“What do you usually do in your free time, Deputy?”
“I was the last one out of the office again yesterday.”
“Ah...”
Twelve years of nothing # Nоvеlight # but study through the end of high school. Then the army, then Hanpyeong Industries.
For most of my life, there was no such thing as leisure. The closest thing to a hobby was playing bass a bit in college.
And now I’d been handed time off with nothing to do, nothing I could do, and no bass—stuck in an empty dorm that wasn’t even my home, not allowed to go out.
“I’m bored.”
Time off? It’s the best.
No office worker dislikes lying in bed. I spent all day yesterday flat on my back.
But there’s a thing called herd mentality.
Six people share this dorm, and five of them leave in the morning to practice and come back at night living their “grind life.” In a setup like that, do you think you feel at ease doing nothing alone?
Thanks to that, I felt like I was sitting on a bed of nails. I couldn’t shake the thought that I was the only one wasting my life.
Any time I reflexively opened the laptop wanting to do something...
“‘spArk’s Treasure Vault
Please enter the password.’”
...all I got was that infuriating lock screen. For the record, I did try to crack it and failed.
“Maybe I should at least monitor the finals.”
Because I collapsed right after the stage, I hadn’t actually seen how Spark’s performance was broadcast.
I opened MeTube on my not-yet-returned phone, and the full-stage videos by group appeared in order.
“Hm?”
Something was off.
I checked the six newest videos again. Then I looked back and forth between the view counts and the titles.
≫ Parte — “Crown” │ 790k
Log — “Finale” │ 630k
Spark — “Ode to Statecraft” │ 1.34M
Allover — “Utopia” │ 580k
Sticky — “Dreaming” │ 420k
Verion — “Goal” │ 270k
Isn’t Spark’s view count way too high?
The thumbnail already had a gold ribbon for hitting one million views. It was about 1.7 times the number for Parte, who took the final first place.
Below it, videos rolled on with cringey titles like “The idol who collapsed on live TV,” “Boy group member who pushed through injury.”
“If the video blew up this much, it means something landed.”
I put off watching the stage and headed to the forums; the traces of a bonfire were everywhere.
≫ Let’s talk our IAD finals lol
.
.
.
And then, Spark. LMAO.
My jaw dropped. Maybe because other teams clenched their teeth and brought the hardest stuff for the finals, it felt like these guys really popped by comparison?
And now I get why the place turns into a firestorm whenever Spark shows up.
The most visual group, for real lol. They were even in hanbok and still all had shoulder fields like a prairie.
I forget to breathe every time Lee Cheonghyeon appears, then clutch my heart when Choi Jeho comes on → repeat ad infinitum
You could see the money on the stage last time and this time—loved it, pure eye candy lol. Now I see why the fans always curse out the agency for being stingy ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ
If they were from a big label, with full support and that capital smell, they would’ve shot a legend.
.
.
.
└ Who wrote my diary in here
└ “I forget to breathe when Cheonghyeon appears” >> that’s literally me lolllll but he’s so handsome it’s thrilling; pretty boys are the best
└ Group I most want to see when they’re all adults: #1
└ I get the vibe—it’s not stiff choreography, it’s super fluid... but the angles are razor sharp, insanely satisfying
└ This
≫ Is it legal for the North to have six dukes
Public safety must be amazing
└ Took me a second lololololol
└ Gather the dukes and they could solve a Rubik’s Cube
└ Nah, Rubik’s is four-player; two dukes have to stand in back
└ Where’d the “dukely” aura go that sweeps a ballroom? Can’t even join the game—down bad
└ Stoppppp lol
≫ TL;DR of Spark’s stage as a microcosm of IAD (shameless promo thread)
I’m posting the over-immersion arc that forced me to admit I’m a Sparkler after denial since Episode 1...! Loved it too much. Come die with me.
(Position battle excluded—felt like an outlier.)
They paralleled the founding of Joseon with an idol debut concept.
Iwol said they focused on conveying the feeling of headbutting a wall from zero and using it as a foothold.
ex. Original: door-opening SFX + Cheonghyeon kneeling start → Added an opening sequence and start with everyone waking from sleep
They wondered how to show founding a nation and establishing its framework, then said the members’ debut process felt similar and put it all in (so Jeho, are you a sleepyhead? If that’s unfair, clear it up on live)
They said they changed a lot of lyrics to fit the keyword “beginning” (e.g., “in the long night’s darkness” → “until the long dawn is gone” / “send to the night sky” → “dye the sky”)
- Rearranged Cover (“Desire”)
The original concept was a holy-relic war; why did Spark come out with a sports theme?
They said they took only the keyword “competition” from fighting over a relic in the original, factional strife in Joseon history, and idols competing for results.
Personally found it impressive that they chose sports so the competition element would be fun, not stressful, for viewers.
↑↑ In the same vein, they structured it so what you win at the end isn’t a material thing like a trophy or medal but “honor.”
- Cover song (“Starlight”)
A stage themed on cultural heritage like science and art.
Concept is an astronomer who longs for a shining presence and looks to the sky every day—and they said that’s the image Spark strives for.
Like Cheonghyeon doing that realization moment, they said they want to discover the light someday.
You stare at stars every night wanting to be a star and even dusted star glitter on your faces—newsflash, you’re already stars; if you don’t believe it, look in a mirror.
- The only IAD stage with a classical sampling—said they wanted to indirectly show Joseon-era cultural exchange lol our Iwol is definitely a concept freak
Found out later the projected light effect was the “Cheonsang Yeolcha Bunyeo-jido” (celestial chart).
When Cheonghyeon opens the bulb (approaches the essence of knowledge), the stars pour down (achieves enlightenment), then the celestial chart appears (beholds the shape of the universe)... how do you not love this arc ㅠㅠㅠ
Above all, it was so beautiful... my favorite stage... I opened a new stan account because of it. Faces were legendary—if anyone hasn’t seen it yet, go now.
- Final performance (“Ode to Statecraft”)
This showed why Spark tackled idols and Joseon history at once = because the program is Idol Annals of the Dynasty.
They wrote the opening narration as if it were the show’s own intro line.
The concept is that they are record-keepers writing stages to be filed into the program.
At the end, the members become parts of the characters (letters), meaning they are the recorders—and also that they want to remain a record for someone.
They planned this since deciding to join IAD, so it was the longest in production and most revised.
Afterword TL;DR: Genius idols who caught both rabbits—idols and the dynasty annals. Spark, you worked so hard. Kim Iwol, produce forever.
└ #1 feels... a bit forced to me
└ They said they focused on “idol” too. Reading comprehension???
└ They blended both sides just right. If they obsessed only over the annals, they would’ve worn hanbok the whole run.
└ Good choice—doesn’t feel like a concept cult, still has storyline
└ Yeah, the last-minute reveal was a great twist
└ Planning all this inside a single survival show is insane. Labels that do “universe lore” need three albums to explain what they crammed into two months.
≫ Why Spark are the true #1
: The view counts answer it
└ Gap is unbridgeable and “that” group is gritting their teeth and playing dumb
└ Mindless voting is cringe... If it were me, I’d be embarrassed to win like that
└ Why do paying fans have to hear this? People will think the votes were rigged... the level of Spark Derangement Syndrome, wow
└ I’m not a Sparkler, I drift, and you’re outing yourself lmao. Got it—harassing your fans to vote, your Parte is the best
└ ???: “If we don’t win, I think I’ll be sad ㅠㅠ”
└ For real? The idol said that?
└ Search “P— m— bubble pop” and you’ll find it; the full text is even worse
“How many of these are there?”
Post-mortems always pop up after a show ends, but it’s not common to have a whole page plastered with one group.
Right now, though, Spark talk was everywhere. And all of it was glowing.
And the reason it got this way was...
≫ Boy group member who fainted on live broadcast today
He’s Iwol from Spark; he collapsed right after the finals stage on IAD.
It was in the news a bit ago; people are saying it’s probably aftereffects.
(Photos removed)
Most reactions are that no one realized during the stage because he looked fine.
└ Friend, please take the photos down... That might be something the person himself doesn’t want seen.
└ Heard he took a blow to the head—wondered how he even showed up. Guess he really gritted his teeth.
└ He clearly did; the stage was completed.
≫ I knew, Iwol, that you were serious about being an idol
But I didn’t want to know you were this serious
I thought you’d be eating warm hospital food and resting; I couldn’t believe my eyes
└ Wow, even the fans didn’t know.
└ The whole fandom couldn’t have imagined it. I dropped my spoon watching over dinner. He was initially diagnosed at eight weeks recovery, remember?
└ At that level you should rest...? Aren’t fans mad???
└ Sparklers were ready with pitchforks at the agency, but since the members said it was their voluntary decision, they’re letting it slide for now.
└ If UA has any sense, they won’t force him out now... How long has it been since he got beat like a dog?
└ Maybe that beating is why, but their apology and official statement were fast this time.
≫ He did so well onstage I thought he was fully recovered, then suddenly he was gone from the frame and I panicked
└ They weren’t going to have him dance at all, but he insisted on entering at the dance break, so I’m smacking my forehead. Kim Iwol, you’re a patient.
└ He covered the wound with a headband, which makes it even more heartbreaking.
└ At this point, he needs to be imperial-house arrested against his will... This is all on Kim Iwol. Endure it, King. You brought this luxury care on yourself.
...Yeah, looks like I had something to do with it. I let out a sigh.
While I was at it, I checked the fan café to see what UA and the members had said.
≫ From. Seongbin
Sparklers, you must have been so worried.
Iwol just got back to the dorm.
It’s not a new injury or a problem; the most likely cause is that our activity level suddenly spiked, so please don’t worry too much.
Thank you for cheering and for worrying until late at night.
We love you always! ♥
└ Cheonghyeon @Seongbin That hyung needs a scolding. Give him an earful for us.
└ Seongbin @Cheonghyeon How could I scold him^^;;;;;
└ Cheonghyeon @Seongbin He’s the leader!
≫ From. Juu
Thank you for supporting us to the very end.
The result was unexpected, so I’m still dazed, but I’m truly happy.
We’re going to try to set up a get-together with all six of us soon. When Iwol is fully recovered!
Until then, Sparklers, don’t get sick and take good care of yourselves. Health first.
≫ From. Giyeon
Second place... thank you. The only reason we could keep going without getting tired all this time was you, Sparklers. Thank you. Really.
Iwol hyung worked the hardest, but he’s out cold right now. (+Jeho hyung crashed too after carrying Iwol.)
When he wakes up, please scold him a lot. He never listens to us.
Please watch tomorrow’s IAD behind-the-scenes video too. Good night.
└ Jeho, crashed from what
└ Giyeon @Jeho Sleep well, hyung
There was a lot about me. I won’t complain—they were trying to reassure the fans—but it did make my head spin.
One trending post was even “Quotable Lines of Pro Idol Kim Iwol.” Looks like IAD’s splash threw ripples into weird places.
Terrifying. I can’t even imagine what’s written in there.
But an idol can’t ignore public opinion.
Carefully, I tapped the post with the exploding comments.
- Final performance (“Ode to Statecraft”)
- Cover song (“Starlight”)
