“The performance we were going to do at the end of the recording…would it be possible to do it at the beginning?”
The members all looked confused by Park Tae Hyung’s words.
“Why? Did the PD say he wants to do that? Does he want to change the order?”
Ahn Hyung Seo asked.
Since it was a recorded broadcast, the order didn’t matter anyways. They followed the flow of the broadcast because it was more convenient when getting audience reaction, but they could easily do the performance at any time and edit it in.
For KK, it was a performance they were going to do anyways, but they were currently dressed casually for the panel so there was the inconvenience of having to change into their stage outfit and get makeup done right away.
Do Wook briefly recounted what happened in the hallway and said, “Let’s prove through our performance that Park Tae Hyung and KK have what it takes to be a judge.”
“What? Who the heck dares say that about our Tae Hyung?! Ok, I’m in. I’m going to grind my knees on the stage floor today!*”
(TL Note: I felt it was interesting phrasing so I kept the translation very literal. He’s saying he’ll give it his all.)
“Man, don’t go overboard. Just do it as you’ve been doing it so far. Just as you’ve been doing. That’s all you have to do.”
Jung Yoon Ki said in response to Ahn Hyung Seo’s words. Of course, it was true that Jung Yoon Ki was also feeling a little agitated.
“Sure! It doesn’t matter whether it’s at the beginning or the end.”
“Why not~!”
The members quickly calmed down and responded, their expressions relaxed.
This level of flexibility was natural. KK had gotten to where they were by putting in backbreaking effort. They were confident that they could put on a performance they wouldn’t be embarrassed by no matter who’s watching.
It wasn’t vanity. It was confidence that came from hard work.
It was with that kind of confidence that the members had decided to do the guerilla concert that V TV had proposed.
They were confident that today’s performance in front of the dancers who had gathered from all over the country would be a breeze compared to the guerilla concert in New York next month.
***
The venue of the < Dancing Dancing > shoot had a staircase-type auditorium with a large stage as the focus.
The people sitting in the audience were judges and participants, not the general public.
It was a system where they could observe the other participants’ performances and evaluations. It was a good opportunity for the participants to compare their performance to other people’s performances and evaluate their own skills.
Participants filled the seats in order, starting from the first row.
Everyone was dressed to perform at a moment’s notice so their outfits were full of personality. You could tell with one look what type of performance they would give.
The cue card went up. The red lights on the cameras that were installed everywhere turned on. Dozens of cameras were installed to record the participants, judges, and the performances, so there were no blind spots in the venue.
Anxious, the participants gathered and freely shared their thoughts on the team decisions taking place today. These kinds of scenes also made the program more fun.
“I want to be on Instructor Ha Jung Woon’s team.”
“Me too. I hope I get chosen.”
The young looking men and women, who specialized in dance sport, chatted. Next to them was Jo Jung Min.
“Jo Jung Min, which team are you going to?”
The woman next to Jo Jung Min, who wanted to be on the same team as him, asked.
“Hmmm. I’m good with whichever team.”
The woman nodded her head at Jo Jung Min’s response. Behind them, there were participants whose expressions were hardened. It was the people who had run into Park Tae Hyung and Do Wook in the hallway.
Their expressions were hardened only briefly. They were encouraging each other that they’d do well and looked at the stage arrogantly.
They had already said in a pre-interview that their dancing was better than Park Tae Hyung’s. They had genuinely meant it without a hint of doubt. They were absolutely certain their dancing would be better than Park Tae Hyung’s, who had had a blank expression in the hallway, and all they had to do was to show it with their skills.
That was what the three participants were thinking. Therefore, even though Jo Jung Min asked if they’d ever seen Park Tae Hyung perform, it didn’t even cross their minds to look up his performances during their downtime.
Soon, the judges entered.
The participants stood up and applauded and cheered towards the judges.
The judges sat down on the protruding set in front of where the participants were sitting.
Dance sport’s Ha Jung Woon, who was sitting in the middle, grabbed the microphone and gave a remark.
“Ok. The long-awaited new judge is here today.”
The former ballerina, who was sitting next to him, reacted by strongly clasping her hands, showing her anticipation. The audience was also buzzing and said “ooohh”.
“Let me introduce the new judge!”
Ha Jung Woon’s loud voice rang loudly throughout the venue.
Before the shoot, Park Tae Hyung sought out the PD privately and firmly, though stutteringly, expressed his thoughts.
“I think there are some participants who don’t acknowledge me…I’m not saying that…everyone has to acknowledge me or anything, but…they’ve never even really seen me dance…To trust me as a judge and decide teams…under that kind of situation…”
The PD seemed like he didn’t understand what he was saying.
The PD already was willing to agree to any demands to have all the KK members in one of the episodes. The demand wasn’t excessive, and it was easy to grant.
The reason the < Dancing Dancing > PD put KK’s performance at the end of today’s recording was because he wanted to open the curtain spectacularly on the increasingly fierce competitions that would happen after deciding the teams.
However, he altered the direction.
He decided to put KK and Park Tae Hyung’s performance at the beginning as the judges were introduced to captivate the viewers from the start and to get the participants to acknowledge Park Tae Hyung as a judge.
Considering that half of the viewers for < Dancing Dancing >’s first episode would be KK fans, putting Park Tae Hyung at the center of the program’s storytelling could be a better choice.
The participants in the audience applauded and whistled and cheered more intensely than before.
As the stage lights came on simultaneously, the vibe at the venue changed. Dry ice was lightly laid below the stage and the prelude to ‘Continue’ began to play.
The members chose ‘Continue’ because they thought it fit the purpose and vibe of < Dancing Dancing > better than ‘Connection’.
As the prelude started to play, the participants, especially the female participants, covered their mouths and looked surprised.
“OMG, OMG!”
“I think all of KK is coming out!”
The participants actually knew that they had planned on having KK perform, but the participants were still surprised by what the assistant stage manager said.
Despite knowing it, a genuine reaction came out from the female participants when KK made their entrance. Seeing KK in person, they couldn’t help but lose their minds.
“Con, Con, Continue!”
At the end of the prelude, they immediately entered the chorus with a grand sound.
The KK members got into formation and focused on the performance.
“We continue forward―!”
KK typically performed live on music broadcasts. However, today’s performance was focused on performance, so it wasn’t live.
The energy they usually spent on singing the song was all focused on doing the choreography so the synergy was tremendous.
“Wow!”
“Seriously…! I’m speechless…”
Not only the participants but also the judges were mesmerized and focused on the performance. It would have been better for the broadcast if they added a lot of commentary even during the performance, but it was hard for them to do anything else besides watch the performance with their jaws dropped.
“That’s the performance of people really in sync.”
“The kind of performance that the other people here will have to demonstrate moving forward.”
“Their energy is truly extraordinary.”
Only when they were getting into a new formation did the judges start commenting.
It was the unanimous opinion of all the judges, regardless of their genre, that if a performance of this quality was seen on < Dancing Dancing >, they could wish for nothing more.
Do Wook, who was standing in the center, had an expression overflowing with charisma.
Not only the ability to pull off the choreography but also their expressions on stage was perfect.
“I’ll call out to you forever, I’ll run forever…”
As it reached the high-pitch part, Ahn Hyung Seo winked and, like a concert hall full of fans, the female participants went “kyaaaa”.
It was the part of the bridge that the KK members originally would have done a group choreography.
“Ooooohhhh―!”
Within seconds, the members disappeared from the stage and Park Tae Hyung stood at the center.
Then Park Tae Hyung’s solo choreography started.
The participants’ eyes grew wide at the powerful waacking dance at the end of the ‘Continue’ prelude. Park Tae Hyung’s arms moved quickly. His discipline and flexibility could be felt at the same time, and he didn’t lose his stamina.
“He’s really good.”
A participant who was part of the street dance team said in admiration.
He hadn’t looked down on Park Tae Hyung, but he thought he only specialized in ‘idol dance’. He didn’t think that Park Tae Hyung would be better than him in the same field as him. You could tell by his skills how incredibly much he had practiced.
Jo Jung Min, who knew Park Tae Hyung’s skills, was surprised too.
‘He really improved tremendously! What I know is just a drop in the bucket.’
He watched the short KK performance and was surprised. He felt that because they put in effort on top of natural talent, not only the current Park Tae Hyung but also all the other KK members had become monsters.
In the remixed sound file, the sound during the bridge part became increasingly faster.
Park Tae Hyung, who had shown off his flashy waacking, breakdanced in sync with the sped up music and, along with a loud ‘bang’, jumped up high from the stage.
Applause poured out for Park Tae Hyung, who landed perfectly, his hand on the stage.
Without the assistant stage manager even ordering them to, the participants stood up and cheered. They stood up one by one until they were all standing and went wild. This made the three participants, who had been watching the performance with hardened expressions, get up too.
They wanted to deny how very arrogant they were to think that they were better than Park Tae Hyung, but they had no choice but to acknowledge it.
He was incredible technique-wise, but on top of that, Park Tae Hyung even had experience he gained from his extensive history of performing.
He could also tell which camera had the red light on, so even where he’d hold his gaze was perfect too.
The KK members gathered around Park Tae Hyung, who was being cheered. Even the judges stood up and applauded.
They were professionals with considerable experience so they were well aware how much effort went into the performance that KK and Park Tae Hyung had demonstrated.
Park Tae Hyung, who was smiling shyly, looked towards the audience.
Park Tae Hyung made eye contact with the participant that was mocking him earlier. The three participants subconsciously hung their heads, unsure what to do when they made eye contact with him.
It wasn’t a calculated move. They simply yielded in front of his skills.
Do Wook, who was next to him watching it unfold, smirked and patted Park Tae Young on the shoulder.
“Ok, then Tae Hyung please have a seat in the judge’s panel-! We’ll take just a 3-minute break and then start filming again!”
The assistant staff member yelled.
The participants were looking at KK and buzzing even as the KK members used the stairs to get offstage.
It was bound to be a performance that leaves a long lingering impression.
As Do Wook stepped down from the stage, he briefly looked at Jo Jung Min.
He recalled what Jo Jung Min had said in the hallway.
“Thank you. If you didn’t get mad at me, I would have lived my whole life as arrogant garbage. Like Seo Kang Jun, ······.”
Jo Jung Min, who had said that, had thought of Seo Kang Jun and had added,
“It looks like, even after all that, that punk is coming back to entertainment.”
Jo Jung Min had muttered as if talking to himself. Do Wook had briefly frowned and asked.
“He’s…coming back?”
Jo Jung Min had nodded his head. He didn’t know the details but he had heard previously from the trainees he befriended at Ara Entertainment.
Seo Kang Jun had complained to M2M members that he would soon return to Korea and that he would quickly get his old position back.
‘Seo Kang Jun is coming back…’
Seo Kang Jun and Director Seo Joong Won. When he thought about the shameless father-son pair that didn’t know the meaning of repentance, he did think that Seo Kang Jun might show his face again some day.
However, it was too soon.
‘It won’t go the way you guys want,’
Do Wook thought as he made eye contact with Jo Jung Min.
—
Next chapter: KK star their tour in America