Chapter 6
The song's final echo faded away with the arpeggiated melody that had filled the studio.
The filming site was engulfed in an eerie silence. Yu Sang-hyeon had stopped his pen over the evaluation sheet and was staring at Si-yeon with an expression as though he'd seen a ghost.
The first to break the silence was another judge sitting beside him.
As a current idol who could produce his own music, he found it impossible to believe that this situation was real.
“……Ms. Si-yeon. Did you really write and compose that song yourself?”
Si-yeon had expected that question. Since the song had been infused with the experience of a former producer, its depth was something that could never have come from a nine-year-old's life experience.
Yu Sang-hyeon also chimed in, sweeping his gaze over me with suspicion.
“Ms. Si-yeon. I'll be honest with you. The chord progression and lyrical metaphors in this song are far too sophisticated. If you received help from a professional composer, you should tell us now. Your singing skills alone are enough to get you to the finals.”
His tone was gentle, but it held the sharp edge of scrutiny. This could easily spiral into a controversy over fabrication.
But Si-yeon didn't panic. She simply smiled.
“I knew you'd be suspicious. To you uncles, I must look far too young.”
I carefully set down the guitar from my lap and pulled a small USB drive from my pocket, waving it at the writers.
“Then how about this? I actually prepared this song in case Representative Jina from KY came today…… But I'll show you one more song to change the mood.”
Yu Sang-hyeon's eyebrow twitched. He seemed overwhelmed by the little girl's audacity as she drew a new card instead of evading scrutiny and tried to break through head-on.
A moment later, once Seo Si-yeon had finished getting ready, a powerful bass rhythm burst through the speakers.
Boom, boom, boom-!
The polished synth sounds unique to fourth-generation idols and the addictive beat reverberated through the filming site. Si-yeon lightly stepped to the rhythm.
For now, it was a genre from the future. But people's ears are honest in every era.
Just as we still go wild over classical music from centuries ago and masterpieces from the 1990s become popular among younger generations after being remade, genuinely good music is bound to resonate anywhere.
After setting down the guitar, Si-yeon's movements were light, and her expression instantly transformed into that of a lively idol.
Embarrassment lasts only a moment.
But the impact left behind in this moment lasts forever.
She knew that she was incapable of pulling off high-difficulty K-pop choreography on her own.
That was why the choreography she'd roughly cobbled together by referencing Japanese idols made Si-yeon's slightly cold-looking features appear lively.
Colorful hearts spill out—Jelly!
When it pops, you'll fall hard for me—!
The lyrics were light, but the quality of the song was perfect. As Si-yeon's refreshing vocals settled over the punchy drumbeat, the studio instantly transformed into a music-show stage.
It was the pinnacle of catchy commercial music, a song that could be placed at the top of the charts right now without looking out of place.
In the middle of the song, Si-yeon even had the leisure to wink deliberately at Yu Sang-hyeon and add a point move.
“Wow……” Exclamations erupted throughout the filming site. Yu Sang-hyeon had now put his pen down completely and was letting out an incredulous laugh.
A sad ballad and an exciting dance-pop song.
As he watched a nine-year-old child produce these two polar-opposite genres as self-composed songs of perfect quality, the doubts in his mind transformed into awe.
“……Ms. Si-yeon. Did you make that backing track yourself, too?”
The moment the song ended, Yu Sang-hyeon leaned forward and asked urgently.
“Yes. The PC bang owner let me borrow a computer, so I made it with that. Can you believe me this time?”
In the meantime, Si-yeon slipped in a line giving the PC bang owner a shout-out, repaying his kindness.
When I tilted my head and asked, Yu Sang-hyeon shook his head and raised both hands as if surrendering.
“No. I suppose I'll have to believe you. This isn't something just anyone could do. Si-yeon…… Do you happen to have several original songs like this?”
“Uh…… I think I have about twenty!”
“Huh. You're a complete monster.”
The moment the word monster left Yu Sang-hyeon's mouth, I was certain.
The whole audition was now in the palm of my hand.
I received an all-pass from the judges, wrapped up the interview, and returned to Neulneul Orphanage in a good mood.
‘If things go well…… maybe I could even win? I'm actually kind of a natural onstage when it comes to singing.’
Then, two weeks later, while watching the Seoul auditions in the aired episode, Si-yeon changed her mind and declared,
“Okay, analysis complete. I can't beat that.”
Because there was one monster.
* * *
It had been a week since the first episode of Singer Star Season 5 aired. That week had been more than enough to completely transform Si-yeon's life at the orphanage.
On the day the episode aired, the living room of Neulneul Orphanage was filled with the kind of excitement one would expect during the World Cup final. From the head nun to the mischievous younger children and even the older kids who normally never showed their faces, everyone was clustered in front of the TV.
Even the third-year high school students in their graduating year crawled out of their rooms and study hall to gather around the orphanage's television.
“Hey, it's on! Number 147!”
As Si-yeon's face appeared on the screen along with the narration, the atmosphere began to stir.
The Si-yeon on the screen was not the timid, quiet child they knew from the orphanage.
The children held their breath at that audacious sight: Si-yeon carrying an old guitar case and not even blinking before a powerful figure like Representative Yu.
They were especially stunned when Representative Yu subtly pressured Si-yeon and she boldly talked back to him.
“Crazy…… Is that really Seo Si-yeon? Was she always like that?”
“Wow, listen to how she talks. She's really different from how she talks to us.”
The children were confused by the gap between the Seo Si-yeon they knew from the orphanage and the genius girl Seo Si-yeon on television.
Amid that atmosphere, Seo Si-yeon let out a quiet snort of laughter.
‘So this is what it feels like to play at hiding your true power? This might be kind of fun.’
Before long, Si-yeon's original song, ‘Me and You,’ began to play.
The boisterous living room instantly fell silent, as though someone had thrown cold water over it.
Si-yeon's voice flowing between the guitar melodies pierced through the orphanage's damp air and into the children's hearts. The mischievousness vanished from Minji's expression—the same Minji who usually threw blankets at Si-yeon and cackled.
The children instinctively realized.
The child singing on the screen was not a quiet orphan they could treat carelessly, but a special being who had stepped into an entirely different world.
When the ‘Jelly Pop’ stage followed and reversed the mood, the excitement reached its peak. The older girls began unconsciously swaying to the addictive beat.
“Wow, what's that song? It's really good! Amazing!”
“Seo Si-yeon! You really made that yourself? Is that what you were always doing at the PC bang?”
After the broadcast ended with Representative Yu showering Si-yeon with praise and calling her a monster, the lights in the living room came back on.
But no one could bring themselves to be brusque with Si-yeon as usual. A strange awe and awkwardness dominated the living room.
* * *
Now that a week had passed, my position had been completely reversed.
When I woke up in the morning, no one told me to fold my bedding anymore.
Instead, while I opened my eyes and went to wash up, someone would quietly tidy my bedding and then scamper away.
I took it as a sign of reconciliation from the children I shared a room with.
“Um…… Si-yeon. This is the chocolate milk from today's lunch, but I don't like milk, so you can have it.”
The same thing happened in the dining hall. Beside my tray, where I always ate alone in the corner, there was invariably a snack someone had placed there.
The influence of receiving overwhelming praise and an all-pass on a nationwide audition, then advancing to the finals, was far greater than I'd imagined.
The PC bang I frequented had already become famous throughout the neighborhood, and it was packed with people who wanted to see me.
Last time, I visited without thinking and ended up enduring the ordeal of signing autographs and taking pictures for an entire hour.
Still, the owner looked happy with the increase in customers, so that was fine.
“But I did enjoy borrowing an account to play LoL.”
Even after such a long break, my skills hadn't faded. A Plat-tier college student who had confidently grinned and promised to carry me was instead thrown off by my skill.
Since I'd even briefly reached Grandmaster back in my heyday, normal games were far too easy.
“So, what's it like becoming a celebrity?”
“It's annoying. Very.”
After having holed up in a tiny room making nothing but songs, this was the first time I'd received such excessive attention, and it was unbearably burdensome.
“Tsk, some of us don't have a single person in Korea who recognizes us. You brat, saying that in front of me is just rubbing it in!”
I could only stare at him with a dumbfounded expression.
I hadn't recognized him at first, but after looking him up, I discovered that this man was quite famous.
How famous? Based on Spotify, he ranked eleventh among Korean groups in terms of music streams.
Excluding idols, he ranked second.
It felt quite bizarre to hear that from someone who performed as a sub-headliner at Lollapalooza, Coachella, and Countdown Japan nearly every year.
Anyway, the reason I visited this instrument shop tucked into a corner of a seedy alley in Juan today was simple.
“Please teach me how to sing, Master.”
“… Since when did I become your master?”
“Hehe. No need to quibble when it's a good thing.”
You have to make use of a fortuitous encounter when you get one, right?
Either way, he'd entered a hiatus and effectively become unemployed, so he had plenty of time these days. I decided to learn singing from him.