Chapter 47
Translator 8uhl
Chapter 47
Chapter Title Labyrinth
The LED screen filled with a dark, overcast sky like storm clouds gathering.
Fog slowly seeped onto the stage.
A chilling orchestra melody began to resonate.
.
A single trainee standing tall in the center slowly spread his arms out to the sides.
It was choreographed like groping through the darkness for something lost.
As the strings swelled louder, guitar sounds from a synthpop genre blended in, and the song kicked off.
Rhythmic electronic beats and lively electric guitar created a melody that clung to the ears.
Remember me wandering in this familiar space
A strange sensation, like Ive lost you
Heo Yubin leaped from the tip of the triangular formation, covering his eyes with a sly smile.
An immense vocal power rang out, piercing through the jangling of the iron chains dangling from his chest.
Behind him, the formation flipped.
The trainee at the front covered Heo Yubins eyes with his hand and gestured roughly to the side.
Even reaching out to the end, I cant touch that shadow
Doesnt matter, Im going on and on
Song Hyeongbin slid forward to center stage.
As he extended both hands to the sides, the trainees lined up spun around once, unfurling the wings of their formation.
Dong, dong, dong, dong!
Lively dubstep drums joined over the guitar, injecting fresh energy.
The strings that had built the eerie intro faded, leaving only faint tremors.
Following the light I see far away
Drawn in like Im enchanted again
Ill bet everything on the path to you alone
The trainees moved in perfect unison.
The wings that had spread to fill the stage folded back.
With Hashimoto Ken at the center, two knelt on one knee while the other two stood at his shoulders.
Just like the lyrics, their hands traced intricate pointing choreography.
The dance, pulling everyone together as one body in sync with the beat, was utterly mesmerizing.
Homma felt her already gaping mouth drop even lower.
And her eyes could only widen further.
Even though I know it all
I keep coming back
Labyrinth
Prechorus right before the refrain.
The trainees shifted positions crisply, opening up the space.
Karis von Walden, waiting behind Hashimoto Ken, brushed his lips and stepped forward.
Crazy!
She knew full well how people on SNS compared Karis to a prince or crown prince.
Homma herself loved using his searchblocked alias Szanim.
The Karis von Walden reaching out before her eyes was a crown prince incarnate.
The lyrics about willingly entering the maze.
The hand drawn to his chest like a vow.
Eyes brimming with confidence bordering on arrogance.
That tingling thrill from the first round pricked at her heart again.
She wanted to toss aside her camera and just gaze at Karis.
Kneel before this noble being.
Chant his name until her throat gave out.
As Homma wrestled with this burning emotion, the refrain exploded fiercely.
In this maze somewhere, searching for you who waits
I wont stop, getting closer, deeper
Trapped in the maze, I cant push it away
Slipping away just as it feels within grasp
A soaring high note.
Heo Yubin and Song Hyeongbin, seemingly main and lead vocalists, synced their breaths.
Song Hyeongbins softer, calmer tone supported Heo Yubins powerful volumeit felt just right.
Their harmony held steady even amid the group dance.
While they balanced the vocals, another trainee anchored the stages overall stability.
Karis von Walden, holding center and swinging his arms boldly, dominated the set with his sheer presence alone.
Youre using your face way too effectively, seriously.
It was a nonstop barrage of thrills.
As the mood peaked into the second verse, it returned to the original synthpop backing.
An oldschool vibe anyone familiar with Kpop would recognize instantly.
The simple beat layered with electronics cooled the soaring heat just a touch.
Homma, her own excitement simmering down, hurriedly snapped preview shots.
She had to grab as many frames as possible before the second refrain.
The moment Karis surged to center, her reason would fly out the window, obviously.
Ive lost you
And Im running to find you again
The prechorus brought a variation.
A shrill guitar wailed.
Main vocal Heo Yubin stood center, eyes closed, bursting a brief highest note.
Before the crisp highnote rush could fade, Karis moved to the middle.
His lead pulled the group dance back up to a fever pitch.
In this maze somewhere, searching for you who waits
I wont stop, getting closer, deeper
Trapped in the maze, I cant push it away
Slipping away just as it feels within grasp
Not a single second let eyes stray from the stage.
Just when she thought she could finally breathe.
I Cant I Cant Dont stop that
Ill shatter it all anyway
A wall too high to measure
Might as well smash the useless crap
Where the original had falsetto bridge, Park Jaehoons singing rap came in.
Matching the eerie orchestra from the intro, the trainees gestured elegantly.
Tension held taut without slack until the singing rap ended.
Heo Yubin and Song Hyeongbins adlibs hit with savage synthpop guitar riffs.
Red lasers poured across the stage.
At the center, Karis crooked a finger, lips curling slightly.
As if inviting her into the maze with him.
Hngh.
Homma instinctively clamped her mouth shut.
Fans on both sides were already going wild, but even a moments lapse and shed lose control herself.
She desperately stifled her scream.
After the bridge, an irregular rap verse dropped.
Park Jaehoon and Hashimoto Ken traded raps facing each other to the dubstep rhythm.
Then all sounds erupted together.
The stage climax.
Perfect sync in the dance break led back to the synthpop melody at refrain tempo.
Catharsis burst in the final refrain, and the five trainees sang the postchorus together.
Following only the compasss point
Even in the dull night, stars light my way
Here, the endless maze imprisoning you
All those scattered thoughts, push them aside now
The boys clenched fists like grasping something.
As guitar and dubstep faded, the original orchestra returned.
Following the strings faint quiver, everyone dropped their arms limply.
As the song ended, massive cheers swept the set.
Waaaaaaah!
That was insanely crazy!
Homma, whod muffled her mouth until now, finally unleashed her scream.
Kaaaris!
She couldve kept shrieking, but the cold remote around her neck snapped her back.
Vote. She had to vote.
O stamp, obviously.
Best trainee...
Homma hammered Karis von Waldens number, screaming inwardly.
This has to be Karis in firstno question!
Haa, haa.
Panting, I looked down from the stage.
Truly, no sight more beautiful in the world, no matter how many times.
Like after the first round, Grand Quest Saga nostalgia washed over me again.
Cheers praying for victory.
Cheers for the marching troops.
The audience roar sharpened memories of life as Crown Prince Karis von Walden.
Threads of recollection trailed me backstage, but I snapped to reason.
Get a grip. If the crown princes ego wakes like before, were in trouble.
That day balling at Han River Park.
The status ailment Otherworldly Being first triggered.
Just a fleeting past thought then, and memories cascaded like a waterfall.
Good work, everyone!
No mistakes! Im so freaking happy!
Haaa... Its really over.
You all did great.
Back in the waiting room, teammates collapsed onto the sofas.
As I passed through the door last, Song Hyeongbin thrust a fist my way.
You killed it too, Karis. When you pushed to center, nothing felt more solid.
Thanks. All thanks to Brother teaching the choreo so passionately.
I flashed Song Hyeongbin a grin, but my mind swirled with status ailment worries.
Come to think, the exact scenario I feared mightve almost happened.
An ailment that could flip on anytime, anywhere.
If itd activated prestage, unimaginable disaster.
Crown prince ego overflow boosting physicals? Definite edge.
Problem his arrogance and confidence could choke my mind.
Maintaining normal idol poise in that state? Near impossible.
I need countermeasures. Lucky this time, but who knows next crisis. But...
I chewed my lip.
But how to prepare for this?
Trigger timing unknown.
Emergency missions unpredictable.
Ailments mental impact a mystery.
No precog even with the system.
Idol life demands preempting visible flaws, but...
This ailment left me drawing blanks.
Haa.
Karis Brother?
My sigh drew a worried glance from Heo Yubin midsip.
You okay?
Fine. Just... yeah, tension release sigh.
Im melting too now that its over. Dont mess the high note, pitch slip and Im dead! Kept thinking that. Now arms are total jelly.
I chuckled at floppy Heo Yubin.
Hand instinctively rose to ruffle his hair.
You did great.
Heh, hehehe. Hehe!
Petting brought a brokenpuppy reaction.
Focus on now first. No time agonizing unsolved puzzles.
I steeled myself, glancing at the hidden linked quest window.
Priority First in round two.
Draw order was a bit iffy.
Its fine. Too late and audience gets bored.
Still felt like an awkward slot.
Song Hyeongbin flipped on the waiting room TV, voicing regrets.
Stage order always by lots.
Middraw left plenty of trailing contenders.
Hope other teams do okay.
No way! They gotta underperform us a bit.
Everyone burst laughing at Hashimoto Kens bluntness.
Song Hyeongbin raised both hands in surrender.
Fair, fair. We need first, them acing it complicates things, right?
But strong teams left, kinda worrying.
I nodded at Heo Yubins words.
Team went before us. Watch Ji Yooncheols group and Kang Siyoons crew.