Chapter 112
Translator 8uhl
Chapter 112
Chapter Title The Final Two
To the parents who raised me, my precious friends who gave me the strength to make it this far, the judges who always offered guidance to someone as lacking as me, and the National Producers who never forgot my name and always believed in meI want to say thank you from the bottom of my heart.
Kang Siyoon delivered a perfectly standard acceptance speech with a radiant smile.
In truth, the moment I stepped up here, I thought Id break down crying. But with my friends and parents right there, all these emotions are jumbled up, and the tears just wont come. And Yubin already cried buckets, haha!
He drew laughter here and there with little jokes tossed in.
Soon, he climbed the stairs to the debut members platform and shared an embrace brimming with emotion with Heo Yubin.
Proud.
As I gazed at my two friends with a pleased smile, Heo Yubin and Kang Siyoon turned toward me.
They mouthed something while gesturing animatedly.
The distance was too great to catch exactly what they were saying, but in this moment, there was only one thing they could want to tell me.
You have to come up here too!
In response, I gave a short nod.
Next is 4th place.
Once Kang Siyoons speech wrapped up, the BGM used exclusively for the ranking announcements echoed through the gymnasium once more.
The smiles vanished entirely from the faces of the remaining trainees on the platform, and the air grew heavier by the second.
Final Top 7, 4th place trainee is.
Up until now, Choi Sia had been announcing names at a brisk pace, but here she began to draw it out.
It was a gutwrenching moment.
Everyones legs were throbbing from the endless filming.
The tension of not knowing if theyd survive or be eliminated only made their muscles tense up even more.
Dragging it out this long means the 4th place holder is someone unexpected.
The odds were higher for someone whod ranked above 4th to drop than for a lower ranker to surge up.
There werent many candidates who could even pull off that kind of comeback drama.
Final voting had switched to onepersononevote, where twists were all but guaranteed.
Just hoping that twist wasnt me.
Feels like it might be me.
This hyungs at it again.
Haha, no jokeI really think it is.
Chae Eungyu voiced his hunch that hed be called next.
Hed said the same thing to me during the third ranking announcement, predicting his own drop.
Would his intuition strike true once more?
After dragging it out for nearly four minutes, Choi Sia finally leaned into the mic and called a name.
Debuting in Celeste, Final Top 7, 4th place Trainee Ji Yooncheol!
So thats why shed stalled so long.
Ji Yooncheol, whod climbed as high as 2nd, locked in his debut at 4th in the final round.
The unexpected name drew gasps from the National Producers waiting below the stagecongratulations mixed with cries of surprise.
But for the trainees on the platform, the only thing that mattered was achieving the dream of debuting.
Yooncheol!!!
Our maknae, you went through hell! Congrats!
Yooncheol, congrats!
Thank you. Thank you.
Ji Yooncheol, the tallest among us, had his head shaking like a paper doll as the other trainees pounded his shoulders from all sides.
I waited for the storm to pass, then patted his arm and murmured casually.
Good work. Heartfelt congrats on your debut, Yooncheol.
Ah.
Hm?
Ji Yooncheols lips twitched as if he were about to say something.
When I met his gaze with a steady stare, those eyeswhich had always been utterly stillbegan to churn violently.
A whirlwind of emotions.
All the things hed bottled up for so long were crashing over him at once, shaking him to the core.
Karis hyung.
Yeah.
I dont I dont really know how to say this.
Ji Yooncheol kept hesitating before squeezing his eyes shut and blurting it out in a rush.
Someday I want to talk more. A lot more.
With that one line, he turned and headed down from the platform toward Choi Sia.
I fell silent for a moment, replaying his parting words in my mind.
Is Ji Yooncheol, who always seemed to hide and suppress his feelings, finally starting to open up?
It was an odd sensation.
Id sensed it faintly ever since the camp content.
Ji Yooncheol, who never opened his heart to anyone and always kept a poker face, acted just a little differently when he was with me.
And now, at the moment his goal of debuting came true.
Hed conveyed it to me like he finally felt he could.
Now Im curious about Ji Yooncheols past. About why he ended up with that kind of personality.
I thought to myself as I watched his face fill the screen in a solo shot.
If we ended up debuting together, I wanted to have a deeper conversation with him.
I wasnt sure I could make it this far. But to the National Producers who believed in me until the very end, thank you so much. And I want to dedicate all this glory to the hyungs who guided me despite my shortcomings.
Ji Yooncheol maintained his composure throughout, not breaking into loud sobs like Heo Yubin had before him.
But he shone brighter than ever, and the way his eyes trembled openly without hidingthis was a brandnew side of him for the National Producers.
Seeing Ji Yooncheol like this for the first time matters, but his debut at final 4th place is going to stir up some waves.
The immovable TOP3 concrete ceiling that had stood firm since Idol Training Simulation kicked off.
Even the third ranking announcement had seemed to prove its solidity, hinting that Ji Yooncheol would debut high.
But reality was different.
Ji Yooncheol dropping to 4th meant, in simple terms
That I moved up.
It could be me getting ahead of myself, but logic led straight here no matter how I turned it over.
The chances of mewhod taken 3rd in the previous announcementfalling out of debut range were slim to none.
Starting from the second ranking announcement, the gap had steadily narrowed.
Id been closing in on the top threes vote counts with every announcement, like a predator tightening around its preys throat.
A razorthin margin of barely ten thousand votes.
In the final roundonepersononevote, no more Fever Timeanything could happen.
Next up, the trainee debuting in Celeste. Time to announce Top 7s 3rd place.
All eyes locked on the remaining trainees who seemed most likely to debut.
As if the camera team knew it too, they cycled through shots of me, Chae Eungyu, and Song Hyeongbin.
Even with legs that had to be screaming in pain, we all stood ramrod straight, waiting for Choi Sia to reveal the result.
Was the production crew signaling again?
It felt like more than three minutes had passed since shed said she was announcing 3rd.
The one basking in glory is Congrats, Trainee Chae Eungyu!
Holy crap.
Whoa.
Then!
The trainees celebrated Chae Eungyus confirmed debut while gasping in awe at the one undeniable fact it made even more likely.
Unless some freak miracle hit and threequarters of Karis von Waldens supporters somehow lost their phones, the 1st and 2nd spots would come down to me and Song Hyeongbin.
Chae Eungyu seemed to clock this in his head as well.
Lets go all the way to the end.
He gave my shoulder a light pat before striding down from the platform with confident steps.
As I watched his retreating back in silence.
Man, its come down to this.
Nothings set in stone yet.
Karis, your humilitys your downfall.
Song Hyeongbin sidled up beside me, his voice dripping with amusement.
As I met his eyes, our conversation from the second ranking announcement flashed by like a montage.
That he thought Id climb even higher.
Meanwhile, Chae Eungyu reached the platform, and emotion overtook himhe shed quiet tears as he shared his thoughts.
I wondered endlessly if I could really stand here. If challenging the idol dream again was the right choice. Butthe moment I saw the National Producers who came to the first performance, all my worries and doubts just melted away. It felt like only on stage do I become my true selfand that nothing could be happier or more joyful. I think the reason I never gave up and kept pushing was because my fans believed in me from start to finish.
Every trainee in Idol Training Simulation had their own unique story.
But cautiously, Id guess no one was more desperate than Chae Eungyu.
As hed told me this was his last shot.
If he fell here, itd be no exaggeration to say Chae Eungyu would never get another chance to chase his idol dream.
I absolutely couldnt have made it this far on my own. Like everyone said, it was the precious connections I made here that helped me overcome the hard times and stand tall properly. Andthe trainees wholl have to put their dreams on hold after todaytheyre all shining stars and incredibly talented friends, so please never forget them and keep cheering us on. We promised to meet again on stage, so lets all practice our hearts out until then.
Gonna make me cry again.
Eungyu hyung.
Even looking out for the ones whod be eliminatedthe true eldest hyung.
Chae Eungyu set the mic down and bellowed a heartfelt Thank you! before ascending the stairs.
His juniors flocked around him like baby birds, hugging tight.
Three spots left in Celeste. Now its time to reveal the final 1st place winner of Idol Training Simulation.
The triumphant music that played for introducing debut members faded once more.
Following the tensionbuilding BGM, the cameras now openly circled me and Song Hyeongbin.
After about a minute of deadlock, Choi Sias voice boomed out.
Final round, final 1st place candidatesreveal them now!
Silence descended again.
A progression designed to drain every last drop of blood from the trainees.
Song Hyeongbin, standing beside me, had his eyes squeezed shut tightnot even glancing at the screen.
With every eye in the gymnasium fixed on the massive display.
The left screen showed Song Hyeongbins face.
And the right screen showed mine.
Woooaaah!
A massive roar erupted from the National Producers.
Trainee Song Hyeongbin, whos never once stepped down from the 1st place throne since Idol Training Simulation began. And Trainee Karis von Walden, riding an overwhelming surge to challenge that throne. You two trainees, please come forward.