A web of lies

Today is the day of recording for our next challenge. I am excited and nervous as today the last phase of JYP's plan will come to fruition. Seol Young's father has been under investigation for a week, and new evidence has been brought to light. He can now be removed as the major shareholder not only in JYP but in all other entertainment businesses. He has been charged with multiple counts of corruption, bribery, tax evasion, market manipulation and various other things. It doesn't look like he will be able to get away with it either. Seol Young, on the other hand, will now be charged with identity theft following this challenge's recording and removed from JYP. They wanted to expose him, mainly to lower his father's credibility and renown, but also because Seol Young had been a pain in the ass for years at JYP. We are all now on standby. JYP enters the venue alone. He sits at his table and begins the intro for the episode. he then calls for the first performance. I am currently wearing a black wig over my hair that had been returned to its natural white colour. My performance would have me wearing a blindfold, for the most part, I would be revealing my naturally purple eyes near the end of the song.

The first performer is Hayashi. He walks out dressed in a sky blue suit. His hair was dyed blue too. His eyes with blue contacts. He stands in the middle of the stage with a microphone that is attached to a stand. The music starts and he sings. A beautiful ballad called Winter Sky by Yuya Matsushita. He sings it beautifully. I almost have tears forming in my eyes by the end. He is asked by JYP what the meaning behind the song is. He says that the song is meaningful to him, as to him, it represents the loss of contact that he had when he lost his older brother. He had died in a train accident the year before he had been accepted by JYP. His brother had been his biggest supporter. And this song represented the lingering attachment he had to his brother and the fact that he can't seem to get over his brother's death, even with the loss of contact and interactions.

There were a couple of less, heart-wrenching performances that followed. Sim Hyun-Shik performed Seo Taiji and the boys 'Come back Home' as that was the song that originally got him into Kpop. His brother performed Outsider's Oetori as that was the song that inspired him to become a rapper. he succeeded in rapping the song. He performed it very well, and you could hear the enjoyment and passion in the rapping when he did it. Akizuki Akira performed SHINee's Lucifer, which was the song that had inspired him to become a dancer. Nam Younjae sand the song 'Friend' by BtoB which for some reason had been released last year as part of the debut album. My memories recalled it being released a lot later on. Anyway. The meaning behind this song for him was pretty cool. He sang it as a message to his best friend back home. The one who had encouraged him to try and become an Idol. His friend was terminally ill and couldn't become a trainee, so Nam Younjae decided to do it on his behalf. It was a sweet message and I felt a little sad for his friend who couldn't follow the dream.

Seoul Young came out with his natural black hair and hazel eyes. he looked like the stereotypical vampire in a teen film would look. I had to admit that he looked pretty good. He would have done well as an actor. When he performed his song, I could easily see the meaning behind it. The song was Rockstar by ICON. After the performance, he spoke about how he had always wanted to become someone famous in Korea, and how this song was one of the best representations of his dream. I thought about how he could have become famous as an actor, but he just had to become an Idol because the fame they receive just seems to be a little different.

Ra Chan-wook then performed Missing U by Super junior. He sang this song as it was the first-ever Kpop song that he had ever heard, and was one of the reasons that he wanted to become a singer. Finally, my turn came around. I walked onto the stage, blindfold already on. I could see through it of course, but no one knew that. I stood in the middle of the stage. I was wearing a black and white suit, with a white cloth over my eyes and a black wig over my hair. The song began and I started to dance.

"Brilliant Color

Beautiful as a flower

Everything Flows down

Before it becomes black and white

I close my eyes to contain only the good

Turn off the light for a while

Just stop for a moment

I'm locking in the room again but

Even if I'm scared, I move my hard heart

Things that block me

Without notice

Pretending to be afraid

Draw down plan

Time wasted

Why is it always about you?

Color blind"

Halfway through the song, I ripped the black wig off my head revealing the natural white hair underneath. I then untied the 'blindfold' that I was wearing to show my eyes. I also ripped the suit off to reveal a very colourful set of clothing. This represented me regaining my sense of sight, being able to see colour again. Finding enjoyment and happiness. Seol Young is sitting in the audience seating suddenly gasps and his eyes go wide. I just revealed my actual appearance to the camera, which means that his lie about being the original singer of MOVE is about to be exposed. He begins to look around for somewhere to run. he is suddenly surrounded by staff and has nowhere to go so he sits down, now panicking.

The song was called Color Blind [Orginal song by Maddox]. I had written it following my parent's death. It was about the loneliness and darkness I felt after their deaths. How the world seemed so empty, that everything lost its meaning. Including my passion and talent for music. It also went over how people tried to colour my life; like my aunt and uncle and So-Yeon. But it wasn't enough. It then talked about how I had finally found something to kick me back onto the right path, that made me see colour again, made me become more determined than before. Thankfully, I had gotten over that point in my life now and was working to become better. But it was still a huge event in my life, and this song helped to carry that memory with me and motivate me to keep working so I didn't become like that again.

Upon finishing the song I looked up to see tears in JYP's eyes. "That was beautiful Jin-Ho"

"Thank you PD-nim," I say. This song represents the toughest period of my life. Just after I had lost my parents. I wrote this song so that I could remember those moments, and remind myself to keep pushing forward for both mine and my parent's sake.

"Another great original song. Just like MOVE at your audition, and those others you have shown throughout the show" JYP states.

"Thank you, Sir" I reply.

At that point, I could see Seol Young's eyes widen as he realises what is about to happen.

"With that, I would like to thank all the trainees for their performances. We will not be having anyone eliminated this time around. It was merely a performance evaluation. Although Popularity ratings will be announced later" JYP says.

The recording of the show then ended there. Seol Young was escorted off the premises by police. he was taken in on charges of Identity theft, bribery, corruption, and as an accomplice to his father's dealings.

JYPE then later announced Seol Young's departure from the show due to legal reasons which received a large amount of attention. There was a lot of negative comments, but most were positive and supportive of JYP doing the right thing. They praised them for being patient with the investigation and dealing with the matter cleanly, as well as acting quickly once the charges were brought to light.