Chapter 15
Chapter 15
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 15
Chapter Title: A Calculated Hint
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I debuted in a group, but I was left alone (15)
Thanks to the writer who called my name, I successfully managed to pull Kang Ju-hyeok’s hand away.
“I have to go for my interview.”
With a slight nod, I followed the writer out.
We walked down a long hallway and entered a room at the very end.
A single metal chair sat forlornly in front of a wall covered with a white backdrop.
“You can sit here.”
The writer gently offered me the seat.
I needlessly straightened my hair before sitting down.
I saw a red light turn on in the camera placed directly in front of me.
“You don’t have to be nervous.”
The writer offered me a gentle smile, likely to ease my tension.
But to me, that smile looked like the face of someone with ulterior motives.
‘I can’t let my guard down too much. Who knows what I might say then.’
Just as the warm sun, not the harsh wind, made the traveler take off his coat, this was a kind of negotiation tactic—using a smiling face to lower my defenses and then get what they wanted.
I absolutely could not fall for that smiling face.
“Just think of it as a comfortable chat.”
“Okay.”
“First, how did you feel when you received the offer to appear on RED CUBE?”
A series of typical questions followed.
“Is there a special reason you chose ‘Yoon-seul’ and ‘POP’?”
They were all questions I had anticipated, so I answered them fluently.
“‘Yoon-seul’ is my favorite song. I sang it at my first audition, and it has the same name as me. I did agonize over the dance quite a bit, but as I heard in the judges’ comments, I wanted to express my desperation in an upbeat way, so I chose it.”
“You’re good at interviews.”
“Thank you.”
“By the way, the practice room was a bit noisy just now. Did something happen?”
He casually tossed out the question, not as part of the interview but as if he were just personally curious—subtle, yet blatant.
This wasn’t the work of someone who had tried this kind of fishing once or twice.
“There was just a small misunderstanding. It’s been resolved.”
I kept the story extremely brief.
I could see the writer smacking his lips in disappointment.
“Then let’s move on to the next question.”
After a few more formal questions, the interview finally ended.
* * *
The next day, after practicing together as a group, we performed on stage in front of the judges.
“I think we can wrap it up here for A-rank, right?”
“I think so too.”
We moved around like puppets in a puppet show.
Even those who had been following the constantly changing formations well began to look confused by the end.
I was no different.
Thanks to my position as the main vocal, I had a fixed spot, which made my situation just a tiny bit better than the others.
Suddenly, I remembered that the B-rank contestants had messed up their filming.
‘So this is why.’
What if their formations had changed even more than ours?
Goosebumps erupted all over my body.
While one person messed up their formation and fumbled, the whole thing got completely tangled, ending in a mess.
Then everyone’s minds went blank, leading to a cascade of mistakes.
The production team, unable to favor one side, must have aired the best take they had out of all the footage.
‘I figured out the reason, but I have no way of letting the B-rank guys know.’
The B-rank practice room was right next to mine.
I could see how hard they were practicing as I came and went, so a corner of my heart felt uneasy just leaving them be.
But I couldn’t just barge into the B-rank practice room and offer advice like, “It’s probably best to memorize your formations thoroughly.”
‘Everyone would think I’m really crazy then.’
I would once again be faced with the same horrified expressions the staff at LM had given me during the live broadcast right before I left.
‘If I were friends with someone, I could pretend to be worried and drop a hint, but that’s not the case…’
I didn’t want to see their hard work, for which they had sacrificed sleep and even bathroom breaks, turn into a laughingstock.
But there was nothing I could do.
While I was trying to think of a solution, the other contestants were reviewing the changed formations.
“I’ll organize and draw the formations on the tablet, so everyone please check it once!”
Haru shouted loud enough for everyone in the practice room to hear as he busily drew something on his tablet.
“Did you memorize everyone else’s formations too?”
Kang Ju-hyeok asked as he approached Haru.
“Yes.”
I couldn’t help but be shocked that he had memorized the formations of all ten people when it must have been difficult enough just to learn his own.
“That’s really amazing.”
“Thanks. I was so confused by the formations.”
Everyone’s eyes sparkled as they looked at Haru, as if they had met their savior.
“Our video doing well is ultimately a good thing for me too. I need to focus for a bit.”
“Okay.”
Everyone tiptoed away from Haru, as if not to disturb him.
Haru moved quickly, his face a mask of intense concentration.
[Haru is truly a leader sent from heaven. Not only does he take care of the members with great detail, but he also plays a huge part in elevating the stage quality. He organizes everything one more time to prevent the other members from getting confused, and because he pays attention to the details, the synchronized choreography is a joy to watch.]
I felt like I understood why Haru was called the perfect leader.
“While Haru is drawing, why don’t we practice our harmonies?”
Under Kang Ju-hyeok’s lead, harmony practice began.
In the end, my worries about the B-rank contestants were pushed to the back of my mind.
* * *
Morning came.
I had only slept for two hours from practicing until dawn, but my mind was clear.
I ate the lunchbox provided by the production team and headed to the makeshift makeup room.
Those who had finished their breakfast early were already in the middle of getting their makeup done.
“The person who just came in, could you please sit here?”
The makeup artist’s hands moved mechanically, as if producing goods in a factory.
After quickly finishing my makeup, I moved to the side to get my hair done.
The corners of my eyes were painted a reddish hue, and a star-shaped glitter was placed under my eye.
My hair was styled down naturally, with my forehead slightly exposed.
“You’re Seo Yoon-seul, right?”
“Yes.”
“Your outfit is here. You can change over there.”
I went into a changing room hastily set up with black cloth and changed into my costume.
My appearance was transformed in an instant.
It was a uniform-style outfit inspired by a traditional Korean design. After only wearing a tracksuit and pajamas marked with an ‘A,’ wearing something like this felt surreal.
“We’ll be filming the opening before the main shoot, so please gather in the gym.”
Following the staff’s instructions, I headed to the gym.
“Yoon-seul.”
Someone called my name.
I whipped my head around to see Lee Ho-jun.
When I first saw him, I thought he had an intimidating face, but seeing him with his hair and makeup done, he reminded me of a languid cat.
“Hey. You look different with makeup.”
“Really? I’ve only ever had heavy smokey makeup, so this feels pretty awkward.”
Lee Ho-jun scratched the back of his neck with an embarrassed look.
“It suits you.”
“Thanks. It suits you too, you know?”
As we exchanged light conversation, we arrived at the gym.
It seemed A-rank was the last to arrive, as the contestants from the other ranks were already standing in neat lines, waiting.
“Huh? The outfits are different?”
Just as Lee Ho-jun said, all the outfits were different.
B-rank wore black uniforms decorated with gold trim, while C-rank was in all-black suits.
D-rank wore black T-shirts with leather jeans, and finally, F-rank was just in plain white T-shirts and black pants.
There was differential treatment based on rank.
“A-rank, please line up in two rows here.”
“Okay.”
After we quickly formed five rows of two, the B-rank contestants’ makeup caught my eye.
The reddish eyeshadow was similar, but they didn’t have any glitter.
I had expected it, but it seemed even this differed by rank.
It looked like the production team had deliberately gathered all the contestants in one place to film the relief of the higher-ranked contestants and the relative deprivation of the lower-ranked ones.
There seemed to be no other reason to gather everyone, so I couldn’t help but think that.
“Today is the day we film the theme song video for each rank.”
Mechanical applause poured out at the PD’s words.
“Seeing you all with your hair and makeup done, it really hits home that you’re all idols.”
The F-rank contestants gave awkward smiles at the PD’s comment.
“The video we film today will be uploaded to social media.”
This was something we had already heard.
“This round of voting will be based on the view counts of each rank’s video.”
A stir went through the gym.
The impact was greater than ever before.
“Does that mean the rank with the lowest views will all be eliminated at once?”
“No way. That’s just too cruel.”
“Voting based on views. This is ridiculous.”
The PD watched the chattering contestants with a pleased smile.
His face seemed to say that this was exactly the reaction he had been hoping for.
“I will give you a detailed explanation, so please pay attention.”
In an instant, the contestants fell silent.
“We will also be filming individual fancams. Of course, we won’t be shooting them separately; we’ll just film them briefly during the group shoot. It would take too long to film 51 individual fancams.”
His words were laced with a bit of humor, but no one was laughing.
Everyone was listening to the PD’s story with serious faces.
“For reference, the title of the theme song will be announced on the day the video is released, so please wait until then. I wish all you contestants the best of luck.”
And just like that, the opening filming was over.
At this rate, the B-rank contestants were bound to end their shoot in tears.
‘Should I really act crazy and say something?’
As I was lost in thought, someone tapped my shoulder.
I turned my head to see a somewhat familiar face.
Judging by his outfit, he seemed to be a B-rank contestant.
This was my chance.
“Excuse me, could you give this to Ho-jun? I was going to give it to him myself, but I can’t seem to find him.”
He pulled an ointment out of his pocket and handed it to me.
“Ah. Of course.”
As I took the ointment, he started to turn away, but I stopped him.
“Excuse me.”
“Yes?”
“Did B-rank’s formations change a lot too?”
“Yeah. They kept changing, so it was a total mess. I guess it was the same for A-rank.”
“So it wasn’t just us. If one person messes up a formation, the whole thing gets tangled, right? That’s why we were even saying that if one person makes a mistake, it would be better for the others to just naturally move to a different spot.”