TDOCD Chapter 51

Chapter 51 The Secret

Whoa, that suddenly got scary.

A shiver ran down my spine, making me tremble.

I don’t know how she found out, but this might be the reason why Song-yi's attitude had changed.

What secret of Start Plan, did she actually uncover?

Of course, anything labeled a "secret" probably wasn't positive news.

'A secret...'

With Song-yi having celebrity parents and connections to an entertainment agency, she must have access to quite a bit of insider information.

"Hmm..."

Should I ask Reporter Choi Gyo-young? Or maybe I should just ask Song-yi directly. Would she even answer if I did?

With these troubled thoughts, I closed my status window.

Disappointing as it was, we had to continue with Round 2 like this. Whether investigating the secret or persuading Song-yi, that would have to happen away from the cameras.

Even if all the members had noticed Song-i's strange behavior, we couldn't do anything about it. In this dormitory with cameras everywhere, it was better to act like nothing was wrong.

'When was the first broadcast again?'

I heard it was coming up soon.

Maybe I could use that as an excuse to meet with Choi Song-yi afterward and ask her directly. That wouldn't be a bad idea.

***

Finally, the day of the performance arrived.

"Ji-ye is really something else."

"That's pure determination right there. The fierce drive to win."

The members muttered loud enough for me to hear.

"How can she be so perfectly fine after practicing like crazy for a whole week?"

"Wasn't Ji-ye's stamina similar to Ra-eun's before?"

They were basically asking how I could look so fresh after practicing and working on barely three hours of sleep per day.

"She was definitely dying along with me last time..."

I flashed a bright smile at the members while fixing a stray strand of hair.

Truth was, I was so high on dopamine that I couldn't even feel the exhaustion.

This strange, almost caffeine-like energy had reached its peak right before the performance.

"Wait, did you secretly check the released profiles without telling us?"

"Huh?"

Profiles?

Min Ha-young's words snapped me to attention.

Ah, right. It was today.

I'd been so obsessed with performance practice that I'd completely forgotten our trainee profiles were being released today.

This was the crucial moment when the contestants would first see public reactions to them.

And we had to perform our second-round evaluation during such an important time.

So naturally...

"...I really want to check my phone."

"Why did they have to release them now? I can't focus."

"I think I've already forgotten the choreography..."

"Hey! Don't even joke about that..."

The atmosphere grew tense.

Making our faces public but not letting us check the responses by taking away our phones?

My leg started bouncing nervously.

At this point, it seemed like they were deliberately trying to break the trainees' mental fortitude.

Why would they do this?

That's when Song-yi, who had been making whistling sounds with her duck-like lips, placed her hand firmly on my thigh.

"Unnie, stop shaking your leg. And stop biting your lip too."

"Oh? Was I shaking my leg?"

"You do it unconsciously out of habit."

"Ah... thanks for telling me."

Song-yi casually pulled out a lip gloss from my bag and handed it to me. Despite her brusque manner of speaking, she really was thoughtful.

I applied the lip gloss she gave me and straightened my posture.

To be honest, I was also very worried and anxious.

'The time has come.'

According to my family, Ryu Ji-ye hadn't appeared in any media since early childhood.

But that was just what my family said. How could I be certain nothing would come up, given how persistent reporters and netizens could be?

Of course, even if something was discovered, I had an agreement with Reporter Choi, so I wouldn't get caught up in any unexpected controversies.

'Why is my heart beating so fast?'

I guess being worried was inevitable.

I was prepared. Even if someone who knew me appeared, I would handle it calmly.

What scared me was the possibility that Ryu Ji-ye might have done something bad that neither I nor her family knew about.

At least in my memories, while she was a bit of a troublemaker, she wasn't someone who put others down to elevate herself. But who knows?

I quietly opened my mission window to steady myself.

· ✦•·····················•✦•···················•✦·  ​

'First impressions are important'

-Mission Condition: Leave an impression on 10,000 viewers (27 / 10,000)

✦✧✦✧

Reward: 1,500G, Random Buff Box

· ✦•·····················•✦•···················•✦·  ​

'Oh, 27 people.'

Twenty-seven people had found me memorable in some way after seeing my profile.

For an individual trainee, with only 30 minutes since the release, that number was...

'Neither good nor bad - just average.'

Though I hadn't seen how the profiles were released yet, I assumed individual trainees' profiles would be at the very end or bottom.

And I was certain SU Entertainment trainees would be at the top.

That much I could tell without checking.

"Sigh..."

Enough. I keep thinking about it even though I told myself to stop.

I stood up and walked to the mirror, trying to shake off these thoughts.

Today's outfit was a khaki bustier with pants covered in straps.

It was a girls' hip-hop style outfit, the kind many girl groups wear these days.

'The dance lines will show well.'

It was both lightweight and stylish.

It was actually an outfit I'd really wanted to try, but never got to wear with my previous group.

Plus, the makeup was bold to match the outfit, and my hair was braided on one side.

While it was completely different from our last concept, I liked this look too.

"Ah, phones... couldn't they just give them to us during standby?"

I turned around at the grumbling voice.

Song-yi was watching Ra-eun and Ha-young practice without music, looking bored to death.

'Still showing no will to practice today.'

If this were Round 1, Song-yi would have been practicing with them.

"Bored? Song-yi, want to join me and practice over there?"

"Hmm..."

Though Song-yi didn't seem particularly interested in my suggestion, she got up and approached without saying anything.

Without cameras around, her thoughts were clearly visible on her face.

I wanted to ask her what was wrong, but with the performance coming up, I couldn't.

Just as I was swallowing a sigh and about to move...

Knock knock-

"We're heading to the Flora set."

The production staff opened the door and announced the start of filming.

Song-yi, who had been approaching slowly, left the waiting room twice as fast at the staff's words.

Her behavior really had become obviously strange...

I wasn't the only one who noticed this. Han Famin and Ra-eun were also giving her odd looks as she walked away.

Song-yi must have known we found her behavior strange, but she pretended not to notice until she completely left the waiting room.

What could it be?

Why was she acting like this?

What was this secret?

As I stared intently at Song-yi's back while following her...

Song-yi's pace slowed, and she gradually got closer to me.

Soon she was walking right beside me. Then, in a low voice, without looking at me, she said:

"Unnie, why are you trying so hard?"

"What?"

"We can't win anyway."

"...Huh?"

What does she mean we can't win?

What kind of bombshell is this to drop right before the performance?

When I stopped abruptly in my tracks, Song-yi frowned as if she was the one who should be confused.

"Ji-ye unnie, don't tell me you didn't know?"

"Know what?"

"I thought you would definitely know. That's why I'm telling you this."

Come on, tell me what!

At least look at me when you're telling me what I supposedly don't know!

"Ah, I really thought you would know."

Song-yi spoke with an exasperated sigh.

'God, this is frustrating.'

Why did she think I would definitely know?

Listen, if anyone would know something like this, it would be Han Damin with all her experience, not me.

Ryu Ji-ye was just a regular person who had only recently entered this industry.

So could you please explain first?

Why so many secrets? And why bring this up right before the performance?

Song-yi stared at me for a moment before resuming her walk with a composed attitude. Then, in a voice only I could hear, she said:

"Unnie, you're from Hong-jin Group, aren't you?"

"..."

A chill ran through my entire body. I seemed to be stopping in my tracks quite often today.

How did she know that?