In This Life, The Greatest Star In The Universe - Chapter 207:

Translator: MarcTempest

Editor: Rxel

Chapter 207

It was a calm voice.

My love

On the road where today and yesterday meet

There

You saw me

The main vocalist of New Black, who had half-opened his eyes, grabbed the microphone. It wasn’t a big gesture.

 

He held the microphone with one hand, and expressed the song with the other.

 

A short verse.

But the refreshing voice that threw the wave shook the audience.

As if a stone had fallen into a pond and made ripples, the impact wrapped around the spectators.

‘Wow…’

The audience either widened their eyes or made a dumbfounded expression at the first verse that was mixed with a breathy appeal.

The celebrity panels were no different.

‘…What? Who is he?’

The eyes were focused on the main vocalist in the center of the stage.

His skin was snow-white.

His expression and appearance were all sharply composed of angles. He put down the microphone.

Some people unconsciously made a regretful expression, as if they had just heard how good the first verse was.

But he closed his eyes again, as if he had finished what he had to say to them.

Now, the piano melody and the harmony that his four members had made.

The clear voice of the main vocalist also disappeared from the stage.

As soon as an empty space appeared, the air seemed to rush in, and the audience’s eyes were automatically fixed on the stage.

And then.

The empty space was filled again by the voice of the universe.

The scent of flowers is still there

Why are you shaking

The road you’ve been on

Is it in your heart

The lead vocalist sang softly, as if playing a delicate instrument, and started to move his steps one by one.

The youngest, who had been standing next to him, gently added a harmony.

The members of New Black each sang their parts and started to walk forward.

Sometimes it doesn’t matter

Sometimes it does

On the left, Bijoo and Junghyun sang.

The birds are gone

You’re already here

On the right, Woojoo and Jiho exchanged songs.

The two who met in the middle smiled warmly at each other and started to match their harmony.

When they lined up on both sides of Rihyuk.

Once again, the main vocalist gently wrapped his hand around the microphone.

So, my love

Come to my end

Speak out your heart

And shine like a star-

Love, and

Let’s talk about everything

As if the late spring flowers decorated the end of the season, the clear voice adorned the end of the harmony.

The moment the five voices became one and scattered with a long echo.

There was silence in the audience.

“…”

It was only about 30 seconds.

It was an intro before the main song, but the audience felt their mouths open without knowing it.

‘…What?’

It was a stage they had prepared with determination, as if to correct the prejudice they had held against them.

The cameras that had been shining on the audience captured the faces of the astonished or confused spectators.

A couple looked at each other with their mouths covered with their hands in surprise.

‘What the hell…?’

If it had been a performance by other singers, they wouldn’t have been so surprised.

If Cha Woohyun had sung the same song, they would have nodded their heads and said, ‘As expected…’.

But the ones there were the rookie idols, New Black.

They had great visuals, but no one was expecting much from their skills.

The only thing that was special about them was their faces.

That was why even at the recording opening, the celebrity panels and the MC focused more on their visuals than their skills.

The overall atmosphere was that New Black’s image was ‘a younger brother who tries hard even though he is a little lacking compared to his seniors’.

But what was happening in front of their eyes was breaking everyone’s expectations.

‘Wow…’

They had divided the vocal positions nominally, but none of them fell behind, regardless of that.

Even the youngest, who used to look cute, had the skill to put in harmonies with ease with his versatile pitch.

Some people felt a sense of incongruity as they looked at Jiho’s serious expression.

‘Didn’t he say himself that he was the most lacking during the opening talk?’

If they thought about it, it wasn’t a wrong statement.

It was true that he was relatively lacking compared to the main or lead vocals.

It was just that Rihyuk and Woojoo sang so well that they didn’t lose to other seniors.

Woojoo, the lead vocal who gave a solid impression with his rich volume.

Rihyuk, the main vocal who made you say that he was born with it, just by listening to him, regardless of technical aspects.

And the voices of the other three who supported the two vocals firmly.

It was a combination that had nothing to throw away.

‘They’re good.’

That was the impression that the audience had after watching the first 30 seconds.

They were surprised and flustered for a moment.

But as they accepted that the rookie idol group in front of them was talented, the audience’s hearts became comfortable.

Soon, everyone smiled or started to focus on the stage with full of expectation and curiosity.

The last stage.

They all thought that it would be nice if a cool stage was completed, enough to soothe the regret that the competition was over.

Meanwhile.

The eyes that were watching the stage at that moment were not only the audience.

When New Black’s ‘Life’ intro was in full swing.

Composer Pyo Hyungwon, who was sitting in the judge’s seat, smiled.

‘This is something.’

He laughed at the unexpected situation.

He glanced around and saw that the audience had already immersed themselves in the stage.

The atmosphere had changed in an instant.

New Black’s gamble in the first 30 seconds succeeded and made the audience completely on their side.

‘This is the taste of a rookie.’

The composer smiled softly at the attitude of the five idols who seemed to challenge him.

But what he praised was not just their vocal skills.

‘They did a good job with the intro.’

He praised the intro itself from a compositional point of view.

The piano and harmony that looked like they were cut off on the surface actually had continuity in their sound.

If you looked closely, you could say that they made it into a natural flow.

‘Did that guy do the arrangement?’

The composer’s eyes fixed on the leader of New Black who was standing on the stage.

He snorted.

‘…Even the main vocal kid. He’s composing something that’s not what you’d expect at that age.’

The audience here were just amazed by their vocal skills, but for a professional composer, that part was more amazing.

‘He really made it understandable intuitively.’

The intro that followed the climax for 30 seconds introduced the audience to what kind of song No Jaehyun’s ‘Life’ was.

It was a clever plan.

‘Challenge, Legendary Song Discovery Team!’ was different from the usual competition program.

In other survival or audition programs, they usually choose a cover song that everyone knew.

A song that makes you say ‘Ah!’ when you heard it.

But Challenge, Legendary Song Discovery Team! was about finding songs that people didn’t know.

That was why they had less emotional aspects compared to the existing songs.

It was hard to empathize with a drama scene that you didn’t know when you flipped through TV channels. You had to at least know what it was to immerse yourself in something.

New Black’s intro dug into that part.

They summarized the highlights and important points of the song to make the audience familiar with the song, and then proceeded with the main stage to give them more immersion.

Of course, this weakness was also known by other singers.

That was why they all used various methods such as VCR or intro to introduce them as much as possible.

But what New Black prepared had a more noticeable aspect than the others.

It was easier and more convincing.

The reason why this was possible was probably…

‘They have affection for the song.’

Most of the intros sung by other singers were the result of third-party composers arranging them.

But even if they were experts, they couldn’t fully understand the song.

Just as a scholar who was well-versed in geography couldn’t know the neighborhood better than someone who had lived there for 30 years, unlike the intros of other songs, ‘Life’ intro was made by someone who loved and listened to the song more than anyone else.

He could feel the interest and affection for this song just by listening to the arrangement.

And the performance too.

The arrangement was intuitive, and the performance made it easy to see what kind of song Life was.

The scene of them whispering warm voices to each other and meeting in one place at the end, after escaping from various paths.

It was a performance where the members who prepared the arrangement, the members who prepared the performance, and the members who sang it harmonized.

The maximum courtesy that could be shown for this song.

‘You must be happy, Teacher.’

In the middle of the place where the original singers gathered, an old man in a fedora nodded his head in a wheelchair.

He looked at the stage with a somewhat choked expression.

Composer Pyo Hyungwon understood his feelings.

Who would hate it if a talented junior singer prepared their song with great interest and effort?

He smiled sympathetically as the other judges whispered.

“…Wow, they’re good, aren’t they?”

“Right. They don’t look like rookies.”

“They’re definitely good. It’s unexpected.”

The three judges nodded their heads as they looked at each other.

Meanwhile, the main stage started after the intro ended on the stage.

The lights changed from blue to yellow.

The five idols who were warming up their emotions while the live band behind the stage started playing.

The gentle combination of notes that the keyboard player made by moving his fingers slowly echoed in the public hall.

The yellow and blue beams crossed and shone on the stage.

Rape flowers in my memory

A small thrill and joy were my share

Swept away by the storm and time

Until I left my mother’s way

The main vocal, holding a microphone, put his hand on his chest and started singing with a calm expression.

Every time he opened his lips with his eyes closed, his voice touched the skin of the people in the public hall.

The celebrity panels made a ‘wow…’ mouth shape or shook their heads at the same time, and the scene was captured by the camera.

The piano’s slow melody matched the beat of the song and gradually increased the speed.

The baton was passed to the youngest of New Black.

I walked without a mind

Spring was kind

Summer was bright

Autumn was lovely

Winter was sad

When I opened my eyes, I was here

His accurate pronunciation and vocalization delivered the lyrics clearly.

His usual mischievous expression disappeared, and he sang with a serious face as if to convey the emotion of the song.

He held the microphone and stared at somewhere far away, as if he was reflecting on the path he had lived a long life.

The youngest’s powerful expression followed the main vocal’s amazing singing skills and immersed the audience more.

The sub-vocal, who had a calm gaze on the camera, slowly put down the microphone and Woojoo picked up the microphone.

Before the echo of the previous voice disappeared, a soft voice seeped in.

Sometimes

It was the way others chose for me

Sometimes

It was the way I chose for myself

His pleasant voice went back and forth between various pitches and moistened the ears of the audience.

He didn’t make a loud noise or scream, but his voice was clearly delivered to the deep corners of the concert hall.

At the same time, the string instruments started playing a soft melody.

The melodies of singer Noh Jaehyun’s past songs blended with Life and complemented its color.

The old middle-aged audience’s lips softened as they felt the old nostalgia somewhere.

His stable voice whispered softly in their ears, as if to say ‘relax and listen to our story comfortably’.

And then, a heavy voice flowed out.

This is how I ended up here

Sitting on a rock

The way I chose, the way I didn’t choose

I spent time thinking

The warm scent I missed

The summer night that passed

I regretted and missed it

But what can I do

I know that some things are meant to be forgotten as I live on.

But this time, they wanted to give more weight to the song, as if it was a new challenge.

He sang with a rhythmic voice, somewhere between singing and rapping.

It was the kind of style that suited the phrase ‘sing as you recite’ when they memorized the lyrics.

At the same time, other sounds joined in.

The other four picked up their microphones and filled the gaps in the sound.

In the soft harmony, a heavy voice deepened the song with a rhythmic melody.

And then again.

The lyrics that they had sung once in the intro started to follow.

Jiho grabbed the microphone and captured the emotion.

My love,

On the road where today and yesterday meet

There,

You saw me

The acoustic guitar and the piano, along with the string instruments, led the song deeper.

As the tension of the song gradually rose.

Rihyuk continued the song.

The scent of flowers is still the same

But why are you shaking

The road you’ve walked

Is it in your heart

As he approached the climax, his comfortable vocals eased the tight tension.

The live band’s melody, which had become more frequent than before, loosened the atmosphere as if unscrewing a tight screw.

But when he delivered the last line ‘Is it in your heart’, he added more tension to the song.

The start of the road to the climax.

The member who had been silent until then took the microphone.

He was the blond member who sparkled in the yellow light.

Sometimes it doesn’t matter

Sometimes it does

The birds fly away

But you’re already here

A beautiful voice flowed out.

His voice was pretty, but his gestures with the song kept catching the eye.

With the intensifying melody, Bijoo started to raise the song.

The next one to take over was Woojoo.

So, my love

Come closer to my end

Shout out your heart

And shine like a star-

Love, and

Let’s talk about everything

He slowly raised his voice as he closed his eyes and tilted his head slightly with the microphone.

But the voice that seemed to rise or not was still there.

He was going for a high note, but it wasn’t a complete one.

The thin high note gradually thickened and filled the stage, but the audience felt a slight tension and frustration.

‘It would be nice if he burst it.’

As if to betray that expectation, Woojoo’s voice lowered the note and eased the tension again.

Some audience members clasped their hands.

Some looked at him with focused faces.

The celebrity panels nodded their heads and watched the stage.

Tss, tss, tss.

The drum hi-hat sound and the bass drum started to ring slowly.

Soon, all the instruments of the live band started to play.

The colorful moving lights.

The drums, piano, violin, cello, guitar, and others harmonized and played together.

The sound filled the hall.

The sound that had been built up exploded with pleasure.

Someone brushed their arm with goosebumps.

The five of them took the microphone at the same time.

Your sunshine

Becomes my memory

In the quiet night

It will comfort me

Tell me your story

The night is long and cold

Let’s talk together

And forget everything

Unlike the previous verse, where they moved quietly,

The members of New Black made bigger gestures in the chorus.

Short hand movements became large ones.

They sang with high notes, moving their chins or placing their palms on their chests.

It was a refreshing chorus, as if piercing through the ceiling of the hall.

When one of them hit a high note, the rest added harmonies and ad-libs to make the sound richer.

But it was not just a high note for the sake of skill.

It was a song that expressed the relief of letting go of the regrets for the roads they had left and the roads they could not take.

The roads they had passed were the roads they had passed.

They sang this song to comfort themselves and others who had walked a long way, as if to say, let’s put aside our regrets for a while.

While the young audience smiled or clasped their hands and listened attentively.

The middle-aged audience, who were the main target of the song, looked at the stage with calm faces or closed their eyes and nodded.

Someone who waved his hand lightly from the murpak was also caught on camera.

Their eyes, each with a different story, focused on the stage.

The chorus ended.

The second verse followed a similar structure to the first one.

The more advanced melody captivated the audience’s ears, and now they were completely immersed in the stage.

New Black recited the lyrics to them.

The members also sang with a more relaxed attitude, as if they were enjoying themselves.

It was natural.

When one of them grabbed the microphone and immersed himself.

The other one would unknowingly follow the mood and add his voice and ad-lib.

Like threads and yarns weaving a beautiful fabric, the voices of New Black intertwined and tangled.

The warm emotion that the five voices created wrapped the audience snugly.

The final chorus.

At the section where they exploded everything they had built up in the first and second verses, there were exclamations everywhere.

‘Wow…’

As the level of admiration increased, the reaction became less, as if they were staring with their eyes wide open or slightly opening their mouths as if they were bored.

The staff had a similar reaction.

The production team smiled after admiring their performance, which was several times better than the rehearsal.

Some of the celebrities on the panel seat got up with exaggerated gestures or leaned back on the backrest and said ‘Wow…’ with their faces, asking the people around them ‘You too, right? You too?’

The judges sitting on the jury seat smiled at the combination of sounds.

The singers who participated today were seen in the waiting room, watching New Black on TV and making a sigh or a bitter smile.

‘It’s a success!’

While monitoring all those reactions, the writers and the main PD congratulated themselves and smiled.

When New Black’s voice filled the hall, someone shouted in the PD’s ear.

“PD, look over there!”

“Where!”

“Teacher Noh Jaehyun!”

The main PD turned his head after looking at the camera where the original singers’ faces were captured.

He wanted to see it with his own eyes.

Even from a distance, the emotion and expression of the other person were vividly conveyed.

New Black’s song reached the climax.

On the face of the veteran singer who watched the beginning and the end of the song, there was a smile of satisfaction and happiness more than anyone else.

‘I have to capture that.’

While making that decision, the main PD smiled with excitement.

A successful final performance.

He walked slowly towards the stage, listening to the fading voice of New Black and the live band.

The festival was over.

And it was time to check the results.