"But it's only until right before puberty hits. Once puberty comes, it's really hard for a girl to produce a man's voice. To the point where you'd say it's almost impossible. Vocal cords are thin and short, so it's a voice centered on high notes too."
"Then what should I do if I've been using a man's vocalization all this time?"
"But that's strange too. If I really think about it, the fact that you have a low voice and it suddenly got rough after puberty, this is literally the only reason. But you're not even a guy, so is there any reason you would have consistently used that kind of vocalization? I first saw you when you were 11, so that means you've been using that kind of vocalization since then, not just your tone."
It's because I was a man in my previous life...
"Actually, when I was young, I used to copy my dad's voice so much..."
Teacher Kwon's face grew serious.
"Since when?"
Hmm...
"Since birth...?"
Teacher Kwon, who had gotten up from her seat, grabbed my arm and pulled me up.
"Let's go to the hospital first to get your vocal cords checked."
"Huh...?"
Am I screwed...?
***
The place I arrived at following Teacher Kwon was a vocal cord specialty hospital that even famous singers visit.
After explaining the situation to the doctor, I underwent several tests prior to the examination on the doctor's recommendation.
When the tests ended and I entered the examination room again, the doctor was carefully looking at a photo of my vocal cords.
I was worried that there might really be a problem.
Teacher Kwon asked the doctor.
"Is there a problem by any chance...?"
"You said you're the guardian and a vocal trainer, correct?"
"Yes."
"As a vocal trainer, you would know that it's not easy for a woman to produce low notes. So even if she practices low notes, it's ideal to practice only 30 minutes a day..."
The doctor looked at me and asked.
"You said you've consistently produced low notes since you were young, correct?"
"Yes..."
"If you excessively produce low vocalizations for more than 30 minutes like that, due to incorrect vocalization methods, normally the vocal cords get injured and thicken, losing their original tone, right?"
The doctor said in a positive tone, as if puzzled.
"It's normal to lose your original tone as that vicious cycle repeats..."
"Looking at your vocal cord photo now, there's no abnormality. This means you practiced low notes with the correct vocalization method from the beginning... My, even I've never seen such a case."
"Ah, so does that mean there's no problem at all?"
"Yes, it seems the vocalization problem you have now is a sense of disconnect caused by vocal cord changes before and after puberty, so I believe you only need to correct your vocalization method."
Ah, thank goodness.
The doctor had such a serious expression at first that I was surprised...
"Thank you!"
"You don't need to thank me. You're a singer too, aren't you? Make sure to take care of yourself so this doesn't happen again."
"Yes! Thank you!"
***
The time remaining until the second filming after the prologue aired was exactly two weeks.
What had to be done during that time was correcting the man's vocalization method that had been used for 14 years.
Of course, since it was a vocalization that had been maintained for that long, it wasn't easily corrected.
"Dohee, try producing a falsetto while exhaling without straining."
"Yes."
As I constricted my throat and produced a falsetto, Teacher Kwon said.
"From there, use your inhalation to get the feeling of thinning out your vocal cords."
"Like this?"
"No... Hmm... Just try speaking comfortably in falsetto."
"Yes."
"From there, pull your chin in a bit and speak comfortably."
"Ah, ah."
"Oh. It's coming out a bit."
"Oh, really?"
"It loosened again. Try again consciously. It's the feeling of raising your throat."
"Ah, ah, aaaaah."
Like that, about a week was spent repeating.
Now even when speaking normally, my tone had gotten higher.
"Oh... How is it?"
I, who had been low-toned for a girl.
Now I was speaking in a somewhat normal tone.
If I had to nitpick, about 3 keys higher than before puberty?
Come to think of it, that's 6 keys, so it was almost an octave.
"It's not bad, but it's still unnatural."
"Ah, ah. Ah. I think it's fine."
"Yeah, it is getting better. Your vocal cords are normal to begin with, so it'd be strange if it didn't get better. You just need to correct your vocalization and get used to it."
"'Kay."
Of course, the problem wasn't my normal speaking voice.
What I needed right now was correcting my vocalization when singing.
Fixing the rough tone that kept popping out when I sang wasn't an easy task.
But if I tried to be conscious of the tone, my fundamentals got shaky.
For now, I was gradually getting used to it while correcting my normal speaking voice, but it still felt difficult to fix my vocalization while singing.
It seemed it would take some time.
However, the good thing about correcting my normal speaking voice was that my throat felt somewhat comfortable, you could say.
A feeling of not getting tired easily?
I think I've improved a lot just from that.
If there's an additional good point, it's that now I can hit high notes while handling low notes too?
Of course, this was when my vocalization improved, but my vocal range had widened, so it was definitely a good thing.
***
June 2nd.
The day the stage for Jjeodol Season 3 Ep. 0 "Crush" aired on Mpulse.
The day of my and our screen debut.
Seoyoon, Naeun unni, and me.
The three of us gathered at the original debut team dorm.
Chiyo unni and Ua unni said they had no choice but to watch from the company because of practice.
We ordered chicken and sat in front of the TV, but I was the only one eating chicken.
Seoyoon unni was stomping her feet and pacing back and forth across the floor, while Naeun unni was sitting still on the sofa, staring intently at the TV.
"Aren't you eating chicken?"
"Can you even get chicken in your mouth right now? Wow, I'm literally shaking."
"Me, not nervous even at this moment. This is what being the center is."
"Seoyoon, sit down. You're so restless."
"Restless?"
"Maybe it's because Seoyoon unni's hometown is Busan?"
"Dohee, stop being weird."
"'Kay~"
[Mpulse with the live broadcast. Real-time voting will close soon, so please hurry and vote quickly~]
After the previous idol's stage ended, the screen returned to the three idol MCs standing there.
[You two! What did you think of the refreshing Posix's stage?]
[It's still early summer, but if I'm with this song, I think I can spend this summer refreshingly too~]
[Wow~ but there's an amazing program waiting to make our summer even more refreshing?]
I put down the chicken and climbed onto the sofa.
Seoyoon unni, who had been stomping her feet, had already seated herself firmly on the sofa by then.
Naeun and Seoyoon unni were both looking at the screen without making a sound.
Sigh~ newbies.
"Ha~ If you get nervous over something like this, how can you be an idol?"
"Be quiet for a bit."
"Right, Dohee."
Hmph...
[The just choose your idol that everyone has missed! Wow!]
[Huh? Jjeodol? Really!?]
[Yes, that's right! Jjeodol, which left Chusers disappointed when it ended with Season 2, has returned anew and even more splendidly in Season 3!]
[Heok! Even more splendidly!?]
[Yes, you're really curious, right!? Jjeodol Season 3, even more splendid! The stage of 99 beautiful girls! It starts now!]
[Music Start!] [Music Start!] [Music Start!]
After the idol MCs finished speaking, the screen showed a stage where a white star's silhouette was visible in the sky.
The camera zoomed in from top to bottom, and MC Jin Taeseop appeared in the center of the white star under white light.
[Hello Chusers. I am Jin Taeseop, who has taken on the role of MC for Jjeodol Season 3.]
For some reason, a thrill ran through my entire body at the MC's solemn atmosphere and tone.
Seoyoon and Naeun unni held each other's hands tightly, perhaps because they were nervous.
I also reached out and held Naeun unni's hand.
Actually, I'm nervous too...
[On behalf of the production team, I would like to say a few words to the Chusers.]
[The many, many controversies surrounding Seasons 1 and 2. I know you Chusers must have many worries and concerns.]
[But as this is a new beginning, in order to give Chusers our trust, we have collaborated with Netflix, the world's number one OTT company.]
[We will be broadcasting simultaneously on Mwave and Netflix.]
It was a story that had been briefly explained to us before filming as well.
Since whether there was manipulation or not would greatly affect the ratings, they had said they would advertise this starting from the prologue stage.
[Voting too! Through Netflix's live streaming technology, it will take place in real-time on Netflix!]
[Therefore, a fairer and more transparent voting process than ever will take place, so we ask for your active participation through Netflix, Chusers!]
And Jin Taeseop bowed deeply at 90 degrees.
The camera zoomed out from Jin Taeseop again.
[Right now, 99 girls are waiting for your choice, Chusers.]
[Just choose your idol! Jjeodol starts now!]
The zoomed-out stage went dark as the lights turned off.
The heart-fluttering intro of the title song "Crush" played.
In the darkened stage, purple lights gathered one by one.
The purple lights gathered toward the center and instantly transformed into white.
The silhouettes of 15 girls appeared like fog within the white lights.
On the triangular stage in the dead center, first-tier trainees including me had come up.
"I'm so nervous."
Even though I was sitting still, my body was already sweating and a laugh slipped out.
Naeun unni, whose hand I was holding, also seemed to share the same feeling, her hand already damp.
As the intro built up, starting from the back row of silhouettes, hands began reaching toward the sky.
The fourth row.
The third row.
The second row.
And finally, the very front row where I stood alone.
As I reached out my hand, white light illuminated the entire stage and the camera zoomed in on me.
My face smiling brightly.
I really couldn't hold it in.
To express the thrill running through my entire body at this moment, I didn't think I could express it with any word but this one.
"Fuck, you're so pretty."