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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 25
Chapter Title: The First Stage
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High school seniors who've finished their college entrance exams are invincible!
Holding a placard in one hand and a light stick in the other, Lee Miyeon giggled as she took her seat.
A fan of West Wing for a year now, she was amazed by her first visit to a broadcast station. Things she had only seen on television were right before her eyes.
"Are you Imi-sarang?"
"Ah, hello!"
Since it was her first time attending a music show taping, she had arranged to meet a three-year fan she usually talked to on social media. The woman's nickname was 'YourSky.' YourSky smiled and sat down next to her.
"West Wing will be on last. Until then, please enjoy the other singers' songs. It'd be great if you cheer for them too."
"Okay, I will!"
As she waited, tense with anticipation, the show finally began.
[Hello! It's The Music Show, coming to you every Thursday at 6 PM!]
[I'm MC Ria!]
[And I'm MC Minwoo!]
"Waaaah!"
A staff member prompted the audience to applaud. YourSky clapped expertly, and Lee Miyeon, sitting beside her, followed a beat later.
"She's so pretty."
So this is why everyone's crazy about idols. The MCs were even more beautiful and handsome in person. As Miyeon was marveling, she heard whispering from the seats in front of her.
"Ah. It looks like we're the only ones here."
"It can't be helped. They're a new group with no famous trainees. The fact that we're even here is a big deal."
Who are they? she wondered, glancing over. She saw people holding placards that read [B-Black, we love you!], [Brown Black, fighting!], and [Congrats on your debut!].
A debut? Are they debuting today? Brown Black? Lee Miyeon tilted her head in confusion.
[My heart's pounding right from the first performance today.]
[That's right. A very cool new group is debuting.]
[Oh, have you met them, Ria?]
[Nope. I'm about to see them now!]
Lee Miyeon nodded at the MCs' introduction. The first performance must be by the group the people in front were cheering for.
"Since it's their debut stage, they might make mistakes."
"I know, right? Even West Wing's debut stage was..."
YourSky, who seemed to have been listening, shook her head. That debut stage would go down in history as an embarrassing memory. But since that video became a stepping stone to their fame, it was a debut that fans both loved and hated.
[Oh, this group's name is as sweet as cocoa!]
[We hope all The Music Show viewers have a wonderful 'Start!' just like this group's song!]
[Brown Black's 'Start'!]
Lee Miyeon and YourSky didn't have high expectations. They clapped simply out of a sense of duty to support a debut stage.
Four men stood on the stage. Dressed in suits, Brown Black looked like recent college graduates who had just landed their first job, or perhaps like well-dressed university freshmen.
When the song began, the audience fell silent.
The chatter of fans waiting for their own artists, the sound of coughing, the rattling of chairs—it all vanished.
Numbers, visible only to Seojun who wasn't there, sparkled above the heads of Brown Black.
[The Orchestra Conductor's Connection is activated.]
Lee Miyeon was completely captivated by the first idol performance she had ever seen in person. She stared at the stage without blinking, her mouth hanging slightly open.
Before she could even react, Brown Black's song reached its climax,
Pop!
Confetti burst into the air. She got goosebumps.
"Wow..."
Having finished their performance, the members of Brown Black, breathing heavily, bowed deeply to the audience.
Lee Miyeon found herself clapping involuntarily. Starting with her, the sound of applause and cheers filled the studio.
As they were heading backstage, the members of Brown Black heard the cheers and bowed repeatedly before disappearing.
"Wow. So this is what a live performance is like? I've only ever watched on TV because I was busy studying... I've never even been to a concert! Wow. If a group that just debuted is this good, West Wing's stage must be incredible!"
An ecstatic Lee Miyeon chattered on. The performance she hadn't expected much from was amazing. If a newly debuted group's stage was this good, she could only imagine how incredible the performance of West Wing, a famous five-year idol group, would be. Her heart pounded.
Beside the wide-eyed Miyeon, YourSky, who had been clapping dazedly, came back to her senses.
"Ah."
"What's wrong?"
YourSky shook her head. It was better to see than to be told.
YourSky looked at the people in the front rows. More than anyone, it must be their fans who were delighted by the unexpectedly brilliant performance.
Just as she expected, they were talking with flushed, excited faces. YourSky looked at the placards they were holding.
[Brown Black]
The arrival of an incredible rookie group.
The Music Show continued with more performances. But unlike usual, the audience's reaction was lukewarm.
They cheered for their favorite singers, but the response was weak. It was because everyone was still reeling from the first performance.
They couldn't help but compare the other stages to the first one.
The Music Show ended after West Wing's performance. Lee Miyeon stood up from her seat, a disappointed look on her face.
"I don't know. I was really looking forward to it, but it wasn't that great. It seemed like they were half lip-syncing, and their dancing was out of sync in many parts."
"It's because the first group was just that amazing."
YourSky patted the dispirited Miyeon's shoulder. Even while watching the other artists, Miyeon kept thinking back to The Music Show's opening act, a performance that still made her heart race whenever she recalled it.
"What was that group's name again?"
"Brown Black."
said YourSky with a smile, having decided to become a fan of Brown Black.
* * *
The Music Show was over. Staff members could be seen cleaning up the spare confetti that had been set off at the end. Kim Minhyuk came over with a cup of coffee, grinning.
PD Lee Sangcheon took the cup and had a sip. He wanted to keep working with this guy, if only for the coffee.
"They were better than I expected."
"Hm? Who was?"
"Brown Black? The group with the rich family's youngest son."
"We're screwed."
"What?!"
Lee Sangcheon's words made the grinning Kim Minhyuk jump in surprise. What? The performance was so good, but he's saying they're screwed?
"Didn't you like it so much that you even set off the finale confetti during their performance?"
"That was really embarrassing, but..."
PD Lee Sangcheon pressed his forehead. Why did his 'artisan spirit' have to kick in at that exact, unnecessary moment? He never even knew he had such a spirit in him.
He'd set off the confetti on impulse, and cleaning up the mess was a nightmare. They had to clean the stage for the next artist and also get the confetti ready for the first-place announcement.
Just thinking about what happened an hour ago made PD Lee Sangcheon's head spin. Thankfully, they had spare confetti.
Kim Minhyuk sat down in a chair and asked.
"Aren't our ratings going to be insane today? People were blowing up social media about how incredible the performance was..."
"If it were a pre-recorded show, it would've been a huge hit. But we're live. Imagine people hearing how amazing the first stage was, tuning in, and seeing the show is just the same as always. The online forums are probably exploding right now."
Is that so? Kim Minhyuk wondered, turning on his phone.
"Besides, do you realize you've been talking about nothing but them? Their performance completely overshadowed all the later ones. We're screwed. I should have moved them to a later slot. They were so shaky during rehearsal!"
Despite Lee Sangcheon's lament, Kim Minhyuk just stared blankly at his phone. Sensing something was off, PD Lee Sangcheon asked.
"What's wrong?"
"They're trending..."
Kim Minhyuk showed him his phone screen.
1. The Music Show first stage
2. Brown Black The Music Show
3. Brown Black
4. Brown Black Start
5. The Music Show audience review
...
NEW! Brown Black and Jun's 48 Hours
* * *
"They're trending!"
At Lee Minjun's words, Seo Eunhye quickly looked at her phone. Seojun, nestled in his mother's arms, also looked at the screen.
"Brown Black, audience review, first stage...!"
"That's amazing. Really!"
Seo Eunhye and Lee Minjun were stunned. The boys had been trembling with nerves when they video-called earlier, but their performance had been goosebump-inducingly brilliant.
And it seemed they weren't the only ones who felt that way; everyone wanted to know the identity of the group that performed first.
"Seojun. Your hyungs are incredible, right? Wow! Really, I just thought they were a bunch of hard-working kids, but I never imagined they could put on such an amazing stage!"
"We should have seen this in person! What a shame, really."
While Lee Minjun and Seo Eunhye praised Brown Black nonstop, Seojun stared at the dark television screen, feeling a sting in his chest. Something was burning deep inside him.
The Brown Black performance Seojun had watched was certainly amazing. It was the result not only of [The Orchestra Conductor's Connection] but also of their combined effort, skill, and talent.
The applause and cheers coming from the television after Brown Black's performance ended. Seojun could feel the admiration and excitement within them.
'Just a month ago, they were just the hyungs I played with.'
"Their pictures are all over social media now."
"The video they filmed with Seojun is trending too!"
His mother and father were excited, oblivious to the turmoil in Seojun's heart. From his mother's arms, Seojun looked at the phone screen.
A picture of his hyungs smiling brightly on their way home from the show.
The hyungs, their eyes red as if they had been crying.
Someone had posted a comparison of Brown Black's arrival and departure photos.
A life turned around.
A photo of Brown Black's arrival, barely visible in the background of a famous singer's picture, where no one paid them any mind, and a photo of their departure, surrounded by countless cameras, smiling brightly.
Staring blankly at the photos, Seojun suddenly realized that the life he had longed for in his first life was right there.
Brown Black was similar to him in his first life. But unlike his first life, where he had been unknown and died unknown, they had started as unknowns but finally made their names known to the public, taking a step onto the path of a star—the very image he had dreamed of in his first life.
I will become a superstar. The vow, once made half-jokingly, now felt immense.
As Seojun stared blankly at the phone screen, tears welled up and fell from his eyes. He hadn't even realized he was crying. He was oblivious to Seo Eunhye and Lee Minjun's panicked fussing.
Seojun's eyes remained glued to the photos on the screen.
He had helped the hyungs because he pitied their obscurity. He didn't want them to despair as he had in his past.
But seeing these people, who had been right beside him just a moment ago, shining so brightly over there...
Seojun realized that, regardless of his first life, he truly wanted to become a superstar.
* * *
Title: Anyone know this song?
Author: DamnThisCompany
Anyone know this song! I couldn't record it... It's a song I heard from upstairs.
Ddururuttuttu ddarararan ddarararan ddururutturup
It goes something like this!
-?
-How are we supposed to know from this?
-Isn't it West Wing's 'Together'?
-Here we go with Chicken Wing again...
-At least write down some lyrics.
-OP: It was too quiet, so I couldn't hear well. Something like, step on me, rise up, I'm gonna die?
-What intense lyrics...
-Im Ryeon's 'Accusation'!
-Brian's 'Tiki-Taka'!
-OP: Both wrong.
...
And so, a pop music forum on the internet was set ablaze. Even after the original poster, who replied 'wrong' to every suggestion, disappeared, the speculation continued for a while. The post eventually made it to the best-of board.
Title: It's the OP who asked for the song yesterday!
Author: DamnThisCompany
Found it. They were performing at my apartment's playground!
They haven't debuted yet, and the group is called Brown Black. The title is 'Start'! It's amazing!
I even got an autograph!
-?
-??
-???
-What is this? What an insane troll.
-You asked us to find a song from a group that hasn't even debuted?
-Is this how rookies promote themselves these days? A. Maz. Ing.
-???: I've made 10,000 anti-fans in a single day.
A flood of comments appeared in an instant. The two posts written by 'DamnThisCompany' quickly spread to various websites.
[A Common Rookie Idol Promotion Tactic]
The man from downstairs didn't know what to do.
"No, this wasn't what I intended..."
He tried to find and upload the clip of himself from Brown Black's variety show on N-tube, but for some reason, it seemed to have been edited out.
Seo Eunchan had edited it out beforehand to prevent rumors of fabrication, suggesting that they had cast someone for the part.
A few weeks later, the man posted again.
Title: Look at this.
Author: DamnThisCompany
I didn't realize my post would become such a big deal. It's not a promotion, I'm serious.
They're debuting on WNET's The Music Show. First performance at 6 PM. This really isn't a promo! If you're going to hate, at least watch the performance first!
-Yeah, right. Next promo.
-It was a pretty creative attempt, I'll give you that.
-And I tried so hard to find the song!
...
-Holy crap. That first stage... was absolutely legendary!
-I tuned in to see how good they were, and damn, they're freaking good. Got goosebumps when the confetti went off.
-The singers who came on after sucked.
-It's just an illusion. The first stage was too good. Well, Chicken Wing definitely sucked, though.
-And that was their debut stage. A. Maz. Ing.
-Don't know if it was a promo or not, but the song was good.
...
-By the way, they have a variety show on N-tube... anyone seen it?
#
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