Chapter 96

Chapter 96

Park Soo-Chul, the main producer of The Showcase 2, looked at the stage as it was being set up. Watching the process of a set completion was a normal routine for producers. A part of him felt that if the sets were completed well, the day's shooting would also go well. Although that wasn't necessarily the case, everyone would be able to shoot with confidence if the sets were well done; on the other hand, if the stage was not set up well, they had to stay on alert and check for various things all over again.

“Are all the cast members here?”

“Yes, they’ve all arrived, and we've put them in different waiting rooms by team.”

“I hope the shooting goes well today,” Park Soo-Chul said and turned his gaze back to the set again. Today’s shooting was especially critical as it was an episode that could determine the direction of the show. As a result, they were putting more care into the set production process than usual.

“If Only One wins today, it’s the final win, right?”

“The final stage will be like a farewell concert then.”

“The tension will suddenly be reduced at the end.”

“Well, it can’t be helped, since we can’t manipulate the results.” Whether Only One won first place or another group rose above—the main character of today’s competition could become the main character of the program itself.

As the producer in charge, Park Soo-Chul would edit in the direction that highlighted the main characters regardless of who they were, but...

‘If possible, I hope it’s a different team than Only One.’ Still, it would be good if a new group emerged to continue the show’s popularity until the final stage. As for now—

“Are the Siren guys doing well?” Siren was the most likely candidate to rise to the challenge.

“They do look good from the practice videos.”

“They do look good? You sound slightly unsure.”

“No, they’re good. For real.”

“What, then there’s nothing to worry about.”

“But Kang Hyun-Sung’s team is really good too.”

“...In that case, it is a bit worrisome.” As the producer in charge, he couldn’t cheer for Siren openly, but it couldn’t be helped considering the current situation.

“Should I just change the final competition to a farewell concert?”

“Sir, let’s wait and see for now.”

“Haa, yeah.”

“Sir, Bong Tae-Yoon is also in Kang Hyun’s team. If both teams do well, it could help Siren.”

“....Yeah, that’s possible. Let’s think positively.” Park Soo-Chul pulled out an e-cigarette from his pocket. “I’ll come back after a smoke break.” He was going to get some nicotine to get rid of his worries when—

“Producer!” From far away, a set production crew member rushed towards him. Park Soo-Chul, who was about to go outside with an e-cigarette in his mouth, stiffened and looked at his team member. Was there a problem with the set production? He couldn’t believe they were getting jinxed at a critical time like this. He wondered if today was the day he had to reassess the entire set production.

“Sir, the set...came out super well.”

“...What?”

“I think we could end an hour earlier than expected! The production process went very smoothly today.”

“Hey, you scared me!”

“...Sir, what?”Witness the debut of this chapter, unveiled through Ñôv€l--B1n.

Sigh. “No, it’s nothing.”

“...Well, yes. Anyways, I think we can go into rehearsals an hour earlier than expected today.” After saying this with a laugh, the production crew member returned back to the set, and Park Soo-Chul was able to calm his surprised heart.

But above all, he decided to focus on the most important part.

‘The set came out well?’ It was uncommon for a staff member to run to him and say that the set had turned out really well.

‘Will something big happen today?’ Although he knew it was just superstition, he strangely had a good feeling about today’s stages.

“Let’s start getting ready for the rehearsal. I’ll come back after a quick smoke break,” Park Soo-Chul said and moved to the smoking area. Was it because he had a good feeling about this? His steps were very light.

* * *

After arriving at the studio, I moved to the waiting room with Kang Hyun-Sung. The current situation in the waiting room followed the strict confidentiality we kept in previous competition rounds. Visiting other team’s waiting rooms was not allowed and watching the rehearsal of other teams was also forbidden. Until the main shoot, the performances of other teams were kept in complete secrecy. Of course, we had briefly seen the other performances during the training camp's midterm checkup...

‘But that’s not everything.’ There was no team that would stop at that level, and above all, my members’ team changed everything from the song, choreography, and concept, so it was more accurate to say the rest of us had no information about their performance. However, the members of the team I was part of seemed to have no worries.

“Shall we warm up?”

–Woo Yeon-Hoon’s team! Let’s start now!

It was the team that my group members were part of. I became even more nervous about my members’ performance. I pressed down my palms, half in excitement and half in worry about what kind of performance they’d prepared and how good it would be.

“Mr. Bong Tae-Yoon.” Then someone called me from the side.

“What?” I knew it was Kang Hyun-Sung without even turning around.

“Watch your members’ performance and relax.”

“...What do you mean?”

“Because even if you ruin the stage a bit, it might not be a big deal.”

“...?” I couldn’t understand him right away, but when my members’ performance began—

‘...!’ I understood what he was saying. I might not have been the one who raised the probability of winning first place to 85%.

‘Why are they so good...’ As soon as I saw their stage, I realized again that my members were insanely talented.

* * *

After winning an audience spot in The Showcase, one Siren fan was shocked by seeing the team’s composition members. Since she already knew that two members from OnebyOne were suspended, she wasn’t surprised about that, but—

‘Why is only Tae-Yoon on a different team?’ While all the members of Siren were gathered in one place, only Bong Tae-Yoon was in a completely different team. For now, she tried not to give it too much thought. However, not everyone around her reacted the same.

“Honestly, won’t Kang Hyun-Sung’s team be better without Bong Tae-Yoon? That guy has no stage presence whatsoever.”

“Hey! Speak quietly.”

“Ah, my bad.”

A few fans of other groups shit-talked on Bong Tae-Yoon.

“Our poor kids got stained by Bong Tae-Yoon.”

“You crazy bitch, stop that. Other people can hear.”

The Siren fan, who had a particularly good ear, didn’t feel good about hearing negative comments about her bias. Of course, there weren’t only bad comments about Bong Tae-Yoon.

“Isn’t Bong Tae-Yoon the idea maker? Will his team be all right?”

“Let’s watch their performance first.”

“Wow, everyone in team Kang Hyun-Sung is over 180cm!”

“They have great physicals.”

“Everyone in Kang Hyun-Sung’s team is a visual.”

There were also a lot of conversations that gave positive evaluations of Bong Tae-Yoon. But in this melting pot of mixed opinion, the Siren fan could be assured of one thing—

‘Tae-Yoon is the talk of the town.’ It felt like Bong Tae-Yoon was more at the center of this competition than she expected. She looked at the front, closing off her ears to the conversations around her. From now on, she planned to focus only on the stage, and she didn’t want to dampen her excitement from hearing negative remarks. Before long, Woo Yeon-Hoon’s team appeared with the host’s comments.

–Woo Yeon-Hoon’s team! Let’s start now!

Her heart started beating hard because she could finally see the idols she had watched every day on screen in person for the first time. Members of Woo Yeon-Hoon’s team came up one by one on stage. While the excitement and energy was rising—

Ding.

The first note rang out. A refreshing electronic sound and sentimental piano sound resonated on stage.

‘No way, they’re going for the innocent, refreshing concept?’ Her heart began to thump because the melody perfectly captured this exact concept. Then the stage light turned on, and the idols’ outfits were finally revealed.

‘Shirts and slacks?’ Her heart began to beat fiercely. She intently stared at the stage, wondering what the exact concept was when—

—I think I’ll miss you.

—Wherever we are, close your eyes

—And remember the moments

—That filled up our hearts—

With Woo Yeon-Hoon’s beautiful voice in the intro, he gave everyone a heart attack with his shocking visuals.

‘Crazy, he’s too handsome.’ Siren’s fan gasped and closed her mouth. This was the moment when she thought her ears and eyes might go blind and deaf from sheer bliss.