17. Preview released
'I'm so scared that I'll be cut off too.'
I've lost the signal song center, and now I have to lose my portion.
Baek Yuri stood in front of the mirror in the practice room and stretched while looking at himself in the mirror. His insides were burning with anxiety, but his expression in the mirror looked fine.
It was thanks to the fact that he practiced controlling his expressions in any situation throughout his trainee life.
In this world, if your expression on camera is even a little dark, you'll be subject to all kinds of rumors like bullying, personality controversy, and lifeless eyes.
He had bad thoughts inside, but on the outside, he was calm.
'Should I cancel the order right now and keep the mermaid?'
At least until the first episode aired....
The mermaid's circumstances of coming to land to take care of his sick father are pitiful, but Baek Yuri was equally desperate.
When Clear was disband, the dream that disappeared the moment he thought he had it dug a huge hole in Baek Yuri's heart.
His heart became so tattered that no matter how hard he tried to fill it, it would just fall away. He scraped up every bit of determination and courage he had left and appeared on this program.
I've used up everything that was left.
If I don't debut this time, I'll really have nothing left. I won't even have a needle or thread to mend my tattered heart…
'I have to hold onto the mermaid.'
Who cares if the Dragon King dies or not? Will eating a few small rabbit livers cure his illness? When was Byeoljubujeon, a classic Pansori novel, written? In the 21st century, why don't you go to the hospital but look for rabbit livers? Isn't the Dragon King sick because of ocean pollution? All the garbage floating around in the ocean, microplastics detected in fish, indiscriminate overfishing, radioactivity, water pollution, and even rapid changes in water temperature. It seems strange that he doesn't get sick.
[Pansori is a Korean genre of musical storytelling performed by a singer and a drummer.]
Then, even if I buy a bunch of rabbit livers and send them to the mermaid, it won't cure him anyway, right?
Twisted thoughts ran through his head for a while.
Even so, Baek Yuri couldn't cancel the order. It was because he knew well the feelings of someone with a sick family member, rather than being afraid that a mermaid would cut open his stomach and take out his liver while he was sleeping.
'I'm really bad. I'm really bad at symbolizing it.'
You shouldn't be wearing human skin and doing that. Even if the rabbit liver didn't work on the Dragon King's disease, he would still want to grab onto straws somehow.
Baek Yu-ri promised himself to hand over the package right away when it arrived. Then he devoted himself to practicing dancing to shake off his distracting thoughts. When he sweated, the negative thoughts faded away and his mood improved before he knew it.
'If I do well on stage, it will be okay.'
If you continue to show good skills, people will definitely notice. Baek Yuri blew away his anxious feelings with sweat drops.
***
However, Baek Yuri's agony was in vain, and the delivery never arrived no matter how long he waited. They said that the delivery was delayed due to the typhoon and bad weather, but when he called the store, they didn't pick up and there was no response.
In the meantime, the remaining practice period passed by in an instant.
The last day of practice. In the morning, there was a public evaluation for selecting the center. The ten center candidates had to perform the signal song in front of the judges and all the participants.
The weight of the evaluation score was 50% from the judges' evaluation score and 50% from the participants' votes.
The first contestant was so nervous that he completely failed and turned around to cry. Then, the youngest middle school student contestant forgot the lyrics and came off the stage after only dancing in the middle.
Short child actor Lee Gal-chae was also a partner of a middle school student and was among the top 10 candidates, but unlike the previous two, he danced and sang until the end.
As he danced intensely with his lack of physical strength, his vocals gradually shook and his movements became slightly precarious as he went on. However, his facial expressions perfectly matched the mood of the song, showing the appearance of a young and refreshing boy.
For some reason, the messy Gye Tae-seok's face was pale and he was restless, complaining of stomachache and muscle pain. In the end, he didn't go on stage, but he refused to go to the hospital.
Kim Ji-rok, who had shaved eyebrows, and another contestant did well on stage. He must have thought that he could expect to be the center, because he clenched his fists and looked nervous after coming down from the stage.
However, Woo Cheong, a young man with a lot of talent and a quick learner, received more praise than them. After mastering the dance in one day and concentrating on vocal training for nine days, he performed much more steadily on stage than usual.
Woo Cheong, who received a lot of praise, felt good and came down from the stage, jumping like a dolphin jumping out of the sea.
However.
"According to the judges' evaluation, the Signal Song Center is...."
Tension flowed among the candidates waiting for the announcement, standing in a long line.
"Participant Ha On-ha."
"...!"
Ha On Ha's stage, which was the last one, was so perfect.
If Woo Cheong's dancing was solid and his technique was excellent, Ha On Ha knew how to make every movement, expression, and look in his eyes look pretty. He had the talent to make every single strand of hair that fluttered whenever he turned his head look like a well-made movie.
His sweet and soft voice also matched the song perfectly, and his high notes were stable and comfortable.
Ha On Ha shouted "Wow!" and ran around cheering and bowing down whenever he met someone.
"Thank you! Thank you! I will work hard! Be blessed! Yes~~!"
The other candidates also congratulated him as he felt happiness all over his body. They don't know what each of them was thinking.
However, Woo Cheong's eyes sparkled and he was burning with learning passion.
"Ha Onha hyung-nim! Why did you take half a step too far when you were turning one and a half times? Why did you tilt your head when you were looking straight ahead?"
"Huh? Oh, that? My left face is prettier~"
"Oh!"
"And this part, if I slightly raise my head like this, I think I can make it look more hazy and superior..."
Ha On Ha showed off his movements and facial expressions again. He didn't just focus on learning the given dance and song like other trainees and flaunting his skills by winking and making hearts. He tried to interpret the song in his own way and reflect what he felt.
If you only look at the song interpretation, child actor Lee Gal Chae was a little better, but Ha On Ha was able to sing and dance perfectly and stably live, which was the stark difference between the two.
As a result, Ha On Ha was able to confidently stand in the center of the signal song.
Neoul blankly looked at Ha On Ha, who was smiling brightly, and then turned his gaze to Baek Yu Ri. Ha On Ha's stage was definitely perfect, but to Neoul, Sir Rabbit's vocals were better.
Ha On Ha's dance seemed a little more experienced. While Baek Yuri's dance had a perfect beat and elegant lines, Ha On-ha had an excellent ability to control the tempo and bring out the points in a tasty way.
If you were to pick the contestant with the best balance of dance and vocals and the best skills among the 81 contestants, Neoul would choose Baek Yuri and Ha Onha without a second of hesitation.
I wondered who would win if the two competed on stage.
***
In the afternoon, the recording of the signal song 'Individual Live Performance' took place. The recording was done individually in the practice room so that there would be no noise.
Neoul had made tremendous progress in the meantime. Ten days ago, he was so bad that they couldn't even look at it, but now he could barely get by when he was surrounded by other contestants.
Neoul, who couldn't keep up with the beat at all, now moved his body instinctively as soon as the song came on. He must have lost some weight because he had been dancing nonstop for the past ten days, and his jawline was sharper than before.
Although the individual performances were completely devoid of dynamic control, the feet were trembling, and the waves and isolations were all exposed...
Neoul, who somehow managed to finish the dance, smiled proudly and finished filming the individual video.
The recording took place the next morning, and the group performance filming took place in the afternoon.
They have to dance about twenty times on the beach under the bright sunlight and on the rooftop of a building with a large helipad.
The weather was not hot because the typhoon had just passed, and the sky was very clear.
Throughout the shoot, the crowd on the rooftop caught the green sky and the city instead of the camera, the people dancing hard together, and the people who were busy filming by manipulating the camera.
What should I say?
It was a splendidness that was completely different from the halo of sea creatures glowing in the deep, still sea.
I felt an intense, sparkling vitality.
Do all living things that live under the sunlight shine this brightly? (Of course, Kim Ji-rok with his shaved eyebrows and messy Gye Tae-seok who kept fidgeting and shaking his body to interrupt the filming did not shine at all.)
As he continued to dance among those people, Neoul's heart started to beat faster and faster, and their splendidness seemed to spread to him as well.
Something that he had never felt deep in the sea was sprouting in his heart.
Was it interesting? No, it seemed a little hotter than that.
Fun? It seemed right, but it was lacking something to just be fun.
In the midst of a whirlwind of strange emotions that he couldn't explain, Noul smiled brightly and danced.
The camera director didn't bother to stop Neoul, who didn't even look at the camera or notice it. Instead, he was capturing Neoul's emotions, which he didn't know, in the camera lens.
Thrill.
Neoul's two eyes, which were diligently capturing the world, were filled with excitement.
***
A preview video has been released on PLu's YouTube channel.
[
The signal song chorus melody flowed out with the refreshing sound of waves, played on the piano.
Screens slowly moved past with close-up shots of the faces of the participants busking under natural light.
It was mainly about hot topics and participants who are likely to become hot topics in the future.
He's so handsome, don't you see?
Even like this? His smile is so refreshing, don't you see?
He's like a fairy, really? He's like an angel?
He was forced to do so, and there were even slow motions.
The faces of the judges moved past one after another behind a video that looked like a music video teaser, and at the end, letters the size of a door thudded.
[First broadcast on Friday, August 2nd at 10:50 PM]
Right after the preview video was uploaded, the comment section was flooded with comments from fans of the three judges, and there was one participant whose comments outweighed those of the judges.
— Oh my gosh, it is Lee Gal-chae, it is Lee Gal-chae, it is Lee Gal-chae crazy
The most famous and talked-about contestant was the 18-year-old child actor Lee Gal-chae, who had been actively acting until recently.
After playing the young King Jeongjo in
Lee Gal-chae, who had always done his best regardless of the role, big or small, and was an actor to the core, suddenly appeared on an idol survival program?
Lee Gal-chae's name even rose to the real-time search rankings due to the interest of surprised fans and the public.
—Why Lee Gal-chae???
—Why did our baby cat Grandson suddenly ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ
— In the meantime, his beauty is crazy.
└ FR No, I was a monkey when I was 18, but why is this Gal-chae's face getting more and more in its prime?
└I can't wait to see what 20 and 30 years old will look like ㅠㅠㅠ
—What's going on all of a sudden? Did you want to be an idol?
—Why is an actor on the idol world? He should just do his main job well. Tsk tsk
└He's still young, so he can try different things.
└Well... It seems like he came out to make himself known since his popularity has been dropping these days.
└??? Lee Gal-chae's popularity is falling? Lee Gal-chae, the nation's first son?
└When was he the nation's first son;; It's been more than 10 yearsㅋ
—No matter what anyone says, I support Gal-chae ㅠㅠㅠ Gal-chae actually said in a behind-the-scenes video of a drama that he wanted to be an idolㅜ
└Really?
└Yes! When he was ten years old, when he filmed Suspicious Neighbor Cousin.
└Oh ty
—Why did my baby's hair turn chocolate brown...? My black kitten came back as a baby hedgehog.....?
└HedgehogChae ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ so cute
└Lee Galchae is the truth with black hair.
└No, chocolate brown Galchae is so soft and cute and lovely and suits him well? Isn't he the best ever?
└What is Galchae? No matter what he does, he's just so damn handsome.
Then, the appearance of Ha On-ha, who became known as the 'blue-eyed Korean kid model', and dance prodigy Woo Cheong became a hot topic, and the name of Baek Yu-ri, who is aiming for a re-debut, was also mentioned several times. As the number of views increased and the video went up the algorithm, participants who were not known at first were mentioned one by one and received attention.
Among them, Gal Neoul was completely veiled except for his face that was revealed in the video.
—2:13 Who are you? Please tell me your name crazy handsome
└Please tell me too ㅠㅜㅠㅠ
└I've wasted my life not knowing this face
└22
—2:13 I hate it when male idols or actors grow their hair out, but I admit this.
└It's wavy.... His hair looks better than mine.
└Wasn't it originally a beggar zone with that length? He's handsome. Why....
[*The ambiguous hair length makes one look like a beggar, so it was given the name beggar zone. Not too short but not too long.]
└Face.
└Yeah. Me too, so shut up.
—