Chapter 34
Chapter 34
ㅡhe is idol
―ಥ_ಥ That explains why the kids didn't hear much trash talk in the Hyeon building, he must've worked so hard, this is just too beautiful of a story...
―I just thought Cha-gyeom had bad luck with his team and felt sorry for him... but he's actually this thoughtful... I feel so inadequate next to my ultimate bias, seriously
―Honestly, these days survival show viewers just start everything off with straight-up mockery as if it's their daily dopamine fix, but does he even seem fazed by it
It just looked like a heartwarming story.......
But viewers with a sharp instinct would have noticed that the story before and after the mid-term evaluation wasn't connecting smoothly.
The reason was that Seo Cha-gyeom's character, which the production team had been building up until then, completely flipped starting from the mid-term evaluation.
And the fact that this gaping hole in the narrative was because of Park Hyeong-tae was just as obvious.
If anyone resented the Cucumber team, there was a clear possibility they'd use this as a pretext to stir up chaos.
But, there was no need to worry.
―So what exactly did Park Hyeong-tae scold the kids for? lol
└It was a jealousy meltdown
└100% a jealousy meltdown, I mean, if you just look at how Cha-gyeom mentioned dance lines during Eohyu, it's definitely that ㅇㅇ
└What's this about dance lines
└It's famous that dancers talk about dance lines when they're sniping at idols
└Whenever fans gush about how pretty their idols' dance lines are, they always swarm in and go, 'the concept of a dance line, strictly speaking, does not exist,,' lmao
Because Park Hyeong-tae had long been public enemy number one in the idol scene.
As the saying goes, the enemy of my enemy is my friend, so everyone would know that reminding people he was Park Hyeong-tae's enemy would only make the upward trajectory steeper.
And so, the Cucumber team was able to greet the stage peacefully, without any nitpicking.
―The kids really worked hardㅠㅠㅠ oh dear, so proud of them
―What, you're good so why did you act like that, babies
―The lyrics for real haha;; well, at least it's less cringey since the babies are singing it
Past the generous reactions from Kes who didn't want to break the heartwarming mood,
―Crazy, who's rapping right now???
└Han Neuti
└Hul, the guy who got kicked off without notice?
└He didn't get kicked off
―I think I just got bias-wrecked, fuck
―I'm debating how many loaves of bread I need to buy him
―Wow, his voice is crazy cool, sexy, and fun
Han Neuti, getting a solo shot for almost the first time.
And then.
―No but wow
―He's so damn good lololololol
―Such precious vocals on this shabby song
―Just give this song to Seo Cha-gyeom, it fits him way better
└That's not our opinion, we, the entire Seo Cha-gyeom fanbase, respect the original artist
└You don't have to respect it, please just take it for god's sake ㅜ -Wonseokit fan
└I can't even tell who's being insulted
―I get what the audience reviews meant by 'MSG flavor' lol, how does a voice even taste savory?
The moment Seo Cha-gyeom's part appeared, the ignited firepower instantly pushed the comment section back several pages.
And in the dance break that followed.......
―Whoa~ the lighting sucks
―I'm someone who went to the audience recording, and this really didn't capture even a fraction of a fraction of a fraction of it, the camera composition, don't even get me started, the key point of the choreo is the lower body so why are you zooming on the upper body? lololol
└I'm a Hyeon building attendee with no one-pick here and this was the part I was most looking forward to, so bummed..
―The gesture like Jesse that Han Neuti did as he walked out right before the dance break was slick and cool too, but it got cut lol
└That's what I'm saying
└Will it be released in the one-on-one fancam
The rather free-wheeling camera movement flustered a lot of Kes.
Since the stage was the pre-modification edit, the production team's original goal was to insert Park Hyeong-tae's stern-faced reactions here and there to present it as a 'botched stage.'
However, this plan, its narrative now collapsed, instead brought about the result of cooling off the fans who had been fired up.
―Ah but seriously, the leftover scraps treatment is way too obvious
└ㅇㅇ... heartwarming is heartwarming and all, but the screen time is ridiculously short
―It's nice that it's heartwarming, but the fact that I waited hours to watch this 5-minute thing ㅎ
The heated live chat board soon plunged into fury like this.
―Did Han Neuti steal the PD's meal? How can he be this maliciously edited out?
―The people saying Seo Cha-gyeom is a PD pick, I don't know if they're just clueless or pretending to be lol, other than today, all the scenes shown so far are just him having no competitive spirit, his rank dropping, and getting wrecked by Park Hyeong-tae???
└He's the one who didn't take on the challenge, he's the one who made a mistake and dropped, and he's the one who got chewed out by Park Hyeong-tae, so who is there to blame...
└Is that what I'm talking about right now? He's already 1st place and they keep giving him screen time that sucks votes away, how is that being a PD pick, he's just getting screen time lol
―No, let's just be honest and talk it out. Kim Han-ul, who also made a mistake and dropped in rank, got the 'self-sacrificing leader' role and stacked up sympathy picks, so why is Seo Cha-gyeom's role 'couldn't take care of his own bowl and eventually gets overtaken'?
└Let's be precise lol, it's the 'used to hype up Ahn Jiwon' role
└I'm a Cha-gyeom one-pick, but let's not talk about other trainees... ㅜ
└Please delete this a bit
―What's weird is, up until now, Cha-gyeom was portrayed as super timid, but looking at how he appeared today... doesn't he seem completely not like that?
└ㅇㅇ lolol, they probably just gave up on trying to force an image on him
└In the first place, the thing Cha-gyeom got the biggest reaction for was, putting his face aside, at the Jebalhoe event, when everyone else was being awkwardly clumsy, he was the only one who solidly pulled off a fan meeting by himself lol, and suddenly a guy like that became a timid creature?
The fans, who had been breathing fire while pounding on their keyboards, barely calmed down at the succeeding interview where a failing class trainee said, 'Thank you so much, hyungs.'
And taking solace in the fact that the editing was more favorable than before, they tried to swallow their anger and resume watching.
But they failed.
Because Seo Cha-gyeom's appearance did not end there.
* * *
[Lim Seong-jun: Hyung, thank you so much, for real.. I'm watching the broadcast with the agency staff and they're saying things like shouldn't we invite hyung over once]
[Lim Seong-jun: Gyu-min is in the middle of crying]
I stopped myself from sending back 'Crying again?'
I sent a roughly heartwarming reply, and as I watched the commercials that inserted themselves once more before the Amaricano team's story began, I went back over the events of that time.
The day after I heard about Park Hyeong-tae's past from Han Neuti.
We had carried around the self-cam, one unit distributed per team, and recorded our practice scenes with somewhat artificial staging.
Because I could easily guess that Park Hyeong-tae was going to be the central figure of our team's narrative, and I predicted that if he left the show, they'd squeeze out screen time however they could to fill his void.
That was why I purposely transmitted the files at such a tight point in time, which was after his departure was confirmed.
Devil's editing is also a task you can't do without dedication and time, after all.
'I got a little help from luck on this one.'
If Park Hyeong-tae had left the show immediately right as the controversy erupted, they would have had enough time to dedicate to editing, so it probably wouldn't have been this favorable.
I had planned to get punched at least once, just in case he held out and didn't leave by the end.
But that... seems like it was a shortsighted thought. It would have been a loss in the long run, as that kind of noise piles up and wears down an image.
Not to mention it would have been like piling one more burden on fans who were already stressed. I'm currently feeling thankful to Han Neuti for this part.
Ah, speaking of that hyung.
"Hyung, do you possibly have any past photos?"
"My past photos? ......Why?"
"I was wondering if you looked very different from now."
How on earth has it not been revealed yet that this hyung is 'Rei' from Park Hyeong-tae's crew?
"Uh, um....... Back then, I had bleached... my hair."
"They can't recognize you just because of a dye job?"
"......Could that be possible?"
Maybe it was because the program attracted more devoted fans than the general public.
Come to think of it, in the case of Han Neuti, who especially lacked public recognition among them all due to his missing screen time, it was a fully convincing situation.
Still, it would get revealed someday. I'd prefer it if it came to light after the program completely ended, around the time he debuted with me—.
[Choi Jun-bin: It's because the trainee Seo Cha-gyeom is on that side.]
"Huh?"
"Eh?"
My name was heard from the broadcast, which I hadn't even noticed had started again.
I, who had been thinking our team was over and debating whether to go on Wit, and Han Neuti, who had been spreading a blanket on the floor saying he was getting ready to sleep, turned our eyes at the same time.
[('Amaricano' vs 'Cucumber' Joint Practice - In Progress)]
[(Trainee Seo Cha-gyeom, perfectly digesting the mission song)]
[......Wow.]
[Cha-gyeom hyung is seriously good.]
The scene showed the Amaricano team furtively admiring my figure as I practiced the song from a distance, back when we shared the same practice room with the opposing team.
And it was followed by a scene of Choi Jun-bin staring in my direction as if tense.
[Choi Jun-bin: It's a part my teammates believed in me and entrusted me with, but I keep comparing myself. I keep thinking I'm just too lacking.]
[Choi Jun-bin: (Trainee Seo Cha-gyeom) is just too good. Perfect.]
Seeing this, the earlier interview seemed to have been in the context of 'my confidence drops because trainee Seo Cha-gyeom is on the opposing team.'
[Kim Han-ul: Don't think about anything else. You just have to work hard in your own way.]
[Choi Jun-bin: (Nod nod)]
[Kim Han-ul: You can do well, right?]
[Choi Jun-bin: ......Yes.]
Presently, Choi Jun-bin's expression, having regained his confidence thanks to Kim Han-ul's encouragement, was shown.
In the subsequent rehearsal stage, shots of Choi Jun-bin successfully digesting the main vocal part, the mentors falling over themselves to praise him, and Kim Han-ul's face smiling proudly were cross-edited together.
Next, the successful stage of the Amaricano team continued.
[Amaricano win!]
Passing this scene.
[MC: So are you conceding the main vocal position to trainee Choi Jun-bin?]
It finally reached this scene.
[Seo Cha-gyeom: No.]
[Seo Cha-gyeom: Conceding... I don't think I can do that.]
[MC: Do you mean that as in, 'if you want it, try and properly take it'?]
Instead of the scene where I had fudged my answer and smiled sheepishly, the scene of me biting my lip without a word was broadcast.
'I guess I ought to fix that habit of biting my lip.'
And so, Episode 3 drew to a close with a split-screen cut of Choi Jun-bin and me. The lightning effect making us look like rivals of the century was a bonus.
"Did your face really look like that back then? I was next to you so I didn't know."
"......."
"......Hey, you're a hundred times better! Turn off the TV!"
As I listened to Han Neuti's misguided comfort, I sighed.
'They took the last bit of bait, too.'
I told them to take just one piece, but they went and thoroughly gobbled up every last crumb.
Thanks to Han Neuti, who switched off the TV that had been relaying the news that the 1st round of voting would all end tomorrow at 11 AM, quietness settled into this dingy place.
Let's check the reactions on Wit first before going to sleep.
―Huh? Seems like Baek Gyeonwoo and Ahn Jiwon each got 200 votes apiece, but what's this acting like Choi Jun-bin got all the votes...
―No... Jun-bin is good, but the comparison target, mismatch
―The team won, not you
―Seo Cha-gyeom fans are scary, stop with the check~
└Just looking at the profile pics, they're all other fans though, what are you on about
└Victory in their own heads lol
└NoI'mseriousI'mreallyabstainingfromvotingforSeoCha-gyeomthisisreallynotit
Hmm.......
―Well, I can see he worked hard but why exactly should we vote for him? He probably would have definitely debuted as the weeb visuals main vocal role if he went to another season, but of all times, he showed up when there's such a strong higher-level version...;; If they're aiming for a two-main-vocal system instead of a rivalry, there might be a possibility though
└Seeing the way the fans are fighting right now, that last sentence is impossible
I could tell from these reactions.
What the production team had likely intended was a Tortoise and the Hare story where the honest, hard-working type, who had despaired while looking at a lazy genius, ultimately wins out through integrity.
But with our team's edit having changed just before, it seems they failed to get viewers on board, since my complacency couldn't be highlighted.
'I lucked out.'
Either way, it was a tiring thing to watch unsavory public opinion flood toward a rival I didn't know well.
I turned off my phone and lay my head down on the pillow.
And staring at the ceiling, I thought.
'Baek Gyeonwoo didn't have any weight this time either.'
Last week, too, when I had rewatched Episode 2 at the agency, it was the same.
The grade reassessment sequence was carried out by designating one or two representative individuals for each grade and funneling the narrative to them.
If the Tier 1 representatives were me and Ahn Jiwon, then the Tier 2 representative was Kim Han-ul.
Even though Kim Han-ul, who was the leader at the time, had taken on the role of leading the practice throughout and boosting the participants' morale, the main point was the story of him making a mistake during the evaluation and dropping to Tier 3.
As for Baek Gyeonwoo, who had also been in Tier 2... he just didn't appear. At all.
I had seen a list of names suspected to be pre-selected member candidates since Episode 1. Around ten or so people, including Ahn Jiwon.
Perhaps Baek Gyeonwoo should be erased from that list.
'......He probably didn't reach out today either, right?'
I stared at my silent phone before closing my eyes.
Let's stop thinking and just go to sleep.
Because tomorrow was the ranking announcement ceremony filming.