Chapter 14: Mouse Hole

It was Lee Junhyeok who had been more uncomfortable and angry than anyone else when I didn’t choose the VENUS song.

It was clear that he didn’t like how things were unfolding now.

His words were supposed to be right.

What I said should have been the absolute truth.

Having been treated like a king at Doubles Entertainment, being placed in a completely opposite situation now was something he found extremely displeasing.

Lee Junhyeok spoke with a face full of distaste.

“No, I mean, he just got lucky, right? It’s not like he laid down a mat and summoned it.”

“……”

“In that situation, not choosing the VENUS song would’ve been a stupid move.”

Lee Junhyeok threw his sharp words, laced with mockery.

“You’ve got no eye for songs, and now you’re acting way too happy over something you just lucked into, don’t you think?”

Should I fight back or not?

I was annoyed, but not angry enough to react.

Right now, Lee Junhyeok was so overly emotional that it was almost laughable how little control he had over his feelings.

It was like watching someone self-destruct, so ridiculous that I couldn’t even get mad.

I could clearly feel that nobody here was particularly fond of him.

The atmosphere we’d been building up with energy and excitement had completely collapsed.

“Hey, don’t you think so?”

Lee Junhyeok shrugged his shoulders and looked at Jin Sehyun.

He must have been hoping for some agreement.

“You really shouldn’t judge things purely by gut feeling…”

“That’s enough.”

Jin Sehyun put his spoon down and opened his mouth.

He was always the type to say what was on his mind, but he’d never cut someone off so blatantly before.

Lee Junhyeok frowned at Jin Sehyun’s words.

Jin Sehyun parted his lips, hesitated over what to say, then spoke calmly.

“Shall we go practice?”

“Y-yeah, let’s do that.”

“Sounds good, practice! Seo Han, let’s go!”

Jin Sehyun picked up his tray and left his seat without a care.

It was just a brief moment, but I could sense a deep irritation from his expression, like, “Why are you the one stepping up?”

“The atmosphere’s a bit shaky, but today we’re starting by checking everyone’s individual skills!”

Yoo Minseo, the vocal trainer from Doubles Entertainment, woke the trainees with a cheerful voice.

The red light on the camera was recording the current situation vividly.

Each team’s lessons continued nonstop.

The team with the VENUS song had their schedule slightly delayed due to the production team’s meeting, but the team assigned with Elroy’s On the Way to School was starting their first vocal training today.

“Oh, I see some familiar faces in this team.”

Yoo Minseo turned her head with a smile.

Two teams were preparing for the first evaluation with the same song.

Among them, the one that stood out most was the team with Do Seohan.

The very center of this project.

Back during the first trainer meeting, Do Seohan hadn’t even been mentioned as a promising contestant.

‘That kid’s smart.’

Yoo Minseo had been the only one to recognize Do Seohan’s talent.

As she had predicted, Do Seohan was surviving smartly in this brutal audition program.

Of course, a quick mind alone couldn’t solve everything in this field.

He needed enough skill to back it up.

Today, she planned to see that skill for herself.

To see how much he had grown compared to the time he’d barely held on at Doubles Entertainment—or whether he had stayed the same.

She had seen a glimpse during the Signal Song practice, but this would be the first formal evaluation.

Yoo Minseo’s eyes gleamed with anticipation.

“Do Seohan trainee?”

“Yes!”

“Shall we start with this group?”

“We’re ready!”

Ha Junseo shouted boldly as he stepped forward.

Beside him, the other trainees lined up.

Yoo Minseo placed her hands on the keyboard and asked,

“Who wants to go first?”

“Me!”

“I’ll do it!”

Two voices rang out at the same time.

Ha Junseo and Lee Junhyeok.

Do Seohan, whom Yoo Minseo had been quietly hoping to see first, stood silently waiting for his turn with an unreadable expression.

‘Ah, I wanted to see him first.’

It was a bit disappointing, but nothing to be done.

Smiling, Yoo Minseo turned to Lee Junhyeok.

“Let’s have Lee Junhyeok trainee go first.”

From what she remembered of him at Doubles Entertainment, he was definitely a skilled vocalist.

In terms of vocal technique, he might have even been a notch above Do Seohan.

“Let’s hear the first verse.”

“Yes, understood!”

Lee Junhyeok answered confidently and began to sing the first verse.

But then—

‘What is this?’

Something felt off.

Lee Junhyeok glanced at Do Seohan and adjusted his vocal delivery.

Yoo Minseo, who had been listening quietly, raised an eyebrow.

Was his singing always this poor?

No.

‘Why is his mind somewhere else?’

Following Lee Junhyeok’s gaze, Yoo Minseo’s face twisted slightly.

She didn’t know the full story, but it was clear Lee Junhyeok was overly conscious of his teammates.

Especially of Do Seohan.

‘I’m better than you.’

Notes he could have hit smoothly started to waver slightly.

He was adding unnecessary flourishes and vocal tricks to show off how much better he could sing.

‘Watch me closely.’

It was like he was shouting that with every note—a strange battle of nerves playing out.

No, “battle” wasn’t the right word.

It felt more like he was picking a one-sided fight.

While the other teammates were quietly analyzing the song in preparation for their turns, Lee Junhyeok was foolishly distracted by others.

‘Why is he acting like this?’

Yoo Minseo was quick-witted.

She could tell just by looking into his eyes that the boy wasn’t focusing on the song.

She also knew that someone who could sing well enough was now self-destructing.

This wasn’t the kind of song you could sing like that.

Elroy’s On the Way to School was a song that reminisced about classroom memories with a fresh, youthful sentiment.

“I’m good at singing.”

“Are you watching me?”

It wasn’t a song you could sing with that kind of mindset.

He was tarnishing the song.

It was to the point where she felt sorry to Elroy, the original singer.

“……”

Thud.

Unable to bear it any longer, Yoo Minseo stopped the accompaniment.

“Are you daydreaming?”

“Huh?”

Lee Junhyeok asked back with a flustered expression.

In that instant, he failed to manage his face.

“Get your head on straight. You don’t usually sing like this.”

Yoo Minseo let out a sigh with sharp words, unlike her usual self.

“Focus on the basics. It’s not like you’ve only attended one or two lessons. You’re not even an individual trainee—if you’re from Doubles, you must’ve taken my classes for years. So why are you singing like this?”

“Uh… uh.”

Lee Junhyeok couldn’t bring himself to answer.

It was because his thoughts had been read completely.

“Who are you so conscious of right now?”

“……”

“If you’re going to be conscious of someone, it should be the audience. Or me. What on earth are you doing?”

He was blatantly glancing at Do Seohan, provoking him, and Yoo Minseo couldn’t understand such foolish intentions.

‘This is why you need to be smart.’

To survive in an audition program, you needed to be clever.

Yoo Minseo, unexpectedly, reaffirmed her own belief.

Lee Junhyeok answered with a sullen expression.

“…Ah. I wasn’t being conscious.”

“Then sing it again.”

His already-exposed lack of skill.

The second time wasn’t much different.

Whether it was because he was easily affected mentally or not, it didn’t meet Yoo Minseo’s standards.

It was questionable how he’d even gotten close to the debut lineup before.

“Sigh….”

Lee Junhyeok couldn’t say a word and stepped back.

“So scary…”

The intense evaluation made the other trainees waiting their turn all swallow nervously.

Do Seohan also stood in the back with a somewhat tense face.

Yoo Minseo grew curious.

If Lee Junhyeok had been wary enough to challenge him like that, then had Do Seohan really improved that much?

Had there been further improvement in his vocals since that notable leap during the center evaluation?

She had already been eager to hear Do Seohan’s voice, so he was next.

“Hoo… next is Do Seohan trainee.”

Please, don’t disappoint me.

Yoo Minseo’s eyes were saying that.

“I’ll begin.”

Do Seohan opened his mouth with steady eyes, as if to answer that trust.

Do Seohan’s clear voice resonated with the piano accompaniment.

It’s a fantasy—when I close my eyes, I see it.

A trembling, vivid memory.

Instead of techniques, which Yoo Minseo had just criticized in Lee Junhyeok, it was a vocal performance rooted in fundamentals.

Do Seohan’s natural talent had originally leaned more toward dance, so he had focused solely on that from a young age.

He only began focusing on vocals after appearing on the Stardust Project, and by then, it was already late.

However, things were different in this life.

Even though he had returned to the past, his experience remained.

The result of his dedicated practice showed clearly.

I engraved your name on the blackboard

Slowly stepping into an unreachable past

It was a gifted tone.

How one used such a tone could change the music we heard, but at the very least, Do Seohan was using his tone well.

A soft yet clear voice.

It was the perfect tone to express the emotions of a boy in his awkward, adolescent love.

Now I understood why he chose this song.

Elroy’s On the Way to School was a song that suited no one better than Do Seohan himself.

A song he believed he could do well.

Also, a song with a level of difficulty that allowed other team members to blend in smoothly.

In a way, it meant that even if the VENUS incident hadn’t happened, Do Seohan’s choice had been the best one.

“……”

He’s good.

I climb the path that only I have left again.

I’ll keep walking until I can see you.

‘Why is he so good?’

In just a few weeks, he was absorbing knowledge like a sponge, showing an astonishing rate of growth.

It was hard to imagine how much more he would grow by the time this audition ended.

His vocal delivery was solid.

If anything was lacking, it was the emotional expression in the song, but that seemed fixable with practice.

Yoo Minseo decided to focus on his remarkable growth rather than pointing out flaws needlessly.

“Seohan, why are you so good?”

“Ah… ah, thank you.”

Do Seohan nodded immediately.

“I’m not just saying it—you’ve improved a lot since the center evaluation. Wow, you must have practiced a ton.”

“Thank you!”

He sang better than before.

He sang better than his current skill level.

Yoo Minseo wasn’t the type to give those kinds of compliments lightly.

He was just good.

He had reached a level where he wouldn’t fall behind even compared to trainees focused on vocals.

“Your vocal technique is great too.”

“Yes.”

“Your tone is just melting. I was moved watching you.”

“Ah.”

“How about aiming for the main vocal role next? No, seriously. I mean it! You’re that good!”

But.

Why was he so restless?

Do Seohan’s eyes were trembling slightly.

I could see his fingers fidgeting.

He looked like he was struggling to figure out how to respond to all the praise pouring in.

It was praise he rarely received during his previous trainee days, so it felt unfamiliar.

“No, seriously, you’re amazing.”

“…Thank you.”

“You’re really good!”

“……”

“You’re the best!”

Was he the type who was bad at taking compliments?

Yoo Minseo chuckled inwardly at his amusing reaction.

It made her want to tease him even more.

“And you’re even handsome.”

“Right? Isn’t he, teacher?”

“Waaah!”

And with the cheeky reactions from Ha Junseo and Seo Haim added on.

Aaagh…

Do Seohan blinked as he endured Yoo Minseo’s relentless compliments.

Unable to hold back her laughter, Yoo Minseo called the next trainee.

“Pfft. Look at how red your face is. Okay, then, next trainee?”

Only then did his expression look as if he had finally been released.

Dash.

With a face like he wanted to crawl into a mouse hole.

‘Whew, it’s over.’

The giant hamster quickly retreated to the back.

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