It might be a biased opinion, but from Seon-ho’s perspective, none of the stages after Personal Color’s stood out much.
Aside from A.S.A.P, which performed right before Personal Color, no team seemed particularly outstanding.
Even Jesco, the strongest contender for the win, was just okay.
Of course, there were teams that didn’t do well.
Dream Girls, who were visibly nervous after watching Personal Color’s performance.
Soul Mate, who couldn’t overcome the tension of potential elimination.
Both teams gave especially disappointing performances and looked like they were on the verge of elimination.
As the final stage, Black Label’s performance, neared its end, Seon-ho called out to Riha, who looked like she was about to become an earthbound spirit with how intensely she was staring at the floor.
“Riha.”
“Yes?”
“Take a look at this.”
“No matter what you show me right now, I’m going to feel deep and dark… Even if you showed me Millet’s The Gleaners, I’d feel the exhaustion of labor rather than the joy of harvest…”
Grumbling, Riha approached Seon-ho.
Seon-ho showed her some screenshots of online comments he had saved on his laptop.
“Huh…?”
After a quick glance, Riha settled in properly and snatched the laptop from Seon-ho.
The screenshots were filled with upbeat and positive reactions to their performance.
“Did you edit this or something? Like, only picked out the good comments?”
“I screen-captured the whole page.”
“Still, with Photoshop, you could have…”
“That laptop only has MS Paint.”
Hearing the exchange, the other members peeked over from behind the laptop, curious.
An Jia, who slipped in between Seon-ho and Riha, exclaimed in awe.
“Wow!”
Teiji, who saw the screenshots a beat later, burst into laughter.
“You’re probably the only idol doing fan service in a dialect.”
Riha softened her usual sharp gaze and grinned awkwardly.
Even someone who claimed not to care about comments wouldn’t dislike compliments.
Meanwhile, the TV had started airing the five judging criteria for Idol War’s opening episode filmed last Friday.
But the members of Personal Color were too focused on Riha’s comments to pay attention to the screen.
It wasn’t arrogance or overconfidence about avoiding elimination.
They had simply given it their all and shown everything they had, so there was no need to obsess over the results.
The warm, upbeat atmosphere hit its peak when Manager Kwon Hosan spoke up.
“Hey, kids.”
“Yes?”
“You all know High School in Melody, right?”
“The drama Jia’s in? Of course we know.”
At Baek Songyi’s reply, Manager Kwon nodded.
“There’s a scene in episode one where the main characters watch a famous singer’s performance.”
“Yeah?”
“You guys are going to play those singers. Kind of like cameos.”
The Personal Color members were startled by the news.
They all looked at Jia, but even she hadn’t known about this cameo role.
“Us? Why? Did Jia ask for it?”
“No. Writer Min Heeyoung personally requested it. She watched Idol War and asked herself.”
“Wow…!”
High School in Melody had drawn criticism for being a parade of idols lacking acting skills, but it was also gaining a lot of attention.
That was because many top idols were in the cast.
So landing a cameo role in that context was a huge deal.
“But I’ve never acted before…”
“There’s barely any dialogue. You just have to perform on stage. The chosen song is ‘Vivid.’”
“But wait—what about Jia? She can’t perform since she’s already in the drama, right? ‘Vivid’ needs her. Her part is crucial…”
At Woochan’s question, Manager Kwon smiled contentedly.
Whether intentional or not, Woochan’s comment about Jia’s role being “crucial” was very pleasing to him.
“I spoke with the PD, and it looks like she’ll be doing double roles. It’ll be played for laughs.”
“Oh! I think I get it. Like, drama-Jia sees Personal Color-Jia and goes, ‘That unnie is so pretty~’ or something?”
“Exactly. More specifically, Jia says, ‘I think she kind of looks like me,’ and then the male lead shuts her down like, ‘Don’t be ridiculous.’”
At Jung Jiwoon’s explanation, the members burst into laughter.
Teiji raised his hand enthusiastically.
“When’s the shoot?”
“Next Monday.”
“That soon?”
“Yeah. Your scene is one of the first to be filmed.”
Hearing that, the members all clenched their fists in determination.
“We’ll need to practice like crazy this weekend!”
“You’ve been practicing ‘Vivid’ regularly, right? It’s part of your concert repertoire. Just keep doing what you’ve been doing.”
“Still! This is a broadcast drama!”
“I’m telling my mom for sure!”
Their dorm quickly became lively with excitement.
In the midst of the commotion, Manager Kwon leaned in and quietly asked Seonho,
“I got a call from Manager Woo earlier. PD Joo Min-hwan gave you a song, right?”
“Yes. I was just about to tell you.”
“Have you listened to it yet?”
“No. I held off on purpose. I was worried that if I had any expectations, it might unconsciously affect the members.”
“Smart move. Let’s all listen together, then.”
Kwon patted Seon-ho’s shoulder and added,
“Make the decision comfortably. I’ll handle the logistics.”
“Understood.”
Seon-ho nodded and asked Jia to bring the portable speaker from the room.
Listening through a speaker would be better than directly from the laptop.
When Jia brought the speaker over, Seon-ho spoke to the members.
“You all know it’s time to start preparing for the third round unit mission, right?”
“Isn’t round three the cover song mission?”
At Teiji’s comment, Riha snapped back,
“Intro round was the team introduction mission, first round was the song switch mission, and second round was the cover song mission. You dummy.”
“Oh, right. The intro round. It’s kind of like a round zero, so I got confused…”
“Why, Seon-ho oppa? Did the song come out?”
At Jia’s question, Seon-ho nodded.
“It’s still the guide version, but yeah. Both songs are out.”
“So the units are set already?”
“Yep.”
Manager Kwon, who had been watching from the side, felt a bit puzzled.
Seon-ho was speaking as if the songs from PD Joo Min-hwan were actually from Prefer.
He hadn’t said explicitly who composed them, but the way he phrased things would naturally make people assume they were created by Seon-ho’s team, Prefer.
‘He must have his reasons.’
As Manager Kwon thought this, Seon-ho informed Personal Color of the unit assignments:
Unit A – Baek Songyi, Teiji.
Unit B – Riha, Woochan, An Jia.
Divide the male and female main vocals, Teiji and Riha, into Unit A and B respectively, and assign the rest of the members to backup roles.
This kind of unit formation was the first thing Seon-ho thought of the moment he heard the phrase ‘Unit Mission.’
It was also the most stable arrangement.
Teiji and Baek Songyi of Unit A were a solid match based on vocals alone.
With main vocalist Teiji at the center and Songyi handling the song’s flow and harmony, the duet could showcase the charm of a male-female combo to the fullest.
Unit B was stable in terms of complementing each other’s individual traits.
Until today’s broadcast, Riha had been the least popular member. However, her singing ability had always been highly rated.
An Jia was the most popular member based on personal charm. However, aside from Prefer, there was a general opinion that it was difficult to highlight Jia’s strengths.
Woochan was a rapper whose skills were difficult for the public to evaluate.
However, his popularity had recently surged among female fans, making him the second most popular after Jia.
The intention behind Unit B’s structure was simple.
It was to balance out each other’s weaknesses and create overall stability.
Use Jia to gather votes in place of the unpopular Riha, and let Riha’s vocals cover the singing requirements.
As the rapper, Woochan would serve as a bridge between Riha and Jia.
It was a very stable composition.
And Seon-ho wasn’t the only one who thought this way.
The Personal Color members had the same thought the moment they heard about the unit setup.
“Let’s listen to the song first, oppa.”
Baek Songyi said with a vague expression.
Seon-ho nodded and played the audio file from the desktop of his laptop.
Unit A’s song flowed out through the speakers.
Since the male and female guide vocals had already recorded a demo, Teiji and Songyi quickly figured out their respective parts.
“Oppa, wait a second. Is this a remake of Jung Heesun’s ‘Eternal Lyrics’?”
Halfway through the first verse, Baek Songyi asked. Seon-ho paused the song and nodded.
“Yeah, that’s right.”
“Really? It’s really Jung Heesun’s song?”
“Yeah. We got official permission for the remake.”
“But Jung Heesun is famous for not allowing remakes…”
Baek Songyi trailed off, then said,
“Let’s listen to the whole thing before we talk. Please play it again.”
“Alright.”
The paused song resumed.
As they listened, the members occasionally nodded or wore serious expressions.
Unit A’s song finished playing.
After a brief silence, Teiji spoke.
“Hyung. Play the next one.”
“Should we talk all at once after listening?”
“Yes.”
“Just so you know, the B Team’s song is also a remake of one of Jung Heesun’s tracks.”
“Which one?”
“‘Glasses.’”
“Oh! ‘Glasses’ is great.”
Jia said just as the Unit B song began to play.
If “Eternal Lyrics” was a hidden gem by Jung Heesun, “Glasses” was a well-known classic.
Perhaps because of that, everyone seemed to listen to it comfortably.
Once again, the guide vocals had recorded a demo, so Riha, Woochan, and Jia could identify their own parts.
After the full guide track finished playing, Seon-ho unplugged the speaker jack from the laptop and asked,
“What do you all think about choosing between these two songs?”
“I don’t like it.”
“I like it.”
The responses were sharply divided.
Two people expressed dislike, while three said they liked it.
On the surface, the opinions were split.
But Seon-ho knew that, in truth, they weren’t.
They were all thinking the same thing.
That’s because the ones who said they didn’t like it were the leads — Teiji and Riha — while those who said they did like it were the supporting roles — Songyi, Jia, and Woochan.
“Oppa, I don’t really like this song.”
At Riha’s statement, Woochan asked,
“Why not, Riha? It’s a good song.”
“I know singers shouldn’t say this… but it feels like I have to step over my partner to shine. That’s why I don’t like it.”
“Jiwoon hyung, Seon-ho hyung. I feel the same.”
The other lead, Teiji, agreed with Riha.
The song composed by PD Joo Min-hwan was undeniably good.
In fact, it would have been strange if it wasn’t good.
After all, a veteran like Joo Min-hwan had remade one of Jung Heesun’s classics — it was bound to be good.
But a good song wasn’t necessarily a happy song.
Joo Min-hwan’s remakes demanded complete sacrifice from the supporting members for the sake of the main vocals.
Even Baek Songyi, a skilled singer, had to give up most of her part for Teiji.
That’s why opinions were divided.
The supporting members thought the song was good for Riha and Teiji, while the leads disliked the song because of how much the others had to give up.
Their opinions differed, but in the end, their feelings were the same.
They didn’t want to sing a song where they were happy — they wanted to sing a song where Personal Color was happy.
Riha turned to Seon-ho and said,
“Seon-ho oppa. You’re the one giving input and direction to Prefer, right?”
“Yeah, that’s right.”
“Then… I’m a little disappointed in you.”
She continued.
“I don’t even know why I feel this way. The song is good, and I’m proud we got permission to remake a Jung Heesun song. But I still feel disappointed. I’m sorry. I know you did your best, oppa. Maybe I was just expecting too much. I’m really sorry.”
Riha lowered her head deeply.
Seeing that, Baek Songyi gently patted Riha’s back and said the song was good, trying to comfort her.
Just then, someone burst out laughing.
“Hahaha!”
It was Manager Kwon Hosan.
“Ah, you sly bastard. You planned all this, didn’t you?”
He looked at Seon-ho, who scratched his jaw awkwardly.
“No, not at all. I really didn’t listen to the songs beforehand.”
“Really?”
“Yes. I swear on the sky.”
“Hmm… I still don’t buy it…”
Seeing the confused expressions of the Personal Color members who didn’t understand the exchange between Hosan and Seon-ho, Jung Jiwoon stepped in to explain the situation.
After hearing the full explanation, the Personal Color members asked again,
“So, those songs just now were both composed by PD Joo Min-hwan?”
“Yup.”
“Both of them?”
“Yeah. And this guy pretended not to know the whole time.”
“Why didn’t you tell us they were PD Joo’s songs?”
Seon-ho, still looking awkward, replied,
“I had some issues with PD Joo before. But song selection has to be fair. I was worried that if I showed any bias, it might affect you all, so I kept it under wraps for just a bit.”
“Liar!”
“I didn’t lie. I just… excluded the part of the sentence.”
“Scammer!”
“I can’t deny that one.”
“Um…”
Riha looked embarrassed.
It felt like she had faked out a stationary defender ten times only to lose the ball in the end.
Baek Songyi asked seriously,
“So oppa, are you and Prefer preparing different songs? And different units too?”
“Yeah.”
“What are the units?”
“The unit I came up with is…”
At Seon-ho’s words, the five Personal Color members’ eyes widened in shock.
“Really?!”
“Seriously?”
Among them, the most intense reaction came from An Jia.
Normally calm and composed, Jia actually raised her voice this time.
“Oppa, are you sick?!”
Because…
Unit A – Baek Songyi, Riha, Teiji, Woochan.
Unit B – An Jia.
Seon-ho had made Unit B a solo unit with just Jia.
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