In the practice room, apart from secretly bursting into tears, Lee Hye-jeong was really a professional when it came to broadcasting.
“Are you really okay? Is it alright to go in like this…?”
“Yep, I’m really okay now, Ye-rin.”
After crying for a while, her face showed almost no signs of the tears she’d shed.
She had a bright smile on her face, and her puffy eyes had settled down again.
It was effective that she had rubbed her eyes with cold water in the restroom, claiming it was a tip for reducing puffiness.
On one hand, I also wondered how much she must have cried to know such tips….
Hoo….
She took a deep breath before entering the set, and with a small smile, she approached me and…
Squeezed!
She intertwined her fingers with mine and squeezed tightly.
“…Unnie.”
“Thank you, Ye-rin. It’s all thanks to you.”
Tremble.
Her hand still shook as she held mine, but the light in her eyes didn’t fade.
“Let’s do our best from now on.”
“…Yes.”
Thus, we stepped back into the messy Na Ah Ah set, holding each other’s hands tightly.
“Ah~ Where have you been, Hye-jeong!”
As Lee Hye-jeong and I re-entered the set, one of the production team members scolded her.
It was the writer who had informed her that morning about dropping to B rank.
It was a situation that could ignite anyone’s temper, but Hye-jeong showed no signs of this, smiling sweetly and bowing to the writer.
“I’m sorry, writer-nim. I was in the restroom… hehehe….”
“Right, now hurry and get on stage. Ye-rin too.”
“Yes!”
Just as Hye-jeong cheerfully replied and was about to head on stage…
“Ah! Hye-jeong!”
Someone called out to her.
That person was….
“…Shin PD.”
“Come here for a moment! I need to talk to you!”
It was Shin PD, the main PD who had demoted Hye-jeong to B.
He noticed Hye-jeong making her way to the stage and called her over, opening his mouth.
“You heard from the writer this morning, right? About going down to B?”
“…Yes, haha.”
“Oh, I’m sorry. I thought it would be better if there were exactly four centers in total. So when I asked the trainers, they said that Hye-jeong was the closest to B. So we had no choice but to…, haha.”
Shin PD made excuses, even throwing the trainers under the bus.
On his face, there was no sign of guilt, just a pure smile.
But despite seeing his face, Hye-jeong laughed as though she didn’t understand anything.
“It’s a pity, but… haha, it can’t be helped. It’s a decision made with the broadcast in mind, so can you make sure I get plenty of screen time instead?”
“Of course! Hahaha! That’s right! As expected from Hye-jeong, being an audition alumni, you really understand broadcasting well! I’ll make sure you get good screen time, so you don’t have to worry too much!”
“Yes! Hehe, I trust you, PD-nim!”
Having spoken casually with Shin PD, Hye-jeong headed back to the stage.
Following her, I tried to ascend the stage when Shin PD called me to stop.
“Oh, Ye-rin, just a moment.”
Snatch!
He seized my wrist as I tried to get up on stage and, unlike his earlier banter with Hye-jeong, spoke in a serious and low tone.
“Our production team has high expectations for your performance.”
“…….”
“Let’s do our best from here on out.”
…Why is Hye-jeong just Hye-jeong while I’m still Ye-rin?
I felt like I was beginning to understand the difference, and it irritated me.
But since I wasn’t a professional like Hye-jeong, I couldn’t force a smile in this situation.
So, I answered with my usual blank expression.
“…Yes, of course.”
“I’m counting on you. Well then, I’m off….”
After hearing my response, Shin PD nodded once and returned to his place.
I stared at his retreating figure and went back to my place on the stage after Hye-jeong.
I stood in the center, the top A rank spot. Hye-jeong was below, in the B rank spot.
It was just a few steps apart in height, but for some reason, I felt a daunting gap between us.
And…, I hated myself for feeling that way.
“Okay, then let’s start the group theme song rehearsal!”
As my heart darkened, the shooting for the group theme song began.
No matter how positively you look at it, filming the group theme song was no easy task.
First, the 100 participants practiced the dance as a rehearsal.
If everything goes smoothly here after several rounds, we could move to the next part.
Next was makeup.
Once the rehearsal was over, the waiting stylists, especially for me, an A rank, stuck to me like glue, doing my makeup and hair.
“Alright! All done! Take a look in the mirror. How does it look? It turned out beautifully, right?”
After an hour of makeup, my face, which was obviously beautiful, felt like an experience I never wanted to repeat.
This full makeup was far more troublesome and annoying than I had imagined.
After everything was coordinated, I had to hold back the urge to rub my face hard as we moved on to the actual filming.
From this point on, it was truly a lamenting time.
“Hey! C rank fifth, you messed up!”
“S-Sorry-!”
“Ugh, I’ll go again.”
The group theme song performed by all 100 participants.
If anyone messed up here, we had to start over from the beginning.
To capture the participants’ desperation on video, they insisted we shoot it in one take.
Especially for us A rank, it was grueling.
We A ranks had to handle the entire introduction part and also execute a high-difficulty dance break in between.
Huff…, Huff…
Seo Yoo-jin, whose weakness was stamina and dancing, was the first to tire out, and by the end, I, Na Han-na, and even Yoo Seol, who excelled in dancing, were gasping for breath.
Even I, who thought I had experienced all sorts of hardships, almost lost my senses at that moment.
It felt like finishing a late-night convenience store shift and immediately jumping into unloading packages.
We finally endured through those painfully long hours and…
“Cut! Alright! We have finished filming!”
…We were able to receive the cut signal.
“Uaaaaah-!”
As soon as the production team called for a cut, the participants collapsed and sat down in their spots.
Maybe because I was in the highest A rank spot, I could clearly see the lower-ranked participants.
“Sis, you did great~”
“Yup…, you too!”
The lower-ranked participants congratulated one another for their hard work, building friendship.
“Hehe, everyone did a great job.”
Among them was Park Yoo-jung.
With her natural knack for socializing, she was greeting the other B rank participants.
I turned my head to search for Hye-jeong and see what she was doing.
“…….”
She was staring blankly at the air, perhaps exhausted from the long shoot or still in shock from her demotion to B rank.
I wanted to approach her, but… our positions were just too far apart, so I gave up.
Instead, I turned to try socializing with another A rank.
But….
“Hmph…!”
The moment I turned my head, Seo Yoo-jin, still panting, ripped one and avoided my gaze.
Another A rank, Na Han-na…
“Zzz….”
‘Could she be sleeping…?’
She was sprawled on the floor, snoring away.
Now that I think about it, she was always trying to sleep wherever she could, often saying she sleeps a lot by her definition.
But I didn’t expect her to faint right after filming.
It was as if she hit the snooze button on life or something…
Anyway, I failed at socializing with Na Han-na as well.
Finally….
Swipe.
“…….”
I was about to turn lastly to Yoo Seol but stopped myself.
She was still firmly erecting a cold wall against me.
It seemed that getting close to the four A ranks wouldn’t be easy after all.
Maybe not until Na Ah Ah ended.
Slide-.
So I just sat down, hugging my knees, inwardly wishing they’d hurry up and send me home.
As if my thoughts reached him, the main PD Na Ah Ah, Shin PD, suddenly appeared and shouted.
“Okay, everyone! It’s now 10:22 PM! This concludes our filming for Na Ah Ah, Week 1—! Let’s give a round of applause—!”
Clap, clap, clap.
Under Shin PD’s call for applause, the participants responded weakly.
After seeing that, Shin PD chuckled and continued.
“Today’s filming will air in two episodes over the next two weeks. We’ll see you on Saturday next week! So everyone, good job today—!”
Thus, my Idol Academia’s week one filming came to an end.
Now, it was time to head home for a bit.
“Wow…, it started in the morning, and it’s already night….”
“Right?”
After the first week of filming ended, the participants packed their things in the dorm before leaving the set.
Outside, it was already dark.
After gathering my belongings, I was trying to figure out how to get home when someone called out to me.
“Unnie—!”
“Yoo-jung.”
It was Park Yoo-jung, who had gotten close with me since the first day of Na Ah Ah.
She approached me beaming with bright smiles, seemingly unaffected by tiredness.
“You’ve worked hard all week, Unnie!”
“Yeah, youtoo worked hard.”
“Since this is our fate, how about exchanging numbers?”
Saying this, Park Yoo-jung handed me her phone.
Press, press.
As I also wanted to befriend her, I quickly typed in my number without hesitation.
“Along with exchanging numbers, let’s follow each other too! Give me your ID.”
“…Follow? Oh, I’m not on Insta.”
“Eh? No way, that’s amazing. So you don’t use any other social media at all?”
“I’ve used Facebook a bit….”
Hearing that, Park Yoo-jung genuinely looked surprised, her mouth agape, before bursting into a fit of giggles.
“Sometimes you really look like an old man.”
“Old man….”
“But I like that about you.”
Slide-.
She pulled my hand for a moment and said,
“Thank you for this past week. And I hope to rely on you going forward!”
“…Yeah.”
After saying that, Park Yoo-jung smiled at me one last time and left.
“I’ll be heading out now! See you next time!”
“Oh, you too, take care.”
After seeing Park Yoo-jung off, I took a glance at her number and suddenly recalled Hye-jeong, so I went looking for her.
“Unnie.”
“Uh? Oh… Ye-rin.”
It was easy to spot her standing there, looking dazed.
I walked up to her, greeted her for working hard, and handed her my phone.
“Let’s exchange numbers. Contact me if anything comes up.”
“…….”
Lee Hye-jeong looked at the phone I handed her, typed in her number…
Hug.
And then, she wrapped her arms around me tightly.
“…Thank you, Ye-rin.”
“…I didn’t do anything.”
“What do you mean you didn’t do anything? Because of you….”
Her voice, which seemed slightly wet, couldn’t finish its sentence.
Instead, she hugged me tightly once more and said…
“Anyway, thank you, Ye-rin. See you next time.”
“…Yes, Unnie.”
Waving goodbye, she departed.
Having completed my farewells with Hye-jeong, I took my last steps.
My destination was….
“…Unnie.”
“…….”
It was Yoo Seol.
Rattle-.
The moment she saw me, she tried to pull away with her suitcase, but….
Stop!
I raised my hand and blocked her path.
As I obstructed her way, Yoo Seol frowned and questioned me.
“…What are you doing….”
“I’m here to apologize.”
I interrupted Yoo Seol’s words.
“I’m sorry about yesterday. What I said wasn’t meant to hurt you.”
“It’s fine, I don’t need….”
“And I’m here to formally declare war on you.”
“…What?”
I suppose I could never get close to Yoo Seol for the rest of my life.
But I couldn’t ignore her either.
“I’ve come to understand how desperate everyone here is… how hard they’re trying.”
She was the first person I felt I wanted to surpass.
“So I promise to give it my all from now on.”
“…….”
“I’m going to give it my all and defeat you next time.”
I realized how intense her feelings were and how devoted she was to Na Ah Ah.
So I too…, will do my best to overcome her with my skills next time.
“As your rival.”
“…….”
Yoo Seol looked a little surprised by my boldness, staring at me before finally replying.
“Do as you wish.”
With a cold response, she brushed past me.
Rattle-, rattle-.
She left, carrying her suitcase as coldly as her words.
“Yoo Seol Trainee.”
At the end of her path, there was a waiting car for her.
It was probably a vehicle sent by her agency.
She casually loaded her suitcase into the trunk before getting in.
Vroom—!
The one who stirred up the greatest emotional waves in me over the past week departed just like that.
“Sigh….”
After finishing my goodbyes with Yoo Seol, my body finally felt as if the tension had eased.
The long, long week was finally over.
I’d had little sleep and so much had happened.
Lying in bed like this, I felt like I could fall into eternal sleep.
“I need to check the buses….”
I knew I needed to get home to rest, yet my body felt too exhausted to even pull out my smartphone.
But at that moment.
Swipe—.
“…Huh?”
Suddenly, I felt a presence behind me as someone snatched my backpack.
I turned in surprise to find….
“Ye-rin.”
“…….”
“It’s time to take you home.”
“…Boss.”
Standing there was Kang Hyung-man, my CEO from Brotherhood Planning, who had once been a creditor.
As always, donning a dark suit that made him look like a reaper, he took a glance at my exhausted form and said simply…
“You’ve worked hard.”
He casually threw in that one line.
Then, he slung my backpack over his shoulder and in a kind manner, helped me up.
“Let’s go home.”
His indifferent yet caring words and demeanor made…
“…Yes, Boss.”
I felt like tears might spill out.
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