episode_0082

next day.

“Yerin.”

“… … Umm.”

“Yerin, wake up. It’s all here.”

“… Ah.”

As always, I came to the set of Naaah through Kang Hyeong-man’s car, fell asleep before I knew it, and woke up to Kang Hyeong-man’s voice.

“… sorry. When did you fall asleep… .”

“It’s okay. How tired must I have been.”

Perhaps it was because I had trouble sleeping yesterday due to various random thoughts and worries about Seo Yu-jin, but the fatigue did not go away easily.

I stretched, gathered my luggage and got out of the car, and Kang Hyeong-man and Sang-gu saw me off.

“I will work hard this week. Thank you for taking me.”

After saying hello, I was about to go inside… .

“Oh, wait a minute, Yerin.”

“… … ?”

Only Kang Hyeong-man called me.

“I forgot to give you this.”

“What is this… , hmm… ?”

I was shocked when I checked what Kang Hyung-man had placed in my hand.

“This is… .”

“It’s chocolate.”

What Kang Hyeong-man gave me was individually packaged high-quality brand chocolate.

This is definitely very expensive.

As I stared at the chocolate, only Kanghyung scratched the back of his head and said.

“… We all know how high in calories and sugar chocolate is. It may not be suitable for you who need to take care of your body shape, but… .”

“… … .”

“But they say chocolate is the best for relieving stress. Eat whenever you have a hard time.”

Chocolate can literally be said to be a fat-gaining potion.

Of course, it was inappropriate food for me as an idol trainee… .

“Thank you, boss. I will eat well.”

I guess the fact that I was having a hard time because of my parents this week caught Kang Hyeongman’s eyes.

I felt his sincerity and happily accepted the chocolate.

Not only that, I immediately opened one and put it in my mouth.

“… It’s delicious.”

It’s a very high-quality chocolate… , Perhaps because it was my first time eating chocolate in a long time, it was so delicious that it gave me a headache.

“Boss and Sanggu, please take one too.”

“No, I’m okay… .”

Sigh-.

Kang Hyeong-man waved his hand away, but I reluctantly opened two chocolates and placed them on their hands.

Kang Hyeong-man took one look at the chocolate I placed on his hand, grinned, and took a bite of it with Sang-gu.

“Let’s eat, Sangu.”

“Yes.”

Tup.

Then he immediately put his hand on my head and stroked it.

“Thanks to you, it’s been a while since I’ve had something sweet. Thank you, Yerin.”

“No… , the boss bought this for me… .”

What is the point of being thankful when I only shared a little of what he paid for with his own money?

I tilted my head because I didn’t understand, but Kang Hyeong-man stroked my head with a happy face, as if he was truly satisfied.

“Do your best this week too. After filming ends next week… , I will come pick you up.”

“Yes… !”

So I waved at Kang Hyeong-man and Sang-gu oppa once and headed into the set.

It was the start of a difficult day in many ways with all sorts of things going on… , Perhaps thanks to Kang Hyeong’s chocolate, I felt a little tired and gained strength.

**

“Sister-!!”

“Ah… , Yoojeong… !”

The first person I met on my way to the dorm to unpack was Park Yoo-jung.

As always, she came towards me like a puppy and hugged my waist tightly.

There was quite a height difference between us, so Park Yoo-jung buried her face in my chest and pressed against me.

“Did you rest well during the week?”

“Ugh… , you?”

“I had a good time too, hehe.”

Park Yoo-jung and I walked towards the dorm, chatting tightly together.

It was then.

Murmur.

“… … ?”

Something… , It wasn’t noisy, but suddenly there was a strange atmosphere of whispering among the other participants.

At this, Park Yoo-jung and I simultaneously turned our heads in confusion… .

“Ah… .”

There was Seo Yu-jin, dragging a suitcase and trudging towards her dorm.

‘The face… .’

The area around her eyes is severely swollen, as if she had been crying all night. And his face is full of deep water… , It looked like he hadn’t slept a wink during the night.

‘It’s a pity… .’

So, with a sad heart, I tried to approach Seo Yu-jin… .

chin.

“Sister.”

“… … .”

“… I already have a camera.”

… He was stopped by Park Yoo-jung.

Following her words, I looked around and saw that there were already a lot of cameramen taking pictures of the actors arriving on set.

“Of course, it’s unfortunate… , If you go to Yujin now, you could end up getting involved wrongly.”

“… … .”

Park Yoo-jung is a good child, but there were times when she was this rational.

I got mixed up with Seo Yu-jin… . This meant that they could also be portrayed as villains on TV.

And we weren’t the only ones who thought this… , There was no one around Seo Yu-jin, as if a shield had been deployed.

‘ah… .’

That lonely, lonely sight… , it made my heart ache even more.

“Rather… , I’d rather get off… .”

If he appears on TV now, people will continue to criticize him. There is no way the production team will leave Seo Yu-jin alone… .

If you get off, at least the current pain will be reduced.

I muttered this without realizing it, and Park Yoo-jung responded in a low voice.

“If you get off now… , because you will never debut.”

“… … Ah.”

“If Yujin disappears from people’s eyes while being criticized like this, there will never be a chance for Yujin to debut as an idol. Even if it meant getting criticized, it would have been the best choice for Eugene to quit Naaa.”

“… … .”

… There is no paradise where you run away.

Staying here is the best choice… , I felt even more sad.

And as if I wasn’t the only one who felt sorry, Park Yoo-jung said as she looked at Seo Yu-jin’s lonely back with a different expression than usual.

“… It’s too much.”

“… … .”

“… Eugene. I may not be cheesy, but I’m still 17 years old… , it can change enough… , there are too many people who criticize it after only seeing fragments of it. … The production crew also made sure to swear all the time, which was too much.”

“… … .”

“Not yet… , so young… .”

The look on Park Yoo-jung’s face when she says that… , It seemed to contain quiet anger.

I felt like the atmosphere would get even heavier the further we went from here, so I patted Park Yoo-jeong’s head and said,

“Pretending to be an adult. Yujeong, you are also 18 years old. I’m only one year older than Eugene. You are young too.”

“My sister is also 19 years old and is one year older than me. … Everyone here is young, actually.”

“… … Yes, that’s right.”

Among the Naaah contestants, there are two oldest participants. The two people, including Lee Hye-jung, are only 22 years old.

And most of the Naaah cast members are high school students who have not yet become adults.

When I remember that fact again… , I felt like I was about to burst into laughter.

“Teasing children who are not even adults yet… , used as a viewer rating tool… , this place is full of really bad guys.”

“… … .”

When I said that, Park Yoo-jung seemed to be thinking of brightening the mood and said with a small smile.

“I’ll have to work hard to survive this week among all those bad guys.”

“Okay… , I have to survive this week too.”

So we clenched our fists, strengthened our resolve, and headed inside.

And after unpacking at the accommodation and getting a quick make-up… .

“Now, let’s begin the second ranking announcement ceremony-!”

… The second ranking announcement ceremony has begun.

**

The method of the second ranking announcement ceremony was the same as the first.

First of all, the criteria for elimination was to exclude the top 3 players from the losing team by personal vote… , the ranking announcement ceremony was held in a tense atmosphere with the eliminated candidates announced on the screen in advance.

From my perspective, the voting results of the second ranking announcement ceremony were not much different from the first round, but if there is one thing to note… .

“Levi Entertainment Park Yoo-jung’s ranking is 9th!”

“Kidship Entertainment Lee Hye-jeong’s ranking is 14th!”

“, thank you-!!”

Park Yoo-jung and Lee Hye-jung’s rankings rose significantly.

what… , this was actually expected to some extent.

Park Yoo-jung and Lee Hye-jung were undervalued in terms of their rankings compared to their stats, and they showed good performance in the second team competition.

Especially Hyejeong Lee.

I was proud of her for showing a good performance and improving rankings despite the low broadcast volume and the production team’s pressure.

chuck.

When I gave Hyejeong Lee a thumbs up, she also gave me a thumbs up and we smiled at each other.

The rankings were announced with such a good atmosphere… .

All that was left was the announcement of the eliminated candidates and the ranking of the top four.

For reference, the top four candidates were Na, Seol Yoo, Yujin Seo, and Hanna Na.

Seo Yu-jin’s image was ruined because of last night’s broadcast, so it was natural that Seo Yu-jin, who had accumulated votes due to her popularity, would be selected as one of the top four.

‘It would be better for Eugene not to be noticed right now.’

When I was being criticized for no reason, I got criticized even more because I was selected as one of the top 4 people.

And as if to make fun of you… .

“… 3rd place is SAV Entertainment Seo Yujin!”

… Seo Yu-jin beat Na Hanna and took third place, just like in the first round.

This time too, Na Hanna only spoke briefly with sleepy eyes as if she had no interest in the rankings.

“… Thanks to the support of the fans, I was able to sit down. Thank you. … That’s it.”

And Seo Yu-jin… .

“… … Well, first of all, I apologize for causing trouble. and… , I would like to thank the fans who supported me despite this… .”

Contrary to his usual confident appearance… .

No, he ended his speech with tears streaming down his face as if he was a completely different person.

As I was looking at it, a thought occurred to me, so I opened the status window and… .

[Characteristic: Anhamuin (characteristic removed)]

… I could see that her Anhamuin trait had been unlocked.

‘Something… .’

In the past, there were many times when I was annoyed by the trait of being an expert. , I wonder if it feels empty now that it has been lifted.

‘… Will I be able to see Anhamuin Seo Yujin again?’

And so, with a somewhat bitter feeling, the rankings for top 3 were announced… .

“… Then we will move on to the next ranking announcement.”

There were only two people left.

Sigh-.

At that moment, Yu Seol and I made eye contact as if we had planned it out… .

“… … .”

I turned my head towards the first place seat.

When choosing a seat, Yoo Seol sat there herself… , I sat there during the first ranking announcement ceremony.

In fact, there is no particular meaning to ranking first before the final vote.

Rather, it can be seen as a more ideal narrative to stay at a lower rank than first place until the finals and then take first place at the end.

but… .

‘… ‘I don’t want to lose.’

My heart feels as I look at the first place seat… , was running fast again.

It may be a needless greed, but… , I didn’t want it taken away.

Han Si-woo, perhaps aware of my feelings, continued leisurely.

“This competition for first place is… , It was quite intense. The difference in votes between 1st and 2nd place is only 2,000 votes.”

Murmur.

Upon hearing that the difference in votes was 2,000, the room began to stir.

This was because the gap between me and Yoo Seol was 50,000 votes during the first ranking announcement ceremony, and the gap has narrowed considerably.

‘This first place is a very close one… .’

When I heard that the difference was only 2,000 votes, I couldn’t help but feel even more threatened.

When I glanced at Yoo Seol, I saw that she was also nervous and had a stiff expression on her face, unable to express her facial expressions like usual.

“Then, I will announce it now. Second ranking announcement ceremony. Who won first place by only 2000 votes?”

Everyone focused on the shape of Han Si-woo’s mouth with tense gaze.

Han Si-woo paused for a moment, then smiled and spoke loudly.

“Congratulations! The participant who took first place in the second ranking announcement ceremony was… !”

… please.

“Right… !!!”

Eventually, the results were announced… !

“… … !”

… I couldn’t help but widen my eyes for a moment.