Trust Me With the Part Split

After being pushed out of the debut group, the first thing I checked was my Danger Level.

King Yama must have taken pity on me. A small mercy in the middle of a disaster.

"…I survived."

I leaned back against the hallway wall and let out a long breath, and then—

Tap.

Someone gave my shoulder a light pat.

"You okay?"

I spun around, startled. It was Han Sangyoon.

"Oh—yes, I'm fine."

He offered a few words of comfort.

"You were really good this time, you know—"

No wonder the fans called him a Born-to-Be Leader. Here he was, checking in on a nobody trainee like me.

"It stings, but I'll climb back up."

"I know you will."

Tap. A light fist bump.

He used to greet me exactly like this at fan signings, too.

It was a strange feeling.

After Sangyoon left, a familiar voice drifted down the hall.

"Yeah, Jaeseong-hyung was the right call."

"Justice is served, right? That phrase didn't come out of nowhere."

It was the same crowd that had thrown exaggerated congratulations around when Go Jaeseong was called at Code 4.

"Luck doesn't last long, you know."

A comment clearly meant to be overheard.

Ugh.

It hit me all over again just how young these kids were.

Petty. So incredibly petty.

"Come on, guys, don't be like that."

Go Jaeseong walked over with a smile plastered on his face.

"Still, you did well."

There it was—that insufferable expression of his.

Stay calm.

"Enjoyed your stage today."

"Thanks."

"Honestly, I thought you'd be Code 5."

Words dressed up as sympathy. But his motives were so transparent it was almost funny.

"I'll just do better on the next mission, I guess."

Go Jaeseong added, with pointed meaning,

"That is, if your dancing improves by then?"

An unmistakable provocation.

But I simply nodded. It was true that my dancing needed to improve, after all.

"Right! Exactly!"

When I answered with a bright, guileless smile, his expression stiffened.

Not the reaction you wanted, hm?

"Well, if you want to debut too…"

This time I took a step toward him.

"You'd better start building some strength."

"…?"

"That nameplate of yours looked awfully hard to tear off."

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

Go Jaeseong burst into an awkward, hollow laugh.

This time I was the one who turned my back first. Just not throwing a punch had taken enormous restraint. Good job, Yuseongwoo.

I settled back into my corner of the practice room and pulled out my notepad.

It was time to map out my strategy for the next mission.

Six in the morning, before the sun had even thought about rising.

The wake-up song shook the entire dormitory, and the trainees screamed.

"Ugh, ughh…!"

"What the—what time is it…"

From the floor below, I could even hear Ji Dongseok rolling out of his bunk.

THUD!

"AAAGH!"

"Why at six in the morning…?"

Eight o'clock had been our fixed wake-up time until now, so everyone was dumbfounded by this ambush of a wake-up call.

Me? I was already washed up and ready to go.

Ah, so that's what this is.

"Wait… you're already dressed?"

Instead of answering, I yanked my shoelaces tight and knotted them. I had a full-on sprint ahead of me, after all.

Then came Kang Sejun's familiar voice.

[All trainees, please gather at the first-floor studio immediately. The trainee who arrives first will receive…]

Creak—

"Holy—no way."

Prepare…

[a hidden prize!]

GO!

I bolted straight for the first floor. Sure enough, the scene resembled a zombie film set. Doors flying open in every direction, trainees bursting out, chasing after me…

Most of the trainees probably had their eyes glued to that hidden prize.

But that was a feint. The heart of this event was never the prize.

Screen time.

The raw, unpolished stuff. You couldn't show them something too raw—but you couldn't look too put-together, either.

So right before heading out, I'd grabbed exactly one thing.

The tinted lip balm Yu Seong-ah had forced into my hand.

Sis, you're the best!

Before my regression, I used to wonder how on earth I'd been born the little brother of that tyrant—so unfair. But looking back now? She wasn't a tyrant. She was a wise and benevolent ruler. A saint.

The moment I pushed open the studio door, dozens of cameras greeted me.

"The trainee who arrived first is… trainee Yuseongwoo!"

Kang Sejun, decked out in a flashy uniform first thing in the morning. At this point, he was clearly enjoying himself too.

"And the hidden prize is—a snack set~!"

Knew it.

"Huh?"

"A snack set? That's it?"

"Man, I ran for nothing…"

Deflated laughter rippled through the trainees. But I beamed as I accepted the snacks.

"I'm on a diet, so I've been craving these so badly… thank you!"

Because this right here is all screen time, baby.

I strolled back to my spot with a grin plastered on my face, and Choi Woonjo stared holes into my snack set.

…I quietly hugged the bag to my chest.

Mine. All mine.

"We've had our little event, but there's a different reason you're all gathered here today."

Kang Sejun spoke again.

"It's time to reveal the Round 2 mission."

The screen lit up.

"An idol must be able to carry a wide range of concepts."

Refreshing. Sexy. Sporty. Dreamy.

The four keywords floated up one by one on the screen.

"And so, this mission will be a concept team mission."

Of course, Boys Code threw in its own little twist.

"However, the songs for each concept will be revealed only to the five members of the debut group."

"Whoa…"

"So even if you like a concept, the song itself might not be something you want?"

"Ugh, I'm so jealous…"

The show was doubling down on its debut-group-first approach. Cruel, yes—but guaranteed to stir up buzz.

"Team selection will proceed starting from the lowest Code."

Of the four concepts, Refreshing was the least popular by far.

It just reads as the weakest of the bunch.

Sexy and Sporty were concepts you could sell loud and proud, and Dreamy had been rising as a fan favorite lately, too.

"However, once a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠team reaches capacity, trainees with lower Codes will be pushed out in order."

"Whoaaa…"

A squeeze-out system.

For reference, just how unpopular was the Refreshing team? Teams had to be balanced to fill nineteen slots, which meant one team needed to have four members—and that team was Refreshing.

"Trainees who are pushed out will need to form new teams after all first choices are ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠complete."

As a result, the Refreshing team had ended up stocked with bottom-ranked trainees, and it scored the lowest of all.

Which means…

"Code 6. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Please choose your concept."

Even after announcing everyone's names, Boys Code stubbornly kept referring to the trainees by their Codes. Truly a program committed to its concept.

"Yes!"

I made my way into the maze-like space.

And without a moment's hesitation, I opened the door.

Just as I'd predicted.

"Uh…? Why are you here?"

Inside, there was only Ji Dongseok.

"You're alone?"

"Yeah."

Dongseok smiled sheepishly.

Same as before my regression.

The other three would presumably be lower-ranked trainees pushed out of other teams.

"All selections are complete, up through the final Code 1. Now, we move on to the second round of team selection."

Five trainees had been pushed out.

Three would go to Refreshing, and one each to Sporty and Wild.

"The selection method is as follows: on each team, the trainee with the highest Code makes the pick."

I picked the same trainees as I had before my regression.

They weren't a team with problems in either skill or character.

And above all—they were kids who listened well.

"Now, we'll announce the final team compositions!"

Just like before my regression, the top-ranked trainees had flocked to the Sexy concept.

Iyul had kept his original team as well. Fine—Iyul's legendary moment came in Round 3, but Round 2 had gotten a pretty solid reception too.

Focus on your own problems first.

"Alright then! We look forward to your Round 2 stages as well!"

Kang Sejun left, and the trainees gathered in twos and threes to start their brainstorming sessions.

And our team's atmosphere…

"So! Shall we, uh, start with introductions?"

"…"

We're doomed.

Even after I suggested introductions, a suffocating silence ping-ponged around the room.

"…"

"…"

"…"

It must have been even bleaker before my regression.

In the end, I broke the ice first.

"I'll go."

Everyone's eyes turned naturally toward me.

"I'm Yuseongwoo. My positions are producing and vocals."

"Ah… I'm Sung Junwoo."

A voice barely louder than an ant's footsteps.

"My position is dance."

He couldn't even hold eye contact properly.

Next.

"I'm Kwon Gihyeon. I dance, and I sing a… a little, too."

"Song Wooju. My position is rap."

A whole team of extreme introverts. Fantastic.

Finally, Ji Dongseok threw his hand up with a huge grin.

"I'm Ji Dongseok! My position's dance, obviously—"

That much, at least, was a mercy.

So the kid does have his uses.

That's right, Dongseok. You're no longer just my gross roommate. From this moment, you shall be the comedian who reignites this bottomless pit of broken morale.

Even before my regression, this team's biggest problem was never skill.

It was atmosphere.

With everyone's mouths clamped shut, the meeting simply couldn't function.

So yes—plenty of landmines all around. But there was a reason I'd chosen the Refreshing concept.

First: the choreography simply couldn't be that hard. That was exactly why the top-ranked trainees had skipped this song.

Even the Hourglass has limits on how much it can make up for.

With any other concept, I'd probably have to spin that thing tens of thousands of times. The hospital ceiling flashed before my eyes unbidden.

I cannot do that two more times.

Second: there was a lot of room to play with through arrangement.

And finally—if I'd joined a top-tier team, I'd have been doomed to become pure filler, riding the bench forever.

In that case, I wouldn't get a single frame of face time even in the individual cams.

And the day I earned a bad review because of myself? Instant branding as the burden trainee.

The hate comments played themselves in my head, on loop.

Just thinking about it was horrifying.

"Hey, Yuseongwoo?"

Ji Dongseok's voice yanked me back to reality.

"…Huh? Oh, right, sorry. Where were we?"

"We were about to split up the parts, remember?"

I looked slowly around at my teammates. Their faces already said we've given up.

I am still Code 6, you know…

But of course, these guys had no faith in me either. Well, that was a problem I'd fix in due time.

"So—is there a part anyone especially wants?"

"…"

In that moment, I remembered the survival show footage that had zipped by at double speed.

This is going to take forever, isn't it?

What I didn't realize was that "forever" would mean a full hour!

I waited for anyone—literally anyone—to speak first, but it was a futile hope. They hemmed and hawed and clammed right back up, and I could feel my soul leaving my body.

I'd planned to wait as long as possible, too. If I stepped forward now, I risked looking like a dictator.

But if I waited any longer, we'd be going nowhere fast.

So at last, I drew the knife.

"Guys."

They lifted their bored eyes toward me.

I smiled, bright and easy.

"The part split—leave it to me. Just trust me on this one."

"…Huh?"

"I'm sorry, what?"

One of them went dead serious, one of them nearly shrieked, and one of them just stared like I'd lost my mind.

Could you all relax your faces a little?

Just you wait—I'm about to make the stage of your lives.