Damn Idol Episode 79
* * *
The final competition of Coming Up Next, the
Sedalbaegil was chosen to go first, and Take Scene to perform last.
Obvious business logic.
Going first is obviously disadvantageous in an audience vote, and they wouldn’t want to miss the symbolism of having Take Scene decorate the finale.
But that’s fine.
I’m not someone who rejects business logic—I’m someone who actively exploits it.
But just this once, I’m going to fight with a pure stage.
“How’s everyone feeling? Choe Jaeseong, how about you?”
“Good. So good. Rather, thanks to the duet stage, I feel like my nerves have been relieved.”
“Yeah?”
“Yes. The things you taught me were a bit confusing at first, but from the middle on, it went so well that I was surprised.”
“You said it was confusing at first?”
Choe Jaeseong nodded, but no.
“You fucking nailed it from the start.”
Startled by the profanity, Iion glanced at the camera, then sighed as if giving up.
Must be a kindergarten holiday today.
Anyway, Choe Jaeseong was right.
Iion, Onsaemiro, Gu Taehwan, Choe Jaeseong.
They had all returned from the duet stage having achieved results and now brimmed with confidence.
Because they had viscerally felt what they were capable of.
Now only one thing remained.
Mindset.
“How was it for everyone while preparing for the stage?”
The first to answer my question was Iion.
“It was terrible.”
“Why?”
“Because it was too hard.”
Understandable.
Iion had worked like crazy to pull off a part that was only two lines long.
To the point that, wanting to check if his body remembered it perfectly, he would sleep and wake up at one-hour intervals to sing it.
Even so, Iion hadn’t achieved perfect success.
But he hadn’t failed either.
It was incomplete.
If he captured the first note of the first line perfectly, it was a success; if he missed it, it was a failure.
The problem was that this was no longer a matter of fact, but a matter of mentality.
I recorded it precisely and listened—the first note of the first line when he thought he succeeded and when he thought he failed were no different.
He produced the exact same sound, yet sometimes he felt it was a success, and other times he felt it was a failure.
This wasn’t a problem I could solve either.
Because humans aren’t machines.
I could only hope he’d succeed in the actual performance.
“It was complicated. There was too much to do.”
This time, Onsaemiro answered, his face growing pallid as he recalled practice.
This too was understandable.
Onsaemiro had a good voice and outstanding singing ability, but he couldn’t connect the two.
When he produced his best tone, he couldn’t explode with technique, and when he exploded with technique, he couldn’t produce his best tone.
To correct that, I grabbed Onsaemiro like catching a rat—
well, not quite that, but I taught him rigorously.
Next, Choe Jaeseong answered that he had felt miserable, and Gu Taehwan answered that he had felt frustrated.
“So, you’re saying everyone had a hard time?”
“Yeah.”
Looking at the nodding members, I chose my words.
There’s a saying I hate the most.
Those who work hard cannot beat those who enjoy it.
This is wrong.
In the first place, you can’t enjoy without effort.
It’s irresponsible to play around carelessly offstage and then say you enjoyed yourself onstage.
Even if you fail, only those who worked hard have the right to enjoy it.
So we are qualified.
“You can make mistakes on stage. Hyung Iion might miss the first note, or Onsaemiro’s bad habits might come out again.”
“But you know what?”
“No matter how big your mistakes are, it’ll be better than your best from two weeks ago.”
“A ruined stage by today’s Onsaemiro will sound better than a song quacked out by Onsaemiro from two weeks ago.”
“So let’s enjoy it for once.”
I wanted us to step onto the stage not with an obsession to never make mistakes, but with the mindset that mistakes are okay.
Even if someone makes a mistake, I wanted us to accept it generously and enjoy it.
Because this is really the last time.
“Oh, looks like Hyung Sion’s socialization training is complete.”
“Right? It’s moving.”
“The speech itself was a bit cliché, but since it’s Sion saying it, it hits differently.”
Choe Jaeseong, Iion, and Gu Taehwan said with bright smiles.
“Quack-quack….”
Only Onsaemiro made a slightly dejected expression.
But the funny part was that no one cared.
All this time, the Sedalbaegil members had thought Onsaemiro was a sensitive and sharp person, but that wasn’t it.
That had been a temporary appearance caused by inferiority and jealousy; his true nature was a bit pathetic.
Should I say he’s what you’d call a loser?
After learning that, Choe Jaeseong asked if he could tease him by calling him “Jjin,” and Iion said it was fine because if you’re handsome, you’re just a charming loser, so it’s okay.
Gu Taehwan didn’t say much.
But he probably had thoughts inside.
He doesn’t say much out loud, but he thinks a ton of useless thoughts internally.
Thus, we had grown familiar with and comfortable around each other.
Now I too admit it refreshingly.
That I was happy to meet good teammates on this program I crash-landed on by chance.
It was then.
-Waaaaaaa!
The audience shouted.
Was the VCR over?
For that, the staff call hadn’t come out yet.
“Did I get a close-up?”
The moment the members let out hollow laughs at Iion’s nonsense, a staff member rushed over in a fluster and gave the standby call.
“Sedalbaegil! Three minutes!”
We put on our in-ears and stood in our promised formation.
Moments later, the final competition began.
* * *
The moment the stage went dark, the audience’s noise died down in an instant.
It could have been respect for Sedalbaegil’s final stage, or the power that darkness holds.
In that silence, some audience members recalled the stage they had learned about through the VCR.
The detailed concept hadn’t been revealed, but the song had been clearly disclosed.
Sedalbaegil’s
It felt like a title befitting a final stage, yet also like a title with childish sensibilities.
But what was certain was that it was a self-composed song.
“Self-composed songs are a bit iffy.”
“If they did something like Seoul Town Punk again, it would’ve been awesome.”
There were people thinking this too.
The public has a vague aversion to self-composed songs appearing on survival programs.
Most songs made by participants are low in quality or too abstruse.
But more than anything, the biggest reason is unfamiliarity.
When unfamiliar melodies and unfamiliar lyrics flow out, you have to expend mental energy just to evaluate them.
However, conversely, self-composed songs that smash through this vague impression have always received huge applause.
Those cheering for Han Sion hoped the song
Those who hated Han Sion wished the opposite.
Of course, had Han Sion heard it, he would have just laughed.
Having repeated regression dozens of times, there was no way he’d write a vague song.
It was at that moment.
Clack, clack, clack.
The sound of footsteps began to be heard on the completely darkened stage.
The sound that started small grew louder……
Taan
—A marimba (a type of melodic percussion instrument).
Along with a clear, pure sound reminiscent of one, a circular light was born.
Inside the light stood Iion, dressed in a neat suit that a company CEO might wear.
Perhaps because of the clothes, he felt more like a businessman than an idol.
Of course, there’s no way a businessman looks like that.
“Iion?”
At Iion’s appearance, some of Sedalbaegil’s fans tilted their heads.
Though it had come out a few times on broadcast, Han Sion, Sedalbaegil’s producer, had greatly liked Gu Taehwan’s intros.
Gu Taehwan had never betrayed Han Sion’s expectations either.
So they had expected Gu Taehwan to take the intro this time too, but it was Iion who appeared.
Meanwhile, Iion standing inside the circular light rummaged through his suit pockets.
But there was nothing in his hands.
He tried to step outside the light, but returned due to the pitch-black darkness.
Iion, looking around with a somewhat resigned expression, suddenly began to sing.
It was acapella.
Oooh~ Looking back as time goes by,
That moment,
Seem to fly by too quickly
It didn’t feel like he was singing hard.
Rather, it felt closer to humming to himself.
Even so, it was a melody worth listening to, and felt pretty good.
As if he himself thought so, Iion sang the same song once more.
Oooh~ Looking back as time goes by,
That moment,
Seem to fly…….
But with a somehow regretful expression, he didn’t finish the song.
As if this wasn’t the feeling it needed.
It was at that moment.
Taan
—Once more, the refreshing marimba sound resonated throughout the world.
The moment the flustered Iion looked around.
Taan
Taan
Taan.
The sounds came in succession.
Simultaneously, four circles made of light were born.
Inside those lights were…….
-Waaaaaaah!
-Kyaaaaaaah!
The Sedalbaegil members were standing.
The stage was still dark, but thanks to the five lights, it felt a bit brighter.
“Is it time travel?!”
Fans interested in Sedalbaegil’s lore scanned the stage with such thoughts.
Because to understand Sedalbaegil’s concept, you had to look at the clothes.
However, their appearances were all different.
Iion and Onsaemiro were wearing suits, but the design and fit gave off quite different feelings.
If Iion gave off a CEO vibe, Onsaemiro felt like an ordinary employee.
In contrast, Choe Jaeseong was wearing everyday clothes with a dandy feel—the so-called boyfriend look.
Gu Taehwan was dressed in unpretentious clothes with an apron wrapped around him.
Finally, Han Sion was dressed in a doctor’s gown with a stethoscope around his neck.
Around then, people realized the meaning of the costumes.
Because the VCR aired right before Sedalbaegil’s stage had this content.
[“Hyung Iion, if you hadn’t done music, what do you think you’d be doing in about ten years?”]
[“Me? I’m a CEO.”]
[“CEO?”]
[“Yeah. I wanted to run a clothing mall. What about you, Jaeseong?”]
[“I’d probably just be an ordinary job seeker. In ten years I’d be twenty-nine……. At this rate, even thirty is questionable.”]
[“Me too, just an office worker. Newly employed.”]
[“I think I’d be helping my parents’ restaurant.”]
[“What about you, Sion?”]
[“If I hadn’t done music……. wouldn’t I have been a doctor?”]
[“Wow, you get to be the only cool one.”]
[“Me? Isn’t Hyung Iion’s more grandiose?”]
[“No way. Hyung Iion only said CEO. In reality, the company probably couldn’t avoid being in the red.”]
[“……Jaeseong-ah.”]
Their appearances ten years later.
Sedalbaegil stood on stage in exactly those outfits.
Though the outfits lacked uniformity, perhaps because the color harmony was well-captured, they didn’t feel as messy as expected.
“Did they time travel to the future ten years later? Then is it possession?”
“Ah, so that’s why Iion acted like that at first…….”
People’s thoughts were cut short.
Because Gu Taehwan, wearing an apron, grinned at Iion and shook his index finger side to side.
As if to say that’s not how you do it.
And then, he began to sing.
Oooh~ As time passes, looking back,
That moment,
Seem to fly by too quickly
The marimba sound spread refreshingly as tropical house’s unique sounds poured forth.