Idol Hides His Military Service

‘Looks like I really can’t afford to underestimate this just because it’s a kids’ stage.’

Lee Daeho, the camera director for MPlay’s music show Music Count.

Today, after receiving a request for support from the variety department, Lee Daeho had been put in charge of filming the Position Evaluation stages for Idol Ground 100.

–We need someone with Director Lee’s level of skill.

There was already a camera director normally assigned to Idol Ground 100, but because there was a big difference between filming a music show and filming variety, main PD Kim Miyoung had specifically requested a separate director just for the stage filming.

In truth, for someone with as much experience as Lee Daeho, it would have been normal to turn down a reassignment like this.

However,

–Help us out a bit. The president personally ordered us to give you full support on this.

When Kang Hyukjin, the head of the variety department, personally came and asked Daeho to help just this once, there was no way not to come and shoot.

Because of that, at first, Lee Daeho had not been in a great mood.

You couldn’t really blame him. Even on Music Count, where only already-debuted idol groups could appear, when groups with shaky skills came on, it was the camera team’s job to do everything from their trajectories onward to try to hide how sloppy they were.

Fans would grumble, asking why the camera was moving like that, but if they didn’t do that, there would be disasters where the mistakes and clumsy movements of the fans’ favorite groups were broadcast as-is.

Thanks to that, whenever a Music Count filming was scheduled, Daeho had developed the habit of checking first whether any rookie groups were appearing, and whether there were any groups from small and mid-sized agencies.

And now, on top of that, he had been ordered not to shoot rookies, but to shoot trainees’ stages, so of course he had a headache.

Even before filming began, he could already feel the back of his neck tightening as he wondered how careful he would have to be with the filming to avoid a disaster.

But that didn’t mean he could half-ass it, because if the stage quality that went out on air suffered, the blame would fall entirely on the camera team. No matter what, it was Daeho’s job to produce the best possible quality.

However, all of those countless worries earlier had turned out to be for nothing.

‘They’re good. At this level they’re way better than some of the sloppy idol kids I’ve seen.’

Of course, there were massive differences in quality between teams, but overall, the skill level of the Idol Ground 100 contestants was decent.

It was enough to make Daeho think that maybe the reason the program had recently hit number one in buzz wasn’t just because of virality, but also thanks to stages of this solid quality.

Especially,

The countless scenes that had passed me by

I follow the colors dyed by you

In my days that used to be like black and white,

Because you’re here, they become clear

The stage by the contestants who had chosen the Vocal & Rap Position song “Breath” was, in Daeho’s eyes, already beyond trainee level.

At this quality, you could put them on a music show right now and it wouldn’t feel lacking at all.

‘Was it Seo Ryujin?’

Among them, the contestant named Seo Ryujin, who had taken the main vocal role for the Breath team, stuck in Daeho’s mind in particular.

Having spent well over ten years as a camera director for music shows from the public networks to cable, Daeho could tell just from the stage who was leading.

And from that perspective, the protagonist of the Breath team’s stage, the one named Seo Ryujin, was unmistakable.

“Then, now, the final stage of this Position Evaluation! We’ll begin the Dance Position stage, Bang! Bang! Love Team, right now!”

Lost for a moment in his thoughts about the previous stage, Lee Daeho grabbed his camera again and focused on the stage at MC Jang Junseok’s words.

Because the stage that was about to appear now was no joke.

‘I never imagined I’d be this nervous filming a trainee stage and not a year-end show.’

Before the main performance, the contestants had done a brief rehearsal.

Since time was tight, they had only run a quick check of the sound and blocking, but watching the rehearsal, Daeho had gotten a sense of it.

He had realized that if the camera team let their guard down even a little during Bang! Bang! Love Team’s stage, they might get eaten alive.

***

“This is insane. I came in thinking I was going to vote for Sion’s team no matter what, so why am I already torn?”

“You’re not the only one, oppa. I bet everyone else is the same.”

“Right?”

At Jiyeon’s words, Jinsoo let out a sigh of relief.

Audience voting.

Honestly, Jinsoo had doubted whether the audience voting even meant anything.

Because if people had gone so far as to apply for audience tickets, they were probably diehard Idol Ground 100 viewers who each had a contestant they were pushing.

He had figured they were bound to vote with their hearts regardless of stage quality.

He himself had come planning to vote for Lee Sion no matter what.

But watching the stages the contestants had put on earlier, Jinsoo realized that had been an overly one-dimensional way of thinking.

“There are tons of fans who come to these recordings and end up switching their favorite after seeing the stage in person! Watching on TV and seeing them live # Nоvеlight # are completely different experiences.”

At Jiyeon’s additional explanation, Jinsoo nodded in agreement.

Just like she said, seeing the stages live had let him see the charms of contestants he hadn’t paid any attention to before, and before he knew it, his mind was naturally lining things up in order, not by fan loyalty, but by which stages had really been the best.

“Then, now, the final stage of this Position Evaluation! We’ll begin the Dance Position stage, Bang! Bang! Love Team, right now!”

“They’re coming out!”

“Please, do well!”

Talking about the stages like that, Jiyeon and Jinsoo turned their eyes back to the front of the stage at Jang Junseok’s announcement of the last stage, and cheered with all their hearts.

“Kyaaaa!! Ryu Ayeon!”

“I’ll be cheering for you, Lee Gahyeon!!”

“Show them what a middle-schooler’s guts look like, Im Yunkyung!!”

Seven contestants slowly rose up onto the stage.

At the same time, explosive cheers and voices shouting the contestants’ names to cheer them on burst out from the audience.

“Wow··· how is this even a team lineup?”

“For real!”

Looking at the Bang! Bang! Love team members up on stage, Jinsoo could tell at a glance that this was no joke.

Starting with Ryu Ayeon, who had received harsh criticism in the previous Group Battle Mission, but was still at the very top in popularity and known as the one with the best skills among the contestants.

Then there was Yoo Jihae, who had drawn attention thanks to having already debuted in a girl group before, and Kim Nayeon, who had made a firm impression on viewers as the F-class leader.

All three of them were contestants who ranked in the upper tier in both popularity and skill, and if they had been on other teams, each of them could have been the center of that team.

On top of that, they even had Im Yunkyung, Lee Gahyeon, and Geum Shinyu, who were members of the team Lucid Dive whose popularity had been skyrocketing recently. In a sense, this was an all-star lineup.

“Lee Gahyeon’s popularity has been crazy lately.”

“Geum Shinyu, Im Yunkyung, Kim Suyeon, all of them have had their vote counts shoot up. The entire Lucid Dive A team blew up!”

At Jiyeon’s words, Jinsoo thought back to the posts that had been going up on community boards recently.

It was true that after the 4th episode aired, there had suddenly been a lot more posts about the Lucid Dive A team members in particular.

And they weren’t negative posts; they were all praising the members, calling them “rediscoveries.”

–Now that I look at her, Lee Gahyeon is a total lovable klutz lol

–Geum Shinyu’s way of talking felt super weird at first, but after hearing her story I kind of get it now, makes me want to cheer for her

–Is Im Yunkyung like Lee Sion’s emotional support doll or what? lol Why is she always stuck to her side?

–Honestly, Kim Suyeon has the right to punch Lee Sion at least once. But why is she funniest when she’s the one getting wrecked lol

Thanks to that, people who were pushing the Lucid Dive A team members had even formed an alliance to vote together.

“Lee Sion is so pretty!!!”

“Whoa!!! What is that outfit today!”

“I came all the way from Busan just to see this stage!!!”

Of course, at the center of all that buzz was the last member of Bang! Bang! Love Team, Lee Sion.

“Her stage outfit is totally different from last time.”

“It feels like a girl-crush concept.”

“Girl-crush?”

“It’s a concept that’s popular among girl groups these days.”

Jinsoo felt lucky to have gotten to know Jiyeon.

He still didn’t know enough about idols, and whenever something he didn’t understand came up while watching the stage, thanks to Jiyeon kindly explaining it, he was able to properly appreciate things.

Jiyeon briefly explained girl-crush to Jinsoo too, saying that roughly speaking, it was a concept that emphasized power and charisma rather than femininity.

Maybe that was why the outfits of the Bang! Bang! Love team contestants standing on stage under the pouring lights were shining especially in black and silver, unlike the teams before them.

On their shoulders they wore jackets decorated with gleaming studs, and every time the light hit them, the sharp glints scattering off of them looked intense even to Jinsoo.

That didn’t mean everyone was intense in the same way.

Lee Gahyeon didn’t wear a jacket, instead boldly showing a daring silhouette in just a sleeveless top. Yoo Jihae, who introduced herself as the team’s leader, wore a cropped jacket that came down only to her waist.

Ryu Ayeon and Lee Sion, with chokers around their necks, were creating a completely different vibe from how they had looked during the previous Group Battle Mission.

Tak.

While Jiyeon and Jinsoo were talking about the outfits like that, before they knew it, the Bang! Bang! Love team on stage had formed their formation and finished getting ready.

Then the lights illuminating the stage suddenly went out, leaving only the tiniest bit of light shining on the members.

Just enough to show their silhouettes, not even their faces.

But everyone in the audience could feel it.

They could feel that this was the signal announcing the start of the stage.

Tak.

When the lights came back on, the first one to step out into the center of the stage was Lee Gahyeon.

“Lee Gahyeon?”

Even someone like Jinsoo, who still didn’t know much about idols, at least knew that the opening part of a stage needed to leave a strong impression, so someone skilled would usually take that slot.

But Bang! Bang! Love Team’s first runner was Lee Gahyeon, who was known for not being very skilled. So not only Jinsoo but even Jiyeon beside him wore a surprised expression.

And then, once they saw the stage beginning with Gahyeon at the center, they couldn’t help but gasp in amazement.

Heartbeats racing like a drum in the night

Your eyes lock on me, I can’t hide

Fire’s burning, set me on desire

One touch and I’m taking you higher

As the first beat of the song hit, the Bang! Bang! Love members stood in a line and lowered their hips slightly.

Then, as a powerful drum beat followed, Bang! Bang! Love Team began drawing big waves with their bodies, swaying their upper bodies from side to side.

They weren’t just swinging their arms; the movement flowed as smoothly as water from their fingertips, to their shoulders, to their chests, to their waists, and down to their knees—and every time the lights flashed, that wave looked like it was wrapping around the stage.

And at the center, standing alone, Gahyeon took a different move from the others in that part: she lifted one hand up as if pulling it back over her head, while stretching the other arm out to the side.

As the music built, a wave starting from Gahyeon’s waist flowed up through her shoulders to the tips of her fingers, creating an explosive pose.

Within the rough power of the original song, Gahyeon’s choreography flowed with smooth fluidity.

The audience couldn’t help but be captivated, their eyes glued to it.

“This is insane. When did Lee Gahyeon get this good?”

“It’s like this choreography was made just for her!”

For some reason, Jiyeon and Jinsoo felt that this choreography fit Gahyeon perfectly.

But there was no time to figure out why right now.

Because after Gahyeon, Geum Shinyu was getting ready to step out to the center of the stage.

***

Can’t slow it down (no way)

We’re falling into the flame

Every spark is lighting us up

Love’s about to blow, it’s dangerous

In Lee Jungyoon’s eyes, Geum Shinyu was standing alone in the center, breaking down the beat and popping.

‘That’s not memorized choreo, that’s her dancing to the beat she’s hearing right now.’

Watching Geum Shinyu dance her solo part in the center, Jungyoon could tell that this wasn’t something Shinyu had simply memorized, but that she was moving in real time, feeling the beat with her body.

Up until now, Jungyoon had never once thought that Geum Shinyu had talent for choreography, so what she was seeing now was a shockingly attractive bit of choreo.

‘It’s partly because the team members are matching her so well, but you can’t pull this off without an innate sense of rhythm.’

Of course, Shinyu alone would have lacked impact.

But with three members on each side of her, the rest of the Bang! Bang! Love team completed the stage by snapping their chests and hips precisely on the beat in response to Shinyu’s popping.

Bang bang love, shoot me straight to your heart

Pull the trigger, baby, light up the dark

Boom boom fire, we’re never coming down

Bang bang love, let the world hear the sound

Just when it felt like Shinyu’s part had ended, this time Im Yunkyung stepped forward and started cheerleading.

The part playing now was the chorus, the highlight of the song, and to that music, Yunkyung bounced and did cheerleading choreography.

The other members each started doing different moves.

For example, Yoo Jihae was doing the signature choreography of her previous group, May Girl, and Ryu Ayeon was reenacting a scene from the music video of Baseline, the group that had first made her name known.

The other members too were all performing their own signature moves, with no unity whatsoever.

And the finishing touch among them was Lee Sion doing Pink Spell.

‘I shouldn’t laugh, but this is killing me.’

If she hadn’t already seen this at the Final Check, Jungyoon probably would have burst out laughing right now without even realizing it.

Even now, she was barely holding back a smile.

“Did Ayeon really choreograph this herself?”

“She’s learned how to control the tempo.”

“You’re right. Before, it was nonstop powerful the entire time, so sure, it was cool, but you started to feel worn out just watching it. But now that she’s put in such an obvious breather section, it feels much smoother.”

Jungyoon agreed with Producer Ahn Seongho. 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

Before the revision, the choreography had been like a finely tuned set of gears—highly complete, but separate from that, it gave you the feeling of being drained just from watching it.

Now, it was like a wheel turning smoothly.

As proof, smiles filled the faces of the audience watching the stage.

The difficulty of the choreography was by no means easy, changing restlessly along with the variations of the song, but thanks to the solo parts in between that brought out each member’s strengths, it was genuinely enjoyable to watch.

Yeah, lock and load, my pulse going quicker

Taste of your lips, that poison’s killer

Danger’s sweet, and I’m addicted

One more hit, and I’m convicted

And when the rap part that signaled the end of the stage came in, Ryu Ayeon and Lee Sion stepped out to the center of the stage.

The two of them faced each other, then started dancing the exact same choreography to the rap, like mirror images.

‘This honestly makes no sense.’

It wasn’t that this kind of choreography didn’t exist.

What Sion and Ayeon were dancing now was what was called mirror choreography, a type known among professional choreographers as something you didn’t take on lightly.

That was because if your timing was even slightly off, there was nothing uglier than mirror choreography. Unless you’d been working together for a long time, it was usually a type of choreo that brought more harm than benefit.

But now, Sion and Ayeon were dancing to exactly the same beat, with exactly the same timing, and exactly the same angles, truly like reflections in a mirror.

When people are faced with something amazing, they let out exclamations.

Then what happens when they’re faced with something beyond amazing, something awe-inspiring?

Silence.

The audience gathered in the recording studio, the camera crew, and even the judges.

All of them were watching Bang! Bang! Love Team’s stage, unable even to swallow.