White Room Breakdown
Myeongjeon sat in her seat, narrowing her eyes at the audience filing in. Unlike the first round, the crowd had a noticeable uptick in young women. 'The boyband kids, huh?' She glanced at the two guys from the idol group next to her, one of them muttering, "Ah, I'm so nervous~," and figured that was the reason. Bands needed visuals, sure, but from what she'd heard, this was pushing it. Pulling aspiring idols into a band setup—what kind of twisted logic was that?
"Let's all loosen up."
With an internal sigh, Myeongjeon said it anyway. The bassist had come along somehow (though she hadn't managed to drill in the jazz-based rhythmic style she wanted), the drummer was pretty solid. The vocalist kept slipping into idol vocals, forcing her to snap, "No, that's not it!" And the guitarist followed decently enough, but something felt off about him. To beef up the arrangement and motivate them, she'd added a rhythm guitar part that wasn't in the original and given him some solo duties for that punchy edge.
'Feels like something's gonna go down... but if this punk pulls some stunt, what can I even do?' If he went full sabotage, she couldn't stop it. But full sabotage would probably get flagged as trolling and disqualified anyway. So maybe he wouldn't. Still, Myeongjeon was the type who prepared for the worst, which was why she'd snuck in the Boss RC-2 loop station effector and loop switcher box. Just in case.
"We'll now explain the rules for this round! Based on the pre-filmed procedures, you'll temporarily disband your bands and reform them appropriately for the competition! Details will be revealed in the broadcasted episode!"
The MC's announcement drew a chorus of "What?!" from the crowd. Outrage rippled through the audience at this unheard-of format—mostly from the boyband fans—but it died down quick. The bands had agreed to it, after all.
"This make any sense? Why even hold a band audition like this?"
"Tell me about it."
The two guys grumbled but eventually shut up. What could they do? Just watch the show.
"And the theme for this round... is free song choice! Originals allowed, covers fine too! Whatever track the bands pick—no restrictions! Could be arranged or straight original. So just vote if the stage feels good to you! Don't overthink it! No extra points for how pretty or handsome the singers are!"
Laughter erupted—wahaha. The two girls chuckled too, convinced they'd give full marks to the band with WEKIDS members no matter what. Human nature.
"Let's kick off the competition! Order's pre-drawn—check the broadcast for that too...!"
The MC waved cheerily and bounced offstage. The screen lit up with footage: the backstory of how things shook out, who got first slot, their practice sessions, arguments, idea swaps—all flashing by.
"How the hell do you form a band and play rock in a few days? Crazy-ass TV station pricks. Think rock's a joke?"
A disgruntled guy's mutter nearby. She didn't want to get too chummy with him, but she agreed. Whatever—none of her business. She just hoped the WEKIDS kids showed up soon so she could bail.
Early rounds dragged—bands that barely held her interest. Then:
"Next up: the 'temporary band' led by Group Sound's Ha Suyeon! Band name's Temporary Band—quite the unique naming sense."
"Temporary Band? What?"
The masked woman let out a dry chuckle at the absurd name. Even if it was one-and-done, slap some proper band name on it.
"Members: Group Sound's Ha Suyeon! 2MAJOR's Yoon Jihun! Mystica's Hwang Seongmin! WEKIDS's Taeyoung! Muzaku's Jeong Jaehun! Give 'em a big round of applause!"
"Taeyoung! Taeyoung's on vocals!"
Her friend shrieked at the MC's words. Unexpected lineup—their fave from the "favorite-to-win" girl's band. 'Figures it's the girl. She knows handsome when she sees it...' They snuck out their phones to record.
"Hello. I'm Taeyoung, vocalist for Temporary Band. We prepped hard during camp. Vocals are a bit different, so recreating the original was tough."
Taeyoung greeted while setting up, tossing in chit-chat: "We really prepared a ton." "Our leader's a total tiger... reminded me of trainee days, grinding nonstop before debut." "Arrangement respects the original but amps up the power."
'They worked our Taeyoung to the bone?' She glared at the guitarist from the story. Bullying a busy idol kid? But the girl showed zero remorse, not even glancing at Taeyoung while tweaking her guitar. Behind her, the sub-guitarist lurked quietly. Up to something weird...
"Here we go! Cream's White Room!!"
Unfamiliar artist and track. What the—? Lights out. Stick clicks in the dark: tap, tap, tap, tap. Guitar strokes hit after a breath, stage flashing bright-dark in sync. Drums and bass thrummed tension low and building, band's glow in the strobing haze fogging her brain. Then Taeyoung's voice—raw, guttural growl, nothing like his usual.
Simple, fitting bassline. Thick distortion shredding metal-hard, clean tone shimmering underneath. No polished rock like prior bands. Pure power meshed with Taeyoung's near-growl like clockwork.
"Wha..."
Low bass rumble, heart-pounding drums. Guitar fog rolling in. She realized her foot was tapping unconsciously. Drums filled, Taeyoung stepped back from the mic. Speakers bloomed with crystal-clear vocals.
"Huh?"
Her friend elbowed her. Same shock. Past vids showed him and his bandmates in low, husky tones. This? Piercing highs, unrestrained climb. Guitar hands never stopped—fierce vibrato, yanking whammy for sweet bends.
Verse two kicked in. Now she got the thick voice choice—perfect contrast. Bass rhythm shifted slight, Taeyoung's style followed. Guitars and drums backed the soaring line. Strokes returned; she pondered: Why's this song hit so hard?
'Cause Taeyoung's singing?' Her WEKIDS fave. But no—she knew liking him, his voice, differed from digging the track. WEKIDS albums had duds aplenty. If "Taeyoung factor" held, they'd be flawless. They weren't.
So what? Boyband stan by face alone—she hated loud rock usually. But this chaos hooked her ears. Especially the girl's guitar: pristine clean tone she couldn't name but loved. Rhythmic bass layered in... foot-tapping turned to clapping without thought.
Nothing special—claps spread through the crowd. She joined them, not vice versa. The grumpy rock-dork guy beside her. "WHITE ROOM!" from some hyped middle-aged dude. Even the 2MAJOR fan up front ditched his camera for claps.
Taeyoung beamed, clapping back. Clear voice flowed: pure stream in forest hush, twisting to raging river, thundering falls... matching guitars. Strokes again—but heavier now, buildup brewing.
Taeyoung slipped back with a cute tambourine. Girl pushed something at her feet forward, edging onstage. Strokes layered mystery underneath—technique beyond her, but tension mounted clear. Drums and bass hushed. Guitars faded. Stage hung in pre-explosion silence seconds long.
Like opener: sticks crossed. Tap. Her dark-adjusted eyes caught it. Tap. Movement flickered. She glanced—sub-guitar. Silent guy, hand flashing. String-snapping flick. Tap. Whip-crack string whirl hit her ears. Girl's head snapped around impossibly fast. Tap. Lights blazed. Clear as day: sub-guitar string snapped. Band saw it—real panic faces. Guitar girl mouthed "Fuck!" and stomped a pedal she'd ignored till now...