After Kim Chunyong's shocking performance and evaluation, the competition continued.
The atmosphere was a bit intimidating, perhaps due to Min Si-young's threat that she would "not give any points to trainees who use tricks," but there were definitely trainees who showed off their skills.
"Just by looking at that face, I thought, 'Ah, this kid's going to debut.' Who would disagree with that? For idols, beauty is a weapon, a weapon."
A true and worthy trainee who received such great reviews from 'that' Moon Yoon-ha.
"Thank you. I will become a more hard-working Son Jae-ha!"
AG's ace, Son Jae-ha.
"You wrote all the rap lyrics yourself? You even made the beat? ...This is something."
"Hehe, thank you!"
Ji Hwa-seong, who caught Na Ji-hyeok's attention with him rapping over a beat that was barely audible.
"17? That's the same age as my youngest brother. He's playing games at home right now, but this 17-year-old here is directing the stage. As expected, like older brother, like younger brother."
"I will work harder…"
Jang Si-woo, who appealed with a pretty good stage composition at a young age.
"The dance is... true to the basics. Not as good as some, though."
"Thank you."
Liu Wei, the first Chinese trainee from AG to elicit a reaction from Jin Dasol since Kim Chunyong.
And....
"Hmm? Are you British?"
In response to Na Ji-hyeok's surprised reaction while looking through the personal information, the trainee holding the guitar in the middle of the stage answered passively.
"Oh, yes. I'm, uh. I'm from Liverpool."
Logan Lee from Liverpool, England.
Korean name, Lee Logan.
Na Ji-hyeok, who pictured a kind, large dog in Logan, who had round, delicate features and a gentle, kind smile on his face, smiled happily and attempted some small talk with Logan using the information he knew.
"Wow. That's the city where the soccer team Liverpool is, right? Is trainee Logan a Liverpool fan too? I know their cheer song."
For a moment, Logan's face hardened strangely.
"God, No. I-I'm an Everton FC supporter..."
You're asking if I'm a fan of a rival team.
Na Ji-hyeok, who had been watching overseas soccer quite a bit, cleared his throat urgently because he knew what that meant to the British people.
"Ahem. Sorry, sorry."
"Um, Wow! Anyway, I'll play you a song. It's a song I made, and the title... doesn't exist yet. You can come up with it later."
After Na Ji-hyeok's small embarrassment, Logan cheerfully started singing his own song.
"...This is my own composition."
It was a dark horse that even drew praise from the picky Min Si-young.
Min Si-young, who bit the end of her pen and held the microphone in her hand, had a brighter expression than usual.
"I can't believe it. It's like you stole a famous song from somewhere. Oh, it's a compliment, so don't make such a sad face."
"Holy! No, oh. Thank you."
"Of course, I think you'll need to practice your Korean a bit more... but I still thought it was really good. I think you'll be even better when I see you dance. That's all for my evaluation."
"Ah, I want to hear the Liverpool anthem next time..."
"No! Never! Never! This is too much of a joke!"
"...Wow, that's cute."
After that, various performers appeared.
Seong Won-hyeop, who has been a trainee for quite some time at another large agency, Ahn Jin-woo, another pureblood from AG, and Tsubasa, who came from Japan after working as an underground idol.
And so, all the performers' performances ended.
The time has finally come to announce the rankings.
All the trainees gathered in the center of the stage, and Choi Ga-on began to read the cue sheet with a face that was even more nervous than the contestants.
"Soon, your rankings will appear on the screen behind you. Before that, let's hear from the mentors who gave us their fair evaluations."
Min Si-young, whose face was very tired from the long filming, grabbed the microphone and looked at each trainee one by one.
"I enjoyed the stage everyone prepared. As I said before..."
And when she saw Kim Chunyong, her eyes became sharper.
"I evaluated it 'fairly'. I want to make this point clear."
"Ha, haha! Yes, that's right. They are the best mentors currently active in their respective fields. How could it not be fair?"
Choi Ga-on, who quickly caught onto Min Si-young's words, looked at the prompter and blinked.
"Then, to all of you Star Shooters and trainees who are watching all of this, I will briefly explain the 'scoring system' of 〈Targeting Star〉 once more."
To summarize Choi Ga-on's words, it was like this.
The basic rankings for the next competition will be determined based on the scores given by each mentor today.
Afterwards, the top six contestants with the highest combined audience scores, online voting, and some sort of 'mission score' will debut.
"Yes, it seems simple, but it's a scoring system that requires a lot of thought! The 'mission score' part is particularly interesting."
After finishing his explanation, Choi Ga-on rubbed his forehead and spoke loudly.
"Now, let's check the long-awaited basic rankings. Show me the rankings!"
"...hghh."
At that moment, goosebumps appeared on the arms of all the trainees who were watching the screen.
* * *
Immediately after the first shooting, main writer Lee Hyeon-jeong called each trainee into a private interview room.
The first question she asked was,
"How do you feel about receiving this ranking certificate?"
It was about their feelings after receiving the mentor evaluation.
And so, the reactions of all 18 trainees were different.
"I think I received 11th place because I wasn't able to fully demonstrate my skills. I don't normally perform like this... I will become a better Kim Joo-an. Please cheer me on!"
"Well, 13th place isn't exactly a good place, but... it's still a basic ranking. I want to work harder and move up."
Some people give a orthodox answer.
"Oh, my nickname in college was 'The One Who Lays the Floor'. So I'm so grateful you gave me 12th place. Since I wasn't at the bottom, I don't have to retake the course. I hate retaking courses. Not here, not in college."
There are people who answer cheerfully even when they are of lower rank.
"So, um. 7th place is good. It's perfect for the center. I think I'll do even better next time! Dance Practice. I'll work hard, so please watch over me."
There were also answers that first revealed anticipation for the next stage.
"I can't stand it."
"---yes?"
"Liu Wei is in second place and I'm in 18th. Fundamentally, there's no difference between Liu Wei and me."
"Ah, ah. Is that so..."
And Gao Yan, the individual trainee who received the lowest rank, who came on stage without any preparation.
'Even though he doesn't have any skills, he's quite handsome, and it says that he's good at attracting attention, so I passed him because I was going to use him as a booster... but it's better than I imagined.'
Sweat poured down her face as Hyeon-Jeong, who was confronted with the passionate Gao Yan from all the way at Hong Kong, quickly changed the subject.
"...We've heard about trainee Gao Yan's aspirations. Now, let's change the question. Are you ready to answer?"
"I am always ready."
"...you didn't prepare any accompaniment, anyway. Trainee Gao Yan."
There were many characters.
"Who was the most impressive trainee on this first stage?"
"Oh. Gao Yan is the most impressive, but as for the other trainees...."
The answer came quickly, and other trainees answered similarly to Gao Yan.
"First, second, and third, it's Jae-ha hyung."
Ji Hwa-seong, whose hair was dyed bright yellow, answered with a frown.
It was the expression Ji Hwa-seong made when he saw something too great.
"He's already good, but he was even better today. When you're nervous, you can't show off your skills well, right? So he doubled his effort. I've been watching him for five years... I was really surprised today."
"As expected, AG's ace is different, isn't he?"
"There's no need to say it twice. I think everyone else has mentioned Jae-ha hyung too. He's number one... so it's only natural, right?"
Hyeon-Jeong felt the editing angle and answered Hwa-seong's question with a smirk.
"Of course, trainee Son Jae-ha is talked about a lot...."
"...but?"
"There is another name that has come up. I think trainee Ji Hwa-seong knows it too. Trainee Son Jae-ha also mentioned this name."
"Jae-ha hyung did? Who's the other trainee?"
Ji Hwa-seong, slightly flustered, held his chin and thought for a moment.
Someone else besides his hyung? Someone else?
Who the hell is it...?
Ah.
"I was most impressed by trainee Kim Chunyong…"
Son Jae-ha answered with a smile on his face.
"Everyone gets nervous on stage, right? I was incredibly nervous, too. But trainee Kim Chunyong didn't seem nervous at all. If it were me, I probably would've fallen over trying to put my microphone on the stand."
There was no hesitation in Son Jae-ha's words about Kim Chunyong's stage.
"So, honestly, I was disappointed that trainee Kim Chun-yong received 6th place."
"Oh, that's a very bold answer. Does that mean he should have received a high ranking, like trainee Son Jae-ha?"
"Uhm, if I say it like that, it might sound like I'm blaming my mentors... I didn't mean it that way. It's just that the performance left a good impact."
Son Jae-ha, with an embarrassed expression, turned his gaze to the camera with its red light blinking.
A strange light flashed in his black eyes.
"...Anyway, I want to watch the next stage too."
* * *
"...And next time, I'll strive to present a performance that leaves no room for disagreement. Everyone, please remember me, the dragon of spring, Chunyong!"
"Cut! I heard you well, trainee Kim Chunyong. Then, later..."
Poof!
An overly cutesy notification sound rang, and the main writer paused. Unable to hide my panic, I quickly shouted at the writer.
"Later. Writer-nim. Later! Can I answer this call? Excuse me."
"Uh, huh? Well, if it's important, you may go..."
"Thank you!"
As soon as I confirmed that the camera was off. I hurried out of the private interview room and to the empty bathroom.
Then I entered a stall and quickly typed a message into my phone, which was ringing nonstop.
It was a conversation window with X.
- Kim Chunyong: Don't you know about timing?
- Kim Chunyong: What if you keep sending messages throughout the interview?
As if he had been waiting, X replied in just 3 seconds.
- X: If you get a reward, you should just bang your head and say "Thank you~" You're really ungrateful
- X: Well anyway... I know you really had a plan haha
- X: You are a really strange contractor ;; I mean good
- X: Anyway, check your notifications ㅋㅋㅋ You must have received a lot of good news, right? ㅋㅋㅋㅋ
"Even though I have the notifications turned off, the sound is still…!"
I was disgusted by X's tyranny, but I did as I was told and clicked on the gift box icon that appeared at the top of the notification window. Then, several notification windows appeared, filling the entire phone screen.
[Illustrated Guide: Recognition of a Master in a Field
What a rookie idol trainee needs to make a name for themselves is the recognition of other talented individuals. These talented individuals will stop at nothing to scout you. Let's break through the cracks and become a great idol!
Collection Reward:
[Sudden Mission Success!
[Illustrated Guide: Memories of the First Stage
You placed 6th on the first stage of the grueling idol survival show. It would've been nice to have received a higher ranking, but things in life aren't always so easy. Let's work harder next time and achieve first place!
Collection Reward:
"Overwhelming opponent, 6th place will… so there's things like these."
I sighed and stuffed my phone back into my pocket. I could check the skills later, after all.
And I still don't really feel like it's actually helping.
Anyway, what's important now is....
<6th place Kim Chun-yong>
The fact was that I, who'd barely managed to get 10th place in my previous life, had now come in 6th place.
6th place. What kind of ranking is 6th place? Isn't it the ranking that everyone desperately wants to get, the one that's barely hanging onto the debut lineup?
"...Phew."
I had to cover my mouth and take several deep breaths to calm my nausea. My body, overloaded with tension, was screaming at me to die.
Wow, what a relief! I'm already relaxed after doing so well.
Nothing was over yet. I laughed in disbelief.
It's only the first stage, and what's more, the mentor evaluations haven't even reached the top.
"I have to do better. More."
I brainwashed myself and walked back into the hallway.
There are dozens more mountains to climb ahead.
I had to prepare my mind.