Save a Failed Idol's Life

When did they make this? A short intro video with a simple game-like vibe was inserted.

It wouldn’t have been too hard to make, but none of the other teams had tried it, so it looked very fresh.

“Ah…”

Kyunghwa sighed with a look that seemed to say ‘we should have done something like this too’.

The stage that followed was a good one that anyone could enjoy with a light heart, as I had expected.

‘They have to win this.’

I nodded and couldn’t take my eyes off the screen until the end. Even though they didn’t give any particular part to anyone, they all had such great basic skills that Yi-jun even stood out. There was nothing more to ask for.

“They did really well.”

Seon-woo muttered with a mix of envy and admiration, and Yi-jun ruffled his hair and laughed.

“Let’s do it together next time.”

“Yeah!”

I suddenly wondered if it was a waste to use such a good idea for a competition. But it seemed like they would win, so it didn’t matter. I decided to think positively and prepared for the next vote.

This was obvious. Whether I looked inside or outside, it had to be Oh Yi-jun. I finished the vote with a light heart and it was my turn.

“Now it’s Ise’s stage.”

Yi-jun, who had seen his own production become more perfect with the editing, pointed at the screen with his shoulders full of confidence.

The direction was different, but I also did my best to pull it off by myself, so the result was not bad.

There were a lot of tricks using lighting, entrance, and exit, so I wondered if the editing captured the directing well. That was the most worrying thing for me right now.

As I was feeling uneasy about various things, a loud siren sound that seemed to tear my ears started the video.

[Do you remember the moment we first met-.]

I tried to give some points to the costume as well, so every time I raised my arm high, my abs showed under the short top.

I didn’t think anything of it when I danced on stage or watched the monitoring video. But when I saw the edited version, I felt embarrassed by the fierce determination to win this stage.

Finally, when I reached the point where I performed the choreography that felt like my wrists were tied, playful cheers erupted from here and there.

[Dangerous, leave yourself to me now. ]

[I’ll take you to a better place than you imagine-.]

“Wow wow wow-.”

Yi-jun exclaimed as if he was teasing me.

“Be quiet.”

I lowered my face in embarrassment and saw the camera capturing that scene diligently. Ah, can’t they not film this? But I guess it’s better to fill the time with this than nothing.

I was embarrassed and the camera followed me more persistently.

“Hyung, you’re amazing, how did you think of doing that?”

‘That’ thing? You’re being too harsh.

“I don’t know, be quiet.”

At that time, I only thought that I had to win with these uncooperative guys, so I didn’t have time to think about anything else.

As a result, I came to the conclusion that I had to do something I had never done before and make it stand out. And if I was going to do that, why not try something sexy that I didn’t really want to do with our kids!

‘I’m glad it worked out well.’

Now, all I have to do is watch the stage video and see if my plan was successful. I don’t know how I managed to endure until now. I guess I should be satisfied that it’s over, no matter what they say or do.

Finally, I saw the part where I disappeared in the middle and reappeared in the center of the stage, and they used the camera angle and zoom to make it look cool.

‘This should be enough to compete with the external ace.’

As I finished the last gesture with a flourish, the ace voting started right away. There was no need to think about this. I quickly voted and waited for the final stage of the dance B unit.

They weren’t bad, but they weren’t better than us either. I felt the same way even after watching it again. I sighed with relief and waited for the rest of the show.

The screen spun around and showed the MC on the stage again. The MC announced that all the stages were over with a loud introduction.

[Well, we’ve seen all seven units’ amazing performances! Now, we’ll start the voting to decide the winning team of each unit battle!]

Another vote? They’re so slow with everything else, but why are they so fast with this? I was amazed.

“Please move to the main shooting studio right now!”

I followed the staff’s guidance, feeling a mix of anticipation and anxiety.

If they had any conscience, they would give me the ace for both internal and external. But they’re two, and I’m one, so…

I felt a surge of anger at the thought of those bastards being ungrateful to me until the end. I decided to let it go.

It would be nice if I got it. If not, their ingratitude would backfire on them. I swallowed a short sigh and headed to the main shooting studio.

The door that was always closed felt a bit more suffocating than usual.

“Are you okay?”

Seong-won looked down at me and asked.

“What?”

I snapped back quickly. Seong-won looked like he wanted to say something, but he glanced around and lowered his eyes.

“…Never mind.”

Why are you so timid? I didn’t say anything more and glared at the back of his head as he entered the main shooting studio.

‘I’ll never pick up that black-haired beast with a green thumb again.’

I couldn’t contain my anger and returned to the new dorm with a flushed face.

The members tried to comfort me with subtle care, but I felt embarrassed and annoyed at the same time.

Do I have to act like a spoiled brat who can’t handle losing a vote at this age? I felt ashamed without knowing it, but I couldn’t help it.

For a moment, I thought they were too petty to rig the vote like that. But now I found it funny.

“Don’t worry too much, hyung.”

The others pretended not to notice, but Seon-woo kept trying to console me, which irritated me more.

“Uh…”

I couldn’t even show how upset I was and had to go into the room with only a bed and a desk.

‘Sigh… They never make it easy for me, do they?’

To cut to the chase, I failed to secure the internal ace. I don’t know how the votes turned out, but Vesper B, who barely showed up for practice, snatched the internal ace with a smug face.

I’m guessing, but maybe AtoX AB and I each voted for ourselves, and Vesper got all the votes from the others, so he won by two votes.

The external ace was thankfully mine, and I prevented the disaster of Vesper getting double points, but it still annoyed me.

What did he do? I still get angry thinking about it.

The only consolation was that the unit battle was a complete victory, and the other members did well in the ace voting.

The final results were Vocal A, Rap B, Dance A.

The internal ace of Vocal A unit was Lee Huijin. That was expected. He got a lot of support from the editing, and he took the external ace without a challenge.

‘He did well, I admit.’

They suddenly added a new item called external ace, which was not announced before. What were they up to? Anyway, it increased our score, so it was a benefit for us.

The internal ace of Vocal C unit was Kyunghwa, and the external ace was the leader of another group. He gave Kyunghwa a hard time, constantly picking on him.

He dumped the coordination to Kyunghwa, making him do all the work, and took the best parts for himself. It felt unfair to see him get judged.

The Rap B unit had the beneficiary of the double points.

Internal ace Oh Yi-jun, external ace Oh Yi-jun. He was the only one who got a double ace out of seven units, so I expected him to get a lot of spotlight on the broadcast.

Overall, we did pretty well. We got good results in the ace selection and the unit battle.

There was one team that was in chaos, though.

‘…’

Everyone in the Vocal B unit, including Shim Naru, looked unhappy.

The internal and external ace of Vocal B unit were both not Shim Naru, and the faces of the Vocal B participants brightened up.

It was as if they were all hoping that the bastard would get the ace, and they were waiting for it.

‘What kind of grudge did he earn…’

It was natural for the team members to be dissatisfied, since he took all the parts for himself and acted like he was the best, and then he messed up.

The participants who watched Shim Naru’s pitch failure on the monitoring screen all boycotted him and gave their votes to the rookie from Playground.

I could see Shim Naru’s pride being crushed, but he didn’t even do the interview and ran away.

‘What the hell is that?’

‘Is he crying?’

The other participants watched Shim Naru run out of the set and made comments, while the manager of Floss quickly followed him.

I didn’t feel good watching that, but there was nothing I could do.

He brought it on himself. I turned my attention to the interview order, and I felt thirsty.

‘I used my head and I’m hungry. I’ll go get a drink from the vending machine.’

I remembered there was a vending machine that sold sikhye at the end of the hallway, and I grabbed my wallet and left. The inside was still noisy, but the hallway was cold and quiet.

Did he go straight to the dorm? Or did he go home because he was embarrassed to see the members? I unwittingly thought of Shim Naru who ran out earlier.

What if I run into Shim Naru? I chuckled sarcastically, and then I realized why bad premonitions never miss.

‘Sob, sniff, sob…’

I have to avoid this. I heard someone crying faintly in my ear.