Chapter 90
Halfway through Episode 0, which was filmed to run for two hours, an interview was inserted after a band that had worked hard to show what “youth” was—a band eliminated in the preliminaries because they couldn’t play well—as if to criticize the band that had come before.
The editing kept crosscutting between the “band that couldn’t play well” and the “female contestant” watching them. A humorless BGM, tension-building sound effects, and judges scoffing and looking dumbfounded.
[Q : Could you introduce yourself?]
[A : …Hello. I’m Ha Suyeon from Group Sound.]
Then “Ha Suyeon” firmly closed her mouth again and fell silent. The internet communities began to seethe at the obvious editing intent that anyone could have recognized.
[God Donguk still has it ㄷㄷㄷㄷ]
[What the fuck is this?]
[What the fuck is this concept lol They made it fucking awful]
[Are they planning to use her as a punching bag just because she’s pretty?]
[Guys, if it’s Yoon the Bastard’s style, this is definitely going to have a twist]
The actual preliminary judging for Group Sound had consisted entirely of admiration and a friendly atmosphere. But after being edited, the footage made it look as though the atmosphere had been like walking on a knife’s edge.
[Judge 1 : You have absolutely no experience.]
[Judge 2 : We haven’t seen anything yet. What are we supposed to do with this?]
[Judge 3 : Even if this isn’t a public broadcast or whatever, it’s an audition. Isn’t there a problem with fooling around like this?]
Comments made while judging other bands were edited to seem as though they had been said during Group Sound’s judging. Viewers knew that audition programs universally used “evil editing,” but they still accepted the information shown on screen at face value.
That was how the broadcast proceeded, until just before it showed Group Sound’s performance…
[Moni moni moni moni~ Moni moa~]
An advertisement was inserted, cutting off the flow. A pointlessly addictive advertisement designed to make people furious.
“Ah, fuck!”
Iseo sprang up from the sofa with an enraged shout. Myeongjeon watched and slowly shook their head.
“Why the hell did they edit it like that!! We look like a bunch of complete fucking lunatics!”
“That’s how these shows all are…”
“How does that make any sense~? How can you even call that an explanation~?” Iseo shouted as they playfully grabbed Hyuna and shook her. Leaving Hyuna swaying like a reed in a typhoon and pitifully saying, “Please stop~,” Myeongjeon thought:
‘I knew broadcasting was like this, but this is too much.’
For example, the comment about whether guitar was difficult had been meant to encourage beginners by saying that “anyone can make music.” But after editing, it sounded more like, “Anyone who thinks guitar is difficult should go die.”
“Doesn’t it kind of feel like they’re trying to kill us?”
That was Seoha’s mutter. In the meantime, the brief commercial ended and the broadcast resumed. The furious girls quickly took their seats, and the band’s performance began again.
And the content of the broadcast that aired had a completely different atmosphere from what came before the advertisement.
When the shadow of the first snow already fallen
Comes to you once again
“Ash gray, return to me.”
The street live from the preliminaries. A languid, murmuring voice full of appeal, the audience cheering, and the judges’ admiration were all crosscut together. The community’s reaction flipped in an instant.
[She’s insanely good ㄷㄷㄷ]
[Knew it]
[They’ve raised a whole forest of friends lol]
[No, auditions are always full of evil editing, so why do people believe it right away and start hurling abuse lol It makes me lose faith in humanity]
[That guitar is insane]
The guitar solo she had played at the preliminary judging was added as well. The judges applauded as if amazed, while the participating bands outside the judging room clutched their heads after hearing it. Even though it lasted over a minute, the solo was broadcast in its entirety, unedited from beginning to end.
[Judge 1 : That’s what you call a genius.]
[Judge 2 : I felt it the moment she touched the guitar. It was over right then.]
[Judge 3 : I almost cried tears of joy. At last, a talent like this has appeared in our country’s band scene. This is the beginning of a rock revolution.]
The favorable editing of their skills kept raining down without end. Praise so excessive it became embarrassing continued one after another. The interviews with the other participating bands were the same.
[I felt like I’d hit a wall.]
[That’s one year? The moment I heard her, this massive sense of self-loathing hit me, damn…]
[What I’ve been playing is basically child’s play.]
But the common thread running through all that editing was its exclusive focus on their “tremendous skill.” There was no editing that showed the human side of “Ha Suyeon” or “Group Sound.” The band looked as though they emotionlessly walked onto the stage and mechanically delivered a performance of flawless quality.
[Q : How long have you been playing bass?]
[A : I think it’s been about a year and a half.]
[Q : Wasn’t it difficult?]
[A : I didn’t find it particularly difficult.]
This editing was applied not only to “Ha Suyeon,” but to every member of “Group Sound.” Even “Choi Iseo” wasn’t spared.
“Why me too!”
On screen, “Choi Iseo” played the bass perfectly, like an emotionless machine. While Iseo stared in horror, unable to contain her shock, the other band members were portrayed in a similar way. The editing had turned all of “Group Sound” into a band with genius-level skills and arrogant personalities.
“…Is this really okay?”
After the broadcast moved on to another band, Iseo muttered that.
“We came off like total garbage. Like we look down on other people because we trust our skills.”
“This is downright malicious. Shouldn’t we complain? When did I ever say anything with that kind of implication?”
“I clearly talked about my experience, but they cut all of that. The part about being in a CCM band and everything.”
“That’s just how broadcasting is…”
The girls bickered playfully over who had suffered the most from the “evil editing.” Myeongjeon had been sitting quietly with their chin propped on the sofa, but then they opened their mouth.
“Wasn’t I the biggest victim? I came off as a completely rude brat.”
“Uh… isn’t that true?”
But the answer was nothing like what Myeongjeon had expected. When they looked at the band members as if asking what they meant, the members reacted with disbelief.
“No, that’s just you normally. It doesn’t look like they edited you much at all.”
“I’m like that?”
“It’s exactly the same. They practically copied you.”
“You’re always saying, ‘I’ve only played guitar for a year,’ and then showing off your guitar skills in front of everyone and humiliating them. What the hell? That’s just Ha Suyeon as usual.”
“Hey, when have I ever acted like that normally?”
They tried to refute them, but their words had no effect at all. Perhaps because Iseo had finally found something to tease them about, she jeered, “WhEn HaVe I eVeR aCtEd LiKe ThAt NoRmAlLy~” with a snicker. “You’re exactly the same~ You’re Ha Suyeon as usual~” Myeongjeon slowly shook their head.
In any case, Myeongjeon hadn’t meant it that way, so if they had taken it that way, the fault was theirs.
* * *
The latter half of the broadcast was edited mainly around boy bands from entertainment agencies, such as [TWR] and [WEKIDS], and indie bands like [Muzaku] and [Seolgahyang]. The editing made it seem as though everyone was working hard and displaying fairly impressive skills.
As she watched Episode 0 end with all thirty bands entering the stage set aside for them one by one, Ayoon thought:
‘They made our kids look like villains.’
The first half of Episode 0 focused on the arrogant genius band “Group Sound,” who had appeared by slaughtering all the lousy bands in their path.
By contrast, the latter half focused on bands with handsome looks, considerable skill, and decent personalities. Their current abilities might be weak, but they were improving, and they would develop through this audition before eventually defeating the great villain “Group Sound”… That was the impression the editing gave.
The community’s reaction was exactly the same.
[Can you believe people with faces like those are in a band? >>>TWR<<< Please show them lots of love]
[I’ve never been prouder to be a Widult than today ㅠㅠㅠㅠ Please show lots of love to WEKIDS for making it through the preliminaries, and let’s go to the finals and win, guys!!]
[Are Group Sound those guys famous in the indie scene or something? They came off like the final boss]
[A chance to see a god-tier indie band like Muzaku live! Please show lots of interest in their live concert~]
[Fuck, I thought a girl band had appeared in this sausage fest and would cleanse my eyes, but look at this edit. Bet the ladies will get eliminated soon lol]
[Is it really okay to show up to an audition with that attitude? Do they think they’re the Beatles or something?]
Even after checking several communities, this sort of reaction was the majority. There were even posts like, [Yoon the Bastard grabbed them to stir up controversy for this audition lol].
‘It’s the complete opposite.’
It was the exact opposite of the impression she had gotten while attending Paradox. But posts and tweets like [Our kids aren’t like that, they’re nice ㅠㅠㅠㅠ] were quietly buried beneath the flood of promotional and inflammatory posts.
‘Well, at least they got screen time.’
Exhausted from constantly posting, Ayoon decided to think of it that way. There must have been bands with good skills that received almost no editing at all. She should be satisfied that they had gotten screen time, even like this.
* * *
“Did you watch the show? The editing was too much. You all came off like complete machines.”
During an interim shoot for Episode 2, Doyeon, a mentor on the mentor team [Dohwaseo], spoke as soon as they entered the studio.
“Ah~ That’s what I’m saying. Especially me! I came off as someone who just plays bass without saying a word.”
Doyeon chuckled at Iseo’s banter. The guitarist “Kim Jinseo” beside Doyeon also laughed lightly and joined in.
“That’s just how auditions are, and that’s just how broadcasts are. When I was young, tons of footage I’d filmed got cut, and whenever I came off as rude, I’d go to the PD and pick a fight. I did that all the time.”
“You actually did that? What happened?”
“What do you think happened? I just got chewed out and told not to talk nonsense. Back then, the PD was king. Still is, really, but it’s better than before.”
After a little more advice about broadcasting passed between them, the director signaled, “We’ll begin now~” The people there straightened their postures at his words.
“All right! We’ll do the interim checkup now. Vivid Orange’s ‘JUMPING!’ Since it was the song all the other bands left until last, we can safely say it must be a difficult one.”
“I suddenly got curious. Doyeon, how old were you when this song came out?”
“This song? I think I was just entering university and preparing to become a singer.”
“I think I was in my late twenties. Group Sound, when this song came out… had you even started elementary school?”
Iseo shook her head, while two of them answered things like, “I think I was in first grade then.” Myeongjeon stayed quiet out of conscience.
“Wow. The generation gap is huge. Elementary school? Has anyone heard this song before?”
At Jinseo’s question, no one raised a hand. Kim Jinseo reacted as if she had been struck by shock, followed by mutters like, “Am I really that old?”
“Since it’s such an old song, trends have changed a lot too, so I imagine it must have been difficult.”
As if trying to recover the atmosphere that had gone completely off track, Doyeon continued with the shoot.
“Especially since it’s disco-flavored, I imagine it wasn’t easy to turn it into a band-style song. Have you decided on a concept? If not, we can decide one together today.”
“We’ve already decided on a concept.”
Myeongjeon said that and opened the laptop they had brought with them. A music video was displayed on the screen.
“Since it’s a field quite far removed from us, we chose a direct reference and adapted it a little. This is our first reference.”
“Uh… first? Is there a second one? Could we see it?”
Myeongjeon showed them the laptop. Although the song title was displayed on the YouTube screen, Doyeon and Jinseo didn’t recognize it. Iseo and Hyuna—and especially Seoha—were struggling to hold back their laughter at what was about to happen.
When the music video began playing, the actual stage appeared. Along with the clear voice of a young girl came music with a technical, heavy sound.
“Huh?”
Three Japanese female idols appeared onstage. Their outfits were decorated with frills and skirts, and their cute looks, choreography, and voices all made it a quintessentially “Japanese-idol-like stage.”
The only exception was that the music playing in the background was heavy metal.
“Our first reference is what’s known as ‘Kawaii Metal.’”
Myeongjeon declared this to the two people staring at the screen with expressions that seemed to ask whether they were really seeing what they thought they were seeing.