Chapter 84

“Baek Hanje!”

Gowon panicked as he caught Baek Hanje, who had lost consciousness and collapsed.

It was the first time he had ever seen that usually confident—almost annoyingly smug—face turn this pale.

Hadn’t he been teasing him mercilessly just moments ago?

“Why... why is he doing this...?!”

This wasn’t the time to question the reason. Gowon tried to grab his phone.

But supporting Baek Hanje’s completely limp body made even that difficult.

And at that exact moment, the convenience store door opened.

“Customer, I’m sorry, but right now—”

“Ah, I knew it would end up like this.”

“......?”

To Gowon, this moment felt completely unreal.

Baek Hanje had suddenly shown up out of nowhere and lost consciousness, and immediately afterward, Yunjin, one of the judges, appeared at the convenience store.

“Give him to me. I’ll take Hanje.”

“.......”

“Hmm?”

Gowon adjusted his hold on Baek Hanje’s body and stepped back.

The look in his eyes as he watched Yunjin was sharp with suspicion.

“Hmm... In this situation, wouldn’t the adult here obviously be better equipped to handle things?”

“...What are you going to do with him?”

“When he hurts enough, he’ll wake up.”

“......?”

“Ah. Maybe I shouldn’t have said it like that.”

Gowon pulled Baek Hanje closer against his chest.

“Hmm.”

Yunjin lifted the corner of his mouth.

“I appreciate you taking care of another group’s youngest member...”

“.......”

“But from where I’m standing, I wonder why someone who can barely take care of his own future is trying to protect someone else.”

“.......”

Yunjin stepped forward.

Then he gently pried apart the hand Gowon had clenched around Baek Hanje and let the unconscious boy lean against him.

Even though everything was happening right in front of him, Gowon couldn’t resist at all.

With a smaller build than himself, Yunjin easily lifted Baek Hanje into his arms.

“Junior.”

...Junior?

Gowon felt a strange sense of déjà vu at the way he was addressed.

“Debut Chart will become something you can continue.”

“What do you mean....”

“Work hard.”

Still holding Baek Hanje, Yunjin turned around and walked out.

Left alone in the convenience store, Gowon stared blankly out the empty window before lowering his head toward the note Baek Hanje had left on the counter.

Five song titles were written there.

“.......”

They were so vivid that seeing them once was enough to imprint them permanently in his mind.

Bzz— Bzz—

At that moment, his phone suddenly rang.

The caller was Grandma.

“Hel...lo?”

—Woni, the city hall contacted us. They said you became an additional recipient for this year’s support program. They’ll give us a little more money each month....

“.......”

Then his younger sister called as well.

—Oppa, apparently I got some kind of scholarship...?

The events that followed one after another felt like a massive tidal wave crashing over him.

Soon, his grip tightened around the note.

***

“Troublemaker youngest.”

“Ah, I didn’t expect this either.”

I woke up after being unconscious for about three hours.

Honestly, passing out would’ve been better....

I don’t remember much, but it seems like I suffered through terrible nightmares the entire time I was out.

Even now, after waking up, I couldn’t put any strength into my body.

The problem was that there was something even damper than the sheets soaked with my cold sweat.

...This guy cried. He actually cried....

As expected of yACE’s number one soft tofu, the person involved was perfectly fine, while only his own eyes were red.

“Come on. You experienced it firsthand and learned your lesson. Isn’t that enough?”

“Haaa... I seriously...”

“Hey, hey, your group’s youngest is a patient! I’m hurt!”

When I exaggeratedly backed away, Yunjin gave up on reaching toward me.

“But honestly, three percent after collapsing for three hours? That’s manageable.”

In the end, my cheeks were stretched out from both sides.

“What’s the current Plausibility?”

“Thirty-eight..., huh.”

Current Plausibility: 40%

What was this? Did I see it wrong because I was in too much pain earlier?

“Forty percent. It recovered. Nice. Looks like Gowon changed his mind.”

“Hmm.”

“Now I’ll have to properly put him through the wringer during the two remaining competitions.”

“...Yeah. I think I’ll be able to help from outside as well.”

What was that supposed to mean?

“By now, you’ve probably started noticing people who look like they’re the ones already chosen, right?”

“Hmm... I’m not certain, but roughly.”

The PR video placements, traces of outside interference in the creative mission.

And several people who received higher grades than their abilities seemed to justify....

“Looks like there are even judges helping manipulate the scores.”

“Ah.”

I thought of the five judges on Debut Chart.

First, Yunjin right in front of me... probably wasn’t one.

Young Ace’s rapper Big Room. In other words, An Bangwon...

“If someone asked An Bangwon to participate in corruption, wouldn’t he walk straight to the Korea Communications Commission, report it, and release a social-criticism rap about it?”

“...His personality in this world may differ slightly, but with that person, it’s highly likely.”

“Then... the others.”

A renowned choreographer, a member of a top-tier boy group, a veteran singer.

“Would someone really take that kind of risk?”

“They could participate passively.”

“How?”

“For example, if someone asked, ‘When selecting three teams for this competition, could you please make sure this particular team is included?’ A judge might think, ‘Well, the broadcasting station must have its circumstances,’ and go along with it.”

“Hmm...”

That was possible too.

“Then you look for those people.”

“‘You’ means what is our youngest planning to do this time?”

“I need to find the people who look like they’re getting ahead without suffering like everyone else.”

Judges from the judges’ seats.

And contestants from the contestants’ seats.

***

A few days after the first competition, the first ranking announcement ceremony took place.

Every time they lined the kids up according to rank and called out the names of those who would be eliminated, I couldn’t help wondering what kind of cruel thing this was to put them through.

—The long-awaited first place belongs to the trainee who has protected his undisputed throne, Baek Hanje!

While the MC showered me with praise about my arranging abilities and vocal skills, I examined the contestants up through ninth place—the debut cutoff.

Just like with the judges, there were suspicious circumstances, but nothing concrete enough to make a definite accusation.

The PD seemed to be using me as a distraction because I had so many flashy moments early on.

If they created an obvious target for everyone to focus on, then questionable fluctuations in the mid-rankings would be easier to hide.

Amid all the chaos, Gowon rose two spots to eighth place thanks to the impact of the Merry Christmas guy.

And the prickly, sensitive guy gained another reason to celebrate.

From single-digit rankings—the debut zone—trainees received an S grade.

Meaning Gowon now had a private room too.

The production crew cruelly and thoroughly filmed the emotional scenes of trainees packing their things and moving dorm rooms as their grades changed.

—The overall first-place Black Card Team will now choose the trainees who will join them for the next competition!

Apparently, the Black Team wasn’t as harmonious as they appeared.

If they reunited and formed a team together, it would have made a beautiful picture, but they scattered completely.

The oldest trainee, who had obtained the right to choose first, confidently pointed at me.

“We’ll recruit trainee Baek Hanje.”

I was sold the moment the recruitment market opened.

Gowon was not included in the team that trainee had planned.

As a result, the second competition separated me from Gowon.

Seriously....

I glanced at Gowon, who had joined another team.

Fortunately, he hadn’t dropped out and had returned to the studio.

But... did he get taller?

His hunched shoulders and neck definitely seemed straighter.

He didn’t seem to have ignored my words, so I hoped he had practiced the songs I gave him seriously.

I would have had to be on the same team to confirm that.

Yunjin, you idiot. You couldn’t even arrange this? You should’ve done some behind-the-scenes maneuvering!

The corruption was already raising its head anyway. At least fight fire with fire!

I glared at him with those thoughts, and he suddenly smiled brightly.

The corners of his mouth curled upward proudly as if saying, “I handled it.” Like he had already done something.

I suddenly felt uneasy in a different way. That man was yACE too, and sometimes they showed completely unpredictable insanity....

Carrying that discomfort with me, I gathered with the teammates who would participate in the second competition.

Since the team had been formed by choosing members first, every single teammate was impressive.

All seven members were ranked within the top twenty individually.

The lowest-ranked member among them, at twentieth place, was—

“Hi, Hanje. We’re together again....”

Yes... nice to see you, Newton leader junior.

In reality, we barely knew each other, but somehow I was becoming attached to him all by myself.

Unlike the previous team, which had been unnaturally concentrated around certain age groups, this team was evenly distributed.

The oldest member was twenty-four by Korean age. The youngest was me, seventeen. And most of the middle was filled with twenty-year-olds.

In conclusion, I had returned to the youngest role I had occupied for half my life....

“It would be best for the oldest member to become leader. You’re the one who formed our team, too.”

“And you’ve debuted before as well.”

Oh, you debuted before?

Then the age of twenty-four made sense. As a senior, I felt a warm—

“Cough. Well, I didn’t particularly want it, but since you guys pushed me into it, I’ll take the leader position. Don’t say anything different in the interview, okay?”

“.......”

That was the worst acceptance speech I had ever heard in my life.

After going through Squirrel Class, I had lost a lot of my generosity.

Besides, twenty-four was a little too old to treat someone like a kid.

Unlike the cheerful Squirrel Class, this team was full of caution and calculation.

Naturally, everyone was ranked high enough to dream of debuting, so they were probably gritting their teeth and fighting.

Except for one person.

“...Are you okay?”

“Uh... uh! Y-yeah, of course I’m okay!”

Newton junior looked completely different from when he had been the leader of Squirrel Class.

Could this guy also be the type who pushes himself too hard because responsibility is his motivation?

Last time, maybe he had accepted the leader position accidentally and only pretended to stay calm in front of everyone.

Thinking that way made me feel a little sorry for him, so I allowed him to stick close to me and seek stability.

Anyway, my biggest concern was whether Gowon over there was doing well....

“Hmm...”

“.......”

“Hmmm...”

“...Why are you like that?”

Eventually, some of my unwavering attention was divided toward the person beside me.

How could I not notice when he was groaning right next to my ear?

Nam Jeongho seemed to have been holding something in and immediately brought up the topic.

“That is... our team has Yubin hyung, Raehyeon hyung, and the two of us, so there are four people in the vocal position. It feels like there’s a lot of overlap.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. You only realized now....”

“Yes.”

Everyone just does their own part. Was that really such a big issue?

Of course, since this was a survival show, the songs would probably focus on performance, and with so few vocal parts to divide up, worrying about personal screen time was understandable.

“You’re good too. Why worry?”

Although things had changed somewhat, since K-Dom’s representative Yang Okmi was a trot singer, K-Dom had always paid close attention to its vocal pool.

There had even been a period when one of the big three agencies pushed the image of traditional live performance and skilled vocals.

This guy had also survived countless trainees and debuted in the original world, so there was no way he lacked ability.

He had performed his role sufficiently during the first competition too.

“Are you serious?”

“If I had something to gain from flattering you, it would be a lie.”

“Uh... thank you for such a brutally honest answer....”

Clap clap.

At that moment, loud applause from far away drew everyone’s attention.

“We’ll resume filming soon. Trainees, sit with your teams and wait!”

Although their numbers had been cut in half, there were still too many of them, so the treatment wasn’t exactly great.

—The next competition songs for those who safely survived the first competition will be decided through mini games!

Unease and tension crossed the contestants’ faces.

—Today, we have prepared a total of three mini games. After completing all three games, the teams will receive song selection rights according to their total scores!

So that meant filming would continue until almost midnight again.

When the karaoke machine appeared next, I immediately understood what the first game was.

Vocals.