Idol Revive: If I Don't Debut, I'll Disappear
Chapter 53: Open Broadcast 1st Round (3)

Chapter 53: Open Broadcast 1st Round (3)

Crazy. Crazy. Crazy.

"That was the opening act?" Seoyun asked her friend beside her but received no response.

When she glanced at Minji, all she saw was her friend’s wide eyes and gaping mouth.

"Minji!" Seoyun nudged her dazed friend, who took a while to come to her senses.

"Ah?"

"That was crazy!" Seoyun exclaimed.

Minji bobbed her head up and down, unable to say a word. She could still feel her heart bouncing.

If that was the opening act, what would happen with the next one?

Suddenly, Minji felt pity for the next performers. The opening was just too awesome — she didn’t think something could even top it.

There couldn’t be, right?

The blood red spotlight reverted back to its original color and the audience members could finally see the appearances of the great performers clearly. Some of the audience members whistled, some clapped and some yelled that they did a good job.

The people on the stage were overwhelmed by the audience’s enthusiasm.

Rayen was reminded of the time when he was still performing for Adrift. The fans’ gestures and cheers made it feel as though he was back in that time.

He smiled brightly and waved at them, especially at a female student holding a banner with his name. Although it was in Korean, Rayen somehow understood its meaning.

’Was it the same magic that’s helping the participants communicate with each other?’

When Minji locked gazes with Rayen, she felt her face steaming.

’I... He just smiled at me!’

His radiant smile and charming eyes were too mesmerizing that she couldn’t hold back herself from excitedly shaking Seoyun beside her.

After a brief pause for the stage cleanup, the second performers began their performance. As expected, the second group wasn’t up to par compared to the opening.

Although Ryeon’s group was of slightly higher caliber than Rayen’s team in terms of their members’ skills and ranks, unfortunately for them, they were the second-to-the-last group to choose their song.

During the song selection, only two songs were left for them: Hula Hoop Girl and Keep the Music Alive. Naturally, as another group consisting of only male members, they avoided the Hula Hoop Girl, and instead chose the latter.

But actually, that was a trap.

Keep The Music Alive was a club song — full of sexy nuances. It was a bit harder to think of a suitable concept. Not that it was a bad song, but among all the other songs that were given, this one felt the most underwhelming.

On the other hand, Rayen thought that Hula Hoop Girl was more suitable for them because it was a hip hop song.

It’s just that, Hula Hoop Girl wasn’t a song that was known for its title, but once it was played, only then would the listener realize it was a song they knew. And because they didn’t check the music before choosing, Ryeon’s group had fallen into a trap.

Their group struggled to think of an idea during their preparation. It could have still been a salvageable situation if they could have rearranged the song wisely, however they didn’t have a member with decent producing skills.

"Keep the music alive,

Keep, keep the music alive

Don’t let it stop,

We’re gonna rock

Hand in hand

Skin to skin

Touch you more

While keeping the music alive

Keep, keep the music alive."

As the performance kept going, they couldn’t even be mindful of their facial expressions when they saw the audience’s lack of enthusiasm.

Did they do a bad job?

Watching from the backstage, the other participants thought their choreography and overall performance weren’t that bad. But because of Rayen’s group performance earlier, it felt lacking.

The audiences were left like a roller coaster car hanging upside down on a loop by the first group, but the second performance couldn’t even reach them to help them get down from there.

"Keep the music alive..."

When the last line was uttered and the group struck their ending pose, no one smiled. The sparse applause they received felt like a drizzle compared to the first group’s.

Their faces displayed utter disappointment.

"Sigh..."

Ryeon’s teammates patted each other’s back before going down from the stage.

"It’s fine, it’s fine. Let’s do better next time," Ryeon’s roommate comforted them.

Right now, they could still think that way. But what about on the second round? There would be eliminations by then.

So, this person’s words entered their ears and only passed through their other ears.

The third group to perform was Ara’s group. This K-pop fangirl was the second place winner during the concentration game, so she was able to choose a good song.

We Will Conquer by King.

This song was mostly used as a cheering anthem — usually during sports events — because of its powerful and catchy rhythm that’s great for building the atmosphere.

Unlike with Rayen’s group, who took a different approach with their interpretation, Ara’s group instead used the song’s highlight to their advantage.

Stomp, stomp, clap. Stomp, stomp, clap.

The song started with its iconic sound.

Arranged like a war-battered place, fake debris and ruins lay scattered on the stage with the performers nowhere to be found.

As the second stomp, stomp, clap echoed throughout the venue, the performers finally appeared, clad in military uniforms and dog tags. They held long guns by their sides while marching to the center of the stage.

When everyone gathered, there were clearly two different sides among them. On one side, Ara was at the center, her face covered with face paint. Adrian stood among the other side, grabbing the attention of every girls from the audience.

"Ahhhh!!!" the girls screamed.

They were caught by Adrian’s long wavy hair that was tied in a small bun. His lips were without its usual lazy smile.

Rayen’s lips twitched, but he would admit — this enigmatic writer looked quite good in a military uniform.

"Hey bud, say you’re gonna make it big

Say something, not bark like a pig

Although it seemed just nonsense dreaming

Who cares about it? Just sing—

We will conquer you! Conquer you!"

With these lines, the two sides pointed their guns at each other to start the battle.

The entire performance was centered around a war between them. Using the iconic stomp, stomp, clap, clap, they mimicked the sounds of cannons and bullets. It was chaotic, but somehow aesthetic.

Their choreography boasted powerful moves, featuring soldiers’ synchronized and disciplined movements.

Rayen even felt that his writer friend’s dancing had improved so much. He hadn’t had the chance to check Adrian’s stats lately, but watching him right now, it seemed like it had leveled up.

’Almost the same as Yeo Haru? Not really... he seemed a little worse than Haru.’

Yeo Haru’s dancing stat was A-, while Adrian’s was B- the last time he checked. So, how was Adrian’s skill now? Was it B+? Almost at the threshold of A?

The performance ended on a powerful note, and gradually, the smoke from the battle that had filled the stage dispersed.

Soon, the seven people were revealed. Five members held two giant flags. Adrian and Ara stood halfway up the flagpoles, pointing guns at each other for their final pose.

This group also received a grand applause from the audience.

Now, only two groups were remaining. Rayen was more curious about Jiji’s group though.

Well... they were the most unfortunate group, after all.