A Blank Slate Regression for the Idol That Lost His Original Mindset - Chapter 523

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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A Regression Guide for Idols Who Lost Their Original Intent Episode 523

“What? Why is someone singing behind the door?”

As I mentioned before, I had only watched sporadically even before the regression, so I didn’t know every single round. Just how far Ryu Jaehee made it, which round Ryu Jaehee was eliminated in, and who the winner was?

As soon as Ryu Jaehee’s song ended, the light above door 4 went out, then a spotlight poured over door 5 as the singer behind door 5 began belting out their song.

Ah, right. That person appeared too. I couldn’t tell whether being on the same team as the pre-regression winner would be beneficial or detrimental to Ryu Jaehee since I didn’t know the round mission.

I took off my outer jacket, casually draped it over the sofa armrest, and plopped down on the sofa. Kim Dobin provided an explanation without even being asked.

“Round 1 is a group blind test. One person gets eliminated by vote out of those five.”

Hmm, that’s rough. Being on the same team as the winner of all people. Considering I also faced off against Yupi, who was the pre-regression winner, in the preliminaries of DTB Season 4, this seemed like our group’s jinx.

“They’re divided into groups 1 through 4, and all the strong singers ended up in Jaehee’s group. What do we do about our youngest member getting stuck in such a hellish group?”

What do you mean what do we do? What can we possibly do about a broadcast that’s already been recorded? We just have to pray that Ryu Jaehee wasn’t the one eliminated by vote.

Seeing how Ryu Jaehee didn’t seem dejected about being eliminated and went back to film more, the chances of him making it through seemed high.

“So right now, only Group 3 is behind those five doors?”

“Yes, that’s right. I was going to ask you to guess which door our youngest member was behind when you arrived, but you figured it out before the second round of parts even started.”

“I could recognize our youngest member’s voice even with my eyes closed.”

We’ve been in the same group for years – wouldn’t I be an idiot if I couldn’t recognize it?

“Number 5 did really well. Since Jaehee’s turn was right before number 5, what if he gets overshadowed by comparison?”

“Hajun, words have power. Let’s only say good things. You kept all the members in check during Yoon Eden’s time so they couldn’t even mention the word ‘elimination.'”

Seo Yehyeon scolded Gyeon Hajun for taking his common worry as fact. Anyone listening would think Gyeon Hajun was performing rituals for Ryu Jaehee to get eliminated.

After going through all five once, random part assignments began. They distributed the parts appropriately well so that no one person kept doing the same part while allowing clear comparison of all five vocalists.

I nodded after listening to the songs from numbers 1, 2, and 3 that I had missed.

“Right now number 2 is singing more over-the-top than their usual style, so if number 2 maintains that pace until the end, they’ll probably have the highest chance of elimination. Is it because of the song? I don’t know about their singing technique, but just from the voice, they sound like Senior Kang Taewool.”

For reference, Senior Kang Taewool was one of the ballad singers who led the ballad golden age of the 90s.

And number 1 sounds like Senior Choi Eunjeong, the all-time legend female singer of that era, and number 3 sounds like Senior Eom Suyeon, the dance singer who was called a diva?

I can be certain about number 5. It’s Senior No Gangyeol, the rock band vocalist whose band name about two-thirds of South Korea’s population has heard of and whose songs they’ve heard at least once.

They said all the strong singers gathered together. This isn’t just strong – this is deathmatch level, isn’t it?

Ryu Jaehee was competing in Round 1 with this lineup of competitors. If it hadn’t been a blind test, the probability of Ryu Jaehee being eliminated would have been very high.

He has the least experience, and active idols inevitably seem a bit less professional compared to singers who dominated an entire era back then. It would be like starting with the preconception that he’s the least skilled.

It’s similar to how they draw lines between idol rappers and regular rappers on DTB.

Prejudice is really something.

Even if people who can recognize voices and singing techniques figure out who the participants behind the doors are, if they can’t see them, they’ll primarily evaluate based on vocals alone, so Round 1 being a blind test was actually favorable for Ryu Jaehee.

If he makes it past Round 1, the prejudice that idol vocals are inferior to singers will be broken down at least one layer, if only because the audience won’t want to think their own choices were wrong.

Most importantly, just surviving in this lineup and advancing to Round 2 would itself become a credential for Ryu Jaehee.

I felt relieved watching Ryu Jaehee harmonizing with number 5.

Seeing how he maintained his own pace well while blending in without being overpowered by number 5, who was the most skilled, it seemed the probability of the audience casting elimination votes for Ryu Jaehee had decreased.

Did he compete in Round 1 with these same group members before the regression too? I can’t feel at ease since I don’t remember. I didn’t want to confirm the usefulness of my future knowledge this way.

[[MC: Now, we’ll begin voting. Please vote for the vocalist you don’t want to hear in the next round.]

“Wow, that MC comment is insane. If you get eliminated by vote after hearing that kind of comment, it would really hurt.” Kim Dobin clasped his hands together as if praying and uttered words that could have been either admiration or lamentation. Everyone couldn’t take their eyes off the TV screen as if Ryu Jaehee would get flooded with elimination votes if we weren’t watching.

“Why are we so nervous about this? Did you all feel this way when watching me on DTB too?”

Seeing how everyone avoided answering, it seemed they had watched DTB comfortably. No wonder they all looked relaxed and peaceful when watching back then.

[[MC: 3, 2, 1. Voting closed!]

The long intro that had been stretched out until voting ended finally finished, and starting from number 1, they began coming out in order, singing as they opened their doors.

[National singer Choi Eunjeong!]

[Ballad prince Kang Taewool!]

[Our eternal DIVA, Eom Suyeon!]

As each identity was revealed, the judges’ reactions of covering their mouths in amazement or clapping enthusiastically were captured on screen. After watching their sincere reactions, I asked Kim Dobin.

“Don’t the judges know who the group members are?”

“They probably don’t know? For fairness, they didn’t tell the judges. So for those judges, it’s a real genuine blind test. We know because we’re viewers who saw the whole group formation process, but those people only saw the performances.”

[The identity of singer number 4, who sparked the most curiosity among the judges, is…!]

Finally, door number 4 swung open and Ryu Jaehee walked out to center stage, belting out his song.

[Rising idol Rev’s Yuje!]

Wildly enthusiastic women in their teens and twenties were caught on camera.

[Lee Sogyeong: Oh my, oh my… What’s this? He’s so good, this kid.]

[Jeong Minwoo: He’s an idol? No, he looks really young though?]

After briefly showing the impressions of other participants watching the stage from the waiting room, they focused on Ryu Jaehee on stage again before moving to door number 5.

[Singer number 5, who drew the most exclamations, is…]

[Band ‘Red Cloud’s legendary vocalist No Gangyeol!]

Cheers similar in level to those for Ryu Jaehee erupted from the audience. This was proof that Ryu Jaehee hadn’t been overshadowed by number 5 and had left a similarly deep impression on the judges.

The five voices merged into one, creating harmony. The PD who thought to put all these renowned singers on one stage was truly amazing.

[Hyeran: Oh, I couldn’t sing with a clear mind in that group. Just thinking about it makes my hands shake. Eunjeong unnie’s voice hasn’t changed at all.]

When all five were captured in one frame, Ryu Jaehee, who stood out prominently, caught my eye once again.

“Look at him towering above everyone else. He’s a door, a door.”

I chuckled watching Ryu Jaehee creating the human door effect. Finally, the song ended and the participants gathered at center stage.

[MC: I’ll announce the voting results. Group 3, Round 1’s eliminated contestant is…!]

The MC paused for a moment, showed close-ups of each of the five tense faces in turn, then said “Group 3, Round 1’s eliminated contestant is…!” once more, followed by some drum sounds.

Only after going through the typical terrestrial broadcasting competition program result announcement process was the eliminated contestant finally announced.

[MC: Number 2, Kang Taewool.]

Senior Kang Taewool’s sighing face alternated with the relieved faces of the other four.

“Our youngest member made it! Our youngest member made it!”

“But really, if number 2… if Senior Kang Taewool had sung more plainly, I wonder what the result would have been. This was a song optimized for female vocals, so the male pitch got relatively buried.”

“Why are you making such hypotheticals? Our youngest member made it through, that’s what matters.”

Seo Yehyeon coldly cut off my serious analysis. Hey, if I analyze it like this, who knows if it might help later.

[Kang Taewool: Getting eliminated from Round 1… that’s about right. I’ve always had bad luck with draws.]

Senior Kang Taewool, who received the microphone from the MC, showed his easygoing nature while giving his elimination speech. After exchanging greetings and hugs with the four singers who shared the stage with him, Senior Kang Taewool bowed to the audience and exited through the elimination passage on the left side of the stage.

[Choi Eunjeong, Eom Suyeon, Yuje, No Gangyeol survive]

As he came out through the right passage, Ryu Jaehee was caught on camera taking out a handkerchief to wipe the cold sweat that had formed on his forehead.

[Eom Suyeon: Oh my, look at that sweat. You were really nervous.]

[Choi Eunjeong: Here, drink some water. You did well, so very well.]

[Yuje: Thank you.]

The scene transitioned to Ryu Jaehee’s individual interview with a close-up of him smiling brightly as he received the water cup.

[Yuje: Rather than nervousness, I felt a lot of pressure. Since I was on the same stage as legendary seniors who dominated an entire era… Still, it was such an honor to be on stage with those seniors today. I even received praise from Senior Choi Eunjeong saying I did well.]

Ryu Jaehee, who had returned after finishing his music show MC schedule, looked at his own face displayed prominently on the TV screen and laughed triumphantly while clapping to encourage applause in the middle of the living room.

“Well done, Youngest Member! Let’s go for the win too!”

“Since our group has one terrestrial survival show winner, now it’s time for one public broadcasting competition winner to emerge!”

No matter how much he copied, a kid is still a kid. I nodded while recalling myself during the DTB Season 4 broadcast, when I was very mature.

Ah, of course, Ryu Jaehee was a bit more refined in his broadcast costume though.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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