Trying to Avoid a Fox, Only to Meet a Tiger
Trying to avoid a fox, only to meet a tiger.
“If we can’t resolve this… it might be better to change this team’s center.”
“…….”
“…….”
Change the center, huh….
Whirr—.
Even as Han Siwoo spoke those words, the cameras kept rolling.
Clench.
…Damn it.
I found myself balling my hands into fists without realizing it.
This wasn’t about changing the center for some unavoidable external reason. It was because my own ability fell short. Even just looking at it from a broadcast perspective, the hit to me would be massive.
“Haa….”
Han Siwoo let out a single sigh at the sight of me with my head bowed, then continued.
“Of course, I’m not saying you have to change the center no matter what. I’ll come back to this team one more time tomorrow.”
“……!”
“If you show me a solution by then… we’ll keep the center as is. If not, we change it.”
At least I’d been given one chance.
“That concludes today’s mid-evaluation. I’ll see you at this same time tomorrow.”
Whether I could seize that chance or not… a one-day time attack had just begun.
“…….”
“…….”
Once Han Siwoo left, the atmosphere in our team turned into a funeral parlor.
While the other members reviewed the points Han Siwoo had criticized, I had no choice but to sink into my own thoughts.
How the hell am I supposed to fix this?
I stared into the mirror and desperately forced a smile onto my face.
But the smile on the face in the mirror was… always unbearably awkward.
Every now and then, when something truly delightful happened, a small smile would tug at my lips, but…
That’s not something I can just do on command.
And even if I could manage a small smile, it still wouldn’t be enough.
Where Is My First Love! needed a big, radiant smile—the kind that made the people watching feel happy just looking at it.
There’s no way I can learn to make that smile in a single day, is there?
“Haa….”
A sigh slipped out on its own at the situation with no answer in sight.
“…We finished watching.”
In the meantime, the other members had finished reviewing the choreography practice video and set the tablet PC down.
As expected, none of their expressions looked good.
Seo Yujin was the first to open her mouth.
“…Han Siwoo-nim was right. With Unni standing in the center looking like that with a dead face, the original song’s vibe just isn’t coming through at all.”
“…….”
And then, as if there was nothing more to discuss, she continued.
“Change it. The center.”
“……!”
Everyone had probably been thinking it, but no one had wanted to say it out loud while reading my mood.
The suggestion to change the center.
But Seo Yujin spoke as if she couldn’t care less about any of that.
“Come on. There’s only three days left until the performance. What else are we supposed to do?”
“…….”
“Don’t tell me you were about to suggest rearranging the entire song?”
“……!”
Seo Yujin’s words made me flinch.
Rearranging the song into a vibe where smiling wasn’t even necessary.
That had been the first method I’d thought of—and the only one I’d believed was actually feasible.
Park Yujeong must have read that look on my face first, because she immediately started throwing up a shield.
“Um… Yujin-ah. It’s not ‘only three days left’—we still have three whole days. We’ve already fully memorized the choreography and the song, so adding a little rearrangement shouldn’t be a problem at all, right?”
“Haa… yeah, sure. It probably wouldn’t be a problem. But do you actually have any rearrangement ideas?”
“…….”
At the question about rearrangement ideas, Park Yujeong fell silent.
Seo Yujin took that as her cue and picked up the turn again, raising her voice.
“How the hell are you supposed to rearrange a song with a concept this clear? Don’t you know that if you mess with something like this the wrong way, you just end up ruining it?”
“…….”
That was true too.
Where Is My First Love! had an original concept that was far too distinct.
No matter how you rearranged it, people would still remember the original vibe.
With a song like this, the best approach was always to preserve the original concept as much as possible.
“Everything I’ve said so far is right, isn’t it? So let’s do this. Keep the original vibe, but just change the center!”
Yeah… what Seo Yujin was saying right now was, in this situation, the best option available.
But…
“Ah, seriously…! It would’ve been so much better if I’d been the center from the start!”
The way she said it definitely grated.
Even so, there was such a thing as basic courtesy between people.
“Hey… no matter what, the way you’re talking right now is way too aggressive….”
Park Yujeong must have gotten irritated by that side of Seo Yujin too, because she rarely put on a serious face and tried to call it out, but…
“Yujeong-ah, wait a second.”
“…Unni.”
I stopped her.
With only three days left until the performance, fighting among ourselves like this would only do more damage… and if I just took one step back, there was a way for everyone to be happy, wasn’t there?
“I’ll give up the center.”
“Unni…!”
“Sorry for causing trouble because of my own selfishness. Looking at it, it really would be better for someone else to take center for this stage.”
Swoosh—.
Even as I said it, my eyes drifted toward the camera without thinking.
Whirr—.
Naturally, the camera was still rolling just fine.
This should at least let me dodge the ‘nuisance’ image….
I couldn’t think of any immediate solution. In this situation, all I could do was protect my image as much as possible and plan for the next performance.
It hurt, feeling like I was being stripped of my position, but there was no helping it.
I couldn’t drag the whole team into hell because of my own bad choice.
“Hmph. Of course you should.”
“…….”
I’d made a pretty difficult decision, yet Seo Yujin just turned her head away primly.
Whirr—.
The camera captured that too.
She’s going to get herself in real trouble acting like that….
Once I’d let go of my greed, all I felt toward Seo Yujin’s behavior was worry.
Handing the production team that much material to work with could send her crashing down in an instant if they decided to edit her badly.
“Alright then, let’s decide who the new center will be. We’ll vote on this too….”
Just as Seo Yujin, the leader, was about to proceed with choosing a new center—
“…Guys, I’m sorry, but… just a second… bathroom….”
Lee Hyejeong, who hadn’t said a word until now, suddenly stood up with a deathly pale face, and then…
Thud—, collapse.
“…Huh? Huh, Unni? Unni—!”
“Hyejeong Unni—!!”
…she suddenly lost her balance and started to fall.
I was the first to see it and react.
I lunged straight toward her, caught her against my thighs, and checked her condition.
And Lee Hyejeong was…
“Yerin Unni! H-Hyejeong Unni, how is she?”
“…Ambulance.”
“…What?”
“Call an ambulance right now!”
…already unconscious.
In the chaos I ended up riding along in the ambulance, joining Lee Hyejeong on her trip to the hospital.
One staff member and one of the judges came with us as well—and the judge who came was none other than Han Siwoo.
I sat in the emergency room holding Lee Hyejeong’s hand while she received an IV, waiting, until Han Siwoo finished speaking with the doctor and approached me.
“Yerin-yang.”
“…Producer Han Siwoo. What did the doctor say?”
“Haa….”
Han Siwoo let out another sigh before continuing.
“There’s no threat to her life, but… it’s temporary shock caused by malnutrition.”
“Malnutrition….”
“I’ve seen cases like this plenty of times. Contestant Lee Hyejeong has been deliberately not eating properly, hasn’t she?”
“…Yes, that’s right.”
Lee Hyejeong had probably stopped eating properly ever since the first week of My Idol Academia filming ended.
She must have been bothered by being a little chubby.
How devastated must she have been after hearing those words to go this far? My fists clenched on their own.
“…….”
Han Siwoo watched me for a moment, then placed a hand on my shoulder and spoke.
“…We’ll have Contestant Lee Hyejeong stay here overnight. The staff will remain, so Yerin-yang, you should head back.”
“…But.”
“Yerin-yang. This isn’t the time for it, but you need to stay cold-headed. You’re in the middle of a competition.”
“……!”
The eyes looking at me as he said that were cold.
But… I could tell this was genuine advice he was giving me.
“Go back and either rest to manage your condition or practice. Sitting here holding Contestant Lee Hyejeong’s hand is a waste of time.”
“…Yes.”
When I nodded, Han Siwoo sighed once more and added,
“I was harsh with my words this afternoon. But I don’t believe I said anything wrong.”
“…….”
“I believe this incident will help Yerin-yang grow even more. So I’ll see you tomorrow.”
With those final words from Han Siwoo, I left the hospital.
And leaving Lee Hyejeong behind, I returned to the My Idol Academia set.
By the time I got back to the My Idol Academia set, it was already late at night.
I went to the practice room first, but everyone seemed to have already left—there was no one there.
The only thing remaining was the tablet PC we’d been issued.
I grabbed it and stepped out of the empty practice room feeling hollow.
And that was when it happened.
“Oh?”
“Unni!”
“Yujeong-ah, Yujin-ah.”
Apparently not everyone had left yet. I ran into Park Yujeong and Seo Yujin coming out of the practice room from the opposite direction.
The moment Park Yujeong saw me, she asked in a trembling, anxious voice,
“Unni! Hyejeong Unni, how is Hyejeong Unni?”
She must have been really worried about Lee Hyejeong—her voice was shaking badly.
I took her hand to calm her down and said,
“It’s okay. She just lost consciousness for a bit.”
“Ah….”
“She should be able to come back tomorrow.”
“Phew… I’m glad it’s not anything serious.”
When Park Yujeong nodded in relief, I asked in turn,
“What were you two doing while we were at the hospital? Did anything get done?”
And the answer to that was…
“Two of the team’s core members were gone—what were we supposed to do by ourselves? We just sat around doing nothing, couldn’t practice, couldn’t even decide on a center, and that was it!”
Seo Yujin answered in Park Yujeong’s place.
She sounded thoroughly irritated by the whole situation, her tone extremely snappish.
I tried to calm her down by speaking slowly, but…
“…I see. Then since we can’t do much today, how about we get up early tomorrow? Tomorrow morning we can….”
Seo Yujin’s next words made me flinch.
“What good is getting up early tomorrow going to do?! We don’t even have a proper plan, and one person’s absence is going to leave a huge hole! Ah… why did that unni have to collapse today of all days!”
“…What?”
Seo Yujin could find this situation frustrating. She could feel like everything had gone sideways.
But…
“Is that really what you should be saying right now?”
How could she talk like that when someone had collapsed?
I’d put up with a lot until now.
Even when she was a bit of a brat, I’d just thought, she’s still young, and let it slide.
But this was hard to swallow.
“Hey.”
“…W-what!”
“Say that one more time. What did you just say?”
Thud,
As I stepped closer, Seo Yujin’s eyes went wide and she backed away.
Even so, she didn’t stop talking.
“It’s true! Collapsing at a time like this and just causing trouble for the team!”
“……!”
Swoosh—.
The moment I heard the word “trouble,” I could barely contain the surge of emotion.
It felt like something inside my head had snapped with a soft tuk.
Just as my body started moving on its own beyond my control—
Thud.
“…Unni, stop….”
Park Yujeong came up behind me, wrapped her arms tightly around my body, and whispered,
“There’s a camera… Going any further is dangerous….”
“…….”
At those words my gaze snapped back toward the corner.
Whirr—.
There were no staff present… but the unmanned camera was still rolling.
“I’ll talk to Yujin properly myself. So just go back for today, okay?”
“…Haa.”
At Park Yujeong’s words I slowly let the tension drain from my body.
It was true… I had gotten pretty worked up.
But…
Twitch.
Looking at Seo Yujin’s face made the anger surge up again and my eyes turn sharp.
So I quickly turned my body away and said,
“…Sorry for losing my temper. I’m heading back first.”
I’d almost made a huge mistake.
If it hadn’t been for Yujeong… who knows what would have happened.
“Haa….”
I let out one more sigh, turned back once more, and apologized to the two of them again.
“…I’m really sorry again. …See you tomorrow morning.”
And with that, tablet PC in hand, I returned to my room.
After Ha Yerin left for the dorm, Seo Yujin watched her retreating back and muttered under her breath for no real reason.
“…S-seriously. Was I wrong?”
Of course, it was quiet enough that it wouldn’t reach Ha Yerin’s ears.
The angry look Ha Yerin had just shown…
Hey.
Say that one more time. What did you just say?
…had been so terrifying that her legs had gone weak for a moment.
Seo Yujin, who had never built up any immunity to being scolded by anyone, had nearly burst into tears right then and there.
But in the end Ha Yerin had held her temper and left, and now only she and Park Yujeong remained.
Long after Ha Yerin’s back had disappeared, Seo Yujin finally started walking so she could head back herself.
And that was when it happened.
Thud.
“Yujin-ah.”
“…What is it this time, Unni?”
Park Yujeong stopped Seo Yujin just as she was about to return to her room.
“Let’s talk for a bit.”
“Haa… I’m exhausted. What do we need to talk about?”
“It’ll only take a second.”
Maybe it was because she was being compared to the furious Ha Yerin from earlier?
To Seo Yujin, Park Yujeong right now looked completely easy to handle.
So she crossed her arms and spoke with an arrogant attitude.
“Go ahead, then.”
“It’s a little awkward here… let’s move somewhere else.”
“What? We’re the only ones left in this whole building, so why…. Ugh, seriously, what a pain.”
Even if it was annoying, she was curious what Park Yujeong wanted to say, so Seo Yujin followed after her.
And the place Park Yujeong led her to was…
…The bathroom?
…none other than the bathroom.
“…Why the hell would we talk in a bathroom…, ugh.”
Seo Yujin had barely tilted her head in confusion when Park Yujeong grabbed her the moment she stepped over the bathroom threshold and…
Thud.
“Kyaa—!”
…slammed her straight into the wall.
Pain bloomed across her back, and Seo Yujin couldn’t make sense of what was happening.
What the hell is this all of a sudden….
Looking down at her, Park Yujeong wore the same bright, sunny smile she always did as she spoke.
“You know, Yujin-ah? There are no cameras in the bathroom.”
“C-cameras? Why are you suddenly talking about cameras…! Hic…!”
Thud.
When Park Yujeong slammed her fist into the wall right beside Seo Yujin’s head, Seo Yujin slid down onto the floor.
And the Park Yujeong looking down at her now…
“Hey, you fucking bitch.”
“…….”
“Say what you said earlier one more time.”
…wore an expression colder than anything Ha Yerin had shown just moments before.