In the calm atmosphere, I suddenly stood up, drawing the attention of all the trainees.
“Everyone, can I say one last thing as the leader?”
“Yes.”
“Thank you. Actually, I’ve been going through some hardships these past few days. I think you all know why.”
Although it was a somewhat cocky statement, it wasn’t meant to show off.
The trainees seemed to understand and quietly listened to me without any negativity.
That’s right. If you guys chose me as the group leader, at least listen to me.
“I’m not asking for a big reward, but please promise me one thing.”
I sincerely didn’t expect a reward.
Would I have gone through all this trouble just for that small compensation?
It didn’t make sense from the start.
What I truly wished for was…
“Don’t give up in the middle. At least until the music ends, I hope you won’t give up or stop.”
I said this as someone who once gave up on their dream.
“We’ve practiced really hard, haven’t we? If we just keep it up, we can all go on stage together.”
After repeating the important points in simple English, the foreign trainees who didn’t understand Korean smiled as they grasped the message.
It was not like the sudden quest had been completed long ago.
Until yesterday, a clear number indicated its progress, but now it just reads “??/32,” as if to offer suspense until the results come out.
However, I thought that if we put in this much effort, even if we didn’t get the solo spotlight, we might at least be able to stand on stage. As player characters thrown into this situation, I still had some hope for a positive development in this game.
…Am I getting too immersed?
As I was having this thought, someone burst into laughter.
“On Raon, why are you trying to set the mood!”
“You don’t suit playing the serious role at all!”
“Right on!”
Ah, seriously, these NPC jerks!
“I really put a lot of thought into what I said, but why are you guys like this?! This is why you shouldn’t mess with black-haired beasts.”
“I have brown hair, though.”
“And I’m blonde.”
“Ugh.”
The older trainees laughed as they playfully patted my shoulder and back.
They were all smiling.
A message appeared, stating that the trainees’ favorability had increased, but I didn’t want to see it. I quickly closed it.
“Let’s do a fighting cheer before we start.”
With someone’s suggestion, more than thirty trainees gathered their hands together.
“Hyeseong’s group, fighting!”
“Fighting!”
The atmosphere lightened up considerably.
Despite claiming that he would perform worse if he went first, Kim Junwu was the first to stand up.
Cheers and applause rained down on Kim Junwu’s back.
“I’m Kim Junwu from West Music. Nice to meet you.”
One by one, they turned on the camera with nervous expressions, introduced their company and name, greeted the viewers, and showed the dance and song they had practiced.
A trainee returning to their seat with a satisfied smile.
A trainee hanging their head low, seemingly upset by their big mistake in the middle of the performance.
A trainee with an unreadable expression watching the back of another going forward.
As for the trainees who had finished filming, their reactions varied.
In a quiet gesture, one trainee held the hand of their friend who was struggling to hold back tears, murmuring,
“It’s okay. You did well.”
In a battle with no winners or losers, where everyone fought alone, that was all they could say to their friend.
* * *
In a spacious conference room with a white screen, 20-year solo singer and former girl group member, Jena, was already seated when a seven-year boy group member, UPTER’s Lee Changyeon, entered and greeted her with a bow.
“Ah, Jena-noona. Hello. You came early today.”
“Hi, Changyeon. I’ve been excited since this morning about how the kids will do today.”
“Umm… Noona hasn’t seen the kids practicing, right?”
“Yeah. Today is my first time seeing their performances.”
“I wonder how… um, how should I say this…”
“Maybe it’s better not to have expectations?”
At Jena’s response, Changyeon awkwardly laughed, suggesting she should see for herself.
A moment later, a nine-year girl group member, Rosetta’s Han Jihui, and a 20-year boy group member, Chronicle’s Mook Hyeseong, entered one after another. Soon after, a 5-year girl group member, Serendipity’s Seok Suyeong, and a 4-year boy group member, Pluto’s Ju An, came in together and took their seats.
The commonality among the gathered Pick Heart mentors was that they were all versatile idols, skilled in dancing and singing. In the case of Ju An, who was in charge of the rap position among the trainees, he could also rap.
As all of them were active idols, they could better understand and teach the trainees. Excluding Jena, the mentors who had been able to watch the trainees’ progress playfully expressed their concerns as they laughed.
Their laughter wasn’t just for show.
“I’m worried about today, really worried.”
“There are quite a few… worrisome kids.”
“Is that the same for you too?”
“Yeah. In our group, there are many kids who rap. They struggled a lot with singing. Some even gave up on singing. Even though I said they shouldn’t….”
Ju An trailed off, and Mook Hyeseong and Jena frowned. After all, these two could easily relate to the phrase “give up” because of their years of experience.
Han Jihui chuckled and asked Mook Hyeseong,
“Still, I heard the atmosphere in Hyeseong-sunbae’s group was good? The kids there almost worship you as their senior. What did you do to make that happen?”
“It’s not that much.”
At Mook Hyeseong’s words, Jena quietly laughed.
“But you didn’t deny it.”
“Personally, I’m most excited about Hyeseong-sunbae’s group. There was that one person, I forget who, but they really helped lift the mood. If they can maintain that atmosphere, I think it’ll be fine.”
“It’s not bad. You can decide for yourself after seeing it.”
As the production staff signaled for them to start, the mentors wrapped up their conversation and began the evaluations.
“Ok Doyun, he’s doing well. He dances so effortlessly.”
“Aigo, Taewon, what will you do if you stop in the middle like that?”
“Who’s this? Sora? Now that I see him, he slightly reminds me of a Korean trainee.”
“Yunjae. He sings cleanly, but his dancing skill is lacking.”
“Xiao… To be honest, his dancing is difficult to watch. But he’s so cute, smiling and trying hard until the end. I want to pick him.”
Dozens of evaluation videos quickly passed by.
The mentors knew how much hard work their trainees went to, so when they made mistakes, they couldn’t help but express sympathy.
When a trainee who missed a dance move became flustered and did something strange, laughter seeped between their closed lips.
One thing that stood out was Hyeseong’s group of trainees.
The so-called “inferior group” for gathering trainees with less than stellar skills had an unexpectedly good vibe overall.
On top of that…
“Come to think of it, the trainees in Hyeseong-sunbae’s group never stop halfway through. They always finish their song, whether they’re good or bad at it.”
“They have the basics down, at least.”
“They must know it themselves too. They went to Hyeseong-sunbae because they’re the worst, but it’s heartwarming that they don’t give up and keep going.”
“Indeed, that’s commendable.”
Even as the mentors grew increasingly weary, they rubbed their sore throats and carefully evaluated the trainees with precise attention.
Based on their experiences from previous seasons, they were well aware that a single evaluation could change a lot.
– “Hello. I’m Trainee On Raon. Nice to meet you!”
On Raon’s video was the 71st one to be played.
Seeing On Raon in the same yellow practice clothes as the other trainees from Hyeseong’s group, the mentors quickly blinked their eyes as if realizing something.
“Ah, that’s right. The one who was quite unique that time.”
“Yeah, that one.”
“I’m looking forward to this.”
The mentors watched On Raon’s evaluation video with satisfied smiles.
He clearly had low overall stats in Strength, Agility, and experience, resulting in a rather lacking performance.
Nonetheless, On Raon’s individual sense kept him from being overlooked.
His dance showed no hesitation as if he had practiced enough to not falter in the middle.
His singing was interesting, with a unique feel of a heart attack, though his low stamina resulted in many rough, labored breaths mixed in.
Despite struggling to hit the high notes in the highlight section because of his lack of stats, the song’s overall sound was pleasant enough to listen to.
One of the mentors thought it wasn’t that big of a problem.
After all, most male trainees wouldn’t even be able to reach the high pitch portions of “Heart Attack.”
So, despite many shortcomings, On Raon had a natural talent that overshadowed his lack of stats.
Finally, the music stopped.
The video ended with On Raon, looking three times more exhausted than the other trainees, grinning widely and saying, “Thank you!”
“He did well. I can’t explain it well, but he just looks like an idol.”
Ju An was the first to comment.
Although the standard for “doing well” had been somewhat lowered after seeing so many less talented trainees, it was not an incorrect statement.
Jena, who had been deep in thought, finally spoke up.
“Raon is eye-catching when present but easily forgettable when not.”
“You mean he’s forgettable?”
“Yeah. It’s strange. When I see him, I think, ‘Ah, he has a nice vibe,’ but after a short while, I can’t remember what he looked like or the expression he had.”
Han Jihui continued Jena’s thought.
“I think I know what you mean. But while I’m looking at him, he’s really charming. He naturally brings his own color to everything. That’s why I want to see him try different songs and dances.”
“Right.”
“But… It’s just so easy to forget him. I wonder why.”
Seok Suyeong, with wide eyes, nodded in agreement with Jena and Han Jihui.
“Ah, me too. I remember his song during the last mentor evaluation, Hello, world. He had a captivating voice while singing it. It was so nice that I thought he would become successful.”
“Mhm.”
“I had completely forgotten about that until I saw this today. That’s right. It was like that back then too. There was such a kid.”
“Exactly. The kid is somehow… like a dream that lasts only one night.”
“True. When we have a dream, it feels so vivid, but once we wake up, only the feeling remains, and it gradually fades away.”
“This isn’t good. We should stay in people’s memories as long as possible.”
“What could be the problem…?”
Unaware of the system’s active interference, the mentors pondered On Raon’s issue.
Meanwhile, Mook Hyeseong paused the video on On Raon’s face and stared at him.
…He resembles him.
He didn’t think they looked alike whenever he saw him laughing in the practice room.
But now, seeing his relatively expressionless face frozen like this, he realized he looked very similar to someone from his memories.
As Mook Hyeseong was rarely lost in thought, the mentors carried on the conversation amongst themselves.
It wasn’t like Hyeseong was silent for just a day or two. Hyeseong’s silence was profound.
“So, is it decided then?”
“Yes. On Raon’s trainee ranking is…”
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