The Maknae Has to Be an Idol

The Showcase producers, including Park Soo-Chul, monitored the episode while sitting in the broadcast meeting room. Since this was the last episode before the final performance, they needed to all look at the responses together. Furthermore, they had planned 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 there’s a variety of responses in the end, I think it would all lead to the show getting attention.”

“That’s good.”

It felt as if they were really riding on the high tide with this episode, but they weren’t satisfied by just this. It was clear that there was no other survival program that amassed this level of popularity at this time, but they wanted this show to be more than just a popular 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 today’s episode to do well so that people won’t say that we are losing steam towards the final.”

“We would only be able to tell later.”

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 internet to amass people’s responses. It didn’t take long for them to gauge the general response, and seeing this, Park Soo-Chul said, “…It became viral.”

“…Yes.”

That night, The Showcase 2’s producers quietly dwelled on their massive success.

***

Even from the beginning of episode 5, clips that could’ve been considered the highlight of an episode played 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, the latter part would become 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 weren’t pleased about, and anything could rile them up in their sensitive states. Lastly, there was concern that the show’s 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 Siren’s group started first. From the very beginning, the screen was zoomed into Yeon-Hoon’s face and made the fans scream.

—His face isn’t 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 small company…?

As they had been throughout the competition, people were surprised by the quality of Siren’s self-produced performance.

—Park Dong-Jun’s voice is so good.

—Dong-Jun, my cute puppy :’(

—Lee Woon’s dancing is seriously no joke

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

Reply: I know it’s 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 didn’t 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 ultrasounds coming out of his mouth

—What other main vocalist belts out high notes like that

—Wow, I think there’s something heart-wrenching and exciting about Yeon-Hoon’s voice alone

Now, many people were certain that Yeon-Hoon’s singing abilities were well above average main vocalists. Thus, this group was able to wash away many people’s concerns about The Showcase 2’s fifth episode. But of course, there was a low point after a high, and Luminin's team marked one of the show’s 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 popular 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 wasn’t 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 Luminin’s team was performing, the social media feed was talking more about Siren’s team. Then, as Luminin’s team came near the end, people’s attention shifted from Siren to the next team.

—Ah, so where is Bong Tae-Yoon

—Give us Hyung-Sung. I can’t wait any longer

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

—They are finally coming out

—I just finished preparing myself

—These are the guys to watch out for. Everyone who came out before can’t even compare! They are seriously crazy!

Reply: Did you even watch the other team’s 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, I’m going to curse it if it’s 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 the comments said otherwise, and as people’s attention reached its peak, the performance of Only One’s 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 a completely 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-Hoon’s face at the beginning of the performance.

—Ohh Tae-Yoon is killing me

—Let’s all see each other at Cheongju women's prison.

—Tae-Yoon please get a divorce

—I can’t believe he is nineteen. 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-Yoon’s fandom.

—Tae-Yoon also does seriously hard dance moves…he really makes me want to marry…

—Tae-Yoon is really like a wolf…please just marry me…

Of course, a lot of responses still came from Kang Hyun-Sung’s fans and Only One’s entire fandom.

—See Hyun-Sung dancing (sob, sob)

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

However, the responses weren’t 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 didn’t realize the fifth episode’s highlight hadn’t even come 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, ‘Please pick me nuna.’ These words were followed by not just a scream but a roar from the audience.

—hahahahaha

—Look at how genuine the audience’s responses are

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

People seemed to laugh 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

—He’s like a character from a light novel

—Haa…this is killing me…I can’t believe he’s just nineteen…

—I only heard about it from the rumors but he’s 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 place?

—Wow, they finally did it

—They succeeded 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 place and the responses were especially passionate coming from the Siren’s fandom side.

—Everyone, really great work!!!!

—They finally got first place alone!!!

—I have so much to say but I will hold myself back… congratulations guys!!

Because Siren had narrowly missed first place until now, everyone was exuberant about Siren’s ranking. Siren’s fans celebrated Siren’s winning as if they were the ones who achieved first place. 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 the last round of The Showcase 2’s survival program. With it, episode 5 came to an end.