Episode 23: Got a Girlfriend?
“Ugh, seriously. All the Round 2 song picks are the producers’ doing, aren’t they? Why’d they include this?”
Despite her prim tone, Sally’s smile betrays a mix of delight and embarrassment.
The reason my song choice elicits such a reaction from the famously bold Sally is—
“Applelime’s ‘Pink Shoes’. That’s your group, right, Sally?”
“Yup, that’s right. My debut song.”
As Kim Kwangyong and Yoon Ichae point out, I chose Sally’s original group Applelime’s debut track.
Sally, who’s now known for her unfiltered 19+ humor and solo rap career, has left behind the bubbly Applelime days.
Yet Applelime remains dear to her.
She knows that the Applelime era, so different from her current style, paved the way for her to freely pursue the music she loves now.
“Phew… When Number 37 picked Seo Yoonje’s song, I wondered if ours might show up too, but I didn’t expect Number 1 to choose it. I’m curious how ‘Why’d You Come to My House?’ got reworked, so I’m looking forward to this.”
Mentioning Eom Dongkyu’s choice of Seo Yoonje’s song, Sally says she’s excited but shoots a glare that screams, ‘One mistake, and no pass for you.’
That’s fine.
‘I know how much Sally loves Applelime.’
There’s a reason I was the first among the 39 contestants two weeks ago to lock in ‘Pink Shoes’ for Round 2.
“Did Yujin arrange this? Wow, ‘Pink Shoes’ fits this vibe too?”
Does the current Sally know?
In the future, at Polaris’s 8th anniversary concert, she raved about Hikaru’s ‘Pink Shoes’ performance.
I arranged that version, and I taught Hikaru the guitar for it.
‘I was lucky.’
Back then, at 31, I had to pass ‘Pink Shoes’ to Hikaru.
I didn’t have the right to wear those pink shoes.
Maybe that’s why, the moment I saw the song list, Applelime’s ‘Pink Shoes’ jumped out.
Beyond it being the perfect song to erase everyone else’s performances—even my last round’s—from the audience’s minds.
Because now, I’m already wearing those pink shoes.
“Now, the first performance of the female group, let’s begin!”
As I mentally slip on those pink sneakers, Ji Sehyuk’s cue darkens the stage.
A faint presence brushes past me in the shadows.
‘Hoo.’
My breath tickles my ear, stirring a long-buried feeling.
“Wow, you sing so well! I’m Woo Zia—what’s your name?”
The memory of that spring breeze, 20 years ago yet vivid as if it happened yesterday.
If I had to name that monumental moment, it’d be one thing only.
Pink Shoes—another name for first love.
***
Sally (real name Seo Mido) watches the darkening stage, recalling old memories.
The pastel mint frilly dress she wore for her first stage still makes her cringe.
But the heartbeat from that day is what drives her to stand here now.
That’s why ‘Pink Shoes’ is so precious to her.
Its core theme—first love—mirrors the emotions she poured into that stage.
‘I can tell the difference now.’
But so what?
That confusion helped her endure the cheesy concept.
As Sally chuckles, the stage lights up.
Unlike the sultry red lighting from two weeks ago, a sky-blue effect feels refreshingly crisp.
Dda-dda-ra, dda-ddi-dda-ra.
An acoustic guitar doubles the freshness.
“Folk rock vibe? But it keeps the original feel?”
“Yeah.”
From retro pop to folk rock.
Not as drastic a shift as ‘Why’d You Come to My House?’ by Emergency, Sally feels both disappointment and relief, nodding to Lee Sangwoon’s whisper.
-“Standing at the door on this fresh morning,
Wondering which shoes to wear today.”
Sally’s nodding freezes at the verse.
‘What’s this?’
Is this really the sticky, seductive voice from two weeks ago?
An unbelievable transformation unfolds before Sally and the judges.
-“Sky blue? White? Or rose-red?
No, I’ve already made my choice.
Pink sneakers, like my heart for you.”
The ambition to deliver a completely different vibe was clear from the song choice.
Even accounting for that, Sally can’t believe the change before her.
Despite being a far cry from the original breezy dance track, it feels even fresher.
-“Thinking of you, I’m a dancing king.
The magic that makes me dance
Are these pink shoes I prepared for today.”
From queen to king.
The lyrics, tweaked for the singer’s gender, brim with the confidence to do anything for the one they love.
-“Thinking of you, I’m a dancing king.
The road to you
Is the masquerade I’ve long awaited.”
The man who once laid a sweet, seductive trap is gone.
All that lingers in their minds now is a pure boy, unashamedly swept up in the magic of first love, his heart racing.
His arm moves vigorously.
The lively strumming from the acoustic guitar evokes the signature steps of Pink Shoes’ iconic choreography.
Click.
The sound of a button being pressed rings in Sally’s ear.
Snapping back to reality, she glances over to see five white lights illuminating the boy’s path.
‘When did they all press?’
She caught Lee Sangwoon’s pass, but the other four? She didn’t even hear them.
‘No wonder Yoonje missed his last time!’
Sally, who’d thought forgetting to press was a bit much, now understands Seo Yoonje’s slip as—
-“Falling in the first love.
Fly me on the first magic.
In the tic-tac-toe we play,
There’s no X, only circles.”
The strumming stops.
A percussive beat on the guitar’s body takes over, paired with a crisp voice.
The combination fills Sally’s part with a fresh, rhythmic energy, pushing her patience to its limit.
“You rap too?!”
The other judges’ eyes widen.
Ji Sehyuk spits out his water.
Hong Hyunwook tosses his headset.
The other contestants and future viewers watching via broadcast cheer on the screen.
Sally’s cry speaks for them all as the flawless rap flows.
-“Between the white roses lining the path,
My steps are led by pink shoes.
Sweet like an apple, tart like a lime—you.
Wait for me there, take my hand now.”
Why is it?
That inorganic smile on the white mask feels like sunlight breaking through summer rainclouds.
Sally’s mind can’t grasp it, but her hand knows what to do.
Click!
Six white rose-like lights blaze a path, and the pink pick, paused for a moment, starts moving again.
-“Thinking of you, I’m a dancing king.
The magic that makes me dance
Are these pink shoes I prepared for today.
Thinking of you, I’m a dancing king.
The road to you
Is the masquerade I’ve long awaited.”
Sally closes her eyes during the second chorus.
The last thing she sees—the pink pick’s movement—morphs into a boy in pink sneakers, weaving through masked figures toward a girl in a white dress.
In this gender-swapped vision of Pink Shoes’ original music video, Sally feels no dissonance.
That’s the power of this Pink Shoes.
-“The magic cast on me—
Where did it come from?
I don’t know much, but one thing’s clear:
The curse of fairy-tale shoes is gone.”
At the bridge, Sally knows.
‘I need to turn off my phone when this airs.’
If Applelime’s other members find out their song was transformed like this, they’ll grill her for not giving them a heads-up.
-“Standing by your side, I’m a dancing king.
The magic that makes me dance
Is the pink heart finally bearing fruit.
Holding your hand, I’m a dancing king.
The path we walk together
Is the happy parade I’ve long awaited.”
Watching him sing the final, higher-pitched chorus so effortlessly, Sally lets out a “Hah” and turns to the other judges.
“This is Number 1’s arrangement, right? Wow, Pink Shoes suits acoustic so well.”
She doesn’t know.
At this moment, the one who’s made her debut song his own is stifling laughter at her faint voice through the mic, wrapping up the performance.
“Yes! The first performance of the female group gets an all-pass! Number 1 kicks off the war to claim the final spot in the main round!”
As if the song’s magic infected him, Ji Sehyuk’s tone soars.
“Is this guy insane?”
Lee Sangwoon blurts out a déjà vu-laden comment.
“Whoo! Number 1, you’re awesome!”
Lee Ahjeong cups her hands and cheers, while Seo Yoonje shakes his head with an indelible smile.
Clap, clap, clap.
Yoon Ichae and Kim Kwangyong start clapping almost simultaneously.
“Number 1, step forward a bit.”
The one who drew all these reactions, radiating freshness from a scruffy outfit, steps forward at Ji Sehyuk’s gesture.
“Alright, you enjoyed a cool, refreshing stage, so now it’s time to do your job. Let’s hear the critiques.”
Before Ji Sehyuk finishes, all six judges grab their mics.
Seeing this, he chuckles playfully and continues.
“Look at those eyes—this is gonna be reactions, not critiques. Sort out the order and speak.”
“Haha… Mido, you go first? Seems like you’ve got a lot to say.”
Seo Yoonje, with a slight jab, passes the ball to Sally. The other four judges, agreeing, lower their mics.
Sally bows in thanks to Seo Yoonje, picks up her mic, but struggles to speak.
A flood of thoughts clogs her words.
But only for a moment.
Finally organizing her thoughts, Sally opens her pursed lips and—
“Number 1, got a girlfriend?”
Drops a bombshell on the studio.