TDOCD Chapter 80

Chapter 80

Il-Rin & Jia ​

The screen transitioned to show Youngju's interview.

-Our I Meet You members were all really shocked after the last round.

The Youngju giving the interview was different from the energetic, chatty person I knew - she spoke calmly, without a trace of her usual smile.

-When the overall rankings came out, we were in 5th place. How should I say it... indescribably complicated feelings just came rushing in...

After struggling to continue for a while, Youngju finally managed to speak.

-If we don’t do well, we might get eliminated next round. We're in a really dangerous situation right now. This can't happen."

Her eyes wavered anxiously.

-If we get eliminated here, what happens to us? Won't we be unable to debut?

It was painful to watch Youngju, usually so bright, looking like she was standing on the edge of a cliff. Her familiar cheerful demeanor was nowhere to be seen.

'I Met You was from True Entertainment.'

I knew about True Entertainment. They consistently sent trainees to competition programs trying to debut idol groups, but as far as I knew, no idol group had actually debuted from True. Their treatment of trainees was reportedly quite poor, with talented trainees all eventually leaving for other agencies.

For such a bright member to show this much anxiety on camera, they must have gotten quite an earful after Round 2...

The screen continued showing the lead-up to their performance preparation, including discussions about jazz being an unfamiliar genre and Young-ju's determination to take on a solo part as an opportunity to prove herself.

Just as the VCR seemed to be building up to their intensive practice sessions, it suddenly ended, leaving out many key moments - like getting scolded by Isia and their exhausting overnight practices.

Soon after, announcer Choi Gyu-jin's voice came over the stage:

"It seems the stage is ready now. Shall we begin? Here's FloU&I's performance!"

Through the in-ear monitor, the production staff's voice was heard:

"Standby."

And then the intro to "Dolce" began.

***

"Oh! Dolce!"

At Ji-hoon's exclamation, So-hae looked at FloU&I Round 3’s proposed song.

Callidus’s "Dolce."

It was a bold, challenging song written in Korean with Korean-friendly chord progressions, targeting a specific overseas niche audience. They hadn't expected trainees to choose this relatively unknown song.

"Wow, what made them choose this song? How do they plan to make it work?"

Ji-hoon asked with an intrigued tone.

So-hae quietly nodded, setting down the proposal.

"Indeed. I'm curious how they arranged it and choreographed it."

While Ji-hoon seemed interested, So-hae was more concerned than curious.

"Dolce" wasn't created for live performance, making it difficult to incorporate dance. Plus, its old-fashioned melodic elements could be off-putting to those whose tastes didn't align. Seeing that two trainees had selected this song in the VCR raised questions.

'Moreover, both trainees who chose it had consistently shown good song selection sense in previous rounds.'

Both Ryu Ji-ye from Flora and Jia from U&Da had always brought unexpected songs or created impressive stages through their arrangements. If members like them chose this simultaneously, they must have been confident in their arrangement.

'But still...'

This song, of all choices?

How did they plan to arrange it?

FloU&I's performance began amid mixed feelings of anticipation and anxiety.

Purple light cascaded over the stage.

Under the spotlight, center stage, stood one person.

Young-il-rin walked slowly toward the leather sofa in the middle of the stage, facing the camera's close-up, and sat down.

The moment she crossed her legs with a composed expression, the introduction began.

"Hm?"

"Oh? The intro is quite different from what I remember?"

The bold trumpet sound that typically announced the song's beginning was gone.

Instead, intense chime bells flowed at a rapid pace.

The beat seemed more than twice as fast as the original.

'They completely eliminated the polarizing elements.'

The original trumpet sound was the most disruptive part of the song.

While it matched the song perfectly, some people found it off-putting.

This had been a major concern for the performance, but they'd completely removed the trumpet sound.

In place of the strong trumpet, there was now a subtle jazz-tinged bass sound.

'Ah, so this is their approach.'

By boldly removing the controversial elements, only the jazz flavor and money chord-filled melody remained.

This transformation made it an addictive song that could capture listeners' attention through its unique atmosphere.

'Whether it's MN's work or the members' idea, with such bold arrangement, this could be promising.'

The beat was much faster.

This stage could be interesting.

So-hae watched Young-il-rin, who maintained a sophisticated expression, with anticipation.

Finally, Young-il-rin began to sing:

My love is in a small box

limiting oneself

No need to escape

Dancing naturally while seated.

Sultry and addicting vocals.

As this was U&A's specialty genre, Young-il-rin perfectly captured the opening, establishing the stage's atmosphere.

You're so ice, so dark,

No need to keep those feels,

Young-il-rin rose from the sofa and slowly stepped aside. Then, sitting on the armrest, she finished her part:

Drop 'em and come to my side, babe.

At that moment, the camera pulled back sharply from Young-il-rin to capture another figure.

Jia was somehow already seated on the sofa where Young-il-rin had been, making eye contact with the camera.

All crumbles to dust

sinking ever deeper into night's embrace

Fall deeper, I surrender you to this night

Where was the shy girl who had smiled timidly earlier, saying she wanted to befriend Ryu Ji-ye, her same-age peer?

On stage, she displayed skilled gestures while seated, with a dreamlike gaze.

Everyone held their breath, immersed in Jia's performance./