Become A Star

Chapter 84

The moment the audience’s curiosity reached its peak, their hearts pounding because of the background music, Gam Sung-Joo exclaimed, “The contestant who will enter round two is…!!” With everyone’s gaze focused on the screen, ‘Doryeong Who Dreams of Becoming A Hanryang’s’ face appeared.

“As expected!”

“Wow~!”

The people who voted for Hanryang Doryeong were delighted, while those who voted for ‘Queen of Lilies’ were disappointed, but they nodded and accepted the outcome.

“53 to 46! ‘Doryeong Who Dreams of Becoming A Hanryang’ won by seven votes and will advance to round two. Hanryang Doryeong, you may go to the waiting room now.”

Woo-Jin was still looking at the screen in disbelief, so Gam Sung-Joo promptly urged him to leave the stage. Hanryang Doryeong was still in a daze as he went down the stage and headed towards the waiting room. A VJ[1] approached him and asked how he felt.

“It feels good.” Woo-Jin finally started getting the hang of the situation to some extent; as soon as he replied curtly while gently fanning himself, the VJ felt a little embarrassed and asked him another question.

“Have you thought of anyone who might be the ‘Queen of Lilies’?”

“Hmm… I can’t reveal whether she’s a senior or junior, right?”

“Yes, you’re not allowed to refer to them using a title that allows people to guess your age.”

“I knew she was Han Ji-Yeon. As soon as I heard her voice for the first time, I knew it was her.” Hanryang Doryeong added that he wasn’t sure why anyone else, apart from Kang Goo-Ra, couldn’t put two and two together and tilted his head to one side as if confused. The ‘Queen of Lilies’ took off her mask after ‘Doryeong Who Dreams of Becoming A Hanryang’ got off the stage and performed a solo act. She was indeed Han Ji-Yeon.

“How did it go?” As soon as Woo-Jin entered the waiting room, Hwang Yi-Young and the other staff member went up to him.

“Why are you already nervous? It’s only the second round.” Woo-Jin sat on the sofa as he snorted. As soon as he shrugged his shoulders proudly, Hwang Yi-Young was all smiles.

“I believe in you! It’s just that the rest were curious.” Woo-Jin took off his mask and exhaled loudly. Hwang Yi-Young went behind him and rubbed his shoulders. She wanted to give him some food, but Woo-jin rejected her, saying he wanted to go on stage on an empty stomach.

His opponent in round two was the ‘Invincible Band-Aid.’ He wore denim overalls, giving off the vibe of a mischievous child, and had two large band-aids on his forehead. He looked adorable. Hanryang Doryeong from the third group of the first round was the first to sing. His song choice for the second round of the competition was ‘You to You’ by Lee Seung-Hwan.

He sang in a low pitch during the parts where he expressed his deep emotions as if talking to himself, then immediately hit the high notes without transitioning to the middle notes when there was a burst of emotions. The high notes were so clean and bright that it felt as though they were directly beating against the listeners’ chests. When the audience listened to Hanryang Doryeong sing, they felt as though sound waves had entered and reverberated throughout their bodies. His performance in the first round was just an appetizer of what was to come.

It was a song with such strong emotions that it would be accurate to describe it as a song with an element of Han[2] in it. The heartbreaking song was full of distant sadness and despair. However, there wasn’t any resentment. Hanryang Doryeong’s song was about a man’s emotions that had his longing buried deep within his heart, as he wished for the happiness of the one who left him. It also talked about his desire to see her happy when they meet again someday. However, the singer seemed to know that that day would never come. Hence, the song about the man’s desire was even more sorrowful and heartbreaking.