The Idol Who Returned from Hell Chapter 80

The national managers still hadn’t regained their composure, captivated by the participants’ faces that shone brighter than the dazzling special effects and glittering displays.

The audience members who had come to the venue were catching their breath for just a brief moment, as they needed time for stage reorganization and the trainees’ costume changes.

Everyone went on social media to verify whether they had properly seen what they witnessed with their own eyes and whether their favorite had been captured well on the broadcast.

—Yu Ha-woon making me switch favorites, is this real

└I thought it was amazing that Ha-woon got the center position, but seeing the actual stage, I could tell why he was chosen. Today he’s definitely my pick

└Ah seriously, seriously, seriously, seriously, who would have known that the youngest would look this good in a uniform

└On one hand, I felt relieved…… I was worried our kid might lose spirit after his ranking dropped during the most important 3rd instant evaluation, but T_T T_T T_T during practice and on the real stage too, it seemed like he kept his mentality strong, so I felt relieved

└If it were me, I would have been consumed by anxiety and ended up biting my nails and going crazy

—From today, I declare: white is the standard for uniforms

└…That’s totally not true, black is the truth

└If Ryu Si-hwan had come out in a black uniform wow, just imagining it makes my nose bleed

└Eh, I thought white was much cleaner and brought out the kids’ skin tones nicely

└222 I’m team white too

└Whether you’re team white or team black, they’re both cool, so let’s just say thanks. The coordi honestly worked hard today, agreed?

└Still, I think black would suit Ha-woon better with his brown hair

└―――――2nd verse 3rd verse brain malfunction prohibited―――――

—First of all, the song itself definitely has good quality lol, seems way better than season 1

—I don’t even remember what the final songs were in season 1 lol…

└There were 〈Home Run〉 and 〈Touchdown〉

└From what I remember, both songs fell out of the top 100 on GrapeFruit charts within a day

└Right, back then the final songs were so bad compared to the kids’ popularity that people were like ‘are these guys going to flop?’ lol, but fortunately their debut song blew up

└This time the producer lineup was really strong lol. Seems like they invested more money this season

Everyone was satisfied with the ideal stage quality and song composition.

The choreography created by the trainees’ individual contributions was also top-level.

The final song 〈Royal Road〉, which demonstrated the power of capital, also received many favorable reviews for being pleasant to listen to.

Just when everyone was excitedly sharing their thoughts, someone posted with a worried tone.

—Everything’s good, but does anyone know how much the draft sponsorship has reached right now?? Why can’t I see the total amount after sponsoring once

└Once you sponsor, they seem to block it completely so you can’t do weird stuff. I can’t see it either

└I just checked with my mom’s account and it was 200 billion? I think

└Yo, we’re in the mid-to-late part of the broadcast right now and it’s 200 billion…… That’s 50 billion per person, so 4 people? Who are they telling to stick with just 4 final debut members??

└This is an emergency, super emergency. I guess there were too many people with 0 money T_T T_T T_T. What do we do, this is really…

From the moment that post appeared, people who had already voted kept creating fake accounts or desperately begged their acquaintances to send sponsorships.

At this rate, not only would their favorite not debut, but it looked like the first team in idol survival program history with 5 or fewer members would be created.

They had to go anywhere within reach and beg people to create new IDs, sparing no effort.

Finally, people even appeared going to game communities that had nothing to do with idols to promote.

—Gallery members, please help our kid debut with sponsorship…… I’m desperately begging…… Just click this link, sign up super easily with a green window or Gugel ID, and just do ‘draft sponsorship,’ please T_T

└What is this, you otaku

└What idol is this? It’s not even girl groups but boy groups

└These guys seem famous though. My sister always watches this and steals the remote, so freaking annoying

└But why are you coming here to beg for votes? Lol. Wouldn’t going to female communities instead of male communities be much better?

└It’s not vote begging, but a certain amount has to be sponsored for the kids to debut T_T I won’t ask you to pick anyone specific, so just create a new ID and sponsor, please!! I’m also a user who’s played this game for a long time, so please, I earnestly beg you T_T

└Did it. Doesn’t take long anyway

└Thank you, thank you, really

Anyone who had watched many survival programs would have instinctively realized.

There wasn’t much time left until text voting and draft sponsorship ended.

All they could think of were the farewell VCR screening and the final goodbye stage.

Knowing such a future well, the national managers were desperately trying their best to recruit sponsors until the very end.

While various group actions were taking place externally, reorganization had finished at the 〈ISL 2〉 final venue.

The central screen flickered like changing tapes, and when the white and black lines faded, one trainee’s face appeared.

[Uh, is this being recorded right now? Hello? Can you hear my voice?]

The trainee who brought his face closer to check if the camera was working properly was none other than Kang Seon-woo.

The national managers briefly cheered at Kang Seon-woo’s close-up shot, then noticed one different thing.

That’s right. The current silver hair was nowhere to be seen—this was black-haired Kang Seon-woo.

This meant this was a video filmed during the very early days of 〈ISL 2〉.

[Ah—, ah—. Hey, well, if the sound wasn’t recorded, the production staff will handle it. Anyway, yes, everyone! This is our dorm! Everyone say hello!]

[Hello!]

[Hello there!]

Beds arranged in a room reminiscent of a dormitory.

On top of them, trainees in casual clothes waved with bright smiles.

[We practiced together for the first time today, and everyone did well! We’ll all be able to survive until the end, so don’t worry. Got it?]

[We’ll work hard!]

[I really hope we make it to the finals……]

[I really want to debut.]

All the national managers watching the VCR instantly became immersed due to the trainees’ sincere way of speaking.

When they wore heavy makeup and nice costumes on stage, they looked stronger than anyone, but their usual appearance was unmistakably that of boys.

Watching them chat freely brought an inexplicable sense of nostalgia.

And as time passed and editing showed the number of people disappearing one by one from all the dorm rooms, some audience members sharply inhaled.

[You worked hard all this time!]

[Let’s meet someday in a music show waiting room.]

The eliminated trainees calmly exchanging farewell greetings and the survivors trying hard to swallow their tears.

Individual interviews were inserted between the scenes.

The first to appear was Ryu Si-hwan’s low voice.

[I think I felt it for the first time after today’s filming ended. Ah, now it’s really over.]

Next, Kang Seon-woo spoke with an awkward laugh.

[Haha, if you ask me about everything in detail, I can only answer honestly. Well, it wasn’t like there were only good memories. There were many difficult days, and I couldn’t sleep properly. But even if there were many difficult days, that doesn’t make the good memories disappear, right?]

Next was Seong-hwi.

[I learned and realized a lot coming here. I feel like my personality changed even a little…… It seems like it was a good opportunity to engrave in my heart how fortunate it is to dance and sing on stage like this.]

And after that came the voices of Chae Ha-ru, Ma Si-hyeok, and Yu Ha-woon.

[Just the fact that so many people showed interest in me as a trainee made me think I was born lucky.]

[I feel like I had an experience I’ll never forget for the rest of my life, and all the connections I made in 〈ISL 2〉 will remain in my memory.]

[Hehe, I’ll just say it short and sweet! It was really fun and happy until now!]

With Yu Ha-woon’s interview as the finale, the VCR screen turned black again.

And a gentle piano melody began playing from behind.

—This melody is familiar

—It’s HIT, HIT acoustic version with piano!

—Ah seriously why are they making me cry T_T

—Yo, is it really ending like this? Time passed too quickly

The piano version of the theme song 〈HIT〉 played as the screen brightened.

On the screen where the black had lifted, 20 trainees bowed with both hands clasped together.

And Ryu Si-hwan, standing in the center, took the microphone as their representative.

[National managers who have loved 〈Idol Stove League Season 2〉 all this time, thank you sincerely. We will work hard to become idols worthy of the love and attention you’ve sent us, so please continue to support us greatly. Then shall we all shout together and wrap up?]

[One, two, three!]

[Play the Stage!]

With the ending chant that signals the start of 〈ISL 2〉 stages, the VCR video gradually faded.

People swallowed the deep afterglow while looking at the darkened stage.

But then a different lift from before operated from below the stage.

On top of the large circular lift, 20 figures slowly took shape.

The piano melody that seemed to flow from the ending VCR naturally amplified, and matching that introduction, one person began to sing.

「I’m breathless, can’t hear anything

Only my heart beats in the darkness」

A unique tone that anyone who had watched 〈ISL 2〉 from the beginning would recognize immediately.

A light turned on overhead, and bright white light illuminated Ryu Si-hwan holding the microphone.

The perfect appearance of the intro fairy and people overwhelmed by the emotion of the ending beat their chests and wailed.

—I knew they’d do this but I’m still going crazy T_T. You guys worked so hard all this time

—You all endured KNet’s evil methods well…… Haa…….

└The scary thing is that this is still ongoing heh…

└Ahhhhhhh what do we do really

└How much is the sponsorship right now? Please tell me a lot was collected

└They say it’s not showing at all right now, seems like they closed it overall to prevent spoilers

└These crazy bastards, who doesn’t know they’ll manipulate it there!!

The national managers were already soaking both cheeks with tears, but the trainees standing on stage sang steadfastly while showing their reddened eyes.

When that sweet piano accompaniment reached its peak and arrived again at Ryu Si-hwan’s high-note ad-lib part.

Everyone had felt it was tremendous vocal power even when listening to the regular version.

But now, with all the electronic sounds removed and in an almost completely unaccompanied state, Ryu Si-hwan’s clear pitch pierced the eardrums more distinctly than ever.

—Wow is his vocal power insane or what

—This is someone who already performed on stage once, right? Someone who danced everything too, right?

—At this level, you could hear it even from the underground parking garage lol

└Ryu Si-hwan’s lungs pierce through the Earth’s mantle

└Ah, I need to hear this live T_T. When they hold a solo concert later, I’m definitely going

With everyone adding harmonies and singing “Gonna make it HIT” as the finale, all the special stages were completely finished.

Only then did participants who had been holding back their tears burst out crying in large numbers.

As expected, the one crying most pitifully was the youngest, Yu Ha-woon.

The circular lift slowly descended below the stage, and the beautifully resonating piano also quieted down.

Realizing that all stages had now ended, the audience sent unstinting applause.

And before that emotion could completely fade away.

MC Go Hyeon-ju’s voice cut through the air.

“The national text voting and draft sponsorship will end soon. 10, 9, 8……”

A countdown appeared on the giant screen.

Everyone watching this broadcast fixed their gaze on the silver-painted numbers.

“……3, 2, 1. With this, we conclude the text voting and draft sponsorship.”

MC Go Hyeon-ju, who stepped onto the stage with a solemn expression, tightly gripped the cue card in her hand.

And very slowly, she prepared to bring down the curtain on this grand journey.

“The 〈Idol Stove League Season 2〉 debut members and debut number decided by the hands of the national managers. Who will sit on that shining throne? We will now announce the results.”