Chapter 12
"Trainee Seonwoo Rin."
"Trainee Seonwoo Rin..."
At Kim Na-hee's answer, Ria paused to think for a moment before responding as if she suddenly remembered.
"Ah! The trainee who was discharged from the military not too long ago, right?"
"Yes, that's right. But why are you looking at me?"
"Ahem, it's nothing."
When Leo, who didn't have much time left before his enlistment, grumbled, Ria quickly changed the subject.
"But, you said he's the trainee who works the hardest?"
At Ria's words, all the trainers nodded.
"He's just a monster."
"Seriously, I don't know if he even gets enough sleep."
"Is everyone from the UDT like that? How about you go to the UDT too, Leo?"
"I would literally pass out. I can't, I can't. Absolutely impossible."
As the trainers chatted happily among themselves, Ria asked again.
"No, you have to explain it to me too. It's not fair if only you guys are having fun."
"Ah, well. Ria, you know that X-grade trainees can participate in any class they want, right?"
"Yes, I know. Oh, perhaps...?"
"Would you believe it if a certain trainee participated in every single class, except for the ones with overlapping times?"
"Without missing a single day?"
"Yes, without missing a single day. And on top of that, he stayed behind late into the night to do personal practice."
"Wow, is that even possible?"
"Everyone here is a witness."
As vocal trainer Lee Ji-sung spoke, everyone agreed and added a word or two.
"I wouldn't have believed it either if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes."
"What's more surprising is that he's always full of energy despite doing all that."
"And you can visibly see him improving. He understands right away when you teach him, so it's rewarding to teach him."
"Since everyone is saying that, I want to see Trainee Seonwoo Rin's video quickly."
"It's better not to have such high expectations. He still lacks a lot of basics."
Kim Na-hee, who had been quietly listening while the other trainers talked, answered Ria's remark.
"Come on, everyone knows Teacher Kim Na-hee is the one looking forward to it the most."
"I heard you even visited the practice room late at night to check on him yourself?"
At the trainers' words, Kim Na-hee chose silence instead of refuting, and the other trainers quietly swallowed their laughter at her reaction.
"Alright. Let's stop talking about that, how were the other trainees?"
"The X-grade had a good overall vibe. Like they were all cheering each other on? You could see everyone working hard."
"A-grade is definitely A-grade. There were also trainees who already seemed fully polished."
"There were quite a few noticeable trainees in B-grade as well."
"How were the C and D-grade trainees?"
At Ria's question, the trainers' expressions stiffened.
"Hmm, to be honest, the skill gap between the top and bottom ranks is too severe."
"I would think positively if they at least had the will to work hard, but there are many trainees who make me wonder, 'Why did they even come here?'"
"I don't see any noticeable trainees in the lower grades yet. No, as others said, it's a bit disappointing."
It was a negative response from the trainers.
Ria hastily spoke up at the suddenly dampened mood.
"Now, let's start the grade re-evaluation. Let's watch the videos of the D-class trainees first."
With that, the grade re-evaluation videos of the D-grade trainees were revealed.
"This is, um..."
"If you're going to do it, do it properly. Why stop in the middle? Are they going to be like that on stage too?"
"Even if they're not good, I'd praise them if they showed enthusiasm, but no one has any drive in their eyes."
The grade evaluation of the D-grade trainees ended amid harsh criticism, and the atmosphere didn't change much in the subsequent C-grade trainee evaluation either.
"This guy seems more suited for D-grade."
"I don't see any trainees here who deserve to move up either."
As the disappointing performances of the trainees continued and the judges were getting exhausted.
The grade re-evaluation videos of the B-grade trainees began.
"These twins seem pretty good?"
"Not bad. Still, having them together creates better synergy, and as for the basics, they're both very good."
"Bu Ji-seok, Bu Ji-hoon. I'll have to remember them."
As a few skilled trainees appeared, the judges started reviewing the videos with renewed enthusiasm.
"Kang A-jin, why was this guy in B-grade? He seems like he'd have no problem going to A-grade?"
"Ah, it's the guy who did the 'Sneeze' stage last time. The song suited him well then. Surprisingly, he pulls off this kind of song well too?"
"If this trainee goes on broadcast, he'll have noona fans flocking to him. His face is exactly the cute type."
The evaluation of the B-grade trainees ended in a harmonious atmosphere, and that mood carried directly into the A-grade evaluation.
"Park Han-hwi. This guy is a trainee from Leo's agency."
"Yes, he's the top ace among our kids."
"He dances and sings both well. Rather than being outstanding in one thing, he seems to be the type who does everything well."
"He's been a trainee for quite a long time, and he studied on his own bit by bit, so now he even does producing. It's not just because he's from our agency, he's really a good kid."
"Leo, aren't you showing too much favoritism already? Still, he is good."
The skilled trainees began to be called one by one.
"Woo Jung-woo, this trainee has even debuted before."
"Yes, I remember. He was the main vocal. Their results weren't bad either, but I don't know if it was a company issue, they didn't promote properly."
"Wow, his high notes are really clean. He's definitely main vocalist material."
"His dancing is a bit lacking, but his vocals are really good."
Receiving generous evaluations for the most part, the evaluation videos of the A-grade trainees also concluded.
"Is this it for A-grade? How many are there, 8?"
"Hmm, there are fewer than I thought."
"Were there this few A-grades? This is a big problem."
"For now, let's check the last X-grade and talk again."
At the word 'last', the exhausted judges' eyes began to shine again.
"X-grade can only go to either A-grade or D-grade, right?"
"Wow, who really came up with this? It's cruel, so cruel. What if they did well but go to D-grade by a narrow margin?"
"Everyone worked hard, so I hope they don't go to D-grade."
Along with the judges' worried remarks, the grade re-evaluation videos for X-grade began to play.
The protagonist of the first video played was Wi Cheon-woo.
"Trainee Wi Cheon-woo, I heard he's only been in Korea for 3 months."
"His dancing was originally decent, but it seems to have gotten better this time."
"More than that, I can hear the lyrics properly. He must have practiced incredibly hard."
"Right, during the last evaluation, I couldn't hear the song lyrics properly. But this time, it's better than expected?"
While everyone was praising Wi Cheon-woo's suddenly improved pronunciation, someone muttered without realizing it.
"Seriously, he's handsome."
"What, you just had the exact same thought as me."
"Huh? What did I just say?"
"That he's seriously handsome."
"Wow, I only thought it in my mind, but I got caught."
With Wi Cheon-woo's video ending like that, the next turn was Baek Si-hyun's video.
"Trainee Baek Si-hyun, he's 18 years old. But he's doing much better than during the last evaluation?"
"This guy only shows his real skills when there's no audience. He's good, but if he's like this, I'm worried about the next team evaluation."
"His dancing is the best among the trainees we've seen so far?"
"It'd be nice if he could do that much on stage too. Still, since he's young, there seems to be plenty of room for growth."
After Baek Si-hyun was Sim Seong-ha.
"I like this guy. Just looking at him, he's so likable."
"They call it the 'meeting-the-parents free pass' face. Looking at Trainee Sim Seong-ha, that phrase comes to mind."
"He has a story, and he has individuality. If only his skills improve a bit more, this guy will do well."
"Right, his skills are a bit disappointing."
When Yoojin Kim's video came up next, everyone let out a sigh of regret.
"Her condition looks really bad."
"Oh my, she must have been really sick. Her face looks a bit thinner too."
The intro played, and Yoojin Kim started dancing to the song.
"Huh? She's better than expected?"
"Didn't she not dance at all last time? At least she practiced the front part properly."
And when the singing started soon after, everyone gasped in admiration.
"Wow, I didn't know she could make this song her own like that."
"Her singing is truly beyond evaluation."
However, as the song progressed, the judges' expressions darkened.
"The second half is a mess."
"Did she only practice the front part?"
"She's trying hard, but she looks like she's struggling too much."
Ending on such a disappointing note, Yoojin Kim's video concluded.
While the judges were glancing at each other, Kim Na-hee spoke up first.
"Given that everyone was given the same amount of time, I can understand that she was sick, but I think the evaluation should be the same for everyone."
As the other judges exchanged glances at Kim Na-hee's firm words.
"I think so too."
Ria said, agreeing with Kim Na-hee's words.
"It's unfortunate, but this is a competition. Now, it's the last turn."
"Finally, the last one."
"Let's watch it quickly."
The last order was exactly Seonwoo Rin.
As Seonwoo Rin's appearance in the video was shown, someone spoke in puzzlement.
"Huh? What is it?"
"What's wrong?"
"Trainee Seonwoo Rin, somehow he looks even more handsome on video?"
"Did you feel that way too, Leo? I had the same thought as soon as I saw him."
"Does he just look good on camera?"
"Now, it's starting."
Everyone felt a little odd about Seonwoo Rin's appearance on the screen, but once Seonwoo Rin's dance started, everyone began to focus.
"The energy is so good. It feels like the energy is reaching beyond the screen."
"He's not necessarily a good dancer, but his angles are sharp. You can see the amount of practice in his dancing."
"His singing is a bit lacking, but his stamina is so good that his breathing remains steady even while dancing that difficult choreography."
When Seonwoo Rin's video ended, sighs burst out from several places.
"Ah, this is too difficult. His basics are lacking, but the other parts are too good."
"If we include the practice process, he's definitely an A. But if we evaluate based solely on the video, it's too lacking to call him an A."
"I can't decide. Who on earth made the X-grade?"
While everyone was voicing their opinions one by one, Ria was bothered by Kim Na-hee, who was just quietly listening for some reason.
"Teacher Kim Na-hee, what do you think?"
At Ria's words, all eyes focused on Kim Na-hee.
"Right, what does Teacher Kim Na-hee think?"
"A is definitely a bit much, right?"
"Now, everyone quiet down and let's hear her out."
When the noisy room quieted down, Kim Na-hee slowly opened her mouth.
"I..."
***
"PD-nim, what are you going to do?"
"Wait a moment."
Producer Lee Jun-hyuk was lost in thought looking at the trainees' grade re-evaluation results sheet.
"Haa, I didn't expect such a variable to suddenly arise."
"It can't be helped, the results are already out. The problem now is how to package this..."
"If it's like this, we'll have to cancel pushing Trainee Yoojin Kim to the forefront for now, right?"
"Cancel... Is there no other way?"
After pondering for a moment, Producer Lee suddenly stood up from his seat and said.
"Where is that? The footage from the camera that day Yoojin Kim was sick last time."
"Ah, that? It should be in the editing room."
"Let's go right now."
"Huh? Right now?"
Without even answering the question, Producer Lee headed straight for the editing room.
"Huh? What's the matter all of a sudden?"
"Kim PD, the day Yoojin Kim went to the hospital last time, show me all the footage filmed from the beginning."
"Right now?"
"Yes, immediately."
Grumbling at the sudden request, Kim PD quickly moved under the glare of his senior.
"Should I show it from here? From inside the room."
"Yeah, fast forward it."
Silently watching the fast-forwarding video, Producer Lee paused it.
"Who is this trainee? The one who carried Yoojin Kim."
"This guy? It's Trainee Seonwoo Rin."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, I was there that day. I clearly remember him staying by Trainee Yoojin Kim's side until the ambulance came."
"Really? Is there a CCTV in the infirmary there?"
"Probably?"
"Bring that too. Wait, just bring all the footage of Seonwoo Rin and Yoojin Kim together."
Seeing the burning eyes of his senior, Kim PD sighed and quickly ran outside.
"PD-nim, did you think of something?"
Producer Lee glared at the grade re-evaluation results sheet for a long time, and soon, as if his thoughts were organized, he answered confidently.
"Right. If the board's been overturned, we just need to set up a completely new one."