TM Chapter 39
Chapter 39: When an Unexpected Event Occurs (3)
TL: emptycube
They looked like they were about to go to battle. I gave each of them words or encouragent to boost their morale.
Lee Taehee who was always dependable at tis like this, Im Seoyoung who looked a bit nervous, luckily, her condition was good, and LJ who was so focused that I felt bad saying sothing.
Lastly, to Lee Songha, who was silently burning up.
“Songha, just do like you did in practice.”
“Yes. I will do my best and return.”
Lee Songha nodded her head and followed behind the other girls who going to the front.
Just then, the first mission recording of Next K-Star had begun.
I realized sothing considerably while watching the recording scene.
It wasn’t that the recording process, in which they stopped and resud with multiple tis, was very tiring or that caran who went around putting caras in people’s faces and filming managers and staff mbers’ reactions were very botherso either.
The biggest thing I realized was that you couldn’t thoughtlessly tell people to sing without instruntals.
Of course, there were teams or mbers who did well enough that the spectators shouted in admiration. The ones who the judges clapped for and praised that they could beco the next generation K-Star.
However, the performances of so teams literally made you shout. Even though they were new, it ca to a point where you would worry whether it was okay to show a performance like that on a show with the words ‘Next K-Star’ in its title.
The ones who were unrivaled amongst them was precisely the team currently on the stage.
Sugar Cats.
“.... Hmmm.”
Eventually, a sound I couldn’t keep contained escaped. It wasn’t only , the people next to
were unable to look at the stage directly and avoided their gazes. There wasn’t even a need to look far, Kim Hyunjo even covered his face with the hand that had been supporting his chin.
He couldn’t help it. Even if they had insufficient ti to practice, this was too severe.
After the shocking 3 minutes and 30 seconds had passed, the Sugar Cats mbers stood in front of the judges’ table. Although their hearts were probably thumping right now, I was calming my heart as well as we waited for the judges’ evaluation.
This mont right now was filled with more anticipation than the first episode of a drama and more excitent than its last episode.
The malicious character who stood out even amongst the three judges, Cha Suzy who had smashed the ntalities of those who perford ahead with her harsh criticisms was first to grab her mic. I didn’t think too well of her since she was the type to give overly strong remarks...
“You should have called your team Bitter Cats instead of Sugar Cats. Bitter, bitter. It’s my first ti scowling while listening to a song.”
I think I might beco her fan.
The Sugar Cats girls were taken aback as they stamred and tried to pass each other the mic. However, there were still two more judges left. Before the Sugar Cats could say a word, the criticisms poured in.
“Because you’re singing without instruntals, your skills are clearly revealed. This ans that you were more or less covering your insufficiencies with the instruntals up until now.”
“Your key was wavering from the beginning to the end, and you lost the beat so many tis I gave up counting.”
“There’s nothing to complint about. And you were a team that had good preliminary responses from our viewers...”
“That’s because they went on a lot of variety shows.”
My blood seed to flow with bubbling soda.{1}
Ah. It felt like my heart had finally found peace at last.
The Sugar Cats got off the stage while crying. When two caran fild their crying figures on their way back to the seats, they wailed, saying that they made so many mistakes because they were nervous as this was their first mission.
After their interview, the Sugar Cats returned to their seats behind us.
The Sugar Cats chief clicked his tongue.
“The judges said those words to make the first episode stimulating.”
“Still, that was too much. Honestly, if we had more ti to practice...”
“They said we were Bitter Cats, oppa. Were we that bad?”
“No. You know Cha Suzy’s style. Because people tell her she’s a tough unni and a girl crush, she said those harsh comnts to harden her character. You didn’t do so bad to hear those words. Look at the other teams, the evaluations will be similar.”
At his final words, Kim Hyunjo flipped his head around. The Sugar Cats chief cleared his throat and avoided his gaze.
It was because Neptune was up next.
The girls, who were waiting with other teams in the front row, cheered and got up. Then they calmly walked in front of the judges’ table.
“Neptune... They have the lowest popularity amongst the participating teams.”
“Their skills were pretty good when I saw their music video.”
“If we judged that, then no team would have been criticized.”
The judges, who had seen Neptune’s preliminary video ahead of ti, exchanged so light chatter. Lee Taehee and Im Seoyoung smoothly answered their questions.
“Good. Then, let’s see your performance.”
“Yes!”
I clenched the armrests and watched the stage.
Breaking the silence, their no-instruntals performance began with Lee Taehee’s lead.
A bittersweet voice that contained a deep reverberation roused the open hall. A monitor, placed to one side of the stage, caught the judges fixing their postures. It wasn’t only the judges but the spectators in the seats, and even the staff stopped talking and turned to look at the stage.
Im Seoyoung’s lively tone added life to the song, and LJ’s rap was so powerful and strong that my shoulders went up and down without
noticing.
However, the most surprising part was Lee Songha.
During this ti, I had seen Lee Songha practicing a few tis, but she was currently better than any of those tis. It was to the point where I thought that effort didn’t betray you. Those who weren’t familiar with her may think that this much skill wasn’t worth getting in a fuss, but I knew that this performance was the result of endless effort.
It wasn’t only Lee Songha, all four of them poured all the ti, sweat and effort they had spent practicing since the mont the mission was announced into these 3 minutes and 40 seconds. They didn’t make any mistakes, and their performance made you forget that there weren’t any instruntals.
“Good. This is good.”
Kim Hyunjo, who was in front of , mumbled in an excited voice. I nodded my head as well.
“Looks like she really did get rid of her bad luck this morning. I didn’t think she’d do this well.”
Once their performance ended, the girls waited for the judges’ evaluation as they cald their breaths. The girls were obviously nervous, but even I, who was watching from afar, was quite nervous as well.
Cha Suzy raised her mic.
“It was really good. I’m curious why you weren’t popular until now. Why didn’t you beco popular?”
The expressions of the girls, who were waiting on top of the stage for their evaluation, brightened at the complint that exceeded their expectations. Even our side was in a festive mood. Kim Hyunjo hit the traitor’s and my shoulders with his excited palms, and I was too excited that it didn’t hurt. I currently didn’t care about the Sugar Cats grumbling behind
in the slightest.
“Taehee is really too good. No, I’m not saying that you’re too good to be an idol, but it’s just I want to listen to you sing the song for the full 3 minutes and 40 seconds by yourself.
“Seoyoung balances out the team well. Your tone and even your image. Above all, even though you aren’t very tall, you catch people’s attention as if the cara is zood in on you. It’s because you absorb 120% of your choreography. Looking at your record, I want to quickly confirm the entertainnt sense you’ve shown in variety programs.”
“Even if the underground community hasn’t heard of Neptune, they know LJ. So I was inwardly eager to see you, but after I seeing your performance, it was beyond my expectations.”
Simon Lee and Producer Song Baekjin exchange so generous complints. After every comnt, the girls would express their thanks in proud expressions. It was to the point where the mood on the stage couldn’t get any better. Light expectations brushed over Lee Songha’s flushed cheeks. I gulped down my saliva and perked my ears up as well.
Cha Suzy raised her mic.
“Lee Songha.”
“Yes.”
“You alone lowered the team’s average. Are you practicing properly?”
I almost stood up.
I thought there was nothing I could do about criticisms about skill. I still didn’t know much about music, and these people had at least ten of years of music experience, so, of course, their words were right.
However, asking whether she practiced properly or not was being too cruel to Lee Songha.
She was soone who always stayed behind to practice so more after the girls had finished practicing and returned to their residence. To make matters worse, Simon Lee and Song Baekjin also added in,
“That is a bit regretful.”
“Your visuals are too good. Since you’re so eye-catching, my vision keeps going to you, but when I look at you, there isn’t anything beyond that. It would make more sense if you had a record in acting or entertainnt, but that’s not the case either.”
“Since she has the basics if she increases her practice ti from now on...”
Lee Songha’s head drooped. A cara caught her expression as it was displayed on a stage monitor. The cara director may have expected to see tears, but she was silently enduring their cold-hearted evaluations.
“Haa...”
Kim Hyunjo rubbed his face. Unable to calm my complicated heart, I simply sighed. All of a sudden, I realized that the voices behind
suddenly beca brighter. Because we didn’t want to show Lee Songha their deceitful figures, we got up from our seats.
The girls ca down from the stage. Although they ended up with a much higher score than the average team, they weren’t cheerful. A caraman stubbornly asked Lee Songha questions, but when she showed no signs of crying, he left soon after.
When Lee Songha ca close, Kim Hyunjo patted her slender shoulders.
“Songha, I said it before, right? The words the judges are saying...”
“I know. It’s fine, oppa.”
“Okay. Since this is the beginning, you just need to show that you’re improving.”
“Yup.”
Lee Songha smiled faintly as she nodded her head.
Seeing her face, I suddenly thought.
How many tis had Lee Songha said she was fine today?
The recording ended well after midnight.
“There is a week left until the next recording, so don’t practice today and go ho and rest.”
Kim Hyunjo requested. The girls nodded heavily and got in the van. I was thinking about whether to sit in the passenger seat or at the back when Lee Songha slowly approached
from behind and grabbed my clothes.
“What’s wrong?”
“One second.”
When I took a few steps towards in the direction she was pulling, she looked around and mumbled in a small voice,
“Oppa.”
“Yeah.”
“My foot hurts a little.”
“What?”
I quickly looked down.
“It hurts? Since when?”
“Since I fell.”
If it was after she fell... Don’t tell
it was back during their rehearsal in the rain? That was so long ago. Didn’t that an she didn’t say that she was hurt since then?
“You’re telling....!”
“I’m sorry. Please don’t tell the unnies.”
Lee Songha tightly held on my clothes with both her hands and prevented
from moving. Dumbfounded, I looked at her, but she shook her head.
That mont, I recalled the conversation we had on our way back from the morning schedule. They talked about thinking of it as getting rid of her bad luck and that it would have been more troubleso if she got hurt and it affected their Next K-Star schedule.
If the girls sohow found out that Lee Songha was hiding the fact she was hurt, they might bla themselves. That was probably why Lee Songha was so desperately asking
now.
“I get it. I get it, but I need to tell the chief. We need to go to the hospital. I’ll co back after telling the chief so let go. My clothes will rip.”
Only then did her white-knuckled fingers loosen up.
{1} aning he felt refreshed like drinking soda.
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