Chapter 97
After filming the mini-games, we took a bus to a convention center near Seoul.
There were unexpected reactions here and there as places of a larger scale than expected appeared.
"It's so big? "
"I think a lot of guests will come to a place of this size."
"Who are the people who will be invited so many... ?"
"The national managers? "
The trainees entered the convention center and changed into their stage costumes in a waiting room prepared by the production team.
Judging from the quality of the costumes, they looked like they could actually be worn on stage.
Even though it was a stage that I had already stood on once in the past, it felt new, and I wondered if the production team was that sincere about this mini showcase.
Chae Eun-gyu, who was changing his pants, suddenly made a sound as if he remembered something.
"Ah. Now that I think about it, is this the first time we're going to see the other kids on stage? "
"Is that so? "
"I couldn't see the midterm evaluation because it was conducted in a different practice room."
"Wow, I was so focused on our practice that I didn't even think about the other team."
Everyone nodded at Kwon Dae-hyun's words.
For several days, we have been running nonstop to perfect the stage.
Maybe it was because we were so focused on practice, but we didn't even think about the opposing team's progress.
To what extent has the teamwork improved through this showcase?
And we will be able to see how well it has been completed.
'Although it's not a system where two teams compete, the trainees will feel a sense of competition. Depending on which stage gets a bigger response on site, the voting situation will also change.'
Perhaps because of Chae Eun-gyu's words, we finished the remaining preparations with our will burning brightly.
"When you go up on stage, there will be a black curtain drawn, but this will be taken down before the performance starts, so don't panic."
"Yes!"
"Before the actual showcase stage, there will be time for all the trainees to say hello, so please line up and wait."
As the staff said, we ended up on a stage that was completely covered with blackout curtains.
"This way, we won't even know who's outside."
Kang Dong-hwi's small muttering tickled my eardrums.
Then, Heo Yu-bin swallowed dry saliva and started to use all his imagination.
"What if, when we finally found out, there were no special guests and the front of the stage was completely empty? What if the judges set it up to test how relaxed we are without an audience, like during the old ratings―"
"If there really were no audience, they wouldn't have made us play the mini-game, Yubin."
"Yeah, but still! The production team might have just done that to make up for the lack of footage. If the curtains opened and there was no one there, I'd be really scared...."
Of all the experiences in
The final rating evaluation was your only chance to escape the underground ranks where you couldn't even use your own name.
We had to dance perfectly on a huge stage with no audience.
It seems that the experience came back to haunt Heo Yu-bin and made him feel afraid.
Chae Eun-gyu heard Heo Yu-bin's scream and patted his back with a laugh.
"I don't think that'll happen, Yubin. If they want to test us, they don't have to rent a place this big. We can just use the practice room or the auditorium in the dormitory. Even if it's just for the sake of cost, there's bound to be someone on the other side of the curtain."
"Do, do you really think so? "
"Of course."
Perhaps because he had been talking in a fairly rational manner, Heo Yu-bin seemed strangely persuaded.
But when Yoo Min-ha raised his voice as a test, he felt uneasy again.
"Audience, can you hear me? "
"...."
His shouts were met with silence.
Then, Heo Yu-bin held the hand of his friend of the same age and cried.
"What if no one was there? I'm so nervous! "
"Hey, I'm 100 percent sure; the production crew told them to be quiet. I don't think there's much time left until the start of the stage, so let's wait and see."
"Ahhhh...."
About 10 minutes later.
When we heard that everything was ready, the staff member standing behind us started counting down.
"3, 2, 1. I'll pull the curtain down! "
I already knew what kind of scenery was waiting for us.
However, the rest of the trainees, who could not possibly have come from the future, were frozen by the sight that unfolded before their eyes.
"Hyung-bin!"
"Dong-hwi, we're here! "
"Where is our son? "
"Yoon-chul, over here, over here! "
People who constantly wave their hands at us as we stand on stage.
Adults began to appear, looking at us with eyes full of affection and calling names over and over again.
As the curtain was completely drawn back, they all stood up and applauded enthusiastically, repeatedly calling out someone's name.
"...ah."
"This, this is really foul play."
"Mo, Mom!"
"It's Dad."
The trainees, who had been frozen for a moment, began to speak softly, one by one, as if they were waking up from hypnosis.
Then, gradually, they began to recognize the faces of their family, whom they had missed, and raised their voices.
"... It's been a really long time since I've seen them."
"Hyung-nim?"
Even Chae Eun-gyu, who was next to me, spoke softly with tears in his eyes.
He nodded toward his parents, who were waving their hands vigorously.
"Because of my parents' work, we didn't have much time together. I also started training early, so I didn't have much time to stay at home... It's been a long time since I've seen the two of them together like this."
"I'm sure it feels special."
"...Yeah."
Chae Eun-gyu wasn't the only one crying.
Some of the trainees who used to say their parents' names quietly now covered their mouths and shed tears like chicken poop.
'This must be the most mentally stressful time ahead of the final live broadcast. And with their parents' surprise appearance, they can't help but cry.'
Among us, there was one trainee who reacted the most violently.
"Keeen!"
"Okaa-san! Oto-san!" [Mom! Dad!]
Ken Hashimoto stamped his feet as if he were about to leap forward from his seat at any moment.
He originally had a puppy-like aura, but now he reminded me of a Maltese dog wagging its tail wildly.
"I guess Ken's parents came directly from Japan! How did they invite them?"
"The production team's power is stronger than we think, Min-ha."
"It feels like the strongest boss in another world! "
Yoo Minha looked around diligently.
Then he stuck out his lips and tapped my arm.
"Karis Hyung-nim, aren't your parents here? "
"I think it might be a bit too late to bring them from Estonia."
"I was really looking forward to it. I wonder where your superior genes came from! I thought your parents would be cool and beautiful, so I was really looking forward to it, but it's disappointing."
Parents...
I smiled faintly and repeated the not-so-pleasant words in my head.
As the crown prince in
I created a plausible past for Karis von Walden, who never existed in reality.
I filled out my profile thoroughly, filling in detailed information.
Since I realized that the name 'von Walden' could have a noble feel in the real world, I created a family relationship with him as a descendant of an old Swedish noble family.
Based on my settings, the system set two real people as my parents.
My father, Frederick von Walden, and my mother, Freya von Walden.
Both of them are professors at universities in Tallinn, so it is fair to say that they have jobs that make it difficult to contact them due to time constraints.
'... In fact, it's a little difficult to show my crying face in front of people I'm meeting for the first time in my life.'
I smiled bitterly as I imagined the Estonian parents I would have to meet one day.
... It seems like it will be quite difficult.
From the beginning, my parents have always been difficult to deal with in my life.
'It's not that they're difficult to deal with, but I don't have many good memories of them.'
When you meet your parents, it is common for you to react with excitement and emotion, just like the trainees around me now.
Because there is a bond that has been built up while living together.
But before I entered the game, that is, when I was living as Han Ji-hyeok, I didn't have a very good relationship with my parents.
"I think it's a shame that your parents didn't come, Karis Hyung-nim."
"I don't think there's anything that can be done about the geographical issues, so it's okay."
"Still, they must have wanted to see Karis Hyung-nim, who came all the way to Korea and debut as an idol.... I'm sure they cheered for you a lot!"
"Haha...."
I responded to Yoo Minha's words with a light laugh.
Yeah, that's a given.
Because any normal parent would want to support and encourage their child's dreams.
But all that remained in my memory were verbal abuse and finger-pointing.
I shook my head before strange thoughts could cross my mind.
And when I turned my gaze forward again, I saw some familiar faces in the distance.
"Karis hyung! "
"Awesome, our center! "
Oh Tae-young and Park Jae-hoon, who were eliminated at the last ranking announcement ceremony, called my name loudly.
I quickly grasped the situation and realized what was happening.
'Trainees like me without families invited friends and acquaintances.'
In fact, at some tables, friends instead of family were there, cheering them on enthusiastically.
Since they couldn't invite Karis von Walden's Estonian friends, the production team seems to have called in trainees who were on the same team in
I nodded to Oh Tae-young and Park Jae-hoon and expressed my gratitude.
A wave of emotion came over me at the loyalty shown by the two trainees.
"The special guests who participated in the showcase were your family and friends. How do you feel seeing them like this, everyone?"
"I'm crying! "
"What should I do if they suddenly come out like this...."
Everyone was about to burst into tears again.
I seized the right moment and expressed my feelings calmly.
"We are proud to be able to invite our most precious people and show them the stage we have prepared."
"Karis, you're cool! "
"As expected, he is a prince! "
A prince, who is used as my nickname among the trainees, even appeared.
I turned my head in the direction where the voice came from and made a face.
Then, everyone burst into laughter, wondering what was so funny.
"Then, we will start the showcase, starting with the first stage. First group, please come down from the stage for a moment."
While we were forming a formation in a given position, Heo Yu-bin whispered to me quietly.
"If I had only served kimbap to mom and dad, I would have cried."
"It's not a fancy buffet, but I'm glad they can at least have some steak."
"That's right! Hehe."
Fortunately, Heo Yu-bin's tension seemed to have completely disappeared.
I smiled at him and took a deep breath as I waited for the music to start playing.
'We will soon be on a bigger stage than this.'
A vast stadium and dazzling lights.
And the very stage where my first failure was recorded.
The final round that will decide our fate is just around the corner.
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