Chapter 116
‘Where should I put this.’
I pondered as I looked at the skull sticker in my palm, which seemed to be laughing at me cheerfully, somehow making me feel unpleasant just by looking at it.
‘The moment I stick this on, it's the start of war.’
Since it's a competition anyway, the feelings of the targeted opponent aren't that important, but I didn't know what impact this choice would have on future broadcasts early on. I couldn't just go to anyone and pick a fight.
‘First, exclude the kid.’
Even if it's a competition, picking a fight with a kid first wouldn't look good.
Then the remaining options were 4 teams.
Among them, the seemingly decent options were the band called Neon Punch, who had been glaring at us fiercely since their first appearance, and...
‘He looks quite relaxed alone.’
A man with a slick face that I didn't like for some reason.
I walked slowly toward that man.
[Will you choose me?]
[Yes.]
I placed the skull sticker on the shoulder of Eric Foster, who was looking at me with a smile.
Then Conan's voice immediately rang out.
[Ah! Is this the revenge of American Idol? Weers' choice is Eric Foster.]
Passing through the murmuring contestants and returning to my seat, I saw Eugene Kim nodding her head.
‘If I have to form a rivalry narrative with someone anyway, it's better to have a story.’
Now that the choice was made, all I had to do was wait comfortably.
However.
[I'm sorry. But I didn't have anyone else suitable to pick.]
[Weers? I'm hearing that name for the first time today.]
[Why is an idol even here? I don't like it.]
In an instant, 3 stickers were attached to my body.
In order, it was the choice of Lil X, Ashley Graham, and Neon Punch.
[With this, last place is confirmed. Weers! They've received 3 votes in a row! This might hurt your pride a bit.]
Conan was deliberately making a fuss, pretending to be surprised in front of us, probably trying to get a reaction like "Outraged Weers!"
But when we didn't show much reaction, Conan soon made a bored expression and returned to his original spot.
‘I expected this from the beginning anyway.’
K-pop idol group.
A title that's perfect for being looked down upon. It was a fact I knew from the moment I decided to appear on this program.
And with even our recognition lacking, we were bound to be treated as the weak team.
‘Of course, that's only until the first competition.’
Being ignored before the competition starts is fine. Rather, if I utilize this situation well...
‘We can show a reversal.’
The rebellion of the underdog.
What if we, who were ignored by the other contestants, take 1st place in the first competition?
If everything goes according to plan, the 1st competition will become a stage for us, Weers.
‘Since it's come to this, it seems like getting a unanimous vote would be better.’
Thinking so, I turned my eyes to Joshua, who was waiting for his turn.
Then Joshua, who hopped down from a chair about his own height, slowly walked toward the other contestants.
[Uhh? The contestant Joshua chose is... Eric Foster. With this, Eric Foster has received 1 vote each from Weers and Joshua, for a total of 2 votes.]
Joshua handed the sticker to Eric Foster and quickly turned his back.
And as if he had accomplished a mission, his eyes sparkling, he was approaching me with a look that said ‘Did I do well?’
‘Did he really pick Eric Foster because of us...’
At his praise-craving gaze, I gave Joshua a slight nod, then naturally stood up from my seat and sat Joshua back down.
[So far, Weers has 3 votes and Eric Foster has received 2 votes. This is an unexpected result. Now, lastly, it's Eric Foster's turn. Who will you choose?]
Joshua's choice was unexpected, but it didn't have a big impact on the result.
Since Eric Foster was the last order anyway, it was already a situation where we were determined to have the most votes.
However.
[There wasn't a rule that said we have to stick it on someone else, right?]
[What?]
[My check target is myself.]
Eric Foster suddenly spouted strange words and stuck the 3rd sticker on his own arm.
[Uhh...? Did you perhaps choose yourself?]
[Yes, that's right.]
[T-Then it becomes a tie with Weers at 3 votes each...]
I could see Eric Foster tilting his head as if asking what the problem was with Conan's words.
“Haa...”
Seeing that, Eugene Kim let out a sigh of displeasure next to me.
‘What is this situation?’
The voting was over, but due to Eric Foster's self-vote, the atmosphere still seemed unsettled.
“I guess that's how you have to do it if you want to make an unexpected move.”
“I won't lose next time...!”
For some reason, Shim Seong-ha and Woo Jung-woo were looking at Eric Foster with envious eyes.
[Now, everyone please look here.]
Turning to look at the host at his voice, I could see a panel with numbers 1 through 6 written next to Conan.
[Now it's time to determine the performance order for the 1st competition.]
Looking closely, under the panel were stickers with the names of the 6 teams including Weers.
[Contestants can determine the order of the 1st competition through mutual discussion.]
[Through discussion...?]
[Umm, I wonder which order would be good.]
At Conan's words, the contestants began to read each other's moods.
‘If it's the performance order, I should take the last order after all.’
But it's not some other method, and they're telling us to decide through discussion; it seems like everyone will fight to take the last order. Do they want the contestants to keep having psychological warfare?
Anyway, I should discuss it with the members first...
[However! Weers and Eric Foster, who were designated as the weakest teams, will have their right to choose the order revoked. The order for these two teams will be determined by the other 4 teams' contestants.]
“Ah...”
“Then we just have to do as the other teams decide.”
‘As expected, there was no reason for him to do that vote earlier for nothing.’
It was an unexpected penalty, but it couldn't be helped.
Well, should I at least take comfort in the fact that Eric Foster did something strange and prevented 2 teams from choosing?
Like that, Weers and Eric Foster were excluded.
And the remaining 4 teams gathered in front of the panel to choose their order.
Since we didn't have a choice anyway, I observed the other contestants with a more comfortable mind.
Who would take the last order?
When everyone seemed to have the same thought, and the contestants were just watching each other.
[I want the last order!]
Joshua raised his hand energetically and peeled off his name tag, sticking it on the number 6.
[Uhh...?]
[Wait a minute, kid!]
The other flustered teams belatedly tried to stop Joshua, but.
Joshua, having already achieved his goal, ran quickly to me and shouted brightly.
[I decided on the last order!]
[R-Right.]
This competition was truly unpredictable in many ways.
***
The 1st competition venue of 'King's Road'.
Anna, a journalist for an entertainment magazine, was sitting here not as a journalist but as a member of the evaluation panel.
‘Why are there so many people?’
For the first competition stage of a new program, the number of evaluation panel members who came to see today's stage was unusual.
Even counting roughly, the crowd seemed to exceed a thousand.
‘The scale is no joke from the start?’
From what she heard, they had already rented a massive stadium for the final competition.
She could get a sense of how much the broadcasting station expected from this program.
‘But... surely they wouldn't not appear, right?’
The reason Anna participated as an evaluation panel member today was because she heard news that an idol group she had recently been interested in was participating in King's Road.
However, since it hadn't been officially announced yet, she couldn't be 100% sure.
‘If I don't see them today, I don't know when I'll see them next!’
To think she would end up liking an idol singer active in Korea.
It must have been because their appearance at the Fighters concert was so impressive.
Anyway, since she came here as an evaluation panel member, there was nothing she could do except wait quietly for the stage.
As the waiting time grew longer and everyone was starting to get tired.
[Hello! I'm Conan, in charge of hosting King's Road.]
Waaaaaaa-
Along with Conan's appearance, the people who were tired of waiting erupted in cheers.
‘Conan... As expected, not ordinary.’
Conan was not someone easily seen in such competition programs.
To bring in a show host who hosts shows under his own name as the MC.
She began to look forward to the upcoming stage once again.
[You've waited a long time. You have come to this place to witness the first chapter of a grand epic called the birth of a new king.]
Conan, true to his reputation, captured the audience's attention with just a few words.
[After enjoying the stages that the challengers will show you. Please choose which challenger captured your heart the most.]
As soon as Conan finished speaking, all the lights in the auditorium went out.
[The first stage of the first competition is a team that will show the most splendid and dynamic stage in this competition. Weers' stage begins right now.]
Waaa!
As soon as the name Weers came out, Anna burst into cheers without realizing it.
‘The first stage! I'm not mentally prepared yet...!]
Anna, who hastily lowered her head at the gazes of people around her, felt a nervous sensation for the first time in a while and carefully raised her head again to look at the stage.
Then she could faintly see someone's figure on the dark stage.
And the intro that followed.
‘Challenger? Sounds right.’
Weers' title song Challenger, which became a topic of conversation through the joint stage with Fighters.
Unlike the original song that passionately burns from the beginning, a serene intro continued, and the stage lighting slowly brightened.
Then the appearance of the Weers members, who had been hidden in the darkness, was slowly revealed.
‘That's...’
A shining throne visible in the center of the stage.
And the Weers members surrounding that throne.
For a moment, a heavy pressure lingered over the stage. And then the music suddenly stopped.
In the momentary silence, when everyone was focusing on the stage, a sound came from somewhere.
Thump thump thump thump-
The rough sound of percussion instruments spread throughout the entire stage.
When the violently vibrating sound, like a heart beating hard, was felt on the skin.
A familiar melody was added on top of it.
‘Song of the People!’
Only then did Anna realize the identity of the heavy pressure weighing down this stage.
The true identity of Weers was a rebel army.
Refusing to walk the king's path, the path Weers chose was revolution.
A massive flag fluttered across the stage.
At the same time, the members of Weers gathered toward the center of the stage.
Challenger and Song of the People, two songs that seemed unlikely to go together, blended exquisitely.
And like a blazing fire, Weers seemed ready to burn everything on the stage.
I'm willing to die, willing to die
The increasingly boiling heat.
The heat that spread like flames went beyond the stage and reached the audience seats.
Sounds of exclamation coming from everywhere.
Weers' stage, which captivated all the audience in an instant, was now facing its final climax.
The Weers members going up onto the platform where the throne was placed.
And flames rose up around the platform.
The final group dance that finally began.
In front of the throne, Weers fastens the last button of the revolution.
The throne collapsing in the flames.
As if announcing the success of the revolution, the members of Weers climbed atop the collapsed throne.
And.
Waaaaaaaaaaa-
The cheers of the audience echoing through the competition venue covered the stage like a victory cry.
***
‘Weers will take the 1st competition.’
After watching the fifth stage, Eric Foster's stage, Anna nodded with conviction.
After Weers' stage ended, during the 4 stages that followed, there was no stage as overwhelming as the first one.
Lil X, Ashley Graham, Neon Punch... They were all formidable newcomers, but compared to Weers' stage, their stages seemed too ordinary.
‘Or maybe Weers' stage was just too special...’
And the fifth stage, Eric Foster's stage too.
‘It was good but... compared to his reputation, I'm not sure.’
When Eric Foster first appeared, Anna thought that if anyone could take 1st place from Weers, it would definitely be Eric Foster, but.
Eric Foster failed to show a stage that lived up to expectations.
‘Is it the last stage now?’
Anna's heart had already leaned heavily toward voting for Weers, but she was still curious about who the singer taking the last stage would be.
‘The singer who pushed Eric Foster aside and took the last stage... I wonder who it is.’
At that moment, Conan appeared once again.
[For the last stage, I think everyone will be quite surprised when they see this contestant. And when you hear the song, you'll be even more surprised, several times over. It's Joshua, the youngest contestant in this King's Road!]
Along with Conan's introduction, a young boy appeared on the stage.
‘Joshua?’
It was a name she had never heard before.
More than that, that tiny kid is participating in the competition?
It would be a topic of conversation, but could he really do well...
When Anna was looking at Joshua with worried eyes, along with a gentle accompaniment, Joshua's voice was heard.
Ahhh-
The moment she heard that voice, Anna realized.
That this boy was the strongest candidate who could take 1st place from Weers today.