Chapter 86

Chapter 86

Raise Three Idols Well And They’ll Launch a Confession Attack.

Episode 86: The Reaction Was Explosive.

The broadcast began with a CG screen that beautifully blended shades of purple, pink, black, and white.

It was clear they wanted to show off the investment, as the quality of the screen was impressive.

I set up a tablet next to me to check the real-time comments.

Bingdari – Whoa, what’s with the CG?

Mild Seven – If Yujin’s screen time sucks, I’m bombing the broadcast board.

ZEZE – Looking at the CG, they spent some money. It seems like the ‘best support ever’ wasn’t just a promo line.

Myungjun – Spending money is fine, but couldn’t they have come up with a better name than ‘Girl 100’?

zin-A park – For real.

Ujuchwegangmimorona – I hope our Rona makes the debut lineup.

It seemed the viewers had a similar impression, showing positive reactions to the video quality.

Most were more focused on the trainees they supported, though.

Girl 100 had gathered mostly well-known trainees or girl groups capable of creating a buzz, so a completely new face like Gyeoul was rare.

The broadcast began with the calm voice of a female narrator.

“Somewhere in the world, there are dreams we don’t know about.”

The screen transitioned to show a girl sweating as she danced in a practice room.

“A dream to dance better than anyone else.”

It then showed a girl singing on the street with a guitar, with only about three people watching.

“A dream to sing songs that move people.”

Finally, it showed a girl sitting in a corner seat at a concert, staring blankly at the dazzling lights from the stars on stage.

“And a dream to become an idol.”

The girls from the previous scenes, now dressed in white dresses, began walking toward the stage.

“Please protect that dream. And cheer for them.”

As their backs faded out, the title of Girl 100 appeared.

“Your encounter with the girls, Girl 100.”

Cheon Aram watched the screen with interest, crunching on chocolate popcorn.

Next to her, Seo Soo-yeon, after glancing around, carefully reached out and grabbed some chocolate popcorn to crunch on.

The broadcast progressed at a quick pace.

It briefly explained what Girl 100 was and how the voting system worked, then quickly moved to focus on the girls at the heart of the show.

The first trainees shown were the trio from Neulbom Entertainment’s group, Counter.

Among the three, it was already confirmed that Kim Yujin would debut later, so it seemed Kim Seon-ye wanted to give them a push.

The three chatted as they moved through a dark space along a purple-lit path and emerged into the lobby.

And there, they met Gyeoul.

Gaeul brightened up and said,

“It’s Gyeoul!”

Gyeoul’s calm stride, combined with her sharp facial features, exuded a strong girl crush charm.

It seemed Kim Seon-ye had put more effort into this than expected.

Burgundy – She’s pretty; who is she?

Male Mosquito – Wow, she’s so pretty. If they pick based on looks alone, she’s definitely in the top 11.

sin07 – I don’t like her; she looks too intense.

Sijugabbaekmanbutuh – I can read faces, and she looks like she’d boss her manager around and smoke a pack a day.

sin07 – For real, she looks like she’d be the leader of a gang or something.

“Ah… Hello!”

sin07 – …I guess not.

Gyeoul couldn’t hide her nervousness as she glanced at the Counter members.

The confidence and poise she showed in her first appearance were completely gone.

Kim Yujin seemed to find this pitiful and started taking care of her.

“That Yujin girl, her words are a bit rough, but she seems nice.”

“Yeah, she also has good chemistry with the other member who reins her in.”

I started to understand why the agency formed a rare trio group.

They probably saw a lot of potential in the chemistry between the three.

Of course, the result was that they got involved in vote manipulation and failed spectacularly…

The four introduced themselves, showing off their distinct personalities, and filled the audio as they reached the black door.

As the four girls began to wonder how to open the door, the entire hallway lit up, and the black door began to open.

The girls stepped through the door and onto the stage.

While they each reacted with amazement, the wide camera captured the stage and the seating area, which was divided by class.

In the midst of this, the camera showed Gyeoul’s eyes as she gazed at the light stretching from the stage to the seats, in a carefully crafted shot.

The spotlight and dazzling lights reflected in her eyes, creating a soft, glowing effect.

It was beautiful.

I wasn’t the only one who thought so; Seo Soo-yeon also expressed her admiration.

“Gyeoul is truly beautiful.”

“Yeah, Soo-yeon. She usually just looks like a kid, but seeing her like this on screen with full makeup, she’s really something.”

Then, the spotlight began to fall on the other trainees, one by one, as they started to emerge, with their pride on the line, vying for seats in the A-class. The six judges, labeled as masters, alongside the actor-turned-MC, were introduced.

And so, the first impression test, which would later average 4 million views, began.

The first stage featured the three-member girl group Counter, who had been responsible for the intro alongside Gyeoul.

They showcased “The Wolf’s Courtship” by Walls, known for its acrobatic performance and profound music video, rather than performing their own song.

From the start, it was a challenging song, originally by a male idol group where all members were called main dancers, but the three members of Counter completed the stage without any mistakes, performing steadily.

The fact that they could present such quality without any rehearsal indicated the amount of practice and focus they must have had.

“They’ll definitely get an A for their dance.”

“The vocals were decent too. Considering the intense choreography, performing live at that level is more than enough to pass. Since this program includes trainees, an A should be expected.”

However, contrary to the expectations of our trainer duo, they were all placed in the B class.

“No, that’s a bit…”

“The evaluation standards seem too tight.”

It was understandable for them to feel that way.

Kim Seon-ye must have wanted to spite the judges who nearly ruined the broadcast, so she edited the stage with a more flashy and refreshing direction than ever.

On top of that, the post-processing on the vocals made Counter look ready to appear on a music show right away.

Thanks to this, the masters who graded those kids as B class seemed somewhat unpleasant.

ZEZE- Giving them all a B? Can’t they at least give an A to someone like Yujin?

zin-A park- For real

Skyblue- It seems like they set high standards for the first evaluation.

Mild Seven- Sure, Yujin did well, but lacking star quality? Damn, we’re the ones investing money to evaluate star quality, not them. Who do they think they are to judge?

Double Cheese Bagel- Linking Oh James’s NStar.

Judgment- Ah, is it time to ‘judge’ with my keyboard again?

The live comment board was a complete mess.

It seemed Kim Seon-ye’s editing worked as intended.

Next, four girls who called themselves Blanc Girls took the stage.

Their performance didn’t quite match the quality that Counter had shown earlier, but it was still somewhat watchable.

This was thanks to Kim Seon-ye’s editing, which cut out numerous mistakes in the 3-minute song, leaving only a 40-second highlight.

However, after seeing their performance live, the judges unanimously concluded to grade them as F class.

Naturally, viewers who noticed the gap started criticizing the judges.

…Seon-ye, when you make up your mind, you really go all out, huh?

In the heated atmosphere, Gyeoul made her appearance.

“Gyeoul is coming out already.”

“Ah, Taeyang oppa, I’m so nervous.”

“Gaeul unnie, maybe you should stop clinging to Team Leader Seon like that? We’re trainees, after all.”

“…Ah, can’t I just hold on for a moment?”

“A moment? How long?”

“Two hours?”

“…That’s until the broadcast ends.”

Gyeoul, stammering and glancing around nervously, didn’t seem trustworthy to anyone.

The judge, with an indifferent expression, told her to start, and Gyeoul got ready.

At that moment, the screen switched to an interview with Gyeoul. It seemed to be a scene that Kim Seon-ye had requested to be filmed additionally.

-This time, many girls with various talents have made it through fierce competition to participate in Girl 100. Do you have the confidence to beat them and make it into the debut group, Gyeoul?

-…I don’t have confidence.

Gaeul, watching the screen, said with concern.

“What should we do? Gyeoul seems nervous.”

-I’m confident I’ll lose.

“…I guess not.”

“”….““

All the staff at TwoBear fell silent.

Cheon Aram, who had been chewing popcorn, swallowed and looked at me, asking.

“Is that okay, Team Leader Seon?”

“It’s fine. I’ve checked everything, including the final product. It won’t negatively impact TwoBear.”

…Probably.

“Taeyang oppa, can we check the comments now?”

“Wait, Gaeul unnie, I’m going to cover my eyes… Comments scare me too much.”

“…Sorry, I’ll just check them alone later.”

And then, the problematic stage happened.

My colleagues, who had been holding their breath as if even breathing could be a distraction, finally spoke up cautiously after the stage ended.

“…It’s definitely an A.”

“It’s almost disappointing that there’s no class higher than A.”

The judges unanimously gave an A, without any further commentary.

As if to say, only this level deserves to be called an A.

“Team Leader Seon, show us the comments! The comments!”

“…Weren’t you scared of the comments, Yeoreum?”

As I lifted the tablet to check the live comments, Gaeul, Yeoreum, and the rest of my colleagues crowded around me from behind and beside me. They must have been curious, even if they didn’t say it out loud.

Cheon Aram, who was practically climbing on my back to look at the tablet, said in awe.

“…Wow, the reaction is explosive.”