★ The Second Life Idols Lucky Plan - Chapter 167
"Hyung?..."
While I was watching the actors appear, I saw Kang Hyun-jin next to me flinch. Kang Hyun-jin looked as if he was greatly surprised by something, or as if he was uncomfortable.
"Are you okay?"
When asked what was going on, Kang Hyun-jin was silent for a moment and then shook his head as if it were nothing.
However, his gaze was focused on someone, so I lowered my voice and asked.
"Do you know anyone?"
"...A little."
Kang Hyun-jin answered like that and kept his mouth shut. Seeing that he seemed reluctant to say anything more, I turned my head towards the performers.
"This time too, people with great talent came out as switch singers."
There were a total of seven performers who appeared. The performers, consisting of three female performers and four male performers, stood looking straight ahead as if they were nailed down.
"What kind of people are these seven switch singers? We are revealing those keywords now."
Following the MC's comments, keywords containing information about the seven performers soon appeared on the large screen.
Since the goal of this entertainment show is to sort out randomly mixed keywords, identify who these keywords belong to, and ultimately find their true voices as the performers change them, I first looked at the keywords carefully.
"... ... ?"
Among them, I found a familiar phrase and had no choice but to look at Kang Hyun-jin once again.
「Catch Talent」
「Kang Hyun-jin's partner」
This was because names that could not be ignored were mixed in with the keywords of the performers.
"Kang Hyun-jin's partner? Hyung, do you know who?"
"Hm... Hyunjin, who is it?"
I wasn't the only one who noticed this. Likewise, the panelists who discovered Kang Hyun-jin's name and common keywords asked questions to Kang with curious faces.
Kang Hyun-jin picked up the microphone and glanced at the performer before quickly answering.
"... Yes, there is someone I remember."
"Ah, then isn't that unfair? You probably remember the voice."
In response to one panelist's sly remarks, Kang Hyun-jin looked in the direction where the contestants were and quietly shook his head.
"Too much time has passed... As far as I know, the variety of voices he can sing is wide. If he intentionally changes his tone, it would be difficult for me to recognize him."
"Now that you say that, I'm even more curious. We will find out later what kind of person Kang Hyun-jin knows as 'Kang Hyun-jin's partner'."
The MC said that to calm the mood, and soon drew the attention of the panelists and guests with another keyword. I felt Kang Hyun-jin, who was next to him, sighing in relief, so I asked him.
"What's your relationship with him?"
Kang Hyun-jin seemed to hesitate for a moment in response to my question, then lowered his voice and answered.
"... We performed on stage together during 'Catch Talent'. It was a joint performance with a group... he was my partner then."
"Oh? Then maybe you can recognize the tone to some extent?"
"That's right, even if you change your singing style or cover up your voice, it's difficult to hide the basic tone. Can you find his voice? Hyunjin."
To Do Ji-hyuk's question, Kang Hyun-jin answered with a firm tone, as if drawing a line.
"You'll do your best... I'll do my best. But as I said before, I think it's a bit difficult to be sure because so much time has passed."
"Ah, that's a shame. I thought I'd just get an extra point."
Even as Aiden Lee grumbled like that, he glanced at Kang Hyun-jin's expression and turned his head straight ahead again. Aiden Lee also seemed to notice that Kang Hyun-jin was subtly reluctant to mention his co-stars.
'Why?'
And I couldn't help but wonder why Kang Hyun-jin was reluctant to mention it.
Of course, if the identity and voice of the performer were immediately recognized, the fun of the broadcast would inevitably be reduced. With that in mind, I thought about whether Kang Hyun-jin was intentionally controlling the timing, but even I didn't think so.
"Hyung, it's still his voice! Can you tell me right away?"
"... Uh, I'll tell you as soon as I understand."
On the contrary, Kang Hyun-jin seemed to be reluctant to talk about it carelessly and seemed very uncomfortable, as he was watching the 'partners' among the performers.
"Now, let's hear what kind of voices these seven people have and how they will change each other's voices. 'Search Your Voice'!"
Soon, all the keyword introductions and panelists' light speculations were over, and following the MC's comments, the intro of a famous ballad soon rang out in the studio.
And as I watched the performers skillfully lip-sync with someone else's voice each time they were illuminated by pinpoint lighting, I soon realized who was Kang Hyun-jin's partner and why Kang Hyun-jin was uncomfortable with him.
『Lee Gyu-bin』
Status: Hostile (verifiable)
→Trigger (CHECK)
Among the contestants who were either enthusiastic, nervous, or happy, only one person was looking in this direction with sharp eyes.
* * *
"Is there anyone who wants to guess so far?"
In 'Your Voice', the panel and guests had to get hints about the performers' information and voices through a game, and then vote a total of three times to eliminate the contestants one by one.
In the first vote, the fixed panel and we, the guests, each successfully guessed one person using a keyword, leaving a total of five people left.
Immediately after, we got a hint to infer the person through another mini-game, and were discussing who we should apply the keyword to before the second vote.
"I think it's clear that the voices of people 2 and 7 have changed. If you look at the keywords that have been matched so far, the word 'sweet' is used for person 2, and the word 'soul' is used for person 7. Wouldn't it be perfect if these two people changed their voices?"
"What about number 3? Does anyone have any guesses?"
"Oh, honestly, we didn't get any hints because we messed up the game... ... ."
"Sorry... ... ."
"No, but the broadcast was saved."
Cheon Se-rim shook his head with an amused expression as Ju Dan-woo apologized with a sullen expression after failing in the mini-game to get a hint about contestant number 3.
The game played to obtain the keyword for performer number 3 was 'Sing the Same Verse', a game in which everyone had to sing the 'killing part' of performer number 3's favorite song.
Although the song that appeared was a pop song, it was a famous song that everyone knew and had a killer part, so the members all sang along to the phrases that were in their minds without much difficulty.
But Danwoo Ju was different.
-Early morning, she wakes up... ... .
-I ate a banana~
-Well, I ate a banana... omg.
-Hahaha!
At first, he started singing the same song as the other members, but due to the interference from the fixed panel that came in midway, he suddenly sang the song differently.
Since the song was one of the 'Korean-sounding pop songs' that had already become a 'meme' in Korea, it seemed like people were more familiar with the patched Korean lyrics than the original lyrics, so they automatically changed the lyrics to a more familiar version.
Ju Dan-woo, who seemed colder and blunter than the other members who were full of entertainment and was active, made this mistake, which actually saved the scene on the broadcast. So it was beneficial as an entertainment show.
"Ugh, it's frustrating... ... ! Among the remaining keywords, which one can help
recognize voices?"
"Hyunjin hyung, you said that number 3 is a Catal partner, right?"
"Oh, yes."
While Aiden Lee, who was frustrated, looked at the remaining keywords once again. Yu Chan-hee, who glanced at the keyword and then at the standing performer number 3, lowered his voice and asked.
"Hyung, do you really not know anything? Just a little bit. A few voices sound a bit familiar... ... . I think we have three minutes left! This is our only advantage. Even though it's been a while, you still performed together... ... ."
"... ... ."
Kang Hyun-jin frowned slightly and looked at the performer keywords displayed on the screen and then at the standing performers.
Kang Hyun-jin, who was looking at the keywords and performers with a slightly awkward gaze, fell on the third performer, Lee Gyu-bin.
"... ... !"
When Lee Gyu-bin turned his head and smiled at Kang Hyun-jin, Kang Hyun-jin lowered his head with an uncomfortable look and opened his mouth.
"... Sorry, I really don't know. It's been a long time, and it seems he sounds completely different from back then."
"Ugh, as expected, Hyunjin competed with his Hyung's name as a keyword, so he probably didn't just participate... ... . I really want to guess number 3. What on earth? Hey, Se-rim Cheon. Do you have any guesses?"
"I think I know more about number 5 than number 3."
"Hyunjin, then who else? Do you have any guesses?"
"Oh, I... ... ."
Yu Chan-hee was disappointed and started talking to Cheon Se-rim again to find the keyword. While Kang Hyun-jin, looking at the two people, turned his head and talked to Do Ji-hyuk, who had spoken to him, Aiden Lee let out a small sigh and muttered.
"... I think you know?"
After looking at Kang Hyun-jin for a moment, I had no choice but to silently agree to put my head back and search for keywords again.
'It's strange not knowing.'
If they were to perform on a joint stage together, you would've had to practice together for at least a few days, so there's no way he wouldn't remember.
No matter how wide the variations are, you cannot completely change your existing singing style, tone, and habits when singing.
In that case, there would be at least one part that could be identified, and therefore Kang Hyun-jin would already know who the voice of performer number 3, Lee Gyu-bin, belongs to.
'The problem is why are you keeping Lee Gyu-bin alive?'
It was clear that Kang Hyun-jin wanted to keep Lee Gyu-bin alive. His purpose is probably to provide a benefit to the winner of Switch Singer whose voice's identity is not discovered until the end.
However, it was strange that they wanted to provide such benefits. Because Kang Hyun-jin was clearly uncomfortable with Lee Gyu-bin.
It was strange that someone would want to give a benefit to someone they didn't have any interest in. However, it doesn't seem like they are trying to bring something to life through Lee Gyu-bin in terms of entertainment.
While I was watching Kang Hyun-jin's movements without knowing the reason, the MC raised the microphone.
"Then let's start the second round of voting!"
"Ahhh... ... ."
The second round of voting took place like that. We ended up only being able to write down the names of a few contestants on the ballot.
"Ha, I really don't know."
"It's a shame~."
Among them, Lee Gyu-bin was not included.
* * *
"Thank you for your effort!"
"Thank you for your hard work. OneDear, please come again next time~ It was fun."
"You guys are great at entertaining! Take care of yourselves."
"A comeback in a little while? I'll be looking forward to it."
It was late at night when the recording was finished. Afterwards, while greeting the panelists and chatting about their future activities, I suddenly noticed a man approaching Hyunjin Kang.
"It's been a while, Hyunjin. How have you been?"
"Ah, yes... ... . How have you been, Hyung?"
"Haha, I've been fine."
In the end, contestant number 3, Lee Gyu-bin, who survived until the end and became the winner, spoke to Kang Hyun-jin.
-Iced coffee!
-Ah~ I should have noticed. it's a shame.
-I really didn't know you could make a voice like that.
In the end, we couldn't guess Lee Gyu-bin's voice.
Although all the keywords were correct, neither the guest nor the fixed panel could find his voice as a female performer. Hyunjin Kang's statement that 'the variations are wide' was not a lie.
Thanks to this, he survived until the last of the switch singers who were eliminated one by one, and in addition to winning the prize money, he had the opportunity to appear again as a guest on the next episode of 'Your Voice'.
He looked at Kang Hyun-jin's face and opened his mouth with a kind smile.
"Three years later... Has it been almost 4 years now? You've grown a lot. It's a bit late, but I enjoyed watching <Design Your Idol>. Your singing skills have improved."
"Ah... thank you."
Kang Hyun-jin looked nervous, fiddling his hands.
"I'm glad it's going so well that I wonder if you voluntarily resigned from <Catal> for this reason."
"Eh?"
Lee Gyu-bin said something deep in an innocent voice
[PRD: If you couldn't tell, Catal stands for Catch Talent.]