'It really is a disappointing result.'
The difference in on-site votes wasn't large. The Powerade Team received 585 votes; we received 579.Only a 6-vote difference placed us in second.
Powerade Team chose the debut song of a senior male idol group—one positioned somewhere between the first and second tiers—and competed with it.
For their creative parts, they chose choreography and lyrics. From what I heard, Kang Hyunjin handled the choreography, and Yoo Chan-hee handled the lyrics.
Team 1 didn't forcefully change the concept; they added a rap and polished the lyrics a bit to build more narrative. And because the team was stacked with dance-focused trainees, they created a visually rich stage.
If our team focused a bit more on vocals, they focused more on visuals.
'And they had well-known members, so that must've influenced the votes.'
Kang Hyunjin, of course, but also Yoo Chan-hee—currently among the top-recognition trainees on
On top of that, Team 1 also included an A-class trainee who had briefly appeared on another network's survival show in the past. He did exceptionally well as the main vocal this time, too. Their level of familiarity was unbeatable.
Since the broadcast hadn't aired yet, results naturally hinged on how familiar the audience was with the trainees. Our own vote totals also likely owed a lot to recognition.
'They deserved first place. No objections.'
Even setting all that aside, Team 1 simply did well. Their performance was uniquely clean.
A team with almost no weak spots—this outcome was something I had already expected when monitoring their stage.
"Team 1's youngest, trainee Yoo Chan-hee! Please share how you feel about taking first place!"
"Uh—first of all, thank you so much to the Idol Makers for watching us kindly! It's true what they say: no one can beat a person who works hard. Everyone worked so hard, and we'll keep working hard too. I'll never lose to anyone and will always show improvement!"
…That blatant flexing was still exhausting.
Holding the mic, I didn't bother looking away from Yoo Chan-hee as he cast a sideways glance at our team.Avoiding his gaze would only make him happier.
Next to him, I noticed Kang Hyunjin also watching us. When our eyes met, he quickly turned away.
'Ha…'
In one guy's case, I knew why he disliked me—but it wasn't something I could fix or something I even caused, which made it tricky.The other guy? I had absolutely no idea what I did wrong, which made it even worse.
Chances were high that I would someday end up teaming with those guys too.
'…Avoiding them as much as possible is the answer.'
If we ended up in the same team, the atmosphere would collapse. I had no intention of giving the conflict-hungry broadcasting station what they wanted. Surely those guys would also avoid me if they had any sense.
Thinking that, I exhaled quietly.
"For the Powerade Team, who placed first, the two creative parts will each receive a 2,000-vote benefit, and in addition, every member will receive 5,000 votes!"
"Waaaaaah!!"
"Thank you! Thank you so much!"
As the added votes appeared on the monitor, the trainees in the hall watched with a mix of envy and jealousy.Our team also clearly looked disappointed, but since we had each earned 3,000 benefit votes, they seemed generally satisfied.
After the announcement of first place passed, the moment everyone had been waiting for finally arrived.
"We will now announce the results of the 'Contribution Evaluation,' voted directly by the trainees."
At MC Ji-woong's words, all trainees held their breath and looked around.Amid that heavy tension, Ji-woong skillfully controlled the pacing of his voice.
"Each team has one trainee who received the most votes as having the lowest contribution, and that trainee will receive minus votes equal to the number of the team's votes accumulated over the past seven days."
Each vote was calculated as minus 100.So for trainees who didn't receive any benefit, or those whose minus votes exceeded their benefits, the corresponding number would be deducted from their online votes in the next round.
Then, the totals displayed on the monitor were wiped clean.Team names appeared.
"Ah… this is insane."
"What do we do…"
Concerned whispers rose one by one.Tension mounted—then silence.
"Gasp…!"
"Oh!"
Soon, one trainee's name appeared under each team.
I quickly checked the name under our team, and I could only sigh inwardly.
Because the name that came up was exactly the one I expected—and also the one I badly hoped would not appear.
"..."
"Ah…"
"…Hyung."
「Team 2 : Joo danwoo (15 votes)」
The trainee who received the lowest contribution evaluation was Joo danwoo.
'…Damn.'
I scanned the faces of our team.A few hung their heads with guilty expressions; others looked worried or shocked.
And among them was one trainee—expressionless, head held firm.
'Hwang Yeongo.'
It was Hwang Yeongo.
And through his face, I could immediately understand how this vote result came to be.
The full details would be shown on the broadcast, but guessing the situation wasn't hard.
'The trainees who consistently voted for Joo danwoo were probably the three of them.'
Hwang Yeongo, Kim Taeyoung, Park Wonhyo.I looked at the two who couldn't bring themselves to meet Joo danwoo's eyes, then at Hwang Yeongo.
'All three were B-class during the first evaluation.'
When forming the team, the three called each other one by one and stuck together. They stayed close throughout the mission.
Naturally, they wouldn't vote for each other.They likely agreed on that.
'Aiden Lee probably voted for me in the early days.'
Judging from his behavior, he probably voted for me up to around day 4. After that, he must've voted for someone else—but not Joo danwoo.
Zixuan, having bonded with me and Joo danwoo in D-class and still sticking close to us, had no reason to vote for Joo danwoo.
In other words, this was a conclusion drawn through a kind of elimination.Since I also didn't vote for Joo danwoo, there were only three trainees left who could have cast votes against him.
'…I can roughly guess the reason.'
The person Hwang Yeongo emotionally wanted to vote for was probably me.
But since this vote wasn't anonymous, he wouldn't dare choose me.Hwang Yeongo was someone who couldn't ignore recognition level, and voting for me would've given people too much reason to attack him.
'Objectively speaking, he couldn't touch my contribution score.'
It feels strange to say it myself, but during the first mission, I contributed a lot to Team 2.
High recognition plus a contribution level that was hard to nitpick.Hwang Yeongo must've thought, "If I pick him, I'll get an evil edit for no reason," so he likely chose someone with lower recognition as the scapegoat.
He probably thought that unless he participated in the "piling-on," he might become the target instead.
Hwang Yeongo worked hard in practice and actively contributed ideas during concept development and lyric creation.
But from time to time, his excessive enthusiasm or competitiveness would derail the situation into strange directions.
'In a situation where everyone's contribution level is similar, that becomes a weakness.'
So he must've chosen someone whose contribution was at a similar level to his own, who had once received noticeable criticism during the mid-evaluation, and who seemed either not fully integrated into the team or was someone he could attack and still be forgiven for.Someone to redirect the target onto.
'That someone was Joo danwoo.'
Joo danwoo had a gentle personality and a soft demeanor.That made him an easy target for someone like Hwang Yeongo to latch onto.
The other trainees also had to vote for someone, so they probably chose the one they were least close to and who seemed the easiest to vote for — the trainee who would likely forgive them if they apologized: Joo danwoo.
I don't blame them.I myself voted for another trainee, and within the format enforced by the broadcasting station, they simply chose a way to survive.
But…
"..."
Joo danwoo would have a hard time accepting this situation.
His face had gone completely pale.The trainees who voted for him probably didn't consider this, but these results likely struck directly at Joo danwoo's trauma.
"We will now reveal the updated vote totals after applying the minus points."
At Ji-woong's words, the current vote counts appeared on screen.Since online voting hadn't begun yet, the on-site votes were all we had.
Joo danwoo's score wasn't particularly low.He had received 3,000 benefit votes, after all.
But because more than half of them had been wiped out, his ranking sank far lower than that of the other teammates.
"Thank you for your hard work, trainees of
Compared to earlier, the atmosphere of the hall had long since collapsed, but Ji-woong closed the show with a fresh smile.
And just like that, the first
That night, the entertainment community was once again ablaze with news related to
The "Idol Makers" who had attended the first mission one by one posted their reviews.
「I wasn't going to write this but seeing my fellow Idol Makers losing their minds already so here's my review」
Waited in line from dawn for nn hours, then suffered for over 6 hours even after entering the venue, so please forgive the tone because I have no energy to speak politely
The first mission had a rule: the teams had to choose creative work — choreography, lyrics, or arrangement — at least one, and each additional creative part added extra benefits.
So many teams got greedy, and that greed drew a line between "idol-worthy performance" and "kindergarten talent show."^^
Highway – Perfect Ten
Team A (Powerade Team)
The team with the famous "Look" center.Maybe because Kang Hyunjin is the top-recognition king of
They also had several recognizable members — Korea's Best Vocal contestant Gyeong Jiwon, and a trainee from a rap crew, Yoo Chan-hee, were here.
The center was Yoo Chan-hee, and although I thought Kang Hyunjin's presence would overshadow him, he was surprisingly impactful. He lived up to the center role.
The part distribution was balanced, with no holes in the group choreography or vocals.As main vocal, Gyeong Jiwon nailed it, and Yoo Chan-hee also showed great vibe and delivered groovy rap really well.
And of course, the real finisher was Kang Hyunjin…
That guy is insane. I finally understand why companies prefer "experienced rookies." I'm not even a fan but I'm already waiting for his fancam… He was flying in the dance break; maybe because survival shows raised him, he had zero awkwardness on stage.
He was born to be an idol… He destroyed the stage and crushed all the other trainees. Even non-fans couldn't help but chant his name.
Conclusion: unless he commits a crime, Kang Hyunjin is debuting.
Member who stood out: as expected, the classics never fail… Kang Hyunjin
The trainee who seems like they'll blow up after the broadcast: Yoo Chan-hee — great rap, devours concept
Team B (One Day First Love Team)
Why did 3 minutes 40 seconds feel this long…? That's strange… The previous team's 3:40 felt like one second…
This team attempted all three creative parts, but… I have no words…
Messy arrangement, disconnected choreography, lyrics with no narrative… and the closer they got to the end, the more they kept messing up like fingers panicking at the end of a rhythm game.
And was the beginning any better? No. They wouldn't have cleared the stage if this were a rhythm game.
Summary: change the team name from First Love to Total Collapse.
Standout members: none
LUMIEL – Bingo
Team A (Need Love Team)
One-line summary: a passable "male version of LUMIEL"
Standout members: none, they all hid inside each other
Conclusion: flashy but scentless flower — not attractive enough for bees to gather
Team B (Your Type Team)
These guys could publish a perfect group project success story as a full essay collection.
This will be long, so scroll down carefully.