Chapter 56 |
“That person is from the team that won first place in the mini mission. Our team leader has been taken over by that person.”
“…….”
When I glanced at the main PD, he looked wronged. He seemed to be implying that he had a justifiable reason to just watch this situation unfold, given that he couldn’t interfere with the results of the fan vote.
The guy who became the leader of our team kept glancing at Do Yuda’s back of the head, watching us cautiously.
[Kang Baeyoung]. I glanced down at his name tag and saw an unfamiliar name.
‘Since he didn’t leave any impression on me, he must not be a top-ranked trainee or particularly skilled. On his own, he’s nothing special.’
In my eyes, Kang Baeyoung was nothing more or less than one of Song Hanseo’s lackey. With neither external nor internal qualities to speak of, I couldn’t help but wonder how he even managed to appear on this program.
In short, he was stupid and worthless.
With that judgment out of the way, I erased my irritation with the main PD and glanced around at the other assigned trainees.
“I’m fine since I’ve got you, hyung. As long as he has any sense, he wouldn’t do anything foolish in front of you.”
‘What on earth does this kid think of me?’
I wondered exactly what kind of existence I was to that kid. A protective amulet? A bodyguard? A parent?
My presence must have been a great relief to him, because he visibly relaxed as soon as I entered the practice room.
After pushing away the persistently clinging Do Yuda, I looked around at the members sitting in the practice room.
‘I think I get the gist.’
Looking at the member lineup, there was no way it could be the sexy concept. With Do Yuda here, what kind of frozen-to-death sexy concept would that be? They might as well bring a stray dog off the street and put it on stage instead.
However, it wasn’t the cute concept because there was no Lee Danbi.
‘This is the refreshing concept. Most of them are between 18 and 22 years old.’
That’s right. This practice room was clearly where trainees assigned to the refreshing concept were gathered. They were vaguely lacking in cuteness to pull off the cute concept, and their youthful faces were far from fitting the sexy concept.
‘Everyone, you have amazing intuition.’
How did you know my heart so well and vote for this concept?
Last time I saw it, it seemed like they couldn’t come to a consensus, but it looks like they reached some kind of agreement and went with the refreshing concept. They said you became like the one you love, but my fans’ intuition was off the charts.
“What kind of concept are we? From the looks of it, with you and me together here, I think it’s a sexy concept. Or maybe Charisma? Chic?”
“Uh, yeah.”
Do Yuda made a deadly expression toward the mirror and spoke to me. Since revealing it first would make the broadcast boring, I decided not to correct Do Yuda’s misunderstanding.
The production team was desperately holding back their laughter as they looked at Do Yuda. His attempts at a sexy appeal were so pathetic that it was only natural for them to laugh.
“What are you two doing whispering like that?”
“Say hello to us too.”
“Seungbeom-ah, hurry up. We’ve pretty much gathered everyone now.”
I could hear the trainees who were sitting huddled on the floor calling out to us. Among them was also Kang Baeyoung’s voice.
‘I thought for sure that he’d continue to be hostile because it ended badly last time.’
It was a more favorable attitude than I expected. While he still had a subtly dismissive attitude towards Do Yuda, he smiled at me and talked to me first.
Do Yuda let out a short, displeased sound, “Ugh“, as he watched that scene.
“Now he’s trying to cling to you. He’s fallen out with the person he used to follow around, so he’s acting like this. He’s really two-faced.”
“…….”
‘.…Why do you live so annoyingly?’
I sighed, trying to pretend not to notice Kang Baeyoung’s passionate gaze.
Do I look like the kind of person who would take sides at this age?
“First, Trainee Do Yuda and Trainee Han Seungbeom, please sit down. Since all the trainees assigned to the Practice Room C are here, we will now reveal the concept.”
As the staff seemed ready to resume filming, they spoke to me, who was in a state of daze. When I walked over to the trainees who were already seated, Do Yuda followed me closely.
After I took a seat next to another trainee, Do Yuda squeezed his way in between and sat down. Kang Baeyoung was subtly blocked from my view.
“It’s so cramped, why are you sitting here? Sit over here.”
“I don’t want to. Even if I sit here, I’ll still be captured well on camera.”
“I can’t see the other members because you’re in the way.”
“Just bear with it. Hyung, since when did you bother to look at people’s faces?”
Do Yuda answered without even making eye contact with me, pouting his lips. It seemed like he had no intention of backing down at all.
“…….”
‘Yeah, go ahead. Block everything. Block them all.’
As the adult, I had to endure. I stared straight ahead with eyes that had lost their light. Since I couldn’t see anything, I might as well focus on the camera.
“Trainee Do Yuda who’s at the front, please take this cue card and go to the form board to proceed.” The production team, who had been looking around our faces, waved a cue card at Do Yuda and spoke.
No matter how I looked at it, Do Yuda wasn’t the trainee closest to them, but it seemed like they just pointed to someone who they thought would handle it well with a good sense. At that, Kang Baeyoung furrowed his eyebrows for a moment, looking slightly annoyed.
“Yes!”
Do Yuda seemed to have forgotten all about being upset just moments ago. He grinned and rushed forward to grab the cue card.
Do Yuda, who went straight to the front of the form board, cleared his throat and began reading the script, “We will now proceed with the concept song announcement!”
“Yes!”
“Haha, go ahead please!”
The other trainees, excluding Kang Baeyoung, giggled at Do Yuda’s overly excited face and played along to make the process easier. Encouraged by their help, Do Yuda seemed to gain confidence, squinting his eyes and waving as he put on a silly act.
“I had a hunch about this. Isn’t it obvious? It must be this.”
“Good job!”
“You’re sexy!”
“Ah, MC. Open it quickly!”
“I’m so excited, I can’t wait!”
Do Yuda, who received excessive adoration from the other trainees, raised his shoulders high and confidently tore at the end of the thin adhesive paper.
“The concept of Practice Room C is!”
Rip.
[Refreshing Concept – Marine Marine!]
And Do Yuda, who confirmed the revealed concept, muttered with a lost expression.
“…Lie.”
Do Yuda’s dream of becoming a sexy dynamite had just been shattered.
“Ahahahahaha!”
“Did you really think it was a sexy concept? Hahaha! We all knew as soon as everyone walked in.”
The production team and trainees, who witnessed the change in his expression, couldn’t hold it in any longer and burst into loud laughter.
“Everyone is laughing at me! I was serious! Seungbeom-hyung, you thought it was a sexy concept too, right…?”
Do Yuda, who had been making a sad face, quickly turned to look at my face. Then, he slumped down onto the floor.
“I didn’t want to confirm what a real mocking expression looks like with that hyung’s face.”
“Ahaha! Look at Seungbeom-hyung’s expression!”
“Aren’t you being too harsh on Yuda? It’s a reaction that only a really close friend would make.”
While everyone was happily showcasing their chemistry, there was only one person who couldn’t seem to blend into the atmosphere.
“…….”
Kang Baeyoung. The only one who couldn’t say a word and was awkwardly sitting alone was the guy who had bullied Do Yuda throughout the second mission.
‘This is the way it should be.’
Do Yuda had a charm that drew in anyone, regardless of whether they were the public or those close to him. Naturally, he became the center of the group, and there was no way Kang Baeyoung could suddenly act like they were close now.
It might not be exactly karma, but the two ended up in completely opposite positions.
“The Marine Marine! team has one extra member. Please select one trainee to be removed. We’ll give you 15 minutes to discuss.”
As Kang Baeyoung struggled to adapt to the atmosphere alone, the production team spoke to us.
They instructed us to choose a trainee to be removed. Hearing that, Do Yuda and I naturally exchanged glances.
This was a chance. A chance to kick out Kang Baeyoung.
‘Kang Baeyoung isn’t particularly skilled … and he’s not exactly someone with a good reputation either.’
From the start, he wasn’t a trainee who received much praise on the program. Given his age and the way he went around stirring things up and trying to assert his authority, it was only natural.
In other words, kicking out Kang Baeyoung would cause no problems from the broadcast perspective.
“After 15 minutes, we will reveal the voting results, and the removed trainee will move to the song that has an open spot.” The production team provided further explanation.
“Who are you going to vote for, hyung?”
“Think about that yourself. You need to use your head sometimes too.”
“Huh?”
“…….”
I couldn’t say in front of the camera that we should get rid of that guy, so I ignored Do Yuda’s question, but it was clear who would be the most effective to leave this team.
“I am a fool.”
It would be the worst if Kang Baeyoung, who lacked both skill and personality, became the leader. And if they weren’t fools, everyone would know that. In fact, the other members were glancing at Kang Baeyoung cautiously.
“Will the voting be anonymous?”
“No. Due to time constraints, we will proceed by having everyone point with their hands, and the member with the most votes will be removed.”
At the production team’s response, the members began to murmur. They were confused by the voting method that threw anonymity out the window.
I rested my chin on my hand and fell into thought. Do Yuda, already with a dazed expression as if his mind had overloaded, was staring at the ceiling, so he wasn’t much help.
‘If there’s a problem, it’s that there’s been time for discussion, and the voting results will be revealed to the trainees right away. I need to steer the mood so that pushing out Kang Baeyoung won’t cause any issues.’
While everyone was hesitating, I was the first to speak up after I finished organizing.
“I think it’s only right for those lacking in skill to be removed. We are the ones standing on stage, and we have a duty to repay our fans with a high-quality performance.”
“If I’m selected as a member, I’ll be able to help you all during hig notes or parts where you’re out of breath! I just want you to know that!” At that, Do Yuda quickly raised his hand to make his appeal.
“Then that means that Yuda and Seungbeom-hyung can’t be removed. We definitely need a main vocalist and a main dancer.”
The members sitting down nodded as they looked at Do Yuda and me. II hadn’t meant to put it so bluntly, but it was a great example answer.
“I’m happy, I don’t know you think so highly of us?”
I gave a surprised expression, as if I hadn’t expected them to think that way. Then the other members shouted at me, telling me not to act coy.
Despite all the loud chatter, they began to consult with the other members, excluding us, as they figured out what decision would be most beneficial.
“Then we’ll have to choose from the remaining six.”
“We’re mostly made up of B-Class members, so there isn’t a big skill gap. I think it’s hard to judge who’s better among us?”
“Then should we prioritize who fits the concept better?”
“But our fans chose this concept because it’s the best fit for us.”
“That’s true…….”
“Then let’s just think of the members who would be most helpful to each team, one by one, and vote for the person who’s last.”
I slowly gave the members a hint to narrow down the choices to Kang Baeyoung. I was suggesting they vote for the person who wouldn’t be of any help to this team. Then, one quick-witted member, who had caught on to my intentions earlier, cast a glance towards Kang Baeyoung.
“I see. I think that’s a good idea too.”
“Yeah, as the program progresses, everyone will have their own thoughts. Let’s trust our instincts.”
As the members were slowly organizing their opinions, the guy who had been keeping his mouth shut suddenly started talking.
“It’s not like we’re holding an election … there’s no need to be so old-fashioned.”
And as soon as he heard that, Do Yuda stiffened his body and became nervous.
The owner of the voice was Kang Baeyoung, who had been nervously chewing on his nails the whole time. As if he had suddenly made up his mind after watching us talk, he spoke up with a sneer.
“Let’s stop with the pointless mind games and speak honestly. I’m the leader. I have the authority to make decisions about parts and positions … But honestly, I don’t think I’ll have good feelings toward the ones who voted for me.”
Upon hearing those words, both I and the other members fell silent, staring at him in disbelief.
‘….How on earth should I deal with such a stupid bastard?’
Kang Baeyoung’s method was stupid, but it’s very effective.
I didn’t expect him to say it so blatantly.
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Translator’s Corner:
My blood pressure seriously rose in this arc