Chapter 36
Chapter 36
The production crew’s explanation was simple.
Relax, have some fun, and take home some prizes.
In other words, the subtext was this:
‘Show off some charms, enjoy the school trip vibe, and help us promote these PPL products we got from T1.’
Everyone likely guessed the nuance, but the atmosphere was still much better than it had been immediately after the ranking announcement. The prizes were decent, and the rules were loose.
“There are no rankings! This is strictly voluntary~”
“Ah…”
“If you participate, you’re guaranteed to win one of the prizes through a random draw!”
“…Yes!”
The voices responding were much more relaxed. It was a win-win situation.
‘The fact that there’s no MC probably makes it feel more like a real break, too.’
…To be honest, even I was tempted by the clothes dryer. I lived in a studio apartment and had no place to put it, but I hadn't expected large appliances to show up as prizes for a makeshift segment.
‘The program must be doing incredibly well.’
As I looked at the photo of a kimchi refrigerator included in the prize list, the images vanished from the screen, replaced by large text.
[Talent Show: Random Play Dance]
[The last person standing is the winner!]
‘They didn’t even bother to change the font.’
The default serif font shone in all its glory.
Regardless of my aesthetic critique, a five-second countdown soon appeared on the screen. A few guys who were still in relatively good spirits ran out and began to wait.
[START!]
Famous K-pop choruses began to blast one after another without a break.
“Ugh!”
“Hey, you got it wrong! Get out!”
“Ack, what was that?”
At first, the participants joined in mechanically for the sake of screen time, but toward the end, it turned into a full-blown comedy sketch as they narrowed down the winner. After about twelve songs, a victor emerged.
“Ah, thank you~”
It was Keun Se-jin.
“No one asked, but I’ll give my victory speech. I think I honed my skills during my PR live just for this day! Hahaha!”
“Boooooo~!”
Keun Se-jin, who had done similar content for his PR video, spoke with a shameless grin before quickly reaching into the draw box and pulling out a slip of paper.
“Now, my prize is…”
[(Jin) Direct-fire Boneless Chicken Feet – 1 Box]
“I shall give this to Moon-dae.”
The participants burst into laughter at Keun Se-jin’s rapid pivot. Even the staff were covering their mouths to hide their smiles, so I couldn't exactly keep a straight face and get mad at Keun Se-jin as he winked at me.
‘Just how long is this chicken feet image going to follow me?’
I had a feeling that if people kept bringing it up like this, it would haunt me until the day I retired.
Regardless, thanks to the big laugh Keun Se-jin provided, the atmosphere relaxed even further.
“Next one, please!”
“I’m definitely winning this one.”
After four or five more rounds like that, most of the participants were genuinely invested in the talent show. There were still a few expensive appliances left as prizes.
Then, the sixth talent show appeared on the screen.
[Talent Show: Random Karaoke]
[The person who finishes the first verse wins!]
“This is the one for me.”
“Wow, I really want to go out there, but I already won. What should I do?”
Ignoring Keun Se-jin’s teasing, I hesitated for a moment before stepping forward.
“Oh~~ Moon-dae’s feeling confident?”
Actually, I wasn't that confident. I didn't even particularly want to do it. I was just being defensive; if I acted too passive after my rank went up, I might come across as arrogant.
…Though, it would be nice to win and take that dryer. There were seven prizes left, so there was a 14% chance—a probability worth hoping for.
I stood with four other participants I only knew by face and waited for the countdown to end. A staff member quietly placed a microphone on the floor.
[START!]
As soon as the screen changed, the intro began to play.
Kung-jjak, kung-jjak, kung-jjara kung-jjak~
An addictive, upbeat trot melody echoed through the hall.
“……?”
“Huh?”
The faces of the participants, who had expected K-pop, went blank. That’s right. What was playing was a K-trot karaoke accompaniment.
“Uh…”
“Wait, wait.”
The participants listened intently to the intro with confused expressions, but it was impossible to tell what the song was just from the intro. There were countless trot songs that started with that same exciting, rhythmic beat.
“…….”
After a moment of conflict, I quietly stepped forward and picked up the microphone.
“…!!”
“Moon-dae is doing trot…?”
I could hear Gold 1’s murmur from where I stood.
“Maybe he just picked it up?”
“Hyung, do you actually know this song?”
I didn't answer the flurry of questions. I simply started singing right as the intro ended.
“Rain is falling on the streets of Namdaemun in Seoul~ But the person I’m looking for isn't here~”
“……!!”
The participants began to whisper.
“Holy crap.”
“How does he know that?”
How did I know? I knew because I’d seen it so many times.
When you go to shoot events a few times, you end up seeing a lot of trot performances. They were often scheduled right before idol stages, so I’d heard the songs that were popular enough with the elderly to be placed late in the lineup quite often.
As for this song… Hmmm, when I saw the original singer’s stage a lot, I think I saw it twice in a single day. Eventually, the singer even recognized me and started winking at my camera.
The memory of uploading that fancam to WeTube out of a sense of professional duty felt fresh. Well, I guess it came in handy.
“Ah~ the one I was looking for~ the one I longed for~”
Since it was a fairly famous song, the other participants started singing along once I hit the chorus. I wondered if that singer felt this way during his events.
“Has left Seoul behind~”
“Ooh!”
Caught up in the mood, I sang the first verse with gusto. When I finished, the participants applauded with exclamations of wonder.
It wasn't so much a cheer as… the reaction you’d get after seeing an impressive trick at a magic show.
It was a bit embarrassing, but since I’d succeeded, I decided to focus on the prize draw. I bowed a few times to the participants, put down the mic, and grabbed the draw box.
When I unfolded the slip, I caught a glimpse of a silver body in the picture.
‘Could it be the dryer…!’
[Kimchi Refrigerator]
“…….”
Holy crap.
“Whoa! A kimchi refrigerator!!”
“What is up with Moon-dae’s luck?!”
“The person Moon-dae was looking for was a refrigerator all along!”
The participants swarmed around me, chatting excitedly. I stared at the slip in a daze before reality suddenly set in.
‘…Don’t they deduct taxes from prizes?’
I didn't have the money to pay the taxes. I’d probably have to sell it on a secondhand market as soon as I received it to pay the tax and fill up my bank account.
Still, it felt good to snag something expensive.
Keun Se-jin, who was congratulating me from the side, whispered slyly.
“Moon-dae, do you want to trade priz—”
“No.”
“Okay.”
Go eat your chicken feet.
*
After the talent show came to a grand finale with a final round of chicken fighting, the team mission filming began in a much more relaxed atmosphere.
Perhaps the original MC’s schedule was too tight to manage, but surprisingly, Young-rin took over as the host to announce the new team battle.
“Re-listing! Idol Inc. It’s already time for the third team match. Participants, you started as 77 and have survived to become the final 30. Please take a moment to praise yourselves for making it this far.”
She didn't have the high-energy voice of a professional MC, but Young-rin handled the situation with a calm and serious demeanor. Above all, because these were the words of an already successful idol, the participants seemed to take them more to heart.
Right next to me, Gold 2 was grinning and patting his own head. It was quite a sight.
“For this third team match, the teams were formed in a rather unique way.”
Let’s see. Up until now, teams had been formed by the participants' choices, so it was about time for another factor to intervene. But that factor was indeed strange.
“It was done through a Big Data Algorithm.”
“…Huh?”
“Big Data?”
When a concept usually found in IT news suddenly appeared, the participants looked at Young-rin with bewildered expressions. Young-rin continued her lines with a smile.
“Idol Inc. analyzed the patterns of how the shareholders purchased your stocks. Therefore, teams were formed based on the stocks that many shareholders purchased together at the same time.”
In short, it meant the viewers who spent money had decided the teams by grouping the participants they liked together.
“You can check the detailed analysis data on the Re-listing! Idol Inc. website. Everyone, are you ready to meet the teammates chosen by the shareholders’ big data?”
“Whoa.”
“That’s so cool.”
The participants whispered with stunned faces, beginning to look around to see who they might end up with. I also scanned the room.
‘For starters… Seon A-hyun and Keun Se-jin will probably be there.’
You could tell just by looking at social media. Sure enough, even Seon A-hyun was looking at me with sparkling eyes, giving me a small wave.
Keun Se-jin went a step further, slapping me on the back.
“Hey, I’m in your hands.”
“Yeah. Sure.”
Keun Se-jin cackled at my blunt response. He’d clearly said it just to tease me.
“It looks like you’re ready. Please come forward in order and take a box.”
Behind Young-rin, a table was set up with a row of black boxes.
“Inside the box is a badge. After you receive your box, please move to the hallway and enter the room marked with the shape on your badge.”
Young-rin began calling out the participants in alphabetical order to hand them their boxes. Naturally, ‘Park Moon-dae’ was called fairly early.
“Participant Park Moon-dae. Please come take your box.”
I walked out the door carrying the box with the name ‘Park Moon-dae’ attached to it.
In the hallway, a staff member with a camera was waiting. Taking the hint, I opened the box in front of the lens, revealing a badge shaped like a rabbit’s head.
“…A rabbit?”
I muttered, feeling a bit bewildered, but quickly shut my mouth, conscious of the camera. Then I looked up to check the rooms lined up in the hallway. Each room had a nameplate.
[Chick]
[Cat]
[Deer]
[Puppy]
[Bear]
And at the very last room, I saw the name I was looking for.
[Rabbit]
“…….”
Overall… the naming sense felt like something out of a kindergarten classroom.
‘Well, it’s just to divide the teams.’
Assuming it was intended for humor, I opened the door immediately. Since all the participants likely to be on my team would be called after me, I wasn't particularly nervous.
‘I’ll probably be the first one.’
But the moment I stepped inside, the person sitting on the floor snapped his head up and looked at me.
“…?”
It was Kim Rae-bin.
What are you doing here…?
“Park Moon-dae hyung.”
Kim Rae-bin stood up with a look of relief and slowly shuffled over to the side. It seemed he was being considerate and leaving the center spot for me.
There are only two of us, is that really necessary…?
“I didn't know we would be on the same team again. I am very glad to see you.”
“…Same here. Let’s do our best.”
“Yes.”
A peaceful conversation followed, but complex deductions were racing through my mind.
‘Why is Kim Rae-bin on the same team?’
The only scenes showing me interacting with Kim Rae-bin had aired in the most recent Episode 7. Did that mean the voting rate after Episode 7 was significant enough to influence that ‘Big Data Algorithm’?
‘Of course, it’s possible if they only considered the stocks from the most recent ranking announcement, but still…’
As I weighed the possibilities, I realized a simple fact.
‘Aha.’
It was because Kim Rae-bin rarely interacted with other participants.
I didn't know how they weighted the data, but it was quite persuasive to think that since the only participants with any connection to Kim Rae-bin were me and Cha Yu-jin, he ended up in my team.
‘Well, it’s good to have high-ranking participants.’
I cleared my thoughts and sat down on the floor. Kim Rae-bin immediately spoke to me again.
“Hyung, the song you sang during the talent show just now—it is a song I like as well.”
“…Really?”
I wondered if I really needed to know that Kim Rae-bin liked trot, but regardless, I passed the time with small talk until the next teammate opened the door and walked in.