Chapter 606
Chapter 606
The <Random Play Dance> heated up even more as the elite members were winnowed down.
The stage where one could stand out simply through sheer practice volume was over. This meant it was now time for the 'true' K-pop listeners who knew every major hit. Consequently, the sight of them dancing in perfect synchronization was enough to draw gasps of admiration.
To weed out more contestants, the song selections began to lean toward more niche tracks… and once again, participants started dropping out in groups of two or three.
‘As long as I don’t fall out in a messy, unimpressive heap, I’m fine.’
TeSTAR was skillfully avoiding that pitfall.
“Wait, wait, A-hyun! I’m not sure if you actually know this choreography… Hmm. Let’s have a solo check… Whoa!”
“Don’t call A-hyun out! Leave the Red Team alone!”
“The Red Team is being targeted!”
Even the moment Seon A-hyun, the last remaining member of the Red Team, was eliminated followed that pattern.
“I’ve had my eye on you! It looked like you didn’t know the dance and were just picking it up on the fly!”
“…!”
“Let’s see if that’s true. Please step forward!”
In that moment of crisis, challenged to prove he actually knew the moves, Seon A-hyun stepped forward cautiously.
And then.
“Alright, music start—!!”
Instead of the original choreography, he elegantly burst into a contemporary dance piece of his own creation.
“…!!”
“Thank you…!”
He showed off his skills with a bang and made a graceful exit.
It was a cut that firmly imprinted a new side of Seon A-hyun—his 'unexpectedly strong backbone'—which the general public was still largely unaware of. Of course, it was all backed by his jaw-dropping dance talent.
“I’ll… I’ll be cheering for you guys…!”
As soon as Seon A-hyun returned to his seat, the comments went wild, saying he’d turned back into a 'Bambi,' a fact T-Holic excitedly relayed.
‘Good.’
Park Moon-dae nodded.
The narrative was satisfying since everyone was doing something flashy before their elimination. His individual strategy was clearly paying off, and he could see victory in sight… but at the same time, members from other groups who were still surviving caught his eye.
‘They’re persistent.’
Three members of VTIC were still in the running. Aside from Ju-dan, who had accepted his fate and dropped out when a challenge song that went viral on TikTok played, the rest were still there.
“Ah, we didn’t have much else to do… and we missed it. I think we listened to a lot of music!”
“That’s right. Honestly, I think we listened to more music then than we did during our active promotions. We really did.”
The bright, innocent answers triggered a wave of comments calling it 'true madness.'
‘What a killer character concept.’
Park Moon-dae clicked his tongue inwardly, admiring the clean-cut image that even the older generation would love. Regardless, he held up two fists as if cheering for his seniors and waited for the next song.
However, in the meantime, the production crew ran into an unexpected problem.
“We’re… almost out of prepared songs.”
“…!!”
They had run out of music! The ambitious idols had devoured every single track.
At that moment, several people raised their hands. It was the elimination section, which now held more people than the survivor section.
“Then we’ll pick the songs!”
“Hey now, where do you old-timers think you’re going! This should be done by someone like me who knows the latest trends….”
“Hey! You dropped out in Round 5 too!”
“Don’t be arrogant! Just because you’re the youngest doesn’t mean you can be arrogant!”
Led by T-Holic, the eliminated idols huddled together to pick new songs—an exciting turn of events!
The attention of the live viewers naturally shifted to the songs the eliminated idols were choosing. What would the professionals pick?
Amidst this new fun, the remaining songs from the production crew’s list began to play. It was a standard male idol dance collaboration track, nothing particularly special.
[*Whip it, whip it, whip it with me
Just dance*]
But it wasn't stimulating anymore. It felt like a mere filler track.
Just as interest in the current round began to fade.
“Left.”
“…?”
The participants flinched at the sudden, clear voice of Cheong-ryeo that pierced their ears.
‘Left? …Ah!’
Most participants realized he was suggesting they align their steps to create a cleaner group dance. They quickly tried to match their direction with Cheong-ryeo.
However, the admiration came even sooner.
“…!!”
Because there were participants who moved like a reflex, even faster than Cheong-ryeo’s instruction. They synchronized instantly before the beat even began.
[*Dancing till dawn, today
That's the rule rule rule*]
It was the VTIC members.
“…!!”
“Whoa, look at that!”
The eliminated idols, who had been picking songs, sat up straight at the unbelievable timing. The comments were even faster.
The atmosphere, which had been cooling down, instantly flared up at the impossible precision.
“…….”
Park Moon-dae felt it too. A scene that would definitely be clipped the moment it aired had just happened.
‘Even though the team is split up, they’re living up to their group’s name.’
It was terrifyingly sharp intuition.
‘They’re not to be trifled with….’
It was the moment Park Moon-dae and Lee Se-jin looked at each other and shared a slight, bitter smile, making sure it wasn't caught on camera.
“……Hmm.”
In the elimination section.
One member, who had been watching the situation unfold, smoothly intervened among the T-Holic members who were passionately picking songs and naturally pointed to a track.
“How about this one next?”
“Oh… our song?”
“Haha.”
While T-Holic’s Ha Jin-tae blinked at Ryu Cheong-woo’s suggestion, the next round was already underway.
[*I like it just like that, Babe
Boooo—
Starting with a greeting with a fluttering heart, you really
Ah, blow my heart out!*]
The song that came out this time was… the chorus of a cute, easy girl group dance track aimed at the general public! The viewers, who had regained their focus, immediately started shouting.
For whom?
Among these monsters, the last dance-copy warrior who had been quietly following along from the back.
Bae Se-jin!
They felt his moment to shine was now! It wasn't too difficult, and it was cute and memorable, so it was worth a shot!
“Ah….”
However… the reality was plain. Despite the stage being practically set for him, Bae Se-jin didn't stand out much this time either. He just danced moderately hard as before, not pushing himself to the center to hog the spotlight. He simply matched his movements around Cheong-ryeo and Lee Se-jin, who were on the same Blue Team.
‘Hmm….’
He probably thought, ‘I shouldn’t overdo it among these people who are so serious and talented.’
Park Moon-dae noted this while performing the time-lagged 'rabbit ears' choreography with Jin Chae-yul. And as he expected, the real-time comment reactions cooled down a bit.
It just… wasn't very exciting.
“Yeah~ Okay, next!”
And just then, as T-Holic and the eliminated idols finished their consultation, the new song list began.
Attention shifted sharply to the new songs, and Bae Se-jin was soon forgotten. After a song or two passed.
[*Take ma base
Umm— ha*]
A unique song came on. It was a very intense hip-hop dance track that the T-Holic dance unit had released back in the day. The song, which could be seen as a collection of deliberate angles, grooves, and all sorts of expressions, had been quite a hit.
Viewers were looking forward to seeing the individual skills of the elite dancers from each group.
It happened at that moment.
“Hyung!”
“…!?”
Suddenly.
Bae Se-jin lunged forward as if by spinal reflex.
But before anyone could react. The choreography poured out.
“…!!”
To everyone’s surprise, Bae Se-jin began to perform that intense, fast, and high-difficulty choreography without a moment’s hesitation, using his entire body. He was almost perfectly in sync with Lee Se-jin, who had called him out and lunged forward with him.
[!!!!]
If there were subtitles, a giant red font would have dominated the screen, and this intense intro would have been replayed multiple times. And that surprising power didn't flag, exploding with full energy until the dance break ended.
Right down to the final move.
Thump.
“Just now! Se-jin, just now!”
Naturally, as soon as the song ended, a commotion broke out among both the production crew and the eliminated idols. Questions poured toward Bae Se-jin as he was handed a microphone.
“What was that just now!”
Bae Se-jin wiped away his sweat and answered while catching his breath.
“It’s a song I’ve… whew, practiced for a long time….”
“Pardon?”
“This was… a basic practice song… back when we debuted….”
“Oooooh!!”
That was right. After debuting with TeSTAR, Bae Se-jin had almost essentially done extra credit work and received advice from the dance members due to his lack of basic skills. Of course, rather than Seon A-hyun, who was a professional, or Cha Yu-jin, who danced almost by instinct, the dance member who was the epitome of practice took charge.
That was Lee Se-jin.
Even when they were awkward and found each other unpleasant or annoying. Even when he gritted his teeth in discomfort, it was a practice he never skipped. Naturally, it had to become ingrained in his body. To the point where it would pour out if he was just nudged.
And… Bae Se-jin pointed to his side with trembling hands.
“…He’s the one who taught me.”
“…!”
“Oooooh!”
Lee Se-jin, who was pointed out, looked back at him with a slightly surprised face but soon gave a smirk.
“Ayy~ You’re just good at it, Hyung!”
“…….”
Bae Se-jin let out a hollow laugh. It felt as if a long-held tension had vanished. He was naturally eliminated a few rounds later, but it was an honorable elimination that finally stripped him of the 'dance outsider' tag.
And….
“Wow! Finally, after a full hour and thirty minutes!”
The final five remained.
‘It’s been a long road….’
And Park Moon-dae had stubbornly survived among them!
*
The MT lawn filming site felt almost like a grand finale.
“Can we get a quick thought? You’re the only one left from the <Sunflower> Yellow Team.”
“Sunflower, fighting!”
I took the microphone while listening to Jin Chae-yul’s cheers.
“But Moon-dae, you’re the only one here whose position is main vocal.”
“That’s right.”
That’s why I’ve been acting as a punching bag to make Lee Se-jin look good until now.
Of course, the question was a good one.
“How do you know the dances so well?”
“It’s because I’m dead serious about K-pop.”
I appreciate the enthusiastic support. I gave a small smirk at some of the comments on the screen the writer showed me, then gave a 'fighting' sign back to the Yellow Team and stood ready.
Next to me, the survivor from the Blue Team was being interviewed. It was none other than….
“Cheong-ryeo! Your original group is VTIC, right?”
“That’s right.”
“You’re the only final survivor from your group. Do you have anything to say to the members who were eliminated earlier?”
“Hmm, I guess the Blue-Bae Team wins after all?”
“Hahaha!”
It was Cheong-ryeo.
‘We’re screwed.’
I watched the VTIC guys shouting, “VTIC wins again today!” and tearfully yelling for people to remember their group cheer even if the teams were split. Cheong-ryeo staying until the end would complete their narrative perfectly…
But we still had our main dancer left.
“And… the production crew’s pick for the winner! Lee Se-jin!”
“Ah~ really? This is a bit embarrassing!”
TeSTAR had to take the final impact.
‘Do well.’
I gave Lee Se-jin a slight nod with my eyes and took my position. The interview didn't last long.
“Then, the music starts again!”
Tension filled the air. The grand final round. Between Cheong-ryeo and Lee Se-jin, the winner who would survive until the end and devour this entire narrative as the victor of the Blue Team would be….
[Oooooh! My sorrow runs along the Seomjingang River~]
“…?!”
……There was no one.
Silence fell over the lawn. The lyrics of a rich art song filled the speakers, riding on a beautiful orchestra and sci-fi-esque MIDI sounds. But amidst it all, a strangely rustic rhythm could be felt, oddly reminiscent of trot….
That was right.
“We never said we’d only play K-pop for you idols!”
“…!!”
K-pop isn't just for idols. It was a masterpiece in a psychedelic art song style, filled with the experimental spirit of a trot singer who started in classical vocal music. A song that enjoyed a cult following among the older generation!
It was <Seomjingang Lover>.
…I heard later that the real-time comment section also flipped out at this final battle song.
-
However.
Through a flurry of exclamation marks….
“Oooooh!”
The one who unexpectedly held up the trophy while being hugged by a flushed Ryu Cheong-woo was….
“The winner is Kim Rae-bin!”
It was Kim Rae-bin.
“Thank you!”
That was right. An extremely broad and generous taste in music. And the research capability for music production. This guy, who listened to and watched every kind of song, truly didn't discriminate between genres….
“I dedicate this honor to the original artist, my senior Ki Sung-chul, who broadened my creative horizons with such a wonderful song and choreography!”
“Wooooo!!”
“The Green Team wins!”
“…….”
The Master of K-pop, the King of K-pop. It was the moment the one among us who was truly the most serious about K-pop was officially certified.