My Idol Academia Episode 2 Airs

With every preparation complete, we waited for Han Siwoo to arrive.

Thud.

"Everyone, I'm here."

He pushed open the practice room door right on schedule. Smiling as he stepped inside, and beside him—

"…Guys."

—was Lee Hyejeong, back from the hospital.

"Unni—!"

"Hyejeong unni—!!"

The moment we saw her, every member of the team rushed over.

"How are you feeling now? Are you okay?"

"Look at your face—you look so pale. Hic…"

Whirrr—.

The cameras captured us crowding around her, fretting over every little thing. But just because the cameras were rolling didn't mean any of it was fake. She was our team's eldest unni. We all cared about her, and we were all worried.

"I'm fine now. Sorry for making you worry. …And sorry for stealing practice time because of me."

"No, you're not!"

"Unni, don't say that!"

When Lee Hyejeong bowed her head and started apologizing in that small voice, the others scolded her gently, insisting she had nothing to be sorry for.

"At least you figured it out before it got worse…"

Of course, Seo Yujin nearly killed the mood mid-sentence by completely missing the room—

"…I mean, I'm just glad you're back healthy, unni…!"

—but she flinched at something mid-way through and hastily corrected herself.

…What did she just see?

I followed her startled gaze, but all I found was Park Yujeong, smiling sweetly like nothing had happened.

Must've been my imagination.

Anyway, even our little princess Seo Yujin had welcomed Lee Hyejeong properly, and the atmosphere warmed right back up.

But someone else was more than happy to rain on the parade Seo Yujin had just spared.

"Everyone, I'm sorry, but we don't have much time."

Han Siwoo, of course.

"You remember I said I'd re-evaluate your mid-assessment today, right? Contestant Lee Hyejeong can rest through today since she's still recovering. The rest of you—show me what you've practiced in a single day."

"……"

"Surely something's changed since yesterday?"

The way he said it made him look cold. Almost cruel. We'd only been given one day, after all. Under normal circumstances, pulling off any meaningful change in twenty-four hours would have been nearly impossible. Han Siwoo knew that perfectly well—and still spoke as if compromise was not on the table.

But—

"…Yes. We're ready."

"……!"

We didn't flinch at his icy demeanor. We had changed since yesterday. When we answered him with straight faces and steady voices, a flicker of surprise crossed Han Siwoo's expression.

"Hmm… Did you change the center, by any chance?"

"No, Yerin unni is still fixed as center, same as before."

"Then what's different from yesterday?"

This time, I answered.

"We've changed the stage concept and structure. And the concept is… Nerd."

"Nerd? …Haha."

The moment he heard the word, a smile bloomed across Han Siwoo's face—the look of a man whose expectations had just been thoroughly piqued.

"Well, now I'm looking forward to this. All right, let's see it. Contestant Lee Hyejeong, sit with me. Let's watch what your teammates prepared together."

At his gesture, Lee Hyejeong turned toward us—toward me, specifically—and asked with a worried face,

"…Guys, nerd? What are you talking about…?"

"We changed the concept yesterday. You're still main vocal, so we'll explain everything properly tomorrow. For now, just watch."

"You're probably going to be a little surprised. Hehe."

We reassured her, then immediately fell into the formation we'd been drilling since that morning. Before the stage began, I spoke for the team.

"This is a mid-evaluation, but we'll perform through the second-verse dance break. And… please bear with us on the parts that are still a little rough."

"You rarely see perfection at a mid-evaluation. I'll factor that in, so don't worry too much."

"Then…"

Swoosh—.

I signaled the production staff, and the intro of Where Is My First Love! poured out. Matching the beat, we began the stage.

"…Ohh."

As a performance with a slightly different atmosphere from yesterday unfolded, Han Siwoo let out a small sound of admiration. But it was still too early for that.

Because right now, I was about to use the first skill of the Heavenly Demon Divine Art—

The cooldown on Cheonma Hwanhok was once per day, so I hadn't been able to test it during practice earlier. How exactly did you activate a skill like this? And how powerful was it, really? ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I decided to find out through Han Siwoo.

At last, the timing arrived—the second-verse dance break, the moment to use the skill.

Hwaaaa—.

Got it.

I felt it activate immediately. Good. I'd half-worried I'd have to shout the skill name out loud for it to work, but apparently just willing it into existence in my mind was enough.

Paaaah—.

Ah… so this is it.

I understood the first effect of Cheonma Hwanhok—maximizing my own emotions—instantly. The emotion I'd chosen to amplify was happiness, and the small warmth in my chest swelled like a bubble rising and expanding, filling every corner of me.

But—

Why isn't the next part working?

The second effect of Cheonma Hwanhok: using those maximized emotions to dominate the emotions of others. Contrary to my expectations, though, Han Siwoo and Lee Hyejeong—watching our stage—

"……"

"……"

—just sat there with blank ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠expressions.

Did something go wrong? Did it not activate after all?

I tilted my head at the unexpected reaction as ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the mid-evaluation stage came to an end.

Swoosh—.

I turned to check the production staff's faces as well.

"……"

They wore the same look as Han Siwoo and Lee Hyejeong. That same vacant, unreadable blankness. I only understood what those expressions meant after Han Siwoo finally managed to open his mouth, a long while later.

"…Yerin."

"…Yes."

"That expression…. You can make a face like that…?"

…That expression?

Ah… now that he mentions it…

I'd been so busy watching everyone else's reactions that I hadn't seen what face I had been making while casting Cheonma Hwanhok.

"What was my expression like…?"

"……"

Han Siwoo answered my question with a short review of the stage instead.

"……"

"…I think this team can proceed as is. …It's perfect. I can only wonder what you'll look like on the final day, when every last preparation is complete…. My heart is racing. …That's how good it was, Yerin."

As he spoke, the light in Han Siwoo's eyes had gone dull—like a man thoroughly enchanted by something. The skill had clearly worked as intended.

And that meant one thing: looking forward to this performance was more than justified.

After the mid-evaluation, our daily routine became brutally simple.

Practice. And more practice.

We did play a round of yutnori in the middle, with the performance order on the line. Our leader Seo Yujin threw five consecutive do in a row—a feat so catastrophic it nearly made her scream—and we ended up performing first.

I-I'm so sorr…

There was no time to mourn going first. The moment the order-selection game ended, we threw ourselves back into practice.

And then came day six—the day before the performance.

Murmur murmur.

Ten o'clock at night. Normally this would have been peak late-night practice hours, but every contestant had gathered on the set at once.

"It's already ten?"

"It should start any minute."

We were all here to watch Episode 2 of My Idol Academia air together—and to film our real-time reactions. We sat clustered by team, staring at the massive screen installed in the center with tense eyes as Episode 2 began.

It felt completely different from watching with the Hyeongje Entertainment family. No community reactions to check here. And on top of that—

Whirrr—.

"Hahaha."

"Whoa~ I'm so excited."

—cameras were recording every single one of our faces, so it was hard to fully relax.

"Oh, it's starting."

"It's Yu Seol ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠unni."

Episode 2 of My Idol Academia opened right where Episode 1 left off, raising the curtain with Yu Seol's 24 Hours Isn't Enough.

Of course, they couldn't just show it straight—the production team stretched things out with multiple reaction shots and commercials for a solid ten minutes before finally airing Yu Seol's stage.

Even on a rewatch, Yu Seol's stage was flawless. The broadcast showed the judges lavishing her with praise, and the fact that she'd received an A rank—second only to me.

And in the next scene—

—they hammered the rival dynamic between Yu Seol and me for all it was worth. The moment that scene aired, the contestants around us started sneaking glances our way. Looks thick with envy and jealousy. Now that our rivalry had been officially established on air, it was obvious we'd be getting more screen time going forward.

I did my best to ignore their stares and focused on the next segment.

Next up: the rank-based specialized classes.

Lee Hyejeong got some long-overdue screen time for being the first to promote from B to A. After that, though, it was nothing but scolding scenes. I was in the exact same boat.

The broadcast kept zeroing in on A Class—and on me getting chewed out in particular—layering on a relentlessly negative tone.

It built to a peak that left open the possibility of me dropping to B rank—and then the segment transitioned into the final rank evaluation.

I watched the lower-ranked contestants get torn apart by harsh critiques with a completely blank expression. What I really wanted to know was how the production team had forced Lee Hyejeong—who was originally supposed to keep her A rank—down into B.

Swoosh—.

"……"

I turned my head. Lee Hyejeong was staring at the screen with a deathly pale face, as if she could already see her own miserable end coming.

I took her hand.

"……!"

She startled at the sudden touch—then, realizing it was me,

"……"

she laced her fingers through mine and held on tight.

The moment our hands locked together, the screen showed Seo Yujin and Na Hanna promoting to A rank in the final evaluation—

—and at last, the turn of A rank—including me, Lee Hyejeong, and Yu Seol—began.