Chapter 78
“Okay, now let’s get ready for the final stage.”
“Yes!”
The eleven trainees changed into their final stage costumes and took deep breaths.
Now, it was the last stage.
When this stage ended… the results would be announced.
Who would continue on the stage?
Who would have to step down?
Thinking about it was nerve-wracking, but everyone remained composed.
They had already imagined this moment and prepared their hearts for it over the past few months.
I was the same.
In my case, it was a bit more complicated.
If it wasn’t first place, it didn’t mean anything at all.
For the first time, I considered the possibility of failure.
I had done my best.
I had considered every possibility.
Even if I didn’t debut, or if I didn’t make first place… I had made sure the others could continue their group life more smoothly.
I had hinted to Hong Yeonseo about Kim Ryeo-yu’s past.
A person with any sense wouldn’t let her debut.
If, even after seeing that, they included Kim Ryeo-yu in the group for debut, there would be nothing more to say.
I’d just have to curse Colors.
At first, I had thought about exposing Kim Ryeo-yu’s past on the internet.
If I made it public, Colors wouldn’t be able to ignore it.
But this issue had a clear victim.
That victim might not want it to go public.
If I had time, I would have searched for the victim and asked directly about their wishes… but there wasn’t time.
It was also dangerous to do something like this with my face known.
So, I just sent a text directly to CEO Hong.
Luckily, I had received CEO Hong’s number during our last meeting.
There had been no response from CEO Hong yet.
Even if they decided to get rid of Kim Ryeo-yu… they might not do it immediately.
They could wait until the broadcast was over and then use a health excuse to send her away.
…Actually, everything I was doing depended on luck.
The mission to become number one was dependent on people’s hearts.
It wasn’t something I could control.
But strangely, I felt at ease.
Despite taking such a low-odds gamble, my mind was peaceful.
My mother would know.
She would know how hard I tried.
She would know how hard these girls tried.
Everyone did their best so that no one would feel wronged no matter who took first place.
Now, the only thing left was…
[The final stage by the eleven Colors trainees.]
The stage itself.
“Wait a moment, Trainee Kim Ryeo-yu.”
Just as the trainees were about to go on stage, a staff member handed a phone to Kim Ryeo-yu.
“You have a call.”
“What? I’m about to go on stage!”
“Yes, but it’s an urgent call.”
“Who is it from…!”
Kim Ryeo-yu held back her frustration.
“Who is it?”
“Director Kim.”
“!”
In the end, Kim Ryeo-yu took the call.
“The rest of you trainees, please go up.”
“Oh, yes.”
What was happening?
Everyone went on stage, unable to hide their curiosity.
***
Meanwhile.
On the most famous cyber leaker channel on OTube.
Ding!
A new video was uploaded.
▶ [Shocking! The Secret You Didn’t Know About Kim Ryeo-yu, School Bullying?!]
Huh, what’s this? There’s a video about Kim Ryeo-yu’s school bullying on the cyber leaker channel
└First time seeing the cyber leaker channel..? Don’t you know it’s half lies, half truths?
└└No, this time there’s real evidence…
└└└???
Sudden school bullying..?
Starting with that video, other channels began to upload videos one by one.
▶ [(Hot Issue) The Thing Colors Is Trying to Bury ㄷㄷ 12 Truths About Kim Ryeo-yu’s Middle School Bullying Incident]
▶ [<Compilation of Kim Ryeo-yu Controversies> The Truth About Kim Ryeo-yu’s School Bullying?!]
▶ [Yoon Cheong vs. Kim Ryeo-yu Tension… Actually, Kim Ryeo-yu Was the Bully? – Kim Ryeo-yu’s School Bullying]
Some videos seemed hastily put together by copying others.
But the earliest videos were different.
They contained disciplinary records from Kim Ryeo-yu’s student life, testimonies from victims, and statements from classmates.
-Good day. This is your quick informer, Tongtongbae. There’s a trainee that Colors is heavily promoting these days. It’s Trainee Kim Ryeo-yu from Mnet’s idol survival program <Make a New Color>. Just looking at her, you can see she has an enchanting charm, a very pretty and talented trainee. But this trainee has a shocking secret. I will now reveal the truth!
The cyber leaker O-Tuber showed Kim Ryeo-yu’s disciplinary records from her student life in the video.
-You can see here, Article 3. She received school service. And this is a record of the school violence committee being convened. The name of the perpetrator is hard to see here, but this student is Trainee Kim Ryeo-yu.
It seemed they hadn’t investigated thoroughly, as they quickly moved on.
But the next content was more shocking.
-We directly searched for the victim students. Since we are an account that cares about public interest and the victims’ feelings, we wanted to ask the victims for their opinions and see if they wanted to heal their emotional wounds. During our search, we managed to contact them. The victims still had lingering emotional pain. So, let’s hear directly from them.
-Hello.
The part the cyber leaker account trusted was this.
The victim.
The victim was directly interviewed.
-Oh, hello. Your face will be pixelated, so don’t worry too much. We will ensure your safety, so feel free to speak comfortably.
-…Yes.
-Since we are using an anonymous name, we will call you K. Ms. K.
-Yes.
-What kind of bullying did you suffer from Trainee Kim Ryeo-yu?
-…I was originally a trainee.
Although her face was pixelated and her voice altered, it was clear she was looking directly at the camera.
-Oh, a trainee? At Colors?
-Yes. It’s been a while since I left, but… after that incident… I completely quit trainee life.
-Was it because of Trainee Kim Ryeo-yu?
-….
K, the trainee, was silent for a moment.
But the silence didn’t last long.
-Yes. And… Director Kim Mokyung also told me to quit.
-Oh, really? Director Kim told you directly?
-Yes.
-Why? If they were going to tell someone to quit, shouldn’t it have been the bully, Trainee Kim Ryeo-yu? Why did they tell the victim, K, to quit?
-Because they are relatives.
-Oh, they protected her because they are relatives?
-Yes.
K struggled to speak, but the O-Tuber didn’t seem to care much.
-Then, how did Trainee Kim Ryeo-yu specifically bully you?
-When I first joined Colors… I received very good evaluations during the monthly evaluation. I didn’t start as a trainee there, but joined from another major agency.
-Oh, you received good evaluations?
-But… Kim Ryeo-yu, who had no interest in me before, suddenly started showing interest.
K shivered slightly.
Just thinking about that time made her tremble.
-I had transferred to a school near the agency… so I attended the same school as Kim Ryeo-yu. At first, I liked her attention. She treated me well and all.
-Yes, but then?
-But then she suddenly told me not to attend the next monthly evaluation. I said that was nonsense… that I’d be kicked out if I didn’t attend.
K took a deep breath and lifted her head.
She looked directly at the camera.
-That’s when she turned on me.
***
The cyber leaker’s video spread quickly.
Even the fans who had been defending Kim Ryeo-yu were silent at that moment.
Everyone watched the video.
Even those who were watching <Make a New Color> paused to watch it.
The video was shocking, detailed, and painful.
It was hard to even speak about, a cruel pain that made people gradually angry.
★
Isn’t this really insane? To think she would still appear on TV after doing such things.
She thinks she can crush others’ hearts and still be loved, it’s truly disgusting…
At first, I didn’t believe itㅠㅠ but the testimonies are so real..
Ahㅠㅠ At least she should have apologized to the victims before appearing on TV… Did she think she could cover the sky with her palm?
What about the people who supported and believed in you all this time? #KimRyeoYu_ExplainYourBullying #KimRyeoYu #MakeANewColor
Can’t they just do it with 10 people?; Mnet should take a hint.
While such turmoil was brewing behind the scenes, time passed, and there were only 10 minutes left for voting.
And the trainees stood on stage.
Of all times, the intro was,
After passing through the long tunnel of you
I became a light
It was Kim Ryeo-yu’s part.
Her eyes were red, but she was dressed more splendidly than anyone else.
Wow, she cried?
Why is she crying..? We’re the ones who invested months into youㅠㅠ
Damn, does she think she’s the only light? Putting others’ lives in darkness?
Did you really feel no guilt singing that song…?
She thinks she deserves to be a light? That’s creepy; if it were me, I wouldn’t even think of coming out.
We became countless lights
Sparkling
Not a light that
will just fade away
Of all times, the next singer was Yoon Cheong.
Sparkling
The world tries to blur us
But I’ll stay by your side as a light
Of all times, the one next to her was Yeon Juhong.
Whoever arranged this, it was a really interesting setup.
Damn, I don’t know if they knew or not… but this situation is just funny.
But… it’s just a leaker story.. When did everyone start believing those after dissing them so much?ㅋㅋ So hypocritical
└If this was the first incident, no one would believe it^^
└└It’s because it’s so long-standing,,
Damn, I once hoped it was just a misunderstanding, and I feel like burning my past self.
Me: I’ll believe
@: I’ll burn
Me:
It’s time to leave the fandom.. but before I go, I’ll vote for the others one last time.
But nothing’s been confirmed yet; can’t we wait?
└What if we wait and she debuts, and it’s true?
└└Then just have her leave.
└└└What about the trainees who lost because of her? Will you take responsibility for their lives?
At this point… she should just voluntarily leave.
I won’t leave you alone in the dark
Every day I’ll embrace you with lights of different colors
Under everyone’s cold stares.
We’ll shine brightly
Sparkling, you and I
When it was Kim Ryeo-yu’s turn,
Shine on me
Shine on you
Kim Ryeo-yu ultimately put down her microphone.