Chapter 77
Chapter 77
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 77
Chapter Title: Us on Immortal Songs? (2)
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As soon as he stepped onto the set, surprise and delight lit up the faces of all the performers.
I was just as shocked. I found myself staring blankly at his sharp, handsome face, murmuring under my breath.
"Jin Suhyun..."
Jin Suhyun. A male solo singer known for his beautiful tone and emotional delivery.
He'd released hits like [Shadow of Memories] and [Unknown Night], claiming multiple number eighteen tracks in karaoke rooms across the country.
Not long ago, during training with Liz, I'd even practiced and sung his [Shadow of Memories].
'Who would've thought I'd run into him here...'
Sure, you bump into all sorts of people in the industry, but I never imagined I'd cross paths with Jin Suhyun on this show.
The members were pretty stunned by his appearance too, whispering among themselves.
"Whoa, no way. Jin Suhyun here? This is insane."
"Yeah. First time seeing him in person."
"You too, Jae-oh hyung? Same here. The aura is unreal..."
"Jin Suhyun! I'm a huge fan! Love your songs."
At that moment, Han Tae-hee nudged Park Su-rim, who was standing there with his mouth agape, and casually asked.
"Su-rim-ah. Why don't you go up as our rep and get an autograph for us?"
"Me?"
"You're the leader."
"You're the eldest hyung."
"True."
"This is eldest hyung duty. Please, Tae-hee hyung."
"I'm shy... Our leader can do it~"
While the guys bantered nonsense, Jin Suhyun strode right up to where we were. Small stature, but his charisma was off the charts.
The sweet bun from next door, who'd been sitting beside us, jumped up the moment he got close and bowed deeply.
"Whoa, hello, Jin Suhyun-ssi! I'm a fan!"
"I-I'm a fan. It's an honor to meet you."
"Nice to meet you. I listen to your songs a lot."
They both seemed to be fans, beaming at his comment about enjoying their music.
Then Bae Seung-yeon and Choi Sin-yeol greeted him too.
"Jin Suhyun! Long time no see. Didn't expect to see you here."
"Yeah, sunbaenim. Suhyun sunbae, it's been a while."
"Long time no see, sunbae. And Seung-yeon-ssi."
Jin Suhyun bowed his head briefly in response. I'd heard he was the quiet type, and that checked out.
We bowed to him next. After bickering with Park Su-rim earlier, they'd apparently reached some agreement, because Han Tae-hee stepped up as rep this time.
"Hello, Jin Suhyun sunbaenim! We're EverPlanet. It's an honor to meet you!"
"Ah... Hello. Don't think I've seen your faces before. Rookies?"
"Yes, that's right."
"Hmm..."
Jin Suhyun's impassive gaze swept over us. After a brief silence, he nodded and spoke.
"You all look good."
"Ah... Thank you for the compliment, sunbaenim!"
It was straightforward praise from Jin Suhyun's mouth. The members' faces lit up instantly. But then he followed up with,
"But you gonna be okay? I hear no AR on this show."
"...Pardon?"
Everyone froze solid in an instant.
No AR. That meant we'd have to fill the entire stage with lip-sync. In other words,
'He's straight-up dismissing us idols.'
It implied our skills were being completely underestimated. I'd heard some powerhouse singers viewed idol groups without skills through colored lenses. Never thought Jin Suhyun was one of them.
Han Tae-hee couldn't even respond, just working his lips silently. He probably hadn't expected it so bluntly.
The others were in the same boat. Looked like it was on me. I met his eyes squarely and spoke.
"We don't need AR either. Even if it were allowed, using it in a live singing showdown before an audience would be dishonorable. We're performers too, after all."
"..."
"But thank you for your concern, sunbaenim."
Idols are singers just like you. That's what I meant as I bowed lightly.
The set had turned ice-cold. The other singers were glancing around nervously when Jin Suhyun let out a small puff of air, like a chuckle. He looked me right in the eye and replied.
"Got it. Looking forward to a great stage."
"Yes. Thank you."
He clearly had strong biases against idol groups. Guess we'd have to show him.
That idol groups could hold their own with real skills and deliver live stages everyone would acknowledge.
* * *
A short while later, the final artist for the showdown arrived: the girl group Heidi.
A four-member group that debuted around the same time as Holy Boy, whose spot we'd taken. Their main vocal, Hina, was especially renowned for her singing prowess.
Once the MC comedians Han Dae-se and Yoon Chae-hyun arrived too, the staff came around fitting mics on all the performers.
"Please just skim the basic rundown quickly."
Soon after, the main staff for the show made their entrance.
"Hello. I'm PD Kim Hong-woon, in charge of directing Immortal Songs."
"Associate PD Choi Myeong-cheol here. Nice to meet you all!"
"I'm writer Park Hyeon-yeong. Thank you all for joining us."
The performers all stood and bowed as they appeared. PDs really did hold king-like power in broadcasting.
The three of them sat in seats prepped in front of several cameras. Then Kim PD spotted us and greeted with a big smile.
"EverPlanet! Nice to see you. We had to scramble after an incident with the previous group, so thanks for jumping in so readily."
"We're the grateful ones for the invite, PD-nim."
"Heard variety's your first time. Don't stress too much. Expecting a great stage."
His encouragement was light, without much hype, before he dove into show details.
"Alright, before we roll, I know you all probably know, but... let me quickly explain our format anyway. So..."
Six performers each interpret the same theme, pick a legendary song, stage it, and compete live before the audience—that's Immortal Songs' core format.
We nodded along familiarly, already versed in it.
"Okay. Seems everyone’s up to speed, so let's record the pre-meeting. Dae-se-ssi, Chae-hyun-ssi. Ready?"
"Ready, director-nim."
"Me too!"
They gave the okay, and Kim PD nodded, signaling the camera with his fingers.
"Voices loud, expressions and reactions bright, please!"
"Rolling now. Stay relaxed, just follow the script and MC cues."
I steadied my breathing, recalling the script I'd reviewed last night.
With Kim PD's cue sign, the camera's red light flicked on. The two MCs flashed bright smiles and kicked off smoothly.
"It's not a stage that comes every day—always with fantastic legendary songs, a show the whole family can enjoy!"
"Welcome to Immortal So~ngs! Hello."
Veterans of years on the same show, they powered through without a single NG.
After introducing all performers, they naturally moved to individual intros, recent updates, and thoughts on appearing—super smooth.
Introduced by debut order, we got the last slot.
"Yes, our final group is... EverPlanet, everyone! Hello~"
"Hello. Ah, first, our group greeting. Two, three."
"Turn Around! Hello, we're EverPlanet!"
We delivered our group greeting loud and synced to Park Su-rim's count, drawing "oohs" from the MCs.
"Wow, tight discipline. Impressive."
"Ah, thank you. We're at a loss for words."
"Heard you've been out about three months. So fresh, yeah. And all so handsome. Takes me back to my debut days."
"Dae-se sunbae, come on."
"Ahem! Anyway. Could you each introduce yourselves?"
"Sure. I'm Park Su-rim, our leader."
From Park Su-rim to Go Eun-yeong, we went in order, earning light applause from the MCs.
Leading with a short comment from Park Su-rim on appearing and our resolve, the segment zipped by. They'd stuck strictly to the script.
'They're going easy on us rookies.'
Newbies with less variety experience can fumble ad-libs off-script.
Seemed they'd deliberately kept it to just the scripted questions.
After small talk with everyone, the MCs picked up white placards.
The big point of this pre-meeting recording: announcing the showdown theme.
"Yes. Now, the theme for this showdown. Chae-hyun-ssi, if you please."
"Got it. The theme is...!"
Yoon Chae-hyun built suspense, then ripped off the white paper stuck to the placard, revealing the text beneath.
"Yes! It's 'Wind'."
Wind. Fitting for early autumn.
"Ooh, wind. Yeah, autumn's the season of wind."
"Right. Jin Suhyun-ssi, what do you think of wind?"
"Perfect for autumn, the season of perfect weather."
A quick chat on the theme, then the MCs faced the camera for closing remarks.
"Hoping all six deliver wonderful stages fitting autumn's vibe for viewers! That wraps the pre-meeting."
"See you on showdown day! Thank you!"
"Okay, cut! Good work."
Kim PD's cut sign ended the recording. Being pre-meeting, it didn't drag on.
They'd probably build most of the episode around prep and the actual showdown. This footage would edit down to about five minutes, for sure.
After checking the recorded bit, Kim PD smiled at us.
"Now, prep your stages well. Two songs each, so it'll be intense... but I believe you all can nail it. We'll send a crew for prep footage, and self-cam the rest when we're not there. See you in two weeks for the showdown. Thanks."
"Thank you!"
And with that, the pre-meeting wrapped. The stage was entirely on us now.