[ ??? POV ]
In a loud karaoke room, I sat silently and stared at the wall. There were small, colorful spotlights flying around in the darkness, sometimes entering my field of vision. I was entranced.
"Hey, J, what are you thinking about?" the man beside me asked. I flickered my gaze to him and stared at his brown bear mask.
Everyone in the room wore an animal mask that suited them. They gave me a white rabbit. I don't know why.
"Hey, stop pestering him, D," the man with a fox mask clicked his tongue, hitting D's head lightly with an empty soju bottle.
"Shut up C!" D whined. "I wasn't asking you!"
With a sigh, I rose from the cushioned chair as the bickering persisted.
"J, where are you going?" another voice asked, this time, the girl with a deer mask. She was known as "B" and was the last member who talked in the group.
I shrugged my shoulders as I walked out of the door. It was relatively quiet in the hallway compared to the karaoke rooms, and I ambled down to the vending machine.
But there was a voice that caught my attention.
There was a clear voice with a deep tone color singing a slow ballad by themself. I looked through the small glass window on the door and saw a boy that looked my age. He was skinny and shorter than me, but his face was nice to look at. I couldn't tell if his eyes were truly a golden hazel hue or if the light of the screen made it that way.
He seemed like an ordinary student.
"Shouldn't he be studying right now instead of singing alone at a karaoke?"
"..."
I stood by the door, in a blind spot, and listened for a little longer.
I finally turned away and made my way to the front desk.
The owner was watching the news at a low volume. He glanced up when he noticed me approaching.
"Oh, Rabbit," he muttered in a gruff voice. "You need spare change for your drink?"
I shook my head and handed him a few paper bills.
"I want a separate room. Give me ten minutes in it," I said.
The owner had a long stare at the money. Then he laughed.
"Rabbit, you've been coming here long enough to know that this is too much for ten minutes. Take the money and go to room 13. It has a window, but you lot always take up the one room without a window, so. Just buy me a soda once you're back, aye?"
I smiled gently and nodded my head, retracting the money and hiding it in my pants pocket.
I navigated my way through the clean hallway again and entered room 13. It was a small room compared to the one I was in with my group, but it couldn't be helped that the only open room wasn't VIP.
I took off my mask and folded up my coat inside out, placing it on the couch.
As I rolled my neck, I scrolled through the song selection, trying to recall the song that lone boy was singing. But even when two minutes passed, I couldn't seem to find it.
Frowning, I clicked on a random song and dropped the remote on the couch next to me. The microphone was already in my hand.
I twirled it for a while before putting it close to my mouth.
Then I began to sing.
I wasn't someone who sang a lot. Actually, I almost rarely sang. I did maybe once in that karaoke room because my group forced me to, but I don't remember ever singing before or after that.
"But I think I'm doing better than an average person."
I was more engrossed in singing than I thought I would be. Leaning against the couch, my head raised subconsciously for some of the higher notes.
But then I heard footsteps outside.
I continued to sing, but my focus shifted from the lyrics on the screen to the doorway. In the corner of my sight, I could vaguely see a woman with messy blue hair and thick glasses staring through the window.
When the lyrics stopped, she knocked on the door.
"Hello?" I greeted as I opened the door. I had opened it only slightly and leaned against the door frame, blocking her view of everything except me.
She took a step back and coughed.
She was short, around 158 cm, I guessed.
"Excuse me," she replied in a tiredly bright voice. "Do you have a moment?"
I smiled politely.
"Who are you?"
From the pocket inside her jacket, she took out a business card and handed it to me.
"Ryu Seorin, T.NET Broadcast Center, Writer..." My eyes scanned the important information as she continued to explain who she was to me.
"I was impressed by your singing and decided to talk to you. What's your name?" she finally asked.
"...Cho Seungmin," I answered.
"That's a nice name. Could I ask for your age too?"
"I'm 19."
"Perfect. Have you ever had an interest in being an idol? Or have you ever been in the entertainment industry before?"
"No."
I guess my blunt response surprised her; I could see her eyes widen through the sheen on her glasses.
But it was true--I never thought of being an idol or being on television. If anything, I lived my life trying not to be on one, at least not one with my face bare and without my mask.
And yet, being scouted like this was a type of fun in its own sort of way.
Suddenly, behind the woman and far in the hall, I saw a door open. The boy I listened to before walked out silently. He was holding a card in his hand.
"Hmm..."
"Well, my production team is great at creating stars," the writer said. "There's a show that will air soon that's about idol auditioning. Although the scouting period ended, I thought you would have a shot with your voice. If you have time, you could take the screen test as well. Please think about it."
Truthfully, I had nothing else planned for the day, and the time spent talking to her almost marked the end of my ten minutes granted in the room.
So, I nodded my head and smiled again.
"Alright. Please give me a minute to sort my things first."
The writer's face lit up immediately as I placed my jacket and mask in my arm and walked out of the room. I bought a can of soda from the vending machine, and, once making my way to the front desk, I set it down.
The owner was asleep with the news still turned on.
I took a sticky note and pen and wrote down, "Here's your payment. Tell the group I left for something and I'll text them later."
"Oh? You seem close with the owner?" Ryu Seorin chatted casually. She was leading the way to the broadcasting building.
"I go there often, so we've become acquainted," I replied.
There was an awkward silence as I ended the conversation, but it seemed like the writer was desperate to know more.
"Do you like to sing?"
"Not particularly, but I find it to be fun."
"That's great. I'm quite surprised that you haven't been scouted yet. I'll consider myself to be lucky," she tried to say, chuckling.
As we reached the entrance of the large corporate building, I answered with a silent smile. My mind flashed back to a pair of hazel-colored eyes.
If I hadn't seen him with her card in his hands, I wouldn't have even considered talking to her any longer. But I was drawn to that boy for some reason, and work was slow that day so I had time.
When we opened a room with a panel of older people, I mused to myself.
"Yes, you are very lucky."