Chapter 37
“So what do you think of the lyrics?”
“Hmm? They don’t seem bad. But I don’t know much about songwriting.”
The basic idea behind the song I titled “Christmas of the Day” is longing for Christmases past on a day when summer rain is falling.
The original song was about missing a lover, but since I had never been in a relationship myself, I twisted the lyrics a little.
‘I changed it so it feels like missing not just a lover, but friends, family, or the entire atmosphere of that time…’
Songwriting wasn’t my major in the first place. I can manage to cobble together some lyrics, but when it comes to this, I really need someone with a proper feel for it.
So I showed the lyrics to Kim Seol.
Her father was an exceptionally accomplished man when it came to literature, so… Kim Seol was bound to be quite well-versed in writing, too.
Apparently, she says that if it weren’t for the band, she probably would have become a novelist herself.
“Personally, I think the word choice and… the context are pretty decent. But I’ve mainly written novels. I don’t know much about songwriting…”
“That’s good enough.”
I looked into Kim Seol’s languid, narrowed eyes.
‘Now that I look at her, she really is beautiful.’
Blooming’s popularity was reaching for the sky, and while their ensemble skills played a part, the members’ striking looks were becoming the biggest reason for it.
I didn’t know whether that was why, but Yuseolha and the other members’ makeup was growing more and more elaborate… From the perspective of someone watching from the side, it was quite surreal.
If I had to pick the least skilled member of Blooming, it used to be Jo Naneun, but now I would have to pick Kim Seol.
Because Jo Naneun’s skills had been improving rapidly, as if she’d had some kind of epiphany after her lessons with Park Hansu.
She was apparently even contacting him personally and asking lots of questions about the guitar.
Park Hansu had entered his active period last month and was busy, but apparently he didn’t mind having a student like Jo Naneun, because he diligently replied to her every time.
Unlike Jo Naneun, she wasn’t the type to have much passion for music.
That didn’t mean she had any tremendous passion for writing, either.
She had been born without a shred of passion in her, and on top of that, she had grown up wealthy… Naturally, she could only be halfhearted about everything.
‘In the end, the drums are important if the band is going to rise to the top.’
Well, not necessarily. There were bands recognized as unambiguously world-class despite having a drummer who played like crap.
“Unni. Would you consider studying songwriting?”
“I have… thought about it. Honestly, I thought I’d quit after high school. If I’d known things would turn out like this, I guess I would have started learning sooner.”
“I think you’d improve quickly once you started learning.”
Even for Blooming’s future, it was only right that at least one member should know how to write lyrics, even if they didn’t know how to compose.
This wasn’t an idol group that could outsource every single song, after all.
Even if they outsourced the music itself, having the members gather their opinions and write the lyrics themselves was essential if they wanted to become more popular.
“Oh, since you’re here, would you like to listen to this? I’m going to sing it now.”
“Yeah. Sure.”
I began singing to match the rewritten lyrics.
-Fragments of seasons scattered through the rain
-Memories of that particularly cold day
-Beyond the heat of summer pooled against the window
-I picture that night when white breaths touched
From the very first line, Kim Seol’s eyes began to tremble.
I closed my eyes, recalling the acquaintances from my past life and the winter scenery of those days I could never return to, and entered the chorus.
-Christmas of the day, snow falling on an August night
-Memories resembling those days pile up on my shoulders
-Trapped in the hot wind, I dream
-The Christmas of that day, which I can never return to
After the first verse ended, I stopped the song and turned my gaze toward Kim Seol.
“How was it… Huh? Wh-why are you crying?”
“Yeah.”
“…Why?”
“Because I miss Mom.”
For the record, Kim Seol’s mother was alive and well. She had even appeared on the huge TV we’d had on in the living room yesterday.
I panicked, thinking she was remembering an ex-boyfriend she’d broken up with or a friend who had died.
I’d felt it before, but this woman really was strange.
* * *
“Come to think of it, what song is your group going to perform? Have you decided?”
“Yeah. We’ve already decided everything, from this round all the way to the finals.”
“Already?”
After Kim Seol had calmed down somewhat, we were drinking cocoa together.
Naturally, during that process, I asked about Blooming’s song for the current competition.
Baek Yuyeon had brought in some obscure drama OST that hadn’t even gotten ten thousand views for this round, while Joo Jinwoo seemed to have decided to stick with the ballads he was used to, drawing on his failure last time.
Then what about Blooming? Honestly, by this point it was both difficult and burdensome to show everyone something new.
What choice had Blooming made?
“This time, we’re doing ‘Voyage.’”
“I know that song, too.”
It was a refreshing summer song. Personally, I didn’t think it was all that great, but it seemed reasonably suited to the seasonal atmosphere.
“And we’re going to wear swimsuits. As our stage outfits.”
“What? Ah, wait, is that allowed on broadcast television?”
“…What are you thinking? Do you think we’re going to wear something like bikinis?”
No, that wasn’t it? If not bikinis, then what were they going to wear?
There wasn’t any skin-colored material in the outfit Kim Seol showed me. Not that there was none at all… It was so thoroughly covered up that I wondered whether it should even be called a swimsuit.
“…No. Is this really it?”
“Actually, I wanted something a little more revealing, but our parents objected.”
“I see.”
In that case, there was nothing they could do.
* * *
In any case, time flew by. Starting with this round, we had to frantically bounce between practice and planning the stage, with practically no time to fool around.
I asked the production crew for stage machinery that would make snow fall and cardboard sets that would give the stage a homey feel.
Unlike the other stages, this one didn’t really need any particularly expensive equipment. We didn’t need an orchestra or backup dancers.
Although it was a carol, it essentially followed a standard pop format, so my singing ability and emotional delivery would be the keys to the song’s quality.
‘Until now, I’d only sung songs that were exceptionally easy…’
This song was plainly not easy to sing.
If it were simply a song plastered with high notes, it might actually be somewhat easier to sing.
But a song like this, requiring delicate control as it moves between chest voice and falsetto in an ambiguous range, was nothing short of tricky for me.
“Even so, this is… It’s close, but good enough to show onstage.”
I muttered that as I gulped down water in the practice room.
I knew better than anyone that my own skills had improved tremendously. To be honest, at this level, it wouldn’t be strange to call me the best among my peers—or, quite literally, a genius.
But I could no longer use ordinary children as my benchmark.
To be honest, ever since entering the live competition rounds, I had gradually begun enjoying the stages.
I liked getting people’s attention and hearing their cheers.
In my previous life, I had always worked behind idols, playing the role of making them shine. So I had never received proper attention myself, nor felt the thrill of being onstage.
‘If I’m going to keep standing onstage from now on, I have to keep improving my skills.’
My vocal ability was clearly the worst among the remaining five. Not merely the worst, but overwhelmingly so.
So I couldn’t help feeling a little pressed.
The public was gradually becoming accustomed to the genius elementary schooler who was good at both composing and singing.
I brought something new to every stage, and every one of those songs made it onto the charts, but the voting took place while people watched the live performances.
If I put on a bland performance in the finals with mediocre vocals, I might lose the victory that was practically within reach.
“Phew…”
In fact, the gamblers at betting sites and the public alike were already predicting my overwhelming victory.
By this point, the gap between Joo Jinwoo’s and Blooming’s fandoms and mine had grown quite large.
Joo Jinwoo was an undisputed top vocalist, but once his genre became limited to ballads to a certain degree, he couldn’t gather a fandom beyond a certain size.
Meanwhile, Blooming and I had built recognition by putting our own songs on the charts, and built fame through online communities and YouTube.
In fact, since my case and Blooming’s were so unusual and unprecedented, Joo Jinwoo might have felt it was unfair from his perspective.
Joo Jinwoo had targeted the regular viewers of music shows, while we had drawn in ordinary people who hadn’t been particularly interested in things like this.
“This might be the limit of how much I can improve my singing, actually.”
People said my tone was fairly good, but I still inevitably had the vocal production and voice characteristic of a young girl.
Honestly, these things wouldn’t disappear until I went through puberty.
‘But there’s still so much time until then.’
Then how should I continue my activities after Singerstar ended?
No clear solution came to mind right away.
Unlike usual, I left the practice room with a somewhat serious concern weighing on me and gazed out at the summer sea.
And the next day, the TOP 5 competition began.