Chapter 74

Chapter 74

Raise Three Idols Well And They’ll Launch a Confession Attack.

Episode 74: Chapter 5 – The Genius Han Gyeoul (END).

Amidst the cold atmosphere of the judging panel, the actor-turned-MC Do Ihyeon, feeling a sense of duty, responded to Han Gyeoul.

“Yes, nice to meet you, Gyeoul. Your super crop top and street fashion look great.”

“…Hic, thank you.”

She looked every bit the rookie in panic on her first broadcast appearance.

MC Do Ihyeon continued, hoping to ease her nerves a bit.

“Gyeoul, unlike the previous two teams, you came out alone?”

“…Yes. So I’m extremely nervous.”

“Do you have a team you already debuted with?”

“No, no, I don’t!”

“…”

Do Ihyeon felt embarrassed as Gyeoul seemed to get more nervous the more they talked. Though he was a rising star as an actor, he was a novice MC, making this a significant challenge for him.

He even began to blame himself, thinking a good MC should be able to skillfully engage even someone like Gyeoul.

As if to help him, Kanola from Girls’ Sensation asked a question.

“So, how many years have you been dancing and singing?”

Gyeoul counted on her fingers and said,

“…About 13 months, I think.”

“13 months? Then how long have you been a trainee?”

“…About 3 months, I think.”

“…”

Kanola, who was asking the questions, made a judgment.

‘This isn’t going to work.’

As the judges’ expressions soured, James Oh, with a cold expression, took over the situation.

“I think we’ve talked enough. Please show us the stage you’ve prepared.”

“Yes! Han Gyeoul from TwoBear Entertainment. I’ll perform ‘Dress Up’ by TripleX!”

What is KPOP?

Initially, we called it simply Korean pop, but now the context of the word KPOP encompasses more than that.

It is a format, a system for creating songs and singers, and a culture encompassing a unique fandom.

So, what genre is KPOP?

Pop? R&B? Trap? Intense dance performances?

There could be many answers. It could be called a branch of globally popular teen pop, dance music, or ballads. Even drama OSTs made in Korea are labeled as KPOP.

Too many people have tried too many things for it to be defined by one thing.

So, is KPOP just a label guaranteeing it’s made in Korea without any genre characteristics?

Is it just a fleeting trend, limited to a niche audience due to its lack of roots?

No. There are genre characteristics.

Ambiguous and versatile genre lines, aggressively mixing different genres without boundaries. Melting it into the word “trendy.”

That is the genre characteristic of KPOP.

The song ‘Dress Up’ that Gyeoul is handling now is a masterpiece that extremely utilizes such genre mixing of KPOP.

To the dark me in the corner of the classroom, your light has reached.

‘Dress Up’ was an experimental and controversial song even in the scene at the time, receiving extreme evaluations.

With a multinational composer team led by Revolution, a total of 13 composers participated. It was a heavy song, over 4 minutes long, using more than three loops.

It took the exact opposite path of today’s trend of increasingly shorter, repetitive hooks and rhythms close to 2 minutes.

Of course, the difficulty was another matter.

Is it okay for my heart to race? Is it okay to show you my heart?

I’m too dark to be by your side?

The typical pop rhythm of a high-teen style changes. And Gyeoul’s girlish casual dance also changes. More delicate and sophisticated.

You know that person, right?

A bit of a prankster but reliable inside.

Ban Seongcheol, who was watching the monitor together, unknowingly opened his mouth.

“…What is that?”

In the early intro’s high-teen pop part, he also had a conservative view.

‘She’s a bit good,’ that kind of view.

But when the song started showing soulful aspects based on R&B rhythm, his view changed.

You know that person, right?

Like an older brother, he leads me but thinks of me.

He’s too good for me.

While extremely highlighting emotional skills, the song doesn’t forget the essence of a dance track.

Fast, cheerful, and passionate.

Though there may be slight tempo downs, it continues with choreography that can be called highly difficult.

If you take each aspect separately, you might just say it’s excellent.

Excellent R&B soul, lively high-teen vocals, flexible girlish dance.

But Gyeoul was doing all of them simultaneously and consecutively.

Quickly switching her body’s rhythm to match the rapidly changing track of the song.

So I won’t be ashamed to stand next to that person.

So I can confidently be seen by that person.

The song’s atmosphere changes again to an electronic dance song mixing retro rhythms and urban soul.

It’s not enough for you to hold my hand.

I’ll hold your hand.

Compared to Yoo Gaeul, a witch-like vocalist who captivates the entire audience with just her voice, Gyeoul lacks in appeal. She sticks to the rhythm without going beyond the given song’s limits.

Compared to Jin Yeoreum, a national-level dancer who has shown talent since rhythmic gymnastics, Gyeoul lacks in expression. She sticks to the dance without going beyond its limits.

But that is also a talent that neither of them can have.

She expresses the song completely and honestly without misinterpreting, exaggerating, or modifying the given song, making it her own.

That’s truly an incredible talent.

The song ‘Dress Up’ was the best to showcase Gyeoul’s talent in handling complex genres.

She could perfectly express all parts of a song that others would find hard to express, even one mixed track.

“…How is a girl like that only in her first year?”

“Actually, she’s not even in her first year. She’s only had proper training for three months at most.”

“…Does that make sense?”

“It does. If she’s an overwhelming genius.”

“…”

All I did was make Gyeoul’s genius shine a bit more.

[The use time for ‘Drop the Beat’ has expired. The effect is lost.]

‘Drop the Beat,’ a reward obtained when recruiting Jin Yeoreum, gave overwhelming proficiency in arrangement, mixing, and composition.

It was a very appropriate reward.

Hiring a proper arranger for a lot of money wouldn’t have been a bad idea, but it was more effective for me to do it since I had the reward.

The way I arranged it separated the raw elements of the genre complex that 13 composers had painstakingly combined.

There wouldn’t be an arranger who could handle such a crazy request effectively.

But it was a necessary task. It increased her potential for expression.

Of course, it must have become more challenging for the idol to express.

But there was no worry.

This is a transformation for you. Dress-up!

Look. She’s handling it all as if it’s natural.

I smiled lightly at Ban Seongcheol and said.

“Remember, she’ll stand at the top someday.”

Even after the stage ended, Gyeoul, noticing that no one was commenting, spoke carefully.

“…Um, I’ve finished.”

“…”

Still, none of the judges opened their mouths.

No, they couldn’t.

That’s how shocking Gyeoul’s performance was.

In the silence, the first to speak was James Oh, who had been deep in thought.

“Vocal Master James Oh. I evaluate trainee Han Gyeoul as A-class. What about the rest of you?”

Only after hearing his words did the other judges, snapped out of their immersion, speak.

“Vocal Master Lee Eunji. I evaluate her as A-class.”

“KPOP Master Mei, I’ll also go with A.”

“Seo Woobaek, A.”

“Me too, A.”

“KPOP Master Kanola, I think it’s A without any doubt.”

“…Th-thank you!”

James Oh watched Gyeoul, who seemed ready to bow, and said.

“Please head to the A-class seats. If there’s no seat, just kick someone out.”

“Ahhh… I-I’ll try.”

James Oh, watching Gyeoul walk to the A-class seats, gripping her trembling legs, spoke with a joyful smile.

“As I mentioned earlier, let’s apply proper criteria for evaluations from now on. Let’s drop the mindset of filling 11 seats for the broadcast… I believe no one has any objections after seeing such a kid.”

Choreographer Seo Woobaek, who was enjoying the afterglow of Gyeoul’s performance, realized the reality of James Oh’s words.

“…The broadcast is screwed.”

As he predicted, the broadcast was screwed.

On this day’s first impression test, 31 out of 100 girls received F-class evaluations, and only 3 received A-class.

Considering that the previous season had 16 F-class and 11 A-class, the current situation was close to a tragedy.

It was all a disaster brought by Han Gyeoul and Seon Taeyang.