Chapter 40: Special Mission! Shine Bright (1)
40. Special Mission! Shine Bright (1)
"Now, I'll explain how the teams will be selected."
There was no particular reason I chose Han Seong-woo as my battle opponent.
'He's the easiest target.'
Plus, he slightly rubbed me the wrong way. The moment the special and regular classes merged, he immediately took the lead and started playing politics. The kids blindly followed his scheming, completely ruining the practice room atmosphere.
'And I've already thought of a way to paint a pretty picture.'
Sure, he's supposedly skilled, which made me a bit nervous, but winning is all that matters, right? As long as I get a good team, there shouldn't be any problems.
'For the title track team selection, the Wings-ranked trainees will probably pick one by one.'
The top-ranked trainee gets to choose their preferred team first. Out of 18 trainees, 10th place is technically lower tier, but I was certain the selection rights would still reach me.
'Kim Won-ho will likely avoid teaming up with Yu-geon. Judging by what they said earlier, Joo Eun-chan and Seo Tae-hyun have zero chance of picking the same team as Han Seong-woo.'
If just a few of the top-ranked trainees pick different teams, I still have a shot. This is our first stage to be shown to the public, so I need to position myself among the skilled ones to benefit from the halo effect. I can probably just follow Seo Tae-hyun and Joo Eun-chan's lead...
"The teams for the first title track have already been divided based on last month's evaluation results."
...Huh?
"Trainees ranked 1st (Jung Si-woo) through 9th (Kim Won-ho) will form Team A."
Wait, hold on.
"Trainees ranked 10th (Kang Ha-jin) through 18th (Park Jae-young) will form Team B for this mission."
The large panels displaying Teams A and B lit up with the trainees' faces as Seo Tae-il explained the lineup. Adding insult to injury, the top seven trainees—the Wings class—had wing designs next to their name tags. The attention to detail was downright petty.
"Additionally, for this mission, the highest-ranked trainee in each team will automatically be assigned the leader role. Jung Si-woo and Kang Ha-jin, please come forward to receive the materials needed for practice."
When I came to my senses, I found myself holding lyric sheets, pens, and a tablet for choreography practice, surrounded by lower-ranked trainees—none of whom I was close to (hell, I'd never even practiced with them before).
As they swarmed around me to check their parts, Han Seong-woo—sandwiched among trainees who looked debut-ready—flashed that infuriating smirk at me.
I thought to myself:
'...Our dear Fixed Regressor friend, I think it's about time you wanted to regress. No? Well, I sure do. Come on, regression.'
I'm screwed. F*ck.
If I had to name the thing I hated most since joining Miro Entertainment...
The constant regression threats? Han Seong-woo's petty territorialism? Department Head Son's outrageous behavior?
Despite the strong contenders, my answer would be this:
'This goddamn sense of defeat.'
The despair of knowing we could never beat the talented ones, that debut spots were already predetermined. The resignation and helplessness of realizing my skills would never improve, no matter how many 10-hour beauty sleeps I got after returning to the dorm or home like clockwork every night.
For the regular class trainees, that 'sense of defeat' was the default setting.
Just like right now.
"Ugh, isn't this totally unfair? Team A is all former special class trainees. They've had completely different training—how are we supposed to win?"
"You know these things are rigged, right? Did you see how Seo, Joo, and Dan came dressed as a trio today?"
"Seo Tae-hyun and Si-woo hyung already have fanbases... There's just no way we can win. If we don't completely humiliate ourselves, that's a win."
Our first practice session after team assignments.
As the team leader, I had to run some errands with the production staff. When I returned, I found the guys slacking off instead of practicing, and a sigh escaped me before I could stop it.
I couldn't stand people who blamed others without reason. Even worse were those who mindlessly ran their mouths, belittling others' efforts.
'No time to babysit these whiny brats.'
Seeing no point in listening further, I deliberately made noise as I opened the door.
"I told you to learn the choreo. What are you doing?"
Still, I wasn't socially inept enough to let my irritation show to kids nearly ten years younger and make things awkward. So I approached them with a light smile.
"Ah..."
"Did you warm up? I submitted the part distributions to the PD. We have a mid-check tomorrow, so let's focus on learning the choreo today."
"......"
"What are you doing? Not getting up? No practice?"
"...Tch. F*cking tryhard."
For a second, I thought I misheard.
'Did he just call me a tryhard?'
[System Alert: The system suspects there might be something wrong with your hearing.]
Unfortunately, my ears were fine. The brat who'd called me a tryhard stood up with an irritated huff, glaring at me with undisguised resentment.
"Hyung. Getting made leader twice in a row must feel great, huh? Acting all high and mighty?"
"......"
"Lately, you've been hanging out with Seo Tae-hyun and Joo Eun-chan, so maybe you forgot—but hyung, you've only been a trainee for a month."
"......"
"Your ranking only went up because you got carried by your teammates. And now you're suddenly acting all... leader-like, taking charge... Honestly, it's kinda pathetic."
[System Alert: That disrespectful little—St-stop!]
I just stared blankly at this 'honesty enthusiast.'
'What is this... this walking inferiority complex?'
Then I asked the ultimate question that had been on my mind the whole time:
"So what do you want? To cancel the broadcast?"
"Why did you pick Seong-woo hyung in the first place?"
"Huh?"
"Even though he put up with your attitude before, wasn't that too much? You only didn't pick Joo Eun-chan because you're friends, right? Coward."
"......"
"And now you're trying to play leader with us?"
Finally, I remembered who this kid was. The one always clinging to Han Seong-woo, playing the lackey. So this bootlicker was throwing a tantrum because I supposedly 'picked a fight' with Seong-woo?
[System Alert: The system demands the Fixed Regressor discipline them with righteous fury!]
[System Alert: The system is baffled by the Fixed Regressor's lack of response!]
"......"
I minimized the system window that was vibrating with more rage than I felt. I looked at the kid glaring at me with pure hostility and the others hiding behind him, watching but not intervening, and felt nothing but pity.
'At least Gong Seok isn't here.'
If the eldest of the hopeless trio had been part of this group, I might've lost all faith in humanity. But since I never had high expectations for these guys to begin with, it wasn't much of a blow. The few remaining special class trainees—all close to Han Seong-woo—wore similar expressions.
"Hey, you guys agree with this?"
"......"
"You all feel the same? You agree with him?"
No one answered, too busy gauging the mood. Seeing their reactions, I came to a simple conclusion.
"...Alright. Then for this mission, let's just focus on surviving individually."
[System Alert: Input error]
[System Alert: Input error]
[System Alert: Error in Fixed Regressor's response!]
[System Alert: Demands to know why disciplinary action isn't being taken!]
Why should I?
I turned my back and walked out of the practice room. The still-furious system window bombarded me with quest prompts and rewards, demanding I teach them a lesson, but I just felt cold from head to toe.
'Why should I bother reforming those brats?'
The battle with Han Seong-woo would be decided by individual scores anyway. Even if we lose as a team, I can just focus on my personal score. Frankly, these kids didn't even have the desperate drive to improve like the hopeless trio.
"Hey."
[System Alert: .......]
"Let's make a deal."
As I headed for the rooftop with a smile, the system trembled and screamed in protest. Brace yourself—no matter how much cash is in my account, I'm spending it all today.
"Huh? Where's Ha-jin?"
"Ah, hyung, he went somewhere."
"Kang Ha-jin hyung? Dunno. Maybe crying in the bathroom?"
"Ah, f*ck, you bastards."
Gong Seok, who had stepped out to call his parents, returned to find Ha-jin still missing. The weird tension in the room made him feel an inexplicable hostility. What's with this atmosphere?
"Where's Ha-jin? Aren't we practicing?"
"We're just doing individual practice today. We'll regroup for filming tomorrow."
"What?"
"That hyung's only been a trainee for like a month but acts all high and mighty as leader. Someone called him out, and he threw a tantrum and left."
'Ah, they're at it again.'
Gong Seok's brow furrowed slightly at the backbiting. This wasn't new—ganging up on trainees they didn't like, flexing their inferiority complexes.
'Last time, it was Eun-chan...'
Honestly, he'd been part of that group before too, drowning his own growing insecurities and fears about the future in collective blame. It was easier that way—if everyone else was at fault, he could feel okay.
But not anymore.
"So no one knows where Ha-jin is?"
"Dunno. He left earlier..."
"Ah, hyung, what's your problem?"
Gong Seok left without another word, clearly done with them. The moment he stepped out, he pulled out his phone and texted Ha-jin. (He couldn't bring himself to call.)
<Ha-jin, where are you? Heard the guys were rude. Let's talk.>
There was something he needed to say to Ha-jin.
Meanwhile, back at...
"Hand it over."
[System Alert: No!]
"You're really disappointing me, pal."
[System Alert: The system protests that the thuggish behavior should've been directed at those guys earlier!]
"Thuggish? Please. It's a deal. A deal."
I bullied the pale-faced system window into a 'deal' (read: extortion and threats).
"Seriously, in web novels, you can dump points into looks or physique. Why can't you do that? I raised you better."
[System Alert: X YOU'RE NOT MY FATHER X]
"Hey, technically, I summoned you when I was like, 'I can't take this anymore,' right? That makes me your second parent. Your heart-born child."
[System Alert: The system refuses to fall for the Fixed Regressor's nonsensical logic.]
Tch. Not working.