One Step From the Debut Line
The final stage of the round was 'Born to be'. With Joo Han on the team, both the trainees and the judges had been watching closely — and it was such an intense song that it came pre-loaded with a certain gravity, the kind you could coast on.
But—
"Honestly, this is a bit... shocking?"
The verdict was nothing like what anyone expected.
"It went past the level of not being a team — it felt like five people fighting their own separate battles up there."
"The problems we flagged at the mid-point evaluation have only gotten worse."
I clicked my tongue quietly.
They were planning to ride Joo Han's coattails at first, apparently.
At some point, the dynamic had curdled. Whether it was inferiority complex or plain nerves, they'd started straining to stand out, and it showed — every time Joo Han took center, the people around him flailed twice as hard to compensate.
Then again, Joo Han basically choreographed that whole routine by himself in the first place.
The team collapsed under its own weight.
"And yet through all of it, trainee Joo Han held the center steady."
"Agreed. The youngest on stage, and somehow the calmest one up there."
True to the judges' remarks, Joo Han performed exactly as well as he had before the regression.
No — too well. And that was precisely the problem.
"The other four trainees were unnecessary to today's stage."
The hall went ice-cold.
"...Whoa."
"Jack P is actually furious, I think."
"I'd remind you not to forget that you are currently competing on an idol survival program. If what you want is a solo career, withdraw now — before you drag anyone else down with you."
One of the trainees finally broke down in tears.
Amid the chaos, the Round 3 evaluation came to an end.
And thirty minutes later, the mission results and Code Announcement Ceremony began.
"We now reveal the results of the Round 3 mission!"
Team names flickered across the screen behind Kang Sejun. The name it finally stopped on was—
"First up, Team Go!'s results are... congratulations. You've taken 3rd place."
"Whoo!!"
"Thank god...!"
Team Go! threw their arms around each other and cheered. Meanwhile, at the news that the team everyone had written off as the weakest had snatched 3rd, the faces of the 'Born to be' team drained white.
"...So one of us is last."
There were no further surprises. 'Born to be' was confirmed at 4th place.
"Now, let's check the 1st place team. The winning team will receive a benefit they can use in the next round."
My heart was hammering. Both teams had drawn glowing reviews — either one winning would have made perfect sense.
"The judges were apparently especially divided this round."
Kang Sejun smiled meaningfully.
"Either team taking 1st would have been a fair result. The 1st place team is... ah, it's this team, I see."
It was a pure nail-biter of a moment.
"The 1st place result is... let's take a quick commercial break, shall we?"
"Huh?"
So this is where they stick the ad break.
Having delivered his line, Kang Sejun shamelessly picked the result announcement right back up.
"The long-awaited 1st place team is—"
Our team name and Mangaewha's flashed back and forth across the screen in a rapid blur.
And the name it finally settled on was—
"Waaaah!!"
"Hah..."
Han Sangyoon's legs gave out and he sank to the floor. Nam Junho and Jang Hyunjun grabbed each other and screamed.
Kang Yiyul buried his face in both hands and bowed his head.
Only then could I finally let out the breath I'd been holding.
We did it.
Looking up at us on the screen, Kang Sejun said with a smile, "Congratulations, Team Black & White. Summarizing the judges' evaluations—"
He lifted the results sheet.
"The stage most faithful to its theme."
"The most harmonious team."
"And—"
"The most original stage of the round."
The hall buzzed all over again.
"Team Mangaewha was also excellent."
The cameras swung to Choi Woonjo and Go Jaeseong.
"However, the interpretation Team Black & White presented earned the slightly higher marks."
In that instant, my eyes met Go Jaeseong's.
He was smiling — but the corners of his mouth had stiffened, just barely.
Of course they had. There was no doubt he'd given it everything this time. He'd dug up every scrap of future knowledge he had and worked it into that stage.
And even so, he couldn't win—
Must be giving you a real headache.
Beside the sourly smiling Go Jaeseong, Choi Woonjo was flashing a cheerful peace sign, the picture of innocence.
"Second place!"
"...Ha."
A laugh escaped me before I could stop it.
That guy, honestly.
He was the type who'd wash up on a desert island and come out the sole survivor.
"Now then, let us proceed to the long-awaited Code Announcement Ceremony."
Kang Sejun had somehow already changed into a fresh outfit.
"For this round's debut group, individual evaluations will determine the rankings — independent of team results."
At those words, the 'Born to be' trainees' expressions brightened a little. Their teams had tanked, but as individuals, they still had a shot.
Conversely, the trainees already sitting in the debut group wore faces of pure tension.
The lights dimmed slowly, and a dizzying sweep of spotlights began crawling across the debut group seats.
"What will the new debut group, chosen by the Round 3 evaluation, look like?"
Once again, the code exchange began in order, starting from Code 20.
"Trainees who are eliminated will remain in their seats, never completing their final code exchange."
At the cruelty of the format, groans rippled through the trainees.
Han Sangyoon reclaimed a spot in the debut group at Code 4.
"My little brothers from Team Black & White, who went through all of this with me."
He smiled through a choked-up face, his voice catching in his throat.
"Thank you for following me all the way here. Really."
Good for him.
Jang Hyunjun, formerly Code 4, dropped to Code 8 — which meant the next exchange was Code 7, Yiyul's code. Yiyul took a huge, deep breath and stepped up onto the podium.
Come on. Debut group. Please.
The split second it took the number to change stretched on forever. Above Kang Yiyul's head, his Danger Level kept bobbing up and down as if to mock me.
Code 7 ▶ Code 3
"...WHOA!!"
The shout burst out of me before I knew it.
"Third place?"
"No way—"
"He shot way up!"
Thankfully, the other trainees seemed just as stunned by the dramatic leap, and cries erupted from every corner of the studio.
He's back.
Back where he belonged.
Yiyul stared at the number for a moment, wearing an expression of pure disbelief.
Then he lowered his head and stepped forward.
"Trainee... Yiyul, was it?"
"...Y-yes."
And when he finally lifted his head, I learned what it meant for your jaw to hit the floor.
He was trying so hard to look composed, but the reddened rims of his eyes and the tremor at the tip of his nose gave him away.
"Thank you. Really, truly, thank you..."
His voice shook.
"I'll... I'll work hard."
Seeing Kang Yiyul cry for the first time sent a stir through the other trainees.
"I've never seen Kang Yiyul cry before."
"Man, must be nice—"
"Well, he did climb from 7th to 3rd. I'd be bawling too."
The Danger Level above Kang Yiyul's head shifted.
82% (▼4%)
Thank god...
It was a genuine relief.
Half of what I'd set out to accomplish in Round 3 was now done.
Yiyul walked over to Go Jaeseong.
Rip it right off him, Yiyul!
Maybe because of the crying, he yanked the code tag away far more roughly than I'd expected.
It felt a little satisfying, honestly.
"Now, we will announce trainee Go Jaeseong's final code."
For what it was worth, I'd hoped the kid would take my code. But the impact of a stage that had become a full-blown killing part wasn't something you could just ignore.
Code 3 ▶ Code 2
For a moment, my brain simply stopped.
Wow...
I barely kept a curse from flying out of my mouth. Even mid-crisis, I managed to keep my expression fixed — which, come to think of it, almost felt impressive in itself.
Go Jaeseong strolled up to the podium with perfect ease.
His little entourage erupted in applause.
"I, um, I really never saw this coming... thank you so much!"
It burned, but I had to admit it: it had been a well-performed stage.
Even if he'd stitched it together piece by piece out of other people's work.
"My Mangaewha teammates who suffered through this with me — thank you. I'm so happy it feels like all those all-nighters I pulled because I truly wanted to do well have finally paid off."
It wasn't yours, though, was it.
My stomach twisted, but cursing the guy accomplished absolutely nothing.
Go Jaeseong is a regressor too.
It could no longer be dismissed as coincidence.
The problem wasn't the regression itself — it was that Go Jaeseong was far more dangerous than I'd given him credit for.
Before the regression, Go Jaeseong had never made it this far. And yet the future was shifting now — and shifting far faster than I'd anticipated.
He doesn't simply steal the future. He cherry-picks only the successes and makes them his own.
Go Jaeseong peeled off Choi Woonjo's code tag and took the Code 2 seat, practically preening.
I never took my eyes off him.
He looked satisfied. Naturally — he'd manufactured a result that had never existed before the regression.
But now I knew.
I knew he was a regressor.
That fact alone was enough.
Good. If you're a regressor, then I'll turn that against you too — thoroughly, and without mercy.
What do you know? How far does your knowledge reach?
It was my turn to move first now.
Choi Woonjo, who had swapped codes with Go Jaeseong, was called at Code 5. I let out a small groan.
Only one debut seat remained now — Code 1.
"Trainee Yuseongwoo, Code 6. Please come to the stage."
"Yes, sir."
Before I stepped up, Han Sangyoon gave a small "Fighting!" But no matter how hard I spun the optimism, there was no scenario in which I took 1st.
"Trainee Yuseongwoo's final code is—"
Shhk. Shhhk—
I heard the velcro tearing behind my back as numbers changed.
Don't tell me I dropped—
I shook my head. No use worrying over nothing. Objectively speaking, this stage had gone well, hadn't it?
"Yes, trainee Yuseongwoo's final code is—"
There'd been notes on my dancing, but the producing was flawless, the vocals earned high praise, and...
"Code 6."
Ah...
The relief drained the strength right out of my legs.
"Whoa, he held his spot?"
"Yuseongwoo did all the arranging, remember."
"Insane. Seriously."
The murmuring swelled.
It would be a lie to say I hadn't hoped for a higher rank.
Especially once our team took 1st — from that moment on, I couldn't help thinking that this time, finally, I might get to stand in the debut group beside Yiyul. The hope had set my heart pounding.
Sharing our first stage together, then standing in the debut group together.
If that happened, it would finally feel like we were truly one team. One small consolation: my ranking hadn't pushed the Danger Level up at all. Clearly, Yiyul's rank mattered far more to fate than mine did.
Disappointing... but not bad.
Sixth place. One seat below the debut group, a knife's-edge position. But right now, even that felt like something to be grateful for.
"And so, Code 1 remains unchanged — the undisputed 1st place, trainee Joo Han."
"Thank you!"
In the end, both of Joo Han's eliminated teammates came from his own team.
"It's a shame, but we will continue to cheer for both trainees' dreams."
"...Thank you."
A team where 1st place and dead last coexisted — now that was a survival show outcome if ever there was one.
"With this, the Round 3 debut group is finalized."
After the two eliminated trainees left the studio, Kang Sejun's closing remarks followed.
"Debut group members, please come up front."
The five who had earned their spots filed over to the debut group seats, arranged in order of rank.
Yiyul, passing by me, stopped for just a moment.
"...Hyung,"
"...?"
"All of it — it's thanks to you."
A single sentence, quiet but embedded deep enough to stay.
Pfft. A laugh slipped out.
Yeah. That's all I needed.
The disappointment from minutes ago vanished so completely it was almost strange.
It meant that, at the very least, what I'd done this round hadn't been for nothing.
I looked down. My fist had clenched itself without my noticing.
Next time.
I raised my head. The stage lights, more dazzling than in Round 2, washed over the debut group seats.
The five new debut group members bowed toward the cameras.
And having to look up at them... no wonder it stung.
I will stand up there with you. Without fail.
Thankfully, the trainees were about to be given two weeks of free time. "Free time" in name only — in truth, it was the warm-up period for Part 2.
"We look forward to seeing just how much these trainees will grow over the next two weeks!"
That was why I'd been able to answer Robin's question with such confidence.
Only one person surfaced in my mind.
The person I needed most right now.
Sis.
This time, for real — I was going to have to ask for her help.