The Rankings Are Announced
Who could have been threatening Woo Yeon-woo...?
It was late Saturday by the time Rembrary parted ways with Woo Yeon-woo's mother and returned to the dormitory, where he surveyed the four members sprawled across the living room one by one.
Yeon-woo had never actually said who among the members had threatened him. In fact, halfway through his story he'd backpedaled, claiming it was a joke and brushing the whole thing off.
Still, for Rembrary — now inhabiting Yeon-woo's body — the remark left a faintly sour aftertaste.
That didn't mean he planned to come right out and ask, So, who threatened me? If one of the members really had made the threat, he would likely be relieved that Rembrary had lost his memory — which meant there was no reason for Rembrary to put him on high alert by broaching it first.
Moreover, even if a threat had been made, he would have to determine whether it was the source of whatever happened, or merely a momentary outburst of angry nonsense.
On Sunday, on his way from a shop visit to the broadcasting station, Rembrary continued to watch the members closely. After two days of quiet observation, he had a rough picture of how the members related to Yeon-woo.
The worst relationship, unsurprisingly, was with Taein. Taein made no particular effort to hide it, and he seemed to be on bad terms not only with Yeon-woo but with Cathy as well.
Jungseo, though the leader, was brusque — he looked after the members while drawing a clear, unmistakable line between himself and everyone else. Judging by the signs, he treated Yeon-woo the same way. Theirs was a purely business relationship.
Hye-gyeol, true to his maknae status, was outgoing and struck up conversation with Yeon-woo more than anyone.
Cathy was hard to pin down. When he was in a good mood, he was cheerful with everyone; when something rubbed him wrong, he sulked at everyone indiscriminately.
This is getting me nowhere.
But even after mapping out everyone's personalities, he still couldn't identify which member had made the threat — because beyond Yeon-woo, the members of this group generally maintained lukewarm, half-hearted relationships with one another across the board.
I suppose all I can do is wait and watch.
And so Monday arrived with the culprit still unidentified.
Monday was the day the contest results would be announced.
Jong-woo, who barged in at the crack of dawn, gathered up Rembrary and Cathy and hauled them off to the salon.
The other members had no schedules, and with their manager Jong-woo absent, they found themselves with unexpected free time.
"Mr. Woo Yeon-woo, Mr. Cathy! Long time no see!"
The salon Jong-woo took them to was different from the usual one — the very salon CEO Im had grudgingly splurged on exactly once, back when Yeon-woo first trended on the real-time search rankings. The staff who had shuffled out back then with sleep-crusted eyes, applying nothing but quick makeup, now greeted Rembrary and Cathy warmly as familiar faces.
"Saw the broadcast. You both looked fantastic."
"Your singing was incredible. I'll be looking forward to a full album next time."
After nearly three hours of primping, they arrived at the broadcasting station to find five contestants had gotten there before them. Jong-woo exchanged greetings with the group, and Rembrary followed suit on reflex.
After that, they waited in the greenroom for nearly two hours. Waiting, and waiting, and waiting. By the time Rembrary was yawning and nodding off mid-doze, the door finally opened and a staffer appeared.
"You can head to C2 Studio now."
Even in the studio, filming didn't begin until they had waited another thirty minutes.
Unlike the first time they'd received the contest assignment, a small stage had been set up today, with PD Kim Murok standing at its center. Twenty backless chairs ringed the stage in a circle, with the contestants seated in them — a round-table arrangement.
Rembrary had heard that hosts usually ran the show themselves, but apparently Sing Survival's mission announcements and results reveals were simply handled by PD Kim Murok in person.
As he sat still, lights began flashing — pop, pop, pop — and Kim Murok recited the same intro as before.
"Welcome to Sing Survival — the 100% real survival show!"
The moment the introduction ended, an AD standing some distance from the stage signaled for applause. Rembrary clapped along on autopilot, after which Kim Murok threw out a few words of greeting, paused to sweep his gaze over the contestants, and continued.
"We'll announce sixth place through first place here, along with the bottom three. The rest of the rankings can be checked separately on the bulletin board."
With a cast of twenty, he had evidently decided that reading out every name would take far too long. Rembrary nodded along absently from his chair, half listening.
He had stumbled into following this schedule, and yet sitting here like this gave him a strangely detached feeling. What am I even doing right now?
It was only when the sound of applause reached his ears that Rembrary snapped out of it. Startled, he looked up — apparently sixth place had already been announced. The contestant who'd taken sixth was cracking a joke through a grin.
"Guess I live to see another week."
Glancing over, Rembrary saw Jong-woo standing offstage with his hands clasped together, gazing at PD Kim Murok with barely contained desperation.
"In fifth place... is Beta!"
The moment Kim Murok called someone else's name, Jong-woo stomped his foot in private frustration. But when third place was announced and Rembrary's name still hadn't come up, his expression shifted to one of half-resigned defeat. He clearly hadn't entertained the slightest hope that Cathy or Rembrary would place any higher.
"In second place — Sunwoo Sil!"
At the sound of his own name, Sunwoo Sil simply smiled placidly. There was a flicker of disappointment on his face; he had clearly been expecting first place.
Rembrary turned his gaze back toward Kim Murok. Before announcing first place, the PD was stalling, rambling about something else entirely. The lights were slowly dimming.
Then, quite suddenly, Rembrary had the feeling that Kim Murok was looking at him.
That was the moment.
The lights directly above Rembrary flared on, and Kim Murok stretched out a hand toward him.
"In first place — Woo Yeon-woo! Congratulations!"
The voice came astonishingly fast. Then, a moment later, the song Rembrary had rearranged and performed in choir style a week ago began to play.
Rembrary sat staring blankly into space until the contestant seated beside him said, "Congratulations!" with a laugh, and he finally came back to himself.
So I took first.
He had joined the show on a whim, and honestly he had no particular feelings about it. But having actually won first place — well, it did feel rather nice.
Cathy, a few seats over, scrambled up and threw his arms around Rembrary, shouting, "Congrats! I knew it'd be you!"
Did you, though?
Suppressing his bewilderment, Rembrary managed an awkward smile. Watching Cathy's reaction now, he was reminded of how quickly the man's expression had flipped the moment Sunwoo Sil pointed a camera his way.
Which made him wonder — what was Sunwoo Sil's reaction? Curiosity struck, and Rembrary turned his head, only to silently click his tongue.
Sunwoo Sil was grinning with his thumb raised, as if he and Yeon-woo were the closest of sunbae and hoobae. He didn't come close, but even mouthed the words well done across the room — attention to detail included.
Amid it all, the only one unmoved was Rembrary himself.
Cruelly, last place was announced immediately after first — and it happened to be the very contestant beside him who had been the first to say "Congratulations!"
The same contestants who had celebrated his win as if it were their own now wore glum expressions within the span of a few minutes. Some were even crying.
Rembrary was shocked — though in a different way than before.
In the world he came from, plenty of people managed their expressions, priests included. But a whole crowd swapping faces this rapidly, back and forth...
"Mr. Oh Jung-shin, I'm sure there will be better results next time. I'm personally a fan, so honestly, it's a real shame."
Even Kim Murok, while consoling the last-place contestant with exaggerated sympathy, the instant the camera panned away began waving his hands frantically, signaling to the AD with a look of pure menace.
It sent a slight chill down Rembrary's spine, and he rubbed his arms.
While he was doing so, the lights began to brighten again. Kim Murok drawled out, "Ah, yes... congratulations to those who received good results," drawing everyone's attention back to himself.
"Unfortunately, Mr. Oh Jung-shin will now be spending the next week living the slave life."
At Kim Murok's added remark, the contestants burst out laughing this time. He paused for a moment, then grinned wickedly as he looked around at them all.
"Now, I'll announce the new contest assignment."
"......"
"You've all done solo, so next up is... a duet, of course! It's a duet contest!"
Having shouted it with theatrical surprise, Kim Murok went on to explain.
"First place teams with second, third with fourth, fifth with sixth — that's how the pairs will be formed. Song choice is free."
Rembrary had been listening quietly to the explanation when he flinched.
The duet itself was no problem. But the idea that first place had to pair with second...
No way.
Rembrary slowly lifted his head. Sunwoo Sil was looking right back at him, wearing his camera-ready smile.
"Getting tangled up with you is a losing proposition, it really is."
That was the first thing Sunwoo Sil said to Rembrary after the results recording wrapped. But perhaps because a few dozen tiny cameras were scattered around them, his expression remained bright and sunny even as he complained.
"Is this a singing competition or an audition for clowns? Why not just abandon the charts and ride YouTube view counts all the way, hm? Right?"
Sunwoo Sil's barbs grew sharper by the minute — sharp enough to make even Jong-woo, who had come running over in pure joy, grimace. Sunwoo Sil's own manager wore an uncomfortable look but didn't intervene. Sunwoo Sil, coldly smiling, adroitly kept out of every camera's frame.
It seemed less that he hated being teamed with Rembrary, and more that he hated ranking below him. But a provocation only continues if the other party reacts to some degree. No matter what he said, Rembrary simply smiled with gentle benevolence, and Sunwoo Sil gradually wore himself out, his words dwindling.
The moment the personal cameramen closed in with their cameras, he stopped the outright abuse entirely — and instead aired his grievance in softened, broadcast-safe terms.
"Still, first place pairing with second place is a bit unfair, don't you think?"
Even that didn't last long. Like the veteran he was — a man who had worked this industry for years without a single stain on his record — Sunwoo Sil quickly set aside his personal grievances and asked, "How are we preparing for the contest? Since we ended up on a team anyway, I'd like to do this properly."
So the rumors about his pride in music were true. He apparently had no intention of botching the contest just because his anger at Rembrary was simmering.
"How would you like to approach it, sunbae?" Rembrary asked evenly. The term sunbae was something Jong-woo had taught him on the way over, just in case.
"You give me your ideas first."
Rembrary found himself unable to answer easily this time. Before, the music had simply been the truest expression of himself, so the choir style had come to him instantly. But Rembrary had never sung a duet. A full chorus with everyone together would be one thing, but...
Just then—
"Um..."
A hesitant voice came from beside him. He turned to find the contestant who had placed last standing there. When Rembrary and Sunwoo Sil both looked at him, the contestant smiled awkwardly and pointed to his name tag.
"I'm your slave for three hours today."
The moment Rembrary heard this, he said, "Ah," with a smile and gave his order.
"I'm thirsty. Bring me a drink, please."
The contestant complied meekly — "Yes, sir" — and went off to fetch one from the vending machine.
Only after sending him on the errand did Rembrary notice Sunwoo Sil staring at him with an expression that read, Are you insane?
Why is he looking at me like that?
Jong-woo's expression was much the same, and even Eun-seon wore a face full of worry.
It was only then, belatedly, that Rembrary recalled the warning Jong-woo had given him two weeks ago, when he'd shown him the contestant list.
"He sings well, so I doubt he'll ever actually place last. But if he does end up in last place — be nice to him no matter what, and don't work him to the bone. Ever."
"Why must I do that?"
"His fans are notorious for being vicious. If you don't want a million anti-fans, you smile at him and never send him on a single errand. Not. One."