CH21

"So, do you think it's cool to change the flow of the song a little? Like tossing in some rap with the vocals…?"

"No problem."

I could practically see the relief wash over the rappers on the losing team.

I mean, if they stuck to songs based on three rappers and two vocalists, they'd be in a tight spot, right?

As I mulled over everyone else's questions, one thing was crystal clear to me.

I'm a shoo-in.

I'll breeze through with four nakjeoms(Pass) in the first round, and even if I don't, I'll snag them eventually.

If so, what I have to show here is set.

'A gap'

I have to flaunt a little.

I'll especially itch to hear them say that my solo stage was lit, but the team stage was a snooze-fest.

Now, if someone could hear my inner monologue, they might just ask if I've gone bonkers. But this is necessary.

You see, I've done my fair share of audition programs.

And every time I wanted to switch things up, I'd hop on one of those like I'm now.

What I learned from all those experiences? Perfection isn't all it's cracked up to be.

A little flaw here and there? That's what gets the fans rallying behind you. Plus, it adds a nice touch of character growth.

What if I'm a contestant who's perfect in every way?

That's great and all.

If I could pull it off, I totally would.

But for a singer, being perfect isn't the end-all, be-all, but a relative one.

So, if I keep racking up 100 points, at some point, 100 points will eventually become the default.

If I get 100 points again after that, I'll hear this kind of evaluation.

'It was a stage that was as good as you've always been. But, you've only shown us the same thing. We want to see something extra from you in the future.'

I've actually had judges tell me just that.

Yeah, it still ticks me off when I think about it.

And guess what? He sold way fewer albums than I did.

Anyway, that's why I'm thinking of taking it easy on the team missions coming up.

I'm not going to deliberately ruin the stage.

There should be no doubt about the individual ability of the participant Han Si-On.

But I don't intend to be at the center of the team.

The members of <The Winning Team>, the official team name, huddled around the conference table.

The table was filled with snacks for product placement, and the writers said the participants could eat as much as they wanted, but no one was touching them.

It seems they need to at least select the song first to get an appetite.

Those who thought they messed up the first-round stage were even more so.

Then Choi Jae-Seong threw a question at Han Si-On.

Choi Jae-Seong was the participant whose voice sounded familiar to Han Si-On, but he could not remember where he had heard it.

"Um, do you have any ideas about what song to choose?"

Everyone's eyes were on Han Si-On, brimming with eagerness and anticipation.

They were the ones who witnessed what Han Si-On did in the pre-mission and the first mission.

So they were hoping he would come up with an amazing idea this time too.

But Han Si-On turned down the team members' expectations.

"I've never done a group performance before… It's a bit tricky."

"You've never performed with others before? Not even once?"

"Nah."

"Wait, weren't you a trainee, Han Si-On?"

"No? I was self-taught at home."

It was hard to believe that he had never been affiliated with an entertainment company, but looking back at the performances Han Si-On had given, it seemed possible.

Indeed, Han Si-On's performances seemed to deviate from the mold required by entertainment companies.

He covered everything with his skills but gave off a vibe somewhat distant from idols.

Perhaps because the 'Han Si-On' cheat key that they were secretly hoping for disappeared, the meeting progressed quickly.

"Should we check out the weekly charts focusing on five-member senior boy groups? How far back should we go?"

"We should probably exclude songs released within the last year? We don't want to be compared to the recent hits."

"But there have been a lot of good recent songs..."

"That's true."

"What about including six-member groups? With the parts divided well, it could work for five of us."

Then, Choi Jae-Seong chimed in.

Choi Jae-Seong was the participant whose voice sounded familiar to Han Si-On, but he could not remember where he had heard it.

"I think we should figure out the rap part first."

"Oh, rap…"

Idol groups almost always have a rapper.

But in the meantime, The Winning Team did not have a rapper.

It was a problem because there were too many rappers on the losing team, but it was also a problem here because there were none here at all.

"Anyone here feeling confident with the rap?"

On Sae-Miro, Choi Jae-Seong, Kim Seong-Woo, and Sim Ju-Wan exchanged glances, but no one stepped forward.

They could rap if asked.

There are rap songs that they often sing at the NRBs.

Nevertheless, in a situation where they needed to impress the judges and avoid negative points, they were not confident enough to volunteer.

After all, they were more confident in singing than rapping since they were vocal participants.

Then someone raised their hand.

"I'll do it."

And who's the mystery volunteer?

"...You'll do the rap?"

"Yes. I'm not bad at it."

"Bro, are you saying you're going to be the main vocal and main rapper?"

Han Si-On shook his head at Kim Seong-Woo's question.

"Nah, I'm just going to rap. On Sae-Miro's got the main vocal covered."

On Sae-Miro, who had been silent since the meeting started, stared at Han Si-On and slowly spoke up.

"Why?"

"You're good at singing, right?"

"But… you're better at it."

"Says who? We haven't even sung the same song before."

With Han Si-On's polite expression that he was just better at his song selection, On Sae-Miro eventually nodded.

The production crew was most taken aback by Han Si-On's declaration as a rapper.

The writer in charge of Han Si-On, standing behind the VJ, even briefly paused the filming to ask if he would really only rap.

The participants also felt mixed emotions.

On the one hand, it's a good move for the part distribution.

But on the other hand, they had their hearts set on Han Si-On as the main vocal and On Sae-Miro as the lead.

But with things shaping up this way, On Sae-Miro's the main vocal, and the lead spot was up for grabs.

It was like Han Si-On's taking a step back, bumping everyone's roles up a tier.

Not only that, but they could also avoid being directly compared to Han Si-On.

However…

Wouldn't it be a letdown for those who were hyped for <The Winning Team's> performance?

Would it be a minus if they take good care of their individual parts but the team stage falls apart?

They couldn't help but think that.

But unexpectedly, Han Si-On was adamant.

In the end, they decided to start by selecting candidate songs.

And the song selection was over in an instant.

"How about this one?"

As soon as they listened to NOP's <BOY SCOUT>, a song that charted annually last year, Han Si-On highly recommended it.

NOP's Boy Scout was a famous song.

While Drop Out was undoubtedly the top boy group, at that point, NOP was more popular.

It remained to be seen what would happen when Drop Out made a comeback, but NOP's popularity was no joke.

That was why everyone seemed hesitant.

"It seems like our stage will be compared to seniors NOP…It's also a very recent song."

"Are you planning to rearrange it? If so, I'm against it."

However, Han Si-On shook his head.

"No. I think it would be good to just sing it as is. It suits our voices well."

"Hmm... Let's watch their stage video first."

NOP's stage was good.

Six idols wearing adorable Boy Scout uniforms showed off an impressive choreography.

While not highly difficult, the choreography fits the 'Boy Scout' vibe as it has refreshing and flowing movements, giving off the feeling of a curious boy who dreams of adventure.

"Umm..."

Those who felt burdened by selecting NOP's hit song seemed to hesitate after watching the choreography.

Given that they only had one day for practice, it could not be too difficult, but it could not be too easy either.

<Boy Scout> was the perfect song for that criteria.

Moreover, seeing that the rap part wasn't too prominent, it did not seem like Han Si-On had any particular intention in choosing it.

"Let's look for some other songs too, for now."

After repeated discussions, no better option than NOP's Boy Scout emerged.

"Let's go with this one."

"We're toast if we can't pull it off."

"Should we get exactly four hours of shut-eye and hit the grind? I heard the losing team is taking the same route."

"Should we?"

The filming for the 2nd round, the team mission, was scheduled to start the following day (of the 1st round) at 7 P.M.

Midnight had already passed during the song selection meeting, and it was already today.

They needed at least some sleep to endure the intense practice and the actual stage, so the participants headed to the accommodations arranged by the broadcast station.

The Main PD of a program is similar to that of a chef.

Among the countless ingredients captured by the cameras, they have to decide which ingredients to choose and what dish to make.

But sometimes, the final dish is decided first, and then the appropriate ingredients are sought.

Just like PD Kang Seok-Woo right now.

Kang Seok-Woo had already decided what kind of dish the first episode of <Coming Up Next> would be.

Han Si-On would be the one-man carry.

So what he needed most right now was....

'The contact information for the composer.'

It was the composer of the debut song for Way From Flower, <Flowers Bloom>.

What Han Si-On said after the first mission stage was quite meaningful.

"Flowers Bloom was probably meant for male vocals in the early stages of the composition. I think they probably changed it to fit the female vocals when they decided on a singer during the production process?"

"So I didn't change a thing, just sang the early version."

Now, to be honest, it only sounded meaningful because it was Han Si-On.

If there were any other participants saying those words,

They would be ridiculed or edited out.

Didn't it defy common sense?

That the debut song of the first-tier girl group Way From Flower was originally intended for a male vocal?

And Han Si-On realized it with his incredible talent as soon as he heard it?

When no one has ever said such a thing before?

Yet, Han Si-On's story did not sound utterly ridiculous for a simple reason.

The performance was good.

'No, it was fucking good.'

The PD realized it the moment he heard Si-On singing.

That it would definitely become a hot topic.

Maybe <Under the Streetlight> would do better in terms of chart performance or music source reactions.

But <Flowers Bloom> would win in terms of content popularity or YouTube views.

That was because it was full of keywords that netizens could interpret in a provocative way.

Moreover, PD Kang Seok-Woo, who did not have much musical knowledge, wondered if Han Si-On had really only touched the original song's scale.

If he was already as bewildered like this, then how much more so would the netizens be?

Even if the program itself failed to become a hit, this stage would be passed around by word of mouth and garner a lot of attention.

That was why PD Kang Seok-Woo was deeply pondering.

Originally, the plan he had made was for the song that would be the center of the first episode of <Coming Up Next> to be the pre-mission song, <Under the Streetlight>.

However, after actually seeing the first stage, it seemed like <Flowers Bloom> would become a bigger issue.

It would be a waste to bundle the two songs together in the first episode and disperse the spotlight.

Then, what about splitting it into two episodes, the first and second, and introducing two songs each?

Due to the nature of the program, where the Take Scene had to be the main character, it was not possible to use the entire second episode for Team B's composition.

This was PD Kang Seokwoo's dilemma.

Just then, the junior PD that Kang Seok-Woo had been waiting for anxiously entered the filming set.

"Got him?"

"The composer? I did."

"Man, you took this long to find one composer?"

"Turns out, his English name isn't only for show – it's the real name too."

"He's not from around here? Where's he from?"

"He's Danish, but he's in the U.S. right now. But Mr. Kang, I don't think we can recruit this composer, can we?"

"Why?"

"He's too big of a shot."

PD Kang's eyes were about to pop when he heard who was behind the beats from his junior producer.

TL/n - 

You can read 5 chapters in advance on p@treon.com/inkbound