NOVEL NEXT Chapter 74
“Alright, let’s start the Second Team’s stage now-!”
Finally, the Second Team’s stage began, and my teammates and I watched the monitor in the waiting room with tense eyes.
Up until recently, the Second Team had been making crunchy dissonant sounds, but… knowing the members, we couldn’t help but feel nervous.
Just as I swallowed a dry gulp in the midst of my tension, the intro of the Second Team’s song started playing.
♪♬♪♬-!
“…Hmm.”
As soon as I heard the intro, I didn’t have any specific thoughts.
It wasn’t much different from what we heard during the mid-term evaluation.
‘Did they just decide to go with the original without major changes…?’
Unlike us, who completely changed the song’s concept and genre right after the mid-term evaluation, it seemed the Second Team had decided to stick with the original version.
However… their stage had been a total mess at that time.
‘I wonder how much they’ve improved.’
I focused intently on the stage, trying to spot where the Second Team had changed.
And as soon as I saw Seo Yoo-jin’s part in the introduction, I understood the thought process behind their preparation.
-One day, we will soar into the sky
-And cross over the lake
“What the…”
“The dance is different. Did they create this?”
The Second Team’s song, “Black Swan” by the Twenty-Second Night, was an old track from the late 2000s, but it’s still regarded as a classic.
This was because every member had outstanding vocal ability and rap skills, flawlessly delivering the song.
Thanks to that, the song was incredibly challenging, but…
Back in their heyday, the Twenty-Second Night could sing this live without any issues every time they hit the stage.
Most people assumed it was due to their overwhelming vocal talents, which is true, but there’s another factor.
It’s the change in the dance difficulty.
In the past, idols could easily sing challenging songs live, but the dance complexity wasn’t as intense as it is now.
However, nowadays, idols are valued more for their flashy dance moves rather than their vocal abilities.
The increase in dance difficulty is also a big reason why today’s idols struggle to sing live.
And “Black Swan” is undeniably a song from the old-school idol era.
While it demands exceptional vocal skills, the choreography difficulty wasn’t that great.
But….
-People disregard us
-Spreading black wings
-To the sky
“Wow…, that’s insane…”
“They’ve danced like that without missing a note…”
Now, the Second Team maintained the song’s difficulty while creating and adding their own choreography.
They aimed to grasp both the old idols’ fancy techniques and the new idols’ dazzling dances.
And surprisingly, Seo Yoo-jin executed this beautifully.
“…Did she have that much skill?”
I could tell even Na Han-na, who usually expressed little emotion, was slightly in awe of Seo Yoo-jin’s performance.
Seo Yoo-jin’s display had truly captured the audience’s attention with her intense dance and unique techniques.
‘She must have practiced a lot.’
From this, I inferred just how much sweat and effort Yoo-jin had poured into her training.
Although she had previously ranked third in personal voting with her excellent skills, what she showed now was on par with active idols.
She must have put in tremendous effort to elevate her stage presence to that level.
‘This could be dangerous…’
After successfully finishing our stage, I honestly felt about 80% confident in our First Team’s victory, but watching Seo Yoo-jin made me think we could lose.
However, the moment her part ended, and she passed it on to the next teammate…
-The world is watching us
-…r, I said.
“Oops.”
“…Ah, they slipped.”
…My thought that our team could lose vanished.
“…That was a mistake.”
“Given the difficulty of the stage, it’s understandable for everyone other than Yoo Seol and Seo Yoo-jin.”
Come to think of it, not all of the Second Team members had Seo Yoo-jin’s level of skill.
They seemed unable to adapt to the insane stage difficulty that required both excellent vocal and dance skills…
“Oops, I think the formation got tangled? They’re going to bump into each other!”
“One person’s dancing all alone over there…”
They kept making critical mistakes.
As a result, the stage focus broke, and the atmosphere filled with disappointment.
This also began to affect Seo Yoo-jin’s concentration as she tried to keep the performance going.
-Let’s go.
-With black wings, black…
Finally, the stage that Yoo-jin was desperately fighting on became a total mess.
The other team members kept making mistakes, and Yoo-jin was unable to cover for them.
Of course, Yoo Seol’s performance was still impressive amidst all this chaos.
-Fly away-!
“Wow, how many octaves is that…?”
“…That’s insane.”
As the main vocalist of the Second Team, she fulfilled her role brilliantly.
She unleashed an explosive vocal range during the bridge while smoothly executing the dance without a single mistake.
But that was all.
Yoo Seol showcased her outstanding performance, yet couldn’t blend in with her struggling teammates.
She was truly a standout.
The more mistakes the other team members made, the more Yoo Seol’s individual skills shone.
‘Could it be that this was intentional…?’
It made me wonder whether Yoo Seol acted in such a way on purpose.
So while the entire group was struggling, Yoo Seol’s performance was thriving as the Second Team continued their stage…
-Let’s go, ah.
-Into the black moon-!
-Spread those black wings, go!
As they desperately tried to hold on, the team members, perhaps due to fatigue, began to make mistakes towards the end.
‘It’s over….’
I could tell, even in front of the camera, that I instinctively sensed our First Team’s victory.
At that moment, the latter part of the Second Team’s “Black Swan” was nothing short of a disaster.
‘What a shame.’
Seo Yoo-jin’s effort to successfully end the stage was captured on camera.
However, it seemed that she realized how badly their performance had gone, as her face turned pretty red.
‘Do your best to wrap it up since there’s not much time left.’
While what’s done is done, they needed to finish strongly for future opportunities.
But to my surprise amidst my encouragement…
-Black ego, black moons, black…, Oops.
“Uh…!”
“Aah…”
One team member completely froze mid-rap, pausing as if the track had stopped playing.
They lost their part entirely, and the dance came to a halt, disrupting the formation.
I, the teammates, the trainers, and the audience all braced for a disaster as we witnessed that scene.
But then…
-Black sky, black wings, and we all become black swans!
Like a baton relay, someone picked up the broken rap and continued singing.
It was… Yoo Seol.
“No way, how did she just take someone else’s part…?”
Yoo Seol seamlessly incorporated a part that wasn’t even hers while dancing energetically.
Not only that, but Yoo Seol didn’t stop there.
-Fly away-!
-Show the world-!
-That black wings can also soar through the world-!!
“That wasn’t originally Yoo Seol’s part…!”
“Why is she so good at it…? That’s insane…”
While her teammates stood there blankly, she took up the baton and began singing her part.
It was a bit of a part hijacking, but also a rescue from an impending crisis.
Yoo Seol brilliantly, no, exceedingly performed a section where the other members struggled to keep up with the beat and pitch.
-Let’s go together.
-Into the black world-!
“…Could that be an ad-lib?”
“……Wow.”
“…It just leaves me in awe.”
As such, the last part turned into almost a personal concert for Yoo Seol, and the Second Team’s stage came to an end.
And…
“Waaaah-!!”
“Insane-!!”
“Yoo Seol-!!”
As the stage concluded, an incredible reaction erupted from the audience.
Especially, cheers for Yoo Seol dominated the atmosphere.
And it was well-deserved.
At the last moment, she managed the rap, high notes, and dance all on her own, reaching the realm of a goddess.
“Wow…, but seriously, Yoo Seol did great in the last part…”
“…Is she really just a trainee like us?”
“She could debut now and outperform first-string idols…”
Even my team members, despite being from the opposing team, couldn’t help but express their admiration for Yoo Seol.
I felt the same way, and I’m sure everyone who just witnessed that performance had a similar reaction.
What Yoo Seol just demonstrated was something that would leave anyone breathless when stepping into the idol industry.
But at the same time…
I became increasingly sure about what Yoo Seol’s intentions were after seeing everyone’s reactions.
The Second Team, aside from Yoo Seol and Seo Yoo-jin, was formed with participants whose skills were significantly lacking.
‘So she probably decided on picking the challenging “Black Swan,” giving up on the team competition, leaving all leadership and center duties to Seo Yoo-jin.’
If Yoo Seol stepped back, Seo Yoo-jin would have a tougher time leading the team.
That’s why the gap in skill between Yoo Seol and her teammates widened during the competition stage…
‘And she made a remarkably grand entrance during the actual competition.’
Furthermore, due to prior recordings, it showed that Yoo Seol hadn’t been able to practice much because of being sick.
Once aired, sympathy would certainly highlight her genius.
Of course, it’s easy to say that this was quite a gamble with tons of risks associated.
But the outcome was…
“Yoo Seol-!!”
“Yoo Seol-!”
The audience’s cheers for her were clear enough to hear even from where I stood.
Probably, even if she didn’t receive tons of votes for the team competition, this performance would gather her an avalanche of personal votes.
‘That was a good strategy. But….’
I still couldn’t shake the feeling of discomfort with her methods.
After all, even though Yoo Seol may have stood out, the team competition ended up failing.
No matter how spectacular Yoo Seol shined at the end, it was undeniably a botched stage performance.
And…
“……”
…Seo Yoo-jin, at the center of that stage, wore a look of deep dissatisfaction, almost on the verge of tears.
‘…That seems a bit dangerous.’
Seeing that expression from Seo Yoo-jin made me anxious about her possibly causing some trouble.
And this anxiety of mine…
“First Team participants, the Second Team’s stage is over; we will now have a joint interview with both teams. Please head to the stage immediately.”
“Yes!”
“Ye-rin unnie, let’s go.”
“…Okay.”
…And it swiftly turned into reality.