Chapter 25

If I can't debut, I'll get a disease that will kill me 025th Episode

Seona-hyeon inadvertently accepted the balls that Park Moon-dae offered.

Immediately after, his interview was inserted.

[Seona-hyeon: A, actually, I, I can't... can't eat instant food.]

Then, as if in a flashback, a video shot by a fixed camera was briefly broadcast.

Seona-hyeon, looking unwell, had her head buried in the bed, faintly visible in the thin light of the bathroom.

[Park Moon-dae: Are you okay?]

[Seona-hyeon: Y, yeah...]

[Park Moon-dae: Wait a moment.]

Park Moon-dae went out of the dormitory.

And a little while later.

[Participant Park Moon-dae, who brought antacids]

He reappeared with this subtitle.

In fact, this incident had happened during the initial rating evaluation.

At that time, Park Moon-dae had his 'Sleep is for the dead' trait activated, so he wasn't sleepy even at night and had plenty of time.

Thanks to this, he had the leisure to return the favor for the chocolate Seona-hyeon gave him and to respond to his conscience.

Incidentally, by the time of the PR broadcast preparation, Park Moon-dae had completely forgotten about this incident.

Unaware of this, Seona-hyeon said in the interview with a grateful and apologetic expression:

[Seona-hyeon: I, I thought I couldn't eat it... so he must have changed it for me.]

[Seona-hyeon: T, thank you, Moon-dae.]

[Park Moon-dae: (nods his head)]

Of course, Park Moon-dae's cut was spliced from a completely unrelated interview.

However, it looked quite heartwarming on the surface.

- I never imagined such a development

- What a kind guy, just like a chicken foot

- Was he actually shy?

- I'm starting to like Moon-dae 😂

The general audience reacted this way, and the fans were even more enthusiastic.

- Moon-dae might seem manipulative and prone to malicious misunderstandings, but he seems to be the type who takes good care of his surroundings.

- Our Dangdang... is really a Dangdang

- Moon-dae, oh this sweetheart 😭 But he chose the chicken feet well, oh, but did he really give away all his own? 😭

- It was chosen by the flower crown Moon-dae

- Moon-dang is so affectionate

The positive editing and reactions made Park Moon-dae's fans naturally happy, but also a bit anxious.

'What if someone starts marketing his character?'

Character marketing was highly susceptible to backlash.

Especially as the program progressed, this became even more true.

To bring down a participant, someone else had to take their place.

If someone reported a minor unethical act from their school days, character marketing could easily fall apart.

And among the other participants, quite a few had already posted their graduation photos.

'Come to think of it, there's nothing known about Moon-dae.'

Was it because he was such a quiet student?

Perhaps he was from a foreign country or a rural area. She imagined Park Moon-dae sitting on a pavilion on a rice paddy ridge, wearing a straw hat with a blank expression.

'It suits him...!'

In the early stages of fandom, there was a symptom where the person felt like a painting no matter where they were placed.

During this time, the broadcast showed various participants preparing for their PR live streams.

From Kim Rae-bin, who picked an electronic piano to create the logo song of Idol Corporation, to Big Sejin, who promoted sneakers by performing a random play dance of idol hit songs.

There were quite a few interesting scenes.

Focusing on a few top participants, the broadcast briefly showed the situations of those who couldn't even bring a ball.

[Participants without a collaboration item, please promote our program! 〈Re-listing! Idol Corporation〉]

Of course, most of them didn't make it into the top 33 and barely managed to continue the broadcast for 10 minutes.

With so many people simultaneously presenting similar, already stale content, it was bound to be uninteresting.

The broadcast briefly showed participants promoting unique collaboration items, and Park Moon-dae naturally appeared here.

The scene of Park Moon-dae setting up and sitting with chicken feet had the right subtitles from the start.

[Park Moon-dae (Chicken Foot Lover) A.K.A. Foodie Star]

[Cha Yoo-jin: It was really impressive.]

A short clip of Cha Yoo-jin's reaction, mouth agape in amazement, passed by.

Her timeline was once again flooded with comments saying 'cute,' including her own.

- Moon-dae is so cute eating chicken feet 😭

The preparation process for the PR broadcast was wrapped up warmly, as if the live stream had gone well.

Any mistakes that exposed other participants' secrets or sensitive issues that arose during filming were glossed over as if they never happened.

Even though two people had voluntarily withdrawn after being cyberbullied on the internet, the program, now on a popular trajectory, had no need to unnecessarily reproduce controversies in the main broadcast.

Since most viewers had already anticipated this, they would mock or criticize once or twice and then focus on the next content.

The much-anticipated individual ranking ceremony for each team was about to begin.

[Everyone! Do you remember the reward for the participant who got the most individual votes within their team in the first team battle?]

[Ah...]

[The first ranking ceremony guaranteed qualification!]

The screen captured several participants muttering, "I hope it's me."

After the MC added some unnecessary words to fill time, he called out the winners from each team.

Of course, most participants tried to at least pretend to congratulate them.

[Wow~]

[Congratulations!]

Especially the teammates of the controversial Ryu Cheong-woo tried hard not to look upset when he was announced as the first.

However, the broadcast again aired with a strange atmosphere.

[...]

[...Ah.]

[Congratulations.]

[Yeah, thanks. You all worked hard... I'm sorry.]

[...No, it's fine.]

'This is so forced, it's not good.'

She was so used to this pattern that she even felt a bit of resentment towards the editing.

Most hardcore survival show viewers probably felt the same way.

Of course, the individual winner of Park Moon-dae's team, 'October 31,' was also announced.

[The first place in October 31 is... Congratulations! Participant Seona-hyeon!]

[...!]

Seona-hyeon, startled, was surrounded by her October 31 teammates.

[Ohh!!]

[I knew A-hyeon would do it~]

[Congratulations!]

[You worked hard.]

[T, thank you...]

It was a suitably harmonious scene.

'Phew, that's a relief!'

She felt relieved but also a bit disappointed.

'I thought Moon-dae might get it too.'

She knew that receiving it wouldn't have any real benefits and might even invite attacks, but she still felt a bit disappointed.

Her SNS timeline also subtly reflected similar sentiments.

- Congratulations, A-hyeon~

- A bit disappointing, but Moon-dae's reaction was heartwarming

- Moon-dae's blonde hair was shown for a long time! Ah, so happy 😭

- Everyone did well, so it's not strange whoever got it 😭

- Moon-dang worked hard~

If she searched more openly, she could probably find reactions like this quickly.

- Moon-dae did the arrangement and mental care, but Seona-hyeon is just freeloading 😂 Human kindness is broken~

Of course, it would be from a malicious individual fan.

Fortunately, the new visual of Moon-dae congratulating on screen quickly changed the topic.

She quickly captured and uploaded a close-up shot of Moon-dae.

- I don't know who did it, but thank you for Moon-dae's blonde hair... (screenshot)

On the broadcast, the MC was making another meaningful statement.

[But what if a participant who was originally disqualified qualified?]

[Oh...!]

[Ah, surely not.]

[Everyone, the lowest-ranked qualifier will be eliminated!]

Incidentally, she, who was watching, was completely uninterested.

'Please, don't call Moon-dae too soon...!'

She was just anxiously hoping that Park Moon-dae would be at a disadvantage in the later stages.

[Now, let's announce the 47th place participant.]

While the lower ranks were being announced, she planned to make a promotional video for YouTube, but her mouse wouldn't work properly.

'Why am I so tense...!'

Unable to bear it, she grabbed a carbonated drink and sat down, just as the announcement reached the 30th place.

Especially since Moon-dae hadn't appeared in a single shot...!

After drinking, she hadn't touched the drink again, but as a viewer, she didn't know the reason.

When the 31st place was announced, a scene she could be interested in finally appeared.

[31st place is... Participant Kwon Hee-seung!]

He was a participant in October 31, whom Park Moon-dae secretly referred to as 'Gold 2.'

Park Moon-dae was among those who went up to the stage to greet.

[Congratulations.]

His awkward high-five with a serious expression was incredibly cute.

Meanwhile, the MC made a joke that didn't quite land.

[The first October 31 team member to advance to the next broadcast! Is that why it's 31st place?]

[That's probably it!]

After Kwon Hee-seung, other October 31 team members were called up to the stage one by one.

After Choi Won-gil and Ha Il-jun (Gold 1) were announced in the mid-20s, there was a pause.

The next was 13th place.

[Congratulations. 13th place is... Participant Lee Se-jin! Oh, there are two of them!]

Both Lee Se-jins reflexively looked up, one smiling awkwardly and the other stiffening.

[Among the two... Lee Se-jin B! Also known as Big Se-jin! He was the leader of October 31.]

[Ahaha!]

Big Se-jin enthusiastically shook hands with Lee Se-jin, who reluctantly accepted it.

Big Se-jin then climbed the stage amid cheers and nods from other participants.

[Wow! 13! It's just like our team's ranking. It's fate.]

Big Se-jin made a joke fitting the situation.

He then finished a sincere and heartfelt thank-you speech and climbed up.

At least, they made it into the top 12!

She swallowed hard and waited for the next announcement.

Since Park Moon-dae had virtually no pre-existing recognition before the first episode, this was an incredible achievement.

[The participant who placed 11th is... Seo Hyun-cheol!]

And Moon-dae's name wasn't called even up to 11th place.

They were finally in the top 10.

10th, 9th...

[The participant who placed 8th is... the one who performed the soft and sweet song in the first team battle.]

'Got it...!'

She relaxed her shoulders and exhaled.

She almost thought it was a foregone conclusion that Moon-dae would be called.

After all, young actor Lee Se-jin had overwhelming early recognition, and Seona-hyeon had excellent metrics from the previous performance.

She thought they would be called after Moon-dae.

[The participant who showed a surprising charm...]

After showing the remaining three October 31 participants for quite a while, the MC continued.

[It's Lee Se-jin!]

[...!]

Lee Se-jin stood up with a stiff face.

Seona-hyeon and Park Moon-dae, still in their seats, gave their habitual congratulations.

[Congratulations.]

[C, congratulations...]

[...Thanks.]

Lee Se-jin's awkward acceptance of the congratulations was broadcast.

And she screamed out loud.

"Ah!"

The related community reactions were also going wild.

- Wow

- Wow, Lee Se-jin

- I didn't think he'd be in the top 5

- 8th place?

- I knew his personality would be mentioned, but I thought he'd maintain his rank as a hard worker

- He had a lot of support, which is surprising ;;

- It seems other participants' rankings improved, pushing him down?

Lee Se-jin bowed deeply and left the stage with a short, strong message: "Thank you, I'll do my best."

She gripped her mouse tightly.

'So, what place is Moon-dae in?'