Damn Idol Episode 57
Album 6. Center of Gravity
Seven days before the news that a Billboard No. 1 songwriter would appear on Coming Up Next was splashed across the headlines.
A blazing live thread began to unfold in the idol community.
It started at the fingertips of those who had attended the taping for Coming Up Next’s second mission.
[Raise your hand if you went to the CUN taping.]
-I got injured clapping at the venue, so I can’t raise my hand?? It was insane.
-Then how are you typing?
-My cat’s typing for me.
-Lmao if Sedalbaegil debuts, they’re guaranteed top-tier lolol
-If the VCR is the same, Han Sion is a god, and the greatest genius in idol-scene history. If you disagree, you’re wrong.
-Lol Take Scene flew and crawled, but in the end they were just raw meat, right? Swa
-llow.
-Look at that rhyme lmao
-If you thought this concept was fucking stupid at first and are now reflecting, upvote.
-Seriously, with this vibe, shouldn’t Sedalbaegil be the ones to debut?
-I think the Take Scene trainees have trained for about four years?
-Hey there, my good man. Do you really think Choi Daeho has any business ethics?
-I mean, he even gets Tiger and Lion confused lmaoooooo
Of course, the people reacting like this weren’t necessarily desperate supporters of Sedalbaegil.
The overall reaction was full of wording and overhyping that made them easy targets for fans of other groups.
But that didn’t mean they were deliberately writing comments to get Sedalbaegil in trouble, either.
Sedalbaegil had genuinely done well, and they were genuinely impressed.
They simply had no interest in Sedalbaegil’s long-term image, and were more caught up in the superiority of having seen the stage first.
On top of that, people pretending to have attended the taping, influxes from outside communities, attention-seeking multifandom stans, fans on hiatus, and ex-fans were all tossing more firewood onto the flames.
With things like this, some people in the community started complaining of fatigue.
-They’ve been talking all day about something I don’t give a shit about.
-CUN’s got a lot of money, huh. How many paid shills do they have?
-I don’t care about the concept or whatever, so I wish they’d stop spamming;
There were also people who liked producer members from certain groups and began downplaying Han Sion.
The phrase “genius producer” rubbed them the wrong way.
-Lmao it’s obvious Lee Hyeonseok did everything for him, but they believe that?
-Lol when it’s other composer members, they go “they probably just hummed the top line,” but when it’s Han Sion they totally believe he arranged it himself lolol
-It’s an intelligence issue lolol
But surprisingly, no single public opinion managed to become the dominant trend in the community.
Since episode two would air soon anyway, there was a strong wait-and-see mood.
Amid all this, Friday evening arrived.
[CUN starting! Opening the live thread!]
Coming Up Next episode two went on air.
And the reactions to episode two were—
-???????????
-Is he seriously not insane??
-He’s the real deal. Completely fucking my-way.
-Sion who tore it up, debut.
-You want a bastard like that to debut??
-What’s the problem? He’s fucking good lolol
It began to expand beyond the minor sphere of an idol trainee survival show and into the whole country.
There were good meanings and bad meanings to it, but to sum it up……
-So who’s right?
-(Photo) Way From Flower’s official SNS today. Doesn’t it look like they’re making it super obvious they’re pissed? lol
-Doesn’t it only look that way to you? lol Why would they hate it when a junior arranged their song so insanely well?
-No, so who the hell is right!
-But fuck, honestly, the song is really damn good. I don’t know who Han Sion is, but he seems better than Way From Flower.
-Ha, this is pissing me off. Seriously.
It was a complete mess.
* * *
The protagonist of the first scene in Coming Up Next episode two was Han Sion.
After reminding viewers of the preliminary mission stage aired in episode one through insert cuts, it immediately opened with Blue and Han Sion’s mentoring session.
[Sion. This is an idol audition, right? That means you have to show your dancing.]
[You mean I should cover a song by senior idol artists, correct?]
[Correct. Show me your favorite song exactly as it is, without arranging it.]
-He says “senior idol artists” lol
-??? Why?
-He’s obviously drawing a line and using that title because he doesn’t consider himself an idol.
-Crazy lmao if it’s to this level, isn’t this mental illness? Did your jaw drop off while listening to Han Sion sing or something?
-No nurse calls a senior from the same hospital “senior nurse.” They just call them senior.
-You’re even top-tier at talking bullshit.
-Just don’t feed the troll. What do you think Han Sion’s gonna sing?
-I have no clue. I do think he’ll sing something that needs decent vocal ability, but since he was told to show his dancing……
-Blue’s better at mentoring than I expected? I thought he was just a variety-show guy.
-Does first-generation top idol Blue look like a joke to you?
Viewers speculating about Han Sion’s song choice tilted their heads at what followed.
[Who do you think is the best among the contestants?]
[Gu Taehwan. His sense of rhythm is no joke.]
-???
-Isn’t Gu Taehwan the one with the thug face?
-Yep, he came last in the preliminary mission.
-Lol Han Sion’s smart. He deliberately mentioned the last-place guy to get that considerate image.
-Hey, is that smart? That’s stupid. At this point it looks like he’s mocking him;;
-What a hypocrite.
-So what? Maybe it’s a social consideration admission.
-Lmao is this The Heirs?
-Do I like your song?
-Crazy lmaoooo
In reality, Han Sion had answered, “At this point, Onsaemiro; looking at the future, Gu Taehwan,” but it was edited for broadcast.
There was a brief stir, but as the scene switched to the other contestants’ mentoring sessions, the topic quickly changed.
The topic resurfaced during the meal scene with Blue—
Han Sion—
and Gu Taehwan.
[It’s too cramped here for three men. Should we go eat in the lounge?]
After some small talk over the meal, Blue opened his mouth.
[Taehwan, you said you still haven’t picked a song, right?]
[Yes. I’m still thinking about it.]
[What do you think, Sion? What kind of song do you think would suit Taehwan?]
-The Heirs OST.
-Lmaooooooo
-Don’t force a meme from a drama that aired three years ago
-You, who know exactly that it was three years ago. You were an avid viewer, weren’t you?
But Han Sion on screen was far more serious than expected.
[Because his natural sense of rhythm is good, I think it’d be good if he sang a song that can show that. Contemporary R&B or trap house, something like that.]
[What about tropical house?]
[Tropical house is good too, but I think a two-four rhythm would suit him better than a one-three.]
But Gu Taehwan’s reaction after hearing everything was dry.
[……
I’ll work hard.]
-He looks offended lol Look at his expression.
-Eek. School days PTSD.
-He’s insanely handsome, so why is the reaction like this?
-Thug-type faces always get strong likes and dislikes.
-Guys fucking hate them, you know.
Next, the topic people had finally been curious about—Han Sion’s song choice—came up.
In the actual filming, the order of the conversation had been the opposite, but this was nothing unusual.
[Sion, did you think about your song choice?]
[I took what you said into account and finished choosing.]
[Already? What is it?]
Han Sion’s voice was beeped out, and Blue’s eyes widened.
[You’re going to sing beep—?]
[Yes. I think it’ll be fun.]
[Honestly, I don’t recommend singing beep—. Are you going to sing it without arranging it?]
[Yes.]
Then came Blue’s interview cut.
Blue said he’d been flustered after hearing Han Sion’s song choice, and that he couldn’t even guess what it would feel like.
Just when the viewers were starting to feel frustrated, Blue threw them a hint.
[Still, since it’s a song by the hottest idol group at the moment…….]
-It’s NOP.
-It’s NOP.
-Don’t talk bullshit, it’s Drop Out.
-Has-been Out hasn’t promoted in over two years, haven’t they?
-Lmaoooo what a joke.
-Isn’t TENX10N the biggest right now?
-Tension? Their fans were having a fit lolol Because Under the Streetlight ruined their chart line-up.
-That was fucking hilarious. They lined up nine songs, but Under the Streetlight pierced through them in three days at 7th, 4th, and 1st lolol
-Lololol 7-4-1 formation.
-A good football-knower, acknowledged lololol
-How dare you bring Tension into this? lol They just come out in a swarm of ten and dump sales.
-What a joke lol If we’re talking hottest right now, Tension is right.
-Tension mom has entered the chat, hi
-If someone causes a scandal and leaves, do they become Ninexion?
-Just send half of them away and make them Ocean. That’s nice. The sea.
-(Info) Tension’s five-member unit name really has been set as Ocean.
-Why is this real lmaoooooooo
Even while leaving comments, viewers assumed it was about time Han Sion’s song choice would be revealed.
But no.
The vicious PD Kang Seokwoo had no intention of revealing his song choice before Han Sion’s stage began.
-Come on! Just tell us already!
Just as the viewers were writhing in frustration, the cuts began pouring toward Gu Taehwan.
-What’s with him?
-He’s actually working hard?
He had gone to the vocal trainer for advice based on Han Sion’s opinion, and had started searching diligently.
The production team even cut in shots of Gu Taehwan’s search history and notes.
-A man who looks like a thug but doesn’t say empty words... A man who works hard when it’s time to work hard....
-A man who looks like he only eats pizza buns microwaved for one minute....
-Eek, I’ll go buy bread.
The best part among them was the scene where he went to Han Sion.
[I tried picking songs with the feeling you mentioned.]
[Uh…… Yes. I think they’re good.]
[Could you perhaps narrow down the options for me?]
[Then…… this one and this one. Wouldn’t one of these two be good?]
[I’ll work hard.]
After that, too, Gu Taehwan kept hovering around Han Sion’s practice room.
[What exactly does having a good sense of rhythm mean? Does it mean keeping the beat well?]
There was also a shot of him waiting for Han Sion, who had come up to the choreography training room.
[A sense of rhythm is something you’re born with, you know? It’s related to the length of sounds.]
[So mine is good?]
[Rather than good, I’d say it’s charming. So just keep the beats within the measure and sing the progression however you want. It’ll probably be good.]
The ending was always the same.
[I’ll work hard.]
-No, what is this, an NPC quest? lolol
-He vowed to work hard five times lolol
-The NPC thinks highly of your enthusiasm!
-Hidden reward: song choice!
At that moment, Han Sion on screen reacted exactly like one netizen’s comment.
[Would you sing it once for me?]
-Lmaoooooooooooooooooooooo
-Quest: great success.
-Hey, but Gu Taehwan is a member of Sedalbaegil lolol Does he really pass because Han Sion helps him?
-What’s with this bully and disciplinary committee chemistry?
-Han Sion feels less like the disciplinary committee and more like a returning student who was held back a year after causing some incident that no one knows the truth of, only rumors.
-You otaku bastard lol Look at the detail in that delusion.
-No, but why the hell isn’t Take Scene showing up?
-Shut up.
-Read the room, it’s fun right now.
In that way, cuts of the ten contestants working hard in their own ways flashed by.
But a proper cut of Han Sion was nowhere to be found.
It was obvious enough that the production team was intentionally keeping his song choice tightly hidden.
The only cut was—
[Why did you choose to go first?]
[I thought if I was going to get beaten anyway, it’d be better to get it over with first.]
It was an interview scene, and as this spread among the contestants, public opinion began to form.
The opinion that Han Sion couldn’t dance.
-Ah, no matter how well he sings, I hate stiff dancers.
-Agreed. If they can’t even hide him in the formation, it’s an instant turnoff. It feels like it dulls the shine of the other kids’ efforts too.
-But if he sings that well, there’s no way he can dance well too.
-Is NPC friend good at singing? I didn’t watch episode one.
-Haven’t you heard Under the Streetlight? It’s number one on the chart right now.
-I’ve heard it.
-That’s his song.
-For real? Seriously??
Amid the same viewer sentiment, Han Sion finally stepped onto the stage for Team B’s first selection mission.
[Is this right? This is what contestant Han Sion chose?]
[Really? Why this?]
[Uh…… I have no idea what his intent is.]
Amid the judges’ negative reactions, Han Sion’s grinning face was shown in close-up.
Just when it seemed like the song choice would finally be revealed—
[At the same time. Take Scene was…….]
The scene changed.
-Hey, Kang Seokwoo, you son of a bitch!!!
The reaction was explosive.