- DEAR DOLL, stop rigging! Stop forcing the narrative!
- LOL seriously know when to join in or back off;; Why are you overreacting and trying to steal the focus from the other kids? LOL Do you want to take everything away from them that badly?
- Watching this stage, I'm even more convinced. DEAR DOLL and A-Net are definitely pushing Karma and Won Yuha and manipulating everything. They should stop. Don't keep acting in ways that make people frown.
- I heard that on Catch Talent, they told the pre-decided top-rankers about the mission early and had them practice beforehand. Looks like they're doing it again LOL A-Net never changes.
- Yuha… do you want to be first that badly?
"Our kids were bashed like this too."
The high school fan turned off MiTube, feeling unsettled.
The idol group she supported, C.X, had also been formed through a survival program led by their agency, similar to DEAR DOLL.
Back then, when she was still in elementary school, she had supported a trainee with a relatively short training period. Whenever that trainee placed high on the show, she had to face malicious comments accusing her of rigging or having connections with the higher-ups.
Because she had thrown herself into supporting her favorite C.X member so fervently, the hate comments toward DEAR DOLL and Won Yuha didn't feel like someone else's problem.
After thinking for a moment, the high school fan opened the Whisper app and searched for Won Yuha. She wanted to see how existing K-POP fans were reacting.
When she typed in his full name, she found reactions from idol makers who had seen the stage, as well as K-POP fans watching the broadcast.
Thankfully, the main reactions weren't bad.
- This "Key to My Heart" stage is going to be an all-time legend. Honestly, Yuha was the best among them.
- (Clip) I keep replaying this part.. Yuha's expression shift is insane. How is that level of expressiveness even possible ㅠㅠ
- Honestly I was shocked by Yuha this time; at first I wondered if he wasn't way too weak for someone from Karma with 5 years of training, but he hit his highest score this round.. How does he change like this every mission??
- How many times am I watching "Key to My Heart".. Everyone did great but Yuha left the strongest impression.. He might obviously be lacking compared to original rap-position trainees, but he didn't fall behindㅠ And he made up for weaker skills with expressiveness, so he really leaves an imprint in your memory.
- I randomly watched MiTube and got hypnotized by Yuha's fancam, ended up making an account.
"If I search the anti-search spellings (for avoiding search blocks), I'd get the real reactions, but whatever."
Shady opinions that weren't bold enough to use his name aside, the visible public reaction was favorable.
Of course, this overwhelmingly positive reaction was partly thanks to Smingdan, Yuha's fandom.
- Honestly, first place has to be Won Yuha. Even without the rose-tinted fan lenses, there's literally no one above him... Smingdan, let's work hard—let's debut our kid so we can really stream!
- One person who likes 'Key to My Heart' + proves their Yuha vote will get a Honey Rice Cake Chicken gift card! Genius idol Won Yuha, let's debut him!
- Please vote ♥Won Yuha♥ for 'Key to My Heart.' The best leader chosen by the trainees. A growth-type character who rose from D to A. The main vocal that Karma raised, the guaranteed center, Won Yuha.
"Smingdan" was a name derived from Yuha's catchphrase "repetition practice" when he served as D-class leader in DEAR DOLL. Within the trainee fandom, they were known for extremely strong firepower.
But that firepower didn't always work in a good way.
- Honestly, shouldn't there be a penalty for that j.d.y kid who kept their rap position? I get annoyed every time I see them cling to Yuha LOL I hope they get eliminated so those two won't be stuck together anymoreㅎ
- This round's 1st place is unconditionally Won Yuha (fire emoji) Destroy them LOL That background kid had nothing to show, seeing them at 1st was so annoying
- LOL I don't care if it's rigged or not~ If you're salty, then join Karma like Yuhaㅎㅎ Isn't it your fault for stanning X-company trainees?ㅠㅠ Sorry, we're from a big company so we get these supports~ So what?? If you're jealous, go stan big companies too LOL While you losers rage, we'll debut~^^
Because the fandom was huge, there were plenty of "akgaes" (toxic solo fans).
On top of that, many casual fans had joined because of Yuha's high rankings, making the internal atmosphere much more chaotic compared to other fandoms.
As a result, Yuha's fans didn't have the best image among trainee fandoms. They often caused fights and stirred up drama with other trainees' fans while claiming to support Yuha.
They wanted him to debut, but didn't seem interested in protecting his reputation. Their firepower was strong, but their core loyalty was weak—many looked ready to leave the moment something displeased them.
This kind of fandom climate might help with immediate voting, but long-term, it didn't seem good for Yuha as an individual trainee.
Still, it was somewhat relieving that many new fans appeared to be joining after this performance, suggesting the fandom atmosphere might undergo a bit of a cleanse.
The high school fan watched uneasily as various people chattered on about Yuha, then fixed her eyes on a newly uploaded post.
- OMG! Emergency! "Key to My Heart" just hit MiTube real-time #2 ㅠㅠㅠㅠ Yuha, let's get first place!!!
- Crazy, OKD BYH posted Yuha's fancam on his Stargram
OKD Baek I-hyeon?
Recognizing the group and name easily from the initials, the high school fan grew curious and opened Baek I-hyeon's Stargram.
Baek I-hyeon was a member of OKID, the original artist of "same and different," the performance song for "Key to My Heart." Recently he had been focusing more on acting than group activities, becoming a top-tier celebrity with high buzz due to starring in major films and dramas over the past two years and winning rookie awards.
A rapper and center, hugely popular.
And he had mentioned the "Key to My Heart" performance.
On his feed was the "Key to My Heart" performance video—and a giant thumbnail with Won Yuha's face from his fancam.
"It was an overwhelming performance. I support the 'Key to My Heart' team, who brought out a fresh charm in our song, and trainee Won Yuha, who showed an amazing rap.
I hope your efforts bear fruit and that you can achieve your dream of debuting. (smile emoji)"
Only then did the high school fan understand why "Key to My Heart" had climbed the real-time MiTube rankings.
The performance itself had buzz, but Baek I-hyeon—OKID's most popular member—posting about it had become the perfect promotional push.
"The timing is insanely good."
Today was the final day of voting, and the performance had just surged in trending—no need to worry about votes.
"..."
But remembering all the hate comments she saw under the video, the high school fan hesitated.
In the end, she went back to the group video and pressed "Like."
And whispered a justification no one had asked for, only in her heart.
'…It doesn't seem rigged.'
Then he should get the reward he worked for...
With that thought, the high school fan sat down, put her phone in the desk drawer, and focused on class.
And yet, every time she had a spare moment, she found herself rewatching clips from previous episodes of DEAR DOLLl. By that night, she had ended up making a Whisper account, following Won Yuha's fansite master, and voting for all the "Key to My Heart" team members—starting with Won Yuha.
And then she heard something unexpected.
- They say Won Yuha collapsed right after finishing the performance on the day of the evaluation. He's in the hospital right now.
It was the news that her new bias had been hospitalized—heard at the exact moment she'd fallen for him.
***
I thought I was going to die.
"…Ha."
My whole body felt like it was crushed under a block of solid metal. Even after waking up, there was no sense of comfort. I stared blankly at the ceiling for a moment before barely dragging myself upright.
The moment I sat up, my head spun violently. I froze in place, then tried to steady my blurry vision as I looked around.
'…A hospital?'
The unexpected scenery made me freeze.
—Good work, everyone…
—Huh?
—H-Hyung!
The last thing I remembered was coming down from the stage after the performance, the world spinning, and then my vision going totally black.
Everything after that was vague.
I vaguely felt like I was being carried somewhere, heard people moving around… something like that...
'Guess I just blacked out.'
It seemed I'd collapsed right after the performance and lost consciousness. After that, they must've taken me from the filming site straight to the hospital.
The reason wasn't too hard to guess. The effect of the calming medicine had probably completely worn off right after the stage, and after failing to rest properly throughout the entire dorm period, my body must've simply given out.
'…They must've panicked.'
Remembering the shocked faces of my teammates looking at me beyond my fading vision, I grabbed the phone placed on the bedside table.
Then I checked the date—and froze.
'What? The battle results… aren't they already over?'
It had already been four days since I'd fainted.
The performance videos were supposed to be uploaded to MiTube and the program site right after the evaluation. After two days of public voting, the on-site votes and public evaluation would be combined to determine the final battle results.
So trainees were supposed to gather at the filming site three days after the performance to hear the final evaluation.
But I hadn't even attended the shoot, let alone heard the results.
"Damn it."
The voting results wouldn't be disclosed until broadcast. Meaning I would need to hear what happened from another contestant.
After drinking from a plastic bottle someone had placed on the drawer, I grabbed my phone and called one of the trainees whose number I had saved earlier.
After a few rings, a surprised voice answered.
[Hello? Hyung, are you okay?]
"Yeah. Can you talk right now?"
It was Cheon Serim, a teammate of mine who had exchanged numbers with me during the grade evaluation.
Even Serim—who was usually unshakably calm—must've been shocked by my collapse, because he asked in a worried voice:
[Of course. Are you feeling okay? You didn't come to filming yesterday. The staff said you still hadn't woken up.]
"I'm fine. More importantly—what were the battle results?"
[…]
"Cheon Serim?"
His sudden silence made me tense.
'What? Did we lose?'
Joo Danwoo had revised the arrangement overall and taken the role of main rapper, and our team's situation was much better than it had been during the mid-evaluation. The team had felt the pressure too.
But I'd been confident that in terms of recognition and performance quality, our team was stronger.
"…Just tell me straight. Did we lose?"
[…]
"Cheon Serim."
[We…]
Serim, who had been silent, finally opened his mouth at my prompting.
And at that moment—
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