Chapter 14 |
“Next, we’re going to announce the trainee who took the first place.”
Episode 1 aired, and the next thing we knew, we were filming the first ranking ceremony.
I was already exhausted from the tedious and unnecessarily long ranking announcement ceremony, and I ended up staying with Lee Hwayoung until the end.
The trainees I had my eye on were already seated in the top-ranking positions, and I, without feeling any nervousness, was waiting for the announcement of the first-place winner from a metal chair below the stage.
“This trainee has been a hot topic even before appearing on the program, garnering an enormous number of articles written about him. He not only generated a lot of buzz, but also showcased outstanding skills during the grade evaluation performance, confidently securing his S-Class spot.”
“I have no idea who that is from that description.”
The trainees seated in the back whispered among themselves. That was exactly what I meant.
It was a remark that applied to both Lee Hwayoung and me, so it held no significance as a clue. It was probably just a filler comment.
“…….”
I glanced over and saw Lee Hwayoung leaning lazily against the backrest with his legs crossed, watching the MC. After the first episode had been aired, it seemed there were many hate comments criticizing his arrogant attitude, but he wasn’t intimidated in the slightest.
When asked by the other trainees if he was okay, he replied with this exact words.
“I don’t listen to vulgar language.”
His remarks were later posted on the station’s channel on NeoTube, and apparently caused quite a sensation on SNS.
Lee Hwayoung’s overly-confident attitude drew a lot of criticism, but it also won over a significant portion of the public, making him immensely popular. He was the ultimate celebrity who drove both fans and haters wild.
“The first place of the first ranking announcement ceremony is Trainee Han Seungbeom!”
While I was analyzing Lee Hwayoung, my name was called.
‘Aaaaah! First place! Absolutely!’
I swear I wasn’t nervous at all. I wasn’t analyzing Lee Hwayoung to keep myself sane.
“And the second place is Trainee Lee Hwayoung. Trainee Han Seungbeom and Trainee Lee Hwayoung, please come up on stage.”
There are no defeats in my life. Especially when it comes to stardom. My hands were a little sweaty, but I believed it was because the hot temperature.
But it would be problematic if someone who hadn’t even debuted acting so arrogant, so I slowly got up from my seat and covered my mouth with both hands as if I were happy. My face felt hot. It seemed like the production team had turned the heater on full blast.
“Really?”
As if unable to believe it, I placed my hand on my forehead once and hugged the trainees whose names I couldn’t even remember. Then, Do Yuda, who had already been called as the third place, clapped with lifeless eyes. Oh dear.
“Seungbeom-ah, congratulations.”
Woo Kangwon, sitting in sixth place, was just smiling happily.
“Trainee Han Seungbeom first gained attention with the nicknames ‘CSAT Guy‘ and ‘Light Source Man‘, thanks to his outstanding looks. Not only did he possess outstanding beauty, but he also took on the role of the Center for 77 trainees with his perfect skills and leadership, and he even showed how well he could lead the trainees, earning him the nickname ‘Captain Han‘.”
As I walked up to the stage, the MC recited the lines written in the script. When I reached the stage, he handed me the microphone.
“Trainee Han Seungbeom, who has risen to the glorious first place, please share a few words about how you’re feeling.”
“First of all, I would like to sincerely thank those who placed their bets on me. Ever since I first became a hot topic, I’ve felt that I’ve been receiving undeserved love, and every day, I’m spending joyful moments filled with happiness.”
After grabbing the microphone and clearing my throat, I began with the obligatory thank you.
“And I also want to express my sincere gratitude my fellow trainees who believed in my abilities and trusted me with the center position. It made me so happy because it felt like a validation of all my hard work.”
I also took a subtle jab at Frick for bashing my skills.
“I will continue to work hard and show you great performances so that I don’t disappoint the public who placed their bets on me. Once again, thank you.”
Anyway, since it would get edited if I talked too long, I kept it brief. I tried to squeeze out some tears, but they wouldn’t come
“All right, next, let’s hear from the second place trainee, Lee Hwayoung. How are you feeling right now?”
“I want to stand on stage with Trainee Han Seungbeom.”
Lee Hwayoung, who was waiting next to me, took the microphone and said something out of the blue.
‘What the hell is he talking about?’
He was asked to give a thank-you speech, but he really just talked about his own feelings. Yang Hajun, who looked a bit flustered, quickly stepped in to fix the situation.
“Aha, I see! Since you both are the top two trainees of Survive IDOL, I’m really looking forward to it! And is there anything you would like to say to the public who voted for you?”
“Thank you. Love you all.”
“…….”
Seeing that he could say things like that and still be fine, I started envying his nationality.
***
After the ranking announcement ceremony, the rest of the trainees went to the auditorium to film mini-events such as sports competitions, while the S-Class trainees arrived at the broadcasting station for the scheduled trainer collaboration stage.
The trainer collaboration stage was scheduled to be held live, unlike the official theme song stage.
It wasn’t a large group of 77 people, and the decision seemed to have been made because the S-Class trainees were skilled enough to debut. Of course, it’s likely that there were ulterior motives involved, such as boosting the ratings of their own live music show.
After finishing the rehearsal, I was drinking the warm yuzu tea that Jay had forcefully handed me and was about to take a nap.
“Wake up, Seungbeom.”
“…….”
I opened my eyes to Jay’s hand shaking my shoulder.
I was paired up with Jay, the head trainer, so I was last in line again.
‘Fine, fine. I’m last in every lifetime.’
I had always been the last one to perform, whether it was during year-end stages in my past life or on this current program. I really couldn’t get used to this long waiting time.
I usually never sleep deeply like this outside, but maybe the training was so exhausting that I was able to sleep soundly. I was actually glad that I could at least sleep during the waiting time.
“Uugh, yuck, ughh.”
As soon as I wake up, the first thing I noticed was Do Yuda, who was feeling nauseous from the relief of the tension after finishing the stage as the first performer.
“How long has it been since the stage ended, and you’re still in such a state? I told you not to eat snacks before going on stage.”
While I was scolding him with my salty eyes, Woo Kangwon came into the waiting room after finishing his performance.
“Good job.”
“How is it? Is it okay?”
“Oh, your outfit looks good on you.”
I gave a thumbs up towards Woo Kangwon, who was wearing a suit.
The trainer who paired up with Woo Kangwon was determined to catch him because his hit song was a noir concept track. If he had been paired with a fool like Do Yuda, a terrible hybrid would have been born.
“Why is Yuda like that?”
“He’s loosening up.”
“It seems like Yuda, who has already finished, is having a harder time than you, who’s about to go on stage, haha.”
With a dignified smile, Woo Kangwon picked up Do Yuda, who was crawling on the sofa, and threw him over his shoulder. Can a human really be carried like that?
“I’ll take Yuda to the bathroom and be right back. When his face turns this pale, he usually throws up soon.”
“Oh, fighting.”
At my lukewarm response, Woo Kangwon nodded and, as he was about to open the door, turned around and gestured towards my body.
“Your outfit looks great too. It suits you well.”
“Thank you.”
After confirming that Woo Kangwon had left, I glanced at the mirror.
The outfits prepared by Jay’s coordinators were perfectly in line with Prism’s concept. Wearing these outfits, which centered around leather and black colors with a wild concept, brought back memories of those days.
‘I’m not getting that vibe.’
Unlike me, Han Seungbeom had a tall and skinny model body, so he gave off a chic vibe rather than a wild one.
“Haaa…..”
As I stood in front of the mirror and sighed softly, Jay came up behind me and whispered in my ear.
“If you want to feel like you were back in the old days, you need to be much taller. Right now, you’re still a baby, a baby. Look at how small your chest is.”
Compared to Jay’s body, my chest certainly looked smaller. I smiled brightly and gestured for him to come closer. Then, I grabbed his ear and whispered.
“Stay still before I tear your ribs off and attach them to my body.”
“Yes, hyung.”
The loser, hearing the threatening warning, slumped on the sofa. Seeing him intentionally make ‘huhuhuhu’ sounds with his mouth, it seemed like he still hadn’t snapped out of it.
“Jay-nim, Han Seungbeom-nim, please stand by!”
As soon as he heard the staff’s voice, the guy who was putting up an act immediately jumped up and walked away cheerfully.
‘Whatever wrong with him.’
I felt strange because he looked strangely excited. He seemed way too eager, even though this wasn’t his first or second time on stage.
***
I got up on stage and stood behind him like we had practiced. Then he made an ‘Ah’ sound, pushed me forward, moved to my side, and stood there. It was completely different from the formation we had practiced.
‘What’s up with him today?’
“….Wait.” I hurriedly raised my hand to correct the starting pose, which was different from what we had practiced.
In that moment, Jay grabbed my hand and pressed it down firmly, stopping me from moving. Jay gave an ‘OK’ sign, and the production team made another gesture to show that they understood.
‘What the hell, what are you doing!’
I glanced back at Jay, my eyes wide in shock. He remained calm, even as he saw my flustered expression. Before I could figure out what the hell was going on, the MR started to play.
‘…..Huh?’
As soon as I heard the MR, my rapidly beating heart felt like it plummeted.
And the blood in my whole body turned cold.
‘This isn’t the instrumental.’
It was the MR of a different title track, not the one we had been practicing all along. At this point, it was a major disaster. But the live broadcast was already running, and none of the staff showed any sign of panic. The stage would continue as it was.
‘Why? We clearly did the rehearsal properly, and Jay said he double-checked everything….’
Now that I thought about it, the formation we were standing in right now completely matched the special stage that Jay and I had prepared for the year-end special stage. The song was the same too.
‘What if we weren’t standing in the wrong position?’
In an instant, everything around me went quiet, and time seemed to slow down.
I slowly turned my head, trying to ignore the goosebumps on my skin.
I couldn’t understand the reason. For some reason, I felt like I had to check Jay’s face.
“…….”
With my slowly shifting vision, Jay came into view.
He was smiling.
He didn’t even look at the camera, his gaze was fixed solely on me.
As if the live broadcast was the least of his concerns.
The moment my eyes locked with his, I instinctively knew.
This was something he had planned. To confirm on stage if I was indeed the real Seo Yutae.
‘Dammit, no wonder things were going too smoothly.’
From the beginning, he never truly believed in the words that were just talk, but he continued to smile slyly and play along. He was waiting for this day to come.
This was why he didn’t ask anything about why I died. Because he didn’t need to hear what someone, whose identity he hadn’t confirmed with his own eyes, had to say.
‘This crazy bastard!’
As the MR played, I hurriedly grabbed the microphone in a completely defenseless state, and smoothly covered the part I was originally in charge of. I couldn’t afford to cause a live broadcast accident. And then, his lips formed a chilling smile.
The shape of his mouth said,
“Are you real?”
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Translator’s Corner:
I got too carried away and now my back hurts … I’m going to sleep