Chapter 2
Before Noah could understand what was happening, the young girl grabbed her arm and pulled her up.
“You’re doing it again. Here’s the lyrics. Memorize it in 10 seconds.”
“What?”
How could anyone memorize lyrics in just 10 seconds?
Noah was about to yell at her for saying something so ridiculous. But then she looked at the sheet music the girl gave her and froze.
Wait… why does this song feel familiar?
“Never mind. Just read it while you sing. You’ll fail the audition anyway.”
Audition? Was that what this “stage” was?
Noah was too shocked to think clearly and just followed the girl into a room.
It looked like a practice room. One wall was covered with mirrors. In the middle, there were instruments: drums, bass, guitar, keyboard, and a standing mic.
In front of the mirror, there was a camera and a few adults sitting in a row, watching.
Nothing made sense to Noah—but what confused her the most were the judges.
Usually, at auditions in the U.S., you hardly see any Asian judges. But these were all Asian. Korean, from the looks of it.
And then Noah looked into the mirror behind the judges…
And her mouth dropped open.
“Who is that?”
In the mirror, she saw the young girl who brought her here… and another girl about the same age.
That girl was her.
Noah moved her hand slightly. The girl in the mirror did the same.
“That’s… me?”
Noah couldn’t believe it.
She used to have platinum blonde hair, a sharp look, and a tall body—about 175cm. People often said she looked like a starving wild animal. Thin, but never weak.
But the girl in the mirror looked small, fragile, and delicate. She wasn’t exactly short—maybe around 165cm—but she looked nothing like the old Noah.
She looked like a K-pop idol.
Noah felt weird just thinking it. She knew about K-pop, of course. It was music from her own country. But she never liked it. Rock and K-pop didn’t go together—at least not in her mind.
“Please introduce yourselves briefly, including your position in the band.”
One of the judges spoke to them.
“Yes. We don’t have a band name yet. I’m Sung Eun-ha. I play drums and do sub vocals.”
Drums?!
Noah looked at the girl’s thin arms. How could she play drums with those?
“And… this is Seol Noah. She’s a bit shy. She’s our guitarist and main vocal.”
Seol Noah?
Hearing that surname made Noah feel cold inside. It was the last name she had thrown away. But here, in this dream, it came back.
What kind of dream was this?
She gave a small, bitter laugh. Even in my dreams, I’m still a rock band vocalist and guitarist?
Couldn’t she just have a normal dream?
Then one judge asked, “You prepared an original song?”
Oh, was that the song she saw on the paper?
…Wait, did that kid write the song?
Noah looked at Eun-ha again. So young… but maybe she has talent. Though not nearly as much as Noah, of course.
“Yes, Noah wrote both the music and the lyrics.”
“?!”
Oh… even in this dream, she was the songwriter.
In her real band, Arkless, Noah had written over 70% of their songs.
Can’t someone else do the work for once? Noah thought, annoyed, as she picked up the guitar.
“The title is ‘Chill Out’. Means ‘Relax’, right?”
“Yes.”
Wait a second… that’s one of her real songs! She had written it years ago. It was so long ago, she almost didn’t recognize it.
But now they were calling it an original song?
This is a copy of my song! They’re pretending it’s theirs!
Noah rolled her eyes and started playing the chords from memory.
“Okay, let’s hear it,” the judge said.
Eun-ha looked at Noah and nodded. She lifted her drumsticks and began counting.
Noah quickly placed the lyrics sheet on the stand. She didn’t want to mess up the lyrics.
As she looked at the paper, her eyes widened.
What is this?
The melody was hers, yes—but the lyrics were different. They were in Korean.
Why are the lyrics in Korean? In real life, she had written this song only in English.
Still, she focused and started singing.
“All the things we live and breathe
Sometimes they feel too heavy, yeah
We all have moments we feel like nothing
It happens, yeah
I know it too
I’m here too”
Then came the chorus.
“Chill out, girl
Why are you clenching your shoulders again
Chill out, girl
Why are you clenching your fists so tight”
Noah sang perfectly, without any mistakes. But inside, she was still confused and dizzy.
She could feel herself singing, but it felt like she was dreaming.
She had never had a dream this clear before.
But one thing stood out:
Her voice.
It was still her real voice.
That same voice Mia used to say sounded like glass—clear, emotional, and unique.
Noah had a deep, husky voice for a woman. She could sing high notes, but she preferred to keep her songs in the lower range. That’s where her emotions really exploded.
She looked up slightly at the judges.
She usually didn’t care about audience reactions, but this time, she was curious.
“What are you so scared of?
We’re here with you”
When she saw their faces—wide-eyed and stunned—Noah smirked.
That look was the one she’d seen many times before. That “shocked by talent” face.
“Oh you, oh
Chill out
Just take it easy
Chill out
Just take it easy”
After the audition was over…
Noah and Eun-ha stood together in the hallway.
Shouldn’t I be waking up by now? Noah scratched her head.
“…Hey. If you can sing that well, why were you acting like a mess before?”
“?!”
‘Acting like a mess’…?
Even if she didn’t know the meaning exactly, she could tell it was a really strong insult.
She had heard all kinds of swearing in Hollywood—but this… this hit different.
“I wasn’t acting like that…”
“Yes, you were. Your life is a total mess.”
“….”
Eun-ha looked like she really meant it.
So maybe this dream version of Noah had a very frustrating personality?
“Anyway, we totally passed. Did you see the judges’ faces?”
“Of course we passed. That audition was nothing.”
“What? Are you on some weird medicine today? You don’t sound like the usual Seol Noah.”
“….”
Noah didn’t respond. It was just a kid talking.
“But… what audition was that?”
“What?! Now you’re acting like usual again! Are you serious?”
Eun-ha pointed to a banner.
Noah turned her head and read it.
Loft Entertainment Idol Band Survival Audition
Now Recruiting Contestants
Public Audition
“…Idol?”
Idol???
Me?? A rockstar?? An idol???
