Chapter 18
Chapter 18
“Wow, I’m actually getting nervous!”
“I hope we get a lot of screen time.”
The voices of sweaty teenagers echoed through the training center’s auditorium.
They sure have a lot of energy.
Especially considering we were filming late at night, hauled all the way to the set, wearing uncomfortable uniforms, and sitting on stiff metal chairs.
Then again, with cameras everywhere, it was hard to show any discomfort. I was no exception.
I was currently busy holding back from snapping at Gold 1, Gold 2, and Keun Se-jin, who had migrated over to pester me after getting bored of talking amongst themselves.
“Moon-dae hyung-nim, how do you feel with Episode 1 about to air?”
“Ah~ I hear he’s ready to become a legend of the rank evaluations?”
“Incredible! Mr. Moon-dae!”
“Stop it…”
My life, where I can’t even ignore this kind of nonsense, is the real legend here…
I really wanted a cold drink.
…Oh, there’s a drink.
Looking down, I saw an ionic drink placed under every seat. Seeing how they were positioned with the labels clearly visible, it looked like they finally landed a PPL deal.
It was some no-name brand, but I didn’t care. I popped the cap and took a huge gulp.
And I almost spat it right back out.
“…….”
Now I know why they needed the PPL.
It tastes like crap.
“Countdown starting soon! Please count down along with us from ten!”
At the staff member’s shout, the logo disappeared from the projector screen in front of us, replaced by numbers.
“10! 9! 8!...”
As the countdown ended and the melody of the theme song, <Shining Star>, began to play, cheers and applause erupted from all sides.
And so, the long-awaited first episode began its broadcast.
The first episode was a special two-hour broadcast.
This meant the participants had to sit on those metal chairs for 120 minutes, unable to move except to give reactions for the camera.
However, I doubt any of the participants cared about that.
Only one thing mattered.
How much did I show up on screen?
Of course, the majority of the participants were likely disappointed.
As for me?
Well, let’s reconstruct the content along with the reactions I found on the internet after filming ended.
First, all sorts of online reactions, including hate articles and top comments about <Idol Inc.>, were broadcast directly onto the screen.
Then, the captions appeared.
[Countless controversies!]
[How did the actual filming of <Re-listing! Idol Inc.> really go?]
The viewers reacted exactly as they had before.
Meaning, they cursed the show while continuing to watch.
Fortunately, the opening passed in a flash, and the first participant appeared.
[Ah~ I’m so nervous!]
Oh, Choi Won-gil.
That’s right. The group evaluation featuring Choi Won-gil aired first. He received quite a bit of screen time in the typical "maknae" position.
I’m pretty sure the actual first participant was someone else.
And that actual first participant didn’t get any screen time after that.
He probably won’t show up in the future, either.
The show followed that pattern overall.
The production team had already finished their internal selection process. Some participants didn’t even get a proper reaction shot.
Interestingly, the participants who were my teammates in the previous round received a fair amount of screen time.
Starting with Choi Won-gil, the evaluations for Keun Se-jin and Gold 1 and 2 were aired before Part 1 even ended.
It felt like a good sign. It’s better to start off being highlighted as a decent team when the team battles begin.
Of course, the most important thing is my own screen time.
Unless my evaluation was completely edited out, I should appear in Episode 1 based on the order.
And fortunately, I did.
[The next participant is entering now!]
My segment first appeared at the end of Part 1.
It was a strange feeling to see Park Moon-dae walking onto the stage on screen. It felt like watching someone else mimic something I had done.
Behind me, Keun Se-jin and the Golds started slapping my back and shaking my shoulders.
They really don’t give me a moment to get sentimental.
“Hey, hey, hey! You’re on! See?”
“…Yeah, it’s me.”
Stop shaking me, or I won’t be able to see even with my eyes open.
Since I couldn’t say that, I gave them a moderate response and focused back on the screen. The conversation with the judges was playing.
[Yes, participant. Please introduce yourself.]
[…My name is Park Moon-dae. I look forward to working with you.]
As soon as Park Moon-dae’s greeting on stage ended, an interview clip was immediately inserted. It was a positive sign, as it meant effort had been put into the editing.
[Q: Is there anything you’d like to say?]
[Park Moon-dae: No. (Silence)]
[Park Moon-dae: Nothing in particular.]
The humorless BGM and chilling sound effects were a bonus.
“……Hmm.”
Let’s see… I’m pretty sure that was my answer to the question of whether I had any complaints about my teammates.
They’re attaching it to this?
It was the kind of editing that made me retract my "positive sign" comment in just seven seconds.
This feels ominous.
The judges’ baffled reactions were broadcast with even more exaggeration.
[Wait, that’s it?]
[Yes. I have no notable career history to introduce.]
As soon as that answer ended, another interview cut appeared.
[Park Moon-dae: I have no experience related to the entertainment industry (before coming on this show).]
[Q: Have you ever received training?]
[Park Moon-dae: No.]
I knew I was screwed here.
I had intentionally spoken in a way that would be hard to cut, fearing they would chop up my answers, but I didn’t expect them to turn me into a man of one-word answers.
The internet reaction at this point was brutal.
And the judges’ bewildered whispers were all subtitled.
[Ah, looking at the application here, there really is nothing.]
[I see.]
Cuts of the participants who had already been judged sitting with stiff expressions and whispering to each other flashed by. I wondered where they even dug those clips up from.
The judge’s next words were also given a screen effect, making them sound somewhat sarcastic.
[Then, let’s see your stage.]
[Yes.]
The Park Moon-dae on screen grabbed the microphone, and the accompaniment began to play.
And the moment the first note came out—
[Ding-dong! It’s the sound of an ice water purifier~]
A commercial played.
It was the privilege of cable TV: the mid-roll break.
“No way!”
“Hyung, don’t worry too much.”
Exaggerated reactions and worries poured in from around me.
“Are you okay?”
A guy who hasn’t even appeared in a single shot yet is worrying about me…?
He seemed to be getting too swept up in the atmosphere, but I figured it was for the cameras.
I answered calmly.
“As long as I’m on the show, it’s fine.”
Of course, that was bullshit. No matter what you actually did, if the editing was trashed, it was over.
However…
Internally, I smirked.
I don’t think they’re going to completely bury me.
Inserting a mid-roll break in the middle of an evaluation meant it was okay to break the flow.
In other words, the content following the commercial wouldn’t annoy the viewers.
The short mid-roll break ended quickly, and the intro began to play again.
By this time, public opinion on the internet was hitting rock bottom.
And the moment Park Moon-dae, holding the mic, began to sing, the comments briefly stopped.
[I remember the me that I used to know…]
[…!!]
The judges’ eyes widening and the participants suddenly lifting their heads were shown in a rapid-fire cross-edit.
To be honest, I was just as flustered as the internet reactions.
…He’s good.
With the editing added, it looked like some hidden genius had appeared at the audition.
They even cut the awkward hand movements—which couldn’t even be called choreography—so well that they looked plausible.
The editing was far more favorable than I expected.
I suspected they might be trying to give a "twist" by killing expectations first and then showing a great stage, but still.
[Like every day is a PARTY, woo~]
During the high notes at the end, there was even a shot of the judge Mudie covering her mouth.
I’m pretty sure that didn’t happen during my evaluation?
Are they offsetting the character assassination in the interview with this?
While I was feeling conflicted, internet opinion flipped in an instant.
The production team even kept the short silence after the song ended.
[Thank you for listening.]
[…….]
As they zoomed in on the other participants’ reactions during the silence, it became an unnecessarily dramatic scene.
The explosive reactions from the judges that followed were highlighted one by one, and the choreographer’s words were given large captions as if they were some profound quote.
[You know you did well, right?]
[……I practiced hard to sing well.]
[No, this kind of thing is just something you’re born with. You have talent.]
The only problem was that with that kind of editing, my reaction to those words seemed incredibly dull in comparison.
And they probably did that on purpose.
[So you’ve never had special lessons?]
[No.]
[None at all? Not even at an academy?]
[Yes.]
The internet reactions were already like this.
The positive thing was that people didn’t seem to think "Park Moon-dae’s" reactions were malicious anymore; the comments were starting to mix in jokes.
Hmm. I’ve got the gist of it.
Did they set my character as a clueless… "my-pace" talented civilian?
I’d get some hate, but it wasn’t a bad start.
No, it was actually good.
As long as the editing for the team battle wasn’t insanely weird, I’d likely pass through the second round easily with this initial recognition.
With this flow, they might even package my dancing decently and let it slide.
With a hopeful premonition, that very content began to appear on the screen. It was the part where judge Young-rin requested a dance.
The internet reactions around this part were lukewarm.
[Yes. Then, would this song be possible?]
[Uh……?]
But as soon as Park Moon-dae requested a specific song and the staff’s flustered reaction was broadcast, the comments began to get excited again.
And when the insanely upbeat <POP☆CON> started playing, both the editing and the comments went wild.
[!!!!]
Captions filled with exclamation marks, a judge spitting out water, and Park Moon-dae dancing to <POP☆CON> with a dead-serious expression were cross-edited together, sending the atmosphere into another dimension.
“…….”
“Bwahahaha!!”
The sounds of participants bursting into laughter echoed from all around.
I was truly… embarrassed.
No… I just wanted to look like I was working hard even on an easy song.
I came off like a lunatic who was dead serious about popcorn.
I was worried I might become an internet meme at this rate, but as always, you had to see the final score to know for sure.
The reaction is… good?
The reaction was even better than when I was singing. Good grief.