Chapter 30 : The Heavenly Voice (4)

The song began.

First, Rydel’s singing could be heard.

“Ugh.”

Upon hearing Rydel’s performance, Shin Changseok furrowed his brows.

“Ahem.”

Kim Seokhoon, who was sitting next to him, also cleared his throat.

Rydel’s face, singing passionately like a nightingale on screen, was beautiful enough to be called a beauty.

However, her singing was far from it.

‘Her breath control is completely off. The phrasing is a mess.’

It was supposed to be a calm song.

A song that should have been calm, but Rydel’s thin neck, red-faced with veins popping, screamed that she was putting in a lot of effort.

It was clear that she was trying really hard, but the problem was that all she had was passion.

In fact, that kind of passion was a negative in a song like this.

‘Her tone is unstable. Her pitch keeps wavering.’

In just a few moments, Kim Seokhoon finished his evaluation.

“I haven’t been watching internet broadcasts for long. Is this kind of vocalist popular?”

Shin Changseok, too, muttered with a look that questioned what he was hearing.

“If you just push forward without adjusting the dynamics, the emotional line doesn’t get across. It’s not singing, it sounds like she’s yelling.”

The two experts explained with their professional knowledge, but in reality, what they were saying was that the performance was just a haphazard, forceful attempt.

A vocalist who only knows how to go straight ahead without any hesitation.

That was Rydel’s style.

Despite being a streamer and having received vocal training for her singing broadcasts, her style of singing with a lot of tension in her neck hadn’t improved at all.

‘Even though 10,000 people are watching, hmm. Is this just a comedic concept?’

Shin Changseok thought to himself.

In fact, until then, Rydel had mostly chosen lively songs for her karaoke broadcasts.

Given the lighthearted atmosphere of her broadcast, cheerful songs were more fitting than deep and heavy ones.

Thanks to her passion, her singing style wasn’t all that awkward.

Naturally, there was no delicate technique, but since it was a fast-paced, upbeat song, it wasn’t very noticeable.

However, this time, it was Yoo Seoyeon who had picked the song.

The song they were now singing had the melancholy of London, a piece from a British band.

In a song where delicate emotional control was crucial, she was giving it her all with such force.

For the average listener, it sounded disastrous, and for the two musicians, it felt like their ears were being assaulted.

“I have to stop listening.”

“Yeah, I think that’s for the best.”

Even though they hadn’t had high expectations for an amateur, this was a bit too much—just as they were thinking this.

“~♪♬”

Yoo Seoyeon’s voice came from behind.

“Hmm.”

The mouse, which had been heading toward the X to close the window, paused.

It was a completely different voice from Rydel’s.

The chaotic atmosphere settled down immediately.

Shin Changseok unconsciously crossed his arms.

He had a habit of crossing his arms when he was concentrating on listening to music.

Kim Seokhoon, who was standing next to him, also froze, his mouth slightly open.

“~♪”

The voice flowing from beyond the monitor filled the room.

The dreamy synthesizer, typical of European bands, and the cold guitar riff filled the background.

And over the low-pitched guitar riff, Yoo Seoyeon’s voice flowed.

The voice melted into the instruments.

It’s delicate yet deep.

The two of them closed their eyes.

The lonely streets of London.

The damp, wet sidewalk.

The faint streetlight casting light through the fog.

An old blues song playing somewhere in the distance.

Listening to that voice, it felt as though they weren’t in a studio in Bangbase-dong, but rather in the heart of London, enveloped in thick fog.

“Wow, hyung. This person…”

“Shh.”

Shin Changseok placed his finger on his lips.

Kim Seokhoon also silently closed his mouth.

As the song continued, even their breathing became quieter.

It felt as if her voice was occupying the entire space.

Of course,”Hmm.”

“Is it possible to mute just this person? I’m not familiar with internet broadcasts.”

“Well, it’s not possible to mute just one person. From the chat, it seems like this ‘Silver Hair’ person doesn’t even do solo broadcasts.”

Every time Rydel’s soulful performance echoed, the two of them frowned.

But there was a rising desire to mute just Rydel’s voice.

Unfortunately, such a feature didn’t exist in the Soopjijik platform, so they had to endure and listen to Yoo Seoyeno’s voice.

However,”Is Rydel’s voice getting quieter?”

It seemed that the current broadcast’s host, Rydel, had also felt something was off.

To be more precise, she seemed overwhelmed.

Yoo Seoyeno simply sang naturally, but Rydel’s voice gradually faded, and before long, it seemed like she had passed the song over.

《~♩♬》

Before long, the song ended.

The two of them opened their eyes.

The surrounding scenery felt awkward, as if they had just returned from a short trip.

“Is it over?”

Feeling a subtle sense of regret, Shin Changseok silently stared at the monitor.

“How was it?”

“Hm.”

Normally, Shin Changseok would have finished his evaluation in less than 10 seconds.

Having heard countless songs already, evaluating a single vocalist was as simple as breathing or eating.

However, this time, even after 5 minutes, his mouth hadn’t opened.

‘It’s not perfect.’

Though he had been overwhelmed by the atmosphere, the person called ‘Silver Hair’ hadn’t used a single common technique.

A voice that hadn’t received professional vocal training.

Therefore, it was hard to consider her a perfect vocalist.

‘But, even without training, she instinctively felt it.’

Her voice was beyond technical skills.

She instinctively understood the gaps in the music, the spaces where emotions needed to be filled.

Thanks to that, even though the technique was lacking, the music felt full.

‘Moreover, this kind of atmosphere is rare these days.’

She wasn’t just imitating the melancholy of London, she sang as if she had experienced the air there herself.

This was precisely what Shin Changseok liked about her.

An emotional aspect that couldn’t be expressed in numbers.

It was the voice that best fit the concept of so-called “heart-touching music.”

“I’m not sure.”

“Does that mean she sings really well?”

“…..Yeah.”

Kim Seokhoon chuckled.

He too was feeling the same way as Shin Changseok.

“She doesn’t seem to be doing broadcasts. How should we get in touch with her?”

There was confidence in Kim Seokhoon’s voice.

Shin Changseok was a composer and producer who had created numerous hit songs.

He, too, was a hitmaker, though his area of expertise was slightly different.

Singers who wanted him to write songs for them, exaggerating a bit, would line up from Seoul to Busan.

If the two of them contacted her, no one would turn them down.

“As much as I’d like to, aren’t you a little busy right now?”

“Hah, yeah? If only there weren’t so many things to do.”

He would love to go find the person known as ‘Silver Hair’ right now, but he was currently in charge of work for a large entertainment agency.

“There’s just too much work to catch up on. That’s why we’re still here until dinner.”

The debut of an idol group they had been preparing for years.

With so little time left, he had to pour all his energy into it.

This was a large-scale project that couldn’t be rushed.

There was no way to spare any energy for other tasks.

“There’s no rush, right? We can meet later if there’s a chance.”

“That’s true. Ah, what a shame. Really.”

Kim Seokhoon made a genuinely disappointed expression as he checked his smartphone.

“Sigh. I guess I’ll have to head out. You take care too.”

“I have to go as well. I’ll clean up a bit and head out.”

“Why are you passing the work to me?”

“Then at my age, who else would do it?”

The two of them bickered while shutting down their laptops.

They wanted to keep watching the broadcast, but unfortunately, there was no time for that.

***

“Ha.”

He exhaled the breath he had been holding.

Silence.

The song he had sung as a duet with Rydel had ended.

‘It wasn’t too weird, was it?’

He cleared his throat, feeling a bit uneasy.

‘I did it like I would at a karaoke bar.’

The only relief was that it didn’t seem like a complete disaster.

When he started singing with all his effort,‘Hmm, something feels a bit empty here?’

‘Ah, if I fill this part… Ah, that was the intention.’

It was hard to explain, but he instinctively felt how to sing the song.

Here, I need to sing with more power.

Here, I need to hold back and sing slowly.

He hadn’t learned music or anything, so he couldn’t explain it, but it seemed like he captured the mood of the song well.

At the very least, he could tell that the song hadn’t failed.

‘Still, it’s a bit nerve-wracking looking at the chat.’

Before I started singing, the atmosphere was really great.

I turned my attention to Rydel’s chat.

「Wow…….」

「Holy sh*t, that was crazy?」

「I don’t know much about music, but I can tell it was really good.」

 「The atmosphere is amazing.」

 「I thought it was an opera…….」

《‘Jeonghwaja’ donated 1000 won!》

Isn’t this just a track playing?

「That’s not it.」

「Her voice is different, lol.」

「But it really feels like the original artist is singing.」

《‘Mongmabus’ donated 1000 won!》

The broken earphones have been automatically fixed.

「At this point, they might as well get fixed…….」

「My blocked ears just cleared up too.」

 「My cat suddenly started speaking English.」

After seeing the chat, I let out a sigh of relief.

My first karaoke broadcast was, thankfully, filled with positive feedback.