Chapter 14
A lot happened overnight.
First of all, the
The production itself was of such high quality that it felt like the long rehearsal was worth it.
The set itself was also quite well received for being neat and cool, thanks to the hard work that KNet put into decorating it.
At the same time, the full video of
It was time to take a closer look at the many faces that they briefly saw during the live broadcast.
Viewers replayed the full video dozens of times, trying to find their favorite.
At 11pm that night, the trainees' profiles were all released on the website, and additional information poured in.
The impact of these events was roughly the same as last time.
The explosion of an idol community with a large number of active people.
I was able to witness with my own eyes the strange phenomenon of 50 new posts being uploaded every time I pressed refresh.
It was now the day after the sun rose, but the number of comments on the best posts was still enormous.
I lay on my cell bed and turned on my cell phone.
It's a short break until the next convocation, and perhaps I should invest some time in surveying this public opinion.
'Let's open the lid and take a look.'
If there's one thing I realized while participating in
How did the editing go that day?
Otherwise, depending on how the portions are distributed, the way the trainees are viewed will continue to change.
This time, I decided to figure out community opinion from the beginning.
If you have a glass mentality, you might get knocked out right away after seeing a few posts, but fortunately, my mental strength has been trained in the rotten game called
First, I clicked on the article that is currently ranked first in terms of firepower.
[
This article briefly explains the few clues that have been revealed so far, so it contains a lot of my subjective thoughts.
First of all, I saw a lot of rumors that the Awake debut group members would be here, so I took a look, and they definitely caught my eye. Especially Song Hyeong-bin? He's tall and handsome. He seems like a good pick. I also organized the profiles of the other members of Awake.
(picture)
The looks seem good, but since it's such a big agency, I don't know how or when they're going to debut... I think they're not the debut group, but the kids who were pushed back from the debut group
Other than that, there are some who received an A grade (based on the IP1 standard) based on the circumstances, and of course they would be the ones from the
Anyway, I got the profiles by matching the faces and names of the kids on the central platform. There are a total of 12 people!
(Photo) (Photo) ....
There may be some good gemstones in B and C, but they are harder to find. You can probably watch the rest on TV.
And I'm sorry to say this, but it seems like most of the floor members will be eliminated in the first round... They're just so bad and their faces aren't that great eitherㅠ
It looks like the information summary article was uploaded very quickly.
I felt the importance of ranks again while reading articles that mainly deal with trainees who received Tier 1, i.e., the central platform.
'After all, viewers' first impressions are determined by the rating. So, it was effective to aim for Tier 1, even if it meant forcing it.'
As expected, trainees from large agencies were receiving considerable attention.
The members who debuted in the previous
'Song Hyeong-bin in particular... is definitely confirmed to debut unless there is a natural disaster.'
It was natural since he was talented and had outstanding visuals.
Perhaps knowing his popularity, the production team also took quite a few one-shots of him during the
Having watched the video in advance, I was a little worried.
In a 4-minute video, Karis von Walden only appeared alone for about 5 seconds.
So I thought I would be pushed back in the early attention fight.
―Wow, I picked this guy right away. He's really so handsome....
└What is his name? Is he a foreigner?
└ㅇㅇ I read his self-introduction profile and he was from Estonia, but his grandparents have Korean blood in them, so he has liked Korea since long ago. ㅋㅋㅋㅋ He also taught himself Korean + how to sing and dance
└Oh, the profile picture is okay, but the video is so good? Isn't it more of a profile picture?
└(Gif) If you look at this, you'll automatically say that he can't take pictures, right?
└Oh my god, why didn't I see this? Did I doze off for a bit?
└Karis, this guy is the visual top of IPS??? Even though he's Western, he doesn't have that weird feeling at all, and his eyes are black, so it's not awkward
└Ah, I get what you mean by that unique feeling of incongruity. That's really important. LOL This guy really looks like a sculpture. He looks like an avatar from a game.
└If he were a foreigner, he wouldn't have to do any military service. This is so stupid.
└Then what are you going to do about it…?
The ripple effect of SSS, which is truly a looker, was greater than expected.
The length itself was very short, but it had a one-shot near the highlight, which could be called a key point, and the wink at the ending wasn't cut, so it had a decent amount of content.
It's a moment when I feel the intense reward of having endured extreme practice and mastered the wink.
'I guess this can be considered refreshing.'
I wasn't captured on camera much, but it definitely caught the eye of experienced fans.
The perfect blueprint for drawing a narrative has been created.
And that night, the first trailer was eagerly uploaded to YouTube.
[
An opening that uses brilliant editing techniques.
When I saw the
Trainees entering a set with a grand scale.
And the judges stare at them like lions catching a glimpse of fresh prey.
[I have really high expectations when I see your profile.]
[Do you think you'll be able to dance really well?]
[Oh, I feel it. I feel it.]
[I hope it goes well.]
After a long period of anticipation-filled lines, the mood suddenly turns upside down.
Trainees who lower their heads, trainees who bite their lips, and trainees whose pupils shake as if they were in an earthquake pass by very quickly.
The judges, whose eyes had turned as cold as ice, sighed and placed their hands on their foreheads.
[I'm so disappointed.]
[If that's the case, why did they come out as a group? They don't get along, they can't sing, and they don't communicate with each other.]
[Is this all you have to show here right now? Really?]
[No, no. Ha.... Isn't this a bit much?]
[I have to evaluate this now?]
A close-up of Bae Kang-woo's face, with a cold smile as the decisive blow.
He paused for a while, holding his pen as if in disbelief.
The absence of any BGM during this time created an even more bleak atmosphere.
[Who are you kidding?]
I bit my lip and looked closely at my phone screen.
KNet chose a very provocative and strong editing style.
I took a close look at the scenes that appeared after Bae Kang-woo's extremely high-level lines.
'Thank goodness it's not our session.'
It was probably the same harsh criticism that was heard during the cell session led by Bae Kang-woo.
The tearful images of trainees appearing one after another also seemed to have been taken from a variety of places.
If they're going to do patchwork, at least make sure the costumes are similar.
It seems like they were too busy making the trailer to double check it.
[I could.]
[I won't give up.]
[I didn't come out to fail in the first round. I will definitely... I will definitely show you.]
[What I can do.]
The sound was filled with softly ringing determination.
And then the judges' cheers, which had changed 180 degrees, struck my eardrums.
[Yeah, this is it!]
[You did so well? I didn't expect that at all.]
[I can finally feel a little better now. It was the best, really.]
[It was a great show. Oh, it was so good to hear!]
[It may be my personal opinion, but I think all the controversy will end with that one visual.]
Here too, I was secretly worried that Karis von Walden's part would not be shown at all.
The moment I heard Choi Sia's last comment, I felt relieved.
This is a comment after my level test, so at least in the early part, I won't be cut with a knife.
[The first global vote for
[The first global vote will be held until March 8th. For more information, please check the KNet
[※Important※ Please note that a new
After the trailer ended, subtitles dubbed in Choi Sia's voice came out.
People who are watching the show for the first time probably don't know what 'Fever Time Voting' is.
I later thought back to the second round of voting, which would cause major waves.
Now all the preliminary procedures are complete.
In order to make a more proper debut, the real work starts now.
The first round, the rival team battle, is about to begin.
* * *
"Did you guys have a good rest?"
The main auditorium of the
The 96 trainees who had diligently gathered nodded to Choi Sia's question.
As usual, the air was filled with tension, but today the density felt even thicker.
Because everyone knows what the large panel displayed in front means.
"Today is the first round of
The noise of the participants chattering amongst themselves suddenly stopped.
Choi Sia seemed to like the sight and continued with a faint smile.
"As the name suggests, this is a battle between rival 'Cell' teams. Do you all remember your Cell and the roommates you used to spend time with?"
"Yes!"
"Each cell will be unconditionally assigned to a team. Then, during the song selection process, you will be grouped with other cells, and each group will have a total of 6 people."
When we heard the news that our roommates would definitely play the first round together, the first one to grab my arm was Heo Yu-bin.
"Ka, Karis hyung nim! I'm so, so glad!"
"Are you glad we became a team?"
"If I had been teamed up with people I didn't know, I would have been speechless and just become mute...."
"We're going to be paired up with another cell we don't know anyway. Isn't it the same thing?"
In the meantime, Kang Si-yoon grabbed my other arm and quietly threw the facts away.
After hearing my words, Heo Yu-bin opened his mouth very slowly.
"... What should I do?"
"It's okay; it's okay. You don't have to be so nervous because you have Karis and me. You're a Tier 2, bro. Tier 2. You'll never get caught up in anything."
It was Kang Si-yoon who had completely mastered the skill of appeasing Heo Yu-bin while sharing a room with him.
The situation was brought to a close just before Heo Yu-bin fell into a state of panic.
"This isn't the end. There are 8 songs in total, and each group has 6 people. In other words, the final number of people per song has to be 12 to ensure perfect distribution."
Choi Sia raised her hand to emphasize that she was talking about something important.
"One song will be shared by both the Red Team and the Blue Team. After each cell selects a song, you decide whether to go to the Red Team or the Blue Team. You will be grouped into a randomly matched cell. The Red Team and the Blue Team that are formed in this way will have a rivalry match over the same song. Does everyone understand?"
"It's completely random."
"I don't know what song the other cells will choose, and even within that song, the choices are different...."
"It feels like a real game when it's 100% pure luck."
The atmosphere in the room became agitated again.
But that wasn't the end.
"But there might be many cells that choose the same song and the same team, right?"
"Yes-!"
"If such a situation inevitably arises,"
Choi Sia's voice lowered.
"Teams with lower average cell ratings are automatically pushed out. In other words, the higher the rating you get in the final rating evaluation, the more certain you are of selecting the song you want."
As the additional rules were revealed, the trainees were busy looking at each other's clothes.
"Hey, what's our average grade?"
"Hey, we're screwed! We're all Tier 3."
"9h my god...."
"I don't want to be pushed out from the start...."
The lower-ranked cells swept their faces away in despair.
The higher-ranked cells nodded with a relieved expression.
Meanwhile, the two guys next to me were getting extremely excited.
"Hey, hey! Our level is so high!"
"Since my two hyungs are Tier 1 and I'm Tier 2, we'll never be pushed out! We can do almost any song we want!"
"It feels so good?"
"Me too!"
I know you guys are happy.
But I wish they would stop pulling my arms like rubber bands on both sides.
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