🔊 TTS Settings
Chapter 17
On the day of the cover song mission competition.
The twelve trainees moved to the studio after getting their makeup done.
It was the same studio where they had filmed the debut song last time.
Although the stage set had changed a lot.
Overall, it had a much simpler vibe than before.
Well, it’s not like the production company has money to burn every time.
I thought of PD Oh, who used to grumble about the budget every day.
My turn in this final mission evaluation was ninth.
It was a decent placement.
“Ughhhh…”
In the waiting room.
There were groans of nervousness, sighs, sharp-toned voices filled with tension.
This was only possible because, for once, there were no cameras.
…Of course, once the cameras started rolling again, everyone would smile brightly like nothing ever happened.
“Hnnng…”
Next to me, holding her head tightly, was Yeon Juhong.
She’d seemed mentally on edge since the mid-evaluation.
Today, she looked completely out of it.
“Nervous?”
“Of course I am.”
Yeon Juhong didn’t even touch her face so her makeup wouldn’t smudge—she just sighed deeply.
“It’s my first time performing in front of such a big crowd.”
In the waiting room, there was a monitor where we could watch the stage.
The monitor kept switching between the empty stage and the packed audience seats.
Maybe because of the intro videos, there were a ton of signs and slogans cheering for each trainee.
Even Yooncheong’s name was there.
Not Baek Nokha, but the name Yooncheong—seeing it written like that gave me a strange feeling.
“What if my voice cracks?”
“Then just act like it didn’t happen.”
You can’t let a voice crack ruin the whole stage.
I answered firmly.
“I think some of the people supporting me came to see this. They’ll be really disappointed. What if they came in just because they liked my face and then run away after hearing my skills?”
“…Well, there’s nothing you can do about that.”
Fans can choose who they want to support. That’s their freedom.
But Juhong looked even more discouraged by my words.
“I’m even going right after you!”
“Hmm, what, you don’t like the order? It’s not like being later is bad. The votes aren’t cumulative, so your order doesn’t hurt you.”
If votes were cumulative, then a later performance could be a disadvantage.
It might get edited and pushed to next week, for example.
But the network had already been criticized for that kind of system once, so this time they didn’t do it.
Only the final votes were reflected in the results.
The biweekly vote rankings were just for reference.
“No, it’s not the late turn that’s the problem. It’s that I’m right after you. I already lack skill, and now I’ll just look worse in comparison…”
She kept mumbling beside me.
Was she always like this? I remember her being really strong and flawless in my past life…
“You’re not lacking skill.”
“Come on.”
Even after hearing me, Juhong waved her hands in denial.
“You don’t need to try and comfort me. I know I’m not as good as the other girls.”
“Why do you think that?”
I tilted my head.
“Because I’m always getting criticized. Trainers always say I’m mediocre. The vocal trainer, the dance trainer, even the rap teacher says stuff like, ‘Hey Juhong, how can you be so meh at rapping too?’”
She mimicked the rap teacher’s tone exactly.
Surprisingly… she was really good at mimicking.
“I’ve heard ‘mediocre’ so much that I started thinking I should change my name from Yeon Juhong to Yeon Junggan (Yeon Midrange).”
Juhong pouted, grumbling.
“I think that’s actually more impressive, though.”
“…Huh?”
Juhong narrowed her eyes at me.
“That means you’re above average at dancing, above average at singing, and even above average at rapping, right?”
“…Well…”
“Isn’t that what you call an all-rounder?”
“To call it that… my skill still isn’t quite there.”
Juhong, looking sulky, pulled at her pink hair.
Hmm.
Was that… a hallucination of bunny ears?
“Objectively speaking, you’re above average here. I’m not saying you’re the most skilled—it’s something you know best.”
I recalled her performance from the mid-evaluation.
“Just judging by your last stage, you did great. For a trainee who hasn’t even debuted yet, that was more than enough. Of course, you’ll have to do better after debuting, but you’re still young—you’ll grow.”
“…”
Juhong looked at me with a bewildered expression.
Did I say something wrong?
“Unnie.”
“Yeah?”
“People tell you you’ve changed a lot these days, don’t they?”
…Yeah. I mean, I have changed.
My whole soul was swapped out—of course I’m different.
“I didn’t really know you that well before, so I couldn’t tell if you changed or not…”
Juhong looked both confused and intrigued.
“But you do seem very different now.”
“Different?”
“Yes.”
Hmm.
Maybe I should’ve acted more like the old Yooncheong?
I started thinking about what that would even mean.
“You feel like one of those seniors who’ve already debuted.”
Oof.
“I don’t mean that in a bad way.”
“Then?”
“I mean you seem… really cool.”
Juhong looked at me with determination.
“I don’t know how good I’ll be, but… I’ll at least try not to freeze on stage today.”
Tsk.
I chuckled.
“Good. That alone is impressive. Do you know how hard it is not to freeze on stage?”
Even as a 10-year veteran, I still froze every time.
If she could just hold her ground, that was already amazing.
[That was trainee Bang Suin’s performance! What a powerful stage!]
The earlier performances were over, and now it was finally my turn.
[Now introducing the next performer. This trainee has been a hot topic since her intro video.]
As I waited just offstage, my intro was playing.
I warmed up my mouth and voice one last time.
Since Yooncheong’s vocal cords had been overworked, I was worried about pitch issues.
But that’s fate.
I wasn’t going to let that kind of worry ruin my stage.
I could feel my heart pounding.
It had been a while since I felt something like this—beyond nervousness.
What do you even call this?
[Purple Apple’s ___, now reborn as Yooncheong’s ___.]
…Excitement of a rookie, maybe.
“Yooncheong trainee, please go up.”
Following the staff’s cue, I stepped onto the stage slowly.
Ah, so familiar and yet—
You say no, but shh
I can see it in your eyes
—never a feeling you can get used to.
Spoiler Warning) ㅁㄴㅋ Cover Mission Fan Report
※Highly subjective※
※If you disagree, you’re probably right※
※Will be deleted soon※
First of all, everyone was amazing.
You could really feel the desperation… classic “Colors” girl group quality—everyone was insanely good.
I’ll only talk about the ones who stood out. Writing about all 12 is too much.
First up was Kim Geum.
She did an All Colors song and totally slayed. Her fans can rest easy. She kept the dance simple but absolutely crushed the rap. No way she’s not debuting.
…
Ninth was Yooncheong.
Everyone had high expectations for her. So did I.
And she absolutely did not disappoint.
She covered an old song, apparently from Hong Yeonseo’s idol days.
No clue how they got the rights, but it was a genius move.
The concept? Insane.
Everyone expected her to stick with the delicate, innocent vibe from her intro—but nope. The moment the music started, it was intense.
She went with this snake-like concept, but not in a sexy way—more like the “cool older sister” vibe.
Totally girl crush concept.
She wore a rider jacket, white shirt, black tie, and leather skinnies.
※The tie is SUPER important※
I took a blurry pic with my phone cam. Quality’s trash but see for yourself.
Vocals? Flawless.
And who said main vocals can’t dance? She was amazing.
Other girls did well too, but she seriously felt like a 10-year veteran.
YoonBlue Spoiler♥
Come closer, girl
I’m here for you
I’ve taken root and borne fruit…
In the video, Yooncheong’s black hair fluttered as her eyes sparkled.
I’ve been waiting for this moment
Come bite into me, here we go
She pulled off her tie and used it to blindfold herself.
Still blindfolded, she nailed the chorus flawlessly, then as the final part hit—
The music shifted.
Don’t be afraid
Come bite into me
I’ll remove what’s been covering your eyes
As the lyrics played, she pulled down the tie covering her eyes.
The camera zoomed in on her face.
Beads of sweat sparkled under the stage lights.
And beneath her right eye, a tear-shaped mole glistened.
I am your new world.
The song ended.
