“Then, Ha-eun will—”
“Instructor.”
“Instructor, are you the one teaching all four of us?”
Lee Yena asked the question while looking at Ha-eun with a mixture of curiosity about the cover song project and interest in the singer Pinocchio. The rest of the Fantasy Horizon members mirrored Lee Yena’s expression, alternating their gazes between Ha-eun and Ji Hye-min.
Ji Hye-min’s response to the Fantasy Horizon members came immediately afterward.
“Once everyone has decided on their cover songs, we’ll register you at a vocal academy for lessons. Ha-eun will only handle occasional confirmations.”
No matter how talented Ha-eun was, teaching all the Fantasy Horizon members herself was realistically impossible. Ha-eun’s schedule wasn’t exactly open, either.
However, the chance to teach singing to people she had admired for so long was an incredibly rare opportunity for Ha-eun. She planned to dedicate every bit of her limited free time to vocal training for the Fantasy Horizon members.
After all, Ha-eun had spent over a decade taking singing lessons from Doubly. If she could condense and share the essence of those countless lessons with the members, the result would undoubtedly be beautiful and well-received cover songs.
With the introduction of the special vocal trainer for Fantasy Horizon’s first cover song project complete, it was now time for the members to choose the songs they wanted to cover from the prepared list.
“You don’t have to pick only from this list. If there’s a song you’ve always wanted to cover personally, don’t hesitate to speak up.”
What followed was a session of music appreciation. Songs prepared by LUX, along with tracks that the Fantasy Horizon members had personally considered, played one by one in the spacious meeting room.
Ha-eun, who had already chosen Diah’s cover song a long time ago, silently watched the other members as they selected their songs.
However—
“This one’s mine!”
“Oh? You like Youthful Adolescence too, unnie?”
After extensive discussion among the Fantasy Horizon members, the cover songs they decided on turned out to be the exact same tracks Ha-eun had heard in her previous life. Even the members assigned to sing them matched her memories perfectly.
“What do you think, Ha-eun? Oh, I mean, Instructor, what’s your opinion?”
“It seems good. It matches well with your virtual avatars’ images, too.”
When asked about their choices for cover songs, Ha-eun replied confidently, saying they would perform well. After all, she had already heard the results many times before.
‘I can’t wait.’
Ha-eun was completely confident that this cover song project would succeed. She believed the preparation would proceed without any significant issues.
The suggestion to assess the current singing abilities of the Fantasy Horizon members came from Ji Hye-min soon afterward.
“We need to know where everyone stands so we can decide how to tailor the vocal lessons. Come on, everyone, follow me.”
About ten minutes later, they arrived at a self-service karaoke room near the LUX headquarters. The group headed to a spacious party room, and the Fantasy Horizon members, along with Ji Hye-min, began settling onto the soft leather sofas one by one.
Strictly speaking, Ha-eun wasn’t unfamiliar with karaoke, having visited similar places with her family during childhood. However, the people now sitting around her were none other than those she had admired deeply in her past life.
“Ugh, this feels like going to karaoke with actual professional singers....”
“...You’re the only actual professional singer here, though.”
The sheer dreamlike nature of the scene made Ha-eun’s heart race faster. She was so caught up in her fangirl admiration for Fantasy Horizon that she barely registered Lee Yena’s puzzled comment from beside her.
Not long after, it was time for the Fantasy Horizon members to begin singing. By this point, Ha-eun found herself slightly dazed, silently enjoying their performances.
To put it bluntly, none of the songs were perfect or flawless, but the slight imperfections didn’t bother Ha-eun in the slightest.
Time passed as Ha-eun indulged in what she perceived as an auditory feast—at least from her perspective. Then, it was finally Lee Yena’s turn to sing the cover song that had been one of Ha-eun’s favorites in her past life.
｢♪─↗─♬↘─!!｣
‘...Wait. This isn’t... right?’
What reached Ha-eun’s ears was a bizarre, off-putting sound. While the rhythm was somewhat accurate, the notes themselves—
｢♩↗↗─↗｣
—were completely out of tune. It was as if the word "tone-deaf" had materialized in front of her.
‘No... this can’t be happening...!’
Unlike before, when she had simply been an observer, Ha-eun now displayed a visibly panicked expression. Lee Yena’s singing surpassed what she could tolerate as minor flaws and landed squarely in the realm of true tone-deafness.
“So, how was it?”
Labored breaths. Beads of sweat rolling down her forehead. A slightly flushed face.
It was clear that Lee Yena had given it her all. The problem was that effort was the only positive aspect of her performance.
While the rest of the group hesitated, unsure whether to tell the harsh truth, Ha-eun, who had already despaired silently countless times, finally made a decision.
“Unnie, I’ll personally take charge of your training. No matter what, I’ll turn that voice into something... human.”
Her biting, brutally honest critique hit Lee Yena like a hammer. Shocked by the fiery determination in Ha-eun’s eyes, Lee Yena slumped onto the leather sofa.
“Am I... really that bad, Manager?”
After receiving confirmation from Ji Hye-min, Lee Yena buried her head on the table, her ears turning bright red.
Moments later, however, she lifted her head, drawn by an entirely different voice—clear, rich, and profoundly captivating.
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｢♪♬──♪──｣
The source of the sound was none other than Ha-eun, holding a simple handheld microphone. Without any dramatic movements, she began to sing, radiating an aura that commanded attention.
｢──♬──♪♪♬─｣
Her stable breath control, seamless transitions between head voice and chest voice, and her signature pure and crystalline tone captivated everyone in the room.
‘Wow... professional singers really are on another level.’
‘She shouldn’t even be doing covers—she should just release an album.’
‘Ha-eun is seriously a cheat character.’
Even though the Fantasy Horizon members already knew Ha-eun was the singer Pinocchio, witnessing her perform live left an impression far more powerful than they had expected.
However, Ha-eun herself was more nervous than she had been during the live finale of SIT ON THE MONEY. Performing in front of the Fantasy Horizon members was far more nerve-wracking than singing for a packed audience.
After finishing her song, Ha-eun hesitated before cautiously asking, “How was it?”
“Wow~! A professional singer bullying us amateurs!”
“What are us regular people supposed to do with our lives after hearing that?”
“It felt like... this is what a live performance by a real artist is supposed to sound like.”
Their candid praise made Ha-eun blush. However, Jung Maria soon voiced a concern.
“Hey, Ha-eun. When your cover song comes out, won’t people figure out that Diah is Pinocchio? You know, Lee Ha-eun?”
It was a valid concern. Pinocchio’s voice and tone were so unique that hiding her identity would indeed be a challenge.
However, Ha-eun had prepared for this. Though not yet perfect, she had been refining her ability to sing in Diah’s voice.
“That performance was as your vocal coach.”
For the first time, Ha-eun performed in Diah’s voice for someone other than Doubly.
When she finished, she turned back cautiously and asked, “How was it? Doesn’t it sound different enough?”
“...Well, it does sound different, but....”
“...Pfft.”
“You sang well. Really well, but... hmm....”
Confused by the mixed reactions, Ha-eun tilted her head.
“It’s fine, Ha-eun. Diah’s just a one-year-old baby, right? Cute covers suit her perfectly.”
Realizing how her performance must have sounded, Ha-eun dropped her head onto the table, her ears bright red.
From that moment on, she swore to never sing in Diah’s voice in front of the Fantasy Horizon members again.
***
“Ha-eun, while you’re great at singing, you’re still not skilled enough at composing songs. You’ll need a team.”
This conversation took place about three days after the Fantasy Horizon cover song project meeting. Now, with the recording of the Infinite Challenge Music Festival looming just around the corner, Lee Joon was taking Ha-eun somewhere.
The destination was a sleek, sophisticated private studio. Everything inside, from the studio’s layout to the brand-new sound equipment, exuded modernity and quality.
“Ah, it’s been a while, Ha-eun. How have you been?”
Sitting inside the studio was none other than Hwang Ji-hyuk, the rapper and winner of SIT ON THE MONEY, with whom Ha-eun had shared the stage several months ago.
After briefly shaking hands with Ji-hyuk, Ha-eun was informed of the latest news.
“This time, Ji-hyuk will be producing for you during the festival.”
“What about you?”
“I’m not a guest this time; I’m one of the regular members. I’ll be teaming up with a different guest, so I won’t be able to focus on you this time.”
Lee Joon reassured her that since she had already worked with Ji-hyuk once, they would have no trouble collaborating again. Around this time, Ha-eun also noticed the intense determination radiating from Ji-hyuk toward her.
“This time, you’re not just a featuring artist but the main star of the festival. I’ll make sure to create a song that perfectly suits you.”
Hwang Ji-hyuk expressed his desire to repay the debt he felt he owed Ha-eun for helping him secure victory in SIT ON THE MONEY.
Strictly speaking, it hadn’t yet been decided which of the Infinite Challenge regular members Ha-eun would be teaming up with.
However, one thing was certain: Pinocchio, the singer, would be the star of the upcoming Infinite Challenge Music Festival stage.
“I swear on my grandfather’s honor! I’ll make it happen!”
“T-that’s really not necessary. Seriously.”
Ji-hyuk’s resolve to make Ha-eun the star of the stage was unwavering.