Chapter 40: If I Can't Debut, I'll Get a Terminal Illness

I was a bit taken aback.

Given Seona-hyun's personality, I expected her to be sobbing in a corner, but she seemed more composed than I thought.

What should I call this? It almost seemed like she had more backbone.

She didn't even have her smartphone.

When I called her and she didn't say anything, she finally looked scared and asked, "Why, why...?"

"Well, um..."

There's no need to make a fuss over nothing. I changed the subject and instead took out a chocolate bar from my bag.

"Do you want to eat it?"

"Y-Yes! Thank you..."

Seona-hyun took the chocolate bar with both hands as if she were receiving a sacred offering and put it in her bag.

"...?"

She's not going to eat it?

Aware of my confusion, Seona-hyun stammered, "I, I need to manage my weight... If I get heavier, my dancing will be off. I, I shouldn't get used to eating late-night snacks."

"Is that so?"

Dancers are different, I guess. I was about to nod and move on, but then I noticed a contradiction.

"Didn't you give me a chocolate bar past midnight during the evaluation?"

"It, it's okay for special occasions! I, I was too thin back then..."

"..."

Was there such an incident?

As I was about to be flabbergasted, I heard laughter from the bed next to me.

"Yeah, Park Munda was really thin back then. I thought you were managing yourself to the extreme."

"But it's her constitution? When I see what she eats, wow... She doesn't gain weight no matter what she eats. If I were her, I'd be a pig by now."

Daesejin and Gold 1 chimed in. What a bunch.

'I deliberately ate more to build up my stamina, but I was misunderstood like this.'

Despite feeling a bit awkward, the room's atmosphere seemed to lighten up a bit.

Seona-hyun giggled softly, but when our eyes met, she was startled and coughed.

"..."

What a... unique person.

I silently threw the water bottle from the bedside table to her.

After a few failed attempts, Seona-hyun caught it and drank.

Then she mumbled, "I, I want to do well. Even more this time."

"Sure, you do."

From her words, it seemed Seona-hyun had checked the internet comments. She might have maintained her composure because she didn't look into them in detail.

After some thought, I subtly suggested, "You might just get worked up, so only do research for materials, not other stuff on the internet."

"Ah..."

Seona-hyun looked puzzled and then suddenly gathered her resolve and replied, "I, I already knew. I, I'm prepared."

"Hmm?"

'What's this about?'

Seona-hyun looked embarrassed and mumbled, "I, I already saw those posts before the shoot. I, I kept looking, and they kept coming up..."

"..."

So that's why she looked so down on the first day of shooting.

The comments weren't as bad as they are now, but the internet is full of all sorts of stuff.

Seona-hyun probably didn't know the extent because she's not very familiar with the internet.

'How far did she search?'

It felt like she even looked into communities where idol bashing posts are common.

Seona-hyun continued, "I, I knew this would happen. I, I prepared myself. I, I'm used to it."

"Is that so?"

"Y-Yes!"

Seona-hyun nodded quickly, but I felt a bit uneasy.

'Being used to it means she stutters because of the hate comments.'

I've always thought she's someone who has experienced hell in peer relationships. Teenagers these days are scary.

I clicked my tongue.

"Don't worry, it won't last long. If you do well on stage, it will disappear."

"R-Really?"

"Yeah. It's a survival show."

If you're not someone who deserves the hate, it's just internet trolls. When another celebrity becomes a topic, they'll move on.

I shrugged.

"Starting from tomorrow, I might get the hate too."

"Huh? No...! You, you haven't done anything wrong..."

"You haven't done anything wrong either."

"..."

Seona-hyun was flustered and fell silent, so Daesejin answered for her.

"So, you want to tell Ahn-hyun, 'Don't take the hate as a given,' right? Park Munda, you're so cool. If I were a viewer, I'd already be buying stocks."

"Ah, yeah."

"Wow. This doesn't work anymore?"

Daesejin laughed and rolled around on the bed. Gold 1, who was using the lower bunk, was shocked but still encouraged the team.

"Stop it, you crazy guy! The bed will collapse! ...Let's just do our best. We have to do well on this stage!"

"Let's do it!"

Their efforts to turn the situation into motivation lifted the bedroom's atmosphere. A warm and encouraging atmosphere was created.

Then, Kim Raebin, who had been silent, spoke softly.

"Yes. I've found and organized examples of costumes and prop patterns. Is it okay to post them in the group chat now...?"

"Ah."

"Ah."

Right. The purpose of looking at the smartphone was that.

It seems Kim Raebin found them early but didn't mention it due to the atmosphere.

After all, from Kim Raebin's perspective, the internet atmosphere during the first team battle was much worse, so this time it was probably like a breeze.

"Of course."

"Yes, I'll post them."

As Gold 1 cleared his throat, the bedroom echoed with the sound of smartphones vibrating.

I checked the materials Kim Raebin posted.

[Color_Material_Pattern List整理_Clothing Base.xlsx]

[Prop Pattern_Detail List整理_No Base.xlsx]

When I clicked, the well-organized categories were impressive. The production team probably didn't expect this level of detail.

'Good skills.'

Everyone seemed to think the same, and compliments and admiration were exchanged. Daesejin even whistled.

"Thank you."

After Kim Raebin's embarrassed thanks, the team continued discussing costumes and stage props until 3 AM.

Their determination to make the stage as good as possible was expressed through the action of "I'll sleep when I'm dead."

I have a status window, so it's fine for me, but they were really impressive.

* * *

After two days of labor and practice from dawn to dawn, the dreaded mid-evaluation time came again.

This time, the stage director, music director, and costume team joined the trainers for the evaluation.

First, my self-evaluation: Even thinking objectively, the current direction of this team is good.

Still, I wasn't very hopeful. We hadn't received good feedback in the mid-evaluations so far.

However, this time the results were... openly good.

"I really liked it."

"Let's keep it like this!"

The feedback started with these sentences.

Seeing the trainers smiling and the invited judges impressed, the team members gradually realized the situation.

First, the choreographer.

"Who choreographed this? You all did it together? No, there must be someone who led it. ...Wow, you guys were right? You really did it together? ...Okay. Whoever did it, it will be revealed on the show. Anyway, it was well done, so I have nothing to say."

Next, the vocal trainer Mudi.

"First, I'm really proud that you all maintained your pitch while moving so much! And the way you adapted the original song with a new interpretation is really charming. Let's keep this feeling and make it a perfect song!"

Even Young-rin, who rarely gives open praise, complimented them.

"I can tell a lot of thought and practice went into this stage, but the amateur feel is not there. Even in the mid-evaluation, the performance is already complete. I can't wait to see it on stage."

By this point, the team members were like a "thank you" bot, repeatedly expressing gratitude.

Amid the continuous praise, even the director and costume team didn't hold back.

"From the proposals you submitted, we could immediately feel the attention to detail. I think what you've prepared will fit well on stage."

"This team made the remix very smoothly. They already knew a lot and came prepared with exactly what they wanted, making the sound production enjoyable for us. Today, the stage was as impressive as we expected."

"This team quickly moved into the production phase for the costumes. The concept was clear, and there were no ambiguous parts. I can't wait to see you perform in the costumes we've made."

After this whirlwind of praise, the team members' faces were really something to see.

They looked happy but couldn't quite believe it, just nodding dumbly.

Even Daesejin couldn't finish his closing remarks properly.

"Team, no, um... Thank you. We'll work harder!"

"Don't work so hard that you hurt yourself!"

Clap, clap, clap. With the judges' applause and a group bow, they returned to their seats.

The team members, completely dazed, only reacted reflexively to the other teams' performances. There were no audience members.

I was also taken aback.

'Is it really going this well?'

After days of sleepless nights and intense focus on this, I couldn't be sure how good it would look.

At best, I thought it would be "okay."

'...Still, it feels good.'

It was a slight sense of achievement.

I just watched the other teams' performances and enjoyed that sense of achievement for a while.

The mid-evaluation ended around midnight.

"It was really good."

"Me too."

"Me too."

The team members mumbled from their beds. Only now did they fully realize it, and their voices were filled with a new sense of happiness.

"We can really do well."

"Y-Yeah."

This pattern of mutual encouragement continued a few more times.

'Is it going to be a good night's sleep?'

I haven't had more than 4 hours of sleep in a long time.

I quickly closed my eyes. But then the topic of work came up again.

"Ah, we didn't decide on the color for the costume sleeves."

"Oh, right."

They were really relentless. I forced my eyes open. Damn.

"I've seen a few options. Just a moment."

The sound of Daesejin tapping on his smartphone screen echoed softly.

"I saw this..."

But he didn't continue. Daesejin just stood there, frozen, holding his smartphone.

"What's wrong?"

"Why are you like that?"

Daesejin's face was pale as he stared at some screen.

In the dark bedroom, the light from the smartphone screen was clear, even from a distance.

'It's a gossip board.'

A board linked to a portal site, known for being a hotbed of conflicts, rumors, and controversial posts.

I didn't say anything to Daesejin and instead accessed the board on my smartphone.

I saw a post that had entered the rankings just 30 minutes ago.

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[3rd Place! Accusing Daesejin of School Violence (425)]

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A big, beautiful landmine.

'What the fuck.'

No wonder today felt like a good day.