We entered Hall One expecting another concept evaluation.
More Halloween themed maybe. More elaborate costumes and forced thematic performances.
Instead—
The stage stretched almost completely bare.
Four enormous vertical screens stood across the back wall, currently black.
That absence itself felt strange after the spectacle of the Second Live Stage.
My shoulders tensed.
Production never stripped things back unless they planned something worse.
PD Kwon entered through the side entrance, tablet in hand, wearing his trademark smirk.
I sat beside Yuhyun and Jisoo. Haejun and Hyunki positioned themselves further left. Ren leaned against the wall near the exit, arms crossed.
Thirty-two trainees.
Waiting.
"Until now," PD Kwon began, "we've asked you to become what we needed."
His voice carried easily through the empty hall.
"Angels. Demons. Monsters. Phantoms."
