Chapter 24 (1/2)
Volume 1 / Chapter 24
TL: LightNovelCafe
When it was his turn, Jun Hyuk went into the temporary studio that had been turned into the panel room. The only face he knew amongst the judges was that of Lee Sung Chul.
“Hi Jang Jun Hyuk. It says here that you’re 17 years old.”
“Hm… It says that you’re an orphan in your introduction… and that you’ve never attended school?”
“Yes.”
The female singer took over Lee Sung Chul’s questioning,
“Does that mean you’re living in an institution now?”
“No. I work and live at a cafe.”
“Cafe?”
“Yes. There’s a cafe in Misari.”
The female singer already looked ready to spill tears with a pitiful expression and only needed to hear a bit more of this sad story to do so.
“It says here that you wandered the streets after you got lost at age 5…..”
Jun Hyuk stared blankly at the female singer. She continued to speak because she thought that they had not understood each other.
“Tell us how you lived while on the streets…”
“Excuse me.”
“Yes.”
The camera had already closed in on Jun Hyuk’s face and the mic had been lowered to catch his wretched and sad childhood story.
“Isn’t this a place where we’re judged by our music? Why are you asking me about my past?”
Everyone in the room froze. The three judges and the production crew could only blink while the audition contestants sat with their jaws dropped.
All of their expressions were saying the same thing.
How could he be so daring in front of the judges?
Only the producer in charge of the program balled up his fists.
‘That’s right. This is it. This is what we need. Something new. Fresh. Spunky!’
There had been no need to request a chic personality from him. He was naturally chic, though he was not sure if it was due to his looks, music, or rough childhood.
Unlike the other children who suffered under the pressure, he had made everyone nervous within 5 minutes.
The female singer was speechless at Jun Hyuk’s bold retort and so veteran Lee Sung Chul took the mic.
“That’s right, music is everything. I am expecting your talent to be as great as you are bold.”
Brother, drag it out a big longer.
The producer’s desperate request came through the earphones, but Lee Sung Chul ignored it entirely. He had seen countless children who mistakenly believed that they had a great talent. He thought that things like this kids’ attractive looks, advanced piano skill, and mediocre arranging skills had made him arrogant.
It was necessary to judge these types of kids ruthlessly so that they would look back at themselves and try harder. Though of course there were many kids who could not even do that.
Lee Sung Chul readied himself to give criticism and invective.
“Judging by the guitar you brought, it seems like you’ll be singing a folk song… Okay, what song did you prepare?”
“Jung Tae Chun’s ‘Poet’s Town’.”
Upon hearing the name Jung Tae Joon, the 3 judges and the young contestants watching the waiting room monitor began to murmur.
“Jung Tae Chun?”
“Who’s Jung Tae Chun?”
“I don’t know.”
Even in the studio, there were not very many people who remembered Jung Tae Chun. Lee Sung Chul and the composer were the only people to remember Jung Tae Joon’s lyricism that had stirred up the 70s.
Producer Kim pushed the staff urgently,
“Look it up quickly. What year is this song from?”
“It was released in 1978.”
As soon as the staff searched the song’s history on the internet, the producer quickly spoke into the mic,
“Brother, it’s from 1978.”
Lee Sung Chul who had heard the information via the earphone needed to provide lip service to the viewers.
“Was it 1978 for Jung Tae Chun’s ‘Poet’s Town’? I think it was released around then… A teenager singing a song that’s almost 40 years old? Wow.”
The composer continued with Lee Sung Chul’s light banter,
“Will you be able to capture the emotion of a song that was created more than 20 years before you were born and is 10 years before your generation? We look forward to it.”