episode_0028

[Syncing… .]

[Yuseol’s locked trait is being unlocked… .]

‘what… ?’

I was taken aback by the changes in the status window that I saw for the first time.

And then I got nervous.

How could it be that the locked characteristics were unlocked in a situation like this? . It was because I didn’t think it was a good thing.

So, with a little trepidation, I waited to see what changes the status window would show.

but… .

[Syncing… .]

[Yuseol’s locked characteristics are being unlocked… .]

[Syncing… .]

[Failed to unlock Yu Seol’s locked characteristics!]

… Unfortunately or fortunately, Yu Seol failed to unlock the locked characteristics.

I sighed deeply when I saw the attribute unlock failure window.

‘But what is that locked characteristic?’

Now that I think about it, Park Yoo-jung also had that locked-in trait.

It doesn’t seem like the characteristics are locked for no reason… , I don’t know what it was, but I thought it would be better not to open it.

“Okay, then let’s start filming again.”

In any case, the final grade evaluation of Class A resumed without the locked nature of the rumor being opened.

**

“A Grade The grade of the contestant will be maintained at A.”

“Thank you-!”

Yu Seol, who took the final grade evaluation for the second time, naturally maintained an A grade.

And the long-awaited final stage.

“… Then, let’s start the stage now.”

Lee Hye-jung, who was shaking and even stuttering when off stage, turned into a different person as soon as she went on stage.

Is there really a Jjambap that made it to 7th place on another audition program?

She was a practical person who was stronger in practice than in practice.

-We open our eyes!

So Hyejeong Lee successfully finished the stage… .

“Hyejeong too… , I scolded him a lot during the dancing part, but it seems like he has improved, so it’s great to see and I’m sorry. Huh… .”

“… Teacher Yesol.”

The vocal trainer, who burst into tears when judging me, shed tears after seeing Lee Hye-jung’s performance, creating a heart-warming atmosphere.

“Trainee Hyejeong Lee’s grade will be maintained at A.”

“, thank you-!!”

In the end, Lee Hye-jung succeeded in maintaining her grade, and all three existing A-grade members remained in A-grade.

In addition, two additional A grade members joined.

After the final grade evaluation, a total of 5 people received grade A.

“Okay, this concludes the final grading.”

After Lee Hye-jeong completed the evaluation, Han Si-woo picked up the microphone and began the process.

“You will be divided by grade and assigned appropriate seats on the group theme song stage tomorrow.”

Proper placement here would mean closer to the center, that is, the center.

In a spread out arrangement of grades B and C, with grade A in the center, low-grade participants will not be able to easily get even a single camera shot.

“There are probably some people who don’t like the current grade. Some people may already feel the gap with higher grades.”

“… … .”

The low-level participants glumly held their breath at Han Si-woo’s words.

He instilled hope in the hearts of low-level participants through the following comment.

“But don’t worry too much. Nothing has been decided yet. Even if you are currently at a high level, you may fall right now, and even if you are currently at a low level, you may debut.”

“… … .”

“It is up to the viewers to decide all of this.”

Han Si-woo said that and pointed at the camera.

“Even if your skills are inferior, you can debut if the viewers choose.”

“… … !”

Yes, Naah is definitely not just the trainee with the most skills debuting.

It’s just that the six people voted on by viewers the most will debut.

Remembering that, the low-level participants must have thought that they still had a chance, with sparks shining in their eyes.

Most of the participants had poor skills but relatively good looks.

“Okay, then, let’s end today’s filming by saying hello to our viewers. Now, everyone, take a look at each camera.”

At Han Si-woo’s words, the participants competed to find one camera each and stared with as bright faces as possible.

Even though it was a question of whether or not it would be broadcast for a second, the participants were so desperate.

“Now, let’s all shout together. Show me your dream!”

“Show me your dream!”

As usual, today’s filming ended with shouting the slogan, “Naaah!”

**

“Cut, thank you for your hard work! Only those whose grades have changed will follow the production team, and the remaining participants can spend their free time.”

The production team sent a cut sign and only those whose grades had changed gathered.

From what I heard, as the grade changes and the room changes, they gather based on their reactions.

Since I maintained my A grade, there was no such issue.

Since we are gathering early in the morning tomorrow, I thought I should go to my room and rest right away.

“Sister, you worked hard.”

“Yes, Yerin. You worked hard too.”

The first thing I did was say hello to Lee Hye-jeong, who I used to live with in the same A class.

and… .

“… Sister Seol. Sister too… .”

It was difficult to approach Yu Seol next to him to say hello.

but… .

“… … .”

She just passed me by without any reaction.

“… Uh, Seol?”

Lee Hye-jung, who did not know the full story of the incident, was embarrassed to see Yoo Seol becoming cold again.

“I thought we were pretty close now… , wasn’t it… ?”

I also became quite close with her as we prepared for the final grade together until last night… , or rather, I thought Yu Seol had opened up his heart quite a bit.

But because of what happened earlier… .

‘Yerin, come to your senses too. ‘You and I are competitors.’

The door to her heart was closed again.

It’s so firm that you can’t even tell when it will open.

“… Let’s go back, Yerin. I couldn’t sleep yesterday, so I’ll go to bed early today.”

“… Yes.”

There was nothing I could do for Yu Seol right now.

If I approached again… .

‘Otherwise, did you just feel sorry for the old guy who couldn’t debut even after practicing for 9 years?’

She, whose wounds have not yet healed, will raise her claws again.

“Phew… .”

If I had thought about her feelings a little more, I wouldn’t have hurt her feelings by pretending to care for her.

I returned home with a bitter taste in my mouth.

Even after taking a warm shower for the first time in a while and going to bed early, I remembered what she said.

‘… ‘I was a fool to think that competitors could become friendly with each other.’

I also thought of her as a competitor.

Whenever I watched her performance, I felt skeptical as to why I couldn’t do something like that, and I also felt a desire to put her down.

but… .

‘I didn’t think that we couldn’t become friends… .’

So I slowly closed my eyes, thinking about what happened with Yu Seol today.

I was extremely tired, but I couldn’t sleep.

It was because I kept thinking about what she said.

‘Don’t you know that just by being here right now, someone who desperately needs someone is losing their chance?’

Someone is losing an opportunity just by me being here… .

Today, it was as if I robbed Yoo Seol of the opportunity to be recruited to HS.

If I were to debut through Naah, one person who would have been selected for the debut group in my previous life would be eliminated.

Is that why?

I kept having random thoughts and my mind became dizzy.

So I forced my eyes shut and tried to sleep.

‘Sleep well… , it will be okay when tomorrow comes… .’

I thought that when tomorrow morning came, my complicated mind would calm down.

But Naaah was too cruel a place to have such hopeful thoughts.

**

The next morning.

As soon as we woke up, Hyejeong Lee and I headed to the restaurant.

The purpose was to have a hearty breakfast in preparation for the upcoming theme song group performance.

Originally, I was planning to take Park Yoo-jung with me, but… .

“Ah… , sisters… . I was filming reactions until late yesterday… . I won’t eat today, I’ll just sleep… , cool… .”

Park Yoo-jung, who had been filming reactions until late yesterday, was literally stretched out, so the two of us had no choice but to go.

Today’s breakfast menu is seolleongtang.

“Wow~ I really like seolleongtang!”

Lee Hye-jeong, who doesn’t have a favorite menu item, scooped up a lot of seolleongtang and sucked it up like a vacuum cleaner.

I also thought that today’s filming would be intense, so I ate a lot of seolleongtang with the intention of having a filling meal.

That was the time when Lee Hye-jeong and I enjoyed seolleongtang.

Sigh-.

We happened to make eye contact with one of the production crew members passing by the restaurant.

‘That person…’ , you were definitely one of the writers, right?’

Although we weren’t particularly close friends, he was one of Naaah’s powerful people, so we gave him a cursory glance and bowed his head in return.

However, writer Na-ah, who was about to pass after receiving a cursory greeting… .

“Ah.”

As if he suddenly remembered something he had forgotten, he stopped, came over to our table, and spoke.

“Hyejeong Ms.”

“… Yes, yes. Writer.”

“Hyejeong’s grade. I decided to go with B.”

“… Yes?”

The artist’s expression as he said that was as calm as if he were saying good morning.

On the other hand, we… .

Tap, snap.

“… … What does that mean?”

I had no choice but to freeze due to the sudden force of the clear sky.

“… Why is Hyejeong suddenly B? I definitely got an A yesterday… .”

“Oh, this does not apply to Ms. Yerin. Only Hyejeong is B.”

“So why suddenly… ?”

In response to our questions, the production crew just waved their hands and smiled as if they were busy.

“It just happened like that. You can hear the details later… , Anyway, that’s how you know it.”

Then he said hello and left.

“… … .”

“… … .”

Hyejeong Lee and I could only watch in silence.