Chapter 43

If I can't debut, I'll get a disease that will kill me 043

Outside the stage of MusicBomb where the third team battle was taking place, it was packed with people.

And the majority of the crowd were not there to watch but had come to try and hear something from outside.

A college student, squeezing through the crowd to join the line, was annoyed by this.

‘Why are they all gathered here when they can’t even get in?’

She couldn’t understand why they were so excited when they couldn’t even see anything.

‘They did the same thing during the second round, and the scale has only grown larger.’

She stood in the line, feeling exasperated. Judging by the length, it would take a while to get in.

‘I’m so annoyed.’

In front and behind her were people holding slogans or snacks. The slogans all had the same name written on them.

[Park Moondae♡Debut]

‘…He really has become popular.’

She pouted, recalling the second team battle.

She was upset because the person sitting next to her was a Park Moondae fan, and to make matters worse, her favorite, Kim Raebin, was on the same team as Park Moondae.

‘Why does she like that concept guy?’

She grumbled.

However, she still denies that she went wild with enthusiasm as soon as the stage ended in the last team battle.

Although she can no longer mock Park Moondae online, she tells herself, ‘…Well, he was good on stage, so I’m watching him.’

She forced herself to look away from Park Moondae’s slogan, which was even more annoying because it was so pretty, though she didn’t know who had chosen it.

“Please maintain order!”

“Don’t push!”

They lined up according to the numbers they received and entered, but from the middle onwards, people started running. Since it was a standing-only event, the earlier you got in, the better.

She grabbed the fence right in front of the stage.

‘Done!!’

She couldn’t help but praise herself for being the 18th to successfully apply for the audience. It was a great achievement made possible by the production team changing the application process to a first-come, first-served basis due to the surge in applications.

‘I’ll be able to see it up close.’

Her heart raced. However, just before her excitement turned to discomfort, the MC finally entered.

“Welcome to the third team battle stage of ‘Re-Listing! Idol Corporation’!”

A mix of relief, joy, and annoyance exploded into a thunderous cheer.

‘Just get it started already!!’

She shouted in her head, gripping the fence tightly.

“The theme of this team battle is ‘Self-Produced’! From the song selection to the stage setup, all elements of the performance were chosen and created by the participants themselves!”

‘Kim Raebin must have done a great job with this!’

Thinking of her stock, who was good at everything except politics, she joined the other audience members in cheering.

“Furthermore, using big data algorithms to analyze the past buying trends of shareholders, the participants who are liked by the same shareholders are now on the same team!”

The audience murmured in various places, not because they didn’t understand the words, but because they wondered why they didn’t just have a separate vote instead of this pointless effort.

Anyway, the MC smoothly completed the opening.

“It seems you all have high expectations, so let’s get started right away! The opening performance will now be revealed!”

“Waaaah!!”

“The song chosen by the participants is… Maximate’s ‘I Like Waiting’!”

The audience immediately focused on the stage.

With hopeful eyes, they looked at the dark stage, wondering if their favorite participant would appear.

‘It would be better if they come out a bit later… Ah, forget it! Just come out now!!’

As if in response to her thoughts, a light burst from the stage.

Piiing.

‘Huh!’

However, it wasn’t completely bright.

Thick yellow beams of light shot up from below the stage, casting chaotic shadows on the still dark stage.

The only thing visible on the stage was a large tree stump.

And the sound of a wind instrument.

Woo-. Woo- Woo-. Woo- Woo-.

It was the beginning of a traditional Korean music piece, the sound of a daegeum, elegant and melancholic, wandering the stage alone.

Then, a figure sprang out from the left corner of the stage.

A clean, acrobatic backflip.

A tall man wearing a wooden rabbit mask ran out, slicing the air as he turned backward.

“…!!”

The daegeum sound ended.

As the figure landed on one leg, the long robe he wore fluttered, revealing the Western-style suit underneath.

At that moment, the beams of light that had been slicing the stage disappeared completely.

In the pitch-black stage, a voice echoed instead of the daegeum sound.

-My waiting is long

And always joyful

A perfect voice, as if recorded in a studio, without a single note off, even without accompaniment.

And now the audience knew whose voice it was.

‘Park Moondae…’

With a deep drum sound, light returned to the stage.

Dun- dun dun dun! Dun- dun dun dun!

Suddenly, five figures wearing wooden rabbit masks were standing in a circle on the stage.

Behind them, a brilliant galaxy appeared on the black stage background.

And the group dance began.

Swoosh.

The slow, sensual movements started, gradually becoming more complex and faster, breaking the beat.

It was like a natural phenomenon.

Despite the continuous change in speed, which could have made timing difficult, not a single person was off the beat or the movement.

The heavy drum sound became sharper with the dance, and a modern bass line provided a solid balance behind it.

Then, the daegeum and the adjusted piano sounds began to play on the upper layers.

Uhwi- Wiwiwi-

Uhwiuhwi- Wi~~

The moment the drum sound became a part of the music composition, the five figures lifted their rabbit masks to the side of their heads in unison.

At the same time, the person on the far right started singing. It was Park Moondae.

-At every crossroad where I wait for you

I’m always excited

With the choreography, the largest figure, Seo Jin, turned completely to face the stage from the far left and smiled.

-There’s no room for anxiety

Because I already know you will

A large formation split, and Kim Raebin jumped out from behind.

-Come to this place

We will meet

My confidence

Floods every corner, like this!

‘Raebin!!’

The college student, holding the fence, screamed in her head. She wanted to shout but managed to hold back.

And by the time they reached the rap part, not only she but most of the audience had noticed something.

‘They changed all the lyrics to Korean…’

Indeed, they had changed all the English words to Korean to match the stage atmosphere.

‘Of course, my guy is a genius!’

She cried out in her head, praising the seamless change. She didn’t even consider the possibility that another team member might have done it.

However, the appreciation was quickly swept away as she was drawn into the performance.

-It’s such a natural thing

I know you

You will come to know me

Gold 1, Ha Iljun, passed the mic to Seo Jin, who completed the pre-chorus.

-The answer is already decided

An unavoidable fate is approaching~

Seon Ah-hyun came to the center. Her rabbit mask was slightly askew, covering her temples, but her face still shone.

‘…He’s really handsome.’

The college student, seeing Seon Ah-hyun up close, couldn’t deny his attractiveness, which made her frustrated.

Seon Ah-hyun, standing straight and elegantly, began to sing.

-I like waiting

My waiting is long

And always joyful

‘Huh?’

Right after the chorus, familiar movements began to mix in.

It was the hand movements from the original song’s point choreography.

However, they added new foot movements to the hand movements, creating a more intense feel.

Whoosh!

The choreography, which used the body more extensively than the original, was incredibly impressive with the fluttering robes.

‘Ah…’

The stage was being completed in a romantic and overwhelming style, rather than the original’s emotional and simple feel.

-When this waiting ends

I will recognize you

My heart is already bright

Park Moondae sang the high notes of the latter part of the chorus.

Perhaps his hair had thinned during filming, as his now almost blonde hair was swept over with the mask.

‘…Even with the shaved head… it’s okay.’

She tried to hide her excitement, thinking it must be due to the makeup the stylist gave her today, which was a masterpiece.

And at the end of the song, Park Moondae turned his body completely backward.

‘What is it?’

The audience, who had been focused on the participants’ movements and expressions, instinctively turned their gaze backward.

A large dark blue trajectory was being drawn over the starlight at the back of the stage.

“……!”

The sound was now only from string and wind instruments.

With this background, the dark blue trajectory drew a large circle.

The circle, completed like a Chinese ink painting, eventually glowed blue.

A round blue light source among the stars. It was the Earth seen from the moon.

Uhuuu- Uhuuu- Uhu, Uuu--

The participants, in sync with the melody, softly fell to the ground and got up, naturally shedding their robes far away.

-A light and dreamy hundred-day dream

The road to meet you

The participants were now standing in complete Western-style suits.

Their bodies created a short and intense group dance.

Almost like a dance, their full-body movements were sharp and smooth, drawing curves. The feeling was very unique.

The accompaniment without percussion instruments now sounded somewhat sensual.

‘Kim Raebin is insane…’

“Eek…”

“……!”

The college student, startled, thought she might have made a sound, but then realized it was coming from all around.

-You’ve been waiting for me too

A vivid sense of déjà vu

By changing the lyrics ‘déjà vu’ to ‘sense of déjà vu,’ the sound became even more mysterious.

-Facing the moment of destiny

Never hesitate!

Bang!

At that moment, percussion instruments returned to the accompaniment.

The slightly overt sensuality disappeared in an instant.

-I like waiting

My waiting is long

And always joyful

The chorus returned, with Seo Jin coming to the center and taking the lead in the complex group dance.

The choreography became even more elaborate.

-When this waiting ends

I will recognize you

My heart is already bright

And a soft humming followed.

-Hum hu hu hum- huhu DDu-ru Du-ru Du Du

It was the melody of the chorus.

With the foot movements, it felt like someone was singing while waiting, filled with excitement.

The drum sound in the accompaniment sounded like a heartbeat.

The college student, only later realizing that Park Moondae was adding a higher octave to the humming, felt goosebumps.

‘…I thought he was bad.’

She swallowed hard. On stage, the opening choreography was being varied again.

The formation changed continuously, and the five participants naturally gathered around the only prop on the stage.

‘Huh?’

A large tree stump.

It was the stump of a jujube tree.

Naturally, they sat around the stump and immediately took off their Western-style blazers, throwing them down.

“…!”

Revealing the male jackets designed like shirts, Seo Jin looked at the front and smiled.

He turned his rabbit mask back to his face and sang the final line.

-Wait for me.

As the blue light of Earth shone down on the sleeping moon rabbits leaning against the jujube tree stump, the stage came to an end.

And a thunderous cheer, loud enough to tear the roof off the filming site, erupted.

“Waaaah!!!”

“Squeee!!”

“Yaaah!!”

Below the stage, all kinds of reactions, from screams to covering mouths, overflowed.

Everyone was excited by the unexpected combination of high-ranking participants from the opening and the perfectly executed performance.

Moreover, this extremely conceptual stage had something that stimulated the hearts of fans.

Because it couldn’t be fully interpreted at once, it made people want to watch it multiple times and find hidden elements.

Certainly, many audience members were already counting down the days until the broadcast, eager to see it again.

‘It’s all over.’

The college student, letting go of the fence, muttered proudly. She had only just regained her composure after screaming and the stage lights went out.

By setting the opening like this, the next participants were automatically put in a tough position.

She hesitated for a moment, then finally admitted her excitement.

‘…Well, the Actober guys did a good job too.’

‘With Ryu Cheong-woo and Cha Yujin, they could debut too,’ she muttered, with no trace of the annoyance she had when she entered.