The Conditions for Becoming a Kind Idol Leader — Episode 43

[ENG][TRAILER] If you want fame, endure it! Who's the K — first broadcast Thursday, August 26 at 9:00 PM

White letters appeared over the black screen.

[Q. Do you know this group?]

The screen brightened, revealing a street scene. Someone who looked like a production staffer was showing a music video on a tablet to a citizen whose face had been mosaicked out.

[Citizen A: What? I’m seeing them for the first time. I don’t know them. I’m not interested in idols.]

[Q. Don’t you have any impressions after seeing the stage?]

With a crackle of noise, the question flashed up again over a black screen, and then interviews with an unspecified crowd of citizens began to pass in sequence.

[Citizen A: Honestly, the song isn’t really my taste...?]

[Citizen B: I’m not into male idols.]

[Citizen C: They’re all faces I’ve never seen before....]

[Citizen B: It’s just loud,]

[Q. If there were one group among them that seems the most skilled?]

[Citizen D: ...This one, I guess?]

[Citizen E: Do I have to pick? They all look about the same.]

[Citizen F: Still, ■ is definitely better than ■! It’s not even close!]

─Flash

Then, as brief clips of the participating groups’ stages rolled by, the MC’s narration began to weave through the footage.

[How long are you going to be satisfied with standing there and settling for that position?]

The ad continued by alternating scenes of participant groups celebrating on music shows with shots of groups that never even made it into the running, standing in the corner or swallowing their disappointment after being dropped from the list of nominees.

The MC’s voice kept flowing over the calm background music.

[Don’t you want to rise to the top without being compared to anyone else?]

Performance clips of famous boy groups people usually call first-tier flashed by lightly, and the words Topdol rose over them.

The screen slowly faded out, revealing the MC standing dead center on the stage.

[I will make that possible.]

[WHO'S THE K - Choosing the true top of the top]

[First broadcast: August 26, 9:00 PM]

(https://newtu.be/aQf3bnK9V5bic)

→ NewTube link to the newly dropped WhoTheK teaser.

Did they lose their minds with the clickbait, lol.

Hi, Aon here.

Anyway, this is a quick reaction thread for the videos below. I’m not bringing the teaser because it was fucking awful, haha.

[ENG][PRE-RELEASE VIDEO/EP.1] ♬ ZER01 - 0UTR01 │ 90-second performance (Short Ver.) + interview │

(https://newtu.be/1xzf7102Abn)

The performance video is fucking exactly why I love Zero One. The concept is ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠insane from the jump—the choreography is sharp, but the hair, makeup, and styling are all messy and disheveled, which is such a wild contrast and I love it.

I won’t say any more. Watch it and you’ll get why I’m acting like this, yeah.

[ENG][PRE-RELEASE VIDEO/EP.1] ★ First Meeting ★ Who on earth are these Ks?!

(https://newtu.be/iNa3P10453Z)

“Who on earth are these Ks?!” As if. Fuck, I’m getting pissed again. The thumbnail is so pretty I’m giving in. Damn, I swore I’d never help those Knet bastards’ ratings, but this changed my mind. I’m a total reed, sorry lol;

I grabbed screenshots of the Zero One boys because the few seconds they showed in the pre-release video were so completely, perfectly them that it was adorable.

(DogWoo_Seeking_Friends_&_GreetingBot_GoYoung_and_Angel.jpg)

Looks like DogWoo already knew some people in the same industry, and he seems close with the DTD guys too. Look at him smiling so brightly—why is my high school first love here? Seriously, if you leave out DogWoo or Angel, our kids probably barely know any celebrity friends at all...(((((Zero One)))))

GoYoung and Angel are wandering around side by side, bowing over and over like perfect little etiquette machines. Angel starts talking first without any awkwardness at all and looks totally natural, while GoYoung is the real greeting bot—he only greets people honestly, but why does he bow so deeply and with so much care? lol. Even though it’s the same greeting, the two of them give off completely different vibes, and they’re so cute T_T

(Sitting_Apart_Like_Lonely_Little_Islands_LimSe_and_Pyo.jpg)

lol, I genuinely thought they were meditating. The background music with the monk-block sound is fucking ridiculous, I can’t lololol. How can they not blink once or move at all? T_T If they keep their mouths shut and sit still like that, they already give off the kind of vibe that makes people hesitate to talk to them, you know? If you look closely, the other groups are glancing over too. Ah, my babies, fuck, they’re such gentle little sweethearts—what if people misunderstand them for no reason? Honestly, I was a little worried. But then—

────

[Pre-interview capture 123.jpg]

Q. Is there anything you’re worried about?

?: Exceptional talents are appearing, and... [truncated] ... Also, the members are all shy around strangers, so they don’t talk much. I’m worried people might misunderstand them. After all... (silence) we’re on the same team, so of course I can’t help paying attention. Haha.

────

After seeing that, lol, ah T_T GoYoung already knows the eldest-and-youngest duo are shy around strangers too. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠The way he looks when he says he’s worried is so genuinely worried that it’s almost funny-sad, like, sweet baby cat, why are you making me cry, meowww T_TTTTTTT

That’s all the screentime the kids get... Knet has had a lot of complaints about screentime discrimination for a while, but since this is just a pre-release video, I’m not saying anything else. We’ll know once it actually airs, yeah.

I don’t know how to wrap this up.

Bye-bye.

Go Young-in could only let out a quiet sigh after watching the teaser-sized clip, barely two minutes long.

So this is how they’re going to stir up trouble.

What, were they acting like instructors at a cram school in Daechi-dong, teaching an idol curriculum? Make it possible? Make what possible? They should at least stop making the image weird. Where the hell had their conscience gone?

A quick search around the internet was enough to confirm it: the comments were overwhelmingly hateful, just as expected. In more than one way, it had definitely succeeded in grabbing attention.

After checking the teaser, he looked at the reactions and started monitoring the pre-release videos one by one as well. As he worked through the other groups’ clips, he noticed Zero One being mentioned in Triple Shot’s video.

More precisely, it was Jeong Hae, speaking in an interview about his friendship with Zero One. He didn’t single anyone out directly, but the implication was obvious: he was talking about Go Young-in and Kyeon In-woo.

He had to check this.

At this rate, something bad’s going to happen again.

He couldn’t expect a reply over chat right away, and going to the practice room was awkward since Pyo Jae-ho still wasn’t there. It looked like he’d have to head back to the dorm later and ask Kyeon In-woo first.

It was too unsettling to leave alone.

Damn it. Why did he have to worry about things other than the actual competition when this was supposed to be an idol survival show? Go Young-in sank back in his chair until it looked like the weight of his own body was pulling him under.