Godsent Top Star [EN]: Chapter 300

300. First Competition (1)

August 27, 2022

To cut to the chase.

The competition was a success.

“And the first place in this inaugural competition is!”

“Who will it be?!”

The MCs’ hype filled the air, and then:

“Congratulations! UTT!”

The fanfare erupted, and UTT was stunned.

“UTT surprised the judges and the audience with their unconventional concept and stage presence. The scores are…”

The combined scores of all participating groups were revealed incrementally.

UTT, ranked first and revealed last, received special comments from the judges.

“When I heard that a boy group would reinterpret a girl group’s music, I had high expectations for their approach. SixTail, as you know, is a unique group with a sexy concept, so I wondered how they would capture that essence… It was beyond my expectations.”

They were praised for maximizing the beauty of the human form, regardless of gender.

“The costumes weren’t just randomly copying SixTail’s sexy concept; they reinterpreted it, highlighting the beauty and sexiness that best suited them. Showing skin isn’t the only way to be sexy. They achieved a fantastic balance of exposure and restraint.”

Another judge evaluated UTT’s performance similarly.

“I think it’s an interpretation that accurately captures the program’s intent. They demonstrated the potential for a boy group to pull off this kind of concept very well. I really like UTT’s arrangement. They incorporated their strengths without compromising the original song. Anyone can recognize the original song and feel who sang it. I heard the members arranged it themselves?”

“Ah, yes, yes! We did.”

“I heard Lee Seung-min handled all the song work. Is that correct?”

“That’s right!”

“I listened to all of UTT’s songs before coming here. It’s rare to find a group with such a distinct style these days. Personally, I thought the vocals blended very well. This competition song also incorporated UTT’s unique color in terms of overall harmony. I’m very interested in your talent.”

The judges were leading figures in the industry.

Unlike the mentors, who were selected for diversity rather than professional production experience, the judges represented major entertainment companies.

“Ah, thank you. Thank you so much.”

The passion of the past two weeks culminated in a single moment.

The lingering enthusiasm and excitement.

And the sense of accomplishment from successfully achieving their goal was uplifting.

Moreover, the judges’ reactions, more positive than expected, made UTT even more excited.

In particular, the representative of a large agency expressed interest in them.

It would have been strange if they weren’t excited.

‘It was worth working hard.’

I’m proud.

Is this what parents feel when they look at their grown-up children?

‘No. That’s too much to think about.’

The thought of five burly men becoming his children made him shudder, even amidst his pride.

The PD [Production Director] sitting in the chair gestured.

It was a signal for them to slowly come down from the stage.

But fortunately, or unfortunately, the judges’ comments weren’t over yet.

“And…”

The PD’s hand froze.

The UTT members also stopped awkwardly.

“I was drawn to Kang Yeon-woo, who participated as a member in this role despite being a mentor, as well as the UTT members.”

The competition was supposed to focus on the participating idols.

That had been agreed upon with the PD.

His role was a one-time guest member to fill a spot.

“I saw the filming, and the picture was really good. I was wondering if you have any plans to continue mentoring in a similar way? That would differentiate you from other groups and create buzz.”

The PD, who had reviewed the previous filming, expressed his regret.

The answer was, of course, no.

‘If I join and they win, those people will claim they won because of me, given their personalities.’

How did they turn sugar candy-like glass mentalities into the strength of dalgona [Korean honeycomb toffee] that is less likely to break?

Would he be crazy to completely destroy that foundation?

[Confidence level: 78%]

[Self-esteem level: 24%]

‘That’s a really great development.’

Look at these shining numbers.

For the past two weeks.

Yeon-woo really tried his best to raise the confidence and self-esteem of the UTT members.

In fact, that number isn’t high.

[Confidence level: 89%]

[Self-esteem level: 78%]

This is the number of another group that you can see as soon as you turn your eyes.

Do you feel this huge difference?

The difference may seem large because the compared opponent is a successful celebrity.

‘Other ordinary people roughly maintained an average of 60 percent…’

Let’s say that confidence is a number that can fluctuate depending on the situation.

The important thing is the number of self-esteem.

A number that cannot be high without belief in oneself and respect for oneself.

Of course, this self-belief and respect aren’t achieved overnight.

‘Average number 24… Well. It’s not even half of other people’s, but it’s pretty good.’

The mentality that had been gaslighted for several years cannot magically improve in a few days!

While raising the number close to 2 percent to this level.

What Yeon-woo did was nothing special.

‘Praise makes whales dance.’

It’s a phrase that sounds like the title of some self-help book, but it’s just a feeling.

“I think it sounds good.”

“You’re doing well now, so do you really need an expert? Is there any need to overshadow hyung’s [older brother/male friend] strengths?”

“It’s not weird at all. It fits the rhythm well, and it fits the mood of the song well.”

It was just that UTT was showering him with praise, which they had been deprived of for years.

Fortunately, it worked.

Was that why?

Thanks to that, Yeon-woo even gained a very strange ability.

It was the moment when the self-esteem scores of all five members, which seemed impossible to raise, exceeded 20 percent.

-Ting!

[Sudden mission complete!]

[Congratulations! You will acquire an additional acquirable ability as a reward.]

[Reward: A great gardener who bears abundant fruit in everything][A+]

‘…?’

An ability with a ridiculous name that suddenly came to mind.

But it was A+ grade.

‘A great gardener who bears abundant fruit in everything?’

Why is the name so long?

No, more than that.

No UTT member had an ability with this name.

I wondered what it was, so I checked,

[A great gardener who bears abundant fruit in everything][A+]

-If the user’s touch reaches it, the probability that anything will bear great fruit increases.

It applies regardless of whether it is tangible or intangible.

Someone who was impressed by your noble spirit that brings out the hidden potential of other beings gave it to you.

However, keep in mind that you must touch it directly.

‘…?’

The explanation was also absurd.

‘Someone who was impressed by your noble spirit? Who is that?’

The system, which I thought had become kinder, became unkind again.

‘What’s with that ridiculous restriction?’

I’m a gardener, so do I really have to cultivate it ‘manually’?

‘Well. The explanation is a bit strange, but it definitely helped.’

It’s a bit of a random ability, but it definitely helped after it was created.

Thanks to not forgetting to pat the members’ shoulders clumsily to match the restriction of direct touch, the number rose a little more easily after reaching 20 percent.

‘If I had more time, I could have made it close to an average of 25 or 30 percent…’

Well.

Anyway, since they took first place in the first competition, their self-esteem will definitely rise.

So it’s difficult for his story to come out here now.

Because the winner of this party should be UTT.

So it was agreed that there would be little or no mention of Yeon-woo.

“As far as I know, Kang Yeon-woo has only been active as an actor? But I was surprised to hear that you were participating in a new idol unit this time. I really enjoyed Dramatic Tempest. It’s completely different from that image, so I think it feels more fresh and new.”

“Ah. Actually, we made a promise among ourselves. There are singers who made cameo appearances in other groups, but we promised not to mention them separately. But Kang Yeon-woo showed us what real scene-stealing is like, and he showed us a great performance.”

“That’s right. If I hadn’t heard about it separately, I would have thought that UTT had six members since when.”

“I watched the audience carefully. Every time Kang Yeon-woo’s part came out, the audience was really excited.”

“Ah. We felt that way too. It’s a pity that a talented person went over to become an actor.”

Once the floodgates were opened, the judges had a great conversation with each other.

‘This is going to be a problem.’

It would be a problem if the numbers that I had managed to raise fell again.

Yeon-woo, who looked to the side with that thought, flinched.

“… ?”

Strangely, the UTT members were all watching him with happy faces.

Do-yul, who doesn’t usually show his expressions, and Min-chan, who has a strong personality, had calm faces, but Yeon-woo, who is quick-witted, could feel it.

‘… I don’t know why they’re doing this, but it’s a relief that they’re not thinking nonsense.’

“We think this stage was completed because our mentor was with us.”

Fortunately, the warm atmosphere continued until the end.

It was a clean finish to the first competition.

*

First place in the first competition.

The aftermath did not subside easily.

‘The reaction is stronger than I thought, considering that I took first place in the program once?’

The atmosphere of the audience and the atmosphere of the production team.

It was true that the reaction was better than expected.

The first place in the first competition of the first season.

The PD evaluated UTT’s first place as a very hot opening that was perfect for that.

As promised, there will be no devilish editing.

Maybe, but it will probably be broadcast in a stimulating direction with as much MSG [exaggeration] as possible.

“Our kids are dying to monitor the internet right now.”

The randomly selected audience evaluation team signed a confidentiality agreement until the day of the broadcast.

Because of that, most of them are keeping their mouths shut, but there seem to be people who are leaking spoilers even in the meantime.

So much so that they are even hiring monitoring part-timers to delete everything they see.

The PD who said that was smiling so wide that his mouth was tearing, which didn’t match the word difficult.

The PD also showed the meticulousness of deliberately leaving some testimonial posts that barely made the cut-off line.

[There’s this new Limit Breakthrough that’s coming out… You have to watch it… ?]

Please make sure everyone watches this… !

I’ve seen so many competition programs, but this is the first time I’ve seen such a stimulating competition that isn’t rigged ㄹㅇ [real]

I really felt a culture shock in a competition program…

You guys really have to watch it

(Comment)

-What is Limit Breakthrough that keeps getting posted

ㄴXnet’s new competition program that just started

-Everyone is talking about this program and saying they were culture shockedㅋㅋㅋ But no one is really telling me what it isㅋㅋㅋ

ㄴI have to keep it a secret until the broadcastㅠ

-I went to see itㅋㅋㅋ It’s really legendaryㅋㅋ;;; I love the stylist who made the clothes, loyalty loyalty^^7777

ㄴDon’t just you guys knowㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ

ㄴWhat’s legendaryㅠ What was good about it?? You can tell me what the clothes were likeㅠㅠㅠ

Posts are coming up, and I’m curious.

No one is giving a refreshing answer.

People who were not selected for the evaluation team had to burn more.

Interest in Limit Breakthrough continued to grow in proportion to that.

And finally.

When it was the day of the broadcast.

The whole community exploded.