Chapter 27
Chapter 27
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 27
Chapter Title: Even as a Villain, I Want to Debut
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What appeared was Lee Hae-won's interview.
I'd expected it, but our first meeting was getting quite a bit of screen time.
[Lee Hae-won: You might not believe it, but when I first came up to Seoul, I lost my wallet and was wandering around lost.]
[Lee Hae-won: That's when Won-woo helped me out. We were total strangers, right? Turns out we're on the same show! How does that even happen?]
Sure enough, seeing this made it clear that meeting Lee Hae-won earlier than in the original story had a meaningful impact.
A scene that wouldn't have existed originally had been added, imprinting both of us in viewers' minds.
Up to this point, there was nothing to worry about.
What concerned me was how the primary grading evaluation would be edited for broadcast.
'I heard they sometimes do total hatchet jobs or villain edits.'
Of course, I wasn't worrying excessively.
Based on the flow so far, the editing felt favorable toward me.
Though maybe I was being overly optimistic.
[Now, we'll reveal the first trainee up for grading evaluation.]
And so the grading evaluation finally began.
I'd anticipated it to some degree, but as it went on, the villain editing ramped up.
It mostly targeted trainees without backing or easy marks, offering them up as sacrifices.
'Jeong Hee-min's in particular... that's rough.'
I knew from the original story that he'd been villain-edited, but seeing it on actual broadcast made me worry for him.
[Shin Su-yeol: Trainee Jeong Hee-min. You know your pronunciation feels imprecise when you sing, right?]
[Jeong Hee-min: …….]
With eerie BGM, a shot of Jeong Hee-min silently pondering his response was inserted.
But editing it to stare down the master—that was the start of the villain edit.
Jeong Hee-min staring silently at the master, then cuts of flustered trainees in the silence.
'...They edited it like this?'
Looking back, Jeong Hee-min had been hit with a ton of hate comments early on, not unlike Do Won-woo. I knew it intellectually, but seeing the villain edit firsthand soured my mood.
[Time for a short break….]
Then the mid-broadcast break.
In a visual trainee spotlight scene during downtime, I appeared.
Shampoo-ad-like refreshing BGM played, with a bright filter over my face.
'Oh….'
Even I had to admit Do Won-woo's looks went beyond "handsome."
Right on cue, messages poured in from Lee Hae-won. The scene had sparked an explosive reaction.
「Lee Hae-won: Insane」
「Lee Hae-won: Your face」
「Lee Hae-won: Total beast」
「Lee Hae-won: (photo)」
「Lee Hae-won: For real insane lol」
'Ha, Lee Hae-won….' Still, these reactions helped ease my tension bit by bit. Honestly, watching the broadcast alone without these would've made me way more anxious. [Grading evaluation resumes.] The break ended, and evaluations continued. Next up: botched stages, the ones harshly critiqued by the masters. [Is this your best?] [For your training period, this is embarrassing.] [I have no idea what you were trying to show.] They didn't show full stages. Just the failures of D- or F-grade trainees—a brutal edit. The next trainee was Han I-jae. They'd filled the prior slot with a flop, then cut straight to Han I-jae's stage. Obviously arranged to hype his skills. Not that he needed it—his talent was undeniable. '...He's good.' I'd thought so live, but on broadcast, it hit different. As Han I-jae's stage wrapped, the system's existence resurfaced in my mind. 'He's skilled, but with Do Won-woo's misfortune arc shifted onto him now, who knows what happens next.' Finally, "Independent Trainee Do Won-woo" flashed on screen. My turn. 'Guess I make the first episode.' I replied to Lee Hae-won's nonstop messages, then refocused on the screen. My slot was near the end. Broadcast order pushed way back from original, airing near the episode's close. [Hello. Independent trainee Do Won-woo. Please take care of me!] 'Hm…?' I was startled by my face on screen. 'I was more stiff than I thought.' Only now, via broadcast, did I realize how tense I'd been. Shots kept catching my nervous expression. Masters whispered worriedly. [Shin Su-yeol: Curious how he'll do.] [Kim I-rae: Hmm, he's too tense.] [Raise: We'll see.] 'Wait, editing it like this….' Pre-performance: concerned masters, blank-faced trainees reacting. Then my interview cut. [Writer: Think you can do well?] [Do Won-woo: …I have to.] [Writer: What grade would you like?] [Do Won-woo: Anything but F.] Finally, an insert of me sighing after taking my seat at rank 100. 'Anyone can see they're maximizing the upset narrative.' And as expected, the mood shifted once the stage started. Entrance with ripping the test sheet, masters and trainees cheering—reactions captured. My face heated up watching. Reactions layered on my performance felt surreal and embarrassing. At least it was positive. Compared to original Do Won-woo's humiliating eval, this was a godsend. 'So this is what monitoring feels like.' First time, novel and disorienting. Good news: no mistakes. Against worries, positive edit; vocals and dance looked stable. 'Not pro-level, but not trash either.' That sufficed. Avoided the original beatdown. Meanwhile, Lee Hae-won was glued to my stage—no explosive messages. [Thank you!] Stage end, me bowing; satisfied masters clapping. Raise's feedback, freestyle—all aired full. 'Even freestyle uncut?' I cringed at that day's scene replaying. Serious face suddenly freestyle-rapping passionately—edited like comedy. Lee Hae-won bombarded with "lololol."
As embarrassment peaked, my segment ended. 'Finally over.' I'd thought monitoring casual; real-time cringe hit hard. Flustered briefly by the new emotion, then Lee Hae-won appeared next. 'Episode's almost done? He's last?' Wondering if they'd fit his full stage— Nope. Cut mid-lyric forget, flub exposed. Episode ended. '...Like this?' Preview: teary Lee Hae-won, F-class scoldings mosaicked. 'Hope Hae-won's okay.' I'd assumed they'd show recovery in ep1. Regardless of screentime or image, first-time broadcast exploitation of a mistake stings. His explosive messages suddenly stopped. 「Me: You okay?」 Quick reply. 「Lee Hae-won: I'm fine lol」 '...Really?' Worried, but probably fine. Production wouldn't discard him based on this edit. Worry was his mentality. Not discarded, but used as clickbait drama.
After the broadcast ended, I leaned against the wall and quietly turned on my smartphone.
To check reactions.
"Haa…."
I typed and erased "Do Won-woo" in search repeatedly.
Trusted my mental fortitude, but didn't want to overestimate.
Had to check. Needed feedback on reactions.
'Even binge-reading novels, comment sections made me wince more than once.'
That vibe.
'People really say this stuff?'
To me—a non-fan, muggle—unfathomable.
Why trash strangers so viciously?
'Original Do Won-woo got flamed hard too.'
Time to see how fate changed.
'Let's check….'
Typed "Do Won-woo."
Scrolled: posts with my name.
Read the comments—no harsh stuff overall.
Lightyears better than original eval flop.
Some sour grapes, sure.
'Not bad for a fresh start.'
Sighing in relief, a KakaoTalk notification popped at the top.
Expected Lee Hae-won, but the unexpected name widened my eyes.
'Her, messaging now…?'