The Worst Possible Outcome

Perhaps it was the aftershock of the last Code Announcement Ceremony, but even after the evaluations ended, the trainees couldn't bring themselves to leave their seats.

Right on cue, a staff member's voice rang out.

"Trainees, please change into your uniforms and gather again!"

By the time we changed into our team uniforms and returned, Kang Sejun had already swapped into a new outfit of his own.

A sailor uniform this time, huh.

He'd even had his hair completely redone in that short window of time. All we'd managed was to dab the sweat out of our hair and pull on different clothes.

"The results of this Round 2 team mission are extremely important."

The trainees swallowed hard, faces tight with tension.

"The five members of the first-place team will automatically become the debut group."

"...Whoa."

"Not a benefit — straight into the debut group?"

The shocking selection format sent a ripple of uproar through the studio in an instant.

"Which team do you think takes first?"

"Has to be Joo Han's team."

"But Yuseongwoo's team got a good reaction too, didn't it?"

At that, my teammates glanced sideways at me.

I'm touched. They're already watching us as a threat...

"Now, we'll announce from fourth place."

Dum-dum-dum—

Background ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠music swelled through the hall, pointlessly tightening everyone's chests.

The cameras swept restlessly across the trainees' faces.

"Fourth place goes to... the ethereal-concept team, Dreaming."

"Ah..."

The Dreaming team smiled bitterly, as if they'd expected the result. They'd been a team that creaked from the very start of practice.

"And in third place... the sporty-concept team, Buzzer Beater."

Thud.

It felt like my heart had dropped straight through the floor.

"...What?"

The sound escaped me before I could stop it.

"Whoa—"

"Seriously?"

Shocked voices erupted around me, but none of it registered.

They were originally second place...

It had changed.

I had changed it.

"Hey, Yuseongwoo! We're at least second!"

"Hyung, this is totally huge!"

"Uh, yeah. Right."

Surrounded by teammates too delighted to contain themselves, I forced the corners of my mouth upward.

But I never once looked toward the Buzzer Beater team.

"Trainees Kang Yiyul and Han Sangyoon have left the debut group for the first time."

The one small mercy was that Yiyul had held onto first place within his team.

Of course he did.

But the face of Kang Yiyul reflected on the big screen looked anything but calm about it.

"Now, moving on to the second-place team."

My wildly excited teammates clutched each other's shoulders as we waited for the result.

"The second-place team is... the refreshing-concept—"

"WAAAAH!!"

Ji Dongseok's scream made Kang Sejun freeze mid-sentence.

"Ah, it seems Trainee Dongseok really is that happy."

Laughter spread through the studio.

"Congratulations. Shall we do a victory chant to commemorate the moment?"

"Yes!!"

And in ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the same instant, every eye in the room swung toward me.

Ha... seriously.

But there was no way I could pretend not to notice my teammates buzzing like that.

"...When Yuseongwoo says it—"

"WE SAY IT TOO!!"

My teammates let out a cheer.

That was the moment. As I turned my head, my eyes met Kang Yiyul's.

A face utterly without expression. The way he looked away so quickly made my heart plunge.

Because it looked exactly as if I were the one who had really shoved him out.

This is messed up. Seriously.

It was supposed to be a happy thing, and I wasn't happy at all.

I made a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠vow to myself.

Next round, I would absolutely be on the same team as Kang Yiyul.

Him beating me was fine.

Because that's how it should be.

But me pushing him out again — that was something I could never bear.

"Trainee Yuseongwoo, how are you feeling right now?"

I faltered at the unexpected question, then picked up the mic.

"Honestly, I thought our team was the weakest here."

My teammates nodded quietly along.

"And I was the worst dancer among them, so I struggled the most."

The nodding grew a little more vigorous.

"So I prepared with the mindset that even if we couldn't be the best, we'd be the ones who tried the hardest."

Even as I kept talking, I couldn't stop being aware of the Buzzer Beater team. Or more precisely, of Kang Yiyul.

"I'm truly grateful that our effort seems to have led to a good result."

After a few brief closing remarks, Kang Sejun announced the final result.

"Which means, the first-place team is automatically the sexy-concept team."

"WOO!!"

Cheers poured down from every direction.

Ha...

It was the result I'd expected.

And true to form, with no upset at all, the sexy team's first place went to Joo Han.

"We will now begin the Code ranking announcement ceremony."

With two debut-group seats already changed, a major upheaval was expected. Everyone kept glancing around, wondering just how far Han Sangyoon's code would fall.

One by one, the nameplates were swapped. Some trainees, nerves frayed by the marathon recording, couldn't hide their crumpled expressions.

This time, the order seemed deliberately shuffled. Trainees with extreme rises and drops were interleaved, staging scene after provocative scene.

Han Sangyoon's probably saved for last—

But I had no room to worry about anyone else.

"Code 6, Trainee Yuseongwoo. Please come to the stage."

My heart pounded at being called sooner than expected.

I walked up onto the stage slowly.

Please don't drop. Please don't drop...

"Oh..."

"Wow, he actually held on."

"...?"

I turned around and checked the big screen behind me.

"Haa..."

I'd dodged the worst.

But then a chill ran down my spine.

Wait.

Kang Yiyul hadn't been called yet.

All five debut-group seats were already filled.

Which meant that, at best, Yiyul was seventh.

My hands shot up and clutched my head before I knew it.

"Trainee Yuseongwoo? Are you that happy to have kept your rank?"

"...Ah, yes? Yes..."

I hastily lowered my arms.

"Next, Code 4, Trainee Go Jaeseong."

My fists clenched involuntarily.

The number on the big screen began to shift, slowly. And at the same moment, the Danger Level flickered unsteadily.

Please. Please...

"...Ah."

I closed my eyes.

Of all those countless possibilities, it had to be the very worst outcome.

"Congratulations. Trainee Go Jaeseong, please exchange nameplates with Code 3, Trainee Kang Yiyul."

"Yes!"

As if he'd been waiting for this, Go Jaeseong strode forward with a beaming smile.

I couldn't bear to watch the scene to the end, and turned my head away.

Rip. Riiip—

The sound of the nameplate being torn off rang out, cruelly loud in my ears.

The moment Kang Yiyul moved from his seat, the Danger Level changed.

Ha...

My breath caught in my throat.

That was the Danger Level I had bled and ground down for so long.

And now my own success had become the very thing that pushed Kang Yiyul out.

The fact was impossible to accept.

Until now, my goal had been simple.

I just have to survive myself.

If I shoved Go Jaeseong out and took a debut-group seat, then naturally Yiyul and I would debut together.

It had never once occurred to me that I could dare to influence Yiyul's rank.

The number on the big screen changed. Thankfully, the existing Code 7 trainee rose to Code 5, and Kang Yiyul stopped just below the debut group.

Yiyul walked over and took the seat beside me. I couldn't bring myself to lift my head.

Because if our eyes happened to meet, I had no idea what face I could possibly make.

The new Code 2 was Choi Woonjo, and Code 1 was, predictably, Joo Han.

Han Sangyoon had fallen from Code 2 to Code 8.

The single greatest upheaval of the entire ceremony.

He brushed lightly past the hand I offered. His face was a forced smile.

Suddenly, I felt like an uninvited guest who'd wormed his way into this survival show. I bit down hard on the inside of my mouth.

The big screen lit up with the faces of the five new debut-group members.

And at the very center of it was Go Jaeseong.

I stared at that face in silence. Then, slowly, I curled my hand into a fist.

If there was a single variable left in this survival show, it was you.

A few months ago, Baek Gayun had watched her favorite leave his group without warning.

The official statement cited health reasons, but she hadn't believed a word of it.

How could she, when eyewitness accounts of him drinking had flooded in practically the moment the withdrawal was announced? If he'd at least said his liver had exploded from drinking, she might have found it easier to accept.

"So you son of a— you people just decide everything among yourselves, and that's it? What about me?"

The day she uploaded a post titled 'CLOSE' to her fansite account, eyes brimming with tears, Baek Gayun declared that K-pop was over for her.

Not that a single one of her friends believed her.

"I bet you a hundred percent you'll end up shooting a rookie. Camera on the line."

"Shut up."

But contrary to everyone's predictions, Gayun really did live the life of an ordinary civilian for months on end.

Watching a stage didn't make her heart race, and a video of a handsome male idol ended with nothing more than a flat 'he's good-looking'. Not a flicker of feeling.

Then one day.

A message arrived from an acquaintance she used to attend schedules with.

She tapped the link half-heartedly, and the very last profile caught her eye.

"Huh?"

The absurd keyword braces drew her gaze first. Among a lineup of boys each styled to the nines, one face grinned brightly, entirely on its own — and there, glinting through the smile, silver braces.

It lodged strangely in her mind.

A puppy-like face with a vibe completely different from her old favorite, an air that seemed a little unpolished, a little awkward. And yet she couldn't look away.

She was curious. About this trainee who had entered a survival show with braces still on.

And on the day of the promo event, Baek Gayun remembered the eternal truth of fandom.

"Unbelievable..."

Her heart raced for the first time in months.

After the stage ended, she scrolled through her camera roll, and an involuntary grin spread across her face.

The braces that flashed every time he smiled. The way he searched eagerly for the cameras, then dodged them the moment he found one. The hearts he threw with the most desperate, determined expression.

Every last bit of it was driving her insane.

"I'm going to make your debut happen if it kills me."

The moment she got home, she skipped dinner and went straight to editing.

"Natural light really is undefeated—"

It was a moment where her long career as a fansite master shone through. Of course, the camera-ready face of Code 20, 'Braces' — utterly free of any artificial gloss — helped too.

Color grading, BGM selection, thumbnail editing, and more...

"...Done."

A masterpiece of her lifetime was born. With a look of deep satisfaction, Gayun created a brand-new account.

"Ah, what should I name it."

Reactions began racing in the moment it went up.

"Oh."

Faster than she'd expected. Even though she'd been practically the only one filming him at the venue, the share count kept climbing steadily.

Then, about an hour later, her notifications started exploding.

"What? The share count's already past three thousand?"

The quote posts were flooding with testimonials of fandom accidents waiting to happen.

By ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the next day, the video had spread to every corner of the community forums.

It was Yuseongwoo's first-ever fancam.