Unnecessary Meddling! Lee Hye-na
Lee Hye-na. A trainee who'd ranked in the top popularity brackets during last year's idol audition program but failed to debut due to some inexplicable judging criteria, landing in final 13th place.
"Uwaaa… That was almost a disaster."
Her goal was to crack the top 4—or at least make the finals.
And from there, leverage that popularity into a quick debut at any decent company. That was the endgame.
But in the last round, Lee Hye-na had been backed right up to the cliff's edge.
Scathing judge feedback, a performance that even she knew in hindsight was downright awful.
And in stark contrast, her competitors' stellar stages—she was still barely clinging to her sanity by her fingernails.
"O. Kid. You're picking it up fast?"
"Yeah? She's doing better than I thought."
Slowly opening her eyes, Lee Hye-na took in the yellow ball zipping back and forth, smacked by the sharp crack of a ping-pong paddle.
On one side stood a young man whose tall, striking looks would turn heads even for an idol like her. On the other was a cute little girl swinging her paddle with fierce, expressionless focus.
Come to think of it, she tagged along to the ping-pong hall.
After we'd all grabbed dinner together, Joo Jinwoo had rallied people for ping-pong, and she'd unconsciously followed.
Truth be told, Lee Hye-na had never so much as touched a ping-pong paddle before.
She'd come to shake off her tangled emotions with some exercise, but...
Of all things, an odd number of people.
With her lousy social skills leaving her friendless at the dorm, why had she even come here?
Just as the thought hit her—maybe head back to my room and rest—
"Ait! The skill gap's way too big!"
"Hey, can't help it. Ping-pong was my daily grind in the army!"
"I'm not playing with you anymore, Joo Jinwoo-ssi."
Seo Siyeon said it while puffing out her cheeks just a touch.
She dabbed the sweat beading on her forehead with a handkerchief, then toddled right up to Lee Hye-na.
"Do you play ping-pong well, by any chance?"
"Ah, nooo… Never even once."
"Then let's play together. Beginners should stick with beginners, right?"
In that instant, Seo Siyeon felt like a savior to Lee Hye-na.
As always—but especially in games or sports—you've got to sync up with your partner.
If there's a massive skill gap, it sucks the fun out, particularly for the newbie.
In that sense, Lee Hye-na and I matched up pretty well.
I had some ping-pong experience from my past life, but this body was a total rookie, so my skills were nothing special. And she'd never played at all.
Still, we managed to keep the rally going, stubbornly smacking the ball back and forth.
"Ah. Sorry."
"It's fine!"
Guess people can't just hole up indoors forever—gotta get some exercise now and then.
It felt refreshing, moving my body after so long.
Though the tradeoff was my legs screaming for mercy.
Stamina, man...
Maybe I should hit the gym later to build it up?
No matter how young this body is, crap endurance like this is gonna cause headaches down the line...
"Wanna take a quick break and keep going?"
"Yeah. Let's."
Unlike me, Lee Hye-na didn't look winded at all. She'd been hitting vocal and dance academies since she was a kid, chasing the idol dream—figures her stamina's leagues above average.
She's such a tragic case.
The Produce 11 she was on? Total rigging.
First trial's underway in court, but everyone knows it was manipulated.
Starlight's got insane popularity and a massive fandom—no one dares poke that bear.
Competing as an agency-less regular, snagging 4th in the mid-vote and holding strong till late? It makes zero sense she got cut from the debut lineup.
She just lacked the backing.
After a year off finishing high school, now she's in Singer Star Season 5.
She's gotta be desperate. Idol world's brutal—if you don't debut by early 20s, good luck.
Starlight's Yoo In-young is just 16, for crying out loud.
Yoo In-young's an outlier, sure, but every new group has at least one or two late teens. Hell, all-teen lineups aren't rare anymore.
Lee Hye-na's not "too late" yet, but miss this shot? She might be.
But hey, not my circus, not my monkeys.
She'll debut one way or another—she's got the chops.
Last round, though? Wrong genre choice tanked her hard.
"Um, your stage last round… I watched it. Loved that OST, and Siyeon's arrangement was, like, so good…"
"Ah. Thanks. Hye-na-ssi’s stage was… good too."
Not even a white lie—it was rough.
Everyone knew she barely scraped 1% of her potential. She'd know it best.
"Ahaha… Yeah, my stage was trash. Wanted to show a fresh side… bombed."
"Challenges are always beautiful. Keep grinding without quitting—sunny days ahead!"
"Yeah. Thanks. But Siyeon, you talk so prettily, like a grown-up?"
Then she reached out and...
"Ca-can I pat your head…?"
"…Go ahead."
Blooming girls pat me so much, I'm used to it now.
I leaned into her awkward hand comfortably.
"Hueee…"
But it stopped short.
I opened my eyes and looked up. Why'd she quit?
"Um, mind if I play with your hair a bit?"
"Hair? Knock yourself out."
I usually rock straight hair or a ponytail. Not a past-life guy thing—original Seo Siyeon just dug those styles.
She whipped out a tail comb and some hair accessories from her bag pronto. Classic trainee move—always primed to polish herself after all those audition shows.
"Siyeon's got such sharp features—way cuter with some accents than just letting it hang."
Her fingers flew with surgical delicacy, worlds apart from her ping-pong swings. Treating every strand like treasure—ticklish, but kinda nice.
Never had anyone fuss over my hair like this, past life or now.
"There, done. Mirror?"
The hand mirror showed a stranger: little lady with thin side braids swept back, accented by a tiny ribbon pin.
Crazy how a quick tweak shifts the vibe.
Always envied girls' knack for this stuff.
Solid styling. Watching her Produce eps confirmed it—she's got killer innate sense.
Beyond looks or balance, sense made her shine.
No fluke she nearly debuted as a regular.
Instinct for the perfect stage, the styling that hooks eyes. It exploded in that legendary "Fall for Me" performance.
But weirdly, Singer Star? Zero sign of that edge.
The Produce rigging trial kicking off? Or just confidence shattered post-flop?
"Got a question."
"Yeah? Shoot."
"What were you thinking right before the 'Fall for Me' stage?"
She gave a faint smile, like she'd heard it a million times.
Legendary enough to play at her own funeral—questions like that had to be endless.
"If I bombed, it was game over."
"Figures. And now?"
She blinked, surprised.
To me, she was already half-checked out on the next round.
Defeatist vibe in her voice, her tone—already mapping life post-elim.
Another pointless meddle-fest, but I can't swallow words I wanna say.
Stay like this? She's toast next round.
I didn't wanna watch talent like hers snap here.
She could climb higher in Singer Star. Top-tier idol genes.
"This round, hit it with that level of resolve. No matter the matchup."
Upcoming foes aren't fandom-stompable anymore.
She gave a bitter smile, eyes sliding away.
She knew her own state.
And that night—the drawing.
Lee Hye-na
VS
Seo Siyeon
I'd be facing off against Lee Hye-na this round.