so I think I can do it right away."

You're going to show your true colors once and for all. Why bother acting so shy?

Min nodded to the pianist sitting next to her. Then, through the synthesizer, the climactic accompaniment of 'HIT' soon filled the practice room.

She instinctively tapped her fingers on her thighs, counting the beats.

Yu Si-hwan opened his mouth and struck at the exact right time, his face so carefree.

"Feel the wind, don't miss this moment, hit hard with all your heart!"

This climactic part, which is two octaves above the top note, rises so effortlessly.

Min Si-hyun was still younger than the other judges/trainers, but she was still praised for her dignity based on her vocal ability alone.

She also sang a guided version of the song with the composer of 'HIT', so she was able to collaborate with him. Of course, since I had sung the song myself, I was familiar with its strengths.

Shouldn't a theme song like this be easy for students to sing?

-That's true, but you never know, you might find a kid somewhere who can sing it really well, and I think it's one of those parts where you can give it to them and it's just a total blast.

─What if there's no such kid?

-Then we can go in and tweak the range a little bit, because it's not that hard to bring the top end down.

The composer goes on to say something like, "I'm going to go down two octaves.

Si-hwan was pushing for high notes.

To be honest, Min Si-hyun was second-guessing her choice not long ago. Anyone who can sing like this live while dancing, no matter how big the project, should've debuted long ago.

However, seeing this contestant singing in front of her now was really refreshing.

"Wow..."

"He's so comfortable going up there."

"Holy shit, he's not an A-grade vocalist for nothing."

"Didn't you see his level test stage?"

There were quiet exclamations of admiration among the class of three.

Some of them even looked like they were mesmerized.

But the mastermind was still sporting a smirk.

"Was that okay?"

The question was so innocent and without malice that Min was momentarily at a loss for how to answer.

'Do I tell him outright that he did too well? No, I don't think I should do that in the first place. Oh, but maybe I can't help it if I want to do what I thought earlier?'

Still hiding these mixed feelings, she said nonchalantly.

"You're not out of breath. Did you teach yourself to use diaphragmatic breathing?"

"I practiced it over and over again."

"Hmm... Do you want to try it again?"

On the second try, Liu's high-pitched processing was just as clean.

There were no flat notes, and I didn't feel like I was straining my neck like some of the other contestants.

Confirming that it wasn't just beginner's luck, Min slowly opened her mouth.

"Si-hwan."

"Yes."

"I was wondering if you'd mind if I looked up from here? I thought you might be able to."

"Here... Higher?"

This is the expected reaction.

I'm raising the key on the theme song, not any other song.

As you might imagine from a typical ballad, this is strictly a "dance song". It's over three minutes long, and you have to sing while dancing.

Unless you're really, really prepared, you're going to hell in a handbasket.

But Min's instincts were telling her exactly what to do.

'He can do this.'

Everything else aside, Yu Si-hwan's lung capacity seemed to be at least three times as much than from everyone else.

During the level test, he finished 'Spotlights' without gasping for air, and even now, after singing this high-pitched part twice in a row, he still looked calm.

"I'm not going to go that high," he says, "I'm just going to go up one space, hit three octaves, and come back down."

"Three octaves."

"Yeah, right here on the last hit, right here. I'm just going to hit the note, and then I'm done, so I don't have to hold my breath or anything."

Once again, Yu Si-hwan gave her a worried look, and Min Si-hyun took in a breath, then added briefly,

"I just thought you might've been able to do it."

Yu Si-hwan flinched slightly at her sincerity.

"If you think so, I'll give it a try."

"Alright, alright, then you only need to raise the last note, so let's listen to the accompaniment first."

"Okay."

The synthesizer played, and the students, who had been giggling, turned into a puddle.

Yu Si-hwan tilted his head slowly, calmly listening to the slightly elevated climax.

"What do you think?"

"Let's give it a try."

"I'm all cool because you answered right away."

And just like that, the treble part accompaniment came back, up three octaves,

"HIT hard!"

It was all done on the first try, without a single mistake.

Even if it's not a long-hold high note, this is possible in one go?

Min Si-hyun couldn't help but chuckle.

"This works."

***

The scheduled group practice time has ended.

After a late dinner at 8pm, everyone went back to their rooms for some rest.

'I don't know if we're screwed or if it went well.'

After I got out of the shower, I sat on the bed and stared at the wall.

My head is spinning with thoughts.

Originally, my plan was to build awareness in the eyes of the viewers in the early stages by doing a decent job in the team competition or the second team competition, and then perform in the first.

But now, all of a sudden, the tables have turned.

First of all, I placed 9th in the level test.

Now he's in danger of being overpowered by the theme song, "HIT," because he's even gotten the vocal trainer's stamp of approval.

-Si-hwan, from what I've seen of the trainees so far, none of them are as well suited to this position as you are, so I'm sure you'll be able to cement your position as the main vocalist.

I've been nervous since you asked me to sing the treble part as a test.

There's no turning back now, because you've moved the key up a notch in front of the entire class.

{A complete and utter failure, you're thinking now, aren't you, Master?}

"Uh, very accurate."

{Hmm, but as far as I can tell, you didn't do anything wrong, it's just that everyone around you is so nice to you.}

"Well, it's not like I have any control over that either."

{Well, let's just enjoy the fact that it is! Oh, and you know what, Master.}

I watched in disbelief as Cerberus brought his front paws to the corners of his mouth as if a real person were speaking.

It's gotten to the point where it doesn't even feel foreign anymore.

{Two of us in the same room with the master, smelling very clean. Didn't I tell you that earlier?"}

"That's true, but it's just image making."

{If he had such a black heart, my nose should smell bad, but that Kang Sun-woo guy doesn't smell bad, and neither does that Ma Si-hyuk guy.}

And as I listened to Cerberus' words, the same me I had seen at the beginning, slightly troubled.

"I got you some snacks!"

"Come on, big brother Sun-woo. You have to be careful, or we'll run out of candy."

The protagonists of this scuffle burst into the room.

The roommate assignment was strange, as if the judge who helped me reincarnate from hell had intervened.

In a 3/3/4 split by class, it was exactly me, Sun-woo Kang, and Ma Si-hyuk sharing a room.

Kang smiled broadly as he set down five bags of sweets on the bed.

"Practice is practice, but you still have to eat well and play well. Don't you think?"

Ma Si-hyuk nodded vigorously beside him, having been thoroughly brainwashed during that short stop at the convenience store.

'...Looking at it this way, it seems like Cerberus is actually right.'

For some reason, I felt like I was going to have a tough time with these guys.

"If you eat sweets at night, go to Da Sal."

"Oh, we're not eating chicken, we're just eating sweets, but it's okay, it's okay, it's okay, it's okay! I've been sneaking all this stuff in when I was practicing at BK."

"I'll eat well."

Ma Si-hyuk, who always looked at the ground and avoided eye contact, quickly adjusted to the atmosphere and was the first to tear into the snacks.

'I don't know, I'll just practice a little more and sleep later.'

It was hard to resist the smell of sweet treats.

I popped a peanut butter bar into my mouth and tried to relax a bit.

"How was practice, everyone?"

"Whatever, it was hard."

"It was hard."

The response back was the same.

"I can keep up with the dancing, but I'm not a vocalist. Maybe rap or songwriting."

"I'm a dance major, so singing is really hard for me."

The problem was the same.

With peanuts crunching in my mouth, I had a counseling session with my roommates.

"You're not going to get much better at singing in a short period of time, especially since you only have six days, so maybe you should change your goals."

"Goals?"

"In plain English."

What is the student's goal: Why should they learn this theme song, 'HIT', in the remaining time?

"The contestants aren't practicing this strictly for the 'music show', that's the goal of the producers. We're trying to get this song ready for the next round of judging that's coming up."

'Final placement...'

Ma Si-hyuk shook his head as if he understood what I was saying.

"Yes, the final grade placement. That's why we need to learn 'HIT', to prove how much our dancing/singing skills have 'improved' in this short period of time. That's what we should aim for. I'm sure the judges know that it's impossible to do a perfect live performance in a week, so we should at least show them that we can finish the song without any major mistakes."

One of the essential lessons of survival programs.

Understanding the needs of the producers and the audience is paramount.

"The people who are going to be watching this show are going to be expecting to see how desperate we are to make our debut and how hard we can work, so we have to fulfill those expectations. If I can prove to the judges that I worked my ass off to get this rating, no matter how hard it was, it will be a success."

I didn't mean to be so helpful.

Cerberus's words made me realize that he was giving me sincere advice.

"Now that I think about it, you're absolutely right."

Kang Sun-woo, who had been listening to me for a while, patted me on the shoulder.

"I knew it from the beginning, Si-hwan, you have the same personality as me! I love someone with such leadership and analytical skills."

"Ouch."

"Hahaha! Aww, you've got a big ass."

Judging from his cheerful smile, I think he's determined to establish a "good friend and partner" image with me.

"...Then I guess we won't have time."

Ma Si-hyuk, who had been eating sweets, suddenly stood up from his seat.

He even took his piercings out of his ears and put them on the bedside table.

"Si-hwan, if you want to show that you can at least finish the song like you said, you should practice even during breaks like this, because I... I'm not really good at singing."

Ma Si-hyuk eyes seemed to light up with a heat that hadn't been there before.

This is the nuance of practicing until dawn by yourself.

'It's a good opportunity.'

If you've got that image and you've created that image, it's probably not a bad idea to pull it up a notch here.

I put down my snack and started putting on my workout clothes.

"You're going to the practice room, right? Let's go together. I'll give you as much leeway as I can."

"Me, really?"

"Sure, I'm not kidding."

"Thank you!"

"Well, if you two are leaving like this, I have no choice but to follow."

Before I left the room, I turned around and saw Cerberus waving at me to have a good night.

That's not a dog, that's just a human.

As I got closer to the practice room, I could hear music playing.

"Looks like the other kids are already here."

"Yeah."

I guess we all think alike.

You've been feeling the pressure from day one, and you know you're going to go insane.

As soon as you open the door to the practice room to the thunderous accompaniment of 'HIT'.

"Huh? Huh!"

One of the trainees who had been dancing furiously in front of the entrance saw my face and rushed over.

And then he said.

"He's so handsome and sings so well!"

What a situation.