This was Aerine's first time singing with an audience other than her mother, and she was nervous at first. Gradually, she began to immerse herself in the song, pouring out the emotions that it needed.
At some point, she had already closed her eyes, and she had not seen how her voice had enchanted everyone and brought in a momentary world of the song.
Once she uttered the last word of the lyrics and the adlibs she came up with at the end, some sighs could even be heard. Aerine's voice truly brought them a new sensation that even they couldn't pinpoint for a moment.
Aerine finished the song and slowly opened her eyes, and then she was greeted by a sight that made her slightly flinch. For a moment, she had these thoughts: did she mess it up?
The whole room was enveloped in silence, and the judges were only looking at her with almost dazed expressions. As she began to feel nervous, her eyes landed on Mils, and she saw how she was smiling brightly but taking a closer look. Her eyes were almost the same as the others but gave an expressive glow of admiration.
She stood there at the center, thinking she did well, but she was still nervous, and she waited for everyone to recover from her song. Aerine had also begun to roam her eyes around; the faint scent of Mr. Devil was still there, but to her dismay, she couldn't see him.
Aerine was hoping to ask; she wanted to know, did she impress him? What could his reaction be at this moment?
Before she could think further, everyone in the room had finally woken up from the enchanting dream that she had created. The time that seemed to stand still for a few minutes had finally moved once more, and the dazed expressions of the judges and everyone in the room gradually reflected their expressions.
Aerine couldn't say for sure, but she felt that the way they looked at her now was entirely different than earlier when she walked into this room. She was underestimated for only having a good appearance and not having talent.
Her right hand, which she put on her back, was clenched. She did it. Aerine didn't mess it up.
Slowly, someone from the judges cleared her throat.
"Ahem. Uh, what do you all think?" She seemed to still be in a daze as she looked at Aerine and then shifted to her fellow judges. Yet, there was a faint acceptance in her eyes; clearly, Aerine's performance amazed her greatly.
Aerine was only standing there and waiting for their comments. She didn't want to assume that she was already accepted. One thing that she still had not changed was that she was slightly insecure and had yet to integrate herself into the human world.
Which was normal. as Aerine was only in the city for a week.
The man who mocked her earlier also averted his eyes. He seemed to be truly shocked; he didn't expect this situation at all.
"Well..." He trailed off and made eye contact with the woman beside her. "I admit it's good..." The man hesitated for a moment before his eyes returned to their earlier carefree and somewhat arrogant demeanor. "But it's not perfect."
With what he said, everyone looked at him in shock, and even Mils at the side began to frown again. She had a bad premonition about this as she stared intently at this man again.
The woman beside her, while she tried not to make her expression obvious, but her carefree smile still appeared stiff.
She looked at Aerine and nodded. "Yeah, we're all looking for more... more perfect performance." With the way she almost stuttered, the woman was obviously embarrassed to say it out loud herself.
Aerine's expression had already sunk at this time; she didn't know what was going on. With what they were saying, she was beginning to think that her performance was indeed not on par with their expectations. Aerine had never doubted her ability before, but this was her first time being criticized, and it no doubt shook her confidence even more.
If only what the judges said was considered criticism.
"Yes!" The man exclaimed. With his support, he seemed to have gained great courage to spout more bullshit. "And... Your choice of song is different from what we envision for this show. We wanted a more competitive environment and even a fresh outlook for the current generation of singers and trending songs."
He still continued, not even slightly ashamed that what he was saying was all nonsense. Forget about the choice of song; what Aerine sang was one of the most difficult songs to date, and it was a song that garnered praise and records all over the world.
It was a song that one should sing if they were confident enough in their ability to cover it. If this song was not for the competition stage, then what was?
The two women beside him wince slightly, their faces twitching. However, no one had said to refute him either, as though they were silently supporting his bullshit.
Her song? Did she make a mistake by choosing it? Aerine was not skilled enough to hear sarcasm or even comprehend the double meaning underlying the words of others.
However, as she looked at them and the way they wanted to tell her she did good but not good enough and her song was not appropriate for the competition, Aerine was not too naive not to sense the malicious intentions they had for her.
This was not her first time having someone throw malice at her, as she was even pursued to the point of her death not long ago, but it was still her first time being in this situation where she was criticized openly, but what they were saying didn't make sense.
Aerine's lips quivered; even her days of training were not enough to suppress the emotions she had.
She already realized it. The problem was not her voice or even the song; it was her. The judges didn't want her. It was clear as day that they already had someone in mind.
This someone couldn't be more obvious; it was Raine. Since the start, it has been a hopeless audition.
If Aerine had already realized it, there was no way for Mils to not notice it. Instantly, she was fuming with rage. How dare they look down at Aerine?
She was the master's contractee! And not only that, Mils had already treated Aerine as her friend.
"Do you honestly believe what you're saying?" Mils opened her mouth; her voice and tone were that of sarcasm but filled with thorns. She even chuckled; mockery was written in her face. "We all know that my artist did well! What is not perfect enough, what wrong choice of song, Hey, please come up with more reasonable excuses next time."
The corner of Aerine's eyes was already slightly red; she had not expected this at all when she came here.
In her mind, she was saying that this was unfair. Even if she was obviously better than the others, it was of no use. From the start, even if she sang 'perfectly', Aerine would still not be chosen.
She swallowed the bitter taste in her mouth. Aerine's heart was almost bleeding. She came here with full aspirations and resolve; she wanted to show her competence.
And yet, did she waste all her time for nothing? Elise had given her a challenge, and Aerine had promised everyone she would win the audition. And most of all, Mr. Devil was even watching her performance. Aerine felt as though she had failed everyone.
Was she really that much of a failure? Did she really deserve to survive?
As Aerine's mind was in shambles from her emotions, what Mils had said triggered huge reactions from the judges, as their expressions fell unsightly. The man was even raging, and he slammed on the desk.
"What do you mean?" He glared at Mils. "Are you saying we're being unfair in this audition? Be careful with your words, lady, or we can sue you for defamation!"
Even when caught, the man could still raise his nose so high that he could say these words without stuttering.
Mils didn't respond—not that she couldn't—but she had already glanced at Aerine, and she began to get worried. Aerine was not used to these scenarios yet; even if she was trained to handle certain situations, encountering them in practice was entirely different.
Sure enough, Aerine was already fidgeting at the center, and her eyes were a bit red.
Mils' hands were clenched; she also didn't anticipate this to happen. Elise had not said this at all to her! With gritted teeth, she shifted her attention to the judges, specifically to that man. Mils was already this close to making a move on him. If only she could; she already did so.
This man and everyone were probably already bribed by Raine's agency. And this audition was more like a formality, but a variable had come in the form of Aerine.
However, Aerine was not a big variable in the end. She was unknown, and even more so, she had come from an unknown agency. Even if their team had problems, no one would be on their side.
Mils felt so unwilling. She had seen Aerine's hard work, to the point of not sleeping properly. They had not known each other for so long, but Mils had truly grown fond of Aerine.
What should she do? She had thought of calling someone, but... Mils became determined. So what?
I might be rebelling against her these days, but there's no way she will ignore me.
Thinking of this, even if she wasn't confident, Mils decided to make a call.
Meanwhile, as the commotion was happening, someone was also watching from the side. Unbeknownst to everyone, what was happening was witnessed by someone that even the depths of hell were extremely afraid of.
And even in the human world, the superiors of superiors of all the people here didn't even deserve to meet him.
Silently standing at the side as he leaned on the wall, Lucian had watched the nonsense for quite some time. He didn't even know why he was here, but he thought of checking on Aerine. In this case, he was rather a responsible contractor, even if no one would believe it.
Coincidentally, Aerine had begun to sing at that time. Lucian had also fallen into an enchanting realm, to his surprise. His eyes were only fixed on Aerine the whole time.
His eyes glimmered as he stared at Aerine, who was now almost lowering her head and so close to crying.
He then recalled their first meeting on that island; she was crying at that time. Lucian never thought appearances mattered that much, but... He had this thought: crying didn't suit her.
When she sang earlier, that ethereal glow, Lucian felt that element suited her more.
Lucian shifted his attention from Aerine and then swept his eyes around, eventually landing on the man who gave him an unsightly feeling. Lucian's eyes narrowed for a bit before he turned around, intending to leave.
Still, before he stepped into the darkness, Lucian looked back and stared at the downcast Aerine. A glimmer of red flickered in his eyes.
"Who dare look down on what's mine?" Lucian muttered in a dangerous tone.
As he stepped into the darkness, he mumbled in the air, and his order gradually became delivered.
In only a few seconds, in a broadcast station company, the president had received an urgent call.