Chapter 32
If you combined the introductions and audition stages, it would be well over a minute before the ranking announcement. Jaekyung was watching while suppressing his somewhat displeased expression when Taeyeon muttered to himself beside him.
“Can they really introduce everyone like that?”
“What? Oh, you mean raw without any seasoning?”
Geonhu responded.
“Yeah. Instead of selecting just a few to show, they seem intent on showing everyone, but can they really do it like that? People might get bored and skip it. We don’t mind, but not everyone is like us.”
Taeyeon, the youngest in this group, assessed the situation most coldly and selfishly, but he wasn’t wrong. For a broadcast to succeed, it needed appropriate topicality.
For that, it would be more effective to focus on just a few rather than showing all 99 trainees. Even Taeyeon, who was participating in the broadcast, knew this, so the production team couldn’t not know it either.
“PD Choi said he wouldn’t use us as sacrificial lambs.”
Geonhu replied lightly. Listening to their conversation, Jaekyung unconsciously bit his lip to hide that he knew the answer. Jaekyung had never watched this program in his previous life. However, he had heard a few words from people around him about how this program became popular.
They filmed recording scenes to introduce them briefly, advertised what would be broadcast, and used various advertising methods to somehow get people to watch that day’s broadcast. But everything about this program except the live broadcast was shrouded in mystery.
There were no teaser broadcasts, and the official website only listed numbers without photos or names – that question mark-filled page thoroughly stimulated curiosity.
When the main broadcast started, the viewership wasn’t high. Instead, it grabbed attention. PD Choi really made bold choices for the trainees and later even captured the viewership he thought he had lost.
Thanks to this, many people paid attention to the first episode that could have felt boring, and especially when focusing on each trainee individually, they could properly catch viewers’ attention.
Everything proceeded according to the PD’s plan.
‘Other programs failed by releasing teasers from the start.’
Afterward, various conversations continued, and Jaekyung couldn’t focus on any particular side and watched somewhat absentmindedly.
“Ugh.”
Sowoon held his breath and lowered his head during the scene where he appeared. Still, perhaps because a familiar face appeared, Jaekyung momentarily focused on watching.
“You came out cutely.”
Hearing the words he spoke without filter, Sowoon gasped.
“Hyung.”
At Sowoon’s fluster with his red face not knowing what to do, Jaekyung burst into brief laughter.
“Huh? He laughed.”
Taeyeon, who had been glancing at Jaekyung continuously, discovered his laughter and looked at him as if it was fascinating. Since they were in different groups and hadn’t spent time together, things were still awkward between him and Jaekyung. Ever since hearing Jaekyung’s song, Taeyeon wanted to become close and kept approaching him, but the distance hardly narrowed, so when they met today, he kept hovering around.
This time too, when Jaekyung sat on the sofa and Jungwoo sat next to him, Taeyeon couldn’t approach. Thanks to that, Sowoon was sitting right beside him and saw Jaekyung’s laughter.
“Because you’re cute.”
Jaekyung quickly finished laughing and pointed at Sowoon.
“What about me?”
“…What?”
“Am I not cute?”
Taeyeon cupped his chin with both hands, looked at Jaekyung, and tilted his head this way and that. The flower-like gesture that should have been awkward suited him so well that Jaekyung leaned his upper body back.
“I’m the youngest here.”
“Oh… really?”
“Yes. I’m 16. Sowoon hyung here is 17.”
Learning they were one year apart, Jaekyung looked at Sowoon and burst into laughter again. Sowoon was covering his eyes as if he couldn’t bear to watch, but spreading his fingers to peek at his own appearance.
“Tsk. I’m cuter and younger.”
Taeyeon clicked his tongue regretfully and irritably rubbed the back of his head against Geonhu’s shoulder. At his naturally aegyo-filled gesture, Geonhu shrugged his shoulders and patted the back of his head. While Taeyeon was throwing punches at Geonhu who wasn’t playing along, Sowoon let out a long breath.
“Too short.”
When another trainee appeared, Sowoon exhaled the breath he’d been holding. The sight of him blushing with embarrassment at his face appearing on the broadcast while unable to take his eyes off the TV was so cute that everyone smiled silently.
After briefly watching the screen that had switched to another trainee, Jaekyung turned his head back to Sowoon.
“Short?”
“It passed by so quickly, I don’t know if it would catch anyone’s eye.”
Sowoon lifted his phone onto his lap and muttered worriedly. Hajun, sitting beside him, stroked Sowoon’s head and consoled him that it was enough.
‘It’s relative, huh.’
Thinking about it, it might have felt long only to himself. Since it was all introductions anyway with 99 people, he might get buried among them, so he thought it might be okay and felt a little anticipation.
“What have you been looking at so intently?”
Geonhu stretched his neck to peek at Sowoon’s phone. He did this thinking he would cover it if it was something personal, but since Sowoon didn’t react at all, he wondered if it was okay. And soon Geonhu burst into laughter at what he saw.
[Ha…cute]
[I think I’m going to faint, how can such a life form exist]
[So fluffy and cute]
[They say once someone looks cute to you, it’s over]
[I already feel like I’ve become an online auntie…]
[Cute cute cute cute]
[So cute it’s annoying…]
He was reading the real-time TALK comments. Geonhu picked out one of them.
“They say you’re so cute it’s annoying.”
Sowoon buried his face in his phone and muttered.
“Please don’t be angry.”
Everyone laughed at those words. Taeyeon, who had been rolling around holding his stomach and got up, wiped away tears with his index finger and spoke in a voice full of laughter.
“Admitting the cuteness.”
This had nothing to do with age.
“This hyung is equipped with innate cuteness.”
Sowoon was just lifting his head while rubbing his reddened face with the back of his hand.
“Huh?”
At Sowoon’s surprised voice, everyone’s gaze turned to the TV.
‘JT.’
Four people grouped under JT Entertainment appeared, then came out one by one. Hajun, Geonhu, Taeyeon, and Jungwoo each singing appeared.
‘This is the real goldmine.’
Thinking about it, it was amazing that all the trainees from an agency became the debut group. Compared to ordinary agencies that sent out trainees who weren’t in the debut group, only JT seemed to have sent debut group kids, making them particularly stand out. Geonhu’s clear features while rapping came out handsomely even without makeup.
“Wow. He’s handsome.”
At Sowoon’s admiration, Geonhu turned his head pretending not to care, but his ears turned red.
“Hyung’s face is… well, decent.”
“What, punk?”
Geonhu wrapped his arm around Taeyeon’s neck and pulled him toward himself. Even while hitting Geonhu’s arm telling him to let go, Taeyeon didn’t stop teasing.
“He’s really good.”
At Sowoon’s admiration, Taeyeon acted as if it was nothing while glancing at Jaekyung. He looked like he wanted to hear a word from Jaekyung too. But Jaekyung was lost in thought and didn’t notice Taeyeon’s gaze.
‘Not bad.’
That was as far as Jaekyung’s impression went. It was a familiar voice to Jaekyung, and rather, being a trainee with a fresh and somewhat clumsy appearance, he didn’t think they were particularly good. Usually, being surprised like Sowoon would be the right reaction. The fact that the TALK reactions on Sowoon’s phone screen had considerably sped up was proof of that.
‘Right. This is where the proper eye-catching really started.’
Knowing the final members, Jaekyung began to find it thrilling like watching a drama knowing the ending.
“It’s Jungwoo hyung.”
‘The protagonist’s entrance.’
Even at the introduction subtitle that wasn’t different from others, Jaekyung looked with curiosity. It was an unremarkable start – entering expressionlessly and greeting politely. Little emotional expression and calm. At first glance, it might seem boring, but he couldn’t take his eyes away.
‘His face is interesting.’
Without needing to act dramatically, he made you focus just by staying still. There were surely trainees more handsome than Jungwoo, but this was strange.
“Is that kind of thing charm?”
Flinch.
Someone reacted to Jaekyung’s quiet muttering. However, Jaekyung didn’t particularly care and focused on the TV. He wasn’t nervous and was calm.
His song selection was also good, showing rhythm well even without accompaniment, and best of all, he didn’t force his voice higher. Even now, it was confusing whether this was the same person as the big guy sitting right next to him who flinched at his reactions.
“Jungwoo hyung’s reactions are no joke.”
Before he knew it, Sowoon was looking at his phone and reading the rapidly rising reactions. When Jaekyung’s eyes turned toward the phone, it was the fastest reaction he had ever seen.
[Honestly, I didn’t expect much from an idol selection program but… it’s a visual feast… I should bow down and say thank you]
[So heart-fluttering really ã… ã… ]
[No, what is that over there?? Isn’t he a trainee??? Crazy, he stole my heart… Who is he??? First, he’s taking my bias spot.]
[@@:%% Paradise coordinates ã…‡<-<]
[I should listen with it muted or I’ll fall for him]
[The moment you mute it, you’ll want to hit yourself, you know?]
[Is it possible to steal my heart like this
He really properly struck my heart
Let’s get married (・´з`・)♥]
They were going up so quickly that the text was barely visible. But unlike Jaekyung, others caught those fast comments well.
“Judging ended as soon as they saw him. He’s handsome. He did well even listening on mute. He’s crazy. He sings well too.”
“For a trainee to be so captivating? Isn’t the debut group already decided?”
“It’s over.”
People gathered around Sowoon read out the rapidly scrolling comments one by one. They were all praise directed at Jungwoo. Jaekyung glanced to his side. He had been surprised when he first saw him, but his emotional response to his appearance was rather weak.
It was largely because he’d seen this face a lot, but… people seeing him for the first time on broadcast were all talking about Jungwoo’s appearance. There were few comments saying he was handsome and also sang well, but at least he had properly made an impression.
“Huh? Jaekyung hyung comes after Jungwoo hyung?”
At Taeyeon’s words, Jaekyung felt his heart drop.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
