GIJS

Chapter 34

Everything was flipped once again.

Unlike the main performance stage, no special equipment could be used during the mid-term evaluation.

Gunja's team, which had prepared a live performance with the geomungo through the loop station, had to use recorded audio for the mid-term evaluation.

Dweong, daang-.

"!"

But the moment the first note was heard.

It seemed the trainers quickly realized how the audio was recorded.

"Rachel, this..."

"It's not a virtual instrument."

"It sounds like an actual geomungo recording."

"Wait, did they use a session player too?"

And not just any session player.

It was on a level far beyond just asking a friend who specializes in the field to play in exchange for a meal.

This was at least on the level of a professional geomungo player, if not more.

Noel, the opposing team's producer, also immediately noticed that the geomungo sound was not from a virtual instrument.

"What? It's a session player?"

Noel smiled in disbelief.

"Hyun-soo really worked hard~"

Although the quality of the performance was excellent even to Noel's ears, it seemed trivial to him.

How much did they want to win if they brought in an external player?

Since they used actual instruments, the audio was naturally good.

But it was useless. The most important thing in this mission was the 'creativity' score. Even if the audio was good, they would inevitably lose points on creativity.

However, 'Team Yu Gunja's' audacious move did not end there.

As they moved into the third verse, another variation began with the geomungo melody layered with the gayageum.

"Oh, this is the gayageum sound."

"Two session players... Hyun-soo really put in the effort."

The gayageum performance was undoubtedly top-class as well.

Since the performance was excellent, the beat made by sampling that gayageum sound was naturally good.

With the main melody now led by the gayageum, the overall mood of the track also became smoother.

Along with that, Ha Hyeon-jae's singing rap stood out. It was a combination that felt perfect to anyone listening.

In the following percussion section, Cha In-hyuk made a strong presence with his cave-like voice and intense rap.

"Hyuk's singing was terrible..."

"But his rap presence is insane."

Although the rap and performance were still rough due to it being the mid-term evaluation, everyone could feel it just from the quality of the audio.

'This is... really good!'

Noel's trendy hip-hop beat featuring 'Sakura' was, of course, was excellent, but it had the drawback of being somewhat predictable since it was composed entirely of virtual instruments.

However, Ji Hyun-soo's beat, which used recorded sounds from actual geomungo and gayageum, was definitely superior in terms of surprise and dynamism, even if it might lag behind Noel's in completeness.

It seemed the trainers also preferred Ji Hyun-soo's beat.

'If I had to choose between the two-.'

'I'd definitely pick Gunja's side.'

'Geomungo and gayageum... They can't be beaten.'

Just as Trainer Rachel was about to start the evaluation.

"Um, excuse me."

Noel, the opposing team's producer, smiled broadly and squeezed in.

"Hi, Trainer Rachel!"

"Why, does El have something to say?"

"Yes, is it possible to purchase session players with coins?"

"What do you mean?"

"It seems that the geomungo and gayageum session recordings were included in Hyun-soo's beat..."

"Yeah, and?"

"Actually, we also wanted to use some sessions, but they weren't in the coin purchase list, so we didn't use them."

"Ah, I see."

"I was wondering if we missed seeing something, hehe."

Noel's face was full of smiles, but there was a hidden intent behind his question.

Among the eight teams, '100% creativity' was only attempted by Gunja and Joo Ha-sung's teams.

It was a risky choice, but it came with the potential for a big reward.

However, if sessions were used, the '100% creativity' condition would be breached.

Especially if they had left the free performance to the session players and recorded it.

As if agreeing with the valid point, Trainer Rachel nodded.

"No, session hiring wasn't on the coin purchase list."

"Ah."

"Even if you wanted to use a session, you could, but then it wouldn't be 100% creativity."

"Got it, thank you!"

"Gunja, Hyun-soo, you knew and did it like that, didn't you?"

"..."

"If you used session players, you inevitably lose points on creativity. Even if connections and skills matter, this is a creativity audition."

"..."

"You should compete under the same conditions as the other teams."

Gunja, Hyun-soo, and the other team members all quietly nodded as if to agree.

While the mood slightly dampened, Rachel continued with the mid-term evaluation feedback.

"The beat was, well... undeniably good. I didn't expect such a hip mix of geomungo and gayageum sounds, and I think it was a very fresh attempt."

"Yes, thank you."

"But as I mentioned earlier, since this is a creativity mission, you need to consider it too. Whether to keep the geomungo and gayageum parts or to remove them."

"Yes."

"It's tricky. If those are removed, it might lose its flavor... Anyway, think about it more."

While Gunja's team received feedback, Noel was basking in his sense of victory.

Why go to such extremes.

Seeing them engaged in constructive conversations with their usual expressions, Noel smiled in disbelief.

"What are they so excited about, those fools."

* * *

A week after the airing of Episode 5's ranking announcement.

Episode 6 contained [Ayuksi> members' daily lives and the second mission mid-term evaluation footage.

The previous episodes had been focused on competition preparations, so showing the participants' dorm life received quite a good response.

Kwon Tae-woong, who was in Jang Seon-jae's team, ended up performing a mashup of two girl group songs.

"Wow, huh, Seong-jun! Is this the feeling?"

"Tae-woong, Tae-woong!"

"Yes!"

"What's the title of this song?"

"[Kiss Me!> and [Playful One!>!"

"But it sounds like you're doing [Kiss Me!> and [Crazy Bastard!>!"

"Ah!"

"Can't you add just a little bit more shyness?"

"Oh, that's not the trend these days!"

"Hey! 'Kiss Me!' is the trend now!"

"Ahhh!"


[Hahaha, Keygal hahaha] [Hahaha, did he just become the comic relief? Hahaha] [Hahaha, Mr. Gu's expression hahaha] [When he goes 'Ack!' hahaha, it's seriously laugh-inducing] [He looks like a Marine hahaha, 'Ack!!' hahaha] [Hahaha, wouldn't it be okay to have a comic relief character in the debut team?? Hahaha] [Hahaha, no no, Gunja is already the comic relief hahaha] [But I like him, so I keep picking him hahaha] [He seems like an idiot normally, but he's seriously intense on stage, it's really gap moe] [Don't just slap 'moe' on anything hahaha] [Where's the moe in those shoulder muscles hahaha]

Having ended up on the same team as Yang Jung-moo, Yu-chan managed to secure his share of the spotlight while showing solid independence, despite Yang Jung-moo's desire to be the center.

"I plan to give them all at once when we leave the dorm."

[ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠSo cute Yu-chan ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ] [ㅠㅠㅠHe looks like a giant, but he's still a kidㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ] [He just follows Gunja aroundㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ] [If someone else did that, I might have found it annoying] [He doesn't cry and is super mature usually, but when he talks about his parents, it's really touchingㅠㅠㅠ] [He looks so tired because he's been pushed around by Jummu during practiceㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ] [ㅠㅠㅠFrom now on, he should work with Gunjaㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ] [Hahaha, wait, is that a chocolate wrapper Gunja gave him on the desk? Hahaha] [Hahaha, why is he even keeping that? Hahaha] [If you look closely, it even has the date written on it hahaha] [Hahaha, he's subtly quirky hahaha]

Due to his large stature, Cha In-hyuk often gets caught in the camera angle, but he actually enjoys being in the corner.

"What are you doing?"

"Oh, this..."

"It's a fan, right?"

"Yes."

"Did you make it yourself?"

"Yes, for use during practice..."

"Oh, you're more skilled than I expected."

[Aw, In-hyuk] [I'm 27, and I'm just now noticing the finer details...] [Seokuni, please give In-hyuk more screen time, he's definitely a rising star] [Hasn't he already done two missions with Gunja? Hahaha] [He's subtly quirky but has a kind of foolish charm hahaha] [Hahaha, but his expression is really something, isn't it? Hahaha] [He looked so cool as a bodyguard, but what if he gets stuck in a fresh concept? Hahaha] [He might actually do well hahaha, he's good at crafting hahaha] [He's always the first to arrive at the practice room and writes everyone's names on the water bottles hahaha] [Haha, I saw that too] [He even wrote Gunja's name in kanji hahaha] [Gunja was really touched when he saw that hahaha] [Hahaha]

Among the many participants who took their share of the spotlight, the one who stood out the most was definitely Gunja.

Unlike other participants, Gunja presented a full summary of his daily routine, proving once again that he's a "PD pick."

[5:30 AM Wake-up]
"Ugh."

[Hahaha, what the heck hahaha] [He even bowed in the direction of his parents' house right after waking up hahaha] [If the concept is at this level, shouldn't we acknowledge it?] [Hahaha, he didn't even wipe his eye boogers and wrote with a brush hahaha] [Is there a participant who brought stationery to the dorm?] [Hahaha, he even wrote calligraphy on the doodle board everyone used hahaha] [He's so tall, he wrote it at the top hahaha] [I laugh every time I see it hahaha] [10:30 AM Morning Lesson]
Gunja always chooses the Platinum class for lessons.

Sometimes he fails basic wave movements but performs acrobatic moves like backflips and 720-degree kicks effortlessly, which always makes Trainer Go Seung-jun shake his head.

[2:30 PM Afternoon Calligraphy]
Gunja, the scholar, insists that if he doesn't write calligraphy twice a day, his mouth will develop thorns.

Today, after running out of food and looking upset, he cheerfully scribbled calligraphy with the brush pen given to him by Hyun-si-woo.

"Wow, wow! There's such a thing as an everlasting brush!"

"Haha, you're really funny!"

"Hyun-si-woo, we have great chemistry!"

"Hahaha, really? Let's keep it up!"

"Your physiognomy is excellent too!"

"Hahaha, I hear that often!"

[Hahaha, crazy hahaha] [Is it really something to be that happy over a brush pen? Hahaha] [An everlasting brush hahaha] [Our Gunja can just write calligraphy hahaha] [Even so, his calligraphy is amazing hahaha] [It's really funny how everything he does is high quality hahaha] [If his concept were shabby, it would just end in awkwardness, but] [He does it so well that it just makes you laugh hahaha] [Haha, today's episode is truly a happy one] [I hope the mid-term evaluations stay happy hahaha]

However, contrary to fans' wishes, the mood completely changed once the mid-term evaluations began.

Compared to the well-received team creation song by Ju Ha-sung and Noel, the creation song by Gunja and Ji Hyun-soo was criticized for using geomungo and gayageum sessions.

"Gunja, Hyun-soo. You knew about this, right?"

"···."

"Huh?"

The problem pointed out on-site was further magnified through PD Kim Seok-hoon's editing.

Despite being a creation mission, the team used professional-level sessions to record geomungo and gayageum sounds.

The broadcast showed Gunja's team exactly as such.

Since Gunja had already gained many fans from the first mission, many defended Gunja and Ji Hyun-soo's actions.

[ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠWhat's going on, Gunja? Why did you do that?ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ] [ㅠㅠㅠㅠIt must have been a lot of pressureㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ] [Oh noㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠWhat now] [It's a creation mission, so wouldn't they get points deducted for that?] [The geomungo and gayageum sounds were really good thoughㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ] [Look at their expressionsㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠThey're totally deflated] [ㅠㅠㅠㅠIf the teachers are pointing that out, I'd be really down tooㅠㅠㅠ] [ㅠㅠㅠㅠHyun-soo, how can you handle this? You made the song without even sleepingㅠㅠㅠ] [ㅠㅠMy pick Hyun-soo was supposed to shine with Gunja, butㅠㅠㅠㅠ]

After the first team mission, the previously hidden "Anti-Gunja" forces began to resurface and become active.

[Hahaha, Gunja's true colors are revealed] [He's clearly a traditional music major hahaha] [Did he use his connections to bring in professor-level sessions?] [Hahaha, it's so ugly hahaha] [Noel bought virtual instruments with coins] [Isn't it a bit excessive to call in free sessions?] [Hahaha, Gunja, did you really want to show that?] [Is this the downfall hahaha] [Ugh, the concept was so uncomfortable, goodbye] [No, Gunja will definitely debut hahaha] [Seriously, even after seeing the mid-term evaluation, you're still saying that?] [I don't criticize lack of skill, but I do criticize bad character] [Isn't it crossing the line to recruit professional-level sessions?] [Hahaha, that's right, it's a creation mission hahaha] [I'm sure this time, Gunja is headed for a downfall] [If a professor comes up on stage, it's acceptable~ hahaha] [Let's debut as a professor idol~ hahaha] [Hahaha, crazy hahaha]

After the mid-term evaluation broadcast, the atmosphere was very tense.

Even the fans who barely got spectator tickets shared the negative mood.

If only the song had been a mess, there might have been a chance for recovery.

However, using any means necessary to win was a sharp contrast to the image Gunja had previously shown, causing fans to be very worried.

Since Gunja's core fandom was still weak and he was ranked high due to the power of the public and light fandom, any shift in public sentiment could cause his ranking to drop dramatically.

"What should we do..."

"Still, if the stage performance is good somehow..."

"...Maybe they should have just skipped the geomungo and gayageum..."

Despite the many concerns, Gunja's fans sat in the audience.

As soon as the stage for 'Team Gunja' began.

"——!?!?!?"

They once again trembled with the thrill of everything being turned upside down.