Episode 18
"Hello."
"How have you been?"
The judges, meeting again after the mid-evaluation, exchanged greetings.
"Today is finally the first competition."
"I hope everyone does as well as they've prepared."
"By the way, which team do you think will do the best?"
At Judge Leo's words, the other judges pondered for a moment before carefully mentioning one team.
"I suppose..."
"Wouldn't 'OFF' Team A do the best?"
"I think so too. Trainee Park Han-hwi, who was the center last time, is there, and Trainee Woo Jung-woo has already debuted once."
"It seems 'OFF' Team B worked really hard too, but Team A still has more talented members."
While everyone was expressing their expectations for 'OFF' Team A, Kim Na-hee quietly spoke up.
"Maybe Team B could win?"
"Huh? Team B?"
Song Young-jun, who was next to Kim Na-hee, tilted his head and asked back, but.
"It's starting now!"
"What was the first order again?"
With the first competition starting soon, they had to move on without hearing the answer.
Starting with the two teams performing 'Catch Me' by 'The King', the stage for the first competition team battle began.
"What was that kid's name again?"
"Baek Si-hyun."
"Ah, right. He didn't stand out much among the A-ranks until now. But he looks the best on stage today."
"Si-hyun was always the best at dancing. He just lacked self-confidence. But today, it feels like he's broken through a wall."
Praise poured out for Baek Si-hyun of 'The King' Team A.
And.
"Team B's cheers are on another level right from their entrance."
"Well, Eugene Kim is there."
"That kid Sim Sung-ha is already famous too, so there seem to be quite a few audience members who came to support him?"
After the two stages ended.
The judges clapped and spoke.
"Both teams were good."
"Looking at the stage itself, I liked Team A better."
"It's a performance-focused song, so it doesn't suit Trainee Eugene Kim that well. Plus, Trainee Baek Si-hyun performed so well right before them."
"Still, it seems like Team B will win the result."
Leaving fairly decent evaluations, the first order ended.
The second performance began.
"Hmm, this team seems to be doing worse than during the mid-evaluation."
"Why is everyone so frozen?"
The judges' atmosphere started to sink at the disappointing stage.
Even after that.
"The gap between the good trainees and the bad trainees is too big."
"Well, we mixed them evenly by rank."
"Still, I'd rather see one or two really good stages than ten mediocre ones. The audience already looks exhausted."
Time continued to pass in a lukewarm atmosphere.
While everyone was staring at the screen with stiff faces in a heavy atmosphere.
"It's finally here."
"Is the 'OFF' team performance starting? This one is worth looking forward to."
"Ah, please let them do well."
'OFF' Team A appeared on stage.
-Hello. We are 'Avengers'.
"Trainee Park Han-hwi's popularity is no less than Trainee Eugene Kim's, right?"
"Well, he was the center for the group song."
"Anyway, with a team name like Avengers, it'll be a disaster if they don't do well."
"It's starting!"
The stage began with Park Han-hwi, the leader and center of the 'Avengers' team, singing the first verse.
"Wow, Trainee Park Han-hwi is really good."
"His expressiveness is already pro-level."
And as the chorus began, the main vocalist Woo Jung-woo's singing started to shine.
"He's truly the textbook standard for an idol main vocalist."
"Trainee Eugene Kim and Trainee Woo Jung-woo have completely opposite singing styles, but since they're both so good, it's fun to compare them."
With the outstanding performance of those two trainees, Team A 'Avengers'' stage ended.
Waaaaaaaah-
"Look, the cheers can be heard all the way here."
"It seems like first place is definitely going to them?"
"If they perform this well upfront, the next team will be nervous. What do we do..."
Contrary to the worried judge's expectation, when Team B appeared, the audience's cheers erupted again.
"Wow, the suits are cool."
"The outfits and concept are better here, though?"
"Anyway, Trainee Wi Cheon-woo is really handsome. Look at the audience screaming over there."
-Hello. We are 'Captain Guk-ah', protecting the nation's idol!
"The previous team was Avengers and this one is Captain?"
"Hahaha, look at the concept. If the two fight, who would win?"
"Wait, who was the trainee who just spoke? Was there another trainee that handsome among our trainees?"
"It's Team B leader Trainee Sunwoo Rin. But the screen is small so it's hard to see."
At that moment, Sunwoo Rin's face holding a microphone was zoomed in on the screen.
"Wow!"
"This team's visual is amazing!"
"Rin was that handsome?"
***
Kim So-young was a passionate fan of National Idol to the point of losing sleep the day she heard the news of National Idol Season 2 starting.
'It's a male idol this time!'
Of course, last season was fun to watch, but since it was a female idol group, there was an inevitable disappointment for a female fan.
'Handsome is the best!'
This National Idol Season 2 could quench that burning thirst.
Not only did she watch all the videos starting from the group song video, but she even reached the stage of looking up the trainees' past histories.
The news of the application for the first competition audience tickets came to her.
As soon as the notice was posted, she applied immediately with a sincere heart.
'I actually won. This is a revelation from God!'
Before coming to the audience, she rewatched the 60-second self-introduction videos of all 77 trainees several times to decide on her one-pick.
And she discovered a trainee who healed her just by looking at him.
And then.
'Crazy, a suit.'
As she looked at Wi Cheon-woo dressed in a gray suit, she thought it was definitely worth coming.
-Hello. We are 'Captain Guk-ah', protecting the nation's idol!
'Huh, who is that?'
Although she clearly remembered most of the trainees' names, for a moment, she couldn't remember the name of the trainee who just introduced the team.
'There's no way I forgot a trainee that handsome.'
Then, as she heard the name 'Sunwoo Rin, Sunwoo Rin...' from the murmuring audience behind her, a trainee came to her mind.
'Ah! Sunwoo Rin! But his image is so different?'
It was partly because his hair, which was short in the video, had grown out a bit.
'What? Was Sunwoo Rin this handsome?'
She had seen many cases where real-life looks differed to some extent from broadcast looks. But even taking that into account, Sunwoo Rin's appearance on stage was ten times cooler than in the video.
Almost comparable to Wi Cheon-woo's...
'No, not to that extent, but still.'
Has the video not been able to capture his real-life looks all this time?
'If he goes on screen looking exactly as I see him now, he'll immediately become popular.'
It seemed others shared her opinion, as the name Sunwoo Rin could be heard here and there.
And she saw an audience member in front secretly taking pictures of Sunwoo Rin.
'Damn it, if I knew this would happen, I would have sneaked in a camera too.'
While Kim So-young regretted it in her heart, the 'GAME' stage of 'OFF', the same group as the previous team, began.
'Huh? The vibe here is completely different?'
The intro of 'GAME', which was an exciting hip-hop beat, had changed to a more melancholic feeling than the original, arranged with strings and an orchestra.
-This GAME that has already ended
But I can't let go
Even knowing it's the end
I'm always around you
Over the strangely tense accompaniment, Wi Cheon-woo's first verse began.
Kyaaaah-
Cheers erupted from the surroundings just at Wi Cheon-woo's appearance.
'What, is Wi Cheon-woo the boss? Is that it?'
At first, she thought Wi Cheon-woo was the only one wearing a gray suit while the other team members wore black suits because Wi Cheon-woo was the center.
Looking at it now, the formation and choreography seemed to show a hierarchy between Wi Cheon-woo and the rest of the team members.
'I guess there's a story to it.'
-The warmth of you I feel in my hands
I still want you
Slightly awkward-sounding pronunciation.
But it didn't feel uncomfortable.
'It seems like he practiced his pronunciation a lot.'
Come to think of it, except for one person, this team consisted of foreign members.
Except for Sunwoo Rin, who was appearing now.
-I will protect you from this pain
Please don't leave me!
It was Sunwoo Rin, showing a completely opposite image from his usual mischievous one.
A black suit, and an unbuttoned dress shirt without a tie.
Perhaps due to the makeup and lighting, his face looked especially cold.
Normally, once a comedic image is established, it doesn't easily change.
'It might change if this stage is broadcast.'
Sunwoo Rin was exuding the charm of a cold persona on stage that much.
When the chorus of the first verse ended and the intro of the second verse began.
A strange current was felt on stage.
'What is it?'
The atmosphere between Wi Cheon-woo and the other team members grew colder and colder.
A chilly aura lingered on the stage.
The tension heightened amidst the hostile glares directed at each other.
The song was rushing toward its climax, to the point where it wouldn't be strange if an extreme situation unfolded soon.
Wi Cheon-woo, looking as if he had made up his mind about something.
And Sunwoo Rin, looking at such a Wi Cheon-woo with a worried expression.
In that precarious situation, the chorus of the second verse ended.
Suddenly, the thumping beat subsided.
The built-up atmosphere came to a halt in an instant, and Wi Cheon-woo, looking melancholic, walked out to the front of the stage.
At the same time, a sorrowful accompaniment flowed out.
-Even knowing everything has ended now
Don't leave me now!
A sudden blackout.
After the bridge ended, right when the high-note ad-lib section was supposed to come in, the lights suddenly went out and the screen at the back of the stage filled with red.
'What? A betrayal?'
Along with the slowly turning on lights, the urgent music of the orchestra played.
Sunwoo Rin and the five trainees were seen confronting each other with Wi Cheon-woo in between.
'Wait, could it be?'
The six trainees threw off their jackets in unison.
And two groups, no, one person and one group running toward each other.
The lights quickly turned on and off, showing their movements in broken, instantaneous flashes.
A perfectly coordinated action scene, like something out of a movie, unfolded on stage.
The six trainees moving urgently to the flowing music.
And among them, one person particularly stood out.
'What, he's too good at this?'
She didn't know the trainees would suddenly put on an action scene.
Nor did she know they would pull it off so well.
No, rather than pulling it off well.
'One person is just too overwhelming.'
The quickly flashing lights covering up the awkward movements. And the urgent music.
Finally, Sunwoo Rin's brilliant movements, which couldn't even be compared to ordinary action scenes. All of these combined to create a picture on stage like a scene from a movie.
'Was that a movement a person could do without editing?'
Every time Sunwoo Rin moved, his muscular physique was revealed beneath the tight-fitting dress shirt.
While she was staring at the stage, mesmerized by Sunwoo Rin's overwhelming appearance.
She noticed the trainees who were all lying on the ground at some point.
And the sight of Sunwoo Rin slowly approaching Wi Cheon-woo.
But to Sunwoo Rin, who had turned his back.
Bang-
Kyaaaah-
With a single gunshot, Sunwoo Rin collapsed in front of Wi Cheon-woo.
Wi Cheon-woo sang the last verse with a sorrowful face in front of the fallen Sunwoo Rin.
-There is no end
You and I in this GAME
Will be together forever
After singing the last verse like that, the stage ended with the final image of Wi Cheon-woo closing his eyes as he lay draped over the fallen Sunwoo Rin.
And in the studio, where silence lingered for a moment.
Clap clap clap-
Waaaaaaaah-
Starting with someone's clapping, tremendous cheers erupted.