Chapter 7

007. This is nothing but talent.

Fantasta was kind enough to even call and invite him.

Moreover, the warm reception made him feel more comfortable than at other places.

However, everything changed when he faced the protagonist in the video, Kang Taejin.

His hands and feet trembled, and his heart began to race wildly.

'What is this? As far as I know, the representative of Fantasta was someone else.'

Before the regression, Do-woong had experience applying for the vocalist position at Fantasta.

As a company that had achieved moderate success with a boy group,

the representative he had seen on the website was clearly a middle-aged man far removed from the entertainment industry.

Of course, he hadn't even passed the document screening back then.

'Has the situation changed? What exactly happened?'

The flustered Do-woong thought calmly for a moment.

Then, a forgotten memory came to mind.

'Right, Kang Taejin, that guy, started his own agency and it became a big issue. Was it Fantasta?'

Although he didn't know that at the time, he now had a rough idea of the situation.

It made sense if the representative had changed in the middle.

In any case, two singers who had once been famous.

Seeing them in front of him, Do-woong felt an unreal sense of alienation.

Do-woong swallowed hard, his posture stiff.

At that moment, the representative, Kang Taejin, said,

"Haha. There's no need to be so nervous. We invited you here separately because we were very impressed by your audition video. Please try to relax."

"Yes, I understand."

"Shall we listen to a song then?"

With the tension slightly eased by the encouragement, Do-woong cleared his throat.

But singing in front of the person in the training video,

he couldn't help but feel like a student in front of a teacher.

Do-woong closed his eyes tightly to avoid being distracted by the people in front of him.

He then straightened his posture.

-♩ Now we're parting, though we may never see each other again.

A cappella.

A low, rich tone flowed from Do-woong's lips.

It was a song from the mid-2000s, filled with the poignant sentiment of longing for a lost lover.

Do-woong mixed his breath, which felt like a sigh, to express the sadness.

Based on his trained vocal technique.

'The posture, the breath control from the low notes. This is definitely instinctive.'

Kang Taejin's eyes sparkled.

The posture in a tense state, the breathing at the beginning.

Amateurs usually reveal their unconscious habits here.

But Do-woong's posture for opening his voice and the breath he was letting out were as flawless as the fundamentals of vocal technique that Kang Taejin himself had once mastered.

He had seen countless trainees.

It was always a place where people who claimed to be good at singing came, but they inevitably had one or two bad habits.

He had to put in a lot of effort to correct those habits during training.

-♩ Don't be sad anymore, just be happy—

The clear high notes rose without straining his vocal cords.

Kang Taejin's heart began to race.

'It's certain. This kid is a gem.'

It wasn't an outstanding or superior skill that made him shiver.

But in Kang Taejin's opinion, the basics.

He had almost never seen someone with such perfect basics from the start.

'They said he had never attended a music school. This can only be explained by talent. If I teach him a little more from this state...’

Kang Taejin's eyes sparkled as he looked at Do-woong.

Yemyeong, who was sitting beside him,

looked back and forth between Kang Taejin and Do-woong with interest.

After the song ended, Do-woong opened his eyes.

'Did I do well?'

He had shown everything he had practiced without any mistakes,

but he couldn't predict how the person in the video would react.

Kang Taejin, with his hands clasped, was lost in thought.

And Yemyeong, with a mysterious smile.

An ambiguous atmosphere enveloped the three of them.

'From the atmosphere, it seems I've passed.'

Just as he was making this assumption,

-*Bing*

Something appeared above Kang Taejin's head.

'What? That's...?'

But Do-woong couldn't help but be surprised.

A red star, different from what he had seen before,

floated above Kang Taejin's head.

-*Ching*

'Wow!'

Do-woong couldn't hide his joy at the unexpected gift.

**

"How did it go?"

Hyung-sik, who had been sitting in the lobby, rushed over and asked.

"I would have signed a contract right away."

"Wow, that's amazing!"

Hyung-sik clenched his fists and got excited as if it were his own success.

This drew the attention of other applicants waiting in the lobby.

'Looks like that guy got in.'

'He must be really envious.'

Hyung-sik, still excited, continued.

"Kang Taejin from B.E.A.T. only trains top-notch singers! Yemyeong is also a singer under this agency."

"I know. Both of them were judges in the audition room."

"What?! You mean Kang Taejin and Yemyeong judged the auditions themselves?"

"Yeah."

"Unbelievable... "

The other applicants looked at Do-woong with envy at this incredible news.

Hyung-sik took out a small notebook from his bag.

He flipped through the notebook and shared his thoughts.

"Among the auditions I've seen today, this one is the best. After all, the CEO is a former idol who also had a huge success as a solo artist."

Do-woong nodded in agreement.

He knew that B.E.A.T. had been incredibly popular.

Although he was in elementary school at the time, B.E.A.T. and T.E.N. were the two major boy groups.

Their songs were always played on TV,

and the rivalry between their fan bases was so intense that it often made the news.

Hyung-sik, who had been scribbling in the notebook, asked,

"Of course, this place is better than where you passed earlier, right? When will the training start?"

"I'm not going to sign a contract."

Do-woong said matter-of-factly.

"What? Why?"

"Because my skills are still lacking."

"..."

Hyung-sik froze, as if his input had been rejected.

"Hey, you crazy bastard! Do you know what kind of opportunity this is!"

He suddenly got angry and chased after Do-woong, who was walking ahead.

The other applicants, who had been watching the scene, started to murmur.

'What's wrong with that guy? He got in but isn't signing a contract?'

'Is he on some kind of journey to test his skills?'

Do-woong knew how crazy this decision was.

'If it were like before, I would have bowed down and offered everything I had.'

But the context of the evaluators he saw today was consistent, though to varying degrees.

His skills were still far from sufficient.

Do-woong recalled what the casting directors had said today.

...It's a bit 'disappointing' to put him in right away...

...If you look at it this way, his skills are 'ambiguous'...

...To compete with just his singing, he's still 'lacking'...

Even Kang Taejin, who had actively offered a contract, said,

"Mr. Do-woong, you are a fine gem. Although you still have some areas to improve, if you sign a contract with us...’

Everyone described Do-woong using words like 'lacking' and 'ambiguous.'

The meaning was clear.

Do-woong had just barely passed the cut-off line.

'If I go in like this, I'll just be a tail end.'

Do-woong could train his talent,

and he could choose an agency that would offer much better conditions in the future.

He was currently training just one talent.

'Signing a contract now would be a foolish move.'

The only desire burning in Do-woong's heart was to master more talents as soon as possible.

**

- Knock knock.

"Mr. President, Do-woong refused the contract."

"What? Why?"

"It seems... he thinks he's not ready to sign a contract yet."

After the casting team leader delivered the shocking news and left,

Kang Taejin's face was filled with worry.

"What was lacking?"

Kang Taejin paced around the table, thinking.

"Was it a mistake for me to step in personally? Or did it seem like I was pushing too hard by suggesting a contract right away?"

Posture, vocal technique, breathing.

Do-woong, who had solid fundamentals,

was in a state where he just needed to build on top of them.

The more Kang Taejin thought about missing out on him, the more it pained him. He changed his target and shouted,

"It's definitely your fault! Why did you come to the audition and make it so awkward!"

Yemyeong, who had been swaying in Kang Taejin's chair, replied nonchalantly.

"I was just curious. But, Hyung."

"What, you bastard."

"Hyung, you were probably more awkward."

"..."

"Look at that scowl. Do you think he would have run away and not endured it?"

Kang Taejin subconsciously checked his reflection in the glass.

Even he had to admit that his expression was sharp and intimidating.

"But you've been acting like this the whole time... Hyung, you should share the good things."

"..."

"Go ahead, eat. You can have all the good things."

Kang Taejin sat on the desk in a self-defeating mood.

"What if he signs with another agency? I won't be able to persuade him then."

"But there are plenty of trainees here who can sing better. Honestly, Hyung, you're overreacting."

"He's different... You'll understand better if you see him in person. You, if you have time to do this, go down and practice the new song faster!"

Thinking about it, Kang Taejin shouted in frustration.

Yemyeong threw the empty ginseng juice packet into the trash can.

"I get why you're so interested in him."

He then gave a sly nod and left the office.

**

As soon as Do-woong returned home, he went straight to his room.

"What kind of gift will it be~."

He hummed a tune and checked the gift box.

A red star floated up from the gift-shaped icon.

The star image, growing and shrinking repeatedly,

was surrounded by sparkling effects and then burst with a *pop*.

"Wow! A new video! I didn't even expect this."

Do-woong, who had thought he would just get a few more stars, was thrilled.

His heart raced with anticipation as the customized video was being searched.

"Wow, it's here! What? This person?!"

Excited by the new video, Do-woong couldn't help but be surprised by the face that appeared in the thumbnail.

Unknown Vocalist H.

Although he was described as unknown, it was a face Do-woong knew.

Actually, it was someone that any Korean would recognize.

Ha In-hyuk, the vocalist of a male band group that was at the peak of popularity in the mid-2000s.

His distinctive thick falsetto had garnered a lot of attention.

The video showed him singing on the street in the early days of the band's formation, when they were still unknown.

"Is this advanced training for falsetto?"

Falsetto is a type of vocal technique where the sound is produced in the head.

If Kang Taejin's vocal technique was comprehensive and fundamental,

the unknown vocalist's falsetto technique seemed to be more advanced.

Do-woong immediately pressed the play button.

A song with a minor, unfamiliar sentiment played.

He knew that Ha In-hyuk had a long period of being undervalued, and this seemed to be the style of music he made during that time.

Moreover, due to his lack of experience, there were mistakes in harmony.

There was no characteristic of a vocalist in the low and mid-range, only the rawness of an amateur.

As a result, few passersby seemed to pay attention to him.

But the atmosphere soon changed.

The clear, powerful high notes that smoothly extended.

It was the rough and strong high notes that were his trademark as a vocalist.

When the unrefined, thick falsetto rang through the microphone, passersby began to take notice.

The excited vocalist, unable to control the decibels, poured his youthful energy into the microphone.

It was the moment he discovered his weapon that would draw attention.

'Come to think of it, what is he doing now?'

Suddenly curious, he searched for the vocalist's name on the internet.

The last article was about his discharge from the military a year ago.

Since then, the vocalist had been in seclusion somewhere, not appearing on TV, and only rumors circulated online.

'Right, this person suddenly disappeared and couldn't be seen.'

At that moment, a familiar notification window appeared on the screen.