translation by mourningmoor
The last sentence had a slightly stronger tone.
Startled, PD Pyo awkwardly plugged the USB into his laptop.
Perhaps his pride was hurt because he fell asleep in front of me, but before clicking the file, he added one last remark.
“I’m only listening because you begged me, calling me uncle.”
“Got it. I got it, so just listen already.”
Emphasizing that it wasn’t because he was intimidated by my charisma, PD Pyo clicked the file.
A completely different version of ARCHE’s <Shadow> flowed through the speakers.
At first, PD Pyo listened with a stiff expression, but gradually, he became immersed in the music.
Soon, his eyes widened in surprise, and he made eye contact with me.
“He has no studio, no agency.”
PD Pyo Cheonhee is an excellent composer. And a brilliant producer.
His sense of trends is exceptional, and his eye for talent is remarkable.
If only he didn’t act so petty and hide his outstanding instincts.
“If he makes it into the top three, let’s recruit him.”
<Survival, Music Genius> runs for six rounds.
From the twelve who advance to the 4th round, six are selected for the 5th round, and these six continue to the 6th round.
The final top three are determined by combining the 5th round results with the 6th round original song competition.
The fact that all of this is broadcast live is why <Survival, Music Genius> is called the “instructor from hell.”
If you have talent, it shows; if you don’t, it’s obvious. There’s no editing to hide or exaggerate. Not a single mistake is tolerated, so those who make it to the top three are undeniably the best of the best.
That’s why Taei aimed for this program, and I decided to use it to surpass him.
Now that we’ve passed the halfway point, the final six and the top three are starting to take shape. And one of them is Seo Hanul.
“You liked Go Dajin, whom I recommended.”
PD Pyo was quite fond of Go Dajin. It was clear he was trying to create something with him.
“You said you have a good eye for talent.”
PD Pyo cleared his throat, as if to confirm my words weren’t wrong.
“You’ll like Seo Hanul just as much.”
“I don’t like him. You’re my priority. Just because he’s your rival and talented…”
“Hey. Hey. Don’t underestimate me.”
He’s like a friendly neighborhood guy, but he bares his teeth and growls fiercely at anyone who opposes his people.
The reason he’s being harsh on Seo Hanul now stems from his affection for me, so I didn’t push him further.
“Do you think I can’t take 1st place?”
Instead, I planted confidence in him.
“I’ll take 1st place anyway. Seo Hanul will probably get 2nd or 3rd.”
It might sound arrogant. But it’s the truth.
“So, rest assured and do your job as the CEO.”
* * *
After the preview for the 4th round of <Survival, Music Genius> aired, the fan communities became even more lively.
The video of the twelve 4th round contestants preparing for their missions was cross-edited, and Jaewon’s face briefly appeared.
What? Is Kang PD-nim’s singer our Jaewon?
└Seems like it. Jaewon was briefly shown wearing a headset and singing. Looks like he got a song from hyung.
└Crazy. L.I.T is going to tear up the stage again.
Did you see? Taei smiling and talking to Ichan? Why does Taei’s smile feel so fake?
└He has no choice but to smile at Ichan. Ichan saved his fandom from collapsing.
└Right. If Ichan hadn’t posted on SNS after the 3rd round chaos, Taei wouldn’t be here. In fact, he should’ve retired.
└Ichan posted something? What did he say?
└Are you living under a rock? Check Twittle, the post is still there.
I reposted it since many people don’t know Ichan made a statement. Check it out here.
Hello, this is Ichan.
#L_I_T #LIT #ICHAN #Survival_Music_Genius #TeamC_Mask
First, thank you for your interest in <Survival, Music Genius> and for voting passionately.
Thanks to you, I’ve made it to the 4th round. As expected, our Filaments are the best. (Thumbs up)
I’m working hard every day to become a singer worthy of our passionate and fiery fans. I’ll survive until the end. Fighting!
Since I’m writing this, let me add a few more words before I go.
It’s a late-night post, so please understand if it gets too emotional.
First, I’m so happy to be on the amazing program <Survival, Music Genius>. The judges are all people any singer-songwriter would respect, and they’ve been great mentors. Plus, all the contestants are so cool.
Thanks to them, I’ve learned so much about music and creativity.
We’re rivals by the format, but we all get along well.
Did you see the 3rd round waiting room footage? We exchange props and share snacks all the time. Sometimes it feels like we’re on a picnic rather than a competition.
Everyone is so fun and nice, so we became close quickly.
I’m the youngest, so they all dote on me.
In that spirit, please take care of my hyungs.
Let me call out each of their names once.
Seokwoo hyung, I love you. You’re just light. Yang Seokwoo fighting! Sniper fighting!
Hanul hyung. You’re a genius. You’re a really great producer. Sincerely, fighting until the end!
Bowon hyung. Your snacks are love. Take care of Sundays. Fighting!
……
Taei hyung. Stay strong. We all know the truth. Let’s not waver. Fighting!
<Survival, Music Genius> Season 2 fighting! Our existence is fighting!
Calling out each of the twelve names and shouting “Fighting,” Ichan mentioned Taei last and posted a message of encouragement.
We all know the truth. Let’s not waver. Fighting.
This short post might not seem like a formal statement, but in the current situation, it was enough.
└Wow. Ichan is so kind. Did he write all that just to say that? For Taei?
└Yeah, seems like it. With all the plagiarism and idea theft accusations, there were hashtags calling for his expulsion.
└We stayed quiet though. It was the One Tiers who went crazy.
What about the photos posted by that Blade intern? Was it proven fake?
The person who posted the photos went silent afterward.
Fans contacted Blade Entertainment, but the only response was “under investigation.”
Blade confirmed the facts internally and is handling it quietly. Is that it?
└Right? If it were fake, Mega Entertainment wouldn’t stay quiet. But they’re silent. Taei is too.
└That’s why it’s suspicious. They should’ve denied it, but they said nothing.
Ichan posted that on Wednesday, and the next morning, Taei posted a thank you. That’s it.
└What’s there to be thankful for? Grateful for being forgiven? Grateful for being spared?
└It feels exactly like that. The theft is true, but Ichan quietly covered it up. Taei is grateful for that.
└Yeah, exactly.
└Are the One Tiers still smiling for their oppa?
└No. The atmosphere there is heavy too. They’re just covering it up for the other members.
Wow. I’m reminded again how amazing our boys are. Is this the power of the copyright holder?
Yesterday, a column was posted on a media outlet’s culture section.
If the photos posted by the anonymous informant are true, this incident involves “plagiarism” and “idea theft.”
L.I.T had their work stolen right under their noses, just because they’re juniors, just because they’re young.
The column then listed how L.I.T members contributed to Another world.
└Right. I saw the column too. It was amazing. Turns out Another world is over 80% our boys’ work. The company only owns 20%.
└Yeah. Composed by Ichan, lyrics by Ichan, Hanjoon, and Siu, choreography by Roa, story-making by our Jaewon. Seriously ㅠㅠㅠㅠ So cool. Our boys.
Ta-da! Here’s part of the column.
For those who haven’t seen it.
Another world was born over 80% from the hands of L.I.T members. First, the song was written by the leader, Ichan. The concept, the narrative structure, the entire creative process is in his composition notebook. (Refer to the album behind-the-scenes story) Then, with amazing choreography and lyrics, and a fantastic story, Another world was completed.
The choreography was handled by Blade Entertainment’s Director Gong Seokho and member Roa. The lyrics were written by Ichan, Hanjoon, and Siu. The entire M/V storyline was the idea of the youngest member, Jaewon. He even wrote a short story and shared it with fans. (Refer to the album behind-the-scenes story)
In other words, the copyright holders of Another world are all the L.I.T members.
└Wow. Our boys are so cool. Seriously ㅠㅠㅠㅠ
└The column made things even more chaotic. People were saying our boys copied T.I.ONE’s concepts and songs, but when the lid was opened, it turned out they copied our boys’ work. That’s why the One Tiers exploded. It’s chaos.
As yesterday’s events were brought up again, the fan communities were about to heat up. As always, a post urging restraint was posted.
Filaments, let’s not care about what happens over there. Our leader Kang has settled it like this, so let’s follow. Our members know the truth. That’s why they said that. Let’s quietly follow our members’ decision.
Filaments, who silently agreed to the post urging restraint, erased Taei’s existence as if by agreement. And they passionately expressed their anticipation for the 4th round of <Survival, Music Genius>.