The woman, who came as a spectator to the program at the request of her friend, managed to find a seat in the middle of the box with a good view.

"Still, I feel like it's a bit awkward."

When the young woman felt awkward because it was the first time she had attended a show alone, the person sitting next to her spoke to her.

-Who have you come to see?

-Eh? Ah... to Park MoonDae.

-Oh, ok.

The girl next to her, who was holding a small slogan that said "Kim RaeBin" in one hand, stared at her and then turned her head to look at her phone.

-...

That made her feel terribly bad.

Feeling that she was wasting her time and energy, the young woman began to watch the first performance in a sullen state.

-The first performance is from... Idol group Rolling Couple's song "Fingerprint"!

Along with the strong performance of the MC, the original performance of Rolling Couple, a mixed idol group that flopped after two music releases, was briefly projected on the screen.

That brief performance was shown under the guise of "considering the public who is not familiar with the song because it is a hidden masterpiece" and "respecting the original composer."

However, the real reason it was done was to contrast the old performance of the forgotten original idol group and the performance of the current contestants.

-And the contestants who will be performing this song are... Ha IlJoon, Ji TaeWoo, Lee SeJin, Seon AhHyun, Choi NaHoon, Seok HeeGang, and Choi WonGil~ Team Gigantik! Please come forward!

The screen showing the performance of the original song was suddenly turned off and the profile photos of the contestants filled it back in one by one according to the MC's call.

Then the screen went blank and the lights lit up the stage.

I feel like I'm holding your hands~

SeJin's smiling face was shown on the screen.

Tadada~

And with the fast-paced electro house music, a splendid group dance unfolded on stage.

"Wow..."

Unlike watching the performance through a screen, watching the performance live on stage was much more powerful. It was very shocking for that young woman who saw a live performance of an idol group for the first time.

"Why did it never occur to me to also go to idol group concerts instead of just going to ballad singer concerts before?"

She regretted that, but watching her perform in front of her made her happy and she immersed herself in it.

-Thank you very much!

She applauded the contestants as they left the stage, she was completely emotional.

"I didn't know this would be so much fun."

It was tedious to wait for the preparation time for the next performance in the middle of the stage, but it was a different taste from watching celebrity performances on broadcast media such as TVs, phones, etc.

What was disappointing was that the skills of the team were uneven depending on the participants.

"This team... is a bit bad."

The second team was disappointing, but the third and fourth were pretty fun.

Since she had never done what she called 'fangirling', she only felt sensations rather than a detailed appreciation of each performance. Until that moment, the only team that had impressed her was the first to show up, that much was clear to her.

"They told us that we should vote for the top two teams when all the presentations are over and we leave, right?"

She had decided to vote for the first team and she continued to look at the stage. The following teams had her own concepts and were fun, but there weren't any that impressed her as much or more than the first one.

"Uhm, I feel a bit tired."

In fact, she felt that the following performances were inferior to the first ones she saw. After watching a series of unknown songs, the freshness she felt at first disappeared and she began to get bored.

Also, her friend's favorite contestant had yet to show up.

"Will she be on the last team?"

Resisting the urge to turn on her phone and stop watching the presentations, she forced herself to focus on the next team.

–The next song is... "Burning like the sun" by the band Sun Island!

And on the screen appeared a video that seemed to have been from a music program about ten years ago.

"Oh, that song."

It was a happy song that she heard when she went to a baseball stadium with a friend who liked the sport.

"So that was the original name of that song..."

She thought that she might not be able to feel the same emotion that she felt in the ballpark because she would be difficult to sing, since she had a lot of high notes.

The original singer's voice that appeared on the screen stopped being heard and the MC continued.

-And the contestants who will be performing this song are as follows! Ryu CheongWoo, Lee Sejin, Kim YuJun, Park MoonDae, Yoo JiHo, Kim RaeBin, and Cha YooJin!

"Did he say "Park MoonDae"?"

She looked back at the screen in a hurry to see the profile pictures of the participants.

"Oh, they look familiar."

Since that team had so many popular contestants, the production ordered that they be the last team to perform.

She settled into her seat with high expectations. The cheers from the audience were several times bigger than before.

"Oh God, they're so popular."

-Yes, they are the "Heroes" team~! Come forward!

Before she thought the name was in bad taste, the stage went completely dark, even the screen seemed to have been turned off.

The moment a blue light was lit on the stage, a contestant was revealed who was holding his index finger pointing upwards like a gun.

He was wearing a black jumpsuit with white patterns, similar to a racing suit, which absorbed the intense blue light. The lighting also made it noticeable that the hand pointing up was wearing a red glove.

Then, a deep voice was heard.

Ya, ya...

In an instant, the same words flashed on the screen.

Kiiiiiik!

The speakers emitted a very powerful bass sound and all the lights on the stage lit up brightly, as if they were going to explode. At that moment, the seven boys began to dance in unison.

-...!

They performed a complex choreography in which they quickly bent their limbs and hit the ground hard.

They were all dressed in black jumpsuits with different printed patterns.

Cha YooJin, located in the center of the group, began to sing.

My heart is burning

Bright as the sun

The participant behind him continued to sing.

It's far away, up in the sky

I'll have to fly high to catch it

Instead of the original accompaniment where the typical band sound flowed, a heavy and intense dubstep sound was applied, leaving only a rock feel.

WOB, WOB, WOB, WEEEB~~!

BRMMMM~~!

And the boys danced again, they made a few steps as if they were practicing martial arts.

The young woman stared at the stage, her mouth agape. The intense steps of the choreography caught her attention, they were big and precise movements without small or soft movements.

The composition of the musical arrangements, which could seem monotonous and excessive, had just gained strength thanks to the choreography.

What can save the world

It's a burning passion of ecstasy

Ryu CheongWoo, who was wearing a navy blue sports headband, sang the pre-chorus, and the moment she thought there was some weird and wonderful choreography, the chorus broke out.

I will fly away! I'll go to the end~

Until the day comes when it shines like the sun!

The hair color of the contestant, who stood in the center and sang so sharply the high notes of the chorus, was bright blonde. He was wearing a yellow choker that matched his hair.

Although he was singing a long high note, the participant was smiling.

"Amazing."

Was that boy MoonDae? The young woman covered her mouth, she was very impressed.

"B-but he didn't look so good in the pictures...!"

He didn't look so handsome in the photo her photographer friend had shown her! Good and beautiful boys are supposed to be photographed in all their glory, just as she was seeing him at that very moment!!

Seeing him like this, in front of her, destroyed the low expectations that she had before about him. He was amazing, it was usually very difficult for her to like someone so quickly.

"I guess I have similar taste to her...!"

As she understood her situation, the presentation changed to a new phase.

MoonDae relinquished his position in the center to Kim RaeBin, who wore purple goggles that hung from his neck and brushed against his collarbones.

"Eh?"

In the original song, there was a part where the high notes of the chorus were to continue but a rap was done instead; however, in this adaptation, the remaining chorus melody did not disappear.

Instead, the chorus was recorded as a sample and added a touch of synth, giving a powerful sound to the dubstep accompaniment currently in vogue. So, with the rap on top, the previous high note didn't die. She felt more comfortable listening.

Also, the lyrics for that part were exactly the same as the original lyrics, the only difference from the rap was that some parts were translated into English to make it sound more modern.

Right now, I'm flying~!

Now, I'm burning like the sun!

"Wow..."

The woman, who barely remembered the original song, felt that the adaptation she was seeing and hearing was definitely better than the original song, she was also sure that the arrangement was much better than the other teams.

And, above all, the setting was wonderful.

When the final chorus came, she was so delighted that she inadvertently leaned towards the stage.

I will fly away! I'll go to the end~

This time, Park MoonDae and Kim RaeBin sang the chorus exchanging short phrases, as if one asked and the other answered.

The boys did each step of the choreography in sync that already seemed as if they were all one body, they seemed to form a wave of the sea rising strongly.

Under the blue and purple lights that fell on them and their black jumpsuits, the feeling that these boys had stepped out of superhero comics was doubled.

And of course, the high note in the last chorus was not lacking.

I will save your world!

"Haaa."

She almost let out a loud gasp.

Park MoonDae, who raised his head under the bright white light, seemed to be able to save the world at any moment.

No, it was clear that he was saving himself...!

On stage, right at the last part of the choreography, Cha YooJin jumped and somersaulted in the air, landing on the stage floor like a scene from an action movie.

It was something to be seen.

It was a symbolic superhero landing.

In the musical accompaniment he resounded the narration of an announcement that had some flaws.

The guys on stage slowly turned around and gave their thumbs up at the same time the song ended.

At that moment, the young woman realized for the first time that there was a tremendous noise around her.

-Aaaaah!!

-AAAAAAAH!!!

All kinds of cheers and shouts, which she subconsciously ignored as she focused on the performance, rang in her ears. Well, the most surprising thing was that she was also screaming.

-Incredible!! That was so amazing!!

The person next to her, who spoke to her before she started the competition, was screaming and seemed about to jump out of her seat. The slogan in her hand was already wrinkled and she was swaying from side to side, so she couldn't fulfill her original role at all.

On the other hand, in her mind, she remembered every scene when Park MoonDae smiled, when Park MoonDae sang the difficult high notes, and also when Park MoonDae turned around and gave her a thumbs up.

As she concentrated on not forgetting any moment of MoonDae, she made a firm decision.

"Vote! I have to vote for him!"

And above all, she was convinced of something.

"First place! They will definitely be in first place!"

This team would be the winner!

* * *

After the performances were over, the qualifying announcement began immediately in front of the empty audience seats that had already been cleared out.

With each team lined up, the MC announced the following ranking.

-Third place goes to the "Heroes" team who re-enacted "Burning Like the Sun"!

-What?

-No. That's absurd.

As soon as the MC finished the third place announcement, the auditorium filled with murmurs from all sides.

I looked at the auditorium screen with cold eyes.

"I knew this would happen."