CH 43

T/N: This chapter has lots of references, please refer to the end notes for pictures and more detailed explanations

(POV of Kim Raebin’s fan, the one who sat next to the Moondae fan during the 2nd team match)

Outside the Music Bomb stage, where the 3rd team match would be held, was crowded.

And the majority of the crowd weren’t the actual members of the audition, and instead people who came in to see if they can hear the sounds from outside.

A college student who squeezed through the crowd and entered the line felt dissatisfied.

“Why are they all crowding together when they can’t even go in?”

She couldn’t understand why they were so excited to be here when they couldn’t even see them.

‘They did this in the second round too, but now it’s even more crowded.’

She stood in the line for entrance, all fed up. Just looking at how long it was, it felt like it would take a month for her to be able to go inside.

‘How annoying.’

All around her there were people holding shared slogans and snacks. At the same time, the names on the slogans were the same.

[Park Moondae ♡ Debut]

‘……He has become really popular.’

She pouted as she recalled the last team match.

She felt bad because the person sitting next to her was a Park Moondae fan, but Kim Raebin, who was her favorite, even ended up on the same team as Park Moondae.

‘Why do they like that concept bug*?’

(*= used to mock someone who is deeply stuck in whose own created character)

She grumbled.

However, she was still in denial about how she went crazy once the stage was over in the last team match.

Still, she couldn’t laugh at Park Moondae on the Internet.

‘……Well, he did fine on the stage, so I’m letting it slide.’

She took her eyes off the slogan of Park Moondae while trying to deny it. She didn’t know who had chosen it, but it being pretty made things even more annoying.

“Please keep the order!”

“Do not push!”

She lined up according to the number she received in advance and entered the room, but from the middle, there were a number of people who started running. The area was a place where everyone had to stand without a single seat, so the earlier you stood in place, the more advantage you had.

She grabbed the fence right in front of the stage.

“I did it!!!”

She had no choice but to praise himself for succeeding in applying to be a part of the audience for the 18th time.

It was a great achievement considering the number of audience applicants was flooded, and the production team changed the application again to a first-come, first-serve basis.

‘I’ll see him right in front of me.’

Her heart was pounding. However, barely before that expectation turned into discomfort, the MC entered.

“Welcome to the stage for the 3rd team match of 〈Re-listed! Idol Joint-Stock company〉!”

An explosive cheer rang out with a mixture of relief, joy, and irritation about how it was finally starting.

‘Hurry up and start!’

She shouted inwardly, and held onto the fence.

“The theme of this team match is 〈Self-made〉! From selection to the stage setting, all elements of the stage were selected and created by the participants themselves!”

‘Kim Raebin would definitely have done this well!’

Thinking of his stock, the one thing he couldn’t do was political action. She cheered like all the other members of the audience in excitement.

“In addition, by analyzing shareholders’ past buying trends with big data algorithms, the participants that shareholders liked together have become a team!”

At the MC’s words, the audience whispered all over the place, asking what nonsense it was.

It’s not that they didn’t understand what she said, but more like why they did such a thing in vain instead of doing separate votings.

Anyway, the MC naturally finished the opening.

“It seems you guys are looking forward to it, then, right now! The opening stage will be revealed!

“Woah!”

“The song chosen by these participants is…  〈I like this waiting〉 by the sentimental idols Maximite!”

The audience immediately turned their attention to the stage.

Their eyes pointed at the stage were filled with expectation in case their favorite participant would appear now.

‘It’s better to come out later… Ah, I don’t know! Come out right away!’

As if to repay that thought, light erupted from the stage.

Piiiing.

‘Gosh!’

But it wasn’t completely bright.

Strands of thick yellow beam lights soared from below the stage. The beams of lights dizzyingly illuminated the dark stage.

At first glance, there was only one gigantic wooden stump on the stage.

And the sound of wind instruments ringing.

Whoo~ Whoohoo~ Hoo~ Hooo~

It was the sound of Daegeum played at the beginning of Korean traditional music Suyeonjangjigok. An elegant and mournful note roamed the stage by itself.

And one shadow jumped out of the left corner of the stage.

It was a neatly done somersault.

The tall man, wearing a wooden rabbit mask, ran out, spun through the air, and turned back.

“…!!”

The sound of the daugeum stopped.

Following Inyoung’s movement as he landed on one leg, the durumagi over his body fluttered, revealing the Western dress he wore underneath.

At that moment, the beam lights that shined through the stage completely disappeared.

On the completely dark stage, instead of the sound of daegeum, a voice sounded out.

-My wait is long

Because it’s always fun.

Even though there was no accompaniment backing him up, the voice was perfect as if it was a recording.

And now the audience knew whose voice it was.

‘Park Moondae…’

Light returned to the stage along with the deep sound of drums.

Bong– bongbongbong! Bong– Bongbongbong!

On the stage, five shadows stood in a circle wearing wooden rabbit masks.

Behind them, a dazzling Milky Way appeared as if pouring into the black stage background.

And the group dance.

Sliide.*

(*= sound of something softly dragging on the floor)

The movements that began as slow and sensuous started becoming faster and more complex as the beat broke.

It was almost like a natural phenomenon.

The speed changed continuously and the timing wasn’t always right, but no one missed the beat or movement.

The outline of the heavy drum sound became sharp according to the dance, and after that, the modern bass line heavily balanced it.

And the daegeum as well as the corrected piano notes began playing one after another.

Uhwi- Wiwiwi- Uhwiuhwi- Wi~~

As soon as the drum sound completely became one with the pitch composition, the five of them moved their rabbit masks to the side of their heads in unison with the choreography.

At the same time, the person on the right started singing. It was Park Moondae.

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-On every street I wait for you

My heart is always fluttering

Keun Sejin, who completely turned from the left to the stage with the choreography, smiled.

–There’s no room for anxiety to come

Because I already know, that you’ll

Like performing martial arts, the formation split and Kim Raebin jumped out from behind.

-Definitely show up here

We will meet

My heart is sure of it

Everywhere my feelings overflowing like this

‘Raebin!!’

The college student holding the fence cried inside. She wanted to scream, but she was able to somehow endure it.

And there was something that not only her but also the majority of the audience noticed when his rap part came in.

‘They changed all the lyrics to Korean…….’

Yes. All the English words mixed in were changed to Korean to match the stage’s atmosphere.

‘As expected, my child is a genius!’

She cried inside, saying that they had changed it perfectly. She didn’t even think of the possibility that the other team members might have changed it.

However, as she was immersed in the stage, that feeling of appreciation also disappeared into the back of her head in an instant.

-It’s only natural

I know you

And you’ll get to know me

With Gold 1, Ha Iljun’s voice backing him, Keun Sejin completed the pre-chorus.

-The answer has long been decided

It’s an unavoidable fate that will come~

Seon Ahyun came out to the center. His rabbit mask was moved clumsily, and covered his temples.

Even then, his face shined.

‘He’s handsome.’

The college student who saw Seon Ahyun from a close distance was mad that she couldn’t come up with a negative impression.

Seon Ahyun started singing while standing upright and gracefully.

-I like this waiting

My wait is long

Because it’s always fun

“Huh?”

With that very chorus, familiar movements began mixing in.

It was a hand gesture, the point choreography of the original song.

However, a new foot movement was added in with the hand gestures to create a strong feeling.

Hwak!

The choreography that consisted of much bigger body movements than the original was captivating as it matched the flying durumagi.

‘Ah…’

The stage was being done in a historical drama style with a romantic and overwhelming feeling rather than the emotional and light original song.

-When this wait is over,

I know you I’ll meet you

My feelings are already shining brightly

Park Moondae sang the high note at the end of the chorus.

Perhaps the color faded during the filming, but the hair that was now closer to blonde, swept over the mask and fell over.

‘……What’s with that hair…… It’s okay.’

She struggled to hide her nice impressions today, making excuses saying that it was probably because the stylist created their life’s masterpiece with this stage makeup.

And as soon as the note was over, Park Moondae turned completely backwards.

‘What is it?’

The audience, who were focusing on the participants’ movements and facial expressions, reflexively turned their eyes towards the back.

A huge dark blue trajectory was drawn over the starry sky flowing behind the stage.

“……!”

Before she knew it, only the string and wind instruments remained.

With it as the background sound, the dark blue trajectory drew a huge circle.

The circle, completed with traces of ink paintings as if drawing with ink, soon shone blue.

A round blue light source between the starry sky. It was the earth seen from the moon.

Uhuuu- Uhuuu- Uhu, Uuu–

The participants fell gently on the floor and naturally took off their durumagi and threw it far away as they got back up in line with the melody tune.

-A light daydream like a dream

On my way to meet you

Before she knew it, the participants stood in full western dress

Their bodies made short and intense group dance.

It was a full body movement that felt like it was a dance, and their body curved gently and smoothly. It felt very strange.

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At this point, the accompaniment without percussion instruments sounded somewhat sensual.

‘Kim Raebin is crazy…….’

“Ugh…”

“……!”

The college student was surprised at the sound she made, but soon realized that she could hear it everywhere.

-You said you have been waiting for me too

Saying, A clear sense of deja vu

By changing the lyrics from ‘Deja Vu’ to ‘Gisigam*’ the sound became more bizarre as if swallowing it.

(*= both mean the same thing, but one is pronounced in english while other is in Korean)

-Facing this moment of fate

Never hesitate!

Bang!

At that moment, the percussion instruments were added back into the accompaniment.

The slightly blatant feeling of sensuality quickly disappeared.

-I like this waiting

My wait is long

Because it’s always fun

In the chorus that sounded again, Keun Sejin came out to the center and took the center stage of a complex group dance.

The choreography became more colorful.

-When this wait is over,

I know you I’ll meet you

My feelings are already shining brightly

And the low humming that followed.

-Hum hu hu hum- huhu DDu-ru Du-ru Du Du

It was the melody of the chorus.

With a foot-moving choreography, it felt like they were waiting for someone and singing in anticipation.

The drum sound from the accompaniment sounded like a heart beating.

The college student belatedly realized that Park Moondae was singing an octave higher note on top of the humming by himself.

It gave her goosebumps.

‘……I thought it was an instrument.’

She swallowed her saliva. On the stage, the introductory choreography changed once again.

The formation constantly changed, and the five people naturally stood around the single prop on the stage.

‘Huh?’

A huge wooden stump.

It was the stump of a Gyesu tree.

Sitting around the stump naturally, they immediately took off the blazers of their Western dress and threw them down.

“……!”

Underneath it revealed a Jeogori like shirt, Keun Sejin looked straight ahead and smiled.

He turned the rabbit mask back to his face and sang the last verse.

-Wait for me.

The blue light representing the earth fell over the moon rabbits who fell asleep leaning on each other while sitting on the stump of Gyesu tree, and the stage ended.

And cheers burst out loud enough to break the roof of the filming site.

“Woaah!

“Kyaaah!”

“Uuuaaa!”

Below the stage, all kinds of reactions were overflowing, from reactions that involved shouting to covering their mouth.

This was because everyone was excited by the unexpected combination of high ranking participants, and the stage that was at a high level of perfection.

In addition, this tremendously conceptual stage had something that stimulated the hearts of fans.

Since she couldn’t interpret everything at once, she wanted to watch it multiple times to find the hidden elements.

Obviously, there would be many audiences who were already struggling while counting the days left until the broadcast.

‘It’s all over.’

The college student, who let go of the fence, mumbled proudly for no reason. She had barely come to her senses from screaming so much after the stage light went out.

With the opening cut off like this, the next guys automatically set the stage.

She hesitated, and eventually admitted her excitement.

‘…Well, the October kids are good, too.’

The irritation she felt when she first entered disappeared as she commented, ‘They can make their debut with Ryu Chungwoo and Cha Yujin’.

List of all the references/explanations;

The outfit they are wearing in this stage (you can also see the blue light circle in the back!)

Daegeum (A large bamboo flute often used in Korean traditional music);

Durumagi;

Jeogori;

Moon Rabit/Gyesu tree: It was mentioned in earlier chapters that they would reinterpret this theme for the stage. Basically the version they used is the Korean retelling of the story. It’s basically a rabbit who lives in the moon and pounds rice cake under a Gyesu tree! Read more on it here