Idol Revive: If I Don't Debut, I'll Disappear
Chapter 118: Let’s See Your Talent

Chapter 118: Let’s See Your Talent

The two teams came down from the participants’ seats.

With the best vocalists out of the picture, this unit’s performance was bound to be unpredictable. Rayen was also looking forward to this unit the most for one reason.

His gaze lingered on someone who looked vastly different from his usual get-up. Ren no longer wore his dark eyeliner and signature outfit, but instead donned a complete opposite appearance: a simple white shirt and pants that softened his overall vibe.

’Let’s see just how much talent you have in singing, heh.’

Ren shuddered as he felt the piercing gaze on the back of his neck. Somehow, he already knew where it was coming from, but resisted the urge to look back to confirm.

There was one common thing between both teams of the Vocal Unit — they were holding mics in their hands.

Usually, idols wore lapels because they were easier to dance with. Even Rayen had no experience dancing with a handheld mic. Whenever he performed in Adrift, the mic was usually mounted on a stand while he played a guitar.

Rayen was glad that the first one to perform was Ren and Liam’s team. That meant he would be able to observe him right away.

Now that Rayen no longer had to compliment Ren, he was back to hating this guy.

’Your looks and your performance are two different things!’

Rayen leaned on his chair, waiting for the performance to begin. He didn’t have to wait long.

There weren’t many props for this round, so the stage preparations for each team was shorter than the previous round.

It seemed as if the teams had agreed on this; most of them didn’t focus on the props. Even Rayen’s team.

Or was it just the format of this round?

Since the focus was on their specific skills, even the trainers didn’t remind them to use props. Only now did Rayen notice it.

Finally, the lights dimmed again.

’It’s starting.’

When the lights came back on, the background screen displayed a blue night sky adorned with a large moon. The six white figures stood in formation, all facing away from the audience.

As the piano started playing, Rayen felt conflicted.

’Isn’t this a ballad?’

No one told him they could dance to a ballad. If Plotter were here, he’d probably mock Rayen for his lack of imagination.

Well, Rayen was just inexperienced.

The members on stage each lifted their hands as if reaching toward the sky. The first to sing was, of course, the person at the middle of the formation.

Rayen watched intently, curious just how they would perform a ballad song.

Ballads usually have high notes and difficult passages that emphasize the song’s emotions. It was too hard for a voice to remain stable when moving, let alone with dancing.

This song exuded the singer’s longing for a loved one, missing their company. That’s why every now and then, their hands reached out toward the night sky, trying to grab the stars that would fall from their backdrop.

"Sadly, there’s no I and U in ’world’

Wish it had, though."

’So that’s it...’

For a Vocal group, there was no need to be flashy with the dance moves, so the steps were made simpler to allow the singers to focus on their vocals. The singer at the center wouldn’t dance as energetically as the other members who weren’t singing.

Rayen nodded and finally understood.

The performance was mellow and peaceful, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t good. After the intense performance by the earlier unit, this song seemed like a short break for everyone.

Liam’s deep voice also suited the song perfectly. His slow rapping and precise pronunciation of the words grabbed the viewers’ attention.

A voice with such depth was not only considered rare in K-pop — even from the whole contemporary music industry.

Not only that, he didn’t just rap in this performance. His seamless transition from his deep rapping voice to husky when singing also earned Rayen’s approval.

’Seriously. Why did he even recruit me as Adrift’s vocalist when he could be one himself?’

He continued listening, enjoying the music.

However, after the performance, Rayen couldn’t help but sneer. Rayen clapped slowly, grabbing the attention of the other participants below.

Why was he clapping? Everyone wondered the same thing. However, they also followed suit.

Meanwhile, Rayen’s sneer turned into a smirk.

’What a terrible performance. You certainly let me down.’

It wasn’t really terrible. Rayen was just biased with his opinion because of Ren.

Maybe Ren really did make the right choice. If Rayen had become a member of this unit, he would’ve been a large fish swimming in an ocean, eating the weak fishes like Ren and the others on the team upon spotting them.

However, that made Rayen even more disappointed.

’If you’re going to kick me out, at least show me something more!’

He was unsatisfied with Ren. Really unsatisfied. There wasn’t anything surprising at all. The performance happened just as how people would expect it — a ballad song sung with a couple of moves.

When Ren ascended to the elevated seats after the MVP votes — which Liam had won — he couldn’t avoid Rayen’s eyes.

Ren could read from those eyes the triumphant victory beaming from them.

’Hah! You just proved you can’t win even without me in there!’

Realizing the message in his gaze, Ren clicked his tongue in annoyance before returning to his seat. The look of annoyance in his face only pleased Rayen more, the corner of his lips lifting up.

Liam just shook his head below him.

’He sure is having so much fun...’ he thought.

The second team from the Vocal Unit went down the stage. Unlike the first team, their outfits were gaudy. They wore bright colored jerseys, baggy clothes, as well as neon sneakers.

’Hip-hop?’

Suddenly, one figure caught Rayen’s eyes — Binh.

During the leaked audio incident, Binh hadn’t even shown his presence to Rayen. He hadn’t even received a message to check up on him.

Rayen sighed. That was a bit too cold of him. Though Rayen wasn’t really expecting anything. Still...

’Did he forget about our good friendship already?’