Chapter 10.10 - Act 10: D.C. 10 (2/2)

She was in deep remorse but immediately turned her head around when a sentence reached her ears from the side.

“But to be honest, Jo Yunjae shouldn’t be there.”

“What?”

Seeing Song Mirae’s glare, the girl was startled but soon continued her words awkwardly.

“I mean… it’s true right? Although Jo Yunjae’s good, he’s not at Kim Wuju and Jun Shihyuk’s level.”

Whispers of agreement spread within the ensemble.

“Yeah. Even during the Prac High-achievers Concert, it felt more like it was thanks to the song choice and he lacked impact during the Improvement Concert as well right?”

“Besides, he doesn’t have any achievements either.”

“No matter what he’s not at Jun Shihyuk’s level…”

In front of the constant bombardment of facts, Song Mirae lost her words as her face reddened.

‘But, well, it does appear like his current skills are a little insufficient but…’

She suddenly thought of the things that had happened during the song composition. In front of the upperclassman’s assault that seemed to leave no escape route, he had magnificently defeated through it. There was also the flash of talent he showed during the composition of the song itself.

‘Although it’s a bit different from Kim Wuju…’

Jo Yunjae was definitely a talented person – at the very least, that was what she thought.

“Didn’t you see him during the composition presentation? Jo Yunjae’s also super good at singing okay?”

In response, the freshmen opera students tilted their heads.

“Composition presentation? Why would we watch that?”

“We’re busy enough practising our own songs.”

“…”

Without sparing another glance at Song Mirae who gritted her teeth, the ensemble kids chatted before lowering their voices as the song started to flow.

“Ohh, finally, finally.”

“So in the first part all three males are singing together?”

“Wahh, Jo Yunjae must be super nervous. Hit.”

How low would his fall be?

As the girls had subtle expectations on the upcoming interesting scene, the voices of the boys started flowing into their ears. The students listened in before suddenly tilting their heads.

“Nn…?”

“Something’s not right…”

A unique resonance touched their ears and the students that had been focused on the song blankly dropped their chins.

“But he’s good?”

“How could this be?”

*

Interviews didn’t end with just singing the prepared song. After the song ended, a bunch of sharp questions welcomed me.

Those went as such.

“During the Jean Valjean section, you used a surprisingly unique bright vocalisation. Why did you do that?”

“It’s because we used a mic. Unlike the sound that leaves straight after vibrating the throat, sound that is filtered through a mic and a speaker are greatly impacted by them. After observing the structure of the hall and the mic, I decided that it would be better to be slightly brighter.”

Since I used mics quite frequently during the previous life, I had a rough idea on how to use it. I told Han Dasom how to use it in a rush so it was fortunate that she followed well enough.

When I raised a thumb at her, she returned a bashful smile.

“Hmm…”

The principal threw a dissatisfied glance at me before continuing with a snort.

“Talking about the mic, there was something I wanted to ask… Why did you place your mic so far away from your mouth when you sang?”

“…Because I practised with the assumption that there could be no mic, I placed it further away in fear of the sound being too loud.”

“Why did you assume such a case scenario? Isn’t it a musical song? It is completely normal to be using a mic and because of that, your style was in contrast to others and stood out.”

…Well, that’s because we didn’t use a mic in the previous Subscription Concert.

Rolling my eyes around in thought, I quickly made an answer up.

“If we practise with the assumption that there could be no mic, we could solve the problem by placing the mic further away, but if we practise with the optimistic thought that we would definitely have a mic and ended up having none in the actual stage, there’s no way to deal with it.”

“Hmm?”

“That… it’s called risk management…”

I looked into his eyes awkwardly as the principal sneered.

“Risk management huh. Not wrong.”

Did it work?

Carefully, I tried reading his expression but his face remained indifferent without giving any signs.

He tapped his hand with the baton a few times before finally opening his mouth.

“There’s something I felt while listening to that performance just then but to be honest with you, your song was just so so. It wasn’t bad, but that’s all.”

“…”

“Analysing everything one by one, it becomes extremely clear. Student Kim Wuju? Very superb. A song that resembles a perfect sphere without a single part sticking out and missing out on such a student is a huge loss as a conductor. What about student Jun Shihyuk? This guy – he’s also a fine baritone and a heavy baritone like that can’t be found that easily.”

I could see from the side Jun Shihyuk’s lips slowly rising up.

“But it’s weird…”

The principal threw a glance at me, then at Han Dasom.

“It’s strange but when you two sing together, it sounds good – somewhat harmonic, beautiful song. Right, perhaps more so than Kim Wuju, Jun Shihyuk and Lee Suh-ah…”

Now it was our turn to have brighter expressions.

This… perhaps our set menu strategy succeeded?

“Haa… this…”

Pressing on the bridge of his nose, the principal contemplated before suddenly raising his head up in a flash.

“I’ll ask the final question.”

“Yes sir.”

“You must’ve practised together with that girl – Han Dasom.”

It would be impossible to deceive him in this because no matter who saw it, our song appeared like a well-woven artwork. There was no way he would accept ‘coincidence’ as an answer.

“…Yes.”

When I carefully gave a reply, the principal nodded his head as if he had known about it and continued his words.

“Then who led the practice sessions? Is it teacher Ku Mingi, or the specialist teacher of Han Dasom?”

“Sorry?”

I blankly blinked my eyes for a while when the principal gave a frown.

“I’m asking you who was in lead! It was definitely a high-level chorus. It was the kind of duet that had every expression and every sound polished up with the support of a professional touch. But for it to be teacher Ku Mingi’s style, it had too much individuality sticking out and… I’m just curious if I got confused a little.”

“Umm…”

Seeing me slurring the end of my sentence, one of his eyebrows rose up.

“…Don’t tell me it was you that led it?”

“I…”

I rolled my eyes around in thought but soon had to open my mouth, having no other choice.

“Yes.”

Vacantly, our eyes met.