Chapter 44

After the performance, the <Moon Rabbit> team returned to the group waiting room for a reaction cut. It was a room where a large monitor was installed to watch other teams’ stages.

By the way, as soon as I got off the stage, everyone’s eyes were swollen like a crucian carp.

Honestly, it was understandable that they cried. We couldn’t rest properly for over ten days, and we finished the preparation with clenched fists. If I were 20 years old, I’d be crying too.

“Hey, how can Moondae not shed a single tear? Are you really from the National Intelligence Service…”

“No.”

I stopped Gold 1’s attempt to use that topic as a joke. The surrounding team members giggled.

The atmosphere was comfortable.

‘I know you did a good job.’

Since there were other teams here, I didn’t say it out loud, but the estimate had already been made through the midterm evaluation and rehearsal.

Unless someone from another team suddenly showed off their crazy potential and teleported on stage, this was a winning game.

Thanks to this, our reactions came out especially well whenever other teams showed up on stage.

Because we felt comfortable, we could enjoy other teams’ performances without self-interest.

‘It’s fun.’

I also went back to the audience’s position and enjoyed the stages. Of course, I looked around and reacted a bit.

‘First of all, the second and the third team are doomed.’

The second team’s arrangement was so sudden and they failed to complete the choreography in time, so more than half of the people ruined the dance motions in the second half.

I think the third team wanted to push a sexy concept like Keun Sejin, but it was just too much and didn’t make any sense… It was uncomfortable to watch.

‘Women would hate it even more.’

The key was how much the broadcast would correct it with editing.

And the fourth team seemed to have recovered enough to come out well.

This team with Gold 2 in it picked a cute and upbeat song andthey didn’t make a big difference in the arrangement from the original song, but it matched well.

“Heeseung is good!”

Gold 1 screamed excitedly as Gold 2 came out to the center. I applauded, too.

Now there was only one team left.

It was Ryu Chungwoo’s team who had tasted the hellfire.

‘Poor fellow.’

If there was someone here who didn’t feel sorry for Ryu Chungwoo in this round, that person must have never done a group project.

I could see that the relationship between Lee Sejin and Choi Wongil had become completely twisted. On top of that, he had to finish the performance with the troll and Cha Eugene?

That alone was an achievement to be paid for.

For reference, Cha Eugene was still in a state of low spirits, and he had visited once every two or three days to pick up snacks.

I didn’t know if he would use as much energy on stage as the chocolate he put in his mouth, but it didn’t matter if he couldn’t. It wasn’t my team.

“Fighting!”

Keun Sejin, who had been sending encouragement to each team that left the room and went to the stage, also cheered for Ryu Chungwoo’s team.

After some time, Ryu Chungwoo appeared on the monitor screen.

“Here we go!”

No matter how ruined the team was, it was still a team full of high-ranked players, so the atmosphere in the waiting room was filled with expectations.

Of course, it could have been an expectation for them to fail.

However, Ryu Chungwoo’s team did not fail.

‘…Why is that bastard flying around?’

This was because Cha Eugene grabbed them by the collars and dragged them.

Every time he hit the center in the chorus, an optical illusion that the stage was perfect arose.

‘That’s why you got first place.’

I thought he was totally out of it, but when he went up on stage, he became a different person.

‘Is it because of your characteristic?’

I remembered Cha Eugene’s characteristics that I checked in the last team match.

[Characteristic: Black hole (A)]

: Immersive stage manpower that sucks everything +150%

Since he had something like this, there was no other choice for him but to debut.

“Ooh!”

When the performance of Ryu Chungwoo team’s was over, the participants in the waiting room applauded with admiration.

“C-Cha Eugene is really good.”

“That’s right.”

I could hear the <Moon Rabbit> team gossiping next to me. But their voices weren’t filled with anxiety.

No matter how much Cha Eugene flew and crawled around, there was a clear difference in overall entirety.

‘The problem is that we were the opening.’

As time went by, the impression was bound to weaken. I wish we hadn’t ruined the mini-game that set the stage order.

I didn’t know Gold 1 would be thoroughly cleaned out.

At that time, Gold 1’s majestic remark when he went to the mini-game as the team’s representative came to mind.

– Just trust me!

…But this statement didn’t come true.

Gold 1, who poured all his energy into the team’s rock-paper-scissors, suffered a series of defeats in the following team match.

What if we can’t get first place by a narrow margin because of this order?

In fact, the only one who regretted it was Gold 1. This was because the rest of the team were those who would go all the way to the end even if their ranking dropped considerably.

Gold 1’s ranking came up short, so winning the team match was important.

Based on their tendency so far, the production team would definitely give something that would help to survive as a winning prize.

‘They’ll announce it soon.’

Now that the last team stage was over, there was about an hour left until the team match’s ranking was announced.

This time too, there was a high probability that they’d leave out the 1st and 2nd places and delay it to the next ranking announcement, but it would be outlined roughly anyway.

And an hour and a half later, the results were exactly as expected.

“Two teams remaining for 1st place candidates! Team Moon Rabbit and Team Husky! Which team will win the final championship?”

That <Husky> was Ryu Chungwoo’s team name. So far, the development had been predictable.

“Please check out the results… at the ranking announcement!”

Yeah, I expected that, too.

“But if I do this every time, you’ll get tired, right? So I’ll announce the benefits of winning this team match now!”

“What?”

That… I didn’t know.

“The benefit of winning is… You will definitely survive the next ranking ceremony!”

“…!”

It was way too good There were only 30 people left, so why would they pay with this kind of reward?

As expected, the MC cut the flow.

“However, there is only one person who can benefit from it! Until the next ranking announcement, 1st place candidate teams, please select one participant who will receive the benefit through an internal discussion within the team!”

“…”

For some reason, the production team’s ideas were getting more and more bizarre as the program entered the second half.

This… Isn’t this a penalty for the rest of us who can’t get it?

Even the one who received it would likely get criticized by the fans of the participants from the same team and end up getting cursed at.

As far as I could remember as a civil student, the production team didn’t give up on the aggro until the final episode.

Those guys were amazing.

Anyway, it wasn’t really a problem with the <Moon Rabbit> team. Because the person who would receive it was already decided.

‘It’s pragmatic to give it to Gold 1.’

I didn’t think the rest of us would be eliminated anyway. Rather than receiving it for no reason and being controversial, I would prefer to give it neatly and take care of our image.

If there was a problem, I was afraid that Seon Ahyeon, who had been criticized on the Internet until just before, would say he wanted to receive it, but due to his personality, it seemed unlikely.

Keun Sejin was in a state where public opinion of him had been reversed due to the rumors of school bullying, so his ranking was easy to guess.

I roughly scanned the expressions of the team members. Glancing at Gold 1, everyone clearly had a similar idea. Gold 1 seemed embarrassed but didn’t look like he would refuse. He probably would refuse a few times out of politeness.

‘There’s no problem here.’

The problem was that team over there.

I could see the production crew waiting with pounding hearts for what kind of mess would hit the <Husky> team.

“Then <Re-listed! Idol Inc.> Let’s wrap up the 3rd team match! Dear shareholders, see you at the ranking announcement ceremony-“

The filming ended with participants bowing their heads toward the camera with claps and applause.

“Thank you for your hard work~”

“See you at the next shoot!”

When the voices of the well-mannered participants rang out here and there, The <Moon Rabbit> team, who came out after changing clothes, gathered together again.

And in an instant, the winning compensation was handed over to Gold 1.

“Since we all worked hard, should we give the reward to the oldest member?”

“Yes.”

“I agree.”

“G-Good!”

“Hey, thank you so much, but let’s discuss it a little more…”

Keun Sejin laughed and organized his words.

“Hyung-nim, don’t you know? The more we discuss, the more late it will be for us to sleep…”

“Ah.”

When the tension completely disappeared after the filming, the sleep we couldn’t get for the past 10 days came back rushing in endlessly.

Thanks to this, everyone was talking with their eyes half open.

“O-Okay, thank you, guys. I’ll buy you a meal.”

“Haha. Thank you, hyung! I won’t shamelessly order an expensive menu like beef.”

“…”

I think he was taking a jab at me, but let’s ignore him. Because I’m tired.

Anyway, with such a warm atmosphere, the <Moon Rabbit> team disbanded.

I held back my yawn and searched the navigation to the bus stop with my smartphone.

“M-Moondae.”

“Yes.”

When I turned my head, Seon Ahyeon was clenching his fist. No way, you’re not going to hit me, right?

“What?”

“D-Do you want to go home with me? M-My parents came to pick me up…”

“Oh… yes, thank you.”

Considering the popularity of the program, I thought it would be difficult to get on the bus now, so I was going to call a taxi.

‘Thanks to you, I save some money on taxi fare.’

It was a little burdensome to see other participants’ parents, but it wasn’t a big deal if I could get a ride.

“N-No! D-Don’t mention it.”

Seon Ahyeon took the lead and walked excitedly, then stopped in front of a black sedan on the road.

It was a foreign car.

‘As expected of the person who lives in that house.’

I had guessed it when I saw where Seon Ahyeon lived.

I followed Seon Ahyeon into the car and gave a greeting as politely as I could.

“Hello.”

“So you’re Park Moondae! Nice to meet you.”

“Hurry up and get on~ Did our Ahyeon do well this time too?”

“D-Dad!”

The family atmosphere was more harmonious than expected. When Seon Ahyeon, whose face turned red, became flustered, I could see his parents were pleased.

“Yes, He’s done well. You’ll be surprised when you watch the show.”

“As expected of my son~”

Seon Ahyeon hit his face on the back of the front seat with an embarrassed expression. When he met his family, he seemed more free in expressing himself.

‘As expected, the root of all evil is peer relationships.’

I politely gave the address of my apartment and leaned on the backrest, enjoying the trip comfortably. Sometimes I had to answer questions, but it was a comfortable ride.

The strange feeling of seeing a harmonious friend’s family was long gone. Thanks to this, I was able to enjoy this comfortable seating.

* * *

“Go home safely~”

“Yes. Thank you.”

“I-I’ll call you!”

“Okay.”

I was able to get off to my address after saying goodbye to Seon Ahyeon’s family several times.

‘I heard more tmi than I thought…’

I wonder if I need to know that Seon Ahyeon went to Europe to study and learned ballet, but let’s think of it as a price for getting a ride.

I walked past the old stairs and corridors and approached the apartment that I had contracted in.

As soon I go in, I will sleep…

“Ah.”

F*uck…

The door was open.