âYay~ Arenât we so good? There are so many talented people, and so many good-looking people here!â
The gold grade Lee Sejin said with a smile. Everyone was shy, but nodded as if it was true.
It was only natural because it was time for everyone to grow up even if they were just pretending to be in harmony. Iâm glad that everyone seemed to atleast have common sense.
âBut, ah, actor Sejin. Our names are the same⊠How can we differentiate ourselves?â
âWhat?â
âOh, thatâs right!â
âRight? Since youâre an actor, how about Bae Sejin?â (Actor in Korean is Bae)
The first gold-rank participant that joined the team, smirked and spoke.
âHey, then, since you are big you should be Big Sejin.â (Big in Korean is Big)
âBig Sejin? Hey, thatâs good, Cole! How are you? Sejin-hyungnim?â
ââŠâ
The child actor Lee Sejin was biting his mouth as if tolerating something, then spoke softly.
âI just like my name.â
ââŠâ
âAh⊠I see.â
The atmosphere cooled down in an instant. Gold grade Lee Sejin hastily opened his mouth.
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âAh, thatâs fine. Then, hyungs and dongsaengs, please call me Big Sejin from now on~â
âI like it~â
âNice nickname!â
The atmosphere was settled by clapping and applause. Then, around the time each person introduced themselves, the MC picked up the microphone again.
âParticipants, did you say hello to each other?â
âPlease, let us choose our own songs.â
One of the team members muttered desperately. But that was not a possibility.
âNow then⊠letâs start the song selection!â
âWaâŠâŠâ
âThe song selection is also randomâŠ.â
Everyone mumbled with tired expressions.
The MC waved his hand and said in a humorous way.
âAh, everyone! The songs you will get are the hit songs that belong to the idols in the agency you chose! Donât be disappointed!â
Perhaps they thought it was worth doing it, but the atmosphere improved.
âNow, the sign in front of you will start switching between representative songs. Press the switch when you want it to stop! Then, the first participant to join the sign, please come forward!â
The team members immediately switched positions.
âHyungnim, I believe in you!â
âYou can only live by choosing the best song!â
âThen, do I have to show my abilities again?â
The first participant went out in front of the sign with cheers.
âNow, get ready⊠shoot!â
âWaah!â
The team member made a strange noise and immediately pressed the switch. Next to me, Big Sejin (Iâm going to refer to him like this since he brought it up himself) murmured. (The parenthesis is Moondae speaking, not Translator :P)
âNo, let me look at it and pressâŠâ
The sign slowly turned around to show several song titles.
[King of the mountains / VTIC]Â (aka Tiger)
[LIFE / VTIC]
[Eternal Song / VTIC]
VTIC. The male idol group that held the most sold album record.
âEverything is fine⊠Please.â
At the far end, I heard Choi Wongilâs desperate mumbles. I waited silently for the screen to stop.
The screen froze slowly.
[Into the new world / Mallangdalkomt]
ââŠ?â
ââŠâŠ??â
ââŠâŠ!?â
There was a terrible silence.
All the team members, except me, had bonobono eyes and looked at the sign. (Bonobono= character from a manga)
âI-Is this an error?â
The team member who touched the sign mumbled in a confused voice. However, there were no interruptions from the producers.
That meant this was real.
âIt includes female idols?â
âDo you have any female idol songs?â
Similar words were being said all around, not just by us.
Of course, their reactions werenât as strong as ours.
The team members were murmuring like crazy.
âUh⊠So, was it the flower fairy?â
âThat⊠uh, debut song, yeah.â
Undoubtedly, âTo the New Worldâ was an innocent and dreamy song that represented a flower fairy.
In addition, it was a debut song. A song that never won #1 on music shows since it was released before they changed to a cute concept as mallangdalkom.
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âAh! thank you!â
âAwesome!!â
There were cheers all around as if they had a good song. It was only natural since the selection was full of masterpieces.
And then the climax came from this area.
âAaaaah!â
âHyung! Hyung!!â
The other team in our sign chose âKing of the mountainsâ.
For reference, that song was a title track for an album that received a grand prize in the largest music site awards ceremony in Korea two months ago.
Iâd say that itâs one of the hottest songs you could pick here.
Thatâs why everyone hugged him and made a fuss. The team members had lower ratings, but now there was something to balance so their moods improved.
ââŠâŠâ
And our side suddenly became speechless. It seemed like everyone couldnât get out of the shock.
What about me
âI was avoiding this.â
I was sweeping down my chest. This is because I realized that I had chosen an agency sign I didnât want to.
VTICâs âKing of the mountains?
I just wouldnât be able to do it.
I was lucky to avoid it.
In that sense, for me the competition was as good as it could be.
âIt seems the others didnât realise it yet.â
When I saw the team members getting depressed, I thought it was for the better.
In a sense of crisis, people cooperated the best
***
âWe are not in sync.â
Did I think we could be cooperative? I want to correct myself since that was too high of an expectation.
The ones who seemed to have already given up on everything was starting to show
âWongil, if I try againâŠâ
âIâve tried it multiple times, but it just doesnât seem like it will work out againâŠâ
Choi Wongil bowed his head in a gloomy mood, and then spoke softly.
âIt was originally a girl song but I donât think it fits well since it is changed to fit males. I think I can do the high partâŠâ
As he talked he glanced at me.
âHe is asking for my part.â
I wore the main vocal badge early on thanks to the fiery support of the 3 gold ranks.
Perhaps because of his low grade, Choi Wongil stayed silent as he watched me put on the badge.
Then, when he found the opportunity to stretch his feet, ihe bloomed.
I laughed bitterly.
âShould we?â
ââŠâŠ!â
Big Sejin hit my thigh. this is reallyâŠâŠ
âHey, donât mess around with the kid for no reason. In times like this, you have to help him sing his part! What are you doing?â
Naturally, people talked as if it was a joke. It wasnât something he had done once or twice.
âI donât think heâs just a nice guy.â
I hid my doubts and continued firmly speaking.
âNo, it really doesnât matter if we change. If we are going to do it, we should do it at the beginning before we learn the choreography.â
âR-really?â
âMmhm.â
I calmly concluded the conversation. Choi Wongil had a very suspicious expression on his face, but he quickly nodded in fear that I might go back in my words.
âWell then, I would like to do the first verse chorusâŠâ
âOkay. Then Iâll do the bridge part myself.â
âWhat?â
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âYou are saying you canât do it, so we should change parts.â
Choi Wongil reluctantly nodded his head. It was a shame that he took a part he couldnât do.
He talked about wanting to do the chorus, but he didnât wish to let go of his own part.
I didnât think he used to be this bad, but perhaps falling into silver became a trigger for him. It was a bit out of taste.
Big Sejin looked between me and Choi Wongil, and then sighed audibly.
âI guess in the picture he planned, I sang the first chorus.â
I continued pretending not to notice.
âOkay then, letâs move onto this part.â
There was one main position left. I felt nervous, pretending not to be a gold level participant.
âNow we just need to decide on the main dancer.â
Before Big Sejin could add anything else, I raised my hand.
âOh, I have an opinion.â
âHuh?â
âIf itâs okay with everyone, I would like to decide the direction of the arrangement before choosing the main dancer.â
ââŠHuh?â
Arrangement.
Although it was the most important topic, it was a topic that everyone unconsciously avoided.
âInto the New Worldâ Was an innocent female idol song.
And âinnocenceââŠ. was a very difficult concept to digest.
It was often misunderstood that it could be done as long as you are pretty, but that really was an illusion.
Because it wasnât a concept where you could easily be strong.
In order to leave an impression on the audience for a survival show, you had to have incredibly good skills or exceptional talent.
Perhaps everyone thought as such, because the arrangement discussion started like this.
âHm⊠how about changing the lyrics and going stronger?â
âWith a strong beat?â
âYeah. Doing it like, Into the new world~ Something with ambition like that!â
The first gold⊠it was annoying to refer to him this way. Should I just call him Gold 1?
So, this was Gold 1âs opinion. This was something that would come into mind if you were a thoughtful survival participant.
Change it so itâs strong.
The problem was that it would be hard to make the song feel âoverwhelmingâ as mentioned before.
The lyrics of âInto the New Worldâ went like this.
â At some point, I realized that I was trapped in this unstoppable maze of time, wandering through imperfect time, save the me that is slowly withering away.
This little space inside (Little Flower~)
Waiting for the day where it will bloom again
Come and find me
That was the first verse.
If you want it to be ambitious, you would have to change the lyrics to be more speaker-centered, and then the story of the song would become messed up starting with the pre-chorus.
That was because the chorus of this song was about asking the other person to come quickly.
â One step, two step
The sound of you coming
Itâs ringing in my ear
Donât hesitate, give me your hand
Now Iâm into the new world
Come to me
Come to me
Itâs dazzling, a paradise by your side
Come to me
Come to me
Melody of love for you (continues)
âThen should we fix the next lyrics into âCome to meâ after âInto the New Worldâ?â
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âUh⊠if we say âcome to youââŠâ
Gold 1 muttered behind my back and scratched his head. He seemed to have realized that the problem wasnât just that
âThen, shouldnât we fix everything starting from âSave Meâ?â
âUmm.â
Yes, because the chorus was so focused on the listenerâs behavior, if we tried changing it too quickly, the nuance of the next lines would be crushed.
âIf we want it to go like this, we will have to change everything.â
âYes, âŠbut if you change it too much, youâll get an imbalance.â
It was also a question of whether the other team or the production team would be fine with such a change.
ââŠâŠâ
Slowly, the seriousness of the situation could be felt on the skin, and the team members became quiet.
Big Sejin quickly stepped in and changed the subject.
âWhy donât we talk to the teachers and decide on the arrangement? I think itâs better to learn the choreography as soon as possible to be able to earn feedback! Moondae, is that okay?â
âOh, itâs okay. Letâs do it.â
I readily accepted it.
Anyways, the reason I brought up the arrangement was to create a shock.
The more desperate the atmosphere was, the less they would say when I created an arrangement.
Of course, even if I didnât do this, I think everyone would understand whatâs going on if they watch the dance video.
âOkay, then letâs start the choreography!â
After the choreography video started playing under Big Sejinâs leadership, everyone put their heads on the tablet PC screen.
No matter how many times the members might have heard the chorus, they probably didnât remember the choreography in detail.
However, as expected, less than 15 seconds after the choreography video started, everyone was silent.