The Second Succession Ceremony
What the hell is this ridiculous garbage?
Sucked in by the absurdly baiting title, Ye-chan tapped the post open without a second thought.
People were already saying he looked like C.Y. from the second his profile dropped lol. I thought it was total bullshit back then and just let it go, y'know?
But the more I watch, the more I can see Beom deliberately copying C.Y.'s every little hand gesture (photo) (photo)
This is literally identical lmaooo. Stop gritting your teeth and shielding him, you stans. You absolute trash. Even if you copy him this pathetically, you're still just an inferior knockoff. Genuinely disgusting ughhh
The post had been garbage from the title alone, and the body did nothing to improve on it. From the very first paragraph it yanked at the base of Ye-chan's skull. He pressed his throbbing temples and forced himself to read every last word.
"Haa."
When he finally reached the period at the end, Ye-chan drew a long, deep breath.
Of everything in that post, one single claim lodged under his skin like a splinter.
"Beom Se-hyuk is Jung Chan-yang's inferior knockoff? What kind of nonsense is that?"
Even if someone had claimed the reverse — that Jung Chan-yang was Beom Se-hyuk's inferior version — Ye-chan would have recoiled at the sheer audacity of putting the two of them on the same plane. Unless the writer's eyesight had briefly gone dead, there was no way anyone could spit out garbage like this.
Nothing like this has ever happened before.
It wasn't as simple as saying the posts never existed because Jung Chan-yang hadn't been around. In a survival program, smearing any trainee who stood in the way of your bias was practically a daily sport. Screenshot brigades screaming about bad attitudes were the bare minimum; one vaguely interpretable line in an interview was enough to draw concentrated fire from every other trainee's fans. And yet, in Beom Se-hyuk's case, the intensity of that hostility had been startlingly low compared to everyone else.
His fanbase was overwhelmingly huge, sure.
Quantity had a quality of its own — hate posts got buried almost as soon as they went up. But even in an environment where people tore into each other over the mere fact that a disliked trainee was breathing, Beom Se-hyuk's skill had been untouchable. That was probably part of it. The complete absence of any real rival who could stand beside him had been another.
But now Ye-chan was here. Kang Hae-sol was here. Beyond them, Shim Sang-rok and Woo Hwi-gyum — and for reasons Ye-chan still didn't fully understand, Seonwoo I-gyeong — were all posting far better results than in the previous round. Personal fandoms were swelling as a result.
The sudden thought that one of his own fans might have written the post he'd just read sent a cold crawl down Ye-chan's spine.
Fortunately, the comment section and every other corner of the internet he checked showed no similar talk. It didn't look like something that needed emergency damage control.
I'll have to keep an eye out for anything like it going forward, though.
Jung Chan-yang's face kept overlaying itself on Beom Se-hyuk's, and Ye-chan shook his head hard, flung his phone as far as it would go, and dragged the blanket up over himself. Practice was tomorrow. Sleep came first.
……Still. No matter how I turn it over, how do you even put Beom Se-hyuk next to that guy?!
"We're here."
"Hey, everyone! Hello!"
Beom Se-hyuk, the next day, looked as bright and energetic as he always did.
Well. Nothing's blown up yet, so of course he wouldn't know.
Ye-chan returned Beom Se-hyuk and Jeong Ui-tak's greetings with a nod. Shim Sang-rok, who had been warming up in front of the mirror, came over.
"You all ate lunch, right?"
"Yes!"
"Then the guerrilla concert's done with. What should we work on this time? Anyone have a song they want to try?"
"Me! I've got a song I really want to do with this lineup!"
Beom Se-hyuk's hand shot into the air before Shim Sang-rok had even finished speaking, buzzing with excitement.
"Which one? Do you have the track?"
"No track, but should I record it on guitar right now?"
Episode 7 aired just yesterday, and nobody's bringing it up.
The internet was still boiling over Kim Su-young's mess, and yet. Refusing to heat themselves up over someone else's gossip was excellent conduct for idols, and a quiet satisfaction settled into a corner of Ye-chan's chest.
The others are probably just being polite about not mentioning Kim Su-young. Beom Se-hyuk, though…… he genuinely does not care.
Watching him chatter away, guitar in hand, there wasn't a single shadow on him no matter how hard Ye-chan looked.
"The ranking ceremony's tomorrow, so let's keep it light today. Light."
None of them were going to be eliminated tomorrow — but a ranking announcement still carried a weight that ordinary filming days didn't, and there was no denying it. Ye-chan shook off the stray thoughts, lightened his step, and walked over to Beom Se-hyuk's side. He looked down with dry eyes at Beom Se-hyuk plinking away on the guitar and delivered his honest assessment.
"You're terrible at guitar."
"You caught that fast! In that case, I'm looking for someone who can actually play!"
Even under Ye-chan's criticism, Beom Se-hyuk didn't wilt. Without a word, Ye-chan took the guitar out of his hands.
"Ye-chan, you play guitar too?"
"A little."
Ye-chan answered Shim Sang-rok absently, checking the instrument's tuning. Woo Hwi-gyum had drifted over at some point, eyes gleaming, and Jeong Ui-tak dropped heavily onto the floor beside him, shoulders already trembling.
"I'm putting money on him being absurdly good. I refuse to believe that hyung when he says 'a little.'"
Ye-chan huffed a quiet laugh and started plucking the strings. It wasn't long before Jeong Ui-tak's shrill scream filled the practice room.
"See?! I told you I was right!"
Light, my ass.
He'd thought free song practice would be simple enough. Somehow it had turned into one of the most body-destroying sessions they'd ever put themselves through. It had started with reproducing existing choreography as-is — and the next time Ye-chan looked up, they were all huddled together inventing new choreography, splitting vocal and rap parts, and rearranging the track. The half-hearted accompaniment Ye-chan had been sketching out on guitar was joined, at some point, by a keyboard and then a drum kit, and they each grabbed whatever instrument they could handle and started producing the thing properly.
They each picked a favorite song and tore through five of them in a row. Even after sleeping it off, his body still wasn't right.
Unlike any team I've put together before, the chemistry was so good I was having too much fun to notice how hard it was. Completely unprofessional of me.
Thanks to that, a full day later, the fatigue still hadn't fully cleared. Ye-chan steeled a mind that wanted nothing more than to yawn on the spot. Filming hadn't started yet, but in a place with this many eyes on you, minding your posture was the correct call.
Especially on a ranking announcement day like today. One slip in facial management and every community on the internet would be circulating a gif of the trainee who'd already gone soft.
At least everyone else looks exhausted too. Small mercies.
Makeup covered what it could, but most of the trainees still looked haggard. Nerves had clearly kept them from sleeping properly. Ye-chan wanted to rub his eyes, but the makeup made even that impossible.
He found himself hoping the cameras would just start already. As if the wish had carried, MC Andrew — who had been talking with the main PD for a long stretch — finally stepped up onto the center stage.
"An honor to see you again, princesses beyond the screen. Your butler, Andrew."
Ye-chan exhaled deeply and snapped his posture straight in an instant.
The second ranking announcement ceremony had finally begun.
MC Andrew swept his gaze across the faces of the trainees seated below the platform, then put on a deliberately somber expression as he continued.
"The forty-seven prince candidates who survived the first Throne Succession Ceremony are seated here now, waiting for the results of this second ranking announcement."
Kim Su-young had withdrawn before today's filming even started. He'd left a long post on social media about the unfair treatment he'd suffered on Chumaf, claiming to be a victim of devil's editing — but his on-broadcast behavior had been so spectacular that the pile-on, compounded by pure spite, had driven him to lock his account almost immediately.
No articles yet, but he must have contacted them right after to say he was leaving.
The fact that the Chumaf side still hadn't said a single word suggested they were deliberately holding the story until after the second ranking ceremony aired — just to force people to tune in and check whether Kim Su-young showed up or not. A farce that had benefited no one but the production team.
"Through today's second Throne Succession Ceremony, only thirty candidates will advance to the next stage. Regrettably, seventeen candidates will step down from this stage forever. Now then — let the second Throne Succession Ceremony begin!"
While Ye-chan was cynically sorting the situation in his head, the ranking announcements began in earnest.
"This time, we've changed the format slightly from the first Throne Succession Ceremony. We'll begin by announcing 32nd place. And 32nd place is…"
Just as Ye-chan remembered. Apparently they'd decided that announcing from the bottom up, the way they had last time, lacked enough thrill — so this round they were differentiating by announcing 32nd first, skipping the elimination borderline of 30th and 31st, then jumping to 29th.
"29th place is… Im Chae-jin of Zion!"
Im Chae-jin, who had been on Ye-chan's team, shot up from his seat.
"Thank you! Thank you!"
If he'd held the same rank as last time he would have been eliminated — the extra screen time and the benefit must have pushed him up. Ye-chan clapped hard, genuinely glad for his teammate's survival.
"Next, our 28th-place candidate. Kim Se-gyeong of Ireuche Entertainment — congratulations."
Kim Se-gyeong, who had been caught gossiping with Kim Su-young in the hallway, survived at 28th and stayed on the broadcast.
Unlike Im Chae-jin, he bowed his head with quiet composure. He hadn't been filmed actively badmouthing anyone, so he hadn't taken a direct hit — but the audience had clearly marked him as unlikeable, and he seemed to be keeping his head down.
Announcements of joy and despair continued to alternate. Kim Ju-young, the other half of the controversy, was eliminated at 34th. Sympathy had surged after Kim Su-young's vicious remarks, but online voting had closed immediately afterward, so it hadn't moved the needle much.
The production team might have calculated that far ahead. Kim Su-young already quit, so there was nothing more to squeeze out of Kim Ju-young anyway.
Kim Ju-young, looking far more gaunt than he had at the last filming, left a final thank-you for everything. It was the first elimination of a trainee from Ye-chan's own team, but no strong emotion rose in him. The viewers, though, would want that feeling — so Ye-chan put on a face of regret and saw Kim Ju-young off.
The announcements kept alternating between those who fell and those who advanced, until only the debut-zone 9th place and the elimination borderline of 30th and 31st remained.
Bae Sae-byeok, who had ranked 19th in the first ceremony, had ridden a smooth upward current and settled at 11th.
And Jeong Ui-tak, who was 11th last time, still hasn't been called.
There was no way he'd suddenly dropped into the 30s — which meant he was inside the debut zone.
That made six of the members Ye-chan had in mind now sitting inside debut range. With a carefully blank face, he clenched and unclenched the hand resting on his knee, bleeding off the excitement.
No matter how clearly success glittered right in front of him, he had to remember it wasn't his until it was actually in his hand.
"10th place goes to a candidate with a striking, captivating dance line. Chae Eun-seong — congratulations!"
Chae Eun-seong sprang up from his seat.
Ye-chan watched him with cold eyes.
Good thing the Lee:Spirit fanboy landed outside the debut zone.
In the previous broadcast, Chae Eun-seong had left an interview saying he was disappointed he hadn't been placed on the team for Lee:Spirit's song Don't Bother.
Liking Jung Chan-yang in the first place — he was the kind of person Ye-chan could barely stand to share the same sky with.
The debut-zone rankings continued.
"And 9th place. A candidate with outstanding rap skill. Lee Seung-heon — congratulations!"
Lee Seung-heon, up one rank from the last ceremony, rose from the back row.
A tall frame on par with Woo Hwi-gyum carried him in long strides up onto the stage where the MC stood.
"To receive a number this meaningful is a true honor. I'll work even harder going forward. Princesses — thank you!"
Finished with his remarks, Lee Seung-heon moved to the edge of the chairs prepared at the rear center of the stage and sat down.
Unlike the other advancing candidates, the chairs for the debut-zone top nine stood proudly beneath the stage lights.
"Our 8th-place star is a candidate who's like a human vitamin for Choose My Prince 99."
Not Jeong Ui-tak, then.
Ye-chan assessed it coldly.
"Nam Ji-yu of Vita — congratulations!"
Just as expected.