Chapter 77
In fact, Yoon Cheong’s image had not been particularly appealing as a ‘person’ until now.
Although she was appealing as an idol, she wasn’t very appealing as an ‘attractive person.’
Director Kim didn’t want Yoon Cheong to have a lot of screen time.
Most of her screen time was either essential or with other people.
Therefore, viewers often didn’t understand why the trainees followed Yoon Cheong so much.
But why does Ryu Bo-ra like Yoon Cheong so much? Is it some kind of magical woman thing?
Maybe Kim Geum is a Yoon Cheong fan? She only looks at Yoon Cheong all day, lol. Look at the camera,,
The team looks like a bunch of meerkats and their trainer. Of course, Yoon Cheong is the trainer.
She must be really good to them off-camera… There must be something that isn’t shown on the broadcast, which is why they like her so much, right? I want to see that too… I want to be taken care of by Cheong Cheong, too,,
It’s funny how Seo Baek-young becomes a little sister in front of Yoon Cheong, my babyㅠ
But with this screen time,
viewers finally started to understand a little.
Why the trainees followed Yoon Cheong so much.
Why they trusted and believed in her despite all the rumors.
★
Ah, but if someone like my competitor took care of me like this…? I wouldn’t be able to resist. I’d just start looking for English kindergartens,,
Ah, but thinking about how all my comments have been searched one by one makes me feel ashamed. But! I want you to see it! But! It’s so embarrassing, however! Cheong Cheong, look here! #YoonCheong
She’s like a teacher, taking care of our kids’ mental health and guiding their careers,,
My tear glands are being destroyed, she must want to debut herself, but she pushed those feelings aside to take care of her members first. Where can you find a trainee like this? Nowhere,,
A trainee who wrote a thesis on the charm points of other trainees.
[Capture]
…
Today is the last broadcast!
If you want to support Yoon Cheong, who is sincere to people, please send a text with the number 8 to #16XX.
It’s number 8!!
Starting from 11:30!
Please support our gentle and kind trainee, Cheong Cheong.
I don’t even watch this show, but I’m moved… The thesis is touching, but her talk about sincerity hits home. It’s something you can only say if you’ve experienced it yourself…
└22… The thesis is warm, but it strangely touched my heart. I’ll vote!
Isn’t she the trainee who had that controversy? It looks like she’s been through a lotㅠㅠ I’ll vote.
I’m also a worrier, so I can relate a lot.. I hope things go well for her.
It was the first moment when Yoon Cheong became ‘trainee Yoon Cheong.’
And became ‘person Yoon Cheong.’
[Thank you for waiting. Our strongest supporters, Colorists.]
And from that moment,
[The time is now 11:30. It’s time for Colorists to color these little dreams themselves.]
The voting began.
***
Two performances had ended.
Now, there was only one performance left during the one-hour voting period.
All the trainees were waiting below the stage.
Because a PPL broadcast of the sponsored tint was currently airing.
[Geum: Wow. It’s really moist.]
[Juhong: It’s orange, just like my name!]
[Juseon: So. Be. Au. Ti. Ful.]
Anyone could tell they hadn’t debuted yet from the awkward broadcast.
The trainees squirmed as they watched the awkward broadcast.
The most natural one was Ryu Bo-ra.
No.
Actually, Ryu Bo-ra hadn’t done anything special either.
She just applied the tint to her lips, but it looked plausible.
Even the caption said,
Caption: As expected, born to be an advertising star…!
The trainees started to look at Ryu Bo-ra with resentful eyes.
“Why is everyone looking at me like that?”
In front of the camera, Ryu Bo-ra gave the prettiest smile in the world.
Among fans, Ryu Bo-ra was known as an angel.
Baby deer, angel, princess, all the best nicknames in the world were hers.
Because she was thorough in managing her image in front of the camera.
…But behind the camera, she was a thug deer.
No, deer didn’t even suit her.
A tiger or… a predator would be more appropriate…
The brief PPL video lightened the mood a bit.
But actually, the trainees weren’t feeling very good.
Does Colors really want to debut Kim Ryeo-yu that badly? The protective shield…
└Because she’s Colors’ official princess.. From the start, being Kim Mokyung’s niece…
The scandal wasn’t small, and yet they forcibly protect her. Look at how the bystanders use that ‘King can do it’ logic to shield her.
Yoon Cheong wasn’t the only victim… In fact, all the other trainees suffered a lot; the mission was canceled because of Kim Ryeo-yu.
└Is that Ryeo-yu’s fault too? Point out her mistakes, but don’t bring in weird things.
└└Wow, there are still people who shield Kim Ryeo-yu. Your love is truly stubborn. Please go to the end with that stubborn love.
Extreme fans of Ryeo-yu are really disgusting. Nobody wants your Ryeo-yu, take her yourself.
It was obvious to viewers from the broadcast that Kim Ryeo-yu was being heavily protected.
It showed how desperate Colors was to push Kim Ryeo-yu.
It was so blatant that it was disheartening.
Not only Team Desperate, but even Team Winners’ morale was at rock bottom.
Because many of them were lower-ranked trainees, it was worse.
At first, they thought, is it because I’m lacking? Am I not good enough to be loved?
But gradually, their doubts turned in another direction.
Even in the last broadcast, there was almost no screen time unless it was an interview about Kim Ryeo-yu.
Bang Suin, Shin Yu-hyun, and Park Ha-eun barely appeared.
Because the training process of Team Winners was almost all focused on Kim Ryeo-yu.
The narrative was always about Kim Ryeo-yu.
Everything was edited to show how much Kim Ryeo-yu was struggling and how hard she was working to overcome challenges.
How could they show their charm when they didn’t even appear on the broadcast?
At least Team Desperate, even if they had less overall screen time, had their moments equally shared.
Team Winners’ training process was 20 minutes. Team Desperate’s training process was 12 minutes.
But out of the 20 minutes, 17 were essentially Kim Ryeo-yu’s.
Team Desperate had everyone’s screen time included.
The trainees of Team Winners began to regret their choices.
Why did I agree to be in the same team as her?
They felt like mere background props at best.
Even the PPL video was shot by team, but in Team Winners, only Kim Ryeo-yu appeared.
They all filmed it together, but only Kim Ryeo-yu was broadcasted.
It was such obvious favoritism that even viewers noticed.
Wow, isn’t this crossing the line..? My second favorite is Suin, but she’s completely excluded, not even appearing.
Is Kyunga just there to help Kim Ryeo-yu hit high notes? At least let her appear in the PPL video.
While everyone was forcibly holding back their dissatisfaction,
there was one person who was unusually quiet.
“Writer.”
“Yes?”
Yoon Cheong looked at the camera and Writer Kang, and smiled.
“Can I vote for myself too?”
“Uh….”
Writer Kang thought for a moment and then nodded.
“I think you can?”
“I’ll do it too!”
“Huh, then me too. Every vote is precious.”
As Yoon Cheong got permission, the trainees who had been watching her took out their phones.
The camera didn’t miss capturing this cute scene.
So, all eleven trainees sent a text together.
But not everyone sent a voting text.
One person sent a different text.
And another person received that text.
“!”
The person who received the text was,
“Huh.”
Hong Yeonseo.
Also known as CEO Hong.
“Director?”
Director Kim, sensing something unusual, called her.
CEO Hong was currently in one of the Mnet meeting rooms with Director Kim.
Because their idol group was on the verge of being born.
“Director Kim.”
Once an idol group was formed, they had to take responsibility for Colors for the next seven years.
Of course, they wouldn’t be responsible for all of Colors’ revenue.
But in a sense, it was not an exaggeration to say they were responsible for the ‘next generation’ as a whole.
The rookie group held that much significance.
That’s why the stubborn Hong Yeonseo had ended her reclusive life and come out into the world.
“…Yes?”
Director Kim couldn’t have been unaware of the importance of this rookie girl group.
Because Director Kim was the head of the rookie development team.
CEO Hong trusted Director Kim enough to leave the verification of trainees entirely to him.
She didn’t think Director Kim would ruin her own future.
But that was CEO Hong’s mistake.
CEO Hong rubbed her head against the creeping headache.
So this is it, Yoon Cheong.
This is why you couldn’t compromise with Kim Ryeo-yu.
Why you didn’t want to debut with her no matter what.
Most of the trainees compromised, but only Yoon Cheong didn’t.
Yoon Cheong knew one more thing.
Something that could be a fatal crisis for the entire team.
“Did Director Kim cover up Kim Ryeo-yu’s school violence?”
“!”
Director Kim’s reaction was… a trembling silence.
But more than anything, it was a clear affirmation.
So, he covered it up.
CEO Hong bit her lip hard.
Trusting a person was a mistake.
“Seeing your reaction, it must be true.”
It’s too late to undo.
She couldn’t turn back time.
Now she had to make a choice.
Whether to cover up what Director Kim had covered up.
Or to uncover what Director Kim had covered up, even if it was late.