Why would they present a Soft & Sweet song...?

The bewildered audience then realized that this team would not cover VTIC, but another idol group that belonged to the same agency, LeTi.

It was confusing because the MC openly talked about VTIC at the beginning.

-What...

It wasn't even a very popular song, so there were angry reactions from all sides. That debut song had been almost forgotten, they could barely remember the chorus, unlike their other hit song called "POP☆CON".

In fact, even she couldn't remember the whole song clearly, but she got the camera ready for her anyway.

"What if I take a photo to show to the voters?"

She hid her camera from the security guards with a nonchalant expression so as not to attract attention, when suddenly, the stage went dark and the prelude began to play.

Wooh~ Woooooh~ Wooh~~

The gloomy melody of the modular synthesizer filled the stage.

The orchestra intro was supposed to flow with strings and piano, at least that's how the original song was and it showed the concept of purity of the female idol group when they debuted in the year 2010.

-Eh?

Her eyes widened in shock as the contestants entered the stage, dressed in white suits that had black lapels on their shoulders and from which hung a sash that appeared to be black and white. It was nothing new because it was the typical male idol uniform attire, but a strange difference was felt due to the atmosphere produced by the electronic sounds of the song arrangement.

At that moment, the contestants began their presentation.

At some point, I realized

That I'm wandering through an imperfect time

The contestant who sang the first verse clearly had a handsome face and was good at dancing. Immediately, he remembered his name.

"Was that Seon Ahhyun?"

The choreography had dance steps, smooth and graceful, but still... it felt very strange.

Inside this unattainable labyrinth of time

Save me, being stuck in it...

After he sang that part, he could tell.

"Why are you so expressionless?"

Except for the person who sang, the other participants showed no expression on their faces. Normally the trainers would scold them for not doing it, so it was very rare that they didn't do it now.

Besides...

"Wh-why do their looks look weird?"

The boys' eyes were looking at the air, not at the cameras, but when it was their turn to sing, their eyes refocused and they showed their facial expressions. Apparently their changes were intentional.

In reality, idols rarely make eye contact with the cameras by mistake. They all know to look for the cameras even though it's not their singing part, so they look for them to get the cameramen's attention and get more cuts.

...That's why it was even more strange.

It was even more chilling when another contestant who had his turn to sing, smiled and looked up with sparkling eyes, unlike his colleagues.

I gradually wither

Inside this little space

Waiting for the day when it blooms again

Come and find me.

In the MR, desperate voices were raised mixed with low-volume gloomy sounds.

The lyrics are obviously soft and sad, but due to the prelude and the musical direction, it sounded like a trap. If you hear someone cry in a closed and empty school, wouldn't you be more afraid instead of wanting to help?

The scenario unfolded with a disturbing nuance.

One step, two steps

The sound of you coming.

It's ringing at the edge of my space.

Do not hesitate, if you give me your hand

I'll be in a new world~

When they sang a phrase that contained the title of the song "A New World", the notes were so high that they made me tremble. They were notes a semitone higher than the original, although it sounded clear and crisp, it had a strange and evil feeling.

He was the greatest singer of all time and was more immersed on stage with his singing abilities.

Come to me

Come to me

It's dazzling, being with you is my

In the chorus, the same string instrument as the original song came in, but it got creepy due to the synth modulation.

Woooh~ Woooosh~

It felt more inhuman because they danced the original steps of the song that were taken from the ballet, but in a more violent way. And it was there that the photographer just noticed.

Aktober 31, October 31... It was Halloween. A night when all evil beings invade our world.

Come to me

Come to me

This is for you (forever)

It is a call that does something "non-human" to charm people!

"Ahh!"

She felt her head explode with surprise.

Of course, it wasn't the first time an idol group had used an inhuman concept; however, no one had expected such an adventurous attempt at a survival show to debut, where trainees would arrange a cover of a girl idol group's song... which originally had the complete opposite concept!

She quickly immersed herself on the stage, with no time to think "how brave are these guys" or anything like that.

As they neared the end of the song, the bridge appeared, and once again something unexpected appeared.

Suddenly, the arrangement sounded like the bridge of the song again!

Even the vocal range came back. The boy's clear voice echoed in the same high-pitched tone as that of the girl who sang that part in the original song.

Your warm touch

It wakes me up, it's beautiful

Like a spring garden

The beautiful accompaniment of the orchestra and the stage lighting, which changed color to become brighter, felt sacred.

Ooh, Ooh...

When the stage was lit up, other details could be seen. In particular, the details of the suit that the boys wore.

The cloth band that hung from their shoulders, which she simply thought was black and white, was actually white but speckled with a reddish tint that emulated the color of blood. In fact, the stains seemed to flow from their necks to their shoulders.

"That means...!"

When that image was etched in the minds of the audience, the bridge ended and the chorus of the arranged song continued.

Come to me

Come to me

It's dazzling, being with you is my

But this time, the dissonance with the orchestra calmed down. Because much of the noise gradually disappeared, the sadness of the lyrics was revealed in their songs.

The lack of expression on their faces when it wasn't their singing parts also disappeared; the dreamy feeling grew stronger than the unease. The musical composition recaptured the feeling of pop music with the concept of pure fantasy.

Come to me

Come to me

This is for you (forever)

The MR of synthesized music faded and gave way to the notes of a violin.

Unlike the original song, which ended with a balletic movement, the song ended with everyone collapsing as soon as the chorus was over.

In this way, the presentation ended with more sadness than fear, because it seemed that the narrator, who this time was not a flower fairy, but something inhuman like a ghost, was really in love with people who do have life.

-...OOOHHHHH!

When the audience came to their senses, they cheered loudly. It was a performance that stimulated the hearts of the viewers from start to finish with great impact.

They wouldn't have caused such sensations if they had done it halfway, but these contestants put in all their effort and succeeded very well.

"It really was crazy!"

Among the screaming audience, there were many who realized that the impact was possible because the skills of these contestants were above average and their appearance and style were very good.

The voices of the excited public could be heard everywhere and everything indicated that they had already made a decision.

The contestants got up from the ground, patted each other on the back a few times, then nodded and smiled at the audience.

-Thank you very much!

-T-thank you.

Although the other teams did the same, the impact of their presentation was so great that, somehow, the audience felt it was a little more beautiful.

-How cute...

The woman holding her camera was also affectionate towards them.

There was a member of that team who sang the bridge with very high notes, she was sure that she would still remember that bridge even when she got to her house. He sang the high notes so ridiculously well in the whole song and he wasn't shy about his acting and his delicate voice that sounded feminine. Also, his face was very cute.

"When it comes time to vote, I will remember his name."

She promised herself as she watched Park MoonDae leave the stage, when she suddenly realized that she had the camera in her hand.

And she was amazed.

"I got so focused on them that I forgot to use my camera...!"

It was a shame that she couldn't take a single photo, but at the same time, she felt so grateful that she could see them live without paying attention to the camera!

It was the first time she felt like this after experiencing it before with her favorite ex-idol.

Her body shuddered.

Well, it was a sign of excessive immersion in the presentation of those guys.

* * * (POV of: Moondae)

When we got off the stage, my colleagues leaned against the wall or collapsed because their legs felt weak. I also leaned against the wall and thought.

"It was more... fun than I thought"

That was strange.

Frankly, I never expected this to be fun. I only did it because if I didn't debut, I would die right away.

I had never danced or sung in front of anyone in my entire life. Much less had I ever worn makeup on my face before.

When I sang "POP☆CON", all I thought and felt was that I had to because I had to.

"I thought I'd come to my senses but... why is that enjoyable?"

Although I felt my breath escape from my throat.

"It was harder than when we practiced it."

Maybe because it was a real competition, we put all our energy into it. And maybe, the guys who came out on stage with me felt the same way and that's why they were panting exhausted.

We felt very tired, but our expressions were surprised when we heard screams so loud that they tore our ears.

-WOOOW!!

-ENCORE!! ENCOOOORE!!

We could even hear more people behind us asking for encore.

"But when we started, there weren't many people."

The result... was better than expected.

It was a standing ovation that not even the first and second place teams in the standings had received. Maybe that's why it felt amusing.

Is it a snowball effect?

-Guys... We work so hard! We did very well! Really!

Keun SeJin said as the cameraman approached us. It was obvious that he knew of the cameraman's presence, but his words sounded genuinely sincere.

Since the results were so good, it was normal for the situation to be embellished, so we began to thank each other and hug each other.

-Thanks for all your effort!

-T-thank you very much...

I should say something too.

-Thanks to you... it was fun. Thank you.

-MoonDae-ya...

-Oh my gosh, even MoonDae said it.

What are they talking about?

I'm amazed that they were so moved. Even Lee Sejin, who used to show a sad look.

-...You did it very well.

-Hy-Hyung.

-He is moved.

We all warmly look at Lee Sejin forgetting the cameraman. The atmosphere was very much like the ending of a children's manhwa.

I remembered the last practice session we had.

-Hyung, based on what you say, will we also have to show fear? Shouldn't we be strong? We don't want to look innocent!

-Right. I also think the same, but I don't think that the character we play is a murderer.

-Oh~ Tell us more!

-Since we have to interpret something, why don't we think of a fantasy creature?

-Gh-ghost...

-Ghosts?

-Yes, if we interpret-them... it can be int-interesting...

-Hahaha! We have a lot of good ideas~ Now let's vote, whoever gets the most votes will win!

-...

I remembered all the dialogues of these chatty fellows who were struggling to euphemize the concept of terror through absurd and exaggerated arguments.

I thank Keun SeJin for supporting me. The arrangement was made mainly with my ideas and theirs, obtaining in the end a public satisfied with the excellent result.

To tell the truth, I tried to reject the idea of ​​him changing it into fantastical creatures. However, I found that ghosts were more popular and accepted than murderers.

Aren't ghosts the same as killers? Of course not, if we had developed the concept of assassins, we would probably have been criticized and insulted on all social networks.

Still, I was pleased that he had done well in properly organizing fear and innocence.

And honestly... it was a lot of fun.

I was finally able to understand why there are so many people trying to become idols...

I held my breath and walked over to my teammates who were calling me to join the group hug. I shrugged, since if I didn't join in, the atmosphere wouldn't lose its warmth. It is also necessary to show teamwork before the cameras.

-I hope we can join in the next team battle.

-Oh, let's do it together next time too!

-I-it would be great.

-Sure, our teamwork was the best.

The congratulations continued until we had nothing more to say, so we moved to the waiting room to see the presentation of the opposing team.

As soon as we arrived at the TV room, the presentation of the team that would cover the song "King of the Mountains" by VTIC began.

-Oh...

These guys politely admired them, but they probably noticed.

There was a noticeable difference in the cheers from the audience.