Shall We Twist the Pronunciation?
“Shall we twist the pronunciation once?”
“Ryu~el? Re~al?”
“Hmm……”
“Ree-yul~roo-yi?”
“No. Don’t just gloss over it here. Kill the tempo once, like I said.”
“If I don’t go straight here, my mouth gets all twisted up.”
“You know rapping well alone doesn’t cut it, right?”
“Ooh~ swag? What should I do? Ji-min unnie said you don’t have to dance when she raps.”
“How about acting like this? Facial expressions.”
“Facial expressions?”
“Yeah, Ray. Make that killer expression you’re most confident in. There you go…… Yeah, better not do that one.”
“Ah! Why? It’s so killer.”
“Nah. Twice that killer, and the audience might drop dead. Let’s find another charm. How about going cute? Charismatic rap with cuteness. Capture both girls’ and guys’ hearts with the contrast charm. Sound good?”
“Ooh!”
The special training continued. Talent filled up, then stalled. Talent filled up, then stalled. It felt like I’d become a legendary master from those wuxia novels I read as a kid. Right in front of me, Ray was shaking her body in awkward gestures to hype up the crowd response like a hot-blooded protagonist. Hwaiting, hwaiting. She was grinding hard to raise her talent.
Like she was trapped in a chamber of time and space, focusing solely on rap. She’d dug deep into just one well. To boost her inner power even faster, I’d even given her spirit pills.
Ray pouted like she was sick of it.
“What’s this? This candy again? It tastes bad.”
“Eat it. It’s good for stamina.”
“Was it……?”
Crunch crunch. Ray peeled the wrapper and chomped the candy in one bite, but her talent didn’t rise.
From 3 stars and up, no matter how many weird candies I fed her, it wouldn’t rise. Guess even tempo boosts hit their limit from here.
“Oppa!”
“Ray!”
How long had it been? The door to the underground practice room, where you couldn’t tell day from night, swung open. Won Ji-min and Jung Hye-soo came rushing in, waving their hands. They didn’t waste words on chit-chat, just gestured urgently for us to hurry.
Was it mealtime already? Felt like we’d just eaten.
“Wh-what! What’s going on? I was this close to leveling up.”
I turned my head without thinking. Wait, she knew?
Over 50 days living with Black Label, had Ray caught on to my ability while I was raising her?
“Level up?”
Jung Hye-soo sneered.
“Hey, quit the games already. You were gaming till 2 a.m. last night too.”
No way…… right?
Ray glanced at me slyly and raised her voice.
“I didn’t stay up till 2! I’m managing my schedule for special training too. 2’s an exaggeration—1:30 at latest.”
“……And that’s something to brag about? Still late either way.”
“Hmph, 30 minutes is a huge difference!!”
Having nailed their characters, Ji-soo followed along, mimicking them. They were squawking loud enough to annoy the audio directors, but everyone seemed to enjoy the chaos. Won Ji-min, stuck between them, raised her hand to stop it.
“Girls. We’re not here to fight. There’s an emergency gathering, so let’s head to the studio quick.”
“Emergency gathering?”
Suddenly? In the chamber of time and space—well, not really, but how long had we even been here?
Won Ji-min met my surprised eyes.
“PD Jo Young-soo said all contestants and composers report immediately. Separate announcement coming.”
The emergency notice lived up to its name. Even Ji-soo was clutching her walkie-talkie, getting briefed. Whatever scheme Jo Young-soo had up his sleeve this time—win or loss, we’d see when we got there.
Black Label and I headed to the studio.
“Long time no see! Haha!”
Camera lights flickered. Shooting was underway. Not all judges made it—only Joo Seong-hwan barely showed, fulfilling his MC duties.
“What’s this sudden mess, PD? I was finally enjoying a day off, resting up.”
Joo Seong-hwan stood at the center amid contestants seated in a circle around dozens of cameras.
“Spill it! What outlandish stunt are you pulling on us busy players now? Huh?”
“I know you’re all busy. Finals left—no group prelims, no quarters or semis. The grand finale, right?”
As the show neared its end, PD Jo Young-soo stepped up without hesitation, cap pulled low, mic in hand.
“How many days till the finale? About three, right? The ultimate stage.”
“Yes, but……”
“So I want a mid-check on your stages today.”
Everyone seated froze in shock. Joo Seong-hwan jumped up first, speaking for them.
“Come on, Jo PD. How can you spring this? Some teams aren’t ready.”
“Oh dear, can’t have that. Not ready? Ah! Of course!”
Jo Young-soo raised his right hand, calming us.
“Not asking for 100% perfect quality today. More like a teaser, say.”
Jo Young-soo grinned. That wasn’t a friendly chuckle. It was the devil’s smirk, toying with us.
“Not just for our staff—sharing with each other gives everyone chances. Even if your 3-minute song’s done, no need to play it all.”
Jo Young-soo laid out rules for this wild surprise event.
“Reveal 30 seconds to 1 minute. No need to hit a full minute—30 seconds is fine.”
Music to teams not ready. I scanned the room. Why did it feel like most weren’t prepared? Yoo Yeon-hwa openly shook her legs; even knowing the cameras, Choi Jung-do’s band and composers huddled in emergency talks. Only our team and Kim Won-sam’s stayed calm. Kim Won-sam didn’t flinch. Either perfectly ready or given up on finals. With everyone tense except outliers, Black Label could get swept up. I checked Ray beside me. Less obvious than Yoo Yeon-hwa’s shaking, but still fidgety. We couldn’t control this—dragged along by PD Jo Young-soo. Time to shake the board. I raised my hand.
“Like a college prof getting questions? Thrilling. Yes, Composer Falcon. Precious question time.”
As the assistant PD brought the mic, Hye-soo shot me a look—what question?
“PD, we prepped so many songs for finals, can’t decide.”
“So many songs?”
Choi Jung shocked; Jang Ha-na too. Her earthquake legs stopped like a hiccup cut off. Jo Young-soo blinked too. Black Label went speechless at my troll. Only PD Ji-soo, knowing our time use, smirked challengingly, waiting for my follow-up.
“If we show song 1 today but swap to 2 later if we don’t like it?”
“Oho. Bottom line: fine. But note this.”
Jo Young-soo warned me.
“It’s a mid-check, short reveal, but still rehearsal. Fire pillars, confetti you requested? Starts prepping today. Sudden song change could delay even if requested now.”
“So if we warn ahead, even on change, no big issue?”
“Yes, even day before’s fine. Not same-day.”
Feints allowed galore. Made sense—they called it rehearsal prep, but staff were fed up. Three days of filming same work-work loop must’ve given them headaches. No touching stories, melodrama out anyway. “Rehearsal prep” was just squeezing spectacle. And I’d poisoned the well.
Post-announcement, every second counted for contestants. Jang Ha-na and Yoo Yeon-hwa openly panicked.
“How many tracks on our drive? Ah…… no? Recalc stage effects. And…… ugh. How many did Black Label prep?”
Choi Jung brushed past, poking.
“All bluff. Don’t fall for it.”
I shot back boldly.
“Bluff or not, wait and see.”
Holding swagger to the end, we returned to our dedicated practice room for a real meeting. Or rather, one-sided grilling. Won Ji-min first.
“Oppa. What were you planning saying that……”
“It’s fine. All set.”
“Huh?”
I turned to Ray, raising a finger.
“This one’ll handle it.”
“Eung? M-me?”
Cheongdam-dong’s nightscape glowed bright. No memory when it became this ritzy. In a luxury sedan’s back seat, slowly cruising the views, G&X Entertainment Chairman Jung Pil-woon pondered. High on a building, an outdoor display ran Nemesis ads ahead of launch. To climb higher, how?
The ad switched.
Final Finals Stage!
Give strength to the four heroes who'll stir the nation's hearts and slay the demon king!
We need everyone's power!
Check the concept. Cringe-worthy, but no show like it. Cable channel yet over 10.3% already. And topping this hot program? Black Label first in mind.
Chairman Jung Pil-woon’s mouth fell open.
“Oho.”
Curiosity piqued.