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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 53
Chapter Title: The MVP Announcement
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Kim Geum in 4th place?
It was truly an unexpected outcome.
However, Kim Geum's expression was calm, as if she had anticipated it.
"Trainee Kim Geum. I believe Trainee Kim Geum knows best why your mission ranking was disappointing despite your high individual ranking. In a group, it's not always about shining alone. Next time, I hope to see you show even more growth by demonstrating synergy with your other team members."
Do Hui-yeong's comment was truly spot-on advice.
It was exactly the same feeling I had vaguely sensed during the interim evaluation.
Geum still has a bit of an immature side.
She's so exceptionally talented that she lacks the余裕 to look out for others.
I couldn't properly watch the other girls' performances because of my situation.
I should check out their stages when I get back.
"I'm so grateful to the Colorists who gave me 17 votes. Honestly, I know these votes are more than I deserve. To my team, Park Ha-eun. I'm sorry. I feel like I wasn't good enough to make you shine more. Next time, I'll make you shine brighter!"
It was a spirited acceptance speech, typical of Kim Geum.
Right.
Actually, the song "Lament" wasn't an easy one to get a good result from.
Besides, Kim Geum achieved her greatest synergy when she composed the songs herself.
There was also the fact that she and Park Ha-eun didn't have great chemistry.
Still, it was a shocking result.
At the same time, a thought occurred to me.
'They truly judged solely based on the stage performance. It had nothing to do with individual popularity rankings.'
That thought made me even more nervous.
I probably wasn't the only one thinking this.
Everyone must have been thinking it.
"Next, I will announce the next trainee's ranking. This trainee received a total of 21 votes, securing the final 3rd place."
21 votes...
My body instinctively stiffened.
It felt like it could be my ranking.
I hadn't even participated in the rehearsal.
The fact that I couldn't properly participate because I was sick was common knowledge among the fans.
For me, even 3rd place would have been more than I deserved.
As I squeezed my eyes shut in nervousness,
"Dance position A's Trainee Seo Baek-yeong. You received 21 out of 100 votes from the Colorists. Congratulations. You are in 3rd place."
A name more shocking than my own was called out.
Seo Baek-yeong, in 3rd place?
The one who carried the entire stage?
I could only gape, unable to believe it. Honestly, I would have thought it natural for Seo Baek-yeong to take 1st place this time.
"I believe the disappointing result this time was due to a lack of overall quality in the stage performance. You must not forget that sometimes, showing decisive leadership is also important."
Unexpected events kept unfolding.
Seo Baek-yeong seemed to be mulling over Do Hui-yeong's words, lost in thought for a moment.
Then she looked up and smiled brightly.
"Senior, you are right. Until now, I thought that unconditionally listening to other team members was the best approach. But through this opportunity, I truly felt that genuine leadership is the power to maximize the team's capabilities, even if it means having to rally them more. I want to apologize and express my gratitude to the Colorists who voted for me. Our entire team prepared this stage with the sole desire to show the Colorists a great performance. Although we had many shortcomings, I will strive to become a more developed Seo Baek-yeong. Thank you!"
Seo Baek-yeong speaks so well...
If I could have spoken even half as well during my acceptance speeches, my former agency CEO wouldn't have been so vexed in my previous life.
"Now, we only have the 1st and 2nd place announcements left. Trainee Lee Ju-seon. You are confirmed for at least 2nd place. How do you feel?"
"I, I..."
Lee Ju-seon was trembling.
While she was happy, she also seemed afraid.
...It must have felt like a huge burden.
Lee Ju-seon had never been in the top 5 before.
This meant she was never expected to be a debut member by anyone.
But now, she's firmly in a position to aim for MVP of MVP.
It must feel so surreal, to the point of wondering if it was even allowed.
She's probably worried about being criticized for not being qualified.
I understood that feeling a hundred times over.
"I truly... just being here and competing with the other trainees... I considered it a great honor. The other trainees here... they were always the strong debut candidates... and I wasn't... so, can I really... be here like this...?"
"Don't say that, Trainee Lee Ju-seon. No one's debut is confirmed. Popularity rankings can change at any time. That's exactly why this program exists. If the debut members were decided from the start, why would we even bother with a survival program instead of just debuting them as is?"
Do Hui-yeong was right.
I kept nodding my head.
For idols, immediate charm and popularity are important, but there's another crucial factor:
Potential for growth.
If you only plan to follow an idol for a year, then maybe it doesn't matter, but now, long-running idols are becoming more common.
There are countless idols who re-sign beyond the typical 7-year contract period.
How vast would the gap be between an idol who doesn't grow during that period and one who does?
Lee Ju-seon was one of the trainees who had shown remarkable growth since the program began.
It's only natural for people to feel affection for someone who works hard and shows improvement.
"Don't lose heart, Trainee Lee Ju-seon. I hope you keep pushing to the end and even show us a reversal in rankings. That's the beauty of a survival program. Just because someone started at 12th place doesn't mean they'll stay 12th until the end. Don't trap yourself in such a fleeting rank."
Do Hui-yeong hugged Lee Ju-seon tightly and patted her back.
"Even I, in my early trainee days, always received the lowest scores in monthly evaluations. But look at me now. I debuted successfully, and I've become a mentor, mentoring all of you. If your beginning is disappointing, then make sure your end isn't. Stairs are meant to be climbed."
At that warm comfort, Lee Ju-seon choked up and burst into tears.
Somehow, it was a moment that tugged at my own heartstrings.
I found myself seeing Do Hui-yeong in a new light.
In my previous life, I had just seen her as a senior with a bit of a ditzy charm.
She actually seems like a reliable senior, doesn't she?
"Now, for the grand MVP of MVP—"
Do Hui-yeong looked directly at the camera and said,
"We will announce it in one minute."
Damn it.
***
M-bal-nom-deul, they cut it off here!
Let me breathe for a minute.
Whoa, Lee Ju-seon;
Juseon... she actually... pulled it off?
└LOL, for real, she did it.
Juseon-mom is crying... What did I tell you? I said Juseon's stock would soar!
The live reaction must have been real;
It wasn't *that* much though lol. Honestly, Lee Ju-seon did well today, but she beat Seo Baek-yeong?
└Honestly, Seo Baek-yeong herself did well, but she totally nerfed the song lol. The song became way too easy compared to the original demo;
└└That's because Kim Ryeo-yu was whining that she couldn't do it;
└└└Yeah, a leader needs to cut out those trolls~
└└└└Damn, why do they keep making her leader when she hasn't even debuted yet?
Hey, it feels like just yesterday she was called Ju-villain during the last mission...
└Ju-villain was mild, she was called Ju-danbi.
└└She was also called Ju-twi lol. Because she stuck out so much.
Turns out Kim Geum wasn't a problem child, but rather Teacher Kim Geum-yeong.
└Ah, Juseon just did well, stop linking her to Kim Geum lol. Kim Geum fans don't like it when you link them.
└└Hmph.
But look, no one has any objections about Yun Cheong lol.
└Main vocals are never criticized...
└└We should be grateful the sick kid even showed up, damn it.
Still, those Colors bastards somehow manage to scout amazing main vocals. Their casting directors must work like crazy.
└No no, Yun Cheong was a case of someone who just rolled in like a gourd on a vine. She couldn't debut at her previous agency, so she transferred to Colors.
└? Does the agency that didn't debut someone like her even have eyes?
└└The group that debuted after ditching Yun Cheong = High High Ho
└└└I looked them up, and they're genuinely new to me; Cheonga did well to escape. They say escaping is always about intelligence.
But honestly, don't you think there'll be some changes in the overall ranking announcement this time?
Not just Lee Ju-seon soaring...
I can see some plummeting too lol.
I'm cautiously predicting Kim Ryeo-yu plummeting...
└Don't be like that just because she slipped up a bit in one mission.
└└bit x a bit o
Kim Geum also seems to be slightly dropping. Ryu Bo-ra will probably fill that spot lol.
I've seen Seo Baek-yeong in a new light. I thought she was a charmless leader, but this time she just grabbed the kids by the scruff of their necks and carried them.
I'm predicting the ranking announcement this time:
Soaring: Lee Ju-seon, Seo Baek-yeong, Ryu Bo-ra
Plummeting: Kim Ryeo-yu
Maintaining: Jo Hui-on, Yun Cheong, Yeon Ju-hong, and other lower-ranked contestants.
Enough with the Col-bal-nom-deul, just start the broadcast already! What's the point of speculating here?
***
[Thank you for waiting.]
With Do Hui-yeong's comment, the broadcast resumed.
Col-duck clutched their anxious chest, watching the television screen.
Lee Ju-seon and Seo Baek-yeong had done so exceptionally well this time that they were on edge, but Yun Cheong had held her ground.
'She's at least 2nd place!'
For someone who was sick, she had truly done well.
Col-duck seethed at the netizens who subtly kept criticizing Yun Cheong.
Saying things like 'she has weak mental fortitude,' and 'health management is also a skill,' and so on.
However, Yun Cheong returned as if to prove them wrong.
And she delivered an unprecedented performance.
They had already taken a million screenshots.
So now, all she needed was 1st place!
It wasn't because they wanted the benefit.
Anyway, the benefit from the interim ranking announcement was meaningless.
It was meaningless.
"How important is that feeling to a fan, anyway!"
That feeling, for our idol and for me, is why we stream all night, buy albums, buy merchandise, everything!
"Hui-yeong-hui-mae, please, please say our idol is number one..."
True to a Col-duck who had once briefly fangirled over Do Hui-yeong, they even invoked her nickname while praying.
[The trainee selected as the MVP of MVP by the Colorists for the third mission is...]
Please. Please.
[With a total of 31 votes, a tie, Trainee Yun Cheong and Trainee Lee Ju-seon have been selected as joint MVPs of MVP!]
"Holy crap."
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