It was the filming day for LeTi's returning in-house survival program, 〈Wise〉.
The atmosphere had changed a bit.
'Slowly, the outline of the list of debutants is coming out.'
Just by looking at the greeting given by the CEO before filming, I could get a rough idea of the angle.
"You're doing great. Let's make it a little more challenging."
"Yes!"
The criterion was not how positive he was.
"Jaehyun, be especially careful not to overdo your vocal practice."
"I will take note."
How specific was he?
How much did he care?
It was a level that people who started their social life early while working as trainees could naturally smell it.
"Excuse me… Your piercing looks really cool today."
"… ? Thank you for your generous words!"
Thanks to this, the contestants began to secretly talk to Kim Raebin, who was actually selected as the president's pick, saying, 'I think he will adapt really well to this agency in all aspects.'
'It's kind of interesting that the composition is so different from 'Idol Inc.'.'
And me.
"Have you prepared your mind? I'll see you at the podium."
"Yes."
This was another high praise.
The cameras were turned off for those who were eliminated in the preliminary round. Thank you for letting me know in advance that I passed.
"Recording is starting~"
This filming started with the announcement that the previous evaluation had divided the winners and losers into the honors and inferior classes.
"Phew…"
"Thank you!"
An intersection of joy and sorrow.
However, the most bloody content was scheduled for the next step.
Announcement of eliminated candidates.
They called me and the other guy who was an 'outlier' to the podium.
"Since you guys are already in the inferior class, only those who have done much better than the 14 people standing over there can survive. And that person…"
The president skillfully took his time and then spoke with a stern expression.
"Ryu Gunwoo."
"That's all."
The contestant who lost to Kim Raebin left the show.
The atmosphere had cooled, but the president didn't seem to have any intention of relieving the situation with good words.
He said this to me too.
"The moment you find yourself in a position of exclusion again, you will not be able to avoid elimination. Work hard with all your might."
If I became an "outlier" again, it just meant that I would be left behind.
"I'll keep that in mind."
Welcome.
Then, I wouldn't try to set a disadvantageous situation and cause myself to be left out. No matter how I looked at it, the boss didn't seem to want me to be eliminated.
'This is proof that the production team will not resort to strange editing in the next performance mission.'
Thank you so much.
I bowed my head. And I checked the current number of people.
Except for one guy who had a bad attitude on the stage just before and the CEO had him drop out…
'15 people.'
Since the number of people for this performance had actually increased compared to the first time, I thought that there would be another person eliminated from this performance. He needed to select a few more people so there would be more tension.
The moment I thought about it…
"But every event and performance has a maximum capacity. … There can't be more than 14 people."
What?
"Therefore, when an inferior member is revived, the participant with the lowest level of achievement so far among the existing members will be eliminated."
Right now?
Then, the president called several members of the inferior class and listed their pros and cons, and then said this.
"Participant Park Jonghoon of the 'Inferior Class' has been eliminated."
"…"
Suddenly there was an announcement of additional eliminated candidates.
The person called stumbled at the shocking result, and the participants standing around covered their mouths.
It really gave a sense of tension.
"Please leave now. Participant Ryu Gunwoo can return to his seat."
"… … Yes."
It seemed that this was why he sent the outsider away at once instead of creating a warm atmosphere.
To keep the atmosphere dangerous.
'It looks like he's having fun.'
As he gained popularity for being cruel, he must have developed a desire to become even more cruel. It wasn't a very good thing.
'In the end, even if it's not Idol Inc., will the show continue to follow this trend?'
The trend in which he would be so cruel that it broke the kids' mentality to make it more exciting and intense.
'It tastes a little bitter… Well, it's not bad for me.'
I waited for the guys to make room, then carefully entered the empty seat in the inferior class.
The guys standing next to me were frozen with faces that were neither welcoming nor sad. I kept my mouth shut and maintained a similar face.
'It's just a precaution.'
And when I turned my head, all the guys I was on the team with before were all in the debut group. Chaeyul and Shin-Oh's team also won.
I nodded inwardly.
'The arrangement is good too.'
It felt like questions like, "Weren't you worried about being the only one in the inferior class?" would come up in my personal interview. They would do this in order to add more drama.
"Thank you for your hard work."
After the bloody ranking and announcement of eliminated candidates, the lights went out on the stage. The microphone recording was also cut off.
"Hyung, I'm glad."
But the camera was still running, and the quick-witted bastard immediately started managing his image.
Cheongryeo.
"Hyung!"
"Thank you for your hard work!"
I looked at the other guys running along with him as if they were somewhat happy to see me. I spoke to Cheongryeo in a low voice.
'The progress is quite cruel. I heard it wasn't done this way before.'
'That's right A little more than before… The way the president expresses himself has become vulgar. The level is high this time.'
And he smiled and put his arm around me as if encouraging me.
'People will like it. Right?'
'…'
He had an excellent knack for talking about ideas like trash.
Anyway, the production team probably thought they had put too much pressure on the participants, so they lightened the mood a bit in the next content.
An event followed to adjust the pace by changing the program to a softer and more exciting tone.
The last time an event like this happened, I was excluded because I was "out of the league" and only did housework.
'Last time it was a public service advertisement… What is it this time?'
It was a pictorial for the album concept photo.
There were seven concepts.
"Now, let's discuss and choose the concept you want!"
There were conflicting opinions, concessions, and arguments. Since many of us already knew each other, passing things on under the guise of recommendations was happening here and there.
What about me?
"I'm fine with anything. I haven't taken many photos like this before, so I don't have any likes or dislikes. Everything looks interesting and good."
"Oh, oh! If hyung says that…"
How many photo concepts has Park Moondae from TeStar taken so far? Was there really a need to be picky here?
It didn't matter what I got. All I had to do was coolly give in and take good pictures.
However…
"Yes! Press to reveal the inside of your mouth a little more."
"…"
I… I didn't know that the concept with the keyword 'Tooth' meant that it would be a vampire concept.
Who was the bastard who put such an irrational concept in a survival game for people who hadn't even debuted yet? I understood why VTIC disbanded the first time around.
Still, the reviews were very good.
The interview went well too.
"I only took photos of other things before. It feels different now that I have become the full-fledged subject. Still, I remember the experience I had when I was filming… I tried my best to take pictures."
I just told them, "I was a college student in the photography club" and this and that.
Well, wasn't this a fresh and good story?
It may look a bit heinous, but that didn't mean I could say something crazy like "Haha, I'm tired of filming this kind of thing," so I chose the next best option instead.
"Do you think the photos will all turn out great? Thank you all for your hard work. We had fun filming today!"
"Wow!"
Anyway, when the event ended with a small amount of warmth restored… That night, the performance mission hit hard.
'It's merciless.'
"〈Wise〉. This is already the 4th performance stage. This theme, which requires you to show more progress, is…"
Now, the president made the announcement with the participants feeling nervous as if they were going to act every time they were called to the stage.
"It will be a 'battle for your position.'"
"… !"
"A battle…?"
As expected, the big picture remained the same. The main process I heard from Cheongryeo had not yet gone astray.
Now, for example, this was what the battle for that position meant.
-The next content is a group performance of a new song, and there is a preliminary competition to decide which parts the participants will get.
And the position to be contested was revealed on the electronic display board.
[Vocal A, Vocal B]
[Dance A, Dance B, Dance C]
[Rap A, Rap B]
The parts were divided into a total of seven sections.
And the president called the honors class.
"After looking at the pictorials you took, a private evaluation panel conducted a vote. The honors class has the authority to select parts first and in the order in which they receive the most votes."
"Ah, ah…"
The first name was called between the thoughtful guy and the guy whose expression brightened.
It was obvious who would be called.
"Shin Jaehyun."
The guy bowed his head once in humility, stood up, and immediately moved on.
[Dance A]
Next was Cha Eugene.
The members who were called individually took the remaining seats one by one after much deliberation.
And looking at all the positions filled, the president nodded and spoke.
"Now, each of you in the honors class has full authority to set the stage for this position competition."
"… !"
"Which song to choose and what kind of performance to perform are all personal choices."
In short, it meant, 'Do whatever you want on stage.'
And at this time, the seven participants from the inferior class were put on the stage created by the honors class as challengers.
"Why don't you try stealing the stage?"
Since there was a total of 14 participants, wouldn't it make sense if we paired against each other one-on-one?
No.
"You can apply for the part you want no matter how many other applicants there are. However…"
No matter how many people were selected… There was only one winner.
-Only one person who wins can perform the new song.
Nervous contestants looked at each other as they watched their parts.
'They haven't even told us what the specific parts of the new song are anyway.'
In the end, the most important thing was who I competed against.
Of course, here too, the order was the same as the pictorial vote.
"The contestant who will be the first to choose a position in the inferior class… Ryu Gunwoo."
And number 1 was me.
'Oh.'
What was I so surprised at? It would be even weirder if I couldn't beat young guys who hadn't even debuted 5 years ago like I did.
'If I couldn't do it, I would have had my head smashed by a sledgehammer.'
Instead, I nodded once and looked at the president.
"Please come out and choose your part."
Okay. I got it.
I quickly shook my head.
'If I ranked the positions in alphabetical order, the standard is…'
Did the letter rankings symbolize the length, level of difficulty, or order of appearance?
'But Cheongryeo chose Dance A… or whatever.'
In that case, the probability that the vocalist position would have more impactful parts if I chose A instead of B was slightly higher.
'Still.'
I moved my feet without hesitation.
And I stood.
"… … !!"
[Vocal B]
There was no other reason.
Weren't there specific factors to consider right now?
'My competitor.'
That was because the guy in the honors class who was the best singer here besides me chose this position as well.
"Contestant Ryu Gunwoo from the inferior class will compete with Choi Taejun from the honors class for 'Vocal B'."
Choi Taejun. His stage name upon debut was Bihan.
How did I know?
'Because I was the one who sold his data.'
Also, it was because he was the former main vocalist of VTIC who got kicked out because of that club scandal.
After renewing his contract, he was let go due to the incident. However, since he was the main vocalist of a first-tier idol group for 7 years until then, he wasn't an ordinary guy.
So if I were to point out this guy…
'It will definitely look challenging.'
And if he even won, the narrative of this survival contestant, Ryu Gunwoo, would gain momentum once more.
'It's about halfway through the program. I need to get the flow back.'
I politely bowed my head to the former main vocalist of VTIC.
"I'm looking forward to it."
"… … Um, yeah."
The guy nodded his head hesitantly… Well, should I call this guy Club Main Vocalist or Fomer Main Vocalist? Anyway, he tried to smile.
I stood next to him.
And I watched the situation unfold slowly. The inferior classes chose their parts one by one.
"I will do vocal A… !"
It may have been obvious, but even though they could enter any part without a limit, most people pointed to the remaining teams that had only one member from the "honors class."
'Because everyone will calculate probability.'
However, despite this, there were teams that couldn't be singled out even though there was only one person, perhaps because they felt it would be suicidal.
"There are currently no challengers for
Because the person in 'Dance A' with Shin Jaehyun.
'They know his skills very well.'
Since they were trainees at the same agency, they knew each other well, so they had enough information. They were good at looking at each other and taking care of themselves.
'Hmm.'
I saw Shin Jaehyun standing in front of the position display board without any competition.
And this point was the difference from the flow that Cheongryeo talked to me about in advance.
The original format was one person from the 'honor class' battling one person from the 'inferior class'. A one-on-one match.
Originally, this place had a one-on-one format with no preliminary rounds.
And in my opinion, in a survival stage like this, you could give up on a one-on-one battle, but there wouldn't be things like preliminary rounds.
So, there must be other elements at play.
-There are some variables this time, right?
What could it be?
"Of course, it won't end with just this. There will be other competitors."
"Ah, ah…"
"No way."
"The new contestants will be… The viewer supplementary group."
"… !!"
Okay. This was why they were recruiting new participants with an advertisement at the end of the program.
Seeing the participants reacting softly without realizing it, the president spoke as if making a statement.
"Please come out."
Pang!
With a small firework, meaningful background music played and another electronic display board opened.
'They have to do it quickly.'
Well, if it was delayed any longer, the fan base of the participants would be fixed, so the feeling that supplementary classes were too much of an obstacle would become too strong.
I nodded inwardly and clasped my hands behind my back, pretending to listen to what the president said.
"Don't think about the last supplementary class. These participants were selected from a larger pool of citizens after fully experiencing the rigors of the program."
He gave a nice compliment to the people who were hired in a hurry in just a week.
Even if he said it like that, the probability of a really great guy coming was infinitely low.
'I guess I'll just check the stats and pass it on.'
Unimpressed, I looked at the figures appearing beyond the dry ice.
There were 7 other people, and there was no one that really stood out… Wait a minute.
"… !"
When the smoke cleared, the human image was revealed, and in the very center was a familiar face that I had seen for years.
Recently, we had even been living together…
[Ryu Chungwoo!]
Why was he here?
I tried not to open my mouth… Wait, the camera caught me in close-up. They all knew that this bastard was related to me.
'No, fuck.'
What on earth was going on?
Ryu Chungwoo was smiling slightly as if he was a little embarrassed. He seemed awkward because it was his first time on a stage like this.
"The supplementary class participants will be holding a sign for the part they chose."
I lowered my head reflexively.
The sign he picked out in advance…
[Vocal B]
"…"
It was the position I had chosen.
[We're doomed…]
Be quiet.