Chapter 51
Chapter 51
After boldly calling out Baek Gyeonwoo's name, I had immediately checked the reaction of Joo Yeonhee, who would know the full version of the song.
Joo Yeonhee, who had locked eyes with me, secretly gave an okay sign near their pocket.
'Good.'
When I turned my gaze, Baek Gyeonwoo was walking toward me.
There was no need to worry about what kind of reaction to take. Baek Gyeonwoo, having approached me, simply gave a slight nod before walking right past me to stand behind.
"......."
"......."
Yeah, I understood. If it were me, I wouldn't want to waste energy on anything that wouldn't make it on air either.
'I really hope anyone comes and breaks this awkwardness.'
And a savior soon appeared.
"6th place trainee Mun Jeongjin, please choose your team."
The 6th place contestant had shuffled their feet back and forth between this team and that team before breaking into a playful smile and running over to our side.
For reference, this contestant was the one pushing the comedian image I saw during the episode 1 reaction shoot.
They were also one of the trainees I thought was cute-looking.
'Nice.'
"Hello."
"Oh, whoa, wow! This is an honor!"
Mun Jeongjin had wiped their hands on their pants with a rub-rub motion and requested a handshake. When I smiled and took their hand, it was shaken so vigorously that their shoulders bounced.
"I really, really wanted to be on the same team at least once!"
It was a reaction so vastly different from the other contestants who had been subtly showing malice toward me. I nearly shed tears of emotion.
The next trainee who joined us was also satisfactory.
"Chaegyeom-ah!"
"Hyung!"
Because it was Hyun-i hyung.
The very Hyun-i hyung who had nearly been driven apart from me by the production team's scheming.
Of course, Hyun-i hyung's attitude toward me had remained the same ever since, and the fans who had pointed fingers based solely on the broadcast had quickly moved to self-correct the atmosphere, but.
The mere fact that the production team had tried to sow discord between him and me was awkward and embarrassing for no reason.......
We hugged fiercely like people reuniting after several years. Baek Gyeonwoo, who had been observing from a step behind, narrowed his eyes. He seemed to think it was a pathetic sight.
And next.
"Trainee Jo Woojin has chosen composer Im Cheon-seon's team."
He was one of the trainees from the team who hadn't had much presence. To put it crudely... Lee Jaeyoung's lackey?
I had no desire to welcome him at all, but it was a situation where I had to, so we bowed deeply at the waist without letting any awkwardness show.
The final trainee to join us after that was Jaehyun.
"Hyung!"
Jaehyun, who had been running with both arms open, lowered his arms sheepishly when his eyes met the other team members.
Awkward greetings were exchanged among the team members, and the MC's voice cut in through the gap.
"With 19th place trainee Hwang Jaehyeon as the last, trainee Seo Cha-gyeom's team recruitment has been closed."
Thus, six people.
I looked around at the confirmed team members and thought.
'Not bad?'
Baek Gyeonwoo, Hyun-i hyung, and myself. Three trainees who had been in Tier 1 during the grade evaluation were included. Although I was past tense.
After some time, all team formations were completed.
"How is it? Is everyone satisfied with their teams?"
"Yes!"
Perhaps because there wasn't a 'throwaway team' made up only of low-ranked trainees this time, a unified positive answer poured out for the first time in a while.
"Then we will reveal the songs."
Kim Ikhyeon, having received the MC's signal, picked up the microphone.
"Actually, this is a song I wrote with Jiwon in mind from the time I had no idea about this survival announcement ceremony results. And, oh, I really like how this connection turned out. I like our team members very much too."
After Kim Ikhyeon's long-winded lip service ended, Ahn Jiwon's team's song was revealed.
As if proving Kim Ikhyeon's words just moments ago were sincere, it was a sleek and trendy song that suited Ahn Jiwon well.
The choreography draft revealed alongside the song was also so well-crafted it seemed a waste to discard after one use.
'They'll handle it just fine.'
It was a style of song Han Neuti could hardly fail at. They'd be able to do the rap they wanted so badly, so I supposed I should congratulate them.
The second song was introduced by Allure.
"―It's a piece with an incredibly fatal charm, so we selected trainee Lee Jaeyoung, who suits the keyword 'maturity' the best."
As the words suggested, it was a song where the ulterior motive stood out blatantly. At the wow point, you bite the tie in your mouth and sweep across the floor about three times back and forth.
Personal taste aside, concepts like that tend to do well in competitions.
"Joo Yeonhee-nim?"
"Yes."
At the MC's call, Joo Yeonhee picked up the microphone.
"Composer Im Cheon-seon's is a fresh and poignant confession song. I wanted a voice that is manly yet innocent, capable of emphasizing the flutter and fear of a boy realizing his first love....... Well, I think trainee Seo Cha-gyeom is the most suitable."
'Innocent......?'
It was the first time I'd heard that descriptor, but I bowed at the waist as a gesture of thanks for now.
Joo Yeonhee gave an okay sign, and the song's intro began to flow.
"Wow!"
"The song is seriously good."
The team members let out exclamations at the easy-listening song.
I, having already heard it, was mentally pre-distributing the parts when I felt a weight on the hem of my clothes.
When I turned, it was Baek Gyeonwoo.
"What?"
Baek Gyeonwoo's expression looked flustered.
"What....... No......"
"Then we will reveal the fourth team's song!"
Whatever Baek Gyeonwoo had been about to say, he clamped his mouth shut when the MC's shout cut in.
He turned his head as if nothing happened, so I turned my head as well. I could just ask later.
In front of me, KDD was opening the preamble to introduce the song.
"Um, this song is......."
KDD stopped mid-sentence and glanced somewhere.
When I rolled my eyes to check, it was where the writers were standing again.
'......Don't tell me.'
This exchange of looks that kept breaking the flow earlier.......
The feeling was ominous. Hadn't I experienced this strange atmosphere in the last competition too?
'Have these guys cooked up something again?'
"Yes. Well, the song I made is an electronic dance track that contains the ambition to walk a unique path different from others. To be frank... I didn't anticipate trainee Choi Junbin, but still, he's a very capable guy so I think he'll suit it well."
Since KDD was the last in order, he hadn't been able to point to a trainee. That meant it was a team where if the matched trainee and song didn't suit each other, there was nothing to be done.
'Still, it doesn't matter as long as the song is good.'
Rather, Choi Junbin had often received evaluations that his limits were visible, so if he aimed for a completely different concept like last time, it could draw a better reaction.
And, my thoughts were shattered to pieces along with the song that rang out.
Rock-paper-scissors no, thumbs up high
Drift instead of straight, that's my flow
Rat-ox-tiger-rabbit pass, I'm gonna be a cat (meow)
A mechanical sound poured out that felt like you'd get electrocuted just by hearing it.
It was a song that perfectly embodied people's prejudices toward EDM.
"......Meow?"
I wasn't the only one shocked, as Jo Woojin had blankly mimicked the cat sound.
Beside him, I wore a straight face and clapped.
It was the hardest expression management of the year. I couldn't show a face that openly said it sucked, but if I made a positive expression, I felt like I'd see comments saying 'Seo Cha-gyeom's eye for talent is suspect.'
'That is.......'
Let me pause here to explain what image consumption means.
When images pile up layer by layer in people's minds, to the point where it becomes hard to build up any new image.
People call that 'the image has been consumed.'
And that song... had uselessly planted itself too firmly in the mind.
It meant it was a nuclear bomb of a song that would accelerate image consumption by 200%.
'Getting picked for that would have been a disaster.'
I vowed to serve Joo Yeonhee as my lifelong mentor while checking the other trainees' reactions.
"Wow, oh....... That's gonna be a totally banned song during exams!"
Mun Jeongjin was busy throwing out the most packaged reaction possible.
"......."
Choi Junbin and his team members' expressions... I couldn't bear to look.
It wasn't something to say about others' misfortune, but honestly, I was truly relieved.
I looked at Joo Yeonhee. Joo Yeonhee, who happened to be looking my way, shrugged. It felt like a message was conveyed just through our eyes.
After the quiet storm settled, the MC shouted.
"Then let's begin practice immediately!"
* * *
Gathered together in a spot, we immediately started the meeting.
Up until now, the production team had temporarily divided the parts, but this time it was entirely up to the trainees.
It meant it was okay even if someone sang one word and someone sang half.
Of course, if we really did that, we'd make a name for ourselves with part distribution controversies on all kinds of communities, so distributing as evenly as possible could be called the primary goal.
"Does anyone have a part they're greedy for... or want to do?"
I was phrasing it indirectly, but the part everyone would be greedy for was clearly fixed.
Let's call it D' for convenience. It was the section in the D bridge that transitions into the final chorus, and it was safe to say the other parts were merely build-up for this D'.
I observed my team members nervously about the competition that would soon rush in.
Mun Jeongjin raised a hand sharply.
"Yes, which part?"
"About D'."
As expected.
"You do that part, Chaegyeom."
"Yes, so... Huh?"
Mun Jeongjin offered supplementary explanation. With an expression as if stating the apple is red.
"Nothing else matters, it's a part where the most good-looking person has to do it unconditionally for it to survive. You have Seo Cha-gyeom on the team, why not use him?"
Well, I was grateful, but.......
Leaning on others' ambitions, I subtly tried to induce competition.
"Wouldn't there be someone else who wants to do it?"
I was saying I wouldn't do it.
But perhaps I had detoured too much. Mun Jeongjin immediately asked back.
"Who?"
Checking the surroundings at those words, everyone was really looking only at me with compliant expressions.
'Why is nobody ambitious?'
Jaehyun and Hyun-i hyung were clearly timid personalities, so I could let that slide. Jo Woojin, based on his history as Lee Jaeyoung's lackey, also seemed like a sub position suited him better than center.
'But you, Baek Gyeonwoo, you can't just sit still.'
Especially when you had picked and taken only easy members to rank 1st in the last competition.
Even knowing that an overly deferential look was a negative, I couldn't hold back and spoke.
"I think Gyeonwoo would be fine too."
There was a reason I was nominating Baek Gyeonwoo here.
Don't forget. My primary objective was to return safely to Sorasum.
Therefore, in this competition, I absolutely had to induce the rigging conspiracy theories of <MAKE100%>.
To do that, first, my and Baek Gyeonwoo's ranks would need to be higher than the pre-selected members. Because rigging is only possible when there's something to rig.
Not only that, but we also had to create enough buzz that the public, seeing the manipulated ranks, would question 'How is this person lower than that person?'
So, ultimately, the reason I was recommending Baek Gyeonwoo was.
Simply put, Baek Gyeonwoo suited this song much better.
"......."
However, Baek Gyeonwoo's expression was profoundly unconfident.
It was my first time seeing that kind of look on him, so I immediately dropped the argument.
"It's fine if you don't feel like it."
It couldn't be helped. Let's go with Plan B.
A plan resembling an elementary schooler's future dream that says just try hard and everything will sort itself out.
"I......."
When that thought crossed my mind, Baek Gyeonwoo's voice was heard.
"I think it doesn't suit the song at all."
A silence flowed.
"Huh?"
"Excuse me?"
Mun Jeongjin and Jaehyun reacted first.
"......?"
Even Jo Woojin, who didn't seem particularly close to Baek Gyeonwoo, raised an eyebrow in puzzlement.
"Why did you think that?"
Hyun-i hyung was also clearly dumbfounded, speaking in a decisively firm tone compared to usual.
Baek Gyeonwoo rubbed under his eye with the back of his hand and said.
"There's a scar, you know."
"A scar?"
There was indeed a scar.
A scar between the eye and the cheekbone that looked like it came from a cut, and yes, it was clearly visible to us....... But the non-fan general public viewers probably wouldn't know well. On broadcast, it's all washed out by the lighting and invisible.
I thought about Baek Gyeonwoo's past stages for a moment.
<shot> and <the things>.
If you broke it all down, they were songs with strong concepts.
'Does he possibly think he suits a concept like that better?'
Just because of a scar?
That scar that leaves no trace in front of the lights?
"Gyeonwoo-ya, don't be surprised, but listen."
"What."
I spoke, struggling not to let out a hollow laugh.
"You... look kind-hearted."