Cha Tae Hyun Admits He Secretly Hoped Jeon Yi Su Would Not Advance on 'Our Ballad 2'

Cha Tae Hyun stunned the studio on SBS’ ‘Our Ballad Season 2’ when he admitted he had secretly hoped surprise contestant Jeon Yi Su would fail to advance past the first round.

According to SBS Entertainment News, the October 12 episode continued the first-round performances with a surprise entry — Jeon Yi Su, a child prodigy writer and painter from Jeju known from SBS’ ‘Gifted Discovery Team.’ He called himself a Jeju boy who loves music and performed Patti Kim’s “그대 내 친구여” (“You, My Friend”), dedicating it to his younger siblings, “the biggest and most precious gift” his mother gave him.

Jung Jae Hyung admitted he had expected nothing, but the raw performance won him over: “By the end of the song I was thinking, couldn’t we listen a little more?” He said it felt like “standing in the middle of a field” and that he wanted to see more of him.

Cha, who knew Jeon before the show, explained his wish: “Honestly, I prayed the light wouldn’t turn on. I wanted as many people as possible to only see Yi Su’s music in this moment.” He questioned whether competing was right for someone “who lives in a different world from us,” urging Jeon to ignore bad comments and do what he wants.

Joo Woo Jae joked that Jeon’s trendy outfit showed he keeps up with the times and could handle the competition better than Cha feared. Whether Jeon advances further will be decided in upcoming episodes.