Chapter 55
“What happened to your face? Didn’t you sleep last night?”
Instead of answering her older sister, Imduk silently raised her middle finger.
Imduk herself was well aware that her face looked so hollow and exhausted that she had the physiognomy of someone who might collapse at any moment.
But this was all because of <Cast the Future> and its fans.
Fans who had bought stock in the trainees of CastF, as <Cast the Future> was commonly called, were sleeping less than ever before.
They had split into individual fans who supported only one trainee, team fans who supported an entire producer’s team, and all-fans who supported every trainee, and they were fighting each other bloody.
The individual fans did not care about team unity or any of that nonsense. Their position was that as long as their baby debuted and did well, nothing else mattered.
The team fans wanted the teams in their current configurations to remain unchanged and continue like this for as long as possible, so they were keeping a frantic watch on every other team.
The all-fans thought all the trainees were good kids, wanted all of them to succeed, wanted Imperial to collapse for putting their kids through so much suffering, and simply wanted everyone to debut….
Because everyone wanted different things, the moment a slightly sensitive subject came up, they inevitably ended up fighting each other through private accounts.
Imduk was somewhere between an all-fan and a team fan.
And of all things, she was becoming most attached to Se-rang’s team, which had initially been considered the greatest underdog.
She had sworn again and again that she would never become emotionally invested in this underdog team, but when had the human heart ever listened to reason?
Never.
She had assumed she would suffer endlessly because of that attachment, but….
What was this?
The trainee stock she had invested in had not merely skyrocketed. They had reached the point where debut itself seemed possible.
Just from the reactions on social media, the general consensus was that none of the three trainees on Se-rang’s team would rank particularly low.
Of course, even without saying it aloud, everyone knew that Ha Jiho would overwhelmingly take first place.
Even Imduk had known the moment she first saw Ha Jiho that he had the kind of insane stan-attractor face Imperial always made sure to put at least one of into every group.
A perfectly balanced all-rounder.
Charisma spilling wildly from him onstage.
A long, well-proportioned body with naturally beautiful bone structure, contrasting with the cute impression created by his monolid eyes.
He did not talk much, but whenever he did, his deep mid-low voice resonated like it came from a cave.
And when he smiled, he was cute.
It would have been stranger if he didn’t rank first in the popularity vote.
If Imduk had not already invested in Team Se-rang stock, she would have immediately invested in Ha Jiho instead.
With trembling hands, Imduk quietly turned on her tablet and opened <Cast the Future>.
Fortunately, her muggle older sister seemed to have forgotten that today was the live broadcast day for <Cast the Future>.
Muggles are all like that….
Grateful for this unexpected stroke of luck, Imduk sat down solemnly.
Please, guys.
Just let all of you make it into the top six….
Imduk offered a rather difficult prayer.
The trainees were all extremely talented, and there were only thirteen of them left, making the competition fierce.
Only five of them could debut.
Imduk quietly wiped away a tear.
Just debut all of them. Thirteen members is a perfectly good number.
It was a pointless wish, since Imperial had a long-standing principle of never debuting more than six members in either a girl group or a boy group….
Imduk could only think, Who the hell are you, Imperial…? Who cares about your stupid principles…?
Today’s first Overall Popularity Vote was significant because it would reveal the trainees’ current standings, but it was also enormously important because the results would determine the order in which trainees could choose whether to transfer teams.
That was why both individual fans and team fans were on edge.
Only the all-fans quietly waved imaginary light sticks that said, Anyone, please succeed.
The CastF fans who had invested in Team Se-rang stock, the team with the fewest members, were especially nervous.
The best possible outcome was for their three boys to remain together while only good trainees from the other teams joined them….
The worst-case scenario was for all three of them to scatter into different teams.
The problem was that even if that happened, the fans could not criticize the trainees.
For their own chances of debuting, joining a five-member team was the safer choice.
Then what about the best-case scenario, where all three stayed and only additional trainees joined them?
The Team Se-rang fans were also deeply divided over who the remaining two members should be.
Title: Honestly, in terms of visual harmony, it’s Team Se-rang + Kim Hyunseo
Their faces kind of have the same vibe lol
└ Hyunseo doesn’t seem close to any trainee though, so wouldn’t it be the same wherever he goes...? In that case, he might as well join the team that suits him,,,,
Title: Where do you think Hajo’s going?
Stay? Or transfer?
Personally, I think he has good chemistry with Eden, so I hope he stays
└ fr lol, whichever team Jiho chooses will be the winning team..
└└ At the very least they’ll have his votes carrying them in the final round
Title: But surprisingly, Team Se-rang’s guys
Don’t you think they might not leave Se-rang?
At first I thought at least Jung Taeha would leave Team Se-rang, but those three seem way tighter than expected, so maybe they won’t escape after all;
└ Taeha looks like he’ll rank high enough to choose wherever he wants, so where the hell is he gonna go lol
Title: Let’s predict Seo Dowon’s ranking
I’m guessing 10th for now
...Sorry, Dowon..
└ fr?? Our Dowon does?
└└ With a face like that, of course. He has obvious center visuals
└└└ Shy Dowon fans, please raise your heads
Title: The surprising reason Seo Dowon is popular is
Not because of his holy face
Historically, Imperial’s center-type visuals may have appealed to muggles, but their actual popularity ranking within the fandom was usually just average
But Seo Dowon... his personality and his story... the kid is just so damn pitiful..
└ fr, Seo Dowon has a ton of solo fans because older fans are investing hard in his stock
Title: Team Se-rang’s real problem is Yuhyun
His position is way too ambiguous..
Honestly, if he were at any other agency, he’d probably be treated as a top talent even within the team, but he just had to join Imperial..
Title: But as you all know, CastF
Isn’t actually about individual popularity rankings.
Once teams are finalized at the Third Competition, voting is done by team
In the end, what matters is which team you belong to during the final competition
Title: This might not be Cast the Future
It might become Cast Ha Jiho
└ Jiho stans are so damn dramatic
└└ 2222222 lololol, insisting that one trainee can completely change the whole landscape is classic Jiho-stan behavior..
└└└ 3333333 We get that your baby is precious, but calm down. He’s not that powerful ^^
“Ugh.”
Imduk stopped there and closed the community forum.
What did community predictions matter?
The real answer would appear in the actual broadcast.
“It’s starting.”
After the MC’s polished introduction, the thirteen trainees appeared, seated in chairs inside the studio.
Across from them, the three producers sat with solemn expressions, staring at the trainees.
Behind them stood the electronic display board where the rankings would be announced.
“…Please.”
Please don’t let our boys get split up…!
Imduk clasped her hands together and prayed.
[MC: Thank you for waiting. The age when idols could only be cast is over! Here, idols can cast their own futures. This is <Cast the Future>.]
“Ugh, can we please skip these predictable hosting lines already?”
Despite Imduk’s irritation, the MC continued steadfastly.
After spending around ten minutes explaining the rules and moving the program along, the ranking announcement ceremony finally began in earnest.
[MC: Normally, ranking announcements begin from the lowest rank and work their way upward. But this is <Cast the Future>. Because trainees can choose their producers depending on their ranking, we will begin by announcing the first-place trainee.]
[MC: The trainee who takes the coveted first place in the popularity vote will receive the first opportunity to cast a producer. They may remain with their current team, or they may transfer to another team.]
[MC: So, who is the first-place trainee in the First Overall Popularity Vote?]
Tension-building BGM began to play—
[MC: It is trainee Ha Jiho!]
The result everyone had expected appeared on the electronic display.
However, Ha Jiho looked completely stunned and flustered, as though he had never expected it, before delivering his first-place speech.
[Jiho: …so I will never forget that all of this is thanks to the fans and viewers who voted for me. Thank you.]
After the somewhat predictable speech, the MC applauded and asked,
[MC: Now then, trainee Ha Jiho. That was a moving speech. And now, the most important moment has arrived.]
[MC: Trainee Ha Jiho. Which producer will you cast?]
[Jiho: I….]