Chapter 30
Chapter 30
The woman, who had come to the recording at a friend's request, managed to snag a middle-row seat with a decent view.
This is a bit awkward.
As she sat there feeling self-conscious about attending such an event alone for the first time, the person in the next seat struck up a conversation.
"Who are you here to see?"
"Huh? Oh… Park Moon-dae?"
"Ah… I see."
The person next to her, who was holding a "Kim Rae-bin, Debut!" slogan in one hand, scanned her from head to toe before quickly turning away to look at her smartphone.
"……."
It felt strangely unpleasant.
Feeling like she was wasting both her mood and her time, the woman began watching the first performance with a pout.
"The first stage is… 'Fingerprint' by Rolling Couple!"
With the MC’s booming introduction, a performance by Rolling Couple—a co-ed idol group that had disbanded after two failed promotions—played briefly on the screen.
The segment was framed under the pretense of "considering audience members who might not know this hidden masterpiece" and "showing respect to the original artists."
In reality, however, the intention was to create a sharp contrast between the dated performance of a failed idol group from the past and the current contestants' stage.
"And the contestants who have reinterpreted this stage are… Ha Il-jun, Ji Tae-woo, Lee Se-jin, Seon A-hyun, Choi Na-hoon, Seok Hee-kang, and Choi Won-gil! Team 'Gigantic'! Please enter!"
The screen showing the original performance cut to black, and the contestants' profile pictures filled the screen one by one as the MC called their names.
Then, as the screen slowly dimmed, the stage lights flared to life.
—When our palms touch, I can feel it~
Keun Se-jin’s beaming face filled the screen.
Dun-dun-da—
A flashy synchronized dance unfolded on stage to a fast-paced electro-house beat.
Whoa…
Unlike watching it on a screen, the live performance felt much more powerful because of the sense of space and depth in the choreography.
For a woman watching an idol performance in person for the first time, it was almost a shock.
Maybe I should have gone to more dance artist concerts instead of just ballad singers.
She felt a pang of regret as she became completely immersed in the performance.
"Thank you!"
By the time she was clapping for the contestants as they exited the stage, she was in high spirits.
This is actually pretty fun.
Waiting during the setup between stages was tedious, but watching celebrities perform while the broadcast equipment whirred around them had a unique charm.
The only downside was that the skill level of the teams fluctuated wildly depending on the contestants.
This team is a bit… eh.
The second team was disappointing, while the third and fourth teams were quite entertaining.
Since she had never been part of "stan culture," she didn't have detailed critiques for each stage; she just let the vague impressions slip from her mind.
For now, her main takeaway was that the first team had been the best.
They said to vote for the two best teams on the way out, right?
Keeping the first team in mind for one of her votes, she continued to watch.
The following teams had their own concepts and were fun in their own way, but none left as big an impression as the first.
Hmm, I’m getting a little tired.
In truth, the later teams weren't necessarily worse than the earlier ones. It was just that watching unfamiliar songs back-to-back caused the initial novelty to wear off, and boredom began to set in.
Moreover, the contestant her friend had asked her to support still hadn't appeared.
Is this the last team?
Resisting the urge to check her phone, she barely managed to focus on the next introduction.
"This next stage is… 'Burning Like the Sun' by the band Taeyang Island!"
A video that looked like a music broadcast from ten years ago appeared on the screen.
Oh, this song.
It was a cheering song she had heard at the stadium when she went to a baseball game with a friend.
So this is how it originally sounded…
For some reason, it wasn't as exciting as it was at the stadium. It just seemed like a very difficult song with a lot of high notes.
She watched the vocalist on the screen singing his heart out with little interest, only to be startled by the MC’s thunderous voice.
"And here are the contestants who have reinterpreted this stage! Ryu Cheong-woo, Lee Se-jin, Kim Yu-jun, Park Moon-dae, Yu Ji-ho, Kim Rae-bin, and Cha Yu-jin!"
Did he just say Park Moon-dae?
She hurriedly looked back at the screen. The profile pictures of the current contestants were displayed.
Oh, I know all of them.
There were many famous contestants, which explained why they were the final team.
Her expectations rose again, and she adjusted her posture. The cheers from the crowd around her were several times louder than before, piercing her ears.
Good heavens, they’re really popular.
"Team 'Hero Song'! Entering now~"
Before she could even think about how tacky the name was, the stage went pitch black.
It was a dark stage with even the screen lights extinguished.
The moment a single blue spotlight pierced the darkness—
A contestant was revealed, pointing his index finger toward the sky like the barrel of a gun.
His tall frame was clad in a black jumpsuit with a racing-style pattern that seemed to absorb the intense blue light.
On his hand, a red finger suit glinted under the spotlight.
Then, a low voice rang out.
—Yah, yah… Hero Time.
[HERO TIME!]
Instantly, the same words filled the screen.
Screeeech!
An intense bass began to tear through the speakers along with blatant glitch sounds.
All the stage lights exploded back to life. And the seven members began to move in perfect unison.
"……!"
With limbs stretching out, hitting the floor, and snapping into place, a razor-sharp synchronized dance unfolded.
Every one of them wore a black jumpsuit, each with a slightly different pattern.
Cha Yu-jin, positioned in the center, began to sing.
—It’s burning, my heart is
Brilliant like the sun
A contestant who was lifted up from behind took over the next line.
—Reaching high into the distant sky
So I can fly further and catch it
In place of the typical band sound, a heavy and intense dubstep beat with a rocking edge filled the air.
WOB- WOB- WOB- WEEEB-!
BRMMMM—!
Then, more synchronized dancing.
The contestants extended their hands, moving as if they were performing martial arts.
She watched the stage with her mouth agape. Her eyes were drawn to the way they moved even more violently during their own parts.
The choreography consisted of large, definitive movements without any small, fussy motions.
A composition that could have easily looked monotonous or excessive became nothing short of powerful, thanks to the formations that shifted in the blink of an eye.
—There is only one thing that saves the world
A burning, ecstatic passion
Ryu Cheong-woo, wearing a navy headband, sang the pre-chorus.
Just as she thought the choreography looked uniquely cool, as if they were shooting something, the chorus exploded.
—Fly away! I’ll go until the end~
Until the day I shine like that sun!
The contestant who kicked forward and belted out a refreshing high note had shimmering blonde hair.
A bright yellow glossy choker suited him so well it looked like it was made from his own hair.
While hitting that high note, the contestant was wearing a smirk.
Holy crap.
That’s Moon-dae? The woman reflexively covered her mouth.
The photos were so bad…!
He didn't look like this in the photos her friend had shown her!
How could someone take such bad pictures of a kid who was this talented and cute?!
Shattering already low expectations had a devastatingly powerful effect.
Furthermore, nothing could beat personal preference.
I guess our tastes are similar after all…!
As she came to this new realization, the performance entered a new phase.
Kim Rae-bin moved into the spot Park Moon-dae had vacated as he sat down.
Goggles with purple lenses dangled near his collarbone.
—Rising like a star
Shining like the sun
Huh?
In the part where the high-pitched chorus should have continued, a rap was inserted instead.
However, the melody of the remaining chorus didn't disappear.
Instead, it was processed through a synthesizer like a sampler, adding a sharp sound over the hip dubstep accompaniment.
With the rap layered on top, the momentum of the previous high notes didn't fade. If anything, it felt easier to listen to.
Moreover, since the original lyrics were a bit dated, the rap lyrics—which were a direct English translation—actually made the song feel more modern.
—Flying away! This moment~
This is the time, burning like the sun!
—Take your wings
and fly up
Let’s catch up
to the moon!
Wow…
The woman, who didn't know the original song well, simply felt that "this version is better," but she could definitely tell the arrangement was far superior to the other teams.
And above all, the performance was just cool.
By the time the final chorus came around, she was leaning forward from her seat, completely entranced.
—Fly away! To the very end~
This time, Park Moon-dae and Kim Rae-bin sang the chorus as if they were calling and responding from opposite ends of the formation.
The choreography, moving as if they were a single entity, looked like a wave.
Under the blue-purple laser lights, the black jumpsuits enhanced the feeling that they were characters from a sci-fi comic book.
And then, the final ultra-high note of the chorus.
—I shall save your world!
"Gasp."
She swallowed the groan that tried to escape her throat.
As Park Moon-dae lifted his head under a white pinpoint light, he looked like he really could save the world right then and there.
No, he was definitely saving her right now…!
On stage, Cha Yu-jin burst forward, performing a backflip during the final dance break.
His body, cutting through the air, landed on the stage floor like a sequence from an action movie.
Thud.
It was the iconic superhero landing.
Over the remaining top-line accompaniment, a narration like a glitchy public announcement flowed out.
—Thank you for flying Hero Air today…
The boys on stage slowly turned around.
And with a simultaneous thumbs-up, the song ended.
In that moment, she realized for the first time that the surroundings were filled with an incredible amount of noise.
"AAAAAAAHH!!"
"Uwaaaaaahhh!!!"
All sorts of cheers and screams, which she had unconsciously ignored while focusing on the stage, now rang in her ears.
What was even more surprising was that she was screaming too.
"That was insane!! Insane!!"
The person in the next seat who had spoken to her earlier was also screaming, looking like they were about to leap out of their chair.
The slogan in her hand was already crumpled and being shaken so wildly that it was failing its original purpose entirely.
In her head, images of Park Moon-dae smirking, Park Moon-dae hitting the high notes, and Park Moon-dae turning around were replaying endlessly.
At the same time, she stared wide-eyed, determined not to miss a single frame of Park Moon-dae exiting the stage.
Vote!! I have to vote!
And above all, she was certain of one thing.
Definitely first place!! They’re definitely first!
This team was the winner!
Immediately after the performance ended and the audience left the empty seats, the ranking announcement began.
With the contestants standing in lines by team, the MC announced the next rank.
"In 3rd place… Team 'Hero Song' with their reinterpretation of 'Burning Like the Sun'!"
"What?"
"No way, that makes no sense."
As soon as the MC finished the announcement, the room was filled with the sound of murmuring from all sides.
I stared at the screen with a withered gaze.
I knew this would happen.