Chapter 217
Chapter 217
A cover stage.
It refers to a performance of a song that isn't one's own, but rather a song by another group or artist.
And naturally, there was an unspoken line one shouldn't cross.
‘Don’t go out of your way to perform a junior’s song.’
If you performed worse than the junior, the optics became incredibly awkward. Furthermore, even if you did well, you were likely to hear people say you "lacked professional courtesy."
Usually, cover stages required mastering someone else's song with only a few days of practice, making that risk quite fatal.
Moreover, many of the idols appearing as mentors on this variety show produced by the Idol Inc. crew were already teams that had made it big.
‘I mean, there are plenty of guys here who are way past the level of doing cover stages at year-end shows!’
This meant that no one expected to see them doing something as unexpected as covering a recent hit song by a rookie.
‘Whoa.’
For the record, related social media feeds around the same time were also flooded with "???" and the like.
However, Cheong-ryeo’s fans immediately reached an epiphany.
‘Well, if Jae-hyun only stuck to senior artists' songs, would the options be too limited?’
There were only a handful of idols who were seniors to VTIC and had hit songs within the last five years.
On the other hand, covering songs that were too old was boring. They had been milked to death and seen far too many times.
‘A rookie girl group song… the entertainment value is definitely there!’
Come to think of it, this was the first time since his debut year that they were seeing Cheong-ryeo pull off a girl group song!
The fan’s heart began to race at the thought of this sudden, rare piece of "content."
It was a reflex possible only because they didn't have a shred of doubt that Cheong-ryeo would nail it.
And just as all these thoughts flashed by in about two or three seconds.
-We gonna fly high
The screen stopped its close-up, and the stage began.
Boom-boom-boom-boom—
Over the bass and drums, the crisp sound of stringed woodwinds was layered, distorted to sound like synthesizer electronic notes.
Then, the idols, dressed in well-fitted leather harnesses, split their formation and began their choreography on the purple-lit stage.
The sense of incongruity from them coming from different groups melted away smoothly.
Their seasoned skill, refined through years of activity, played a part, but the deciding factor was… the center was extraordinary.
Naturally, it was Cheong-ryeo.
-You shout it, high up
Fly away, up there
The shackles, shoot up
Break free, Paradox
“Ack!”
The intense chorus struck right from the intro. Cheong-ryeo’s fan let out an involuntary groan.
“Ha, this is so good…”
On the screen, Cheong-ryeo connected tens of seconds of choreography as fluidly as a single motion, pulling the intro to a close.
He made it feel like an instant, leaving no room to even recall the original song.
It was an incredible display of capability.
‘Gaaaaah!’
Aside from incoherent screaming and shouting member names, similar posts were popping up sporadically in fan communities.
-Cheong-ryeo is so fcking good, holy sht
-World class, that was insane
-Oh, they only changed the key, but the vibe is totally different
It wasn't just the key that had changed.
The nuance had shifted.
Mirinae’s debut song, "High Up," was a song containing a metaphor about a caterpillar caught in a spiderweb, hardening into a cocoon, but eventually escaping as a butterfly.
Partially, it had a bit of a retro, sorrowful flavor, yet its sophisticated and rhythmical style perfectly fit recent trends, leading to its success.
It was a flawless debut song that highlighted rookie-like precision with intentional emotional touches scattered throughout… but that also meant its color was very strong.
In the first place, the metaphor itself was meant to signify soaring high after shaking off the public opinion of controversy and noise caused by Idol Inc. Season 4.
And the established idols, who were already veterans at this sort of thing, didn't fall into that trap.
Meaning, they didn't clumsily try to mimic that unique rookie sentiment for this cover stage.
-Tear off the skin, throw it away
Take off, take off, take off
I’m taking off right now
They simply emphasized the power.
“Wow, damn.”
There was none of the stiffness that inevitably comes with a rookie’s debut song. Instead, the power of expression born from composure was maximized.
Furthermore, the choreographic angles Cheong-ryeo set up fundamentally blocked this composure from looking like arrogance.
As a result, it became a stage that felt like it was going to devour the audience, creating a different feeling from the original.
In short, it became a prime example of the "strong and talented concept" that the global K-pop fandom goes crazy for.
Moreover, because they weren't originally from the same group, the atmosphere of no one wanting to yield to the other maximized that effect.
Especially the chorus.
-You shout it, high up
(high-up, up, up, up)
Go far, even higher
“Yeah!”
It was a whirlwind.
The formation led by Cheong-ryeo was fluid, and his exquisite control of intensity drew all eyes.
The law of choreography—that if the person in the center controls it well, the overall quality looks higher—was being faithfully observed.
Some people, who likely skimmed through Episode 3 as soon as it was uploaded to pull out the performance scenes, were probably already churning out endless GIFs.
‘Ah, the "no professional courtesy" talk is definitely confirmed!’
Even as Cheong-ryeo’s fan envisioned a future full of trolls being baited, for some reason, the smile wouldn't leave their face. It was the magic of the stage.
The lyrics about "soaring high" were delivered with such energy that it sounded like they would crush everything in their path and use it as a stepping stone.
-high up!
And then, the second verse.
It was a part where a dramatic melody suddenly kicked in, emphasizing vocal capability.
Naturally, Park Moon-dae took charge of it.
And this was originally the part handled by Mirinae’s center, the Rank 1 winner.
‘That kid was a good dancer, too.’
Cheong-ryeo’s fan briefly recalled the Rank 1 of Season 4, an incredible "all-rounder" character, and felt a reflexive, subtle anxiety upon seeing Park Moon-dae on the screen.
Park Moon-dae was quite a good dancer now, but among non-fans, there were still many who held doubts about his dancing.
…It was because his "POP☆CON" performance during his first appearance on Idol Inc. had been so impactful.
“Hmm.”
However, that worry ended as mere conjecture.
-Even the pain and the wounds
Can’t ever stop me
〈THE WAY OUT〉
Can’t let us down
“Oh.”
Because Park Moon-dae’s dancing was crisp.
The feeling when he bent and straightened his body was unusual.
‘He’s good?’
Since he was rarely the center during such intense choreography in TeSTAR’s title song formations, the freshness was even greater.
Was it the sorrow of being in a group with so many dance specialists? Cheong-ryeo’s fan nodded.
‘But why does his dance line feel a bit…?’
Doesn't it look like our boy’s?
But before Cheong-ryeo’s fan could process that strange sense of déjà vu, the song caught their ears first.
-We gonna fly high!
Face these chains
Say goodbye
Post-processing was surely involved, but the progression was more dramatic than the original.
“Whoa.”
The difference between a balanced member and a vocal-specialized member felt significant.
‘He’s really good.’
Cheong-ryeo’s fan looked at the screen anew and suddenly felt a strange sense of goodwill while looking at Park Moon-dae’s sleek, youthful face.
And at the same time, anger welled up.
It was because of a certain slippery bastard he was reminded of.
‘When I think about how the kids must have suffered because that talentless prick was squatting in the main vocal spot…!’
That guy didn't have a lick of talent, so they were always busy trying to hide him!
‘Forget the "all-fan" stance! I should have poured buckets of curses on him sooner to fix his head!’
Thinking of the international fans who were still posting comments like "VTIC is 5 members T_T," Cheong-ryeo’s fan ground their teeth…
Anyway, the stage they were watching was so captivatingly good that the anger quickly subsided.
“Phew.”
They were happy because it had been so long since they’d seen Cheong-ryeo do such a typical conceptual rookie idol song.
-We gonna find
〈THE WAY OUT〉
After her idol practically flew across the stage, the song ended with Park Moon-dae briefly taking the center for the final chorus.
“Hmm.”
In terms of stat distribution, they thought Cheong-ryeo should have had it, but since Park Moon-dae was quite impressive, the fan decided not to complain.
Of course, this sentiment was only possible because Cheong-ryeo had plenty of screen time.
“This is fun…”
Cheong-ryeo’s fan lay in bed, feeling satisfied as they saved photos and GIFs of Cheong-ryeo that had been uploaded. It had been a while since they’d had such accessible content.
And they even sneakily saved a few of Park Moon-dae’s.
‘Well, he’s cute.’
With guesses like, ‘He seems close with the guys; maybe he’ll sign with LeTi after TeSTAR is over,’ the fan ended their day contentedly.
And a few days later, when the behind-the-scenes video was uploaded, they would see Cheong-ryeo teaching Park Moon-dae the moves and feel proud, thinking, ‘As expected, my eyes didn't deceive me.’
-Moon-dae, when did you secretly join the dance line behind your noona’s back? As expected of the IQ 300 genius puppy.
-The best husky, highly recommended (Park Moon-dae GIF of the chorus choreography).
-Park Moon-dae’s ability to digest concepts is truly peerless. It’s rare to find a performer who knows how to show precise expressive power no matter where you put them. And Park Moon-dae is clearly one of those few. (Photo)
-Hey, he’s not the Season 3 winner for nothing. The winner from the program’s peak has a different aura lol.
‘The reaction is good.’
I nodded while monitoring the response to the first revealed stage.
Since it was a song by a rookie group T1 was pushing, there were no comments like "Why on earth did you pick a junior’s song?"
‘Because anyone can see it was the production crew’s influence.’
Furthermore, conversely, there weren't as many comments about "T1 pushing Mirinae too hard" as I expected.
‘Because the reviews of the stage are so good.’
Once the results are satisfying, there's an unavoidable tendency for the detailed process to be justified.
However, because they had grouped together people who had nothing to do with each other for the stage, there was a subtle psychological warfare over who did better.
Usually, it went something like: the most popular guy wins.
-Look at Shin Cheong-ryeo’s face. How does he look like he’s almost in his 10th year? I’d believe it if you said he debuted yesterday.
-Cheong-ryeo is still a "god-baby."
└ At that age, he’s an old man T_T
└ Your idol’s face is the one that looks like an old man T_T An old idol… I feel bad for you, fighting!
-Cheong-ryeo is truly a once-in-a-millennium idol.
‘I don’t know about a thousand years, but he might be an idol for another fifty years…….’
I scrolled through the social media pages with a sour expression.
This time… I hate to admit it, but that "most popular guy" also had the biggest role on stage, so I have no particular comments to make.
‘Anyway, it was a success.’
Not only domestically, but the WeTube videos uploaded separately were said to be racking up views at a terrifying speed.
The variety show was getting hype, Mirinae’s recognition was growing—the company must be cheering.
‘Actually, we didn't lose anything either.’
As the international recognition of this variety show soared, it helped increase the global popularity of the TeSTAR members who were highlighted well as mentors in the beginning.
‘The special stage I appeared in this time also got a great reaction.’
And since Seon A-hyun was next, this momentum would likely continue.
Young-rin was included in that lineup, too.
While not as much as Cheong-ryeo, she was someone with good international recognition, so Seon A-hyun would benefit from the synergy.
Moreover, since there was such a gap in their career years, there was no risk of useless dating rumors.
‘It was a co-ed group song.’
I heard they covered a co-ed unit song from a popular agency that was quite popular overseas.
I knew it because we had performed it once on an impromptu stage during the tour. It was a masterpiece, and the atmosphere suited Seon A-hyun well, so it would turn out great.
Just then, the person in question, who was monitoring my stage next to me, spoke up as the video ended.
“M-Moon-dae. You did really, really well…!”
“Is the dancing okay?”
“Y-yes! It has g-good power!”
Oh, he seems certain.
“Thanks. I think yours will turn out well, too.”
“D-do you think so?”
Seon A-hyun chuckled. I guess he thought he did pretty well himself.
‘As expected, not changing it was the right answer.’
I didn't need to see it to know he’d have done well, but I should monitor it next week.
With that thought, I turned off my smartphone.
However, contrary to expectations, the process leading up to that point was not smooth.
A few days later, after the teaser for the second special stage was uploaded.
[Post uploaded to Cool-it Choi Ki-woon’s Inheart private account.jpg]
[Choi Ki-woon’s finsta completely exposed omg]
The private account of some guy whose name I didn't even know, who had performed the co-ed unit song with Seon A-hyun, was exposed to the whole world.
‘Honestly, he was a guy I hadn't even considered because I only focused on Young-rin in the lineup.’
Up to this point, it honestly wasn't our business. If anything, it might have been a benefit if he got less screen time due to the controversy.
The problem was that, without fail, people who claimed to have "divine insight" began to appear.
-Isn't this talking about Seon A-hyun? (Screenshot)
-Doesn't the timing fit perfectly? It looks like the day of the shoot.
‘…It was about time for the cooldown to end.’
It meant the season for pest control had arrived.