The TBC president, still showing off the case stuffed with 1 billion won, faced the camera.

“Tonight, your votes will decide who takes home the billion.”

A roar exploded from the audience.

The heat was downright blistering.

“Going live. Three, two, one—cue!”

Anchor Baek Sangjung strode onto the stage with a mic and launched into the opening.

“The ultimate girl-group showdown! A night of stages forged with soul and sweat—‘The Spirit: War of the Stars!’ You’re watching the live broadcast from Ilsan’s TBC Dream Center!”

Cheers rolled out—men and women alike.

The mood was so hot that grins spread across the faces of the PD and crew.

“Now! Shall we meet today’s contenders, one team at a time?”

Teams came up one by one to introduce themselves.

Each time, waves of cheers and fan-calls crashed down—and unlike boy-group crowds, every group’s cheer had its own distinct color.

The PD, amused, tilted his head. “You can really feel each group’s signature, right? You get it just from the cheers.”

“They’re all different.”

Truly different by group, regardless of gender mix: a soccer-stadium roar from women here, a high-pitch shriek from men there.

Then the head writer, a script tucked at her side, asked, “What are NewBlack’s cheers like? I’ve been hearing girl-group cheers all day and got curious.”

“Ours are...”

In my head, a kaiju bellowed.

—Rrrrrrrrr!

—Rrrraaaaaah!

—Woof! Woof!

I blinked and smiled. “Elegant. They make very... refined noises.”

“I see.”

I resolved to protect the small and precious dignity of our Souffles.

“NYX!”

The TJ Entertainment foursome hit the stage, and the volume spiked again.

True to their Night-goddess concept, they wore graceful, mythic gowns.

They’d had ups and downs early on, but with TJ’s powerhouse planning they were now considered first-tier among girl groups. In pure fandom size, I’d heard they were the biggest here.

One of the three heavy favorites tonight.

“Girls On Top!”

A black-and-gold logo flashed, and the six-member group walked out in high-fashion looks.

“Whoa... those outfits are gorgeous. Which brand is that?”

“I’ll find out.”

“I wasn’t asking you to—”

Minsu was already typing on his phone.

As Girls On Top struck poses in their hip looks, a pterodactyl screech ripped through the hall.

They were another heavy favorite.

Back at the start, their seventh year had shrunk the fandom, but great stages brought a flood of new fans.

People were calling it a second golden age.

“And last—Scarlet!”

Scarlet stepped up in sultry makeup; the hall rippled with a cheer. I even caught a “so freaking pretty,” which warmed me for no reason.

Draped in pop-star black jackets and sparkling dresses, they posed—boom, another eruption.

“Wow...”

Among the three favorites, our company seniors were the most likely to win.

Of the six competing groups, their fandom was second only to NYX.

They’d blasted the public with multiple performance bombs recently; they were the sentimental favorite.

“Stacked lineup.”

“We bled to assemble it. We went door to door begging the companies.”

Listening, I studied all six teams onstage.

While each leader laid out their ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) resolve, I checked the others beyond the top three: Autumn Girl with a slightly earlier debut and a “girl-next-door” concept; High Color, the youngest, rumored to pack multiple main-vocal caliber members; La Rose, dripping aristocratic vibes.

“Wow...”

It was a gathering of groups I’d already admired from stage videos.

I was impressed by the PD’s eye.

“How did you spot and book them all?”

“Well, I didn’t do it alone. Biju helped a lot when we were prepping this survival.”

“Biju?”

I cocked my head at my kid’s name coming out of nowhere.

“Biju’s on the project?”

“No, but during a past meeting I asked him, if we do season two, which dancers or groups he’d recommend. He wrote out a whole list.”

“That’s so Biju.”

“Nearly a hundred names...”

Say “dance” and our secondborn’s eyes turn into stars.

“Then the company decided on a girl-group survival, and that list was a lifesaver.”

“First I’ve heard of it.”

They’d thanked Biju, apparently, but he’s not the type to brag about this stuff.

If it were Jiho, he’d be strutting around like, “Did I... invent survival shows? Oh! I’m the founder!”

“In any case it was wild. Just like Biju said, every group brought something different onstage.”

Whatever else, Biju’s dance eye is razor-true.

I grinned—and paused.

“Hm?”

Why was the PD telling me all this? It felt like insider chatter.

And he looked... weirdly chummy.

A sudden prickle of doubt.

“Anyway, as a fellow variety worker you know—this survival show thing...”

“...”

“You can feel it from the first planning meeting sometimes. You know, right?”

Uh...

I don’t think I’m that industry.

The final of the girl-group survival, The Spirit.

Idol fans nationwide were watching the show on TVs, phones, and streams.

As a hot survival, the opening “billion-won” scene blew up reactions immediately.

“these people are insane lololol”

“President: bet you don’t have this at home”

“is he some rich grandma”

“‘you want it, right’ LMAO”

“but the billion was worth it lol the ad load is nuts—ROI achieved”

“how much after taxes tho?”

“they’ll withhold and deposit the rest”

From “how much after tax” to prize chatter.

As each group’s self-intro rolled, hair/makeup/outfit judging took over.

“GOT’s outfits are ugly af ㅠㅠ sure is different outside a parent company”

“people calling that hip got Sun Wooju taste?”

“GOT looks trash”

“idk I like it”

“La Rose look like fairies—so cute”

“Yubin is adorable”

“NYX concept is solid.. maybe time to change from that goddess hair, how long will they do it”

“Scarlet’s faces are Bermuda—once you go in you can’t escape”

“that piercing red suits them.. faces win”

Praise popped up, sure, but mostly it was rivalry and jealousy, mud flying everywhere.

That special survival-show hair-pulling energy.

“Now this is a survival,” idol fans snorted, rubbing their noses—just as the performances began in earnest.

La Rose appeared in Korean-inspired outfits, and girl-group fans shrieked.

“outfits alone are god-tier”

“Yubin is legend ㅠㅠㅠㅠ”

“Sian is so handsome-pretty.. there’s this... this thing words can’t capture”

“looks like Chinese wear lol”

“La Rose must be one of the image-overhauls this time. They’re so good live”

Fandom gush flooded SNS and fan communities.

On general idol boards packed with multi-stans, it was back to jabs and judging.

Everywhere ran hot.

“Insane. Seriously.”

The current girl-group landscape had Serenity on top, with Blink and NYX forming a ruling triad.

But that didn’t mean tonight’s lineup lacked clout. Age-wise, the 2.5-gen reps Scarlet and Girls On Top were still shining.

High Color rising as next-gen.

And La Rose and Autumn Girl, renowned for doing the job onstage.

“How’d they gather them?”

The thought came naturally—it was that flashy a lineup.

Episode one’s ratings were tiny, but word of mouth kept rising; now, muggles outnumbered core fans.

People even said tonight might set a new high for recent competition shows.

Maybe that’s why—

“song quality is no joke lol”

“La Rose track is so good ㅠㅠ this is how you do Korean-style girl-group”

“dns spent money lol”

“La Rose song qual wowㅋㅋ CEO Hyunsik finally opened the wallet”

“Hyunsik you get 10 immunity coupons.. 10.. 9..”

“they’re not losing to Gyuho even here huh”

“hard to believe La Rose and S-Boys are same company lmao totally different colors”

“check the official account’s teaser upload screwups—they’re definitely the same company”

La Rose in black hanbok tops embroidered with flowers cleared out, and Autumn Girl came on with umbrellas.

They swung umbrellas like canes over suits—powerful performance; praise surged—and then—

“lol this song slaps too”

“SNH’s been slipping but they’re still one of the ‘big 4’”

“based on sales it’s embarrassing to call them big 4 latelyㅋㅋ and Enoti can’t flex either”

“drop SNH and add Lemon for the new big 4”

“song’s crazy good—money spent here too”

“way better than the perpetual girly concept lol”

“SNH what are you doing with a group that eats any concept like this...”

Autumn Girl’s urban-hip-hop stage drew raves; then High Color and NYX performed, and multi-stans were about to split their faces from grinning.

“holy, this is so good”

“what is today even”

“as a girl-group stan I’m so happy ㅠㅠ holy—”

“finally, these maniacs go hard when digital competition is brutal”

“+1 happy but mad”

“+2 what were they doing till now”

“today is legendary”

“you can see they poured their souls in”

It was hard to rank the stages—they were that good.

And the songs—no notes.

Impossible to say who was better.

“If I had to pick...”

Probably “Pluto,” just now by NYX.

A fierce dance track with Hades, god of the underworld, as concept.

That signature hook sound—addictive.

“people say TJ’s been weak but they’re still a major for a reason”

“no one says their producing team is best for nothing”

“you can hear the money”

“honestly Lemon rides Spaceship Wooju too much.. on in-house/ song-camp tracks TJ’s quality is higher”

“idk man, lately they feel like a generic small label—grandpa’s lost it”

“the plan to release an English track with that producing team screams out of touch”

“(TJ stock chart.jpg) money doesn’t lie—downtrend since they announced the English plan”

“push NYX right, grandpa.. stop the useless stuff”

“lol TJ’s not a company you can dunk like this”

“who are you flexing—Taegyun’s grandson?”

While TJ fans and others sniped back and forth—

Fifth on the bill.

“Hello, we’re Scarlet!”

A VCR rolled for the four-member group, faces blazing on screen.

Listening to their own VCR voices, Scarlet huddled together.

“Whew...”

Daisy, who’d puffed her cheeks and let them deflate, closed her eyes.

“I want to puke.”

Sixth year or not, the nerves and pressure were as vicious as ever.

It felt like a cow sat on her shoulders mooing.

As the maknae kneaded her downy nape, Lina motioned.

“Come here.”

Daisy dove into her unnie’s arms.

“Unnie... I’m shaking to death.”

“Me too.”

“Lies. You’re not even a tiny bit nervous.”

“Listen.”

At the main dancer’s “hear my heart,” she leaned in—

Thud-thud-thud-thud-thud.

“...It’s racing.”

“Yeah.”

They snickered.

Onscreen, the VCR kept flowing.

Bom smiled like summer.

“For this one, we prepared a blazing track to set this summer on fire.”

While the talk turned to the song, leader Ara—who’d had her eyes shut in calm—opened them.

“Babies, huddle up.”

The four linked shoulders, breathing each other’s unglamorous breaths.

Ara met each gaze.

“We really gave absolutely everything. Even if the result’s not great, I don’t care. We did our best.”

All four nodded.

“No speeches. Let’s enjoy it.”

Hands together—“Hup! Scarlet fighting!”—their roar swelled as the VCR neared its end.

A message to their fans:

“We really gave everything for this final stage. We’ll show you all of it, with no regrets.”

At the staff signal they rose to the stage—and the venue erupted.

Ba-dump. Ba-dump.

In-ears’ hush, fans’ roar, heartbeats—all braided together as the four bowed and took deep breaths.

Advice from their producer surfaced one line at a time.

“Lean into what only Scarlet has. The specific strengths that set you apart.”

“Your strength is the firework-burst explosive moments. The dynamics matter in this song—hit those bursts so you break the back-half running order handicap.”

“The name Kim Deokchun carries my grandma’s honor. Huh—guess that’s why Kindaichi stakes his grandpa’s honor.”

They decided to erase that last line.

Then recalled his final advice.

“And now—before you step onstage—forget everything I said.”

Forget it all.

Show everything as it is.

“Relax and perform. You look cool just breathing.”

Lights rose.

At peak condition, the Scarlet members smiled.

Tch-tch-tch-tch.

Drums rolled in the dark.

To the march-like beat, the crowd in the TV frame started bouncing.

“Woooooo!”

As the drums swelled, pin spots bloomed.

Intro.

In a red crop top under a black jacket, main rapper Daisy strode out alone spitting bars—an eruption from the stands.

With dancers rippling behind her, Daisy’s crimson lips moved in a confident grin, syllables flowing nonstop.

“Yesss!”

At Lemon Entertainment’s lounge, a cheer burst.

While the Scarlet TF team clapped—“That’s it! Bite down!”—other staff whooped.

“Hot. Our ribeye goddess!”

“Look—Nayoon’s eyes flipped. She’s calculating A5 ribeye with that billion.”

“Ribeye for life.”

“Boss, you see this? Scarlet’s food budget is finally solved!”

“Heh heh heh.”

As they bantered, NewBlack—snacking—watched with happy smiles.

Junhyun dipped a hand into Ri Hyuk’s dried sweet-potato bag. “Nayoon’s killing it.”

“She turns into a different person when she raps. From Kim Nayoon to Daisy.”

“How does she spit that fast and stay that clear?”

Rank the girl-group rappers and Daisy is always up there.

Every sharp hand accent sent clean syllables pricking their ears.

A staffer leaned on NewBlack’s shoulders. “Wooju arranged that too?”

“Yeah! He built the intro. Crazy, right?”

“No wonder it hits the ear.”

Then Director Jo Gyuhwan hushed the chatter, finger to lips.

“Key timing now. This song explodes in the first five seconds.”

CEO Park Gyuho and the execs whispered.

“You heard a full cut? We didn’t.”

“We only heard a skeleton early on.”

Having only heard the bones themselves, NewBlack stared soft-hearted at the TV.

At last—big bro’s debut under his new composer name.

Hearts fluttered.

Daisy finished her solo and stepped into the four-member formation—another roar.

[Scarlet] Not Fine

Lyrics: Day-Z, Lina, Bom, Ara

Composed by: Kim Deokchun, Jo Gyuhwan

Arranged by: Kim Deokchun, Na Sangyun, Hyeongseop, Yoo Ung

As the credit roll flashed, the minions’ chests swelled.

“Our hyung wrote it.”

They watched the TV with an easy smile.

Right from the top—the hook melody slammed in.

Bom reached forward; the other three threw their arms wide; the choreo bloomed.

Bom snapped her head; waves of long hair framed her face.

Her eyes into the lens burned with hunger.

Her lips parted.

That usually mellow voice cut a sharp line tonight.

[This is us.]

This is who we are.

[So take it or leave it.]

Take it or get out.

A cheer surged on TV—you could feel the heat through the glass.

“Woooo!”

“Oh my, oh my—this is new.”

“Oh my.”

As the hall roared, NewBlack’s faces went blank.

A moment ago they’d been lounging, but now their posture turned grave.

“The hook...”

Anyone could hear it—an outrageous chorus.

“...”

“...”

Two weeks out from METRO’s release—

Watching Scarlet’s brand-new song roll out on TV, the minions’ expressions twisted.

“No pushover...”

“This guy’s gonna kill us. Why can’t he... I dunno... hold back a little...”

“Mom... sis... Wooju hyung...”

They’d thought it would be a flower path.

But with a new single looming, big bro had scattered hundreds of thumbtacks across it—bringing tears to their eyes.