episode_0128

“… No, they won’t announce the rankings?”

“… Isn’t this a bit too much?”

Upon hearing that the rankings would not be announced, the participants began whispering in dissatisfied voices.

I was also dissatisfied, but… .

‘But I can understand it.’

I understand why the production team did not reveal this ranking.

If the final rankings are announced now and they are too obvious, the fun of seeing the final results will be halved.

Not disclosing the rankings now is probably a choice to increase the fun of the finals.

Additionally, by not disclosing the rankings, it can create awareness and tension among participants who may otherwise become complacent.

I’m actually aiming to win… , I felt like my mouth was dry because I couldn’t tell how far Yu Seol had followed me.

Yu Seol also looked even more anxious, perhaps because he couldn’t see how far he had chased.

This was the same for other participants in the debut area.

Since the rankings that were normally announced were not made public, the originally heavy atmosphere became even heavier.

But even at this moment, there was only one participant who was taking the same stance as before… .

Rub rub rub rub.

… It was Seo Yu-jin, who was clinging to my arm and rubbing her face.

I asked, pushing Eugene’s side of his hair back as it tickled as if a cat was rubbing his face.

“Yujin.”

“Yes?”

“Aren’t you nervous?”

“Nervous? ah… .”

When asked if she was nervous, Seo Yu-jin made a blank expression for a moment, then nodded slightly and said.

“To be honest… , I’m not that nervous.”

“… Why?”

“Because I gave up on winning anyway.”

“… Hmm?”

Seo Yujin tilted her head at the unexpected answer and continued.

“Because of that incident, my vote count went down once… , I think it would be realistically difficult for me to win.”

“Debut? Do you have any anxiety that you won’t be able to debut?”

Seo Yu-jin responded with a look that asked what he meant.

“Yes? What does that mean? There’s no way I can’t debut.”

“… … .”

“Right now, I’m just happy that I’m debuting with my sister.”

After saying that, Seo Yujin purred again and leaned her head on my shoulder.

I looked at Seo Yujin blankly for a moment and then smiled.

“It’s you, Eugene.”

“n? What do you mean?”

“There is such a thing.”

Right now, Seo Yu-jin’s An Ha-mu-in trait was turned off.

However, the influence of living as Anha Muin for 17 years seems to have gone nowhere.

Seo Yu-jin never thought that she wouldn’t be able to debut.

Of course, in reality, the probability that Seo Yu-jin would not debut was extremely small.

Although the number of votes fell for a while due to that incident, she had a lot to build up so far, and she won the last contest by a narrow margin from Park Yoo-jung.

‘Still, don’t you usually feel nervous when you come here, no matter how stable it is?’

I was a little dumbfounded by Seo Yu-jin’s carefree attitude, so I smiled and stroked her head as she was showing affection towards me.

Pat pat pat.

… Is this why my parents tried to pet me whenever they had the chance?

As I stroked the cat-like Seo Yu-jin, I felt like my tension had eased a bit.

In response, I whispered something in Seo Yu-jin’s ear as lip service, which relieved my tension without realizing it.

“I’m so happy that I’m debuting with you too, Eugene.”

“Hehe, thank you, sister. We are on the same team for this contest.”

“Okay.”

Seo Yu-jin seemed to feel better after my words, so she hugged me even more.

Instead of turning away from Seo Yu-jin, I pulled her towards me.

So I hugged and stroked Seo Yu-jin like a doll, relieving the current tension.

Although the set had a cold atmosphere like a harsh winter, Seo Yu-jin and I were warm as if spring had come.

**

“… This concludes the naming of the 8 eliminated out of the 11 players in the loser’s bracket. To those who were eliminated, thank you for your hard work.”

After declaring that he would not reveal the rankings, Han Si-woo immediately followed up with the announcement of the eliminated candidates.

And after calling out the names of those who were eliminated, he bowed his head as if he was sorry.

“Ah… … .”

“Ugh… .”

In fact, the atmosphere among those who were eliminated today was even more gloomy.

It was worth it.

If you fall from a high place, the pain is even worse.

From their perspective, it was clear that Naa’s finals and debut were right around the corner, but since they were eliminated, their disappointment and sadness would be doubled.

The remaining survivors also saw off the eliminated candidates with tears.

From the perspective of the current survivors, it would not have been convenient to send away the current dropouts who had endured up to this point together through hardships and hardships.

And was it out of consideration for those participants, or was it just that they wanted to capture the Shinpa scene at the end? .

Jiing.

The production crew gave the participants ample time and excitedly took pictures of them shedding tears.

And so the tearful farewell ceremony ended.

“We will now select the team.”

“… !”

As soon as they heard Han Si-woo’s words, tears came from all the participants’ eyes.

The person who went has gone… .

Shouldn’t those who live have to live?

And team selection was one of the most important aspects of the contest.

As was the case during the ranking announcement ceremony earlier, this time the participants focused on Han Si-woo’s next words.

“Probably all participants are curious about how the teams for the final competition are selected.”

“… … .”

“And the team of the final competition is… .”

Soon, Han Si-woo slowly opened his mouth… .

“… The production team has already completed the selection.”

“… … Huh?!”

Once again, the set was in shock.

“What is that… !”

“No, why… !”

Until now, the team was decided based on the participants’ choices… , At the end, the production crew suddenly decides on a team… .

“It is said that the production team reviewed objective indicators and selected the team in a very ‘fair’ way.”

Well, it’s fair to the production crew… .

… Haha, is there a word that doesn’t fit as well as that?

After all, there was friction with the new PD, so the production team exerted direct influence like this… .

I couldn’t help but feel even more anxious.

“Okay, now let’s reveal the team! Please take a look at the screen!”

As Han Si-woo hosted the show, the Naaah production team played a tense song.

And soon… .

Faaat.

… The screen turned on.

“… Huh?”

When I saw the team on the screen, I tilted my head.

There are now 14 participants remaining.

The production crew divided into two teams of seven people each.

And the list was as follows:

Yerin Hay

Seo Yujin

＊

＊

Hyejeong Lee

＊

＊

rumor

I am Hannah

Park Yu-jeong

＊

＊

‘Than you think… , it’s normal… ?’

Shin PD clearly predicted retaliation against me at that time. But for all that, my team wasn’t that bad.

Of course, the opposing team’s lineup was very tight.

Park Yu-jeong, who has good balance and can be both a dancer and a vocalist, and Na Hanna, a natural dancer who specializes in dance.

And even Yoo Seol is thirsty for victory.

Even if you put just those three together, they would surpass most active idols.

“Now then, please gather your designated teams!”

“Kya! Yerin, we are on the same team!”

“Yerin… ! We’re on the same team!”

But our team didn’t have a bad combination either.

Like Park Yoo-jeong, Seo Yu-jin has good balance and can be both a dancer and a vocalist, and along with Yoo Seol, Lee Hye-jeong has the highest singing ability stat in Naaah.

and… , me.

‘It’s worth it.’

When you just look at the team… , I thought this contest was really worth it.

Of course, something important still remained.

as soon as… .

“If the team gathered together… , Now let’s select the song.”

… It was a song selection.

Depending on what song is selected, the team’s performance can be greatly affected.

‘Maybe the song was decided by the production team? That’s absolutely ridiculous.’

Since song selection is just as important as team selection, everyone listened to Han Si-woo’s words with concentration.

“The theme of this year’s My Idol Academia final contest is .”

“… Glory?”

When an unexpected word came out, the participants tilted their heads.

Han Si-woo laughed after seeing the participants’ reactions and continued the proceedings.

“First, let’s look at the screen together.”

Faaat.

Soon, on the screen that turned on with Han Si-woo’s progress… .

“Those seniors… .”

“Ah… .”

Hit songs from girl groups and boy groups were playing, listed for a few seconds at a time.

The participants, including myself, were soon able to find commonalities between the idols on screen.

“The characteristics of the idols you see now are… , It is an idol created through a program like Naaa.”

These are idols created in programs under the New PD division.

The new PD division has produced successful idol groups through many programs.

The people on the screen now are the idols produced by Shin PD.

“You will choose one of their hit songs and perform it in the final competition.”

“Ah… !”

At Han Si-woo’s words, the participants’ faces began to straighten.

The idols that appear on screen now are all successful groups and have had many hit songs.

If you choose the right one among those hit songs, you will be able to put on a good performance at the contest.

but… .

“Of course… , You cannot freely select songs for this contest.”

“… Ah.”

Of course, the production team was not one to just watch this and remain silent.

“You will select the song for this contest through a small game.”

“… Game.”

“And that game… , you have already experienced it.”

“… … E?”

This is a game you’ve already experienced?

After hearing that, I had a question.

and… .

“I will reveal the game now. Let’s all look at the screen together!”

I turned my gaze to the screen at Han Si-woo’s words… , soon the screen changed to something else… .

“Aaaa-!!”

Participants screamed.

That’s right… .

“The song selection game for the My Idol Academia final contest is… , it’s a cyber wheel!”

This was because there was a now familiar wheel on the screen.

Naaah used it during the first contest… , that wheel that only shows songs that are strangely difficult.