Show Me Your Dream
From that day on, my life completely changed.
“…….”
“…….”
When Kang Suhyeon, who normally never showed the slightest shift in emotion, began radiating a sorrowful atmosphere, the mood in the room plummeted at once.
Sensing it immediately, Lee Jiwoo hurriedly steered the conversation away from Yu Seol and onto the next topic.
“Ah…, haha…. Now that the seating’s finished, it’s time for the grade evaluations. Wow…, I’m so excited. Wow…, Han Siwoo’s coming out…, waaah…. Haha….”
“…….”
Just what on earth had happened between her and Yu Seol for her to look that dejected?
Was it connected to Kang Suhyeon quitting her trainer position at JJ and leaving the industry altogether?
Or did she simply feel sorry for that washed-up trainee who’d practiced for nine years and still never debuted?
…Either way, it didn’t sound like a pleasant story.
Since Kang Suhyeon didn’t seem eager to talk about it, I chose not to ask and simply focused on the broadcast instead.
On the screen, the trainers’ introductions wrapped up quickly, and the grade evaluation was finally announced.
[Han Siwoo: Alright, then from this moment on, the grade evaluation begins—!! Show me your dream!]
[Waaaaaaaaah—!!!!]
The editing direction of the broadcast matched exactly what I had expected.
At first they showed the contestants brimming with motivation and energy…
[Han Siwoo: Did you realize not a single note was in tune?]
[Han Siwoo: That stage looked like a high-school talent show.]
Once the trainers’ critiques—harsh to the point of cruelty—began rolling in, the atmosphere cooled as if someone had dumped a bucket of ice water over everything.
The comments split cleanly down the middle.
One side claimed the trainers were being far too harsh.
The other side insisted the current evaluations were completely accurate.
As the two camps set the comment section on fire, a suspicion inevitably rose in my mind.
Did the production team deliberately aim for this too?
If they could create a controversy like this, the show’s attention and buzz would definitely climb.
The My Idol Academia staff might be a little rotten in the personality department…, but their eye for what made good television was razor-sharp.
[Han Siwoo: Trainee Oh Hyeonhui. According to this, you’ve trained for one year—is that correct?]
[Oh Hyeonhui (Taihai): I-I actually trained for a year and a half….]
[Han Siwoo: Then what exactly have you been practicing all that time?]
[Suffocating silence.]
[Q: How did you feel at that moment?]
[Oh Hyeonhui (Taihai): Back then I really… just wanted to drop everything and run away….]
[Han Siwoo: …Trainee Oh Hyeonhui of Taihai Entertainment receives an F grade.]
Just like that, the atmosphere of the broadcast stayed as cold as the production team had wanted.
It was the same when SAV’s Seo Yujin took the stage.
[Seo Yujin: Hello, I’m Seo Yujin from SAV Entertainment.]
When the girl who ranked just behind me and Yu Seol in buzz finally appeared, the comments started heating up again.
Everyone expected her to be the first to snatch an A grade in this freezing atmosphere.
[Kim Yesol (Vocal Trainer): Trainee Seo Yujin. This must be your first time on a stage like this, yet you don’t look nervous at all.]
[Seo Yujin (SAV): Yes, I’m not nervous.]
[Kim Yesol (Vocal Trainer): Why is that?]
[Seo Yujin (SAV): Because I’m from SAV!]
[Q: You seem to have a strong attachment to your company?]
[Seo Yujin (SAV): Yes, it’s my first company…, and we have so many incredible seniors that I’m really proud of it! I want to show a good side of myself so I don’t bring shame to the company’s name!]
[A confident smile.]
And the My Idol Academia editors had cut her footage in the most flattering way possible.
They removed any lines that might have come across as arrogant and instead highlighted her confidence.
Then Seo Yujin’s stage began…
In this strange atmosphere I feel dizzy, I can’t let you go…
Seo Yujin delivered a performance that fully lived up to the viewers’ expectations.
When she showed stage skills far better than anyone had anticipated, the comment section ignited once more.
Even Kang Suhyeon and Lee Jiwoo praised her vocals and dancing.
“Hmm…, she’s got talent.”
“There are still plenty of things to fix…, but her lines are pretty and she dances well.”
Just when everyone was certain Seo Yujin would receive the first A grade of the night—
[Han Siwoo: Don’t you think your stage was a little too flashy and surface-level?]
As expected, Han Siwoo stepped in and flipped the entire mood.
Even looking at it now, Seo Yujin’s evaluation stage wasn’t quite B-tier material.
It sat right on that ambiguous borderline between B and A.
But Han Siwoo zeroed in on the flaws of her performance…
[Han Siwoo: Trainee Seo Yujin, you’re putting too much tension in your throat. The techniques are also more than necessary.]
[Han Siwoo: Trainee Seo Yujin of SAV Entertainment receives a B grade.]
[Shocking result.]
…and steered the atmosphere straight into giving her a B.
The comment section exploded.
Han Siwoo’s relentless harsh grading had completely detonated public sentiment.
Of course there were still Han Siwoo’s fans throwing up desperate shields…
…but in front of the already-turned public opinion, even the famous Han Siwoo fandom was nothing more than a handful of sand.
I suddenly remembered something the My Idol Academia production team had said once.
‘Right now, even throwing a sharp rock is still attention, right?’
Throwing a sharp rock was still attention.
By that logic, this was the single moment in episode one of My Idol Academia that was drawing the most eyes.
The comment firepower had never been higher.
And right in the middle of that overflowing traffic…
[Next up to take the stage is contestant Ha Yerin of Hyeongje Entertainment.]
…my grade evaluation turn arrived.
[Yes, contestant Ha Yerin. Please introduce yourself.]
[Ha Yerin (Hyeongje Entertainment): …I’m nineteen-year-old Ha Yerin from Hyeongje Entertainment.]
When I appeared in the middle of all that chaos, the comments split in half once again.
One side worried about me.
The other side never expected anything from me to begin with.
And those two divided camps were unified by Han Siwoo’s next words.
[Han Siwoo: Trainee Ha Yerin. Looking at this right now…, your idol trainee career is extremely short, isn’t it?]
[Han Siwoo: Exactly how long have you been a trainee?]
[Ha Yerin (Hyeongje Entertainment): …Exactly one month.]
The fact that my trainee period was ridiculously short had just been revealed on air.
[Han Siwoo: And yet you appeared after only one month of training…, were you that confident in your skills, or….]
[Suffocating silence.]
[Han Siwoo: Or did you simply think being an idol looked that easy?]
[Ha Yerin (Hyeongje Entertainment): Even after only one month of training, I was already at my limit. …(omitted)… I absolutely do not look down on the idol industry where people like that gather.]
Thanks to my long-winded explanation, no one in the comments attacked me over the short training period.
[Han Siwoo: Then why do you want to become an idol?]
[Ha Yerin (Hyeongje Entertainment): …Because of my parents.]
[Han Siwoo: ……Excuse me?]
[Ha Yerin (Hyeongje Entertainment): Because of my parents…, I have to become an idol…. I absolutely must….]
[Just what is her story?]
Along with the subtitle, a pre-recorded interview they had filmed earlier played as B-roll.
[Ha Yerin (Hyeongje Entertainment): Our family has a little bit of debt. (To pay it off….)]
Seeing that, some of the comments started pitying my situation.
Even so, not a single person in the comments expected anything from my stage.
Some of them were already trash-talking the skills they assumed I didn’t have.
All the attention—from people worrying about me, people defending me, people still upset about Seo Yujin’s B, people cursing Han Siwoo’s harsh grading—gathered onto my stage…
[Ha Yerin (Hyeongje Entertainment): Then…, I’ll show you my stage now.]
…and my stage began.
Yeah, it won’t be that easy—the world I’ve been allowed…
The moment I started singing a cappella with no accompaniment, the judges’ startled faces filled the screen.
Han Siwoo especially stared at me with his eyes wide open.
The sudden start and song choice threw the comment section into the same panic.
And before I could even finish the first a cappella phrase, a commercial cut in.
The My Idol Academia production team’s commercial timing was truly an art form.
The same comments that had been completely uninterested in my stage just moments earlier were now cursing the commercial and cheering my name.
Even watching it again, the Digimon nostalgia attack was devastatingly effective.