Chapter 115


    <em>The Showcase</em> producers, including Park Soo-Chul, monitored the episode while sitting in the broadcast meeting room. Since this was thest episode before the final performance, they needed to all look at the responses together. Furthermore, they had nned a special two-hour episode before the finals. The part they were currently watching was when the idols were beginning their training camp with their new team members.


    The responses are good.


    Really?


    Though theres a variety of responses in the end, I think it would all lead to the show getting attention.


    Thats good.


    It felt as if they were really riding on the high tide with this episode, but they werent satisfied by just this. It was clear that there was no other survival program that amassed this level of poprity at this time, but they wanted this show to be more than just a popr survival program early in the year. They wanted it to be memorable as one of the greatest variety programs of this entire year. And for them to achieve that, they still needed to amass more attention. Park Soo-Chul looked at the screen while rubbing his palms.


    Let me see how much more traffic we would get today.


    We need todays episode to do well so that people wont say that we are losing steam towards the final.


    We would only be able to tellter.


    Park Soo-Chul and the other producers stared at the screen half-expectantly and half-worriedly. After some time passed and the episode ended, Kim Min-Young and the other writers in the group quickly surveyed the inte to amass peoples responses. It didnt take long for them to gauge the general response, and seeing this, Park Soo-Chul said, It became viral.


    Yes.


    That night, <em>The Showcase 2</em>s producers quietly dwelled on their massive sess.


    ***


    Even from the beginning of episode 5, clips that couldve been considered the highlight of an episode yed one after the other before the performances. Yet, at this point, many were concerned.


    First of all, viewers worried that because all the best parts were focused on the beginning of the episode, thetter part would be looser and more boring. Second, public sentiments could grow sour because the set-up of the team alliances was already one that Siren and Only One fans werent pleased about, and anything could rile them up in their sensitive states. Lastly, there was concern that the shows momentum toward the finals could break if the quality of the third-round performances was weak.


    With a single misstep, a program that was doing well could break down at its highlight. Yet, these concerns began to be washed away as the team-alliance performances began, and the team centered around Sirens group started first. From the very beginning, the screen was zoomed into Yeon-Hoons face and made the fans scream.


    His face isnt real


    I literally screamed while watching this.


    Yeon-Hoon is killing it


    This guy is seriously crazy


    Is he a peach or a human? *sob*


    Yet, the performance went far beyond just having visuals but also showcased each of the members charms.


    Did Kang Do-Seung write the song again?


    Reply: Yes and Lee Woon also came up with the choreography


    How could guys like them be in WD Entertainment?


    Are they really from a smallpany?


    As they had been throughout thepetition, people were surprised by the quality of Sirens self-produced performance.


    Park Dong-Juns voice is so good.


    Dong-Jun, my cute puppy :(


    Lee Woons dancing is seriously no joke


    Do-Seung stands out as the only tough-looking guy


    Reply: I know its so true lol


    But the most notable moment of the performance was, unarguably, Woo Yeon-Hoon singing the high notes at the highlight of the song.


    ?? Did you all hear Yeon-Hoon sing the high note?


    Yeon-Hoon went so high


    What the hell?


    I got out of my chair in shock


    What is this kid?


    Was he always this good at singing?


    Haha what happened to those haters who kept dragging Yeon-Hoon for not being good at singing?


    Though Yeon-Hoon was remembered as a member good at singing, people didnt know exactly how good he was. Nobody knew how high he could go, and most people had supposed that his singing would be just average among idol groups main vocals.


    I literally got chills while listening :0


    I thought there were ultrasoundsing out of his mouth


    What other main vocalist belts out high notes like that


    Wow, I think theres something heart-wrenching and exciting about Yeon-Hoons voice alone


    Now, many people were certain that Yeon-Hoons singing abilities were well above average main vocalists. Thus, this group was able to wash away many peoples concerns about <em>The Showcase 2</em>s fifth episode. But of course, there was a low point after a high, and Luminin''s team marked one of the shows lower points.


    So, who are these guys again?


    Reply: You are the worst hahaha


    I watched every episode of this show but it feels as if I have never seen these guys every time


    They are just normal bad


    Because this was a team alliance made up of the least popr members, they attracted harsh and colder responses. Furthermore, there was nothing unique about the performance and no skills that could make up for it.


    At the same time, the performance wasnt so shockingly bad that it left a memorable impression, so people quickly forgot their existence after it was over. It was to the point that even while Luminins team was performing, the social media feed was talking more about Sirens team. Then, as Luminins team came near the end, peoples attention shifted from Siren to the next team.


    Ah, so where is Bong Tae-Yoon


    Give us Hyung-Sung. I cant wait any longer


    They all wondered what Only Ones team would do. Only One fans had been shouting for this team toe out since the beginning of the episode and personal fans of Tae-Yoon or Sirens fans were asking where Tae-Yoon was after the first performance was over. Since the size of these fans was much higher than Luminins teams fans, social media pages only filled up with conversation about them. Thus, Luminins team''s performance ended without garnering much attention.


    They are finallying out


    I just finished preparing myself


    These are the guys to watch out for. Everyone who came out before cant evenpare! They are seriously crazy!


    Reply: Did you even watch the other teams performances?


    Reply: No, they are just crazy.


    Reply: What lol


    All sorts of tense responses poured out of social media feeds.


    Everyone who went to watch this performance keeps raving about Tae-Yoon


    Damn, how well did he do?


    Because I looked forward to it so much, Im going to curse it if its bad


    Reply: What the hell is wrong with you?


    Because this had been the performance so many audiences who had gone to see the show raved about, people were most curious about it. Of course, there were some who still made snide remarks.


    Is it true that Tae-Yoon has no charisma?


    Reply: I saw him in real life, and he has no stage presence or charm


    Fans who fuss over Tae-Yoon is trying to make something out of nothing


    But in the end, the majority of thements said otherwise, and as peoples attention reached its peak, the performance of Only Ones team began.


    School uniform?


    Damn, is Tae-Yoon in the center?


    Ha, this is it.


    Is this really Bong Tae-Yoon?


    Yet, the performance was shocking from beginning to end. Bong Tae-Yoon, who had been criticized for having no stage presence, was now standing on stage like apletely different person. He wore clothes fitting his age and made a cute smile, as he entered the beginning of the famous and refreshing song, "Never Mind".


    And because the Tae-Yoon that was currently on stage was so different from what the audience had seen before in previous performances, people forgot to type for a moment. Their responses were even more intense than when the camera zoomed into Yeon-Hoons face at the beginning of the performance.


    Ohh Tae-Yoon is killing me


    Lets all see each other at Cheongju women''s prison.


    Tae-Yoon please get a divorce


    I cant believe he is neen. What about our marriage?


    It gives me so much thrill when he smiles at the camera


    Ah, my heart aches


    People showed the most intense reaction they had ever given. Since the team alliance was centered around Only One, viewers naturally thought that the Only One members would get highlighted the most, but the people who showed the most intense responses came from Bong Tae-Yoons fandom.


    Tae-Yoon also does seriously hard dance moveshe really makes me want to marry


    Tae-Yoon is really like a wolfplease just marry me


    Of course, a lot of responses still came from Kang Hyun-Sungs fans and Only Ones entire fandom.


    See Hyun-Sung dancing (sob, sob)


    It really makes a difference when a person leads the practice and bnces everything out from the center


    However, the responses werent as heated because Only One and Kang Hyun-Sung had always done a good job while Tae-Yoon was suddenly showing a good performance after a series of bad ones. Yet, they didnt realize the fifth episodes highlight hadnt evene out yet.


    It was the part that Park Soo-Chul had carefully edited so that it came right at the perfect moment. It was the part when the performance ended, and everyone was handed a mike to promote themselves. Tae-Yoon seemed to think for a moment after taking the mike and then, he spat out the legendary phrase, <em>Please pick me nuna. </em>These words were followed by not just a scream but a roar from the audience.


    hahahahaha


    Look at how genuine the audiences responses are


    I can feel how happy they are by just the sound hahaha


    People seemed tough at this part the most, and it also created a great wave of responses.


    Please pick me nuna. Ahhh Please pick me nuna. Ahhh Please pick me nuna


    Hes like a character from a light novel


    Haathis is killing meI cant believe hes just neen


    I only heard about it from the rumors but hes truly evil


    Even people who had been watching the show casually became very invested in Tae-Yoon. Soon afterward, the ranking was decided.


    Siren is first ce?


    Wow, they finally did it


    They seeded in achieving the impossible


    Please pick me nuna Ahhh


    Reply: Gather your senses now haha


    People were overjoyed that Siren finally managed to get sole first ce and the responses were especially passionateing from the Sirens fandom side.


    Everyone, really great work!!!!


    They finally got first ce alone!!!


    I have so much to say but I will hold myself back congrattions guys!!


    Because Siren had narrowly missed first ce until now, everyone was exuberant about Sirens ranking. Sirens fans celebrated Sirens winning as if they were the ones who achieved first ce. Then afterward, the MVP of each team was announced, and then, around the time the episode was about to end, a line passed through the screen.


    We will see you all next week with a live broadcast of the final performances.


    It was a line that announced thest round of <em>The Showcase 2</em>s survival program. With it, episode 5 came to an end.