Chapter 44

If I can't debut, I'll get a disease that will kill me 044

After finishing their performance, the "Dal Tori" team returned to the group waiting room for reaction shots. This was a room equipped with a large monitor for watching other teams' performances.

Incidentally, as soon as they came off the stage, everyone was in tears, their eyes swollen like carp.

Honestly, they had every right to cry. After more than ten days of barely resting and gritting their teeth to prepare, they had finally completed their performance. If I were 20, I would have been bawling too.

“Hey, how come you didn't shed a single tear, Moon? Are you really from the National Intelligence Service…?”

“No, I’m not.”

I stopped the Gold 1's attempt to use an old joke as a gag. The team members around him chuckled.

The atmosphere was relaxed.

‘They know we did well.’

Although we didn't say it out loud among the participants from other teams, the mid-evaluation and rehearsals had already given us a good idea of the rankings.

Unless someone from another team suddenly unleashed a hidden potential and performed a miracle on stage, this was a win.

As a result, our reactions to other teams' performances were particularly good.

With a clear conscience, we could enjoy other teams' performances without bias.

‘This is fun.’

I, too, returned to the role of a spectator and watched the performances. Of course, I made sure to react appropriately to the surroundings.

‘The second and third teams are out.’

The second team had an unexpectedly bizarre arrangement and failed to complete their choreography on time, so more than half of the members missed their dance break.

The third team seemed to want to push a sexy concept like Daesejin, but it was too over-the-top and lacked subtlety, making it quite shocking.

‘At this level, women would probably dislike it even more.’

The key would be how much the broadcast would edit to correct it.

The fourth team seemed to have at least broken even.

This team, which included Gold 2, chose a cute and energetic song. Although the arrangement didn't differ much from the original, it fit well.

“Hiseung is doing great!”

Gold 1 shouted excitedly as Gold 2 took center stage. I clapped along.

Now, only one team was left.

It was the team of Ryu Cheong-woo, the fire hell flavor.

‘Poor guy.’

If you don't feel sympathy for Ryu Cheong-woo in this situation, you've probably never done a group project.

I could see that the relationship between Lee Sejin and Choi Woon-gil had completely soured. Yet, they managed to complete the performance with a troll and Cha Yujin?

That alone was an achievement worthy of payment.

Incidentally, Cha Yujin was still in a state of low morale and had been coming over every few days to snack.

Whether she would put in as much effort on stage as the value of the chocolate she ate was uncertain, but it didn't matter. She wasn't on my team, after all.

“Good luck!”

Daesejin, who had been encouraging each team as they left the waiting room for the stage, also cheered for Ryu Cheong-woo's team.

After a while, Ryu Cheong-woo's team appeared on the monitor.

“Let’s start!”

Despite the team being composed of high-ranking and high-level members, the atmosphere in the waiting room was filled with anticipation.

Of course, some might have been hoping for a failure.

However, Ryu Cheong-woo's team did not fail.

‘…Why is that guy flying around?’

Because Cha Yujin was grabbing his collar and dragging him.

Every time he took center stage during the chorus, it created an illusion of a well-completed performance.

‘That’s why they won first place.’

I thought he had lost his mind, but he seemed like a different person on stage.

‘Is it because of his trait?’

I recalled Cha Yujin's trait from the previous team battle.

[Trait: Black Hole (A)]

: A gravitational force that draws everything in, increasing stage immersion by 150%

With this trait, it's almost impossible not to debut.

“Wow!”

When Ryu Cheong-woo's team finished their performance, the participants in the waiting room applauded in admiration.

“Cha, Cha Yujin really did well.”

“Yeah, she did.”

I could hear the "Dal Tori" team murmuring from the side, but their voices didn't sound anxious.

They probably thought that even if Cha Yujin was outstanding, the overall quality was clearly different.

‘The problem is that we were the opening act.’

As time passed, the impression would naturally weaken. It would have been better if we hadn't messed up the mini-game to determine the performance order.

Gold 1 didn't expect to be so thoroughly defeated.

I recalled his confident statement when he represented the team in the mini-game.

-Just trust me!

…But that statement never came true.

Gold 1, who had poured all his energy into the team's rock-paper-scissors, suffered a string of losses in the subsequent team representative match.

If we lost first place by a narrow margin because of this order?

In fact, only Gold 1 would be disappointed. The other team members would likely make it to the final regardless of their ranking.

Gold 1's ranking was precarious, so winning this team battle was important.

Given the trend so far, the production team would definitely give a prize that would help with the next survival.

‘They’ll announce it soon.’

With the last team's performance over, there was about an hour left before the team battle rankings were announced.

The production team was likely to leave the 1st and 2nd place teams for the next ranking announcement, but the general outline would be clear.

And an hour and a half later, the results were exactly as predicted.

“The remaining 1st place candidates are two teams: the 'Dal Tori' team and the 'Husky' team! Which team will ultimately win the glory of the championship?”

That 'Husky' is Ryu Cheong-woo's team name. This was a predictable development.

“The results will be revealed at the next ranking announcement!”

I expected that too.

“But if this happens every time, you might get too tired, right? So, we will announce the winner's benefit now!”

“Huh?”

I didn’t know that.

“The benefit of winning is… guaranteed survival at the next ranking announcement!”

“…!”

It was too good. With only 30 people left, why give such a reward?

Sure enough, the MC hesitated.

“However, only one person can receive this benefit! Before the next ranking announcement, the 1st place candidate teams must select one participant to receive the benefit through internal discussion!”

“……”

The production team's ideas were becoming increasingly bizarre as the program progressed.

Is this… a penalty for the other team members who don’t receive it?

The one who receives it will likely face concentrated criticism from fans of the same team.

After all, the production team didn’t give up on generating controversy until the final episode.

They were incredible.

Anyway, for the 'Dal Tori' team, it wasn't a big issue. The person to receive the benefit was already decided.

‘Gold 1 should get it to be fair.’

The others probably won’t be eliminated anyway. They would prefer to give it cleanly and maintain their image rather than cause controversy.

The only issue might be if Seohyun, who had been cyberbullied online, got scared and said she wanted it. But given her personality, that was unlikely.

Daesejin, whose reputation had turned around due to the school violence rumor, would probably have a good idea of his ranking.

I quickly scanned the team members' faces. They were all looking at Gold 1, indicating similar thoughts. Gold 1 looked embarrassed but didn’t seem to want to refuse. He would probably politely decline a few times out of courtesy.

‘This side is fine.’

The real issue is the other team.

I could see the production team's excitement at waiting to see what chaos would unfold in the 'Husky' team.

“Let’s wrap up the third team battle of 'Jae Sang Chang! Idol Stock Company'! We’ll see you at the ranking announcement, shareholders!”

With the sound of applause and the participants bowing to the camera, the filming ended.

“Thank you for your hard work~”

“We’ll see you at the next filming!”

As the participants' polite voices echoed, the 'Dal Tori' team, having changed into their regular clothes, regrouped.

They quickly decided to give the winning benefit to Gold 1.

“Since we all worked hard, let’s give it to the oldest member, shall we?”

“Sure.”

“I agree.”

“Y, yeah!”

“Hey, I really appreciate it, but let’s discuss it a bit more….”

Daesejin chuckled and wrapped up the discussion.

“Brother, don’t you know? The more we discuss, the later it gets….”

“Ah.”

As the tension from the filming dissipated, the lack of sleep from the past ten days started to catch up with everyone.

As a result, they were all half-asleep during the conversation.

“G, got it. Thanks, guys. I’ll buy dinner.”

“Haha. Thanks, bro! I won’t order anything too expensive.”

“……”

I ignored it, thinking he was targeting me. I was too tired to care.

Anyway, the 'Dal Tori' team disbanded in a warm atmosphere.

I stifled a yawn and set my smartphone navigation to the bus stop.

“M, Moon.”

“Yeah.”

I turned my head to see Seohyun clenching his fist. Surely he wasn’t going to hit me.

“What.”

“C, can I go home with you? M, my parents are picking me up….”

“Sure. Thanks.”

Given the program's recognition, it would be hard to take the bus, so I was planning to call a taxi anyway.

‘Thanks to this, I’ll save on taxi fare.’

Meeting other participants' parents was a bit awkward, but getting a ride was no big deal.

“No, no! T, thanks!”

Seohyun walked ahead excitedly and stopped in front of a black sedan.

It was a luxury car.

‘So, his family is well-off.’

I had guessed as much from where Seohyun was living.

I followed Seohyun into the car and greeted the parents as politely as possible.

“Hello.”

“So, you’re Moon! Nice to meet you.”

“Get in~ Did our Ahyun do well this time?”

“A, Dad!”

The family atmosphere was more harmonious than I expected. Seohyun, with a red face, fumbled, and his parents looked pleased.

“Yes, he did well. You’ll be surprised when you watch the broadcast.”

“Of course, our son!”

Seohyun, looking like he was about to burst with pride, buried his face in the back of the front seat. Meeting his family made his expressions more natural.

‘Indeed, the root of all evil is peer relationships.’

I politely gave them my address and leaned back, enjoying the ride. I only had to answer occasional questions, which was a relief.

The stage of feeling strange when seeing a harmonious family had passed long ago. Thanks to this, I could fully enjoy the comfortable ride.

* * *

“Have a good trip~”

“Sure. Thanks.”

“Y, we’ll keep in touch!”

“Sure.”

After several farewells with Seohyun’s family, I finally got off at my address.

‘I heard more TMI than I expected…’

I didn’t need to know that Seohyun had studied abroad in Europe and learned ballet, but I’ll consider it the cost of getting a ride.

I walked through the old stairs and hallway to my contracted studio apartment.

Now, I just need to sleep as soon as I get in….

‘Ah.’

Damn it….

The door is open.