Episode 20. Respect (3)
As his turn approached, Kang Dae-oh unconsciously smacked his lips.
It was because he was feeling nervous.
Kang Yera smiled faintly, looking at her dad.
“Dad. Aren’t you too nervous?”
“Oh, am I? Are you okay, sweetie?”
“Yes. I’m used to auditions. This is nothing.”
Kang Dae-oh felt awkward at Kang Yera’s experienced demeanor.
The person who should have been nervous was actually reassuring him. It looked a bit strange.
Meanwhile, Kang Yebin poked Kang Yera’s shoulder and said.
“It’s unnie’s turn next.”
“Already?”
“Yeah. You know those people who rode the elevator with us earlier? I just saw the kid who got the number right before ours move to the audition room with a staff member.”
Having worked on set with numerous staff members every time, Kang Yebin had a very broad perspective despite her young age.
She could roughly tell when her unnie’s turn would come.
She could even check things like this in real-time.
Thanks to his two daughters, who seemed much more mature than him, Kang Dae-oh’s awkwardness doubled.
Other teams had mothers or fathers comforting their nervous children.
But in Kang Dae-oh’s case, their roles were reversed. It was natural for him to feel embarrassed as a father.
‘I need to quickly adapt to this atmosphere too.’
It was his first time today, so he couldn’t help it.
Just as he was firming up his resolve.
“Next, applicant number 31, please get ready.”
“Yes!”
Finally.
It was Kang Yera’s turn.
Kang Yera had said she was fine because she had auditioned countless times in her past life.
However, this was her first audition in her life after regression, and it had been a long time, so a slight nervousness belatedly washed over her as she entered the hallway.
Nevertheless, Kang Yera tried not to show it.
She knew well that if she got nervous, her dad would worry.
She stood with her family in front of the firmly closed audition room door.
As the staff member was about to open the door, Kang Dae-oh suddenly placed both hands on Kang Yera’s small shoulders.
Kang Yera looked up and tilted her head.
“Why, Dad?”
Kang Dae-oh smiled gently and looked down at his daughter.
“Dad wants to give our daughter a little bit of courage.”
He couldn’t do much for Kang Yera right now.
But he could offer this kind of encouragement.
Even if he didn’t know the secret to passing the audition or anything like that, Kang Dae-oh wanted to do everything he could for his daughter as a father.
Kang Yera placed her hand over her dad’s and leaned her head slightly.
The warm warmth felt through her dad’s hands spread from her shoulders throughout her entire body and filled her heart.
“Thank you, Dad. I’ll do my best for you!”
“Good luck. Dad will be cheering hard for you.”
Kang Dae-oh emphasized again and again that although parents couldn’t accompany their children into the audition room, his heart would always be with his daughter.
After letting only young Kang Yera inside.
The audition room door closed firmly once again.
Then a company staff member tilted their head and asked Kang Dae-oh.
“Wasn’t that child also here for the audition?”
“Oh, Yebin? She just came with me to support her unnie.”
“Ah, I see. She’s so pretty, I thought your daughter was also participating in the audition.”
Kang Yebin possessed outstanding beauty, no less than Kang Yera, suitable for an idol.
However, Kang Yebin had no interest in being an idol.
Just as Kang Yera loved the stage, Kang Yebin also loved the stage as an actress.
Kang Yebin held Kang Dae-oh’s hand and said.
“Should we go to the waiting room first?”
However, Kang Dae-oh shook his head at Kang Yebin’s suggestion.
“No, let’s wait here. I want to greet Yera right away when she comes out.”
Kang Yebin replied “Okay” with an expression that conveyed she couldn’t help it.
The CEO of Dandelion Entertainment, along with trainers responsible for trainee lessons, and other planning and A&R personnel, all showed up at the audition site.
It was natural for a young child to feel psychologically intimidated before even starting the audition, seeing the unfamiliar adults filling the judges’ seats and staring at them.
Nevertheless, Kang Yera maintained her smile from the moment she first appeared on site until now.
The judges noted this aspect of Kang Yera.
“Yera-yang definitely shows something different compared to other audition participants.”
“Indeed. Earlier, that… what number was it? Participant number 25? That child was already whimpering as soon as she stood here.”
“Ugh. It was hard to comfort her.”
Since some of the judges were also parents raising children, they would step in and reassure any child who appeared too nervous during the audition.
But Kang Yera didn’t need that.
Kwon Jin-woo, CEO of Dandelion Entertainment, checked Kang Yera’s personal information with a satisfied expression.
“Kang Yera-yang. You’re still in first grade, aren’t you?”
“Yes, that’s right!”
“It seems you have a unique background. You’ve been widely talked about on YouTube several times?”
At CEO Kwon’s words, a company executive sitting right next to him let out a short exclamation, “Ah!”
“I’ve seen those videos. I saw two: one where Yera-yang sings children’s songs and dances to comfort crying kids at the pediatric clinic, and another where she sings in a choir at a school performance. Despite her young age, her vocal ability is incredible.”
“Oh, really?”
“Yes. Both of them probably exceeded 3 million views.”
“3 million? That’s amazing.”
Another executive took the baton and provided additional information about Kang Yera.
“Yera-yang has a younger sibling, and there’s a YouTube channel that uploads videos mainly featuring that friend. The channel name was unique…”
It seemed he couldn’t recall it immediately, as his words trailed off.
Perhaps sensing that he had waited long enough, Kang Yera opened her mouth to completely satisfy his curiosity.
“They use the channel name ‘Kang Yeyoung-i-e-yeong’.”
“Right. That’s it. As soon as I heard the channel name, I thought it was cute. The editing is good too. And Yera, you appear on it often, don’t you?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“That channel is quite popular. Looking at the comments, there are many reactions saying Yera, Yebin, and Yeyoung, the three princesses, are so cute.”
While the executives and Kang Yera exchanged words, CEO Kwon seemed to have searched for Kang Yeyoung’s YouTube channel, as he gasped.
“220,000 subscribers?”
“Yes. The growth rate is incredibly fast.”
“We should have Yera’s younger sibling audition for our company later too.”
Thanks to CEO Kwon’s lighthearted joke, the audition room atmosphere quickly filled with laughter.
Never before had such a bright atmosphere been created during an audition.
It had always been solemn and tense.
Strangely, Kang Yera possessed a charm that made people laugh.
However, that was that.
An audition was still an audition.
“Shall we start the audition right away then?”
CEO Kwon stepped in to manage the atmosphere.
He wanted to see Kang Yera’s skills for himself.
Because he wanted to confirm her skill level with his own eyes.
In the video she sent via email, she had already shown exceptionally outstanding skills, more than enough to pass.
However, it’s difficult to say that what’s shown in a video recording always matches what’s presented at an actual audition.
Just as there’s no guarantee that getting a perfect score on a mock exam in school means a guaranteed perfect score on the Suneung.
“Shall we begin?”
Everyone nodded at Kang Yera’s question.
The song she had prepared was ‘Black Rose’, a solo song by Seoyeon, the leader of Fallin’ Love, an artist under Dandelion Entertainment.
The judges inwardly swallowed their surprise at Kang Yera’s song choice.
And for good reason.
“‘Black Rose’, isn’t that quite a difficult song?”
“It is.”
“Seoyeon also struggled a lot preparing this.”
Even the original singer had a very hard time practicing ‘Black Rose’.
Although the chorus part being a continuous string of high notes certainly contributed to its difficulty.
The choreography was also quite difficult, so while the song itself was good, it was among the top five most avoided songs for covers.
But for the judges, the fact that an amateur, and a first-grader at that, who came for an audition, chose ‘Black Rose’ was simply astonishing.
In a way, it showed spirit.
Conversely, it could also be a bluff.
They needed to see and confirm it with their own eyes.
Kang Yera, as if performing a ballet move, stretched both hands above her head and lifted her right leg high behind her.
Her left foot balanced her entire body weight on her toes, just like a real dancer.
Exclamations of admiration burst from the judges’ mouths.
“Oh my goodness…”
“That’s an incredibly difficult move, contrary to how it looks.”
“Isn’t that the choreography Seoyeon found most difficult?”
“Yes, it is.”
But young Kang Yera did it in one go.
True to the title, Kang Yera performed the choreography gracefully like a rose, sometimes boldly showcasing connected movements.
And live vocals on top of that.
The performance was so complete that it was hard to believe it was presented by such a young child.
In particular, the meticulousness of trying to give a point to each fingertip and toe played a role in firmly captivating the judges’ hearts.
As the chorus approached, Kang Yera put power into her voice and performed the highest-pitched part of ‘Black Rose’.
I’m your only Black Rose.
Advice from others is just Noise.
Stop and come to me Please.
I’ll give only you a sweet Kiss.
Despite the intense choreography, Kang Yera’s vocals remained steady.
Since there were so many applicants participating in the audition, the judges would usually listen only to the first verse and then stop.
But they found themselves mesmerized, watching Kang Yera’s performance until the very end.
After safely completing ‘Black Rose’, Kang Yera swept back her disheveled hair with her hand to tidy it, then bowed towards the judges and said.
“This has been applicant number 31, Kang Yera!”
Clap, clap, clap—!
A round of applause erupted from the judges’ seats.
Thirty young applicants had knocked on the audition room door before her.
But not once had they elicited applause from the judges.
Kang Yera was the first.
“Bravo!”
“Well done, Yera-yang!”
“I really want to show this performance to Seoyeon.”
“Wouldn’t she be surprised?”
Receiving the pouring praises, Kang Yera smiled brightly.
Indeed, she was born for the stage.
This thought once again filled her mind.
