Survival Audition: My Job is Idol 58

Chapter 58

Beautiful trainees poured out and disappeared throughout the interlude, like lying quietly under the night sky watching a meteor shower.

While Park Hyeji was lost in admiration, the chorus began. Fans that appeared from somewhere spread out with a whoosh sound in the hands of six members.

Wind machines turned, making the thin fabric attached to the fan tips flutter and dance through the air.

Yoo Youngin, standing in center position, gazed wistfully at the camera while waving his fan.

[Save me, help me

Tell me that this moment

being with you

is absolutely not a dream.]

“Wow……”

Honestly, Park Hyeji had no choice but to acknowledge it.

There was a reason Yoo Youngin was always in the top ranks.

Even if his skills weren’t exceptional, his facial expressions were dramatically good when performing on stage. Especially during Oriental-style stages, when moisture gleamed in those big eyes, his wistful beauty exploded.

As if erasing Yoo Youngin’s beauty, Lee Juha appeared moving to center position.

[Hide me, deceive me

Tell me that this moment

being with you

is not a dream, even if it is.]

The moment his part ended, Junim snapped his pretty fan shut with a crisp sound, then slightly lifted his chin with a scornful expression. It was exactly the face of someone asking when these nobodies would ever see heavenly beauty again.

How amazing – Junim, who utilized every last beat of his given part frugally, was truly a beat economist.

[Fly up, anywhere,

If I’m with you, there’s no scary place.]

Even when other members were singing, Junim leisurely found the camera and made eye contact while smiling like an arrogant chick. That also matched well with that excessive concept, making it simply pleasant to watch.

[Whether it’s a dream or not a dream

If you just stay by my side, I have nothing more to wish for.]

Once again not wasting a beat, Junim pulled out one of the large flowers tucked behind his ear and bit it seductively with his teeth.

“Eek!”

In an instant, he threw the flower that had lingered at his lips toward the audience seats. Even a cleanup hitter’s home run wouldn’t be this desperate. People followed the parabolic trajectory of the flying flower, but Park Hyeji didn’t have that luxury. Flowers may wither, but Junim on stage will live forever in my memory.

The chorus progressed and the music headed toward its climax. Junseok’s martial arts-like dance moves, lovely Myeongwon’s aegyo, and Yoo Youngin’s clumsy but passable decadent young master act (though it fell far short of decadent king Junim) all exploded with potential like fireworks.

Finally, Lee Juha came to the front. He scattered silver flower petals he had prepared in his pocket in time with the final beats. Reflecting off the lighting, everything around Juha sparkled with light.

“Woah!”

Smart and considerate Junim had surely moved this to the very end because of the risk of the stage becoming slippery. When Lee Juha tilted his head to the side for the ending pose with a bright smile, even the glitter painted under his eyes sparkled brilliantly.

The viewing pleasure was so tremendous that endorphins poured out like a waterfall.

“Kyaaaaaaah!”

Cheers close to screams rang out. Among them, Park Hyeji stared blankly at Junim with her mouth agape.

‘Perfect until the very end……’

What made Park Hyeji fall for Junim again in this performance wasn’t just because of his looks. The temperature difference between his modesty that showed no aegyo off-stage and his on-stage character was tremendously attractive, but what made her fall for Junim again in this stage was because of his final ending gaze.

What dwelled in his eyes was none other than ambition. Blazing ambition like flames.

The tender Lee Juha who had burst into tears from the pressure of a death match with his best friend Choi Taeri despite performing well in the first round had disappeared, and he had become an ambitious man determined to climb higher.

‘This is it!’

Park Hyeji’s heart swelled magnificently.

With so many people supporting him, if he had been all flustered like in episode 1 again, well, she would have still adored him. Junim is beautiful whether he’s shy or confident.

But seeing those ambitious eyes that said he would grind his bones to repay the Jumin people’s love, Park Hyeji’s heart beat violently.

That’s right.

Lee Juha was someone who deserved to be loved more than we Jumin people expected. A man with mountains of things to discover, with plot hooks spilling out endlessly no matter how much you dig. That was the true identity of our Junim.

It was overwhelming.

* * *

“Hah, hah, gasp.”

After the five-minute stage ended, Juha was breathing heavily all the way to his chin.

After finishing even the ending pose, the ‘Lee Juha-da’ slogans that hadn’t been visible during the performance came back into Juha’s sight.

The audience was only 300 people, but the cheers were as massive as if over 3,000 had filled the venue.

The energy and elation transmitted from the audience.

Adrenaline surged enough to forget the rapid breathing that choked his throat.

Forgetting all the conflicts that had occurred, the sense of relief that it was over was greater.

This was it. The elation of the stage that Juha had been waiting for so long.

Until just before, Juha had doubts about whether it was necessary to hold hands with his rival and embrace his rival to create a stage. He had even thought it would be fine to remove Yoo Youngin since he always acted like a thorn in his eye.

However, facing the stage where he gave his all and the audience cheering for him, no matter what situation he was in, he only wanted to perfectly repay these people.

If he could feel this ecstasy surrounded by layers of fans’ voices once more, Juha felt he could even kiss his enemy’s feet.

The stage made Juha’s heart race much more than he had thought.

When the ending finished, the six Team 1 members hugged each other. Juha felt like tears might well up, but he held them back. The impact from crying during Taeri’s elimination last time was too great, and if he cried once more, rumors would spread that he was a crybaby.

Seo Eunwon, who was shedding tears profusely, came into his sight.

How much pressure must Eunwon have felt, being young and falling behind, facing an audience for the first time? Jang Chaemyeong, two years older and dressed as twins, hugged Eunwon like an older brother to comfort him. In front of them, Yoo Youngin pretended to be kind while consoling the younger members.

Na Junho patted both Juha and Jo Munseok between them. Jo Munseok put his arm around Na Junho’s shoulder with a face that mysteriously mixed unfinished excitement and relief.

If it hadn’t been for Na Junho who brought the team members together in one shot, this competition would have been difficult. Even when Juha was struggling, Na Junho had stood by his side pretending not to know, so the great savior of this team competition was none other than Na Junho.

All four masters looked at them with pleased smiles.

Seeing the three of them clustered together, Yoo Youngin suddenly approached and hugged Na Junho tightly. After a moment of confusion, Na Junho embraced Yoo Youngin as well.

‘Really now……’

Jo Munseok hid his incredulous expression while patting other team members. Apparently being a serial crusher, Yoo Youngin’s affection seemed to have moved from Choi Taeri to Jo Munseok, and from Jo Munseok to Na Junho.

Since the team assignment was over now, this would be the last time watching Yoo Youngin act like this.

As the stage aftereffects subsided, the Team 1 members looked toward the masters’ seats. Lee Cheong grabbed the microphone first.

“Really…… I can’t stand it. We were actually very worried about this team. There were some issues, and you received a lot of criticism for individualism problems early on, but look. You’re so well united now.”

Lee Cheong spoke with a smile as if finding them utterly endearing.

“Thank you.”

All six bowed together in greeting.

“You really matched the team’s color well while bringing out each person’s individuality to the maximum. Lee Juha trainee.”

As soon as Lee Cheong finished the team evaluation, she called Juha’s name.

“Yes.”

Juha swallowed dry saliva and waited for Lee Cheong’s words.

“You use your appearance surprisingly well, don’t you?”

“……Huh?”

At Lee Cheong’s words, Juha tilted his head. Then Lee Cheong smiled and opened her mouth again.

“If you asked me what’s most important for an idol, honestly I couldn’t say it’s skill. In the idol world, appearance beats skill. But in this stage, Lee Juha trainee seems to have learned how to play with his appearance. So it was really good to watch.”

“Th-thank you.”

Juha naturally bowed in greeting. He had received better reviews than expected. Most of all, he was satisfied that after hearing ‘your skills are fine but your aegyo……’ for hundreds and thousands of days, he had heard ‘you use your appearance well.’

Other masters’ evaluations followed. The reviews were better than expected, surprising all the team members.

“The original song leans too heavily toward Oriental style rather than fusion Oriental, so it’s actually difficult to handle. Who came up with the arrangement idea?”

At composer Blue Eo’s question, Jang Chaemyeong raised his arm while holding Seo Eunwon’s hand.

“You two did it together?”

Blue Eo looked back and forth between the two while asking.

“Yes.”

“Amazing. I really want to praise these two friends. How did you think to match this with electronic beats?”

“Since the original was classical, we thought if we mixed it with the most trendy current beats, it would work, hehe.”

At Jang Chaemyeong’s answer, the judges smiled like proud fathers and just watched. This was followed by praise for Jo Munseok and Na Junho’s dancing. Despite being the first team, the overall evaluation was quite good.

As the evaluation was ending, Lee Cheong grabbed the microphone again.

“Finally, Yoo Youngin trainee.”

“……Yes.”

Yoo Youngin answered with wide eyes. Unlike when he was being mean, Youngin waited tensely for Lee Cheong’s words.

“Good work.”

This was the most plain yet profound comfort Lee Cheong, who already knew the entire situation, could offer Youngin.

“Th-thank you…… *sob*”

Finally Yoo Youngin burst into tears. Seeing his face, Chaemyeong and Eunwon also burst into tears with a wail. Even Juha felt choked up.

Before judging individual good and evil, their longing for dreams would be similar. This place that precariously melted the weight of each person’s desires amid sympathy, hatred, and jealousy would be burdensome for Yoo Youngin as well.

* * *

After the final greeting and coming down from the stage, staff cleaned the floor.

Only now did Juha feel like he had truly finished the stage. His body felt drained and his legs seemed about to wobble. But since cameras were still rolling, he had to act composed.

He couldn’t appear weak after performing on stage in front of an audience just once.

“Everyone worked hard. Now let’s relax and watch the other teams’ performances.”

A ready smile played on Na Junho’s lips as he comforted the team members. No matter how little Na Junho cared about others’ affairs, it must have been burdensome when Yoo Youngin’s incident broke out, but he was as reliable as an uncle.

“What are you doing? Don’t block the camera and sit down.”

“Oh, yes.”

Na Junho patted his shoulder and made Juha sit down.

Coming to his senses, the stage was neatly arranged.

Soon, while preparing for the second team, Choi Taeri’s team’s stage, the audience seats became visible. From on stage, only slogans for Juha were visible, but now he could see slogans for other trainees.

The one that caught his eye most after his own was definitely Choi Taeri’s slogan.

[Taeri Mi♡ Taeri Yu♡ Taeri Us♡]

While Juha was looking for and reading Taeri’s slogan, the stage was prepared.

All of Team 2 came out together with swaggering steps. Something was off from their entrance.

‘Neighborhood thugs, was it?’

Juha recalled what Taeri had said. The lighting was dim, so Team 2’s costumes weren’t clearly visible.

When the music started and the lights came on, the six Team 2 members opened the stage with exaggerated poses.

“Wow……”

“Ah……”

“Pfft.”

“Whoa……”

When the members’ faces were revealed, everyone was shocked. Each member was wearing outdated clothes as if they had come through a time machine. It was amazing where they had found such things. The most eye-catching among them was Choi Taeri.

The moment Juha saw Taeri, his mouth naturally fell open.

Notes:

“Junim” – Nickname for Lee Juha used by Park Hyeji (literally means “Lord”)