Save a Failed Idol’s Life

Translator: MarcTempest

Editor: NicoleTempest

Chapter 200 Copycat (3)

“Let’s change our strategy. Let’s make sure they can’t copy us.”

As soon as I said that, Wonsang frowned and asked.

“What if they still copy us? Wouldn’t that be meaningless?”

That meant we had to come up with a plan.

“Until the rehearsal stage, let’s pretend we’re using scarves too and ask one of you two to contact the agency through the production team and request them to get us a new prop by tomorrow morning. And don’t tell Junwoong about it.”

Taeryun opened his mouth with a worried expression, as if he was wondering if it was okay to leave Junwoong clueless on stage.

“We’re only changing the prop, not the choreography. Actually, handling the prop will be easier, so I don’t think it will be a big problem to change it suddenly on the day.”

Wonsang nodded his head as if he understood, but he still looked suspicious and demanded an explanation.

“So what’s the new prop going to be? If we have to order it by delivery, isn’t it already too late?”

No. What I wanted to use instead of a pheasant was a basic item that could be found in any 24-hour 1000-won shop.

“It’s okay. It’s easy to get.”

That being said, even though things rarely go as planned in the world.

It seemed like everything was going wrong since the shooting started. As if someone was cursing us to fail.

I tsked. I swallowed the sound of clicking my tongue.

‘I have no choice but to do my best until the end.’

I smiled brightly at Wonsang and Taeryun and answered.

“Good job, everyone!”

After finishing the rehearsal, I greeted the staff below the stage with a loud voice, but only two of them waved their hands and responded.

‘Even if we’re unknown trainees who haven’t debuted yet, they’re really ignoring us too blatantly.’

I smiled brightly and came down from the stage, hiding my displeasure.

Sure enough. There seemed to be some talk in the other team about the overlapping props.

“Is it okay to have the same props like that?”

“I think the composition of Team B is better.”

“I can’t ignore the number of people. The more, the better, right?”

“Didn’t the mentor point that out during the mentoring?”

“They might have added it after the mentoring.”

It was already a format where we had to compete with the same song, but the props overlapped too, making the contrast more obvious.

As long as we didn’t fall behind in any aspect of the composition, direction, arrangement, or choreography, it was fine.

We just had to improve the details that we didn’t show today until tomorrow.

There were two things that determined the outcome of the mission.

First, the judges’ total score.

Second, the internal evaluation of the trainees.

The judges’ score was up to 25 points per judge, and the sum of the four judges’ scores could reach up to 100 points.

The internal evaluation of the trainees was a system where the remaining 89 trainees voted for the winner between Team A and Team B through an app, and the number of votes was converted into points.

‘Actually, this was just the way they used in the broadcast I watched.’

If the production team had a favorite team, they could change the scoring system however they wanted before the broadcast.

So I tried to comfort myself by saying that I shouldn’t care about winning or losing…

‘I don’t really like losing to the trainees.’

Even though I was with three losers, I had more than half a year of experience and the help of a buff skill. Losing was still a blow to my pride.

‘Well… if I can’t win on the surface, I’ll win in reality.’

I shook my head and dragged the members who were stretched out like kimchi after one rehearsal to the practice room.

“Let’s focus and finish quickly. We wasted too much time waiting earlier and we’re running out of time.”

As I stood in front of the mirror and fixed the formation, I pointed out the weak points that I saw in the rehearsal monitoring one by one. The members stuck out their tongues and nodded.

“Wow… you remember all that?”

It was obvious that they made the same mistakes in the same parts of the short stage.

“I don’t just remember the mistakes. Taeryun, you did a good job with your eye contact at the end of the first verse. Please do the same next time.”

“Wow… that’s amazing.”

Wonsang shivered as if he couldn’t do that, and I added with a light smile.

“Wonsang, you have a good strength when you step on the stage, so you look stable. That’s your strength. If you pay a little more attention to your upper body movements, you’ll stand out more.”

“Really? I was watching too?”

Of course you were. I laughed at his childish reaction. This way, the two of us and the two B-rankers maintained a decent relationship.

“……”

The culprit, Junwoong, looked gloomy as if he had sold his country.

He sold the team, not the country. It would be nice if he didn’t show it so much.

Even if I tried to ignore him, he looked so miserable that it was hard to deal with him without hesitation.

“Junwoong.”

I called him softly when he was too quiet even during the practice. Junwoong flinched and answered.

“Ah! Yes!”

He looked like he was advertising that he was guilty. I clicked my tongue again.

Wonsang and Taeryun seemed to be sure of Junwoong’s suspicious behavior, and they ignored him as if he didn’t exist.

“Please tell me if you’re hurt or have any problems. Junwoong, you worked hard today too.”

It was getting close to 10 o’clock.

Considering that I had to get up early and prepare for tomorrow, it seemed better to go back to the dorm.

“Let’s clean up and go back. Let’s do our best tomorrow.”

I tapped Junwoong’s shoulder, hoping that he wouldn’t cause any more trouble. He looked even darker, as if it was poison.

‘Hmm…’

Well… even if he did, we wouldn’t be able to respond to another bomb in less than eight hours, starting from 6 o’clock tomorrow morning.

I shook off my anxiety and sent Junwoong to the dorm.

“Let’s go back and rest. Wonsang, don’t forget to contact your agency.”

“Ah, yes. I already did. I don’t think there will be any problem.”

“Okay. Then let’s cheer up until the end and see you tomorrow.”

After a short bow, I returned to the dorm. Yu-geon and Hwijin were already ready to sleep.

“Oh, you’re late today?”

“Yes. I had some… trouble.”

As soon as I said that, Yu-geon’s eyes narrowed as if he knew what it was.

“Ah, I know what it is. The scarf, right?”

“Yes.”

“The scarf… it’s not that unusual, so it could be a coincidence, but…”

“There’s something that makes it hard to think of it as just a coincidence.”

I quickly checked that the recording device was off and added.

The first re-evaluation was scheduled to be filmed right after the group mission results came out until midnight.

That meant… I had only one day left, assuming I succeeded in the mission right away.

I didn’t want to explain in detail when I had already found a solution.

Yu-geon and Hwijin looked at me with a hint of expectation, as if they finally had a chance to act like brothers, but I turned my head away.

“I’ve solved it, so it’s okay. I have to get up early tomorrow, so I need to close my eyes soon.”

I cut it short and wrapped it up. They both coughed with a disappointed look on their faces.

“Is there anything we can do to help?”

I snapped back with narrowed eyes.

“No.”

No. Go away.

“I see.”

Yu-geon seemed embarrassed and added one more thing.

“Let me know if you need anything. I’ll help you with anything I can.”

That was so reassuring that I almost cried. You should take care of yourself. I sneered, thinking of Yu-geon who had disappeared in reality.

That was last night. The lights were completely turned off and the darkness was filled with the faint breathing of Yu-geon and Hwijin.

‘This is the end.’

I thought so and felt a bit sad… What am I talking about? I had a truckload of things to deal with when I went back to reality.

But I gained something from this involuntary experience.

How Floss was a group that existed like a mirage in the air.

They acted like close friends in variety shows and interviews, but they all strategized for their own benefit.

The outcome was decided from the start, and it was a matter of whether you became a follower or got chosen by the system to rise up.

They were afraid of being out of favor, so they stepped on others, and struggled to get a little bit of crumbs from their positions.

‘This is how they roll the kids with dreams and passion.’

I was disgusted. No one said that this show-off tournament was wrong. Even the adults who wore the title of mentor.

Suddenly, I felt a fever and fanned myself with my hand. I went to sleep and woke up as soon as I heard the busy sound of preparing breakfast in the hallway.

“Did you get the props?”

As we headed to the group practice room after finishing our meal early, Wonsang came in with a small plastic bag.

“Yes, I just got it.”

“Phew, thank goodness.”

Taeryun and I sighed with relief, while Junwoong tilted his head with a puzzled expression.

“Oh, we changed our props. I didn’t get a chance to tell you, Mr. Junwoong, because we decided on it hastily after the rehearsal yesterday.”

The first recording was scheduled to start at 10 a.m., and lunch would be delivered by groups, so Junwoong had no more opportunity to contact the other members.

“What?”

Junwoong looked surprised, as if he had no idea.

“The choreography is the same. You just use it to tie your wrists, and then break the string with force. At the end, where you used to shake the original prop, you just throw it behind the stage.”

As I explained briefly, I took out a toy handcuff from the bag that Wonsang brought.

It looked cheap up close, but it didn’t matter, since it would look convincing on the screen.

“Let’s do one more run-through and then go to standby.”

I snapped the handcuff on my wrist and looked around the practice room. Junwoong’s expression was thoughtful.

He must have figured it out by now, unless he was an idiot. That we suspected him of leaking our idea.

“…Okay.”

Please don’t have a mental breakdown and cause trouble until the stage is over. I sighed inwardly, feeling sorry for him, but having nothing more to say.

Fortunately, everyone did well in the first practice after changing the prop from a scarf to a handcuff.

Now we just had to do the same for the main stage. I kept an eye on Junwoong’s anxious expression and took him to the waiting room, preventing him from contacting the other members.

“Can we find out what order we are in?”

I grabbed a nearby staff member and checked the cue sheet. It was the same as yesterday’s rehearsal.

‘Phew.’

The risk of being copied was zero now. I finally relaxed a bit and sat down in the waiting room, which was like a bleacher.

Yu-geon, who was sitting at the end of the room, saw me and waved his hand to greet me.

Yeah. This is the last time, anyway.

I waved back cheerfully.

Yu-geon looked surprised, as if he didn’t expect it, and then laughed heartily before turning his head to the front, caught by his member.

‘Geez…’

What a weirdo. I muttered a curse at Yu-geon in my mind and looked up at the stage. This bizarre trainee experience was coming to an end.

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