“1st place is participant Ha Ye-rin-!!”
Boom-!!
Even though I hadn’t won the final championship, just scoring 1st place in the First Ranking Announcement made a small firework explode behind the stage as my name was called out.
Is that why?
Even though I achieved the desired 1st place….
“……”
I was so flabbergasted that I couldn’t say a word.
“Ha Ye-rin, please come up to the 1st place seat right now.”
“……Yes.”
At Han Si-woo’s words, I slowly climbed the stairs.
Thud-, thud.
Every time I made a step, I could feel the gazes of the other participants on me.
Jealousy and envy, admiration.
But the feeling I sensed the most was….
Awe.
Thud.
In common terms, a performer.
Moreover, out of all the trainees who hadn’t even debuted yet, I was ranked 1st.
Yet, as I reached the 1st place seat, the other participants looked up at me with their mouths agape.
“……”
I looked down at them once….
Puff.
…then sat down in my 1st place seat.
“Haah….”
As soon as I sat down, a sigh of release escaped me.
“……”
At that moment, I felt like I was under a spell.
It felt like I was dreaming, like I was floating in the air.
“…Ye-rin.”
I snapped back to reality due to Han Si-woo’s commentary.
He too seemed to be mesmerized as he looked at me and asked with trembling hands holding the microphone.
“…How do you feel about being ranked 1st in the First Ranking Announcement?”
Tap.
At the same time I heard his words, I noticed the microphone resting on the armrest of the 1st place seat.
As soon as Han Si-woo finished speaking, I took it.
But….
“……”
I couldn’t think of what to say.
‘Without the fans, I am nothing?’
‘This feels like an undeserved position?’
If I wanted to gain even a bit more favorable image, I’d have to say something humble.
But….
“……”
“……”
Just as I was about to speak, the gazes of the other participants made me freeze.
And at that moment….
I realized what I was intoxicated by.
My past life and this life.
Looking at me with such eyes after living a bottom-tier life….
It felt as if I had become a star shining upon the world from a dark sky.
……
It was thrilling.
At first, I thought being an idol wasn’t for me.
I thought I was just doing it out of necessity because of my debts.
I even considered quitting the moment I faced problems.
But….
‘…I’ll never be able to quit.’
I instinctively knew I could never give up on being an idol.
This moment…. this feeling…
I would never forget it.
“…Thanks to all the fans, I’ve come this far. I’ve never ranked 1st in life before…, but thanks to the fans, being 1st in votes feels incredible. So….”
At that moment, I was so happy.
So, I said something I wouldn’t usually say.
“I’ll keep being 1st from now on.”
“……!”
Whispers.
As soon as I said that, everyone on the set started buzzing.
They knew I wasn’t arrogant despite my looks.
Seeing the usually quiet and emotionless me speak so confidently surprised them.
And soon, their gazes shifted….
Swish-.
To Yoo Seol, who hadn’t come up to the platform yet.
The one who had been the top contender until the First Team Competition, she ended up in 2nd place at the Ranking Announcement.
What would her reaction be upon hearing me say that I would continue to be 1st?
Everyone seemed curious.
I was too.
‘…Oh no, what did I just say….’
In an instant, I clamped my lips together and looked down at Yoo Seol.
I too wondered what she was thinking right now.
“Now, please welcome Yoo Seol from JJ Entertainment, who is 2nd in votes, to share her thoughts!”
Thud-, thud.
At Han Si-woo’s words, Yoo Seol stepped up to the 2nd place seat with a strange little smile.
After taking a quick glance at me….
“……”
She turned to the camera and picked up the microphone.
On her face….
Beaming-.
“Thank you so much, fans-!”
She had the brightest smile blooming brighter than ever.
‘……Wow.’
No matter how good her acting skills were, there should have been a hint of disappointment in such a situation, but there was none on Yoo Seol’s face.
Indeed, everyone, including myself, admired her.
However….
“With my lacking skills, reaching this undeserved 2nd place is, of course, thanks to all the fans. And….”
Swish-.
“……!”
“I want to congratulate Ye-rin for ranking 1st. I’ve learned a lot from watching Ye-rin and the other participants’ performances.”
As she said that and bowed her head to me, I couldn’t help but feel a sense of unease.
Swish-.
As Yoo Seol bowed, I also instinctively lowered my head.
On the surface, it looked like a warm atmosphere, but inside, I was deeply analyzing Yoo Seol’s true feelings.
Why did she suddenly bow?
‘Is she trying to undermine me by contrasting her behavior to my slightly arrogant statement?’
Of course, it was possible, but that was too crude for Yoo Seol.
My fans had already proven to be the most formed around Na Ah Ah, and aside from Yoo Seol’s loyal fans, I hardly had any anti-fans.
I wasn’t the type to be hurt by something like this.
‘Then maybe she just wanted to show some humility?’
That could be the case.
No matter how composed Yoo Seol was, if she came in expecting to be 1st and ended up 2nd, her calmness could break.
I thought that Yoo Seol might be cracking under pressure, but….
“……”
When I lifted my head and met her eyes, I dropped that train of thought.
‘…Her eyes are so calm.’
Right now, Yoo Seol was not in a state of mind to crack. The look in her eyes when she gazed at me was eerily calm.
‘Then…, ah….’
At that moment, I realized something I had forgotten….
‘Yoo Seol’s status window.’
I checked Yoo Seol’s status window.
Normally, I wouldn’t open my or anyone else’s status window unless there was a significant reason.
The status window was…. there was usually no change unless something significant happened.
But with Yoo Seol…, didn’t something strange appear on her status window back then?
And upon checking her status window, I confirmed that her locked traits had been temporarily released.
[Yoo Seol]
[Age: 21]
[Trait: Protagonist, Darkening]
[Physical Detailed Stats]
[Mental Detailed Stats]
[Artistic Detailed Stats]
[Trait: Protagonist – You are the protagonist of this tale. Of course, your life won’t be smooth sailing. But no matter what hardships you face, march toward your dreams. If you don’t stop…, the final victor will surely be you.]
[Trait Effect: Protagonist doesn’t fall – Activated only during adversity and hardship (currently activated) greatly increases persistence, patience, mental strength, and stamina stats! All other overall stats slightly increase!]
[Trait: Darkening (temporarily unlocked) – The world is cruel. You tried to weave the story with hope, but the world wasn’t merciful. A series of hardships felt like they denied your success. The light and dark coexist. You chose to embrace darkness for your own life.]
[Trait Effect: I will live for myself – Decreases all humanity stats significantly! Greatly increases all mental detailed stats! All other overall stats slightly increase!]
“…….”
Something tremendous seemed to burst out from within us.
‘Especially the trait effect of decreasing all humanity stats…? Isn’t that a bit dangerous…?’
Smile.
“……!”
Upon realizing her traits and seeing Yoo Seol smile at me, I couldn’t help but flinch.
I could now kind of grasp the meaning of that smile.
Right now, she was sharpening a blade more pointed than anyone else as she smiled.
And the edge of that blade…. was definitely aimed at me.
Yoo Seol was hunting me down.
Shiver.
Just thinking about it sent chills down my spine.
Thanks to that, the thrill of ranking 1st faded away.
‘This week, I should avoid getting involved with Yoo Seol as much as possible….’
I thought to myself as I lowered my eyes away from her.
“…The next eliminated participant is trainee Yoon Se-ah from Tai Hai Entertainment. The final vote count is 6,273, and the final ranking is 89th.”
“Ah…!”
After announcing the 1st and 2nd place rankings, the elimination announcements began.
Most of the contestants on the candidate list tasted the bitter cup of elimination….
“Sigh….”
Among the eliminated, some couldn’t hold back their tears.
It was truly a heartbreaking scene…. but my attention was so focused on Yoo Seol that I didn’t pay it much mind.
In fact, most of the participants among them would fare better looking for other paths…, so I was rather uninterested.
However, I couldn’t help but flinch when I saw the eliminated participants packing their bags and leaving.
Their backs, filled with unachievable dreams, looked so pitiful.
“Thus, there were a total of 38 eliminations during the First Team Competition.”
After the stormy cancellation announcement ended….
“But the remaining participants must conduct the Second Team Competition this week to survive.”
Han Si-woo held the microphone with a serious expression.
At the mention of the Second Team Competition, I straightened up and focused on what he was about to say.
“Na Ah Ah, in the third week. So, the theme of this Second Team Competition is…, ‘Let’s Get Closer’!”
“…Let’s Get Closer?”
…Participants whispered among themselves at the strange concept of the Second Team Competition.
Seeing this, Han Si-woo smiled and continued.
“Perhaps you’ve made friends with many participants during Na Ah Ah, but… in reality, there are still many participants you’re not close to. Isn’t that right?”
That’s right.
In my case, I could only call Lee Hye-jeong and Park Yoo-jung friends.
The rest were barely acquaintances, and there were many with whom I hadn’t even had a proper introduction.
“This competition was prepared for you to build bonds. You will be teamed up with participants you haven’t had the chance to become friends with.”
…So, they were telling me to team up with awkward people? …I didn’t like that.
More importantly, teaming up with people I barely knew, how were they planning to select the teams?
This curiosity was answered with Han Si-woo’s next statement.
“Now, you may be wondering how the teams will be selected?”
“Yes-!!”
“Don’t worry-! Your teams have already been decided!”
“…Huh?!”
They’ve already decided the teams? What does that even mean….
I looked around to see if there was any sort of selection process like last week’s sandwich picking, but there was nothing remarkable.
“Na Ah Ah’s production team has already formed teams using big data to ensure that suitable members become friends.”
“……!”
So, they just went ahead and formed the teams on their own.
Naturally, I had no choice but to feel anxious.
Despite the mention of big data, I couldn’t believe that Na Ah Ah’s production team had created the teams in a fair manner.
‘They probably formed combinations that would generate good viewer ratings.’
I prayed that the production team wouldn’t mix my team up in the worst possible way.
And….
“Now, please look at the screen! The names displayed on the screen are the teams you will be working with this week!”
“……Whoa.”
I couldn’t contain my shock upon seeing the team displayed on the screen.
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