Little Pink Starfish

At this point, Kang Seokwoo PD’s skill truly shined.

Having shifted the program’s main concept to “unknown singers’ economic activity,” Kang Seokwoo PD began alternating between showing unknown Sedalbaekil and famous Sedalbaekil.

He showed Eion and Gutaehwan busking and receiving zero response, then cut to their performances soaring at university festivals and events.

He contrasted random passersby ignoring them on the streets with the enthusiastic cheers of fans at concerts; compared Choi Jaesung streaming to zero viewers for his personal livestream, with Choi Jaesung doing a successful live broadcast as Sedalbaekil.

Self Made was still a variety show.

The essence of variety is to entertain viewers — and for that, viewers need to root for the cast’s success.

But if the program focuses too much on promoting the cast, it becomes manipulative and artificial.

So Kang Seokwoo PD skillfully balanced light and dark, subtly but consistently highlighting Sedalbaekil’s strengths.

-Wow, they really do practice hard.

-Did you hear Onsaemiro’s part just now? He sang like a lunatic.

-Doesn’t matter, next to Han Sion, he’s just a mere mortal.

-Doesn’t matter, they’re still nobodies when they step outside lol.

-lololololol

-Can they even make money?

-Watching the show, I realize there’s basically no way for unknown singers to make money fast. Offline competitions maybe?

-Yeah, it’s not like they’ll get booked for events.

-Not easy;

What viewers enjoyed was seeing Sedalbaekil repeatedly attempt to make money as unknown singers despite facing constant failure.

Thus, small losses piled up, and within just four days, Sedalbaekil was down 110,000 won.

-Is Han Sion just composing all day?

-Might be the smart play. He can sell songs to entertainment companies.

-How much do those songs usually sell for?

Around that point, onscreen, Han Sion called the members together.

[You have to clearly decide what you’re going to show. What did you do at the busking?]

[Even with makeup, if you had actively engaged the audience and hyped them up, it might’ve worked. But you just stood there awkwardly singing, right?]

[There’s no business without show.]

-He’s not wrong, but isn’t he lecturing a bit much?

-He’s the leader.

-Han Sion is the leader??

-Who did you think it was?

-Eion.

-Well, he’s the visual leader.

-Anyone can criticize like that. The real question is: what’s the plan?

[So what should we do?]

[Two ways. Either find a way to “show” using something other than your appearance, or find a business model that works without show.]

Once Han Sion opened the floor, the members started brainstorming.

[Songwriting competitions? Singing contests?]

[What about webtoon OSTs?]

[Webtoons?]

[It’s trendy for webtoons to have background music these days. Some are great, but some are lacking. The webtoon itself provides the “show.”]

[Could games work too?]

-Oh, so it really was Sedalbaekil who did the webtoon OSTs.

-What do you mean?

-Recently, a bunch of high-quality OSTs were suddenly released for webtoons. Everyone assumed it was pro singers — guess it was them?

-Where can I listen to them ㅠㅠㅠ

Next, came the scene where Sedalbaekil members chose their stage names.

Technically, this scene should have come first chronologically.

But if it had, viewers would’ve immediately figured out that Sedalbaekil made the webtoon OSTs.

Because the singers used those stage names.

So Kang Seokwoo PD cleverly edited the timeline.

But there was a crucial decision here.

Originally, PD Kang planned to reveal the alter ego names much later.

That way, as each member achieved success — Onsaemiro writing webtoon OST lyrics, Choi Jaesung creating game ads, Eion winning singing contests — their stage names would be revealed, allowing for a Usual Suspects-style twist.

However, after seeing Han Sion’s “big shot,” Kang Seokwoo changed course.

There was no need to hold back early.

The members’ successes were impressive, but compared to what Han Sion achieved, they were small.

Honestly, Kang Seokwoo was in a bit of a bind.

He’d promised that Sedalbaekil’s earnings would be used as additional production budget, but—

‘The amount is absurd!’

They made way more than expected.

The maximum extra budget that M Show was prepared to cover was around 20 million won.

As a result, Kang Seokwoo PD decided to present the other members’ achievements plainly.

No need to emphasize them when the true highlight was yet to come.

The show then began showcasing the members’ indie musician activities.

It started with Eion, using his stage name “Mimyo,” at a youth singing contest.

Eion hadn’t really shown his singing since Coming Up Next ended.

While Han Sion’s Seaside Heights video went viral, Onsaemiro earned honorary graduation on The Masked Singer, and Choi Jaesung won Stage Number Zero…

In comparison, Gutaehwan was in a similar situation, but his evaluation was different.

Everyone knew Gutaehwan handled Sedalbaekil’s intros, and many were looking forward to his solo.

But Eion had no such expectations.

Largely due to prejudice.

Because he was too handsome, people assumed his singing would be lacking.

But Eion’s issue was with his tone, not skill.

Even Han Sion once said, “Eion should sing songs where he’s the main character.”

In other words, solo tracks that didn’t highlight his tone weaknesses would allow his full skill to shine.

Especially after receiving Han Sion’s production.

Thus, the footage aired of Eion singing at the youth contest where Evening Promise had also participated.

Though Kang Seokwoo only allotted about a minute to this, the impact was significant.

-What the hell?

-Seriously, it’s like they naturally attract each other. How do they all end up this good?

-Sounds like an insult lol.

-Wow, Eion can actually sing this well?

-No wonder Eion’s fans have a love-hate thing with Han Sion lol.

-Is there some kind of “join Sedalbaekil, get better at singing” buff?

-“Join” sounds weird.

-Holy! I saw this live! That “Mimyo” guy totally destroyed the competition and vanished!!

-Pros are just different.

After receiving his prize money, Eion recorded his earnings and mentioned on camera that he’d donate the funds.

This was to avoid giving the impression that Sedalbaekil’s indie activities were stealing opportunities from real amateurs.

Meanwhile, Onsaemiro wrote lyrics suited for various webtoons and handed them to Han Sion.

[Make some songs like this.]

[All five?]

[Yeah. We can split the vocals.]

[Take a seat.]

Han Sion began composing while carefully confirming Onsaemiro’s desired vibe.

Honestly, it was a bit funny.

-They’re so casual lol.

-Like, he just casually commissions five songs?

-The funniest part is how both Han Sion and Onsaemiro seem totally unbothered.

Han Sion quickly produced five melodies and asked for feedback.

[This part could feel a bit more desperate.]

[Be specific — desperate or yearning?]

[Uh… desperate then.]

-What’s the difference though?

-Desperate means desperately hoping; yearning means yearning desperately. Are you stupid?

-lolololol

[Here, I want the melody shift to feel more dramatic.]

[By going higher? Or lower?]

[Lower, I think? Since it’s a tense moment.]

[Got it.]

At first, viewers enjoyed watching Han Sion and Onsaemiro’s creative banter, but the mood quickly shifted.

-Do all composers work this fast? Or is Han Sion just special?

-I’m a music major — Han Sion is insane; “special” doesn’t even cut it.

-Don’t tell me all of Sedalbaekil’s songs were made this easily?

-Will the results be any good though?

-If these really are those webtoon OSTs I heard, they’re excellent;

Han Sion’s overwhelming talent was palpable.

Kang Seokwoo PD himself had been awed while filming, and expected viewers would feel the same.

That’s why he made sure to clarify there was no time skip, showing Han Sion’s process in real time.

In truth, Han Sion finished demos for all five songs in just three hours.

The five tracks were completed, and recording began.

Initially, Onsaemiro planned to sing all five himself, but concerns arose that it might hurt sales despite the songs’ quality.

So all five members recorded vocals, guided by Han Sion’s direction.

Viewers found Han Sion’s directing fascinating.

Most vocal direction relies on vague instructions about “feeling it more,” especially on complex passages.

But not Han Sion.

He gave precise technical guidance.

[Between these two notes, there’s something else.]

[Right? This one?]

[What’s the perfect harmony for that?]

[Yes, like this.]

[Stay within that range. It should feel like you’re about to go outside it, but resolve back inside.]

[Ah, I got it. Okay.]

Particularly the way Eion and Han Sion would completely shift a song’s vibe in just a few sentences was mesmerizing.

By now, viewers realized:

Self Made wasn’t some underdog struggle for unknown singers.

It was a story of extraordinary talent achieving success.

Around then, Onsaemiro’s first webtoon OST finally played.

Just as many had guessed, it was the track used for Min Heeyoung’s Monday webtoon.

-Holy crap!

-It’s Secret!

-Miro was Onsaemiro all along ㅠㅠㅠㅠ

-No wonder ㅠㅠㅠ I teared up the moment I heard it ㅠㅠ it was my bias singing ㅠㅠㅠㅠ

The buzz was so strong it briefly overloaded the webtoon server.

After Onsaemiro was shown emailing five webtoon writers—

[Yeah!]

[WOW!]

Suddenly, two masked men appeared onscreen, like burglars in front of a security camera.

[We’ve found a way to avoid special makeup.]

[From now on, we are Masked Bandits.]

-Holy!!

-Damn, I’m a passing indie fan and this gave me chills. Masked Bandits was them?

-They were super popular in Hongdae recently but suddenly disappeared.

-Damn; just how much have they done in three months?

Eion and Gutaehwan confidently donned their masks and rode the subway.

Onlookers openly stared at them, while the cameraman looked embarrassed — which made it even funnier.

As they arrived in Hongdae,

Self Made!

The program logo appeared.

The letters “Se” and “lf” split apart as new letters slipped between:

Sedal lf Made!

Sedalbaekil Self Made.

Episode 1 came to an end.