Victory's Benefits

Ye-chan sidelong glanced at Kang Hae-sol as the other rose from his seat to prepare for the stage.

As team leader, Hae-sol looked even gaunter than Ye-chan and Woo Hwi-gyum, who had spent the entire previous day grinding themselves down all the way in Gwangju. Given his sensitive nature, it was obvious how much he must have fretted throughout the entire training camp. Yet to Ye-chan's eyes, the straight line of Hae-sol's back looked good.

I've only ever seen him dragging himself around at this point before, but this is much better.

That perfectionist always abused himself like this whenever there was work to be done. Stopping that habit would take more than ordinary effort. Ye-chan freshly resolved to take the time after debut and carefully fix it, then turned his gaze toward Beom Se-hyuk, who was waiting for his turn next.

Eyes closed in meditation, Se-hyuk wore a white shirt and black slacks. It stood in sharp contrast to Hae-sol's team, decked out head to toe in flashy ornaments to match the circus concept.

Last Circus is a flashy track, yet he's going clean again this time.

Across the repeating cycles, Se-hyuk had always landed in Jupiter's Last Circus team. The costume concept sometimes shifted depending on the members, but in most cycles he had dressed just this cleanly.

And then he took first place right in front of everyone.

But this time the opponent was who it was; even Se-hyuk would not be able to guarantee an easy win. Recalling Hae-sol burning with drive, Ye-chan caught Se-hyuk's eyes just as the other opened them and gave him a thumbs-up.

You go all out and die trying too. For the sake of the show's ratings, if nothing else.

However Se-hyuk interpreted the gesture, he beamed and raised a thumb of his own before rising from his seat. Ye-chan turned his attention back to the waiting-room monitor.

The two Last Circus stages were both so excellent it was hard to call a winner. Aside from their leaders, Kang Hae-sol and Beom Se-hyuk, neither team had any particularly outstanding trainees, yet both put on remarkably strong performances.

It's going to be even closer than I thought.

Ye-chan was clapping toward the screen when he suddenly realized the corners of his mouth had lifted; he touched his lips with his fingers.

Have I lost it?

Even though the situation was hardly ideal for taking first place, he felt strangely buoyant.

It didn't come out of nowhere… Ever since I joined this program, it's been like this from some point on.

To Ye-chan, who had held the top-star seat for so long, a rival had always meant an enemy. In an entertainment industry where you climbed a razor-edge cliff while keeping competitors in check for a limited number of summit spots, the idea of rivals who positively influenced each other and grew together had always struck him as pretty-sounding nonsense. Yet now that he was a trainee again, his heart seemed to have gone soft in a way that did not suit him.

After all eight stages had finished and the audience had filed out, the trainees gathered once more on the empty stage. Unlike the first contest, they would not return to the dorms; results would be announced immediately and then they would disperse, so the trainees had come out already carrying their bags in the middle of the chaos.

"Everyone did well on the second contest, candidates!"

At MC Andrew's words, the exhausted-looking trainees let out cheers. Looking satisfied, the MC lifted the microphone again.

"Then we will begin announcing the results of the second contest."

The MC seemed tired as well; the pace of the proceedings was incomparably faster than before. In a flash he finished announcing the results for the two teams that had performed Looking At, then immediately called forward the two teams for Don't Bother.

Twelve trainees stood side by side in front of the monitor.

"First, the individual vote counts for each team's trainees."

At the MC's words, the number 6 appeared at the very bottom of the horizontally split monitor. Checking the screen, the MC extended the hand holding his cue sheet.

"Please reveal each team's sixth place!"

The sixth-place vote count for Shim Sang-rok's team was lower than Ye-chan's. Unmoved, Ye-chan studied Sang-rok's three-TOP line. Main rapper Shim Sang-rok, main vocal Jeong Ui-tak, and on top of that main dancer Seonwoo I-gyeong. Even from a hundred meters away it was a combination that would shred the votes to pieces.

Our side will have a solid share of votes for Woo Hwi-gyum, but not at the level of three people splitting them like over there.

Perhaps because of the unfair controversy that had blown up and made him an issue, the audience seats had seemed fullest of fans cheering for Hwi-gyum. But the live audience had been recruited even earlier than that.

Fans passionate enough to sacrifice a golden Sunday from evening straight through midnight will ultimately vote for the trainee they're pushing.

Fans of trainees from other teams might send Hwi-gyum sympathy votes, but Ye-chan trusted his own skill.

With the track I've laid down so far, the central position in the song, and the item buff on top of that—if I still lose, I should retire.

While Ye-chan's mind wandered through such thoughts, it became time to announce third place.

"Revealing the third-place vote counts!"

Ye-chan first checked his own team's ranking and votes. Nam Ji-yu was only one vote behind fourth-place Bae Sae-byeok.

Looks like Sae-byeok's ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠sudden jump in skill this time really registered with the audience. Changing his hair probably helped too. And on the other side…

In the three-way competition, Jeong Ui-tak seemed to have fallen behind for now. Considering Ui-tak's vote count and the remaining votes, the gap with first and second would not be large, though.

Ui-tak looked startled by the higher-than-expected number. Ye-chan briefly confirmed Shim Sang-rok's good-natured face as the older trainee patted Ui-tak's shoulder beside him, then turned back to the monitor.

Sang-rok gave way too much.

"Next is second place!"

If they had stuck to the original song, first place in the team would clearly have gone to Sang-rok. Yet Sang-rok had not only carved out parts of his own share for the other members but had even forced in a dance break for the dance members.

So of course you get a result like this.

Recalling Seonwoo I-gyeong's intense performance on the dance-break highlight, Ye-chan clicked his tongue inwardly at Sang-rok.

What is he so happy about, smiling like that, honestly.

Sensing a camera on him, Ye-chan forced his expression into something tense. Hwi-gyum's votes fell within the range Ye-chan had expected. With the remaining votes obvious, Ye-chan's own would be the same.

"And finally, the long-awaited first place! Congratulations!"

At the MC's words the monitor displayed the names and numbers.

A satisfying start. Ye-chan bowed with a moved expression.

What I can look forward to now is the benefit given to the team that wins the one-on-one matchup, and the benefit given to the highest-vote team among all eight.

In the second contest there was one individual trainee vote after each team's stage. After both teams that performed the same song finished, there was a vote to choose the better team. Finally, after seeing every stage, there was another vote to pick the most preferred team overall.

If the highest-vote benefit had been awarded based on the one-on-one matchup numbers alone, tightly contested teams like Don't Bother or Last Circus would have had no chance. But because of that final vote, the possibility was still plenty open.

First we take the victory benefit.

As if reading Ye-chan's burning heart, the MC quickly announced the team battle results.

"Now please show the vote counts for each Don't Bother team!"

With the trainees' names wiped from the monitor, the numbers moved rapidly. Just as everyone's concentration peaked, the numbers stopped.

The gap was not especially large, but it was a clear victory.

"Wooooah, Ye-chan!"

"Ye-chan hyuuuung!"

In the blink of an eye the members snowballed into one mass and swallowed Ye-chan whole.

"Uh, yeah. Uh, I get it, so, uh, stop—"

Despite Ye-chan's protests, the members howled with joy in sounds that could have been crying or laughing. It was only after he had been spun around for a long while, surrounded by his sweat-smelling teammates, that Ye-chan managed to return to his seat.

Their stamina's good too.

The moment he sat, the tension seemed to drain; fatigue crashed over him all at once. Come to think of it, he had barely slept for the past three days. Even holding on with sheer willpower was starting to show its limits. But filming was not over yet. Ye-chan bit the inside of his cheek and steeled himself.

In the meantime the results for Room 3 finished. Chae Eun-seong and Lee Seung-heon, who had ranked eighth and tenth respectively ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠at the previous first ranking ceremony, split the votes between them, while Park Na-gil earned even fewer votes than last time and wore an awkward smile.

After that came the final announcement for Room 4. In contrast to Kang Hae-sol's rigidly set face, Beom Se-hyuk stood with a faint smile. Ye-chan swept his gaze over the two Room 4 leaders in turn, then fixed his eyes on the monitor in the center.

"First, sixth place—please reveal it!"

The lowest vote counts so far appeared on the monitor. He felt sorry for the two trainees, but it was not a problem of part distribution. Hae-sol's team had divided the parts into six equal shares with surgical precision, while Se-hyuk's team had carved off portions of the main members' parts for those whose original-song weight was too light. The problem was that even when given the parts, some people simply could not take them; in the end, after the stages finished, only Hae-sol and Se-hyuk remained in anyone's mind.

Even receiving is a talent, I guess.

"Then revealing the first-place vote counts!"

Even while Ye-chan indifferently reviewed Room 4's stages in his head, the announcements continued steadily until finally each team's first place was revealed.

An excited MC Andrew poured out words like a machine gun.

"With 816 votes, setting a new all-time high, candidate Beom Se-hyuk takes both the individual highest-vote benefit for the Last Circus team and the overall individual highest-vote benefit across all teams!"

At the overwhelmingly high number the trainees murmured in surprise. Only Ye-chan, who had expected a figure around this size, remained unimpressed.

Before the resets, if the team draft completely tanked he even hit 900, so what.

What Ye-chan wanted to know right now was the one-on-one matchup result.

The 50,000-vote benefit for each team's individual highest voter. The 70,000-vote benefit for every member of the one-on-one victory team. The 150,000-vote benefit for the overall individual highest voter. And finally the 100,000-vote benefit for the team that placed first in the final team vote.

So far Ye-chan had received 120,000 votes and Se-hyuk 200,000. If Se-hyuk's team beat Hae-sol's, Se-hyuk's benefits would reach 270,000—more than Ye-chan could overtake even if he took the final vote benefit.

While Ye-chan ran through various possibilities in his head, the MC resumed.

"This time we will check the one-on-one matchup results for Last Circus!"

The trainees' gazes gathered on the monitor once more. Ye-chan clenched his fists. The numbers seemed about to stop yet refused to.

They're dragging it out even more because it's the last one.

Just when he thought viewers would start throwing their remotes, the numbers finally halted.

Yes!

Confirming the six digits, Ye-chan's eyes snapped toward Kang Hae-sol. Hae-sol was silently accepting the members who clung to him and wept openly.

He's not crying.

It took a little of the wind out of Ye-chan's sails. He had known Se-hyuk never cried, so he had not expected anything there, but he had privately hoped Hae-sol might cry if he won—yet the other looked surprisingly fine.

He beat Beom Se-hyuk and he's that composed… Is it just me who thinks of Se-hyuk as formidable because I've watched him win streak after streak on Choose My Prince?

In any case, thanks to Hae-sol taking down Se-hyuk's team, Ye-chan had gained. The only result left now was the final team vote.

After calming the hall, the MC spoke again.

"At last only the final vote result remains. After every stage, the princesses chose the best performance. Every candidate on the team that takes first in this vote will receive a benefit of a full 100,000 votes! Please reveal it!"

Perhaps because more time had passed than expected, the rankings came out faster than before. In a flash they passed eighth, seventh, sixth, and fifth; now it was time for fourth. Remaining were Ye-chan's team, Shim Sang-rok's team, Beom Se-hyuk's team, and Kang Hae-sol's team. The trainees whose rankings had not yet been announced stared at the screen with desperate hearts.

"This is surprising! Last Circus Team 1, which has candidate Beom Se-hyuk who took overall first in individual votes, is in fourth place!"

Surprising, my foot. Ye-chan thought coldly. This result had been all but decided the moment Se-hyuk's team lost the one-on-one. Unlike Ye-chan's or Sang-rok's teams, Se-hyuk's had not a single other popular trainee besides Se-hyuk himself.

Even if you tell them to vote for the stage they liked today, audience members with a clear trainee they support will still vote that way, so it's a disadvantage.

In that sense the rest of the results were obvious too.

"Come on up front!"

At the MC's words Ye-chan and his members climbed onto the stage again. Ye-chan passed the microphone the staff handed him to leader Nam Ji-yu. Taking the mic with an elated face, Ji-yu opened his mouth.

"Uh, we never thought we'd end up in first place like this. I think we got a good result because we met really good teammates. More than anything, thank you to the princesses who looked on us kindly."

Beside Ji-yu delivering the team representative's remarks, Ye-chan applauded and smiled with quiet pride.

With the long day from contest through results announcement finally over, the third training camp of Choose My Prince drew its curtain.