Chapter 120
Here were the ranks and scores of other teams from the rival voting.
2nd place: Cha Yul (40 points)
– Best team votes: 2 votes
– Worst team votes: 0 votes
Joint 3rd place: MaxBurning, Sugar Dream (30 points)
– Best team votes: 0 votes
– Worst team votes: 0 votes
5th place: Kim Ryeo-yu (10 points)
– Best team votes: 0 votes
– Worst team votes: 1 vote
6th place: HiHiHo (0 points)
– Best team votes: 0 votes
– Worst team votes: 5 votes
Thus, the combined rankings with the pre-voting results were as follows.
Joint 1st place
Steel Blue, Cha Yul (90 points)
Steel Blue: Pre-voting (40 points) + Rival voting (50 points) = 90 points
Cha Yul: Pre-voting (50 points) + Rival voting (40 points) = 90 points
3rd place
MaxBurning
Pre-voting (30 points) + Rival voting (30 points) = 60 points
4th place
Sugar Dream
Pre-voting (20 points) + Rival voting (30 points) = 50 points
5th place
Kim Ryeo-yu
Pre-voting (10 points) + Rival voting (10 points) = 20 points
6th place
HiHiHo
Pre-voting (0 points) + Rival voting (0 points) = 0 points
As a result, HiHiHo was confirmed to be eliminated with a total score of 0 points.
People here were really cold-hearted, as no one gave a sympathy vote.
It was expected, but still.
Oh.
Who did we vote for as the best?
Of course, it was Cha Yul.
We gave the worst vote to HiHiHo.
For the voting-related interviews, everyone fairly said a few words.
[Cheong: The best team our team chose is~]
[Juhong: Cha Yul sunbae-nim!]
[Bo-ra: The worst team is… it’s really unfortunate, but…]
[Geum: We chose HiHiHo sunbae-nim.]
[Geum: The performance was great, but it was disappointing that the arrangement didn’t highlight HiHiHo sunbae-nim’s unique charm.]
[Juhong: Our sunbae-nims are really charming and amazing people, but it seemed like they couldn’t show it all, which was a pity….]
Good job trying to sugarcoat it, guys.
Producer: How do you feel about being the first team eliminated?
[Pia: …It’s very disappointing… but it means we were lacking in skills.]
[Lumi: ….]
Caption: Lumi ends up shedding tears.
[Lumi: I really wanted to show a good performance on stage… I feel like I’ve let everyone down…]
[Lumi: But still, I’m grateful for this precious opportunity.]
Thus, HiHiHo was eliminated without much attention.
“…”
Ding!
As I was sitting quietly in the waiting room, preparing to leave after the filming ended, I received a message.
CEO Hong Yeonseo
I heard HiHiHo was eliminated today.
Are you satisfied?
Surprising.
I didn’t expect CEO Hong to be so meticulous about these things.
CEO Hong Yeonseo
Thank you for your help.
That’s right.
In fact, HiHiHo’s early elimination… wasn’t completely unaffected by me.
How did that happen?
It started with a conversation I had with Seo Baek-young a while ago.
***
“We came to a conclusion.”
Seo Baek-young said, looking at me.
“How you were able to change so much.”
To be honest, I was as nervous as I was during the announcement of the 1st place in the Make a New Color competition.
I couldn’t even guess what kind of answer would come out.
“…What conclusion?”
Sometimes, from someone too straightforward, an unimaginable answer could come out.
“Because we couldn’t protect you… it seems you decided to protect yourself.”
Hmm.
That was really an unexpected answer.
“I did a lot of self-reflection. There were times, though briefly, when I distanced myself from you. There were moments I wished not to be on the same team as you.”
I didn’t respond.
It was a difficult issue.
Honestly, if it had been the real Yoon Cheong, I would have hesitated to debut with her too.
That was how severe Yoon Cheong’s stage performances were….
It was because of the harassment from her former agency and Kim Ryeo-yu, but how could the other trainees have known?
Seo Baek-young didn’t know about those circumstances at all.
Based on skills alone, it made sense not to want to debut together.
“But thinking about it now, I should have at least asked you for a reason. Why you froze up with nerves during every monthly evaluation. Why you always messed up during actual performances…. You must have had your reasons too.”
Seo Baek-young looked at me with a genuinely remorseful expression, fidgeting slightly.
I suddenly wondered how Yoon Cheong, watching all this, might be feeling.
Would she feel a bit comforted hearing this apology?
Considering she had sent me a separate mission not long ago, it seemed she was still watching over me.
I wondered if her heart felt any better.
I couldn’t know.
I was Baek Nokha, not Yoon Cheong.
So, in the end, I responded in Baek Nokha’s way.
“You didn’t know either, unnie.”
I wasn’t sure if this was the right thing to say.
If I was wrong, I hoped Yoon Cheong would tell me.
“Not knowing and making mistakes because we’re clumsy… we can correct those little by little. I’ve also made mistakes out of ignorance and clumsiness. It’s the same for you, unnie.”
Since no alerts came, it likely meant Yoon Cheong’s feelings aligned with mine.
“Thank you for your apology. That’s enough for me.”
Seo Baek-young then apologized a few more times, and I reassured her that it was okay.
…Yoon Cheong.
I hoped this apology could help your heart.
If not—
“But unnie. So, you’re in contact with CEO Hong now?”
I hoped the revenge I was about to exact would help your heart.
“That’s… right? Why do you ask?”
“There are a few things I’d like to request regarding this round of <Top of Idol>. Could you help with that?”
“Hmm….”
“It’s a proposal that CEO Hong has no reason to refuse.”
Seo Baek-young’s gaze noticeably wavered.
She probably couldn’t fathom what I was planning.
“It’s nothing major. Just a small request.”
Yes.
Probably a very small one.
***
I didn’t know what Seo Baek-young told CEO Hong.
But since I received a response right away, she must have conveyed it as best as she could.
**CEO Hong Yeonseo**
What do you want?
Oh, it’s nothing major.
**CEO Hong Yeonseo**
CEO
Please make the mission song for this survival round either ‘self-arranged by members’ or ‘arranged by a designated program arranger’ only.
Not long after, a reply came from Hong Yeonseo.
**CEO Hong Yeonseo**
010-XXXX-XXXX
I ordered that the arrangement outsourcing be fixed to this number.
If there are additional requests, relay them through my secretary.
It’s risky if you deliver them directly.
That was to be expected.
Still, it felt like Hong Yeonseo was paying some attention to us.
Probably because Seo Baek-young had shown reliability until now.
It also meant that we had the leverage to shake Director Kim.
I planned to thoroughly exploit that point from now on.
I made one more request to Hong Yeonseo’s secretary.
‘Make HiHiHo’s mission song arrangement as close to the original as possible, without being too obvious.’
The closer it was to the original, the more they would have to rely solely on their skills.
HiHiHo did not rely solely on ‘skills’ in the process of determining the debut group.
I wanted to show how disastrous that was.
That malicious intent that lacked skill wouldn’t last long.
***
Thus, HiHiHo was quickly eliminated.
Of course, they didn’t go quietly.
“…”
Just before leaving after <Top of Idol>, I ran into HiHiHo in the waiting room.
When Pia saw me, she avoided eye contact, and Lumi glared at me openly.
The other two members were looking nervously between Lumi and me.
Their eyes were swollen; they must have cried a lot in the waiting room.
Honestly, none of them had any conscience.
They were the ones who had bullied Yoon Cheong, causing her to voluntarily leave the HiHiHo debut team.
There’s a saying that those who make others cry will shed tears of blood themselves.
“Goodbye, sunbaenim.”
I bowed 90 degrees.
Why not bid farewell to those leaving?
Soon, they’d be all over the community forums with titles like ‘Idol Eliminated at Super Speed in Survival Show’ or ‘Idol’s Live Performance Disaster.’
“…Yoon Cheong.”
Just as I was about to leave after saying goodbye, Lumi called out to me.
“Yes, sunbaenim?”
“You really…”
Lumi’s eyes flashed angrily, but she suppressed it, conscious of the people around her.
Then, realizing it was just us, she spoke again.
“Are you still holding a grudge over what happened?”
“What?”
“Otherwise, why are you acting so strange?”
Strange, you say.
I was behaving as politely as possible compared to what you did.
“What incident are you referring to, sunbaenim?”
I had to suppress a laugh, but I couldn’t.
“Are you talking about making someone so miserable that they left the debut team? Or spreading malicious rumors even after debut?”
“…!”
Lumi’s mouth dropped open.
“Did you see on <Make a New Color> when Hee-on mentioned that a former trainee from her previous agency was talking behind her back about me? Everyone’s curious about who that was.”
“You… do you have proof it was us?”
“There seems to be at least one witness.”
At the word “witness,” Lumi’s mouth snapped shut again.
“You must have done a lot to feel guilty about… I’m not sure which incident you’re referring to. Could you be more specific?”
Lumi’s face turned as red as it could burst.
“Cheong.”
At that moment, Pia, who had been silently observing, spoke up.
“You’ve been holding onto a lot, haven’t you?”
“No.”
I hadn’t been holding onto anything.
Yoon Cheong might have, but I didn’t.
I leaned in and whispered to Lumi and Pia, loud enough for all four members of HiHiHo to hear but not the surroundings.
“Why would I be holding onto anything? If anyone’s holding onto something, it’s probably those who are eliminated and leaving, right? Even if they want to let it out, they won’t have the chance anymore.”
I tried my best to put on a kind smile.
Honestly, it wasn’t easy.
“You probably won’t have many opportunities to come to the broadcast station anymore, so feel free to say everything. I’ll listen attentively.”
At my words, the faces of the four HiHiHo members twisted with anger.
Well.
I simply looked at each of them in turn.
You lacked both character and skills, which is why you failed.
That’s why you won’t have many opportunities to come to the broadcast station.
But we’re different.
“If you have nothing to say… I’ll be heading off now.”
I said this and stepped away from Lumi.
Then, I spoke loudly.
“We have a lot of schedules tomorrow too. I’d like to get some rest.”
Let me say it again.
You failed.
But we didn’t.