NOVEL NEXT Chapter 86
On the way to the filming set.
Inside the car, four theme songs were playing on repeat.
“Boom clap, boom clap~ Whoa!”
Seo-yoon Unni’s strange beatboxing.
Of course, Kim Seo-yoon herself was strange.
“I’ll wrap it all up~”
Just looking at how she mimicked my part, you could tell.
“I’ll wrap it all up~~”
“Ah, come on, stop it.”
It was early, in a closed car.
Watching us sway to the music, Manager Young-ho showed a tired expression.
“Guys, you’re going to be tired during the shoot… Maybe you should sleep…?”
Of course, there were no good thoughts about that.
“It’s okay! I’m not tired! Just turn the volume up a bit more!”
“Raise the beat~!”
“Yeah!!”
“Guys…”
The day after the 10th episode aired, today.
An hour ago, the audio for the four theme songs used in the third round of the competition was released.
Not a cover song, but our original track.
There was no way we couldn’t be excited.
Of course, our sound source hadn’t even charted yet, let alone ranked high, but given the mega hit and ongoing success of ‘Jodeol 3’, it was predicted that we would chart somewhere in the real-time and daily rankings.
If things go well, we could also make it onto the monthly charts and higher ranks.
“Guys… let’s do well… see you on the live broadcast…”
After dropping us off at the filming location, Manager Young-ho could finally breathe.
As we entered the set, everyone was playing their audio tracks on repeat.
“Yo~ stand out~ It’s been a while!”
Ha-rang Unni, sporting an exaggerated old-school hip-hop groove you’d see in the ’90s, slowly approached us with her song playing.
“YO! Ha-rang Unni~!”
Kim Seo-yoon greeted her excitedly, mimicking Ha-rang Unni’s gestures.
Looks like they’re having a blast.
Seeing that made me somewhat understand Manager Young-ho’s fatigue.
The chaotic streams of audio blaring from every direction stopped after the production staff collected the participants’ phones.
“Alright! Nice to meet you. Participants, the momentous third round ranking announcement leading to the finals is finally upon us.”
The participants gave applause and cheers, now familiar with the situation.
Just as we thought the official announcement would begin after the standard introductory remarks, the MC said something thunderous.
“But before the third round ranking announcement, there’s one new mission! And there’s a first-place reward for this mission too!”
A new mission.
Shen.
I immediately thought it was for the broadcast length airing in episode 11.
This wasn’t something that happened in seasons 1 and 2.
In seasons 1 and 2, we only had consultation classes with idol seniors who had already debuted, makeup classes promoting PPL products, or parts like sports days.
Now that I think about it, I had a feeling they weren’t going to film any behind-the-scenes during the preparation period for the third round of competition.
“That’s right! It’s the ‘Choo-seo! I’ve Fallen for You!’ mission!”
Leaving the dazed participants behind, the MC continued speaking.
“From now on, you all will study the newly revised choreography for the title song ‘Fallen for You’ as a new debut team version for one whole day, and tomorrow, you will be doing your individual stages.”
Since we’d be showcasing the title song on a live broadcast, practice was inevitable. They were turning it into a mission to squeeze out some footage.
“And each trainee’s fancam will be uploaded to Mwave YouTube, and the trainee with the most likes in the next 24 hours will receive a reward of 10,000 votes!”
10,000 votes.
It might be a bit too ambiguous to change the rankings of the top tier, but it could change the survival chance for those in the lower ranks.
However, since YouTube views and likes tend to correlate, the chance of the less popular trainees in the bottom tier getting that first place reward seemed slim.
Translation: the third round ranking announcement held no real significance.
“Also, if the trainee who gets first place manages to survive the third round ranking announcement, they will become the center for the final ‘Fallen for You’ stage.”
Still, I wondered why they insisted on making it a mission. It was probably because of this reason.
Seo-yoon Unni nudged me.
“The title track’s center is going to the ‘youngest Do-hee~'”
…Damn it.
The title song ‘Fallen for You’ had already placed the ‘youngest Do-hee’ image on it.
As much as I wanted to avoid being centered for that stage… I couldn’t let my personality slack off.
*
With our choreographer and trainers teaching us the new choreography, we officially started individual practice.
Since the big picture wouldn’t change much regardless of the choreo changes, a single day was enough.
Maybe that’s why…
“Unni, aren’t you going to practice?”
With time to spare, Sara Unni came right next to me, sticking close.
“They say even watching counts as practice…!”
Then just watch the choreography video or look at the main dancer, Chae-rin Unni over there.
Why are you looking at me?
Ignoring Sara Unni’s gaze, I tried to focus on the mirror to practice again, but this time, I couldn’t concentrate due to Ye-eun Unni, who kept circling around me restlessly.
“Unni, aren’t you practicing?”
Seeing that I showed some interest made Ye-eun Unni brighten a bit.
Ye-eun Unni.
“Ah, practice…! I’m going to do it, I will…”
“I will, you know.”
“Do-hee, can you hold it until the bathroom…?”
…?
“Oh. I just went earlier.”
Ye-eun Unni’s face darkened again.
“Ah…”
Why so disappointed?
“Ha-ah…”
Reluctantly pulling away Sara Unni, who looked at me like a baby that doesn’t want to leave its mother’s embrace, I went with Ye-eun Unni to the bathroom to do as she wished.
– Unni, don’t you have any thoughts about getting on stage? You keep saying you’re anxious. Isn’t that because you’re not practicing?
– Hng… I’ll work hard…
– You always say you’ll work hard… But you fell asleep earlier than I did during the third competition?
– That’s… I still have the same part…
– What does that even matter? At least practice with me until I’m done. If I were the Unni, I wouldn’t sleep for a week.
– I’m sorry…
Does she know that what’s good for the body is bitter?
Now, Ye-eun Unni is using that bitterness.
Honestly, I was more scared now. What if someone heard us?
I need to change the way I encourage her…
Unlike me, who was anxious, Ye-eun Unni seemed awakened, fully focused on practice.
How did I end up becoming a catalyst for her awakening…
*
The third ranking announcement ceremony.
The venue felt much more spacious than the first ranking announcement, but the tension was just as high as when there were 99 participants.
“Out of the 24 contestants, only 13 trainees will stand on the final live broadcast stage where the debut team will be born. Many fans have shown their unwavering support. Also, as the voting has changed to 2 votes per person, exciting results are coming. I hope everyone stays with us until the end.”
Only after the customary introduction did the MC get to the main point.
“The team that won first place in the theme evaluation shared a total of 130,000 votes.”
“And there was also an additional mission for another first place reward. Let’s reveal the winner of this first place reward now!”
One trainee appeared on the screen.
It was me.
“Thank you!”
I felt no bad feelings about being the center for the title track in the final live broadcast, but the fact that the youngest, Do-hee, would follow suit left me with mixed feelings.
Sigh…
And finally, the real ranking announcement began.
“12th place is…! Kim Na-eun trainee!”
Na-eun Unni’s rank dropped somewhat.
It seemed the absence of votes for the Topist trio after becoming 2-pick had an impact.
Debut rights were in 7th place.
Can I debut with Na-eun Unni…?
I’m a bit worried.
“Rank 11 is Hwang Yeon-ha!”
“Rank 10 is… Kim Se-yeon trainee!”
“Rank 9 is Yoon Seo-won trainee!”
After that, the rankings were announced without any major surprises.
This meant the popular trainees maintained their rankings.
Those who were going up were all moving up.
If there was any surprise, it was that Kim Ye-eun Unni claimed 8th place.
I never thought I’d get this far after being placed in Tier 5 at the start.
Maybe that’s why she came up to me, hugged me tightly, and burst into tears thanking me.
“Do-hee! It’s because of you…!”
It felt like she was thanking me, but…
It strangely felt like it was more intentional.
And finally, the debut ranking.
This round of Jodo3 didn’t have much fluctuation in the debut ranks.
Except for a few, it was mostly just shuffling within the debut ranks.
In other words, since Jodo3 was such a hot topic, it meant some trainees had built a solid core fanbase.
Since there were so few trainees left, the MC slowly built up the suspense to stretch out the announcement.
Then, on the screen appeared the final two candidates for 1st place.
Every time my face appeared on the screen, I felt a bizarre thrill, and my face turned red.
The first-place reward went to Gong Chae-rin Unni from Zy Entertainment, who garnered 50,000 votes.
And I earned 10,000 votes from the additional mission.
For this time, I had a chance at 1st place.
*
“Wow~ How come you always come in 2nd? Share your secret~”
– 1st place is Gong Chae-rin trainee!
The public vote difference.
About 2,000 votes.
If it weren’t for the first-place reward, I would have definitely been 1st.
Damn, it’s always like this…
“I want to be 2nd too~”
The tearful farewell of those eliminated seemed a distant memory, as Kim Seo-yoon was buzzing around playfully beside me.
“6th place, be quiet.”
Kim Seo-yoon pretended to be hurt by my words and whined to Ha-rang Unni.
“Unni, did you hear? They’re belittling us just because our rank is low?”
Hearing this, Ha-rang Unni chimed in.
“Wow… I didn’t see Do-hee like that… [Lee Do-hee’s character controversy, 'rank discrimination + participant belittlement.' Participants crying one after the other.]”
Ha-rang Unni… could totally be a celebrity reporter after retirement.
“What are you saying? Stop talking nonsense.”
[Lee Do-hee, all the participants are weird. It’s annoying being compared to them.]
“…”
[Lee Do-hee doesn’t even want to talk to these low-level participants.]
I couldn’t find the words to say.