Chapter 26: Why Do You Keep Clinging?

“Ooh~! Even breakfast this morning is amazing-?!”

Jo Seha, who’s ridiculously weak, wailed.

“Everyone, eat a lot~!”

I really wish you’d stop wailing.

Where do you even buy that kind of energy? Just last night, when we got back to the dorm, you were all down after I said something to you…

‘If there’s a place that sells it, I’ll smash it…

Still, seeing as you’re not talking to me, you must be being a little careful…?

“Haram! Don’t mind getting a C rank, just eat a lot! You need to eat to have energy!!”

Well, it was my fault for expecting otherwise. Right?

“As expected….”

“Yesterday’s rank announcement must be real. Honestly, I thought it was a bug.”

I could hear the other dorm participants, who’d been barely avoiding my gaze, whispering.

I knew this would happen.

No matter what my rank is, like you said, it doesn’t matter, but I’d rather not have this kind of uncomfortable attention first thing in the morning.

“Jo Seha.”

“Yeah?”

Even though I spoke as coldly as I could—enough to air on TV—Jo Seha was still all smiles.

“Just how much do you want me to be the butt of everyone’s joke?”

“Eh? What do you mean, joke? I’m just…..”

“Because of you right now.”

I cut him off before he could make excuses.

“I’m getting completely humiliated, you know.”

Honestly, it’s not unbearable… but I thought it’d be best to nip this in the bud.

“If you do it again, I won’t let it slide.”

If I don’t draw a clear line now, he’ll just keep crossing it, not even realizing there is one.

“I’m already embarrassed enough right now.”

I was giving Jo Seha a pretty chilly look when Seo Chanul stepped in between us.

“That’s enough, Haram. A lot of people are watching.”

What the heck. Are you protecting Jo Seha now?

“…Well, didn’t see that coming.”

For some reason, I felt a little put out. I didn’t plan to go any further anyway. I hadn’t even meant to go this far to begin with.

[Unique Trait, ‘Even Otakus Hit the Jackpot’ shakes violently!]

Ugh… Here we go again.

Yeah, I know.

I wasn’t planning to say anything more anyway.

As expected, it seemed like I should keep some distance from Seo Chanul for now.

I turned my back and walked away from the two of them.

“Ha… Haram…!”

“Jo Seha. You stop, too.”

Seo Chanul blocked Jo Seha as he tried to call out to me.

Well, thanks for taking my side this time.

From behind, I kept hearing the faint sound of Jo Seha and Seo Chanul talking.

Next time, please, let me have a different room from those two.

I quietly sent a prayer up to the sky.

[Unique Trait, ‘Even Otakus Hit the Jackpot’ is shaking!]

…Ha..

“Participants, did you all sleep well last night?”

Filming had started again, and as usual, Choi Hansol was continuing as MC on stage.

“Slept well~!”

“The dorm is seriously the best!!!”

The participants, now quite used to things, matched Choi Hansol’s energy.

“If you all slept so comfortably, you must all be missing a screw.”

Hearing the responses, Choi Hansol put on a serious face at center stage.

There it is, there it is.

“At it again…..”

One of the contestants, no idea which rank, blurted out the thoughts I had in my head.

Choi Hansol shot a sharp glare at a particular person, as if he’d heard.

“Gasp…!!”

This time, a frightened voice came from below.

I support your bold words. Good luck out there.

“…With everyone so hopelessly loose, I do wonder if there’s any point in explaining the mission.”

A hint of disdain crossed Choi Hansol’s face. Still, isn’t that a bit much for just cursing once?

“Only those who survive will survive, so let’s meet again.”

Choi Hansol clapped and slowly walked off stage.

“……?????”

All the participants looked at Choi Hansol with ‘Where’s he going?’ expressions.

At that moment.

[First Round Performance Mission Revealed!]

On the giant central screen, the details of the first mission appeared one after another.

[Sing the Stage of Legends!]

It was a classic: put on a stage using assigned idol hit songs.

‘Yeah, there’s nothing better for a first mission.’

Even though we passed the preliminaries, we’re still just seedlings. It’s important to put together a stage using ‘songs you know’ and ‘dances you know’ to ensure a certain level of quality.

“Looks doable?”

Some confident contestants said things like that.

I’ve got your faces memorized.

After that, a series of motivational videos followed, full of flowery words. Aim for your dreams! Create the best stage! That kind of thing.

‘Bit cringey.’

“This is crazy… I really have to do my best…..”

“Mom… I’ll do well and come back…!”

?

Was it only cringey for me? Some contestants even teared up, calling for their parents.

It reminded me of the campfire at elementary school retreat.

Once the videos ended—

Step, step. Choi Hansol came back out from behind the stage.

Didn’t you go home?

“This is Choi Hansol, grabbing the mic again due to adult circumstances.”

What adult circumstances.

“…I wanted to go home, though.”

So you really were just leaving.

Even middle schoolers get penalized if they go home without permission.

“…Let’s try to raise the energy again.”

Choi Hansol’s empty eyes looked out at the gathered contestants.

“…Cheer.”

“Waaaah~!”

“Uwaaaaaaah~!”

You all are working hard.

This time, the response seemed to please Choi Hansol, and his face instantly brightened.

“Now! For the monumental first performance! I’ll reveal how teams will be formed!”

Flash—A spotlight shone down on the dais where the 0th to 9th ranked contestants sat.

“From Gongjakwi down to 9th place, you’ll each be a Team Leader!”

Still can’t let go of that title, huh.

The rest of the explanation was simple.

The Team Leaders wait in ten rooms set up behind the stage.

The remaining contestants, from 10th to 100th place, would go to the room of the Team Leader they wanted to join.

By the way, those below 10th place won’t know who’s entered which room until they go in!”

So basically, it was a Team Leader popularity contest.

‘This is pretty disadvantageous for me.’

I had plenty of people who didn’t like me for various reasons, and even putting feelings aside, joining my team wouldn’t look all that great.

‘What if I lose all my screen time just by being around you?’

Even if the C rank was a bit worrying, I was still the contestant in the biggest spotlight.

No one would want to stand next to me and have their own light dimmed.

Considering how high the chance of passing the first round is….

It’d be better to join a decent team and survive. I’d also have to consider the risk of getting a bad edit by being around the wrong people…

That’s the conclusion I reached as a contestant below 10th place.

I’d already told Hyunjae and Woojin that, just in case, we should avoid sticking together at first.

“Alright! From Gongjakwi to 9th place, please step down from the dais and head to the waiting rooms!”

We rode a small lift down from the dais. Convenient, I guess.

As I passed the stage, I glanced back, just in case.

The moment I turned, I saw Hyunjae and Woojin, barely able to sit still, fidgeting.

‘Oh boy…’

A small laugh escaped me. They must have a lot to ask. What rank did you get? Did you know Jo Seha was in your room?

It was a moment where I missed the phone I’d handed in at the start of filming.

I made eye contact with both of them and nodded.

Should I do that for old time’s sake?

‘It’s okay.’

Puff, puff. I made a fish mouth, just like the old days.

A few contestants made faces like, What’s that about?

As if they understood, Hyunjae and Woojin calmed down.

Good, they’re listening well.

Feeling a bit more at ease, I walked backstage.

The space behind the stage was set up like a big practice room, with a large makeshift table and monitors on one side.

I could already guess what kind of scenes they wanted.

‘We’ll sit around the table and have meetings, react to other teams’ stages… The cameras… over there… If I want to storm off and disappear from the angle after an argument, I’ll walk that way…

I was lost in all sorts of thoughts when—

Pop—

Suddenly, the previously quiet monitor lit up.

“Whoa. That surprised me.”

You could’ve just told me to turn it on.

I muttered a small complaint and looked at the video on the screen.

“Oh.”

Yup.

The screen was showing the other contestants choosing their rooms.

Ah, so I get to find out early who’s going where.

It seemed like a good setup to catch Team Leaders being disappointed when they missed out on someone they wanted.

The entry order was completely random, unrelated to rank or grade.

It seemed like Choi Hansol was just picking people to send in as he pleased.

‘I really don’t get why they value Choi Hansol so much…

I’ll have to ask Jang Yeonju PD when I get a chance. That thought was short-lived.

‘It’s starting.’

The below-10th-place contestants started entering.

[10th place, Jeong Daenam]

‘A big shot right from the start?’

Other than Hyunjae and Woojin, I didn’t have anyone I particularly wanted, but having someone with a high rank wouldn’t be bad.

But,

“Of.”

As expected, the 10th place contestant went straight to the 9th place’s room.

After nearly twenty contestants had chosen their rooms—

“Hello.”

My first guest came to my room.

“Oh. Yesterday, that….”

It was Rap D, who’d shared my room. Ah… What was his name again…

“I’m Park Minkwon. You still don’t remember my name?”

Park Minkwon announced his name bluntly as he walked toward the screen.

“Oh? Can you see everything from here?”

“Yeah. It’s pretty interesting.”

Park Minkwon looked around the empty practice room.

“….Is this really interesting?”

Honestly, I didn’t expect to have zero picks, but Park Minkwon muttered as he flopped into a chair.

“…Honestly, this is bad. Didn’t expect you to be this unpopular.”

“Then why did you come to my room, Minkwon?”

Park Minkwon, who’d kept a blunt attitude the whole time, looked at me and said,

“Yesterday, you seemed like a decent person.”

“Huh?”

Who picks a team for that reason? I looked at him like he was ridiculous, and Park Minkwon changed the subject.

“Whatever. Let’s just watch the screen. Gotta react, right?”

Yeah, sure. Let’s do that.

But even after I turned my attention to the screen, no one else came into my room for quite a while.

“…This is really bad, huh?”

“Yeah.”

…You got anything to say?

Gotta face reality. Well, whatever.

There were about ten contestants left who hadn’t picked a team.

Right now, my room had a total of four people.

Is my image really this bad?

“Kinda shocking.”

“…Maybe that’s why.”

Park Minkwon, staring at the screen, mumbled quietly.

What did you say?

“It might be because of rumors. Haram, you haven’t heard anything?”

“Rumors about me?”

Has word gotten out that I’m rich already…? I gave him a puzzled look, and Park Minkwon folded his arms.

“I’ll tell you later.”

He pointed at the screen.

“This is probably more important right now.”

“Ah.”

On the screen, the last contestant was about to pick a room.

“Seriously, Choi Hansol’s got a nasty streak.”

Whether it was on purpose or not, it made me think even more that I should avoid getting involved with that guy.

The last contestant, who’d hesitated for ages, finally made a move.

“Ah.”

Park Minkwon and I spoke at the same time. Park Minkwon spoke first.

“Um… What are you going to do?”

“Why are you asking me?”

Park Minkwon, as if by habit, pointed at me like he did at the screen.

“You’re the Team Leader.”

Then pointed at himself.

“I’m the team member. I’ll do whatever you say.”

He’s sneakily sly, this guy.

Phew….”

Before I could even finish sighing, the last contestant reached the door and knocked—knock, knock, knock.

“Yes~”

When no one moved to open the door, Park Minkwon raised his voice in reply.

Creak—the door opened.

“Ah… Ah… Hello, everyone~!!”

A person, unusually hesitant for once, entered the room.

“…What are you doing here.”

“Oh…! Hi, Haram!”

Why are you here?! He spoke like he was genuinely happy to see me. So shameless.

“…Why did you pick this room, Jo Seha.”