Chapter 81.
I tightly closed my eyes.
The remaining rankings were 1st, 5th, and 6th.
The remaining people were me, Kim Ryeo-yu, and Yeon Juhong.
I had to be 1st, and Yeon Juhong had to be 5th.
That was the scenario I had been preparing for a long time. At the very least, Yeon Juhong should be in the top five.
And Kim Ryeo-yu should end up in 6th place.
“It has taken six months. All three of you have spent most of your childhoods running towards this moment. The most precious teenage years, the fruits of your brilliance, have been colored by the colorists. However, unfortunately, not everyone can debut. One will be 1st and become the next Color Muse of Colors. Another will be 5th and the last muse. But one will be 6th and will have to find another journey.”
Do Hee-young flipped the cue card and looked at the camera.
“Thank you to the colorists who have been with us until this moment. Now, we will announce the grand 1st place.”
Do Hee-young turned her body and looked at the three of us.
Behind Do Hee-young, I could see the audience and dozens of cameras, and lights that seemed like they would burn our faces.
It was a scenery I had seen countless times.
I didn’t know why I felt so small at this moment.
I didn’t know why, at this very moment, I thought of someone I had tried so hard to forget.
In fact, since the moment I came into this world, I had been trying hard not to think about my mom.
I just engraved the word “1st” in my heart and tried to erase the word “mom.”
If I only thought about becoming 1st to save my mom, I felt I would be too cruel to others.
Like Kim Ryeo-yu, I might try to be 1st even if I had to trample on others.
But then again, I knew.
Mom wouldn’t want me to become such a bad person.
She would rather choose to die than to see me become like that.
But I was too weak to send my mom away like that.
All I could do was try to forget about my mom for a while.
“Congratulations.”
Mom.
Are you doing well?
Thinking back, Mom really didn’t want me to become a singer.
Now I’m starting again from the beginning to save you.
“Make a New Color. The final vote, 1st place.”
Am I doing well, Mom?
“Trainee Yoon Cheong.”
Pop,
With the sound of fireworks, a rain of confetti fell.
“You will debut as part of the next-generation girl group of Colors, <Steel Blue>.”
The sound of people’s cheers, the colorful confetti filling my sight, and the other trainees hugging me tightly.
In the midst of the overwhelming sensations,
Ding!
There was something that took all my focus.
[First wish: Debut as 1st place in the agency’s survival program ‘Make a New Color’.]
[Success!]
[Current wish fulfillment rate: 50%]
[Congratulations! You have fulfilled Yoon Cheong’s first wish! You have earned the opportunity to proceed to the next wish!]
[Time remaining until the next wish notification: 48:00:00]
[Time remaining for system update: 48:00:00]
[A major update is planned, please wait for a while.]
[Enjoy your 48-hour vacation!]
Vacation?
You must be kidding.
It’s not a vacation but the beginning of preparations for a new war.
The senses that had been numb returned as soon as I saw that message.
For now, let’s set aside thoughts of the distant future.
Right now.
It was time to repay the people who had run for me until the end.
I grabbed the microphone Do Hee-young handed to me with both hands.
“…Actually.”
As I brushed away the burden of having one more mission left and the longing for my mom,
I saw something.
“I couldn’t imagine reaching this moment. It felt too vague and too much for me, so I think I unconsciously avoided it. It just seemed like an impossible task for me.”
If I had started with only Baek Nokha’s memories, I would have naturally thought I could be 1st.
But the moment I had Yoon Cheong’s memories as well, my thoughts changed.
I was afraid of people and felt endlessly small.
Baek Nokha’s memories seemed to be trying to cover Yoon Cheong’s trauma.
“There were moments when I wanted to give up many times. I pretended to be strong and okay, fooling myself, but I think I wasn’t really okay. I was scared, hurt, and everything felt difficult.”
The lights were blinding and dizzying, and I wasn’t even sure if I was looking at the camera.
What I could feel for sure was someone holding my arm and hand.
“But the courage to keep getting on stage came from you all.”
I wanted to show Yoon Cheong as well.
The love and affection she deserved.
“As much as you opened the path for me, I will be with you at every turn you take.”
And I wanted to show Baek Nokha.
That no matter how lacking you are, there are people who love you.
So let’s set aside selfish and complicated feelings for a while,
“Thank you and I love you.”
Let’s focus on the people in front of us right now.
My heart ached.
Now, the remaining rank announcements were for 5th and 6th place.
The remaining people were Kim Ryeo-yu and Yeon Juhong.
But the only person on stage was Yeon Juhong.
“Currently, trainee Kim Ryeo-yu is unable to be on stage due to personal reasons. She will greet you separately later. We apologize to the colorists who have been looking forward to it.”
Do Hee-young continued speaking with a professional, flawless smile.
“Now, only the last member of Colors’ new muse, <Steel Blue>, remains.”
Do Hee-young made eye contact with Yeon Juhong, then turned her head.
“Make a New Color. Thank you for walking with us for a long time. Now we are really only left with the final announcement. I can’t erase the feeling of regret. But as there are many people waiting, we must announce it quickly. The last color that the colorists have painted is….”
The moment I saw Do Hee-young’s expression, I had a premonition.
I looked at Yeon Juhong.
Yeon Juhong also seemed to have a premonition.
The same premonition as mine.
“Trainee Kim Ryeo-yu.”
A very bad premonition.
“Congratulations, trainee Kim Ryeo-yu. Although she is not here, she has become the new color of Colors and will move forward as the next dream color.”
I really tried hard.
For the perfect scenario.
But one of my scenarios failed.
I looked at Yeon Juhong.
Yeon Juhong had already lost the strength in her legs and had collapsed.
All the trainees ran to her and hugged her tightly.
[Restarting in 1 minute.]
***
What the hell, you’re stopping here?
Mnet, are you 1-minute jerks?
Wow, this is really happening, lol.
A complete turnaround in just an hour… If a drama did this, it would be criticized for lacking plausibility.
Is Yoon Cheong really 1st place?
Real-time update (spoilers) Menucal final debut team.
5th: Kim Ryeo-yu
4th: Ryu Bo-ra
3rd: Seo Baek-young
2nd: Kim Geum
1st: Yoon Cheong
Congrats on debut!!
What about Yeon Juhong??? What happened?
└6thㅠ Didn’t make the debut team
└└? Kim Ryeo-yu debuted?
This is a comedy, Kim Ryeo-yu debuted and Yeon Juhong didn’t.
The fans must have voted like crazy for Kim Ryeo-yu.
└They went all out with voting events, lol.
Yoon Cheong is like a drama.
A perfect visual and main vocal from episode 1.
Involved in all sorts of personality controversies throughout the show.
Then suddenly Kim Ryeo-yu was accused of bullying and seemed to fall into ruin.
But nope.
It turned out Kim Ryeo-yu was a victim of politics.
And that was revealed in the final episode.
And 1st place.
LOL.
Was this the producers’ master plan all along?
Big-picture…
Yoon-bl’s acceptance speech was truly heart-wrenching.
You can tell she really suffered… But I’m so grateful she held on ㅠㅠ
But it was a bit disappointing that she didn’t mention her fellow trainees.
└Still this low-tier troll?
└└If you wanted them mentioned, you should’ve been 1st and mentioned them.
└└└LOL.
So will Kim Ryeo-yu and Yoon Cheong debut in the same group?
Ooh.
Awkward.
But Steel Blue is perfect except for Kim Ryeo-yu.
It would be perfect if Kim Ryeo-yu was replaced with Yeon Juhong.
But will she debut?
└She didn’t even show up for the final evaluation. I would’ve run away if it were me.
└└If she had the conscience to run away, she would’ve done it earlier. She’ll stubbornly debut.
By the way, am I the only one who laughed at the group name?
They announced it so naturally, lol.
Steel Blue was right.
There was so much debate about it.
It was reported from the beginning that the
group name would be Steel Blue, lol.
└At first, but Kim Mokyung said it wasn’t confirmed.
└└But it ended up being Steel Blue.
└└└Why are you taking it out on me? Complain to Kim Mokyung.
So who’s the center?
Yoon Cheong is 1st, so is she the center?
Nah, the center is definitely Ryu Bo-ra. She’s the definitive center type.
Yoon Cheong looks like a center too.
Honestly, if we’re talking about charisma and visuals, it’s Kim Ryeo-yu… But her image is ruined, so that’s unlikely.
└Even Kim Ryeo-yu fans don’t think she’s center material.
But if the five of them were in different groups, they’d all be definitive centers. Putting them together makes the competition fierce.
└True.
Are there any stages left?
Why are they not ending the broadcast and coming back?
No, there are supposed to be three stages today.
So is there more to come?
While everyone was curious about the unfinished broadcast,
Something else was happening below the stage.
“A tiresome result.”
CEO Hong smiled faintly as she looked at the two people in front of her.
The trainee who just placed 5th.
And the executive who somehow got that trainee to 5th place.
It should have been an admirable combination….
But it wasn’t; it was a combination that couldn’t be satisfying even if chewed up and spit out.
“Director Kim.”
“Yes.”
“What do you think, Director Kim?”
***
“The collaboration between Mnet and Colors. The global idol survival program, <Make a New Color>. The final ranking announcement and the debut team announcement have been completed. Now for the final greeting…”
As Do Hee-young smiled and tried to wrap up,
One of the producers hurriedly ran up, whispered in Do Hee-young’s ear, and handed her a new cue card.
Do Hee-young, with a very surprised face, asked, “Really?”
But eventually, realizing it was real, she nodded.
“Colorists, please stay tuned.”
Do Hee-young began to manage her expression as if she had never been surprised.
“Trainee Kim Ryeo-yu has decided to give her 5th place speech now.”
What the…
LOL.
So funny.
Sudden Kim Ryeo-yu.
The audience was buzzing.
But the ones whose expressions were most shaken were the ten trainees still on stage.
Regardless of the trainees’ reactions, Kim Ryeo-yu slowly walked onto the stage.
“Trainee Kim Ryeo-yu, having ranked 5th place, has made it into the debut team. Please say a word to your fans.”
Park Ha-eun handed her microphone to Kim Ryeo-yu.
Without even looking at Park Ha-eun, Kim Ryeo-yu roughly snatched the microphone.
“Hello, this is Kim Ryeo-yu.”