Chapter 37
“Mangdol I Raised on My Back”
Click, click—!
Tap-tap—!
The mouse moved, and the keyboard and piano keys were tapped relentlessly, but all that came out of the small mouth was:
“Haah…”
A deep sigh.
Inside the monitor, dozens of tracks were densely packed.
Drum patterns, basslines, synths, melodies…
But among them, there wasn’t a single one that felt right.
Just tracks that would be deleted soon, merely discarded.
“Where do I even start…?”
For several days now, Ruha had been struggling over the arrangement of “Burn it up” for the third-round competition.
“Burn it up” by Blaze Seven.
There was no doubt it was a song that could show a different charm.
But would showing this song now make Lumis stand out?
Could a group that only shouted youthfulness, brightness, and visuals suddenly get on stage and roar, “I will devour this stage!” and show a new charm?
Simply changing instruments, rearranging a bit, and roughly setting up the stage wouldn’t make Lumis Blaze Seven.
“…It would feel more like a tantrum than a roar…”
Moreover, “Burn it up” was one of Blaze Seven’s signature songs.
If done poorly, it could easily turn into a clumsy cover rather than a reinterpretation.
It had to be a Lumis song, colored with Lumis’ own style, not just following the original.
“Hmm…”
Ruha stroked his tiny chin with his small hand, deep in thought.
“Hmm?”
His head tilted slightly.
“Damn it!”
He couldn’t get a feel for it at all.
“Eighteen!”
He slammed the mouse down as if throwing it.
“Sigh…”
The pain of creation was always heavy and excruciating!
Ruha jumped off the chair and headed for the living room.
He plopped his small body onto the sofa.
Hyojason Bigi! Chapter 6!
Summoning! Remote!
Hyojason perfectly pulled the remote from the table.
The TV turned on, and a familiar melody flowed out.
Ruha’s soul program: “Piano Fairy Doremi.”
“Oh, oh-oh-oh—!”
His drooping body suddenly sprang up.
His upper body leaned forward as if being pulled into the TV screen.
Because he had been moving frantically over the past few days, quite a few episodes had piled up.
Just like savoring delicious food, binge-watching this was the most fun.
The opening song began.
♪♫ –
― Magic blooms at your fingertips!
“Yo!”
― Dance on the pure white keys~
“Dance~”
― Sparkling dreams echo, let’s start playing today!
“Let’s do it!”
If Yoon Taejin had seen this, he would have been speechless.
Ruha perfectly sang along with the opening of Piano Fairy Doremi on TV, adding harmonies and ad-libs with ease.
― Do-re-mi-fa~ (Beautiful melody!) Mi-sol-la~ (The magic of harmony!)
“Beautiful mel~ody~ magic!”
― Piano Fairy~ Do! Re! Mi~
― (Let’s all go to the world of hope!)
“Let’s all go— to the world of hope—!”
He didn’t stop speaking until he perfectly followed even the final narration.
“Ah! What a masterpiece, no matter how many times I hear it!”
A satisfied smile spread across his face.
He thought it might be fun to work on an animation OST like this someday.
“…Interesting.”
He suddenly became curious.
Not all music follows this, but typically, bright moods use major keys, dark moods use minor keys.
Piano Fairy Doremi had lively content, visuals, and characters, but the theme’s emotion was strangely different.
A C# minor-based main chord.
Lydian for the verse, Phrygian scale for the chorus.
It looked simple, but there was tension hiding within, a mix of hope and anxiety.
Hope, courage, love, friendship.
Even within typical children’s program keywords, the song felt low and serious.
Perhaps the music director wanted to give it some individuality and professionalism.
“…Wait!”
Ruha’s pupils dilated.
“…Why didn’t I think of this before?”
Does every song have to be complex, difficult, and grand just because it’s for a competition or an important stage?
Even a simple melody can move emotions if arranged well.
“…Ha!”
Ruha let out a hollow laugh.
He had been overthinking. The answer was surprisingly close.
Ignoring the captivating fairies on TV, he jumped up.
His small feet clattered back to the studio.
“Fire is fire, but a different kind of fire…”
There was certainty in his murmuring.
Not a huge flame, but a small, unextinguishable spark. Quietly, yet persistently burning in the darkness.
He had a feeling that this time, something truly great would come out.
“Should we also put on nipple patches!? Start dieting and exercising now! Let’s just strip too!”
Kang Ian had gone overboard.
This reaction came after the third-round song meeting made no progress.
“…I can’t get a feel for it.”
Ha Jinwoo dropped his head.
“It’s okay. The CEO said he’d help with the song too.”
Baek Doha patted Ha Jinwoo’s shoulder.
Though he forced a smile, he was equally frustrated.
It was only the third round, and they were already stuck… the future looked bleak.
Creak—
The studio door opened, and Ruha entered with his hands behind his back.
“…?”
“…Are cameras rolling?”
The members tilted their heads.
This kid was getting more and more arrogant with each passing day. Now he openly acted like an adult.
“Are you having a good meeting?”
Ignoring the frustrated older members, his innocent, beaming five-year-old face made their stomachs twist.
“You! Come here!”
Ryu Sian quickly rushed over, as usual slinging him over his shoulder with a playful pat on the bottom.
“Hey– you mutt!”
“Pffahaha!”
The heavy atmosphere of the practice room lightened considerably.
“Third-round comp—!”
“…?”
The members’ eyes turned to Ruha.
“…What?”
“Aah! If it weren’t for this body of mine, grr—!”
Ruha, now on the floor, threatened as if to swing Hyojason, then clapped his hands.
“Okay, what’s the theme of Burn it up? The message.”
“Theme…?”
“Message…?”
The members fell into thought.
“…A flame that devours the world? Burning passion?”
Cha Eun-gyeol raised his hand.
“Right. So, what does Lumis want to show through this song in RE:VIVAL?”
“Our passion overflows! We can also devour the stage!”
Ryu Sian answered.
“Hm… not wrong, but…”
Ruha stroked his chin.
“It’s better to maximize Mangdol Lumis’ story, right? Twist it a bit: ‘A dying ember reignites and eventually burns everything.’ Something like that.”
“A dying ember…”
Baek Doha murmured.
“Mangdol?!”
Kang Ian puffed up his cheeks.
“For a dying ember… the song’s vibe is way too bright?”
Ha Jinwoo asked skeptically.
“That’s why I… no, Uncle Dohyun prepared this!”
Ruha hurriedly connected his phone to a speaker.
♪♫-
“…Huh!?”
“This… is Burn it up?”
The members exchanged puzzled looks.
“Wow…”
The Lumis fan found everything strange.
Having only recently gotten into the idol world, she came to the studio as a ‘live evaluation panel’ for the first time.
No, to be precise, she had never been to a ‘live’ event like this before.
Moments of fear and excitement passed, and then:
“Let’s begin the entrance!”
With the staff’s call, the entrance began, and she slightly… very slightly regretted becoming a Lumis fan.
No, correction! She regretted coming to this place.
It made sense. Her MBTI was uppercase, a special uppercase I.
Though she had been a fan for almost a year, this was her first time attending a live recording.
She had come with great determination for her precious Lumis.
‘I thought it was by lottery…’
She looked around with terrified eyes.
For some reason, everyone there seemed to know each other. Small groups chatted, holding identical light sticks and slogans.
‘…Huh? That’s Chrome’s light stick? That’s Starbolt…? Toybox too? Even Spectrum and Beat12Y!’
No matter how much she looked, there was not a single white Lumis light stick in sight.
‘Why is no one here…?’
Not long ago, she would have happily gone crazy with the other ‘LUBY’ fans.
At this moment, she felt like she was the only Lumis fan among all these people.
Her bag felt heavier, and she felt embarrassed for even wearing the white top she had carefully chosen.
“….”
Time passed in patience.
“Waaaah-!”
People cheered.
Startled, she looked up and saw familiar faces.
The MC was on stage.
“The stage of stars that lost their light, Re~vival!”
“Vival!”
Following the cue the assistant director had given, the audience shouted in unison.
The MC scanned the audience with a bright smile.
“Thank you all for being here for your favorite groups! And for the groups that will become stars! We sincerely thank the live evaluation panel for joining us today.”
A polite greeting followed.
“The third-round competition is about to begin. Six groups are preparing to meet you. Are you ready?”
“Yesss-!”
“Great! First, let’s welcome the judges who will evaluate the six groups with today’s live panel!”
“Waaaah-!”
Another cheer erupted.
The floor split, and the judges’ platform rose with a lift.
Four judges appeared, waving their hands, looking exactly like they did on TV.
“Hello?”
“Hello~”
“Nice to meet you!”
“Wow! So many of you came!”
Goosebumps ran down her spine.
‘Oh! The people I saw on TV!’
The vocal trainer judge she had only seen on the monitor.
Perhaps because of lighting or makeup, they were more approachable than she expected.
‘Bae, Baek Seoyoon!’
She had matched dance moves with Baek Doha while watching on the monitor.
On TV, he looked cold and sharp, but in real life, he felt surprisingly friendly.
His eyes were slightly stern, but he seemed like someone you could easily get along with.
Stern on the outside, warm on the inside—like a tsundere senior? That kind of vibe.
“Wow…”
As for Seorin? No words needed. Truly radiant.
And Han Jinseo. Clearly, being a former idol made a difference.
Her fear and embarrassment faded, and a smile appeared on the Lumis fan’s face.
She was proud of herself for resisting the urge to flee.
(Technically, she was too embarrassed to even leave, but still…)
“Re:vival third-round competition! Let’s begin!”
“Waaaaah-!”
As the MC spoke, the studio went dark.
