Chapter 20
Chapter 20
'Underlion' was the first dance crew Han Neuti joined after coming to Seoul.
Its leader, Park Hyeong-tae, was already a well-known figure among dancers for his extensive connections.
Han Neuti had once believed that fame was solely due to skill.
That was, until he faced Park Hyeong-tae in a battle.
"Anyone could see I won by a landslide, but even the judges were all buddies with that bastard."
"Yeah."
"I lost that battle. But people have eyes, you think they'd let that slide? I didn't know at the time, but word got around afterwards. Said the fucker beat some kid with a grimy, biased decision."
Park Hyeong-tae's inferiority complex exploded from that moment on.
Every time he ran into Han Neuti, he'd sneer things like don't let that face go to waste and go be an idol or something, passing off insults as friendly advice while slowly isolating him within the crew.
In a dancer scene that was stagnant to its rotten core, Han Neuti, who couldn't bring himself to quit and just drifted on the periphery... apparently adapted so fast he managed just fine regardless.
The real trigger that finally set Park Hyeong-tae off was something else entirely.
"The prick threw an absolute shit-fit just because I got a doll from his girlfriend......."
"......Girlfriend? A doll?"
"Don't get the wrong idea. She gave it to me as a fan, just cheering me on."
After that, Park Hyeong-tae's harassment grew even worse, and eventually Han Neuti, unable to take it anymore, left the crew.
Park Hyeong-tae mobilized his entire network to sabotage him and prevent Han Neuti from transferring to another crew.
Unable to stomach watching that, Han Neuti decided to enlist in the military early.
"You've done your service... no, wait, how old were you when this happened?"
"I was eighteen when I first joined the crew, probably."
And so, when he returned after finishing his peaceful military service.
He discovered that the choreographies he'd created during his crew days had been transformed into Park Hyeong-tae's work.
"Ah, my head hurts."
"Huh? ......Need me to get you some painkillers?"
"No, I'm fine. Keep talking."
Choreography was inherently a field where plagiarism was difficult to prove. Because of that, going public without direct evidence of copying risked a major counterattack.
Without any faction to back him, all Han Neuti could do was keep his mouth shut. So, utterly disillusioned with the domestic dancer scene, he chose to go it alone.
Among the choreographies stolen was also the dance break from <Nice Zombie>. The very piece that had propelled Park Hyeong-tae's rise as a choreographer.
'No wonder the quality gap compared to the rest was so jarring.'
I never expected to find the reason why public opinion thought the final product's quality was so wildly inconsistent it was like he'd traded virtual coins with a devil.
"Anyway, so I didn't want to see his face and spent my time working part-time as a dance instructor... then the PD contacted me and that's how I ended up here."
"A PD? PD Lee Wi-yeon?"
"Yeah, why?"
"I heard she's close with Park Hyeong-tae."
The empty tumbler Han Neuti was holding dropped with a thud.
"Th-the fuck......."
"You didn't know?"
"How the hell would I know about that bastard's personal connections? I know he has four girlfriends. When I left the crew, I made a group chat with his girlfriends and then bounced."
"What?"
"Wow, so that's why they didn't give me the other independent trainees' contact info at the first evaluation, made me practice alone and just matched our stage paths on the day. Ah, damn. Was that on purpose?"
So that was why he stood out so oddly during the agency evaluations. No wonder he matched the group dance perfectly in practice.
While I was mentally shaking my head at this grand spectacle of grown adults in their thirties and forties orchestrating a public ostracism, a new question suddenly struck me.
"But still, is there a reason they needed to go that far just to get you cast on this show?"
"That's, ah, shit, it's kind of childish to say it myself....... Well, that Park Hyeong-tae guy used to fucking despise idols. He probably wanted to openly thumb his nose at me in front of a camera, I guess."
"Ah."
"Probably figured now that I left his crew he can't beat me up anymore, so he'd set me up as an idol and find some way to disrespect me that—."
I raised a hand and cut Han Neuti off mid-sentence.
"Beat you up....... You were assaulted too?"
"Huh? Oh, uh, well. Assault might be a strong word....... Getting smacked around for running your mouth was just common. Stuff like that's so normal in that scene nobody would even think to make an issue of it."
"It's not like the dancer scene is some lawless zone, what do you mean."
"Hey, I don't like it either, I don't. But what can you do about a scene that's that rotten and stagnant? The normal ones all bailed ages ago and only the dregs are left."
"......."
"Still, I managed to screw him over and quit, so I'm fine. Though it seems like that's why he's acting even more batshit now....... No, fuck, I'm suddenly getting pissed all over again? Fine if he loses it at me, but why take it out on you."
Han Neuti, whose anger had been slowly building in gradation, suddenly shot up from his seat.
"Where are you going?"
"That son of a bitch... he's acting up even more because he thinks I can't mess with him since I'm watching my image now. I need to crush his nerve. If it gets me kicked off the show, so be it."
[Beep—]
"You can't."
The words flew out reflexively at the sound of the warning tone I hadn't heard in a long time. Either way, it had its intended effect, and Han Neuti stopped short with a bewildered look on his face.
'......At the third warning, it resets without mercy.'
Damn, now that I'd recognized the risk, my heart belatedly started pounding.
"Hey, what's wrong? Are you sick?"
Stay calm.
Since entering this new chapter, the warning sound had gone off just once before, back when I'd advised Han Neuti to voluntarily withdraw from the show.
And now this was the second time.
If I slipped up here, I'd go right back to my save point.
I carefully grabbed Han Neuti's wrist before he could press his palm to my forehead and said,
"You said there's no evidence, and that it was so common in that scene you couldn't even make it an issue. So what exactly can you do about it now?"
"So I should just suck it up?"
"Yes."
"Hey."
"You've got to mind your image. If you're going to keep being an idol."
Han Neuti looked down at me with a complicated expression, then sharply averted his gaze.
He let out one sigh, then, like someone cornered, his words came pouring out in a rush.
"As things stand, I'm just a burden to the team too. I wasn't even an idol hopeful to begin with. That, I mean, the stage, I'll figure out this stage no matter what, so......."
"Guys like that self-destruct on their own."
I knew full well. That divine punishment was nothing more than a myth.
But if I grabbed someone else's head and threw them into the mud, the mud would splash back on me too.
"There's no need for you to dirty your hands."
The best way was to simply let them trip themselves up.
All we had to do was set the trap.
"Just show them. With the stage."
As it happened, a thought had just occurred to me.
A solution like a comprehensive cold medicine, one that would cleanly resolve all our problems at once.
* * *
"Ah, the guy in front of me's got shoulders wider than a mountain. Totally blocking my view."
This woman, straightening her back even more rigidly without a care for the person behind her's complaints.
She was none other than a single-minded die-hard fan who ran a GIF fansite for the boy group 'Flyde'... who had briefly changed careers into being one of the Kes.
"Hello, k-specialists. I'm Sim Do-yoon, your MC for <MAKE 100%> Season 7."
Indeed. This was the First Competition venue for MeBek Season 7.
At the very moment she'd been about to revert back to being a full-time Flyde fan since there was no new content aside from the music video and fan meeting fancams, she'd luckily received a text that she'd won the lottery to attend the competition as an audience member.
Having also attended the fan meeting, this was the GIF fansite admin's second time seeing Seo Cha-gyeom in person. His face was so incredibly handsome it could make you blurt out 'magnificent, spectacular' and nearly faint, but an idol's face wasn't everything.
'The stage is what matters!'
No matter how good-looking they were, the GIF fansite admin was a stage maniac whose heart didn't stir if the performance was mediocre.
Note, stage maniac and skill maniac were different. Because 'stage' included visuals and physical presence too.
"That was the stage from the Strawberry Milk Team and the Mint Choco Frappe Team. Before we decide the winner, how about we do a quick interview?"
The performance order was set up similarly to regular music shows. Which meant there hadn't been anyone worth watching in the opening acts.
'Is the Ace Team last? On broadcasts they always tease them in the previews and use them as aggro bait before finally showing them at the very, very end.'
The First Competition teams were put together randomly every time, yet somehow in MeBek there was always an 'Ace Team' where all the decent trainees clustered together.
It was better for viewers to see all the good ones bunched up rather than scattered here and there, so even if it raised some eyebrows, most people just overlooked it.
The people who came to watch today were likely most curious about 'who makes up this season's Ace Team?' and 'which trainees are in it?' too.
So whenever a team that looked hopeless came on, some would literally slump down in their seats and openly take a break.
'Hey, just hold on for a few hours, would you! You're making the kids feel bad!'
It wasn't wrong, exactly, but the GIF fansite admin, who had exclusively and fiercely loved only failed idols, didn't find that sight entirely pleasant.
Still, the GIF fansite admin was self-aware. The moment a stage stirred a feeling of pity in her, that stage was already a failure.
"I'm Jeong Hyeon-i from Gaptown Entertainment!"
'Wow, he's decent! Cute.'
The trainee seemed nervous, his hands trembling slightly, but his face was simple and cute.
Gaptown, Jeong Hyeon-i....... The GIF fansite admin, who was busy memorizing the agency and name to write a review as soon as the recording ended, suddenly opened her eyes wide.
"!"
The woman right in front of her had stealthily lowered the slogan she was holding, and pulled out a hidden camera.
Of course, that wasn't what surprised her. At the same time, a security guard was striding over from afar with the predatory gleam of a hawk locking onto its prey.
'No!'
Acting on instinct, the GIF fansite admin wrapped the woman in her arms and stared fixedly at the stage, pretending not to notice until the security guard passed by.
Even as her heart pounded wildly, her mind was racing.
'Wow, they're super strict about bringing cameras in here, how did she sneak one in all by herself without an accomplice? A total pro. I've gotta buddy up to her, make friends.'
The security guard disappeared into the distance, and the GIF fansite admin unfurled her arms, offering a calm explanation.
"There was a security guard coming up behind us."
"Thanks......."
As if she'd already figured out the reason, the woman turned her head with a nonchalant nod.
And then.
"......Hyelin unnie?"
"......Juha!"
'What are you doing here!'
She was the Fansite Master who held nearly the majority stake in the Flyde Failed Idol Escape Committee.
It was obvious to anyone that both of them were out here having an affair, so the GIF fansite admin didn't bother asking and immediately changed the subject.
"So, ahem, who did you... ahem, who did you come to film?"
"That Kkamnyang-i guy."
"Ah~ I know him, I know him."
'Juha's always had a history of going for the delinquent type.'
The Fansite Master and the GIF fansite admin had very different tastes.
Still, that Kkamnyang-i guy was far more handsome compared to all the delinquent types the Fansite Master had liked up to now.
'At least this time I won't have to grudgingly tell her he's good-looking against my will. Thank goodness.'
The GIF fansite admin was secretly relieved.
"So what about you, unnie."
The Fansite Master glanced at her and smirked.
"I figured it out. You're here to see Seo Cha-gyeom, right?"
"Seo Cha-gyeom?"
"The new character guy."
"Huh? How do you know? The trainees' names haven't been released yet!"
"The Merry sasaengs dug everything up. He's 20 years old and graduated from Seonghyeon Arts High School. Rumors went around that he joined Merry at 12 and was going to debut as their next visual, but then he suddenly left, went completely silent, then popped up here out of nowhere, and his current agency is still unkn—."
"No, no, I got it. Stop."
The GIF fansite admin, covering her ears from the torrent of information, took a moment to process it all.
'So he was from Merry.......'
But for a failed-idol fanatic who never paid any attention to idols from large agencies, that fact wasn't a plus.
As the two affair comrades chattered away happily, several more stages passed, and even for the ever-benevolent GIF fansite admin who supported everyone, a low point arrived.
'I feel like I'm getting motion sickness!'
The crowd was huge, sounds reverberating up and down, making her dizzy.
But, just as it always does, the rebound came right after the worst of it.
"It's the Opening Guy!"
"Finally the Airplane Duo is ou— the airplane guys are on different teams?!"
"Ah!!!! My main picks are doomed!!!!!!"
'The Airplane Duo!'
A scorching reaction, incomparable to anything before, swept through the audience seats, and the people who'd been slumped over in exhaustion started shooting up one by one.
The GIF fansite admin, who'd been kneading her temples, miraculously caught a few words amidst the deafening noise and snapped her head up.