CH 12

“Yay~ Aren’t we so good? There are so many talented people, and so many good-looking people here!”

The gold grade Lee Sejin said with a smile. Everyone was shy, but nodded as if it was true.

It was only natural because it was time for everyone to grow up even if they were just pretending to be in harmony. I’m glad that everyone seemed to atleast have common sense.

“But, ah, actor Sejin. Our names are the same… How can we differentiate ourselves?”

“What?”

“Oh, that’s right!”

“Right? Since you’re an actor, how about Bae Sejin?” (Actor in Korean is Bae)

The first gold-rank participant that joined the team, smirked and spoke.

“Hey, then, since you are big you should be Big Sejin.” (Big in Korean is Big)

“Big Sejin? Hey, that’s good, Cole! How are you? Sejin-hyungnim?”

“…”

The child actor Lee Sejin was biting his mouth as if tolerating something, then spoke softly.

“I just like my name.”

“…”

“Ah… I see.”

The atmosphere cooled down in an instant. Gold grade Lee Sejin hastily opened his mouth.

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“Ah, that’s fine. Then, hyungs and dongsaengs, please call me Big Sejin from now on~”

“I like it~”

“Nice nickname!”

The atmosphere was settled by clapping and applause. Then, around the time each person introduced themselves, the MC picked up the microphone again.

“Participants, did you say hello to each other?”

“Please, let us choose our own songs.”

One of the team members muttered desperately. But that was not a possibility.

“Now then… let’s start the song selection!”

“Wa……”

“The song selection is also random….”

Everyone mumbled with tired expressions.

The MC waved his hand and said in a humorous way.

“Ah, everyone! The songs you will get are the hit songs that belong to the idols in the agency you chose! Don’t be disappointed!”

Perhaps they thought it was worth doing it, but the atmosphere improved.

“Now, the sign in front of you will start switching between representative songs. Press the switch when you want it to stop! Then, the first participant to join the sign, please come forward!”

The team members immediately switched positions.

“Hyungnim, I believe in you!”

“You can only live by choosing the best song!”

“Then, do I have to show my abilities again?”

The first participant went out in front of the sign with cheers.

“Now, get ready… shoot!”

“Waah!”

The team member made a strange noise and immediately pressed the switch. Next to me, Big Sejin (I’m going to refer to him like this since he brought it up himself) murmured. (The parenthesis is Moondae speaking, not Translator :P)

“No, let me look at it and press…”

The sign slowly turned around to show several song titles.

[King of the mountains / VTIC] (aka Tiger)

[LIFE / VTIC]

[Eternal Song / VTIC]

VTIC. The male idol group that held the most sold album record.

“Everything is fine… Please.”

At the far end, I heard Choi Wongil’s desperate mumbles. I waited silently for the screen to stop.

The screen froze slowly.

[Into the new world / Mallangdalkomt]

“…?”

“……??”

“……!?”

There was a terrible silence.

All the team members, except me, had bonobono eyes and looked at the sign. (Bonobono= character from a manga)

“I-Is this an error?”

The team member who touched the sign mumbled in a confused voice. However, there were no interruptions from the producers.

That meant this was real.

“It includes female idols?”

“Do you have any female idol songs?”

Similar words were being said all around, not just by us.

Of course, their reactions weren’t as strong as ours.

The team members were murmuring like crazy.

“Uh… So, was it the flower fairy?”

“That… uh, debut song, yeah.”

Undoubtedly, ‘To the New World’ was an innocent and dreamy song that represented a flower fairy.

In addition, it was a debut song. A song that never won #1 on music shows since it was released before they changed to a cute concept as mallangdalkom.

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“Ah! thank you!”

“Awesome!!”

There were cheers all around as if they had a good song. It was only natural since the selection was full of masterpieces.

And then the climax came from this area.

“Aaaaah!”

“Hyung! Hyung!!”

The other team in our sign chose ‘King of the mountains’.

For reference, that song was a title track for an album that received a grand prize in the largest music site awards ceremony in Korea two months ago.

I’d say that it’s one of the hottest songs you could pick here.

That’s why everyone hugged him and made a fuss. The team members had lower ratings, but now there was something to balance so their moods improved.

“……”

And our side suddenly became speechless. It seemed like everyone couldn’t get out of the shock.

What about me

‘I was avoiding this.’

I was sweeping down my chest. This is because I realized that I had chosen an agency sign I didn’t want to.

VTIC’s ‘King of the mountains?

I just wouldn’t be able to do it.

I was lucky to avoid it.

In that sense, for me the competition was as good as it could be.

‘It seems the others didn’t realise it yet.’

When I saw the team members getting depressed, I thought it was for the better.

In a sense of crisis, people cooperated the best

***

“We are not in sync.”

Did I think we could be cooperative? I want to correct myself since that was too high of an expectation.

The ones who seemed to have already given up on everything was starting to show

“Wongil, if I try again…”

“I’ve tried it multiple times, but it just doesn’t seem like it will work out again…”

Choi Wongil bowed his head in a gloomy mood, and then spoke softly.

“It was originally a girl song but I don’t think it fits well since it is changed to fit males. I think I can do the high part…”

As he talked he glanced at me.

‘He is asking for my part.’

I wore the main vocal badge early on thanks to the fiery support of the 3 gold ranks.

Perhaps because of his low grade, Choi Wongil stayed silent as he watched me put on the badge.

Then, when he found the opportunity to stretch his feet, ihe bloomed.

I laughed bitterly.

“Should we?”

“……!”

Big Sejin hit my thigh. this is really……

“Hey, don’t mess around with the kid for no reason. In times like this, you have to help him sing his part! What are you doing?”

Naturally, people talked as if it was a joke. It wasn’t something he had done once or twice.

‘I don’t think he’s just a nice guy.’

I hid my doubts and continued firmly speaking.

“No, it really doesn’t matter if we change. If we are going to do it, we should do it at the beginning before we learn the choreography.”

“R-really?”

“Mmhm.”

I calmly concluded the conversation. Choi Wongil had a very suspicious expression on his face, but he quickly nodded in fear that I might go back in my words.

“Well then, I would like to do the first verse chorus…”

“Okay. Then I’ll do the bridge part myself.”

“What?”

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“You are saying you can’t do it, so we should change parts.”

Choi Wongil reluctantly nodded his head. It was a shame that he took a part he couldn’t do.

He talked about wanting to do the chorus, but he didn’t wish to let go of his own part.

I didn’t think he used to be this bad, but perhaps falling into silver became a trigger for him. It was a bit out of taste.

Big Sejin looked between me and Choi Wongil, and then sighed audibly.

‘I guess in the picture he planned, I sang the first chorus.’

I continued pretending not to notice.

“Okay then, let’s move onto this part.”

There was one main position left. I felt nervous, pretending not to be a gold level participant.

“Now we just need to decide on the main dancer.”

Before Big Sejin could add anything else, I raised my hand.

“Oh, I have an opinion.”

“Huh?”

“If it’s okay with everyone, I would like to decide the direction of the arrangement before choosing the main dancer.”

“…Huh?”

Arrangement.

Although it was the most important topic, it was a topic that everyone unconsciously avoided.

‘Into the New World’ Was an innocent female idol song.

And ‘innocence’…. was a very difficult concept to digest.

It was often misunderstood that it could be done as long as you are pretty, but that really was an illusion.

Because it wasn’t a concept where you could easily be strong.

In order to leave an impression on the audience for a survival show, you had to have incredibly good skills or exceptional talent.

Perhaps everyone thought as such, because the arrangement discussion started like this.

“Hm… how about changing the lyrics and going stronger?”

“With a strong beat?”

“Yeah. Doing it like, Into the new world~ Something with ambition like that!”

The first gold… it was annoying to refer to him this way. Should I just call him Gold 1?

So, this was Gold 1’s opinion. This was something that would come into mind if you were a thoughtful survival participant.

Change it so it’s strong.

The problem was that it would be hard to make the song feel ‘overwhelming’ as mentioned before.

The lyrics of ‘Into the New World’ went like this.

– At some point, I realized that I was trapped in this unstoppable maze of time, wandering through imperfect time, save the me that is slowly withering away.

This little space inside (Little Flower~)

Waiting for the day where it will bloom again

Come and find me

That was the first verse.

If you want it to be ambitious, you would have to change the lyrics to be more speaker-centered, and then the story of the song would become messed up starting with the pre-chorus.

That was because the chorus of this song was about asking the other person to come quickly.

– One step, two step

The sound of you coming

It’s ringing in my ear

Don’t hesitate, give me your hand

Now I’m into the new world

Come to me

Come to me

It’s dazzling, a paradise by your side

Come to me

Come to me

Melody of love for you (continues)

“Then should we fix the next lyrics into ‘Come to me’ after ‘Into the New World’?”

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“Uh… if we say ‘come to you’…”

Gold 1 muttered behind my back and scratched his head. He seemed to have realized that the problem wasn’t just that

“Then, shouldn’t we fix everything starting from ‘Save Me’?”

“Umm.”

Yes, because the chorus was so focused on the listener’s behavior, if we tried changing it too quickly, the nuance of the next lines would be crushed.

“If we want it to go like this, we will have to change everything.”

“Yes, …but if you change it too much, you’ll get an imbalance.”

It was also a question of whether the other team or the production team would be fine with such a change.

“……”

Slowly, the seriousness of the situation could be felt on the skin, and the team members became quiet.

Big Sejin quickly stepped in and changed the subject.

“Why don’t we talk to the teachers and decide on the arrangement? I think it’s better to learn the choreography as soon as possible to be able to earn feedback! Moondae, is that okay?”

“Oh, it’s okay. Let’s do it.”

I readily accepted it.

Anyways, the reason I brought up the arrangement was to create a shock.

The more desperate the atmosphere was, the less they would say when I created an arrangement.

Of course, even if I didn’t do this, I think everyone would understand what’s going on if they watch the dance video.

“Okay, then let’s start the choreography!”

After the choreography video started playing under Big Sejin’s leadership, everyone put their heads on the tablet PC screen.

No matter how many times the members might have heard the chorus, they probably didn’t remember the choreography in detail.

However, as expected, less than 15 seconds after the choreography video started, everyone was silent.

“Oh……”