Chapter 114
Chapter 114
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 114
Chapter Title: Divide and Conquer
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Sensing Se-yeon about to pull down her pants, Seul-bi yelled, "My pants!" grabbed Se-yeon's wrist, and threw herself into the water.
It looked like Seul-bi was trying to save her pants from being pulled down, but she was actually holding onto Se-yeon's hand to keep her from getting away.
Seul-bi's legs wrapped around Se-yeon, who was already in the water, and she spun her body around once.
"Gurgle!"
Unlike Seul-bi, who had taken a deep breath before going under, Se-yeon screamed in panic as if her whole body was bound, and a large amount of water rushed into her mouth.
"Pfft! Cough, cough!"
Seul-bi, who surfaced first, coughed as she moved to the side of the pool.
"That girl!"
"Hold on. Seul-bi is acting. She didn't swallow any water."
"Acting?"
As I calmed Choi Yoo-jun down, Se-yeon, who had been flailing in the water, finally surfaced.
"Bleegh! Ugh, cough, cough, ugh!"
But unlike Seul-bi who was acting, Se-yeon had swallowed a lot of pool water, and she looked so bad it would be difficult to air the footage.
"What do we do!"
"Are you okay?"
The other contestants and the production crew, who had been waiting by the pool, rushed over.
"Ugh! Cough, cough."
Se-yeon retched, her eyes bloodshot.
"Ah! Why were you trying to pull my pants down!"
The way Seul-bi blamed Se-yeon was so natural, she looked like the perfect victim.
It was thanks to the 'Soulmate (A)' trait, which had transferred Ro-si's acting skills to Seul-bi.
"Fuck!"
Se-yeon's furious curse sent a momentary silence across the wide filming set.
"Cut!"
PD Hwang Beom-seok stood up, his face boiling with rage, and walked over to Se-yeon.
"Hey... are you crazy?"
"..."
Se-yeon blinked in surprise, staring at PD Hwang Beom-seok.
"I asked if you're crazy."
"No, it's not that, she... the water..."
"You're completely clueless. Is this broadcast a joke to you!"
When Hwang Beom-seok yelled, Se-yeon flinched in shock.
"Do you think broadcasting is a joke! You think you can get away with anything just because you have connections? Huh? You want to quit the show?"
A few of the contestants and crew members who had gathered around Se-yeon slowly backed away.
"You want me to air you cursing just like that?"
"...The Communications Standards Commission..."
"To hell with the commission! Are you worried about me right now? Huh?"
Failing to read the room, Se-yeon said one more thing, and PD Hwang Beom-seok began to mercilessly tear into her, eventually making her burst into tears.
"This is a fucking mess, a total mess!"
"Uh... We'll take a short break!"
Hwang Beom-seok walked away with a cigarette dangling from his lips, and the assistant director who had called for a break followed him, scratching his head awkwardly.
"...Hyung. Was Artist Seul-bi really acting?"
"Yeah. Seul-bi didn't swallow a drop of water."
"Damn. That's some method acting."
Seul-bi got up and approached the crying Se-yeon.
"Are you okay?"
"......!"
Se-yeon, who was crying, gritted her teeth and glared at Seul-bi.
"Get up."
Seul-bi held out her hand, looking at Se-yeon with pity. Enraged, Se-yeon tried to slap her hand away, but Seul-bi quickly pulled back, and Se-yeon's hand cut through empty air.
"Hk! Sob! Haaah!"
Se-yeon trembled as she looked at Seul-bi's hand, offered again as if nothing had happened. The other Your Girl members soon came over, shot Seul-bi a venomous glare, and helped Se-yeon away.
"Wow... Seeing her like this, Artist Seul-bi seems like a real devil."
All the Answer members, dripping with water, came over to where Choi Yoo-jun and I were standing.
"Unni, is your hand okay?"
"Yeah... But wasn't that too harsh?"
Seul-bi was worried about Seol-ah, but Seol-ah seemed to be worried about Seul-bi.
"Harsh? What are you talking about? You did great, Seul-bi unni."
"That's right. When she subtly pressed her chest against you with her shoulder, I was so pissed."
Yi-na and Ro-si defended Seul-bi's actions.
⋮
"Seul-bi, a little more forward. Yes, yes, right there. Se-yeon, your position is good too."
Unable to scrap the scene they had filmed so far, the production crew recreated the situation right before the incident.
"Sang-hyun! Get rid of that red ball back there. Okay."
The assistant director informed PD Hwang Beom-seok that the positions were set, and filming resumed.
The Your Girl members were re-armed with venom, but the results were strangely powerless.
Now, only the final highlight performance of this schedule remained.
* * *
"Hey, hey, it's fine. The most important main stage is still left."
The Yuri Fox team, who were both their choreographers and the judges, comforted Your Girl.
"A girl group doing what, collecting seashells? CPR? Underwater handball? The stage is what's important, isn't it? This stage is a sure win."
"...A sure win? What's a 'sure win'?"
The member of Yuri Fox, who was in her late 30s, gave a bitter smile. She knew when to use the phrase 'a sure win,' but she didn't know the literal meaning of the words themselves.
"...It just means it's already ours. Stop being upset and let's go get your makeup done."
"Whew. Yes, ma'am. I think you're right. We just need to win where it counts the most."
"Right, right. It's not like they can learn our choreography in a day."
"For real. That's probably why they gave up on the dance and only practiced vocals."
The Your Girl members mustered their last bit of pride and reignited their fighting spirit.
* * *
I was taking out the sneakers Yuri Fox had bought for the Answer members a while back from the car.
"Hmm... these sneakers are too plain."
"Doesn't it make them look frugal and down-to-earth?"
"Come on, they're artists. Isn't this a bit too frugal?"
"This frugal image will be a great help to the members' reputation."
"...It just makes them look poor..."
I chuckled at Choi Yoo-jun's needless worry.
"But why these all of a sudden?"
"I have a good use for them."
Choi Yoo-jun and I, carrying the sneakers in our hands, approached the Answer members who were doing their makeup for the final performance.
A member of Your Girl, who had finished her full makeup, grumbled and avoided my gaze.
"Must be nice to have money. Bringing a whole team of staff even for a three-day schedule."
Choi Yoo-jun grumbled as he watched several makeup artists and stylists attending to Your Girl. In contrast, the Answer members, each doing their own makeup, looked a bit pitiful.
Well, starting next month, they'll have plenty of support...
"Yo, Team Leader Min. Doing well these days?"
With disgustingly perfect timing, Park Jae-yong of SJ Enter—no, Section Chief Park now—approached.
At the appearance of the uncomfortable man, the Answer members pretended he wasn't there and focused on their makeup.
"If you're here to take care of Your Girl, you should stick with them. Why are you slacking off? Couldn't kick your old habits even after moving to SJ?"
At my polite demeanor, Choi Yoo-jun shot Team Leader Park a rotten smile.
"Aigoo, what an attitude."
"Go on, quickly."
"Tsk, tsk. Seol-ah, this is why you should have come when I called. Doing your own makeup so pathetically? If you had just come as the main vocal instead of Se-yeon, huh? You'd be getting treated like this and have nothing but success ahead of you."
"Why are you starting trouble again? You think I won't do what I want just because there are industry people around?"
"Alright. I'm going, I'm going. Good luck on your final stage, Seol-ah and the kids."
The Answer members gave a bitter smile at Team Leader Park's words. They had grown enough to brush off such pathetic remarks.
"He used to be so scared he'd piss his pants."
Team Leader Park seemed to flinch at Choi Yoo-jun's words but walked over to the Your Girl side anyway.
"Agh... He was just trying to drive a wedge between us, right?"
"...Don't worry about it."
Still, Choi Yoo-jun's words lingered with me.
The phrase 'Seol-ah and the kids' was incredibly wounding to their pride.
"Is everyone okay?"
"Is it even worth worrying about?"
"Yep, yep! We have our oppas!"
"We're going to win anyway, so whatever."
Answer has definitely grown.
Seol-ah and Ro-si, who finished their makeup first, were helping Yi-na and Seul-bi with theirs.
"Excuse me, would Answer be available for an interview? It's for an insert shot."
"Yes..."
"No! I'm sorry, but could we possibly do it after the next group?"
I cut in just as Seol-ah was about to agree.
"Oh... Okay, then... We'll interview another team first."
"Yes. Thank you."
Both the production crew and our members were surprised.
Insert shots were usually filmed even before makeup was completely finished to capture the behind-the-scenes atmosphere.
"Why? Our makeup is almost done. And what's with the shoes?"
"Huh? Those are the shoes from last time."
"...They're lame."
"...Everyone, listen carefully."
I got the attention of the members, who were grumbling with confused expressions, and lowered my voice so only we could hear.
"If you're wearing these shoes, they'll definitely ask about them during the interview. Like why you're all wearing matching shoes..."
I explained the direction I expected the interview to go and the countermeasures to take if it didn't.
The longer my explanation went on, the more serious the Answer members' faces became.
"...Min-jun oppa, you're something else."
"That's scary."
Seol-ah and Ro-si were too stunned to speak, while Yi-na and Seul-bi spoke as if they were fed up.
"So that's what happened... But really... will it turn out like that?"
"It's scary because it seems like it'll happen exactly as Min-jun oppa thinks."
Seul-bi said, chidingly, in response to Choi Yoo-jun's words.
After they put on the shoes and finished their makeup, a member of the production crew approached, looking slightly peeved.
"Are you ready for the interview now?"
"Yes, yes. Actually, I had a run in my stocking earlier."
"Oh! Ah, I see."
Their annoyance seemed to subside, and their expression returned to normal.
-This is the final performance of the resort shoot. It's also the main stage, the brightest highlight.
"Yes. We're nervous."
-It was a blind mission, and you had to cover your opponent's choreography and vocals in a short amount of time. How did the practice go?
"Yes... we stayed up all night..."
The interview went on for a while, but with no mention of the shoes, the members started shifting their angles to make them more noticeable.
-Ah... now that I see it, you're all wearing the same shoes.
"Yes! The teachers from Yuri Fox over there graciously gifted these shoes to us."
Seul-bi said with a bright face, pointing towards Yuri Fox, who was on the Your Girl side.
"No wonder..."
But no follow-up words like 'So that's why the shoes are so nice?' or 'I knew they looked special' came from the crew's mouths.
It was because the shoes were from a brand unpopular with young people and were so plain that they simply couldn't bring themselves to call them pretty.
"Just a moment."
The crew member approached Yuri Fox.
After exchanging a few words with the crew, a startled Yuri Fox returned with them.
"Wow... Hyung, are you a god? How do you predict everything? It's scary."
"This is just the beginning."
"Eek."
Choi Yoo-jun playfully put some distance between us.
-We have with us Yuri Fox, who happens to be on set as both the choreographer and a judge. Hello.
"Yes, hello! Gosh, I never imagined I'd be on camera like this."
The member of Yuri Fox greeted them with a very awkward expression.
-We heard you bought matching shoes for Answer. You must have a special connection?
"Ah... ah... As it happens, I was in charge of the choreography for Answer's new song..."
The Yuri Fox member glanced at me before putting on an exaggerated smile and speaking.
"It was difficult choreography, but Answer did so well. I was so proud of them that I offered to buy them shoes."
At her exquisite words, which were 90% lies and 10% truth, Answer and I exchanged meaningful smiles that only we could understand.
"But even though I told them to pick out something expensive, they insisted on buying those cheaper ones, saying they were pretty. They could have bought expensive ones, you know. At that moment, I thought, 'Answer are good kids. They're definitely going to make it big.'"
I burst out laughing at how Yuri Fox was highlighting Answer's good qualities to package her own lies as the truth.
It was clear that Answer would come off looking great on the broadcast.
-Like teacher, like student, perhaps. You're both very admirable.
"Ahaha! Yes. Yes."
The Yuri Fox member gave an awkward laugh.
-Team Yuri Fox will be judging. You wouldn't show any biased judgment just because they're your cherished students, would you?
"Oh, of course not. That will absolutely not happen. I'm confident that my eyes and the viewers' eyes will see the same thing. Well then, I'll be on my way... Answer, fighting!"
"Fighting! Teacher! Thank you!"
Receiving Answer's farewell, the Yuri Fox member exited with a reluctant smile.
-And that's it for Answer's interview.
"Thank you for your hard work."
I glanced over at Your Girl.
As expected, their faces showed hints of displeasure and suspicion.
Everything was going according to my plan, and I could vividly picture what they would go through after the final performance.
This is how you sow discord.