* * *
As the second-place team from the University Song Festival walked onto the stage, the crowd’s gaze followed them naturally.
“Waaah—.”
“Huh? That’s them, right?”
For those who had watched the 〈Youth Disqualified!〉 vlog, they were familiar faces. The people who had arrived early and secured seats in the very front row smiled as they looked at them.
The drum coach, who had been pretending to be calm, pretending not to be nervous, stiffened awkwardly and hurriedly sat down. The guitar coach waved to his Intube subscribers in greeting.
Click! Click! Click!
Reporters pressed their shutters, capturing them in fra.
All three took their positions on the small stage. The keyboardist adjusted the standing microphone in front of her.
“So of you recognize them, right—!”
“Yes—!”
“They’re absolutely essential to 〈Youth Disqualified!〉. Very important people. But for those who might not know them? Yes, then let’s start with introductions.”
The MC smoothly continued the flow. The keyboardist cleared her throat and spoke.
“Yes. Hello. I’m Kang Ijeong, leader and keyboardist of the band .”
When they first chose the band’s na, how much had they fought over it? They had thrown around every cool word they could think of. And in the end, this was what they chose.
What ca after it—“We are”—ca from the confidence that they could beco anything.
Because back then, it felt like they really could beco anything.
“Guitar and visual! I’m Lee Myeonghwan!”
“...Drums. Kim Daegwan.”
But now... what had they beco?
To put it briefly: an office worker in a company band, a self-employed person who occasionally played music at ho as a hobby, and a piano teacher who was also a mother of two.
Out of everything they had once dread of, no one had ever wanted such an ordinary, mundane ending to their youth.
“To help you all rember your youth once more before the production presentation, we’ll begin a mini concert.”
The keyboardist lightly ran her fingers across the keys. As the notes slid from left to right, the audience responded with excitent.
“Our first song is an original by . ‘Cosmic Dust’!”
As the 〈Youth Disqualified!〉 vlog climbed into the real-ti trending videos, more and more people grew curious about their past.
Because of that, their old University Song Festival stage—including the legendary grand prize performance—resurfaced online.
-Ca here after watching 〈Youth Disqualified!〉 lol start from 23:21
-Looking at it now, even the 2nd place team was good... T_T the song’s nice
-So nostalgic. Thinking even younger people are listening to this now makes it feel even more special..^^
The blurry video quality of that ti, the soft Seoul dialect, the outdated styling—everything combined to evoke the nostalgia of an awkward youth.
The keyboard coach had watched that video again for the first ti in a long while.
She had thought it was buried so deeply in mory that it had faded—but seeing it again, it felt as vivid as yesterday.
“Fresh and youthful—the cheers for the MBS University Song Festival finals are incredible. Now, let us introduce the participants.”
“I’m really nervous, but we practiced hard together as a team, so we’ll show you a great performance.”
“Did you compose the song alone, or did you all work on it together?”
“What in this world can you do alone? Of course we worked on it together.”
After passing the preliminaries, they had cried and hugged each other. They practiced all night, over and over again. They had wanted to win so badly.
As the intro ended, she opened her mouth.
Endless black ocean—
I am but a small, faint speck of dust—
Heavy electric guitar and drums settled underneath like the weight of space itself. The keyboard’s high notes shimred like a galaxy.
Unable to set my feet upon the ground,
I drift along a pathless orbit—
There had been a ti like that. A ti when it felt like you were the protagonist of the world, when you believed that if you just worked hard, everything would go well.
Ooh— even if I struggle,
As if swimming beneath nothing at all—
So when the world only shone its spotlight on the grand prize winner, it had felt as if all the ti and effort they had poured in had shattered into pieces.
Why did I have to be a supporting role? She had resented the world like that.
It was then—
Like a sun that never sets,
We must rise without fail—
Over the vocalist’s voice, other voices began to overlap, one by one.
The audience.
Startled, the keyboard coach turned her gaze toward the guitarist. He looked just as shocked.
Burning as fiercely as that sun,
Even if I lose my way in the darkness,
My starlight will carry —
This was, after all, a supporting role’s song.
And so, no one had loved it. Everyone had only listened to and sung the grand prize winner’s song.
Even in frozen emptiness,
My heart is still beating—
But now, after twenty years had passed, the people here were singing it together.
That forgotten song—
Even the silence that splits the universe
Cannot stop my song—
Subscribers who had watched all the 〈Youth Disqualified!〉 vlogs sang along with the silver prize team’s song. The crash of the cymbals rang out especially loud.
Cutting through the darkness, I burn—
Even if I disappear, it’s okay—
I want to shine like the sun—
A youth long gone. A past that had rusted over with countless failures, resentnt, and loneliness resurfaced.
This would probably be their final stage.
They would never again perform and sing in front of this many people.
So they had to do well... but her vision kept blurring, and the keyboardist’s hand slipped for a mont.
I will surely explode soday,
That day will co—
But it seed no one noticed.
Because they were enjoying it.
They were focused on this mont—singing together a song they had all co to love.
That day’s music, which had never been recorded in history—not on LP, tape, CD, nor even as a file—was now coloring a single mont in people’s ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) lives in blue.
Like youth.
* * *
Reporter Wi let out a breath and lowered his cara.
‘This is insane.’
He had joked that MBS had really gone all out, but he hadn’t expected it to be this much.
There was power in nostalgic music. And there was power in familiar music. MBS So Yesol had captured both.
By bringing back lost romance in a single stroke, she had made the public’s hearts race.
Taking advantage of a brief mont, Reporter Wi quickly transferred his photos and uploaded an article. The surrounding reporters were just as fast.
The clattering of laptop keyboards rang out as if racing against ti.
“Alright then, let’s give a round of applause to our youth band, , for that amazing performance!”
Everyone applauded the University Song Festival silver prize team, drenched in sweat and panting.
Those who had followed the 〈Youth Disqualified!〉 vlog from start to finish wore deeply moved expressions. Even passersby joined in, clapping, because the song itself was more than good enough.
“Now then, shall we officially begin the 〈Youth Disqualified!〉 production presentation?”
The atmosphere shifted instantly.
The audience’s focus, which had been elevated by excitent and joy, converged in a single direction.
The curtain lifted, revealing the actors—and all eyes turned toward them.
“Waaaah—!”
Clickclickclickclick—.
Both reporters and spectators pressed their shutters faster now. Large cara lenses locked onto the three figures.
And the one receiving the most spotlight—
“Hello. I’m Na Yuna from 〈Youth Disqualified!〉—Han Yeoreum. It’s a pleasure to et you!”
It was Han Yeoreum.
* * *
IP 85.152 crossed their arms and watched the scene of the production presentation.
As the song ended, the slender, almost frail-looking director, the three leads, and Seo Eden stepped forward.
Even during the introductions, the atmosphere didn’t cool down. If anything, the responses kept growing stronger.
“Do you think you share any similarities with the characters you play?”
The first question. A reporter raised their hand, and starting from the left, Go Yungyo and Choo Gaeul answered.
“When I first received the script... I felt like I had quite a few similarities with Yungyo, so... I was able to imrse myself in it deeply. Especially the way she cares about outfits, shoes, how she presents herself that day—that part is a bit like . Yes... I don’t like looking disheveled in public either.”
“Right. Gaeul really is like that. If you go near her, she always slls different—it changes depending on her outfit that day. So among ourselves, if we notice a nice scent, we know Gaeul must be nearby.”
Smiling, Han Yeoreum added weight to the “Gaeul is a diffuser” theory before continuing.
“For , I thought a lot about how to approach Yuna. I’m not really... the calm type. If I like sothing, I like it a lot, and I want the whole world to know. But Yuna isn’t like that... Still, I think the part where she works hard, even cutting down on sleep, is sothing we share. I hope you’ll focus on that.”
IP 85.152 thought the sa. Han Yeoreum was definitely not calm—anyone could tell that.
‘Cutting down on sleep... yeah, figures.’
There was no one in the acting industry working as relentlessly as Han Yeoreum right now. Her filmography kept piling up without pause. In that sense, she did resemble Na Yuna, the part-ti-job queen.
Next, So Dami continued brightly, her voice high and cheerful.
“Honestly, I even thought—am I Heejeong...?”
Just looking at her face, she already was Jeong Heejeong. People laughed before she could even finish.
The high likability and warmth carried the atmosphere of the presentation—it felt almost like a fan concert.
Fans of Seo Eden, seated in the front row, were snapping photos nonstop. IP 85.152 glanced over there—
‘Huh? She’s here again?’
Among them, they spotted “Everyday Is Sumr.”
‘Seriously... she’s dedicated.’
Watching her, so unlike themselves—an outright otaku—IP 85.152 let out a small sigh, then looked toward Seo Eden, who was posing in response to reporters’ requests for a “first love pose.”
‘I ca here for a deeper discussion about the work...’
IP 85.152 hadn’t co out of re curiosity sparked by the vlog.
The youth campus drama MBS was presenting was sothing any culturally inclined person would naturally take interest in. They had attended today to gather basic information before properly engaging with the work.
“If there’s a ssage you want to convey to the youth generation through this project?”
Finally, a more substantial question.
Director So Yesol paused for a mont before speaking.
“You know how people always say... there’s a right ti for everything.”
As she spoke in a soft voice, the crowd quieted instantly to listen.
“But honestly, I’m not sure what that ‘right ti’ really is. You only understand those things after they’ve passed, don’t you...?”
She continued gently.
“It’s a bit abstract, but... when is my ti, the one the world talks about? I’d appreciate it if you watched this as a story that makes you think about that.”
Everyone focused on her words.
“It’s okay if you think it hasn’t co yet. It’s okay if you think it’s now. And even if it’s late—it’s still okay. That’s the kind of story this is.”
She hadn’t explained it precisely, but everyone could already sense what kind of drama 〈Youth Disqualified!〉 would be.
IP 85.152 loosened their crossed arms slightly. The warm atmosphere continued.
“You both recently appeared on 〈King of Mask Singer〉 at the sa ti—did you recognize each other?”
At that, Seo Eden let out a sigh. Laughter erupted.
“I seriously had no idea. I watched the broadcast afterward on-site, you know? And the mont the mask ca off, everyone around went—wow.”
“I was really surprised too when Seo Eden took his mask off... I guess because we were wearing masks, it wasn’t obvious.”
Those who had watched the show laughed along. The presentation was nearing its end. The MC took the mic again.
“Everyone, this is the mont you’ve all been waiting for, right?”
“Yes—!”
Reporters and audience answered together. Choo Gaeul lifted her head and took a deep breath.
“For this mont, the three of them practiced and prepared so hard! Before we begin, let’s give them a round of encouragent!”
Seo Eden and So Yesol stepped aside with smiles. Choo Gaeul sat at the drums, So Dami stood at the keyboard, and finally, at center stage—
Han Yeoreum slung a guitar over her shoulder.
Ding—here and there, the sound of video recording buttons being pressed. Click click—the shutters layered over one another.
The air, filled with anticipation and tension, spread across the Han River.
Tap, tap, tap, tap!
The mont Choo Gaeul struck her drumsticks together four tis to signal the start—
A spring breeze blew.
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