Little Pink Starfish

Album 19. Change

The general public watching the Winter Cream broadcast performance had just one thought.

-They’re so damn good lol

-Are they crazy or something lol

-I thought the live would be a letdown because the song’s so good, but… this is legendary?

-It’s hilarious that there was ever a “vocal editing” controversy with them lol

-Honestly, not doing vocal edits is unprofessional… but that whole controversy was probably made up by Choi Daeho anyway.

Everyone agreed that Sedalbaekil’s stage was perfect.

And this was a live.

Obviously live, no question.

-The ones who promised a full live if they got 1st… skipped AR on their comeback stage… and still sound better than the audio version…

-Invasive species threatening the MR-removed YouTuber ecosystem… villains cutting the paychecks of AR producers…

-Simply the GOATs of idol world…

-Lightmoonlightbaekil…

-Lightlightlightlight…

Of course, some thought this praise might be a little excessive.

It’s not easy to stand out in a music show where every artist prepares intensely for their stage.

-Looks like Sedalbaekil hired a boatload of paid commenters lol all this over a music show

But trolls only work if the public opinion is at least 50:50—or 70:30, at worst.

If it’s 100:0, it’s useless.

And right now, Sedalbaekil’s performance was at 100.

-You either didn’t watch the show, work for Lion Entertainment, or you’re Choi Daeho.

-Or an anti of Sedalbaekil lol

-If you saw that stage, even antis would become fans.

In theory, it’s impossible for a live to be better than the studio version.

Audio tracks are fine-tuned to be as pleasing as possible—through directing, recording, mastering, mixing, and all the technical elements.

So if someone says the live is better, they’re basically saying there was a mistake in that entire technical process.

Otherwise, it shouldn’t be possible.

And yet, you could easily find people saying the live was better.

Mostly because of immersion.

There’s a difference in delivery between singing into a mic’s pop filter and singing while looking someone in the eye.

The former is universal; the latter, personal.

In mastering terms, it’s the difference between unidirectional and multidirectional sound.

Of course, Sedalbaekil didn’t literally manipulate sound waves on that level—but people still feel it.

Whether or not the music resonates with them.

That’s what makes music an art.

And Han Sion was the master of it.

Sedalbaekil? The ones chasing behind him most tirelessly.

Even the song they sang was a lower-ranked track on the album: Winter Cream—but it smashed every record.

A song so good, it couldn’t not sound good.

Given all this, Mix Way’s fandom—which had tried to stir public opinion before Sedalbaekil’s stage—went silent.

They knew.

There’d be nothing but backlash if they tried to downplay Sedalbaekil now.

Still, they had one card left to play.

Attitude.

-I mean yeah, Sedalbaekil’s good, but are they taking the music show seriously? Kinda feels like a joke to them.

-Yeah… celebrating a birthday should’ve waited until the end.

-Han Sion clearly didn’t know. He slipped up in the live and even did one of the dance moves in the wrong direction.

-Are music shows just a joke to you kids…?

But the argument was weak.

If the stage had been sloppy while doing a birthday surprise, the criticism might’ve stuck.

But the stage was flawless.

-If it looks good, who cares? Music shows are about looking and sounding good anyway lol

-Exactly lol people will whine about anything

-Definitely Mix Way’s fans lol

At that point, posts slowed drastically.

Because Mix Way was finally up.

Like Sedalbaekil, they were performing two songs—first was the pre-recorded one.

It was good.

-Better than I expected?

-The song’s kinda basic though lol

-Yeah, but still, they did better than I thought.

-Same. I heard they sold a lot first-week, and I can see why.

-Lol three of them are lead actors in mini dramas—that’s wild.

-I know right? And Lion Entertainment isn’t even a company that usually pushes actors.

-The choreography’s intense.

-The AR’s a bit heavy though?

-Well, that’s typical of pre-records. Sedalbaekil’s the weird ones here;

-Even Lightlightlightlight had some AR in their pre-records.

-Yeah, usually pre-recorded songs are the flashy ones that are hard to sing live.

Public reaction—aka from “muggles”—wasn’t bad.

It didn’t explode like with Sedalbaekil, but it wasn’t poorly received either.

In fact, since expectations were low, it was kind of a surprise.

Most people watching today probably hadn’t heard a Mix Way song before.

Half were tuning in for the Sedalbaekil vs. Mix Way drama, and the other half were just curious after hearing “they’re competing with Sedalbaekil?”

-Maybe the tide’s turning?

-Muggles can be surprisingly neutral when they’re not biased.

-Let’s gather some of the positive reactions.

So Mix Way’s fans allowed themselves to hope.

They tried to deny it, but everyone knew Sedalbaekil’s performance had been overwhelming.

Some even thought beating them was impossible.

If a fandom full of passionate fans is thinking like this, Sedalbaekil’s stage must’ve really been that good.

Still, if things went well, they could ride the coattails.

Sedalbaekil did amazing—but Mix Way held their own?

Even beat them in first-week sales?

If framed right, they could even get “Sedalbaekil-tier” recognition.

Those who thought they were cold-headed were running calculations.

But there was a problem.

Song arrangement.

Sedalbaekil had performed STAGE (pre-recorded) and Winter Cream (live).

STAGE was a tightly choreographed number.

Though slow jam as a genre doesn’t have a fast BPM, slow BPM ironically requires more moves—more intricate choreo.

Sure, there are slow-tempo dances by Black R&B singers, but those styles don’t mesh perfectly with K-pop.

So slower BPM means more movement, more flash.

Mix Way’s pre-recorded song was similar.

A bright, high-energy choreography-heavy song called Let’s Go Camping, with that distinct K-pop tropical house vibe.

So both teams saving those for pre-records made sense.

Then Sedalbaekil’s Winter Cream and Mix Way’s Star Way focused more on vocals.

Meaning they were directly comparable.

Mix Way’s fandom was anxious—but pushed it down.

“They’ll do well.”

“Our boys are geniuses.”

And then Mix Way’s title track, Star Way, aired—

-lololololololol

-What even is this lolol

-Is this a prank show?

-This a music program or a variety segment? lol

It became a laughingstock.

The reason was simple.

They couldn’t sing.

And it was live.

-Why are they doing it live?

-Feels like a broadcast mistake. You can see they’re panicking lol

-Wait… did they just reuse Sedalbaekil’s live setup?

-Nah, no way lol the station’s not that dumb.

-Yeah they are.

-…Guess you’re right?

From Mix Way’s perspective, it was unfair.

They had to perform with a sound setting different from what they practiced.

But that’s no excuse.

An idol sings their title track hundreds of times.

No matter the situation, you should be able to rely on fundamentals.

It’s not like this kind of broadcast mishap never happens.

So any excuses just came off as pathetic.

[Live suicide by Mix Way in real time lolol]

[??: Han Sion! Let’s battle live!]

[Mix Way fandom’s vacuum-sealed coping comments lol]

-You guys… was this an honorable death?

-Where exactly is the “honor” here lol

-“Fair and square!”

-Well if it’s like that, I respect it lol

-The last romantic idols of this era… rejecting a fake war, choosing a noble death instead… farewell, harakiri idols…

-lololol harakiri idols

-Insane lololol

-Today’s memes are on fire lol

Not all Mix Way members fell apart, though.

Their main vocal—despite being unpopular—held up in high notes and highlights, and their sub-rapper delivered solid flow.

Those two even realized it was a live setup midway and adjusted with harmonies and doubling to recover the stage.

But whenever the other members touched the mic, the quality nosedived.

-Like a group project where the leader’s desperately carrying it alone;

-“Clear! We’re resuscitating the patient~”

-??: I’d rather not breathe…

-Who’s that? The only one who can sing?

-The main vocal lol name’s Brom or something.

-It’s From;

-So this is basically From’s final debut audition? Everyone else’s eliminated?

-Then the rapper deserves to debut too.

-Agreed.

The public opinion swung wildly, but strictly speaking, Mix Way’s stage wasn’t as bad as it seemed.

Lion Entertainment, even before Sedalbaekil, was infamous for drama—but always had top-tier idols.

Thanks to Choi Daeho’s eye for talent and their rigorous training system.

So being mocked like this wasn’t entirely fair.

The problem was, Mix Way’s marketing went beyond what was “fair.”

They clung to Sedalbaekil, using first-week sales to craft the illusion that the two groups were peers.

Daeho had planned to stop that push at a certain line—but the campaign took on a life of its own.

So the public comparing the groups brutally wasn’t weird.

It’s what Lion Entertainment asked for.

-Isn’t MShow being a little too much? Looks like they switched to live without notice…

-How incompetent does an agency have to be to let something like this happen?

-Ugh… really turned me off…

Mix Way’s fans kept insisting it wasn’t the group’s fault—but no one was buying it.

It only circulated within their own bubble.

Even Sedalbaekil was confused at the scene.

“Wait, isn’t that our AR setup…?”

“Was this a station screw-up?”

“Seems like it…”

“That’s gotta suck. They probably practiced a ton.”

Soon after, Mix Way exited the stage and MShow staff were scrambling—which made it obvious.

But Gu Taehwan snuck a look at Han Sion’s face.

There was no visible change.

But Taehwan could read Sion’s emotions to some degree now.

Han Sion was…

Satisfied.

Which meant he knew.

That this mess—the chaos that even shocked MShow staff and Lion Entertainment—was Han Sion’s doing.

How…?

Gu Taehwan wondered for a moment, then shook his head.

Han Sion does bad things sometimes.

But it doesn’t matter.

He never strikes first—and more importantly, they’re on the same side.