GIJS

Chapter 50

Abandoning the dark arts and choosing the right approach

"Mr. Pael! Please take a seat for now. You still need to follow the order!"

Despite MC Jeong Hae-jin's attempts to get him to sit, Pael showed no intention of complying for a while.

Though he lost the microphone, he continued to cheer loudly, clapping so hard that the capillaries on his palms seemed ready to burst.

"Bravo! Excellent—!"

The reaction was distinctly different from what it had been after the previous 'Warriors' performance.

The reaction was such that it relieved Gunja and the 'Breakthrough' team members, the trainers who had been worried about Gunja, and even the fans in the audience.

It seemed that the original artist was pleased.

Even after being scolded three times, Pael only reluctantly sat down. Though he was seated, his heart continued to race.

"Ha ha, it seems that Mr. Pael really liked this performance. We'll hear his feedback soon!"

Liked it? That's an understatement.

Such a simple expression couldn't capture Pael's feelings.

It wasn't just that he liked it. Among the countless male and female idol groups and survival auditions he had seen covering 'Veloce' songs, he had never seen such a devoted performance.

There were countless killing points. He wanted to point them out one by one, but he worried he might forget while waiting his turn, so he hastily made notes on his smartphone.

"Producer Han Joo-ho, you need to wrap up the judging soon. Mr. Pael looks like he's about to burst with what he wants to say."

"Wow ha ha—."

However, the guest judges didn't seem to be considering Pael's impatience. From their perspective, it was an impressive performance. Although Pael was anxious, it was understandable.

At least anyone in the industry would want to praise such a high-quality performance after seeing it.

After the long wait, Pael finally took the microphone again.

"Uh..."

Where to start?

After a moment of contemplation, he decided to express the first feeling that came to mind.

"I love you."

"!"

The sudden confession of love surprised not only the members of 'Breakthrough' but also the fans of 'Veloce' sitting in the audience.

Pael was known for rarely saying "I love you," even though he frequently expressed his affection and gratitude to fans.

However, the 'Veloce' fans felt pride rather than jealousy.

It was clear how much effort 'Breakthrough' had put into their cover of "Suit Up."

"I usually don't like to make a fuss, but this performance is genuinely lovable."

"Thank you—!"

The five members, with overwhelmed expressions, performed a bow. But Pael, seeming to have more to say, opened his smartphone notes.

"I made notes so I wouldn't forget... First, I need to mention the arrangement. Did Ji Hyun-su handle the arrangement again this time?"

"Yes!"

"The arrangement was so sophisticated. Honestly, I wasn't expecting much, but from the moment the bass riff started, my expectations began to rise."

"Th-thank you!"

"It must have been hard to achieve such a sound alone. How did you manage it?"

"Yes, I stayed up all night!"

Ji Hyun-soo, with tears welling up, wiped his eyes with the back of his hand. As the stage makeup wore off, the dark circles underneath his eyes became apparent.

"Personally, I think this minimalist arrangement is much harder. The sound was so clean from the start that it was comfortable to listen to throughout. It was truly an excellent arrangement."

"Thank you—!"

Starting with the arrangement, Pael's full-blown praise began.

"Han Si-woo, you didn't lose your presence even among the muscle-bound guys, did you? I guess you're the type who doesn't get nervous on stage?"

"Haha, thank you!"

A hearty compliment for Han Si-woo, who took the center stage first.

"Ki Yu-chan, your dance lines are really beautiful, you know? Your vocals in the chorus were also superb, the balance between dance and live singing was really, really good."

"...Th-thank you..."

A generous compliment for Ki Yu-chan, who adorned the first chorus brilliantly.

"Kwon Tae-woong, your chest is incredibly big and beautiful, isn't it?"

"Pardon?"

"Can you share your chest workout routine?"

"Ah, of course!"

Along with a compliment about his chest, Tae-woong had his workout routine discussed.

"And Yu Gunja."

"Yes."

When it finally came to Yu Gunja, Pael took a breath, as if he had a lot to say.

"Honestly, I had some preconceived notions. I didn't watch all of 'A-Yuk-Si,' but from the video clips, Yu Gunja appeared to have a very strong personal style. That's not a bad thing at all. I think it can be a huge strength in a competition. So, I expected you would show a performance focused on your strengths today."

"Yes."

"But today, you showed a completely different side. You concentrated on basic dance lines and choreography expressions, singing each lyric with precision. I believe everyone here understands how difficult it is to change your comfortable methods."

"..."

"Yu Gunja exceeded my expectations beautifully today. Your focus on the basics of dance and singing, and your harmony with your teammates. You showed everything I expect from an idol trainee. I can imagine how much practice you put in, even though I didn't see it directly. It must have been really hard."

Hearing Pael's feedback, Gunja had to swallow back his rising tears.

While practicing, he was only focused on doing whatever it took to succeed. He was confident in his commitment to his goals.

However, it wasn't easy. He had to prepare a performance abandoning what was familiar. To make matters worse, he could hardly use the practice room.

For the past week, he had been dancing and singing even in his dreams. Amidst poor sleep and strict diet control, it was the hardest week for Gunja.

It was natural that he found it hard to hold back tears when the original artist recognized his effort.

"...Thank you..."

The teammates standing beside him seemed to share his feelings, all shedding tears with red eyes. Only Han Si-woo remained composed with a broad smile.

"Haha, your judging isn't over yet."

"Thank you, Han Si-woo."

Pael still had more to say. But for the members, it was far from boring. They could listen to it all day if needed.

"Most touching was that five such wonderful people came together to create a performance that captured the essence of our song. You could have arranged it extravagantly or used various stage props."

"..."

"I was genuinely moved. In just 4 minutes, it feels like I became your fan."

Looking at the members of 'Breakthrough' with a grateful expression, Pael finally concluded his long feedback.

"It was truly a fundamental and outstanding stage."

"Thank you—!!"

The five boys, with faces full of emotion, lowered their heads and then lifted them.

[Special Mission 'Original Artist's Emotion' achieved.] [Rewards will be given.]

The status window, which had rarely appeared recently, finally revealed itself before Gunja's eyes.

[Reward: 3 points]

"—!?"

An unprecedentedly great reward.

* * *

With all six performance stages completed, it was now time to announce the fifteen eliminations.

The scoring this time was again based on pre-voting, on-site audience voting, and the special judges' scores.

As the names of the survivors and the eliminated contestants were alternately called, Gunja's team, 'Breakthrough,' achieved the remarkable feat of having all its members survive.

"The next survivor is... Ha Hyeon-jae!"

"Yay—!!"

"Cha In-hyuk, congratulations! You passed!"

"···Thank you."

Following Ha Hyeon-jae and Cha In-hyuk, who were in other teams, completed their survival announcements.

"Jang Seon-jae, you're eliminated."

"!"

A shocking result came when Jang Seon-jae, who had been in the top ranks from the beginning, was eliminated.

Despite ranking high in pre-voting and audience voting, the low scores from the judges led to this outcome.

Naturally, attention turned to Joo Ha-sung.

He had consistently achieved good results in voting, but this time, he was completely overshadowed by Yoo Gun-ja.

With the team victory benefit not secured, Joo Ha-sung's survival was not guaranteed either.

"Joo Ha-sung."

"···."

"Congratulations, you passed."

"···Thank you."

Joo Ha-sung barely made it into the final 15 and was the last to secure survival.

Though he was feigning calm, Gunja clearly saw his jaw muscles twitching.

As someone who had led from the beginning, he must have been anxious about his dropping rank.

That's why he had probably pushed them out of the practice room despite knowing it was unreasonable.

But, in the end, that became a blessing in disguise, helping them win the competition.

Joo Ha-sung had prepared a variety of stage devices and glamorous performances, but the biggest applause and praise were given to the 'Breakthrough' team.

Gunja, who had abandoned underhanded tactics and chose a straightforward approach, won once again.

After the announcement of the survivors.

The members, relieved of all tension, gathered in Gunja's room for a pizza party.

"···Ugh, I survived···."

"···Eat, eat, let's eat our fill today···."

"···Ugh··· Yawn···."

"Haha, everyone seems really tired."

However, no one could properly enjoy the party due to the overwhelming fatigue.

Even Gunja, who had promised himself to devour Italian pancakes madly after the competition, collapsed without even eating a slice of pepperoni.

Starting with ninety-nine contestants, only fifteen remained.

The long journey to become an idol had now reached the 90% mark.

In two weeks, the final live broadcast competition will be held to select seven debut members from these fifteen. To prepare for that, the final training camp starts in just three days.

To spend the last break, the survivors returned to their respective homes.

"Gunja—!!"

"Father, Mother."

"Oh my, look at your face."

"Son, you survived again this time."

As always, Gunja performed a deep bow with his greetings. Although his parents were delighted by the news of his survival, they wiped tears of sympathy seeing the exhaustion on Gunja's face.

"How hard it must have been, not sleeping for that whole week..."

"I'm fine."

"Of course, you wouldn't be. Just go in and get some sleep first."

"Sure, sure, we've even washed the blankets, so you'll sleep soundly."

"···Thank you."

Thanks to his parents' consideration, Gunja was able to sleep deeply in the most comfortable bed in the world.

The deep sleep that started at seven in the afternoon continued until seven the next morning. Gunja awoke to the chirping of birds, rubbing his eyes and checking the time.

"Oh no—!"

He was supposed to wake up an hour earlier to practice calligraphy.

The blankets were so cozy that he had overslept!

Though he was disappointed at having forgotten his scholarly duties due to fatigue, he still couldn't skip the morning greetings.

After tidying himself up with a bath, he performed the morning greetings modestly.

"Mother, Father, I am here for the morning greetings again."

"Y-Yes. Sleep a little more..."

"No, I've had enough sleep."

Returning to his room, Gunja called out to an old friend.

"Chang-a."

···Vroom···

[User: Yoo Gun-ja] [Appearance: A-] [Singing: B-] [Dance: B+] [Charm: A+] [Remaining Points: 3]
The three points earned through the special mission 'Impression on the Original Artist.'

Now, with the final live broadcast competition approaching, this is the perfect moment to use them.