Translator: MarcTempest
Editor: NicoleTempest
Chapter 196 His Way (3)
[Letâs start the mass voting now!]
As the MC proceeded with the voting, trying to salvage the mood, it was clear that Yu-geon had the upper hand.
There were 82 trainees excluding Dream Hot Group A.
Most of them, except for a dozen or so of the top-ranked ones, sided with Yu-geon.
It was obvious.
His skills were so overwhelming that the outcome was indisputable. The few A and B-ranked trainees who didnât vote for Yu-geon were obviously trying to sabotage him.
âUgh, how petty. Theyâre embarrassed that A got beaten by F, so theyâre taking his side.â
The lower-ranked trainees openly expressed their dissatisfaction.
âShouldnât they swap ranks? Wasnât he a total flop?â
âI guess not. He just went for the center position.â
âMan, what a shame. It would have been more fun to watch if they did.â
The mockery from the lower-ranked trainees made Se-hyunâs face turn red.
He must have thought they were way below him.
âWell⊠Shim Naruâs reaction is lukewarm.â
The difference between Shim Naru and him was that Naru had a somewhat successful career and couldnât let go of his pride, so he threw a tantrum to get his way, and they reluctantly compromised.
But this guy was different. He was still a trainee, even if he was A-ranked. He might have been able to pull some strings among the runts, but he was no match for the politics of the upper ranks, where pre-contracts and networking were rampant.
âHeâs out if he makes a fuss here as a trainee who hasnât debuted and has no career.â
In the heated atmosphere, Yu-geon secured the center spot, and the mood of Dream Hot Group A plunged into darkness.
âSo thatâs why he only had two friends.â
Hwijin, who was under the stage, also looked at Yu-geon with a stunned expression, just like the other trainees.
Hwijin was basically weak-hearted, but he wasnât the type to cooperate with injustice.
He couldnât actively protest or stand up against something he didnât agree with, but he couldnât adapt to the political scene of the upper ranks, where pre-contracts and networking were rampant.
Thatâs why he became friends with Yu-geon, who climbed up with his skills.
Thatâs what he concluded, but then he wondered.
âHow did he become friends with Naru?â
He didnât seem to have anything in common with him, neither in personality nor situation.
He had many questions, but anyway⊠he was glad that Yu-geon made a strong impression again.
Of course, it wasnât a reassuring situation from a distance.
âWhat is he going to do by making enemies of all the top-ranked ones?â
I tilted my head, recalling the bitter editing of Boys Be Ambitious.
The production team still had the intention to disadvantage Yu-geon, and they wanted to use the buzz he created as a bait.
This time, too, there was plenty of room to make him look bad.
They could edit out the parts where he showed his skills and highlight the parts where Se-hyun did well, making him look like a troll who stirred up trouble and exhausted his teammates for nothing.
In fact, when I searched for him shortly after I met him, there were a lot of negative comments like âtrollâ, ânuisanceâ, âselfishâ.
âWhat⊠is he going to do next?â
I was worried, but it was his problem. I waited for the practice to end and headed to the group practice room as instructed by the production team.
You asked me to act as a web novel editor and translate a text from Korean to English. Here is my attempt:
âUgh, Iâm so tired~.â
After washing off all the sweat and dirt in the communal shower, we returned to the dorm and flopped onto our beds.
Todayâs practice had ended past 10 oâclock, so the camera and the recording device were already turned off when we came in.
âYou were really amazing today.â
Yu-geon stretched out and sprawled on the bed, and Hwijin smiled proudly and complimented him.
âWell, Iâm confident on stage.â
Yu-geon chuckled and rolled over.
It was a cheeky move, but it suited his personality so well that I had nothing to say.
âWhat are you going to do from now on?â
I asked him when I saw an opportunity, and he snorted and pondered for a moment before opening his mouth.
This content is taken from freeweÉnovel.cŃłm.
âHmm⊠Well, I guess I have to stick with this character for now.â
This character meant the cocky troll he was playing.
âNoh Se-hyun doesnât seem to get much support from the production team, so I tried to make a move. But I canât expect to get lucky like that again.â
He was right. If the production team decided to push for his debut, and he got into a fight with someone like Shim Naru, he wouldnât stand a chance with his skills.
He would be cut off before he even got a chance to show what he could do.
And since he had made enemies of most of the top trainees with this incident, he couldnât hope for any smooth negotiation or cooperation in the future.
âI might as well give up on debuting. I just have to survive as long as I can and show as much talent as possible.â
Hwijin nodded in agreement with Yu-geonâs candid remark.
âMe too, although the situation is different⊠I donât think I can make it to debut. Iâm trying to focus on spreading a good image and dropping out gracefully.â
What nonsense. You guys are going to debut in six months.
I couldnât tell them the secret I knew, so I coughed and gave them some encouragement.
âBoth of you, cheer up. You have enough potential, so if you can do well in the voting, I think you have a chance.â
Then they both burst out laughing at the same time, as if I had said something ridiculous.
âWhat? You say that after seeing today?â
âHey, thatâs too much of a compliment.â
They both laughed as if they wanted me to stop joking.
No, really. You guys are going to debut. I felt my mouth twitch, but I didnât want to be treated like a crazy person here.
âOkay, okay. Iâll just cheer for you.â
âThanks, I guess your heart counts.â
Yu-geon casually pulled the blanket over him and tossed and turned. Soon after, the lights went out with Hwijinâs good night, but I couldnât fall asleep and stared at the ceiling for a long time.
âI canât sleep.â
Meanwhile, Yu-geon seemed to have trouble sleeping too, as I heard him rustling for a while.
Rustle, rustle-.
âHeâs really annoying!â
If he couldnât sleep, he should just lie still, not bother anyone.
Finally, I got up and sat up, and Yu-geon whispered in the dark.
âOh, did I wake you up?â
This time, I was so annoyed that I blurted out what I felt.
âYes.â
âSorry. I canât sleep.â
I glared briefly at the direction where Yu-geon was and then flipped over the blanket and lay down again. Well, what can I say when he apologizes? I stared blankly at the pattern of the blanket for a while and then blurted out.
âWhatâs making you so anxious?â
Yu-geon clearly heard me but didnât answer.
âAre you asleep?â
In other words, answer me if youâre not sleeping.
Then Yu-geon answered in a low, muffled voice.
âI donât know.â
He looked so confident earlier. Did he get anxious when it became dawn and the surroundings were quiet? I couldnât say I didnât understand.
Am I doing well right now, is this right? Is this the answer? Was there no better way? Isnât life about living in pain while chewing over these questions endlessly?
Of course, if it were me, I wouldnât choose the same way as Yu-geon.
He draws attention by making everyone his enemy. It sounds easy and simple, but if anyone could succeed by doing that, countless audition programs would have done it by now.
This was something only Yu-geon could do, and only Yu-geon could handle.
And underneath that, there was a condition that he had to endure the âweight of the crownâ as the lyrics he sang today.
I donât know about the other people in this world,
But I know that Yu-geon can do it.
âDo you regret it? What happened today.â
Yu-geon answered right away to the question I squeezed out at the end of the silence.
âNo.â
âThen thatâs fine.â
Yu-geon snorted with a look of disbelief. He must have thought I was saying it too easily.
âThere was no other way. That was the best I could do at the time, so I did it.â
Yu-geon leaned against the wall, as if he didnât understand what I meant.
âSo if youâre not going to regret it, I think that was the best output you did. You canât change it, and you donât want to. If you would do the same thing if you went back to that time. Then that was the best you could do at the time.â freeweÉnovel.cĂžm
I spat out what I could say out of what I wanted to say and then added a joke.
âIt was better than hitting Noh Se-hyun in the face, right?â
âPfft.â
Then Hwijin, who was on the opposite bed, couldnât hold back his laughter and snickered.
âWere you listening?â
Hwijin apologized right away.
âAh, sorry. I didnât mean to eavesdrop. But honestly, you two are talking too loud for something thatâs hard to hear.â
Hwijin desperately tried to make up for it and kept holding back his laughter.
âJust laugh. Iâm serious.â
I chuckled calmly and Yu-geon answered cheekily.
âOh, but hitting him in the face would have been fun too.â
âIt would have been fun, but not fun to take legal responsibility.â
âThatâs true.â
âBut at least you hurt his pride, so letâs call it even.â
We exchanged harsh words as if joking and then started to talk about this and that again.
When I think about it, it was nothing special.
We were talking about our impressions of each other and the song we had to perform. I quietly slipped out of the conversation and closed my eyes, letting Yu-geon and Hwi-jin do most of the talking.
Their voices soon became like a radio talk show, lulling me to sleep.
As their low murmurs filled my ears, I heard someone whisper right before I lost consciousness.
[Is this fun for you?]
It was a sharp voice that scratched my eardrums, and it sounded vaguely familiar. But before I could figure out where I had heard it, I fell into a deep sleep.
The next morning.
I had a lavish buffet breakfast that still felt too extravagant for me, and then headed to the practice room that we had been assigned yesterday.
âOur groupâs atmosphere isnât too bad.â
The song itself was refreshing and lively, so we just had to show off our youthful charm and make it look cute even if we were inexperienced.
I had decided on the direction of the performance and was ready to persuade the other members, when I saw a huge bomb in front of me.
âUm⊠there are six of us, right? Why are two of them missing?â
There were only four of us in the group, including me. The two DF members who seemed to get along well yesterday were gone.
âI donât know. Maybe theyâll come before the practice time startsâŠâ
A B-grade member checked the clock with a worried expression.
There were only 17 seconds left until 9 oâclock. There was no way they would make it.
âIâll ask the staff.â
There was no cameraman in the practice room, since it wasnât our turn to film yet.
âWhatâs going on?â
I felt a surge of uneasiness as I remembered that strange voice from yesterday.