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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 35
Chapter Title: The Show Begins
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Chapter 35
I’d turned the world upside down just to raise her rank by one spot, and now the debut group had twelve members. Not only was there no need for me to have joined the survival show, but I also hated the number twelve.
“Ten is already too many. Debuting with twelve is just asking to fail. Hey, status window. What’s the big idea? Why’d you manipulate the number of members on your own?”
[The world that has now become reality was constructed based on your dream world. The system did not set anything arbitrarily. It simply brought to life what existed within the subconscious of ‘User Yoon Hye-sung.’]
“Then in my subconscious, Yeon-woo is number one, so manipulate it to make that happen.”
[Impossible.]
“Why not.”
[The reconstruction of the world is already complete. Please obediently complete Main Quest Chapter 1.]
“What an attitude… Then at least tell me how many members are in the debut group. Is it really twelve? Not ten?”
[It may or may not be twelve.]
“So it’s ten?”
[It may or may not be ten.]
“Don’t tell me it’s nine.”
[It may or may not be nine.]
“You may or may not die by my hand.”
[…]
[Your verbal abuse seems to have worsened recently. This is a serious demerit for an idol! Professional idols do not use such vulgar language.]
“What idol? You’re the one who threw me a set of stats fit for a dog’s dinner right from the start. I’m a fangirl, you hear me?”
[Initiating Emergency Measure 109 for scandal prevention!]
[Emergency Measure 109: Kind words beget kind words.]
[A penalty will be imposed for the use of excessive profanity and remarks that are insulting to the status window.]
“Does it not occur to you that you’re the one insulting me? Who was it that made me a target with those garbage traits? Just tell me the number of debut members.”
[Quote of the Day: Revealing the secrets of heaven brings misfortune.]
[Do not press the matter. This is information you will learn at the first ranking ceremony.]
“This is so annoying.”
On the screen, a full shot of Seol Han-na appeared after she finished explaining the voting method.
[Who do you want to bring aboard your ship? Introducing the 100 trainees who will journey toward the sea of dreams.]
The opening ended, and the show’s signal song started playing as background music.
The program logo appeared, and the screen quickly transitioned.
[Wow~ I guess we’re really the first ones.]
Three trainees with youthful faces looked around as they approached the tiered ranking seats. After a decent amount of introduction, the three, who were from a relatively well-known mid-sized agency, found their seats.
[A trainee appears alone with a confident stride.]
Next, someone else walked in.
The camera focused only on her body, not her face, building curiosity.
The moment she stood before the ranking seats, the trainee’s face was revealed.
[Huh? Doesn’t she look like someone?]
One of the three trainees who had arrived earlier spoke.
[Ji Su-hyun (HY Entertainment): Hello. I’m Ji Su-hyun. It’s a pleasure to be here.]
Perhaps not nervous at all, Ji Su-hyun’s lips curved into a gentle smile.
[A strangely familiar face?]
A subtitle appeared, hinting at something.
As Ji Su-hyun bowed her head and went to find a seat, the screen switched to a performance by the person a trainee had mentioned she resembled.
[The 9-member boy group MY:B, born from Supernova Project Season 4!]
[Nason (MY:B): Yes, I’m your Boy! MY:B! Hello, this is Nason of MY:B.]
-?? Is she Nason’s sister?
-Wow, sending a video message like that is a bit much; MY:B fans who don’t even watch the show are going to vote for her now.
└You think MY:B fans have that much time on their hands?
└└They’re famous for being the most passionate when it comes to things that don’t cost money lol
-Other audition shows always mention if a contestant has a celebrity in the family… They even include footage of contestants meeting their cousins outside, so complaining about a simple video message is a bit much, especially when he was on the previous season lmao
-But they really do look alike lol Her face is basically a family registry certificate.
[Nason (MY:B): Anyway, I know you’ll do great, sis. See you on stage! Fighting!]
[Trainee Ji Su-hyun, Nason’s older sister!]
-So she’s his older sister, not younger.
-How can siblings end up on a survival show one after another lol
-But if he’s Nason, why is she Ji Su-hyun?
└Nason’s Korean name is Ji Sung-hyun. Looks like his sister is using her Korean name.
The next few teams that entered were shown taking their seats in a quick montage, without any proper introduction.
[The appearance of a visual trainee from an acting agency!]
Photos of famous actors flashed across the screen, then the agency’s name on the main display zoomed in.
[Management A, the creator of Hallyu stars.]
Na Yeon-woo and Cha Ju-yeon walked in, accompanied by music that sounded like starlight falling.
[Jaw-dropping visuals!]
The video slowed down, showing them from various angles.
Na Yeon-woo was caught in a close-up, bowing to the other trainees who were covering their mouths in shock and repeatedly saying, “She’s so pretty,” before shyly sweeping her hair back.
“Holy…! A goddess has descended to the mortal realm!”
Hye-sung shot up from her seat, regretting that she hadn’t been able to witness that moment in person because she was in a later group.
-fr, she has actress visuals
└It’s like… clean? Her features are sharp but composed.
└22 She has a similar vibe to the actresses they recently signed. Management A definitely has a type.
-Doesn’t the one on the left look a bit like Kim Han-seol?
└Oh yeah, she has that early-debut Kim Han-seol vibe.
└Not at all; only their hair is similar.
└She does, she looks like a baby Kim Han-seol.
└Nah, she looks more like Jung Woo-yeon than Kim Han-seol.
“They’re both beautiful in different ways, and they don’t look alike.”
Hye-sung, who never liked it when her favorite was compared to someone else, pouted.
-I bet they’ll just test the waters here before switching to acting.
-But that Na Yeon-woo girl has pretty strong features for a girl. I feel like idol styling will just look off on her.
└Yeah, she’s definitely pretty, but her face isn’t a blank canvas. Her features are so distinct that she’ll probably clash with most concepts lol She’s better off as an actress.
└Right lol She doesn’t have a trendy face, so as soon as they put colorful makeup on her, it’ll look weird. The way she looks now is her peak.
-If you’re just here to build a stepping stone for an acting career, I wish you wouldn’t come on these shows… It’s like you’re looking down on idols.
“What are you talking about? Clash with concepts? Are you blind? And my girl is more serious about being an idol than anyone!”
Hye-sung slammed her desk as she scrolled through the reactions on a large, active online community.
“Why are people so twisted?”
-Honestly, the level of the contestants is a bit… Is there anyone worth watching besides Han Young-won?
└And Lee Ju-ha. I really thought she would debut with Snowy.
Since the audition show was failing, a protective fandom hadn't formed yet. People who sensed this like sharks to blood were only lenient toward trainees who already had fans.
-But didn't they cut all the contestants with debut experience this time?
└They didn't accept applications from people with debut experience from the start.
-Why? The debut group will need one or two experienced members…
└Someone experienced must have gotten on their bad side lol
└MY:B didn't have any experienced members either. The members were all young and obedient, so they couldn't talk back. Probably made them easy to work like slaves.
-But there’s really no one special… Their training periods all seem short too. Honestly, it’s below my expectations; I’m just gonna go watch Netflix.
└222 Seriously, no one stands out. I’m not talking about looks, just the overall pool is lackluster.
Once one or two people set the tone, the comments started to take a negative turn.
-Is that lady who just passed by a trainee too?
└Hey commenter, let’s not say things like that.
-They all look like regular people; Season 4 had a lot of cute guys… Weren’t girl groups supposed to have a better talent pool? That’s ancient history now lol You guys were always dissing boy groups;;
-If this were a boy group show, some of these faces would be getting torn apart. You should be glad you’re girls.
The evaluation stages hadn’t even begun, yet there were harsh criticisms based on looks alone.
-What, are elementary schoolers on the show too?? Having kids this young on shows like this seems like child abuseㅠㅠ Their clothes are so short too…
└There’s an age limit, so no one under 15 can participate…
└└(original commenter) Oh? Really? She just looked like a grade schoolerㅠㅠㅠ I guess I misunderstood because she’s so short haha
Hiding behind the shield of anonymity, a stream of comments subtly chipped away at the trainees, pretending to be genuinely curious or concerned.
These were remarks they wouldn’t have dared to make if the forum displayed usernames or if the show were popular.
“I’m so sick of people’s hypocrisy.”
While Hye-sung, who knew better than anyone how unpopular girl group members were treated, seethed, a trainee appeared on screen, her face mosaicked, her hands fidgeting nervously.
[The appearance of a trainee from the powerhouse agency D&F?!]
“Why blur her face, you crazy bastards? Don’t get people’s hopes up!”
-Here she comes, this season’s main vocal.
-She must be super talented.
-Ah, I’m kinda looking forward to this one. I wanna see her performance already.
-This might be rude, but she looks really average. Is she really that good?
└Then don’t say it;; That’s still a malicious comment.
-But girls who look like that tend to pull off concepts really well lol I saw her change in styling, and I was right. She totally rocks that jet-black hair, dark, moody styling. She might not get much reaction now, but she’ll shoot up soon. There are tons of people who are crazy for that style.
└This is it. The ones who are already perfect just look weirder the more you add, but girls like her look good even with dyed hair lol
“All I did was cut my hair. What’s this about a dark, moody styling?”
Witnessing a self-proclaimed expert in their mom’s basement branding her as a sanpaku-eyed, dark-aura character, Hye-sung blinked in surprise.
[Hello, I’m Yoon Hye-sung.]
As Hye-sung bowed nervously, the word ‘Former’ appeared in front of the agency name behind her.
[Q. Is there a reason you left D&F to participate?]
[Yoon Hye-sung (Individual Trainee): Just because……. (shrugs)]
“Why did they cut off the rest? I clearly said I left because they had no plans to launch a girl group! Even if I did just make that up.”
Seeing them go to the trouble of fabricating the interview made her even more anxious about the future.
-? Just because?
-Wow, that’s crazy. She just left.
-She’s supposed to be this season’s main vocal, right? She looks like a minor. If she’d just waited two years, she would’ve debuted for sure. The guts to leave a major agencyㄷㄷㄷ
└Is she a minor? She looks somewhere between 7 and 50, so I can’t tell her age.
-I guess it means she’s that confident. What a boss.
“That. Is. Not. It.”
-How can she be the main vocal when there’s Han Young-won, who has the visuals too?
└Han Young-won is too old… She can’t debut here.
-But why is she the main vocal? Has she been on anything before?
└I heard she majored in classical singing?
└Look at her face. She looks the part.
└Classic fan-projected main vocal face. Seeing her in the ace-tier line during the ‘Chance’ performance proves she’s all about skill.
“Classical singing? Me? Are you sure that’s not short for ‘classically awful personality’?”
Hye-sung had studied the theory of online flame wars with trolls, but she’d never studied classical singing. She was realizing firsthand that smoke could appear without a fire, and a baseless rumor could travel a thousand miles.
Just as most of the trainees had taken their seats, Seong-bin was shown walking into the studio.
