Chapter 5
Karis von Walden nodded briefly and fiddled with the earbuds in his ears.
Even in every little movement, she felt a strange sense of nobility, and her eyes were drawn to it.
She is really curious about what kind of song that trainee would choose.
Baek Chae-hyun was slightly surprised when she heard the melody flowing out of the speaker.
'You know this song? And you're a trainee from Europe?'
There was a reason for all this surprise.
Chrome is a six-member boy idol group that was active at the same time as Floré, which Baek Chae-hyun was a member of.
Chrome, who started doing the music they wanted to do after their 10th anniversary, tried various genres in their 11th regular repackaged album.
Although they didn't receive as much public attention as before, they were praised for their improved skills.
A medium-tempo dance song based on a pop sound that is easy for the general public to listen to.
As this album is not widely known to most K-pop fans, she never dreamed that a song like this would appear on the first evaluation stage of
Baek Chae-hyun pressed the earphones into her ears with a strange sense of tension and anticipation.
「The air sinks heavily
The sound of breathing that slowly happens inside
My body is trembling slightly
I want you like I'm possessed by something」
As soon as the first verse began, Karis' beautiful voice filled her eardrums.
Baek Chae-hyun, who held her breath and focused all her nerves on her ears, unconsciously took a short breath.
'Huh? I thought it would be low-pitched, but it's surprisingly high-pitched?'
The intro part flows smoothly.
If it was just a normal voice, it would be a part that could be passed over without much thought.
However, Baek Chae-hyun sat up straight without realizing it, hearing Karis's beautiful voice that was the opposite of his image.
「Oh I love this feeling
This feeling that surrounds me anew
Our time is connected
Don't hold it, just leave it alone
Let everything flow like this」
The pitch continued without dropping.
If you are not careful, you may fail to manage your breathing, and the pitch may become flat or even off.
In fact, there was a trainee who had decent vocals on the previous stage who couldn't handle the nervousness and had a trembling voice.
Karis did not create such a sense of crisis with his confident expression and gestures.
Baek Chae-hyun, who was listening to the song, had a strange feeling.
'It's clear that the technical aspects haven't been properly captured yet, but the basic vocal volume and tone are good, so it's actually creating a sound that's pleasant to listen to.'
There was almost no so-called technicality involved.
There were many cases where people tried to show off their skills by mixing in techniques too forcefully and ended up ruining the stage.
Karis seemed to be concentrating solely on the basics, with all the strength in his neck relaxed.
She has no idea if this was intentional or not.
Baek Chae-hyeon felt like she was falling into an even deeper well.
An individual trainee with a hard impact. And she felt an aura that she couldn't make sense of from a trainee who came from Europe.
「Please don't stop my flow
No one can control
Like a wave spraying water
Like a fallen leaf blowing in the wind
Just enjoy it honestly
Just go with the flow, yeah
The two of us who created this flow」
The chorus unfolds at a free tempo.
The pop sound resonated even more refreshingly, and accordingly, Karis also moved his body while raising the tension.
Baek Chae-hyun's professional gaze was clearly penetrating.
Karis' singing and dancing skills are not significantly better than those of the other trainees.
The dance was just faithful to the basics, and the singing was still lacking in some aspects to be considered an unwavering main vocalist.
However, the extraordinary aura that had been building up in her mind since a while ago seemed to make up for those shortcomings.
In addition, the lack of composure shown by many trainees so far was further highlighted, making Karis' stable stage stand out.
Baek Chae-hyun looked around, confused as to whether she was the only one who had this impression.
At that moment, Seo In-hwan, another vocal expert judge whose eyes met hers, smiled and whispered.
"Chae-Hyun, what do you think? Don't you think it'll be really good if you just take care of it there?"
"It seems like he still doesn't know how to use the singing technique or skills.... But I thought it was easy to listen to because the tone and breathing were good."
"Oh, it's the same as me. I felt like he sang the song so well that it was easy to listen to, leaving everything else aside. His tone was a given. It must be his first time on stage like this, but he doesn't tremble and looks at us with those eyes. I think it's natural."
Seo In-hwan is truly a senior in the music industry. He is like a vocal professor acknowledged by everyone, having accumulated a lot of experience while being active for a long time.
If he, who always looked at the trainees with a cold eye, gave such a straightforward evaluation, it means that he really thought highly of Karis' potential.
The stage continued on.
As the song enters the second verse, the soaring pop sound changes into a gentle melody.
Baek Chae-hyun felt a sense of tingle as she watched Karis sweat profusely while diligently performing the choreography until the end.
'It's just like what our senior said. There are still many areas that need to be polished and improved, but if he continues to grow in the direction we want, he may be able to show an incredible stage.'
Innate fundamentals and tone.
And the aura that engulfed Baek Chae-hyun's heart.
As if he were filling in the blank pieces of a puzzle little by little, he makes his stage, which may seem lacking at first glance, look full.
The dance wasn't particularly eye-catching or particularly pretty compared to the other contestants.
Just like the vocals, it feels like only the basics have been solidified.
But it didn't feel like it was dry or bland in a bad way.
Rather, it seemed that the choreography skills, which were as plain as a sheet of white paper, further amplified Karis' unique atmosphere.
'How should I say about this.... Why do I keep feeling like I want to get on my knees?'
Before we knew it, we had reached the last verse.
「Tell me you'll remember
I will remember today
I won't forget this beautiful night
Let your body go wherever it wants
Just for today, I can live as myself
Don't mess up my flow」
Karis recorded the notes with great care until the end.
He exhaled heavily and continued the last movement of the choreography, and then he greeted the judges in his signature pose.
"... That's it. Thank you for listening."
There was a moment of silence.
The moment when everyone's eyes turned to the judges' seats.
Clap, clap clap.
The one who broke the silence was none other than Choi Sia.
* * *
"... It was a moment where I felt it once again. The most important thing is not to be nervous when you come to a place like this. Every moment felt a little like this. This is your stage, and you will do what you practiced no matter who is watching. Maybe that's why I was able to focus even more on the stage, which was nice to see."
I bowed my head again and greeted Choi Sia, who had given me such favorable reviews.
'No, why does the greeting from
A greeting gesture in which the upper body is bent forward while one foot is slightly stepped back.
I was a little worried that I might seem like a mentally unstable person, but I'm glad that I was able to build up the character effectively.
There were more than a few things I had to practice while preparing for the level test.
Of course, I have to sing and dance, but I also have to somehow suppress the Crown Prince-like tone of Karis von Walden that came out naturally.
In normal times, they could just ignore it as a habit that developed from studying Korean alone abroad, but I have to be polite to the judges who were in positions that I couldn't touch in
There may be aftereffects to returning to reality by possessing the body of Karis von Walden.
In effect, I've been living the role of the crown prince for the past ten years.
It was no easy task to change the habits that had developed over the course of 10 years, but I managed to somehow improve my tone.
If I don't prepare myself mentally, I'll just end up speaking like a crown prince, but the additional setting of a foreigner + fantasy/romance novel fan will make it somewhat more plausible.
I felt relieved as I recalled the judges, who had asked me questions about the topic with great interest before I went on stage.
'I'm glad I made the most of my return to charisma.'
"Oh, and I really wanted to mention this, Mr. Karis."
"Yes."
Choi Sia leaned forward with a solemn expression.
"Did you know that you were truly born with natural looks?"
"A natural look? What exactly do you mean―"
"To be honest, if you were to ask me to find a white friend among the trainees at a Korean entertainment agency, it would be extremely rare. Even if I do have foreign friends, almost 90% of them are from China or Japan."
That's right.
Just by looking at the members who appeared in
"So, in the current K-pop market, a trainee from a different country like Karis might have a very difficult time.... It may be my personal opinion, but I think all the controversy will end with that one visual."
"I think I know what you mean."
"Me too."
As soon as Choi Sia finished speaking, the other judges nodded their heads.
"Watching the stage, I think it's been a long time since I realized that the natural power of a trainee, that is, the influence that visuals can exert, can be this great. This can't be achieved with just a simple effort. Among the areas of talent, Mr. Karis possesses something that is unapproachable. I think that no matter what concept he comes with or what outfit he wears, he has looks that suit it all."
"I don't know what to do with myself; this is too much praise."
"Karis-kun, I mean, you can be confident enough. We can't find such a fresh character and image, even if you pay money. Do you understand?"
I kept expressing my gratitude as I listened to Choi Sia's words.
Hearing this from others made me realize how real my stats were.
The appearance stat is SSS, which can be considered the highest grade.
It is not just a matter of looking in the mirror and being praised as 'handsome', but a level of recognition that transcends race.
'It's the weapon I can most effectively utilize at this point in time.'
After Choi Sia, who had previously criticized the trainees before my turn, gave compliments that did not fit her image, the other judges also gave positive reviews.
"As you all know, this song is definitely not easy. The notes start high and go up, so if you're not careful, you might run out of breath and the notes might go out of tune, but the basic vocal volume is good, so it's comfortable to listen to. Of course, it wasn't a perfect vocal, right? Like the vibrations we commonly know or the singing style. There were definitely things that needed to be improved on in terms of technique, but I think if Karis continues to develop his current strengths, he'll be able to make up for this shortcoming in no time."
I listened with interest to the oldest judge among the
As expected, he was a veteran who had been active in the entertainment industry for a long time.
Because the things I felt while preparing for the level test stage were mentioned as they were.
It was certainly difficult to assume the body of Crown Prince Karis von Walden, who lived only for the purpose of subduing the Demon King, rather than that of Han Ji-hyeok, an idol trainee.
Even with the help of the status window, the skill points available for farming were limited because it was before the main game started.
As the stats increased, the number of points required to level up also increased, so it wasn't always smooth sailing.
Still, thanks to practicing until the end and scraping together points, I managed to raise my vocal stat to B+ last night.
Basic breathing techniques and vocal tone are acceptable, but difficult singing techniques or skills are not yet available.
Recognizing the clear limitations, I immediately changed my plan.
If it is impossible to suppress them with abilities from the beginning, let's change direction to a character with growth that is worth keeping an eye on.
Of course, the song selection was an important factor here.
A song that can highlight my potential.
A song that is easy to digest with Karis' current body but also has the ability to appeal to the judges as something special.
As a result of using the elimination method repeatedly, I reached the conclusion that
I primarily focus on the tones I can currently utilize.
A strategy that creates a fairly good stage centered on the fundamentals and makes people wonder about the possibility of future development.
'So far, it seems to have worked as intended.'
"... Anyway, I'm really looking forward to what kind of songs you'll be singing in the future. I personally think it's the best that you've been able to convey lyrics to this extent despite it not being your native language. Please work hard on your next stage and show us a great performance!"
"I will engrave your good words deep in my heart."
The person who will decorate the last part of my level test evaluation is none other than dance expert judge Bae Kang-woo.
I instinctively felt a faint tension coursing through my veins as I watched him take the mic.
Because when I appeared on this program in Han Ji-hyeok's body, it was on this stage.
That's because I got completely scolded by Bae Kang-woo in the first level test.
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