Episode 72
Standing in front of the huge black door leading to the studio, the four-member group waited patiently among the unmanned cameras, with no staff in sight.
Perhaps feeling that the brief wait was boring, Kim Yujin began giving Gyeoul some dance advice.
“Gyeoul, dancing is fundamentally a series of movements showing how flexible your body is. Since everyone places different importance on rhythm, power moves, etc., you could argue against this, but in the end, that’s what matters. In that sense, when training…”
“Hey, Kim Yujin, shut it! Something’s starting!”
“What is it? What is it?”
The place Garnet pointed to was the hallway they had just passed through. What had seemed like just a black wall now glimmered with purple and pink light, creating a romantic scene as if a massive machine had started up.
“Wow.”
The light that began at the end of the hallway gradually advanced toward them until it reached the black door they were standing in front of. As the wave of light touched the door, it burst forth with a mysterious blend of purple and pink, revealing the number 100.
“MNet is doing something right.”
“Kim Yujin, don’t act like you’re something special.”
“Hey, this pure, genuine reaction actually works. Other kids would just go, ‘Wow.’ ‘That’s amazing!’ ‘Feels like I’m in Dozuni-land!’ Those fake compliments are about all you’d get. Which do you think viewers would prefer? Out of 100, what kind of reaction do you think would get picked up for the broadcast?”
“…You’re strangely convincing as I listen.”
“Right?”
Just as Kim Yujin was feeling triumphant from Garnet’s response and about to say something, a line of light was drawn toward the glowing number 100 at the door, splitting in half.
“…It was an automatic door.”
“Seriously, Yujin. It looked heavy, so I’m glad we don’t have to push it.”
“Han Sora, you’re the most impressive for going along with that line.”
While they were bickering, Gyeoul, who had been staring straight ahead, spoke up.
“…It feels like a stage and audience seats.”
“It’s all black; you can’t see anything.”
“Well, I’m kind of a shut-in, so I’ve always lived in a dark room, relying only on my monitor’s light. So my night vision is pretty good.”
“…She has a solid character, huh?”
As Yujin wondered how to respond to that, thinking, ‘What do you do when the one who’s gonna boss around three delivery kids acts like this?,’ Han Sora stepped toward the darkness and said.
“Gyeoul, you said it’s a stage, right? Then where do we go to find the stage?”
Gyeoul followed her out and replied.
“The stage is right here.”
“Is this it?”
And Gyeoul pointed at the floor where the girls stood after they came out of the door.
“This is where we are standing.”
As soon as her words finished, a purple and pink light began to spread wide around the spot where the four girls were standing.
The wave of light that started from the door illuminated the studio brilliantly, revealing that the place they stood was the stage for the first impression test.
“…This isn’t just a little bit; they really threw money at this place.”
Even Garnet, who had initially been cautious of Kim Yujin’s raw reaction, was now purely amazed.
“Right? This is no joke.”
While what they had seen so far could have been considered a spectacle by itself, the wave of light didn’t stop there; it continued to brighten the stage.
In front of the girls, a massive pyramid—the tiered audience seats where participating trainees would able to watch other trainees’ performances—loomed large.
The light that started from the stage climbed up to the pyramid-shaped audience seats, illuminating all the chairs, and letters began to appear at each tier.
“…A, B, C, D, E, F. Are we talking about the numbers we wrote on our chests? So if we sit at the very top A, then we’re golden, right?”
“Maybe, or it could be that the person who received the evaluation sits according to the grade they got.”
“Wow, so the infinite competition starts right from the get-go? Harsh, MNet.”
Han Sora said to the tongue-clicking Kim Yujin.
“But you already knew all of this. The fact that only 11 people will survive here to debut as a project group.”
“It’s practically impossible for all of us to be in those 11. From now on, we’re competitors among ourselves.”
Both of them couldn’t hide their nervousness as they realized that the real broadcast had begun.
Kim Yujin, watching the two, chuckled and said, “Oh come on, you scaredy-cats.”
Then she grabbed Gyeoul’s hand and said, “Hey, don’t worry. Big sis will take care of you!”
“Uh, I really appreciate the sentiment, but where are we going?”
“That super cool looking A-class seat at the very top of the pyramid.”
“Excuse me?”
Kim Yujin pulled her along and dashed toward the top of the pyramid-shaped audience seats.
“Waaaah…”
“This… these stairs are… ridiculously tall. Are they not considerate of the short folks from across the nation?”
“Uh, I don’t think you can call yourself short, Yujin unni…”
“That’s just empty flattery… Hah, thanks!”
“Empty flattery… Uh, actually, no….”
After dragging Gyeoul to the top of the pyramid audience seats, Kim Yujin sat at the center of the A rank seats, tapping the seat beside her excitedly.
Raon Kim Yujin was sitting in the center of the A-rank seats, tapping her side and said,
“Sit down, Gyeoul.”
Gyeoul looked around the seats and replied,
“…Um, isn’t this the A Class seat? I’m supposed to go to E.”
“It’s fine! We’re not graded yet anyway. You should sit early like this.”
“Still, I feel like I should sit according to the alphabet I wrote down.”
Garnet, who had arrived leisurely, said,
“…Come on. How many tough girls actually have an A stamped on their chest from the start? There are plenty of seats here. So just stay and sit. If Gyeoul is alone, she won’t have any screen time. You need to chat and have some banter to get on the broadcast.”
“Right, Gyeoul. There probably won’t be many fiery girls like us around.”
“There are so many it’s almost a problem… I wonder where our agency found all these praying mantis-like girls?”
“…Anyway, let’s sit together and chat. There won’t be many people coming up here.”
Gyeoul tilted her head.
“Is that so?”
“Yeah, it is. If they’re not as confident as us, most will likely shy away.”
*
That wasn’t the case.
“Excuse me, can I sit here?”
“…Hmm, did I look a bit easy going? Out of so many people, you chose me?”
“I just picked the person closest. It doesn’t matter who.”
“Haha… ‘doesn’t matter who’? I should not be called just anyone.”
“Then how about a free dance? Random song, 30 seconds each.”
“Alright, sounds good.”
Even though neither the MC nor the judges had arrived yet, two girls with A written on their chests went down to the stage and began dancing.
Gyeoul couldn’t last even five minutes in that battlefield of strong-willed geniuses.
In fact, “lasting” would be an exaggeration. The moment another trainee spoke to her, she made a quick apology and rolled herself over to the E class seats.
So, sitting quietly in the corner of the E class was Oh Yoori, who turned to Gyeoul and said,
“Those older sisters are amazing, Gyeoul!”
“Yeah, they’re really amazing.”
“Come on, just speak casually! It makes me so sad to use honorifics towards you, the only one I can talk to when there’s no one to lean on.”
At that, Oh Yoori pretended to cry while glancing at Gyeoul.
Gyeoul couldn’t help but smile at the cute, little hamster-like Yoori and replied,
“Alright, Yoori, let’s do well together from now on!”
“Yeah!”
While they were bonding, a huge monitor on the stage started blinking and began playing a video.
The screen flickered to life, starting a video.
Amidst the visuals, the MC appeared, announcing, “Choose your girl! Girl 100!” capturing the attention of 100 girls effortlessly before introducing the judging panel.
Alongside the introduction, two legendary second-generation girl group members were presented as “K-Pop Masters,” along with two dance experts and two vocal experts, all dubbed as “Masters.”
All of them were top-tier professionals called the best in the industry.
“I’ll go all out, making sure the title of Vocal Master doesn’t feel undeserved,” one of them proclaimed.
“…Wow, that guy with glasses looks like his critiques could scare you,” someone commented.
Oh Yoori trembled as she watched the vocal expert introduced as ‘James Oh.’ He looked every bit as meticulous as his impression suggested.
Once the panel’s introductions concluded and the stage was prepared, writer Ye Han-na called for Gyeoul.
“Ms. Yeoreum, you’re up next, so you need to head to the backstage now.”
“Ah, yes! I’ll go right now!”
“Older Sister Gyeoul, fighting!”
As she followed Ye Han-na’s guidance to the back of the stage, familiar faces greeted her.
“Hey! Gyeoul, we meet again?”
“Ah, hello, counter staff!”
Greeting her back, Garnet, Yujin, and Sora finished their stretches with combat readiness and confidently stepped toward the door.
“We’ll tear up the stage!”
“Let’s go!”
“Let’s shred it apart!”
“…You know, Sora, you don’t quite fit in with us,” Yujin pointed out with a smirk.
*
Fueled by enthusiasm, they set the stage ablaze, yet were all rated Class B.
“Why are we Class B?”
Sitting in the Class B seats, Kim Yujin voiced her thoughts candidly, seemingly unaware that they were recording.
Garnet, knowing how malicious editing could be, surprisingly agreed this time.
“Yeah, at least give one of us an A, right? We made zero mistakes.”
“Maybe they graded us tighter since we were the first up.”
“Did we even choose to be the first?”
“Hey, keep quiet! Gyeoul is coming out! Gyeoul, fighting!”
With a serious face and no hint of nerves, Gyeoul began to dance in time with the music.
Kim Yujin, mouth agape and lost in the performance, commented,
“…Did I actually act cocky in front of a girl like that?”
Garnet, also staring dumbfounded, chimed in,
“You better kneel down later on.”
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