The Idol Who Returned from Hell Chapter 36

Since only 4 song battles appeared in the previous episode 3, episode 4 started with the next group in order, the teams preparing 〈Dress Up〉.

I couldn’t just laugh carelessly while watching the trainees getting severely scolded during their interim evaluations according to the typical pattern.

It seemed Yu Ha-woon and Chae Ha-ru had the same thoughts.

“W-we’ll probably show up getting scolded like that too, right?”

“Still, won’t we be less severe than that? Our team was basically just Brother Park Chang-jung trolling by himself.”

“You guys aren’t the problem, I’m the problem.”

“Ah…”

Everyone trailed off at Kang Seon-woo’s candid statement.

Well, Team 4 led by Kang Seon-woo had been beaten down in all aspects of vocals and dance.

If comparison editing was included, our team might relatively look less serious.

[First, there’s the most important problem…]

Team 4’s preparation process appeared before ours.

The close-up camera that started with Kang Seon-woo’s dark expression sequentially showed the faces of other team members, heightening the seriousness even more.

[Kang Seon-woo) I was so dismayed then. I’m usually the type to cheer everyone on, but the teams were randomly selected, right? When we gathered as team members and talked about each other’s positions.]

[Choi Dong-kyung) This can’t be happening. There’s not a single main vocal!]

[Heo Jae-min) I just felt like everything went dark… It was mental breakdown itself. There was already the most important high note part in the latter half, and we were worried from the start about who should handle it.]

Seeing Kang Seon-woo struggling with part distribution from the beginning made me feel somewhat pitiful.

Everyone seemed to have the same thought, as Yu Ha-woon and Chae Ha-ru patted Kang Seon-woo’s arms, telling him he had worked hard.

[Thus came interim evaluation D-Day]

[Could Team 4 properly prepare 〈Volt〉?]

Contrary to the hopeful subtitles, Team 4 was completely destroyed by the judges.

The voice crack of the trainee in charge of the bridge part’s high notes was repeated about three times, making the situation’s desperation feel even more edited.

“Wow, if I were that person, I don’t think my mentality would survive.”

“Jae-min did suffer a lot though…”

Even in the actual stage that immediately followed, a pitch deviation occurred in the bridge, evoking regret.

[Oh no…]

[So disappointing.]

[These kids barely have any vocal line positions. That’s why I was worried during the mid-check too. They’re kids who really practiced hard, so my heart aches.]

The judges watching the stage from the control room all burst into sighs in unison.

Still, I thought it was fortunate in one way.

Mistakes can naturally occur on stage. Unless machines are singing, people can always make mistakes.

But if a narrative had been included that the person who made that mistake was lazy in practice, it would have returned as a tremendous minus.

However, Team 4 with Kang Seon-woo was given the image of ‘a team that really practiced a lot but had bad team composition luck’ according to the judges.

At least a device was created to prevent reputation decline.

[You did well, it’s okay.]

[Sob, it feels like everyone only suffered because of me…!]

[Don’t cry, Brother.]

Team 4’s stage ended with a regretful aftertaste.

[Then what kind of process did Team 9, Team 4’s battle opponent, go through?]

Now comes the important part.

I was internally very curious about what direction Park Chang-jung’s editing would take.

Would they cut out all the controversial scenes to make it look like teamwork went well?

Or would they edit it exactly as the character who recklessly acted without knowing his own abilities and met glorious destruction?

[Ryu Si-hwan) First, let me explain why we chose this song.]

[(Professor Ryu’s explanation time continues earnestly)]

“Did you really explain for that long?”

“Yeah.”

“Hahaha! Ah, you really nailed that concept, Ryu Si-hwan.”

“Is that something to laugh at?”

“Who explains songs with such a serious expression, man!”

I thought it was a necessary course, so I explained everything step by step.

…Looking at my serious face like that, it does seem kind of funny.

But then the other team members also showed concentration as if listening to a university lecture, making it even funnier.

[Yu Ha-woon) While listening to Brother Si-hwan speak, I just realized it. Ah, we really chose our team leader well!]

[Chae Ha-ru) Brother Si-hwan explained it easily, so it was comfortable to understand.]

[Jang Seon-ho) It was really fortunate that Brother Si-hwan took both the main vocal sticker and leader sticker. Wow, we’re really going to make it!]

[Yu Ha-woon) I personally attached those stickers! I did really well, right?]

After that, the process of all Team 9 members gathering to learn choreography appeared quite extensively.

Scenes of meticulously coordinating group choreography formations and staying up late to learn individual choreography conveyed the message that we ‘practiced this hard.’

Looking at the editing flow, it was probably time for when I gave special training to the struggling Chae Ha-ru and Yu Ha-woon.

[You have to sweep the floor like this and come up. Can you do this part again?]

[I-I’ll try my best!]

Despite his determined tone, Yu Ha-woon’s head dropped after repeatedly failing at the floor work.

Even splice editing was employed to deliberately highlight the severity of the situation.

[Production team) You seemed to have lost confidence throughout practice.]

[Yu Ha-woon) Ah, I don’t know if I should talk about this. Haha…]

Yu Ha-woon’s individual interview, showing slight tears while sharing his difficult backstory, was smoothly attached.

Seeing them even show flashbacks to when he practiced alone while preparing 〈HIT〉, I strongly felt that KNet had somewhat planned Yu Ha-woon’s character.

‘They must have decided to make him a growth character.’

Yu Ha-woon, who couldn’t reveal 100% of his abilities during practice due to his fallen confidence, gradually brightened his expression under Ryu Si-hwan’s encouraging support.

[That’s right, movements must definitely be big. If hands and feet move even slightly small, the flavor won’t come alive.]

[Right, Ha-woon. Just do it like now! Should we fix your expression a little and try again?]

[You can do it. You know too that you can easily handle this much.]

I had forgotten to check the comments.

When it happened to cross my mind and I looked at the live talk, all the same words were coming up.

—Just Hwan-father

—Hwan-father…

—A father’s efforts are always touching

—But the more I watch, the better their chemistry is T_T. It’s not just blindly embracing them, but properly catching the parts to teach while naturally helping them recover confidence T_T

—Hwan-mentor

—Why does Si-hwan, an independent trainee, look more mentally strong? Lol. He probably doesn’t understand such agency systems well either

└That’s because Hwan-father has maxed empathy ability

“Si-hwan did well too, but it was possible because Ha-woon followed the practice well~.”

“Hehe, no…”

“We all worked hard together.”

“…”

While everyone was praising Yu Ha-woon’s persistence, Ma Si-hyeok alone was staring at me intently.

Somehow it felt like there had been a similar situation before.

‘Don’t tell me, is he feeling regretful again that he didn’t receive this kind of care?’

What were all those comforting words I told him just recently?

[Thus came the interim evaluation]

[What would Team 9 hear…]

After Yu Ha-woon’s story, it immediately skipped to the interim evaluation.

I was internally slightly surprised.

Not a single bit of Chae Ha-ru’s screen time appeared.

It would have definitely been good material for KNet to use provocatively.

Maybe they had some conscience left, deciding not to publicly reveal the unfortunate childhood story Chae Ha-ru had shared with us.

Instead, the part where I suggested putting up Chae Ha-ru’s bangs was edited in.

[The center is… Ha-ru?]

Along with Lee Jin-hak’s surprised face, it was briefly explained how Chae Ha-ru came to take on Team 9’s center role.

[Stay still.]

[What trainee Ryu Si-hwan brought… a headband?]

The scene of putting on the headband I gave him and lifting his bangs, and the process of conducting center approval voting after seeing those visuals, came out as is.

Watching it again, Chae Ha-ru’s first appearance with those bangs up was quite impactful.

[Ryu Si-hwan) While practicing, he was sweating so much that I tried lifting his bangs once. But then, wow. He was so handsome.]

[Jang Seon-ho) Honestly, I didn’t even know Ha-ru looked like that. But when Brother Si-hwan suggested we vote for center, I saw it and thought, wow, this is just acknowledged. (thumbs up)]

[Chae Ha-ru) I’ve never lifted my bangs like this… Does it suit me well?]

Chae Ha-ru, who didn’t show off much in front of us, actually exuded charm subtly when he went for individual interviews.

While the cheerful atmosphere continued, dark BGM was laid for the first time.

[Shall we listen to the song first?]

About 15 seconds after those words came out?

The smooth group vocal part ended in the blink of an eye, and immediately the bridge part that Park Chang-jung had been greedy for arrived.

Here I could sense it.

Ah, the production team had definitely decided to send Park Chang-jung away for sure.

They replayed the pitch deviation part 4 times while really tastefully close-upping the expressions of Team 9 members, Team 4 members, Lee Jin-hak and Min Si-hyeon, and Park Chang-jung himself.

Since I was concentrating on watching Park Chang-jung at the time, I didn’t know what reactions the two judges had when the voice crack occurred.

Looking now, Lee Jin-hak had opened his eyes round like a surprised rabbit.

Min Si-hyeon slightly twisted her mouth sideways, unable to hide her disappointment.

[I’m curious, Chang-jung, did you say wanted to do this bridge part?]

The fastball-like question also came out as is with heavy BGM.

KNet took it one step further here.

[I’ve been thinking it’s unfair all along.]

[Brother Ha-ru also couldn’t get much attention until just a few days ago. But if you recommended him for center just because his hair styling changed, then we should go through the same process for vocal parts to be fair! As the leader, shouldn’t you naturally do that?]

They put the scene where Park Chang-jung complained about his part into the flashback scene in its entirety without any editing.

Even my attempts to explain the situation favorably and cover his image were mercilessly omitted.

[Right before the interim evaluation, opinions split within Team 9 regarding part distribution]

[After long deliberation, the bridge part went to trainee Park Chang-jung…]

Only these brief 2 subtitles and our fast-forwarded meeting scene remained.

Everyone couldn’t say anything for a while, staring at the TV.

“This is… they just buried him outright.”

“We didn’t actually act like that…”

I almost felt slightly sorry too, but it was too much of Park Chang-jung’s own wrongdoing to feel sympathy.

As I keep saying, providing the source that KNet prefers from the beginning was the problem itself.

You need to be able to control your emotions to some degree to survive in this kind of program.

[…I think it’s right for Brother Si-hwan to do it.]

Park Chang-jung voluntarily returning the part to me with his mentality completely shattered was the end of all Team 9’s preparation process scenes.

Due to the stage preparation process being depicted as quite shaky, fans’ public sentiment was also hitting rock bottom.

—Chang-jung, don’t you know your place??

—That’s the kid who tried to challenge the high note part during HIT and got miserably crushed LOL. I had a bad feeling from the start, but first impressions are indeed science

—Not knowing his own singing ability but giving grief to the leader who’s earnestly leading the kids…

—Wow but Sister Si-hyeon’s eyes were no joke… When she asked if you really wanted to do it, I almost peed myself

└Min Si-hyeon must have been really pissed lol. Think about how well she sang during her peak, having to film until late at night to teach kids like that

—At least it went back to its rightful owner, or he would have really caused huge trouble

I was worried that people would watch our stage in an angry state due to the harsh editing directed at Park Chang-jung.

[All I gotta do is to save you]

But the moment they saw Chae Ha-ru standing splendidly at center under a solo spotlight, public opinion flipped 180 degrees like cards being turned.

—Chae Ha-ru was a total cheat character LOL crazy

—I’m so resentful that such a face was hidden behind hair all this time, are you kidding me

—Ryu Si-hwan who thought to give that headband is today’s MVP

└Hwan-mentor

└Hwan-mentor

└Hwan-father’s broad generosity is always right

The formations that gathered and scattered in unison to the beat were also properly captured by the camera.

The group dance that lined up straight then spread to both sides in a V-shape was well shot.

My face breaking through the center was also captured so knife-sharp that watching it was slightly embarrassing.

Scenes of other trainees covering their mouths whenever my voice rang louder on stage were occasionally inserted, making it even more embarrassing.

Yu Ha-woon, who brilliantly executed the key choreography of sweeping the floor and getting up, also looked really happy, and other team members who followed my lead also exuded charm without missing the camera.

[Lee Jin-hak) It’s about time for it to come out.]

[Shin Jae-hoon) The bridge part?]

[Lee Jin-hak) Yeah, during the interim evaluation too. Team 4 earlier too, mistakes kept coming out here. I’m really curious how Si-hwan will handle it.]

As the song rushed toward the latter half, the judges’ reactions that heightened viewers’ expectations appeared.

How embarrassing would it have been if I really had a pitch deviation? I don’t even want to imagine.

Still, knowing that I showed 2-tier high notes in the bridge part without mistakes, I comfortably watched my solo shot.

[I will definitely protect you]

Compared clearly with previous trainees who sang this part, Ryu Si-hwan on screen raised the high notes all too easily.

All kinds of cross-editing entered once again.

For my one part, audience reactions, other trainees’ reactions, and judges’ reactions all appeared, creating a complete chaos party.

Not stopping there, when Ryu Si-hwan raised the pitch one more level, the scene truly became a crucible of enthusiasm.

‘So many people cheered that much.’

Since I was focused only on singing, I couldn’t hear the audience’s immediate cheers.

Confirming it through the broadcast like this, everyone had gone crazy.

The person who showed the most surprised expression among the judges was none other than Min Si-hyeon.

[Min Si-hyeon) He didn’t tell me he’d change it and sing like that?]

[Shin Jae-hoon) What what, then he raised the pitch on this main stage without prior notice to Brother Jin-hak and you? Isn’t he crazy?]

[Lee Jin-hak) Haha… I’m speechless.]

[Min Si-hyeon) He’s really crazy. Who raises the pitch more in that part… (holding her forehead and letting out an incredulous laugh) But he pulls it off like that, so I’m even more speechless.]

Team 9’s 〈Volt〉 stage concluded while maintaining precise formation to the end.

True to the program that coined the term ending fairy, they gave one-shots to each team member alternately.

Checking my phone, the live talk and idol communities were truly engulfed in a tsunami of emotion due to my 2-tier high notes.

Even if the broadcast had ended right here, it would have been enough for issue-making.

Unfortunately, there was still one more stage left that could blaze even hotter.