Llana and the others took their positions on stage as their video began to play. They stood in a diamond formation—Momo at the front, with Jihyo and Chaeyoung flanking her, all three in a crouched position, while Llana stood at the back. They remained perfectly still, heads lowered beneath their hoods.
As soon as the video ended, the stage lights burst open in a deep crimson glow, casting eerie shadows across the stage and giving the atmosphere a dark, unsettling edge.
The moment the audience saw them, the venue erupted into screams, chanting their names and hyping them up. The roar was thunderous, almost deafening.
Even JYP, seated in the second-floor VIP area, couldn't help but cover his ears at the sheer intensity.
Then—
Dong…
An old church bell echoed through the venue. It was deep and ominous.
Dong…
Dong…
The sudden sound sent a chill down the audience's spine, cutting cleanly through the noise. It was followed by a haunting, ghostly wail that seemed to crawl across the stage and into the crowd, silencing them completely.
Then, a cello began to play, its deep, resonant notes pouring from the speakers and vibrating through the entire venue.
A violin followed, and a pre-recorded intro verse, sung by all four of them, echoed across the stage in a slow, ritualistic tempo:
"Dies irae illa,
vos solve in favillam,
maledictus erus
in flammas aeternum."
Suddenly, Llana lifted her head, tilting it upward as she looked down at the audience. She slowly raised her hand, reaching out. As if inviting them to take it.
Then she sang, her voice low and deep,
"I'll be your idol."
Momo rose from her crouched position, pulling off her hood and immediately drawing all attention to herself as she stepped forward into the center and sang,
"Keeping you in check—"
"—Uh,"
Llana ad-libbed, removing her hood as well. The others followed, revealing their faces in sync.
"Keeping you obsessed."
Momo walked forward slowly, her eyes never leaving the audience, a faint smirk playing on her lips. Behind her, the others followed half a beat later, echoing her steps like shadows.
"Play me on repeat, kkeudeopsi in your head."
She brought two fingers to her temple, tapping repeatedly as she tilted her head slightly to the side, her expression teasing yet controlled.
Behind her, the others clutched their heads, rolling them, fingers tangled in their hair, as if overwhelmed from the voices echoing inside their minds.
"Anytime it hurts, play another verse."
Momo clutched her chest, hunching forward as if struck by something unseen. Then, in a sudden shift, she straightened.
She slowly extended her hand toward the audience, palm open—before curling her fingers in one by one, from pinky to index, as if pulling them in.
Momo smiled as she sang, "I can be your sanctuary."
Then they began to rotate clockwise. Momo spun smoothly to her right, transitioning out of center.
"Know I'm the only one right now ."
Chaeyoung stepped forward, taking her place.
Then, in sync, they suddenly dropped into a squat with their arms fully extended to the sides. In an instant, they snapped their feet and hands closed together, then acted as if they were about to fall toward the left side. As they leaned, they sharply slashed their left hands outward.
"I will love you more when it all burns down.More than power, more than gold."
Chaeyoung faces Llana, her head tilting up to meet her gaze, then leaning in slightly as her hand hovered near Llana's neck, drawing her gaze downward. While Jihyo and Momo performed the same choreography as in the original.
"You gave me your heart,"
Her hand traced down to the center of Llana's chest, then turned toward the audience, smirking. "Now I'm here for your soul."
Drums started playing, accompanying the violin and cello that had been building the previous dread-filled atmosphere, into something more energetic making the audience start shouting again.
Llana moved to the center, performing the steps taught by Momo when they were alone.
"You know I'm the only one who'll love your sins."
Her body leaned back subtly, her hands covering her face as she tilted her head up, then twirled to the right with her arms spreading wide.
"Feel the way my voice gets underneath your skin."
Everyone sang together, their hands forming claws and rising level by level. "Listen, 'cause I'm preachin' to the choir. Can I get the mic a little higher?"
Jihyo stepped in, her voice ringing with power as she sang the high note," Ne hwang hol chwi he, you can't look away, Don't you know I'm here to save you?"
Llana and Jihyo alternated on the high notes, their voices blending seamlessly with power and control.
When the second pre-chorus came, the audience couldn't help but stare in awe as Llana pushes it to an even higher note—one that seemed almost impossible for any human to reach.
Meanwhile, in the waiting area, the other SEVENTEEN members also couldn't hold back their reactions.
"Daebak!"
"HOW!?"
Their faces were filled with shock, as if they were hearing something unreal for the first time. Some stared wide-eyed at the screen, while others covered their mouths in disbelief, completely taken aback by what they had just witnessed.
"Wow, I didn't know Llana could reach notes that high," Jeongyeon said, shaking her head in amazement. "Unbelievable."
The others nodded in agreement, their eyes still glued to the screen. For some reason, they just couldn't look away from the performance. It's hypnotizing.
"I'm getting obsessed with their song. I know it's dark," Somi said. "Like, literally dark," she added, emphasizing the last words.
She couldn't help but admire their boldness in performing something like this. They sure have a guts—they were truly gutsy.
"But I love it! It's like they're offering me a cookie, inviting me to the dark side… and I'm willingly taking it."
The others laughed, relating completely. The first time they heard the song, especially the intro. It had already given them goosebumps.
It felt eerie even without lighting effects before, but now, with the stage visuals added, the sense of dread had intensified, making the atmosphere even more haunting.
The group had taken the dark concept to an entirely new level. What they did made typical "dark concepts" look like child's play.
Back to the stage, Llana and the others sang the final line.
"Now down on your knees, I'ma be your idol."
The music ended and was replaced by silence.
Then, a thunderous wave of cheers erupted. It was twice as loud as the first cheer before they started.
Llana and the others let the crowd scream as they took their time catching their breath. Their choreography was exhausting. It might look simple, yes, but they had to deliver every move with power. In fact, their choreography now wasn't as difficult as before. They had simplified it so they wouldn't struggle as much. So now, yes, they were out of breath but not like before, when they used their original choreography.
"Hello, everyone. Did you enjoy our performance?" Llana asked after stabilizing her breathing.
"YES!"
The audience erupted, screaming at the top of their lungs.
"Wow, that's really loud," Llana said with a happy laugh, smiling widely at them.
"Ne, they sure are energetic," Jihyo said as she stepped beside Llana. "Did you enjoy it? Then make some noise!" She cupped her hand to her ear, signaling that she wanted to hear them louder.
Chaeyoung laughed, lifting her arms repeatedly in an upward motion, hyping them up even more.
The audience didn't disappoint and screamed even louder.
"Oh, where are the ones we invited?" Momo said as she started scanning the crowd.
On the left side, nearly half of the audience raised their hands and started screaming.
"Oh, there they are!" Llana pointed at them, then started waving enthusiastically, happy to see that so many had come. The others followed, waving as well.
Llana even spotted the morena girl named Leah and the gay guy named Juwon together -it seemed they had become friends.
"Don't forget to vote for us, okay?"
With one last round of waves and smiles, they bid the audience goodbye before finally heading backstage.