Chapter 380: 4th Competition (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 380: 4th Competition (1)
Introductory jazz dance was no walk in the park. It was a frequent occurrence for me, Park Ju-woo, and Lee Cheong-hyeon to fail at the transition from rolling on the floor to standing up, ending up in a tangled mess of limbs like a matted ball of hair. Whenever that happened, Jeong Seong-bin would approach us, stifling his laughter, to bail us out. I have no idea why Park Ju-woo was struggling so much, considering he actually participated in creating the choreography.
Regardless, we eventually pulled it off. We might not have reached the level of true elegance, but we succeeded in becoming swans. The joy I felt when we completed the full song for the first time without anyone making a mistake was beyond words.
Having put forth a result carved from our very bones, I found myself naturally scanning the audience's reaction.
"How did you enjoy our performance?"
Jeong Seong-bin, who was the first to grab a microphone, asked the question. I could hear small voices cheering, saying they loved it. Since this wasn't a common sight, everyone shared a silent smile.
"The song you just heard was 'Hi' by Millie Frown, released in 1998. As you heard, instrumental tracks without vocals are often featured in jazz concerts. We're happy to have been able to show it to you in such a unique way."
After a brief introduction of the music and some closing remarks, the 4th Competition was over. I finished my assigned lines against the backdrop of calm music suitable for an exit.
"I hope you have a day filled with present joys. Thank you for being with us."
I bowed deeply, and as I raised my head, the upper-floor railings overlooking the hall finally came into full view. Beyond the safety personnel, I could see people packed tightly along the railings.
Perhaps realizing that busking made it impossible to prevent leaks, the A.Wang.Sil staff uploaded the official fancams the very next day after the performance.
New regulations were also announced, stating that duplicate voting—which had been at the center of controversy every episode—would be prohibited and invalidated. It seemed they realized that if they took any more hits, the program might actually get canceled.
Thanks to this, Won Chae-hee was able to enjoy the mountain of new content that had accumulated during her overtime work with a slightly less irritated heart.
When new content drops, fandom reactions usually follow a certain pattern. Won Chae-hee, who had become a veteran Sparkler without even realizing it, now understood these habits perfectly.
First, they aggressively admire Spark's transformed visuals.
≫ Who dipped our boys in a gold mine and pulled them out?
The gold dust is literally sparkling off their faces.
Their hair turned yellow?? They look like the secret gold bars of a jewelry shop owner who’s been in Jongno for 70 years???
└ I saw "gold dust" and thought, "Oh, just typical fan hyperbole~" but then I saw the site photos and actually saw the gold dust. Is there a German word for that specific kind of bewilderment?
└ The clothes are simple, but the glitter is sooooo flashy that there's absolutely no "beauty of empty space" left in the outfit.
≫ I love Je-ho, but I never imagined light silver hair would suit him so well. After seeing Ash Grey Je-ho, I feel like I've wasted 20 years of my life... Why haven't you done light hair until now?
└ I love Gi-yeon, but I never imagined platinum blonde... Ha... Gi-yeon, is our loyalty really only this deep? Did Iwol really never suggest platinum blonde to you? There's no way Iwol wouldn't have—
└ Gi-yeon, the Sparklers have told you time and again that if you listen to your hyung, you'll get jjolmyeon even in your sleep.
└ A Sparkler has run out of space to nag.
≫ The Brown-Haired Seong-bin Protection Squad has been resurrected.
I'm dying because I love the blonde ombre in the middle so much.
└ Jeong Seong-bin's hair needs to read the room and grow out brown.
└ I'll take that and raise you: Lee Cheong-hyeon's hair needs to read the room and grow out gold...
└ I thought I'd never see Gold Cheong-hyeon again after the mission, but thank you for coming back with an even more vivid blonde... I love you...
≫ So you're telling me the people who went to Hyeondae Department Store yesterday saw that for free?
Without ticketing, without paying, and without waiting for a recording? Does this even make sense??
└ Calm down and tell me what you want.
└ To the person who took the previews, please upload them immediately.
≫ I've been staring at one photo of Ju-woo for over 30 minutes. Is this normal?
└ The concentration required to observe one photo for three hours...
└ The concentration required to observe one photo for three hours...
└ The concentration required to observe one photo for three hours...
└ You guys, lol. It's scary, stop sending the same mention lolololol T_T
Next come the unfiltered emotional expressions from those who saw the stage. Posts at this stage rarely use complete sentences.
≫ Ha.
≫ I can't believe my eyes.
It was the same even looking at Won Chae-hee's private account. Everyone communicated using face-palming emojis, sighs, profanity used ironically to express joy, and memes that roughly translated to "immense love."
Normal posts only appeared after this period passed. People clutching their throbbing heads would post their impressions, desperate to explain why and where they felt so overwhelmed.
≫ Spark doing jazz? You can't see this just anywhere.
This bedroom jazz maniac is sobbing... I never thought I'd understand the phrase "feeling full without eating," but I get it today.
└ More than anything, the fact that Choi Je-ho choreographed the pair dance is so high-stimulus that my heart is struggling.
≫ They aren't the type to not know that it's hard to get an explosive reaction with a lyrical song, but I'm struck by their incredible spirit of challenge.
And I'm so proud of them for pulling it off this well T_T Sparklers for life.
≫ It looks like they dubbed the audio for the video, but could they hear it well on-site? This seems like the kind of dance you absolutely have to watch while hearing the music.
└ Looking at the reviews, the atmosphere on-site was super quiet. They said it was almost like a radio show.
└ A radio show lol.
There was one peculiar thing, though. There were significantly more clips of Kim I-wol than usual.
In performances with a high focus on dance, Choi Je-ho and Kang Gi-yeon usually took the spotlight. Even during the Half-formal era, the boards were plastered with Kang Gi-yeon's middle school videos, trainee clips, and his A.Wang.Sil Season 1 random play dance.
But this time was different. While there had been comments before about how Kim I-wol wasn't bad at dancing anymore, the posts coming up now were distinctly different.
≫ When did Kim I-wol become a man...?
Wasn't our Iwol the Snow Queen of Spark, Seong-bin's loyal subject, the notebook handicraft master, and the grasshopper of the Bulkkot High School baseball team?
└ There's something in that last part that isn't human, but seriously, when did Kim I-wol become a man...?
≫ Our Iwol said he'd do a sexy concept once the younger members' ID card ink was dry.
I guess he wanted to do it all by himself. What a greedy guy.
≫ No matter how I look at it, the outfits and dance weren't aimed at being sexy, but I feel strange watching it.
This video is really weird... I keep thinking about it even when I lie down to sleep.
└ Why isn't the "Hi" individual fancam up yet?
└ Since it was busking, they said only the full stage video is being released this time.
└ These tasteless bastards don't know how to pull views.
The sight of ash-blonde Kim I-wol performing a slow dance—and owning it as if it were his own—sent a massive shockwave through the Sparklers. Three-split GIFs with slow-motion effects and screenshots capturing his languid expressions were poured out incessantly.
Did he go into some kind of secluded training?
Won Chae-hee knew well that Kim I-wol didn't have time to go all-in on dance practice. It hadn't been long since she saw his Bubble Pop post saying the Exclusive Report filming was finished. Even if there were no drug offenders in the group, there was no way Spark wasn't monitoring the situation.
He was tenacious. He didn't show a single sign of struggle, yet his effort was conveyed without a single word. And she knew that Kim I-wol himself probably wouldn't even want that kind of reaction.
Kim I-wol, I hear you loud and clear.
As soon as Won Chae-hee got off the subway, she bought two cans of high-caffeine drinks at the convenience store in the station. She downed one can right in front of the convenience store trash can. Holding the remaining can, Won Chae-hee ran diligently.
Today, I'm going to turn you into the main masterpiece of the art fair!
That night, through a haze of flickering focus, Won Chae-hee managed to salvage twenty golden moments.
Among them, four carefully selected photos were beautifully packaged, fueled by her lost hours of sleep. Since she had less time to shave down jawlines or touch up skin, she poured all her effort into blurring the backgrounds and bringing out natural colors.
Won Chae-hee was only able to fall asleep with two hours left before sunrise. In the near future, these photos would ascend to the honorable position of "photos found suspiciously often in idol fan galleries."
During A.Wang.Sil Season 1, the contestants lived together in a dorm ahead of the final stage. This event was scheduled to be applied to this season as well.
However, the dorm living item was scrapped a week before filming. In a way, it was a natural progression.
Since they had to film the ranking announcement for the 4th Competition, the cast had to gather anyway, and since the live broadcast schedule was set, they couldn't skip filming the footage to be aired before then.
So, the A.Wang.Sil staff decided to proceed with individual content where only the members of each group gathered after the ranking announcement.
First, in the 4th Competition, Spark took 2nd place by a narrow margin. Slay, who showed a large-scale performance with dancers in Daehak-ro, took 1st place. It was a spectacle on par with a year-end award show.
Parte took 5th place. It was a significantly lower rank compared to the firepower their fandom had shown previously. However, Song Min-il didn't show any dissatisfaction even after the slate was clapped.
After the ranking announcement, we headed to a large tent decorated with fairy lights. It was a bit contrived to have six tents just sitting there indoors, but we accepted it quietly, knowing we'd be roasted alive if we filmed outdoors in this weather.
On-deu, a nine-member group, resisted strongly, shouting, "In all fairness, shouldn't you give our team two tents?!" They said the two people who lost at rock-paper-scissors would have to sit outside, but fortunately, everyone was able to fit into the large tent.
Even for us, a six-member group, the space wasn't exactly generous.
"Should we all fold our legs a bit? Kang Gyeon, you can stretch yours out!"
"Hey, it's cramped, so you fold your legs into three sections."
"Cheong-hyeon said that because he's worried about your knees, not because of your height, Gi-yeon...!"
Park Ju-woo mediated between the bickering Lee Cheong-hyeon and Kang Gi-yeon. In the past, he would have been at a loss whenever sharp glares were exchanged between members, but lately, he'd been trying his hand at mediating. The kid, who had already finished his growth spurt, seemed to be growing more mature by the day. It was heartening.
A lamp shone brightly in the center of the tent. From a corner of the tent where the light flickered, Jeong Seong-bin pulled out a small envelope.