Chapter 75
Actually, it was as if nothing special was going on. As if it was natural for us to debut.
But inside, it wasn’t like that.
I felt anxious, and also empty.
We have to be number one.
But, can we really be number one?
It seemed like we could debut.
But the mission given to me wasn’t just about debuting.
[Debut as number one on the agency’s survival program ‘Make a New Color’]
They sure had a lot of expectations.
But I had no choice but to follow.
In the first place, I never had a choice.
Neither as Baek Nokha, nor as Yoon Cheong.
So I had to clear my mind and charge forward.
But.
I couldn’t charge forward with nothing.
I had to charge forward with my weapon.
Then what was my weapon?
The weapon that would make me win this fight that I was destined to lose.
It seemed like I had been thinking and thinking about it since the beginning of Menucal.
At first, I thought I just had to somehow defeat Kim Ryeo-yu.
Because, from the beginning, Mnet and Colors only had one girl they were desperately trying to debut, Kim Ryeo-yu.
So, if I could just bring down the girl who received the privilege of narrative and screen time.
I thought I would win.
But as time went by, I started to think that wasn’t the case.
The problem wasn’t just Kim Ryeo-yu.
There were Kim Geum, Seo Baek-young, Ryu Bo-ra, Yeon Juhong, Lee Juseon… and five other trainees.
My allies could also be the reason for my mission failure.
I realized that I couldn’t unfairly defeat these girls who were fair and square.
So the remaining method was.
“Ultimately, it returns to the essence.”
It was to show them through the stage.
“Sigh.”
My fate.
***
Now, the only thing left was to show our value as idols.
Mnet and Colors had made the scales of Kim Ryeo-yu and Yoon Cheong as balanced as possible.
Now that the table had turned, Yoon Cheong had a significant advantage, but Kim Ryeo-yu’s core fans couldn’t be ignored.
And there were still people who hadn’t completely shaken off their discomfort about Yoon Cheong.
They knew in their heads that Yoon Cheong was the victim.
They also knew that Kim Ryeo-yu, whom they had praised so much, was the perpetrator.
But the moment they acknowledged that, they themselves would become perpetrators.
So some of the people who had sided with Kim Ryeo-yu pretended not to know the truth until the end.
Because they didn’t want to admit their mistake.
I had to draw those people’s votes too.
I had to turn those people’s eyes too.
Only, through the stage.
[The next stage is Team Desperate’s. It’s a stage where the unique personalities of the six trainees, Seo Baek-young, Yoon Cheong, Kim Geum, Ryu Bo-ra, Lee Juseon, and Yeon Juhong, shine one by one. Now, let’s watch together!]
After Do Hee-young’s brief introduction.
Before the actual stage began, a practice video of Team Desperate started playing.
[Baek-young: I divided the positions into six. Center and Sub Vocal 1. Main Vocal. Rapper 1. Sub Vocal 2, Sub Vocal 3. Sub Vocal 4. If you think a position suits you, write your name on it. For your information, Sub Vocal 2, 3, and 4 have the same amount of screen time. Think about which part can highlight your tone and charm and write it down.]
[Bo-ra: But it’s better to discuss the center, right? Everyone would want to be the center.]
[Baek-young: Why? Do you want to be the center, Bo-ra?]
[Bo-ra: No, it’s not like that.]
[Geum: Then you do it.]
[Juhong: I agree! The center should dominate with their face first!]
[Juseon: I have no complaints. If it’s Bo-ra, I won’t feel bad about yielding.]
[Bo-ra: …What do you think, Cheong unnie?]
[Cheong: I’m going to be the main vocal.]
[Bo-ra: I asked for nothing.]
The positions written on the whiteboard were as follows.
Center and Sub Vocal 1: Ryu Bo-ra
Main Vocal: Yoon Cheong
Rapper 1: Kim Geum
Sub Vocal 2 and Main Dancer: Seo Baek-young
Sub Vocal 3: Lee Juseon
Sub Vocal 4: Yeon Juhong
How they decided the positions and the concept.
[Geum: Yeon Juhong.]
[Juhong: Yes!?]
[Geum: Roll.]
[Juhong: Will you roll with me?! Then I’ll roll!]
[Geum: Not me, roll with Lee Juseon.]
[Juseon: Are you trying to sell me off?]
And how they practiced.
At first, fans were tense seeing their constant bickering.
The previous team, Winners, had never raised their voices even once, everything had gone very quietly.
But it was also dull.
So it wasn’t fun to watch.
It strongly felt like a team that was temporarily gathered.
But what about Team Desperate?
The kids are kinda cute though.
Maybe because they’re actually close friends, they really seem like a team.
They should just debut like this, right?
Ahㅠㅠㅠㅠ It feels like my shattered mental state is being healed by these kids.
Damn those Mnet bastards for doing this with such lovely kids…
└ Include those Colors bastards too
Honestly, they do get compared to the previous team… lol
└ So true, we were all tiptoeing around the previous team~
You can really see how close and fond they are of each other, it warms my heart…
Ah, Cheong-Hong stocks are skyrocketing again today^_^ Try the Two Cats combination
Geum-Ja stocks are sailing smoothly^^ How delicious is the Tiger-Deer chemistry?
└ Who’s Geum-Ja???
└└ Kim Geum, Ryu Bo-raㅋㅋㅋ ‘Bo-ra’ in Chinese character is ‘Ja’ 紫
└└└ Shut up, Geum-Ju is the real deal
But Team Desperate is a bit tricky
You can only vote for five people…
Since there are six of them, I don’t know who to leave out when votingㅠ
That’s my only concern too… I want to vote for all sixㅠㅠㅠ
Maybe I should leave out Kim Geum since she’s likely to debut anywayㅠㅠㅠ
└ Absolutely not, there’s no one safe. Have you ever seen an audition program before?
★
Mnet is so cruel, showing us the chemistry of six and making us vote for five. Do you want us to die, human? Change the rules immediately.
Ah, I know it’s a deadly path, but damn, I’m walking it again…
@: Why is she like that?
@@: Leave her alone, Menucal has a six-member lineup
My heart is being destroyed while I ship Baek-Cheong-Geum-Ja-Hong-Ju
Unintentionally, the six people who caused great concern for the fans.
Their hearts were gradually changing from choosing only one favorite to wanting to debut all six together.
It wasn’t a relationship forcefully created by the show, but chemistry genuinely built through mutual experiences that was moving people’s hearts.
However, all these relationships would turn to bubbles if the stage wasn’t good.
Colors fans had high standards by default.
This was because the basic skills of the senior groups were high.
Because the average and minimum standards were high, if they didn’t meet those, it was all for nothing.
Among such picky expectations.
Dive to our blue wave
If you’re ready to be swept away
The opening of the center, Ryu Bo-ra, began.
But something felt strange.
The previous team, Winners, had worn unified outfits in the same color.
However, Team Desperate was wearing different colored outfits.
Outfits that suited each of their names.
But it wasn’t that there was no sense of unity.
Even though they were all different outfits, there was a subtle unity and visual interest.
Each had their individuality, but it was clear they were the same team.
First, Ryu Bo-ra wore a simple and clear light violet dress that looked airy and elegant.
The blue water is cold
Your gaze is chilly again
I jump in with half-closed eyes
Next was Lee Juseon’s pre-chorus.
As the song’s mood suddenly brightened—
You come rushing to me
Hoo I’m a stupid mermaid
It felt like I was going to suffocate
Yeon Juhong continued that bright and clear feeling.
Yeon Juhong was wearing a trendy, kitsch, and retro-style coral outfit.
Today again, wave, wave, wave
Watch out watch out, it’s strange
For a moment, I’m being swept away again
Today again, wave, wave, wave
In your blue prank again
Save my shaking heart
Big blue wave, wave, wave
As the song’s mood continued, the chorus gathered the voices of the trainees.
But the main voice was of the main vocal, Yoon Cheong.
The hook, which repeated again, was Yoon Cheong’s solo part.
It felt stable and definitely represented the team’s voice.
While the previous trainees each showed their small waves.
Yoon Cheong felt like a huge wave surging.
But Yoon Cheong didn’t stop there and stood in the center with a slightly playful expression matching the song’s mood.
Again
again, you come like a tidal wave
I am a mermaid who can’t swim
Next was Seo Baek-young’s part.
Though it was a short part, Baek-young’s specialty was bringing out the chewiness with her unique accent.
And then came Kim Geum’s rap.
Since she had made the rap herself, Kim Geum’s voice shone especially bright.
Kim Geum standing like a tidal wave, and the five others pretending to be swept away refreshed the stage’s mood.
And Yoon Cheong’s hook continued once more, bringing the first verse to a close.
Ah, I want to explode because Team Desperate is just too cute (me).
I love that each one’s individuality is aliveㅠㅠㅠ For the first time, I can recognize and distinguish the kids; I succeeded in face recognition for the first time;
I guess they didn’t rearrange the song much? It’s the same as before…
The first verse drew mild reactions.
And then the main game began in the second verse.
The second verse started, which Kim Geum had arranged, with Yeon Juhong meddling to help.
Ryu Bo-ra acknowledged and Seo Baek-young permitted it.
Lee Juseon laughed, and Yoon Cheong’s eyes gleamed.
It was starting to catch fire.
They are freaking amazing.
They are freaking geniuses… six little geniuses.
I became someone who screams with joy at midnight.
Wow, how many high notes did Yoon Cheong hit just now? It’s so clean my house is now spotless.
I knew she could sing well but seriously; this is legendary.
At this level, she’s definitely in the top three idol vocalists right now…
The spark was starting to catch.