Chapter 60: The Techniques of an Idol Who Never Fails

Contrary to my wish for a complete image makeover, I appeared in The Rising 2 as a troublemaker. Kang Han-woo, the leader of INO, was telling this story to the members during the car ride.

"Haewon is really nagging, isn't she?"

The INO members in the car, as well as the Firstlight members watching TV with me, let out exasperated sighs. Why, what did I do...? Wait, did I do that?

"Haewon wanted a certain vocal part this time, but it didn't come out, so she was really harsh during the recording. But my favorite baseball team made it to the postseason for the first time in ten years, and I asked if I could do the revision recording during the game. I already talked to the manager, and it was during a time when I had no schedule. So I said I'm really sorry, but I have to watch the game that day, and Haewon said I should watch the replay."

The members in the car burst out laughing. On the other hand, our members were covering their mouths in shock.

Shin Ji-un was the first to lower his hand and say,

"Wow, this... I can't even defend you."

"Anyway, it's not like we won't see it again. The full video will be uploaded anyway."

In response to my words, Han Hyo-seok, who gets a bit crazy whenever baseball is mentioned, said seriously,

"Bro, imagine hearing all the spoilers for The Lord of the Rings and then watching it on your phone."

"The Lord of the Rings is still fun. It's a masterpiece."

"Oh, I see."

This was the most argumentative polite speech I've ever heard from Han Hyo-seok. Hehe.

At that moment, Park Sun-jae, who doesn't particularly watch sports, said,

"X Live replays aren't really that good to watch."

"Ah, that's true."

Honestly, watching X Live replays can be a bit boring. There's a lot of time spent silently reading comments, and especially when Firstlight members have a shy period right after turning on the live broadcast. I think the Hae-sun fans mostly watch the highlight edits.

"Especially since it's the first postseason in ten years."

In response to Han Hyo-seok's muttering, Min Ji-ho said from the side,

"Ah, I just remembered, I really fit. Bro, think about it. We're scheduled to win our first 1st place in a music show. It's almost certain."

Just imagining it makes me feel strange.

"Yeah."

"The Hae-sun fans are waiting with bated breath!"

"Exactly!"

"Then, Hae-sun's mom turned off the TV and said, 'Hae-sun, you have a test next week, so watch the replay after the test is over.'"

"Oh, how could she say such a cruel thing... Wait, is that it?"

"Hey!"

For some reason, he seemed taken aback.

Anyway...

"I didn't ask them to edit me like that."

In response to my words, Shin Ji-un answered without even turning around.

"Is that possible? The PDs aren't magicians."

"What do you mean, you didn't ask me?"

"Look, how could they edit this nicely?"

While talking, I buried myself in the sofa to watch the rebroadcast, but a status window, no, a warning window, had been floating in front of my eyes since the beginning.

[Warning: Stress has reached a dangerous level]

[Warning: Rest and counseling are needed]

I don't know why they're warning me about something I already know.

I'm being criticized on a show I appeared on in the past, and if I'm not intimidated, am I even human?

It's just that I'm so mentally weak that I can't stand seeing VMC keep bullying me.

* * *

[The stage is definitely more fun than last week]

[Still, the editing is a bit boring]

And the third stage.

INO + Firstlight. A mashup of DEMON and Fire.

The editing that showed the cheerful atmosphere of coming up with ideas and preparing last week started with a sharp tone this time.

"Let's do it one more time."

"I thought the first one was fine..."

In response to the cautious words of an INO member, Jung Haewon listened to the first recording again and said,

"I'm sorry, but it's not good. Let's do it one more time."

[The national bias is still the same lol]

[Surprisingly consistent, which is nice lol]

[Still, he adds an apology now that he's grown up]

"One of the Firstlight members didn't know about today's recording. Why is his voice like that?"

"Because you did well, get lost. The order has been pushed back."

"Bro, that ad-lib isn't good. Let's cut it or change it."

Some members found it difficult to do multiple takes, while others wanted to keep re-recording.

"Haewon, can we do it one more time? The lyrics are really starting to feel right."

"Go ahead and try everything you want."

Jung Haewon directed with the same attitude, and as the show progressed, viewers were increasingly impressed by his consistency.

"Hey, Haewon. Your vocals have improved."

"Right? Oh, my voice is good today?"

"Exactly. You're doing pretty well."

[Why are they both so slow lol]

[↳It's because Hwang Saebi is slow lol]

[But your vocals have really improved]

[When Jung Haewon sang during Kukseon-a, it was X-level anxiety, but now it's stable]

After recording himself, all the members left, and Jung Haewon stayed in the control room to start editing the vocals.

[Is he not sleeping?]

[What a workaholic]

Then, Yang Eun-hyung's interview was inserted.

"The Firstlight kids always say, 'Is his dream to be a short-lived idol?' He's the type who has to cook everything himself after gathering everyone's opinions. But even I can't help it. Haewon is the one who brings out the best quality. He's a genius."

After the interview, a scene of him shouting "Ilight" in the waiting room followed, and then the third stage began.

The stage was even more talkative with more audience members watching.

[The homage is insane]

[The repertoire is like a cinephile's. He must have watched a lot of movies]

[Is Jung Haewon even twenty yet? Does he have time to watch so many movies while in school?]

[↳He dropped out]

[↳↳Why? For training?]

[↳↳↳Not really]

[As an Anser, I thought Haewon was a bit cold during the recording, but watching the stage, he really brought out the charm in our kids' vocals]

[↳Honestly, I could feel that he studied each of our kids' vocals a lot during the vocal direction]

[↳No exaggeration, he has more affection than our producer lol]

[↳Can Haewon write a song for us? 😢]

[↳↳Please 😢]

[↳↳A baseball-related song would make the kids excited 😢]

[From an Anser's perspective, I understand why Kukseon-a was edited that way, but it's like they edited it to be X-level]

[Honestly, if you cut the beginning and end, it's just Kukseon-a]

[↳Eh...? Really...?]

[Maybe he just changed as a person]

[↳But Shin Ji-un was like that even during Kukseon-a]

[Last time, when Hye-bum mentioned YouTube, he said Jung Haewon must have been tired from practicing a lot and fell asleep]

[What, is Kukseon-a X-level?]

* * *

PD Woo Hye-jeong of The Rising was not the right PD for a survival show that the broadcasting station had put a lot of effort into.

After the Kukseon-a manipulation controversy, VMC replaced some executives as a show of goodwill, and a few PDs from public broadcasters joined VMC.

In the process, she ended up in charge of this survival show. Her long experience in music shows was the reason. She had a team of people with idol fan experience, and she was confident she could capture stages that fans would talk about for a long time, but she wasn't confident about getting high ratings. And in the first week, she received a report card that matched her confidence.

Well, I'll quit. I've lasted long enough...

Just as she was thinking this, Jung Haewon came to her and asked to be made into a variety show subject.

He had made up his mind, and from PD Woo Hye-jeong's perspective, it was necessary, so she never intended to ignore the idea that came from a twenty-year-old's head.

She was just worried about the backlash...

While watching the real-time comments during the airing of 'The Rising' episode 2, PD Woo Hye-jeong realized that the controversy would be even bigger than she imagined.

Especially the reaction to the part at the end of episode 2, where Jung Haewon started a new arrangement for the second mission, which all Firstlight members agreed was lacking, was significant.

After asking Ahn Ju-won to stay for the lyrics rewrite of 'Butterfly Dance,' Jung Haewon continued the arrangement in a state of high tension. When Ahn Ju-won started the rewrite and asked for help because it wasn't going well, Jung Haewon, in a clearly half-asleep state, said,

"Why, composers say that when they write lyrics, it really feels like it's their own song. I understand that now that I've been composing. But strangely, when you write, it doesn't feel that way."

"Really?"

"Yeah. The songs I made were always Firstlight's from the beginning. So whether I make them alone or with you, it's the same. I feel like it's a song made by Firstlight for Firstlight."

This was sincere and brought positive reactions not only from Firstlight fans but also from fans of other groups.

"He's a natural, a natural..."

It was unprecedented for an idol who had debuted less than half a year ago to create such controversy, especially just through agitation.

It's hard to reverse public opinion once it's set, but if anyone could do it, PD Woo Hye-jeong thought it was Jung Haewon.

* * *

As PD Woo Hye-jeong expected, the backlash was strong.

Comments were flooding the latest video on TYT's official YouTube channel.

[Please explain]

[Either explain or apologize, but they're just keeping their mouths shut lol]

[If they used him like this in the editing, they should have given proper follow-up measures. Protecting minors is a given]

[Why was he a manager instead of an idol...]

[↳Blocking the path of such a talented trainee is the end]

PD Park Kyung-seok had assigned a junior to write the explanation and apology and was smoking one cigarette after another. He planned to wait until the controversy died down, as the buzz from variety shows doesn't last long.

Still, it was painful to feel pressure from all sides. It was already two years ago, and now he had to suffer mental stress over it.

He was considering quitting everything and going into hiding somewhere.

PDs have pride, and they wouldn't have given in to Jung Haewon's request for editing. The editing rights are solely the PD's. So, if KQS were to confront VMC head-on...

The VMC publicity team also seemed to have not anticipated such a counterattack. They thought the KQS survival show would just fail, and VMC could easily bash it. Emphasizing that VMC was the original survival show master would have been enough to sway public opinion. People usually go for the original. They thought it would continue that way.

But now, VMC was the one being criticized. Park Kyung-seok PD was only hoping that the sky wouldn't help The Rising's ratings rise.

After receiving the details of the third mission from MII, a subsidiary of VMC, he finally couldn't hold back his frustration.

"Damn kids!"

[The third mission is a unit mission, the theme is 'Trauma']

KQS had no intention of ending the controversy here.