Little Pink Starfish

The controversy surrounding Han Sion and WayFromFlower was so intense that it overshadowed the fact that Episode 2 of Coming Up Next was actually pretty solid.

The busking segment in Hongdae for the TakeScene shoot was fun to watch, and Goo Taehwan’s performance was also quite interesting.

Goo Taehwan sang “Slow Down” by LAZY BOY, a superstar in American R&B.

– Like teacher, like student lol
– Isn’t that just NPC and player? lol
– The song choice totally screams Han Sion

At first, viewers weren’t impressed by the song choice. But when the stage began, everything changed.

Taehwan’s version, which sped up the song by 1.8x, was amazing.

[At first the fast version felt awkward, but I found myself totally hooked.]

[Aside from some rough pitch control, the charm was definitely there.]

Along with the praise came credit for Han Sion, who had originally suggested speeding up the tempo.

– Respect. Han Sion’s got real insight
– Did he already know Taehwan would be the best after seeing this?
– He might be better than the actual judges
– That intro from Taehwan was insane. What was that??

By this time, some WayFromFlower fans, already feeling bitter, were watching Coming Up Next just to catch Han Sion slipping.

And so the second mission began.

[Winning Team]
Han Sion, Onsaemiro, Choi Jaesung, Kim Sungwoo, Shim Juwan

[Losing Team]
Goo Taehwan, Lee Ieon, Kim Haeun, Nam Sungil, Park Sungjoo

– Lol the winning team’s already falling apart
– ?? Why?
– Can’t you just picture Han Sion and Onsaemiro fighting over the main vocal?
– True. Han Sion’s all about the art, no way he compromises
– Bet there’ll be a huge ego battle over main vocal and key parts

That’s how WayFromFlower fans tried to stir public opinion.

[Anyone here confident in rap?]
[I’ll do it.]

On screen, Han Sion volunteered to rap.

– Lol is he trying to do both main vocal and main rapper?
– Could be lol. Probably just grabbed it since no one else wanted it

He was prompted again, but it wasn’t what they expected.

[I’ll just rap. Onsaemiro can be the main vocal.]
[Why? You’re… better, aren’t you?]
[Says who? We’ve never sung the same song.]

He even graciously passed the main vocal part to Onsaemiro. There was no opening for criticism.

– What the heck, NPC’s actually nice?
– So now the Pokéball that caught the delinquent monster is heading toward Onsaemiro?

Thanks to Han Sion’s gesture, regular viewers responded positively.

Even the song reveal, Boy Scout, was received well.

Of course, WayFromFlower fans didn’t give up.

– Lol I bet he’s gonna rearrange it all again
– So predictable lol

All of this was part of PD Kang Sukwoo’s plan.

The winning team’s performance was stretched out across Episode 3.

Meaning, if anyone wanted to catch Han Sion slipping, they’d have to watch Episode 3 just as carefully.

After that, TakeScene came up again briefly, and an interview with Kim Sungwoo aired, where he questioned if releasing a song under a streetlamp was really the best idea.

They also showed Han Sion repeatedly refusing to go ahead with the release.

– Obvious manufactured drama ㄷㄷ
– These showbiz clowns are clearly trying to milk Han Sion for everything he’s got

But viewers still remembered Han Sion helping Taehwan and Onsaemiro, so the smear campaign didn’t work.

The Episode 3 preview highlighted the B Team selection and the fight for the last spot. It even showed TakeScene crossing paths with B Team.

The camera angles were carefully chosen to hide who the final B Team member was.

And that’s how Episode 2 ended.

---

Honestly, I think I’m starting to hate filming reactions for the show.

They made me do the same thing I did back in Episode 1.

“Don’t swallow it, guys.”

Yeah. Classic “chew and spit.”

“Hyung, that’s called ‘mukbaet’ in professional terms.”
“You told me that last time.”
“Did I?”

After the Seoul Town Funk stage, Jaesung’s been cutting sleep to keep practicing, and he’s starting to lose it a bit.

Apparently, he thought his own performance was the weakest on that stage.

So now he wakes up at the same time as me to practice.

When he tried to copy the way I tune my tone, I told him he didn’t need to.

While I was thinking that, Episode 2 ended.

Overall, I was pretty satisfied with how it turned out.

I didn’t expect the part about me helping Goo Taehwan to be shown in such detail, but otherwise, the edit followed the story I wanted.

Of course, some of my lines were chopped and rearranged for dramatic effect.

Which might make it seem like I don’t respect Flowers Bloom.

But whatever.

From PD Kang Sukwoo’s point of view, it was a hot issue he couldn’t pass up—and they even tracked down the composer of Flowers Bloom.

While I was thinking that, PD Kang suddenly called me off-camera.

“Your mic’s off, right?”
“Yeah, it’s off.”

“I hope you understand why I edited it that way. I’m not trying to damage your image.”

Why is he explaining this again?

Didn’t we already figure each other out?

“Of course. I completely understand your intentions behind the edit.”
“Just hang in there a few more days. We’ll drop an article about Chris Edwards joining the show, along with the Flowers Bloom story.”
“Got it.”
“You’re really okay with it?”

What? Did I miss something?

“Honestly, I don’t get what you’re so worried about.”

What he said next surprised me.

He was worried I’d get attacked by WayFromFlower fans.

I get it. I expected that from the beginning.

I might not know much about idol fandom culture, but I can imagine the fan mindset.

WayFromFlower has always been successful—except for their debut song.

To their fans, that debut is a blemish, a past they want to erase.

And I’m the one who dragged it back into the spotlight.

With the implication that it only failed because they didn’t do well enough.

So getting criticized for that is totally fair.

That’s what being a fan is. And I always respect fans.

Especially the ones who buy my albums.

“…Han Sion. That’s not it.”
“What do you mean?”
“Some fans may think like that, sure. But that’s not the main point.”
“Then what is?”

“Hmm… how do I explain this…”
“I’m listening.”

“It’s arrogance.”
“…?”
“You took our group’s song and changed it however you wanted. And made it better. That’s what pisses them off.”
“…?”

“Oh, wait. Here’s a better way to say it. You gave people an excuse to drag our idols through the mud.”
“…?”

“You don’t get it?”
“No, I get it… I just can’t believe that’s the main issue. Even more than the song’s original version being male?”

“The general public might focus on that. They’ll debate whether Han Sion’s telling the truth. Whether there really is a male original. But…”

Kang shrugged.

“WayFromFlower fans won’t care. If anything, the more attention this gets, the more they’ll resent you.”

…Seriously?

They can stand up for their idols to that extent?

That’s not just loyalty—that’s instinct. Almost like it’s personal.

So… what happens if I manage to turn fans like that into my own?

While I was thinking that, Kang patted me on the shoulder.

“Let’s stay off the internet for a while.”

His concern is unnecessary, though.

I don’t get hurt by hate comments or feel emotional over them.

Still, it was a surprise.

A little dazed, I walked back onto set—and the Three-Month Hundred Days members immediately swarmed me.

Even from a distance, I could see Fade smirking at me.

“Sion, what did you talk about?”
“Oh, just about the WayFromFlower fans’ reactions.”
“…Let’s stay off the internet for a bit. If you need to search anything, just ask.”

Judging from their reactions, looks like everyone but me had already figured it out.

Soon after, the reaction shoot wrapped up, and we returned to the dorm.

Sitting stiff as a board for 100 minutes watching a video is harder than it sounds, so we were given a break.

I was about to chill in my room when the door opened and all the members walked in.

“What? Do we have to go back out?”
“No. We just wanted to ask you something.”

All four of them came in just to ask a question?

Lee Ieon looked at me, then started.

“We’ve been going nonstop and never really looked back. The B Team selection was 3 days and 1 night, and we were exhausted.”
“Yeah. It was rough.”
“But watching the broadcast brought back memories. Felt like a good time to be honest.”

I usually pride myself on reading situations, but I had no idea what they wanted to ask.

Did I mess up with them somehow?

Sure, I’ve judged them silently, but I never said anything out loud.

Just then, Goo Taehwan jumped in.

“Why’d you do it?”
“Do what?”
“WayFromFlower. At first, I thought you were just hungry for attention…”
“A clout-chaser. We even asked why you chose the name ‘Ryan.’”

Choi Jaesung laughed and added,

“Yeah, I thought you were a clout-chaser. But after spending time with you, you’re totally not. You knew it’d blow up, right?”
“Of course I did.”

I was just shocked by the reason for the attacks—not the fact that they’d come.

“Then why’d you do it?”

I started to answer but paused.

Wait. Why do they think we’re close enough to share that kind of stuff?

We’ve gotten past being awkward, but we’re not exactly BFFs.

It’s still a little weird with Onsaemiro.

Maybe there’s a weird inner bond from sharing that secret about her parents?

“To shift the center of gravity of the show.”

“Center of gravity?”

“You guys know this show is meant to debut TakeScene, right?”
“Yeah, of course.”

“Then the focus of the show has to lean toward TakeScene—and it should.”

“But…”

Onsaemiro looked like she was about to ask, “But the focus is on you right now, isn’t it?”

“Yeah. I pulled it over to myself.”

I didn’t choose WayFromFlower, a top-tier girl group, for no reason.

And I didn’t pick their most failed song by accident either.

I guarantee, until this whole issue dies down, I am the center of Coming Up Next.