Chapter 65 - 65

Chapter 65

maintains the same concept from the beginning.

In a way that is impossible to predict and certain.

A structure in which the uncertain element of luck has a very large influence.

The format is set up so that the higher the rank, the more advantageous it is.

This third round is where the characteristics of this survival game stand out the most.

Each person can freely choose any song they want. There are no restrictions.

However, if you fail the battle of wits and are pushed out of that song, you will fall to a status where you don't know which song you will be picked for.

You will feel like you are going back and forth between heaven and hell in an instant.

"Hey, what are you going to do? "

Kang Si-yoon, who had finally taken the seat next to me, whispered very quietly.

"Siyoon, which song did you like listening to the most? "

"Honestly, I need to listen to it again to know for sure, but my first impression was that it was either deep house or R&B."

"Why did you choose these two songs? "

"Umm...."

Kang Si-yoon scratched his head and laughed after hearing my question.

"It was the song I did just before, right? It had a really refreshing and bright feel, so this time I wanted to create something of a contrasting image. If I just do the same concept over and over, the fans might get sick of it."

"That makes sense."

I tried not to show that I was surprised.

As expected, Kang Si-yoon is a guy whose mind works very quickly.

He chose the song with the same thoughts as me.

"And actually.... Oh, no."

"Why did you start talking and then stop? "

"No, no. I don't think we should talk about it now."

Kang Si-yoon was about to bring up another topic but stopped right away.

Seeing him mumble his words, I couldn't help but feel suspicious.

'Hmm?'

I instantly noticed a red light appearing before my eyes.

A sudden change appeared in Kang Si-yoon's status window and then disappeared.

[Status abnormality: 'Atrophy' is activated.]

[The status abnormality 'Atrophy' is removed.]

Kang Si-yoon's abnormal status was activated for a moment and then released.

There was only one instance where 'atrophy' was activated.

When Kang Si-yoon did the level test stage.

There was a time when he was performing on stage without any problems, but then the abnormality activated and started to shake violently.

And I haven't seen any sign of 'atrophy' being activated since then.

'I still have no idea what the trigger factor is.'

Considering the flow of conversation just now, it is clear that Kang Si-yoon was about to say something that would cause 'atrophy'.

But now that it has stopped like this, it is no longer possible to infer the exact reason.

I said it with a shrug.

"Anyway, back to the main point, I was thinking the same thing as you."

"Do you think the same as me? "

"Yes. Before going to the finals, I need to show as many different sides of myself as possible to gain an advantage. Therefore, I also wanted to choose a song with a contrasting vibe from ."

"Oh, wait a minute. You wouldn't do that."

Kang Si-yoon's eyes grew as big as a full moon.

And then, as if a very funny thought occurred to him, the corners of his mouth began to twitch.

"Are you going to choose ? "

"... That's what I'm thinking about for now."

"Hey, this is definitely a hit. A refreshing concept with Karis? I absolutely can't resist this."

"Of course you have to, Siyoon."

Whether I imposed sanctions or not, Kang Si-yoon was already in high spirits and clapped his hands.

"I never thought that our wink practice from before would lead to something like this! Hey, you really have to use the wink I taught you. Don't just wipe your mouth all day long."

"That, that pose just came out unconsciously."

"Hehe. Well, anyway, I guess we won't be on the same team this time either."

Kang Si-yoon fiddled with the paper as if he felt regretful.

I nodded weakly at his words.

'The more I look at Kang Si-yoon, the quicker and more cool-headed he becomes. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that he's currently my closest friend, and we could be on the same team, but he's giving that up and trying to move forward in the direction he wants to go.'

Insist on and implement the optimal direction for the current situation.

That strategic look reminded me of General Achenbauer, who helped me command my operations in .

"Oh, I'm having trouble deciding which one to write. Do you think would be better, or , Karis?"

Kang Si-yoon, who had been worrying a lot, sent me an SOS.

I thought about old memories.

'There's no guarantee that the trainees' choices will come out the same this time, but there's no more certain information than this.'

Both songs have achieved a certain level of popularity.

The problem is the combination to perform with Kang Si-yoon.

"Somehow, I think that would be better. Since you can teach the choreography yourself, a song with faster steps would be better, and also make the center stand out more."

"Hahaha, you already had in mind that I'd take the center?"

"Aren't you going to take it?"

"No, I absolutely have to do it."

Kang Si-yoon nodded as if he had made up his mind.

"Since I'm in 8th place, I don't think I'll ever be pushed back. Ah, I really wish I could be with good people."

"Who do you want to do it with besides me?"

"Honestly, I definitely want to take one of the Mebos. Yubin―"

"The probability of Yubin choosing is the same as the probability of the Earth being destroyed today."

"―Of course."

There is no way that Heo Yu-bin, who is not confident in his dancing skills, will choose with most difficult part.

The trainees were given 30 minutes to wrap their heads around the idea.

The moment it was confirmed that everyone had decided on the song they wanted.

"Then we will now begin. Please start with trainee Song Hyung-bin, who is in first place."

Instead of going in order of lowest ranking, we openly start from 1st place.

It is a cruel method that does not even give the lower-ranking trainees time to turn on their happiness circuit in the empty practice room.

Finally, it was my turn.

"4th place, trainee Karis von Walden, please start."

I walked slowly towards the practice room, which was a synth-pop genre practice room.

In my head, I kept recalling memories from the previous episode.

'There weren't many top-tier trainees who chose from the beginning. However, there were a lot of significant changes in this episode. Even though the format of the program remains the same, the trainees' choices are extremely varied.'

After all, nothing is certain.

I took a deep breath and grabbed the doorknob.

And without hesitation, I opened the door wide.

"Uh-."

"Ah."

And then I immediately made eye contact with a trainee.

Chae Eun-gyu, who was stretching while looking at the mirror in the practice room alone, smiled brightly.

"Karis! Are you here?"

"Yes."

"Great! Don't just stand there blankly. Come on in."

This was a bit unexpected.

Because in the last life, Chae Eun-gyu went to the future EDM .

Even if there were other trainees in the practice room, I thought it would never be Chae Eun-gyu.

Chae Eun-gyu, sitting next to me, tapped the paper he had written on.

"Did you want to do from the beginning, Karis? "

"After thinking about it from various perspectives, I decided that was the most reasonable."

"That's amazing. I thought I had to go to as soon as I heard about it."

As I continued to stare blankly at Chae Eun-gyu's face, an awkward smile returned.

"Maybe the refreshing image doesn't match up with me? "

"No, that's not true. But honestly, I thought you'd come to or ."

"If you think about the concept I've done, that's more accurate. But I wanted to break away from it a bit."

Chae Eun-gyu's fist clenched slightly.

"... I still want to prove that I can handle a variety of concepts."

Ah, I see why you suddenly changed this way.

'Cha Eun-gyu was clearly watching public opinion closely. He was the oldest among the remaining trainees, and he had almost debuted twice, so he must have been even more aware of it.'

In the end, everyone had similar thoughts.

Ahead of the finals, showing off a side of us that we had never shown before and show versatility to fans.

At the same time, it meets the areas that public opinion sees as lacking.

Focusing on these two thoughts, the third-round song was selected.

'There's nothing wrong with being on the same team as Chae Eun-gyu, who has outstanding leadership.'

Creating a high-quality stage is the top priority, rather than creating a unique image.

If there's a Chae Eun-gyu with great abilities, then he's truly a force to be reckoned with.

Of course, I don't know what else will happen in terms of quantity.

"Who would you like to come in?"

"Hyung, is there a trainee you were thinking of? "

"I thought this song would suit Hyung-bin well, but it seems like he went somewhere else. Hmm, among the remaining members, the person I want the most is Yubin."

I feel like Heo Yu-bin's value is increasing day by day.

As I've said many times, the main vocal position is extremely rare.

In particular, trainees who have to leave a strong impression in each competition will know well how much of an advantage it is to have a member who can sing high notes.

'I definitely feel like fits Heo Yu-bin the best.'

But soon, a trainee that no one expected opened the door wide and rushed in.

"Eun-gyu hyung! Karis nim!"

Yoo Minha ran towards us with his arms outstretched like a puppy and hugged us tightly.

"Ugh, ugh! Min-ha? Let go-"

"I love it! I already have a feeling that our team is going to hit it big!"

"Min-ha, it hurts. Please don't pinch my flesh."

"Oops, I'm sorry! "

Yoo Minha, who had calmed down, smiled faintly and held our hands.

"I really liked , and it was the most addictive. I felt like I could learn the choreography quickly, and the rap part seemed okay, so I decided right away!"

"I thought Min-ha would go to a place with difficult choreography."

"To be honest, I kept thinking about , but I thought the competition there would be fierce."

I nodded quietly.

Last life, also boasted about Avengers-level members.

There was a situation where 15 trainees applied for a song with a capacity of 6, and 9 trainees were kicked out.

I wonder if the same thing will happen again this time.

"There are six of us already? It's already half full."

"We're all ranked high too! "

2nd, 4th, and 5th places were chosen almost consecutively.

Now, I expected it would take some time until the next trainee came in.

"... There are already a lot of people gathered."

Even I, who always carefully manage my facial expressions, was surprised this time.

Even Baek Si-hwa, who came in 6th place, chose .

"Sihwa, come quickly. Let's do well this time too."

"Yes."

Chae Eun-gyu welcomed Baek Si-hwa with a lively smile.

Yoo Minha, who always exudes passionate energy, seemed very happy to welcome his friend.

"Min-ha, we're on the same team again? "

"Oh, yeah! That's right! We're on the same team three times in a row! That's so cool."

Yoo Minha seemed to be hiding a slightly anxious look somewhere.

I pursed my lips slightly as I watched his pupils tremble slightly.

An ominous feeling creeps in again.

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