Chapter 35 - CHAPTER 35

"Um… by any chance… what's your name?"

…Do you believe in the Way?

I stopped midway while putting down a bowl of side dishes on the table. Noticing the wary look I gave, the customer who had asked my name quickly waved their hands.

"No, no, it's just—I feel like I've seen you somewhere! Are you, uh… a celebrity?"

At the innocent question, I hesitated for a moment.

'I mean… I'm not a celebrity…'

But it also felt strange to say I was a trainee on a survival program that hadn't even aired yet.

After a bit of thought, I answered vaguely.

"…No, I'm not a celebrity…"

"Do you do things like MeTube or Stargram? Or maybe Tikitok…?"

"No, nothing like that… um."

"Yuha! Order for table 4!"

"Oh, yes. Um… sorry."

"Oh! No, no! I'm sorry for holding you up. You just looked really familiar…"

I bowed politely and left the table for now. Then, as the owner instructed, I headed to table 4 to take the order.

While taking orders and delivering food, I glanced back at the customer who had spoken to me. They were still tilting their head, trying to figure out where they'd seen my face.

'Maybe they saw me on some community site.'

It hadn't aired yet, but the photos my first fansite master took of me had circulated on communities for a while. If they were even mildly interested in idols, it wasn't strange to find me familiar.

'…I guess it's really time to stop.'

I let out a small sigh. This kind of thing had happened several times over the month I'd been working part-time.

—Uh, are you… Wŏn Yuha? From KRM Entertainment…?

—Ah, yes…

—Gasp. Why are you here?!

Even during the early-morning warehouse job.

—Are you… from ? One of the contestants?

—Ah, yes.

—What?! Why are you…?

Even when I squeezed in a short parcel-packing job in the evening.

—Aren't you the "smile guy"?

—…Smile… yes.

—Oh my gosh. Why are you here…?

It had happened even when I was doing event-staff part-time gigs.

'Well, it can't be helped since all these jobs involve dealing with people.'

Since the show hadn't aired yet, I'd been a little careless, but it really felt like it was time to wrap things up.

'…Yeah, this week is the limit.'

Thinking that, I replaced the grill. I'd been suddenly called in to fill a shift at the barbecue restaurant where I worked nights, and today I'd run into quite a few young customers who looked at me like they weren't sure but suspected something.

Right now, the show hadn't started airing yet and I was working because I needed to, but once began broadcast, the company would likely forbid part-time jobs altogether. After all, once it aired, I'd be a semi-public figure as an idol trainee.

Because of that, I planned to finish the part-time job I'd been doing for the past month after today.

'I've saved enough money for now.'

I thought so as I took off my apron. With the money left behind by my adoptive parents' passing, plus what I had earned this month, I had enough for living expenses and rent for a while.

If I got eliminated from , I could simply find another part-time job and start working immediately—so I just needed to endure for now.

I said my goodbyes to the owner and pushed open the restaurant door. In that moment, I made eye contact with the customer who had been watching me earlier, so I bowed. Startled, the customer quickly bowed back in embarrassment.

Feeling the comfortably cool breeze, I headed home. Tonight, I planned to sleep early for the first time in a while—no dawn shift.

Because tomorrow was the production presentation for .

The production presentation was a grand affair.

"Hello!"

"Idol Makers!!"

"We are the trainees of !"

"Please take care of us!!"

At dawn, all one hundred of us trainees gathered at a convention center in Seoul, dressed in 's signature group outfit—the school uniform—and received makeup and hair styling.

We waited with tense expressions, but only briefly, because soon we were called by staff and headed to the hall filled with reporters for the photo session.

A-Net had been promoting the show heavily for a while, and because it was a survival program featuring trainees from multiple agencies, was generating a lot of buzz. Accordingly, the hall was packed with reporters.

I smiled politely along with the other trainees as we endured the barrage of camera flashes.

"We'll exit slowly now!"

For most trainees, this was the day they had anxiously awaited, but in reality, today's role for us ended with the photo session. Since the show had not yet aired and it was too early to spotlight each trainee individually, we had no choice but to move as a group.

The real stars of the remaining presentation were not us but the PD and the mentor lineup. They were the only ones who would be speaking.

"That was quick."

"It ended in the blink of an eye."

The trainees murmured with regret as they began to file out. Despite the long wait, the actual photo time was short.

Even so, everyone checked their hair and faces again—because the most important moment of the production presentation was still ahead.

"Hyunjin!!"

"Ji-hyuk!!"

"Serim! Cheon Serim!!"

"Kim Wooyoung! Look here!"

"Junseok!"

"Yuha!!!!"

It was the "going-home path" photos—the session with our fansite masters.

"Aiden! Look here once!"

"Oh, Yuha! Let's take some together~!"

I was about to squeeze through the fansite masters and fans to get to the bus when I suddenly ended up standing next to Aiden Lee. Cameras came up in front of us, and out of habit I smiled; the shutter clicked.

"Still the 'smile guy.'"

Snickering at me, Cheon Serim casually pulled in Joo Danwoo as well. Danwoo looked stiff, clearly overwhelmed by the constant shutter sounds going off beside him.

'I hope he's okay.'

After the first round of performances, it was my first time seeing Joo Danwoo again today, and he looked a bit gaunt. I had no idea what Seez Label was doing with him, but he seemed a little out of it again today.

So I nudged him lightly and whispered,

"Hyung, smile."

"Huh?"

"Wave your hand!"

Following what Cheon Serim said right after, Danwoo awkwardly smiled and gave a small wave. Someone in the crowd snapped a photo of him doing that.

Covering my mouth with my hand so my lips wouldn't be read, I continued talking to him.

"Just wave naturally, and when you meet a camera, give a little smile. There are people who came here just to see you."

"M–me? They came to see me?"

At his dazed voice, I nodded.

"You didn't hear them calling your name?"

The fans gathered outside were shouting to support different trainees, and since everyone was yelling at once it was hard to distinguish them individually—but I was sure I heard voices calling for "Joo Danwoo." The person himself apparently hadn't noticed.

"Smile. They'll take good pictures of you."

I said and lowered my hand. Danwoo still looked dazed, but as the shutter sounds went off beside him again, he reflexively smiled. He was stiff, but that could easily be chalked up to nerves.

"Guys! Can you do a heart pose for us?"

"Oh! Hyungs! Heart! Heart!"

Then someone in the crowd shouted, and Cheon Serim dragged us together and lifted his arms to make a big heart over his head. At Serim's urging, Danwoo shyly made a small finger heart, and Aiden Lee grinned and made a small two-hand heart.

Following the three of them, I instinctively raised one hand to my cheek to make a cheek-heart pose—and right as I heard a shutter click, I glanced past the camera and realized the person taking our photo was my first fansite master.

She lowered her camera and shouted with a flushed, excited face,

"Thank you! You worked so hard today! Let's definitely debut, boys!!"

"Thank you!!"

"…Please get home safely."

I bowed and then boarded the bus with the other three. As soon as I sat down, I finally let the tension out of my shoulders.

Outside, shutter sounds and cheers were still ringing out. Watching the trainees showing off to fans in their own ways as they walked toward the bus, I thought:

'Today is when it really begins.'

The trainee fansite accounts that had started appearing little by little would explode in number after today. The show would begin airing the day after tomorrow.

Since this was the first time our faces would officially be shown to the public, the trainees were busy checking their visuals and walking alongside the friends they were close with—dropping little teasers in preparation for the upcoming broadcasts.

'The first thing is individual visuals and talent. The second is… relationships.'

In other words, narrative-building.

In a survival program like , which is based on cooperation and competition, chemistry between participants was crucial—especially if the trainees were eventually going to debut as an idol group.

More importantly, relationship charts were strategically important.

'Because it allows for alliances.'

Fans who liked different trainees could easily form alliances—emotionally and as a fandom.

—Ahhh this hyung-dongsaeng pairing is seriously the best… why aren't they using this golden relationship chart, just debut them together already—Let 00z be foreverㅠㅠㅠ please debut together, don't let either of them dropㅠㅠ—I ended up voting for my fave and the kids he's close toㅠㅠ he looks so bright around them, please debut together and walk the flower path

Chemistry between idol group members mattered. The closer they seemed—the more like family—the happier and more satisfied fans were.

fans were no different. The PD and production staff focused on using the trainees' relationships to create engaging narratives, and the fans embraced those relationship charts and hoped the trainees grouped together would debut as a team.

In short, if a debut was going to happen, fans wanted their favorite to be placed with the trainees they were close to.

In , fans could vote for multiple trainees early on, and as the show neared the finale, the number of trainees they could vote for gradually decreased.

Because of that, some trainees, beyond just genuinely being close, would intentionally showcase their relationships early on to gain extra strategic votes.

"I think the four-shot we took at the end will turn out nice, don't you? Hm, maybe we should've done a prettier heart pose."

And it seemed that Cheon Serim had already decided which trainees he wanted to form a relationship-based alliance with: Aiden Lee, Joo Danwoo, and me. The so-called "Room 102 roommates."

'Smart guy.'

Cheon Serim was good at choosing and focusing.

He was the trainee with the widest network in and the most sociable personality. He had talked to everyone at least once, but in reality, he was genuinely close to only a very small number of people.

Serim used his wide network to show off his bright and sociable character, but deliberately kept his actual circle small to maximize his relationship chart. He was building relationships with calculation.

Not that he treated everything coldly like pure business—it wasn't totally like that.

'Probably 70% business, 30% genuine affection.'

He was likely the smartest player in .

Understanding what kind of "character" you are, acting accordingly, and controlling yourself and your surroundings—those things made survival easier.

If nothing went wrong, and he kept riding this momentum, Cheon Serim would make it to the finals without much trouble.

Provided he didn't cause an incident.

And where there was a smart guy like him, there was naturally someone who acted recklessly.

"I think Trainee Won Yuha should stand near the end of the main formation."

One such person was Yoo Chanhee—who sharpened his tone whenever he looked at me.