NOVEL NEXT Chapter 60
The day after the first public reveal of ‘Fell for You.’
On the official website for ‘Bold Season 3,’ the profiles and introductions of the participating trainees were uploaded.
But only 10 random participants, not all of them.
The remaining 89 are set to be revealed over the next nine days.
The reason they aren’t revealing everything at once is…
[ So when will Do-hee’s profile and self-introduction video come out? ]
[ It’s so teasing… Give me more… ]
[ Hurry up and release the profiles from the top three entertainment agencies! ]
[ Is it really okay for today’s 25-year-old auntie participant’s self-introduction video to be this cute? ]
Netizens were already on fire, tossing around the profile tidbits in the community.
Meanwhile, the participants returned to the training center for the next recording.
It was time for all trainees to submit their phones and disconnect from the outside world to focus on their practice.
Training center auditorium.
As usual, MC Jin Tae-seop took to the stage to the applause of the trainees.
” It’s great to see everyone again. Did you all rest well for about two weeks? ”
“”” Yes~! “””
” All participants know, but from today on, we’ll be moving away from the rank evaluations to practice a new task. ”
” And once this task is over, there will be the first ranking announcement ceremony to determine the first eliminated contestants. ”
” How many participants will survive in the first ranking announcement ceremony, I wonder? ”
The MC lingered before speaking in a strange tone.
” Oh dear~ ”
…?
With the cold response from the participants, the MC awkwardly said,
” Was it not fun? ”
Well, if it’s not fun, it’ll get edited out anyway, right? Just spill it all out.
I hope it doesn’t get edited and ends up being a public execution instead.
Regaining his voice, the MC solemnly declared,
” Yes. The trainees who will survive are ranked from 1st to 59th! ”
” Ah… We’re doomed. ”
” What do we do… ”
Voices of despair echoed from a few participants in the back.
” Then, I will announce the task that will determine the first elimination through the evaluations and votes of the viewers. ”
” This task is a random team battle! ”
For those who watched Seasons 1 and 2, team battles were expected.
However, the “random” in front made them uneasy.
” You will be divided into 16 groups of 6 to 7 for the team battle evaluation. ”
” There will be a total of 8 evaluation songs. In other words, two groups will compete over one song. ”
” Every member of the victorious team will receive 3,000 votes as a reward. ”
In previous seasons, it was only 1,000 votes, which didn’t make significant ranking changes, so they’ve increased it.
” And! The trainee who receives the most votes in the winning team will gain 10 times the votes from the live voting as an additional reward. ”
“You will get ten times the votes of the voting results.”
The number of live audience members is 500.
I think the highest vote-getter had 300 votes, so that means I’ll get between 1800 to 3000 votes.
“Before releasing the song, we need to form a team!”
“Before selecting the song, we must choose the team members to decorate the stage, right?”
“Alright, let’s see the center trainee raise their hand!”
It seems there’s a perk for the center again this time, just like in Seasons 1 and 2.
I casually raised my arm.
“Yes, Do-hee Lee, in previous Seasons 1 and 2, the center trainee had the privilege of being the first to call out their team members, didn’t they?”
“Yep!”
I had already thought of the team members I wanted.
First, I’ll choose Kim Seo-yoon for some sweet revenge.
“But not anymore!”
Huh?
“This time, since it’s a random team battle, the team formation will also be random!”
The MC dramatically pulled off the black cloth covering a rectangular object.
“It will be selected through this drawing box right here.”
For a moment, I couldn’t manage my expression, and my face stiffened.
Meanwhile, the other trainees seemed to be secretly pleased.
“Do-hee Lee, are you disappointed that your privilege is gone?”
I forced myself to compose my expression.
I could already see the interview that would get inserted into the broadcast.
[Do-hee is actually quite disappointed, right?]
[Yes, I thought I might curse!]
Of course, in the actual interview, I’d have to soften my words like, “Yes, I was a little disappointed”…
Why is it starting from Season 3…?
Bring back the center perks…
“No, it’s okay!”
“That’s a relief! Instead, I’ll give the center the privilege of drawing first!”
Thank you so much…
Damn it.
I stepped forward and pulled a ball from the box full of them.
“Now, open the ball and read it out!”
Breaking the ball in half revealed a piece of paper inside.
‘Group 1’
“It’s Group 1.”
“Yes, Do-hee Lee is in Group 1!”
Is that it? Really? Just like this? No special perks…?
One by one, all participants drew balls, and all teams were formed.
In Group 1, where I was included, six participants stood by the sign.
We greeted each other.
Do-hee Lee, Gong Chae-rin, An Eun-seo, Mei-rin, Hwang Eun-chae, Park Ye-eun.
All of them were good-looking members.
Good visuals mean an advantage in team battles.
Especially Mei-rin and Park Ye-eun are mentioned as visual mains in the community.
Of course, I’m the prettiest.
That’s what public opinion says.
Public opinion.
I won’t deny it.
But there’s a problem with this team.
“Who will be our main vocalist…?” Chae-rin unnie said with concern.
” I guess so… ”
” Ha-ah… ”
The top-tier Gong Chae-rin Unni and the third-tier An Eun-seo and Hwang Eun-chae are aspiring rappers.
Meanwhile, the fourth-tier Mei-rin and fifth-tier Park Ye-eun had unstable vocals, so they were in the lower tiers.
” It seems like we need to pick a song without high notes… ”
” Are there any girl group songs like that…? ”
” Well, hip-hop songs are usually a bit less high-pitched. ”
” Or something like ‘BOO’ from last year? It’s mostly rap with low notes, right? ”
My vocals were somewhat stable, but…
I still hadn’t fixed my singing technique, so my tone easily became rough.
So before fixing it, I was planning to be a rapper too…
Should I really become a main vocal?
” Did everyone exchange greetings? Now we should reveal the performance song, right? ”
The song better not be random.
We need to choose a low-note song.
” Before we reveal it, please tear off the paper on the sign in front of you. ”
Tear it off?
I discreetly peeled the paper off the sign.
As I tore it open, the number written was ‘2021-2’.
” What does the number on the sign indicate? ”
” The four-digit number in front represents the year the performance song was released. The number at the back indicates Group 1 or Group 2. ”
” Now, we will truly reveal the performance song. ”
The MC pointed to the curtain covering one side of the auditorium and shouted.
” Please reveal it! ”
The curtain was lifted, revealing an electrically powered electronic wheel.
” This team battle will be evaluated on hit songs from girl groups that came out in the year indicated on the sign. ”
” And which hit song will come out will be decided by this wheel! ”
” It’s truly a random team battle, with everything being random! ”
” Only trainees who can showcase themselves regardless of team members or songs will survive. ”
Ha-ah…
I understand why they’re doing it randomly for teams, songs, and especially with a wheel instead of a roulette.
They must be emphasizing that no songs were leaked beforehand and that there’s no manipulation.
But this is just too much…
” Now, let’s choose a song from 2014! ”
The lights on the wheel turned off and then back on, filling each section with songs from 2014.
” Alright~ I’m spinning it! ”
The host boldly spun the wheel.
It spun and finally stopped on ‘T-ARA [A Bite]‘.
The battle songs for Group 1 and 2 of 2014 were ‘T-ARA [A Bite]‘.
As the wheel spun, some groups cheered while others sighed.
” Now~ it’s time for the final performance song from 2021! ”
It was our turn.
The lights on the wheel flashed, and the hit song list for girl groups in 2021 appeared.
Fortunately, ‘BOO,’ which our group members hoped for, was included in the list.
The wheel began to spin…
“Please… just let ‘BOO’ come out, please…”
Chae-rin unni next to me muttered while clutching her hands.
The spinning wheel’s speed gradually slowed down until it was almost stopping.
The arrow on the wheel pointed to ‘BOO’.
“Oh!!!”
Chae-rin unni cheered.
– Tap –
Just as the wheel was about to stop precariously, it cruelly turned one more notch.
“3M’s ‘It G’!”
“Ahhhh!”
The song we wanted was a low-key hip-hop track.
Instead, it was 3M’s ‘It G’, a song depicting a playful confession to a guy.
Seriously, who’s doing the main vocal?
*
“I know the choreography for ‘It G’ pretty well, so I think I could be helpful as a leader.”
First and foremost, my goal is to take on the leadership role and step out of the youngest Do-hee’s shadow.
“Really? You guys can do it.”
“Right, Do-hee.”
You guys should go do some rapping.
“I can really do it. If it gets tough, I’ll switch.”
“Are you sure…? ”
“Yeah, there’s no one else who wants to do it, so let’s let Do-hee be the leader!”
“Okay. Just let me know if it gets too hard, alright?”
Chae-rin unni said as she pinned an L on my clothes signifying leader.
“Youngest Do-hee, fighting!”
Damn.
Should I bite my tongue or something?
“Fighting…”
.
.
.
The center, rapper 1, and rapper 2 parts were distributed to the three rappers first.
“Now there are just 3 vocal parts left… for the main vocal…”
Ha…
Other teams are rushing to claim the main vocal like they do with the center. How does this team even get formed?
“Is there anyone who wants to do it?”
Ye-eun unni and Eun-chae unni both stayed silent.
Am I the only one who has to step up?
If I don’t decide quickly, we might end up getting edited out for lacking skills.
Sure, showcasing our growth during the competition can be one method, but ultimately, we need to perform well in the competition.
Just as I was about to say I would do it, Ye-eun unni wiggled her fingers.
“Ye-eun unni, do you want to be the main vocal?”
Ye-eun unni, who had been hesitating, opened her mouth while glancing sideways.
“I do want to try it, but… I’m not confident…”
Her personality reminds me of So-hee.
But these days, humility is no longer a virtue.
Especially in the idol world, it’s all about self-promotion.
“Say it confidently! I can do this, okay? Even if it goes wrong, we all share the responsibility.”
“Okay…”
“Come on now! Be confident!”
“F… okay! Everyone step aside! I’m taking the main vocal—any complaints!?”
Huh?