Damn Idol Chapter 73
Could it be that I want to take Sedalbaegil’s side?
Had they actually been bad, and had I lost the objectivity to recognize that?
I’m human too, so when I spend time with people in the same place, I do feel a sense of closeness.
Of course, emotions like that don’t affect my course of action.
But it is possible for me to lose my objectivity, even if only for a moment.
I replayed our stage in my mind.
Choi Jaeseong, who had something of an otaku streak, had created the story for the song. To explain it simply, it was a situation where we were given the chance to “give up on time travel.”
Each of us had fallen into a different time period, and life there was far too enjoyable.
The people were kind, it was peaceful, and because we were lucky, we even managed to land decent jobs.
Reality was painful, and we couldn’t find a reason to force ourselves back.
The only thing that weighed on our minds was the friends we had time-traveled with.
I might be happy, but I had no way of knowing what time period those friends were trapped in.
Incidents unfolded in the midst of that, and all the friends eventually returned to reality—that was the story of this song.
And Lee Ion, playing the villain, was the culprit behind “the closing of time.”
It wasn’t as if we had filmed a music video, so that story didn’t show through explicitly in the song.
But because there was a clear story, the emotional progression was distinct.
So, we had performed well.
Gu Taehwan understood what he had to do in the intro, and Choi Jaeseong once again displayed one hundred percent of his ability.
Lee Ion had taken on a difficult role, but he brought out the meaningful, ominous feeling well.
Lastly, On Saemiro went absolutely wild.
After our conversation in the studio, he had seemed much more at ease, and then he truly let it all out.
In my personal assessment, On Saemiro on this stage was beyond being the star of Take Scene.
As for me, well, that went without saying.
It was a good stage.
Everyone had carried out their role perfectly, both as a team and individually.
“……”
Right. I hadn’t lost my objectivity.
The ones who had lost their objectivity—or had chosen to ignore it—were the judges.
As proof.
“Wow! That was a fun stage. I don’t know Korean, but I’m not stupid enough to miss the vibe built up onstage. The five of you clearly reached the same destination on the same emotional line. And then you blew it up. Boom!”
Eddie was showering us with praise.
But this seemed like Eddie acting on his own.
I could see bewilderment spreading across the judges’ faces.
They wouldn’t edit this out, would they?
The score our team received was 88.
Honestly, it was a bit absurd, but I didn’t show my emotions like an amateur.
“……
Thank you.”
I simply bowed, looking as if I felt awkward for being the only one praised and was watching the other team members’ reactions.
Once we came down from the stage, Lee Ion opened his mouth.
“Sorry. I think I got too absorbed and overdid it. I thought I did well, but… maybe it was too much emotion.”
“Me too. But On Saemiro-hyung was seriously good, wasn’t he?”
“I did well? I don’t remember what I did. I couldn’t see anything onstage.”
After listening to the members’ impressions, I slowly opened my mouth.
“You all did well. It was a perfect stage that couldn’t have been any better. I mean that sincerely.”
The members seemed to think my words were meant as comfort, but I was being sincere.
However, I had to give up on explaining in detail because of the cameras.
Denying the judges’ evaluations here would make me look unlikable.
On top of that, I had received high praise, so it would only look like I was awkwardly overreacting out of embarrassment.
Just then, cheers erupted from the audience.
Take Scene was going up onto the stage.
“Let’s watch for now. Take Scene worked hard to prepare their stage too.”
At Lee Ion’s words, the members nodded and began watching Take Scene’s performance.
Take Scene did well.
The Maroon 5 song they had sung in the previous mission had been decent too, but this was better.
It was a stage that showed the kind of unity you could tell came from training together as a team for a long time.
But from another perspective, the only thing Take Scene had over Sedalbaegil was that unity.
The arranged music.
The stage presented through that music.
Even the key moments created by the members.
Sedalbaegil was superior.
But the judges’ comments were different.
“Since Coming Up Next began, this was the stage that best suited the word ‘team.’ As a team, you covered each individual’s weaknesses and highlighted their strengths.”
“The potential of the song itself was not as strong as Sedalbaegil’s. But you all came into full bloom. That was why it was good to watch.”
“After all, we prefer wildflowers in full bloom to roses that never quite blossomed.”
“My score is……”
96 points.
I became certain once more.
I wasn’t sure about Blue, but the line-up continuing from Choi Daeho to Lee Changjun to Yu Seonhwa had fairly discerning eyes.
At the very least, they were people who could tell what was better and what was worse.
They were lying.
My mind spun rapidly.
Before long, my thoughts arrived at the correct answer.
They were probably laying the groundwork to debut me in Take Scene.
* * *
As soon as the mission ended, the Sedalbaegil members returned to Pocheon, and I headed to Hapjeong.
It was because I had to film
“Hello, sunbaenim. I’m Han Sion.”
“Wow, hello.”
Before coming here, I had received a full twenty-minute special lecture from Lee Ion.
He explained how I should behave when meeting a senior idol of the opposite sex, as if he had possessed a kindergarten teacher from Moon Class.
Most of it was stuff I already knew, but a few things were useful.
For starters, I learned that if I behaved the way I did in America, I could fall straight into the abyss.
Maybe it was thanks to following Lee Ion’s coaching, but Way From Flower’s attitude was fairly mild.
To be honest, I don’t understand why they should feel bad because of “Fallen Flowers.”
It wasn’t a song they made themselves, nor was it a song they arranged themselves. It was a debut song their company had forced on them without any consideration.
If I revived a failed relic from their past, shouldn’t they actually be grateful?
On top of that, I had even given them an excuse to tell the whole world, “The reason this song failed wasn’t the singers, but the arrangement.”
Of course, I only thought that to myself and didn’t say it out loud.
I probably wouldn’t have said it anyway, but Lee Ion had repeatedly warned me.
“Sion. You’re too honest.”
“I am?”
“Yeah. We’re fine with it, but you can’t be like that with sunbaenims.”
But that was a misunderstanding.
Aside from feedback about music, I also chose my words carefully so the Sedalbaegil members wouldn’t get hurt.
Had I lived in America for too long?
I’d worked hard not to look like a “shy Asian,” so maybe that had become a habit.
While I was thinking that, WFF’s leader began explaining the direction of the stage.
I’d already heard it beforehand, but I pretended to listen diligently.
The performers sang their popular songs without interruption, and the point of the content was to connect them as smoothly as possible.
It was similar to a DJ mix, singing while overlapping sections with similar scales or melodies.
Here, I would sing
Way From Flower would sing
It was a plan that seemed full of ambition, as if they were trying to directly confront the issue surrounding them and rake in views.
“We’ll begin rehearsal!”
* * *
After rehearsal ended, WFF requested to change the blocking, causing the shoot to be delayed.
As for me, I only had to appear at the very end and sing one song anyway, so there was nothing for me to participate in.
As I sat there with nothing to do, some middle-aged man approached me.
“Han Sion-ssi.”
At first, I thought he was the producer of Guseul Live, but he wasn’t.
“I’m Cha Seonho, the CEO of NT.”
“Hello. I’m Han Sion.”
“I’ve been watching you a lot these days. You have incredible talent.”
“Thank you for your generous praise. I’m trying my best to work hard.”
“I’m sure you’ve heard this question a lot, but are you really self-taught in music? You learned it all on your own?”
“That’s right.”
“Wow… That’s amazing.”
After clearing his throat once, Cha Seonho went straight to the main point.
It was an obvious story.
They had a boy group in preparation, and he wanted to recruit me and make me the leader.
But the name of the team that came out of his mouth wasn’t obvious at all.
“We decided on LMC. It probably won’t change.”
“……
LMC?”
“Why? Does it sound bad to people your age?”
“No. It’s not that. What does it mean?”
“Lead Main Contents. To be honest, we chose it more for how it sounded than what it meant.”
That was right.
It really was LMC.
Come to think of it, NT, Way From Flower’s agency, was LMC’s agency.
Prime Time and LMC.
The two K-pop groups that would become true global stars a few years later.
When my value was rising in America, Prime Time and LMC made relentless efforts to form a connection with me.
Naturally.
If I, a Billboard superstar, led them along, their overseas advancement would become several times easier.
I had actually helped them before too.
I thought that if I built a close relationship with them, it might lead to meaningful album sales in Korea.
But the result was the opposite.
At first, I received thanks from their fans, but from the moment the two groups rose to the position of global stars, they began to dislike me.
Why?
Because no matter how hard they tried, they couldn’t beat me.
Because due to my existence, they couldn’t use a single modifier like “number one” or “first.”
On top of that, no matter how impressive Prime Time and LMC’s achievements were, the Korean public had already raised their standards.
Number one on Billboard?
That was a given.
Winning a Grammy Award?
That was a given too.
I was even a winner in the main categories, not some minor field.
Because of that, the people who had been desperate to get close to me before they succeeded avoided me once they became global stars.
So I had never been able to carry out my plan of producing their albums and increasing sales.
Of course, that didn’t mean I disliked the two teams.
When I talked to them privately, they were just ordinary people.
They were happy about their success but also overwhelmed by it, wanting to meet their fans’ expectations while also wanting to run away.
But if I entered this team, the story would change.
What would happen if I joined LMC?
“May I ask when you’re planning for the debut?”
“Why? Do you want to debut quickly?”
“Yes. I’d like to debut within this year if possible.”
Even if they recruited me, they wouldn’t be able to debut this year.
What I was curious about was whether this man, Cha Seonho, would tell the truth.
“I’m sorry, but a debut this year won’t be possible. No matter how fast we move, it would have to be June next year—no, probably August.”
That was the truth.
In that case, I would have to spend at least over a year as a trainee, and there was a high chance it would become even longer.
In the original history, LMC debuted around three to four years later to begin with.
But if it was LMC, wouldn’t there be meaning in enduring it?
I didn’t have the confidence to endure several years amid uncertainty, but it was a different story if there was a clear destination.
“You seem interested.”
“Yes. Personally, I think NT’s producers are good.”
“After they made Flowers Bloom like that?”
Ah, wait a second.
Was NT’s producer lineup something that would only be established in the future?
It didn’t matter.
I could get involved in the composing myself.
As if it had been a joke, CEO Cha Seonho laughed and handed me his business card.
“The Coming Up Next producer is glaring at me like he wants to kill me. Let’s end our conversation here for today.”
As he rose from his seat, he added,
“It’s too chaotic to call this a meeting room, but I hope you’ll take it seriously.”