The Hit Song of This Life Is Revenge - Chapter 55

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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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My Hit Song This Life Is Revenge
55
The next morning.
The Studio Set looked the same as yesterday, but the air felt different.
They’d been running toward this moment all along.
Kang Ki-baek had told her to manage her condition, but Lee Jae-i hadn’t slept a wink.
Her mind was consumed by a single question.
‘When do I change the song? How?’
Eight hours remained until the live broadcast stage.
One more rehearsal lay ahead.
‘That’s when I should switch it… but…’
Lee Jae-i shook her head.
Not then. It wouldn’t work.
Baek Song-ha would be watching the rehearsal too, and she wouldn’t stay quiet if she heard them rehearsing the same song.
‘So I’ll have to change it right before I step on stage…’
What she’d decided on was a bigger task than she’d realized.
And time was already running short.
The frustration made her breathing irregular.
“Your condition not great today?”
Yeon Eun-soo had picked up on her presence just from hearing her voice.
Lee Jae-i snapped to attention, her eyes widening slightly as she nodded curtly.
“I’m nervous, I guess.”
“Lee Jae-i gets nervous? Well, I’ll be damned. She is human after all!”
Yeon Eun-soo’s voice was edged with exaggeration.
She was trying to make her laugh, Lee Jae-i knew.
She forced a smile, but her expression stiffened almost immediately.
“Mark my words, once you’re on that stage you’re going to soar.”
“You flew higher than I did.”
At that, Yeon Eun-soo grinned brightly and tapped her in-ear monitor.
“Isn’t this thing so uncomfortable? It’s less about hearing the audio and more like a PD’s walkie-talkie.”
Lee Jae-i laughed at the joking tone.
Beneath the humor, though, there was a hint of weariness seeping through.
The directions had been unusually numerous.
Yeon Eun-soo finally pulled out her in-ear monitor and furrowed her brow as she spoke.
“I can’t even hear the song. ‘Tell us if there’s an audio problem. How’s the audio? Check your lyrics.’ Almost spit them out like that.”
Lee Jae-i empathized with the complaint.
Usually, once a song started, hardly any direction came through the in-ear monitor.
But the PD’s commentary didn’t stop until right before the intro ended.
It made sense, given it was a live broadcast.
She understood, but it still felt excessive.
“This is the final stage. The PD probably wants to do well too.”
When Lee Jae-i responded gently, Yeon Eun-soo leaned in slightly.
Then she lowered her voice to a whisper.
“I overheard something in the restroom earlier—apparently the PD gets promoted after this wraps. That’s probably why he’s so on edge.”
“Hmm…”
If that was the case, the excessive demands made a certain kind of sense.
“Lee Jae-i Trainee, get ready please.”
At the Staff member’s call, Yeon Eun-soo straightened up.
Lee Jae-i exchanged a glance with Yeon Eun-soo before standing.
She left the Waiting Room and walked toward the back of the Stage.
As she passed the spot where she’d collided with Baek Song-ha, a long breath escaped her unbidden.
“…”
The second time she’d stepped onto the Stage that day.
It was before the final Rehearsal began.
Then the PD’s voice flowed through her in-ear monitor.
– If there’s any problem with the Microphone or in-ear monitor, tell me right away.
“Yes, understood.”
It was a sentence she’d memorized by now.
The lights began to dim slowly, and the intro started playing.
And just before the first note came out.
Static scratched across her in-ear monitor again.
– Audio issues cannot happen. Absolutely not.
Click.
The Stage light above flicked on exactly as that sentence ended.
Lee Jae-i lifted the eyelids she’d been holding down and looked toward the light.
That was the moment.
She underlined the PD’s words in her mind.
‘Cannot happen?’
Lee Jae-i’s heart raced half a beat faster than the intro’s rhythm.
The PD was so obsessed with audio because of the promotion.
Opportunities like that didn’t come around often, did they?
If she were a PD, she’d do everything in her power to prevent any mishap.
‘So… if I say there’s an audio problem with this Music Recorded, could I switch it?’
That thought circled through her mind until two measures had passed.
As the song was nearing its end, Lee Jae-i’s gaze turned toward the PD Seat.
Hwang Seong-su spoke while watching the monitor.
“Catch the ending with Camera 5. After this wraps, we’re panning to the Judges’ Seats.”
There was no deliberation about how to direct Lee Jae-i’s stage.
‘Just no problems. That’s all that matters.’
Hwang Seong-su recalled the conversation he’d had with CP before entering the Studio Set that morning.
‘Seong-su, the biggest danger is when the participants hold it against the Production Team. Especially audio issues like that.’
‘Hold it against us?’
‘Exactly! Later, when the program ends, they’ll complain that it was the Production Team’s fault. Things get messy.’
He hadn’t thought that far ahead, but it was advice that pierced right through him.
CP said that if a participant flubbed the stage because of the Production Team’s mistake, sympathy builds.
A golden opportunity had landed right in front of him.
All he had to do was pick up the spoon from an already-laid table.
Hwang Seong-su kept turning over just one sentence in his mind.
If things went this smoothly, how excited would he be on his way to work tomorrow?
Without realizing it, Seong-su raised his voice a tone as he capped the end of Lee Jae-i’s stage.
“Camera cut.”
Just a few hours left until it was all over.
When that curtain rose, the three letters of his name—’H-w-a-n-g’—would be engraved there.
* * *
At last, the final stage of I’m Your Singer Season 3 had begun.
Lee Jae-i stood in front of the Mirror.
She didn’t need to look to know.
The Audience Seating was completely full.
The anticipation and excitement lingering outside seeped through the walls and spread inward.
The temperature filling the Waiting Room had transformed entirely.
As she drew a breath, it wasn’t her chest that tightened—it was deep in her solar plexus.
‘The final stage…’
The moment she repeated it to herself, another scene overlapped.
Baek Song-ha’s face floating on the Screen.
And beneath it, inscribed with crystal clarity.
1st Place.
Lee Jae-i met her own gaze in the Mirror with greater intensity.
This time, she had to erase that image completely.
The sound of the door opening announced the real thing.
“We’re fifteen minutes from the live broadcast. We’re moving to the Stage now.”
This was the stretch where she had to push through with her body.
On the darkened Stage.
Eight Trainees stood at their designated positions facing the Audience Seating.
Then the MC’s voice erupted.
“Thank you for waiting so long. I’m Your Singer Season 3. We’re here with you live to witness the end of this journey.”
Thoom.
Heavy bass sound laid across the Stage like a stamp.
Simultaneously, the large Screen behind them flashed and came to life.
Following that light, the Audience Seating revealed itself.
Faces that had been hidden in darkness emerged all at once, and Placards held in hands rippled like waves.
Each bearing different names.
The first to be caught by the spotlight was Baek Song-ha.
The moment her wavy hair caught the light and reflected it, cheers erupted from the Audience Seating as if they’d been waiting for exactly that.
“Ahhhhh!”
The light moved in sequence.
Each time a name was called, the volume of cheers shifted subtly.
The difference was being recorded live as-is.
A single white beam of light illuminated above Lee Jae-i’s head.
“Wow!”
As the cheer cut at the precise moment, the MC took command of the sound.
“Today, the Trainees will sing their own stories. Please vote for the performances that move you. And after the stages end!”
His final voice swelled.
“Your singer is born!”
The MC, who had drawn all focus, cried out even louder.
“Stages to captivate you. Starting right now.”
As prepared graphics colored the Screen, the light above her head went dark.
The moment the lighting dimmed, Lee Jae-i’s eyes gleamed brighter than ever.
Eight silhouettes flashed across the monitor.
Hwang Seong-su nodded.
“Camera ready next.”
A set that worked on simple instructions alone.
A strange twist played at the corners of Hwang Seong-su’s mouth.
The picture was already set, and the Assistant Director and Staff were naturally maintaining the flow.
The first Trainee’s voice flowed from the Stage.
The initial tension melted away naturally as time passed.
A scene repeated many times was recreating itself exactly.
Next. Then the next.
Each stage was passing as neatly as his own career.
“Moving into Stage 5 now.”
Everything was running perfectly smooth.
‘Just three left.’
Once three more stages were done, the program would be over.
Almost there.
Reckless hope seeped into his mind.
Then it happened.
Tap.
He felt pressure in the grip of the hand on his shoulder.
At a situation that hadn’t occurred during Rehearsal, Hwang Seong-su instinctively turned his head sharply.
“PD!”
At the urgent call, Hwang Seong-su’s brow furrowed immediately.
“Lee Jae-i Trainee says the Music Recorded isn’t coming through her in-ear monitor.”

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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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