Chapter 112: When It Explodes, It Explodes (12)
112. When It Explodes, It Explodes (12)
The eruption of cheers from the audience came a brief moment after the stage had ended.
The Desty members, who had just snapped out of their mesmerized state, poured their hearts out as they screamed.
"Whew... Damn, that was intense. Thank you!"
The Blue Flare team, who had been holding their ending pose a little longer, broke into smiles at the enthusiastic response before relaxing their stance. After briefly tidying up the stage, they descended to adjust their hair and makeup, yet the audience's fervor showed no signs of cooling down.
"Seriously, guys—no, I mean, I can't even—I just—"
Soda clung tightly to Malanggom's hand, gripping her last shred of sanity as she struggled to form words. The problem was, Malanggom wasn't faring much better.
"Unnie... Siwoo... Siwoo... I think our Siwoo really is a prince. Like, no joke—Miro's noble-born classical prince? We used to joke about it, but now he's actually become one. Are they trying to kill us fans for real...?"
Malanggom, who had always hyped Jung Siwoo as the "classical prince" from the elite arts school pipeline, clutched her temples and muttered. The impact of the white shirt and cummerbund combo must have hit hard.
Then, someone grabbed both their shoulders.
"...Everyone, shut up. My emotions are too complicated right now."
It was Gwajam, who had been peering through her viewfinder to capture her bias's chest and back in perfect focus. Even as said bias belted out a three-octave high note, she had clenched her jaw with superhuman determination to suppress her screams.
Malanggom and Soda stared at her in awe.
"How... How did you hold it in?"
"I told myself that if I didn't get this shot, my entire fangirl life up to this point would be meaningless."
"Unnie, did you get everything?"
"Pretty sure I got at least one shot of each of them. Honestly, I was so focused on keeping my hands steady that my brain's completely fried now."
Gwajam declared she had gotten all the shots she needed and, without hesitation, tucked her camera back into her bag—after meticulously checking the preview and even removing the memory card for safekeeping. The three of them could hardly contain their excitement at the thought of reviewing the footage later on Gwajam's laptop.
Meanwhile, the stage was reset, and once again, Seo Taeil stepped up first.
"Blue Flare's performance of 'Set Me Free.' I think... everyone enjoyed it?"
He nodded knowingly before even asking if they had enjoyed it, prompting laughter from the crowd.
"Alright, then. As always, we'll proceed with the voting."
Previous performances had also collected votes before the post-talk segment, likely to capture the raw emotions before they faded or were forgotten during discussions.
"Wow... How am I supposed to choose?"
"What do you mean? Just pick your bias."
"Yeah, but... I mean, yeah, but..."
During the first two stages, voting had felt straightforward, but this time, when it came to selecting a trainee, hesitation crept in.
"Logically, it should be Doha, but..."
"...Unnie, you're thinking about Yugeon, aren't you?"
"Yeah. No, it's not pity or sympathy—just honestly..."
Soda finally admitted it.
Today, Lee Yugeon was undeniably the MVP of this stage!
Especially during that final moment when he threw his body into the rap, delivering a double-time flow with wild energy—it was like witnessing Pygmalion's sculpture coming to life. She couldn't help but empathize.
"I'm still voting for Hajin."
"Ugh, should I vote for Doha too?"
"No, I feel like everyone's gonna pick Yugeon. Hajin killed it too, but honestly, after what happened last time, I think today's performance might've swayed people toward Yugeon."
Gwajam offered her objective take. Hearing this, Malanggom deliberated before finally casting her vote for Siwoo.
That left Soda.
'Ah, what do I do?'
As Soda agonized, Taeil announced that voting would soon close. The trainee numbers displayed on the screen were in age order—Doha at #2, Yugeon at #4.
Torn between the two, Soda finally pressed the button.
—...3, 2, 1! Voting is closed.
"Unnie, unnie. Who'd you pick? Doha?"
"No. Yugeon."
"Whoa, really? Unnie, did you finally warm up to him?"
"...Not quite yet, but, well."
Soda shrugged, saying they'd talk about it later. Malanggom and Gwajam exchanged knowing glances and chuckled.
Soon, the Blue Flare team returned to the stage.
"AAAAAH!!! SIWOO!!!!"
"KANG HAJIN, YOU'RE INSANE!!!!"
"GUYS, I LOVE YOUUUUU!!!!!"
Amid the scattered screams, the trainees took their positions on stage, smiling faintly. Only after a staff member frantically gestured for them to tone down the personal cheers did the audience settle. Gwajam, having put her camera away, waved Hajin's slogan with sparkling eyes.
"Blue Flare team, please greet the Desty members first!"
"Alright. On the count of three!"
"The light burning bright within Desty! Hello, we are Blue Flare!"
At Hajin's cue, the six boys turned to the left, mimicking the motion of shooting an arrow into the sky. Taeil, intrigued by their unique greeting, asked about it.
"Oh, this team's greeting is unique too. What's the meaning behind it?"
All eyes turned to one person.
Lee Doha, who looked like the last person to come up with something like this, blinked blankly.
"The creator of the team name will kindly explain."
"Ah, so Trainee Lee Doha came up with both the name and the motion? Let's hear it then."
Our Doha came up with it? Soda's ears perked up like a rabbit's. She planned to memorize every word so she could slip it into her fan account later as subtle Doha promotion material.
Doha, holding the mic, hesitated briefly before speaking.
"Well, to explain, I'd have to start with the program's subtitle... so it might get a bit long."
"Wow, is there really that much depth to it?"
"To summarize, the name 'Blue Flare' comes from the idea that the hottest part of a flame is blue—the most intensely burning light. The reason we didn't use 'Flame' is... it ties into the program's subtitle."
Soda thought Doha's soft, measured voice was like ASMR.
Wait, subtitle?
Miro Maze's subtitle was "In Search of Icarus's Wings," a reference to the Greek myth Soda was familiar with. Her focus sharpened.
"Because Icarus ultimately loved the sun. So instead of 'Flame,' which represents fire, we chose 'Flare,' which also refers to the light energy around the sun."
"Wow, that's deep. So what about the arrow-shooting motion? Are you shooting the sun?"
"It's modeled after Eros's Cupid arrows from Greek mythology. It symbolizes our bold ambition to make the sun—our beloved—unable to help but love us back."
"Wow... That's way more profound than I expected."
Taeil marveled. Malanggom and Gwajam, too, thought, So this is the level of dedication survival shows require just for team names and motions now?
But Soda, who had activated every sensory receptor to absorb Doha's every word, suddenly realized:
...Why do I smell a fellow hardcore fan's energy radiating from my bias?
Sure, the program had its concept, and Cupid's arrows were a common trope, but...
The way he's carefully considering how to explain this to normies without losing them—is that just me?
Still, she shook off her suspicions as the individual greetings began. Based on what had aired so far, Doha still carried the strong image of a rookie outsider.
After the team introduction, the members took turns greeting the audience individually.
Given how electrifying their performance had been—and the sheer visual impact of six handsome men in striking outfits—each greeting was met with deafening cheers.
"Hello, I'm Kang Hajin."
When Hajin's turn came, fans waving his slogan erupted in dolphin-like squeals. Hajin, whose sharp eyes stood out even more under the red-toned makeup, smiled fondly at them.
Then, without warning, he turned around!
"AAAAAH!!!!!!"
"KANG HAJIN!!!!!!!!"
Under the bright lights, the sheer back of his semi-sheer shirt was even more visible. After a brief moment of showing off, he quickly turned back, laughing sheepishly.
"I think I got louder cheers for this than when I hit that high note."
"That's just how it is. Even after 13 years in the industry, I've never seen cheers louder than the day Jinu showed his abs."
Taeil's seasoned response drew laughter from everyone.
Next up was Yugeon, who had been lingering at the back listening to his teammates. He let out a soft "Ah" before taking the mic.
"Uh..."
Before greeting, he hesitated, seemingly searching for the right words. Then, Hajin leaned in and whispered something too quiet for the mic to catch. Immediately, Yugeon spoke.
"Hello. I'm Lee Yugeon."
"......"
"Honestly, I wasn't sure what to say when meeting you all."
His grayish eyes (thanks to his lenses) darted around. Clearing his throat slightly, he suddenly thrust the mic toward the audience.
"Did you enjoy the stage—?"
"YES!!!!!"
"It was the best!"
"Lee Yugeon, you're the king of K-hip-hop from today on!!!!"
Hearing the response, Yugeon smiled brightly, visibly relieved.
"That's all I needed. Thank you."
Another round of applause erupted. The Blue Flare members all looked at Yugeon fondly, patting his shoulders or giving him encouraging taps on the back. Soda felt oddly reassured seeing that.
After Eunchan's turn wrapped up smoothly, the talk segment finally began. Given that many of the top-ranked trainees were in this team, the questions were diverse.
"I've always liked singing. But I didn't think I could make a living from it. Then, due to some personal circumstances, I couldn't play piano anymore... So naturally, I ended up focusing on singing."
"Do you need to practice? Why?"
Everyone stared blankly at Yugeon. Feeling the weight of their gazes, he laughed awkwardly and added a capitalist-approved answer.
"I've always been quick at memorizing choreo."
(Truthfully, it was because he'd seen them a million times while working part-time at a dance academy. But he left it at that.)
Finally, it was Hajin's turn.
"Please, please let mine get picked."
"Gwajam, what'd you submit?"
"I asked for a cover of James Dear's 'Everything is Fine'—just one verse."
"Damn, that'd suit him so well."
"The instincts of a true fan..."
Gwajam, who had suggested the recent SNS-shorts-famous pop song cover, clasped her hands in prayer. Hajin reached into the box and carefully unfolded a slip.
"Uh..."
But his expression turned complicated upon reading it.
"Pfft!"
"...Seriously?"
Yugeon and Siwoo, who peeked at the contents, reacted with disbelief—one bursting into laughter, the other questioning.
What? What is it?
As murmurs spread through the audience, Hajin's question was revealed.
Kang Hajin... cried? Where? At a subway station?
Everyone except Hajin wore expressions of pure bewilderment.