Chapter 420: Collaboration
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 420: Collaboration
The chicken she ordered on her way home arrived right on time. Won Chae-hee set the chicken on the dining table and, for the first time in a while, cracked open a can of beer.
According to the timetable that had leaked earlier, she should have about an hour to spare. During that time, Chae-hee started the washing machine and folded the laundry that had been sitting on the drying rack to make room for the new load. It was a shame the chicken was getting cold, but she wanted to eat the good stuff while watching Spark.
It was unexpected for Spark to be allocated over ten minutes. She had expected them to be treated a bit better, but she hadn't realized they would receive this much preferential treatment.
Everyone seemed surprised, but no one claimed it was due to the agency's power. Everyone knew UA didn't have that kind of pull.
But if it was Spark, they were bound to show something impressive. And at the very least, the performance wouldn't be panned. That was why Won Chae-hee could order chicken with a relaxed mind.
Was it one collaboration and then a solo stage much later?
Even their slot was quite late in the lineup. This must be what people meant when they talked about how much things had changed.
She had heard that some people lose interest and stop stanning a "flop idol" once they become successful, moving on to find new rookies. Chae-hee didn't find that sentiment entirely incomprehensible.
However, she felt it would be hard to relate to that when it came to Spark. It wasn't every day you got to taste success this thrilling.
She also liked that they were given decent content this year, unlike last year when they were forced to do a girl group cover that was way past its prime. It was a relief Spark was smart; otherwise, they might have been bashed for being idols who couldn't keep up with the times since shortly after their debut.
The lineup for the collaboration stage was quite well-rounded. With Do-a from On-deu, Hee-rang from Berion, the center of a rookie group she’d never seen before, and Choi Je-ho, a four-member group "made of only centers" was formed.
Expectations had skyrocketed among fans from the moment the news broke. Once the bait was dropped that they would be covering a masterpiece over ten years old, the entire fandom practically went up in flames.
The synchro-dance back then was legendary.
A cover dance of a song that made history with its flashy group choreography—and performed by a lineup of members who were all known for their dancing. It would have been weirder if there was no reaction.
But it wasn't just the dancing that people were looking forward to.
Spark was an anomaly; most idol groups were composed of a wide spectrum of visuals to meet various demands. If a team had a fox-like member, they also had a rabbit-like one; a "sharp and cold" member was usually paired with a "soft tofu" type. This meant that the true nature of Choi Je-ho—the boss monster of the snowy mountains who had been pretending to be a duke while surrounded by other Northern Dukes—was about to be fully exposed.
≫ Was our Je-ho always this scary...?
It's weird...
Je-ho is supposed to be a round baby bear...
└ Do-a is way more senior, so why is our Je-ho... our Je-ho... He's definitely not an old-face, but...
└ Hee-rang is younger? Okay, I can get that. But I can't wrap my head around Do-a being older. Senior, it's not like our Je-ho lied about his age, but this is just...
≫ Lmao, Sparklers' eyes are all optimized for Spark.
It's hilarious how they think every other idol is a sunshine-warm-handsome guy. hahahaha
Our Hee-rang is the "cold-handsome" guy of the team. hahahahaㅠㅠ
└ Sparklers are amazing at spotting handsome guys, but they're terrible at gauging their temperature. haha
└ It's because we live in a freezer...
≫ What did you say?
Hee-rang wasn't a warm-handsome guy...?
Even though he looks this elegant...?
└ If you just look at his photos, he's the epitome of a healthy + neat guy. haha
└ Isn't that Berion meme famous? The "Chaebol man who succeeded alone and looks fondly at his troublemaker high school friends who haven't changed a bit."
└ Omg, that chaebol man was Hee-rang?
└ Regarding the case of a chaebol man becoming a pure-hearted female lead in one day...
≫ Guys, weren't we stanning a refreshing summer idol group?
How did we end up as the followers of the last six survivors on the Trans-Siberian Railway?
└ We've been brainwashed.
└ I thought it was summer...
≫ Choi Je-ho's beauty is savage.
In many ways.
└ Doesn't "savage" only mean one thing here?
└ Shh.
└ Seriously, he's fcking handsome. Like, X-fcking handsome.
└ One Choi Je-ho is worth ten tigers.
Choi Je-ho's visuals—which looked like he could kill someone with a glance when his mouth was shut, and like he’d say "Die" the moment he opened it—were back in the spotlight. His face and dancing, once hidden behind banana leaves, had never failed to become a hot topic since they were first unearthed.
The fact that the members were friendly toward Spark was also a plus. It was thanks to a gathering of people with no jagged personalities. Their well-rounded and kind natures created synergy the more they were together. And on top of that...
...it was revealed that there was Kim I-wol's tear-inducing support, turning it into a festival for all four fandoms.
Why were other fandoms happy that Kim I-wol was supporting Choi Je-ho?
≫ Do-a hahaha He said he gets long texts from I-wol every lunch. hahahahaha
└ Do-a became a successful fan before me... Hyung Do-a, send long Bubble Pops to Mine every lunch too. You're already the most filial son ever, but still.
└ haha We only know he gets long texts because Do-a comes to Bubble Pop to brag every time he gets one. hahahahahaha
└ Hyung Do-a, who feels the need to tell I-wol everything—what Je-ho ate for lunch, why Je-ho's shoe soles came off—just because I-wol asked him to take good care of Je-ho.
└ Do-a, stop it. I-wol's gonna block you at this rate. hahahaha
≫ F*ck.
Ogami-san in a sleeveless shirt.
└ What's with Hee-rang wearing such bold private clothes?
└ I-wol gave it to him as a gift. ㅠㅠ He said he bought it because he thought it would look good on him while monitoring Je-ho's practice videos together.
└ I was wondering who that was, so that's Hee-rang's surname. hahaha First time knowing.
└ Hire Kim I-wol as the Green Line coordinator.
└ I-wol-ssi... The rumor that you always make a dancing man wear a sleeveless shirt at least once was true. Thank you. You have saved a woman's life.
≫ JH is unexpected.
He doesn't look like it, but I guess he takes selfies often.
I feel like there are more selfies with JH than the ones our official account posts during promotions.
└ It's a rule in Spark to take a selfie whenever they do something new. (New clothes, new menu, new hair, etc.)
└ What kind of rule is that? hahahaha
└ (Photo)
└ Why is this real?
└ Even the font for this specific item is huge.
└ The blessing of the Selfie God bestowed upon a rookie junior... Thank you.
There's no idol who gives out as much fan service as Kim I-wol...
The amount of new content released because of Kim I-wol alone was uncountable. While other fandoms were busy picking up the overflowing photos and stories, Sparklers were busy vacuuming up anecdotes about Choi Je-ho across the three teams.
That long journey was nearing its end. Won Chae-hee cracked open her beer as she watched the member introductions for the project group "Four You." There were few drinks that went down as smoothly as a beer while looking at Choi Je-ho's face filling the TV screen.
Soon, Choi Je-ho's outfit appeared, looking like the word "unconventional" personified.
There was no need for complex explanations. A deep-cut black velvet shirt, leather pants, and black shoes created an excessive visual effect with a simple composition. A choker made of the same material as the pants was layered with thin silver chains.
First, they had him wear see-through inners, then just a jacket over his bare skin. Contrary to the days getting colder, Choi Je-ho's clothes only grew simpler. Only the muscles filling out his frame allowed one to guess that he wouldn't be too cold.
Choi Je-ho's performance, which already started with bonus points for style, was nothing short of perfect.
≫ Tiger-Jeho Teacher's "main job" moment is insane.
There's a reason he always looks at the kids on survival shows with eyes that say, "Why can't you do this?"
└ He's a guy who became a mentor, not just a judge, only two years after debut. haha Say no more.
└ Right, in his eyes, kids who come to dance probably look like they're just doing nursery rhymes. hahahaha
└ If you just look at the captions, he speaks kindly. I watched without sound because I forgot my earphones, and based on the captions, he's practically a daycare teacher.
└ He's not the type to speak meanly or try to power trip at all, but his natural face... his voice...
└ That mid-to-low bass was too harsh for the babies.
≫ Kim I-wol, bring a sexy concept right now.
I still remember you saying you'd think about it once the ink on the maknaes' IDs dries.
We can't let Choi Je-ho go to waste like this.
└ I watched Mission and Under Bar with my mouth covered, but this time I'm covering my phone. ;;;;;
└ To think they'll all be adults next year... The world must be lying to me.
≫ I guess I like tall, muscular men doing body waves.
I like it a lot...
└ I thought I liked pure-hearted guys until now, but I was wrong. My type was just Choi Je-ho.
└ He doesn't have the talent of a "Dol-soe" who would've spent his life chopping wood. With a hot guy like that, he would've been something in his village the moment he was born.
Fans in their late 20s to mid-30s were particularly enthusiastic. Won Chae-hee, who was exactly in that age group, was no different.
While the MCs were speaking, Chae-hee searched for "Four You" on MeTube and refreshed the page incessantly. Her fury at the broadcasting station for not uploading the video immediately would come three hours later.
During the gaps in between, Won Chae-hee moved busily. She put the remaining half of the chicken in the fridge and stir-fried some instant rice with the leftover sauce. By the time she returned with her second course, another stage was nearing its end.
『...And here is the group that showed a fiery presence all year long!』
『Let's see the stage by Spark!』
Spark was mentioned along with the introduction of about three teams. Parte had passed a long time ago. It was clear they had tried to keep Spark as far away from them as possible.
She already knew the setlist. She had expected Speaker and Hideout to be on it even before the list was released, as they were the most recently released songs.
However...
What is 『End + On A High Note』?
It seemed they had mashed two songs together. If Lee Cheong-hyeon had to do the arrangement while preparing for the CSAT, joining them together would have been the fastest way. Considering Cheong-hyeon's tendency to rarely seek help from others in song production, it was unlikely he had left it 100% to someone else.
After heating the fried rice with cheese in the microwave, she returned to find a familiar light filling the screen. It was the Spirit of the People orange.
With the familiar sound of a snare, bright lights hit the stage.