"Great job~."
"Yeah! Great job."
After the performance ended, The Dawn returned to the waiting room and gulped down some water.
I also finished a bottle of water and placed the empty bottle on the table before sinking into the sofa. Suddenly, the wardrobe manager approached, holding the velvet ribbons I had brought, and began retying the ribbons for me. Kang Ichae, who was sitting next to me, poked me.
"Take it easy~. Can you untie the ribbon one more time?"
"Once more?"
As I teased him back, Kang Ichae chuckled.
Sung Jiwon and Kim Seonghyun, who were struggling with their outfits, had to adjust their clothes again, while Jung Dajun nonchalantly wandered around.
"Hyung! When are your abs coming out??"
"…Dajun, stop playing around with Ichae."
The youngest member was becoming more and more like Kang Ichae.
Kim Seonghyun looked at Jung Dajun, who was sticking to him like glue, with a disgusted expression.
"Oh?! Hyung, high fives is starting!"
Aware of the cameras around for reactions, the members gathered around.
This team also chose a famous song.
[We go High We go High]
"Is this a Black Call senior's song?"
How did they choose that song?
This song was from Black Call, and despite not being active, it was popular enough to have dance videos uploaded on YouTube for fan service.
It was definitely chosen by Try, but it was taken by High Five.
Maybe they'll include the raccoon washing cotton candy meme in the edit?
I heard that although Joo woo sung advised High Five, it was too dry and didn't have enough content, so it might be heavily edited, according to the staff's passing comments.
[Are you ready
Now it's time for me to leap]
Still, High Five nailed it.
"Is it a pilot concept?"
"Seems like it."
With a pilot concept, their outfits were perfect for fans of geeky aesthetics, and their individual abilities were outstanding, typical of members from a major agency.
If they're from the same agency as Black Call, there must be many people to advise them, even without Joo Woosung, and with a strong fandom and ample capital.
They would have delivered an energetic performance no matter what song they chose.
'Impressive.'
Especially the leader, Kang Yeonhoo, stood out to me.
Setting aside my initial impression of him as intimidating, his vocals were better than I expected.
Sung Jiwon was intensely monitoring the screen.
[If you're scared, don't ride, just watch my move]
'…Well done.'
Being called the next generation's representative leader doesn't seem like an exaggeration.
The previous three groups also delivered outstanding performances. However, High Five's performance stood out from the rest in terms of intensity.
If The Dawn had a similar concept...
"They would've been overshadowed."
They would have been overwhelmed, squeezed from above and below.
No matter how talented they were, whether it was their agency, their backing, or their capital, they would have been pushed aside in this competitive arena.
If there's a gap, you have to fill it with something else.
[We go High We go High]
"We'll soon find out the rankings!"
At the staff's announcement, Jung Dajun clenched his fists.
No group here hadn't worked hard, especially under Joo Woosung's guidance, so there was a hint of expectation on the members' faces.
Meanwhile, I was preoccupied with different thoughts.
"Only live audience and expert votes count?"
After the face-to-face event, or the first round of competition, I approached Lee Jihyeon
Despite still seeming busy, her face lit up, as if everything had been sorted out, which was quite a change.
She nodded before speaking.
"That would be too much pressure. The Dawn can't compete in terms of popularity,"
"Right, that's my concern."
"In that case, don't overdo it in the first round. Otherwise, you'll have to endure something you can't handle without votes."
"...Is such a thing possible?"
I asked hesitantly, and Lee Jihyeon explained with a smirk.
"Tsk tsk, Seo hyun, you're still quite naive..."
"…."
"Go and prepare yourself mentally."
It sounded somewhat belittling to hear from a PD, but ultimately, Lee Jihyeon was right.
Given the tremendous audience response, it made sense.
At the time, Lee Jihyeon also mentioned concerns about potential scandals.
'No.'
There's no need to worry about that.
"Hyung! The rankings are out!"
Later reactions will prove it.
"Starting from third place!"
While Jung Dajun excitedly chatted away, I opened a new bottle of water.
The Shining Star logo appeared on the monitoring screen.
"In third place, TEW! TEW! They received 3,100 points from audience votes and 1,000 points from expert votes, totaling 4,100 points!"
As expected.
Next.
"We will now announce the 4th and 5th place!"
As Kim Seonghyun had predicted our ranking to be 3rd, everyone tensed up at his comment.
No one had expected to be in 4th or 5th place.
"In 4th place, it's Bercy!"
Screams could be heard from the adjacent waiting room.
"And in 5th place, it's The Try!"
That's okay too.
"...Huh?"
I was the only one here who remained calm.
The announcements for 3rd to 5th place were done.
"Now, only 1st and 2nd place are left..."
The expressions of the members gradually shifted from anticipation to surprise.
Meanwhile, brief clips of High Five and our performance alternated on the screen.
"...What's going on?"
"…What?"
Jung Dajun grabbed my sleeve tightly, his expression frozen.
The camera crew focused on Jung Dajun, capturing his intense reaction.
"In 1st place---!!"
"-With 4,200 points from audience votes and 1,200 points from expert votes, totaling 5,400 points, High Five takes the lead! Congratulations!"
The results hadn't fully sunk in yet, and the members remained quiet.
Then, a small sigh escaped Jung Dajun's lips.
"Wow..."
"By default, The Dawn will be in 2nd place. Well done!"
2nd place.
It was the ranking The Dawn had achieved in the first round.
"…Wow, amazing!"
And then, they all stood up abruptly.
"See."
As a ranking, it proved the audience's response to our performance.
While aiming for 1st place wasn't out of the question, it was tough.
Each audience member was allocated two votes, and according to the rules, they couldn't allocate all their votes to one group. Ultimately, it was beneficial for us, who had aimed for a completely different route from High Five and ended the finale gloriously.
"There we go~~!!"
"We got 2nd place~!!"
Excited, the members gathered in a circle and started playing "Duck, Duck, Goose." Even the calm and composed Sung Jiwon joined in.
"Hey, let's go."
It was time to go up on stage to say goodbye.
"Yeah, let's go!"
Jiwon, still feeling uneasy, patted Seonghyun's back as they left the waiting room.
As everyone passed through the backstage area, I sensed TEW, who had placed 3rd, glancing over at us.
"…"
Especially the expression on TEW's vocalist didn't seem too pleasant. Jung Dajun glanced at him briefly before discreetly turning his head away.
I observed the situation with courtesy and greeted them with a smile.
"Great job out there."
"…Thank you, great job to you too."
"…Congratulations!"
The cameras were rolling.
Naturally, the members of TEW also glanced at us briefly before offering their congratulations.
TEW, as a group under the same label as Black Call, was expected to rank similarly to High Five, and they managed to secure 2nd place today.
Despite having a sizable fanbase and popularity, they were surpassed by us today.
"…2nd place-."
"…RIALPL…. -the Dawn…-."
Whispers followed us as we passed by.
"…Hmm."
Witnessing our youngest member, who hardly ever showed emotion, gaze expressionlessly at TEW as they moved ahead, I smirked.
Was he mocking them?
No, he was probably trying to conceal his satisfaction.
It seemed incomprehensible that we, who had anticipated failure with a song that was expected to flop, had achieved such a high ranking. Watching them force smiles in front of the camera, I found it amusing.
"Seonghyun, let's go up."
"Oh, okay."
I kept the promise I made to Seonghyun when we chose the song.
"But why do you look so satisfied?"
"We got 2nd place."
"Well, that's true!"
However, Seonghyun, who couldn't possibly know my true thoughts, simply walked ahead with the expression befitting his high ranking. I matched his pace, trying not to fall behind, as we ascended to the stage.
Unlike the ecstatic members, I felt excited for the things to come.
Bang!
At that moment, fireworks exploded and confetti rained down, celebrating High Five's 1st place victory in the first round.
And then—
I met eyes with Kang Yeonhoo, who was at the center of it all.
I couldn't help but admire.
'Wow…'
The message in his eyes wasn't just a reproachful gaze towards the lesser-ranked groups but rather a sharp boundary sent to competitors, devoid of any resentment.
'Hmm, that's a bit different, isn't it?'
But even that gaze vanished in the blink of an eye, replaced by a sparkling idol-like smile.
I smiled back and led the members back to the waiting room.
"Good job, let's go back."
"Yap yap~."
Excitedly, Jung Dajun hopped over and spoke to me.
"Hyun, you know."
"Hmm?"
"We really, really, really worked hard! I'm happy that others recognized it!"
His cheeks were still flushed with excitement.
"Is that so satisfying?"
"Yes!!"
Although we had proven our skills with good results in the blind test, we lagged behind in pre-voting due to our lack of recognition and ended up in last place. Despite that, the current result seemed satisfying to him.
"Of course, we don't know what will happen next time. But we have to try our best. If we work hard, we'll definitely come back!"
"…."
"…No? W-will we not be able to get first place?"
Jung Dajun blurted out his words and then glanced at me as if seeking confirmation.
"Well, yeah. I might have gotten a little carried away and said something dreamy..."
And I didn't quite like that.
"Jung Dajun, come here."
"…?"
I had raised him to be confident, but was he still lacking?
I gently untied the velvet ribbon and wrapped it around Jung Dajun's head, tying a pretty bow for him.
It suited him, like cat ears.
"…???"
"Phew."
Jung Dajun looked at me with a puzzled expression.
As I reminisced about my twenties, I still stood by Jung Dajun, who seemed like a young child.
"...What are you doing?"
"Jung Dajun, what are you even talking about?"
"Me?"
Thinking it would be nice to take a picture like this and post it on The Dawn's official fan page, I poked the chubby cheeks of the youngest member.
"I'm Seo Hoyun."
"...So?"
"Don't you get it yet?"
If I said well have it, well have it
"Bang bang ah, let's wrap up with some final thoughts."
Jung Dajun's eyes widened even more.
And then, he quickly got emotional and stuffed the ribbon into his mouth.
"I'm really excited...."
"Why are you like this?"
Don't take me on a roller coaster ride to become the final winner of Shining Star.
---