Chapter 75
Translator 8uhl
Chapter 75
Chapter Title The Third Round Practice Saga Begins
The start of the third competitions practice narrative was intense.
Hashimoto Ken was in it, which made me glad, but Kang Siyoon and I had our attention elsewhere.
Hey, what was that preview just now? Did something happen in your group?
Something did happen.
What the hell was it? Why would the production team put so much effort into that cryptic editing?
Kang Siyoon, sitting next to me, was more excited than I was, the actual person involved.
He was staring straight at my face, ignoring the TV screen entirely.
I shrugged at him.
I obviously remember what happened. But the preview came out in a pretty condensed form.
In a condensed form?
Yeah.
Why was Eungyu hyung making that pissedoff face? Did your group bomb the midevaluation? But the main stage went great. What the hell happened?
Kang Siyoon, repeating the same question over and over, looked utterly baffled.
He tapped the table a few times with his fingers, then calmed his excitement a bit before asking.
Anyway, what exactly went down during your practice?
Heres what happened.
I laid out the whole story.
The mess Baek Sihwa stirred up over the center part, his hostile relationship with Minha, and the conversations Chae Eungyu and I had in the middle of it all.
Kang Siyoon, listening intently, got fired up again when I mentioned Baek Sihwa trying to sabotage Minha.
Damn, that guys been shady from the start. What a psycho. No one with a functioning brain would pull that shit. Who the hell charges at another trainee to assault them in the dorms? And its not like there were no camerasthe hallways in the practice rooms are full of them.
Thats exactly what I mean.
Good thing you were there. Minha almost got seriously hurt. Whoa...
Even as the stages were playing out, our conversation stayed locked on the preview.
Kang Siyoon took a sip of water and summed it up slowly.
So, to recap, Baek Sihwa got greedy and pulled some massive troll move.
Yeah.
But the preview cut out all his screwups and just hinted at some center position dispute in your group.
They cleverly clipped the audio where we called out Baek Sihwa too.
No matter how I look at it, the production team condensed it on purpose to stir up hype. Man, they must think your group is a goldmine for clicks.
Even though it wasnt his group, Kang Siyoon analyzed it with keen interest.
I took a moment to think about the production teams intentions with this preview.
Fair enough. Spoiling Baek Sihwas fault right away would ruin the buildup. With only a few episodes left, theyd kill for any buzz they can get.
They slyly edited out all our lines aimed at Baek Sihwa.
Then flashed the faces of everyone on the team, including me.
One of them definitely caused trouble, but they left it totally ambiguous who the villain was.
By dropping a preview like this, they give the national admins no choice but to keep watching. Basically implanting the idea that skipping the next episode is impossible, securing those ratings.
It also tossed prime bait to new viewers.
Plenty would bingewatch just to figure out which trainee from that hyped preview was who.
This episode screamed we put a lot of thought into it.
Whatever happened, its definitely gonna pull aggro. Whether it blows up good or bad.
Lets put this aside for now and focus on the broadcast.
The TV was now showing the teams practice saga.
We watched Heo Yubin claim the main vocal spot amid everyones cheers.
Yubin seemed headed for Purity.
That songs perfect for showing off his vocals.
I was worried hed lose confidence again without friends around, but hes come a long way.
Seeing him dive into practice with such passion filled me with pride.
Hard to believe this was the same Heo Yubin whod hidden under his blanket when we first met.
Baek Chaehyun As expected, Yubins parts are solid. So refreshing?
Heo Yubin Ththank you!
Baek Chaehyun The high notes are killer, but that low verse in the first part is rocksolid too. Im shocked. Nothing for me to tweakits perfect.
Heo Yubin, earning Baek Chaehyuns rave reviews, beamed innocently from the screen.
With good eats and steady workouts lately, that fragile, waifish image was starting to peel away.
He nailed the main stage too, and the team ended up hugging and crying together.
Yubins grown so muchIm gonna tear up.
His secondround experience probably helped a ton. The first round had familiar faces like you and me, but the second threw him in with intimidating trainees.
Yeah, he said he talked a lot with Hyeongbin too?
Building consensus with him mustve boosted his confidence big time.
Kang Siyoon stretched and twisted his waist.
Mmm, guess its my turn next.
Sure enough, the next team was Chrome.
I checked my watch while watching their team selection.
Your group probably wraps up episode 9.
See? Told ya. They obviously saved Perishy Boys and Mainstream for next week.
The saga definitely focused heavily on Kang Siyoon.
It detailed his process of picking Chrome and explained why he went Underground.
Kang Siyoon Honestly, the second I heard the song, I was like, Gotta go Underground. But I open the door, and theres Hyeongbin and Yuncheol.
Kang Siyoon Theyre so damn good, I got a little scared? Haha, so I bailed quick.
Chrome happened to be short a member from firstround picks.
The four existing trainees welcomed Kang Siyoons transfer with open arms.
Smart move, I think.
Yeah, but kinda bittersweet. Were gonna clash eventually anyway. Maybe shouldve gone headtohead in round three instead of finals.
It builds experience, but you still snagged center in Chrome and took first in personal votes.
Haha, true that.
Their main stage went off without a hitch.
After all the broadcast footage wrapped, a short ad break led into episode 10s preview.
This is too much. They labeled it episode 9 preview, but your group didnt even get a glimpse.
Yeah.
And now theyre recycling that same episode 9 preview for episode 10? I have no clue what the production teams game is.
Kang Siyoon sighed deeply at the TV.
The bleak atmosphere of the Cell group.
The practice room for Mainstream, crackling with the same tense standoff as Perishy Boys.
After practice footage like the calm before the storm, a main stage clip flashed by with massive cheers.
Whoa, what are these guys?
They could debut tomorrow?
Its over, were done for.
Judge reactions of awe wrapped it up, contrasting sharply with the two scenes.
Charged practice sagas.
A main stage showered in fantasy praise.
I had to hand it to the production teams aggro skills.
If I were a national admin, Id be losing my mind over this preview.
No idea what next weeks gonna bring.
Im not overthinking it.
Huh?
Was it the passive restoring my calm and coolheadedness?
Or just confidence from rational judgment.
I smirked at Kang Siyoon.
Previews can get away with cryptic edits like thisno one notices cause theyre so short. But faking a full 20minute practice saga? Impossible without massive strain.
True, theyd have to pull clips from all overoutfits and times wouldnt match.
Exactly. Sharpeyed national admins would spot those details in a heartbeat. So the conclusions simple they couldnt fake all of episode 10s practice footage.
If thats off the table, then yeahlike you said, Baek Sihwas troll moments coming.
I nodded slightly at Kang Siyoons words.
I was there, so I know exactly what went down. Unless they wipe all his footage, everyone will see Baek Sihwa caused the mess. No need to sweat it.
Makes sense.
Next week, itll all come out. We just acknowledge they cooked up aggro and move on.
Baek Sihwas antics were caught on camera asis.
Unless they trash the entire Cell practice saga, itll be crystal clear he sparked the center dispute.
And ifbig ifthe production team tries shielding Baek Sihwa from the pit, the other trainees will have words.
Were the ones who lived it.
If the edit twists the facts, were not the ones sweating.
The editors are.
The second Cells full team calls bullshit on the broadcast, the production side takes an irrecoverable hit.
If Baek Sihwa comes out edited clean despite starting the chaos, the teamespecially Minha, who nearly got hurtwill question it.
Factoring that in, episode 10 will likely air Baek Sihwas villainy straightup, as I predicted.
I grabbed a pot and stood.
You crashing here tonight, Siyoon?
Oh, cool if I stay over?
No issue since I live alone.
Then Ill crash here, house lord.
No rent, but you do the dishes.
By the end of Idol Training Simulation episode 9.
Unlike Karis von Waldens relatively chill reaction, the national admins were caught in a massive storm.
Every community buzzed with the same topic.
Posts about the actual competition stages in episode 9 were rare.
Most fixated on Cell, ripe for the previews feast.
And the public sentiment was twisting in weird directions.
A fight over center position? Whos the prime suspect?
Gotta be Kano hogging center three rounds straight out of greed.
If its really Kano, dude picked the wrong career. Shoulda gone politicsrising star material lol.
Cant tank the team for personal gain Even that screams political savvy.
Crown Prince Kano mad AF after Yubin snatched center ᴗ
My take preview shows Geunggyu pissed cause hes bounced companies, tasted lifes bitters, and now some young foreign dude who already ate center twice pulls politics for more
So localized hes doing hierarchy games and politicking like a local
Poor Geunggyu
Perfect bait dropped for those lurking and waiting.