Just Like That

The production staff of My Idol Academia had a long and storied history of malice. Why, it went all the way back to Goguryeo Subakdo…

What the…?

I froze at the unfamiliar change on the Status Window. Then tension flooded in right behind the confusion. Of all times for a locked trait to start unlocking—right in the middle of a situation like this—I couldn't convince myself it was anything good.

So I waited, a little shaky, to see what the Status Window would do next.

But…

…For better or worse, Yu Seol failed to unlock the locked trait.

I looked at the failure window and quietly pressed a hand to my chest in relief.

But what even is that locked trait?

Come to think of it, Park Yujeong had one of those locked traits too. It didn't seem like something that would be locked for no reason… but whatever it was, I had a feeling it was better left closed.

"All right, we'll resume filming."

At any rate, Yu Seol's locked trait stayed locked, and the final grade evaluations for the A Ranks resumed.

"Participant Yu Seol of A Rank will remain at A Rank."

"Thank you—!"

Yu Seol, the second to take her final grade evaluation, held her A Rank as a matter of course.

And then, the long-awaited final stage.

"…We'll begin the performance now."

Offstage, Lee Hyejeong had been shaking so hard she could barely get her words out—but the moment she stepped onto the stage, she transformed into someone else entirely. Maybe that was the seasoning of having climbed all the way to seventh place on another audition program. She was a real-battle type, stronger under pressure than she ever was in practice.

And so Lee Hyejeong finished her stage successfully as well…

"Hyejeong too… I scolded her so hard over the dance parts, and seeing how much she's improved makes me so happy, and I'm so sorry. Khk…"

"…Teacher Yesol."

The vocal trainer who had broken down crying during my evaluation teared up again watching Lee Hyejeong's stage, and a warm atmosphere settled over the room.

"Trainee Lee Hyejeong will remain at A Rank."

"Th-thank you—!!"

In the end, Lee Hyejeong held her grade too, and all three original A Ranks stayed right where they were. On top of that, two more had joined the A Rank. When the final grade evaluations ended, there were five A Ranks in total.

"All right, that concludes the final grade evaluations."

Once Lee Hyejeong's evaluation was finished, Han Siwoo picked up the mic and took over.

"You'll be divided by grade and assigned appropriate positions for tomorrow's group theme song stage."

"Appropriate," of course, meant closer to the center—center itself. With the A Ranks planted in the middle and the B and C Ranks fanning out from there, the lower-ranked contestants wouldn't even get a single easy camera cut.

"There are probably people among you who aren't happy with your current grades. Some of you are already feeling the gap between yourselves and the higher ranks."

"……"

At Han Siwoo's words, the lower-ranked contestants pressed their lips shut, looking grim. His next line poured hope back into those same hearts.

"But don't worry too much. Nothing is decided yet. Even someone in a high rank right now could be eliminated tomorrow—and even someone in a low rank right now could debut."

"……"

"And the ones who decide all of that… are the viewers."

Han Siwoo said it while pointing at the cameras.

"Even if your skills fall short, if the viewers choose you, you can still debut."

"……!"

Right. My Idol Academia wasn't a show where the most skilled trainees simply debuted. It was a show where the six people who got the most viewer votes debuted—period. Once that sank in, and they realized they still had a chance, sparks lit in the eyes of the lower-ranked contestants. Most of them were the ones whose skills lagged but whose looks were relatively strong.

"All right, then—we'll wrap today's filming by greeting our viewers. Everyone, find a camera and look this way."

At Han Siwoo's cue, the contestants scrambled competitively for a camera each, staring into the lenses with the brightest faces they could manage. Realistically, they'd be lucky to get a single second of airtime—but they were that desperate.

"All together now. Show me your dream!"

"Show me your dream!"

And just like always, we shouted the My Idol Academia slogan, and today's filming came to a close.

"Cut! Great work, everyone! Only those whose grades changed, please follow the staff. Everyone else is free for the rest of the day."

The crew called cut, and only the people whose ranks had shifted gathered up. From what I'd heard, a grade change meant a room change, and they wanted to film the reactions. I was still A Rank, so it didn't apply to me. We had an early call again tomorrow—I figured I should head straight to the room and rest.

"Unnie, you ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠worked so hard."

"You too, Yerin. You really did."

I greeted Lee Hyejeong first—the one I'd lived and breathed A Rank with side by side.

And then…

"…Seol unnie. You too…"

I worked up the courage to approach Yu Seol beside her and offer a greeting as well.

But…

"……"

She brushed past me without so much as a reaction.

"…Uh, Seol-ah?"

Lee Hyejeong, who had no idea what had happened, looked startled at the Yu Seol who had gone cold again.

"I thought we'd gotten pretty close… was I wrong…?"

I'd thought the same thing. Preparing for the final grade evaluations together through last night, I'd felt like we'd gotten fairly close… or rather, that Yu Seol had opened the door to her heart a fair amount.

But because of earlier…

Yerin, snap out of it. You and I are competitors.

The door to her heart had slammed shut again. Shut so tight I had no idea when—or if—it would ever open.

"…Let's head back too, Yerin. We barely slept last night. We should get some rest early."

"…Yeah."

There was nothing I could do for Yu Seol right now. If I tried approaching her again…

Or what, did the old hag who trained for nine years and still never debuted just look that pathetic to you?

She'd bare her claws again, the wound still raw.

"Haa…"

If I'd thought a little more carefully about her feelings, I wouldn't have half-heartedly pretended to look out for her and ended up hurting her instead.

I went back to the dorm with a bitter taste in my mouth. Even after a long-overdue hot shower and crawling into bed early, her words kept circling back.

…I was an idiot for thinking competitors could get along.

I'd thought of her as a competitor too. Watching her stages, I'd felt that sick self-doubt—why am I so much worse—and sometimes even ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the urge to crush her flat.

But…

I never thought that meant we couldn't get close…

I closed my eyes slowly, replaying everything that had happened with Yu Seol today. My body felt like it weighed a thousand pounds, but sleep wouldn't come. Her words kept floating up.

Don't you get that just by being here, you're taking the chance from someone who desperately needed it?

Just by being here, I was costing someone else their chance…

She wasn't wrong. Today, I'd essentially stolen the opportunity for Yu Seol to be recruited by HS. And if I debuted through My Idol Academia, it also meant someone who would have made the debut lineup in my past life would fall instead.

Maybe that was why. Random thoughts kept crowding in, and my head spun. I squeezed my eyes shut hard and forced myself to sleep.

Get a good night's rest… and it'll be better when tomorrow comes…

I told myself that by morning, this tangled mess in my head would settle.

But My Idol Academia was far too cruel a place for hopeful thoughts like that.

The next morning.

The moment we woke up, Lee Hyejeong and I headed for the cafeteria. We needed a solid breakfast to prepare for the group theme song ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠stage coming up. I'd originally planned to drag Park Yujeong along too, but…

"Ah… unnies…. I was filming reaction shots late last night…. I'm just gonna skip breakfast and sleep today…, zz…"

Park Yujeong had completely collapsed after shooting reactions until late, so the two of us went alone.

Today's breakfast menu was seolleongtang.

"Wow~ I love seolleongtang!"

Lee Hyejeong, who didn't seem to hate any food, ladled herself a mountain of it and vacuumed it up like a human industrial cleaner. I piled my own bowl high too, figuring today's shoot was going to be brutal and I'd need the fuel.

We were in the middle of happily demolishing our seolleongtang when it happened.

Sssk—.

Our eyes met those of a staff member passing through the cafeteria.

That person… one of the writers, right?

We weren't exactly close, but they were still one of the people with real power on My Idol Academia, so we offered a rough nod of greeting, and they dipped their head roughly in return.

But the writer who'd been about to walk on after that half-hearted acknowledgment…

"Ah."

…stopped like someone who'd just remembered something they'd forgotten, came over to our table, and said:

"Hyejeong."

"…Yes? Yes, Writer-nim."

"About your grade. We've decided on B."

"…Excuse me?"

The writer's expression was as calm as if they were exchanging morning greetings. We, on the other hand…

Clack. Clang.

"……What do you mean by that?"

We froze solid under the sudden bolt from the blue.

"…Why is Hyejeong unnie suddenly B? Yesterday she clearly held A…"

"Ah, Yerin, this doesn't apply to you. Only Hyejeong is B."

"So then why all of a sudden…?"

At our questions, the staff member just waved a hand like they were busy ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠and laughed it off.

"It just turned out that way. You'll hear the details later… anyway, just keep that in mind."

And with that, they said goodbye and left.

"……"

"……"

Lee Hyejeong and I could only sit there, staring blankly after them.