[Syncing….]
[Unlocking Yoo Seol’s hidden trait….]
‘What is this…?’
I was flustered by the unfamiliar change in the Status Window.
And then I got nervous.
Of all times, the locked trait was being released in this situation…. I couldn’t possibly think of it as a good thing.
So, I waited, trembling a bit, to see what change the Status Window would show.
But….
[Syncing….]
[Unlocking Yoo Seol’s hidden trait….]
[Syncing….]
[Failed to unlock Yoo Seol’s hidden trait!]
…Whether it’s unfortunate or fortunate, Yoo Seol failed to unlock her hidden trait.
I sighed in relief at seeing the failure notification for the trait unlock.
‘But what is that hidden trait?’
Thinking about it, Park Yoo-jung also had a hidden trait.
It didn’t seem likely that the trait was locked for no reason…, and for some reason, it felt better if it remained unopened.
“Alright, then we’ll resume filming.”
Anyway, Yoo Seol’s hidden trait remained locked, and the final ranking evaluation for A Rank resumed.
“A Rank Yoo Seol’s rank will be maintained at A.”
“Thank you-!”
Yoo Seol, who was the second to undergo the final ranking evaluation, naturally maintained her A Rank.
And the moment of the final stage arrived.
“…So now, let’s start the stage.”
Outside the stage, Lee Hye-jeong was trembling so much that she stuttered, but as soon as she stepped on stage, she transformed like a different person.
It seems she had some experience, having ranked 7th in another audition program.
She was stronger in actual battles than in practice.
-We open our eyes!
Lee Hye-jeong successfully finished her performance….
“Hye-jeong, I really scolded you a lot during the dance parts, but I can see that you’ve improved, and I’m really happy and sorry. Sniff…”
“…Yesol unni.”
The vocal trainer, who burst into tears while judging me, was also brought to tears watching Lee Hye-jeong’s stage, creating a heartwarming atmosphere.
“I will maintain Hye-jeong’s rank at A.”
“Th-thank you-!!”
In the end, Lee Hye-jeong also succeeded in maintaining her rank, and all three current A Rank participants remained at A.
Additionally, two more participants joined the A Rank.
After the final ranking evaluation finished, the A Rank totaled five members.
“Alright, this concludes the final ranking evaluation.”
After Lee Hye-jeong’s evaluation, Han Si-woo picked up the microphone to host.
“You will be assigned proper positions for tomorrow’s group theme song stage according to your ranks.”
Here, a proper placement would likely mean closer to the center.
In the arrangement dispersing from the center A Rank, B and C Ranks would find it hard to even get a single camera shot.
“There are probably some people who are unhappy with their current ranks. Some might already feel the gap between the upper ranks.”
“…….”
At Han Si-woo’s words, the lower-ranked participants silently pursed their lips.
He then blew hope into the hearts of those low-ranking participants with his next comment.
“But don’t worry too much. Nothing is set in stone. Even those in the upper ranks can drop out, while those in the lower ranks could debut right now.”
“…….”
“All of this is up to the viewers’ choices.”
As Han Si-woo said this, he pointed to the camera.
“Even if your skills are lacking, if the viewers choose you, you could debut.”
“……!”
Yes, Na Ah Ah doesn’t just debut the participant with the best skills.
Only the six participants voted for the most by the viewers would debut.
Recalling this and thinking that there was still a chance, the lower-ranked participants’ eyes lit up.
Most of them had relatively striking appearances, even if their skills were lacking.
“Now, let’s end today’s filming by greeting our viewers. Everyone, please look at the camera.”
At Han Si-woo’s words, the participants scrambled to find a camera, all putting on their brightest faces.
Even if it would only be on the broadcast for a second, the participants were eager.
“Let’s all shout together. Show me your dream!”
“Show me your dream!”
Thus, today’s shooting also concluded with Na Ah Ah’s cheer.
“Cut, thank you! Only those who experienced rank changes should follow the production team, while the rest of you can enjoy your free time.”
With the cut signal from the production team, only those with rank changes gathered.
I heard they would be documenting their reactions due to the change in rooms that came with rank shifts.
As I maintained my A rank, it didn’t concern me.
We were meeting early tomorrow morning, so I felt I should head back to my room and rest right away.
“Sis, you worked hard.”
“Yeah, Ye-rin. You did well too.”
I first greeted Lee Hye-jeong, who had been living with me in A Rank.
And….
“…Seol unni. You too….”
I hesitantly approached Yoo Seol next to her to greet her.
But….
“…….”
She passed by me without any reaction at all.
“…Uh-oh, Seol-ah?”
Not knowing the details of what had happened, Lee Hye-jeong was taken aback by Yoo Seol’s sudden coldness.
“I thought we had gotten pretty close now… but was I wrong…?”
I, too, thought we had become quite close preparing for the final ranking evaluation until last night, or rather, I thought Yoo Seol had opened her heart a bit.
But because of what had happened earlier….
‘Ye-rin, get a grip. You’re rivals.’
Her heart’s door had slammed shut again.
And I couldn’t tell when it would open again.
“…Let’s go back, Ye-rin. Since I couldn’t sleep yesterday, let’s go and rest early today.”
“…Okay.”
There was nothing I could do for Yoo Seol right now.
If I approached her again….
‘Or do you think the aged loser who couldn’t debut even after nine years of training looks pitiful?’
She would raise her claws again, her wounds still unhealed.
“Haa…”
If I had thought a bit more about her feelings, I wouldn’t have clumsily hurt her feelings by pretending to care.
Feeling a bitter taste in my mouth, I returned to the dormitory.
After a long shower in warm water and lying down in bed, her words still lingered in my mind.
‘…Did you not know that by being here, someone desperately loses their chance?’
By me simply being here, someone was losing their opportunity….
Today, I effectively stole Yoo Seol’s chance to be recruited into HS.
If I debut through Na Ah Ah, it would also mean that someone who should have debuted in my previous life would be eliminated.
Maybe that’s why.
My mind was spinning with anxious thoughts.
Forcing my eyes shut, I tried to sleep.
‘I’ll get a good night’s sleep…and by morning it’ll be okay….’
I thought when morning came, the clutter in my head would settle.
But Na Ah Ah was far too cruel a place to maintain such hopeful thoughts.
The next morning.
As soon as I woke up, Lee Hye-jeong and I headed to the cafeteria.
We needed to have a hearty breakfast to prepare for the upcoming theme song group stage.
I had originally wanted to bring Park Yoo-jung along, but….
“Ah… unnis…. I shot reactions late last night…. I think I’ll just sleep and skip breakfast today…, cool…”
Since Park Yoo-jung had really crashed after staying up late for the reaction filming, we reluctantly went alone.
Today’s breakfast menu was beef bone soup.
“Wow~ I love beef bone soup!”
Lee Hye-jeong, who had no disliked dishes, piled her bowl full of soup and devoured it like a vacuum cleaner.
Thinking that today’s filming would be intense, I also served myself a lot of beef bone soup to eat.
Just then, while we were happily enjoying our soup…
Swish-.
We locked eyes with one of the production team passing through the cafeteria.
‘That person…, was definitely one of the writers, right?’
We didn’t have a close relationship, but since they were one of the powers in Na Ah Ah, we exchanged vague greetings, and they nodded back.
But as the Na Ah Ah writer was about to move on after a casual greeting….
“Ah.”
They suddenly stopped, as if remembering something they had forgotten, and approached our table.
“Hye-jeong.”
“…Yes, yes, Writer-nim.”
“About Hye-jeong’s rank. We decided to set it to B.”
“…Huh?”
The writer spoke with a calm expression as if they were just making morning pleasantries.
In contrast, we….
Thud, cling!
“……What does that mean?”
Caught off guard by this unexpected thunderbolt, we froze.
“…Why is Hye-jeong suddenly B? Didn’t she maintain an A rank yesterday…?”
“Ah, Ye-rin, you’re not affected by this. It’s just Hye-jeong who’s B.”
“So why suddenly…?”
In response to our questions, the production team waved their hands as if busy and just laughed heartily.
“It just happened that way. You’ll hear the details later… just keep that in mind for now.”
And with that, they bowed and left.
“…….”
“…….”
Lee Hye-jeong and I could only watch, dumbfounded.
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