Chapter 48
“Approximately 17,000 people.”
Gocheok Dome was so large that even most top-tier idols and top singers could not fill it alone, only managing to do so through joint concerts.
And now, its seats were filled to capacity by all sorts of people.
Most of them had gathered to see the performances of the three finalists in Singerstar 5.
Until recently, Joo Jinwoo had merely been an ordinary college student preparing to return from a leave of absence, so the fact that he was about to stand on this stage felt like a dream.
“Phew…”
As he took deep breaths and prepared to go onstage, Blooming’s members, who had just finished their performance, passed by him on their way down.
“Oppa. You can do it.”
“Fighting.”
“We’re looking forward to it.”
The girls’ expressions were bright. And no wonder—they had delivered a perfect live performance without a single mistake despite the immense pressure weighing down on their shoulders.
Although it was a song they had practiced countless times, Joo Jinwoo, who now had to stand before this enormous crowd, could easily understand how incredible it was that they had not made even one mistake.
Joo Jinwoo gave a faint smile.
A dream stage he could not even have imagined a few months ago.
Only now did it truly sink in that he was about to stand on that very stage.
The usual goal of Hongdae’s indie bands was to become a band capable of filling Jangchung Gymnasium. Once a band could draw that many people, it could be called a major act.
But they never even imagined that they could stand at Gocheok Dome.
This was a venue allowed only to the major acts among major acts—the very best of the best.
It was a dream stage they could not even dare to imagine themselves standing on.
“Mr. Joo Jinwoo. Please get ready.”
At the youngest staff writer’s voice, Joo Jinwoo finished preparing to step onto that dream stage.
* * *
The song Joo Jinwoo had chosen was Under the Black Sun, considered a legendary masterpiece in this worldline.
It was the final song left behind by a legendary rock band that had led the golden age of rock bands in the early 2000s, just before they disbanded. Because of its horrendous difficulty and desperate lyrics, it had earned the nickname “a song no human can sing.”
Joo Jinwoo had brought this monstrous song to the finals stage to reach the final peak of his career.
There were no decorations on the stage.
Only the enormous sound of a pipe organ shook the floor of Gocheok Dome, announcing the intro.
Joo Jinwoo gripped the microphone tightly in both hands and kept his head bowed, like a prisoner standing on the gallows.
- Beneath a sky that has turned to ash, I gather the dream I burned alone.
The atmosphere changed from the very first line. Joo Jinwoo’s voice was much rougher and drier than usual.
The conflicting emotions—sounding as though he was desperately yearning for something while also having given up on everything—rode the cold air of Gocheok Dome and touched the audience’s skin directly.
As the song moved into its second verse and heavy drumbeats began pounding against their hearts, Joo Jinwoo revealed his true colors.
- Burn! Burn even blacker! Until you reach the place my final breath cannot touch!
A barrage of ultra-high notes soaring beyond the third octave erupted in the chorus.
The high notes felt desperate rather than beautiful.
Joo Jinwoo strained every muscle in his vocal cords as he forced the sound out. If Blooming’s stage had been our story, Joo Jinwoo’s stage was proof of his existence as a human being.
He had abandoned the ballads considered his main weapon and chosen traditional Korean-style rock instead.
That daring choice, combined with Joo Jinwoo’s flawless live performance, was becoming the best choice he could have made.
Watching the monitor in the waiting room, I unconsciously clenched the coffee can in my hand.
‘…It couldn’t be more reckless. He’s attempting all of that in full voice? If he fails even once… everything is over.’
The bridge, the highlight of the song.
All the instruments stopped, and only Joo Jinwoo’s voice reflected off the ceiling of Gocheok Dome, powerfully shaking the entire arena.
Then came fifteen seconds of sustained, screaming vocals.
His intense high note felt like a gigantic wave.
The 20,000 spectators felt as though they had been swept away by that wave and could not even breathe.
Joo Jinwoo’s eyes were bloodshot, and his entire body was slick with sweat, but in that moment, he looked like the most immense being in the world.
When the final note ended like a scream and the lights went out, Gocheok Dome was engulfed in a silence steeped in a strange sense of fear.
* * *
‘How many vocalists in Korea could fully pull off that song?’
I couldn’t say for sure, but perhaps fewer than ten.
In truth, given Joo Jinwoo’s level of skill, bringing that song out for the finals stage had seemed close to a gamble.
Even if its highest notes were within Joo Jinwoo’s range, the barrage of high notes throughout the chorus and the emotional delivery required while moving between low and high notes were difficult things for him to handle.
In fact, even during practice, Joo Jinwoo had struggled to perform the song all the way through properly.
Nevertheless, on this most important stage, he had completed the performance to the end without faltering even once.
‘Of course, there had been a mistake.’
It had happened only once, but that mistake had left a blemish on his performance.
It might not be noticeable right now. But if I delivered a perfect performance, that small mistake might become an obstacle.
“It’s been a while since I’ve stood onstage with a guitar.”
In my hands was the children’s guitar I had received from Park Hansu before.
It was a small guitar, but it had been rather expensive for its size, making it a high-quality instrument with an excellent sound.
I had debated whether to use an AR track for the guitar or play it myself, but once my live performance had stabilized to a certain degree, I decided I could play and sing at the same time.
After all, there was no way I wouldn’t look cool playing the guitar and singing by myself.
When I woke up that morning, messages of support had arrived from all sorts of people.
My friends and younger siblings at the orphanage, Park Hansu and the PC bang owner, and even Baek Yuyeon and Lee Hyejin, who had been eliminated.
-Wait a moment!
-There’s a support message for Seo Siyeon, the star of the next stage. Let’s watch it before we go.
“No wonder they said they weren’t going to make me prepare… So this is what it was.”
Who could it be?
Honestly, only one possibility came to mind.
‘It must be the kids from Neulneul Orphanage, as usual.’
It was obvious and something everyone could anticipate, but that was exactly what made it such a powerful tearjerker weapon.
Just as I had expected, the screen changed, and Neulneul Orphanage appeared.
“…Huh?”
The moment I saw it, I could not hide my astonishment. The orphanage looked somewhat different—no, quite a lot different.
‘What the hell? Why is the playground so much bigger… And when did that building get remodeled?’
Those questions soon gave way to images of the younger children, three or four years younger than Seo Siyeon, who had always been close to her.
The children on the screen were wearing such clean clothes that they were almost unrecognizable, jumping up and down and waving in the newly renovated orphanage auditorium.
The seven-year-olds who usually followed me around with runny noses stood in front of the camera.
-Sis Siyeon! We’re all cheering you on here. You have to win and come back!
-Unnie. You’re the hero of our orphanage!
-We’re waiting for the day you return!
Behind the children, the director and teachers appeared, smiling kindly and waving.
‘Wait, something’s strange about the director’s belly. Is he pregnant?’
Strangely, the director’s belly was enormously swollen.
Whereas he had once been a middle-aged man with a somewhat sharp charm, he had now become a middle-aged man far plumper-looking than even the average neighborhood uncle…
-All right, then it’s finally time for what we’ve all been waiting for!
-Singerstar 5’s grand finale!
-The stage of the miraculous genius girl, Seo Siyeon, begins now!
With the MC’s shout, the stage went dark.
The 17,000 people in the audience held their breath as if on cue.
Over the ashes left by Joo Jinwoo’s Under the Black Sun, a calm, dreamlike synth-pad sound began seeping in like fog.
I walked toward the center of the stage with the small guitar held against me.
In the darkness, spotlights flickered on one by one, following my footsteps.
The countless seasons I had experienced in my previous life as a composer and producer.
And the new spring I had encountered as Seo Siyeon.
I stood before the microphone and slowly closed my eyes.
Now it was truly time to let go. To let go of all the lingering attachments from my previous life that had bound me, and even the fear I had hidden behind the label of being an orphan.
Ziiing-
I lightly plucked the guitar strings. The clear resonance filled the vast space of Gocheok Dome.
Then I softly murmured the first line.
-A gentle season, like scattering petals—I fear my life may become the same.
My true four seasons as Seo Siyeon were just beginning.