Chapter 69

The song "Yin Yuan" was originally sung by Lee Sun-hee, and the original version exudes a strong feminine charm, but the song itself tells a love story between two men. At this moment, as Lee Kyung-myeong, a man, sings it, whether or not one has seen "The King and the Clown," they can naturally enter the depths of a man's conflicted heart.

Every word, every breath is a sigh.

Tiffany had been holding her phone and filming from the start. Lee Kyung-myeong was her idol, and only two of his song videos were available online: "I Don't Want to Miss You" and "Confession." Now that Lee Kyung-myeong was willing to sing, she naturally hurried to record it. Although Tiffany usually seemed a bit dazed, she had a good sense of propriety and did not include Jessica and Kim Tae-yeon in the frame. The love lives of celebrities were a major taboo, and even big stars like Jang Dong-gun and Kwon Sang-woo had to face the bitter consequences of their love lives being exposed. For a newcomer like Lee Kyung-myeong, even a rumor could be fatal.

As she listened, Tiffany found herself unable to hold her phone steady, not because she was tired, but because she was crying.

There were no high notes, no showy techniques, only a deep sense of emotion. It seemed as if this was Lee Kyung-myeong's own song, his own story.

Tiffany was just too emotional, the one who liked to laugh and the one who liked to cry was still her, a sensitive woman. As she cried, she also complained in her heart, wondering why she had to cry while singing happily on her birthday.

Kim Tae-yeon's eyes widened. In her view, this was absolutely on par with the skills of teacher Jung Chun-won, but the style was very different. Jung Chun-won's singing was very powerful, with a thick and impactful voice, and Kim Tae-yeon's style was in the same vein. Lee Kyung-myeong's voice, however, was ethereal yet clear, with a mysterious and elusive quality, as if everything in this world was beneath the clouds at his feet, and he was standing alone on the cloud, singing softly.

"Turns out you like men?" Jessica said without any context as soon as Lee Kyung-myeong finished the last note.

"Huh?" Lee Kyung-myeong was immediately thrown off, the ethereal and mysterious aura instantly disappearing. How did Jessica come to this conclusion?

"Ha ha!" Tiffany, with tears still in her eyes, burst out laughing at Jessica's words. Kim Tae-yeon was even worse, hugging her stomach and curling up on the sofa, a low tolerance for jokes was truly a pain.

"Hey, where did you get that idea?" Lee Kyung-myeong said angrily.

Jessica said confidently, "You sang this song so well, you must have had an experience similar to the one in the movie!"

The filming of "The King and the Clown" was fraught with difficulties, and although it later became a huge hit, it couldn't escape the label of a "controversial film." The controversy stemmed from the gay romance in the movie, and having a similar experience meant that Lee Kyung-myeong had also experienced a love between two men.

Hearing Jessica's words, Kim Tae-yeon and Tiffany, who had just calmed down a bit, couldn't hold it in anymore.

Among the girls of S.M. Entertainment, there was a concept known as the "Sica Effect." The "Sica Effect" had two forms: one where everyone was happily chatting and joking, but Jessica's one sentence could freeze the entire scene; the other, which was the case now, was the opposite, where everyone was discussing serious matters, and Jessica's one sentence could make everyone burst out laughing. This was clearly the second type of "Sica Effect."

"It's just a performance, a simple performance," Lee Kyung-myeong said, speechless. This girl's brain must be broken, how could she come up with such a "yaoi" idea.

Next, it was Tiffany's turn, the only one who hadn't sung yet. She frowned, "Do I have to sing 'Yin Yuan' too?"

"You can sing whatever you want," Lee Kyung-myeong waved his hand. This wasn't a designated song competition; they came to the karaoke room to have fun, so they should sing whatever made them happy.

"I'll sing in English," Tiffany said, lacking confidence in her Korean at crucial moments.

Jessica nodded and immediately transformed into the radiant Lux: "This is a well-considered choice." (For those who don't know, please search on Baidu.) Tiffany rarely sang Korean songs, and whenever she did, it always led to an awkward situation where she found it uninteresting and everyone else found it uninteresting too.

The words "I Say a Little Pray" appeared on the screen, and Lee Kyung-myeong was instantly stunned. It seemed that the great ones always appeared last. It looked like Tiffany was very confident in her abilities. This was a song he wouldn't dare to attempt lightly, with a difficulty level that was terrifying. The song's difficulty on paper was just one aspect; singing it required not only superb technique but also a "soul level" that could only be found in fantasy novels. It was a spiritual song.

Many people had sung this song, mostly well-established seniors who would only attempt to challenge it after they had the seniority to avoid criticism. The original singer was a woman who had been a legend for many years, a true great.

When it came to the queens of the Western music scene, young people often thought of names like Madonna, Mariah Carey, and Whitney Houston. In reality, there was always a mountain that these people could never cross in their lifetimes, and that was Aretha Franklin. The first female singer to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the first black woman to grace the cover of Time magazine, 18 Grammy Awards, 20 R&B chart-topping singles, and various lifetime achievement awards—these were enough to demonstrate her strength. In the list of "The 100 Greatest Singers of All Time" published by Rolling Stone magazine, the Beatles' lead singer John Lennon was ranked fifth, and the late Elvis Presley was ranked third, while the first was this "Queen of Soul" (mentioning Elvis and John Lennon, who are well-known in China, is to give everyone a better understanding of this queen).

Tiffany was a Christian and had always loved spiritual songs. She would hum them casually in her free time. Regardless of technique, her familiarity with the song was very high. "I Say a Little Pray" was one of the ultimate spiritual songs, and she loved it. Today being Lee Kyung-myeong's birthday, she wanted to sing it to pray for him.

"I pray for you..." The first line Lee Kyung-myeong heard made him bow in admiration. He admired the talent scouts of S.M. Entertainment and the training system for trainees. These girls, who were about to debut, were all very talented. Lee Kyung-myeong was lucky to be here with the vocalists of Girls' Generation.

Tiffany's voice was rich and full, Jessica's was powerful, and hers had a deep, soulful quality, similar to that of a black woman. When Tiffany sang, her voice didn't sound like an 18-year-old girl but rather like a woman in her late 20s, with a certain depth and maturity, very emotional. This usually shy and timid girl, who often acted cute, had a voice of this type. Tiffany was actually very outgoing; her innocent expression just made her seem shy. Once you got to know her, you could see her dominant side.

Compared to Aretha Franklin, of course, she couldn't match, but in Korea, this level of skill was not only enough to ensure a smooth debut but also difficult for already established singers to reach. After much consideration, Tiffany finally brought out her "big weapon." Seeing Lee Kyung-myeong's expression, she was overjoyed. Getting the approval of her favorite idol was a very satisfying thing. She happily used her left hand to make a "I love you" gesture (the classic Spider-Man web-shooting gesture) and pointed at Lee Kyung-myeong, "I say a little pray for you (I pray for you)!"

Kim Tae-yeon joined in the fun, while Jessica wrinkled her nose and glanced at Tiffany. Tiffany, noticing this, turned back to the TV like a frightened rabbit and stuck out her tongue when no one was looking, feeling too happy. She wondered if Jessica would hold a grudge when they returned to the dorm, as pointing "I love you" at someone else's boyfriend was indeed a bit inappropriate.

Initially, everyone was quite serious about singing, but later, they became more relaxed. The purpose of going to the karaoke room was to have fun. Everyone was singing and dancing wildly. Kim Tae-yeon even started dancing, choosing Lee Jung-hyun's "Wa" and using a small fan from the karaoke room table as a paper fan to perform the classic fan dance. Kim Tae-yeon danced more and more energetically, pulling Lee Kyung-myeong and Tiffany, who were sitting, to dance with her. As for Jessica, she sat on the sofa with her arms crossed, unwilling to move.

"Wa" and "Unnie" were connected, almost like one song, as Lee Jung-hyun's performance seamlessly combined the two. When everyone sang, they also sang both songs together. The individual dances for the two songs were the biggest highlight, and most young Koreans of that era knew how to dance them. Kim Tae-yeon even gave up the microphone to sing into her left little finger, as if she were wearing a finger microphone. She also tried to mimic Lee Jung-hyun's inverted eyebrows, but her own eyebrows were too sparse. However, she had a solution, tearing off two strips of seaweed and sticking them on her eyebrows, which fit perfectly. Her selfless dedication to entertaining others and her realistic acting, as if no one else was around, even impressed Lee Kyung-myeong.

This girl, who seemed quite mature, turned out to have such a childish personality. Similarly mature and childish, Lee Kyung-myeong felt a sense of belonging and danced even more energetically with Kim Tae-yeon. Just as the song reached its climax, Kim Tae-yeon, mimicking Lee Jung-hyun, prepared to bump Lee Kyung-myeong with her butt. However, this ended in disaster. The result was that Kim Tae-yeon's face turned red, Tiffany laughed uncontrollably, and Jessica, who didn't want to laugh, couldn't help but collapse on the sofa, feeling a sense