NOVEL NEXT Chapter 71
The ranking announcement continues.
The MC revealed the four candidates for the top spot among the 45 trainees who had not yet been called.
Honestly, there wasn’t really a need to reveal them.
The four were so obvious.
JS’s Eun Se-ra.
Zy’s Gong Chae-rin.
Haru’s Jeon Ha-rang.
And our Topist’s Do-hee Lee.
The screen split into four, showing each of the four trainees.
And beneath each contestant, their predicted ranks.
You’d think at least one of them would write a humble ranking, but every single one was ranked first.
Four trainees bursting with self-love or confidence.
Of course, Jung So-hyun was also confident.
She believed that among those trainees, Do-hee could definitely come in first.
It wasn’t just her outstanding looks.
Do-hee had the star quality that made her appearance shine.
And this was something she had known since the day she first saw the 11-year-old Do-hee.
As Jung So-hyun predicted, the first one called for fourth place was Gong Chae-rin.
Do-hee, surprisingly, got up from her seat to hug Gong Chae-rin, offering a normal congratulatory message.
She was just nervous, hoping it wouldn’t be like when she clapped excitedly for Kim Seo-yoon…
At least she was somewhat relieved.
“At least I beat Zy.”
Jung So-hyun clenched her fists tightly.
The four major entertainment agencies have a solid fan base that’ll support members regardless.
This image of beating the four major agencies would greatly help Do-hee during her girl group activities.
And then they passed the third-place announcement, with only the first place left.
The two who hadn’t made it to the ranking seat yet were Do-hee Lee and Eun Se-ra.
[Now, only the final two candidates for first place remain. JS’s Eun Se-ra trainee and Topist’s Do-hee trainee, please come up to the stage.]
The two trainees ascended to the two platforms set up on stage amidst the applause.
[These are two trainees with incredibly dazzling looks. Yes, it’s impossible to distinguish between these two trainees who have taken the stage.]
[First, JS’s Eun Se-ra trainee.]
The screen displayed Eun Se-ra’s clips from her grade assessment to the first competition.
[Eun Se-ra trainee gained immense support with her outstanding vocal skills, capturing the ears of fans from her first evaluation to the random team battle. And now, the Do-hee trainee.]
This time, it was Do-hee’s stage clips.
[Topist’s Do-hee Lee trainee received great love from fans, showcasing her hexagonal talents as the center of the title song.]
[Without further ado, let’s announce it right now.]
[The first place is…!]
[First Place…!]
[Topist Do-hee Lee Trainee]
Do-hee’s eyes looked wide on the screen.
[How do you think it feels, Do-hee Trainee?]
[Uh…?]
Do-hee looked at the MC in disbelief, her expression frozen in confusion.
‘Ha-ah… Please, Do-hee, manage your expressions…’
[Hahaha, you were so nervous, I thought I’d joke around! How did it feel?]
After joking with the trainees for five minutes, the MC finally adopted a serious expression.
[Alright! Now… I will truly announce it. The first ranking announcement. The first place goes to…!]
*
After the ranking announcement ended and a brief farewell with the eliminated trainees was done, the surviving 59 trainees had to quickly change into their practice outfits for the second mission.
“Do-hee Trainee! Here, take this~”
A new name tag with the ranking written on it was handed over by the production staff.
I attached that name tag to my changed t-shirt.
The ranking on my name tag read:
‘2nd.’
Haah… Honestly, I expected this.
Sara Unni proved that her title as a first-place candidate was no joke by securing the top spot in the first ranking announcement.
On top of having a massive fanbase from countless Js Concrete fans, she also built a following during her time as a public trainee.
I can’t deny her visuals.
And above all, her outstanding vocal skills.
Today, I only felt frustrated about my vocal training’s progress.
For a moment, I wondered if I should really push the cute concept.
Of course, I buried that wicked whisper deep inside my heart that said if you want to make it to first place, being cute is the answer, as it would be less fun if I simply got first place easily.
Meanwhile, Kim Seo-yoon came out in her practice outfit.
She was grinning at me, despite my loss.
“What’s with the laugh?”
“I’m laughing because our youngest is cute! Can’t I do that, Unni?”
So annoying.
“…Then go on, laugh.”
If I engage, it’ll only get on my nerves.
“Ah~ I want to see Do-hee’s ranking announcement speech again~ So much I want to see~”
“Ugh, come on!”
-… I truly appreciate all the Chusers who supported me, and I will work hard to show an even better stage as Do-hee!
-Oh, great! Now, Do-hee Trainee, as you know, the cute concept you showcased during the center selection drew a lot of attention~ Please give us your cuteness again for the Chusers who voted for you!
-…
-… Chusers! I’ll work hard, so please vote for me a lot! Love you~
“Hahaha, it’s just so lovable and cute!”
“…I couldn’t help it back then.”
“Damn it, they’re straightforwardly telling me to do it, so I can’t just refuse.”
Kim Seo-yoon said, stretching my cheek.
“Who says otherwise? Our youngest is just too lovable and cute, right?”
“…5th place, Kim Seo-yoon.”
“Next up, 2nd place, Do-hee Lee~”
Shit… Next time, I’m going for 1st place.
*
“Starting today, all trainees’ votes will be reset! Those between 1st and 24th will survive, while those from 25th to 59th will get eliminated.”
“Now, let’s reveal the second elimination mission that will determine who will pass and who will fail!”
With the MC’s booming voice, the tent came down.
As the tent dropped, three panels were revealed.
And on the three panels, four signs with song information were hanging.
Twelve song titles.
Number of performers made up of digits from 4 to 6.
And the desired positions.
Participants gasped at the songs, and as they saw the surprisingly different position names from seasons 1 and 2, puzzled voices arose.
“Yes, this mission is a dual position battle! As the name suggests, it’s a mission where you take on two positions instead of one!”
Four vocal & dance songs.
Four rap & dance songs.
Four rap & vocal songs.
Those were the positions listed on the signs.
“First vocal & dance position! Through arrangement and choreography creation, participants need to showcase themselves.”
“Next is the vocal & rap position. With attractive vocals and rap making through arrangement, you must show a new rap stage.”
“Finally, the rap & dance position. You need to display your capabilities through rap making and choreography creation.”
Up until season 2, it was just single position creation, but now it seemed to have switched to two positions.
That meant it would take longer to create than before.
There were about two weeks left until the second elimination.
Once again, it looked like the production staff was thinking of pushing the participants with a tight schedule.
Thanks to that, participants were already groaning here and there.
“Haah…”
And I sighed too.
Do-ah… I don’t think I can do it this time either…
Last time, I didn’t even sleep and ended up nosebleeding from all the practice—it was a real struggle…
I saw her yesterday, but I miss Do-ah again…
“And this evaluation will also come with rewards. Depending on the live vote results, the top team in each position will receive a reward of the number of votes × 100, and the trainee who finishes as the overall 1st in their position will receive 100,000 votes as a reward.”
Participants were buzzing with excitement.
This time, I was aiming for that 100,000 votes too.
I was aiming for the votes.
If I got 100,000 votes, I could definitely surpass Sara Unni.
“Well, now I need to explain how to choose the songs, right?”
Please let it be a choice this time…
“The method is simple! We will select the desired position and song starting from the lowest-ranked trainee, Yang Hae-rim, who is in 59th place.”
“However! Once all spots for that song are filled, if there are additional hopefuls, the lowest trainee will have to move to another song.”
The reactions of the participants varied.
“Oh? So it’s a push-out system?”
On one hand, there were trainees ranked high who inwardly welcomed it without being too overtly happy.
“Ah… why me…”
On the other hand, some trainees ranked low looked very gloomy.
Of course, I thought, “Finally, the production staff’s minds are in the right place.”
For me, being in 2nd place meant a free pass.
“Now, we will start with the 59th trainee, Yang Hae-rim!”
Thus, the trainees took turns picking their desired songs or songs they could mostly handle without the risk of being pushed out, in reverse order.
Finally, it was my turn.
I headed towards the vocal & rap position panel.
The expressions of the trainees who had chosen that panel hardened.
And the song I picked was “FATAL” from Q2, which has a limit of four members.
By entering, I inevitably had to call out the name of the lowest-ranked trainee and push them out.
“Ah, Lee Do-hee has picked a very unexpected song,” the MC said, sounding somewhat puzzled.
It was understandable since I had been stuck with a cute image.
But that was exactly why this song was what I wanted the most.
“FATAL” conveyed a mature feeling of being intensely attracted to someone, just like its title suggests.
Moreover, it was a song from a boy idol group famous for their masculinity.
This was the song I could express best and would be the most effective for refreshing my image.
“The only problem is…”
Out of the three members in front of me, two were in the top ranks.
Hana Unni in 7th place and Ha-rang Unni in 3rd.
A so-called super team had formed.
We absolutely had to deliver an amazing performance.
Now that it had become easier to take first place in the competition, the expectations for our team had skyrocketed.
I knew there was a significant allure in a girl covering a guy’s song, but I never expected this many would be on board.
“Eun Se-ra trainee, please proceed!”
As I visualized the competition, the last chooser, Sara Unni, started to move.
Was it my imagination that our eyes met?
Sara Unni was smiling at me with her eyes.