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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 9
Chapter Title: The First Mission
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After the first episode of Make a New Color ended, the internet didn't exactly explode with buzz... but it was getting quite a bit of attention.
Why is Make a New Color actually good?
└Menu-Col? You mean the menu? Your love for food... I respect that...
└No, it's an abbreviation for the idol survival show on M-Ten.
└Colors is making a new girl group.
└It's 'Make,' not 'Mae.'
└Making another one? Seriously, they should just manage the ones they already have, lol.
└For real, lol. Colors, give our WhiteNoise kids a full album, you Col-bal-nom-deul.
What is this? How do I even dip my toes in? Someone try to sell me on it.
└It's only episode 1; calm down a bit.
Are those Colors bastards crazy for money? Another one?
Ryu Bo-ra is doing idols now? Did she quit acting?
└Yeah, when did she even join Colors?
└In the beginning, there was light...
└This meme is truly for the OGs, lol.
└Grandma's got jokes, right...?
Is Make a New Color fun? If it just turns into a huge controversy magnet again, I'm not watching.
└But you still love Colors, right?
└The kids aren't at fault.
└What do you mean 'not at fault'? They're making money off it.
└Oh, here we go again with the logic that earning money makes you a criminal, ugh, here we go again.
Kim Geum is on it. Yeah, I'm not buying an idol rapper.
└Oh, isn't she that kid from Unpretty Money? So she's finally doing idols, huh?
└It's obvious, lol. She got trashed there because she wasn't good enough.
└'Wasn't' (되) vs. 'Was' (돼). If you want to talk trash, at least get your grammar right first...
└You've been picking fights about grammar for a while now, lol. Just go your own way.
Oh, don't shove the kids in as mentors again, M-Ten.
#BurnAsh_StopExploitingThem
#Colors_ProtectYourArtists
└22
└33
└OMG, celebrating 10,000 retweets, I'm selling you on BurnAsh's Danha, try a taste, try try!
Oh, Colors, lol, oh, lol (opens wallet). A new girl group is coming out? (waves panties). Oh, lol, you think I'll stan them just because of this? Oh, lol (opens bank account).
Colors Audition Program Opening Song Concept Analysis.bunseok
Look at Yun Cheong's necklace and Yeon Ju-hong's brooch.
You can see they have golden wings.
In Greek and Roman mythology, Iris, the goddess of the rainbow, has golden wings.
From this, we can tell the concept is rainbow goddesses.
...(omitted)...
Therefore, I predict the new girl group's name will be StillBlue.
Everyone else had already figured it out, but they were pretending to be sharp and insightful.
└For real, lol.
...With various small reactions like these, Episode 1 concluded.
The viewership rating was 1.23%.
It was a more than decent start, considering.
Of course, the internet reactions were much hotter.
But seriously, Kim Ryeo-yu being the judge's niece is a bit much, isn't it?
└Right? Honestly, they should've gotten a different judge.
└Director Kim Mo-gyeong is Colors' chief producer, so that's probably not possible.
└What? It's a huge company, don't they have more than one producer?
Making her the center for the first song is way too obvious, isn't it?
└For real, lol.
The trainees' reactions are seriously cold; it seems like there really is some special treatment.
└You can feel it even on broadcast, so it must be worse in real life.
└Stop with the wild guesses, lol.
I borrowed a laptop on the second floor of the agency to monitor the reactions, but then I stopped.
What good would come from watching more of this?
The mission was what mattered now.
I pulled out my phone and checked the notifications.
['Make a New Color's First Mission Is?]
['Make a New Color,' or 'Menu-Col,'s first mission is a hot topic. 'Menu-Col's first mission is—']
"...Covering a song by a Colors senior group."
The notification was already telling me the next mission.
***
Currently, there are four active groups under Colors.
Grayish, a 12-year girl group.
AllColors, an 8-year boy group.
WhiteNoise, a 6-year girl group.
BurnAsh, a 2-year boy group.
All of them were groups with strong individuality, but they shared one common trait—
"...They were all very successful idol groups."
No matter which song you chose, if you couldn't pull it off properly, you'd get a ton of hate.
Colors had a strong sense of pride in nurturing skilled idol groups.
Perhaps that's why all their groups had a remarkably balanced level of talent.
"I thought the first mission would be a group mission. But it's a solo mission."
Cover song missions were a time-honored tradition in audition and survival programs.
The problem was how to execute it.
I scrolled down the article.
Just in case there were more clues.
Then, I stopped at one sentence.
[...Each trainee will be assigned one member from the group they chose to cover as a mentor.]
"Oh, no."
It was a sentence that sent a chill down my spine.
"This severely limits my options."
First, I had to avoid AllColors and BurnAsh at all costs.
Getting involved with a boy group before even debuting wouldn't be good. Especially if it's one-on-one, it's better to avoid it.
Chemistry or no chemistry, it would be problematic either way.
"So the choices are... Grayish or WhiteNoise, huh."
Hmm.
I looked through the songs of both groups.
Grayish had relatively more R&B vocal-focused songs, while WhiteNoise had more hip-hop-based, performance-focused songs.
"Hmm."
Which one should I choose to get good buzz?
It wasn't an exaggeration to say that song selection was half the battle for a mission like this.
A song that's too famous is risky. Other idol seniors have probably covered it many times, making it easy to be compared.
But if I choose a song that's too obscure, it might be hard to get a good reaction.
It needed to be something fresh yet familiar enough for everyone to hum along to.
And yet, it also needed to deliver a powerful impact.
"It's not easy."
I looked through the songs, then I found one and paused.
"Oh, wait a minute."
There was one song I hadn't even considered.
Why hadn't I thought of this sooner?
"...This is it."
This one... I think it'll work!
***
It was finally filming day again.
The day of the grand mission announcement.
Everyone was gathered in the same practice room as last time, huddled together.
The twelve trainees all watched PD O Baek-gyeong, looking nervous.
PD O Baek-gyeong liked that dynamic. A dynamic where he seemed to be the one in power.
You could tell by his expression that he was enjoying it. How annoying.
I knew beforehand, but the other trainees probably had no idea.
"Alright, since everyone's here, I'll announce the first mission!"
PD O Baek-gyeong suddenly brought out a large whiteboard.
A piece of paper was attached to the whiteboard.
It looked like a setup where the mission would be revealed by peeling off a sticker on the paper.
Why couldn't he just tell us directly?
"Now, the person who will peel off the mission paper is—!"
PD O Baek-gyeong glanced around at the trainees.
And then pointed to one trainee.
"Ryu Bo-ra trainee!"
Hmm, not a surprising choice at all.
Ryu Bo-ra.
She was a trainee I knew well. Not just Yun Cheong, but even Baek Nok-ha knew her.
She was that famous of a trainee.
...To be precise, she was a famous child actress.
"Please peel off the mission paper!"
PD O Baek-gyeong said with a beaming smile.
"Yes, then I'll peel it off!"
Ryu Bo-ra showed no particular joy or nervousness.
She simply stood in front of the mission paper with a tone perfectly suited for broadcast.
Her broadcasting experience really showed.
I subtly observed Ryu Bo-ra.
If Seo Baek-yeong was Colors' ace trainee, then Ryu Bo-ra was Colors' strong candidate for center.
In short, both were very strong debut candidates.
First of all, Ryu Bo-ra,
"The first mission is...!"
She was beautiful.
Extremely.
True to her child actress background, her features were very striking and clear, and her overall proportions just screamed celebrity.
She was easily the most visually striking among all the trainees here, so that said it all.
"'Cover a song by a Colors senior group'!"
As soon as Ryu Bo-ra finished reading the mission, a short gasp escaped from among the trainees.
Some trainees nodded as if they had expected it, but most looked fearful.
Of course, Ryu Bo-ra alone remained incredibly calm.
That was one of the reasons Ryu Bo-ra was famous.
"Wow, I'm already looking forward to it!"
Her steel mentality.
Always smiling firmly, maintaining her composure.
Her experience, having been on broadcast since she was five, was shining through.
Even as a baby, Ryu Bo-ra was famous for handling all her schedules without ever shedding a single tear.
The public loved the child who seemed clever and deep.
That's why Ryu Bo-ra was a promising child actress, loved by all generations.
But then she suddenly joined Colors to become an idol, which surprised everyone.
PD O Baek-gyeong enjoyed the trainees' reactions and interjected.
And began to explain the mission.
1. Any song by a Colors-affiliated idol is acceptable.
2. You will be assigned a mentor, chosen randomly from the members of the group whose song you chose to cover.
3. You must cover the entire song solo.
4. It's fine if your song overlaps with another trainee's. You can also discuss it to avoid overlaps.
5. However, you must choose and state your song within one hour from now.
The other rules were fine.
The problem was the last rule.
"Choose a song in one hour?!"
Naturally, all the trainees fell into a state of panic. Except for a few.
I paid close attention to the trainees who weren't surprised.
Seo Baek-yeong,
Ryu Bo-ra,
And surprisingly, Kim Ryeo-yu.
She has a stronger mentality than I thought.
"Yes, yes~! We'll start the clock now for exactly one hour. Begin!"
How annoying!
The trainees booed, then immediately scrambled to find songs.
I also pretended to search so as not to seem too out of place.
About twenty minutes passed.
"Yun Cheong."
Kim Ryeo-yu called out to me.
What is it?
"Huh?"
"What song are you going to do?"
Oh, the probing began.
I could see other trainees pricking up their ears, curious.
"Well, I'm still not sure. What about you, Ryeo-yu?"
"I've decided."
Surprisingly, Kim Ryeo-yu didn't hesitate or deliberate; she went straight to the point.
"WhiteNoise sunbae-nim's 'Roar'."
It was frustrating, but it was a pretty fitting choice.
It was WhiteNoise's debut song, a track defined by immense spirit and confidence.
And Kim Ryeo-yu—
"Well, if you want to do it too, go ahead. I don't care about that."
It was obvious she was thinking, 'She won't be as good as me.'
That baseless confidence was truly something else.
"'Roar' is a good song. Good luck."
I just replied like that and turned my gaze away.
Let's not fall for such shallow tricks.
Kim Ryeo-yu's gaze hardened, clearly displeased that I was ignoring her.
She was hiding it because of the cameras, but everyone could feel it.
"...Baek-yeong Unnie. What are you doing?"
However, Kim Ryeo-yu, seemingly having some sense, immediately changed targets.
"I'm going to do Grayish sunbae-nim's 'White Night'."
As expected, Seo Baek-yeong was already prepared.
I nodded. It was a good choice. It suited her well.
The other trainees were still racking their brains, seemingly unable to grasp anything.
Of course, as time passed, one by one, they decided on their songs.
Most chose songs by WhiteNoise or Grayish.
After all, girl group songs were easier to cover.
"...I'll be doing AllColors sunbae-nim's 'Solid'."
Except for Kim Geum, who was a Rapper—
"I'll be doing BurnAsh sunbae-nim's 'I'll Burn You'."
And Hui-on, who was a Sub Vocal.
Hmm. BurnAsh, huh.
Kim Geum's choice was somewhat understandable, but BurnAsh seemed a bit risky.
BurnAsh was a boy group that had only recently debuted.
They were also the most talked-about rising stars these days.
Well, it's none of my business.
"Alright, now that everyone's decided..."
PD O Baek-gyeong recorded each choice, then subtly glanced at me.
Because I was the only one who hadn't spoken yet.
But I steadfastly waited.
Because my idea was a little—
"I'll be doing PurpleApple sunbae-nim's 'Twinkle'."
—unexpected.
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