Episode 145. Fourth Competition: Final Announcement (1)
Live broadcasts demanded far more adaptability than pre-recordings.
Accordingly, the set was hectic enough to make one's head spin. Everyone moved with clockwork precision.
The first performance went to Parte, who had claimed overall first place in the third competition.
It was a wise choice. In a competition decided by text voting, showing the stage first and gathering votes over a long period was advantageous.
What stood out was how they had decorated the stage lavishly with members of the royal house aiming to seize the throne, befitting the finale.
Spark's outfit today was a neat white hanbok with a deep blue-green kwaeja.
To avoid looking overly plain, they had added accents with embroidery and a norigae. Even if the concept was an upright, incorruptible scholar, Spark was still an idol through and through.
Having watched several survival programs, relatively few had attempted Eastern-style stages in the finale, so they placed their bet here.
As expected, many groups had worn hanbok and performed in rounds two and three, while uniforms were the majority in the finale.
Moreover, the audience and viewers had to watch six stages at once today. I wanted to avoid overlapping concepts as much as possible, so it was a relief that we had succeeded.
"Your hair looks perfect."
"Yeah?"
Gang Giyeon looked my hair over from side to side and nodded.
I was someone who avoided using flashy accessories, but today was different.
First, to cover the remaining stitch marks above my ear, I had short hair pieces attached.
The stylist had gone through a lot to make them look natural, as if connected to my original hair.
And to prepare for the possibility of only my hair sticking up while dancing, I wrapped a silk headband over the hair pieces.
"Won't this make me stand out too much?"
"You never know when and where the camera will close up on you."
"I see......."
As expected, one should leave medicine to the doctor and work to the expert. Thanks to that, I could tie on a headband that even had gauze kindly padded inside.
Since the focus was on aesthetics rather than historical accuracy, the knotted cloth fell long toward the back of my head, but everyone said it suited me, so I decided not to shorten the length.
"Is Spark ready?"
"Yes!"
We answered in unison.
Today, Spark's concept was historians.
Those who record history in a place where everyone dreams of seizing the throne.
And at least for today, we would write the definition of this program anew.
* * *
Spark's meeting scene was being broadcast on the large screen with a VCR effect. Probably the original footage edited for broadcast was airing on the live show.
『Spark will enter in five minutes!』
The assistant director's voice came through the walkie-talkie. Staff busily moved across the darkened stage. Watching the busily moving figures, Director Han stretched briefly.
"I really do see these guys often."
Director Han briefly recalled the past.
Whether at Jang Junhu's music video shoot or after "Sulsa," Director Han had been encountering Gim Iwol on set for three consecutive times now.
It wouldn't be strange not to see idols while working in music programs, but there were always those who remained particularly memorable.
For Director Han, Gim Iwol was like that.
At first, he had seemed like a very considerate and friendly person.
He still vividly remembered how Gim Iwol had come out even when it wasn't his own shoot, looked after his members, and busily tried to help passing staff with their work even a little.
When they met in "Sulsa," the feeling was a bit different.
Courteous and calm, but Director Han clearly saw the keen glint in his eyes.
And unlike other cast members who were falling over here and there while thoroughly drunk, Gim Iwol cleanly emptied his glass, bowed at ninety degrees, and exited last with a gentlemanly demeanor until the very end.
That scene had been so impressive. So when he saw Gim Iwol and his colleagues again at Ahwangsil, he had been quite glad.
Although the meeting shoot had gone to another group, he had heard plenty of interesting stories from Team 2, who had gone to film at UA.
That they held meetings like office workers, that the kids were all quite capable.
The writers, who had seen so many celebrities that they were ruthless in their evaluations to the point of excess, were full of praise.
Until then, to Director Han, Spark was a unique but kind rookie idol.
However, when the PD of Ahwangsil called an emergency meeting, Spark's image changed a little.
"I heard a Spark member was assaulted?"
"By PD Yu Hansu, is that right?"
"That crazy bastard finally caused an accident. The stories we heard weren't pretty, so I wondered when he'd cause one."
"No matter what, how could he do such a thing?"
A cast injury issue due to a sudden accident.
The repercussions were indescribably huge. The program name and Spark dominated real-time trends on SNS, and articles poured out.
"Is Iwol okay?"
Director Han asked. The PD sighed and answered.
"Eight weeks for a full recovery."
"Ah......."
It was natural that it would be a serious injury given what happened, but hearing it directly made him feel even worse.
"So is Spark withdrawing? Or are they going without Iwol?"
"Wouldn't they withdraw? If it were a simple injury, maybe not, but if this happened because of a colleague they shared meals with, the members must be quite shocked. And they're all young."
The sound director spoke regretfully. He was someone who had been keeping an eye on I Cheonghyeon, who was said to be in charge of composition and arrangement for Spark since after the second competition.
"But this...... ha."
The PD ruffled his hair roughly. He seemed to have some lingering regret, hesitated, then opened his mouth with difficulty.
"I know me saying this might make me sound like a psychopath. But it's such a waste."
"What is?"
"Their finale stage. I heard the plan from Team 2's youngest. But that stage is a compressed version of their narrative. If we don't show this and let it pass, they just become kids who did moderately well and withdrew midway."
Then the main writer, who had been glancing at the PD from the side, cut in.
"Let's be honest since we all know everything. It's just that you find it a waste, PD-nim?"
Spark possessed an item that a music program PD would find wasteful to lose?
It was a puzzling thing. Director Han also well knew how many stubborn people there were in this field.
However, as if to prove the main writer's words true, this time the PD grabbed his head with both hands and tore at it.
"Yes, it's a waste! A waste! Don't you find it a waste?"
"It is a waste. That stage was like a summary of Ahwangsil."
"So what I'm saying is, Director Han."
The PD's gaze turned to Director Han.
"Would it be too much of an imposition to ask you to consider Spark's finale stage positively?"
"You call that a request? You'll really be called a psychopath."
Somehow, he had wondered why they called himself, who had nothing to do with the planning department, and even the sound director.
He knew Ahwangsil was performing better than expected. But isn't there a line people must keep?
Gim Iwol had always bloomed with a smile when talking about his members even in "Sulsa." There was no way a guy who cherished and liked his members that much would have bad relations with them.
How must Spark feel now that such a Gim Iwol had been in an accident? It was something no decent human being could dare suggest.
"I don't think that's right either."
The sound director waved his hands as well.
Thinking the conversation was over, just as Director Han was about to get up, the youngest writer opened the meeting room door and came in along with a knock.
"PD-nim! Spark says they won't withdraw!"
The PD cheered, while the others including the main writer were bewildered.
But the bewilderment was only momentary.
Someone who had watched Spark from up close for several months muttered.
"They're really ruthless......"
Calling them ruthless felt almost rude, but Director Han couldn't deny those words.
* * *
"At that time, I was surprised enough that Spark was forcing their appearance."
But surprises remained after that. Gim Iwol appeared at the broadcasting station wearing a hat pulled down low.
At first, the production staff had thought he came to cheer for his members, but they were shocked when they saw Gim Iwol wearing a name tag during rehearsal.
Gim Iwol himself was calm. Even before rehearsal began, he checked the backup dancers' entrance and exit paths and the sound as meticulously as usual, smiling all the while.
"With an injured person, the stage quality won't be what it used to be."
Still, the will to stand on stage together somehow was conveyed. Director Han thought it was quite fresh and passionate.
That was before rehearsal began.
He should have known when large-scale backup dancers and various sets different from Spark's previous stages came out.
That even if the eldest hyung got hurt, he would try to do what he had to do, and that compromise was nonexistent for a ruthless group that fulfilled its role even when injured.
"You'll do well, Director Han, but please make sure to capture this Spark stage well."
"Spark?"
The day Spark announced they wouldn't withdraw, after the meeting ended, the PD had tapped Director Han's shoulder and said.
"I'm asking you."
"No, I'll do my job well, but......."
Seeing Director Han's reluctant expression, the PD said.
"It's because I really think they'll do well. Let's make a killer stage together."
There had been conviction in the PD's eyes as he said that.
Director Han hadn't understood then, but now that he had checked the planning document, camera work, set, and rehearsal, he understood.
That Spark could create an incredible stage.
* * *
Spark chose I Cheonghyeon's self-composed song, "Sijeonggi," for their finale stage.
Before any music flowed, Jeong Seongbin walked out to the center of the stage.
With the sound of rustling paper in the background, Jeong Seongbin recited.
"Someone came here to ascend to the throne"
He remembered seeing it in the planning document. A quote from a passage recorded in Volume 1 of the Taeejo Sillok, "Taejo ascended to the throne at Suchanggung (太祖卽位于壽昌宮)."
Jeong Seongbin's steps turned again toward the members standing in a row with their backs to the stage.
"This is a story
containing the countless people who passed through this land"
Jeong Seongbin's voice faded as if crumbling away.
The song began from here.
Among the members turning around in turn, Bak Juu, who had been walking out covering his eyes with the back of his hand, swept his hand down from his eyes.
Bak Juu's eyes gleamed a deep gray in the light.