The set had been a sea of tears as everyone saw off the eliminated contestants, who now had to pack their things.
Since they couldn’t continue filming in such a heavy atmosphere, the dispirited survivors were given a short break, and the trainees joked around to pull themselves together.
By the time the redness around the contestants’ eyes had returned to normal, the MC who would proceed with filming entered.
“All right! Congratulations to the thirteen contestants who will be standing on the final live broadcast stage!”
Not only the contestants’ cheers, but the staff’s applause rang through the set as well.
Four months, over a hundred days of filming.
The shoot was nearing its end.
“Now, the only thing left is your final debut evaluation, right!?”
Following a familiar flow, the composer’s figure appeared on the electronic screen before us, along with flashing lights.
[Nice to meet you. I’m the composer note1.]
Along with the composer’s greeting, MVs of the songs his team had worked on until now passed across the screen.
Title tracks of popular idols.
The composers for the theme evaluation songs hadn’t exactly lacked name value either, but this composer was top-tier even among them.
Thanks to that, the contestants looked excited.
[The song we’ll be giving you for the debut evaluation is an up-tempo dance-pop track called “Rush to Flight”!]
-One step at a time, running forward
-Even if the road ahead is long, I’ll never stop
-The song that comforts me toward my dream
-Rush to flight, flying even higher
The debut evaluation songs were, quite literally, songs that would go into the debut album.
As expected from a composer they had spent a lot of money to bring in, it was a good song.
A song that could follow “I Fell for You,” currently sitting at number one on the charts.
It was the kind of song I found myself humming without realizing it.
“The song is seriously good!”
And, as expected of choreography made by top-tier industry choreographer Go Yunjung, the rhythmic yet cute moves were easy to follow while also bringing out the dancer’s charm.
Before long, the unnies were lightly following the choreography and humming along to the song.
[As you can tell from the title, it’s a song that cheers on the journey you’ve all run through in order to take flight.]
The song was lively, yet carried a strange atmosphere of a closing ceremony, with lyrics that seemed to offer comfort.
While the contestants were briefly swept up in emotion, the next composer’s face appeared on the screen.
This time, again, it was a top-tier composer.
[...The song we’ll be giving you is a funky K-pop track called “Surge and Dash.”]
-Surge and dash, riding the rapid current
-This feeling that can’t be stopped now
-Surge and dash, we’re running forward
-Together, all the way out there
As expected of a funky rhythm, it was an exciting song from the moment you heard it.
For this song as well, it was noticeable that the lyricist had included words that evoked “Charge 3”’s keywords of “charging toward the fans, running.”
And now, the familiar props were being brought onto the set.
Placards divided into “Rush to Flight” and “Surge and Dash.”
Stickers with each trainee’s face drawn on them.
And below each song, there were blank spaces for each part, from main vocal to sub-vocal and rapper.
A survival program’s time-honored tradition: pushing people out.
“‘Rush to Flight’ will have six members, and ‘Surge and Dash’ will have seven. Since ‘Rush to Flight’ has six members, you’ll be able to receive more parts, right? However! That also means there’s a higher chance you’ll be pushed out of Team 1!”
We were handed lyric sheets with each part separated.
We took a moment to think while listening to the songs playing, and then the MC began the proceedings.
“Then now! Starting with the lowest-ranked contestant, 13th place trainee Ahn Eunseo, you’ll come forward and place your sticker on the position you want!”
***
“Now, second place! Trainee Lee Dohee will place her sticker!”
I had thought about why I was always second.
I worked hard at everything, I had performed well on stage every time, and on top of that, in the third competition, I was the number one visual pick who had even received the most votes in the individual voting.
I was good at studying, and I played the piano well too.
The other contestants were all formidable, each overflowing with their own charms.
Even with the votes being split, if you excluded the first-place benefits and looked only at pure votes, I had been first every time.
And yet, in competitions where on-site voting was everything, I had always failed to secure the first-place benefit and ended up second.
I could have satisfied myself with the “Pure Vote First Place Award.”
But I had always had an extremely high sense of self-esteem, and my ego, swollen from countless repetitions of taking first place since I was five years old, refused to allow that.
In my heart, I had even been keeping a record of all my first places...
‘Come to think of it, if I debut this time, I might not be able to take the midterms for the second semester.’
In any case, there was one thing people mentioned as lacking in me.
My vocal tone, which had been heavily criticized in the early part of Charge 3.
I had occasionally received comments that my tone was improving, but I had never yet been praised for my voice.
“Ah. Ah.”
A clearer vocal tone flowed out from my vocal cords.
In the middle of placing my sticker, I stopped and began warming up my throat.
The MC looked at me with a puzzled gaze.
“Hana unnie, I love you!”
I wasn’t sure if I could pull it off perfectly.
But, just like the lyrics of “Rush to Flight,” I trusted the process I had gone through.
I peeled off Hana unnie’s sticker from the main vocal part of “Rush to Flight.”
“Oh~”
“What the~~”
“Dohee?”
When I, who had always avoided the main vocal position, reached for the main vocal part, the reactions around me flinched in surprise.
“Ah, Lee Dohee!”
Hana unnie was... smiling.
‘Did I choose wrong...?’
Hana unnie is scarier when she smiles.
That person holds grudges for way too long.
But there was no taking back a move once made.
I quickly moved Hana unnie’s sticker to the empty Sub Vocal 4 spot, then placed my own sticker on the main vocal part.
And finally, first-place Chaerin unnie placed her sticker on the empty rapper position in “Rush to Flight,” bringing the position assignment to an end.
***
Free practice before the full-fledged lesson.
Hana unnie was kindly? massaging my shoulders.
‘It hurts...’
“Ah~ what’s this~? I’m sure my rank is third... but my part is Sub Vocal 4~?”
Hana unnie spoke playfully.
Her hands, however, were anything but.
Since “Rush to Flight” was obviously the better song at a glance, the competition had been fierce.
Main Vocal — Lee Dohee
Sub Vocal 1 — Eun Sera
Sub Vocal 2 — Ahn Eunseo
Sub Vocal 3 — Kim Seoyun
Sub Vocal 4 — Kwon Hana
Rapper 1 — Gong Chaerin
Aside from Eunseo unnie, who had been the lowest rank but luckily managed to keep the Sub Vocal 2 position she chose at the start until the end, most of us had pushed someone out or been pushed out at least once.
“I only have four lines because of Sera too~?”
Kim Seoyun, who had been pushed out by fourth-place Sera unnie, whined.
In seasons 1 and 2, there had been people who only got one line, but everyone had gotten spoiled.
“Mm...”
Because of Kim Seoyun’s teasing, Sera unnie looked troubled and started fidgeting.
For Sera unnie’s sake, I decided to draw Kim Seoyun’s aggro.
“I have a lot, though~ I’m jeal... Ah, aaah... It hurts.”
I drew the wrong aggro.
Strength entered Hana unnie’s grip.
“No, but... four lines is enough, so... Ah, I was wrong, unnie!!”
I don’t think Hana unnie was joking.
***
Selecting the center for the debut evaluation song.
Normally, we would have voted on the spot and chosen one, but the center part on the final live broadcast stage was the opportunity to stand out the most, and the thing viewers were most interested in.
That was why the production team added a rule for this center selection.
All trainees would participate in the center selection, and the method would be a video evaluation, the same as during the tier readjustment.
Each contestant simply had to record a practice video of themselves standing at center and be evaluated.
Of course, there was only one chance.
However, while the trainers had done the evaluation back then, this time, the team members would personally evaluate and then vote.
We, Team “Rush to Flight,” also sat around a table in a dark room and began evaluating the videos playing on the screen in front of us.
-Chaerin is really refreshing, so she’s fun to watch.
-Yeah, Chaerin dances so well.
-It’s kind of like the lyrics, how should I put it, it really feels like she’s cheering us on? You can feel that.
If we only looked at dance, Chaerin unnie was the strongest candidate for center.
But the center part didn’t just require dancing; it also included the three killing-part lines of the chorus, so the vocalist part had to be handled as well.
Chaerin unnie was a rapper.
Her vocals were somewhat lacking.
-Hana unnie feels stable in both dancing and singing.
-Yeah, it feels like she really holds the center well.
Next was Hana unnie.
A solid, maxed-out hexagon type.
However, Hana unnie didn’t have the refreshing image that matched the song.
-Seoyun is so cute~
-Right, she suits the image so well!
-Hmm... Seoyun-nim is... unfortunately not my style... haha~
-You’re not my style either, okay?
-Ahem, you two from Top East, please don’t split apart~
Seoyun unnie.
Her vocals stood out, and she danced well too.
So what.
-Eunseo’s dancing has really improved a lot.
-I know, she’s changed so much.
Eunseo unnie, who had been on the same team as me during the first competition.
Back then, she had stood at center and received harsh criticism, but over the past four months, her skills had improved greatly.
-Sera really dances lightly and well.
-Her singing is loud too, and even then, her pitch doesn’t waver at all. It’s really accurate.
-But the fact that she sings so lightly is really amazing.
-More than anything, I think Sera really knows how to look pretty.
Sera unnie.
A main vocalist with visuals that never go out of style.
A visual pick and a talent pick.
As expected of a candidate for first place.
“Is it my turn now?”
“She’s not my style.”
“Hey, the video hasn’t even played yet.”
“So what.”
Since we were now over four months into filming, I had become somewhat comfortable even in front of the camera.
Anyway, my center practice video played on the screen.
“Ooh~ the original center~”
Hana unnie added an exclamation right from the start.
“Gasp... she’s seriously pretty.”
And my true feelings slipped out without me realizing it.
Chaerin unnie laughed in disbelief and said,
“Is it okay for the person in question to say that?”
What was I supposed to do when she was pretty?
Still, since we had to evaluate, I shut my mouth for now.
“First of all, Dohee has this thing in her eye smile that really draws people in.”
“That’s right. When Dohee stands at center, how should I put it... your eyes don’t get stolen by anyone else. She’s tall and has good proportions, so she feels suited to the center? There’s also this feeling like the image spreads out like a gradient.”
Chaerin unnie and Eunseo unnie giving normal evaluations.
“Dohee is... cute.”
On the other hand, Sera unnie giving an abnormal one.
“She is pretty... but Dohee-ssi is kind of not my style? I’d say.”
Kim Seoyun.
“Dohee is all good, but I’m annoyed because she stole my main vocal.”
As for Hana unnie... she always said things jokingly with a smile.
...But at this point, I think she was really sulking.
Hana unnie, the only adult among us.
She really holds a grudge for a long time.