Rookie Talent Agent Knows It All - Chapter 296: Vocal Trainer (3)

After finishing his conversation with his grandmother, Seo Yeon-Woo carefully opened the door. “Come on in.”

As he came out the front door, Seo Yeon-Woo was holding tightly onto his grandmother’s right hand, who was dressed in a thin, traditional Korean blouse.

Behind them, I could see a small living room, a single room, and a tiny bathroom.

“Hello, ma’am.” I greeted Seo Yeon-Woo’s grandmother.

Seo Yeon-Woo’s grandmother tilted her head, then suddenly smiled brightly. “Oh my~ Come on in. Are you teachers from Yeon-Woo’s school?”

It seemed like Seo Yeon-Woo’s grandmother misunderstood me as a teacher because I was wearing a suit.

Nonetheless, I played along knowing that she had dementia, so as not to startle her.

“Yes. We came for a home visit because Yeon-Woo is doing so well in his studies.”

Lee Dong-Min also chimed in appropriately. “That’s right! Yeon-Woo is top in his music class, so we came to encourage him.”

At that moment, Seo Yeon-Woo’s grandmother began clapping her hands with a radiant smile. “Oh wow~ This is a great honor, a great honor!”

Seeing his grandmother’s joyful expression, Seo Yeon-Woo played along with our little white lie. “Grandma, I came in first place. So… I think we’ll be able to live happily from now on.”

Tears welled up in Seo Yeon-Woo’s eyes.

At that moment, Seo Yeon-Woo’s grandmother began to stroke her grandson’s face. She showered him with kisses on his cheeks, saying how beautiful and adorable he was.

Seo Yeon-Woo’s grandmother shouted loudly with her voice full of life. “Oh, my dear child. You’re wonderful. I’m so proud of you! I knew this would happen~”

Despite her dementia, she never lost faith when it came to her grandson.

Then, Seo Yeon-Woo’s grandmother began to glance around. “What should I give to the teachers who’ve come to visit? Ah, right. There was that!”

In a flash, Seo Yeon-Woo’s grandmother turned and headed toward the room. The sudden movement caused Seo Yeon-Woo to lose his grip on his grandmother’s hand.

“Grandma! Where are you going?”

Before Seo Yeon-Woo could catch her, his grandmother hurriedly ran into the room.

Seo Yeon-Woo sighed and apologized to us. “I’m sorry. She’s fine most of the time, but today…”

I assured Seo Yeon-Woo it was okay and asked, “It’s alright. But does she not remember recent events at all?”

Seo Yeon-Woo’s voice trembled slightly as if he was holding back tears. “No. Her memory comes and goes. She was fine just this morning when I left for work…”

A moment later, the previously closed door suddenly swung open again and Seo Yeon-Woo’s grandmother held a crumpled box in her right hand.

She quickly approached us and offered the box to me. “Sir, I hid this to give to my grandson when he was hungry, but please take it. It’s my absolute favorite~”

In her hand was a squashed egg biscuit box.

Surprised, Seo Yeon-Woo quickly shouted, “Mr. Jung, please don’t eat that.”

He seemed worried that it was old and might cause an upset stomach.

Seo Yeon-Woo’s grandmother looked confused and flustered. “Huh? This is the one you gave me yesterday, isn’t it, Yeon-Woo?”

At that moment, I smiled broadly and accepted the snack from her. “Thank you, ma’am. I think Yeon-Woo didn’t want me to eat something that was meant for you.”

Holding the snack, I turned to Seo Yeon-Woo and continued. “Yeon-Woo, don’t worry. There will be scholarship money soon, so I’ll buy snacks for your grandmother with that.”

Only then did Seo Yeon-Woo’s grandmother nod in relief, then gently scolded her grandson in a soft voice. “Hey~ My dear child, no matter how much you love Grandma, you shouldn’t do that to your teacher.”

Seo Yeon-Woo held back tears and nodded. “Yes, Grandma… I’m sorry.”

Seo Yeon-Woo’s grandmother turned her gaze back to me with a smile. “Please try it. It’s delicious.”

I discreetly checked the expiration date, and luckily, it had only expired a month ago.

I pondered, ‘That should be safe enough to eat.‘

“Thank you so much, I’ll enjoy it.”

Lee Dong-Min was about to stop me, but I calmly tore open the snack bag. The egg biscuits inside were a bit dry. Nevertheless, I took one out and bit into it without hesitation.

The biscuit was stale and musty as expected. However, it was imbued with the warm affection of a grandmother who cherished her grandchild.

Watching me eat the snack, Seo Yeon-Woo’s grandmother laughed like a child. “Tastes good, doesn’t it? It’s my favorite.”

“It sure does, ma’am~”

I took a few more biscuits from the box and crunched them in one bite. As the saliva gathered in my mouth, they became a bit more palatable.

As I smiled brightly and continued eating, Seo Yeon-Woo’s grandmother smiled.

“If I had known you’d enjoy it so much, I would’ve saved more… I’ll make sure to save some more for next time, so please come back.”

Her offer to save snacks meant for herself to give to me left me momentarily speechless. I couldn’t help but wonder how she could remain so kind-hearted even in her condition.

Swallowing the lump of emotion rising in my throat, I answered her, “Yes, ma’am. I’ll definitely come back.”

With a gentle smile, Seo Yeon-Woo’s grandmother touched my hand and Lee Dong-Min’s hand, as if trying to remember us.

After exchanging more words at the entrance, we headed to the living room.

Seeing Seo Yeon-Woo’s grandmother’s condition, I suggested to him that we finalize the contract today and start looking for a new place right away.

“Um… Could I feed Grandma before we go? She hasn’t eaten yet.”

“Oh, is that so? Then should we order something? What does she like?”

Seo Yeon-Woo hesitated before answering. “My grandma… likes jjajangmyeon.”

“Ah, okay.”

At that moment, Seo Yeon-Woo’s grandmother shook her head. “My grandchild, I prefer jjamppong. Have you forgotten that?”

Seo Yeon-Woo spoke with difficulty, clearly pained by the situation. “Grandma… you can’t eat spicy food…”

I gently stopped Seo Yeon-Woo and addressed his grandmother. “I understand, ma’am. These days, white jjamppong is very popular. I’ll order that for you.”

Seo Yeon-Woo’s grandmother smiled warmly. “Oh my~ I’m really having a special day today, with teachers coming over and treating me to jjamppong!”

“I’ll make sure you can enjoy it often from now on,” I replied with a smile.

There was no doubt that Seo Yeon-Woo was right about his grandmother’s preference. Nonetheless, to avoid confusing her, I reassured her and ordered the white jjamppong for her instead.

A short while later, the food we ordered arrived.

Seo Yeon-Woo was more focused on serving his grandmother than on eating his own meal, while his grandmother enjoyed the jjamppong, though it was the mild version.

Only after his grandmother finished eating did Seo Yeon-Woo begin to eat his own now cold jjajangmyeon which had become quite soggy.

After the meal, Seo Yeon-Woo’s grandmother fell asleep as she felt drowsy post-meal.

We left a note before leaving, so she wouldn’t be startled when she woke up and found us gone.

***

After arriving at the underground recording studio in the company, I called in Kang Ha-Na and Cherry Blossom to showcase Seo Yeon-Woo’s talent to everyone.

It was a deliberate choice to demonstrate Seo Yeon-Woo’s value before finalizing the contract. I wanted to ensure he received better treatment so that he could care for his grandmother with ease.

Lee Dong-Min still couldn’t quite grasp what level of talent Seo Yeon-Woo possessed given his young age. Though he trusted my recommendation, his expectations were naturally low considering that Seo Yeon-Woo was only 23 years old despite having performed live in cafes for a few years.

At that moment, Kang Ha-Na opened the door to recording studio 4 and appeared. She was delighted more than anyone when she heard we had found a vocal trainer to focus on our team.

I gave a short introduction. “Say hello. This is Mr. Seo Yeon-Woo, our new vocal trainer.”

“Hello~ I’m Kang Ha-Na, a rookie singer!”

When Kang Ha-Na bowed deeply in greeting, Seo Yeon-Woo smiled awkwardly and returned the bow.

“I’m not sure if I can teach you anything. You’re already so good…” Seo Yeon-Woo replied sheepishly.

“Oh, come on~ I’m just singing raw without any proper technique,” Kang Ha-Na replied with a smile.

Kang Ha-Na placed the bag she was carrying on the sofa after exchanging greetings. “So, what should I do now?”

Seo Yeon-Woo opened a note-taking app on his phone which looked about five years old. “Hmm if there’s any part in a song that you find difficult, we can refine it a bit.”

As he began to discuss his area of expertise, strength started to return to Seo Yeon-Woo’s voice.

Noticing this, Lee Dong-Min began to look intrigued.

Kang Ha-Na thought for a moment before she spoke up. “It’s nothing special, but I feel like my pitch drops slightly during the chorus, particularly on the ‘come~’ part.”

Bang Seon-Woo standing nearby nodded in agreement. “Noona’s voice is so powerful that it usually carries through, but the strength does dip a bit in that section.”

Honestly, I hadn’t noticed it at all. However, there was no way they were just making things up with their machine-like sharp ears.

Seo Yeon-Woo jotted down some notes on his phone and then asked again, “Got it. Is there anything else?”

“Not really… I think that’s about it.”

“Alright, let’s listen to the song first and I’ll give you some feedback.”

Kang Ha-Na entered the recording booth. As the music began, Kang Ha-Na started singing with her enchanting voice.

At that moment, a spark lit up in Seo Yeon-Woo’s eyes. His fingers moved like lightning, jotting down corrections on his phone.

I personally didn’t see anything that needed to be added or removed from Kang Ha-Na’s singing, so I was curious about what he was writing.

A few moments later, the song ended.

Seo Yeon-Woo fiddled with his phone and glanced at me nervously. It seemed he had found something that needed fixing but felt hesitant to speak up. After all, Kang Ha-Na was a MeTube star with a million subscribers.

I made eye contact with Seo Yeon-Woo and reassured him. “Mr. Yeon-Woo, please feel free to speak up.”

“I’m not sure how to say this…” he said hesitantly.

Seo Yeon-Woo looked as if he wasn’t sure if it was his place to give feedback to a professional singer.

However, I firmly encouraged him to speak up. “If you feel there’s something lacking, don’t hold back and please speak honestly. From now on, you’re Ha-Na’s vocal trainer.”

Taking a deep breath, Seo Yeon-Woo responded with a confident voice, “Yes, Mr. Jung.”

Just then, Kang Ha-Na came out from the recording booth.

“I did my best. How did it sound?”

Seo Yeon-Woo began to speak cautiously. “About the part you mentioned earlier… How about slightly raising the resonance point there? You could try breathing a bit more forcefully and engaging the muscles in the pharynx and larynx to tighten the vocal cords slightly. So what I mean by that is, if you move this area like this…”

Seo Yeon-Woo used technical terms and explained at length while pointing to the neck area to indicate how to improve Kang Ha-Na’s vocal production.

Kang Ha-Na looked a bit troubled. “I understand what you’re saying…but I’m not sure if I can do it properly.”

Seo Yeon-Woo reassured Kang Ha-Na. “Let’s adjust as we go. I think if you try it this way, you’ll find it much easier to sing.”

“Okay, I’ll give it a try.”

Kang Ha-Na nodded and adjusted her vocal technique before trying to sing the note without the backing track.

『Come~』

As soon as she sang, Kang Ha-Na looked surprised. “Huh?”

Bang Seon-Woo with perfect pitch also looked astonished. “Noona, it sounds much better!”

For these two, who were so sensitive to pitch, to be surprised meant that there was indeed a noticeable improvement.

Seeing their reaction, Seo Yeon-Woo seemed to gain confidence and continued the vocal lesson. “Now, before you enter the chorus, try taking a short breath. You have plenty of vocal power, but it would be more efficient to manage your breath until the latter part, which requires explosive volume.”

Seo Yeon-Woo gave detailed instructions covering everything from pitch, breath control, vocal power, how to handle the vocal cords, and finding the right resonance points. Like a doctor, he pinpointed the positions of the oral and nasal cavities, the pharynx, and the vocal cords, providing specific guidance.

He even described the shape of the tongue and the amount of abdominal muscle tension required when pronouncing certain words.

The instructions were so detailed that even Lee Dong-Min, with his extensive experience as a producer, was left in awe.

“Is that kid a doctor or something?”

“Not at all. I heard he worked incredibly hard to become a singer. He even studied anatomy books.”

Lee Dong-Min nodded in acknowledgement of Seo Yeon-Woo’s talent.

In the meantime, Seo Yeon-Woo gave another directive to Kang Ha-Na after finishing his coaching. “Now, let’s try singing the chorus again.”

“Okay.”

Following Seo Yeon-Woo’s instructions, Kang Ha-Na took a short breath and began to sing the chorus.

『Sigh. Different me from yesterday, Hi~』

At that moment, even I could clearly notice the difference. The high notes flowed as naturally as breathing, making the song much more pleasant to listen to.

Lee Dong-Min seemed eager to say something, but Kang Ha-Na spoke first. “Is there anything else? Anything more I need to work on?”

“Uh, well, um…”

‘Who would have thought there were so many things to improve in Kang Ha-Na’s song that had seemed perfect?‘ I wondered in awe.

Seo Yeon-Woo’s coaching continued relentlessly, and Kang Ha-Na carefully absorbed each piece of advice.

After receiving the training, Kang Ha-Na excitedly shouted, “Seon-Woo, give me the backing track right now. I want to try it again immediately.”

“Okay, noona!”

As Kang Ha-Na stood in front of the microphone, Bang Seon-Woo immediately played ‘New Beginning.’

Entering the recording booth, Kang Ha-Na took a deep breath and started singing following Seo Yeon-Woo’s advice by holding back some of her breath right from the first line.

In that instant, magic began to unfold in Kang Ha-Na’s singing.

Ristretto’s Thoughts

I love those egg biscuits too