Chapter 114
When they said “advice from someone else,” they probably meant Sehee. After that, she must have also talked a bit with the team members.
She acted like she wouldn’t say a word, but in the end, it seemed she gave Ayoung the advice she needed.
“So, to create a stage where all of us shine together, we decided to take the concept a bit bigger, not just ‘cuteness’ but more of a ‘charming twist.’”
“That seems to be the case. Looking at it in that context, the final dance break came across as very sensational, don’t you think?”
Minseo smiled faintly.
“I really liked it. Ah, someone next to me was already talking a lot about this part, too.”
“Oh, was that Jeonga?”
Jaina, standing nearby, smiled sheepishly and held the microphone.
“To be honest, overall, the stage didn’t hit me with as much impact as I felt during the dance break.”
Jaina hurriedly added the following, worried that her words might be misunderstood.
“But if you ask whether that means the quality dropped, absolutely not. Your stage was excellent.”
“Th-thank you!”
Seunghye bowed her head, slightly flushed.
Come to think of it, Seunghye seemed to be a fan of Jaina, as she was particularly sensitive to Jaina’s praise.
“I honestly liked—and was surprised—that the ‘charming twist’ keyword stood out so well on an otherwise solid stage. When I first saw the mid-evaluation stage, I thought it was just a stage focused on participant Kim Seunghye.”
As Jaina said, thanks to Ayoung’s idea, the stage became very diverse.
“And another thing I want to praise is how excellent it was overall.”
Choosing one concept and practicing choreography to match it isn’t that difficult.
But practicing two different choreographies at the same time—one cute and one powerful—for a single song is not easy.
Moreover, to blend both concepts seamlessly into the song in such a short time requires relentless effort.
Jihyun, Minseo, and Jaina—knowing how those kids worked to complete it—they couldn’t help but give generous feedback.
“Good job, everyone.”
Following their positive evaluations, Heechul gave some advice regarding the vocal parts, but even that didn’t turn into harsh criticism, probably because he acknowledged their effort and results.
With that, the final stage ended, and the judges’ evaluations began.
“This time, I really want to give Ayoung a high score. But…”
Jihyun hesitated. She tapped her pen repeatedly as she looked at the name of the group in front of her.
As Jaina mentioned, in terms of the novelty and performance felt on stage, it deserved a high score.
But in terms of overall completeness, giving the top score was a bit difficult, Jihyun thought.
When looking at the intricacy and precision of the choreography alone, teams focused on a single concept would naturally have an advantage.
It was certain that they would be in the top ranks. The real question was whether to give them the absolute top score.
“Has everyone decided on their opinions?”
“Then, we will reveal the participants’ grades and results!”
The moment always comes without fail.
This time, ten participants would be eliminated, leaving forty in total.
Compared to the beginning, two-thirds had already been eliminated.
Time really flies, yet realizing more than half the journey remains made one shake their head.
From here on, the competition would be more intense and emotionally challenging than before.
“First, we’ll start with the A-grade block and call out the participants’ changes!”
The nerve-wracking moment had begun again.
Even as names were called and grade changes occurred, Ayoung was not called.
She had retained her grade.
Just that fact seemed to bring her joy; when the MC moved on to the B-grade block, Ayoung’s eyes seemed to glimmer slightly.
It was understandable—Jihyun herself felt her eyes sting slightly.
It was a fresh emotion. This time, Ayoung had fully shown her ability and protected her grade with her own strength.
Afterward, there were some grade movements for other participants, but all were understandable.
And Sehee did not make it into the A-grade.
But that was partly because the team score slightly reduced her individual score, so it was unavoidable.
Other than that, there were no major surprises. Well, maybe one: Eunseo, who had received an A in the vocal evaluation before, dropped to B.
She seemed quite disappointed, but still accepted her grade without complaint.
‘Eunseo was relatively a bit lacking in dance, so this is probably a good result,’ Jihyun thought.
After the tense grade evaluation ended, Jihyun finally exhaled and looked around at the participants.
Compared to the beginning, there were many empty seats, and it felt a bit sparse from above.
“Let’s take a short break!”
Right after the announcement ceremony, filming paused briefly to allow participants to regroup and rest.
The next schedule was probably the event announcement.
Jihyun watched the participants, relaxed from not being eliminated, and the filming team, busy at work, in contrast.
About twenty minutes passed.
“Filming will resume!”
With the staff’s announcement, the MC took the microphone and came forward, and filming restarted.
“To the remaining participants, we will announce again.”
The MC first bowed to offer congratulations, then briefly explained things related to the guerrilla event.
Seeing Ayoung listen with bright eyes made Jihyun think, she really worked hard to get this far.
All that was left was to prepare well for the remaining guerrilla event and fully jump into the team competition.
‘What worries me…’
Episode 3 airing tomorrow. That was the biggest concern for now.
Episode 3 would include individual ability evaluations. That meant Ayoung’s critical mistake would appear as well.
Even though Youngjun tried to cover it up, it was uncertain whether viewers would be convinced.
‘I’m worried it might negatively affect Ayoung.’
What Ayoung had experienced as a mate was indifference, not malicious comments.
If she were to see malicious comments, no one knew how deeply it would hurt.
Not even Ayoung herself.
‘All we can do is hope it passes without incident.’
The dice had already been rolled. Worrying about what would happen after the broadcast wouldn’t help.
Jihyun idly adjusted the sheet where participants were divided by grades.
It will be fine, it will be fine, she whispered silently to herself.
“So, after the guerrilla event, you will begin to have your abilities evaluated one by one, precisely and thoroughly!”
According to the future schedule Jihyun received from Youngjun, from now on, participants wouldn’t just choose what they would do; the focus would shift to performances broadcast to the public, where popularity would seriously matter.
As a result, many stages would use songs familiar to the majority, which meant breaking the image left by previous senior groups—making the challenge much higher.
Although Jihyun didn’t want to admit it, the fact that Sehee had to compete intensely with her friends would also be a stumbling block.
Ding!
‘A message…’
Just as she was about to rest in the waiting room after filming, Jihyun’s eyes stiffened at the phone notification in real-time.
