Chapter 24

If I can't debut, I'll get a disease that will kill me - Chapter 024

It's about time.

I just closed the comment section of the Actober 31 stage video I was watching.

To summarize the overall situation...

‘It’s risen to an almost scary level...’

Really, there was no other way to express it.

From the number of views to the comments on the news articles, the figures were more than five to six times higher than those of the other teams that aired in episode 3.

Ryu Cheong-woo’s team had a different kind of buzz, but it seemed they also benefited from the spillover effect.

Anyway, as long as we don’t slip up here, it seems we can smoothly pass the second round.

So the next filming is even more important. Now that I’ve experienced the power of editing, I need to be even more careful.

Let’s look at things that will help with the next filming.

I entered a new search term into the search bar.

[Park Moondae individual straight cam]

When I searched, the official video with the posting date marked as '1 day ago' appeared first.

I hadn’t watched it for a day to objectively check the feedback.

And the numbers were higher than expected.

[Views: 320,000]

Considering that I’m not a participant with dance as a strong point, it was a surprisingly high number.

I looked at the other participants in the related videos at the bottom.

“30,000, 120,000, 7,000, 20,000, 60,000... Hmm.”

There weren’t many higher numbers than mine. In fact, half of the participants didn’t even reach 50,000 views.

Judging by the views alone, I would probably be in the top 12.

Considering that the stage has already been made public, it’s an even more impressive achievement.

‘But substance is more important.’

I scrolled through the video comments in the order of most recommended.

- Park Moondae, your expressions in each part are amazing. You’re a genius idol, born to be an idol. 😭

- Moondae, you look perfect in this concept, it’s surprising.

- From popcorn to chicken feet, now to horror, Park Moondae, are you a rookie?

- The bridge is a treat for the ears, thank you.

- Moondae, I’m a fan of Malangdalcom, and when I saw the song selection, I was a bit excited. You’re so cute!

The last comment seems a bit... like a misunderstanding, but since it’s a positive view, I’ll take it as a compliment.

Most of the comments were praises.

When sorted by the latest, there were occasional hate comments, but even those were soon washed away by late English comments.

This time, I searched for my name on SNS. ‘Park Moondae’ and ‘Moondae’.

Articles with attached videos and images immediately filled the screen.

- Moondae is so cute (individual straight cam GIF)

- How did you think of horror in that situation? Our Moondae is a three-in-one idol in terms of skills, personality, and sense. 😭

- Park Moondae sings well, but I’m not sure if he’s that outstanding. However, his face is my type (press conference photo)

- Moondae is Moonddang, eat well and stay pretty! ♡ (dog eating show合成照片)

The variety of comments was overwhelming.

Face, voice, expression, shoulders, eating movements... Even comments on habits I didn’t know I had were praised as cute.

I touched the back of my neck with my hand.

It was a bit embarrassing, but I didn’t feel bad. I was grateful, and strangely, it made me feel motivated.

Of course, this isn’t the entirety of internet opinion.

I thought deeply.

Let’s see, if ‘Moondae’ was altered to avoid search results...

“Hmm.”

I didn’t need to think long before entering the search term.

[Bearhead]

A simple transformation by reversing ‘Moon’ and using a similar notation for ‘dae’.

When I used to sell data, this was almost the standard, so it should work.

As expected, the results poured in.

- Bearhead is a complete failure, and even the popcorn is terrible. What the hell, the editing is so biased. I hate it so much.

- Honestly, there were no good candidates in Very1, so they’re pushing Bearhead with clenched teeth? The sound is too... typically over-processed... sigh

- Bearhead’s melon-sweet character is obviously a concept.

- I want to see Bearhead’s chest. The next stage should have more exposure.

- Amateur 😂 Bearhead? Where did he train? He probably washed his clothes while training. If I could, I’d block his account. It’s too artificial to watch.

The hate comments were overwhelming.

Oh, even though I was prepared, it was still shocking.

There were some strange ones in the middle... They might be trying to avoid search results by looking like sexual harassment.

Interestingly, many of the accounts posting malicious comments had chosen Cha Yujin’s photo for their profile.

Perhaps she’s the most popular participant, so they set it to monitor and counter, but there might be real ones too.

And it seemed to create a strange tension.

Participants who performed together in the first team stage were grouped together and liked, while participants from other teams were attacked.

This is a common trend in such audition shows, so it wasn’t particularly surprising.

I had experienced it firsthand when I sold data.

People who buy data for the participant they support and the one they counter, then discard the latter.

And it seems that Cha Yujin and Park Moondae ended up on opposite sides.

‘Is this a side effect of the team stage going extremely well and rising sharply?’

Anyway, it was something I could accept, so I moved on.

More importantly, I needed to see if there was anything useful to extract from the hate comments.

‘First, the singing talk is unnecessary.’

This is because there are objective stats, and they will be continuously verified as the show progresses.

The next most common was... talk about my character.

Mainly comments about how artificial and annoying it is, or criticisms of Park Moondae’s appearance like ‘That face for that concept? 😂’

No, if the face isn’t good, the character shouldn’t be used...

I never liked that editing direction, which made me a bit bitter.

But I soon realized it was an unnecessary emotion.

‘The face can be made.’

The next filming is the ranking announcement.

Compared to the 4th episode that will air soon, the filming was about a month earlier.

This means that even if my appearance changes a bit, it will be understandable.

“Status window.”

I poured points into the appearance stats without hesitation.

After a moment of thought, I took out my smartphone, opened the group chat, and posted a message.

[Does anyone know a good shop?]

If I’m going to do it, I’ll do it properly.

* * *

A few days before the 5th episode, which is the ranking announcement, all kinds of rumors claiming to be spoilers were circulating on internet communities related to the show.

=========================

[Cha Yujin ranking spoiler]

: I’m a staff member (unclear shooting location photo)

1st Cha Yujin

2nd Ryu Cheong-woo

5th Kim Rae-beom

6th Seon Ah-hyun

Child actor Oh Se-jin dropped out of the top 10. He was dragged out during filming.

=========================

-It sounds fake, but I hope Oh Se-jin drops out quickly. A washed-up child actor has no place in an idol survival show. 😂

└I got the PDF.

└Sure, go ahead. 😂

-As expected, Cha Yujin is 1st.

-It’s amazing that Ryu Cheong-woo is 2nd thanks to the editing.

└You idiots, it’s fake. Don’t pretend to be fooled. It’s disgusting.

└There’s a verification photo, it’s real.

└It’s a photo from a different variety show last year (link)

└Wow...

This kind of manipulation was often exposed, and the posts were eventually deleted.

The production team did their best to block the spoilers, and their efforts were partly successful due to luck.

As a result, just before the 5th episode, which is the ranking announcement, started, viewers were anxiously sitting in front of their screens.

The woman sitting in front of the desktop was no exception.

She was clasping her hands and praying.

‘Please, let Moondae rise...’

The minimized tab on the desktop was uploading a straight cam of Park Moondae that she took at the press conference.

That’s right. She was the owner of the large camera who watched the first team stage as a spectator and became a fan of Park Moondae.

She had completely transferred her fandom to Park Moondae through the PR broadcast and the main show.

She even settled as a home master by posting the photos she took.

And today is the day of the ranking announcement. She was anxiously thinking.

‘Moondae won’t be eliminated. But to solidify his position in the top ranks, he needs a high ranking this time.’

For latecomers, getting hit is a reality, and it’s hard to break through the already solidified concrete layer.

‘So the first ranking announcement is important.’

She thought this while writing a post on her account with one hand.

=========================

FullMoon Baby

: I’ve uploaded the straight cam of Park Moondae from the press conference. (YouTube link)

#ParkMoondae #ParkMoondaeStock #Very1ParkMoondae #Moonddang #Moondae

=========================

The post was attached with the press conference straight cam that was just uploaded.

The number of shares increased rapidly as soon as it was posted.

‘Good.’

She watched the phenomenon with a satisfied eye and immediately added a promotional message.

-Please support our Moondae! : D♡ (Link to buy idol company stocks)

Just as she posted, the last commercial was about to end.

In 5 seconds, the broadcast would start.

She was shaking her feet while looking at the logo on the screen.

[Re-listing! Idol Stock Company]

Soon, the screen changed, and a short trailer was broadcast to heighten the anticipation.

[30th place participant, 20th place participant, ... Who will secure the final spot at 49th place?]

Several participants were shown bowing, biting their lips, and bursting into tears.

The editing was clearly designed to create tension, but she didn’t have the mental space to notice.

Just then, a cut of Park Moondae was caught...

A new hairstyle with a soft perm, and the hair...

“G, gold.”

She muttered in a daze and then covered her mouth with her hand, realizing the meaning.

‘Moondae is blonde!!’

The hair color was actually closer to light brown, but that didn’t matter.

It suited him incredibly well and was so cute!

Having good hair dye reception is also a virtue of an idol, so why does Park Moondae have it too?

God must have given him everything to make him an idol.

She refreshed the SNS timeline with her trembling hand, and as expected, similar exclamations were pouring in.

-What the...

-OMG, blonde

-Is he crazy?

-Moonddang, you’re trying to kill me today... No doubt about it...

-So good 😭😭😭😭

-Actually, the academic consensus is that he’s been dyeing his blonde hair black all this time. Anyway...

Park Moondae’s fans were endlessly pouring out their reactions.

In fact, the impressive appearance stat investment of Park Moondae played a big role in these reactions.

However, everyone firmly believed that the change in hairstyle brought about a change in appearance, so it naturally went over well.

The one cut was so well done that their enthusiasm continued for quite a while.

[PR Broadcast Production]

After all the small behind-the-scenes segments, it was the point where the PR broadcast preparation filming started right before the ranking announcement.

On the screen, the participants were shocked by the MC’s announcement.

[You have 15 minutes to find the treasure ball!]

[What?!]

‘I was curious about this.’

She regained her composure and focused on the broadcast content.

She hoped that at least some light would be shed on how Moondae ended up with the chicken feet.

[Wow!]

[Yes! Gold!]

But the screen only showed the participants running around and taking the balls for a long time.

‘What? There’s no Moondae footage.’

Park Moondae’s fans grumbled that the production team had no sense.

Even regular viewers were making similar comments.

-Why didn’t the story of the chicken feet end?

-It’s like he failed and got the chicken feet.

-😂😂

However, these reactions changed in an instant.

Park Moondae suddenly