Chapter 302: He’s Exactly Who He Thinks He Is (1)
"I’m happy to see that Emily was able to convince you to come back on board." PD Ji-ho smiled as he led Jelissa to the area where the surprise evaluations would be held.
"I certainly didn’t come back for you all. I came back for the kids." Jelissa replied bitterly.
Although she was a bit jetlagged and honestly a bit disgusted at the fact that she came back, the silver lining to the situation was that she got to meet the kids that she had mentored for so long.
The bitter taste in her mouth when she was forced to leave now had a bit of sweetness, and now that she was back, she hoped to provide a safe space for these contestants and see things through to the end.
Because the producers certainly weren’t going to do so.
All they cared about was pursuing entertainment, viewership ratings, and pushing whatever agenda aligned the most with their morals.
From Emily, who she considered a friend, to PD Ji-ho.
They were all the same.
"Regardless of why you came, it’s good that you’re here. As long as you don’t cross the line again, I think we can pursue a lovely working relationship that will last for a long time."
Not pleased with the PD’s cocky tone, Jelissa decided to give him a word of advice, straight from her heart.
"I told Emily this, and I’ll say the same thing to you. What’s done in the dark will always be brought to light, and the more you try to suppress something, the more light you bring to it and the brighter it’s going to shine. Sooner than later, it will explode beyond your control, so I hope your hands are clean and your conscience is clear as we finish up the show."
"I’m not sure what you’re insinuating, but I can assure you that I have things well under control. The leak mishaps that happened in America won’t happen here because the staff is personally handpicked by me, and nothing is being done in the dark. In fact, the exact opposite is happening as the true character of some contestants is being exposed, which will help the audience make a decision."
Additionally, the contestant he was targeting had no backing, and despite his budding closeness with contestants with influential parents, and Emily’s worry that he was secretly being backed by Martin and other industry players, PD Ji-ho just thought he was a reckless boy with too much ego who had let the little whiff of popularity he got get to his head.
While he had the looks and talents to make it in the entertainment industry, unfortunately for him, he had offended the wrong person and would soon find out who really ran the show.
"I’m not here to argue the point, I just thought I would share my thoughts with the hope that you would try and foster a safe and welcoming environment for the contestants," Jelissa replied with a polite smile.
"That’s what I aim to do. And of course on your part, I hope there won’t be any...unpleasantness like the last time."
"Unpleasantness being William lip-syncing or me trying to expose it?" Jelissa asked bluntly.
"Whatever you think the unpleasantness is. Let’s keep the peace and stick to our assigned roles."
Seeing that this was a pointless conversation, the rest of the walk was silent, and as Jelissa entered the large room, which had the familiar faces of the judges sitting at one table and contestants on the other side.
Even at first glance, a clear divide was evident between the contestants. She noticed William and those she assumed were his teammates sitting to one side while the other 24 contestants sat away from them.
As usual, William had a smug smile while staring over at a boy sitting at the very front of the larger group who was paying him no mind whatsoever.
Turning to follow his gaze, Jelissa saw a familiar green-eyed boy, dressed in shorts and a T-shirt instead of the usual animal-hood tracksuit that he had worn since the show began.
It was almost as jarring as seeing him with bright red hair now, and she wondered what brought on the change.
As their eyes locked, the smile on Jelissa’s face froze, and she couldn’t help but gasp as she took a second look at him.
Ari’s slim legs were completely mottled from the horrible circular bruises that were a dark purple mixed with green.
His arms weren’t any better as they were covered in thin rectangular bruises that seemed to be visibly darkening as she stared at him.
While Jelissa wanted to march over and ask what was wrong and begin scolding the PD for carelessness, Ari, along with Jamie, who was next to him, waved and smiled at her, the joy in their faces apparent.
"Please take a seat, and we’ll get started with the evaluations."
Biting back the words she wanted to say, Jelissa took her seat between Larry Jackson and Kim Young-woo.
Since Selena had a scheduling conflict, it would be three of them, along with X-ponent and Jaywalks, who would be evaluating the contestants today.
"Hello~. Glad to have you back. It’s been a total sausage party here." Larry Jackson commented, and Jelissa had to do her best not to roll her eyes at the crude joke.
"Good to be back."
Picking up the papers that listed the contestant names, songs, and categories they wanted to perform in, as well as the grading criteria, she scanned through the song choices.
When she came to a particular name, she snorted with laughter, causing the slightly dark atmosphere around her to dissipate.
"What’s so funny?" Larry Jackson asked curiously.
He wanted in on the joke, too, and wanted to use the opportunity to get closer to Jelissa, considering she was the only English-speaking female face he had seen in a while.
Additionally, he was glad because it meant that he would no longer have to be the sole vocal coach and deal with annoying contestants who were critical and dissatisfied with his teaching style.
Of course, one particular contestant had never set a single foot into the vocal room with him, but that was neither here nor there.
"Have you listened to the songs that Ari chose?"
"Oh. Him." Larry had a bitter face as he replied, "Of course not. That troublemaker is definitely on his way out, so why bother? Plus, when I saw that it’s by a French duo I’ve never heard of before, I lost interest. As for the rap song, that’s more of X-ponent’s field than mine, so I didn’t bother checking it out. Why? Is he being arrogant and choosing songs he can’t perform? Or are they just trashy songs?"
"Quite the opposite. I think they’re great songs, and the messaging in them is quite...pointed. I am a bit concerned about him rapping, but that’s his choice, and I think Contestant Ari is not stupid. He knows his own capabilities, and he’ll do well like he always has."
"You’re overestimating him too much." Larry Jackson grumbled, and Jelissa shook her head.
"I’m not. He’s always delivered excellent vocals on a variety of songs, and I’m sure he’ll do so today. You, on the other hand, need to expand your music palette a bit more and listen to songs outside of your genre! That’s how you grow as a musician!"
Jelissa smacked his arm in irritation, but Larry Jackson only shrugged.
"I’ll leave that to you music nerds. I’m satisfied with what I listen to and what I create, and so are my fans. I know secretly, you are too."
Am I, though?
Your last single release was a flop, and your fans complained that it sounded dated and recycled.
Sonically, I think it was your worst project, but what do I know?
Not wanting to seem like she was lecturing him, Jelissa simply smiled softly, causing Larry Jackson to laugh.
"Chk chk boom. I’m still as charming as usual, and the ladies still love me. Alright, brats, let’s get started. We’ll be going in alphabetical order, starting with vocals. Vishal Agarwal, you’re up first."
With a slightly nervous expression, a handsome Indian boy pushed his glasses up his face as he stepped forward.
"Hello, yes, I’ll be performing Some Nights by the band F.U.N Group."
"Understood. Whenever you’re ready, please go ahead." Jelissa tried to catch Vishal’s eyes to communicate that he should calm down and take a deep breath, but it seemed that he was really in his own head.
After missing the music cue and having to get it restarted twice, Vishal began singing the song that he thought would fit his voice best and represented the conflicted state of mind he had right now.
Some nights, I stay up thinking about my bad luck,
Some nights, I celebrate that luck,
Some nights, I wish that my voice could reach the blue sky
Some nights, I wish it would die off,
But I still wake up, my dreams are like a ghost,
Oh Lord, I’m still not sure what I stand for,
What do I stand for?
Most nights, I don’t know anymore~
This is it, boys, this is war,
What are we waiting for?,
Why don’t we break the rules already?
I was never one to believe the hype,
Save that for the very last night,
Try twice as hard, and I’m half as liked,
But here they come again to jack the limelight,
But that’s alright,
I vow to do my best tonight,
Try my hardest without wondering why, why, why~
What do I stand for?
Most nights, I don’t know anymore~
******
As names were called and each person who was getting evaluated vocally stepped up, Ari tapped his feet in time as Jamie sang the song he had chosen.
"Thank you, contestant Jamie, please have a seat. Contestant Ariel Matisse. Please come up."
High-fiving Jamie as they passed each other, Ari stood in front of the judges’ table, on the black tape mark on the ground.
"Hello, I’m Ariel. I’ll be performing Titanium by Davide and Isabelle. Please look forward to it."
Giving PD Ji-ho a pointed smile, Ari began to sing.