CH 15

Why was it suddenly MallangDalkom?

It was only then that the bewildered audience realised that this stage didn’t cover VTIC, but the idols belonging to LeTi, VTIC’s agency.

It was confusing for a moment since the MC openly talked about VTIC earlier.

“What the…”

The song wasn’t even a popular one, so there were irritated voices coming from the people around every now and then.

It might have been better if it was a hit song like 〈POP☆CON〉, because most people only remembered the chorus of this debut song.

It was the same with her who was changing her camera settings.

‘Should I just take a picture of the voters?’

By the time she thought insincerely while hiding the camera away from the security’s eyes, the stage darkened and the prelude began to flow out.

–Oooh-, oooh oooo-, oooh-.

The melancholy melody of the altered synthesizer filled the stage.

Originally, this was where a neat female idol-style orchestra prelude of the 2010s would flow with various instruments and piano.

“Huh?”

She raised her head out of reflex, the participants wearing white stage costumes and decorated with splashes and stain entered her eye.

Only read this at europalation.wordpress.com, please do not repost

The suit-like uniform was a typical outfit for male idols so it wasn’t anything new, but it felt strangely different because it had a more lyrical atmosphere than the prelude, which was full of electronic sounds.

At that moment, the participants began moving.

– At some point, I realized 

I was trapped in this unstoppable maze of time

The participant who started the first verse had an obviously handsome face and good movement.

She immediately remembered his name.

‘Was it Seon Ahyun?’

Even the choreography was a mixture of lyrical and elegant dance moves, but somehow… It was a bit strange.

– Wandering through imperfect time, 

save the me

The moment the next part came out, she realized.

‘… Why are they all expressionless?’

Except for the person who sang the song, the rest of the participants had no expressions on their faces.

Originally, it was common for people to not have much facial expression when it wasn’t their part, but it was rare for them to have no expression like this.

Besides……

‘H-His eyes feel a bit weird?’

His eyes were in the air, not on the camera.

It was probably intentional since his expression and eyes suddenly returned to focus only when his part was back.

It was possible to miss eye contact with the camera by mistake, but idols knew that it was their duty to look for the camera like a ghost even if it wasn’t their turn.

……So it was a strange sight.

Only read this at europalation.wordpress.com, please do not repost

It was even more creepy in contrast to the participants who laughed by themselves and shined on their own part.

-That is withering away

This little space inside

Waiting for the day where it will bloom again

Bzzz. The pitch was lowered and a desperate voice rose up in the MR mixed with the dreary noise.

The lyrics were obviously soft and mournful, but it sounded like a trap because of the prelude and directing.

If you heard someone crying at a closed school, instead of wanting to help wouldn’t you be more scared instead?

The stage was developing with such an eerie nuance.

– 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 going into the new world~

The high-pitched sound of ‘Into the New World’, singing the same lyrics as the song title, thrilled one’s spine.

He raised his note by half and created a cacophony, so it sounded strange and evil, even though it was clear and crisp.

He was the best singer ever, and she became even more immersed in the stage itself than in his singing ability.

–Come to me

Come to me

It’s dazzling, a paradise by your side

In the chorus, the same string of instruments as the original song came in, and it clashed with the altered sound of the synthesizer, making it creepy.

Jiiing-, Screech-.

The movement borrowed from ballet and added a few more violent movements made it feel inhuman.

At that moment she realized.

October 31, October 31…… , it was Halloween. A night where evil beings come to life.

-Come to me

Come to me

Melody of love for you (continues)

This was a song sung by something that wasn’t human to seduce people!

‘Haa!’

Her head was full of explosions as she had her mouth shut.

Of course, there were idols who used inhuman concepts.

However, no one would have expected that a group amateurs would make such an adventurous attempt at an idol debut audition program using a song by a female senior with the opposite concept……!

Without even having the time to comment ‘They have great guts’, she became immersed in the stage in an instant.

Eventually, after two verses that were deformed and cut, the song entered the bridge.

Only read this at europalation.wordpress.com, please do not repost

And once again something unexpected popped up.

-Can’t you feel me?

The arrangement suddenly returned to the original song at the Bridge part!

Even the vocal range was back. The clear boy’s voice echoed in the same high note as the original song sung by the woman.

-Your warm touch

Wakes me up, it’s beautiful

Spring garden

The beautiful orchestra accompaniment and the lighting that changed colors to make it brighter, it felt sacred at first glance.

-Ooh, Ooh……

But as the lights got brighter, other things became clearer. Such as the details of the outfit.

The fabric-like shoulder strap, which she had thought was simply dark, was actually stained with the dark red dye on the same white fabric as the costume.

There were even traces that made it seem like it flowed down from the neck towards the shoulder strap.

‘It was a vampire……!’

The moment it was imprinted in the minds of the audience, the bridge ended and the chorus of the altered sound continued.

-Come to me

Come to me

It’s dazzling, a paradise by your side

However, this time, the dissonance with the orchestra had subsided and the noise had disappeared, revealing the sadness of the lyrics.

The artificial expressionlessness that was there when it wasn’t their part had disappeared, and the dreamy feeling overpowered the eerie feeling.

The composition’s sound also revived a sense of space like a dream pop instead of sharpness.

-Come to me

Come to me

Melody of love for you (continues)

The altered sound disappeared, and the sound ended with the violin.

Unlike the original song, which ended with a ballet movement, the song ended with everyone collapsing as soon as the chorus ended.

In that way, the stage ended with sadness rather than fear at the end. As if the non-human narrator of the song really fell in love with a person.

“……Ah ah ah!!”

The people who came to their senses after a moment cheered enthusiastically.

It was a stage that stimulated the hearts of the viewers from shock to the sad ending.

If the stage was done, neither could be done.

However, the participants of this team did it right.

‘Crazy, really!’

Among the screaming audience, many people caught on to the fact that this was only possible because the skills of the participants were above average and their appearance and style were also good.

The voices of the excited audience could be heard here and there as if they had already made up their minds.

The participants who got up patted each other on the back a few times, then nodded and smiled at the audience.

“Thank you!”

“T-Thank you.”

Somehow, it felt cuter compared to what the other teams did, since the gap between the stage and after-stage was really wide.

“Cute……”

She, who was holding her camera, also muttered warmly. In particular, a member with a high-pitched bridge caught her eye.

That reversal bridge would definitely stay in her mind even when she went home.

He broke through the pronunciation and digested the high notes incredibly well, and his face was trendy and cute, and even with that excessive concept, he didn’t flinch at all.

‘When the time for voting comes, I should remember his name.’

As she continued to stare at Park Moondae who was leaving the stage and promised, she suddenly realized the camera in her hand.

And she was astonished.

‘I was so focused on the stage, I completely forgot about the camera……!’

It was a shame that she couldn’t take pictures, but at the same time, she felt grateful to be able to see this live without worrying about the camera!

This was the first time since her former idol.

A shudder passed.

It was a sign of overindulgence.

***

When they came down from the stage, the team members either grabbed the wall or slumped down like their legs had given in.

Only read this at europalation.wordpress.com, please do not repost

I also leaned against the wall and thought.

‘It was fun… more than I thought.’

It was strange.

To be honest, I had never expected it to be this fun.

I had no choice but to do it since I would suddenly die if I failed to debut.

I had never danced or sang in front of anyone in my life. Even with makeup on.

…Obviously, when popcorn was released and when I sang, It just felt like I was doing it because I had to do it.

‘I thought I would get a reality check… Why did I have fun?’

Even if it felt like my breath was about to come out of my throat.

‘It’s harder than practice.’

I think I had to put more energy into it since it was the real deal.

And, from the looks of it, the guys who climbed who went up with me were all out of breath in the same way.

‘They are all still panting right now.’

But their faces were bright.

This was because the shouts were loud enough to rip off their ears.

“Wow!!”

“Encore! Encore!”

I could even hear some shouting for an encore from behind me.

‘There weren’t many people.’

More than expected… The result was good.

It was a cheer that even the teams that placed 1st and 2nd didn’t receive.

Maybe this was why it was fun. Because all of the reactions poured out in front of us?

“Everyone really… you all did a great job! We did a good job! Really!”

As the camera approached, Big Sejin opened his mouth right away.

I can’t say he wasn’t conscious of the camera, but it seemed sincere anyways.

Originally, it was said that if the result was good, it would be glorified, and the team members all started to thank each other while embracing each other.

“Thank you for your hard work!”

“T-Thank you so much…”

I also had to say something.

“Thanks… it was fun. Thank you.”

“Moondae…”

“Oh my God, even Moondae says things like this.”

What did they mean?

I was moved by every word about how impressed these guys were.

Only read this at europalation.wordpress.com, please do not repost

Even that grumpy Lee Sejin was drunk on the atmosphere with a teary look.

“…Great Job.”

“Huh. Hyungnim.”

“I am touched.”

The team members rarely looked at Lee Sejin with warm eyes without being conscious of the camera.

The atmosphere was very similar to the ending of a boy’s manhwa.

I thought of the last practice session.

-Hyung! Let’s strengthen the fear! Shouldn’t we go strong? Don’t be swayed by innocence!

-Right? Hyung thought about it,what about a murderer!

-Ooh~ Count!

-…It might overlap with a real person, so why not think of a fantasy creature?

-G-Ghosts are……

-…Ghost?

-Uuh, I-If you move like this… It would look interesting……

-Hahaha! There are a lot of good opinions~ Let’s decide by a majority voting!

……

…All I could think of was the painstaking process of euphemizing the absurd and exaggerated claims made by these talkative men.

At that time I was grateful to Big Sejin. He made the public talking easier.

In the end, most of the arrangement proceeded according to the wishes of me and Big Sejin. This was because he also tried to push the vampire option.

Even so, it was more popular than ghosts and murderers.

What if it was a ghost, or murderer? Were they thinking of getting cursed for sharing 10,000 units on SNS?

Anyway, I was satisfied with the good results of properly arranging fear and innocence.

And honestly……

It was fun.

I can see why so many people wanted to do this job.

As I took a breath and got up, my teammates surrounded me in an embrace.

I shrugged. Without it, the atmosphere would not be lively.

It was also necessary to show off teamwork on camera, so I didn’t get out of it.

“Let’s go to the next team match.”

“Oh, let’s do it together next time!”

“I-I-It’s good.”

“Honestly, our teamwork was the best.”

Only read this at europalation.wordpress.com, please do not repost

The congratulations continued, and only when there was no more repertoire, we were moved to the area to check the opposing team’s stage according to the guidance of the staff.

As soon as we arrived at the room where the monitor was installed, the opposing team’s 〈King of the mountains〉 stage began.

“Oh……”

These guys were admiring out of courtesy, but they probably realized it.

That there was a significant difference in the audience’s cheers.