Chapter 8

Chapter 8 — Even Geumgangsan Comes After a Meal

Live Singing Contest was broadcast live starting at 12:30 p.m.

Thanks to my excellent driving skills, which managed to obey the law without sacrificing speed, we arrived without being late.

Twenty minutes.

Apparently, this filming was such a huge event for the people of Geumsan County that I could have grabbed any random grandmother passing by and asked where it was being held.

The location was Geumsanbuk Elementary School.

Thankfully, it was located on the northern side of Geumsan, which helped us get there faster.

“Everyone changed into your outfits, right?”

“Yes!”

“Anyone who can’t go onstage right now?”

Silence.

That meant everyone was ready.

We immediately jumped out of the car and sprinted straight toward the stage.

I hadn’t realized it while watching on TV, but the scale of the event was much larger than I expected, and the crowd was enormous.

If someone told these scatterbrains that every resident of Geumsan County had gathered here, they would probably believe it.

“Are we the first act? You’re rushing way too much!”

Serin shouted from behind me while running.

The only thing I knew was that the photo had been taken at thirty-five minutes past the hour.

Until Teacher Kimsong arrived, Blue Moon would probably have to fill the empty slot, but we wouldn’t know exactly when they would go on until we met the producers.

At minimum, Kimsong was definitely going to be five minutes late.

And it had taken another five minutes to run here from the parking lot.

Ten minutes were guaranteed, at least.

As soon as we reached the area behind the stage, I spotted someone loudly making call after call.

If someone looked important, introducing yourself immediately was always the safest strategy.

Judging by the way he had rolled up his sleeves and was personally calling people nonstop, it seemed Kimsong’s delay was definitely confirmed.

“Hello. My name is Do Junhyeok.”

He accepted the business card I handed him, then searched through his pockets.

“I’m Jo Gwanseok, the executive producer.”

He casually handed me his card, then immediately went back to shouting.

Meanwhile, the staff continued making phone calls and reporting back.

“That place says no.”

“They said it’ll be difficult.”

Everyone was sharing updates about the failed attempts to find someone.

It felt like the kind of atmosphere where bothering them unnecessarily would earn you an entire bucket of curses.

Since the members were standing behind me, I figured that if we simply stayed visible, someone would eventually notice them and ask for help.

So I decided to wait quietly.

But Jo CP acted as if we weren’t even there.

“Hey! Did you contact the guest singers? Isn’t there at least a regional station MC available?”

“The singers who already arrived can’t do it because of their schedules. And with only five minutes left until broadcast, it’s hard to recruit anyone else.”

“What?!”

Jo CP checked his watch after hearing that, then collapsed into a chair.

He looked like his soul had nearly left his body.

This was the moment.

I immediately stepped forward and pointed toward the girls.

“These girls are Blue Moon from our company. I heard you were in a difficult situation, so we rushed over.”

“…Looks like everyone’s been calling around desperately. Now even an idol agency has shown up.”

But judging by his expression, Blue Moon didn’t seem like a solution in his eyes.

He simply closed his eyes like a prisoner waiting at the execution block.

“It looks like you’re having trouble finding anyone. Why not let our girls handle it?”

“…Do you really think that’ll work? This stage only means something if Teacher Kimsong is here.”

“Then they can perform until she arrives, can’t they? Our girls are idols with three albums under their belts. I think they can easily fill about fifteen minutes.”

I agreed that Teacher Kimsong was the heart of Live Singing Contest.

But it had already become an established fact that she was going to be late!

“They said she’ll probably be about twenty minutes late… But the important part isn’t filling twenty minutes. It’s hosting the show without Teacher Kimsong. That isn’t easy unless you have the wit of a professional MC.”

So the replacement for Teacher Kimsong wasn’t just supposed to perform.

They needed to act as MCs.

That was an even bigger opportunity.

And from the way he was talking, it seemed like if I pushed just a little harder, he might actually let them do it.

Wasn’t this like going into a pork bulgogi restaurant and somehow leaving after eating premium beef instead?

And they would be the only substitute MCs, too…!

“Our girls have tons of experience with events like this, so they’re good at handling unexpected situations! They’ve performed at so many regional events that they’re great with older audiences too. They’re also big fans of Live Singing Contest. Besides, you don’t really have another option, do you?”

Knowing the members’ chemistry and personalities, I believed this could leave a far stronger impression than a simple stage performance.

There was no reason not to try.

Jo CP still looked suspicious, but he grabbed the script resting on top of an amplifier box.

Whether he liked Blue Moon or not, just as I had said, there wasn’t anyone else available.

Jo CP looked at the members with an expression that was already half resigned.

“You can do this…?”

“Yes!”

Done.

The members had come here expecting only to sing, so they looked slightly startled.

But they didn’t show it openly.

They understood that right now, whether it was singing, hosting, or performing circus tricks, they simply had to do whatever was needed.

Jo CP showed the script to Serin, who was standing at the front.

It contained Kimsong’s lines, the timing for contestants to appear, and other details.

“At exactly thirty minutes, the instrumental for Teacher Kimsong’s signature song, Peach Blossom Life, will start. We have a fixed live band, so we can’t change the song.”

“Ah, yes!”

Throughout the entire history of Live Singing Contest, I had never seen or even heard of Teacher Kimsong arriving late.

It was probably the first time Jo CP had ever experienced something like this too.

Maybe that was why the situation was so urgent.

The moment he made up his mind, he handed over the script.

“There are two important things. First, you need to finish three contestants before twenty minutes pass. Some contestants talk a lot. If you can’t cut them off properly, the later contestants will have their segments cut. This is live television, so timing is everything.”

“Yes, understood!”

“Second, you know how charming Teacher Kimsong’s character is, right? Most contestants only sing the first verse, which means that out of twenty minutes, around fifteen are usually filled by Teacher Kimsong’s spontaneous questions. The script is only the bare minimum. Can you handle that?”

The members nodded confidently.

Do all of you even know the lyrics to Peach Blossom Life?

Jo CP, who had looked like he had given up on life only moments ago, immediately grabbed a microphone once the girls answered positively.

“It’s twenty-nine minutes. Who’s taking the main mic? This girl, right?”

Jo CP asked as he handed the main microphone toward Serin.

But when Serin hesitated instead of immediately accepting it, Aran suddenly raised her hand high.

“I know the lyrics to that song! I’ll do it.”

Without hesitation, the CP handed the main microphone to Aran.

The youngest member, Aran, knew Peach Blossom Life?

Just what kind of life had you been living?

“When it’s time, turn on the mic and go straight in.”

“Yes!”

Aran watched the timer hanging from the CP’s wrist and counted the seconds.

From where I was standing, I couldn’t see how many seconds remained until thirty minutes.

Just thinking about how the broadcast could start at any moment made my hands tremble.

Watching all this, Jo CP buried his face in his palm and groaned.

“Dear wife…”

Then—

“Hello, everyone in Geumsan County!”

Aran shouted as she grabbed the microphone and ran out onto the stage.

Every hair on my body seemed to stand on end.

The audience looked startled when they realized she wasn’t Kimsong, but they quickly responded enthusiastically.

Liking Teacher Kimsong and liking young girls were apparently two things every elderly person had in common.

“And hello to everyone watching from all across the country!”

“Hellooo!”

The audience answered while excitedly waving their hands.

“We’re Blue Moon, and we’ll be greeting you today as the special opening MCs for the July 17th Geumsan County episode of Live Singing Contest! Nice to meet you!”

While the audience applauded, I quickly ran around toward the front of the stage.

This was a historic moment.

Blue Moon was appearing on national television.

A hundred photos wouldn’t be enough.

No, even a thousand wouldn’t be enough.

I turned off the flash and started taking pictures.

Maybe Anna noticed me, because she quietly waved in my direction.

After all four members bowed deeply to the audience, the instrumental for Peach Blossom Life began playing.

Aran sang passionately while the other members provided backing vocals.

The mismatch between the old-fashioned lyrics and Blue Moon’s youthful visuals became an unexpectedly effective source of comedy for the audience.

“All right, then! Let’s welcome our first contestant! Please come out!”

After the song ended, the first contestant appeared.

She was an elderly woman who, almost like she was here to advertise something, came pushing a cart filled completely with ginseng.

“Oh? I found wild ginseng!”

Anna shouted the moment she saw it.

Hearing someone with Anna’s foreign appearance shout the phrase in perfectly native Korean pronunciation caused laughter to burst out from all over the audience.

Except for the moments when contestants were actually singing, the laughter barely stopped.

“That ain’t wild ginseng. It’s regular ginseng.”

“Isn’t ginseng even healthier than wild ginseng?”

“Not quite that much.”

They were all surprisingly good.

Not only Aran, who held the main microphone, but every interaction between the other members and the contestant was comedy gold.

“You brought this for Teacher Kimsong, right? Can we eat some?”

“Sure, sure. How much could you girls possibly eat? I brought a whole sack, so eat as much as you want.”

While the members ate the ginseng, the grandmother began explaining its benefits.

When she mentioned anti-aging effects, Aran immediately handed some to Anna.

When she talked about high blood sugar and antioxidants, Anna told Aran to lose weight and handed it back to her.

But when the grandmother mentioned anti-cancer effects, they both immediately rushed to eat it.

Their chemistry really felt like that of real sisters.

After that, Aran increased the pace of the show.

Before I knew it, even the third contestant had finished performing.

It seemed she wanted to complete their assigned quota quickly and then fully show off the group’s charm.

Unfortunately, Teacher Kimsong arrived five minutes earlier than the expected twenty-minute delay.

She stepped onto the stage with a surprised expression.

I checked the time.

12:47.

I thought she would arrive a little later…

Still, this was more than enough.

“Oh dear. I arrived so late… I ended up causing trouble for these little ladies.”

“Not at all! We had so much fun!”

Aran smiled brightly, hiding her disappointment.

“Really? You were hosting pretty well. Then do you want to keep doing it a little longer?”

“Really? Can we?”

“Of course not. I want some ginseng too.”

The audience burst into laughter again.

And then it happened.

At Teacher Kimsong’s playful joke, Aran puffed up and whined adorably.

“Eeeh…”

The audience burst into loud laughter.

Seeing their reaction, Teacher Kimsong turned toward them and made an unexpected suggestion.

“Everyone, our Blue Moon girls did a wonderful job hosting today, didn’t they?”

“Yes!”

“Then we should hear one of their songs too, shouldn’t we?”

This time, the members’ cheers were even louder than the audience’s.

Someone like Teacher Kimsong, who had hosted this program for so many years, could probably make room for a five-minute stage if she wanted.

Since every second was precious, the backing band put down their instruments and quickly began downloading the audio track.

Soon, the MR version of Blue Moon’s third album title track, Moonlight Circus, began playing.

“Please welcome them with a huge round of applause and cheers!”

With her familiar way of hyping up the audience, Teacher Kimsong disappeared backstage.

It was Blue Moon’s long-awaited national television stage.

The audience reaction was at its peak.

Their outfits looked perfect too.

Skipping the weekly work report had been completely worth it.

The moment the performance ended, the members immediately climbed into the car.

With a huge amount of ginseng.

The grandmother hadn’t been exaggerating when she said she had an entire sack.

There was so much that I actually started wondering how we were supposed to eat all of it.

After driving for around an hour and a half, we arrived near the next event venue.

Aran, the Sunday girl, suddenly shouted loudly.

“Wow! There’s a tteokgalbi restaurant over there! Tteokgalbi!”

Near Gwanghalluwon Garden, where the Lee Mongryong Festival was being held, there was, almost unbelievably, a tteokgalbi restaurant called Hwanghee Tteokgalbi.

There was still some time before the Lee Mongryong Night Market opened, so we needed to eat something anyway.

“So this is the famous Namwon tteokgalbi I’ve heard so much about.”

Youngchae’s eyes sparkled the moment the food arrived.

Where exactly had she heard so much about it?

The meat was fairly thick and tasted good.

The members were all excited from the rare event schedule, the rare attention they had received, and the rare chance to replenish their protein.

While the members devoured the food, I decided to check the online reactions.

Let’s see…

The moment I opened a portal site, the phrase Live Singing Contest appeared beneath the search bar.

It was on a platform that ranked the most-searched keywords across every major search engine in the country.

It was called Trend Issue, or Twit for short.

When I moved the cursor over it, hashtags ranked from first to tenth appeared in a long list.

Live Singing Contest was number one.

“Huh?”

“…What is it? Did we somehow rank number one on Twit?”

Youngchae asked while eating tteokgalbi.

“Or did we sweep the entire Twit ranking?”

This time Serin asked.

Youngchae snorted softly.

She clearly thought there was no way.

But that was exactly the answer.

From first to tenth place, nearly half the rankings were related to the broadcast.

Live Singing Contest.

Live Singing Contest Special MC.

Kimsong Late.

Blue Moon.

And that wasn’t all.

Posts using keywords like Aran aegyo and Youngchae Moonlight Circus were already getting huge numbers of views.

Apparently, even younger viewers, the main demographic that consumed idol content, had been watching Live Singing Contest.

“What is it, then?”

I showed the members my phone screen.

Every article had screenshots from the broadcast decorating the page.

“We’re in the news!”

Sharing one phone was inconvenient, so all the members immediately pulled out their own phones.

They said too much of any sensation eventually became pain.

The members were so overwhelmed with joy that they almost looked like they were suffering.

Were the president and Daehoon seeing these reactions too?

If they were, then there was a chance the outfit issue might get exposed.

But since Blue Moon was getting this much attention, they would probably overlook it, right?

Just imagining President Ohsoo losing all his confidence made me feel refreshed.

I was happier than when Victory first became successful.

Maybe it was because I had finally fulfilled my long-held dream of combining fandom with work.

“Whoa! It’s up! Youngchae and Aran are trending!”

“Where? Where? Share the link!”

Serin, moved almost to tears, watched clips of Aran’s cute whining and Youngchae’s solo performance.

Anna and Youngchae, who had been waiting for the link, completely abandoned their utensils and gathered behind Serin.

But unlike Youngchae, Aran stayed seated and continued focusing on her tteokgalbi.

Apparently, the tteokgalbi right in front of her was more precious than popularity she couldn’t physically see yet.