Chapter 115
Chapter 115
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 115
Chapter Title: It's Our Secret Time
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-The creative choreography you added to the part you forgot was really fun to watch. I wonder what the judges thought…
A stage was set up at the performance venue, with the resort visible in the background. The song-swapping mission was in full swing.
Most teams had a weak link in either their vocals or choreography, and the teams that cleverly covered up their mistakes received high scores.
However, the teams that failed at both vocals and choreography, and also lacked wit, were met with harsh critiques.
-I just don't get it. Did this team give up on practice and just sleep? If they had focused on just one thing, it wouldn't have come to this… They can't do the girlish concept, they can't ad-lib… Personally, I'm very disappointed.
The judges, including the Yuri Fox team, were sharp-tongued, making one wonder if they really had to be so rude on a rookie variety show.
Was it a build-up to highlight the gap between them and the teams that did well? If so, it was a pity for those who became the sacrificial lambs…
-The next stage will be a showdown between Your Girl and Answer. So far, Answer is leading by an overwhelming margin. We'll start with the performance from Your Girl, who have a lower overall score.
As the intro to Answer's song began to play, Choi Yoo-jun’s eyes lit up as he looked at me.
“No way… they didn't tell us to use an AR track and then give themselves an MR, did they?”
“…You’re starting to catch on, huh?”
“What! Seriously?”
“Now that you mention it, that seems likely.”
He was slow, but Choi Yoo-jun would change. I didn't think someone who couldn't see even the bare minimum of what was ahead could become a producer.
♪♬
Today is the third day I've met you
Will we meet again tomorrow, this little something between us
Please know my impatient heart, you dummy
♪♬
Your Girl's lead vocalist, Mi-ji, began to sing Verse 1, which was Ro-si's part.
“It suits her quite…”
“You, did you already for…”
“Stop! I remember now. Mi-ji, the original member of Answer.”
The two of us exchanged bland, meaningless smiles as we watched Your Girl's performance.
Perhaps thanks to the help of Mi-ji, who knew the choreography better than anyone, all the Your Girl members executed the dance moves perfectly while singing live.
“They practiced a lot.”
“They're pretty skilled, too.”
Se-yeon's vocal skills were in no way inferior to Seol-ah's, and the main dancer, Rae-mi, who took Yi-na's part, had skills and a vocal tone that were in some ways better than Yi-na's.
As the reactions from the cast, crew, and the small audience, who were presumably resort staff, grew more positive, Choi Yoo-jun became fidgety, revealing his anxiety.
* * *
“This is an emergency. Transferring him now is as good as killing the patient!”
“The surgery was already scheduled. At the very least, you, the doctor, should know better. I’ll take responsibility!”
Despite the fierce opposition from the medical staff, Si-ah's father was transferred to their regular hospital at her mother's insistence.
“That's a relief. The intracranial pressure has dropped. We'll administer the contrast agent immediately and get a reading. An emergency surgery will be scheduled as soon as an operating room is available, so please prepare yourselves.”
Si-ah learned that the financial failure she had blamed on her father was actually caused by her mother's younger brother, her maternal uncle. She was overcome with immense guilt.
“That’s not sacrifice, that’s just what a fool would do… If you’re going to keep it a secret, you should have made sure no one ever found out…”
Her father, whose body was ravaged by a congenital heart defect and a lack of care, was scheduled for a difficult surgery. If the surgery failed, he had intended to carry all the blame himself.
She didn't want to let go of her father, who had tried to sacrifice himself to give his family a little peace of mind—a foolish but heroic figure.
“Please live, Dad. I've only ever resented you. I’m going to be successful, so you have to at least see that.”
Si-ah whispered, crying as if in penance, her hand tightly gripping her father's.
“Honey? Si-ah?”
“…Dad!”
“Honey!”
Si-ah's father, who had been lying there as if dead, regained consciousness, his eyes and voice startlingly clear.
Si-ah and her mother were shocked by the sudden turn of events.
Seeing her father sit bolt upright, Si-ah's mother was struck with fear, and tears streamed down her face.
“Don't move, just lie down! It's dangerous!”
The sight of her seemingly healthy husband didn't bring to mind a dramatic recovery from the brink of death, but rather the final burst of energy before passing—a terminal lucidity.
⋮
“I was seriously considering whether we needed to redo the diagnosis.”
“Why is that, doctor?”
“…It was definitely… well, I’ll be.”
Si-ah's father's attending physician was at a loss for words, unable to explain the unbelievable situation.
“So… the blood vessel… a new blood vessel has… formed right next to the completely dead one. This shouldn't be possible in such a short amount of time… and his heart looks normal too.”
“Then! Are you saying he’s completely cured now?”
“…I'm sorry to say this, but perhaps we should run the tests again from the beginning.”
“No, doctor. I feel different than before. My body isn't numb, stiff, or tight in the chest. My ears aren't ringing from my own heartbeat. I feel like I'm back in my prime, in my twenties.”
“…What on earth happened to you?”
“I did exercise a little, just as you said…”
“Sniff… Doctor, thank you so much.”
“…I didn't do anything…”
Faced with this miraculous situation, Si-ah and her mother bowed repeatedly to the doctor. But the doctor was simply bewildered by something he had never seen in his twenty years at the hospital.
* * *
-That was a great performance from Your Girl. It was a title track swap with Answer, and I have nothing to say but that it was simply perfect.
-It’s hard enough to adapt to one thing, but to master both the choreography and the song… Had you known the song beforehand?
“Yes! Actually, it was the group I used to be a part of.”
-Oh my, Mi-ji. So that's what happened. Well, it's not like you were the only one who did well; everyone was great. In any case, it was a result that couldn't have been achieved without effort. It was a real pleasure to watch.
“Thank you!”
A small round of cheers and applause erupted.
For those experiencing Your Girl's version of the song for the first time, they were so good that they could have been mistaken for the original artists.
“Damn it… We can't lose now after doing so well.”
Choi Yoo-jun was worried about Answer's stage.
-Answer's final performance remains. Let's see if they can create a stage as skillful and wonderful as Your Girl's.
Then, he added another point of interest.
-Especially since Seol-ah is said to have injured her wrist and shoulder while helping someone who went into cardiac arrest the day before. Let's give a round of applause to Seol-ah for her efforts to deliver a perfect performance despite her condition. Now, let’s begin ‘Our Secret Time,’ sung not by Your Girl, but by Answer.
A warm smile spread across my face at the host's kind ad-lib for Seol-ah.
♪♬
Doo-doong, jji-ji-jing
♪♬
The instrumental for Your Girl's song, a hip-hop EDM track in a harmonic minor scale, began to play.
A heavy mood settled in as the sounds of guitars and percussion layered in the background, building tension that never resolved.
[Trait 'Starmaker' Activated]
[Group Trait 'Unyielding Mindset' Activated]
The aura emanating from my body and Answer mingled, and a brilliant light flashed in time with the beat.
Though no one else could see it.
The bright and lively eyes of the Answer members began to gleam with a sultry light, steeped in love and desire.
“Whoa, look at their eyes! That’s sick.”
Choi Yoo-jun said, rubbing his arms as if he had goosebumps.
The beat suddenly muted, and silence fell.
With eyes as moist as if she were drunk, Seul-bi opened her red lips as if to suck on her index and middle fingers.
♪♬
I know what you want.
♪♬
“Whoo!”
“Kyaa!”
Seul-bi opened the performance, and the small audience erupted in cheers.
“Damn! Kicking it off with a bang.”
♪♬
You don't need to hesitate
I'm the one approaching you
This is real, it's me
I'm the one you want
Not a dream, no, not a fantasy, no
This is real
♪♬
Ro-si sang the part that was originally Mi-ji's.
Instead of her usual fresh-faced image, she was a femme fatale, her natural choreography and singing making it seem as if she were grabbing a man's tie and pulling him closer. It made me think that an actress truly is an actress.
It was so convincing that Choi Yoo-jun and I, who knew her usual self, were left dumbfounded.
♪♬
Into the white breath that provokes you
Wanna come in? (Wanna go in?)
Into the red smoke that makes me cry
Wanna go in? (Wanna come in?)
♪♬
As expected, it was an MR track, not AR, and Seul-bi added chorus-like doubling to Yi-na's part.
And then came Seol-ah's main vocal part.
♪♬
It's our secret time
Throw away your conscience
All those cumbersome things
Throw them away (Baby, hurry)
It's our secret time
I've waited so long
Now's our chance (Hot baby)
It's our secret time
I'm not like this with just anyone
My modesty is all yours
Enjoy this moment
It's our secret time
♪♬
The faces of the Your Girl members were painted with shock as they watched Seol-ah perfectly execute the choreography while hitting refreshingly powerful high notes.
♪♬
What do you like?
Want something hot?
Want something scary?
(Want something different)
This is real
One night is a no, something short is a no
♪♬
Yi-na perfectly embodied a character with a different feel from the other members, her performance an expression of the inferiority complex and sense of inadequacy that came from not yet being an adult.
Then, for the rap part, Seul-bi came to the forefront.
Originally, it should have been Ro-si, but the structure of the part made it necessary for Seul-bi to do it.
♪♬
I'll only come to you
Will you only come to me?
A hot secret time that no one knows
Wanna play hide and seek, I'm it
So hot, wanna cry
It's filled, olé
I'm gonna drive you crazy
♪♬
A dreamlike state in the darkness. Answer's song felt like the irresistible lips of a beautiful woman approaching me.
♪♬
It's our secret time
Throw away your conscience
All those cumbersome things
Throw them away (Baby, hurry)
It's our secret time
I've waited so long
Now's our chance (Hot baby)
It's our secret time
I'm not like this with just anyone
My modesty is all yours
Enjoy this moment
It's our secret time
Where are we now?
A stage of a different color
Wanna get to know me more? (Get to know me more)
Trap me in the light
♪♬
The song raced toward its finale, and as Answer's flawless performance unfolded, Your Girl's resentment turned venomously toward Yuri Fox.
Yuri Fox was also stunned by Answer's unimaginably perfect stage. Then, realizing the meaning behind the glares from Your Girl, she let out a disbelieving laugh.
♪♬
We had a secret time
Throw off your clothes, it's not like
We need them (Baby, hurry)
We had a secret time
Just waiting around is so
Boring, isn't it? (Baby, hurry)
We had a secret time
The modesty you knew disappears here
You just enjoy this moment
We had a secret,
We had a secret time.
♪♬
“Waaaah!”
A massive round of applause erupted from the audience of about seventy people, including the production staff whose hands were free.
“Thank you!”
“Thank you!”
Answer's sultry gazes instantly reverted to their bubbly selves as they bowed 90 degrees in various directions. Despite the cameras rolling, Your Girl stood with their arms crossed, refusing to clap.
-That was a truly amazing performance, especially despite the injury. It's simply incredible how this was possible in the short span of a single day. To the members of Answer, I think many viewers watching at home might wonder if this was staged. Do you have any reasons or tips on how you were able to cover this so perfectly in just one day?
The members looked at each other, and Seol-ah, with a mysterious smile, grasped the dynamic microphone in her hand.
“Ah… well… we have immense respect for our choreographer, Yuri Fox. When we heard she was also in charge of the choreography for Your Girl's title track, we practiced it with great interest. We didn't know the song well, so we stayed up all night yesterday practicing it.”
“It’s over.”
Seol-ah's sensible comment was the final nail in the coffin, completely severing the relationship between Your Girl and Yuri Fox.
“Artist Seol-ah landed the finishing blow. Hehehe.”
Choi Yoo-jun chuckled as he watched the members of Your Girl fuming.