Chapter 72 |
Seo Yuseong once said,
When Seo Yutae said, ‘It’s so-so‘, that person had above-average skills.
When Seo Yutae said, ‘It’s okay’, that person had a high level of skills.
When Seo Yutae said, ‘It’s quite good’, that person was someone who could debut as a professional.
When Seo Yutae said, ‘They have good skills’, that person would succeed in that field.
And when Seo Yutae said, ‘I really like it’,
That meant that person had a natural talent.
I had no idea I was categorizing people like that. It was truly a subconscious thought. Every time he said such things, I scoffed at him and told him not to say nonsense.
“What am I, some kind of talent detector?”
But as always, Seo Yuseong knew me better than I knew myself.
The kids I had marked because I liked them really turned out to be gems of talent.
Of the people I was directly involved with, there were only five that I really liked. Seo Yuseong. Jay. Do Yuda. Lee Hwayoung.
“I really like it, but there’s still a lot of room for improvement.”
And Nagi Zen.
To make their differences easy to understand, for example, Seo Yuseong could be compared to a crown studded with countless jewels. He was a finished product after all gemstones had been polished and the design had been finalized based on his own unique style. That was Seo Yuseong.
Compared to that, Do Yuda was a gem that had just been placed in the hands of a jeweler and begun to be polished. Having grown significantly since the second mission, he would soon take on the form of a proper gemstone.
‘The only performance I couldn’t see because of the stage order was Zen’s, but I never imagined this outcome would happen.’
And Nagi Zen was like a gemstone buried deep within a rock. Though no one recognized its value yet, it was a gem waiting to be discovered.
‘I felt it would be a waste to just leave him alone until he debuted, so I tinkered with it a little. But I never thought he would grow this much on his own.’
Looking back, Nagi Zen was a really strange guy.
“I am ssssh ssshh snake, Zen.”
“I will make the trainers faint.”
“Tsuitekoreruka?”
Before appearing on this program, Zen had probably never stood in front of many people, yet he never once seemed nervous on stage. And every time he was on stage, he always showed what he had practiced … no, even better than what he had practiced.
In most cases, if you practiced 100%, what you showed on stage would barely be 80%, no matter how hard you tried. That’s why performers had to keep practicing constantly and could never be satisfied with their current state.
‘To be able to show your 100% on stage, and even exceed that with 120%, in such circumstances is a remarkable talent.’
‘Born Performer‘ was what you would call someone like him. As long as he was properly taught during practice, he could perform it flawlessly on the real stage. Whether this talent was accidentally acquired due to his slow-witted personality, I couldn’t say, but regardless, if his goal was to become an idol, it would be a huge help in the future.
Another factor worth noting was that Zen and I had a great compatibility.
The compatibility between an artist and a producer was a crucial factor that could determine the artist’s success. In this case, Zen being assigned the Charisma Concept in the concept voting seemed to have greatly contributed to this outcome.
‘The song for the Charisma concept used the hook I created exactly as it was.’
Although I haven’t watched the entire performance, I could guess that the synergy between him and the song was great.
For the above reasons, I had a general understanding of this result.
But there was still something that didn’t quite add up.
‘Up until the middle of the training evaluation, I thought it was decent, but it wasn’t a performance that stood out enough to win second place.’
The changes that should have happened gradually occurred far too suddenly. Although the groundwork was laid during the second mission, achieving such results in such a short period was really difficult.
It was clear that there was some kind of help.
I quietly moved to Zen’s side to clear up my curiosity, “What happened after the trainer mid-term evaluation?”
At that, Zen widened his eyes slightly in surprise and pursed his lips into a small ‘O‘.
“Oh. How did you know? That’s amazing. As expected of Leada.” Then, he nodded and spoke in his usual tone, “Cha Woon-sunbaenim personally came to help me practice. Thank him five thousand times.”
“Cha Woon-sunbaenim?”
Cha Woon helped him? I almost unconsciously stiffened my face in bewilderment, but managed to maintain a calm expression.
Get a grip. There are cameras everywhere.
When I calmly asked the question, Zen obediently began to explain.
“Yes, he said he absolutely couldn’t stand by and watch us waste the song like that. He was very angry.”
“When?”
“It was an hour or two after the mid-term evaluation.”
“…….”
‘So it was after our conversation ended. What on earth caused the change of heart?’
If it was Cha Woon, it made sense. He had a similar build to Zen, and their voices were somewhat alike, so there must have been plenty he could advise him on.
I couldn’t understand why that guy, who had been busy attacking the trainees throughout the mid-term evaluation, suddenly changed his mind and decided to help Zen.
“I worked hard. Every day, I practiced everything Leada taught me during the second mission without missing anything. I listened carefully to what Cha Woon-sunbaenim said. I listened to what Kiryang-hyung said. Victory.”
“You worked hard. Congratulations.”
‘I should monitor the performance later when I get back to the dorm.’
I ruffled Zen’s hair, his eyes sparkling as he gave me a look that said he wanted to be praised. There was something bothering me, but I had to praise him first.
“Thank you. Congratulations on being the first, Leada.”
Then, Zen, with his ears turned bright red, bowed deeply like a folder being folded1 and congratulated me.
“I’m sure all of the trainees were surprised by the unexpected results. The teams that will receive the benefits of this third mission are the first place, the Refreshing Concept team, ‘Marine Marine!‘, and second place, the Charisma Concept team, ‘Growl‘. Once again, congratulations.”
Yang Hajun guessed that our conversation was over and immediately summarized the results of the contest.
But despite his summarization, the trainees didn’t stop whispering. What started out as a whisper or two grew louder and louder, until the area became as noisy as a market.
Yang Hajun on stage was so flustered by the situation that he even glanced toward the PD.
“So Nicholas’s team won’t get any benefits?”
“Isn’t this the first time? Nicholas missed out on the benefits.”
If there are people whose rankings have risen, there are naturally those whose rankings have dropped. This was to be expected. However, the problem was that the trainee whose rank had dropped was someone completely unexpected.
[3rd place: Chic Concept Team (Center: Kim Songki)]
Han Seungbeom and Lee Hwayoung.
The seemingly unbeatable Top-Two duo of Survive IDOL had collapsed.
This was enough to shock the trainees. Unable to hide their surprise, the trainees immediately began to analyze the cause.
“But if you look at it, Nicholas’s individual vote ranking hasn’t changed, so it’s hard to say he’s fallen.”
“Nicholas’s vote count was second, so how did his team end up in third place? He brought in so many votes.”
“I even remember that this time, his vote count was so great that the difference with Han Seungbeom was only five votes.”
Finally, the conclusion was made. The conclusion was that Lee Hwayoung was not the cause of this result.
‘This atmosphere is quite something.’
Lee Hwayoung, like in the previous competition, earned a high number of votes. Since his vote count was similar to the top vote-earner of the first-place team, it could be said that Lee Hwayoung did his best.
In the end, the problem was that the vote counts for the remaining members were terrible.
“…….”
“…….”
All the trainees turned around and looked at the members of Lee Hwayoung’s team. Since it wasn’t their business, no one spoke out in criticism, but there was a clear rebuke in their eyes.
The members of Lee Hwayoung’s team seemed to realize this, and their heads were bowed deeply.
In the tense and hostile atmosphere, where it felt like everything could break at any moment, there was only one person who could speak up.
“I did my best. When all of you said that the multiple stage transitions might make you confused, I even handed over my parts.”
It was Lee Hwayoung.
“But what is this?”
“…….”
“…….”
At Lee Hwayoung’s question, the members clamped their mouths shut even tighter.
A few cameras that had been set up for broadcasting turned towards Lee Hwayoung’s team, and the main PD instructed Yang Hajun to wait for a moment.
“If the result is like this despite my best efforts, then someone else must be responsible.”
“…….”
At the endless silence of the members, a vein popped on Lee Hwayoung’s neck. No matter how angry he got, Lee Hwayoung never lost his composure. He never behaved violently or rudely. However, that calm anger only made the members feel even more tense.
“Oh no. What should I do, hyung?” Do Yuda, who had tugged slightly at the hem of my clothes, let out a small groan that was only audible to my ear. He was worried because Woo Kangwon, who was very close to him, also couldn’t escape Lee Hwayoung’s reproach.
“Stay still.”
Do Yuda seemed to want to stop the situation, but I had no intention of doing so. Unless someone was lacking social awareness, intervening in this situation would be crossing the line.
‘…I don’t even feel the need to do that.’
If Do Yuda had heard the thoughts that followed, he might have fainted.
I tried to suppress my thoughts about Woo Kangwon and watched the situation.
“Nicholas, calm down for now. I fully understand how upset you are, but I think you need to calm down a little. Getting this worked won’t change the results.”
Sensing that the situation was gradually heading in a serious direction, Woo Kangwon forced a smile and tried to calm Lee Hwayoung. In response, Lee Hwayoung looked up at him fiercely and asked,
“How can you smile in this situation?”
“Wait, hear me out….”
“Am I the only one who was serious? Did the rest of you come out here just for fun?”
“…….”
Woo Kangwon’s words were interrupted by a series of harsh questions.
‘….That kid has totally lost his mind.’
Despite Woo Kangwon’s desperate efforts, Lee Hwayoung seemed even angrier than before. His eyelids, which had once closed gently, gradually opened, revealing the full round shape of his irises. Woo Kangwon’s face hardened as he met that fierce gaze.
‘Among the members, Woo Kangwon stepping in has actually made things worse.’
In this mission, since the number of votes Lee Hwayoung and I received was similar, it could be said that the winner was determined by how many votes the second-most-voted trainee got.
[ Individual Vote Ranking ]
1st place: HAN SEUNGBEOM
2nd place: LEE HWAYOUNG
3rd place: DO YUDA
4th place: NAGI ZEN
5th place: BAEK KIRYANG
6th place: KIM SAEMYEONG
In my team, Do Yuda played his part well, and in Zen’s team, the 5th and 6th place performed well.
However, Woo Kangwon, who was in a similar position in Lee Hwayoung’s team, was unable to fulfill that role at all. And Lee Hwayoung knew this and pointed it out precisely.
“How in the world can you … I asked how you could still smile after seeing this result.”
Woo Kangwon’s face turned deathly pale.
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Translator’s Corner:
- “Folder bow“, bowing at 90 degrees, like a folder being folded. Idol who first famous for this kind of bow was G-Dragon from BIGBANG. ↩︎
You know, despite his attitude, Nicholas actually speaks very beautifully. I mean, very polite. Very demure. He never cursed at all or even used any slangs word. (Very different from MC who’s calling people names every 5 minutes)