Chapter 95
The venue was swept by shock. Cameras vividly captured the bands’ inability to accept the reality of the Round 3 mission: ‘The eighteen bands will be disbanded and randomly re-formed.’
While this was happening, the MC had somehow already gone down, and the main PD we had seen once before climbed back onto the stage. He seemed to have decided that this was a situation the staff could not handle on their own.
“The Round 3 mission is Free-for-All, exactly as just announced. The eighteen bands will be disbanded, then form random bands to carry out the mission. As for how it will proceed…”
What appeared on the screen was typography in a completely different format from the broadcast graphics: a PowerPoint designed to be as practical as possible for explaining the rules in detail.
“First of all, the disbandment of the bands is only ‘temporary.’ They will be temporarily disbanded for this round, and in the next round, the bands will compete against one another normally again. Each band will discuss who will lead its ‘temporary band’ and submit the name to us next week. Naturally, it will be impossible to select members from the same original band.”
“Then how will eliminations be decided?!”
A hot-tempered voice cut into the calm PD’s explanation.
“That’s probably the most important part. First… the competition will not be conducted in a head-to-head format. The eighteen bands will perform one after another, and we will rank them from first to eighteenth based on their scores, eliminating the bottom six bands. At that point, a band’s score will be…”
On the screen appeared the typography: [Team Leader 50% + Team Members 50%].
“For example, suppose there are five random bands, numbered one through five. If the leader of Band 1 drafts one member each from Bands 2, 3, 4, and 5 to form Band A, and Band A receives a score of 90, the leader receives 45 points, or 50% of 90.”
The PD cleared his throat once and pointed at the screen again. More typography appeared, filled with complicated rules.
“The team members’ scores are a little more complicated. For example, if one member from the four-person Band 2 is drafted into Band A and Band A receives 90 points, that member receives 16.6~7%—one-third of 50%—of 90, for a score between 14.94 and 15.07. In the case of a five-person band, they receive 12.5% of 90, or 11.25 points, and so on.”
When the PD finished speaking, an example appeared on the screen. A five-person band: the leader who scored 90 with Band A received 45 points. Member 1, who scored 70 with Band B, received 8.75 points. Member 2, who scored 100 with Band C, received 12.5 points. Members 3 and 4, who scored 60 with Band D, received 7.5 points each. The total was 81.25 points, placing the band sixth and allowing it to survive.
“No matter how you arrange it, a band’s maximum score is 100 points. Decimal places will generally be rounded down, but if a dispute arises over the scores, we will calculate all the decimal places and determine the final score accordingly.”
“So in the end, the team leader has a major role, but even if the leader does well, it’s useless if the team members ruin everything?”
“I suppose so.”
That was Iseo’s muttered response after hearing the PD’s explanation. Myeongjeon nodded.
For example, even if Myeongjeon himself formed a band that scored 100 and received the full 50 points, if—although it would never happen—the three members of Group Sound each blew up their own bands and brought back scores of zero, the total would be 50 points. In other words, he would still be a candidate for elimination despite receiving a perfect score.
Moreover, since he himself had scored 100, it meant that he was distributing all the remaining points to the other members of his band. Even if he disliked that and tried to give people from the other bands low scores, he could not do so, since he himself accounted for the largest share of the points.
‘Complicated in many ways. It’s not exactly an easy format for pulling off what they call a “troll” either.’
“Why on earth are we doing such a complicated mission? This is a band competition, but you’re disbanding the bands. It makes no sense. Bands are supposed to stick together and create synergy.”
A thoroughly angry voice burst out from among the bands. Mutters of agreement followed, but for some reason, they were not particularly loud.
“The point of this is… to see the individual skills of each band member. Isn’t that right?”
At that, the PD raised his chin slightly and answered. His expression seemed to look down on them.
“A good band would surely have good individual members as well. Surely you’re not saying that isn’t the case? You’re bands good enough to appear on an audition like this. Do you lack the confidence to have your individual skills tested in a place like this?”
“What are you talking about…!”
The PD’s provocative remarks were followed by a succession of protesting voices. “We formed bands in the first place, so what’s the point of tearing us all apart?!” “If this is how it’s going to be, we might as well audition as idols, goddammit!”
But the voices were unexpectedly quiet. Some bands merely wore expressions full of dissatisfaction, while others seemed completely at ease.
“We have measures in place to prevent the kind of ‘trolling’ you’re imagining. For example, if a team leader requests it, there is a rule allowing the production staff to exclude that band member from the score evaluation after reviewing the situation. You don’t need to worry at all about loopholes in the rules or fairness.”
As he listened to the PD, Myeongjeon thought. No matter how he looked at it, this seemed like a format with little real benefit and endless potential for controversy. Was there actually any advantage to adopting it?
‘At least the ratings will definitely go up.’
Besides, since it was the perfect format for causing internal conflict when a band was eliminated, filming that as well would make for extremely interesting television. From that perspective, the format was not entirely incomprehensible… but it did seem as though there was some ulterior motive.
“Will it be all right?”
The PD and some of the bands had begun arguing. Amid the disorder, Hyuna’s worried voice could be heard.
“I don’t think this format disadvantages our band.”
Myeongjeon genuinely thought so. Hyuna, Seha, and even Iseo… as far as this audition was concerned, each of them ranked near the top among musicians in their respective positions. Myeongjeon himself went without saying.
The real problem was the bands that had received high evaluations so far: bands that were highly regarded for their songwriting or arrangements but were lacking in technical ability.
“As usual, filming will take place next week. The team-member draft and topic selection will all be done next week as well. To prevent cheating and ensure smooth proceedings, next week’s filming will be conducted as a ‘temporary camp.’ Please keep this in mind when you come to filming.”
With that, the PD finished speaking and stepped down from the stage. Several people followed him down as though they still had more to say.
“A camp… That sounds fun.”
“I don’t think it will be. Sleeping with other people, I mean. It won’t be mixed-gender lodging, will it?”
Amid all this, Iseo spoke casually. Listening to Seha’s worried reply, Myeongjeon scratched his head. Anyway, it was next week. He had a feeling it was going to become a headache.
* * *
No matter how the audition proceeded, daily life still had to continue. Eat breakfast, go to school, eat lunch, go home. Meet other people whether he wanted to or not.
Therefore, something like this was inevitable. People had eyes and ears, after all. His classmates were perfectly capable of seeing what their classmate had done after appearing on television.
“Jumping! Jumping!”
“Grrmnhrr…”
The pronunciation made it blatantly obvious that they were speaking through clenched teeth. Even so, the kids did not stop teasing him. They showed the characteristic dance and gestures Myeongjeon had briefly performed during the show, continuing to needle him right in front of him.
“Do the ‘everybody’ thing already.”
“I’m not doing it!”
Myeongjeon suddenly lost his temper and clutched his head. He had thought he had adapted to twenty-first-century school life to some extent by now, but he still had not adapted to this.
Why were they so sincere about teasing other people? As soon as Round 2 aired, they had watched it, made memes, and gone around sharing them through AirDrop. Whenever Myeongjeon tried to go to the bathroom, they would sidle up to him and play the music while shouting, “Jumping!”
‘I guess I have no choice but to accept that I’ve become this familiar with these kids.’
That seemed to be the only way to think about it. Otherwise, he felt he would only become angry at his former self for adopting such a concept just to win a single audition.
“Suyeon!”
“Oh~ Iseo~”
Meanwhile, Iseo had come to the classroom. The other students tried pranks similar to the ones they had played on Myeongjeon, but Iseo simply laughed brightly and brushed them off. Perhaps they lost interest, because the kids soon went back to their seats.
‘Should I try that too?’
Indignant at the preferential treatment the kids gave Iseo, Myeongjeon had that thought. But somehow, if Myeongjeon responded that way instead of Iseo, he felt the kids would only be delighted and tease him even more enthusiastically.
“Have you seen this?”
Iseo held out a few screenshots and videos on her phone. One was a screenshot showing [Beyond That Distance] reentering the charts—at number 63, no less! There were also several reaction videos related to Invasion 2024, most of them having surpassed 300,000 or 500,000 views.
[“When you look at this band called Group Sound… the song is kind of, how should I put it, ridiculous? I used to call it astral. Anyway, the guitarist is incredibly skilled, right? That could overshadow everything else, but… the rhythm, the variations they insert here and there. Especially this part, and this part. When you look at things like that, you can really feel how incredible the other band members are, too.”]
[“When I watch her play guitar, for some reason, it gives off a completely authentic blues feeling. It couldn’t have been easy to learn like that at her age, either. …What? She’s Teacher Seo Myeongjeon’s student? Then there’s no mystery. Well, that’s the end of it. Viewers may not know this, but there’s a legend among Korean session guitarists. His name is Teacher Seo Myeongjeon, and he…”]
[“The infamous Round 2! The arrangement is kind of funny, but let’s look at the details! First, this point. I think what you can feel here, what you might call the band’s skill, is its delicacy…”]
“Do you do nothing but look up stuff like this?”
“This is part of why you play in a band, isn’t it? What are you talking about? Other people are praising me to the heavens. How could that not feel good?”
At Iseo’s words, Myeongjeon shook his head from side to side. He liked being recognized by others, too, but not to that extent.
‘She’s seriously ill. Seriously…’
“I wonder if our album sales have gone up, too, now that we’re climbing the charts?”
“Come to think of it, Mom did say she wanted to produce another run of limited-edition LPs. She said there had been a lot more calls from people looking for them lately.”
That was how Myeongjeon answered Iseo’s question. Things like the EP tracks reentering the charts or YouTube videos featuring them were phenomena that could arise from a temporary boom. But an increase in physical album sales was proof that their fan base was genuinely growing.
“When we get our settlement this time, let’s combine it with our audition appearance fee and go to Japan. We could just go to Ochanomizu and buy a bass. Wouldn’t that be fun?”
“You’re already thinking about how to spend the money.”
At Iseo’s happy little fantasy, Myeongjeon chided her but still let out a small laugh. After all, this was what people earned money for…
* * *
The filming set was being hurriedly prepared for the filming of the next episode and the several days of camp it would entail. The main PD, Yoon Donguk, watched the set with his arms folded.
‘This really isn’t easy.’
Five of the eighteen bands had directly protested to him, and two of those bands had even declared that they would not film. He had somehow gotten them back to filming through a combination of cajoling and threats.
‘I expected there to be some opposition, but not this much.’
Donguk was human, too, and he possessed such a thing as empathy. He knew what kind of reaction the bands would have to the introduction of a format like this. Even so, there were several reasons he had deliberately introduced it in Round 3.
The biggest reason was the push for boy bands.
‘Push the “visual” male bands,’ Executive Director Park had ordered, followed by President Jung’s demand: “The agencies have their reputations to uphold, so make sure to highlight the boy bands’ skills, too.”
But how could he highlight skills that were nothing special when it came to being a band? Even the boy bands that seemed lacking as bands mostly possessed considerable skill as individuals. The years they had spent training professionally under their agencies did not simply disappear. The problem was that they did not produce much synergy when they came together as a band.
That was when Donguk changed his perspective.
If they could not create synergy as bands, why not tear them apart and let them perform as individuals? Then, even if they were eliminated, they could at least save face by saying, “Our kids did well! They were skilled!” They might even advance to a higher round. Their individual technique was good, after all.
Moreover, this format could provoke discord between the bands and generate buzz, so it offered benefits in every direction. The participating bands might be unhappy—they could even disband because of the conflict—but that was none of Donguk’s concern.
And…
“PD, should we go with the method of selecting band members that we decided on earlier?”
“Yes. No changes.”
Viewers of audition programs always had certain thoughts at least once. For example, “What if they were there instead of here?” They would write posts online filled with IF scenarios, saying things like, “Actually, it would have been better if this person had joined instead of that one.”
Donguk intended to satisfy that desire to see a kind of ‘dream team’ in this round.
‘Even if it meant destroying ‘fairness.’’