Dest attended the first competition of Reloading Project Season 2, where 500 audience members were selected.
The number of applicants had reached 70,000, a remarkable increase from the 40,000 applicants for the first competition of Season 1.
'I made it through that insane competition, Knet-ah.'
Dest, who barely secured the audience ticket through a random draw, entered the competition venue and let out a sigh of relief.
'I'll see Dohyeok and Seha... the rest doesn't matter.'
She had diligently watched past seasons of Reloading Project to prepare for this day. Unless there were any surprises, the first competition would likely feature covers by each agency.
'Will they do Seid or Half? Seid might not quite suit them.'
Truthfully, Dest didn't know much about On Seha yet, which left plenty of room for imagination. She was eagerly anticipating what song Seha would perform and what kind of stage he would deliver.
As the audience filled the competition venue, the lights dimmed. With a sharp click, a spotlight illuminated the center of the stage. Ryu Dohyuk, impeccably dressed in a suit, strode forward from the shadows.
'That crazy bastard... What the hell is he thinking, dressing like that to make us want to pick him at a trainee audition?'
Dest muttered inwardly, completely mesmerized by Dohyuk's presence. The saying was true: when someone was this handsome, you didn't even have time to scream. Instead of the usual "Kyaa!" the audience erupted in awed murmurs of "Wow..."
After bowing politely to the audience, Dohyuk picked up the microphone. At that moment, the venue flooded with dazzling light.
"Hello. I'm Ryu Dohyuk, assistant for the Reloading Project."
Dohyeok emphasized his name as he spoke, then proceeded to explain the basic structure of the 1st round. Each agency had two teams, and viewers will vote for their MVP trainee from each agency. The votes for each team would be tallied, and the team with the most votes would receive the benefit.
"Ryu Dohyuk, debut!"
"Haha, maybe I will?"
Shouts erupted from the crowd every time Dohyeok spoke. Responding with practiced ease, he soon announced the official start of the competition.
The first agency to perform was Seid Entertainment. Dest frantically scanned the crowd for Seha, but couldn't find even a shadow of On Seha.
The area buzzed with excitement as Hyun Sion, the opening song's center and current No. 1 in live voting, took the stage. Yet Dest remained indifferent.
'When will our Seha come out...?'
Hyun Sion's team performed reasonably well, but the other team from Seid was underwhelming. The two teams from KG Media Label that followed delivered disastrous live performances.
It was too painful to watch, so Dest passed the time staring at Ryu Dohyuk, who was waiting offstage. She closed her eyes and randomly pressed buttons to skip through the voting process.
Now, only Half Entertainment's second team and ON Entertainment's two teams remained.
"Ah, when are Woo Jei and On Seha coming out?" the audience member next to Dest sighed.
Right...? Dest almost replied. It seemed the boredom wasn't just shared by Dest and the audience next to her; the entire crowd was murmuring.
At Ryu Dohyuk's brief call, the second team from Half Entertainment took to the stage.
"Ah, damn, Woo Jei is so handsome!"
The grumbling audience member next to Dest's expression transformed the moment Woo Jei appeared. She repeatedly called out his name in a high-pitched voice. Meanwhile, Dest was thinking...
'Why isn't Seha here?'
On Seha was a trainee who had left ON Entertainment and was participating independently. Dest assumed he wouldn't cover any ON songs, at least.
'Did he choose ON himself? This could get him a lot of hate...'
Unaware that teams were assigned by lottery, she was on the verge of losing her mind. Even as Woo Jei soared across the stage like a fish in water, her mind was completely elsewhere.
Dest snapped out of her daze only after the voting for the two teams representing Half Entertainment had concluded and ON's Team A had taken the stage.
"Seha-ya!"
The figure, unmistakably On Seha, sat on the stage with one leg extended, his face completely obscured as he moved according to the choreography. He wore a tattered white short-sleeved T-shirt, and his black jeans were ripped at the knees. Bloodstained bandages were wrapped tightly around his hands and arms.
I hope he's not injured, Dest thought anxiously, racking her brain to recall if ON had ever released a song with such a dark concept. No hit song immediately came to mind. After all, ON Entertainment was renowned for its classic love ballads and youthful anthems.
"Team A will be covering Nexus's 'X_X' from ON Entertainment."
As Dohyuk finished speaking, the stage lights went out. Before the audience could even react to the unconventional song choice, the sound of a heartbeat and a throbbing bassline filled the venue. Under crimson lights that pulsed in sync with the heartbeat, five trainees, including On Seha, began to move in unison.
[I walked endlessly down the empty road]
[Your error that seems to never end]
'Hmm, unfamiliar faces.'
Dest only recognized Seha in this group. She kept her gaze fixed on Seha, who executed the choreography flawlessly to the intensifying dark soundscape.
[You keep me alive, yet kill me with these scars]
Finally, it was On Seha's part. Seha stepped forward and swiftly ripped off the large bandage covering his face, revealing the striking wound makeup beneath. He pointed to the wound with his finger.
'Why does even this dark stuff suit him so well?'
On Seha's image leaned more toward pure, refreshing, and lovely... Yet, despite initial concerns about the song choice and the darker arrangement compared to the original, seeing him pull it off flawlessly warmed a corner of my heart.
The stage raced toward the first chorus, given the song's inherently short verses.
'This chorus has some killer vocals... I wonder if Seha will handle it?'
Sure enough, On Seha broke from the formation just before the chorus exploded. As the explosive chorus vocals hit,
[You dig into me again, X to X!]
Seha grabbed a baseball bat from the empty space on the right side of the stage and burst out, swinging his arm wildly. Like the bandages wrapped around his arm, the bat was stained with blood.
'Ah, could this be...?'
Dest swallowed hard, suddenly grasping the concept behind the performance.
[Even as I fade away, you remain]
[I know you're dangerous and pitiful, my savior]
The high notes soared, as proudly boasting, "Look how well our main vocalist sings!" On Seha executed the choreography flawlessly, delivering a solid live performance.
[X to X, your love is a virus]
After hitting the high note, Seha murmured. The remaining four members pounced on him and dragged him away. As if consumed by a virus...
'Zombies.'
It was like a scene from a zombie apocalypse.
[I’m fading, just fading……]
[This hell is okay if it’s with you]
The teammate who pulled Seha off finished the first verse, blood smeared across his cheek.
'Fuck... Who came up with this?'
As Dest watched the rest of the performance, she gradually covered her mouth.
The stage setup felt like a zombie movie. The clichéd outfits, bloodstains, arms wrapped in bandages, and baseball bats were so obvious she wondered why she hadn't noticed sooner.
Despite not having backup dancers, the five members managed to create a surprisingly polished stage presence.
The concept aligned perfectly with Nexus's original "X_X" lyrics, which compared love to a virus. While Nexus's song used the virus metaphor for love, Seha's group had explicitly linked it to a zombie virus.
[You dig into me again, X to X!]
[I can't push you away.]
[I know there's no way to leave you.]
The highlight. The five participants, scattered across the stage into five zones, performed identical choreography to the sound of electric guitar riffs resembling the screams or wails of the infected.
[X to X, your love is a virus.]
Seha, who had no lines outside the chorus, stepped forward to center stage. He knelt heavily, delivering his lines in a low voice as the four dancers around him executed the choreography.
[Even if I lose myself, it's fine if it's you]
The music faded, and the heartbeat that had opened the performance returned. Seha's dark eyes, as if brimming with tears, flashed momentarily.
[I'll never let go. I won't leave you alone.]
As he finished the lyrics, Seha raised his right arm, clawing at the space between his left shoulder and neck as if tearing something away. With a violent jerk, he slumped forward, his head hanging limply. The heartbeat gradually faded.
[I'm fading, just fading...]
Leaving the motionless Seha behind, the remaining four members reloaded their guns and raised them to their heads or hearts.
[I won't leave you alone...]
Click, bang. Gunshots erupted through the artificial fog, shattering the silence. As the fog obscured their vision, the four trainees and On Seha collapsed in perfect synchronization.
The song ended.
Through the bloody red lit fog, which resembled a crimson cloud, the trainees lay scattered on the floor.
Dest stared intently at Seha, who was gasping for breath. She felt a surge of certainty.
"This is it..."
This was the culmination of the zombie narrative: choosing to die together for the sake of love.
─────────
The first round of the competition ended. Seha, who had briefly retreated backstage, had to return to the audience as soon as ON's B team finished their performance.
Even during the performance, he had noticed fans holding up slogans with his name and face. After the team greetings, Seha cautiously waved to those holding his slogans.
A brief segment followed where contestants shared their thoughts on the competition preparation process. As soon as Yoon Yeongjae grabbed the microphone, he burst into tears.
"Sniff... I couldn't show you everything I wanted because I got sick... The preparation was so hard too... Sob... Hic..."
"Yes, it seems Yoon Yeongjae is quite overwhelmed with emotion right now. Let's hear from someone else..."
Dohyeok cut him off at just the right moment, before Yoon Yeongjae could completely break down into tears and snot. He turned his gaze directly to Seha. As expected.
"Team A's leader, On Seha. Yoon Yeongjae mentioned how difficult the preparation was."
"......!"
"Trainee On Seha, how was it for you? Preparing a song from your former company?"
He singled Seha out. Instantly, the gazes of hundreds of people fixed on him.
To make matters worse, the injury on Seha's knee, aggravated by the rough kneeling during the choreography, kept throbbing with pain.
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