The Letter That Came Back
“Trainee Do Won-woo.”
The moment the results were announced, I unconsciously let out a sigh of relief.
Other trainees seemed puzzled as to why I was so eager. After all, since the ranking was in the stable zone, it was fine to just pass the last one.
But….
'Not eager at all, really.'
It was more eager than ever.
'If I can just get through this without a hitch….'
I could debut with Won Ji-an. And with the other members too.
It wouldn't be like magic that everything goes well just because I debuted, or that all worries disappear completely from this world, but at least I wouldn't have to suffer from the problem of disappearing from this world like now.
“Congratulations on being the center.”
Han I-jae extended his hand. His eyes looked concerned about my condition while shaking hands.
'Speaking of which, who was the center on the other team?'
I heard that Hyeon Si-woo was the center.
I expected it to be that way because the song and image matched so well. Originally, the development was that Hyeon Si-woo would be the center.
'Won Ji-an….'
He tried hard, but it didn't seem to work out well.
When our eyes met, Won Ji-an waved a V sign next to his face as if to say it's okay and smiled.
The final mission practice went smoothly.
Actually, by this point, trainees who lacked skill or were villains would naturally be filtered out, leaving only the top trainees, so there wouldn't be any interruption in practice.
Of course. Because it was the final.
Soon, everything would end.
“Won-woo-ya. You know.”
During practice, during break time, Kwon Hak-jin sat next to me and said that.
“It's surprising, isn't it? Time is passing so fast. I came here without knowing anything at first, and now we're at the last page.”
I nodded.
Time was moving so fast that it didn't wait even if I asked it to slow down.
“Too fast, sometimes I don't even remember what we did. How did we get here? That's the feeling?”
“Yeah. Looking back, there were so many things that happened.”
Even though smiling, I'm actually anxious.
Whether this story ends in a sad ending or a happy ending.
“Aigoo-ya.”
At that moment, right next to me, Kang In-hyeok sat down. Kang In-hyeok placed a cold PET bottle on my forehead that was sweaty.
“You've worked hard.”
“Me too.”
“Yeah, yeah.”
So, we sat silently for a long time, staring at the front.
Right in front, Han I-jae was continuing the dance practice. As always, the sight of his body dancing as if it would break.
Lee Hyo-seop and Jeong Hui-min standing side by side, repeatedly watching the choreography video. And other trainees reflected in the mirror.
It was the usual practice room scene, but today it looked strangely.
“Today is the day I want to plant an apple tree.”
Suddenly, a familiar voice came. Na Jae-hyun appeared out of nowhere.
“Everyone is burning their youth with passion. My youth is burning brightly too.”
“What kind of line is that?”
“It's a line I made.”
As usual, Na Jae-hyun was babbling. Still bright and energetic.
“How's your team doing?”
“Us? Si-woo hyung is doing well.”
Na Jae-hyun was in the team, and he came to visit our practice room during break time.
“What about Won Ji-an?”
I asked casually, but I was actually very worried. I was deeply concerned that he might have had his mental state affected by receiving the same ranking in the last survival show.
“Ji-an hyung? He was overflowing with enthusiasm. Unlike usual, he was talking a lot.”
“Talking a lot?”
“Yeah. He's doing weird jokes now.”
It's unimaginable that Won Ji-an would do jokes. I should watch it on broadcast later. If editing isn't done, that is.
“Yeah, if editing isn't done…”
“Alright, let's work hard until the end.”
Kang In-hyeok stood up and clapped. It was the signal to resume practice.
Without time to think, we went back to practice. This was the last one. So, I had to give my all, break my body.
I don't know. Just working hard, no matter how much I swing and struggle, it feels like the sky will give it to me.
Even though I know this world is rolling on with a damn system…
'I have no choice but to rely on hope.'
The last middle evaluation day.
The masters were waiting for us.
“How is it? Are you doing well?”
Because it was the final mission, there was no poison in the masters' faces.
In the first episode, they acted like they would devour us, but now at the end, their expressions and voices were unusually gentle.
Like a tiger teacher at a graduation ceremony.
“Alright, shall we see what you've prepared?”
The middle evaluation proceeded smoothly. There were no mistakes or wrong parts. The masters also had satisfied expressions.
After the middle evaluation, we stood in the middle. Right in front of Rayz.
“Trainee Do Won-woo?”
When I raised my head, Rayz smiling at me appeared.
“You took the main vocal part? This time?”
“Yes.”
“I heard that in the situation with selection rights, you chose the main vocal part yourself, but is there a reason you chose this part? There's a slight feeling that it's a bit too much for you to handle.”
I was pondering what to say, then after hesitation, I opened my mouth.
“Since it's the last one, I wanted to show a look of working hard with all my strength. So that even one more person would see me and listen to my voice.”
This was not a prepared or calculated line, but from the heart.
Some might call it greed, but anyway, it doesn't matter.
“I see.”
There was a moment of silence.
In the quiet atmosphere, Rayz stared at me fixedly and said.
“You did well.”
“…Yes?”
I was surprised and my eyes widened without realizing. Because I hadn't expected praise.
'Rayz giving me such praise?'
This was the first time he was praising me with such a bright face.
Rayz saw my surprised reaction and burst into laughter as if it was amusing.
“I find it surprising that I praised you? I just said you did well.”
Other trainees also felt that the atmosphere between me and Rayz was quite different from before.
“If I've been too arrogant until now, I'm sorry.”
“Ah, no.”
Rayz made a sound “hm” and paused for a moment before opening his mouth again.
“Thinking about it, Do Won-woo was like that from the beginning. It feels like you have your own safe and solid fence…”
Rayz continued.
“It's not that it's bad. It could be a strategy unique to you, Do Won-woo, and the fact that I viewed it too suspiciously is also true.”
Rayz, who had been speaking, lifted the corner of his mouth and smiled.
“But I feel like I missed that.”
“……”
“Of course, showing only what you do well and going stably is, in a way, wise. Smart.”
Soon, Rayz's gaze turned to me.
“But, sometimes during life, you get assigned tasks that go beyond your abilities.”
All the trainees in the room had been listening to Rayz's words.
“So… I think that when you do something beyond your abilities, you can go to the next step. You have to surpass what you have to achieve growth.”
“……”
“I wanted to experience that here. Breaking, making mistakes, and growing.”
Was that the case?
I always thought he didn't trust me, but I never thought it was that kind of heart.
Today, at this place, I seemed to have heard Rayz's true feelings for the first time.
“But now looking at it, actually, Do Won-woo has been growing at every moment.”
Rayz said while looking at me.
“You've worked hard.”
At that moment, when I heard those words, an indescribable emotion surged.
I thought he was a person I couldn't become close to even if I died. Still.
Of course, there were things I couldn't agree with and too many mismatched parts, but at least the heart of wanting to help wasn't a lie.
“Thank you.”
The countless times I had worked hard passed through my mind. Without the people who helped me during those times, if it was just me, it would have been impossible.
“Work hard until the end.”
After that, the middle evaluation ended, and we had time to greet the masters.
“Really, this makes it feel like a graduation ceremony.”
On the way out of the practice room, Na Jae-hyun said with a sullen voice.
“I really hate that kind of thing. It's like getting teary-eyed.”
“You hate it?”
“Hate it because it makes me feel sick. I want to live simply without thinking. There's a rebellious spirit that I don't want to cry when watching a sad movie.”
A strange style.
I knew he was a bit 4-dimensional, but I didn't know he had such a rebellious spirit.
Thinking that, I lowered my gaze, and the text on Na Jae-hyun's t-shirt came into view.
“Don't block the last one by reversing it.”
It was a t-shirt with only a sigh.
“Where did you buy this for?”
Na Jae-hyun scratched his head and laughed. Apparently, he had paid a high price.
“Don't block the last one by reversing it! No one can stop me.”
Leaving Na Jae-hyun in the hallway wearing the strange t-shirt and doing strange things, I fled.
When I returned to the dormitory room, the night sky outside the window had already darkened.
From the next room, noisy sounds were heard. The trainees seemed to be spending their last night in the training camp gathered in one room.
“Trainees, please gather at the auditorium immediately.”
And suddenly, the speaker voice came. Everyone hurriedly prepared to go out, not knowing what it was.
What kind of preparation the production crew had prepared created a subtle atmosphere.
So, one by one, we gathered in the auditorium. What was waiting for us was a strangely shaped campfire model doll.
“What? It's not even the last day of training camp.”
But the trainees had no choice but to sit around because of the atmosphere.
Soon, letters were distributed to the trainees. This was the letter I had sent to my future self when I first came here.
“We will have time to read the letters.”
The letter sent to my past self had returned to my present self.
Actually, I had forgotten. I knew it would be used in this way later, but because I had experienced so many things in the meantime.
“Alright, shall we read one by one? First, Lee Hae-won!”
When his name was called, Lee Hae-won stood at the end of the chair and stood up with a smile. And read the letter in a shy voice.
“Hae-won-ah. Hello. How have you been? If you're not doing well, I'm sorry. Are you eating well? If not, I'm sorry.”
The surrounding trainees' sounds of trying to hold back laughter came out from the strange letter content.
“Ah, why is the letter content like that.”
“Why are they always saying sorry.”
When the laughter subsided, Lee Hae-won continued reading the letter.
“The time has come to read this letter, meaning that the moment to end it in some way has come, right?”
Lee Hae-won put the sentences written on the letter into his mouth one by one.
“I believe you would have done well. There might have been moments of mistake or error, but you definitely made it through.”
As I read the letter, the atmosphere began to change quite a bit.
Ha, the production crew humans. Are they doing this on purpose to make me cry.
It was the moment I understood Na Jae-hyun's rebellious spirit.
“You've made many good friends and had many good experiences, right?”
At that moment, Lee Hae-won, who met my eyes, said the last sentence with a bright smile.
“So, you did well, Hae-won!”
So, the trainees got up one by one and read their letters.
The letter from my past self to my future self. Each had their own differences, but all came here with the same dream.
So, when listening to the letters, you can't help but feel the same emotions.
...Really.
The moment I didn't want the last one.