31: I Won't Eat You If You Give Me a Rice Cake (1)
When the contestants appeared, the audience was once again in an uproar.
"It is crazy in real life? Not a human?"
She definitely thought that the other contestants she had seen so far were much more handsome in person than they looked on screen, but Gal Neoul didn't seem like a normal human. Mysterious and something. It felt like she was peeking at a beauty from another dimension.
'Oh. I see why my sister picked him.'
She hopes he does well, but will this song be okay?
Japdeok stared at the stage that was getting darker and darker with worry.
Tick tock tock tock tock....
She heard the sound of a clock.
'But is this the original clock sound for this song?'
The atmosphere was ominous and gloomy.
Tick tock. Tick tock. Tick tock. Tick tock.
Creak, creaking, creaking, creaking.
Tick tock tock tock tock....
The sound of footsteps, as if they were from a horror movie, began to mix with the sound of the clock's second hand.
The participants looked like warriors wielding swords or hunters. They all wore blue cheollik [*a type of hanbok] and had their belts tightly tied around their waists.
The first thing that caught her eye was Neoul, who was sitting with a grotesque appearance like a dead person. His hair was tied up loosely in a half-updo.
The other participants stood behind Neoul. They covered themselves with long cloths tied to their wrists, hanging them in front of them.
[Time seems to be passing more and more slowly.]
Neoul, who was sitting in the center, began the first verse as if humming. The eerie, languid, and dreamy voice caught the audience's ears and drew them into the stage.
Japdeok took a deep breath. The hairs on her entire body stood on end. She felt like she couldn't breathe for some reason.
The white cloths hanging from the participants' wrists swayed softly. It fluttered as if the wind was blowing in the still indoor space.
[Why is that? Well.
You already know the reason.]
Gal Neoul, who raised his head and looked straight ahead, spread his palms wide and stretched his hands from his chin to his chest.
'Blood...!'
Blood-red handprints followed Gal Neoul's movements, dyeing the blue fabric red from his chin, collar, and chest. The overlapping colors looked purple under the lights.
His expressionless face and empty eyes stared blankly straight ahead.
Gal Neoul slowly turned his head.
Kkeuiiik-
The sound of an old door opening echoed like a scream. The guitar riff that followed was performed in a minor chord, unlike the lively original song.
It even creaked as if the notes were missing from time to time, and it was strangely out of sync with the drums, giving it a strange feeling. In response, the other participants revealed themselves by moving the fabric left and right as if opening a door.
Gal Neoul got up from his seat with unnatural movements.
The moment he turned back, the participants who had all looked at him hurriedly put the cloth back in front of their faces as if they were trying to close the door.
The fluttering white cloth felt like a door as the choreography gave a rattling sound.
However, Gal Neoul reached out to the cloth as if nothing had happened.
[Don't pretend not to know, and look at me.
Don't act like you don't know and listen to me]
The participants danced, moving in a large diagonal line as if trying to escape from Gal Neoul.
Gal Neoul's bloody hand stretched out, the movement of the other participants surrounding him was not large, but the overall picture looked dynamic thanks to the large and flashy dance.
Gal Neoul, who had been stretching out his hand recklessly, finally caught someone. Gal Neoul's pale face, which had been expressionless, suddenly distorted in pain.
'Was the one caught Baek Gi-yeom?'
He was a real guy who was more famous as Baek Yu-ri's cousin than as his real name. His refreshingly handsome appearance was impressive.
The pair choreography continued as Gal Neoul strangled Baek Gi-yeom's neck, and red paint was also applied to Baek Gi-yeom's neck and cheeks.
As Baek Gi-yeom shook off Gal Neoul, a faint smile appeared on Gal Neoul's lips. A sense of joy came over him, as if he had thrown off something that had been binding him.
Baek Gi-yeom's eyes, which had been terrified, suddenly became as empty as the previous Gal Neoul. As if something had moved from Gal Neoul to Baek Gi-yeom.
His voice that followed was low and distant, as if it was coming from a deep cave.
[Um- I mean-
Without you, the world is all ashen
We have to be together]
'Wow, the low note is crazy.'
Now the contestants danced while running away from Baek Giyeom.
Baek Gi-yeom pulled the blue-haired contestant towards him. The blue hair participant's thrilling choreography followed, and red paint was splashed all over his clothes in the shape of large palms.
'Woo Cheong! I know him.'
Certainly, the control of the dynamics of the movements was solid, and the ability to bring out details was extraordinary. At the same time, it was leisurely, as if playing with the beat.
[Actually, you are like that too.
Tell me honestly, you]
Gal Neoul and Baek Giyeom harmonized on either side of Woo Cheong, as if the devil was whispering evil words in his ears.
But the lyrics were a little different.
'Did they really change all the English lyrics into Korean?'
As even Woo Cheong's clothes were soaked with blood, the ominous feeling of the drum sound was added, making the dance more passionate.
[I won't wait anymore
I'll pick you up
Hold my hand (hold my hand)
Don't let go and follow me]
The group dance continued. However, the team members felt similar yet different. The choreography of Baek Gi-yeom, Woo Cheong, and Gal Neoul was completely opposite to that of the other two contestants.
'Huh? Was it a mistake?'
But there was no commotion among the participants on stage, which means it was intentional.
[Should we walk together to the ends of the earth like this?
I think we could go to the ends of the world, right?]
The choreography intertwined as if giving and receiving to each other.
The original song was about a person who was unable to approach the person they liked and they were both just looking at each other, but then realized how lonely and boring everyday life would be without the other person, and finally mustered up the courage to approach them first.
But now, the scene unfolded as if a person who had died from an accident was tempting a living person to come with him.
'What is it expressing? Is it a Joseon zombie?'
But that being said...
The fluttering fabric and light, light dance moves made them look more like ghosts than zombies.
In addition, the two contestants who had not yet been painted with red repeatedly approached them on their own as if they had been persuaded by a ghost, then moved away as if they had come to their senses again.
[We're beyond the boundaries of light
We play with light steps
Just wherever our feet take us
Just get lost in it.]
Baek Gi-yeom's singing rap. Noise continued to mix in beneath the rap that was laid low and seductive. When she listened closely, it sounded exactly like the howling of an animal.
'A lion? A bear...?'
At that moment, their strange team name came to mind.
I Won't Eat You If You Give Me a Rice Cake.
It was a line from a tiger in a fairy tale called 'The Brothers and Sisters Who Became the Sun and the Moon' or something. The tiger said this line to the mother of the brothers who was carrying rice cakes, and then proceeded to tear off the rice cakes one by one before eventually eating them.
The sound of a tiger's roar. A ghost that keeps tempting you to follow it. Could this be...
'Changgwi?'
Changgwi was a ghost that would stick to the tiger and call out people it knew from its past life to have them eaten by the tiger. It is said that only by doing so could Changgwi escape from the tiger, and then the newly eaten ghost would become Changgwi again and go looking for other prey.
And so on, and so on....
[Don't stop feeling good
Let's keep walking like this
Right, just go forward]
'Heuheuup...… !'
The lyrics sounded even creepier when she realized it. It seemed to mean that they're happy that they're able to escape the tiger thanks to you coming.
The lyrics 'I will be over the moon' also changed to 'That's right, just like that, forward.' As if telling you to hurry and go in front of the tiger.
[I feel your breath even in my dreams
We're already deeply entangled
A maze that I can't escape from
We have to fall together.]
The original lyrics, 'We have to walk together', were also boldly changed to the words 'let's fall together'.
The breathy voice mixed in and sang, somehow making it feel more urgent. Before we knew it, the two remaining contestants' cheeks, necks, and clothes were dyed red with the water that Woo Cheong had soaked.
Their eyes, which had been focused on each other as they continued to chase and run away, all turned to the audience. As if the next prey was the audience.
'Wow! You crazy guys!'
[I won't wait anymore
I'll come get you
Hold my hand
Don't let go and follow me]
The sound of a hungry tiger's roar, which sounded even more ferocious, was accompanied by a group dance. Gal Neoul, who had a dangerous smile, jumped out to the side instead of joining the group dance and poured a high-pitched ad-lib over the voices of the other participants.
[Let's walk together to the end of the horizon
It's like we could go to the end of the world
It's like that]
Hooo— hoo— ho— hooo— hoo
'Crazy, how many octaves is that?'
It was an ad-lib that was both sad and spine-chilling, like the sound of a ghost's cry. It made you want to turn around and run away, but it felt like you would be sucked into the beautiful melody.
[We have to fall together.]
With a thud! The four of them fell to the floor and dropped their heads. The stage ended with the Japanese participant who had become the last one standing in the middle and reaching out to the camera.
The surroundings were completely quiet.
Japdeok stared blankly at the stage with her mouth wide open, then suddenly came to her senses. Why is everyone so quiet? She looked around and saw that everyone had the same expression on their face.
Waaaaah!
Don't fall!
You guys go up! I'll be the only one falling!
Someone let out a scream from their lower abdomen, and the people who suddenly came to their senses applauded and cheered enthusiastically.
She didn't expect much from the song selection, but she didn't know it would hit her in the back of the head like this. Who would have thought she'd see a stage like this in a trainee audition survival show?
Japdeok clasped her hands together tightly. Her heart was pounding like crazy.
She doesn't know if it was because of the shaking bridge effect, or because she was so happy, or both... but it was clear that she was completely captivated by those ghosts.
The contestants who had collapsed on stage caught their breath and got up from their seats. They smiled brightly, patted each other on the shoulders, and bowed their heads toward the audience.
"Thank you!"
"Thank you! Thank you!"
But there was a contestant who didn't get up on his own and was lying down on the stage. It was Gal Neoul.
'What's going on? Did he collapse?'
She stretched her head out and looked at Neoul with concern. The other audience members also murmured, not knowing what was going on.
"Raccoon Hyung-nim, I think he's dead. What the...."
"Neoul, get up! We have to go down."
"Ugh, no, gasp, I'm going.... Ugh, gasp, gulp...!"
Gal Neoul was lying on the floor, panting as if he was about to die. Fortunately, he didn't seem to be in a critical condition or unconscious.
He had the physical strength to be the strongest, but he was struggling even more than the middle school student standing next to him.
"Water… Water…."
"Water?!"
The team members searched for water in confusion. When Jeong On-do held out water, Woo Cheong quickly ran to get some and handed it to Gal Neoul.
Gal Neoul, who had raised his upper body, emptied a bottle of water in one gulp before coming to his senses and standing up.
"Ugh, ugh… fresh water doesn't taste good…"
Gal Neoul! Are you okay?!
Gal Neouuuuuuul!
Gal Neoul looked around, widening his eyes as he heard the worried voices calling his name from the audience.
'Ugh! So cute! I guess he's looking for who called him.'
The impression was completely different from the cool and creepy appearance he had shown on stage a little while ago.
'Why are you opening your eyes so cutely? Is it strange that someone is cheering you on?'
He was fresh and cute. This is the taste that sells survival!
Japdeok happily admired his face, forgetting about her sister's request to take a picture.
'The team members here all seem to be doing well and okay.'
The previous team also did well, so it seemed like it would be a close match. However, she had already made up her mind, so voting wasn't difficult.
It felt like a tingling electric current was running through the back of her head. Her hands clenched into fists were still tingling because the aftertaste hadn't gone away yet.
She has been a fan of many idols and seen many stages, but she thinks she'll never forget Gal Neoul's introductory vocals and ad-libs.
This was the first time she felt so 'enchanted'.
Not only did he have an amazingly handsome face, but his voice was amazing and he had a wide vocal range. On top of that, his acting skills were pretty good as he handled the concept. She was able to get lost in the stage without losing immersion even once.
"Thank you, sob, thank you."
She thought as she watched Gal Neoul's back as he greeted and left the stage.
'When did they say the first episode was going to air?'
She wanted to see other sides of Gal Neoul. She already felt anxious because she wanted to watch the stage she saw today again and review it.
'Oh my. Why is my heart beating so fast.'
She clenched her fists so hard that her hands started to tingle.
Suddenly, she had an ominous feeling.
She thought that her precious YouTube channel might become Gal Neoul's fan tube.
'I have to dig a stone plate [*idol world] shallow and wide. It's dangerous if I fall in narrow and deep.'
If I dig a well diligently and a bottleneck bursts... Ugh, I didn't even want to think about it.
But being a light fan wasn't something she could do as she pleased just because she denied it. She already had the urge to create a fan account for Gal Neoul on SNS and babble about today's stage.
She groaned, clutching her head.
'Ah. It seems like it's already ruined.'
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