The Idol Who Returned from Hell Chapter 45

“Line up in single file so I can check your numbers!”

“If you keep going outside the line, it’ll take longer to get inside!”

“We’re doing bag inspections, so please have your bags ready!”

The popularity of 〈Idol Stove League Season 2〉 grew higher with each passing day.

Explosive broadcast ratings. Skyrocketing cast recognition.

With internet articles and NeoTube channels full of elements they’d love, even more people were drawn into 〈ISL 2〉.

Everything was good, but this also meant the probability of winning tickets to the live audience decreased exponentially.

In short, those who won the click wars could taste supreme satisfaction.

‘Ugh, they’re pushing too hard from the side!’

However, this woman who had secured tickets to the 2nd team battle through lightning-fast clicking was currently having slight regrets about her decision.

She was doing her best to keep her [Seong-hwi, I only see you] slogan from getting crumpled in her tightly gripped hands, but the crowd pushing like a herd of raging bulls was at an unbearable level.

‘Maybe I should have just watched from home.’

Wiping her forehead drenched in sweat, the woman closed her eyes briefly and tried some self-hypnosis.

‘No, I came here on a 3-hour train ride to see our Hwi. I shouldn’t think such strange thoughts.’

Fortunately, thanks to the skilled guidance of the KNet staff, the 500 audience members were able to quickly enter the filming studio.

Her first impression upon seeing the stage was.

‘Wow, it’s as wide as a music show stage?’

When she’d only seen it on TV, the stage never felt big at all, but seeing it in person was different.

Imagining her favorite running wild in this high and vast space naturally brought a smile to her lips.

Having thoroughly read all the live audience review posts beforehand, the woman knew it would take quite a while before the main team battle round began.

So to kill time and distract herself from her suffering legs in the standing area, she accessed an idol community site as if possessed.

It seemed many national managers had the same idea as her.

Every time she refreshed, posts titled things like “Live audience here” or “Standing area is so hot I’m dying” kept appearing endlessly.

But just like always, getting caught doing audience spoilers meant instant elimination, so everyone quickly deleted their posts after a few minutes.

Instead of writing posts, the woman decided to look at photos of Seong-hwi for healing.

‘He’s really just too handsome.’

As a true idol fan, she didn’t just follow major idols but tended to seek out trainees as well.

That’s how she came to know about Seong-hwi, a named trainee from X2.

And through 〈ISL 2〉, she properly fell into fandom.

That appearance of being endlessly obsessed with winning, speaking his opinions regardless of others’ gazes, and not just singing well but dancing too.

Of course, Seong-hwi had caused quite a few controversies, but what of it.

Public opinion had already largely tilted toward ‘Seong-hwi did nothing wrong.’

‘I hope he never gets involved with those troublemakers again.’

Since competition would intensify as they moved toward the latter half of the race, each of these competition rounds was precious.

How much potential could be unleashed here.

How good a stage could attract more fan inflow was important.

Therefore, team members who could bring out Seong-hwi’s capabilities to the fullest were desperately needed.

‘It’s not ideal, but Ryu Si-hwan would still be the best choice.’

Ryu Si-hwan, who appeared as an individual trainee and displayed tremendous skills, was being mentioned as a favorite to win, beyond just a major pick.

He had also fiercely competed with Seong-hwi for 1st place at the 1st ranking announcement.

While the woman wasn’t too pleased with Ryu Si-hwan’s existence threatening Seong-hwi’s 1st place position, she thought it would be good if they could take him along for this team battle.

At least the stage quality would be overwhelmingly guaranteed.

‘……He’s handsome too.’

The woman, who liked prince-like styles, found herself secretly admiring Ryu Si-hwan’s face without realizing it.

She just wasn’t openly acknowledging it, but he definitely looked like a noble young master, which hit her taste perfectly.

‘If the two of them don’t end up on the same team, maybe I’ll vote for Ryu Si-hwan’s team too.’

Last season, the 2nd team battle audience had picked a total of two teams they liked.

Since KNet doesn’t usually change formats like this, the woman was already guessing it would be the same this time.

Around the time her legs started getting stiff.

“Hello, national managers! From now on, we’ll begin the 2nd team battle round, the 〈Fan’s Favorite〉 round!”

“Wooooooh—!”

A single spotlight turned on over the darkened stage, and the elegant MC Go Hyeon-ju appeared.

Looking at the stunningly beautiful Go Hyeon-ju, the woman was able to soothe her tired mind and body somewhat.

‘I really did well coming to the live audience!’

Just as expected, after being told to pick the numbers of the two teams they thought did best, MC Go Hyeon-ju added one more detail.

“And just like the 1st group battle, individual voting will be included in this team battle as well. However, for individual voting, you must vote for all 8 teams even if you didn’t pick that team. Individual voting time will be given after each team’s stage ends, so please give your precious vote to the one trainee you think did best.”

What kind of cruel benefit system were they trying to give again.

Not only did they have to vote within their chosen teams, but they had to vote for all 8 teams.

No matter how much she thought about it, this seemed like they were planning to give even greater privileges than the last 1st team battle.

‘The psychological warfare will be brutal.’

Already, a strange tension was flowing among the 500 audience members.

“Then let’s meet Team 1’s stage right away. The stage prepared by 7 participants is 〈UP―TEMPO〉! Please give them a big round of applause!”

The main stage began with Team 1, who had been assigned a song by a successful 1st-tier boy group.

The woman looked at the trainees dressed in colorful casual outfits and worked hard to memorize their faces.

‘From here, I guess only Chae Ha-ru is worth considering.’

Among the 〈ISL 2〉 participants, the trainee who had built recognition purely through visual appeal was definitely Chae Ha-ru.

When he first appeared, his bangs were so long you couldn’t even tell who he was.

But after getting the full benefit of styling, that fraudulent visual was revealed to the world.

Having a member like that definitely brings the whole presence to life.

The woman watched the other teams’ stages without getting too absorbed.

She needed to save her remaining energy for when Seong-hwi’s team came out.

Some teams created quite impressive scenes while others showed skills too embarrassing to call live performances.

Naturally, the audience’s evaluations split in real-time.

“Worse than I thought.”

“Me too. I voted for him a little before, but I should stop now.”

The national managers pressed the remote control buttons firmly with cold gazes, inputting their opinions.

While they concentrated on understanding individual trainees during the early teams, as time passed everyone started getting somewhat annoyed.

As the fatigue of those around her doubled, the woman found herself anticipating her favorite who hadn’t appeared yet even more.

Even Ryu Si-hwan hadn’t performed on stage yet.

‘Could the two of them really be on the same team?’

She continued watching with such heart-fluttering thoughts.

But neither Seong-hwi nor Ryu Si-hwan showed even their shadows.

Now it was getting difficult to soothe her tired body with just hope alone.

Then finally.

“This is today’s final performance. It’s Team 5’s turn to cover Fournine’s 〈Back in the Time〉. Please give a big round of applause to welcome trainees Seong-hwi, Ryu Si-hwan, Ma Si-hyeok, Ha Sang-hun, Kang Tae-hun, and Song Byeong-ho!”

“Finally!”

“Wow, Seong-hwi and Ryu Si-hwan are on the same team?”

“I waited 6 hours to see this!”

With thunderous cheers, 6 participants stepped onto the stage.

‘What’s with their visual combination, seriously!’

The woman covered her mouth with her slogan while looking at the trainees dressed in white shirts.

Wet spray to create the feeling of damp hair, moist skin, and semi-transparent black ties contrasting with the white shirts.

Having gathered only outstanding visuals, her eyes literally felt like they were opening to enlightenment.

Just as she wanted to capture more of those enchanting faces in her eyes, all the lights on stage went out at once.

The sound of her heartbeat echoed loudly in her ears.

In rhythm with that pounding, the sophisticated future bass sound of the intro began.

「I want to go back to that beautiful moment

To that time when you and I were together」

Under blue lighting, Seong-hwi stretched both arms up toward the sky.

Over beats that created the illusion of falling raindrops, five tall figures quickly circled around Seong-hwi in formation.

「I’m trapped alone in this pain

I want to forget you, I want to forget you」

That dreamlike gaze that seemed to tear through her brain made her feel like she’d stop breathing at first.

The gesture of roughly grabbing the tie around his neck with straight fingers made her mind grow distant.

‘The arrangement is really well done.’

While her mind was getting hazy, the woman recalled the original melody of 〈Back in the Time〉 and praised the current arrangement.

Originally it was a song known for its pure and wistful piano accompaniment and violin sounds, so she’d been curious how it would change.

This pop-style future bass sound was perfectly optimized for showing sharp group choreography.

「Time goes fast

The farewell words you gave me have already disappeared

They’ve vanished from my memory

Still, I still miss you」

In an instant, the formation switched to a single line with Ma Si-hyeok, who had been at the back, taking center stage.

The physicality from his broad shoulders and the restrained choreography that hit precisely on the beat were mesmerizing enough to make the word “captivating” naturally slip out.

When his hand smoothly caressed around his neck and jaw area, people could be heard screaming loudly.

Just as Ma Si-hyeok’s part was ending, the members who had been harmoniously extending their arms behind quickly formed a triangular formation.

And when the large-framed Ma Si-hyeok dropped to his knees with a thud.

「But I know I can’t give you up

Even on nights when I can’t see ahead, I’ll search for you and return like this」

Like flower petals, four pairs of arms stretched forward.

From within them, Ryu Si-hwan emerged singing with that refreshing voice.

Without any movement, staying still in the exact center of the formation, something unusual was covering his eyes.

“Insane—!”

The woman couldn’t help but exclaim while looking at the giant LED screen installed behind the stage.

The black tie that had been around his neck had somehow become an eye mask covering his eyes.

And in rhythm with the verse he sang, the members on both sides smoothly untied the blindfold.

The tie fluttered down beside Ryu Si-hwan’s face like it was dancing in the wind.

Until his part ended, Ryu Si-hwan didn’t hastily break that wistful gaze.

The collaboration of his fraudulent face and masterpiece-level facial expressions.

Who could watch that without screaming?

With the camera director’s perfectly timed moment capture, the audience instantly transformed into pterodactyls.

「I’m going back in the time when we were young

Every moment of those beautiful days」

Seong-hwi’s voice with its thin, unique timbre.

「Flying through the stars and the moon

Singing like this toward you I had forgotten」

And in contrast, Ryu Si-hwan’s voice with its powerful volume and range that seemed to pierce the sky following consecutively—it couldn’t get any better than this.

The woman, who until now had only been thinking about which trainee to give her vote to while not truly enjoying herself, found herself staring blankly at the stage at some point.

The group choreography of 6 members moving like a single organism showed hypnotically fluid dance moves.

The different facial expressions layered on top were so sophisticated that you could watch them over and over without getting tired.

The movements didn’t seem that difficult.

However, even though there were no explosive elements like the complex footwork or backflips that previous teams had shown, she felt a strange sensation.

By the time the second chorus arrived, the woman realized why she felt that way.

‘Every single choreography composition is sexy!’

No performance with this kind of atmosphere had appeared before Team 5’s stage.

The others had probably just prepared with the mindset of reproducing the original choreography as similarly as possible, focusing on sharp group dance.

But Team 5’s mission song was fundamentally different.

This was a female idol song that couldn’t be copied.

Since it was a song that required rearrangement and reinterpretation of choreography, this level of expressive freedom was guaranteed.

Team 5 had really delicately highlighted that point, making the national managers feel a sexiness they had never seen before.

While listening to the repeated second chorus, the woman thought she wished time would slow down just a little.

Soon they’d reach the latter half, and then the stage would end within a minute.

But a highlight arrived that blew away this regretful feeling.

「Flying through the stars and the moon

Singing like this toward you I had forgotten」

Ryu Si-hwan’s part with the same lyrics.

However, the future bass melody was nowhere to be found, and beautiful piano sounds flowed through the speakers.

Even the vocal range suddenly got higher.

‘Whoa, he’s singing it like the original?’

No, she misspoke.

He wasn’t singing it like the original—he was really singing in the original key.

The woman even lowered the slogan she’d been gripping tightly and stared blankly at Ryu Si-hwan, who was reaching his hand out mournfully toward the stage.

The tie that had been around his shirt collar was already loose and half-undone.

Like the tie fluttering cleanly upward, his voice coolly soared through the high notes.

With the song’s atmosphere completely reversed, all the audience members were captivated and looked only at Ryu Si-hwan standing in the center of the formation.

Before the lingering impression Ryu Si-hwan left could fade, the song returned to future bass.

The sophisticated sound dropped down like a roller coaster, and the echoing electronic beats soon announced the introduction of the dance break.

And then.

「Back in the Time!」

All of them roughly untied the ties around their necks and held them in their hands.

To the lightly falling beats, the 6 trainees stretched their long limbs refreshingly and soared.

From nape to waist.

Again from waist to legs.

Fluttering the black ties like ribbons, they showed movements like works of art in succession.

The audience members also moved as one body with the trainees’ synchronized breathing, shaking their hands and heads.

During this time, Fournine’s 〈Back in the Time〉 was erased from everyone’s minds.

Only the fantastic performance of 〈Back in the Time〉 unfolding before their eyes was deeply engraved in their memories.

The endlessly intensifying sound made it feel like their hearts would burst.

The joints of legs and arms hit precisely into the bass beats, creating a sense of pleasure.

Just when it felt like they couldn’t endure any longer, the trainees simultaneously threw the black fabric upward and stopped.

The stage lights gradually dimmed, leaving only the lonely blue spotlight in the center.

Seong-hwi, who stepped into that circle, gently placed his hand on his chest and whispered.

「Promise me, when the sky clears again

That you’ll ride the stars and come back to me

Forever」

Even the last light illuminating Seong-hwi disappeared.

Then, after a very brief silence, the filming studio was engulfed in a cauldron of enthusiasm.

“Wow, that was insane!”

“Aaaahhhhh!”

“Encore! Encore!”

The woman, who had been entranced, instinctively joined in shouting for an encore.

Her mind was in complete chaos from the stage that exceeded her imagination.

‘First, for the two best teams, I obviously have to include them! Ah, damn, how am I supposed to pick just one person here!’

Normally she would have just given her vote to Seong-hwi without hesitation.

But for some reason, the image of Ryu Si-hwan untying his blindfold kept wavering before the woman’s eyes.

‘Am I really going crazy?’