The Road We Walk On

87 | Competition (3)

Michael Paul Hall, Juilliard School

With everything settled, So Hyun realised she had 2 minutes before the start, she quickly ran into the Hall and spotted George and the rest. She sat down next to George, trying to catch her breath. Hey, you were running late.

Not exactly but I will explain later during intermission. George nodded and focused back onto the stage. Today's competition consisted of 2 parts - male and then female students. The first section was going to be short as the ratio of male to female voice students was almost 2:1. So there were 6 male voice students, so the first session would only last about an hour or so. The rules for the Voice category were fairly straightforward - students were given a time limit of 7-8 minutes to perform a piece. They could choose any genre as long as it was arranged into a more classical style and of course using classical technique. Ryo was the 4th person to perform.

About 20 minutes later, it was Ryo's turn. He walked up on stage, bowed to the audience before taking his position in front of the microphone. Ryo started to sit, he began to sing and his low but warm voice filled the hall. Despite Ryo's skinny size, his voice had power and strength. Ryo control of the notes and the changing tempos throughout the song was really tight. When he had finished, the audience clapped and cheered. Ryo let out a soft smile and bowed and thanked before exiting the stage.

You know if you look at Ryo, you wouldn't see him as a classical singer right?

Haha, true, but hey looks can be deceiving. He was really good. Definitely the best so far right?

Agreed, Seungho.

In another 15 minutes the last of the male performances had finished. There would be a quick break for lunch then the competition would continue. Seokhoon initially wanted to go backstage to see Rona but decided not to distract her. So Hyun was busy looking around the audience and then she spotted Gabbie, looking like she was here as well. The gang exited the Hall and went to the nearest cafeteria to have lunch. While eating, George asked So Hyun again what happened before she arrived.

So Hyun recounted what had happened, and before she could even finish Seokhoon stood up. Seungho immediately reacted and held Seokhoon's shoulder down. Seokhoon, calm, calm down. There is no point in you going of half-cock right now.

She tried to sabotage Rona, it is one thing to frame her but to attack her vocal cords?!

Seokhoon calm, I have already given the evidence to Prof Clark. I can assure you that he was unsure whether Gabbie was really the victim, that is certainly not the case anymore. The university won't tolerate such actions, she will be punished. Right now Rona is being watched over by Steph and Yoo Jung, she will be fine. Steph is making sure that Rona is drinking water that they bought or they personally got themselves. Gabbie has already lost her window of opportunity to try it again.

Seokhoon sat back down, So Hyun was right. Rona was safe and it would do him no good to go off all angry Seokhoon. He calmed himself down, and focused on the task at hand.

Relax Seokhoon, So Hyun is right. Gabbie has dug herself her own grave, the only thing that the board won't stand for is doing harm onto another. We already submitted our evidence of Gabbie bullying other students as well as our statements. The board will have to act soon, they probably will wait till after the competition to actually do something so for now be patient.

Yeah Seokhoon, George is right. She will get her punishment. Seungho patted Seokhoon's back and continued to hold onto his shoulder just in case. Soon the 30 minutes were up and the gang headed back to the Hall. It was now the females, all together there were 21 female students. Stephanie was the first to perform from the group; she was the 6th person to perform, followed by Yoo Jung who was the 15th and then Rona who was 20th.

25 minutes later it was Steph's turn. She walked onto the stage, her body radiating with confidence. She did a small bow to the audience before taking position. As the music came on, Stephaine's body moved with the music as well. As she sang, she mirrored her expression with the lyrics - really acting out the song.

Steph is good. George whispered.

Yup, she has always been very confident and aware of herself as a performer. One thing that is good is that the bubbliness you see from her privately translates itself on stage really well. So Hyun added on. She had seen Steph since she was 14, her confidence is one of the reasons why she was a captivating singer. The song had ended, and the crowd cheered.

An hour went by and next it was Yoo Jung's turn. She walked onto the stage, she did a small curtsy. After a quiet second, the music came on. She had chosen a German opera song to sing, even though Yoo Jung's German diction was not the best. She had been working really hard for the past 3 weeks to improve that. Now she sang each word with confidence and with clarity. This song was a much faster tempo which required a much stronger breath control. Yoo Jung was able to control it really well. It was clear that she was enjoying herself on stage very much.

After she had finished, the audience applauded her. It was refreshing to have a more upbeat piece performed at the competition, and so her performance was indeed memorable. Another 4 people performed and now it was Rona's turn. Seokhoon was getting more and more nervous by the minute even though he knew Rona had much experience singing live, he still could not help but worry.

Seungho nudged him lightly. Relax, she would do amazing. Seokhoon let out a small smile and then Rona came onto the stage. She carried herself gracefully and poised. She bowed in different directions to the audience before taking her position.

Rona began to sing, and her voice completely filled up the Hall. Her voice was so soft but yet powerful at the right places. When she hit the high notes it was almost effortless, the control in which she had. As Rona continued singing, Seokhoon's smile became wider and wider. He had flashbacks of their time in Chungah, and seeing her singing on the stage. Back then, she was somewhat naive yet talented. Now she has really blossomed into a budding star.

The moment she ended, the audience erupted with loud cheers. Rona even received standing ovations from the crowd. Rona couldn't see it but the special panel of judges were giving her their loudest clap so far. The judging panel for today's competition was as equally star studded as previous days. There was a good mixture of female singers and males, alongside one Professor from the Voice major. After Rona, there was only one more performer left.

Note: Yeah the recent chapters have been long. oh my back aches