Chapter 30: Survival Entertainment Show - Random Keywords (4)

Chapter 30: Survival Entertainment Show - Random Keywords (4)

While other groups honed their competitive edges, striving for higher rankings and better votes, Chronos adopted a different approach. If one were to describe the essence captured in their self-cam footage, the words would likely be consideration, concession, and passion. It would be inaccurate to label them as complacent just because they had clinched first place in the competition.

Chronos had prepared for the performance with fervor, practicing tirelessly until the break of dawn. Yet, their focus wasn't solely on the rankings. They made strategies to draw the public’s attention to every member, often sharing the spotlight with those who were less in the limelight.

Watching them practice, even the staff and the editing team found themselves cheering for Chronos to do well. That was roughly the story.

Director Lee Won-Jae frowned deeply. "Have you not edited a survival show before? Just cut the appropriate parts and edit them to look plausible. It's not a malicious edit. Just match the atmosphere with the other groups."

"Um, Director. About that..." The staff Han Yi-Soo cautiously presented his opinion. "I think it would be better to just go with the flow for Chronos."

"What do you mean by that?"

Han Yi-Soo wasn’t moved by Chronos's self-cam; rather, he simply assessed that maintaining Chronos's image and future editing direction would be better for the broadcast. The debut release of this chapter happened at Ñøv€l-B1n.

"It appeared that Chronos's unique selling point lay in their considerate demeanor amid the cutthroat competition. It adds depth to the show, and that's the consensus among the editing team," he remarked.

"Hmm."

"Take, for example, their gracious act of offering the song to Air Senior. Enhancing this image appears to be a prudent choice, as it seems likely that this persona will persist."

Han Yi-Soo wasn't suggesting that Chronos was naively gentle. From his perspective, Chronos operated with a well-established system. Although their decisions appeared to come from immediate concord, a closer look revealed the inner workings of the process.

Some of them started to voice their opinions, and Suh Hyun-Woo presented his after carefully listening to others, trying to persuade them. Then, the members shared their thoughts, and in the end, leader Kang Joo-Han summarized everyone's thoughts and presented the best answer.

Their trust in Kang Joo-Han seemed to be quite strong, as they readily agreed to his final decision without any objections. Overall, no members were stubbornly insisting on their opinions. It was like watching a college group that effortlessly got an A+ on a team project.

"Don't we need at least one gentle group like this?"

"Hmm, Han Yi-Soo has a point. Copy the self-cam videos of each group and bring them to me. I will decide after watching them."

"Okay."

Chronos was in a perfect position to be a rival for other groups, so it was not that simple to give them a gentle image. While such an image could be advantageous for Chronos in the long run, it would make the show boring.

However, Han Yi-Soo's words could be quite convincing, depending on which segments of the self-cam videos were chosen for editing and emphasized.

"Then, I will stop by the editing room and head straight to the site."

"Okay."

Han Yi-Soo left the room with a satisfied look. Although they had different opinions on sensationalist editing, Lee Won-Jae and Han Yi-Soo seemed to share a mutual understanding, suggesting a need to seriously consider each other's viewpoints.

***

Checking the cue cards, Reina looked at her watch and then at Director Kim Shin-Sik. “Is it time to start shooting now?”

Kim Shin-Sik nodded lightly in response. “Let’s start filming. Okay, five, four, three, two, one... Cue!”

The opening soundtrack played through the speakers, resonating loudly in the large studio.

“It’s time to see the future K-POP stars all in one place! Hello, I am Reina, your host for Pick We Up. How’s everyone been doing?”

Responses came from around the studio.

“I’m sure you all had special days after the first competition ended.”

Reina started conducting specific interviews with a few trainees. Meanwhile, I was trying to guess the concepts of the other groups based on their outfits with Joo-Han.

Ash Black was sitting in the front, looking completely vibrant. Judging by their makeup and atmosphere, they seemed to have chosen a mystical or bright keyword. On the other hand, High Tension was dressed playfully, and Street Center came in a more dignified style than their usual vibe.

After all of us agreed, Joo-Han went forward and announced the order, starting from the first in line, Street Center. The venue then buzzed, and the VJ pointed the camera at me.

“Hyun-Woo, why did you decide to place Air Senior before your group?”

The red light was clearly on, indicating that the camera was recording my face. I smiled at the VJ, who was eagerly trying to stir up competition, and responded, “Because I really want to beat Air Senior.”

Was that enough now? The editing department was always eager to highlight conflict, deliberately posing such questions to us who had been peacefully progressing through the competition.

Finally, the VJ looked satisfied with my response and went back to their place. When Joo-Han returned, Reina pointed at the whiteboard.

“The order decided by Chronos is as follows:”

1. Street Center

2. Ash Black

3. High Tension

4. True Bye

5. Air Senior

6. Chronos

“Then, the first in line, Street Center, please come over to prepare for the stage.”

Amid discussions about the performance order, the studio fell silent when the screen behind Reina displayed the new stage. This expansive stage doubled the size of the last competition's, accommodating twice the audience.

Moreover, there was a significant shift in the composition of the crowd. Last time, the audience was predominantly made up of fans of the invited artists like Allure and others, but now, the studio was filled with the fans of the trainee groups. Remarkably, their numbers swelled to this extent within days.

About a minute after looking at the stage from the freezing studio...

“Pick We Up! The second competition, Random Keyword Stage! Let's start!”

Announcer Jeong Gyu-Chan's voice boomed through the space, signaling the start. Street Center was the first to take the stage. Now, watching another group perform first without doing anything was a peculiar sensation. It was distinctly different from the relief after one's own performance had concluded, and it felt uncomfortably suspenseful.

‘How could they be so compelling, completely transforming the stage?’ The audience's escalating cheers accompanied Street Center's opening, a true testament to the intensive preparations they had undertaken in the preceding weeks.

The pressure on us just intensified.

“...Hyung, I will go and practice a bit and come back.”

“Now?”

Feeling extremely tense, Park Yoon-Chan stood up, his face ghastly pale. “I will just check my choreography a couple of times and come back, just enough to relieve the tension.”

Park Yoon-Chan got up and headed out of the studio before Joo-Han could respond. I watched Yoon-Chan for a moment and then stood up.

“I will go with him.”

“You too?”

“Yes, I will make sure to come back in time.” Practicing alone wouldn’t do much good without a mirror or someone to film, so I followed Park Yoon-Chan, feeling like I had become a trainer again. Having called him out separately for lessons in the early mornings, I couldn't just leave him alone now.

I caught up with Park Yoon-Chan as he was walking quickly through the corridor.

“Hey, where are we going to practice?” I asked.

“Hyung... you don’t have to come out. I will be fine.”

“Will you know what you do wrong if you practice alone? Just accept the help when it's offered.”

Park Yoon-Chan wore an apologetic look, yet I knew how thankful he was that I came to accompany him.