TDOCD Chapter 34

CHAPTER 34 1st place?

"In sixth place... Romance Story. Would Romance Story please come down on stage?"

Even MC Cho Gyu-jin, who is usually able to maintain a light-hearted atmosphere, struggled to hide the heavy tension in his voice.

Romance Story, who were seating behind us, remained frozen in their seats even after the announcement.

It took a second call of their name before they finally managed to stand.

Their heels clicked against the floor with an unbearable heaviness, each step echoing through the silent studio.

The scene was suffocating judges’ fixated eyes, trainees watching in stunned silence, the cold atmosphere beneath dim lights, and cameras capturing every excruciating moment.

For Romance Story, it must have felt like torture.

As they made their way to the stage, spotlights suddenly shone down upon them, finally revealing their expressions.

Their faces showed the weight of every gaze in the room, looking as if they might crumble at any moment.

Despite this being a broadcast show, the production felt almost cruel in its execution.

So-hae observed their expressions with an impassive face before lifting her microphone.

"I believe Romance Story knows better than anyone why they are ranked sixth."

The members' heads dropped even lower.

"Overall, your performance showed many weaknesses and felt unpolished.

Most importantly, you need to practice much harder. Whatever else might be said, when it comes to skill, there's no one to blame but yourselves.

I hope we'll see a better performance from you next time."

"Thank you," Romance Story responded, their voices barely audible, but their ordeal wasn't over yet.

Si-a, who had been listening to So-hae's evaluation with visible disapproval, raised her microphone.

"So-hae was really kind with her words. To be honest, this performance was a huge disappointment."

I found myself holding my breath.

During the initial performance evaluation, Si-a had remained silent, which we'd interpreted as having nothing to say.

Now it was clear she'd been too shocked to even speak.

"Let me be frank. I believe that trainees from entertainment companies have significant advantages over individual trainees. You can hold your heads up at this statement – it's simply the truth."

She wasn't wrong. Individual trainees had far fewer options.

When a theme was announced, they had to work within the limited support provided by mentors and the broadcasting station to determine their concept and arrange their music.

They were just beginning to find harmony with their teammates, and their only production support came from the writers and mentors.

They were at a disadvantage compared to company-backed trainees in every way.

"Yet despite all these advantages, performing worse than individual trainees who've barely entered the industry – that's something you really need to reflect on."

'Oh no, they're getting scolded... but she's right,' the other debuting trainees began to murmur. It seemed everyone had their own thoughts about Romance Story's performance.

Finally, one of Romance Story's members began to cry.

Si-a delivered her final, sharp advice:

"For the next performance, I hope you'll remember this is a competition and prepare accordingly. This time it's sixth place, but next time it means elimination."

“Don’t cry.”

“Be efficient. Yes?”

The harsh reality was that this show operated on a tournament-style elimination system. From the next round, last place meant immediate elimination.

Romance Story should consider themselves fortunate that sixth place today didn't mean automatic elimination.

"Still, Romance Story, thank you for your hard work."

As the judges finished their comments, MC Gyu-jin guided them to the edge of the stage, trying to ease the suffocating atmosphere.

"Though you received a disappointing ranking today, there's still another chance, right? As the judges said, we look forward to seeing your revenge after more thorough preparation. Now, let's move on to announcing fifth place."

The rankings continued to be announced according to the MC's direction.

Fifth place went to I-Meet-You, criticized for their mismatched song choice and group image. Fourth place went to First Year, a group of individual trainees.

First Year's performance had been quite good, but they were likely held back by the superior skills of the remaining groups and their lack of professional production value.

At least our team had achieved our goal of placing in the top three, but...

"Next, for third place, I'll ask Judge Si-a to make the announcement."

As the third-place announcement approached, my chest began to tighten.

Human greed truly knows no bounds – now that we'd secured a top-three position, the desire to climb even higher surfaced.

The remaining groups were MN's U&I and SU's 5th May Rookie. Both were formidable opponents, though 5th May Rookie might be the more beatable of the two.

'No, 5th May Rookie was excellent too. We shouldn't assume we can win just because they received some criticism from the judges.'

I unconsciously tightened my grip on Song-i's hand as Si-a opened her mouth to address the trainees.

"Third place goes to... U&I."

A murmur rippled through the trainees.

"Yes, U&I, who has secured third place, please come down to the stage."

I almost let out a bitter laugh. While any ranking outcome would have been understandable, in terms of pure skill, U&I had been the undisputed first place.

Of course, the judging criteria included more than just skill – star quality and production value were also important factors.

​But even considering all that, U&I placing third was difficult to accept.

It would have made more sense for 5th May Rookie, who received criticism for becoming boring after their introduction, or our team, who focused solely on making a strong first impression, to place third.

Something felt off...

"U&I getting third place is surprising."

"Yeah, I thought they'd get first."

"Even though the other teams did well too..."

Both our team members and the trainees who had already performed seemed to share my thoughts, whispering among themselves.

However, U&I themselves descended to the stage with an air of resigned acceptance, as if they'd expected this outcome.

Ah...

Seeing their resigned expressions, I finally understood the source of this strange feeling.

'Of course it wouldn't be fair.'

This wasn't just an individual survival show – it was a group competition. While the individual trainees selected by the broadcasting station were one thing, for the debuting trainees, this was essentially a battle between companies rather than trainees.

These were next-generation artists representing their companies' pride. Especially the major entertainment companies – they must have pulled strings beforehand to ensure favorable evaluations.

While MN was certainly a big company, no one had maintained ties with UNet as long as SU had.

'No wonder SU sent trainees. That prideful company wouldn't normally send trainees to an audition program...'

"Now only the first and second place teams of this round remain to take the main stage. Judge Ji-hun, please announce today's second place team!"

"Yes, I'll announce it now. The team that has secured second place in Start Plan's first round is..."

If SU had indeed pulled strings beforehand, then second place would naturally go to...

"Flora! Congratulations!"

Our team.

"Wooaaah!"

The members jumped up with near-screams. Song-yi's hand, still holding mine, squeezed so tight it hurt.

"Unnie... we got second place!"

The members rushed to embrace each other.

While there was a nagging feeling that our high ranking might have been a side effect of SU trying to keep U&I in check, for now, I pushed aside the unease...

"Yes! Flora! A team of individual trainees has achieved this impressive result of second place! Please come down to the stage."

"Yes!"

Since we'd achieved such an incredible second place, it was time to enjoy this moment of joy.

The spotlights that had been waiting in the darkness finally fell upon us. We walked proudly to the stage, accompanied by applause from the other contestants.

"Congratulations, Flora. Shall we hear a brief word from your leader, Da-min?"

"Ah, yes!"

Han Da-min, whose soul had seemed to have partially departed from the tension before hearing our ranking, raised the microphone with a relaxed smile.

And then, suddenly, her expression turned strange.