The ranking announcement continued.
The MC revealed the four contenders for first place among the forty-five trainees whose names had yet to be called.
In truth, there was no need to reveal them.
The four were far too obvious.
Eun Sera of JS.
Gong Chaerin of Zy.
Jeon Harang of Haru.
And our very own Lee Dohee of Top East.
The screen showed each of the four trainees in a four-way split screen.
Beneath each trainee was the rank they expected to receive.
You might have expected at least one of them to write a modest rank out of consideration for the viewers, but every single one of them had written “1st.”
Four trainees overflowing with self-love—or confidence.
Of course, Jeong Sohyeon was confident too.
Even among trainees like them, Dohee was more than capable of taking first place.
It wasn’t simply because of her outstanding looks.
Dohee had the star quality to make those looks shine.
And that star quality was something Jeong Sohyeon had known ever since the day she first saw Dohee, eleven years younger than her.
Just as Jeong Sohyeon had expected, the trainee called first for fourth place was Gong Chaerin.
For once, Lee Dohee rose from her seat, hugged Gong Chaerin, and offered her a perfectly normal congratulation.
I’d been holding my breath, afraid she might clap and cheer like she had for Kim Seoyun...
At least I could breathe a little easier.
‘We’ve beaten Zy, for now.’
Jeong Sohyeon clenched her fists tightly.
The Big Four agencies had enormous concrete fandoms that would vote for their trainees simply because they belonged to those agencies, regardless of the individual member.
The image of having defeated those Big Four agencies would help Dohee considerably as she pursued her life as a girl-group member.
After the announcement of third place, at last, only first place remained.
The two trainees who had yet to take their places on the ranking platform were Lee Dohee and Eun Sera.
[Now, only two candidates for the final first-place position remain. Trainee Eun Sera of JS and trainee Lee Dohee of Top East, please come up to the platforms.]
To the applause of the trainees, the two trainees climbed onto the two platforms prepared on the stage.
[These are two trainees with exceptionally dazzling looks. Yes, two trainees who are impossible to rank above or below one another have taken the platforms.]
[First, trainee Eun Sera of JS.]
The screen showed cuts from Eun Sera’s stages, from the first grade evaluation to the first competition.
[Trainee Eun Sera earned tremendous support with her outstanding vocal skills, which captivated the ears of the Chusers from the very first grade evaluation all the way through the team random battle. And trainee Lee Dohee.]
This time, the screen showed cuts from Dohee’s stages.
[Trainee Lee Dohee of Top East received great love from the Chusers by demonstrating all-around abilities worthy of the title-track center.]
[Then, without further delay, I’ll announce the results right now.]
[First place is...!]
[Trainee Lee Dohee of Top East.]
Lee Dohee’s eyes went round on the screen.
[How would you feel if I said that, trainee Lee Dohee?]
[Yes...?]
Dohee stared at the MC with a blank, dumbfounded expression, as if she couldn’t believe what she was hearing.
‘Ah... Please, Dohee, control your expression...’
[Hahaha, you were so tense that I thought I’d play a little prank! How did that feel just now?]
After teasing the trainees and dragging things out for five whole minutes, the MC finally put on a serious expression.
[All right! Now... I’ll really announce it. The first ranking announcement ceremony. The trainee who will claim the honor of being the very first first-place winner is...!]
***
After the ranking announcement ceremony ended and a brief farewell party was held for the eliminated trainees.
The fifty-nine surviving trainees had to change into identical practice outfits and prepare without a moment’s rest to film the second mission.
“Trainee Lee Dohee! Come and get this~”
The production staff handed me a new name tag with my rank printed on it.
I attached it to the T-shirt I had changed into.
The rank written on my name tag was—
‘Second place.’
Haa... Honestly, I had a feeling this would happen.
Sera unnie had taken first place in the first ranking announcement, proving that her nickname of “the first-place candidate” wasn’t an empty reputation.
On top of the countless concrete fans JS had accumulated, she also had the fandom she’d built during her time as a public trainee.
Looks that even I had to acknowledge.
And above all, outstanding vocal skills.
Today, more than ever, I regretted the lack of progress in my vocal technique.
For a moment, I even wondered if I should really push the aegyo concept all the way.
Of course, after condensing the thought into, “It wouldn’t be fun if I took first place too easily,” I forcefully buried the sly whisper in one corner of my heart insisting that if I wanted to take first place, aegyo was the answer.
Meanwhile, Kim Seoyun came out after changing into her practice clothes.
Despite having lost to me, she was looking at me with a silly grin, as though she were pleased.
“What? Why are you laughing?”
“I’m laughing because our maknae is so cute. Is unnie not allowed to do that?”
How annoying.
“...Then go ahead.”
There was no point in engaging with her. It would only tire me out.
“Ah~ I want to see Dohee’s ranking announcement speech again~ I want to see it lots and lots~”
“Oh, come on!”
-...I’m truly grateful to all the Chusers who gave me their votes, and I’ll work hard to become a Lee Dohee who can show you even more wonderful performances!
-Oh, wonderful! Then, one final time, as trainee Lee Dohee already knows, the aegyo trainee Lee Dohee showed during the center selection was a huge hit~ For the Chusers who voted for trainee Lee Dohee this time, please show us your aegyo one more time!
-...
-...Chusers! Dohee will work hard, so please pick me lots and lots! I love you~
-Hahaha, how utterly lovable and adorable!
“...I couldn’t help it back then.”
Damn it, they were practically ordering me to do it. It wasn’t as though I could refuse.
Kim Seoyun pinched and stretched my cheek as she spoke.
“Who said anything? I’m just saying our maknae is so lovable and adorable.”
“...Kim Seoyun, fifth place.”
“Yes, and next up is Lee Dohee, second place~”
Tch... Next time, I’m taking first place.
***
“As of today, all trainees’ votes will be reset! And trainees ranked first through twenty-fourth will survive, while those ranked twenty-fifth through fifty-ninth will be eliminated.”
“Now, we’ll reveal the second competition mission that will determine who passes and who is eliminated!”
With the MC’s booming voice, the curtain dropped.
Once the curtain fell, three panels were revealed.
Four placards hung on each of the three panels, each displaying information about a song.
Twelve song titles.
The number of members for each song, ranging from four to six.
And the desired positions.
The contestants gasped when they saw whether there was a song they wanted, then voiced their confusion at the unfamiliar position names, which were notably different from those in Seasons One and Two.
“Yes, this mission is the Dual-Position Battle! As the name suggests, this is a mission in which you’ll take on not one, but two positions!”
Four vocal-and-dance songs.
Four rap-and-dance songs.
Four rap-and-vocal songs.
Those were the positions written on the placards.
“First, the vocal-and-dance position! Through rearrangement and choreography creation, contestants must show us who they are.”
“Second is the vocal-and-rap position. Through rearrangement, alluring vocals, and rap-making, you must present us with a brand-new rap performance.”
“Finally, the rap-and-dance position. You must demonstrate your abilities through rap-making and choreography creation.”
Up through Season Two, contestants had created performances for a single position. Now, it seemed they had changed it to two positions.
Which meant creating the performances would take even longer than before.
There were roughly two weeks left until the second competition.
Once again, it seemed the production staff intended to run the contestants ragged on a tight schedule.
As a result, the contestants were already sighing from all around us.
“Haa...”
I sighed too.
Doa... Unnie probably won’t be able to sleep again this time...
Last time, I’d gotten a nosebleed from practicing without sleeping, and it had been quite a struggle...
I’d seen her just yesterday, but I missed Doa again already...
“This evaluation also comes with a reward. According to the on-site voting results, the first-place team in each position will receive votes multiplied by one hundred, while the trainee who ranks first overall within their position will receive one hundred thousand votes.”
The contestants began murmuring.
This time, I was aiming for the one hundred thousand votes too.
If I received them, I’d have more than enough to overtake Sera unnie.
“Then I should explain how you’ll choose your songs, right?”
Please let us choose this time...
“All right, the method is simple! Starting with trainee Yang Hyerim, ranked fifty-ninth, the lowest-ranked trainee, you’ll choose your desired position and song in order.”
“But! If a song is already full and there are additional trainees who want to join it, the lowest-ranked trainee in that song must move to another one.”
The contestants reacted in different ways.
“Huh? So it’s a push-out system?”
Some of the higher-ranked trainees couldn’t openly celebrate, but inwardly welcomed the system.
“Ah... Why did it have to be this way...”
Others, whose low rankings had left them thoroughly dejected, reacted with despair.
As for me—
‘The production staff have finally gotten their heads on straight.’
That was what I thought.
For someone ranked second, it meant a free pass.
“All right, trainee Yang Hyerim, ranked fifty-ninth, will start now!”
The trainees proceeded in reverse order, choosing either the songs they wanted or songs they were unlikely to be pushed out of and could at least manage to perform.
Then, at last, it was my turn.
Following the path, I headed toward the vocal-and-rap position panel.
The expressions of the trainees who had chosen that panel stiffened.
The song I chose was “FATAL” by Q2, with room for four members.
By joining, I inevitably had to call out the name of the lowest-ranked trainee and push her out.
“Oh, trainee Lee Dohee, you’ve chosen a very unexpected song.”
The MC spoke as though he were puzzled.
It was understandable. I had clearly been branded with a cute image.
But that was precisely why this was the song I wanted most.
“FATAL,” as its title suggested, was a mature song expressing an intense attraction toward the opposite sex.
More than anything, it was a song by a male idol group famous for its masculinity.
It was the song I could express best, and the one most effective for changing my image.
‘The only problem is...’
Two of the three members standing before me were ranked near the very top.
Unnie Kwon Hana, ranked seventh, and unnie Jeon Harang, ranked third.
A so-called super team had been born.
We had to perform exceptionally well.
Our team’s expectations had risen as much as our chances of taking first place in the competition had improved.
I knew there was a great deal of appeal in girls covering a male song, but I hadn’t expected this many people to come.
“Trainee Eun Sera, please come forward!”
As I pictured our competition performance, Sera unnie, the final person with the right to choose, began walking.
Was it my imagination that our eyes met?
Sera unnie was looking at me with a smile in her eyes.