Chapter 30

Chapter 30

Despite only coming to the recording of the team battle at her friend’s behest, she was glad to find herself seated toward the center, with a moderately good view. This is awkward. This was her first time attending an event like this alone. She was distracted from feeling weird when the person sitting next to her suddenly struck up a conversation.

“Who did you come to see?”

“Huh? Uh… Park Moondae?” She answered like she was asking a question.

“Oh… Okay.” The girl, who was holding a sign that read “Debut Kim Raebin,” looked her up and down before turning her attention to her phone. She felt oddly insulted. By the time the team battle commenced, she was in a bad mood and wondered if she’d have been better off not coming at all.

“The first performance is... ‘Fingerprint’ by Rolling Couple!” the emcee announced.

Footage of a mixed-gender idol duo who’d flopped after only two promotion cycles was briefly shown on screen. The purpose for playing the clip was ostensibly to remind the audience of the song that was a “hidden masterpiece” and to “pay tribute to the original artists,” but in truth, it was to contrast the failed idol’s old-fashioned performance against that of the contestants.

“The contestants who will be reinterpreting this song today are Ha Iljoon, Ji Taewoo, Lee Sejin, Seon Ahyeon, Choi Nahoon, Seok Heuigang, and Choi Wongil! Welcome to the stage ‘Gigan-tic!’”

The footage of the original performance disappeared, replaced with the contestant’s photos as the emcee called each by name. The screen then faded to black as the lights came up on stage.

Palm on palm, it’s that feeling!

Big Sejin’s smiling face filled the screen. Accompanied by a fast electro house beat, an impressive group choreography unfolded on stage.

Wow… Watching the live performance was so different from seeing them on a screen since the dance felt more lively and energetic in person. The woman was a little surprised to realize that this was her first time ever watching idols performing live. Maybe I should have gone to some dance concerts and not just stuck to romantic ballad artists.

Feeling some regret, she focused her attention on the immersive performance.

“Thank you!”

She was pretty excited by the time it came to an end and she clapped along with the audience. This is pretty fun. It was boring waiting between each performance for the next one to begin, but it was a novel experience to watch celebrities dancing on stage while the cameras filmed everything.

One disappointing aspect, though, was that the quality of the various teams’ performances varied heavily depending on their composition.

This team isn’t all that great. The second team was lackluster, but the third and fourth teams had pulled off pretty engaging performances. She wasn’t a fangirl generally speaking, so she didn’t really know what she was meant to be looking for in each performance. All she was left with was a vague impression of how each group did.

For now, it seemed as if the first team had the best showing so far. That was all she knew at that moment. I’m supposed to vote for my two favorites on the way out, right?

Mentally reserving one vote for the first team, she continued to watch. The teams that followed all had their own unique concepts and were interesting, but not as impressive as the first. Hmm. I’m starting to feel tired.

The other teams weren’t actually unskilled compared to the first few teams. However, since she wasn’t familiar with most of the songs, the initial novelty of the situation had worn off. What’s more, the contestant that her friend was interested in still hadn’t made an appearance. Isn’t this the last team now?

She resisted the urge to pull out her phone and turned her focus to the stage as the emcee introduced the next team.

“And now, the next song is ‘Blazing Like the Sun’ by ‘Sun Island!’”

Old footage from a music show, at least a decade old, played on the screen.

Oh, I know this song. She’d heard it at a game she’d gone to with another of her friends who liked baseball. So this is how the original song goes, huh?

It wasn’t as exciting as it had been at the baseball game. However, she was interested to note that there were a lot of high notes—meaning it was probably a very difficult song to sing. She impassively watched the artist on screen as they sang with great passion.

The emcee’s sudden, loud voice took her by surprise. “Let me introduce the contestants who have reinterpreted the song for us today! Ryu Chungwoo, Lee Sejin, Kim Yoojoon, Park Moondae, Min Junghoon, Kim Raebin, and Cha Eugene!”

Did he say Park Moondae just now? She hurriedly turned her attention back to the screen, which now showed pictures of the contestants that formed the team.

Oh. I recognize all of them. This team was likely going last because it was made up of so many well-known members. She sat up straight as excitement filled her again. The crowd was cheering louder than ever before. My goodness, they must be really popular.

“Please welcome ‘Heroes Anthem’ to the stage!”

Before the woman could really process how corny the team name was, the stage went dark, including the screen. Suddenly, a single blue spotlight lit up the set, revealing a contestant posed holding a finger gun straight up in the air.

The glossy black of their jumpsuit, patterned like a racing outfit, absorbed the beaming blue light. A stylish red glove gleamed on their fingertips. He sang in a low, baritone voice.

Yah, yah... Hero Time

[HERO TIME!]

Suddenly, those same words filled the screen. A powerful bass began to pound from the speakers

following a loud glitching sound. All the lights on stage came to life at once, and the seven members of the group leapt into action.

They stomped, stretching their arms and legs out wide, while their bodies twisted and turned. The choreography was detailed and precise.

They were all wearing black jumpsuits, each with a different pattern. Cha Eugene, in the center, began to sing.

My heart is burning

Burning like the sun

Another of the contestants reached upwards behind him and sang the next line,

Reach for the sky

Fly higher, so you can grab on

The accompanying backing track, which should have just been the generic band music of the original, had been replaced with a powerful dubstep sound. The only thing intact from the original track was the gritty rock feel.

Then the choreography began again. The contestants moved in a dance that resembled martial arts. She watched, mouth agape. Whenever it was one of the contestants’ turns to perform, their movements became more exaggerated and bigger, making them stand out even more. The choreography was composed of big, noticeable movements, all small or unnecessary motions trimmed away.

It could easily come off as boring or over the top, but instead, it was only made more impressive by the rapid role switching.

Only one thing can save the world

Powerful passion, burning bright

Chungwoo, wearing a navy blue headband, sang the pre-chorus. They executed a peculiar but impressive dance move next like they were shooting something, and this indicated the beginning of the chorus.

I’m gonna fly, the sky’s the limit

Until the day I outshine the sun

A contestant strode to the front of the stage, smoothly breaking into the high-pitched stretch of the chorus. He had golden hair. The young man wore a yellow, glossy choker, which looked breathtakingly gorgeous on himlike it was a natural extension of his hair. He grinned as he sang.

Holy sh*t. That’s Moondae? She clamped a hand over her mouth. My friend’s a terrible photographer!

He hadn’t looked like this in the photos her friend had shown her. A guy as talented and cute as he was deserved to come out better on film! Her low expectations were crushed by the performance, and that wasn’t even taking into consideration her usual preferences for men. I didn’t know my tastes were similar to hers!

As she tried to wrap her head around this new realization, the performance went on. Park Moondae crouched down and moved aside, replaced by Kim Raebin, who wore goggles with striking purple lenses in the place of a necklace, swaying near his collarbone.

Rising like a star

Shining like the sun

Huh? The original song had continued in that same impossibly high key, with loud, strong vocals, but they had replaced it with rap. But that didn’t mean the remainder of the chorus’ melody had completely vanished. It had been transformed into synth music, combined with a hip dubstep accompaniment.

Combined with rap, the impact of the high notes wasn’t lost. In fact, it even felt easier on the ears. What was more, because the lyrics in this part of the song were distinctly old-fashioned, the rap gave it a more modern feel.

I’m flying up into the air

This time I’m blazing like the sun!

Take your wings and fly up

Let's catch up to the moon!

Wow… She didn’t know the original song all that well but was still left with the vague feeling that this arrangement was much better. Even though she didn’t know much about music, she did have a strong feeling that the arrangement for this song was done far more skillfully than any of the other teams had managed.

No matter how she looked at it, the performance itself was incredible. She was mesmerized and on the edge of her seat by the time the final chorus came around.

Fly, the sky’s no limit!

This time Park Moondae and Kim Raebin sang the chorus at opposite ends of the stage, taking turns and alternating between them for each line. The group danced like a single, connected body, giving the impression of a wave crashing across the stage.

The black jumpsuits, glowing under the blue-purple laser lights, made them seem like characters from a sci-fi comic book. Then came the super-high-note that finished out the final chorus.

I’ll save your world!

She very nearly moaned out loud. It really seemed Park Moondae was about to save the world, head held high under the white spotlight directed at him in the middle of the stage. He was saving her, that was for sure.

They finished out the song with a final dance break, Cha Eugene backflipping into the center of the stage. His body soared through the air and he landed on his feet like he’d just completed a sequence from an action movie. He finished in a perfect superhero landing.

The backing track was now only playing the main melody, and a glitchy narrator’s voice sounded from the speakers. “Thank you for flying Hero Air today…”

The boys on stage slowly turned their back to the audience and all thrust their thumbs up at once. Then the song was over.

The woman suddenly realized that the room was drowning under a cacophony of noise.

“Oh my god!”

“Yeaaaaaah!”

The cheering and screams she hadn’t noticed because she was so focused on the stage rang in her ears now. Oddly enough, she found herself also contributing to the noise.

“This is crazy! Totally insane!”

The girl sitting next to her who she’d briefly spoken to was screaming at the top of her lungs. The sign in her hand was a crumpled mess as she waved her hands around wildly, its original purpose forgotten.

Park Moondae filled the woman’s brain—Park Moondae grinning, Park Moondae singing the high notes with a voice that was like butter, Park Moondae turning around on stage. Despite her excitement, she kept her eyes glued to the stage so she wouldn’t miss a single moment as he exited the studio.

The vote! I need to vote!

She was certain of one thing.

They’re going to be first place, they have to be!

Moondae’s team would definitely win!

***

After the performances were over and the audience had left the building, the rankings were announced immediately. The emcee declared the results with the contestants arranged neatly in front of him, standing with their teams.

“In third place is Heroes' Anthem, who performed ‘Blazing Like the Sun!’”

“What?”

“Hey, that makes no sense.”

The contestants began to murmur amongst one another following the emcee’s announcement. I stared at the screen with disgust.

Just as I thought.