'Harjun?'
Rayen's mind blanked as he saw the serious face of the famous singer-songwriter on the screen.
'Did he recognize me?'
Suddenly realizing that it was too much to assume that, he dismissed the thought. But then, if he thought that Harjun picked him because he liked his voice, that would also seem like he's thinking too high of himself, right?
'So did he enjoy my comical dancing? Or was he amazed by my backflip?'
The audition episode continued playing on the screen. After Rayen's part had finished, the scene transitioned to Adrian's part.
His performance though, compared to Rayen's, it felt uninteresting since nothing unexpected happened. He had decent stats and all, so his performance was good, but it wasn't surprising.
What was unexpected, however, was that Adrian received one sponsor fewer than Rayen. Because of this, the participants quickly realized something crucial.
It's wasn't just about skill. Appealing to the audience also mattered.
Compared to Rayen's dramatic and almost absurd audition that gave the audiences complicated feelings, Adrian's came off as underwhelming. The order of the performance also added to the result.
Sure, it was good, but it didn't seem interesting at all.
Not unless someone could give off another ridiculous performance, or an awe-inspiring one, could they possibly make the audiences forget about the first one.
"You did me wrong, my friend."
'No, I didn't... It was the editor.'
The following participants after Adrian were all the same too.
After a few more performances, unexpectedly, the episode also showed some performances of the participants who didn't make it. The episode highlighted certain moments and twisted them into comedic relief for the viewers who didn't know about the backstory.
It really felt cruel.
'Was this Plotter's doing?'
With the tense atmosphere, Mr. Big News appeared on the screen. It seemed that the editors deemed his segment as noteworthy and didn't just let it flash by.
The towering figure of Mr. Big News drew attention to the crowd. It looked like the waiting room's door was small with his build.
[Too big!]
The caption even humorously emphasized his size.
Rayen glanced at the man sitting on the 8th-place chair. He hadn't expected him to rank so high. But really, no one should truly judge a person just by their external appearance.
When Mr. Big News began singing on screen, his soft and melodic voice stunned everyone. The contrast between his voice and his MMA fighter-like physique was too great!
When the camera focused on the man's face, the delicate voice made it easy to assume that this person wasn't big. His facial features were actually soft. The light brown hair and even his green eyes were so mellow-looking that he could melt someone's heart while singing.
'Don't show his whole body again... It looks better that way.'
As the song performance ended and the camera panned out again, the dance song was finally played.
Mr. Big News immediately struck a pose when he heard a song. It made everyone in the room speechless once again.
His build and his large movements as he danced reminded them of the meme dance that went viral—the big guy wearing a maid uniform.
Mr. Big News executed the dance so well that everyone couldn't speak.
Usually, people with large builds weren't known as good dancers.
Of course, as the 8th ranked participant, he could also dance. That would be a shame if he ranked high without having done so.
It's just that... he really looked cute dancing. What was just missing was a maid uniform.
As expected, Mr. Big News received seven sponsorships just like what was announced to them when they were given their new identities.
Just like that, the episode continued again. Participants after participants with unremarkable auditions were only briefly shown. Only the good ones, and even the failed ones but were somewhat funny were showcased in detail.
But as the participants laughed at these comedic failure auditions, they also realized that those people they laughed at were absent in the dance studio.
Those contestants didn't pass.
Regrets filled their chest. They shouldn't have laughed. What was even worse was that they're being monitored by dozens of cameras that seemed to have hawk-like eyes, watching for their reactions. They couldn't even show their dissatisfaction.
'This is too much...'
Even the unusually invigorated lazy writer beside Rayen had fallen silent.
The tense atmosphere came back again. It persisted until another unusual participant appeared.
In the video, an awkward, small figure opened the glass door of the dance practice studio. He looked around, his bright black eyes sweeping all over the place.
[A surprising participant!]
The caption changed immediately.
[What is a little kid doing on the show?]
Suddenly, the scene cut to an interview clip.
"I'm not a little kid! I'm 16 years old!"
The clip was of a little boy with slightly long black hair snapping out at the interviewer.
Rayen felt complicated. He knew that the kid on the screen was a girl, yet he couldn't help but also think that she was a he.
Rayen then realized that it was the result of their identity grafting. The kid not only did change her gender literally, but had also chosen a Life Book with a male owner.
More snippets of his initial interview played. Just like Adrian's, it didn't contain much topic about their deaths, so the editors included it on the episode.
"Don't call me a kid. I'll show you, I am not a kid!"
'16, huh? This ranked one participant didn't really look their age. Now that he transformed into a boy, would his growth be affected too?'
After the snippets of Jiji's interview faded, the scene transitioned again to the audition scene.
[So, how will this "sixteen" year old participant do in the audition?]
When Jiji was shown again, the atmosphere had shifted entirely.
His presence was overwhelming, filling the whole room. The way he stood felt like he suddenly became a giant, even bigger than Mr. Big News.
Rayen's hair was already rising on its end, yet it hadn't even started yet.
'So, this is the difference?'
The camera zoomed in on Jiji's face as he struck an iconic pose that everyone in the world was familiar with.
Standing sideways with her arms raised to her forehead like she was tipping an imaginary hat, one foot lifted slightly off the floor and knees bent, he exuded an extraordinary aura.
It was like he was saying, 'Look at me! Don't take off your eyes.'
Then, the upbeat drumbeats began.
Jiji lowered his arms elegantly, as though swiping an invisible tailcoat. His hips swayed in perfect rhythm with the beat.
It was Mikail Jackson's Lily Dean.
The way the kid moved felt like the legendary singer-dancer was revived on stage.
'Shit... He's really good!'
Already feeling a bit ashamed with his audition, Jiji's performance seemed to bury him deeper in shame.
'I really was just added there for comedy... What could I do? That shitty Dance Fertilizer ruined me!'
The kid's feet swivelled through the floor as if he was walking in the moon. The spotlight that was shining on him enhanced the illusion even more.
Rayen's goosebumps continued to rise, so as everyone in this room. They were slowly captivated by this kid that seemed to transform into a giant on stage.
He couldn't help but laugh inside. Admitting it, this kid was really too good that he's feeling like he wanted to cheer on him.
'Now, I get it why the sponsors flocked to this participant.'
The kid also sang as he danced, his adolescent voice was a little high-pitched, but it was stable as if the moves didn't affect his singing at all.
When the song ended, the camera once again zoomed on his face. His breathless smile was dazzling, his round black eyes were shimmering with joy, the sweat on his forehead only added to his radiant aura.
Meanwhile, the participant's emotions were all in resonance.
Top 1.
'This kid would be hard to drag down.'
The people who had just witnessed his performance had their souls hanging, but their collective heartbeats were racing.
Who was this kid before he died?