Chapter 5

"Oh, you're Seo Baek-yeong's trainee?"

PD Oh raised an eyebrow.

"Just now, Seo Baek-yeong's trainee said the same thing. She said that her skills improved because she practiced with her."

It's a lie.

Cheong and Baek-yeong have never practiced together alone.

"Oh, it's not just practicing together. She basically raised me."

This is also a lie.

Raised, my foot. I raised myself.

"Such a good relationship, isn't it?"

"Of course. She's my savior."

What's going on here?

We need to go back 30 minutes.

***

While other trainees were being interviewed one by one.

I handed a water bottle to Seo Baek-yeong.

I knew.

PD Oh would deliberately push our interviews to the end.

After extracting reactions and sources from the other trainees, he would finally get to us.

Have you ever watched a one-day-to-one-day live broadcast? I have.

"...Thank you."

Fortunately, Seo Baek-yeong, though suspicious, didn't refuse.

"I should be the one to thank you, unnie."

"Thank me?"

Seo Baek-yeong asked, surprised.

"Yes. Thanks to you, I got screen time and could show my skills."

I didn't really think it would be edited out.

I genuinely felt grateful to Seo Baek-yeong.

Of course, I don't think she did it with good intentions.

But the result was good, right?

"...No. You did well, so you got screen time. I just happened to get some screen time too, so it worked out well."

That's right.

I immediately agreed.

Of course, the spotlight will be on me more.

I'm a completely different case from before and after, so I'll get more screen time.

But Seo Baek-yeong also performed well next to me.

And regardless of the background, on the broadcast, it looked like Seo Baek-yeong offered to help me.

Seo Baek-yeong had nothing to lose.

"So, unnie."

I sat next to Seo Baek-yeong.

"Do you want to get more screen time?"

"...Huh?"

"Something that's not too dramatic and in a good direction."

***

"Oh, then could you say this to the camera?"

The production team smiled kindly and asked.

"'I even thought that Cheong might have been hiding her skills all this time.'"

As soon as she heard the request, Baek-yeong had a hunch.

This was the moment Yun Cheong mentioned earlier.

'PD Oh and the writers must be wondering. I was known for not being good at dancing, but I did better than expected.'

'I was curious too. How exactly-'

'I'll explain later. There's no time now.'

At that moment, Baek-yeong thought.

Was she always this confident in speaking?

She always seemed... quite passive.

'When unnie's interview comes up, PD will definitely ask if you were hiding your skills.'

'...Huh?'

'If you say you think so, what will happen?'

'...What?'

'It might seem like you're benefiting for a moment. My image might seem bad. But in the long run, I'll prove that I was just growing, not hiding my skills. In the end, you'll just look like someone who badmouths other trainees out of jealousy.'

'...!'

'Let's go for a win-win. And build some rapport.'

"Seo Baek-yeong's trainee?"

"Ah, yes."

Baek-yeong quickly regained her composure.

And she gave the prepared answer.

"Sorry, but I know why Cheong suddenly improved her skills."

"...Hmm?"

PD Oh asked, puzzled.

What is she saying?

"Cheong and I practiced together all night. For four days. I helped her with her dance details."

"...Seo Baek-yeong's trainee helped?"

"Yes. And Cheong-"

Baek-yeong hesitated for a moment.

Is it really okay to go this far?

But in the end, Baek-yeong made up her mind.

"Cheong helped me with my vocal practice too."

She had nothing to lose.

***

PD Oh had a strange expression.

In fact, he intended to create a conflict between the two.

How interesting.

The longest-serving trainee of Colors versus the shortest-serving trainee.

Of course, he knew that Yun Cheong's total training period was 10 years. But PD Oh didn't care.

Her time with Colors was only a few months. A provocative title was all he needed.

Old-timer vs. Newbie.

Or, Main Dancer vs. Main Vocal.

He could come up with any title he wanted.

PD Oh was confident.

Until Seo Baek-yeong blocked his confidence.

And until Yun Cheong crushed the remaining confidence.

"Yes. As you saw earlier, unnie worried a lot about my dancing. So she watched me a lot whenever she had time."

I deliberately made a very apologetic face.

"I'm really... not good at dancing, so I always caused trouble for other trainees."

In situations like this, you have to act pitiful.

So pitiful that it's not even entertaining.

"So, I asked Baek-yeong unnie for help, even though I was embarrassed."

"Why Seo Baek-yeong's trainee? There are many other trainees."

But PD Oh didn't give up.

He had to get some source material.

Something dramatic for the broadcast.

"Because unnie has been with Colors the longest. And she's a great dancer."

But I wasn't easy to handle.

Absolutely not!

"How are your relationships with the other trainees?"

"They're all so nice to me!"

I didn't give a long answer.

A long answer would just give them more to edit.

"Seo Baek-yeong's trainee said she's helping with vocal practice?"

"Yes. Even though my skills are lacking...!"

I quickly added.

"But unnie helps me a lot more. But to be honest, I'm grateful for unnie's help, but..."

I smiled.

"Being with unnie is the best. I really like Baek-yeong unnie."

Even if it gets edited.

***

Once the pre-interviews were over, the day's filming was done.

It was a long, long day.

If it's this hard from the first day, it's going to be really tough from now on.

I gathered my things and headed to the vocal room.

To warm up my voice after a long time.

But then,

"Hey!"

Someone called me.

I turned around and saw a familiar face.

Kim Ryeo-yu.

Another trainee on 'Make a New Color.'

And-

"You danced well earlier."

The trainee who was supposed to debut in second place.

"Ah, thanks."

I immediately responded to Kim Ryeo-yu's greeting.

"Wow, but how did you suddenly get so good? I was pretty surprised earlier."

"Baek-yeong unnie helped a lot."

"Baek-yeong unnie?"

Ryeo-yu asked, surprised.

"That unnie is nice, but she's not the type to just watch someone practice."

"...We helped each other with our weaknesses."

I had already told Baek-yeong to keep our deal a secret.

From the other trainees.

I trust the other trainees, but they might fall for PD Oh's leading questions.

Fortunately, Seo Baek-yeong was good at understanding.

"Oh, you watched unnie's vocal practice? Right?"

"Yep. I did."

"Then watch mine too!"

Ryeo-yu said cheerfully.

...The problem is.

"Huh? Why?"

She wasn't close to the original Yun Cheong at all.

In fact, she used to look down on her.

In Yun Cheong's memory, Kim Ryeo-yu was like this:

A promising trainee.

The niece of the judge, Mr. Kim.

And someone who strangely looked down on and ignored Yun Cheong.

"Why? We might debut together, right? Helping each other would be beneficial, like you and Baek-yeong unnie."

"Sorry."

And in Baegnokha's memory, Kim Ryeo-yu was like this:

"She's enough for me."

"...What?"

The one who caused a scandal a year after debuting and led to the team's disbandment.

"Oh, I see. I didn't mean it that way. It's just that I've already planned my practice schedule with Baek-yeong unnie, so it might be a bit difficult."

"...Oh, I see."

Ryeo-yu looked quite uncomfortable.

But there was no reason to disagree, so she seemed to reluctantly agree.

"But if we end up on the same team for the next mission, I'll help you. As much as I can."

Help, my foot.

I'll make sure you don't debut, no matter what.

***

Vocal Training Room.

Also known as the vocal room.

I came here to—

"Ah, ah."

Warm up my voice after a long time.

For idols, dancing is important, but vocals are even more crucial.

After all, they are singers first.

"Sure enough, my vocal cords are in bad shape."

And there was a big problem for Yun Cheong.

She didn't receive proper vocal training at her previous agency, so her vocal cords were significantly damaged.

"The good thing is... I still have my original voice."

That's right.

The voice I'm using now is not Yun Cheong's, but Baegnokha's.

Strangely, no one around me seems to find it odd.

Is this also the devil's power?

"I don't need to adapt to a new voice."

The range is the same, and my skills are the same.

I just need to take care of my vocal cords, which are quite tired.

Use them carefully.

Otherwise, I might lose my voice at a crucial moment.

"...Should I drink some burdock root juice first?"

I subtly checked Yun Cheong's bank balance on my phone.

Hmm.

...I'll buy the burdock root juice later.

Yun Cheong had no family.

That means there's no one to support or protect her.

Maybe that's why I feel more concerned.

Since I decided to help her, I want to do it properly.

Even though it's because of a deal, I want to do my best.

Especially after feeling the cold atmosphere in the practice room today.

Loneliness is a feeling I know all too well.

You can feel lonely even among hundreds or thousands of people.

I felt lonely among people, and Yun Cheong felt lonely being alone.

"...Let's stop daydreaming."

I need to focus on the next filming.

The next filming is the really important 'first impression.'

'Make a New Color,' or 'MNC' for short, actively uses OTube, a video streaming site.

They plan to upload videos to OTube before the main broadcast.

That's right.

Tomorrow is the day to film the second video to be uploaded to OTube.

The first video will be a teaser, but it won't really help people understand who's who, so let's skip that.

The really important part is tomorrow.

Exactly—

Self-introductions.