I Don't Want to Be the Center
With archery wrapping up the sports festival, we headed back to the set.
Teams 1 and 2 had already locked in their songs through the archery competition; now it was time for the remaining six teams to make their selections.
"Alright then, contestant Park Yujeong~ Give that cyber roulette a spin!"
For the record, Park Yujeong was on Team 3 and Lee Hyejeong on Team 5. Both teams landed perfectly serviceable songs. Park Yujeong and Lee Hyejeong were overflowing with talent, so I figured they'd manage just fine on their own.
...As always, the real problem was our team.
"Haa..."
Magical girls. Of all things.
Just thinking about how to salvage that childish concept was already making my head spin. But the bigger problem was that the person who was supposed to share this dread and help me figure it out simply wasn't rising to the occasion.
"Hanna... what do you think of our song? Magical Love☆... How should we approach this?"
"Hmm... I dunno. No idea."
"...It's our second team performance song. At least try thinking about it."
"Eh... it'll work out somehow."
Na Hanna said this and yawned, looking half-asleep. In that moment, I prayed a fruit fly would fly straight into her open mouth.
I'm seriously going to lose it...
Na Hanna's attitude was... cooperative, sure, but completely empty of any actual thought. And she wasn't the only one.
I glanced sideways.
"......!"
"Yes, Unni! We'll just follow whatever you say!"
...The rest of our lower-ranked teammates were cooperative too—but they had zero initiative, waiting like baby birds for me to feed them everything. Looking at them, I couldn't help but feel stifled.
I practiced the least out of everyone here, you idiots...
Thanks to my naturally fraudulent looks and the Status Window's help, I'd taken first place at the first ranking announcement—but my total practice time had barely passed a month. In a situation this hopeless, I needed advice from experienced trainees. Instead, everyone kept their mouths shut, and I was about to explode.
My frustration made no difference. Time marched on, and before long every other team had finished selecting their songs.
"That concludes song selection for all teams. How do you all feel about your songs?"
At Han Siwoo's question, the contestants who liked what they'd gotten erupted in cheers. I was not among them.
"One week from now! You'll perform again in front of the audience evaluation panel. And... based on this performance, the second ranking announcement will take place."
"......"
My Idol Academia was leaving its early stages and entering the mid-game. Rankings would only grow more important from here on out. Every contestant seemed to understand this—their eyes all held a different intensity now.
Han Siwoo smiled at them and continued.
"Alright, shall we all shout the slogan together and then disperse? One, two, three!"
"Show me your dream-!!!"
And so, with that spirited cheer, the second team performance got off to an uneasy start.
The moment Team 1 was assigned a practice room, we started by watching every music video, stage performance, and choreography video of Magical Love☆.
And then...
"Ah... what is this..."
We hit another wall.
...The song's difficulty was absolutely insane.
Our team had a real strength in dance, so the choreography looked manageable enough. But...
"Just how high does this note go...?"
"...Three octaves."
The problem was vocals.
In the pre-chorus, the melody climbed all the way into the upper three-octave range. Sure, if this were just karaoke among girls, we could belt it out freely. But...
With dancing leaving us breathless, this is flat-out impossible...
Nobody on our team could hit three octaves while dancing through that frantic choreography on stage. You'd need at least someone at Yu Seol or Lee Hyejeong's level to pull that off without issue. Our teammates' vocal stats were far too pathetic to compare to either of them.
This... is going to need an arrangement. No choice...
Watching Strawberry Filter's stage on the tablet PC, I could feel just how legendary their skill really was.
A concept that could easily bomb and kill the entire vibe—and Strawberry Filter covered it with pure stage presence...
If our team wanted to even touch Strawberry Filter's level, we'd need a major overhaul. Clutching my throbbing head, I turned to my teammates.
"Um... how about we pick a leader and center first?"
More precisely, we needed a leader. With the challenges ahead looking this rough, having someone as a focal point would at least help. And of course, our team's leader would be...
"......"
"......"
"...Alright, I'll put myself forward as leader. Anyone else?"
"No one-!!"
...Me. Of course it was me.
...Damn it.
I'd hoped otherwise, but of course it turned out exactly as expected. I reluctantly accepted the leader rank, swallowing a bitter aftertaste. I'd learned from the first team performance that being leader came with more drawbacks than benefits.
You have to oversee everything, keep things moving, worry about a million details... it's exhausting.
Plus, being responsible for the team meant that in an unstable situation like this, the leader would suffer even more. But what could I do? Looking around, there was clearly no one else who could take the role.
Still...
At least we've got a clear center candidate. That's something.
I looked at the sleepy-eyed Na Hanna and felt a wave of relief. Her dance stat ranked third overall—right after me and Yu Seol. Overall stats put her slightly behind Seo Yujin, but Hanna was still in the same league. She'd even been center for her own team in the first performance, so she could handle it again this time.
"Alright, shall we pick a center next? Anyone who wants to run for center, raise your hand."
Thinking that, I smoothly moved on to selecting the center. But...
"......"
"......"
Even when center selection time arrived, Na Hanna didn't raise her hand.
"......?"
I was thrown off.
...She didn't seem like it, but is she actually the shy type?
Anyone could see this was the perfect opportunity for her to take center, yet she wasn't stepping up. So I decided to set the stage for her.
"Hmm... looks like nobody wants to be center. How about we recommend someone who seems like a good fit? I think Hanna would do great as center... what do you all think?"
"Sounds good-!"
"I think so too!"
"If it's Hanna, I'm sure she can pull it off!"
Fortunately, when I nominated Hanna, the other teammates agreed. At least none of the remaining members were putting on a show demanding to be center themselves. That was a relief.
"......"
Nominated by everyone, Na Hanna blinked... and just as she was about to be confirmed as center—
"...Hmm, I don't want to?"
"...Huh?"
...The twist hit.
"What did you just say, Hanna...?"
"...I said I don't want to be center. It's hard... annoying... just let someone else do it."
Na Hanna declared, flat out, that she didn't want to be the center.
...Does this girl not want to debut...?
Being center came with so many advantages. You stood out on stage. You got more screen time on broadcasts. Any idol trainee—especially one with a strength in dance—would dream of being center. So why was she turning it down?
I stammered in shock for a moment, then collected myself and spoke to her.
"Um... Hanna. Why don't you want to be center...? Sure, it's hard, but... there are just as many benefits."
"The downsides feel bigger than the upsides to me."
"You say that, but you were center in the first team performance..."
"That was because nobody else would do it, so I stepped up. But this team is different."
"...What?"
I tilted my head, and Na Hanna yawned as she explained.
"This team has someone else who can handle center besides me. So there's no reason I have to do it."
...What does she mean? Wait, surely not...?
Understanding the implication of her words, I glanced at the other five teammates.
...She wants one of those five as center?
...Absolutely not. Center was the most critical role on stage. The remaining five simply didn't have the skill for it. I was about to firmly refuse when—
I froze.
"...?"
Na Hanna's finger was pointing straight at me.
"You should do it, Unni. Be the center."
"...Huh?"
...What was she talking about? Me? As center? ...I was the leader.
"...Hanna, I think you forgot—I'm the leader. We just decided that..."
"A leader can be center at the same time. You can just do both, Unni."
"......"
...Well, yes, there were cases of people being both leader and center. Seo Yujin had tried to do both in the first team performance, too. But...
...The responsibility would be enormous.
Being leader and center simultaneously was the definition of high risk, high return. If the performance went well, you'd rake in all the praise. If it went poorly, you'd shoulder every single criticism alone. For a contestant looking for a comeback and a higher ranking at the next announcement, it might be worth the gamble. But...
I'm already in first place.
I had nowhere higher to climb. All I needed to do was hold my position. There was no reason for me to take on that kind of risk.
"No, Hanna. If I weren't the leader, maybe. But I have no intention of being both leader and center. ...Hanna, can't you just take center this one time?"
I politely declined and tried coaxing her again, but...
"I already did center last performance, so I'd really rather not this time."
...Hanna was just as stubborn. And so the bizarre spectacle of the two core members both refusing to be center continued, until...
"...Um."
One of the remaining members carefully raised a hand. I thought maybe she was volunteering for center herself—but no.
"...We also think it should be one of you two as center... so maybe we could decide by vote?"
"......"
"......"
...A vote. Even so, I was already the leader. Surely the teammates wouldn't vote for me to be center on top of that. I nodded readily.
"Yeah, a vote would be fair. Hanna, what do you think?"
"...Sure, works for me."
With Hanna's agreement, I as leader immediately started the vote.
"Alright, let's settle this quickly. First—raise your hand if you want me as center."
"......"
Two of the five members, excluding Hanna and me, hesitantly raised their hands.
Done.
I nodded in satisfaction.
"Alright, two out of five raised their hands, so the other three want Hanna as center, right? Then by majority vote, Hanna is—"
That was when it happened.
"...Hold on."
"...What is it, Hanna? Are you contesting the vote...?"
"No, it's not that... but we should at least finish the rest of the voting."
...Hadn't we already reached a conclusion? What other voting was there... I felt uneasy, but I continued as she said.
"...Alright then, raise your hand if you think Hanna should be center."
And then...
...Huh?
...The twist arrived.
"That's one person."
"......"
Only one person raised their hand for Hanna as center. Stunned by the absurd result, I looked at the two who hadn't raised their hands.
"I think either of you would do great as center...!"
"M-me too..."
"......"
While I sat there dumbfounded, Na Hanna yawned and started clapping.
"Yaaawn... so it's two to one for Yerin Unni as center. Everyone, a round of applause for our new center... Waaah..."
"Waaah-!"
"Wait... what is this. Hold on.... Haa..."
And just like that, I was all but forcibly made both the center and the leader of our team.
A completely different scene from the other teams, where people fought over who got to be leader and center.