LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 50
Chapter 50
“[Still, I’ve known him longer and treated him quite well (omitted), but Ban Yo-han, who has become unusually clingy, hopes for your elimination. Ban Yo-han’s favorability -0. Current favorability +52]”
As always, Ban Yo-han, who wished for my elimination today, quickly turned around and dragged Kim Jun-woo away with him, saying, “Oh, oh.”
He must have realized that neither Seo Moon-gyeol nor I would change our minds easily.
No matter how smart Ban Yo-han is, there’s nothing he can do if Seo Moon-gyeol, who ranks higher, opposes him.
“Just wait and see.”
He looked back at us after moving away and left such a clichéd villain line, which suggested he wasn’t genuinely angry.
Defeating that sly fox so easily.
This is the taste of power. Sweet.
While I was reveling in the power of others, Seo Moon-gyeol asked in a low voice.
“You don’t hate Yo-han hyung, right?”
I hate him.
Didn’t you see that he just wished for my elimination? But I saw it. I was the only one who saw it. Damn it.
However, since Seo Moon-gyeol seemed genuinely concerned about my relationship with Ban Yo-han, I pretended otherwise, smiling nonchalantly and shaking my head.
“No. I’ve been with him since the first Heart Attack practice. I just thought sticking together this time would create a predictable scenario. I wanted some distance.”
“I see.”
Seo Moon-gyeol visibly relaxed at my response.
Did I just say something incredibly unreasonable quite naturally?
Logically, it’s impossible for Seo Moon-gyeol’s expression to change that dramatically.
Come to think of it, he seemed worried earlier too…
But when I glanced at Seo Moon-gyeol, his face was as composed as ever.
Just as I was about to dismiss it as a mere illusion.
A skill acquisition notification popped up.
[You’ve acquired the passive skill 《Expression Reading: Seo Moon-gyeol》.]
[Passive Skill 《Expression Reading: Seo Moon-gyeol》 – Seo Moon-gyeol, who has long reached a state of calmness, often gets misunderstood as arrogant, unlucky, or sensitive due to his unique poker face.
So, how did you judge that Seo Moon-gyeol was relieved?
Even a slow worm can crawl. Surprisingly, you have the talent to read Seo Moon-gyeol’s subtle expressions! Why not use this skill to become the spokesperson for Seo Moon-gyeol’s inner thoughts?]
‘What is this?’
Reading the sudden skill explanation, I had to try my best not to make a disgusted face in front of the camera.
And I regretted it.
Knowing it was nonsense, why did I read it to the end?
It’s not my first day playing this trash game.
I never thought I would acquire such a useless skill so quickly, but I decided to think positively.
Since I’m already on the same team as Seo Moon-gyeol, it’s better to have a skill than not…
But why is this even a skill?
Can’t I get something cool or useful? Is it that hard?
“Raon, it’s time to start the third round.”
With a hint of concern in Seo Moon-gyeol’s voice, I managed to regain my sanity and return to reality.
And I had to acknowledge the effect of the skill.
I could clearly discern the hidden intentions in Seo Moon-gyeol’s stoic expressions and tone more accurately than before.
If the skill’s effect applied to others too, it would be an unbeatable skill for being a celebrity.
However, since the skill name was clearly 《Expression Reading: Seo Moon-gyeol》, I quickly gave up on that hope.
While bickering with Ban Yo-han, the second round ended in vain, and while reading the useless skill explanation, the third round began. Before I knew it, the auditorium was filled with the season 2 signal song, “Your Star.”
When I looked around in a hurry, surprisingly, many had already formed their four-person teams.
How did they find their preferred people in just 30 seconds? It seemed like they had prearranged it.
We had to form a decent four-person team or pair in this third round, no matter what…
But we had no choice.
“Raon hyung, let’s team up.”
As soon as the music stopped, Jing Xiao, who was ranked fourth, quickly led his four-person team over and grabbed my hand with a bright smile.
“Wow. We’re a team!”
Damn it.
This is the true taste of power. Bitter…
[“Those who thrive on others’ power will perish by others’ power. Wisdom +1”]
Thus, the team formation game spanning three rounds ended.
After the game, due to the excessive number of four-person teams, some teams were merged with two-person pairs who hadn’t found a team until the end by the production team.
The trainees who became targets for integration seemed resentful, but there was nothing an ordinary trainee could do.
On the broadcast, it would likely be neatly edited as if there had been no issues.
The broadcasting station is a bully.
As a result, three eight-person teams, four six-person teams, and four four-person teams were formed, making a total of eleven teams, half voluntarily and half involuntarily.
Following the production team’s instructions, the trainees lined up in their teams.
“Whenever you have to line up in the future, always line up with the highest-ranked trainee at the front.”
If their intention was to instill an obsession with ranking among the trainees, they succeeded.
The trainees who hesitated and went to the back and those who confidently came to the front showed a clear difference in attitude.
“Now, we will reveal the songs for the second performance.”
As Jena pulled a thin string, the large cloth covering the wall fell down smoothly.
The trainees exclaimed with “Wow” and “Ooh.”
On the wall were nameplates with song titles and artist names attached at regular intervals.
There were exactly 11 nameplates, the same number as the teams.
Three nameplates were labeled Vocal, Performance, and Rap respectively, two nameplates labeled Vocal × Performance, two nameplates labeled Vocal × Rap, two nameplates labeled Performance × Rap, and one nameplate labeled Vocal × Performance × Rap.
Wow, the last one is like an all-in-one gift set.
However, the single-position nameplates had specific song titles and artist names, while the combined-position nameplates had nothing written on them.
Jena explained.
“For the single-position, you have to perform with the predetermined song, but for the combined positions, the trainees in those positions can freely choose the song.”
Is that good? With the tight practice schedule, choosing the song seems like a double-edged sword.
If we choose a weird song or can’t reach a consensus among team members, it will be a disaster.
“You now have 30 minutes to discuss with your team members.”
Somehow, I knew the generous amount of time given to us would come with a catch. PD Jo In-soo mentioned there would be no separate break time afterward. Of course.
The trainees dispersed widely to their designated spots by team.
“All the faces seem familiar.”
Surprisingly, out of the six of us, excluding Seo Moon-gyeol, five were from Team Hyesung, including myself.
Moreover, for some reason, all the trainees Jing Xiao brought along were foreign trainees.
Jing Xiao from Hong Kong, Nagase Ritsu from Japan, Day from Thailand, and Kyle Myers from Canada.
It seemed like about half of the foreign trainees who survived the first ranking ceremony were gathered here.
It’s quite rare to have such a diverse team of six members.
Knowing these trainees’ abilities to some extent as we were from the same team, I could guarantee that the upcoming practice would be anything but easy.
None of the trainees had the producing sticker. It was predictable.
I wanted to rip off the one on my clothes too.
Jing Xiao, oblivious to my complicated feelings, said brightly.
“I felt it the moment I saw it. Seeing Moon-gyeol hyung and Raon hyung together, it’s fate.”
When Jing Xiao seriously mentioned fate, the camera director filming us from one side smiled slightly.
But… Moon-gyeol hyung?
“Xiao, it’s Seo Moon-gyeol, not Seo Moon-gyeol. His name is Gyeol.”
At my words, Jing Xiao’s eyes widened.
I remember having a session exploring Seo Moon-gyeol’s name with Ban Yo-han and Kim Jun-woo during the first camp, but did he seriously keep calling him Moon-gyeol until now?
“Oh!”
Jing Xiao finally recalled that conversation and, looking flustered, went to Seo Moon-gyeol, who was sitting quietly, and literally apologized with a full bow.
“Gyeol hyung! I’m sorry!”
Seo Moon-gyeol, slightly flustered by the loud apology that drew everyone’s attention, lifted Jing Xiao up with his strength.
“It’s okay. A lot of people know me that way, so I’m used to it.”
Though he isn’t the type to go around correcting people, saying, “I’m not Moon-gyeol, I’m Gyeol.”
Being used to having his name mispronounced wasn’t something that should be familiar. It was a rather sad remark.
Considering Jing Xiao’s behavior, it seemed he was called ‘Moon-gyeol’ instead of ‘Gyeol’ in the previous performance, and perhaps the viewers still didn’t know Seo Moon-gyeol’s correct name.
“Wow, it’s my first time meeting a Korean with a two-syllable surname.”
Kyle, who seemed to find Seo Moon-gyeol intimidating with his sharp and chic appearance, was intrigued.
The other trainees, who didn’t know Seo Moon-gyeol well, seemed to guess from the earlier conversation that he wasn’t as scary as he appeared.
With misunderstandings cleared and the atmosphere lightened, we quickly sorted out our ages and decided to speak informally. We then began the serious task of choosing a song.
Fortunately, except for Nagase Ritsu, everyone had spent some time training in Korea, so communication wasn’t a big issue.
Day and Kyle had smoother pronunciation than Jing Xiao.
I took on the role of interpreting for Nagase Ritsu in Japanese.
During the last camp, I shared a room with Japanese trainees and diligently studied Gyun Seong-ha’s Japanese textbooks and watched Japanese dramas during the non-camp period, so my beginner-level Japanese skill had improved quite a bit.
Thanks to that, mixing in English and gestures, I could convey and understand basic Japanese.
In fact, even in school, my language grades were always relatively good for the effort I put in.
Korean, English, and second foreign languages, for example.
Well, after starting this game, everything got reset, starting with Korean.
“Raon hyung, what’s your position?”
“Uh? Me?”
“What did you get the producing sticker for? Vocal, performance, or rap?”
Since it was an important matter, the trainees’ gazes felt unnecessarily piercing.
Of course, I didn’t know what ‘On Raon’ was good at.
If I had known, I would have gotten some information from Oh Hyun-jin.
But it wasn’t my first time dealing with mishaps due to lack of information.
I maintained a calm demeanor and tried to recall any clues.
Oh Hyun-jin… True…
I felt like something was about to come to mind.
– That jerk is so damn annoying. Showing off because the teachers favor him. Damn it, are we debuting together like this?
– How can a guy who can’t even speak properly debut?
‘…Ah!’