Episode 13
The day after the filming for the grade re-evaluation ended.
We were waiting in our room without any schedule for once, growing drowsy from the sweet rest we were taking for the first time in a while.
At the broadcast announcing assembly by grade, we began preparing to head out with expressions that said, "It's finally here."
"Hyung, how do you think it'll go? Will we be able to make it to A grade?"
"Well, I'm not really sure..."
At Sim Seong-ha's words, my thoughts became complicated.
It wasn't that I was making a fuss; it was genuinely difficult to make a proper prediction about the results.
'Should I have increased Dance or Vocal instead of Appearance?'
I wasn't entirely sure if the decision to put the one remaining point into Appearance before the grade re-evaluation filming was the right one.
"Ah, I really worked hard. I think I'll be too upset if I drop to D grade. Doesn't everyone feel the same?"
"Me too."
When Wi Cheon-u replied lightly, Sim Seong-ha suddenly spoke up excitedly.
"Cheon-u, even if you drop to D grade, you'll just get a one-shot and come back up anyway. Ah, the world is so unfair. Right, Si-hyun? Ah, if only I hadn't slipped up that one time, I wouldn't feel so unfairly treated. Why did I make a mistake right then! I'm an idiot, an idiot! I'm a fool! Who makes a mistake like that during a grade evaluation, seriously!"
"Hyung..."
Baek Si-hyun hastily gave a signal to Sim Seong-ha, who was blaming himself.
Curious as to why, I looked where Baek Si-hyun was looking, and saw Eugene Kim slowly getting out of bed.
"Ah, it's not that making a mistake is bad or anything... I mean..."
Eugene Kim looked completely unfazed by yesterday's events, wearing a nonchalant expression. Rather, it was Sim Seong-ha next to him who looked more anxious.
"Hm? Is something going on?"
"Ah, no! Haha!"
'He definitely must have heard everything.'
Although a fair amount of time had passed since we started sharing a room, it was still hard to get a proper grasp of what kind of person Eugene Kim was.
Sometimes he seemed like a thorough individualist, but seeing as he disliked causing harm to others and joined in when it was time to hang out, he didn't seem to have an entirely cold personality.
'That thing last time was definitely unexpected.'
A few days ago, after Eugene Kim returned from the emergency room, he grabbed me and spoke quietly.
'I'm really sorry, but I have one favor to ask.'
'Hm? What is it?'
'Could I practice next to you when we practice choreography? I won't be a bother.'
It was an unexpected request for me, who had been doubting whether Eugene Kim was even passionate about this audition until then.
And I also wondered, 'Why me of all people?'
In the end, I ended up practicing with Eugene Kim for the short remaining period, and
the result was, well.
"Hyung, I think we need to go down now."
At Baek Si-hyun's words, I looked around, and everyone was looking at me, fully ready.
I'm not sure how this happened, but.
'Why is everyone waiting for me to speak?'
It seemed like, naturally, I had become the leader of the X grade since the first day.
"Alright, let's go down now."
I went down to the practice room with the kids tagging along behind me.
'Why are there so many cameras?'
It seemed like there were disproportionately more cameras in our practice room.
In terms of numbers, we definitely had the fewest people.
Like that, we waited in the practice room surrounded by cameras. And before long.
"It's been a while, everyone. Have you been well?"
"Hello!"
Ria, the representative of the judges, entered the practice room where we were waiting.
The fact that Ria came in. Does this mean we have a higher level of attention than even Class A?
In an audition program, having high attention early on was definitely something to welcome.
'As long as I don't slip up here, that is.'
"Yesterday, you had the video filming for the grade re-evaluation, right?"
"Yes!"
"After reviewing those videos and much deliberation, regarding your final grades..."
Ria showed us the envelope she had been holding since she first walked in.
"The results are inside here."
I could see Sim Seong-ha standing next to me clenching his fists tightly.
Likewise, I was more nervous than ever since coming to this place.
"There are only two outcomes for the X grade. The chance to become A grade and stand in the brightest spot on stage. Or the opposite, becoming D grade and serving as the background for the other trainees who shine the brightest from the very bottom of the stage."
The atmosphere grew heavy.
Amidst the lingering tension, Ria called out a name.
"We will now announce the grade for trainee Baek Si-hyun. Please step forward."
Having his name called first, Baek Si-hyun let out a breath and stepped forward.
"Trainee Baek Si-hyun's final grade is. A grade."
"Phew. Thank you."
An irresistible smile lingered over Baek Si-hyun's characteristically expressionless face.
Wi Cheon-u lightly patted the back of Baek Si-hyun as he quietly returned to his spot.
'With Baek Si-hyun's dancing skills, getting an A is right.'
Now there were 4 people left, and Ria soon called out the next person.
"Trainee Wi Cheon-u's final grade is. A grade."
"Huh? Really?"
Wi Cheon-u couldn't hide the smile breaking through his bewilderment as he received his grade result sheet.
"Trainee Sim Seong-ha's final grade is. A grade."
"Wow! Thank you!"
Sim Seong-ha jumped around expressing his joy, but soon felt the gazes of others and returned to his spot with an extremely sheepish expression.
"There are two people left. The three trainees called so far have all been evaluated as A grade."
At that moment, Ria suddenly looked at me and spoke.
"Trainee Sunwoo Rin. What grade do you think you will receive?"
"I'm not sure. If I receive a high grade, I think it won't be because of my skills, but because the judges looked favorably upon my hard work."
"Everyone probably knows that Trainee Sunwoo Rin has worked harder than any other trainee. I hope you get a good result."
Was she satisfied with my answer?
Ria looked at me with a smile.
While I was pondering the meaning of that smile, I saw a writer next to her give Ria some sort of signal.
"Ah, Trainee Sunwoo Rin. There is one more question left."
Why do they keep asking me questions and dragging out the time? I suppressed the sigh rising inside me and waited for Ria's question.
"What grade do you think Trainee Eugene Kim will receive, in Trainee Sunwoo Rin's opinion?"
'What is this? A trap?'
I inadvertently looked at Eugene Kim next to me, and our eyes met.
Turning my head back slowly so as not to show my fluster, I racked my brain, wondering what the intention behind this question could possibly be.
Why ask me about Eugene Kim's grade in this situation?
I saw clearly with my own eyes, having been in the same room, that Eugene Kim messed up the grade re-evaluation.
'But I can't just say outright, "Eugene Kim obviously has to go to D grade."'
The signal the writer gave earlier and this question were definitely correlated.
The words the production team wants from me right now?
Could they be hoping I defend Eugene Kim?
Whatever the intention, there's a limit to what I can say.
'I can't give them a villain edit here.'
"I believe Trainee Eugene Kim did the best he could under more disadvantageous conditions than others during this training camp. I think Trainee Eugene Kim is fully qualified to receive a high grade."
"Understood. Both of you, please step forward."
Without even time to check if my answer was correct, Ria called both me and Eugene Kim forward.
As we stepped forward, Ria handed us each our result sheets.
"Please check your grades, you two."
With a trembling heart at Ria's words, I opened the result sheet given to me.
And inside it was.
'A grade!'
It was a grade I hadn't even thought of when I first came here.
I thought B grade would be the max at best, so it was a result beyond my expectations.
'Wait, what about Eugene Kim?'
I temporarily let go of my elation at getting an A grade and checked Eugene Kim's result sheet next to me.
And I could see the letter D inscribed on Eugene Kim's result sheet.
***
-You received the final A grade. Your thoughts?
"I only have the thought that I need to work even harder from now on."
Without even time to savor the joy of receiving an A grade, I was dragged off to the interview space commonly known as the 'Room of Truth'.
Actually, I thought 'Room of Lies' would be more fitting than the Room of Truth, but I didn't show it.
-Who comes to mind the most right now?
"My family at home comes to mind first, of course."
-Any trainee that comes to mind?
"Well... The X grade trainees I struggled with come to mind."
It seemed like the desired answer hadn't come out, as the scope of the questions kept narrowing down.
-If you had to pick just one person among the trainees?
Asking like this makes what they want way too obvious.
But if I didn't give them the answer they wanted, it felt like this interview wouldn't end.
I answered, hiding my reluctant expression as much as possible.
"Trainee Eugene Kim comes to mind."
Seeing them nod in satisfaction as if pleased at the mention of Eugene Kim's name, it seemed slipping away moderately wasn't going to work.
-Why does Trainee Eugene Kim come to mind?
"Well, he got sick a lot during the training camp. I also feel sorry that I couldn't take better care of him."
-Trainee Eugene Kim chose Trainee Sunwoo Rin as the trainee he is most grateful to. Lastly, is there anything you want to say to Trainee Eugene Kim?
"Yes? The person he's most grateful to? Me?"
When I asked back in bewilderment, the writer in front of me nodded quickly and asked again.
-Anything you want to say?
"Ah... well, I was very thankful too. Let's climb up together until the end."
At my answer, the writer made a satisfied expression, said the interview was over, and sent me out.
'Is doing it like this the right thing?'
It felt somewhat iffy, but I was proud of having properly secured my screen time. The two emotions coexisted subtly within me.
***
[Please choose your idol. Here are the boys waiting for your choice. -National Idol Season 2]
Sunwoo Min looked at the massive advertisement plastered on the portal site and felt anew that she had truly lived without interest in the world for a long time.
'In the past, I would have kept track of every single schedule, watched the live broadcasts with the other fans, and even gone to be in the studio audience.'
Since her third year of high school would begin next year, she no longer had the time to spare for idols.
Her foolish older brother, too—ever since he was discharged from the military, was so busy with something that he never showed his face at home.
'He's never home even for a moment. Honestly.'
Sunwoo Min, feeling resentful as she thought of her brother, was about to take out her workbook again, but grabbed her phone once more at the advertisement phrase hovering in front of her eyes.
'Still, I am curious. 6 o'clock stage pre-release today? What time is it now?'
Looking at the clock, it was exactly 6 o'clock.
'What? It's real-time right now? Then should I just watch the stage?'
When she clicked the link in the advertisement, the connection must not have been smooth, as it only kept showing a white screen.
'No, did these MusicNet bastards not even prepare properly? What kind of pre-release is this?'
Cursing the broadcasting station bastards while waiting, the screen changed before long, and the video started playing.
'The song title is Jackpot? It's not some casino.'
It didn't seem like a title fresh young boys would sing; although Sunwoo Min complained about the unsatisfying concept, she couldn't take her eyes off the screen.
"Hello, national judges. I am Ria, the representative of the national judges. Here are 77 boys dreaming of becoming global idols. Please directly create the idol group that will surprise not just Korea, but the entire world with your choices."
As Ria finished speaking, the backs of the trainees started to appear first.
'Are these the upper grades? Let's see how good they are.'
And the moment the intro started, the trainees turned around.
And there.
"Why is my brother coming out of there???"