Chapter 75
Four people climbed onto the stage.
Hana Kwon, Jeon Ha-rang, Eun Se-ra, Do-hee Lee.
“Ahhhhh!!!”
“Do-hee!!!!”
“Se-ra!!”
“Hana unni, look this way!!!”
“Ha-rang~!!!”
A super team made up of popular members.
As expected, the cheers were deafening, even though they were the last ones to perform.
The four were wearing suit sets made of pants.
“Wow… Se-ra looks so pretty in this outfit!!!”
She screamed to drown out the voices of other trainees’ fans around her.
“Ahhh! Se-ra!!!! I love you!!!!”
“Se-ra, look this way!!!”
Ignoring everything else, the four on stage began their greeting at the MC’s request.
“Hello! We are the fatal!”
“Palm”
“Mu”
“Pa”
“Tal!”
“We are~”
The MC smiled lightly.
“Indeed, all of your trainees perfectly fit the femme fatale image!”
“Only Se-ra does, duh.”
“Then, let’s express this femme fatale look together! One, two, three!”
The four struck deadly poses.
Eun Se-ra, Jeon Ha-rang, and Hana Kwon made expressions only, but Do-hee Lee was doing the ‘shh’ pose all by herself.
“Why is she acting like that alone?”
Eun Se-ra’s malicious fan watched closely.
Especially, she couldn’t accept that the two she particularly disliked were on the same team as Se-ra.
“Now, please give us a word of determination from Leader Hana Kwon.”
“Yes! I really practiced hard day and night. We’ve prepared a stage that showcases each of our unique charms, so please enjoy and vote for all four of us!”
“Great! Now let’s kick off the FATAL stage and see how they covered it! Start~!”
The lights went out.
Various props moved across the stage.
Before long, orange lights turned on.
The stage resembled a jazzy bar.
The orange hue created a nostalgic yet calming and sentimental atmosphere.
And there were four vintage-style high-end chairs reminiscent of a mafia scene.
The four were seated on them.
Jazz-like music played, and they lifted their heads, gazing at their respective cameras with an enigmatic look.
Then they stood up and walked towards the stand microphone with a relaxed stride.
Their gazes, movements, and the background music harmonized, evoking the romantic nostalgia of an economic boom period, just like from a book.
Standing in front of the stand microphone, Do-hee cleared her throat with a ‘hem hem’ sound.
It was a gesture and sound that seemed intentional.
Then she spoke in a low, deep voice.
-I wanna steal your lips
With that line, she struck the ‘shh’ pose again.
It was the same pose she had taken during the MC’s interview just earlier.
What made the pose fitting was the hair and makeup.
With long hair parted 2:8, her forehead and neckline were revealed, giving her a full sexy image.
Moreover, the long, bold eyeliner and red lips concealed her youthful features, accentuating her mature beauty.
They covered their bodies to highlight their maturity.
“Wow… but I didn’t know Do-hee had such a nice low tone…”
As a malicious fan of Eun Se-ra, she was momentarily captivated by Do-hee’s voice, expression, and face, thinking such thoughts.
Even before the prelude began, the audience was completely absorbed in the four’s intended performance, and a hush fell over the studio.
And finally, the real prelude began to flow.
R&B rhythms with occasional snare sounds.
No.
It was the sound of heels, pitch altered.
-Your gaze~
Eun Se-ra’s sultry vocals and gaze.
-look me look me look me look me
And the other three harmonized in the background, bringing the R&B rhythm to life.
-Your gaze~
-look me look me look me look me
Clear yet comfortable.
Subtle yet intoxicating, like a perfume.
Even while singing, the four of them casually adjusted their wrists, stroked the stand microphone, or tucked their hair behind their ears, evoking the image of femme fatales.
“What the…? Why are they all so pretty and talented…?”
The atmosphere continued into the introduction of the first chorus.
The four rolled up their sleeves.
Their arms revealed beneath the white sleeves.
Normally, a woman’s arm wouldn’t stir much feeling, but perhaps due to the atmosphere or the seductive motion, it looked oddly enchanting.
As the kick drum joined the snare sound and the beat sped up slightly,
Do-hee followed the changed beat with natural gestures and nodded her head while singing the killing part.
-Fatal love, my heart can’t hide
Fatal love, your heart can’t hide.
Then she brushed her bright red lips with her thumb.
-One step in front of you, I’ll wish for your lips.
Even the anti-fan found herself momentarily holding her breath at Do-hee’s sultry expression and actions.
“Wow… this is insane…”
After the chorus ended,
The four disconnected the microphones from the stands.
-look me look me look me look me
Now, it’s a transition starting with three’s background vocals, excluding Jeon Ha-rang.
Jeon Ha-rang took the mic freely and stepped to the center of the stage.
Squatting down, Jeon Ha-rang rapped calmly as if uninterested.
-Get out of this quiet place
Want to know me? Want to have me?
Hand in a pearl, that’s the mud I’m in
It’s your greed that makes me a femme fatale.
“…This is too good…”
After Jeon Ha-rang’s verse ended, it transitioned into the second chorus and the killing part.
Hana Kwon and Do-hee alternated the lines.
-Fatal love, my heart can’t hide
-Fatal love, your heart can’t hide.
The lines felt like a conversation within the song.
In that conversation, emotions escalated.
And it led into the bridge as the last highlight approached.
In the original, this is where they would break into dance.
“Oh… here!”
But the arranged direction they chose wasn’t that.
Done.
With simple and captivating movements, Jeon Ha-rang bursts into her singing rap.
– I’m actually crazy about you
Unlike the first rap part that was said nonchalantly, her tone is now intense.
That tone feels like the peak of excitement, like climbing up a hill.
The ultimate killing part that would blow everything up at once.
It seemed like this chorus would be sung by Sara.
“Sara…!”
But through the speakers come the voices of three.
Eun Se-ra’s insane high notes.
Hana Kwon’s smooth mid-range.
Do-hee Lee’s solid low notes.
– Fatal love, my feelings are undeniable~
– (My feelings, my feelings baby~)
And Jeon Ha-rang’s background vocals fill the potentially dull gaps that follow.
The four seem to truly be enjoying the stage, locking eyes and harmonizing together.
– Fatal love, your feelings are undeniable (your feelings are undeniable baby~)
– One step closer, I’ll wish for your lips! (I’ll be looking at you!)
She unknowingly became entranced by the stage itself.
‘These guys… must debut for sure…!!! They have to be number one!!!’
Even though the voting hadn’t started yet, she was randomly smashing the remote control vote button without thinking about the members.
*
Before the voting begins.
“It’s the final appeal time!”
The MC said while looking at us.
Is there really a need to appeal?
I feel like we’ve already shown it on stage.
While the first round was fun because it was the first stage, this time the stage itself felt enjoyable.
It’s a stage I climbed onto with less than two weeks of preparation, is it really okay to feel this good?
When the harmonies met, the exchanged glances felt full of joyful smiles.
But I guess we should appeal…?
“Hello! Topist Entertainment Do-hee Lee… here.”
Oh.
I nailed the stage but ended up messing up the greeting.
.
.
.
As the excitement still buzzed, Ha-rang Unni used some inappropriate words in front of the camera.
“Wow, we totally crushed it, right?”
But honestly, it’s totally valid.
“Totally~”
“Who do you think will be number one among us?”
Ha-rang Unni brought up something she wouldn’t typically say.
But I’m curious.
“Me.”
Of course it’s me since I made the killing part too.
“What are you talking about? Didn’t you hear the crowd yelling when I rapped? It’s definitely me.”
“No way, it’s definitely me with the high notes!”
Hana Unni said with an excited face.
“Stop it, are you guys children? Did you hear the audience cheering when you went out? They were shouting how great we were.”
“Oh, really?”
“Wow, jackpot!”
“I did the best…”
Sara Unni’s never-ending self-assertion.
No awareness at all.
“Yeah, Sara Unni is the best.”
“Right!”
Geez.
We entered the results announcement monitoring room.
Now it’s time to check the total votes.
– 10. 9.
9.
The countdown on the monitor screen has started.
Honestly, I definitely won.
Anyone can see that I was the coolest and sexiest, right?
-1.
“Whoa!”
“Huh…?”
Ah.
-Jeon Ha-rang 590 votes
-Do-hee Lee 588 votes
-Eun Se-ra 588 votes
-Hana Kwon 584 votes
What the hell is this?
“Yay, I’m first~!”
I stole the sweet part all by myself and ended up first.
That’s cheating.
I can’t accept this.
*
Unlike the hesitant atmosphere during the first round of the competition, we’ve now confirmed that spoiling is totally fine.
Those who attended the audience had all been dropping hints, even if slightly.
[2nd Round Audience Review]
FATAL <[Effectively the debut team
-Who are they?
└Not telling you, lol
└Then stop making me curious, you jerk
-LOL, I agree, it was seriously amazing
└So who are the members, you jerks?
[2nd Round Review]
Sex, lol
└Oh, you bastards, seriously
Of course, it wasn’t just a bunch of jokesters.
The day after the competition.
Finally, spoilers from those who organized their writings were posted.
[Proof o) 2nd Round Spoilers]
I’m one of the lucky ones who went to both the 1st and 2nd rounds.
(Photo)
Here’s my proof.
This round was a double position.
Let’s organize the order of performances first.
It might not be entirely accurate since my memory is a bit hazy.
Cupid – Rendezvous Team
Kim Seo-yoon, Kim Na-eun, An Eun-seo, Gu Eun-hee, Jung Eun-ah
The first stage was just so good.
It’s not easy to perform better than these guys.
The arrangement was really well done.
Now, for personal evaluations:
Kim Seo-yoon – Rock-solid main vocal. I think no comments are needed; it was that clean. Dances well too.
Kim Na-eun – Missed out on being the main vocal but proved her abilities as a vocalist. She’s tall, and her movements are smooth; the dancing is great.
An Eun-seo – Subjectively, I found her average. She was super cute when she was trying to appeal herself instead of during the performance.
Gu Eun-hee – Among the five, she was the least skilled, but she held her own…
[Vocal&Rap]
And finally, the highly anticipated 2Q-FATAL Team
Eun Se-ra, Do-hee Lee, Jeon Ha-rang, Hana Kwon
Do you see the members?
1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 7th place are in the same team.
I can’t believe my eyes.
But the more important thing is, the stage was insane.
Wow… I don’t know who came up with the idea, but it was just crazy, and the kids were so good, like professionals; it’s hard to describe.
There’s no need to evaluate separately; they were just one team.
Wow, the aftertaste is still lingering.
You must watch the main broadcast.
Honestly, after just that one performance, all the hard work from morning till dawn feels worthwhile.
-So what, you jerk
└This guy will still complain even when given proper spoilers
└For real, lol, that’s why I didn’t tell you.