Chapter 65
Chapter 65
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 65
Chapter Title: The Rigged Pairing
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No, these guys...
"Our Seon-hwa, you worked hard. Here, ah~"
"Ah~"
Seon-hwa happily accepting and eating the stew her mom made.
Her beaming smile and blissful expression as she chewed were, to Soo-jeong, like that of an angel.
The goddess-like figure on stage was wonderful, but as a mother, seeing her cute baby angel like this was just as delightful.
And so, the heartwarming mother-daughter dinner was underway when...
"Hurry up and bring those files!"
"Fuck! Throw all this out! You want them digging up dirt later and taking us all down?"
"PD! Please give this one a pass!"
"Ah, handle it yourself! What? Server error?"
"Ah... no. I didn't save it!"
On one side, the Child Star crew was flailing in the hell the mother and daughter had created.
Having scrapped the old format entirely and starting over from scratch.
To turn PD Ma Joo-seok's head-only plans into reality, even all-nighters weren't enough.
On top of that, a sudden server crash midway and a shutdown from power overload overheating.
In the disaster they'd brought upon themselves, they endured what felt like an endless hell...
"...Ugh... gotta shoot... soon..."
"Thirty minutes... just thirty minutes like this..."
Finally reaching the end, not a single one of them was left standing with any sanity intact.
'Huh? Everyone looks off.'
A week later, Seon-hwa and I arrived back at the studio for the finals shoot.
The other seven kids who'd passed, along with their parents... or presumed guardians.
They looked no different from usual, but the others before our eyes...
The so-called crew all looked far from normal.
"Ughhhh..."
"Groooaaar..."
'...Zombies?'
Dead, hollow eyes and gaunt faces.
They looked like they'd collapse at a touch, making me wonder if a zombie virus had spread here.
"Ha... haha... thank you for coming."
Somehow mumbling their lines despite looking half-dead.
Watching them, I vaguely pieced together what had happened.
'Looks like they overhauled everything in the meantime.'
Child Star was mired in corruption, but the crew themselves were pros.
Even with the scams, they knew how to make a show look good.
In my past life, the scandal broke late due to some forced rigging at the end.
Combined with whistleblowers and contestant testimonies, but the show itself wasn't a total disaster.
If it were truly trash, it wouldn't have blown up like that.
Anyway, being skilled like this, I could easily imagine they'd prepared countermeasures for the current mess.
'No matter what, they'll force Seo Han-sol to win. That's what tanked it last time.'
In the past life, they tried rigging scores for the hoarse-throated Seo Han-sol at the finale.
She had real talent, so it went smoothly enough then,
but now our unbeatable daughter was sitting right there.
With her, no matter what they did, Seo Han-sol's win was impossible, so they'd pulled desperate all-nighters to scheme something.
'They look pretty desperate... what dirty trick did they pull?'
With questions, slight worry, and faith that our daughter could overcome any foul play,
I watched the situation with cold vigilance.
"We will now begin the finals shoot."
The host, fresh-faced and ignoring the crew, kicked things off.
With his announcement, something large was placed before us.
And the moment I saw it,
I was struck anew by how deviously clever humans can be.
'No, these guys...'
Seo Han-sol.
She'd entered the audition full of confidence and made the finals, but the past week had left her in a complicated mood.
The last song she'd heard at the audition venue.
Han-seo big brother's daughter, Chae Seon-hwa's song.
It was more than enough to shatter the arrogance that she'd briefly thought herself a genius.
A voice so beautiful like a pro singer's, inspiring awe.
The stark skill gap from a much younger kid.
She knew it was a level she'd never reach, even in death.
Yet amid the admiration, she hadn't lost her fighting spirit.
'I can't win now... but still... I don't want to give up yet.'
Grandpa always said quitting was for counting cabbages.
No matter how hopeless the opponent,
she resolved to give her all until the very end.
Winning was impossible anyway,
but she didn't want to shame herself or those who'd helped her get this far.
With her resolve steeled, Seo Han-sol watched the finals details.
But then...
"Um, Butler Sis. What's that?"
"Hmm... well..."
The butler who'd always cared for her in place of her late parents and busy grandpa.
Here today as her guardian, she could only look troubled at Han-sol's question.
For good reason...
This situation was unexpected even for her, who knew the rough outline.
"Through the preliminaries, we assessed your individual talents. You all showed impressive skills, but to become the idols you dream of, that's not enough."
The host spoke with a smile and sincere tone.
He scanned the contestants with shining eyes and continued.
"Future idols of Korea gathered here, as you know, most idol singers perform in groups these days. Thus, the finals task is as follows."
With that, he pointed to the black box in front.
A slot to draw something out.
Before it, the host shouted energetically.
"Contestants, please come up one by one and draw a number ticket. Pairs will be formed by the numbers drawn, regardless of rank, and you'll harmonize to complete one song together. That's the finals task!"
The infamous group assignment popping up unexpectedly.
Evoking college nightmares where in a group of four, three were trash...
But it also made a certain sense.
As the host said, most idols work in groups, rarely solo.
Individual skill matters, but teamwork even more so.
The concept itself was nod-worthy, and not a bad finals task, but...
The problem was that Han-sol's butler and connected parties hadn't been informed of this.
'Heard there'd be changes, but...'
'Sudden theme switch like this is too much, right?'
Originally planned as a no-teamwork 1v1 tournament, the abrupt change irked the 'clients,' but...
They didn't speak up here.
Kids were right there,
and they could guess the reason.
'Must be because of that kid...'
'Chae Seon-hwa... seemed nothing special when we checked beforehand, who knew she was a monster...'
Even they saw she was unhandleable normally, so this was likely the desperate dodge.
Thus, the 'higher-ups' watched grudgingly, while oblivious parents just shrugged.
Following the host's guidance, the kids went up one by one to draw numbers.
"Going well?"
"Of course. The youngest writer is handling it flawlessly."
"Don't relax till the end. This is the most crucial part."
PD Ma Joo-seok watching tensely from behind the screen.
His eyes followed kids drawing and showing numbers before returning, and the staff filling the board accordingly, but...
The crew's focus was on the desk underside, hidden by the black box and cloth.
Seemingly random pair draw.
But actually, 100% rigged by swapping boxes with only specific numbers inside.
The youngest writer hidden under the desk manually switching them.
This manipulation was the alpha and omega of the plan, so they watched on edge.
And...
"Phew..."
"G-Good... it worked."
The draw ended without issues.
The board now listed four pairs from the eight kids, and...
PD Ma Joo-seok, despite sleepless nights, broke into a satisfied smile.
'If the enemy is too strong, just make them an ally.'
Seo Han-sol - Chae Seon-hwa.
Their names were paired neatly on the board.