Chapter 126
There was a section in the choreography where I brushed past Cha Yul.
As usual, I adjusted my position, and at that moment, a light shone from Cha Yul’s eyes.
….
Roughly interpreted, it would be something like, “Why are you suddenly so good?”
Or maybe, “I want to steal your vocal cords right now!”
It was overwhelming, but I needed to focus… for now.
Even though my voice was similar, it was slightly different.
I had to stay sharp to adapt.
Only now did I understand what the fluffy ball meant.
-It’s a bit of a difficult solution… but since you are a professional idol, born to be an idol, you can definitely do it, Baek Nokha.
So this was what it was.
***
Meanwhile, there was a viewer watching the stage.
It was Deputy Kim.
Her favorite was Kim Geum, but Deputy Kim had grown fond of the entire Steel Blue group.
That’s why when Yoon Cheong’s stage started, she tensed up without realizing it.
She knew that Yoon Cheong’s vocal condition had been precarious lately.
‘I just want to see Geum as long as possible…! Please don’t get eliminated…!’
That was her wish.
But then.
My heart that fills up
Today too, Full Moon
What a surprise.
It was a huge hit.
‘Crazy, crazy, crazy! Why is her vocal condition so perfect today?’
Moreover, her voice had a slightly different feel to it.
Usually, it was powerful and clear.
Today, it was something like a nightingale’s, simply beautiful.
How could one person’s voice change the atmosphere so subtly?
‘She’s been sticking close to Cha Yul, did she give her some secret training?’
Give it to Kim Geum too. Secret training, please.
Deputy Kim swallowed her affectionate tears and focused back on the stage.
Don’t shrink away
Don’t grow distant
Stay frozen in the form of love
You’re my moonshine
It was Kim Ryeo-yu’s part again.
She was the center and main vocalist this time.
She sure had a lot of parts.
Deputy Kim furrowed her brow slightly.
If you just listen, it sounded like a fantastic live performance.
But was this all LMR?
If Kim Ryeo-yu hadn’t missed the lip-sync in the early part, everyone would have been completely fooled.
Your memories follow me everywhere
You’re shrinking
But your memories grow
Sae-ah was truly stunningly beautiful.
Her experienced expressions were certainly captivating.
Fans of Kim Ryeo-yu claimed she used her expressions well, but Deputy Kim didn’t think so at all.
Whether it was a bright song or a sad song, she always made the same expressions to look pretty, how could the stage be interesting?
Lost in thought, the song reached its climax, and the group chorus came out again.
You became my moon
But I’ll become your star
With small but unchanging love
I’ll guard your side
You’re my moonshine
You’re my moonshine
They were all singing together.
Kim Ryeo-yu was clearly the main vocalist.
‘Is it real that only Yoon-bl’s voice stands out?’
Her powerful voice even surpassed Cha Yul’s divine volume.
It wasn’t just about singing loudly.
Rather, it felt like she was adjusting her volume to consider the other members.
Yet her voice overpowered everything.
‘What’s up with her voice today? And why is she singing so well today?’
I knew she always sang well, but was she ever this good?
I felt proud of our leader, but I was also genuinely surprised and bewildered.
Deputy Kim cautiously checked the reactions on social media.
★
“OMG, Yoon-bl is totally killing it today.”
“Did Blida eat something special today? It feels like she came with a solo buff.”
“God Gi, take it easy. My knees are already shattered.”
“Actually, LMR was Kim Ryeo-yu’s big picture.”
“Kim Ryeo-yu: Sorry, I used LMR to draw attention to Yoon Cheong’s vocal prowess.”
└”Right, this is definitely it.”
Sure enough, everyone seemed to think similarly to Deputy Kim.
The reactions in communities, mostly frequented by non-fans, were almost identical.
“Isn’t that Yoon Cheong, the one with the awesome voice right now?”
“That’s the rookie main vocalist from Colors, right?”
“Did she always sing this well? Her voice is really nice.”
“Fans are all surprised, lol.”
“Her tone is pretty, but she’s really good too.”
“My ears feel wide open; she might be among the top active idols.”
└”Don’t say things like that, it will draw aggro (passing fan).”
“Doesn’t it feel like Yoon Cheong intentionally changed her vocal tone to show it’s live?”
“It’s like she deliberately altered her tone slightly to prove it was live.”
“Wow, this is really convincing.”
This is it.
This is it, hahaha.
Oh, no wonder it felt a bit different from usual and so much better.
If this is true, isn’t Yoon Cheong a genius idol?
Where do those Color punks keep finding these people? Hong Yeonseo must really be lucky…
└Yeah, lucky or not, she doesn’t have the personality to deserve it––
└└Don’t just talk about her personality. She doesn’t have the skills either.
Following the chorus, other members’ parts came out.
But Deputy Kim’s mind was completely filled with Yoon Cheong.
And it wasn’t just Deputy Kim.
***
Outside the studio, opinions were split.
There was the controversy over Kim Ryeo-yu’s LMR and the madness over Yoon Cheong’s live performance.
So, what was it like inside the studio?
“Today on <Top of Idol>, the return of idols aiming for the top. I’m MC Shin Yuhwa. The stages of five teams have successfully ended. I was really surprised. How could members who have never performed together show such incredible chemistry?”
Chemistry, my foot.
The forced business smile almost cracked.
As soon as the time limit ended, I instinctively touched my throat, which felt like it was dying.
That the ‘solution’ prepared by the fluffy ball was Yoon Cheong’s voice.
I really hadn’t expected it.
Luckily, the stage ended safely.
If I had been any less focused, I might have failed to adapt to the voice and made a mistake.
It was such a relief that I could come down without any errors.
I was really surprised.
I didn’t expect Yoon Cheong’s voice to be so similar to mine.
Because Yoon Cheong’s active period was short, I didn’t realize it, did I?
If I think about it, Yoon Cheong and I seem to have many similarities….
Or not.
I couldn’t be sure of anything. I still didn’t know what was what.
…Anyway.
Although the problem was roughly solved, my mind started filling with even bigger questions.
What was the fluffy ball so busy with?
And how could it lend me Yoon Cheong’s throat and voice?
Why hadn’t it used that method sooner, and only now?
What was the fluffy ball’s true identity?
“But sadly, we have to judge these perfect stages. Because this is <Top of Idol>.”
Before I could ponder further, the recording continued.
I had no choice but to put my questions aside and look up.
Shin Yuhwa gave us a fake smile.
“As a result of combining the pre-public vote and the rival vote, the team with the highest score is finally selected as the worst team for the second mission. First, we will announce the pre-public vote results that you’ve been waiting for.”
1st place
Team
40 points
2nd place
Team <Come Here>
30 points
…
As the scores were announced, the crowd buzzed.
Because we were picked as 1st place.
Our team, which was considered to have all the aces.
‘But to reveal the final result, and find out we’re the worst team?’ was the look in their eyes.
Of course.
From the start, the worst team wasn’t about the number of fans but the number of antis.
Among these, who had the most antis by far?
I looked at Kim Ryeo-yu.
She pretended to be calm, but her fingertips were trembling.
“Next, we will announce the results of the worst stage vote by 20 idols who directly watched the stage here. Let me tell you a secret. It was really close.”
It was close?
All the idols’ faces tensed.
“As a result of the 20 votes… The difference between 1st and 2nd place was only one vote.”
Shin Yuhwa said, looking at the large electronic display.
“I will reveal the number of votes each team received for the second mission rival vote worst stage. The team names will be kept anonymous for now.”
1st place: 7 votes
2nd place: 6 votes
3rd place: 3 votes
Tied for 4th place: 2 votes
Following that, the tied 4th place and 3rd place teams were announced first.
The tied 4th place teams included Seo Baek-young and Ryu Bo-ra.
Yeon Juhong was in the 3rd place team.
Now, either Kim Geum’s team or my team was the worst 1st place.
Kim Geum, sitting opposite, was trembling with anxiety.
It was understandable because Kim Geum’s team….
Kim Geum did really well.
The problem was that the rest of her team members couldn’t handle the song well.
There were two members from MaxBurning and one from Sugar Dream, but the Sugar Dream member was shaky with the pitch.
The two from MaxBurning, trying out a cute and lively concept for the first time, couldn’t adjust to their own image at all.
Their skills weren’t bad, but they were hotly tanned girls singing a cutesy song, so they felt awkward and couldn’t manage their expressions.
I liked it….
Actually, the happiest was Kim Geum.
She was thrilled to perform with the cool unnie.
“Now, I will announce the worst stage that disappointed the rivals the most.”
The moment Shin Yuhwa pointed to the electronic display.
The screen changed.
Worst Stage
Team
1st place (7 votes)
The four of us appeared.
[Lina: Actually, for me, this stage was both the best and the worst.]
Then, the interviews with the participants appeared on the electronic display.
[Seonjin: Maybe it’s because it was the team I was most looking forward to. The disappointment was rather… significant.]
[Benny: Hmm…. It was a team that could have done well even if they performed all live. Why did they make such a safe choice? I wondered if something happened.]
[Tishi: Yoon Cheong was truly a rediscovery. I thought, these days, rookies are scary.]
[Cora: I guess the expectations were different because there were two senior members with a lot of experience. And the other two were such rookies, so there must have been a lot of pressure. I understand.]
In fact, the reaction on-site was much colder than in the community.
Even those comments were heavily sugar-coated.
Why?
Because on the broadcast, it would be well-covered with post-editing and LMR, but on the live stage?
Kim Ryeo-yu’s LMR did not play properly.