episode_0018

‘Why are you laughing at me?’

I was puzzled by Yoo Seol’s sudden behavior.

And what was even more puzzling was…

*Click*

A camera capturing a snapshot of me and Yoo Seol as if it had been waiting for us.

*Swish*

But before my questions could be answered, Yoo Seol turned around again. And… stepped onto the stage.

“Yes, please introduce yourself.”

“Ah… I’m Yoo Seol, 21 years old from JJ Entertainment. Nice to meet you…!”

Yoo Seol greeted the judges with a short self-introduction, looking a bit embarrassed as if the stage was overwhelming for her.

Her petite figure hesitantly moving around was quite…

“Haha, she’s cute.”

…Yeah, she was cute.

Her adorable face and cute appearance… reminded me of baby chicks, hamsters, and hedgehogs.

Even though she was two years older than me, she seemed like a younger sister, and for some reason, a protective instinct rose within me.

It seemed like I wasn’t the only one who felt that way, as the expressions of the participants and judges watching her on stage were quite softened.

‘Well, when I came out, everyone was so critical…’

Nevertheless, Han Siwoo, as usual, started with a cold question about Yoo Seol’s cute appearance.

“You seem quite old for a trainee… Did your debut get delayed at JJ?”

“….!”

How can he bring up such a sensitive issue right from the start?

It was a question that made not only the participants but even the surrounding judges gasp, but Yoo Seol calmly answered.

“Yes, that’s correct.”

“….!!”

…And very calmly at that.

“Ah…”

“Oh my…”

Was there something as terrible as a delayed debut for trainees?

The pain seemed to be felt by the participants and judges around her.

“I had the opportunity two years ago, but due to circumstances, I couldn’t debut at JJ.”

“…That’s unfortunate.”

“It’s okay. Thanks to that, I got the chance to come to my Idol Academy.”

There are moments like that. Moments when someone says it’s okay, but it doesn’t look okay. Moments when it looks even sadder.

“Can you tell us what those circumstances were?”

“My parents were sick.”

“….!”

Yoo Seol said that now. She said she was okay, but she didn’t look okay at all.

Her brave words made her look even more heartbreaking.

“Of course, they’re not completely better yet… but my parents’ dream is for me to debut as an idol.”

“….”

“So I really want to debut this time.”

*Click*

As Yoo Seol spoke, the camera outside the stage turned towards me along with the gazes of the people around me.

Since Yoo Seol’s story overlapped with mine… it seemed like they were planning to edit a comparison between us.

I shrugged it off with a vaguely pitiful expression when the camera focused on me.

“Let’s end the questions here. When you’re ready, please start.”

“…Yes!”

With that simple question, Yoo Seol’s performance began…

♪♬♩♬-!

“….Huh!”

“This is…!”

As Yoo Seol’s chosen song played, the surroundings began to buzz.

I, too, couldn’t help but be surprised by the appearance of a song I knew.

“This is Cindy’s …!”

The acoustic song by Cindy, the top female singer-songwriter in Korea.

Known for its lyrical atmosphere and high pitch that made it difficult to sing.

‘The problem is not just that.’

The bigger issue is that the owner of this song is Cindy.

Cindy, who holds the largest fandom in Korea as a solo artist.

The reason she has so many fans is because of her unique voice and exceptional singing skills.

If you try to imitate her voice in a clumsy way, it will only make the stage look significantly inferior compared to the original.

However, if you sing it completely differently, you might face the wrath of Cindy’s hardcore fandom.

It was truly a situation where there was no good choice no matter where you looked.

In the first place, it was an unwritten rule to avoid songs by very famous singers in auditions, so why did Yoo Seol insist on choosing this song?

Everyone watched Yoo Seol’s stage with tense eyes.

And…

-This moonlit night. And the lake.

“….!”

As Yoo Seol started singing the first verse, all those worries disappeared from my mind like dust.

-Are you watching?

-Do you remember?

The sentimental atmosphere of the original song was beautifully woven into the performance. It evoked the feeling of a hot summer night, with the bright moon shining on the surface of the lake.

However, it was not at all similar to what Cindy, the original singer, had sung.

Because the vocal tone was completely different.

Yoo Seol infused the song with her own unique vocal tone, different from Cindy’s.

It maintained the sentimental atmosphere of the original, but with a different feeling due to the vocal tone.

Respecting the original… and highlighting the differences.

It was like hitting two birds with one stone.

“….Wow.”

“Amazing….”

Not only the participants but also the judges sighed in admiration at Yoo Seol’s stage.

Han Siwoo was no exception.

“Did you look at me with those eyes too?”

He looked at the stage with eyes widened in surprise, completely taken aback by Yoo Seol’s talent.

People began to sway their heads in time with the music, lost in the sentimental atmosphere… and as the song continued, the place transformed into what seemed like Yoo Seol’s personal concert venue.

The climax of the song was before the chorus.

The most difficult part of the song that not just anyone could sing.

-Come with me to that place-.

“….Wow.”

“Amazing….”

Yoo Seol sang the bridge even more powerfully than the original.

It was not uncomfortable or painful to listen to at all.

Everyone was simply in awe of her charismatic performance.

-There, together.

-Read our letter-.

With a smooth vocal tone, Yoo Seol flawlessly finished the chorus, and her stage came to an end.

“…That’s all. Thank you for watching.”

“….”

After finishing her stage, Yoo Seol bowed to the judges with a bashful smile, but no one responded.

They were all lost for words, deeply moved by her performance.

Clap, clap, clap.

The silence was broken by the sound of applause, not the judges’ comments.

The one applauding was none other than the vocal trainer.

She clapped vigorously with a look of ecstasy on her face and then raised the microphone.

“It was a perfect stage.”

The vocal trainer, who was originally known for her harsh words, spoke with a look of rapture.

“There were no flaws in that performance. There was absolutely nothing lacking in terms of vocals.”

It may have sounded a bit exaggerated, but no one could refute her words.

In fact, Yoo Seol’s vocals were truly top-notch.

‘A main vocal with confidence. No, her vocal skills alone are idol-worthy.’

I suddenly wanted to check Yoo Seol’s stats.

And as soon as I thought about it, her status window appeared before my eyes.

[Yoo Seol.]

[Age: 21]

[Traits: Protagonist, ?? (Locked)]

[Physical Detailed Stats]

[Intelligence Detailed Stats]

[Art Detailed Stats]

I was about to delve into the Art Detailed Stats, but I paused when I saw her traits.

‘…Protagonist?’

It seemed like a name that carried a lot of weight. With slightly trembling hands, I first entered the Traits section. And that’s when the explanation of her trait appeared.

[Characteristic: Protagonist – You are the protagonist of this story. Of course, your life is not smooth. But no matter what hardships you face, keep moving forward towards your dreams. If you don’t give up… the final winner will definitely be you.]

[Characteristic Effect: Unyielding Protagonist – Activated only in times of adversity (currently active) Endurance, patience, mental strength, and physical stats greatly increase! Overall stats slightly increase!]

[Characteristic: ?? – Currently locked.]

[Characteristic Effect: ?? – Currently unable to confirm.]

She had a total of two characteristics.

One was locked… and the other was…

“…a bit of a scam.”

Boosting endurance, patience, mental strength, and physical stats significantly, as well as slightly increasing the remaining stats.

It seemed much better than my Heavenly Demon characteristic.

But what bothered me the most was the naming sense of the characteristic.

My characteristic is named Heavenly Demon, so why is her characteristic named Protagonist?

It just… doesn’t seem like good and evil are clearly distinguished.

“In the end, the Heavenly Demon loses to the Protagonist.”

I had lived just as hard as her. Adversity and hardship? That was my daily life.

What exactly was the difference between Yoo Seol and me…

“….”

A feeling of something rising in my chest.

I barely calmed my heart and checked Yoo Seol’s detailed Art stats.

[Art Detailed Stats]

(Appearance: 96)

(Singing: 99)

(Acting: 99)

(Dancing: 88)

“…She’s insane.”

Her Art stats were so impressive that they were almost jaw-dropping.

At this point, it seemed like JJ was an idiot for not debuting her sooner.

Yes, with these stats, she should definitely be the protagonist.

Her Art stats were truly at the level of being born to be an entertainer.

After seeing her stats, I finally understood why her characteristic was named Protagonist.

But even as I understood…

*Sigh*

I couldn’t help but feel a sense of discomfort since the beginning.

What kind of feeling was this?

Before appearing on NAAE, I had promised myself not to be greedy.

It would be nice to debut in the debut group, but even if I didn’t, I would just accept it and aim for the next opportunity.

Winning? I never even dreamed of it.

But…

“….”

Yoo Seol.

Seeing her now, I felt a strange urge.

I wanted to push her down… make her kneel in front of me…

I wanted to have her under my feet…

Such a strange desire.

While I was having these thoughts, Yoo Seol was being evaluated by the judges.

This time, it was Han Siwoo’s turn.

“I was deeply impressed by your performance. Among the trainees I’ve seen recently… no, among all the singers I’ve seen recently, you were the most impressive vocalist.”

Uncharacteristically excessive praise from the original Han Siwoo.

It seemed that her stage was different for him too.

But…

“However.”

His tone suddenly changed as if something was off.

After a moment of hesitation, he said, “The vocal performance on the stage was impressive, but… there was no dance performance. Do you acknowledge that?”

“I acknowledge.”

“By any chance… did you prepare a dance performance separately?”

“….!!”

As soon as Han Siwoo asked that question, the surrounding gazes subtly turned towards me.

Yoo Seol’s response to Han Siwoo’s question was the same as what I had heard earlier.

Seeing Yoo Seol hesitate, she finally nodded her head, looking a bit flustered.

As Yoo Seol seemed to be struggling with something, Han Siwoo raised an eyebrow.

“If there’s no problem with the dance performance, could you show it to us? We have high expectations for Yoo Seol’s dancing skills as well.”

“Yes, yes! I’ll show you then.”

At Han Siwoo’s urging, Yoo Seol put down the microphone and returned to the stage in dance attire.

And as she returned to the stage…

“Camera-! Quickly-!”

“Zoom in that direction!”

The production crew outside the stage started to get busy.

Normally, one would just think that there was a lot of anticipation for Yu Seol’s dance song.

But something strange happened…

Swoosh-.

“…?”

Several cameras were pointing towards me.

As if they were trying to capture my reaction.

‘Why?’

Why would they want to film the reaction of a mere participant like me?

At first, I couldn’t understand.

But…

“Then, let’s begin now.”

With those words, Yu Seol’s prepared dance song started playing…

Tick-tock.

“…!”

“…Huh?”

“…Huh?”

The familiar intro played, and I could understand the production crew’s actions.

“Oh, unnie…! This is the song you did earlier…!”

Right.

Yu Seol’s prepared dance song was “24 Hours Not Enough.”

It was the same as what I had prepared.

“Hah.”

With that, I could understand why Yu Seol had smiled at me earlier.

At the same time, feeling somewhat incredulous, I looked at Yu Seol with a wry smile.

Before the first move was even made.

Yu Seol was also looking at me.

Looking at me… and smiling.

Snap.

Her smile gave me a sense of heat.

Why is she smiling? Is she that confident? Am I being underestimated?

Or… is she challenging me to a showdown?

With that, I didn’t avoid her gaze as we faced each other as if we were destined to meet… as if we had encountered a lifelong connection.

It felt like time had slowed down and stopped in that moment.

I didn’t miss that moment and silently mouthed to her.

‘Go ahead.’

Whether she understood the meaning of my words or not, Yu Seol chuckled once more and winked at me.

‘Alright, watch closely.’

It seemed like that was the gist of her wink.

With my arms crossed… and cold eyes, I watched over her stage.