Chapter 165
by Novelpia from Temu
Chapter 165
Raise Three Idols Well And They’ll Launch a Confession Attack.
Episode 165: Chapter 16 – Diva Yoo Gaeul (END)
The recording day had arrived.
Gaeul stood on the stage of a famous square, wide enough to accommodate a small stage, with many people gathering around.
I would have watched from the back as usual, but this time, I placed my hands on the keyboard and joined her on stage.
In this round, sessions were allowed on a small scale, so it didn’t matter that I was on stage, but in my mind, I questioned, ‘Is this okay?’
Honestly, this stage had a completely different meaning compared to when I was busking as an amateur.
Here, and with so many people watching the recording, what they expected was a flawless professional performance.
Despite having practiced since that busking without any reward, I wasn’t sure I could meet those expectations.
Whether she knew about my burden or not, Gaeul casually spoke, even as she looked at the many people gathered in the square.
“There are so many people in the audience.”
Her calm words actually eased some of my tension, and I responded to her words.
“This brings back memories. We did street performances like this back then, right?”
“Yeah. It hasn’t even been a year, but it feels so nostalgic.”
“Well, a lot has changed since then. The number of the audience has changed, the size of the stage has changed, and even the way we approach it is different.”
At my words, Gaeul turned her head from the audience in front of the stage and looked at me, saying.
“Actually, nothing has really changed.”
Huh?
“Even if the number of eyes watching us has increased by thousands or millions, don’t you think that’s different?”
“No, it’s the same. Both this stage and the previous one, what’s important is just me and Team Leader Seon, that’s all.”
Gaeul said that while turning her gaze toward the thousands of spectators who had gathered to look at us.
“Haha, I appreciate the words, but we’re professionals, right? Shouldn’t we say that the audience is the most important?”
“You said you wanted to enjoy the stage, right? So, I’m being honest with you.”
A deep smile appeared on her side profile as she held the guitar and adjusted the pick.
“I’m happiest when I stand on stage with Taeyang Oppa.”
In the media room, all the staff from TwoBear were filled with tension.
“The result for Lena Shin’s Love rating is an all-time high, 95%! It was said that such an overwhelming number would never come from our Music Road production team.”
Lena Shin, the opponent who started her performance first in front of Gaeul, received an overwhelming rating that no one had expected.
“95%… That’s almost like cheating.”
“Honestly, her performance deserved such a score. Truly, Lena Shin is something else.”
Cheon Aram, who had been listening to the conversation between Lee Hyerin and Song Johan, frowned and asked,
“What was the rating score Gaeul got last time?”
“It was 87%, ma’am.”
“That was with her strong song choice, ‘Albatross,’ and the perfect performance she gave.”
“…That’s right.”
Cheon Aram sighed and spoke.
“This isn’t going to be easy.”
“But it’ll be fine.”
Yeoreum spoke, amidst all the gathered gazes.
“Because both Team Leader Seon and Gaeul unnie are geniuses.”
Maybe I had a premonition that such a day would come again someday.
The reason I didn’t stop adjusting the piano even during the busiest moments of Girl Revolution, when I could only catch a 3-hour nap, couldn’t be explained by anything other than that.
Even with Oh James’s advice that a producer doesn’t need to take on the role of a session player, and Cheon Jonghoon’s words that playing the piano helps understand music, but I was spending too much time on it, I didn’t stop tapping the keys.
Since I couldn’t provide an appropriate answer myself, I awkwardly smiled at those words and stubbornly continued with the piano, but now I feel like I can answer that.
I didn’t want to feel ashamed.
This was a thought I had since the first time I truly realized her talent.
I didn’t want to feel ashamed standing next to the genius named Yoo Gaeul.
The reason I started playing the piano next to her was purely impulsive.
I thought I could use it casually since there would be rewards, and since I had done it in my past life, it wouldn’t feel too awkward.
But that lighthearted mindset shattered with the first line of the song that Yoo Gaeul sang.
Yes, just like now.
The guitar in her hands, and the piano keys I was touching.
Even the two small instruments were silent now, and she filled the world only with her own voice.
I was entranced by the intense emotions that spread that day.
I forgot my role and was sucked into it as one of the audience.
But now that I’d been given another chance, I wouldn’t let that happen.
Slowly, carefully, pianissimo.
I added the impurity of my name to Gaeul’s pure and noble vocals.
As if waiting for the dance of the keys, Gaeul began to pluck the strings of her guitar.
The gently laid bass. Gaeul’s voice softly rang like a confession.
The audience, as if sinking into a swamp, became one with the space filled with sound.
And like rising, intensely, with increasing speed, mezzo forte.
The song and the fingers I placed on the keys began to accelerate.
The high-difficulty song ‘Memories of the Sea and Leaves’, where the two guitar riffs clash as if in a battle, would have been impossible for me to pull off if I hadn’t received any reward back then.
However, the song I composed this time, ‘The Duty of Singing,’ boasts even higher difficulty than ‘Memories of the Sea and Leaves,’ when considering only the highlight.
Considering that I had to play it myself, it was a choice that was not only reckless but also arrogant.
Even Cheon Jonghoon and Oh James said that the difficulty of this part should be eased.
But I insisted on keeping the difficulty.
Because I thought the song I had to make wasn’t something for Gaeul to just warm up her voice with, but one that would bring everything out of her.
My fingers began to dance.
The notes, densely packed in my mind, fell like rain and choked my breath.
Reason said, “Give up. This is beyond your reach.”
Like walking along a rope on the edge of a cliff, I felt a strong premonition that everything would collapse the moment I slipped.
Still…
I still have to do it.
No, I will.
Staying up through the night, holding my breath, cutting my sleep short to refine and refine everything was all for this moment.
I won’t be satisfied with just not being ashamed in front of her.
I will go beyond that and become someone worthy of the singer Yoo Gaeul.
That’s the reason I stand here.
And after what felt like an eternity, the 20 seconds ended, and the rapid passage of the song also came to a close.
There were no mistakes.
I removed my hands from the piano, which had played its part perfectly, and grabbed the microphone to start the chorus.
By now, Gaeul had turned slightly to look at me.
I looked back at her.
Just like the day we first saw each other and smiled.
Like a blooming flower.
After successfully completing her performance, legendary R&B singer Lena Shin, who had been watching the stage of her junior with interest, now had a stiff expression.
She rubbed the goosebumps on her arm and sighed as she muttered.
“Where did such a beast come from?”
As the camera captured Lena Shin’s expression, the MC, who had finished announcing the audience’s rating, shouted the result loudly.
“Yoo Gaeul’s Love rating is an unbelievable score! 97%!”
[Name – Yoo Gaeul (Female)]
[Appearance – A+ | Potential: A+]
[Vocal – A | Potential: S] → [Vocal – A+ | Potential: S]
[Dance – B | Potential: B]
[Rap – C- | Potential: B+]
[Acting – D+ | Potential: D+]
[Variety – C- | Potential: C-]
[Management Evaluation – Having grown up in an environment where no one protected her, Yoo Gaeul had to learn how to safeguard herself and her family even before she matured. She became accustomed to giving up. Choosing to shoulder the weight of responsibility rather than pursuing the full bloom of her talent was just another form of that surrender. This mindset did not change even after she went through many ups and downs and ultimately chose to become an idol.
To her, singing was not an act of enjoyment but a profession—merely a tool to bear yet another responsibility. However, the reason she is now able to pour her pure emotions into her singing without restraint is largely attributed to the user’s successful management.
Not everyone with an S-rank potential reaches the heights of S-rank talent. Many falter, break, and fade before ever reaching their full brilliance. Yet, Yoo Gaeul will soon ascend to the pinnacle that bears the name of S. And when that time comes, the world will call her a Diva.]
[As a reward for successful management, ‘Non-Slip Reinforced Hammer’ has been granted.]
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