Chapter 34
Chapter 34
On the screen, Kim Rae-bin calmly explained his reasoning.
[Kim Rae-bin: Participant Park Moon-dae possesses vocal skills that aren't limited by the genre of the song, so there’s no pressure when it comes to selection.]
[Kim Rae-bin: Also, I have often witnessed him flexibly accommodating other team members during group activities. He is my number one choice for a teammate.]
Immediately after, the scene cut to Kim Rae-bin winning the mini-game in an instant and pointing at 'Park Moon-dae.'
Then, an interview with a blank-faced Park Moon-dae appeared.
[Park Moon-dae: ……?]
[Park Moon-dae: I was grateful, but… (Why me, though?)]
Thanks to the BGM and additional captions, Park Moon-dae, who joined Kim Rae-bin and gave a stiff bow, looked incredibly flustered.
Then, another cut showed Kim Rae-bin clenching both fists, expressing a small sense of victory.
It looked like a comedy skit for WeTube.
“…….”
It wasn't the first time the production crew had manufactured a reaction, but this was the first time they had pinpointed my exact thoughts so accurately.
[Kim Rae-bin: Next is participant Cha Yu-jin.]
[Kim Rae-bin: And participant Ryu Cheong-woo.]
The scenes continued with Kim Rae-bin picking his team members without a hint of hesitation based on his own logic, while the teammates looked utterly bewildered.
The direction had a certain charm to it.
I guess they’re going to save Kim Rae-bin.
The editing was clearly neutralizing the cold, harsh image he’d had during the first mission.
However, that atmosphere didn't last long.
After a blood-red caption reading 'BUT' flashed on the screen, a suffocating scene filled with white noise was broadcast.
[A few days later, the Mid-term Evaluation]
[Young-rin: Who did the arrangement?]
The screen cut between Kim Rae-bin hanging his head and several team members looking back at him.
A large caption appeared again.
[What on earth happened?]
And then…….
A mid-roll commercial started.
“……Hmph.”
I drained the rest of my beer.
The way they try to squeeze out viewership by any means necessary… I’m actually impressed now. The Idol Inc. production crew is something else.
Checking the internet during the break, I saw all sorts of speculations running wild.
The general consensus was, "Did Kim Rae-bin ruin the team mission again?"
“Wait, what……”
Even here, Park Moon-dae gets bashed first?
Maybe it was the beer making me loose, but I felt a bit more annoyed than usual.
I turned off the screen with a sour expression and switched back to Tnet. The commercial was just ending.
As expected, the broadcast showed the discussion scene after the song was decided.
[Ryu Cheong-woo: Shall we hear Se-jin’s opinion first?]
The editing highlighted Ryu Cheong-woo, who took good care of even the socially awkward team members.
In particular, his calm response to Lee Se-jin’s irritable reaction was broadcast exactly as it happened.
Lee Se-jin is a lost cause, too.
Is this going to be another "Ryu Cheong-woo carries everyone" narrative?
There were a few cuts highlighting Cha Yu-jin’s genius in choreography and Kim Rae-bin spending time on the arrangement, but so far, it was Ryu Cheong-woo’s landslide victory.
The situation changed starting from the mid-term evaluation.
[You touched a lot of things from the original song, but it feels worse than the original.]
The judges' comments were edited to seem much more severe than the actual lukewarm atmosphere.
It was the result of splicing in the original songwriter’s sudden, belated remarks into the middle of the evaluation.
[In your performance… I couldn't feel the power of the song <Burning Like the Sun>.]
I didn't realize this nonsense would be broadcast as if it were some sharp, piercing critique.
Anyway, in the heavy atmosphere, one team member pointed to Kim Rae-bin as the one responsible for the arrangement.
[(Immediately) Rae-bin handled it.]
The way the team members' eyes darted toward Kim Rae-bin was blatantly emphasized in the broadcast.
It was the kind of editing that made your skin crawl.
Damn it…
I put on that whole show to cover for this, but are we all going down together?
At that moment, the screen suddenly zoomed in on 'Park Moon-dae.'
“Huh?”
No way.
The Park Moon-dae on screen seemed to be deep in thought, and then a flashback cut was inserted.
[I think it would be better to lower the key.]
[How about adding some rap?]
[Make the arrangement fit the cheerleading concept.]
[…Yes.]
It was a scene where several team members were telling Kim Rae-bin to add arrangement elements that didn't fit.
The direction made it look as if Park Moon-dae had been observing this closely.
And then, back to the mid-term evaluation on screen.
Park Moon-dae spoke up as if it were nothing.
[Yes. Since Rae-bin is capable of arranging, he consulted with the arranger for us, and the direction of the arrangement was decided by all of us sharing our opinions.]
A close-up of Kim Rae-bin’s surprised face followed.
Then, an interview with Park Moon-dae was shown.
[Q: Why did you shield participant Kim Rae-bin?]
[Park Moon-dae: (Puzzled) I was just telling the truth.]
That… was a cut from the arrangement-related interview I did during the first team mission.
“…Ha.”
I spoke calmly on purpose to shift the conversation naturally.
But after going through the magic of editing, it looked like Park Moon-dae, who doesn't care about what others think, was simply stating the facts.
No matter how many times I experience it, it’s absurd.
Whether I felt bitter or not, the broadcast continued.
[Sincere Feelings]
[Kim Yu-jun: I’m sorry…….]
After a team member apologized to Kim Rae-bin, the atmosphere shifted abruptly to something hopeful and heartwarming, punctuated by Kim Rae-bin’s touching interview.
[Kim Rae-bin: I think I’ve gathered a good team.]
As he said that, the faint smile on Kim Rae-bin’s face surprisingly didn't make him look like he had a bad personality.
And the new arrangement… ridiculously enough, it was portrayed as if Kim Rae-bin and Park Moon-dae had suddenly gotten excited during a chat and whipped it up together.
[Ryu Cheong-woo: I saw the two of them talking during the break.]
[Ryu Cheong-woo: But when I went back… Rae-bin was already at the keyboard, and Moon-dae was excited, saying we were going to do (Beep).]
The discussion process, shown in fast-forward with Ryu Cheong-woo’s interview as narration, really did look that way, which made it even more nonsensical.
[Ryu Cheong-woo: Is that how geniuses are? Haha.]
Afterward, short cuts followed, showing the team merging well as Ryu Cheong-woo looked fondly upon the two anti-social geniuses, and the preparation footage ended.
“…….”
I really never imagined they would resolve it like this.
Well, it wasn't evil editing, so I should be satisfied with this outcome.
Besides, I already thought the stage was the best among them, but thanks to the production crew’s blatant effort in editing, it was very satisfying.
The ending was good, too.
[3rd Place?]
[A situation no one expected]
They highlighted this team’s 3rd place finish as something incredibly questionable and shocking, even inserting a mid-roll ad before the reveal.
They basically milked it for all it was worth.
It was a clean win for me.
“Not bad.”
I immediately straightened up my bedding. As the tension left me, fatigue rushed in.
I can monitor the internet tomorrow.
Because I didn't check the reactions right then, it wasn't until around lunch the next day that I realized the impact of my screen time in Episode 7 was much larger than expected.
-
“……Oh.”
Surprisingly, as soon as Episode 7 aired, public opinion of Park Moon-dae among Kim Rae-bin’s fans shifted drastically.
Most were normal fan accounts that didn't slander other participants, but some were accounts that had been giggling while calling 'Park Moon-dae' derogatory names just yesterday.
The turnaround was truly impressive.
Park Moon-dae’s fan accounts seemed relieved to worry less about negative voting, but I also saw a few people who were angry.
I hope they don't get too stressed.
If you’re spending money, you should be having fun, but it didn't seem like these people were, which didn't sit well with me.
Even if we end up in the same team if I debut through this show, all the participants currently in the audition are rivals, so I suppose it’s unavoidable.
Still, the majority seemed to be enjoying how well the stage turned out.
Thanks to Episode 7 being scheduled almost every other hour from midnight after the original broadcast through this morning and lunch, there was a significant influx of new viewers.
The performance video also immediately entered the WeTube real-time trending list.
The individual fancams released at dawn were also racking up views at a scary pace.
Part of it was because the scale had grown since the 1st mission, but even considering that, 'Park Moon-dae’s' fancam views were increasing incredibly fast for a main vocalist.
The comments were also more favorable than the 1st mission, and the 'dislike' ratio had dropped.
It was embarrassing, but I felt a bit proud.
Even though it was something I was forced to do, I couldn't deny there was a sense of achievement.
As I was thinking that, the last top comment caught my eye.
“…….”
Honestly, it was a little scary.
I hope I don't get a status effect like 'Cannot Retire' if I debut.
I quickly shook off the useless, ominous delusion and cleared my mind.
Anyway, at this rate, it didn't seem like I’d have anything to worry about for the next ranking announcement.
Now, are there two stages left?
The thought that the program was already entering its mid-to-late stages gave me a strange feeling.
I thought I’d feel refreshed as the day to get rid of this trashy status effect drew near, but that wasn't exactly the case.
It was probably because my results were much better than I had expected.
Having been stuck in a corner as a civil service exam student for the past few years without feeling any sense of accomplishment, the taste of this success was quite stimulating.
Of course, the exhaustion from having my energy drained is much greater.
Avoiding sudden death… and looking back in a few years, I might think of it as a meaningful experience.
Of course, that’s only if I don't die, so let’s focus on survival first.
Buzz.
The moment I made that resolution, a message arrived.
[Keun Se-jin: Moon-dae Moon-dae, you doing well? Wanna go together on filming day? Including A-hyun, of course lol]
And so, the faces of the guys I met on filming day were completely miserable.
I mean, we even got rid of Choi Won-gil, who was always trolling, so why the long faces? Who pissed you guys off?