"Ah, that's a shame. I thought you'd get first place."
"Me too."
"…You already have more than enough."
I answered Cheon Serim and Aiden Lee and let out a small sigh. Along with the unexpected ranking, the achievement window that popped up before my eyes made my heart feel even heavier.
『Achievement Complete!』
You have taken one more step toward a successful debut by achieving overall 2nd place in the 1st ranking announcement of
Reward: Luck Stat +20
'…Second place.'
A higher rank than I expected.
'Didn't Kim Mingi… get 8th place in his first ranking announcement?'
By the time the first ranking announcement aired, I had already left KRM, but since I ended up joining the Robinson debut lineup, it was impossible not to hear anything about the rapidly rising
I remember the former CEO was curious about Kim Mingi at the time. Since we were both from KRM, he asked if I knew anything about him, which gave me quite the headache.
'Back then… I was doing my best not to think about Kim Mingi at all.'
And when I heard that he got 8th place in the first ranking announcement, I guess I thought—that guy is going to debut for sure.
He must have been included in the "PD pick" from the beginning as well. What made the difference appear so drastically in the rankings was—
'The sudden spike in buzz.'
Across both before and after the broadcast of
During the guerrilla flash mob, I was the first trainee to get a homepage master, and later, thanks to the nickname "Max-Level Part-Timer," my name reached not only idol fans but also the general public who frequent issue communities.
On top of that, Kim Mingi had the background of being from a major agency, and the relationship charts and growth storyline the PD had painstakingly laid out for the trainees also played a big part in these results.
It wasn't a bad thing. At the very least, I had achieved my goal of not getting an evil edit.
'But it's not a good thing either.'
After meeting with Manager Kwon last time, I searched "Won Yuha" on idol fan communities and checked the reactions popping up one after another.
And I thought—
'If something goes wrong, my family history might get exposed.'
The reactions were already split into two camps.
People were laughing at the "Max-Level Part-Timer" keyword for now, but there were already those who looked at me with concern, worry, and suspicion. They were asking, Why is he working part-time so desperately?
For now, it was just concern. But if the high ranking continued, there was a high chance people would start getting legitimately curious about my family background.
The higher the rank, the more attention from the public—meaning greater interest in "Won Yuha."
'And that'll eventually turn into people digging into my past.'
Whether out of genuine concern or twisted curiosity, someone would definitely try to dig.
Fortunately, since I dropped out of high school, the only people who know me even a little are fellow trainees.
Before joining the agency, back in middle school, my parents' business collapsed and we were constantly moving from place to place, so no one remembers me well anyway.
'The past…'
…There aren't many people who know me well. And even the ones who do—I'm no longer in contact with them.
"..."
Even if my family background is revealed, it won't harm me immediately. It might even spark sympathy. Probably good for votes too.
But a tragic backstory is a double-edged sword.
'Recognition gained that way is likely to cause controversy later.'
People might say things like: We supported him because we felt bad, so why is his personality like this? Or, What kind of family did he come from? It could lead to excessive invasions of privacy fueled by a one-sided sense of betrayal. Exactly the outcome I want to avoid.
So for now, all I could hope for was for my screen time to decrease going forward.
'The major-agency hardworking character has already been used enough. From here on, they'll want to spotlight more interesting dynamics.'
If I continued acting the same way as before, my individual screen time would naturally decrease as the episodes went on. That was all I could rely on now.
"Ah, um…"
"…Yeah."
I was in the middle of those thoughts.
A sigh from somewhere brought me back to reality, and I lifted my head. The trainees who had been walking out of the set were now split into two groups.
One group was heading toward the bus that would take them to the dorms for training camp for the 2nd mission. The other group—
"…Thank you all for your hard work."
—were the trainees who would be leaving
"..."
No program ever proceeds in a perfectly "fair" structure.
Characters, story arcs, and screen time that were never evenly distributed from the start. All these things were adjusted according to others' gains and losses, regardless of the trainees' real personalities, will, or passion.
Thinking about how I, one of the beneficiaries, was trying to figure out how to lower my ranking—maybe that was hypocrisy.
But I was just as desperate.
'…Everyone has at least one thing they don't want to give up.'
Thinking so, I quietly watched the departing trainees. Soon after, I followed the others onto the bus.
***
"Hello,
After one night passed, the day marking the start of the 2nd mission finally arrived. The trainees, already changed into their practice clothes, gathered in the auditorium and looked at the MC with tense expressions.
Behind the MC, a partition wall had been set up, and it wasn't hard for me—or the others—to guess what was hanging behind it.
'The 2nd mission… I think there were five competition songs?'
I jogged my blurry memory about the 2nd mission. Six trainees would form a team, making a total of ten teams, and these ten teams were paired into five matchups. Each pair battled over one designated song.
Up to this point, it was a typical survival show structure. But despite avoiding
'
A.Net's survival shows always got cursed at by viewers, but regarding the 2nd mission, the backlash was particularly intense.
There must have been issues with the mission and the overall format. The complaints were so widespread that even I, who was trying to avoid any news about Kim Mingi, eventually heard about it.
'What was it again?'
I was trying to recall the theme of the controversial mission when—
"The 2nd mission is the Reverse & Drop Battle."
The MC announced the mission theme before I could remember, pulling me out of my thoughts.
"Reverse…?"
"What's a drop?"
The trainees murmured at the mission title, unable to tell what kind of battle it represented. Responding to the crowd's reaction, the MC pointed to the screen, and soon the names of the 60 remaining trainees appeared.
"The 60 trainees will form teams of six. There are a total of five mission songs, and the ten teams will pair up—two teams per song—to battle and determine winners and losers. And next—"
The MC fell silent for a moment to build tension, saying exactly the information I already knew.
Once the room grew quiet as well, the MC spoke in a solemn voice, and the trainees couldn't help but gasp.
"Among the winners and losers, the entire losing team will be dropped—meaning… eliminated."
"...!"
"Huh…!"
It was a mission that, depending on how you looked at it, could be considered fair—or unbelievably unfair.
'Ah, right. The collective responsibility mission.'
Only then did I remember why the 2nd mission had been so heavily criticized by idol-maker communities.
"Before appearing on
Collective responsibility missions themselves weren't that rare. What made
"However, half of each team—that is, three members—will have to take a different position than the one they requested. And both the team compositions and the reverse positions will be chosen randomly."
It was a mission structured in a way that could only be explained by heavy intervention from the production staff.
As soon as the MC finished speaking, the trainees began murmuring again.
"So… that means the teams come fully predetermined this time? Even the reverse positions are already decided?"
"Ah, that's…"
A trainee tried to reply but trailed off. I finished the thought he couldn't say out loud.
'They're basically saying they're going to manipulate the teams openly.'
After the Catch Talent manipulation scandal three years ago—the survival show Kang Hyunjin participated in—A.Net was no longer able to manipulate votes. So this was the structure they devised to highlight the dynamics and characters they wanted to show.
'This kind of setup causes noise and criticism, sure, but they can always cover it by saying it was all "random."'
So even though the mission was criticized, A.Net continued airing
'It even became noise marketing, which increased viewership.'
The broadcasting station had nothing to lose. And they did have a countermeasure prepared.
"Ah… reverse positions in a collective mission? I've never even rapped before."
"So I have a 50% chance of getting assigned to reverse? Ugh… my heart is going to explode."
The feelings of the trainees who had to participate in this setup were another matter entirely.
'And… if that's the case, I don't know what'll happen to me either.'
I didn't know what kind of dynamic or performance the producers wanted to craft using "Won Yuha," but collective responsibility missions carried high risk. No matter how well you did individually, if your team didn't support you, you'd end up eliminated.
So the most important thing right now was the team composition. That would tell me how the producers intended to use me going forward.
'Will I be placed in a team with an obvious agenda? Or in a "drained" team they no longer care to use—maybe even planning for my elimination?'
That was what I needed to confirm. And the team lineup this time would literally decide my fate.
"We will now reveal the team compositions and reverse position members."
With the MC's announcement, the names of the team members appeared on the screen. All the trainees stared intently, and soon voices filled with sighs and shock echoed throughout the hall.
As some sighed with relief and others trembled in fear, everyone searched for their own roles and the teammates they would face the 2nd mission with. I scanned the screen quickly as well.
'…Damn it.'
And I could only swallow a curse inside.
「Team 4: Do Ji-hyuk (A), Yoo Minseong (D), Won Yuha (A), Yoo Chan-hee (A), Cheon Serim (A), Hwang young-oh (F)」
Reverse Position Members:
• Won Yuha (Main Vocal → Main Rapper, Main Dancer)
• Yoo Chan-hee (Main Rapper → Main Vocal or Sub Vocal 1)
• Do Ji-hyuk (Main Dancer → Main Vocal or Sub Rapper 1)
…It was an unmistakably intentional, absolutely unwanted team composition laid out right before my eyes.
And in a very bad way.
"…Wow. Live or die, huh."
Even Cheon Serim, watching the screen next to me, wore a rare expression of shock as she tried to maintain a stiff smile.
I had no words—not even a reaction—to give back, so I just stared blankly at the screen.
Ding-dong!
"...!"
With a familiar sound effect, the system window I hadn't seen in a while appeared before me.
And I immediately understood why my vision swayed.
『Main Quest: The Debut Chair of
You have taken a debut-chair seat in the 1st ranking announcement of
Maintain the blue chair until the 3rd ranking announcement—the gateway to the Final—and achieve a successful debut.
Success Condition: Maintain debut rank (Top 10) until
Success Reward: Luck +50, Random Stat Unlock
※ However, if you voluntarily withdraw, a double penalty will be applied.
Failure Penalty: Luck –100
Luck: 30
※ If Luck reaches 0, "Won Yuha" will die.
…Because the system had placed me into a literal life-or-death battle.
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