After the last fan song, the stage was all wrapped up.
With the MC’s final call for votes, the countdown began.
“Alright, voting is now closing! 10! 9!…1! It’s closed!”
But that didn’t mean the ranking announcement was happening right away.
They were tallying the text votes in real-time, but the numbers were so overwhelming that there was still more to go.
Of course, the production staff had anticipated this situation and played a pre-prepared VCR.
On the screen, Ha-rang Unni was shown preparing for the final slate.
[Let’s do the final slate!]
The participants, gathered with anxious hearts, surrounded the room.
[What’s going on? What are we doing?]
[Aren’t we seeing the audition meeting video?]
Although the participants knew why they were gathered, they acted clueless and threw out some standard broadcasting lines.
Light filled the front screen on the monitor.
[Aah! Turn that off!]
[What the heck is that!]
The participants teased and joked with each other, and the viewers found it all healing.
– Haha, the kids are so cute.
– Just from the first day of auditions, we can already see the kids’ personalities, haha.
– What’s surprising is Ye-eun doing that dance, haha. So that’s how she really wanted to go for it…
All of the participants’ videos played in short snippets one after another.
[I prepared a piano performance.]
– Whoa, are we finally going to see it?
– Wait, are they playing the piano!!!?????
– OMG our God is playing the piano!
Do-hee’s fans searched the entire internet for her competition videos.
But they only found articles, and the only videos circulating belonged to her mom and piano teacher.
The only thing fans could occasionally see during the show were snippets of practice sessions.
But since they couldn’t catch a glimpse of her formally playing classics, fans were thirsty to see Do-hee at the piano.
As curiosity about Do-hee, the piano genius nominated for the grand prize, ballooned like a cloud, a classic performance video was finally revealed.
In the video, Do-hee sat before the piano.
Melodies flowed with her dancing fingers.
Though her piano playing was cut to about 30 seconds due to time constraints, just seeing that hidden piece made her fans go wild.
– Why did it have to cut off here ㅡㅡ
– Why am I so excited seeing Do-hee’s small hands play the piano ㅠㅠ
– ???: Why is Lee Do-hee becoming an idol?
– I might not know much about piano, but I can tell she’s good just from looks.
– Thank you for being an idol ㅠㅠ Top’s casting of Do-hee deserves real praise.
– Playing the piano and wow, I’m falling for her. She’s cool but how is she so cute?
– Wait, why isn’t everything shown? What gives?
*
Under the stage.
“Do-hee… why do you keep coming down and crying when you just put on a great show up there…!”
“Why do you keep coming down and crying after doing so well…?!”
The makeup artist spoke to me in a soothing manner.
She had already fixed my makeup three times.
Of course, I could just let it go, but while I was enjoying the stage, smiling brightly, it was only natural to be flustered when I came down to find tears welling up in my eyes.
But what can I do… I can’t seem to build a tolerance to this drug…
“Kim Ye-eun~ You need to stop crying, okay?”
Of course, all the other contestants were in the same situation.
There were more than a few who burst into tears right from the stage.
Over there, Kim Ye-eun had her eyeliner beautifully smudged.
In contrast, when I looked in the mirror, my eyes were pink and radiated a tragic beauty.
I wanted to hug myself immediately.
‘What if I look this pretty even when I cry…’
In the midst of confirming my self-love while feeling quite guilty, a familiar melody floated in from the concert hall.
It was the Scerzo No. 1 that had danced from my fingers.
My piano performance was about to be revealed to the world.
“Do-hee!”
The makeup artist rushed to press a cotton pad against my eyes again.
“Participants, you need to get ready for the stage! We will be moving soon!”
Whether the contestants were sobbing or not, the staff shouted.
*
After the audition meeting video ended, the viewing screen showed interviews from all the participants.
[Hwang Yeon-ha: I really thought of this as my last chance.]
[Kim Se-yeon: Now that I’ve come this far, I really want to debut.]
.
.
.
[Kim Na-eun: I’ve worked hard to get into the top 7.]
[Kwon Hana: I don’t want my hard work and sweat to go to waste.]
[Soon, the final 7 debut members will be announced!]
Along with the subtitle, the viewing screen returned to the concert hall.
13 participants stood on stage.
Tension filled the atmosphere.
All the participants wore stiff expressions.
“Ugh… why am I so nervous?”
I kept chewing on my lips.
It might be partly due to the tense background music, but I was finally feeling the pressure of being in front of 3,000 people.
Especially when my eyes met those of the audience, an inexplicable shyness made me keep my gaze fixed on the pyramid-shaped ranking seats set up in front of the stage.
I wished they would announce it soon, but the MC dragged it out with unnecessary embellishments.
Finally, the MC, who received the cue sign, began the announcement.
“Then, from now on, I will call out the ranks and names of the 7 members selected directly by the judges.”
“The announced trainees should move to the designated ranking seats and sit down.”
“Also, the trainee who ranks 7th, the cut-off debut spot, will be announced last.”
“First, the trainee in 6th place! This trainee demonstrated natural leadership and guided the team well.”
“This trainee was a natural leader who skillfully led her team.”
As I hoped my face would somehow appear on the screen at the mention of leadership, I watched with minuscule expectations.
Of course, it was just Hana Unni, Kim Na-eun Unni, and Seo-yoon Unni’s faces shown in rotation.
“The trainee in sixth place is…”
“The first member confirmed for debut is…”
The MC was dragging on with unnecessary embellishments and pauses.
“Congratulations! From Pudding Entertainment, it’s Kwon Hana Trainee!”
Surrounding participants hugged Hana Unni in celebration.
Caught up in the mood, I approached Hana Unni and gave her a hug too.
After hugging everyone, Hana Unni approached the MC at the front to receive the mic.
“Uh… Hello, I’m Kwon Hana from Pudding Entertainment. I never dreamed I’d go from being an athlete who got injured to successfully debuting as an idol… Your support and love have been a tremendous help for me to reach this point. And to the trainees, trainers, and the representative of Pudding Entertainment who have been with me until now… Thank you so much.”
Hana Unni, filled with emotion, managed to show the tears she had been hiding.
After swallowing her tears, Hana Unni spoke.
“And… my father, who has always supported and raised me alone since my mother passed when I was young. I really love you. Thank you!”
On the screen, a shot of Hana Unni’s father holding up her slogan appeared.
“Ah, Kwon Hana Trainee, who worked harder than anyone else and put in the effort! I’m sure your father is very proud of you right now! Congratulations! Now, please go up to the podium!”
As Hana Unni returned the mic to the MC and climbed the podium, the MC began announcing the fifth-place trainee.
“This trainee has shown a cute side off stage, but on stage, she demonstrates a surprisingly strong skill.”
The screen flicked between Kim Seo-yoon, Park Ye-eun, and Eun Se-ra before landing on me.
…?
Even if I was cute due to the concept on stage, I thought I had shown enough leadership and charisma off stage. Was I the only one who thought that?
The audience member who had just made eye contact with me looked at me with a pleased expression.
It seemed like everyone was viewing me through a distorted lens.
“The fifth-place trainee is…! From Topist Entertainment…”
All four candidates were looking in one direction.
The fact that I was a favorite to win was better known by other participants than by me.
“…Kim Seo-yoon Trainee! Congratulations!”
Although Kim Seo-yoon often playfully bickered with me, she was also someone with whom I had never fought seriously. I expected Seo-yoon Unni to pass.
But it seemed she didn’t think so.
“Uh… Thank you so much for selecting me, fans. Actually, after my first debut attempt fell through, I always wondered if I could really debut. I couldn’t even prepare anything because I didn’t expect to debut… But I feel like so many grateful people are coming to my mind right now…”
“Once my debut fell through, I’ve been wondering if I could ever actually debut. I couldn’t even prepare because I never expected I would… But it feels like all these grateful people are suddenly popping up in my mind…”
Seo-yoon Unni, with teary eyes, rambled her thoughts.
“Participants I’ve practiced with, the trainers… all the Topist staff… and family, um, it’s a bit much, but my aunts, uncles…”
Kim Seo-yoon started listing everyone she could think of.
“… Dad and Mom… Seo-rim… Jae-woo… and finally, the four of us who promised to debut together. Including Do-hee and Na-eun Unni, and Woo-ah and Chiyo too… I think it’s thanks to all of you that I’ve been able to keep going so far. Thank you again, dear fans! I’ll work hard!”
Thanks to Kim Seo-yoon’s rambling remarks, the next announcement was made a little quicker.
“This participant has the charm to uplift everyone with her unique bright energy. With her high-level dance skills in every mission, she captured the hearts of the fans.”
The digital board hovering around Ha-rang Unni, Chae-rin Unni, and Se-yeon Unni fixed on Chae-rin Unni.
“The 4th place trainee is! Gong Chae-rin trainee!”
Chae-rin Unni, perhaps having her thoughts in order, calmly delivered her speech.
“Hello, this is Gong Chae-rin from Zy Entertainment.”
“Really, I’m always grateful and I promise to become a singer who knows how to be humble and thankful at every moment. Thank you.”
Now, onto 3rd place.
The spotlight was on Ha-rang Unni and Sara Unni.
It was the same picture as during the first elimination round.
Back then, I had to give 1st place to Sara Unni.
“And in 3rd place…! Jeon Ha-rang trainee!”
Ha-rang Unni cheerfully hugged each one, especially embracing Se-yeon Unni for a long moment.
“Hello, I’m Jeon Ha-rang. Right now, I’m…”
Ha-rang Unni stumbled over her words, possibly getting flustered.
“Actually, I… after being ranked initially, my rank kept dropping. I thought I might not make it into the TOP 7… But seeing the scene I dreamed of actually happening…”
Tears filled Ha-rang Unni’s eyes as she continued.
“Dear fans… really, truly thank you. I’m so grateful for everyone who has been with me… Thank you to the Hari Entertainment folks… and my loving family… I’ll do my best to be someone deserving of this place and will keep working hard! Thank you so much!”
Now it was down to 1st and 2nd place.
And 7th place.
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