Chapter 31
Chapter 31
Unlike typical idol groups, relationships in a survival show served another, more crucial function.
Namely, planting the thought in viewers' minds: 'I hope this combination debuts together.'
But the likelihood of a desired combination debuting intact was slim.
At that point, worrying about a trainee in a precarious position over one with a stable rank was the natural progression, and among those viewers, some would inevitably gravitate toward the one they felt more protective of, their affection tilting accordingly.
In other words... for someone in the top ranks, relationships could actually cause votes to leak outward.
'So that's why they tied Lee Jae-young to me.'
He was basically selling himself to my fans, going 'Look, take good care of me.' Ugh, how obnoxious.
Thinking this far, the direction of my own edit made sense too.
An image devoid of competitive spirit, someone who couldn't even sell themselves, would directly translate to 'doesn't seem desperate enough.'
The intent was probably to preemptively cut off any elements that might make fans shift their gaze and rally around their ultimate bias instead.
Before I knew it, the broadcast had moved on to the final grade evaluation.
They edited my mistake during the final chorus to make it look like it happened in the first verse, as if I'd completely missed the latter half of the song. Well, if I hadn't messed up in the first place, it wouldn't have been an issue, so I let it slide.
[Trainee Seo Cha-gyeom, ultimately dropped to Tier 2]
[Q: How are you feeling right now?]
[Seo Cha-gyeom: ......I'm okay.]
Back then, I'd actually managed my expression better than usual while trying to get my head on straight, so on screen, I really did look perfectly fine.
Of all times for my first interview to air, it had to be one where I seemed completely detached about my rank dropping.
'That practically begs the question, do you even want to debut?'
Han Neuti, who had been sneaking glances at me for a while now, asked cautiously.
"You okay?"
"I'm okay."
I meant it. It was better than being edited out entirely.
What was more serious than my situation.......
"Hyung, are you okay?"
"Huh? Me?"
"You're not even showing up at all."
Really, from the agency evaluations to the grade assessments, Han Neuti's total screen time had been maybe 0.7 seconds, if that.
The fact that rumors had already circulated about him being quietly dropped from the show said it all.
Instead of answering right away, Han Neuti just rubbed the back of his head blankly, then suddenly his eyes flew open wide.
"Oh, right! I did appear on this!"
"......."
"Wow, shit. I was on so little I completely forgot. No wonder I felt like I was seeing a celebrity every time I looked at you."
Apparently finding his own joke hilarious, Han Neuti burst out laughing before rolling off the bed and landing on the floor with a thud.
'Is that hyung optimistic or just an idiot?'
To be honest, it was a bit of a cunning thought, but... the less screen time Han Neuti had, the more it benefited me. One less competitor, after all.
He was helping me out without me even having to lift a finger. I should be grateful.
Around the time Han Neuti was clumsily clambering back up, the broadcast was already showing the aftermath of the grade reassignments.
[MC: Trainees whose grades dropped will be considered failures in this mission and will be excluded from filming the music video for the signal song, 'AWAKE.']
[MC: However.]
Here, a suddenly moving piano BGM faded in.
[MC: The mentors expressed that it would be difficult to judge the brilliant effort you've all shown over the past three days based on a single mistake.]
They inserted shots of trainees who had dropped in rank, huddled pitifully in the corners of their practice rooms, lifting their heads one by one at the MC's words.
The final shot capping off that sequence was me.
'Ha.......'
Did I really look that pathetic?
[MC: And, there are those who have watched that effort from the very closest vantage point.]
[MC: That would be you, the trainees.]
A wistful filter was laid over the screen still showing my face, and the piano, which had been climbing to a crescendo on its own, had by now brought in an electric guitar to launch into a full duet.
It was blatantly a scene engineered to make your heart swell. Just like the person next to me right now.
"Whoa, seeing it like this, it's so damn moving. I'm about to cry."
"Damn is a swear word, hyung."
"Sorry."
I couldn't quite remember how I'd felt back then, but to describe my mood now.......
It had crossed the line from obnoxious and was starting to get genuinely embarrassing.
Of course, my own mistake was part of the problem, but still—after treating me like dead weight this entire time, wasn't it pretty shameless of them to now try and craft a heartfelt moment with me front and center?
Anyway, let's keep watching the broadcast. Soon, the scene came up where the trainees saved by their peers were called out one by one.
[MC: Trainee Seo Cha-gyeom.]
The moment the MC called my name, the camera cut to a close-up of Ahn Jiwon clapping and cheering.
'They said the vote was anonymous.'
At this point, why not just tell everyone outright that Ahn Jiwon picked me?
Besides, I'd clearly gotten four votes, but the broadcast made it look like I'd only received one. By now, it was almost purely impressive.
After that, the music video shoot scenes flickered by briefly, and the sequence transitioned with a caption telling us to check the rest in the behind-the-scenes content.
A mid-roll ad popped up, so I used the break to check the internet reactions.
—Jiwon's expression when Cha-gyeom hyung got picked lol This was supposed to be an anonymous vote, right...? (Ahn Jiwon.clip) #Ahn Jiwon #Seo Cha-gyeom
—So you're saying without Ahn, that legendary scene in the AWAKE MV wouldn't even exist? T.T Thank you, Jiwon squad
└Let's make him an honorary Airplane-z member
—Cha-gyeom, it's okay to make mistakes!! It's okay, it's okay♥
—But idk, Seo Cha-gyeom's personality isn't what I expected lol I heard he came from Mary and thought he'd be the type with a crazy glint in his eye, but he seems more... indifferent? That's the vibe
└Right? My friend who fled Mary after a week said you can't survive there unless you're completely unhinged, so I was expecting something else, but hmm...
—I heard from my aunt who works at the broadcast station that Seo Cha-gyeom's personal color is red, so he deliberately dropped to Tier 2
—So about this 'Seo Cha-gyeom Tier 2' trending thing, lol
Seems like it's about some cable network variety show.
A single mistake changes one's standing.
Same goes for the political scene.
A single mistake chips away at national prestige!
I sincerely hope the government of the Republic of Korea takes this to heart. -Fin
—So Gyeon-woo and Cha-gyeom basically swapped places T.T Will we ever get to see them together someday...? I'm already pissed at the jerks dismissing Airplane-z's relationship as zero T.T.T
—What happened in the Tier 1 practice room to make Cha-gyeom and Jiwon that close... Please, release the 24-hour full footage, plz
Contrary to my worries, the reactions I'd been dreading weren't actually that numerous.
Perhaps the viewers had been hardened alongside the show through all the shark-jumping stunts, because most of them seemed to have built up an immunity to standard fabrications.
Of course, there were probably other reasons too.
'The voices of the people supporting me... are incredibly loud.'
The sheer volume was one thing, but every Wit post mentioning me easily surpassed shares in the thousands.
To MAKE100% viewers, that wouldn't just be a simple number.
It represented the number of people who could attack you and your trainee if you got on the bad side of Seo Cha-gyeom and his fans.
In other words... combat power.
—In a survival show, the person themselves has to step up a bit for it to be worth stanning, but he hogged the entire leader role and couldn't even speak up... T.T So frustrating and unattractive. I'm still voting for him because there's no one else to pick, but later on I might drop him...
Even on posts where the criticism was mild, strings of nasty replies followed.
I knew it was all for my sake, and I was grateful, but.
'This kind of thing can easily backfire later.'
There's that famous saying: fans create anti-fans.
Objectively speaking, my screen time right now was decent. Unless you knew the full context, to the public eye, this was more than enough to look like a classic PD pick.
This was my mistake. I'd created too many edit points in my effort to dodge getting completely cut.
No, wait. I'd cast them out hoping to catch just one, so how did they all bite?
I truly felt sorry for those cheering me on, but... starting from the next competition, it looked like I'd need to lower my profile.
After silently revising my plan, I lifted my head.
[MC: The first gateway on the path to 100% — before announcing the theme... let's decide the teams first!]
Then came the team selection method, broadcast along with a quick PPL segment for Dayday Coffee.
As expected, the scene of Han Neuti and me picking the Cucumber whatever didn't make it to air.
However, among viewers who belatedly learned the truth behind our team name, the amount of mentions we were getting was already overwhelming that of other trainees.
—Wait, so you're saying Cha-gyeom and Neuti picked Cucumber Ade? With their own two hands?
—Seo Cha-gyeom's got a daring side, huh? Who on earth sees a menu name like that and thinks, 'Yeah, let me try that'
—One vote for those two not knowing what 'Cucumber' meant
—Is cucumber really that bad? T.T I bet it's delicious, if you added cilantro to it too, it'd be so good
└Dayday Coffee: Noted lol
—Omg Dayday Coffee posted a notice, if you buy the menu corresponding to the team of the trainee you support, they'll give you a photocard
└Condolences to the fans of that team
└F*ck lol ㅋㅋ
└Can't I just ask them to hold the cucumber? T.T I'll just drink the sparkling water, please
"Seriously, is cucumber that much of an outcast?"
"See! I told you. You've got a real talent for the Cucumber Appreciation Society."
......Anyway.
When the scene showing the failing class trainees hadn't been given drinks aired, the initial viewer reaction was this.
—I know it's a survival show but this is too harsh T.T I mean, they're getting paid to do PPL, how can they use that to discriminate?
—Does it make any sense to pull this kind of crap over food in South Korea? And after this, you're gonna talk about K-pop? Drop the K and have some conscience
—Oh, poor things, I just want to buy it for them, how much could it even cost T.T
And when we ended up saddled with the four Gray trainees, the reaction was this.
—Holy shit, they're such a pain in the ass... Seriously, why do bastards who don't even have the basics crawl out here
—I think there needs to be a system for trainees who are training to be trainees. Like, Trainee Trainees.
└Then next we'll have a Trainee Trainee Survival show
—Hurry up and drop the dead weight. First competition always ends up with the skilled ones babysitting the unskilled ones the whole time, boring as hell
I closed out of the now-vicious Wit app.
Likely intending to wrap up the team matches and move on to the next episode, the broadcast had already entered its final mid-roll ad break before the preview.
After ads that were longer than Han Neuti's screen time ended, the preview finally aired, and our team's practice scene flickered past briefly.
"Oh, that's me!"
[Park Hyeong-tae: Did you come here to take acting classes or something? If you're gonna ignore every piece of advice, why did you even show up? Hey, Seo Cha-gyeom. You tell me.]
[The Cucumber Sparkling Team, heads bowed]
[What on earth happened to them?]
Footage of us getting, to put it crudely, utterly destroyed.
"......Hey, what was that? Just now? I feel like I just saw something seriously ominous?"
"Don't worry."
Want to hear my overall assessment so far?
The program was proceeding in a far more cunning way than it appeared from the outside, and the production team was more seasoned than I'd thought, but...
Still, at this level.
'This is doable.'
I clicked on a news article that had just popped up on my feed and flopped back onto the bed.
Then I grinned, shoving the screen right in front of Han Neuti's face.
<'MAKE100%' representatives
"Park Hyeong-tae to leave the show, entire edited version under revision..."
(Official Statement)>