Star Maker Chapter 21

Han Seon-ho looked puzzled.

“Why do you need certainty?”

At his question, Oh Hanbit started speaking rapidly.

“The live performance is only an hour away, and now they’re suddenly telling me to change my rap. And not just any change—it’s in a vocal range I’ve never used before. I don’t know if you realized this when you said it, but if the first note goes up like that, the entire flow changes. I can do it, but it’ll be completely different from the rap I practiced.”

“Then just ignore it. I can’t take responsibility for your performance. It was just something I said offhand.”

“That’s the problem—I can’t just ignore it. I tried singing it the way you suggested earlier… and damn it, it sounded good. Annoyingly good.”

Han Seon-ho now understood where Oh Hanbit’s frustration was coming from. It was a feeling he was all too familiar with.

The irritation that comes from wanting to do something but feeling anxious about it.

The frustration of wanting to trust something but lacking the justification for it.

I never expected my evaluation to cause something like this.

Honestly, he thought that if his evaluations were passed on to the artists, they would just resent him.

A rookie manager talking as if he knew anything—spouting nonsense and bringing bad luck.

During his hiring interview, Park Cha-myung had once said, “There’s no middle ground with celebrities.”

The more famous they get, the more they end up in isolated environments, making their personalities become more extreme.

And this extremity is often rooted in their innate nature—so the good ones become even better, while the bad ones become worse.

Oh Hanbit seemed to be one of the good ones.

Maybe it was because he wasn’t all that famous yet, but at his core, he seemed like a genuinely decent person.

That’s why he had listened so carefully to Han Seon-ho’s words.

But Han Seon-ho’s assumption was only half right.

Oh Hanbit was a good person, but he wasn’t mature enough to respect the advice of a rookie manager purely out of principle.

He was simply too young for that.

The reason he took Han Seon-ho’s advice so seriously was because the advice itself had incredible impact.

“Oh Hanbit.”

“Yeah?”

“I really don’t know much about rap. So you shouldn’t trust me.”

Oh Hanbit looked disappointed for a moment, but before he could react, Han Seonho continued.

“But what if you trust your own instincts—the ones that want to believe me?”

“My instincts?”

“Yeah, your instincts. That way, whether you succeed or fail, it’s entirely on you. No excuses. And if there are no excuses, there’s always something to gain.”

Oh Hanbit hesitated for a moment, then slowly nodded.

“I should think about it while practicing.”

“There’s not much time, so you should do it quickly.”

“By the way, how old are you? You’re older than me, right?”

“Huh?”

“I mean, it’d be weird if you were younger than me…”

Han Seon-ho, taken aback by the sudden change in topic, responded.

“I’m probably older than you. I’m twenty-five.”

“Three years apart, huh? That’s the cutoff.”

“The cutoff?”

“Yeah. If you’re three years older, that means you were in high school when I was in middle school, and in college when I was in high school. That makes it okay.”

“Okay for what?”

“It’d be weird if a middle schooler gave advice to another middle schooler, but a high schooler giving advice to a middle schooler is fine.”

“…?”

He’s a good person, but also kind of a strange one.

After exchanging a few more words, Han Seon-ho left the waiting room, saying he had things to do.

Watching him go, Oh Hanbit turned to his manager and asked,

“Hyung.”

“Yeah?”

“What’s that manager’s name?”

“I think it was Han Seon-ho?”

“Han Seon-ho… He’s with MOK, right?”

“Probably? He’s managing Cha Hye-mi, and she’s with MOK.”

Hearing his manager’s response, Oh Hanbit nodded.

Session 5. Tomorrow K-Star

• Tomorrow K-Star Season 3
• Live broadcasts begin from the Top 10 stage
• After each round, the two teams with the lowest combined scores are eliminated, with the next round featuring the Top 8
• Scores are calculated based on: Judges’ scores (30%), viewer text votes (60%), and online pre-voting (10%)

The final round rules were the same as in Season 2.

But there was one difference—this round was a collaboration stage with the Top 10 from Season 2.

Because of that, the usually inactive Tomorrow K-Star live chat had been lively even before the broadcast started.

Unfortunately, most of the active users were fans of Season 2 contestants.

– So, two teams will be eliminated today, and the remaining teams will perform again next week, right?

– Yeah, yeah. Until the third live round, it’s going to be a Season 2 and Season 3 collaboration format.

– This season must have been really unpopular. I mean, if they’re bringing in Season 2 contestants…

– It was ridiculously unpopular.

– I don’t know why, but I just couldn’t get into Season 3. There wasn’t even a single contestant I wanted to support.

– TKS is so boring now.

– But Mir-oppa will perform all three times, right?

– Of course. I’m not sure about the Top 3, but making it to the Top 10 is easy.

– But his partner is so unpopular that it might be risky.

– Why did Mir-oppa pair up with someone like Shin Wooyoung? He’s totally the worst. His face is decent, but he looks like a club rat.

– If Shin Wooyoung makes them lose, I’m gonna raid his fan café.

– Shin Wooyoung has a fan café? That’s hilarious.

– It doesn’t matter as long as we push the votes. The other contestants don’t have a well-organized fandom like us.

– Isn’t Goo Se-hee pretty popular too?

– Male fans don’t really vote, so we won’t lose in terms of firepower.

About 30% of the discussion board seemed to be filled with talk about Kang Mir.

That didn’t mean that everyone paying attention to him was a fan club member.

There were also plenty of people who were simply fans of Tomorrow K-Star Season 3.

– Who do you think will get eliminated today?

– Six people are safe, and four will be fighting for the two elimination spots.

– I think so too.

– Who are the four?

– Obvious. Ryu Hail, Shin Wooyoung, Ryu Chanyeol, Jung Su-rim.

– No way. That’s only if you consider Season 3 contestants. If you include the Season 2 contestants, things change.

– True. Shin Wooyoung is paired with Kang Mir, and Ryu Chanyeol is with Goo Se-hee. They literally can’t get eliminated even if they wanted to.

– Not sure about Ryu Chanyeol, but Shin Wooyoung is definitely safe. Even if he forgets all his lyrics, Kang Mir will drag him to the next round.

– Is Kang Mir that popular?

– Kang Mir’s fandom is practically a religion. It’s like future buddha worship levels of devotion. His fangirls are insane.

– So if Ryu Chanyeol and Shin Wooyoung survive because of their partners, then the ones getting eliminated are Jung Su-rim and Ryu Hail?

– But isn’t Jung Su-rim good at singing?

– She is, but she’s too much of a nervous wreck. She couldn’t even show her full potential during recorded broadcasts, so imagine how bad she’ll be in a live performance.

– Kinda makes me want to root for her…

– What’s Jung Su-rim’s partner, Cha Hye-mi, up to these days? Feels like I haven’t seen her since TKS ended.

– Cha Hye-mi is an amazing singer. Autumn Leaf is still in my playlist.

– She’s probably prepping an album at MOK. Aside from a few radio appearances, she’s been pretty quiet. But MOK has a solid composer lineup, so she’s in good hands.

– Looking forward to Jung Su-rim and Cha Hye-mi’s stage. Both of them are great singers.

– But they’re nowhere near the whole girl crush, badass unnie vibe, so getting votes might be tough.

As various opinions flew back and forth on the live discussion boards, Tomorrow K-Star Season 3’s live broadcast stage finally began.

From the moment the audience started entering, the MBN Hall in Ilsan was already shaking with excitement.

The venue could hold up to 3,000 people, but for ease of filming, the entire second floor had been cleared.

That meant today’s live broadcast audience was limited to 1,200 people.

1,200— a lot or a little, depending on how you looked at it.

In reality, the audience couldn’t directly influence the voting results.

Since there were no audience scores, the only way to support a contestant was through real-time text voting.

But that didn’t mean they were just background noise.

After all, the judges were human too.

If they were planning to give 80 points but felt the audience’s overwhelming enthusiasm, they might unconsciously bump it up to 85.

So while their influence wasn’t direct, the audience was still a crucial part of the competition.

Once the audience had fully settled in, the countdown began through the staff’s in-ears.

30 seconds to broadcast!

20 seconds!

10 seconds!

The moment the countdown hit zero, fireworks exploded on stage, signalling the beginning of the show.

– Oh, it’s starting.

– Can Song Hanmin stop explaining the voting method already? It’s so annoying.

– The VTR is playing now.

– First up is Ryu Hail and Oh Hanbit.

– Ryu Hail has a unique tone and rhythm, but his delivery is weak.

– When I listen to him, I feel like I’m hearing a melody rather than a song.

– Damn, the expert is here again.

– Do you think Ryu Hail and Oh Hanbit will match well?

– Feels like they wouldn’t.

– R&B vocalists and rappers usually go well together.

– They’re both part of Black music genres.

– Damn, expert mode activated again.

– Ryu Hail kinda looks gay.

– Even the accessories he wears feel that way.

– Bet Ryu Hail just wants to see Oh Hanbit appear.

– Let him appear already!

– Y’all are nuts.

– I just want Mir-oppa to come out soon.

– If you’re a Kang Mir fan, go to the threads dedicated to him instead of muddying up this one.

– I am a Kang Mir fan, but I’ve been watching TKS from the start.

– What’s your problem?

– My problem? You, picking fights over Kang Mir.

As new viewers kept flowing in, various arguments broke out, but the production team of Tomorrow K-Star welcomed the chaos.

“PD-nim, the real-time discussion board traffic is through the roof.”

“Not just the MBN board—this is trending everywhere. SNS is blowing up too.”

“What’s the current live viewership?”

“Prime time ad slot right before the show hit 9.5%. The final tally isn’t in yet, but we’re definitely breaking double digits.”

“If we can just keep today’s new viewers hooked, we’ll at least save face.”

“Saving face isn’t enough if we want a Season 4. We need to fan the flames. Luckily, we’ve got just the thing.”

Right as the main PD said that, Ryu Hail and Oh Hanbit’s VTR ended, and their profile pictures from the Bay Studio photoshoot appeared in succession.

And with that, the first performance began.

Jang Soohyuk, Moon Jungkook, Chaemi.

The three judges who had been leading Tomorrow K-Star since Season 1.

Each had a strong, distinct perspective on judging.

Sometimes, they fiercely clashed over the same performance, while other times, they praised it in completely different ways.

This dynamic created a unique chemistry among the judges, making viewers nod along in agreement.

Chaemi, a first-generation girl group idol, focused on a singer’s emotional state and emotional delivery.

Moon Jungkook, a former dancer, emphasized stage performance and star quality.

Jang Soohyuk, a popular 90s dance singer, valued a performer’s raw essence and talent.

Despite their different judging criteria, the one most feared for his sharp critiques was Jang Soohyuk.

TL : Honestly, I’ve never watched this type of TV show, but I understand it a little better now.