Chapter 126. My Best Effort
More teams than expected appear on music broadcasts.
That’s because they need to fill over an hour of airtime with only 4-minute performances.
So, sometimes even veteran groups find themselves asking, ‘Who are they?’ when an unfamiliar team opens the show.
And when popular teams are clustered together, there’s the occasional surprise of ‘Are they up already?’
As a result, fewer and fewer dedicated viewers watch the entire live broadcast from start to finish these days.
Why?
Because it’s too boring!
‘Clips will be uploaded on iTube anyway, so I’ll just watch those… or I’ll just tune in briefly when my favorites appear.’
And there were those who endured that boredom solely out of love.
They were the fandoms of the performers who participated in the live broadcast.
They had already watched their idols’ pre-recorded performances, screamed their lungs out while chanting the fanchants until their voices were hoarse, and used up all their energy since the early morning. They wanted to go home but stayed until the end, hoping to catch another glimpse of their idols.
Kang Hajin’s target today was precisely them.
Bye, Oh Bye!
Bye, Oh Good Bye!
Yes, we’ve finally reached our end.
Dan Haru’s clear high notes resonated throughout the studio.
Although the broadcast aired the pre-recorded footage, the Sad Ending team did everything ‘properly’ from start to finish.
From the outfit change between the first and second verses,
to the intense dance break,
they didn’t skip even a single chorus, ad-lib, or interjection.
At the end of that extraordinary day, we,
At the end of all the time that had already passed, we,
It was a vocal range that could be sung while standing still, but Hajin deliberately added a slight bend in his posture, incorporating more action. That way, it would look more ‘real.’
This is how we,
This is really how we’re parting ways
The end of our love
After Hajin’s strength, ’emotion,’ exploded forth, Seo Taehyun’s smooth and graceful dance lines once again captured everyone’s attention.
Bye, Oh Bye!
Bye, Oh Good Bye!
Seo Taehyun, now completely warmed up, brought his fingertips to his lips with a wistful expression. It was a different move from the original choreography, which involved a slight kiss at the end of the tie.
Yes, we’ve finally reached our end.
Like sending a farewell, Taehyun gave a brief hand kiss towards the audience and smiled sweetly as he waved a small hand at the camera. This was an ending Hajin had suggested just before they went on stage.
– Who knows if there are people here today who are like me?
– Like you, hyung?
– The person who chose you back during Boy’s World.
Hello? Nice to meet you again.
With those feelings in mind, Taehyun smiled softly. Watching that, Hajin secretly smiled to himself as if proud.
Hmm― hmmm―
With Haru’s humming, the song came to an end.
As Haru’s pre-recorded closing scene aired, the Sad Ending team quickly stood up and got into formation. Then, in unison with Hajin’s cue, they greeted loudly.
“Thank you! We’ve been Miro Maze!”
The fans in the audience felt like they were waking up from a dream.
Oh, right. This was pre-recorded, wasn’t it?
This won’t be aired, will it?
As they watched the boys descend from the stage, someone thought.
‘…Now I get why they’re so popular these days.’
What was that guy’s name again? He looked pretty good.
They sure can sing well. Idols really do need to have talent after all.
The ripple of thoughts that had begun to stir showed no sign of stopping, only growing larger and larger.
“All right, next team, please get on stage~”
The next team, who had also done a pre-recording, took the stage.
Their fans screamed in excitement and waved their light sticks, but the intense stage of Miro Maze lingered in a corner of their minds.
‘Since there’s nothing else to watch on the way home, maybe I should check out those guys’ survival show?’
And everyone here knew that this was just the beginning.
* * *
[System Alert: The world of idols is quite ruthless.]
[System Alert: The system is adjusting its glasses as if it’s very intrigued….]
‘What the heck are you talking about?’
On their way back to the waiting room after safely finishing their stage.
Hajin looked at Thirteen, who appeared out of nowhere wearing glasses, with a puzzled expression.
[System Alert: The heart of a fan is indeed as fickle as a reed.]
[System Alert: Today they might cheer for this team, tomorrow they might take an interest in that team, and the day after that, they might curse the team they supported yesterday….]
Thirteen must have felt something after experiencing various incidents with Hajin.
Hajin quietly watched as Thirteen rambled on.
[System Alert: What exactly is a ‘fan’?]
[System Alert: A being that can be infinitely loving yet infinitely cold at the same time.]
[System Alert: Humans really do seem to be multidimensional beings.]
‘Why did you suddenly start thinking about that?’
[System Alert: I was too curious, so I listened to what the fans in the audience were saying.]
Thirteen had been quiet earlier, but it seemed like he had been off to eavesdrop on the audience’s reactions. Curious about what people thought as well, I urged him to continue.
‘And?’
[System Alert: They were sharing more diverse opinions than I expected.]
[System Alert: Interestingly, some people were even criticizing the idols they supported.]
[System Alert: Well… some were saying things like their idols were already slacking off because they had gotten too big-headed.]
Hajin picked up a water bottle and fell into thought at Thirteen’s words.
‘Well. Like you said, people are multidimensional.’
A fan’s heart.
Who could possibly define that?
Some would give harsh criticism out of deep affection, while others would criticize even the smallest things.
Even a switch that started with love, if it crossed the line for even a moment, would just turn into violence,
and those who once pushed the hardest could sometimes become the thickest and most solid shields.
‘What’s important is that there’s no one else who recognizes our best efforts as much as the fans do.’
So if those Believer guys pulled themselves together and gave their all in today’s performance, the fan exodus Hajin had been expecting might not happen after all.
On the other hand, those who became interested in Miro Maze after today’s stage might turn their backs at any moment if they found the trainees’ future appearances even slightly disappointing.
‘So what else can we do? Just… do our best.’
And today.
Hajin’s best effort still wasn’t over.
“Hey guys, you memorized the lyrics, right?”
“I’m memorizing them right now!”
“I’ve been listening to this every day lately, so I already know it by heart!”
“Good, good. Let’s make the most of our efforts today and go home. Once we get back, we’ll have to face another brutal survival round, won’t we?”
“Ah, hyuuung…”
“I just managed to forget about that….”
Haru, Jaeyoung, and even Jaiden looked dejected, so Hajin gave them a gentle pat before turning to look at Yugeon and Taehyun, who were sitting on the sofa.
“Yugeon, are you a scissor machine or something?”
“Try helping younger siblings with their school assignments for years. You either get good at cutting or you don’t.”
“…That’s unfair.”
“…Why are you being like this?”
Whether Taehyun was flustered or not by Yugeon’s sudden remark about his family, Hajin approached them and glanced at the scissors and paper in Yugeon’s hand.
“Need some help?”
“No, thanks. You’re terrible at cutting.”
“Not… that terrible.”
“You’re incredibly, unbelievably, ridiculously bad at it.”
“……”
“Just take Taehyun and stick these on.”
Yugeon pointed to the letter stickers he had neatly cut out. Hajin had previously attempted to cut them once, only to have Yugeon redo the cuts twice.
Knowing his poor crafting skills well, Hajin silently squatted down on the floor with Taehyun.
“Guys, you really don’t have to go this far.”
Suho watched them, unsure whether to laugh or stop them, as he folded his arms. But the trainees, already immersed in their own world, heard nothing.
Instead of stopping them, Suho took out his phone to capture the moment. Then, he sent the photo directly to Taeil, who was filming overseas.
<Taeil-ah. The kids are doing this to celebrate your 1st place win. What are you going to do? You guys have to win 1st place today, no matter what.>
It wasn’t long before Taeil’s reply arrived.
<Taeil ‖ ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ They’re so cute>
<Taeil ‖ Of course, we’re going to be first place, hyung>
<Taeil ‖ Don’t you trust our IDEA?>
“…Honestly, whether it’s this guy or that guy.”
How did only these types of people gather at Miro?
These relentless idol lives.
Thinking that, Suho pulled out his phone again to search for a restaurant to treat the kids to dinner after the recording.
* * *
“Who will be the owner of the trophy for the fourth week of May?”
“Please show us today’s final results!”
The time had finally come to announce the 1st place candidate.
All the
performers of the day were gathered on stage, with Believer and the Sad Ending team standing on either side of the MC.
A screen appeared, comparing their scores. On one side was Believer’s current stage, while on the other side was Utopia’s “I’ll be there” music video.
‘There’s no need to show our faces before the 1st place announcement.’
As the MC’s leading comments continued, the points based on the evaluation criteria were revealed one by one.
“First, we reveal the digital music scores.”
“Next, the album sales scores.”
The rapidly spinning numbers were enough to make anyone nervous.
Utopia was overwhelmingly high in digital scores, but Believer had the upper hand in album sales, making it impossible to predict the outcome until the end.
“Hyung, who do you think will win 1st place?”
Haru, who was standing next to him, asked softly while covering his mouth with his hand. Hajin, who had been calmly watching the scores, pondered for a moment.
“Well… I’m not sure.”
The pre-vote scores and broadcast points were also revealed. Surprisingly, Utopia’s broadcast score was quite high, probably due to Miro Maze MC Seo Taeil and Cheong Hansol, who had appeared since episode three.
Covering his mouth with his hand as well, Hajin whispered to Haru.
“Isn’t it likely to be Utopia sunbaenim?”
Finally, the total score, including real-time voting, was revealed.
“Yes, congratulations to Utopia!”
“This trophy will be delivered to the Sad Ending team of Miro Maze, who are here with us today, as a proxy.”
“Gasp!”
Timed perfectly with the announcement of 1st place, Haru covered his mouth with both hands in surprise. Hajin, who had expected it, clapped with a delighted expression.
The MC handed the trophy and microphone to Seo Taehyun, who had been deliberately placed near the center. The expressions on the faces of the Believer seniors (bastards) watching from the other side were priceless.
‘Did you think Seo Taehyun’s fans would just sit quietly today?’
They were the fans who had regretted not being able to debut him in Boy’s World.
There was no way they would just stand by and watch Taehyun quietly clap from the back and leave even on a music broadcast stage.
Moreover, with the challenge against Believer reigniting the subtle rivalry, this was now not just Believer vs. Utopia but also Believer vs. Miro Maze.
‘And there were probably Destiny fans who voted for Utopia thinking we might win on their behalf.’
There was no way the Believer fanbase, already running out of steam from Boy’s World, could defeat the now-flaming Utopia and the recent idol scene’s most powerful Destiny fans.
Maybe if they hadn’t paid attention to the pre-vote and lost the 1st place candidate spot to Shintae-pal, but once they were nominated, the 1st place was already a foregone conclusion.
Hajin quickly shifted his gaze from the Believer guys, who couldn’t even manage their expressions, and grabbed the microphone handed to him.
At the same time, the other trainees also picked up the paper they had hidden under the floor earlier.
<Love between Utopia and IDEA… It might be forever☆>
<Congratulations on Utopia’s 13th Anniversary and 1st Place Fan Song Award>
<We respect you, seniors. We love you, teachers.>
It was the crazy neon placard that Yugeon had been cutting up since the challenge, and Hajin and Taehyun had painstakingly assembled.
With that insane neon placard as a backdrop, Hajin began to speak.
“Yes, hello. I’m Kang Hajin, appearing on Miro Maze. It’s an honor and a deep emotion to be able to celebrate Utopia sunbaenim’s 1st place win today.”
Hajin’s speech skills, which always made it hard to believe he was a trainee, shone brightly.
Without hesitation, he maintained eye contact with the camera and swiftly continued.
“We don’t have much time, so I’ll just read this quickly. I was asked to do this.”
Then, Hajin pulled out his phone, which he had prepared before coming on stage, and started reading something with his gentle voice.
“For 13 years, you have tirelessly created our Utopia, IDEA. Hello? Once again, you’ve managed to gift us with a miracle today.”
It was none other than a fresh message from Seo Taeil that had crossed a 13-hour time difference!