Chapter 37
Chapter 37
The next participant to enter the Rabbit Room after me was Seon A-hyun.
“…Ah!”
Seon A-hyun peeked into the room with a nervous expression, but the moment our eyes met, his face brightened, and he quickly scurried inside.
Then, he gave a wide smile.
“I-I’m glad we’re t-together this time.”
“Yeah, looking forward to it.”
“Y-yeah, I’ll w-work hard….”
It was at that moment, while he was excitedly chattering away, that Seon A-hyun locked eyes with Kim Rae-bin, who was staring blankly in our direction.
“…!!”
Realizing Kim Rae-bin’s presence only then, Seon A-hyun froze in shock.
‘Come to think of it, these two have no connection.’
They were in different grades and had never met during the team matches.
Seon A-hyun hurriedly looked back and forth between me and Kim Rae-bin before swallowing hard and offering a greeting.
“I-I-I look forward to w-working with you…!”
He looked incredibly solemn.
“Yes. I look forward to working with you as well.”
“A-ah, no, I’m the one who….”
Kim Rae-bin also gave a stiff, serious bow. In response, Seon A-hyun immediately buried his head toward the floor in a deeper bow.
It was a bizarre sight, the kind of thing you’d only see in an internet meme.
‘If I leave these two alone, the conversation will never move forward.’
As I watched the greeting battle between Kim Rae-bin and Seon A-hyun, which looked like it might last forever, the fourth teammate pushed the door open and marched in.
“Who’s the rabbit?!”
It was Keun Se-jin. He was waving a rabbit-shaped badge in one hand; for some reason, he seemed completely immersed in the room’s concept.
Keun Se-jin quickly scanned Seon A-hyun and Kim Rae-bin. Then, he looked at me and burst into laughter.
What now?
“What, Moon-dae, why are you here?”
“…?”
When I looked at him with an expression asking what kind of nonsense he was talking, Keun Se-jin continued slyly.
“No, I mean, there was a Puppy Room, so I naturally thought you’d be there. I thought we wouldn’t be able to work together this time.”
“…….”
Was the Tibetan fox interview not enough? I had intended to lean into the puppy image for the sake of the show’s composition, but the reality hit was a separate issue. I really wanted to give this guy a good smack.
Quick-witted as ever, Keun Se-jin sidled up to the group and changed the subject.
“Anyway, isn’t it great that we’re together? Our team members are solid again! Let’s do well! Is there one person left?”
There were six doors with nameplates. Considering that 30 participants were currently surviving, it was highly likely that five people would be assigned per room.
‘Since four of us are here, it’s true that there’s one left.’
But I had no idea who would show up.
‘For now, the rankings and positions are well-balanced.’
The team members were evenly distributed without overlapping images, their rankings were high, and their skills were all decent.
Kim Rae-bin would handle the arrangement, and Keun Se-jin would likely snatch up the leader role anyway, so that was settled. Having the all-rounder Seon A-hyun made the stage composition easy as well.
In fact, it wouldn't even matter if just the four of us did it.
‘As long as a troller doesn't show up.’
A few names, including Choi Won-gil, came to mind as people to avoid. Other than them, it didn't really matter who came.
The problem was that my team compositions had never gone smoothly until now.
I weighed the possibilities.
‘From here… I can even cover Lee Se-jin.’
He was uncooperative, but he wasn't the type to pass a bomb to others for his own gain, so I could just coax him along. Still, there was a chance his mental state had crumbled during this ranking announcement, so it was better not to be with him if possible.
Then, for the best-case scenario for the last member… Well, excluding those already taken based on alphabetical order, only one remained.
‘Gold 1 would be the most comfortable.’
Just as I was thinking of the participant with the highest probability, Keun Se-jin suggested with a grin.
“How about we hide behind the door? Since they’re the last one, it would be nice to give them a really enthusiastic welcome.”
It was a cliché idea, but if the last teammate’s reaction was good, it was a prank that would translate well on broadcast.
The problem was the thought that the atmosphere might get awkward if Choi Won-gil walked in, but the other three had already scurried behind the door, so I just gave up.
Even if I tried to stop them, it would only look weird for me in front of the cameras.
As I let the sound of the teammates whispering behind the door drift through one ear, Keun Se-jin, who was pressed against the wall, shouted softly.
“They’re here!”
He then raised his index finger to his lips, making a fuss. Since I was already keeping my mouth shut, I continued to stay silent.
Soon, footsteps approached, and the door opened.
“Excuse m— Huh?”
“Ta-da!”
Heads popped out from behind the door with a slight delay.
“Gyaaaaak!!”
The participant who had been peeking inside jumped into the air, performing some physical comedy. He was more faint-hearted than expected.
‘Congratulations on your screen time.’
The last teammate, who tumbled over with a strange scream, was a familiar face.
“Oh, man, I’m sorry, Hyung!”
Gold 1, who was within my expectations, had joined.
‘…This is fine.’
For the first time, I gave a positive evaluation of a team composition.
*
“Let’s do our best, Rabbit Class!”
“Wooooo!!”
Clap, clap, clap. The discussion began with sensible reactions, without a single person looking grumpy.
Even including my college years, the atmosphere was the most harmonious of any team project I had ever experienced.
Since the cameras were on them, there was no swearing and no one slacking off.
‘It really feels like a kindergarten.’
Of course, not every team was a best-case scenario like the Rabbit Class.
For instance, two or three teams that were clumped together with only lower-ranked trainees already had an air of half-giving up.
“Ah….”
“Well, let’s try our best….”
“…So this is how it turned out.”
However, the real worst-case scenario unexpectedly emerged from another team where top-tier trainees were gathered. Choi Won-gil and Lee Se-jin had ended up on the same team as Ryu Cheong-woo and Cha Yu-jin. To make matters worse, the troller who had grabbed Kim Rae-bin by the collar was also on that team.
A few participants whispered.
“Can they even be grouped like that?”
“That’s a fascinating combination.”
I could practically hear the sound of Ryu Cheong-woo’s stomach lining dissolving from here.
‘It’s unfortunate for them, but for me, it’s actually better.’
It would be easier for us if that side drew all the attention with editing drama.
As I was reaching that brief conclusion, Keun Se-jin was proceeding with the discussion.
“Now, now, let’s talk about the songs first! Anyone have a song they want to do?”
Most of the teammates raised their hands with sparkling eyes. Even Seon A-hyun tentatively raised his; everyone seemed quite excited.
And for good reason. This was the first time a ‘Free Song Selection Team Match’ had appeared.
I recalled the announcement the MC had just made.
‘You can create a stage by choosing every detail—the song, choreography, and concept—that best suits your team! It’s called the 〈Self-Produced Stage〉!’
It was basically the production crew saying they were going to coast again.
‘In the previous season, I think they at least let them win things through mini-games.’
It meant the production crew had prepared about ten patterns of concepts, including costumes and stage sets, in advance. The structure was for the participants to choose what they wanted from among them.
But this season, they were just telling us to figure it all out from scratch.
Perhaps at the time this season was planned, they couldn't afford to prepare things in advance due to a lack of budget.
At least the show’s success had likely secured a lot of additional funding, so the one advantage now was that there were almost no budget constraints for this content.
‘That’s probably why these guys are so hyped.’
I listened to each of the other teammates' opinions.
The speaking order was set clockwise, and Seon A-hyun, who got the floor first, shouted softly.
“H-how about 〈Waiting is Good〉…!”
Waiting is Good. Its characteristics were high notes and a musical-like choreographic structure.
Its refreshing and sophisticated high-teen sensibility had perfectly hit the target audience.
It was a song by a nine-member boy group released five years ago, and it had given that group their first number-one win.
Looking back at his track record, it was a song Seon A-hyun would obviously like.
“Oh, a masterpiece for the first candidate. Nice.”
“Right. None of us have really shown that kind of youth! Refreshing! concept before.”
I also added a word.
“It’s good.”
“Y-yeah!!”
Seon A-hyun’s face lit up as he nodded vigorously. Even if it wasn't selected, he looked like he was dying of happiness just from the positive reaction.
‘How do you live like that with a face like that?’
It was somewhat pitifully baffling.
“Next is Rae-bin!”
“Considering the member composition, I believe VTIC sunbaenims’ 〈Hone〉 is the most effective choice.”
The comments poured out as if he had prepared them.
“Because it uses many oriental sound samples, the concept is distinctive, and the vocal range is appropriate. Since it’s a song with a high level of choreographic difficulty, it’s easy to show performance elements, and it’s convenient to insert a dance break interlude. I can also have a draft of the arrangement ready within a day!”
“Uh-huh….”
‘He really wants to do it.’
I wasn't the only one who thought so, as the other teammates responded with a half-beat delay and bewildered expressions.
Kim Rae-bin seemed to realize his intensity and started hesitating, gauging their reactions.
“I, of course… if there are other good opinions, those are fine too.”
“Okay, okay. The song Rae-bin picked was good too, but let’s listen to other opinions slowly first~”
Keun Se-jin smoothly moved on.
‘But it would be better to listen more closely to the opinion of the guy who’s going to do the arranging.’
It seemed Keun Se-jin had a song he wanted to push for himself, so he didn't intend to entertain Kim Rae-bin’s words any further.
‘Should I back him up a bit?’
I spoke up.
“Which element of what you mentioned did you like the most?”
“Pardon? …Ah, well, rather than liking a specific element, I considered what would be most suitable for the assignment overall.”
It meant he was focused on the overall quality of the stage. I nodded.
“That’s a perspective we should keep referencing.”
“Right. I was actually surprised.”
“Rae-bin, you have a plan for everything!”
“…Thank you.”
As the teammates added their praise, Kim Rae-bin lowered his head and muttered.
After a brief, heartwarming atmosphere was created while watching the awkward Kim Rae-bin, Keun Se-jin finally gave his opinion.
“The time has come.”
“…?”
“We’ve come this far; it’s time to do a sexy concept…!”
“S-s-sexy….”
“Uwaah!”
“Ooh….”
Reactions of cringing and shivers followed. Keun Se-jin laughed out loud.
“Hahaha! Honestly, you can’t deny it, right? You can’t!”
“…….”
He was annoying because he said it so blatantly and shamelessly, but….
‘…He has a point.’
I couldn't deny that it was a good idea.
‘As long as we pull it off properly, there’s no concept stronger than this.’
If we could keep it sophisticated while looking cool, a sexy concept was a traditionally proven route to success.
I crossed my arms and asked Keun Se-jin.
“Which song do you want to do?”
“Huh? As expected, Moon-dae has an eye for these things. Actually, I don’t want to push for one specific song. I want to compare several songs and decide together on the one that can most successfully show off this… sexy concept. What do you think?”
“…….”
It was fine.
But the other two’s opinions were also good.
I turned my head and looked at Gold 1, who hadn't spoken yet.
Gold 1 looked like he had been burnt to a crisp.
“I… I don’t know. I was just going to suggest we try to save the ‘Rabbit’ theme…. But everyone… has such a clear vision, don’t you?”
It seemed he had lost his fighting spirit because the other opinions were so firm. It was understandable. I shrugged.
“M-Moon-dae… w-what do you want to do?”
“Me? I don’t have anything specific in mind.”
When I answered Seon A-hyun’s question immediately, Keun Se-jin’s eyes sparkled.
“Oh, then I want to hear Moon-dae’s choice! Which of our opinions do you like best?”
“…!”
At Keun Se-jin’s words, the gazes of the rest of the teammates were pinned on me.
…It was incredibly burdensome. But it was a situation I couldn't ignore.
‘Which one do I like best,’ huh?
I fell into thought.