From Skid Row to Superstardom: An Idol System Novel-Chapter 133: Team Black Swan (2)

Once the beat began repeating, Ari slid to the center and began singing the intro as Mathew rotated out of sight.

Ooh woah oh yeah~

In a smooth motion, all the contestants turned to the right, flapping their left hands in unison so that it looked like a flapping wing as Ari, Rei, Alfonso, and Minho sang the chorus at a high pitch.

Like a Swan Swan Swan

With a unified motion, the entire team crossed their legs and spun to face the opposite direction while mirroring the previous choreography and singing the chorus.

Like Swan Swan Swan

Snap!

Like a bird shutting its wings, the 4 contestants on both sides of Ari covered him with their arms before slowly exposing him as he slowly walked forward, his steps sinuous and catlike, as if he were stalking prey, he began to sing in a soft, sweet yet alluring voice like a siren drawing you to water.

Let me tell you

A story about

A lost child in the world

They were falling falling falling

Into the water water water

As he sang, Ari’s painted white face gleaming beneath the stage lights, a thin, dark line appeared by his eye, as if drawn by a marker.

"What is that?" Justine muttered, wondering if the makeup they used on Ari’s face had cracked.

She made a mental note to scold the production makeup artist online for using cheap products that could possibly damage the contestant’s skin.

Before she could say anything else, the Japanese contestant she recognized as Rei became the new center, and Ari was completely hidden in the back.

Gasping for breath

Fighting to rise

But darkness weighs them down

They keep on sinking sinking sinking

Deep into the water

As Rei sang his part of the song, Justine noticed that his previously white clothing was gaining thin black like strokes on the arms and legs that were slowly getting darker and darker.

The lines looked similar to the ones that appeared on Ari’s face, and she wondered if it was a message of some kind.

She could hear the people around her trying to figure out what was wrong with the clothes, but her attention was devoted to trying to find Ari’s face, which was hidden behind another contestant.

Why was the formation so terrible? It was almost like they were hiding him in the back!

Eating the light

That shines so bright

Stained by darkness all around me

I’ll fight until I escape

Because this is my fairytale

Thankfully, when his part was over, Rei swapped back with Ari, who completed his simple yet graceful choreography as more black lines appeared on his clothing.

Little dark lines kept appearing in random places.

In fact, it was happening to all the contestants at different speeds, and the people around Justine began murmuring.

"What’s happening?"

"Did they forget to do laundry?"

"It looks like invisible ink got spilled on them."

"It looks like the black lines are taking over them. And it kind of looks like a feather?" A Korean girl to the right commented, and Justine could only nod in agreement while watching with wide eyes.

It definitely looked like black feathers were appearing on the white clothing.

Alfonso slid forward, his long, jet black hair, swinging as he rapped-sang the lyrics with his white outfit that was now dotted with the same black lines.

My world will expand freeweɓnovel.cѳm

I continually grow

My strength will increase

As I try to break free

Compared to the elegant moves from before, Alfonso’s choreography took on a slightly aggressive feel, adding sharper angles instead of graceful lines.

As the Brazilian boy growled ’break free’, Ari took the center spot one last time, his raspy yet clear voice singing the extended high note as he extended his arm straight towards the lights as if trying to escape.

I’ll transform in the depths of water

Ooh~ wooah oh yea~

As he held his arm there, Justine saw his white sleeve slowly turn black from Ari’s wrist down to his shoulder as thin black lines turned into feather-like patterns that appeared before darkening like ink spreading through water.

As the held note tapered out, Ari rotated his face like a bird to stare at the audience, the sharp green eyes were now surrounded by painted black feathers that had suddenly appeared, and Justine gasped as she wondered how it had happened.

First, the clothes, and now his face?

How was he doing it?

Was this magic?

Instead of giving her a response, Ari let out a wicked smile that seemed to be teasing her, before beginning to sing in a lower raspy tone.

Black Swan Swan Swan

Woah yeah~

Black Swan Swan Swan

Black Swan Swan Swan

Compared to earlier, the choreography, which at first glance looked the same, had become sharper and more angular as the entire tone of the song shifted into a lower key.

The familiar low, raspy voice of Ari harmonizing with the bright voice of the other contestants, in contrast to the bright pop beat, gave her chills, especially as the lyrics became darker and their white clothing literally transformed with little black feathers merging and turning them into a black swan reveling in its strength, power, and darkness by devouring the power of light.

When the dance break came, it became a battle between the last graceful white swan Mathew who danced smoothly and elegantly as the other contestants whose clothing had turned black, pushed and pulled at him, ripping white patches from his clothing until his clothing gained the black feather patterns and turned completely black like the rest of theirs.

As Mathew pretended to sink into the darkness that was represented by the other contestants, Ari stepped forward to repeat the beginning portion of the song.

Black Swan Swan Swan

Black Swan Swan Swan

As he walked forward, the contestants on either side of him sharply flapped their hands to imitate flapping wings.

With the last note, the entire team held their arms out to make one long, continuous wing with Ari at the center.

Black Swan Swan Swan

As he tilted his head up and to the side with his eyes closed, the last piece of white left on his turtle neck turned black, leaving only his face white with the black feathers painted around his eyes.

Seeing the green eyes staring fiercely as he opened them to look at the audience while panting, Justine held back a scream as she frantically snapped photos with her digital camera before hiding it in her purse.

Amazing. Beautiful. Artistic.

She literally couldn’t describe how she felt seeing the white outfits slowly turn black as feathers appeared in a slow, creeping wave until every contestant was dressed completely in black.

The way they had swallowed the last white swan during the dance break.

The shift from gracefulness to sharp and angular.

Crazy! It was crazy!

Her brain couldn’t comprehend how somebody came up with the concept from a ballerina pop song and turned it into a dark fairytale.

All she knew was that she was extremely thankful and wanted to hug the staff members and the team members who made it possible for her to see such a sight.

Especially because they finally put Ari as the center at the end after hiding him for the entire song.

Although she wished his dancing had been more complex, instead of performing simple moves when he was in the center, the whole performance itself was amazing, and it immediately went to her top spot.

Justine couldn’t help but cheer along with everybody else as all nine boys bowed while panting as the MC came onto the stage.