Chapter 36: Pretty
The eyes of the reporter, sharp yet still youthful, turned toward me.
They may not know, but we had met before in the future.
Not as a reporter and a trainee, but in a slightly different… person-to-person relationship.
Even then, reporter Lee Doyeon’s name was known for bad reasons.
The subtle confidence in her tone and arrogant attitude were just as I remembered, but she still couldn’t match the aura of a reporter with ten years of experience.
Understandably so—she was only in her second or third year now.
It was a card I played, thinking it would work at this time.
Judging by those wildly shaking pupils, it seemed to have definitely worked.
“You admitted it too boldly yourself, didn’t you?”
“…Ha.”
Maybe it was the age gap.
The Lee Doyeon I knew would do anything for her younger sibling.
At this most critical point.
A dating scandal breaks out just when he entered the debut range?
And not one, not two, but three people?
It practically meant his debut was over. Logically, would idol fans accept a trainee who's dating not one but three others?
Reporter Lee Doyeon’s expression seemed to grow more complex. You could tell just from her more cautious attitude compared to earlier. This was worth making a deal.
She gave an awkward smile and opened her mouth.
“I get what you’re trying to say. But this was bound to come out someday, if not now…”
“I’m not asking you to take it to your grave.”
“Then what?”
“Just… shelve it for now.”
Realistically, she was right.
At most, it could only be stopped right after the survival show or maybe in the early years after debut. There are no secrets in this industry.
Eventually, even if not by her, someone else would reveal it as a huge scoop.
That’s why the offer I wanted to make was also ‘postponement.’
Just a request to let the Stardust Project wrap up smoothly.
What comes after that, Kang Siwoo could handle on his own.
It’s his life, after all.
“If it’s just that… I’ll think about it. Though someone else might leak it, even if I don’t.”
Reporter Lee Doyeon replied with a reluctant expression.
“Thank you.”
I bowed politely in response, and Kang Siwoo also shrank back, watching her reaction.
From what I knew, she wasn’t the type to go back on her word once spoken.
It seemed somewhat well resolved to this extent….
But the real reason I sought her out wasn’t this.
What we just had was blackmail—the real deal hadn’t even started yet.
I smiled and opened my mouth.
“Reporter. Then it looks like this matter is settled. There’s something I’d like to say.”
“Yes?”
“You like exclusives, right?”
Bringing up Lee Dokyung wasn’t for Kang Siwoo’s sake—it was for mine.
I was about to hand over a secret, under the assumption that she would keep it confidential.
And under that assumption, I brought her a gift she’d really like.
“So, I have a little present for you.”
“What scary thing is it this ti—whoa?”
I smiled lightly and pulled a photo from my pocket.
“Will this scoop do?”
Reporter Lee Doyeon’s eyes widened as she saw the photo.
***
The day of the Position Evaluation—the second round that would determine the second ranking ceremony—had arrived.
Two vocal teams, two rap teams, and three performance teams.
Any team that lost in their position match would be immediately at risk of elimination, so the atmosphere in the waiting room on evaluation day was like a freezer.
Whether first or second place—
If your team lost here, it meant elimination.
Of course, there was a backup vote for such cases, but that was something the producers hadn’t revealed yet.
The top-ranking trainees, firmly believing that elimination here meant the end, were running final rehearsals with tense faces.
Just as everyone was soaked in fatigue, the red light on the camera turned on.
At that moment, all the gloomy faces suddenly brightened.
“I heard a lot of people came today.”
“Wow, I’m already nervous.”
“Let’s start warming up now.”
While the trainees in the waiting room raised the tension and filled the audio,
The camera, which had been focused on the waiting room, panned halfway to capture the judges.
Teacher Yoo Minseo, MC Han Dawon, and singer Yubin, who joined as a special judge.
The first topic the three brought up was the vocal position evaluation—the first stage of the day.
“Which team do you think has a better chance of winning?”
“The teacher and I saw the mid-point evaluations last time, right?”
Han Dawon nodded and started the conversation.
At the mid-point evaluation, Vocal Team B had performed below expectations.
Although it’s unclear how much they’ve improved after Teacher Yoo Minseo’s criticism, they’re kids with a lot of potential.
Honestly, he wasn’t sure, but Han Dawon cautiously gave his opinion.
“I still think Team B might perform better today.”
“Hmm, Team A definitely has talented kids, but their positions were misassigned.”
“You mean the kids who originally had vocal strengths will do well again this time?”
“But in terms of popularity, this side totally wins.”
“Still, it has to be Team B. Hajin sings incredibly well.”
Trainers from other positions joined in, offering their own thoughts.
Amid the heated debate, most agreed that Vocal Team B seemed to have the upper hand.
The trainees’ interview cuts echoed similar sentiments.
[Seohan… is really good at dancing. But we haven’t really seen a standout vocal performance from him yet.]
[They chose the wrong position. I think all three made the wrong choice. I don’t get why they went for vocals.]
Among the trainees, opinions varied about why PD Lee Young-chae assigned Do Seohan to Vocal Team A.
Some said it was to hold him in check for the debut team.
Others said it was to dramatize the hardship of a center and make for a compelling broadcast.
But one thing was certain.
The person involved had no choice in the matter.
Everyone knew this, but they still said what they wanted on camera without filtering it.
Han Dawon, holding the mic, turned to Teacher Yoo Minseo, who had remained silent until now, with eyes that looked like he was calculating this round’s odds.
“What’s our trainer’s opinion?”
“Well.”
Teacher Yoo Minseo shrugged her shoulders as she spoke.
“You won’t know until you compare.”
“You won’t know until you compare.”
That’s what Teacher Yoo Minseo would have said.
Seohan stared straight into the air and climbed the stage one step at a time.
“Waaaah!”
The audience felt twice as big as in the first evaluation.
The deafening cheers struck his ears.
Team B’s performance earlier.
Unlike the midpoint evaluation, it seemed they pulled it off perfectly without mistakes, but he didn’t care at all.
‘Rather than hoping others fall, it’s faster to rise on my own.’
To prepare for this stage, he endured the pressure of being the main vocal and did his best.
He worked hard to clean up the chaotic team atmosphere and somehow built up this level of teamwork.
So,
‘As long as we do well.’
Seohan repeated to himself as he sat at center stage.
Soon, soft lighting cast down over his head.
The cheers from the audience gradually died down, and before he knew it, only silence remained on the stage.
As if only the three of them were left.
Lee Dokyung, who had followed Seohan’s path, smiled and stepped onto the stage.
Lee Dokyung quietly approached the seated Seohan and placed a white headset on his head.
At the same time, a familiar melody filled the once-silent stage.
“Huh?”
Some audience members seemed to recognize it and widened their eyes.
-Dreams are my reality
It was the OST from the 1980 film La Boum.
There probably weren’t many in the crowd who had actually seen the movie at the time, but few didn’t recognize the iconic scene that continued to be talked about.
Mathieu approaches Vic, who is eating alone, and puts headphones on her.
The scene where two people who fell in love at first sight dance at the party.
They inserted La Boum’s OST as an homage to that intro scene.
“……”
Seohan slowly lowered the headset and looked back at the audience.
The softly playing OST faded out.
Countless audience members waved placards like a beautiful wave.
Seohan slowly opened his mouth, holding the mic.
The moment you came, the world stopped.
I came to believe this is what love is.
A soft yet resonant voice.
Teacher Yoo Minseo said it lacked technique, but it had a clean quality instead.
A voice like a blank sheet that could harmonize well with any other.
Lee Dokyung layered harmonies over it.
His soft voice painted his own color over the blank canvas.
I want to know
Everything about you
Built up a white wall
In a place you couldn't reach
But somehow you slipped in
And swirled your own brush
Then followed Kang Siwoo’s soft rap.
Though he’d never shown it in the Stardust Project, Kang Siwoo had a natural talent for rhythm that would’ve made him shine in the rap position.
It sounded like he was just casually rapping, but his distinct vibe came through in his rich tone.
Kang Siwoo’s vocal part flowed smoothly like that.
Do you know that
The T-shirt stained with paint
I just liked seeing you draw beside me
I want to know
Everything about you
It wasn’t all smooth sailing getting to this stage.
They didn’t physically fight, but the mood wasn’t much better than that.
That team now stood united on stage.
Seohan met Kang Siwoo’s gaze and grinned.
Because the things the other trainees had said flashed through his mind.
[A disappointing combo?]
[Seohan… doesn’t he have a low vocal range? And he’s the main vocal?]
[That team doesn’t have anyone who can hit the high notes.]
When Seohan was assigned as the main vocal, the Vocal Team B trainees lightly dismissed it.
Maybe they didn’t say it that harshly, but the broadcast edited it to sound like that.
It would’ve been a lie to say it didn’t bother him.
‘Being main vocal… is honestly a burden.’
But Seohan was already prepared.
He wasn’t the seventeen-year-old who gave up in advance, thinking he couldn’t do it.
Because he had already given up before.
This time, he wasn’t going to.
He practiced until his voice gave out, trying to hit impossible high notes.
Since Do Seohan could only go that high, they probably picked a safe song.
It was a smart choice, but he didn’t want others to think he made it because he had no choice.
So.
So.
My colorless world was dyed by you
Listen, this is everything I have
Seohan let out a clean high note.
It was both the hidden card to beat Vocal Team B and the part he had poured his heart into.
You are music to me
You make it impossible to stop
Ah-ah-ah
A high note of C in the second octave that he had never shown in practice.
His solid voice never wavered, and the members’ voices blended over it.
As flawless vocals filled the hall and brought gasps from the audience, only the in-ear MR echoed in his ears.
I want to know
Everything about you
My colorless world was dyed by you
Listen, this is everything I have
And so they reached the final line.
I can never go back
Because your whole world is now me
Just like the opening scene, Seohan sat back in the chair, the other two moved away, and soft light cast down over them.
“……”
A flawless stage, completed exactly as they envisioned, without a single mistake.
‘We… did well, right?’
Only then did Seohan raise his head and smile with relief.
And then.
“Kyaaaaah!”
“Guys, you did amazing!”
“Hamster Vocal God nailed it!”
Fan cheers filled the concert hall, proving the result.
As he took it all in, Seohan murmured.
“So pretty…”
The placards rippled gently.