Translator: Dreamscribe
Lee Ga-hyun, who had taken on the role of leader of Class F, was relatively old for an idol trainee.
22 years old.
Outside, it was still a young age, but by idol standards, unless she was debuting immediately, she was considered old.
‘What should I do...?’
And Lee Ga-hyun had reached the point over the past two days where she couldn’t sleep properly or eat well because of the pressure.
-Ga-hyun, if you’re the leader, you need to lead Class F.
It wasn’t like she wanted to become the leader.
But Class F needed someone to take charge and lead the practice, and Ga-hyun, being the oldest and one of the most skilled among them, ended up taking on the role of leader by default.
‘This is my last chance.’
She had joined 'Idol Ground 100' thinking it would be her last chance.
Because she knew better than anyone that if she stayed in Class F any longer, there would be no future for her, she had no choice but to be desperate.
But the problem was that under Ga-hyun’s lead, the performance that Class F prepared had received harsh criticism from the judges.
‘That’s just how people are!’
It would be a lie to say that she hadn’t coveted the center position and vocal parts while leading the practice.
The truth was, she did become greedy, thinking this might be her last chance.
Above all, the biggest reason was that there was no one among the current participants in Class F who could replace her as the center or take on the vocal parts.
Since they were placed in Class F due to their lack of skills to begin with, there wasn’t a single person who could stand at the center.
However,
‘They say Na-yeon is really talented?’
‘Well, she is from Zero One. That agency is known for taking skills seriously.’
‘I heard she ruined the last performance due to bad condition, but now she’s grinding her teeth to show her real skills at the mid-evaluation.’
Because of the rumors suddenly spreading about one participant, Class F was starting to stir.
‘Kim Na-yeon?’
Kim Na-yeon, a participant from Zero One Entertainment, was someone even Lee Ga-hyun knew.
She was one of the few in Class F who could at least follow the singing and dancing.
However, from what Ga-hyun had seen during practice, she had only seemed average, nothing that screamed incredible skill, which is why she found it puzzling.
She couldn’t understand why all of a sudden rumors were spreading that Kim Na-yeon was talented, and why, at the same time, the other participants in Class F were looking at her with questioning eyes.
But that mystery didn’t last long.
“Ga-hyun unnie, could we talk for a moment?”
“Talk? Sure.”
The person who came to Ga-hyun, who was agonizing alone in the practice room where a strange atmosphere was lingering, was someone she hadn’t expected at all.
Lee Si-on.
‘She’ll make it to the next round no matter what even if she just stays in Class F, right?’
If Ga-hyun had to name the person she was most envious of among the Class F participants, it would definitely be Lee Si-on.
Despite not having an agency, her pre-interview video had already surpassed 100,000 views, ranking second overall.
Just in terms of visuals, Ga-hyun personally thought she shone the brightest among all the participants in the program.
However, since her skills were very lacking, she didn't know about making it to the final seven, but considering that she had shown a story that would even cover up those skills on the entrance stage, advancing to the next round seemed like a sure thing.
For all these reasons, Ga-hyun had been keeping an eye on Lee Si-on.
But since they had no prior connection, she was slightly taken aback when Si-on suddenly approached her and started talking.
‘Why did she come to me?’
As Ga-hyun hid her tension and tried to appear composed, Si-on continued speaking.
“I think Class F is in danger if we continue like this.”
“What?”
And what Si-on said was so straightforward that Ga-hyun’s face unintentionally stiffened, despite her efforts to stay calm.
“All the trainers who watched our performance mentioned that we need to adjust the center and vocal parts, shouldn’t we do something about that?”
“...Well.”
“Of course, I know you’ve worked hard, unnie. But we’re a community of shared fate here in Class F. Do you have any plans in mind by any chance?”
At Si-on’s sharp question, Ga-hyun felt as though she was slightly out of breath.
“First, for the formation... we’ll keep the center as is, and rearrange the rest of the formation considering everyone’s height.”
“What about the vocals?”
“That too... for now, I’m planning to practice even harder in the remaining time, so I can receive a better evaluation at the mid-check.”
Ga-hyun tried to calmly express what she had been thinking.
‘If not for me, Class F would completely fall apart!’
She knew about the harsh criticism from the judges and the concerns of the Class F participants, but precisely because of that, Ga-hyun believed it was her responsibility to hold herself more accountable.
Rather, she thought that rashly abandoning the formation and parts they had been practicing until now to start over would only make things worse for Class F.
However, Si-on’s expression after hearing Ga-hyun’s answer clearly showed she didn’t agree.
“I think Na-yeon should become the leader of Class F.”
Si-on was finally suggesting they replace the leader with Na-yeon.
***
There is something called a declaration of war in battle.
A declaration of war is a kind of promise, where you inform your opponent in advance that you’ll attack them on a certain date and time.
Of course, there are times it wasn’t followed, like when Japan, during its war crime era, launched the first strike before declaring war.
“That too... for now, I’m planning to practice even harder in the remaining time so I can receive a better evaluation at the mid-check.”
That’s why, before staging a coup, I visited Lee Ga-hyun one last time.
If Lee Ga-hyun, the current leader, had come up with a better path for Class F than I had, then there’d be no need to overthrow her, we could just proceed with her plan.
However,
‘She’s not a bad person... but I think the pressure really got to her.’
To be honest, the position of leader might look good on the surface, but it’s actually an incredibly difficult role.
Lee Ga-hyun, the leader of Class F, is just 22 years old.
Leading dozens of people is something completely different from being class president back in school, it’s a much harder task.
Even for me, when I think about the toughest moment during my military service, it was when I was a squad leader in charge of not even thirty men, that’s how hard being a leader is.
And perhaps due to the pressure of such a role, Lee Ga-hyun didn’t seem capable of making sound judgments.
If she had the talent to improve significantly within the five remaining days before the mid-check, there’s no way she would have received an F grade in the first place.
“Na-yeon should become the leader?”
“Yes. I think that’s what’s best for Class F.”
"Is Na-yeon really better than me?"
Of course, I didn’t expect Lee Ga-hyun to accept this easily.
‘You have to show them to make them understand.’
Seeing is believing- first, it was necessary to show everyone Na-yeon’s skills right in front of them.
“Yes. Not just unnie, but even among the Class F members... no, even among all the participants, there are few who can outperform Na-yeon.”
“...If you’re that confident, then show me.”
Slightly offended by my confident words, Ga-hyun clenched her teeth and responded.
“Na-yeon, are you ready?”
I turned around and spoke to Na-yeon, who was trembling slightly away from me.
“Huh...? Yeah.”
The moment she heard the rumors that Yun-kyung had spread, Na-yeon, already timid, had shrunk back even more.
However,
“It’s fine! I mean, even if you mess up on stage, you’ll just be known as a bragger who’s crazy for screen time, right?”
“...What?”
“Everything we’ve done up to now is probably being picked up by the cameras and mics here anyway, so if you mess up on stage, well that’s the end of it. Just take it easy!”
Tap.
Na-yeon stared at me with wide eyes after hearing my words.
Her expression seemed to say, “Why are you doing this to me?”
But there was no other way.
People only show their true potential when they’re pushed to the limit.
Humans are incredibly fickle creatures, tell them “don’t be nervous” and they get even more nervous; but when they're under inescapable pressure, they actually focus better.
Even now, the fear in Na-yeon’s eyes had been replaced with a fiery passion, you could clearly see the burning determination in her gaze.
***
'I'll kill her.'
Na-yeon had often been told she had a gentle personality.
So much so that she felt it was easier to get hit than to hit others, and at times, people even said she seemed like a pushover.
But right now, that same Na-yeon was, for the first time in a very long while, feeling a sense of hostility toward someone else.
‘You be the leader of Class F.’
Lee Si-on, who suddenly came up to her saying she knew all about her skills, and pushed her to take the position of Class F leader.
But if Na-yeon were the kind of person who could step forward and lead just because someone pushed her, she wouldn’t have been trembling with nerves every time she got on stage.
So originally, Na-yeon would’ve said, “That’s too much for me. Please ask someone else.”
‘I've already told everyone in Class F that you're secretly a powerhouse hiding your real skills!’
But thanks to Yun-kyung, who followed Si-on around like some kind of doll, Na-yeon was forcefully dragged into this battle for the Class F leadership role.
‘Why... Why me of all people....’
At this point, Na-yeon had a strong premonition that, regardless of her own intentions, she was going to be pulled along exactly as Si-on had planned.
Even now.
‘It’s fine! I mean, even if you mess up on stage, you’ll just be known as a bragger who’s crazy for screen time, right?’
Si-on was patting her on the back in front of all of Class F, telling her to show her skills properly, with a completely calm expression.
As if saying, “Well, if not, oh well.”
‘I’ll... be branded a bragger?’
The participants watching her now, including Class F leader Lee Ga-hyun, were staring at her with intense eyes.
And beyond that, Na-yeon could see the camera operator who had shown up at some point, now filming the Class F practice room enthusiastically like he had stumbled upon something interesting.
At first, it was fear.
The thought that all these people had gathered just to watch her performance was terrifying to Na-yeon.
Next came avoidance.
She clung to the hope, ‘Maybe if I say I can’t do it now, they’ll just let it go?’
Then came resignation.
‘Ah, I wish time would just stop forever like this. Like in those old sitcoms, maybe this could all just be a dream.’
And finally came anger.
‘Lee Si-on... I will survive this crisis and then kill you for sure!’
Humans were a species that had the instinct for struggle encoded in their DNA for tens of thousands of years.
Of course, as time passed and civilization developed, people buried that instinct deep within themselves, but when faced with a situation where their survival was truly at risk, like now.
They inevitably bring it out again.
The instinct to fight in order to survive.
♬
From the speaker set up in the practice room, the intro of ‘Spotlight’, the theme song of 'Idol Ground 100', a song they had all heard so many times it was almost sickening, began to play.
Na-yeon closed her eyes, lightly tapping her feet in rhythm with the intro beat.
I've been waiting for this moment (Oh yeah)
The light I’ve been hiding
Now it’s time to show it
You can't avoid my eyes
As the vocal part finally began, Na-yeon sang and danced with only Si-on’s smug face in her mind.
‘Absolutely!’
She danced on instinct, thinking she wouldn’t be able to stand it if she didn’t slap that shameless face of Si-on’s after the performance was over.
“What the? She’s actually really good!”
“Is she seriously doing the whole vocal part alone while dancing right now?”
“No, more than that, at this level, Na-yeon’s better than some of the participants in Class A.”
The Class F participants watching the performance couldn’t help but be amazed.
The choreography that matched the music perfectly was one thing.
But the fact that Na-yeon could perform the physically demanding ‘Spotlight’ dance, which left no room for rest, while still delivering a stable vocal performance, showed a level of skill that, had it not been for the F-grade sticker on her outfit, could’ve easily made people mistake her for a Class A contestant.
“But why does her expression look so intense?”
“She must’ve been really upset about being dropped to Class F because of bad condition.”
The only flaw was that Na-yeon’s gaze throughout the perofrmacne was extremely fierce, but everyone simply assumed it was because she was putting too much energy into the performance.
And the very people who had truly sparked Na-yeon’s killing intent were.
“I believed in you!!!”
“Na-yeon unnie, you’re really amazing?!”
Now just watching her perofrmacne with content smiles on their faces.
*****
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