A Blank Slate Regression for the Idol That Lost His Original Mindset - Chapter 544

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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 Initial Intentions Episode 544

The total number of participants who flocked to DTB Season 6’s first preliminary round was 11,000. This was 1,000 fewer than Season 5.

The new producers including myself were shocked by the enormous number, but the veteran producers who had already tasted the hell of first preliminary judging to their heart’s content were too busy celebrating that the number had decreased by a whole thousand, far from being shocked.

No, even during Season 4 when there were 7,000 people, Yongcheol Hyung said it ended past 7 AM the next day. So what time will we be able to go home today?

“Well, we’ll get to go home earlier than last year.”

“Right. As long as we don’t get caught by weirdos with strange concepts and have our mentals destroyed, it seems manageable.”

Yongcheol Hyung and BQ9, who had been producers from DTB 4 at its peak through DTB 5 when applicant numbers peaked, showed lukewarm reactions somewhere between newcomers and veterans.

“Yongcheol Hyung, you’ve been both a participant and a judge. Which is harder?”

“Hands down the latter. The former was just boring waiting, but the latter makes your head explode. Did I give out too many pass necklaces early on, or what if there are too many left but no worthy participants to give them to later? Should I have given it to that participant who was decent earlier? All these worries.”

At Yongcheol Hyung’s firm answer that came out without a moment’s hesitation, BQ9 also added a word from his distant position.

“Waiting and judging can’t even be compared. I didn’t do 3-second judging for nothing. If I had listened to full raps attentively, it would have taken three full days to judge.”

Indeed, selecting 120 people to advance to the second preliminary round from 11,000 was no easy task.

Each judge was allocated fifteen pass necklaces.

By simple calculation, each judge had to evaluate 1,375 participants.

While there couldn’t be zero talented individuals who unfortunately got eliminated, minimizing such situations was the judges’ responsibility.

Since DTB already had several famous names creating elimination compilations with provocative titles like “The wall of DTB’s first preliminary round that even OOO couldn’t overcome!”, judges didn’t particularly worry about getting criticized.

“You know from producing too. The moment you hear them, you get a feeling – this one’s worth advancing. There are so many duds.”

Jiwon Hyung was giggling while giving advice as a veteran producer, then suddenly looked over my appearance and seriously added.

“But you should be a bit lenient with participants who get flustered and start a beat late. Honestly, even if I were a participant, I wouldn’t be confident about not getting flustered.”

Wondering if I looked that strange, I glanced at the mirror in the waiting room.

It’s just normal idol event attire if you remove the chain necklace and sunglasses, so what’s the problem?

Now the first preliminary judging began in earnest. I hung the pass necklaces allocated to me on my rolled-up sleeve and headed to the audition venue humming a tune.

* * *

What Group A participants who applied to DTB Season 6 with dreams of life reversal faced as soon as they lined up following staff guidance was…

“Alright, I’ll give you 3 seconds to adapt.”

A crazy 182.7cm tall guy wearing a somewhat cute animal pajama matched with a chain necklace, creating a terrible daily fashion disaster.

“After 3 seconds, I won’t accept excuses like ‘I couldn’t rap because it was too funny.'”

The Boeing sunglasses covering his eyes glinted under the lights.

I hoped they’d realize it wasn’t funny at all. Clumsy concept attempts invite ridicule and contempt, but overwhelming concept execution makes people bow their heads naturally.

Participants wearing strange clothes and acting out had the clear purpose of securing broadcast time, but a producer in charge of judging doing this was scarier because the reason was incomprehensible.

If it was pure preference, that was terrifying in its own way. For something that could be believed as punishment attire for broadcasting, the person wearing it had an unnecessarily confident and shameless expression.

The first participant who happened to be judged by Yoon Eden was someone who had similarly copied Season 4 Yoon Eden’s first preliminary fashion.

This participant had thrown away detailed points like heart piercings and chokers, only replicating the beret and blue jacket, and had prepared Yoon Eden diss lyrics mocking how he was being judged by someone who was just a concept fashion show one-trick without even a solo album.

Even if not done in front of Yoon Eden himself, judge-targeting rap could secure some screen time, and if done in front of Yoon Eden himself, securing screen time would be guaranteed, making it even better.

-Or so he had thought.

Until he faced that untouchable animal pajama daily fashion disaster up close.

The beret and blue jacket sleeveless fashion had also been sensational fashion that shocked people around when it first appeared, but facing that mismatched daily fashion disaster, it looked truly ordinary.

This is why there needs to be development.

Seeing the arm muscles more visible because one sleeve of the animal pajama was rolled up, the participant quietly removed his beret.

“Why are you suddenly taking off the beret? Didn’t you copy my first preliminary fashion?”

“I just bought it following trends… After buying it, it felt wasteful, so since I was coming to DTB anyway, I wore it…”

Yoon Eden cut off the rambling excuses with a chuckle and gestured.

“Let’s start.”

A participant already intimidated first by the fashion and second by the overwhelming atmosphere couldn’t possibly deliver a face-to-face diss rap confidently.

He lacked the skills to change lyrics to freestyle on the spot. Yoon Eden listened to the self-diss rap mumbled with a bowed head without expression change and cut off the participant’s rap in 3 seconds.

“Yes, thank you for your effort.”

Leaving those words and jangling the pass necklaces on his arm as he moved to the side, the participant walked toward the exit without getting to make a single retort to Yoon Eden.

Though participants desperately tried to take in the sight for 3 seconds, 3 seconds was insufficient to adapt to that crazy cutie-patootie daily fashion disaster. Once Yoon Eden stood in front, they’d get flustered for about 1-2 seconds.

Yoon Eden patiently waited for such participants. Thanks to that, even with that appearance, something called respect could sprout in the participants’ hearts.

Participants who gave up on concept attempts after facing the madness of maintaining extreme fashion even as a judge appeared in droves.

“I just wanted to stand out a bit, but why are you overwhelming us…”

This was a dejected interview from a participant eliminated from Yoon Eden’s area.

Yoon Eden effectively suppressed not only concept-obsessed participants in his area but also those in other judges’ areas.

At the timing when judges faced each other side by side in BQ9’s judging area, which was right next to Yoon Eden’s area.

A participant who had prepared a pants-dropping performance was pulling down his pants when he made eye contact through sunglasses with Yoon Eden, whose area judging had ended, and hastily pulled his pants back up.

BQ9, saved from the crisis of seeing someone else’s underwear, gave Yoon Eden a thumbs up.

“Senior, hello! I’m Geonhwi from VXTR!”

“You dressed stylishly.”

‘He’s not picking on me for copying, right…?’

The junior idol rapper who came to DTB in idol attire as an upgraded version of Yoon Eden, the idol rappers’ idol, reached the point of being unable to rap due to pressure from facing an even more upgraded senior.

Of course, Yoon Eden had no particular thoughts. He was just internally clicking his tongue that this guy was hopeless to become a second version of himself.

Watching Yoon Eden hand out death sentences to concept-obsessed participants, there was someone getting scared in a different sense.

Park Gyuhyeok (a.k.a. Ppakgyu) couldn’t hide his anxiety watching Yoon Eden gradually approaching.

‘I tried to avoid just two people, so why the fuck am I getting caught exactly.’

Having a history of attempting to drive a wedge between D.I and Yoon Eden only to get thoroughly roasted with harsh criticism bordering on profanity from that young guy, being judged by Yoon Eden was too awkward.

Who would have known that guy who made it as an idol would become such a big shot.

But Park Gyuhyeok didn’t know. Since before regression, that incident had led to cutting ties with D.I, so he didn’t know how deep Yoon Eden’s resentment toward him was.

His brief relief at seeing his rapper crew member who applied together receive a pass necklace was short-lived.

“Let’s start.”

Seeing Yoon Eden pull down his sunglasses to reveal eyes with a very unpleasant glint scanning him, his mouth went dry. Shit, this bastard remembers me!

Here, the one with power was Yoon Eden holding the pass necklaces, and he was the powerless one. Did he rap for about 3 seconds?

“Yes, thank you for your effort.”

Throwing out just those words and heading to the next spot without the slightest hesitation, Park Gyuhyeok turned and trudged toward the exit.

Without seeing Yoon Eden’s lips curve into a refreshing arc.

It was an episode worthy of Yoon Eden’s self-praise as a perfect story of good triumphing over evil. It was regrettable that the next participant, intimidated by that smile, stumbled over his lyrics.

* * *

On the way to switch after finishing Group A judging, I passed by a participant being interviewed by the production crew.

Having judged too many people, I wasn’t sure if I had judged that person. The interview content was faintly audible.

“…doing this Kellogg’s Corn Frost cosplay and that…”

Wow, amazing. In all my life, there’s even someone who came doing Corn Frost cosplay? There really are all kinds of people in this world.

I clicked my tongue as wind fluttered through the tiger animal pajama I was wearing.

“How was judging?”

Jiwon Hyung, who had been assigned to Group A judging with me, asked while handing me a water bottle. The pass necklaces Jiwon Hyung possessed seemed to have no change in number, just like mine.

Just one given out in Group A. Giving it to Park Gyuhyeok’s crew was part of my big picture. How much loyalty could bastards who go around driving wedges between others have among themselves? When one of them succeeds, they’ll do to each other what they did to me.

And even setting aside revenge emotions, they were worth giving it to.

“Everyone was well-behaved? There didn’t seem to be many people with concepts in Group A. At this point, shouldn’t I be assigned as a dedicated producer for concept-obsessed people rather than just one area?”

“…That fashion definitely seems to have been effective. I encountered attention-seekers about every third line.”

BQ9 also proved the efficacy of my fashion by passionately describing the participant who was pulling down his pants but suddenly realized shame like a human who ate the forbidden fruit and pulled his pants back up.

Even when assigned to other groups, coincidentally my area participants were truly well-behaved. There was just a brief pause like being stunned before starting to rap.

Continuing to judge, I occasionally saw familiar faces.

Why is that guy here again?

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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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