Chapter 43

Chapter 43

The area outside the entrance to the Music Bomb studio, where the third team battle was set to take place, was packed tightly with people. Most of the crowd milling about weren’t even ticket-holders, but people hoping to hear a snatch of music while standing outside. A young college student pushed through the crowd, trying to get to the entry line, extremely unhappy about this.

Why are all these people here if they aren’t even going inside? None of them would be able to see anything, and yet they all seemed so excited. She couldn’t understand it.

It was like this during the second team battle, too. Now it’s only gotten worse. She shuddered with disgust as she found her place in line. Based on how many people were in front of her, it was going to take hours before her turn to go in arrived.

This is so annoying. All around her people were holding banners and snacks that had been handed out by fans. All the banners were the same.

[Park Moondae ♡ Debut]

He’s gotten so popular. She pouted, thinking back to the second team battle. She’d been upset that the person sitting next to her was a Park Moondae fan, and now her own bias, Kim Raebin, was on the same team as the guy.

Why does anyone like him? He’s such a little troll! she grumbled internally. She was in utter denial about how she’d cheered at the top of her lungs as soon as a certain performance had come to an end during the previous team battle. Regardless, she was no longer able to mock Park Moondae on the internet.

Well, their performance was all right. I’ll go easy on him, she told herself, tearing her eyes away from the banners. Whoever had made it had done an amazing job. It annoyed her that the banner was so pretty.

“No cutting in line!”

“Please don’t push!”

Showing the number she received earlier in the day in order to enter, people broke into a run as soon as they passed through the doors. There were no assigned seats—it was essentially a mosh pit and all standing, so the faster someone got inside, the better their chances were of claiming a good vantage point. She secured a spot near the barricade right in front of the stage.

Safe! She was proud that she was the eighteenth person to successfully apply for a ticket. Getting such a good spot was only possible because the production team had changed the method of applying to get into the studio—the order of entry was determined by the order of application online.

This is basically a front-row seat! Her heart was racing. The wait was so long that her excitement had cooled off by the time the emcee finally appeared, though.

“Welcome, everyone, to the third team battle of Relisted! Idol Incorporated!”

The crowd screamed and cheered, a mixture of relief, happiness, and annoyance because of the long wait.

Just start already! she thought, gripping the fence tightly.

“The theme for this round is Do-It-Yourself!” The contestants were in control of every aspect of their performances from song selection to props!”

Kim Raebin probably killed it this time! she thought since her bias was good at everything except backstabbing. Excited, she joined the rest of the crowd as they cheered.

“Not only that, we’ve used a big-data-based algorithm to analyze your stock purchasing patterns and grouped contestants together based on your preferences!”

The audience began to murmur curiously among themselves. It wasn’t that they didn’t understand the emcee’s words, but simply that they couldn’t understand why an algorithm had been necessary at all—it was overkill.

The emcee smoothly wrapped up the show’s opening segment. “I can see everyone is pumped for today’s show! Let’s start with the first performance!”

The crowd roared.

“This team has selected the song... ‘Loving the Wait’ by the kings of emotion, Maximite!”

The audience immediately turned their attention to the main stage, eyes glowing with expectation as they wondered if their favorite contestant would appear on the darkened stage.

I’d prefer that Raebin wasn’t up first... but whatever! I hope I get to see him soon!

As if in response to her wish, the stage exploded with light.

Ping!

Whoa!

But it wasn’t fully lit just yet—thick yellow beams of light were pointed straight up, coming from below. The columns of light danced chaotically over the still-dim stage, the only thing visible was a gigantic tree stump.

Then came the sound of a wind instrument, gently reverberating through the studio. It was a bamboo flute, playing the opening bars of a traditional Korean song. The graceful, sad melody flowed through the air, and a figure appeared from the left side of the stage, somersaulting so effortlessly it was almost eerie.

The tall man, who wore a rabbit mask carved from wood, ran to the center and flipped so that his back now faced the audience.

The flute abruptly fell silent. The man, who had landed on one foot, swayed—causing his robe to fall open and exposing the suit he wore underneath.

The beam lights all flickered off at once. From the pitch-black stage came a voice in place of the flute.

The wait is long and it’s always fun

There was no instrumental, the notes perfect and crisp despite that, as though the singing had been pre-recorded. The audience members immediately recognized whose voice this was.

Park Moondae... The deep pounding of drums came as the lights once again turned on. There were now five people standing in a circle on stage, each wearing a wooden rabbit mask. Behind them, on the black background, a glorious galaxy appeared.

Then they began to dance—their movements began slowly and sensuously, and with each successive beat, the choreography grew more complicated and picked up speed. They moved so fluidly and naturally, they made it look as easy as breathing. The tempo was constantly fluctuating, and it seemed like it would be easy to make a mistake, but not a single person messed up the timing.

The heavy drums grew more piercing as the dance progressed, and a more modern bass line began, forming a more harmonious soundscape.

The bamboo flute began playing accompanied by a synthesizer, together playing the top notes.

Oohwee— wiwiwi—

Oohweeoowhee— wi—

As the drums died away gradually, burying themselves under the other instruments, the five men pushed their rabbit masks aside simultaneously, so they were perched on the side of their heads.

The person on the far right started to sing. It was Park Moondae.

At every turn of the road you’ll find me standing, waiting for you

Big Sejin spun to face the audience on the far left and grinned.

There’s no room for anxiety

You always knew

They rearranged themselves with all the precision of a martial arts routine and Kim Raebin appeared from the back of the formation.

That we’d be here, that we’d meet again

The certainty, it fills my heart and veins—ah!

Raebin! The college student gave a silent scream as she gripped the barricade tightly. She wanted to shout, but she resisted.

As the rap began, it wasn’t only her, but also the majority of the audience that noticed something interesting.

They changed all the lyrics into Korean... In the original song, there had been a few English words used, but they had been swapped out for Korean to fit the theme of the performance.

I should have expected something like this from Raebin. He’s a genius! She was so touched by the canny changes, she felt close to tears. Not once did she entertain the possibility that one of the other team members had come up with the idea. Even that thought vanished from her mind as the performance sucked her in once more.

It’s the most natural thing in the world

I know you and you’ll get to know me

Following a handful of lines sung by Ha Iljoon—Goldie #1—Big Sejin finished out the pre-chorus.

There’s no changing it now

Destiny is on its way!

Seon Ahyeon moved to center stage. He’d shoved the rabbit mask aside at a slightly awkward angle, so it still covered his temple. His face still seemed like it was shining from a light within, however.

He is very handsome... I’ll acknowledge that much. She was irritated that she could find nothing negative to say about Seon Ahyeon’s appearance after seeing him up close.

He maintained an upright, graceful pose as he began to sing.

I’m loving the wait

It’s always long and it’s always great!

Huh? A familiar move appeared in the choreography as the chorus began—it was a hand gesture that had been key to the original dance. It had been combined with a new foot movement, however, at a slightly staggered beat, producing an overall more powerful impression.

Whoosh!

The choreography involved far bigger and more sweeping motions, which, coupled with their robes, left the audience in awe.

Ah… The original song had been straightforward and sentimental, but this new version was something more romantic and emotional with a historical twist.

When this wait is over

I know we’ll meet again

My heart is already racing

Park Moondae sang the high notes at the end of the chorus. His hair color seemed to have faded somewhat and was now more of a sandy blond color and swept off his face by the mask.

He... doesn’t look bad with his hair pushed back like that. She tried to downplay her appreciation of his good looks even in the privacy of her own thoughts, crediting the stylists who must have really outdone themselves with his makeup today.

As soon as the final note ended, Park Moondae turned his back on the audience…

Huh? The audience members, riveted by the movements and facial expressions of the contestants, automatically followed their gaze to the screen behind the stage. The stars that had been drifting across the background were now disappearing behind a dark blue arc.

“...!”

The only sounds to be heard were the combination of string and wind instruments. As if it were being painted with a brush, the arc curved and formed a circle, which then began to glow blue. It was a round ball of blue floating amid the stars—a view of Earth from the moon.

Oohoo— Oohoo— Oooh—

The contestants slowly sank to the floor in time with the music, then rose again, smoothly removing their robes and throwing them aside.

It’s a daydream, light as a feather

The path that will take me to you

The contestants now wore elegant suits. They began to dance in short, decisive movements. Their bodies curved and swayed elegantly and confidently, creating quite a peculiar effect. The accompaniment, now without a drum, sounded almost erotic.

Kim Raebin, oh my god...

“Oh my gosh!”

She flinched, wondering if she’d slipped and moaned out loud, before realizing that everyone around her was reacting in the same way.

You’ve been waiting for me, too

So this clear sense of deja vu tells me, ooh

On the word “deja vu,” the audio grew more strange, as though it was being muffled by something.

Face the moment of destiny

It is not your enemy!

Bang!

With that, the drums resumed, and the slightly suggestive mood the song had adopted, vanished instantly.

I’m loving the wait

It’s always long

and it’s always great!

The chorus began again, and Big Sejin came forward, taking the center in a complicated group movement. The choreography became more complex.

When this wait is over

I know we’ll meet again

My heart is already racing

Then came a quiet humming.

Hum hoo hoo hum— hoohoo

Doo-roo doo-roo du du

They hummed the melody of the chorus in unison. They moved their feet gently back and forth as they did so as if they were excited and waiting for someone. The drums in the background almost resembled a heartbeat.

The young college student realized that Park Moondae had actually been humming the notes a whole octave above the others, and it gave her the chills.

Gosh, I thought his voice was the instrumental. She swallowed with some difficulty, mouth dry. The choreography from the start of the song appeared again, slightly modified. Their formation shifted restlessly and they smoothly arranged themselves into a loose circle atop the single prop that had been on stage the entire time.

Huh?

It was a huge tree stump—the stump of a cinnamon tree. They seated themselves around it, taking off their jackets and throwing them off stage.

“...!”

Underneath, they wore shirts designed to resemble traditional Korean jackets. Big Sejin smiled at the audience, pushing his rabbit mask down over his face once more.

Wait for me.

The moon rabbits slumped against one another as if falling asleep and sat around the stump of the cinnamon tree. The performance ended on that scene, the blue light of Earth casting a soft glow over them.

Then came the cheering—loud enough that it felt like the roof was shaking.

“Yeaaaah!”

“Oh my god!”

“Waaaaah!”

The audience was going nuts, producing all kinds of cries, shouts, and screams, many clamping their hands over their mouths in awe. Nobody had expected to see so many high-ranking members on a single team, and in the very first performance of the day. Everyone was pumped after seeing such a high-quality performance.

Because they had such a striking concept, there was something about their performance that appealed greatly to anyone who was an idol fan. Too much had happened all at once to unpack easily, making the crowd wish they could see it again and find all the easter eggs scattered throughout. No doubt many of them were already anxiously counting down the days until the next episode aired.

They’ve got this in the bag, the college student thought proudly, releasing the barricade for the first time since the song began. She had found herself screaming at the top of her lungs and only snapped out of it after the stage lights had gone out.

With an opening performance like that, all the other teams were basically f*cked. She hesitated for a moment, then decided to just roll with it. She was ecstatic.

Well... the guys from October31 are pretty good. The annoyance she had felt when she’d entered the set earlier was completely gone as she muttered, “If they just added Ryu Chungwoo and Cha Eugene, they’d have a team ready for debut.”