NOVEL NEXT Chapter 65
After finishing the archery competition, we returned to the set.
The purpose was to select songs for the remaining six teams, excluding our First and Second Teams, who had already completed their song selections.
“Alright, Participant Park Yoo-jung~ please spin the cyber wheel!”
For reference, Park Yoo-jung was from the Third Team, and Lee Hye-jeong was from the Fifth Team.
Both the Third and Fifth Teams ended up with decent song selections.
Since Park Yoo-jung and Lee Hye-jeong were both extremely talented, I figured they’d figure it out.
…But the real problem lay with our team.
“Haah…”
A magical girl concept…
How the heck am I supposed to tackle that childish theme? I was already feeling dizzy.
But the bigger issue was that there was no one to share this overwhelming feeling with and work through it together.
“Han-na… what do you think of our song? [Magical Love☆]… how should we work this out?”
“Hmmm… I’m not sure.”
“…It’s our Second Team Competition song. You should give it some thought too.”
“Well… I guess it’ll work out somehow.”
Na Han-na said that and let out a yawn as if she were sleepy.
I prayed at that moment that a fly would fly into her yawning mouth.
“I’m really losing my mind…”
Na Han-na’s attitude was… cooperative, but also completely thoughtless.
And that wasn’t just her.
SWISH-
“……!”
“Yes, unnie! We’ll just follow whatever you say!”
The other lower-ranked team members were also cooperative, but they waited like little chicks for me to spoon-feed them ideas without contributing their own.
I couldn’t help but feel frustrated looking at them.
“I’ve practiced the least here. You fools…”
Thanks to my naturally gifted appearance and the help of my stats window, I had ranked first in the First Ranking Announcement, but my practice period had only just passed a month.
In such a dire situation, I needed advice from experienced trainees, but they were sitting there with sealed lips, making me want to explode.
But regardless of my boiling frustrations, time flew quickly, and soon all the other teams had also completed their song selections.
“With this, all teams have finished their song selections. How do you feel about your team’s song?”
At Han Si-woo’s question, participants who were satisfied with their songs cheered.
Of course, I wasn’t one of them.
“In one week! You will present on stage again before the audience evaluation panel. And… based on this competition, the Second Ranking Announcement will follow.”
“……”
Now Na Ah Ah had also moved from the beginning to the mid-stage.
The importance of rankings would only grow from here on out.
Whether everyone was aware of this or not, the looks in the participants’ eyes felt intense.
As I looked at those participants with a smile, Han Si-woo continued the proceedings.
“Alright, shall we all shout our rallying cry and then disperse? One, two, three!”
“Show me your dream-!!!”
With that strong shout, the Second Team Competition embarked on an uncertain start.
Once we got our practice room, Team 1 immediately checked the music video, stage, and choreography videos for [Magical Love☆].
And then….
“Ugh… what the….”
We found ourselves hitting another wall.
…The song’s difficulty was outrageously high.
Of course, our team was strong in dance, so the choreography didn’t seem impossible, but…
“How high do the notes go, exactly…?”
“…Three octaves.”
It was an issue with vocal ability.
We had to hit notes in the latter part of the third octave during the pre-chorus.
Well… if our stage was just a karaoke room, the girls could sing it out without a hitch…
‘But while dancing and panting like this, it’s absolutely impossible…’
No one in our team could manage to reach those notes while dancing.
To pull it off without any issues, we’d need someone of at least Yoo Seol or Lee Hye-jeong’s caliber.
But our team members’ vocal stats were tragically lacking compared to those two.
‘This… requires an arrangement…’
As I watched the Strawberry Filter’s stage through my tablet’s screen, I felt awed by their legendary skills.
‘Strawberry Filter covered a concept that could become a total flop…’
If our team wanted to keep up with Strawberry Filter, we’d definitely need a major overhaul.
I held my throbbing head and said to my teammates:
“How about we decide on our leader and center first?”
What I really meant was we needed a leader.
Given the anticipated challenges ahead, picking a leader to unite us would be beneficial.
And of course, our team’s leader would be…
“……”
“……”
“…Yes, I will run for leader. Are there any other candidates?”
“There are none-!!”
…Just like that, I was nominated.
‘…Damn.’
I had a feeling, but my suspicions were confirmed.
I had no choice but to accept the leader position, swallowing my bittersweet taste.
From the last First Team Competition, I’d realized that being a leader had far more downsides than upsides.
‘You need to coordinate everything, manage tasks, and constantly worry about a lot of things… it’s tiring.’
Plus, since I was responsible for the team, being in such a precarious situation would make the leader’s role even more burdensome.
But what could I do?
It looked like no one else could take the leader role but me.
At least…
‘Thank goodness there’s definitely one solid center candidate.’
I sighed in relief looking at the sleepy-eyed Na Han-na.
Na Han-na’s dance stat ranked third after me and Yoo Seol.
Overall, she fell just short of Seo Yoo-jin, but Na Han-na had skills comparable to hers.
Moreover, during the last First Team Competition, Na Han-na had been the center for her team, so she should be able to handle it again.
“Alright, now let’s pick a center. If you want to run for center, please raise your hand.”
With that thought, I smoothly transitioned to selecting the center role.
But….
“……”
“……”
Even when it was time to select the center, Na Han-na didn’t raise her hand.
“……?”
I couldn’t help but feel flustered.
‘…She didn’t seem shy, but is she actually a bit bashful?’
Despite being the perfect time for her to claim the center, if Na Han-na wouldn’t step up, I decided to set the stage.
“Um, it seems no one wants to be center. How about we recommend someone we think could do well? I think Han-na would be a great center… what do you think?”
“Sounds good-!”
“I like it!”
“I believe Han-na can definitely pull it off!”
Fortunately, when I nominated Na Han-na, the other team members agreed.
At least it was a relief that none of the remaining members were making it awkward by wanting to fight for the center.
“……”
With everyone pointing at Na Han-na, who was blinking her eyes… in that moment, she said,
“…Hmm, I don’t want to.”
“……Huh?”
A plot twist occurred.
“What did you just say, Han-na…?”
“I said I don’t want to be center. It’s tiring… it’s a hassle… Just let someone else do it.”
Just like that, Na Han-na declared she didn’t want to be center.
‘…Is she not interested in debuting or something…?’
Being center brings many advantages.
You stand out on stage and can grab more screen time on broadcasts.
If you’re a trainee in an idol group, shouldn’t everyone dream of being the center if they excel in dance?
Why is she turning it down?
I was momentarily flabbergasted but quickly regained my composure.
“Um, Han-na. Why don’t you want to be center…? It might be hard, but there are lots of perks too.”
“I feel like the drawbacks of being center outweigh the benefits.”
“But you were center during the First Team Competition…?”
“That time, I took the role because no one else would. But this team is different.”
“…What?”
As I tilted my head, Na Han-na yawned and said,
“In this team, there are other candidates for center besides me, so I don’t need to be it.”
‘…What does that mean, there are other candidates?’
I realized what Na Han-na meant and glanced subtly at the other five team members.
‘…Are we seriously suggesting a center among those five?’
…No way.
The center plays a crucial role on stage. The remaining five are simply too lacking in skill to take on such an important position.
I turned to Na Han-na, resolutely expressing my refusal, but then….
SWISH-
“…?”
“Unnie can do it as the center.”
“……Huh?”
What the heck does that mean?
You want me to be the center?
…But I’m the leader?
“…Han-na, you might have forgotten, but I’m the leader. That just got decided….”
“A leader can also be the center at the same time. You can do both.”
“……”
…Well, it’s true that some people do take on both roles.
During the First Team Competition, Seo Yoo-jin also tried to be both leader and center.
However….
‘…That just layers way too much responsibility.’
Taking on both leader and center would be like playing with high risk, high reward.
If the competition went well, I’d earn tons of praise but, conversely, if things went south, I’d bear all the blame alone.
It could be a strategy to flip the vibe and aim for a higher rank in the next ranking announcement but….
‘I’m already first.’
I have nowhere to go up. I just need to maintain my current position at first.
There was no need for me to take on something so risky.
“No, Han-na. If I weren’t the leader, I might consider it, but I won’t be taking on both that and center. …Han-na, could you take the center this time?”
I politely declined and tried to coax Na Han-na gently again, but….
“I also did center last time, so I really don’t want to this time.”
…Na Han-na was also resolute.
As the two key members continued to resist taking the center position…
“…Uh, excuse me.”
One of the remaining members raised their hand hesitantly.
I wondered if they were going to run for center, but that wasn’t it.
“I think it’s better for one of you two to take center, so how about we vote for it?”
“……”
“……”
A vote.
Even so, there’s no way my team members would vote for me to take center since I’m already the leader.
I nodded enthusiastically.
“Sure, voting would be fair. How about you, Han-na?”
“…Well, I’m good with that.”
With Na Han-na also expressing agreement, I, as the leader, proceeded with the vote.
“Then let’s have a quick vote. First, let’s see how many would prefer me for center.”
“……”
SWISH-, SWISH.
Among the five besides Na Han-na and me, only two hesitantly raised their hands.
‘Nice.’
Seeing that, I nodded in satisfaction.
“Alright, since two out of five have raised their hands, the remaining three want Han-na to be the center, right? So, by majority, Han-na will be the center…!”
Then it happened.
“…Hold on.”
“…Why, Han-na? Do you have any objections to the vote?”
“Not exactly, but we should still perform the remaining votes.”
…Wasn’t the conclusion already reached?
What remaining votes are necessary….
It felt uncomfortable, but I continued following her lead.
“…Okay, then please raise your hand if you think Han-na should be the center.”
And….
SWISH-.
‘Huh…?’
…A twist occurred.
“Only one person.”
“……”
Only one person raised their hand, saying they thought it would be good for Na Han-na to be the center.
I stared at the remaining two, who hadn’t raised their hands, stunned.
“I think either of you two would do well as center…!”
“I think so too…!”
“……”
In the middle of my daze, Na Han-na began to clap while yawning.
“Yawn… then it looks like it’s 2 to 1, so Ye-rin unnie is the center. Everyone, let’s give a round of applause for our new center… Wow…”
“Wow~!!”
“Wait, what? What’s happening… Haah…”
Just like that, I became the center and leader of the team almost by force.
It was entirely different from the other teams, where the members were bickering over leadership and center positions.