Chapter 75
The beginning of the third round of practice narratives was exciting.
I was glad that Ken Hashimoto was there, but Kang Si-yoon and I had different interests.
"Hey, what was that trailer just now? What happened to your group? "
"Something did happen."
"Why, what on earth? What was it that made the production team edit it so carefully and meaningfully?"
Kang Si-yoon, who was sitting next to me, was more excited than I, the person involved.
He completely turned away from the TV screen and was staring at my face.
I shrugged my shoulders toward him.
"I remember what happened, of course. But the trailer came out quite a bit shorter."
"It came out in an implied state? "
"Yes."
"Why is Eun-gyu hyung looking so angry? Did you mess up your midterm evaluation as a group? But you did well on the actual stage. What on earth is causing you to do that?"
Kang Si-yoon, who had been asked the same question several times, made a face as if he had no idea.
After tapping his fingers on the table a few times, he calmed down a bit and asked.
"First of all, what exactly happened during your training session? "
"Here's what happened."
I told the whole story.
The things that Baek Si-hwa did over the center part, his hostile relationship with Yoo Min-ha, and the conversations that Chae Eun-gyu and I had in between.
Kang Si-yoon, who had been listening to my story, became very excited again when he heard that Baek Si-hwa tried to harm Yoo Min-ha.
"Wow, that jerk was fighting from the start. Isn't he really crazy? If he knew how to think properly, he would never do that. No, who would rush in and assault a fellow trainee in the dormitory? It's not like there aren't any cameras at all, and there are makeshift cameras installed all over the practice room hallways."
"That's what I'm saying."
"It's a good thing you were there; Min-ha was almost seriously hurt. Wow...."
Even as the show was in full swing, our conversation was focused solely on the trailer.
Kang Si-yoon took a sip of water and slowly said:.
"To sum up, Baek Si-hwa got greedy and did some serious trolling."
"Hmm."
"But in the trailer, they completely omitted the scenes where Baek Si-hwa did something wrong and implied that there was a dispute in your group regarding the center position."
"The audio of us calling Baek Si-hwa was also cleverly cut out."
"No matter how much I think about it, it seems like the production team intentionally included this information to draw attention. Man, I guess they thought your group would be quite aggro-prone."
Even though it wasn't a story about his group, Kang Si-yoon analyzed it with considerable interest.
I also thought for a moment about what intention the production team had in releasing this trailer.
'Well, it's a spoiler if you reveal that Baek Si-hwa did something wrong from the beginning. The production team must want to attract the buzz to their souls now that there are not many episodes left to air.'
They cleverly cut out all of our lines directed at Baek Si-hwa.
Then quickly came all the other team members' faces.
It's true that one of them did something wrong, but they have no idea who the villain is.
'If they release a trailer like this, they are giving the national managers a reason to keep watching the show. In short, it is a method to secure viewership by instilling in their minds the idea that they absolutely cannot skip the next episode.'
It also provides good bait for new incoming visitors.
There will definitely be people who start watching the show to find out who the trainees are who appeared in the trailer that caused a stir.
This is an episode where it seems like the production team put a lot of thought into it.
"I don't know what happened, but it is definitely going to draw aggro. Whether it works out well or badly."
"Let's think about this topic later and focus on the broadcast."
The team's practice narrative was now being broadcast on TV.
We watched the scene where Heo Yu-bin took the main vocal position while receiving cheers from everyone.
"It looks like Yubin went to Lo."
"That song is perfect for showing off his vocal abilities."
"I was worried that he would lose his confidence again because he didn't have any close friends, but he had gotten a lot better."
Seeing him practice with such passion, I couldn't help but feel proud.
He has changed so much that I wonder if he is the same Heo Yu-bin who hid under the blanket when I first met him.
[Baek Chae-hyun: I trust and listen to Yubin's part. It's so refreshing.]
[Heo Yu-bin: Okay, thank you!]
[Baek Chae-hyun: The high notes are high, but I was surprised at how solid the low notes in the first verse were. It's so perfect that I don't need to do anything to fix it.]
Heo Yu-bin, who even received rave reviews from Baek Chae-hyun, smiled brightly beyond the screen.
These days, he eats well and exercises regularly, so it feels like his image of being sickly and weak has somewhat disappeared.
In this way, Heo Yu-bin successfully completed the main stage, and the team members hugged each other and shed tears.
"I can't believe Yubin has grown so much. I feel like crying."
"His experience in the second round must have had a big impact. In the first round, there were many familiar faces, including you and me, but in the second round, he was with trainees who he might have felt a lot of pressure with."
"I heard he talked a lot with Hyung-bin?"
"I think he gained a lot of confidence through the process of gathering opinions with Hyung-bin."
Kang Si-yoon stretched and turned his waist from side to side.
"Hmm, I guess it's my turn next."
As he expected, the next team was theirs.
I checked my watch once while watching the team selection process.
"I think episode 9 will probably end with Siyoon's group."
"See, I was right. I told you that it's obvious that they'll postpone it until next week."
The narrative is definitely focused heavily on Kang Si-yoon.
It also sheds light on the process of coming out of the original choice and shows why he chose that.
[Kang Si-yoon: Honestly, as soon as I heard the song, I thought, 'Ah, I have to go there.' But when I opened the door and went in, Hyung-bin and Yoon-chul were right there.]
[Kang Si-yoon: I was a little scared because they were such great friends. Haha, so I quickly gave up.]
At that time, it was a place where the number of people was short in the first selection.
So, all four of the existing trainees welcomed Kang Si-yoon's voluntary transfer.
"I think it was a good decision."
"Oh, but it's a bit disappointing. We're going to have to face each other later anyway. So I think it might have been better to have a head-on showdown in the third round instead of the finals."
"It may be good in terms of experience, but didn't you still move to and take the center? You also won first place in the individual vote."
"Haha, that's definitely true."
The main stage also unfolded smoothly.
After all the broadcast parts were finished, a short advertisement was shown, followed by a trailer for episode 10.
"This is just too much. They said it was a preview for episode 9 earlier, but in the end, your group didn't even show their noses."
"That's right."
"But now they're going to repeat the trailer for episode 9 in the trailer for episode 10? I have no idea what the production team is up to."
Kang Si-yoon sighed deeply and looked at the TV.
A group that exudes a bleak atmosphere.
And just like that, there seems to be a strange war of nerves flowing in the practice room.
After a practice session that was like the calm before a storm, a brief stage scene with people cheering loudly passed by.
[Wow, what are these?]
[Can you just debut right now?]
[It's over, it's over.]
And with the judges' admiring comments, two relatively contrasting scenes were completed.
A practice narrative that seemed to have an electric current flowing through it.
The main stage received fantastic praise.
I couldn't help but acknowledge the production team's aggro skills.
If I were the national manager, I'm sure I'd go crazy after seeing today's trailer.
"I have no idea what's going to happen next week."
"I try not to think too complicatedly."
"Huh?"
Could it be because of the passive ability that restores composure and cool-headedness?
Or is it simply confidence that comes from rational judgment?
I said to Kang Si-yoon with a sly smile.
"Even if they edit the trailer in this way, it doesn't really show because it's so short. But if they try to manipulate the entire 20-minute-long practice narrative, it's obviously going to be a huge undertaking."
"Of course, if we look for appropriate scenes here and there, the trainees' outfits and times will be slightly different."
"Yes. The sharp-eyed national managers will surely be able to quickly analyze and notice such minute details. Then the conclusion is simple. They couldn't have edited out all the practice parts from Episode 10."
"If that's impossible, then you're saying that we'll see scenes of Baek Si-hwa trolling just like you said?"
At Kang Si-yoon's words, I nodded slightly.
"I was there, so I know what happened. Unless they blow up all of Baek Si-hwa's parts, everyone will know that Baek Si-hwa caused the problem. So we don't have to worry about it so much."
"That makes sense."
"I think everything will come out next week. We just need to acknowledge that the production team created aggro and move on."
Everything Baek Si-hwa did was recorded on camera.
Unless they're determined to blow up the entirety of our practice narrative, it'll be obvious that Baek Si-hwa was the one causing the dispute over the center position.
And if, really, the production team doesn't want to send Baek Si-hwa to Hell, the rest of the trainees will have a lot to say.
'We are the people who experienced it.'
If the editing turns out differently from what actually happened, it's not us who should be worried.
The production team in charge of editing must be shaking.
The moment the edited parties, that is, all the crew members, come forward and reveal the truth, the production team will suffer an irreparable blow.
If Baek Si-hwa, who caused the controversy, is edited out, it is natural for the team members to have doubts.
There is even Yoo Min-ha, who almost suffered direct harm from Baek Si-hwa.
Considering these points, it is highly likely that Baek Si-hwa's atrocities will be revealed, as I expected in episode 10.
I got up from my seat, holding the bowl.
"Are you going to sleep over today, Siyoon? "
"Oh, is it okay if I stay for one night? "
"I live alone, so it's not a problem for me."
"Then please take care of me, landlord."
"I won't charge you for lodging, so you do the dishes."
* * *
The end of episode 9 of
Unlike Karis von Walden, who reacted relatively calmly, the national managers were facing a huge storm.
The themes in all communities were similar.
There were very few articles mentioning the competition content that was shown in the original broadcast of Episode 9.
Most of them were talking about the story related to him, who was used to great effect in the trailer.
And this public opinion was moving in a strange direction.
―There was a fight over the center position? So who is the most likely suspect?
No matter how I look at it, it looks like Kanoja was greedy and wanted to take the center three times in a row.
└If this is really true, no matter how you look at it, this guy chose the wrong path. If he had joined the party, he would have been a rising star in politics.
└You shouldn't ruin the team because of personal greed ← Even this comment is a political power legend
└ Prince Kano was upset because he lost the center to Eukk ha (•ᴗ•)
―I think this is why Geung Gyu got so angry in the trailer. He's been through all kinds of hardships in life, having moved around to different companies, but he can't help but get angry when a foreigner who's younger than him gets greedy and gets involved in politics even after being the center twice. ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
└The Koreanization is so good that even the hierarchy and politics have been localized.
└Geung Geukk, pitiful ㅠ
Those who were holding their breath and waiting for an opportunity were provided with just the right bait.
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