The Hit Song of This Life Is Revenge - Chapter 25

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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This Life’s Hit Song Is Revenge
Episode 25
As if time had completely stopped, every movement slowed to a crawl.
Every single nerve was focused on those subtly twisted lips.
Jae-i’s quiet breathing.
Eun-soo’s nuanced gaze.
Even the dead silence hanging in the air—everything was waiting for the next moment.
“I will join as a team member.”
Smack. Their hands came together.
The moment their fingers locked, Jae-i’s trembling pupils grew steady.
‘She accepted…?’
Because she had fully anticipated a rejection, a fleeting wave of bewilderment washed over her.
But the moment she saw her own reflection in Eun-soo’s eyes, a cheer erupted from deep within her chest.
‘It worked!’
Eun-soo stepped closer to Jae-i and whispered.
“I kept staring at you because I really wanted us to perform together if there was a collaborative stage! Let’s do great!”
So that was what that look meant?
She was startled by Eun-soo’s words, but only for a second.
The moment she turned around with their hands still clasped, her eyes collided with Baek Song-ha’s.
Baek Song-ha was chewing on her lips, gnawing them back and forth from left to right.
‘Does she feel like something was stolen from her?’
Now, it was Baek Song-ha’s turn.
Clack, clack. The sharp click of heels drew Jae-i’s attention.
“Would you like to join my team?”
The eyes of the trainee who received the handshake offer widened.
It was Kim Se-jin.
‘……!!’
Se-jin was the only one who could add the most perfect harmony to her own voice.
She was the decisive card needed to complete the ultimate stage.
‘Will Kim Se-jin take Baek Song-ha’s hand?’
There was no way to know.
Yet, Baek Song-ha was being foolish too.
‘Her dancing is completely hopeless.’
To think she would try to recruit Se-jin, who was practically tone-deaf when it came to dancing.
It was obvious she had chosen her simply because their eyes had briefly met once.
Jae-i desperately prayed that Se-jin wouldn’t be swayed by the floating rumors and would think it over just a little more.
Behind them, the trainees’ hushed murmurs rippled through the crowd like a wave.
Their gazes watched Se-jin as if she were some chosen being receiving royal favor.
The hand Baek Song-ha extended remained rigidly confident, as though the very idea of rejection had never crossed her mind.
“I am…….”
The end of Se-jin’s sentence trailed off sluggishly.
Her gaze was tilted down at a forty-five-degree angle, piercing a single spot on the stage.
Was she feeling guilty about holding hands with Baek Song-ha?
“I’m sorry.”
With a deep bow, Se-jin lowered her head.
As if the lights on the stage had flashed violently, her vision blurred for a split second.
All the bustling movements around them ground to a halt.
The lips of the other trainees fell open in sheer disbelief.
What followed immediately after was nothing but a collective gasp.
“Trainee Kim Se-jin has rejected Leader Baek Song-ha’s proposal. Trainee Kim Se-jin cannot reject any offers she receives from this point forward. Are you aware of this?”
“Yes…….”
Baek Song-ha’s fingertips felt as dry and withered as a thorn bush.
The hand that had been armed with absolute confidence remained hovering in midair like a public humiliation.
Jae-i saw quite clearly how Song-ha’s shoulders gave a brief, violent shudder.
“Leader Trainee Baek Song-ha cannot select a team member until the next turn. Please return to your spot.”
Song-ha forced her lips to curl upward.
Kim Se-jin twisted her body awkwardly, blinking her eyes repeatedly in embarrassment.
Baek Song-ha swept her gaze up and down Se-jin’s figure.
‘Ugh. I can’t stand the sight of her.’
Song-ha brushed her hair forward to hide the heat rushing up to her ears.
‘Damn it……. How humiliating.’
She had only taken four steps, but every spot she trod on felt irritating, as if gum were stuck to the soles of her shoes.
Returning to her place, Song-ha instantly softened her expression, fully conscious of the camera.
Caught in her peripheral vision, Kim Se-jin remained shrunk back, doing nothing but rubbing her toes against the floor.
‘Pathetic, and stupid to boot.’
Her skills weren’t even remotely close either.
Didn’t she practically butcher the last stage?
Even so, there was only one reason she had chosen Kim Se-jin.
Because Lee Jae-i’s steps had been heading right toward Kim Se-jin earlier.
But then, she had suddenly reached out to Yeon Eun-soo instead.
‘She must have done that because she noticed I wanted to bring her over.’
If that was the case, there was nothing to deliberate.
If something was stolen from you, the proper math was to steal it right back.
What trainee would ever turn down her proposal?
When she had turned around, the looks the trainees gave her were filled with the yearning admiration reserved for an idol.
It absolutely wasn’t an illusion, yet that worthless girl had bowed her head in refusal.
‘Could it be some petty game of playing friends?’
It was beyond absurd—it was downright pathetic.
Other than that, she couldn’t find a single reason why the girl hadn’t taken her hand.
Did she come to a survival competition program planning to make a lifelong friend?
The fact that her neck was still attached to her shoulders meant she had used up every ounce of luck in her life, yet she had kicked away the opportunity herself.
‘I guess your talent only amounts to that much.’
Inwardly, Baek Song-ha poured out every curse and mockery toward Kim Se-jin.
Naturally, her gaze drifted down to her empty hand.
As she did, the sensation of a towel being placed on her palm came rushing back to life.
Her teeth snapped shut.
Losing Yeon Eun-soo was already infuriating enough, but the memory that surfaced made it worse.
‘I got played for nothing!’
The fact that she was the adopted daughter of Daekyung Group was not a hidden secret.
Furthermore, there was no one else in this world who knew about that specific day besides herself.
‘There’s no way that bitch knows, right?’
It was a phrase anyone could hurl if they harbored malice, but she had overreacted.
She had essentially handed over an unnecessary pretext.
‘Sigh…….’
Song-ha lowered her breathing to calm herself down once more.
Things were a bit disappointing up to this point, but there was always an alternative.
‘Because I am Baek Song-ha.’
Before long, it was Jae-i’s turn to select a team member.
Se-jin still kept her gaze lowered, refusing to meet her eyes.
‘Is it because I reached out to Yeon Eun-soo first?’
Jae-i walked straight forward.
“Since Trainee Kim Se-jin has no right of refusal, she will join Leader Trainee Lee Jae-i’s team!”
Se-jin buried her bright red face even deeper into her chest.
The composition of all the teams was now complete.
The Judges’ Seats were dead silent.
Hae-su crossed her arms, tilting her head with narrowed eyes.
“Kim Se-jin rejecting Baek Song-ha’s hand was entirely unexpected for me.”
The words Hae-su tossed out rippled through the air like a stone thrown into water.
This time, Judge Choi Du-o, the stage director who hadn’t uttered a single word the entire time, countered.
“It’s a relief. If Kim Se-jin had gone into Baek Song-ha’s team, she wouldn’t have been anything more than background decoration.”
Immediately, Moon Jung-woo, who was sitting at the far end, chimed in to support his statement.
“I share the same view. But should I say Lee Jae-i’s team has a rather unique color?”
Choi Du-o silently tapped the edge of his evaluation sheet with the tip of his pen, sweeping his eyes across the entire stage once more.
“It feels like she actually knows a thing or two…….”
“What do you mean by that?”
Hae-su quickly snatched up the tail of Choi Du-o’s enigmatic remark.
“We’ll find out once we see them perform on stage later.”
No kind explanation followed.
However, the corners of Choi Du-o’s lips tilted up into a faint smirk.
A brief silence drifted between the Judges’ Seats.
From the front row of the Audience Seating, the urgent shout of the camera director leaked through to the Judges’ Seats as well.
“Did the cameras catch all of that just now?”
What was captured on the screen were the expressions of each team’s leader.
Producer Son Hyun-joo also narrowed her eyes and nodded.
‘They’re creating the editing points all by themselves.’
For a brief moment, a scene flashed on the screen showing Jae-i’s team and Song-ha’s team staring at one another.
Subtle cracks and eyes full of wariness overlapped.
“Tighten the shot and capture their expressions clearly.”
The camera director’s voice grew louder and louder.
A team that did its job well was always a delight.
Because they moved perfectly on their own even without being told exactly what was envisioned.
Producer Son Hyun-joo had clenched her fists tight when Baek Song-ha was rejected.
A picture that came out of nowhere from an unexpected place.
‘What if I cut the scene right there?’
It was thrilling.
The mere thought of the comment sections that were bound to explode later felt like a sudden burst of dopamine.
Even Judge Choi Du-o’s cryptic commentary was absolutely flawless.
“Next! Let’s move on!”
Producer Son Hyun-joo directed the set with a deeply satisfied face.
The host smiled brightly, turning toward the camera.
The screen, which had shifted colors, divided into four sections as names began to appear.
“Four teams with distinctly different colors have been completed.”
The host immediately turned back toward the trainees.
“Each team’s leader and members should consult each other to select a judge from whom they wish to seek advice.”
It was a crucial choice.
Jae-i lifted her head and carefully scanned the Judges’ Seats.
Singer Moon Jung-woo, who started out as a vocal trainer.
Choreographer Hae-su.
Composer Casey.
And stage director Choi Du-o.
“Now, starting from the next stage, the Audience Seating will also be filled.”
Following the host’s subsequent words, the breaths exhaled by the trainees grew heavier and longer.
“Voting where viewers can directly participate will also be conducted simultaneously. I’m Your Singer Season 3. Your choices will determine the fate of the teams. Please cheer for your singer.”
On the screen, the scene of the four teams scattering in opposite directions was captured as the camera pulled away.
It felt as if a tightly drawn bowstring was pulling the entire space taut.
Who would laugh and who would cry—it was absolutely certain that the next stage would shake up the entire balance.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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