Chapter 26

[This participant has been noted for his outstanding dancing skills.]

'Moondae isn't in 7th place either!'

She clenched her hands and screamed wildly inside.

In the meantime, voting… No, it was worthwhile to persistently post videos and posts on SNS asking to buy stocks.

Then came up the 6th place, and 5th place.

[This participant… He's drawing attention with his unique ideas and talents.]

Finally, the MC called out Park Moondae.

[5th place, participant Park Moondae!]

The camera caught Park Moondae, who had been sitting down, standing up from his seat.

'Crazy, really crazy…'

She couldn't hold back the overflowing screams and wrote on SNS.

=========================

[Crazy Moondae 5th place ah Moondae-ya. I knew you'd do well, our Moondae 

Because you're a genius. Thank you for being an idol, really.]

=========================

And she deleted it without posting it.

She couldn't post it because her SNS, which had already become a well-known account, couldn't be used for frivolous reasons.

Park Moondae went up to the podium, his golden brown hair swayed as he bowed his head once, and then began to talk.

[I don't think I deserve this rank. I will show you my development so that I don't go against the expectations of the shareholders who bought my stocks. Thank you.]

And he bowed his head.

It was a standard speech, but perhaps because of the choice of words, it reminded her of a corporate fair rather than an idol.

As words like 'are you a CEO, Moon Puppy? ㅋㅋ' ran rampant on SNS, the MC asked a question that had been prepared beforehand.

[You got a lot of attention from promoting chicken feet. If you debut, what kind of mukbang would you want to do again?]

[Hmm… Steamed daechang?]

(TL note: daechang is cow's large intestine.)

The MC burst out laughing at the unusually specific product name.

[Is there a reason?]

[It's the second most delicious food after chicken feet.]

There was laughter here and there at Park Moondae's calm answer.

The MC wrapped it up on a humorous note.

[Ah, PPL-related products again! The participant who cares about Idol Inc.~ The 5th place! Participant Park Moondae!]

[Thank you.]

Park Moondae just smiled faintly and bowed his head again.

And he moved up to the seat that matched his rank.

The editing was moderately sensible and didn't leave any room for controversy.

While watching, she breathed a sigh of relief.

She was worried because there had been subtle editing that gave strange tension to Park Moondae's attitude every time.

'You must be biting on another participant.'

Unsurprisingly, Kim Raebin, who was announced in 4th place, received an uncomfortable edit.

The conflict between the 7th ranked participant and the team battle was highlighted, so this seemed to be the aftermath of that.

Anyway, she watched the rest of the announcement with a more relaxed mind.

In fact, it didn't really matter who it was.

'Now that it's like this, I wish Seon Ahyun is safe. Oh, and I wish Cha Eugene would fall a little.'

Cha Eugene's malicious fans were calling Moondae names and posting bullshit on SNS. It made her so angry she wanted to sue them.

However, <Idol Inc.> usually picked participants who had left their agency, so it had traditionally been difficult to calm public opinion through accusations to the agency.

'Even Moondae is just an ordinary citizen…'

She was just worried that he might have been hurt while searching.

'Once he debuts, I'll send pdfs to his agency as soon as possible.'

She made a firm decision and continued watching the broadcast.

Seon Ahyun was in 3rd place.

"T-th… Thank you. Huu."

Seon Ahyun burst into tears and said thanks.

The tearful reaction cuts of several team members of October 31 were captured together along with a touching BGM.

"T-that I c-can do it…, I-I didn't think of that. It-it's all… It's all thanks to the team.  That, and those who v-voted… Thank you for that."

The MC mouthed, 'It's not a vote, it's a stock!'

However, the cross-editing of Seon Ahyun, who couldn't see it because he was too hectic, brought a small smile to the viewers.

Seon Ahyun sniffled and went to his seat, and in the process, the warm interaction of October 31 team members, including Park Moondae, was briefly highlighted.

It was proof that the production crew was also conscious of the hot reaction on the Internet.

After that, Cha Eugene and Ryu Chungwoo were nominated for 1st and 2nd places just as everyone expected, and after the competition, Cha Eugene was announced as 1st place.

"Great!"

'Ryu Chungwoo would've been better!'

Cha Eugene, who gave a bright and cheerful acceptance speech, seemed a bit cheeky.

However, she was not stupid enough to write malicious comments, so she decided to just be happy with Park Moondae's fifth place.

The participant who received less attention was announced in 49th place, and the ranking announcement ceremony ended blandly.

Park Moondae's portion was also over after the heartwarming scene where members of October 31 gathered and laughed at Seon Ahyun.

'It's too bad.'

For fans like her, there wasn't enough content. She wanted to see more.

Next time, she hoped that she would be able to take pictures on her way to work, and she wished for Park Moondae to be safe.

After the ranking announcement ceremony was over, filming for the next team match probably continued.

'Isn't he going to be on the same team with Keun Sejin or Seon Ahyun again?'

She speculated and wished deeply.

'Whoever it is, I hope Moondae can make a great stage comfortably!'

* * *

I feel like something is going to break.

What is this situation?

"Ah! He has picked participant Park Moondae!"

The MC's excited voice and the participants' surprised exclamations rang everywhere.

"Oh my!"

"Moondae hyung?"

Even though the number was reduced from 77 to 49, it was still the size that made my ear ache.

Are you surprised? I am surprised, too.

Why did he pick me?

"Like this, participant Park Moondae… You will be joining Kim Raebin's team."

Filming the second team match right after the ranking announcement ceremony was a routine I had expected.

– The team… will be chosen by drawing lots!

– The 7 participants I pick will become the leaders, and they will take the quiz to select team members!

I knew this rule would come out at least once.

But I didn't know he'd pick me.

Kim Raebin.

He was a participant from the same agency as Cha Eugene and was currently ranked 4th. As far as I remembered, he was ranked 2nd in the final.

By the way, he never even said hello to me.

"Then, participant Park Moondae, please move!"

I trudged along and stood next to Kim Raebin.

'I can't ask why you picked me out of the blue.'

I don't know what kind of editing I will receive if I do. First, let's nod at each other as if we're business partners.

"Nice to meet you."

"Yes, I look forward to your kind cooperation."

Fortunately, unlike his fierce impression, he greeted me well.

'I guess he didn't have bad intentions.'

I guess I had some prejudice because he gave the image of a handsome bully that teenagers seemed to prefer these days.

'So you really picked Park Moondae because he seemed useful.'

Kim Raebin was a participant focusing on rapping, so it wasn't strange if he didn't pay attention to the main vocal position.

In the first place, If I was chosen by a low-ranking participant I would have guessed I was chosen as the main vocalist.

But obviously… In Kim Raebin's last team, there was a participant who was originally going to debut in the main vocal position.

And yet you skipped him?

'Oh, you're uncomfortable with the last team.'

Now that I thought about it, it was better to skip them.

That's because the atmosphere in Kim Raebin's former team was shattered because of the individual reward for first place.

Well, I remember the last episode.

– Didn't you give me this part on purpose?

– No. It's so everyone can perform their best on the stage...

– So you thought I could only do this much.

It didn't appear on the show, but after the individual voting reward was announced, I heard that there was a guy who grabbed him by the collar.

'That brutality was shown very well on the broadcast.'

Thanks to this, Cha Eugene was the only one who survived the broadcast with good editing.

The team's main vocalist didn't have a lot of footage, but it wasn't strange if they cut off each other due to the awkwardness.

And out of the remaining vocals, it would make sense if you chose Park Moondae, the most verified vocalist.

'But it's a bit weird that you chose me first.'

It's nothing to worry about right now, so I let it be.

I quickly organized my thoughts and grasped the situation.

"Next quiz∼ Five words that start with 'Park'."

"Museum, applause, bat, Park Hyukgeose, park goji."

(Author Note: They all start with the same korean characters.)

Kim Raebin immediately raised his hand and answered correctly. His momentum was staggering.

"Wow! Participant Kim Raebin, you got it right twice in a row!"

"Aaahh!"

"Isn't this too advantageous for rappers?"

With the rich reactions of the participants who grasped the broadcasting system, Kim Raebin immediately pointed out the next participant.

"Cha Eugene… I'll pick this participant."

Even if he was on the previous team, he was in first place. I would have done the same.

He was surprisingly wise.

Looking at the last team match, it seemed that he had worse social skills than Lee Sejin, but was it just the power of rumors and editing?

However, I didn't know what effect it would have on me if the team was formed like this.

'I think it's going to be very different from the first round.'

"Good choice!"

"Yes."

Cha Eugene ran quickly as soon as he was picked and pretended to know Kim Raebin.

And then he raised his thumb at me.

"We are together!"

"Yes… That's right."

"You're good on stage!"

"Yes. I look forward to your kind cooperation."

I don't know how long I have to talk like this. It's awkward.

The funny thing is, I was the only one who felt awkward. Cha Eugene was nodding his head at the context that he alone understood.

I could already predict our future communication.

In the meantime, Kim Raebin was relentlessly recruiting teammates. His batting average was quite good, so he quickly filled the team.

"Participant Ryu Chungwoo."

"Participant Min Jeonghoon."

And I was starting to feel uncomfortable.

The lineup was too good. Here, 'good' meant that their ranking was high.

All the team members were in the top 15. Just thinking about what kind of editing would come out was already confusing.

'Isn't that mean you wouldn't know unless you're really that good?'

Even worse, I was the only one who felt that the picture got a little weird.

This is because Choi Wongil was among the first 7 people to choose participants to join.

"Seon Ahyun!"

"Keun Sejin, ah, Lee Sejin hyung!"

Starting with Seon Ahyun, Choi Wongil almost restored all of his teammates from the first team match.

Of course, I was excluded. Raebin picked me first, so there was no choice.

'Well, I don't think he would have picked me even if there was room.'

However, there was one more person from October 31 who Kim Raebin picked first.

"Lee Sejin, a former child actor, participant Lee Sejin (A)! You will join Kim Rae-bin's team~"

Lee Sejin walked to this side with a complexion that didn't look so good.

This meant that the ticking time bomb that didn't explode thanks to the crazy social skill of Keun Sejin, Gold 1, and Gold 2 in the first round was now joining Kim Raebin's team.

Why did he pick Lee Sejin?

Did he pick him because he had the highest rank among the remaining people?

After looking at the remaining members who had not yet been selected, I turned my head and saw Choi Wongil's team.

"Moondae~"

When our eyes met, Keun Sejin and Gold 1, and Gold 2 held out their hands with sad expressions as if they were doing some kind of skit.

And Seon Ahyun, who looked embarrassed, waved his hand nervously.

This… What is this ominous feeling of being on the wrong end of the rope?

A chill ran down my spine. I think this is the moment when I need some supernatural help.

'Status window.'