Ta-da! Clap. - Again! - One More Time!
The familiar voice burst from the Kickkick Band manager's phone.
My voice.
It couldn't have been secretly recorded to sabotage us. Judging by the dazed looks on their faces, I got it right away. Pre-release clip. PD Jo Young-soo had suddenly uploaded a teaser to stir up some pre-broadcast hype.
I pulled out my phone and checked the video. 2 minutes and 23 seconds. Sliding the timeline bar, only Black Label and I appeared on screen. They'd given us a generous chunk of footage.
The member who got the solo one-take spotlight was Hye-soo. On screen, she listened intently to my direction.
"Yeah. Harder. Rough up your voice a bit too. Hye-soo, just do it however you want this time. It's not like another take costs money."
"Got it! I'll give it a shot!"
Hye-soo shook her arms with passion, cleared her throat, and sang her self-written lyrics over a light melody. The verse was short, edited at high speed to avoid spoilers. My directions and Hye-soo's struggles continued.
"Hye-soo, hold up."
On screen, I shook my head and waved her out of the booth. Hye-soo, catching her breath inside, opened the door and stepped out. We both wore dissatisfied expressions. Mine because the quality wasn't there yet; hers from the frustration of not pulling out a performance worthy of a composer.
2 minutes and 23 seconds. Shorter than boiling ramen, with no real tension-building suspense about the crisis.
I tapped my pen and said to Hye-soo,
"What if we break up the breaths?"
"Pardon?"
"If you can't do it in one go, breaking it up isn't bad."
On screen, I tapped the desk with my ballpoint pen to mark the beat. Choi Chang glanced at me with side-eye. Hye-soo caught the vibe and lit up.
"Yes! Let's try again!"
Smart editing. As she re-entered the booth determined, epic background music swelled.
"Alright, starting now!"
The teaser ended with my cue to resume recording.
Heavenly Blade Society from the name alone, and that brutal cliffhanger martial art. This show's endings are killer.
Choi Chang and I both gave thumbs-down as we scrolled the comments.
└Right. Spot on. Totally agree. Breaking breaths actually sounds better. lololol
Curiosity sparked the comments, which morphed from backhanded praise to outright trash-talk, devolving into chaos. Staring at the profanity-laced mess didn't feel great. But what can you do? It's the internet.
I just hoped the kids weren't seeing this.
Not that there were zero upsides. It reminded people of the crashing Black Label one more time, and the way Kickkick Band was looking at me now had changed.
"...Pretty fun, huh."
Kickkick Band leader Choi Chang smiled at me. X-meal. The vibe had shifted from "I could crush you anytime" to wary caution. Time to capitalize.
"Yeah. We prepped hard."
Confidence over provocation. No need to stoke his ego; better to make Black Label stick in his mind.
"Our chemistry made the work enjoyable."
"Good for you."
Curt response. At least he kept basic courtesy. No more chit-chat. Fair enough—lingering in the bathroom is weird anyway. He shook off the water, nodded lightly, and left. His startled manager hurried after.
I turned to the mirror.
"Guess I don't need to worry about Choi Chang anymore."
***
Choi Chang turned back after leaving the bathroom. He glanced at it. No movement through the frosted window's black silhouette.
"What the hell, Chang-jae. Outta nowhere."
"Hyung... nah."
"Spit it out. What about Choi Chang? Sideline Black Label?"
Heavy tint hid their actions, but voices carried. Choi Chang grabbed his manager's wrist and dragged him along corners until they reached the emergency exit where no one could overhear unless screaming. Finally, he answered.
"We sideline 'em."
"Huh?"
"Obviously. Didn't you see the video?"
"I did, but..."
"Then you get it. Dropping a pre-release on Black Label? Means PD Jo Young-soo is straight-up backing them."
Countless teams entered Heavenly Blade Society, but airtime was limited. YouTube let them tease unaired teams like breadcrumbs. Black Label was different.
"Pre-release like this before broadcast?"
Choi Chang shook his head.
"Builds hype. Touch this team, and we're splashing cold water on PD Jo's picture."
"Nah, he won't think that deep."
"If my manager hasn't figured out the PD's personality yet, what're we doing? That guy's capable of anything."
Kickkick Band's dominance might bore, so they added a cliché: underdog. With so many teams, PD Jo wanted variety.
"Assuming Black Label has the skills, that is."
"Huh?"
Round of 32 now. PD Jo was fitting singers into his "underdog" frame. If Black Label didn't fit, he'd drop them ruthlessly.
"So waiting a beat isn't bad?"
"Hold up, Chang-jae. Explain simply. I can't follow. Slow it down, break it out."
Choi Chang turned the emergency exit handle.
"Means don't piss off PD Jo now. And..."
"And?"
Falcon said it. This session was too fun.
"In this biz, fun beats skill."
Either way, watching this round wasn't bad.
***
"Now, let's draw the round-of-32 brackets!"
Joo Seong-hwan's energetic voice boomed through the hall. In just two days, the packed auditorium felt spacious now. Many teams were gone.
"For fairness, we've got a random program!"
Yeah, we all knew that bold claim was BS. Keep the rigging subtle, at least. The pre-planned program exposed the bracket manipulation, but it didn't blow up for one reason: it was entertaining. PD Jo's excuse was infuriating.
...No guts to call him out. For now, play on PD Jo's chessboard. Variety shows were PD games anyway.
"Here's how it works!"
Joo Seong-hwan explained.
"Think ladder game! Ladder climb for the round of 32!"
He beckoned Kickkick Band's Choi Chang right in front.
Up to the stage. Choi Chang nodded and ascended. Joo patted him.
"Group A port 1 leader picks 1-16! That number's team auto-matches as opponent."
Joo shouted,
"Worried we pre-assigned? No sweat."
Snap—numbers and teams randomized on screen. I knew it was a GIF meme. In a CG era building nations, couldn't they make a decent lotto animation?
"All random! Starting with Group A port 1, Kickkick Band!"
He handed the mic to Choi Chang.
"Choi Chang! Call a number!"
Choi Chang turned, scanned the stage floor, eyes locking on mine.
What'll you do, Choi Chang?
"I'll take lucky 7. Lucky seven."
Number 7. But numbers didn't matter. Told you—it's all fake.
Regardless, Kickkick Band drew Melody.
"...Kickkick Band leader Choi Chang picks 7. Opponent is... Melody! Melody's up!"
Prelims 1st place—soon perennial top—vs. Melody, who looked doomed, head down as they climbed for a half-forced handshake with Choi Chang.
"Next, Group B port 1, 9biT leader Se-hyeon, come on up."
9biT's Se-hyeon stepped up, eyeing the shuffling screen. Joo said,
"Pick when it feels right."
"Yes."
Mic in hand, deep breath, lips parting slow. I knew: 9biT vs. Mega Crunch.
Se-hyeon called,
"6. I'll go with 6."
"Se-hyeon picks 6. 9biT's opponent is...? Who?"
Mega Crunch. Wait, no.
"9biT vs. Black Label! Black Label leader Won Ji-min, please come to the stage."
What the—? I turned to Won Ji-min, who calmly ascended.
"Jo..."
I muttered at PD Jo Young-soo, shrouded in darkness.
"...Not rigged?"