Episode 42: How Far Will This Go?
Backstage buzzes with staff rushing about.
Ji Sehyuk’s voice echoes from afar.
“Competing solely with their voices, Blind Singer Season 3! A heartfelt welcome to everyone at the semi-final stage!”
A massive cheer greets the stage’s opening as Suhyuk approaches me.
“Hyung, everything okay? Nothing uncomfortable?”
I’ve lost count of how many times he’s asked today.
Across my pre-regression life, probably six figures’ worth.
“Yeah, I’m fine.”
My answer hasn’t changed either.
‘He’s got nothing to do anyway—why not rest in the waiting room?’
I swallow that thought.
If I said it, he’d probably reply,
-“A manager’s place is backstage. Who else gets to watch the stage live like this?”
“Yujin-ssi.”
Song Jaeryung hurries over at that moment.
“First up today, right? First time since the preliminaries.”
“Yeah, exactly.”
I was first in my group in Round 2, but that was the last group of the day.
Today’s my first time kicking off the entire shoot.
“You’re not nervous, are you? You’ll nail it, right?”
Her playful tone doesn’t need an answer.
I shoot her a mock glare.
“That’s harsh. Don’t trust me?”
“Of course I do! If I don’t trust you, who would I trust? Oh, keep that from the other contestants, okay?”
“If I were anyone else, I’d report you for favoritism, but since it’s you, I’ll let it slide.”
“Aww, thanks. Oh, is this him? Your manager?”
After our banter, Song Jaeryung’s gaze shifts to Suhyuk.
“Normally, I’d pick you up myself, but today’s hectic, so I’m just now meeting him. Song Jaeryung, YTV writer. Here’s PD Hong’s card too.”
She hands over two business cards—hers and Hong Hyunwook’s.
“Uh, I’m Yujin-hyung’s manager, but it’s temporary, just road stuff, so I’m not sure if I should take these…”
Suhyuk, flustered, glances between me and Song Jaeryung.
Even an exceptional manager like him, still green, stammers like a broken robot.
“He’s not just temporary—he’s sticking around, so you can give them to him.”
I take the cards and place them in Suhyuk’s hand.
Song Jaeryung, amused, continues with a teasing tone.
“You take something, you give something. Am I leaving empty-handed?”
“Uh, I don’t have business cards yet…”
“Hey, writer-nim, I haven’t signed with MyWay yet. If you say it’s okay, I’ll tell them to print Suhyuk’s cards right away.”
“Hmm, no deal. Contract’s for after the finals. But wow, Yujin-ssi, you really look out for your people. Noted.”
Suhyuk, thrown off by the teasing, almost takes it seriously, so I step in.
Song Jaeryung, realizing she went too far, pats his shoulder gently.
Just then—
“Now, Blind Singer Season 3 semi-finals! Let’s introduce the first performer to kick things off!”
Ji Sehyuk finishes the usual spiel about judging rules, setting up to call me.
“Han Yujin-nim, standby!”
“Time’s up. Yujin-ssi, knock it out.”
Having achieved her goal of easing my nerves with small talk, Song Jaeryung steps back with another staff’s call.
Crossing the line between backstage shadows and dazzling spotlights, I glance at Suhyuk, who’s awkwardly scratching his head behind me.
“No cheers for me?”
“Oh, right! Hyung, fighting!”
Is he so embarrassed by a tiny slip-up that he wants to crawl into a hole?
Smirking at the thought of how much this future SSS-grade manager has to learn, I hide my amusement behind a stern face and—
Snap!
I flick his forehead lightly.
“Get ready to get scolded when I’m back.”
“Huh? Hyung?”
Suhyuk jumps at the small sting, but—
“The first performer of the semi-finals… it’s Han Yujin-nim!”
““Waaaaaa!!!!””
Ji Sehyuk’s summoning shout and the roaring cheers drown out Suhyuk’s words.
With a smile I’d been holding back, I step out of the shadows into the spotlight.
‘You’re getting scolded.’
Still calling yourself temporary when that label’s long gone?
No escaping now.
***
Ji Sehyuk gazes fondly at the towering junior beside him.
‘How was a kid like this unknown until now?’
Han Yujin.
Cliché as it sounds, a comet blazing onto the scene, the hottest topic around.
Ji Sehyuk can’t help but feel warm every time he sees him.
Looks, talent—he surpasses Ji Sehyuk in every way.
Before this junior, Ji Sehyuk can only admit:
‘No one’s beating this guy.’
In his younger, freshly debuted days, he might’ve burned with rivalry.
But now, nearing his 40s, he feels only awe, no jealousy.
‘What can I even do?’
Just listen to his songs, cheer, and go wild—that’s all.
That’s why Yujin naturally brings a smile to Ji Sehyuk’s face.
“Sehyuk-ssi, your grin’s about to split your face.”
That’s why he can brush off Seo Yoonje’s jab with ease.
“Ugh, how can I hold back? Thinking about how much Yujin-ssi will torment the judges, I don’t need side dishes with my meals!”
“Our Yujin-ssi? Is an MC allowed to play favorites like that?”
“I’m allowed. I’m biased toward all the contestants—Taeoh-ssi, Dongkyu-ssi, Juan-ssi, Seunghee-ssi, Jiyoon-ssi, Dayna-ssi, and senior Kim In!”
“Man, if you couldn’t talk your way out…”
“That’s why they hired me as MC, haha!”
Ji Sehyuk laughs heartily, turning to Han Yujin.
Giving him a quick once-over, he improvises an opening line not in the script.
“Yujin-ssi, do you like black?”
“Huh?”
“No, it’s just—since the main rounds, you’ve only worn black. Last week’s bomber jacket, the week before’s riding jacket—both black, right?”
“Oh, right.”
A black dress shirt and matching slacks.
Simpler than the past two weeks, but still black, making for easy small talk.
But Han Yujin shakes his head.
“I don’t particularly love black—it just happened.”
Ji Sehyuk, seasoned by years in the industry, catches a glint in Yujin’s eyes.
‘He’s building up to something.’
It’s just a gut feeling, no concrete evidence, but Ji Sehyuk trusts his instincts.
To test and support it, he adds,
“You’re not gonna show up all in black next week too, are you?”
In the finals, where one contestant is eliminated each round, guaranteeing someone’s advancement could be risky.
But no one in the studio objects—Han Yujin’s three-week streak of dominating pre-votes is proof enough.
“If I get to stand on this stage next week, I’ll make sure to avoid black entirely.”
“Any plans to change that hairstyle too?”
Lee Sangwoon’s jab, seizing the moment, draws laughs from the audience.
Everyone knows Yujin’s unmasked visuals make his hairstyle secondary, but they’re curious about a new look.
As if reading their minds, Yujin responds.
“Hmm… if I take first overall today, I’ll cut my hair for next week.”
““Wooooow!!!””
The shocking pledge sparks a massive reaction.
Lee Sangwoon, caught off guard, grabs his mic again.
“Isn’t that bribery? He’s saying vote him first to see the haircut!”
““Hahaha!””
Laughter erupts.
The audience and judges can laugh because they all feel it: based on Yujin’s performances so far, he’d claim the top spot in the Top 7 without such a pledge.
Then, Ji Sehyuk notices a small gesture.
Hong Hyunwook waves two fingers near his neck—time to wrap the opening and move to the performance.
Ji Sehyuk gets back on track.
“Let’s see if Han Yujin-ssi will come back with a haircut next week! With today’s song choice, I don’t think it’s impossible!”
A bit of personal bias slips in.
‘Sisyphus…’
As MC, Ji Sehyuk knows Yujin’s pick: Sisyphus’s 2004 song, ‘Night, Stars, Winter Sky’.
A rock ballad that defined an era, with sky-high notes that made it a must-sing for men in their 20s and 30s.
Passed down through karaoke rooms and word of mouth, it’s a timeless hit even teens who never heard Sisyphus live sing today.
Ji Sehyuk still vividly recalls belting it with friends in karaoke before his debut.
‘How will Yujin sing this?’
He doesn’t hide the swelling anticipation as Yujin speaks.
“The song I’ll perform today is…”
“Sisyphus sunbaenim’s ‘Night, Stars, Winter Sky’.”
““Wooooooo!!!!””
A military-base-level roar from men who recognize the song answers Ji Sehyuk’s excitement.
But it’s not just men—women know it too, despite it being a male anthem.
“I’m hearing this outside a karaoke room?”
“There are tons of covers on YouTube!”
“Not YouTube!”
Ji Sehyuk, stepping off stage, smiles at the audience’s chatter cutting through the cheers.
Moments later—
Tararararan~
Warm orange lights bathe the stage, and a piano melody resonates.
Soft, serene.
But—
‘Huh?’
Ji Sehyuk, who’s replayed ‘Night, Stars, Winter Sky’ countless times, senses something off.
“This… the MR sounds like the original…”
Like Bang Hokyung’s unintended murmur, the melody feels untouched from the original.
Thinking it might be a broadcast mishap, Ji Sehyuk glances at Hong Hyunwook.
Paah!
The warm lights shift to a cool, deep blue, and—
Tururururun~
The piano melody gradually descends.
From the edge of the third octave, through the second, to the first.
‘How far is this going?!’
The song, famed for its sky-soaring notes, plunges endlessly downward.
“Beneath a sky where dazzling stars
Seem ready to pour down,
I still remember that winter scene
We gazed at together that day.”
A vocal range Han Yujin has never shown before grips the audience’s hearts with an eerie chill.
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