Chapter 63
The outside world was in chaos, but that was its own problem.
The filming had to continue.
There was the final mission and the final vote to consider.
However, the atmosphere on set was inevitably gloomy.
Everyone was watching my every move.
This included not only the trainees but also the production staff.
The ‘Let’s Leave’ team obviously knew I was innocent, but the other teams couldn’t possibly know.
“Let’s do our best in today’s filming.”
Fortunately, Seo Baek-young seemed to believe in my innocence.
…Well, it didn’t matter.
“You too.”
“Doesn’t the PD have anything to say? Like how they’re going to announce it?”
“There was nothing. Not yet.”
“That’s too much. They should at least protect you somehow….”
“Well, they might be thrilled because the controversy has increased.”
Seo Baek-young looked at me with slightly surprised eyes.
Oops. Was I too honest?
“Aren’t you scared?”
“Huh?”
“Aren’t you scared of this atmosphere? If it were me… I would really want to give up.”
“Ah.”
So that’s what she meant.
“No, not really.”
“Why?”
“Because it’s not my fault.”
“!”
“It’s childish, but I really like the saying ‘innocent until proven guilty.’ So… it’s okay. Because I’m innocent.”
“….”
Seo Baek-young had a thoughtful look on her face for a moment.
“Cheong.”
“Yes.”
“Honestly, sometimes I find you really… strange. I didn’t know you that well, but… the you I first saw wasn’t like this.”
That makes sense.
I’m a completely different person.
“But still, I think I know that you’re a really upright person now. Tell me whenever you need me.”
“…Thank you.”
I was actually surprised.
I didn’t expect Seo Baek-young to say so much.
…It’s a strange feeling.
“Let’s go, the filming is starting.”
Seo Baek-young rubbed my cheeks vigorously and then left.
It was just before the start of filming.
“Now, let’s explain the final mission.”
The final mission was to be broadcast live.
This meant that our skills would inevitably be revealed.
Because there would be less post-production.
They couldn’t correct Kim Ryeo-yu’s tone-deafness even in a live broadcast.
“The final mission song is a total of three songs.”
PD Oh started to explain slowly in front of the camera.
“The first song, everyone will sing together. On one stage. You probably expected this.”
Everyone nodded their heads.
It would be a stage similar to ‘Wa’.
“The next second song, you will divide into two teams and sing. The two teams will each sing the same song.”
Hmm.
So far, there was nothing particularly surprising.
The real surprise would be from now on.
“The problem now is how to choose the team.”
“?”
“The production team will not interfere in the team composition.”
“!”
“You discuss among yourselves and form teams of five or six each, then come to us.”
The trainees’ eyes widened like rabbits.
“In this program, you have been watching each other. An idol group is not a place where you work together for just a few months. At least 7 years. If it’s long, you have to work together for decades. The relationship of a member is a special relationship that you can’t see in any workplace. More than a colleague, less than a family. But it’s also different from a friend. If you don’t like a friend, you can break up. Members can’t. After all, it’s business. But it’s also more than business. It’s a relationship where you have to pull each other to the end, whether you hate it or love it.”
More than a colleague, less than a family.
That was exactly right.
A comrade who must share the same hardships.
“Find someone you want to be in the same team with. And in the final live broadcast vote, you can vote for ‘five people’. That means, your fans-”
PD Oh said so, with a disgusting smile.
“Your members will also decide.”
Then, Kim Geum suddenly raised her hand.
“But in the end, only four people are decided by voting, and the remaining one person is chosen by the judges, right?”
“That’s right.”
PD Oh immediately agreed.
“But, everyone. Whether it’s a politician, a celebrity, or us.”
“…?”
“It’s not easy to completely ignore public opinion.”
“What does that mean….”
“Even the judges, they would want to choose a trainee who is between 5th and 7th place, right? Rather than choosing 11th place out of nowhere? They wouldn’t want to ignore the eyes of our Colorists. And in the first place.”
PD Oh coughed, clearing his throat.
“People’s eyes are there.”
…It’s been a while since he said something right.
“Form each team and try to create some chemistry. Do you know? Colorists who fell for the chemistry might debut that team as-is.”
It sounded plausible, but it was not an easy task.
To overturn everything with one stage… it’s like picking a star from the sky.
Unless you show an amazing chemistry.
“The last song is a fan song for the fans. Everyone will sing it. Think of it as a final farewell. Like a curtain call.”
…So far, everyone seemed to have expected it.
“Now, let’s try to form a team. You’re not going to be very lost, right?”
“Yes!”
Everyone nodded their heads vigorously.
“So we’re going to help you. We actually decided to have a ranking announcement after the fourth mission, right?”
“Yes!”
“We had a guerrilla concert instead of the fourth mission.”
“Yes.”
“We cancelled the fourth mission, but we didn’t cancel the ranking announcement. We’ve been counting the votes. And last night at 12 o’clock was the last.”
“!”
Of course, everyone was curious about how the ranking announcement would be.
Everyone knew that the voting had not been suspended.
Because even now, their families are contacting them every day saying they are voting hard.
They thought they would announce the voting results in some way….
But so suddenly?
“We… we’ve been busy too. So we’re going to have a simple ranking announcement now. The change is quite severe.”
The change is severe?
The trainees looked at each other with anxious eyes.
It was obviously not good news for the top-ranked trainees.
For the lower-ranked trainees, it sounded like an opportunity.
“First, I will announce the total number of votes. At the last ranking announcement, each of our Colorists could vote for up to twelve people per day. So the total number of votes was 2,130,108. But this time, each of our Colorists could vote for one person per day. So the total number of votes this time is….”
PD Oh, true to his broadcasting station roots, paused for effect.
Last time, each person could vote for up to twelve people, which made the staggering number of 2.13 million votes possible.
But this time, it was limited to one person.
Even if you simply divide by 12, it’s about 170,000 votes.
I wonder how many were recorded this time.
“The number of votes is… a total of 1,151,206 votes.”
1.15 million votes…?
Insane.
The trainees’ eyes were shaking.
“First, excluding the lowest rank of 11th place, I will announce from 10th place.”
Because Jo Hee-on left, the lowest rank naturally changed from 12th place to 11th place.
10th place
Shin Yu-hyun 21,394 votes (▼1)
9th place
Park Ha-eun 32,374 votes (▲2)
The lowest ranks had some changes, but there were no major reversals.
The expressions of the two people who were in the lowest ranks were, seemingly calm but desperate.
In a way, it seemed like they had resigned themselves.
The problem was, what came next.
8th place
Yeon Juhong 81,384 votes (▼2)
Just before, Yeon Juhong, who was just below the debut rank at 6th place, fell to 8th place.
Yeon Juhong’s expression was, of course, horrible.
Tremendous sorrow.
Eyes barely holding back tears that were about to burst.
I also expected that rank.
In this controversy, the person who was most affected after me was none other than Yeon Juhong.
The controversy had already been going on for two days.
There couldn’t have been no impact on the voting.
Yeon Juhong probably didn’t expect it either.
Even if she expected it, it would be hard to handle.
I moved to Yeon Juhong’s side.
And I hugged Yeon Juhong once and whispered in her ear.
“You can’t cry now. Absolutely not.”
Yeon Juhong, with a moist voice, whispered very softly, yes.
Hearing that, I patted Yeon Juhong’s shoulder.
It’s only for a moment.
This is also only for a moment.
I comforted Yeon Juhong for a moment and returned.
7th place
Lee Kyunga 92,937 votes (▲3)
On the other hand, Lee Kyunga’s rank, which was quite low, rose sharply.
Of course, there was a feeling of manipulation, but it was thanks to Lee Kyunga’s good work that she surpassed not only Yeon Juhong but also other trainees.
She had received quite a lot of attention in the <Fingertips> team.
So the problem is now…
6th place
Yoon Cheong 132,048 votes (▼5)
It’s me.
The expressions of all the trainees, except for me, changed drastically.
The down arrow in the rank change, which stood out more than the high number of votes of 130,000.
▼5.
A drop of as many as five steps.
From 1st place to 6th place.
From the likely debut rank to outside the debut rank.
No matter how prepared I was, it was a painful drop.
Wow.
The mental shock is huge.
The fact that I was able to receive that many votes is….
The controversy broke out at the end of the voting period.
My fans are trying to protect me in any way.
It’s a relief that I don’t have to make a comment because this ranking announcement has been reduced.
I’m a professional in my own way, but I’m not very professional right now.
Haha.
I’m awkwardly laughing, and someone is holding my hand.
“…Sis.”
It was Ryu Bo-ra.
I tried to push away Ryu Bo-ra’s hand.
I’m still the protagonist of the controversy.
If you get involved with me here, it won’t be good for Ryu Bo-ra.
But she held my hand so tightly that I couldn’t push Ryu Bo-ra away.
There was also someone holding my hand from the side.
It was Seo Baek-young.
No, I mean, it’s not good for you guys if you do this.
Even Kim Geum, who was next to Yeon Juhong, nodded at me.
Are they all fools?
They were really fools.
While I was desperately holding back my tears, the next rank was announced.
5th place
Lee Juseon 139,782 votes (▲3)