NOVEL NEXT Chapter 69
Episode 4 of the bold Season 3 features the stage and practice process of the first competition.
This was an episode where we could step away from the image of the youngest or cute and show a more adult-like charisma.
About an hour and a half into Episode 4.
[Now, let’s meet Team 2, who covered ‘It G’! Team 2, please come up!]
Finally, our team, Team 2, stepped onto the stage on screen.
– Wow!!
The loud applause and cheers from the audience that day were mixed with the trainers’ conversations.
[Wow, Team 2 is really popular!]
[But still, we won’t know until the stage is over.]
Though it was a scripted intent to build tension for the viewers, I knew.
I knew Team 2 had won by a large margin.
[One, two, three! Hello~ We are Lookies, who you just can’t help but want to see again and again!]
On screen, I was making a heart with my arms around Kim Ye-eun Unni.
“Heh, our daughter is so cute, isn’t she?”
Mom teased me with a cheeky smile.
“I know. I’m cute.”
“Huh…?”
Since I usually reacted dramatically, Mom looked puzzled.
‘Yeah, even I think I look cute on screen.’
I boldly admitted it.
However, past troubles?
I no longer cared.
I had only done my best in every moment.
It would be foolish to feel ashamed of myself.
Of course, I had no intention of staying this way.
I would turn even troubles into the unbelievable.
Today, I would reinvent myself with a new image…
“Hey… did you have a hard time because Mom was teasing you…?”
“What do you mean?”
“I’m sorry, honey. I’ll stop teasing for now.”
“No? Go ahead, tease me all you want. Besides, that moment won’t last much longer.”
Mom’s expression became strange and then serious as she shook Dad’s shoulder.
“Oppa… Oppa…”
“What?”
“What should we do? I think our daughter is hurt…”
Dad laughed heartily.
“Oh please~ It’ll be fine. It’s probably just middle school syndrome. I went through it too, and I acted like that for a long time. Our daughter is at that age now. She’s just at an age full of sensitivity, right?”
“Oh, is that so?”
…Anyway, if the practice process aired today, the chances for embarrassment were supposed to decrease.
And regardless of what Mom and Dad were talking about, the broadcast continued.
[What will the practice process of 'It G' Team 2 be like?]
‘Finally, it’s starting.’
Cold BGM right from the beginning.
BGM.
The screen showed our nervous faces during the team formation.
[Who’s going to be our main vocalist…?]
[I think we need to pick a song without high notes…]
[Are there any girl group songs like that…?]
[Something like ‘BOO’ from last year?]
The team members’ expressions turned rigid.
Then came the inserted interviews of the team members.
[An Eun-seo: We have three people hoping for the rap position… (sigh)]
[Mei-rin: Everyone… received harsh criticism in the vocal parts… so we lack confidence…]
[Gong Chae-rin: It has to be a song without high notes… please!!!]
The interviews emphasized the team’s issues from the outset.
It seemed our editing direction was leaning towards a growth narrative.
Since we also won the team battle, there wasn’t much to worry about.
‘Kim Ye-eun Unni’s ranking is going to rise a lot.’
Of course, it wouldn’t be bad for me either.
In growth narratives, the leader’s qualities tend to shine through even more.
After the interviews ended, the spinning wheel appeared alongside a solo shot of Chae-rin Unni.
[Please… let it be BOO…! Oh…!?]
The wheel precariously landed on BOO.
-Tak-
[It G by 3M!]
[Blindfold!!!!!]
[Gong Chae-rin: I wanted to cry… since the songs by 3M seniors definitely contain many high notes…]
[The trainees of group 2 faced an emergency with 'It G']
[Is there anyone who wants to be the main vocalist?]
From that moment on, I think I contributed as a leader.
I read Ye-eun Unni’s hesitance about wanting to be the main vocalist and asked for her thoughts, encouraging her and boosting her confidence.
Of course, it wasn’t a monumental act.
But it was the first scene where I could try to reverse the image of being just the youngest.
However, after waiting, it seemed like my comment was completely edited out.
‘What’s going on…?’
Then, with a moment of silence, they showed a close-up of Ye-eun Unni.
Cross-cutting with her current self, a scene played of Ye-eun Unni receiving harsh criticism in a fifth-tier class.
[Park Ye-eun trainee’s pitch is overly unstable.]
In the critical scene, Ye-eun Unni looked like she was about to cry, but returning to the original screen, she seemed resolute, glaring defiantly.
[Okay. Everyone, step aside! I’m taking the main vocal slot. Anyone have a problem with that?]
[Park Ye-eun trainee, who volunteered to be the main vocalist for the hesitant team members]
…?
*
[Next week! Ranking announcement where only 59 will survive!]
Before we knew it, the show ended.
“What is this…?”
“My daughter~ You look so cute today~”
“Unni! You look so pretty!”
“…”
I was left speechless.
Our practice process was edited completely differently from what I had imagined.
The process after the part distribution and learning the choreography.
[Wow! Unni, did you already learn the choreography?]
[Wow~ Chae-rin Unni dances so well~]
Here I was, glued to Chae-rin Unni, showering her with praise.
I looked like the cute youngest member.
Of course, it was true that I received a lot of help from Chae-rin Unni…
But clearly, this was my moment of leading!
I fixed the choreography lines…
I even learned a lot of the choreography myself…?
[Gong Chae-rin: Since our leader is the youngest, it feels like the team atmosphere is fresher?]
At this point, I was surprised but let it go.
After all, since I had had so much screen time from episodes 1 to 3, the PD probably couldn’t give me more parts and had to share them with the other trainees.
But when Eun-seo Unni, who could be said to be our team’s most critical center, received harsh criticism…
[An Eun-seo: I felt so sorry for the team. I realized I’m being a burden…]
After the harsh criticism, my scene of comforting Eun-seo Unni, shot from behind, was edited to make it look like we were both crying together when Eun-seo Unni cried.
At that moment, I felt something wasn’t right.
[An Eun-seo: I’m just really grateful that everyone comforted me… I want to practice hard and show a good side.]
Mom saw me on screen, looking like I was crying, hugged me and patted my back.
“My daughter must have had a really hard time.”
“Get your hands off… that’s not it…”
“It’s okay, it happens.”
“No, it’s not…”
Yeah…
Well, for the sake of emotional storytelling, it must have been an unavoidable choice by the PD.
I could truly sacrifice this much.
Surely, a genuinely leader-like scene would come out at least once.
And then, during the last practice segment.
It did come out.
For some reason, along with a cheerful BGM that reminded me of spring.
Scenes inserted with my sisters’ interviews.
[Unni, that was so good! If we keep going like this, we’ll win!]
[Hwang Eun-chae: Throughout practice, you were constantly praising the team members… (while dancing) it was so cute! I just wanted to bite you!]
[Let’s do it one more time! Fighting!]
[Gong Chae-rin: As a leader, I’m working hard… (laughter) Just a cute healing totem? Even though everyone must be tired from practicing all day, I’m here cheering them on with “Fighting! Fighting!” (laughing like I’m out of breath)]
While practicing, I must be exhausted, but they keep cheering, “Fighting! Fighting!” (laughing as if I’m out of breath).
It seems like the PD has no intention of changing my image from the cute youngest member.
Yeah… That’s probably why it was that way from episodes 1 to 3…
After that, in the first round of the competition, all the members successfully performed on stage, completing a growth story, but my image remained fixed with no changes whatsoever.
“This is… devilish editing…”
-Kakaotalk!-Kakaotalk!-Kakaotalk!
-Kakaotalk!-Kakaotalk!-Kakaotalk!
-Kakaotalk!-Kakaotalk!-Kakaotalk!
I had to turn off my phone, which was ringing incessantly today again.
*
The morning after episode 4 aired.
The first round of voting that started about three weeks ago was closing in a few hours.
And the trainees had to join the filming center to shoot the ranking announcement.
So, we decided to gather in front of the Topist building early in the morning, riding Manager Young-ho’s car.
On the main road in front of the building.
As we approached, I could see Na-eun Unni and Seo-yoon Unni laughing and chatting happily at the entrance.
…Must be nice.
They’ve got good images.
“Do-hee, are you here~!?”
Na-eun Unni spotted me from a distance and shouted with a big smile.
The energy in the morning is good.
Yeah, they must be feeling good.
They’ve got good images…
“Ha-ah…”
In the midst of it all, Seo-yoon Unni ran over from afar and hugged me.
“Our youngest~ Did you miss me? You didn’t even read my KakaoTalk… So sad~?”
Cheerfully speaking Kim Seo-yoon.
“Would I miss you?”
“Hmph… I really missed our youngest a lot… You didn’t turn off your phone, did you?”
“…”
Kim Seo-yoon smiled and said,
“Then you must not have seen the comments? Our youngest’s posts online are blowing up; you could aim for first place~?”
That’s good news.
But Kim Seo-yoon didn’t mean it in a good way.
“So what?”
“Then I guess I’ll have to pick some comments and read them to you~”
She took out her phone and went to YouTube to check my stage cam video.
“Do-hee looks so cute even as the leader, lol.”
“Do-hee’s aegyo is insane, why is she so lovable~”
“So adorable, a total baby that the older sisters love, lol.”
“I’ve never seen someone so cute~ㅠㅠ”
“Ah, just shut up.”
“Whoa. The cute youngest swore! Na-eun Unni! Our youngest cursed!”
Ah.
It’s giving me a headache from the morning…