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Episode 21
It was the lyrics flag.
I managed to avoid the worst-case scenario, but… still.
Is this okay?
The other trainees quickly began snatching up the flags.
The very last flag left, as expected, was the composition flag.
“No way…”
With an enormous cry of despair, the one who grabbed the final composition flag was none other than Jo Heeon.
My condolences…
I don’t know what your specialty is, but I do know it isn’t composition.
“Alright, everyone’s picked a position, right? Then I’ll now announce the members by position.”
Position 1: Composition
— Kim Geum, Shin Yoohyun, Jo Heeon
Position 2: Lyrics
— Ryu Bora, Yoon Cheong, Lee Kyungah
Position 3: Choreography
— Lee Juseon, Seo Baekyoung, Park Haeun
Position 4: Concept and Styling
— Yeon Juhong, Kim Ryeoyu, Bang Suin
PD Oh moved on to the next slide in the presentation.
“This time, we’ll divide into three teams. And each team will have one person from each position. Like this:”
Team A (Composition 1, Lyrics 1, Choreo 1, Concept 1)
“Now, let’s start forming the teams.”
PD Oh rubbed his hands together like a plotting fly.
“If we just draw lots, that’d be boring, right?”
“No!”
“Oh, come on, don’t be like that.”
What do you mean, don’t be like that?
He never listens to what we say anyway.
“Now, while the results of this mission won’t affect the final rankings, your mission ranking still matters. So we’ll give a benefit to the top three from the last mission.”
…!
The trainees’ eyes widened.
The top three from the last mission were Kim Geum, Kim Ryeoyu, and Seo Baekyoung.
“Kim Geum, Kim Ryeoyu, Seo Baekyoung—step forward and receive your leader badges.”
Suddenly made team leaders, the three pinned badges onto their training outfits.
“Kim Geum.”
“Yes.”
The badge suited her surprisingly well.
She looked more like a military leader—maybe a one-star general—than an idol group leader.
“Kim Geum was the MVP of the last mission.”
That’s right.
Kim Geum was chosen MVP by both the judges and audience vote—a strong candidate for the win.
And honestly, I had no objections.
Her skills were solid, and her stage had been well-executed.
“Yep.”
“As the MVP benefit, you’ll get to pick your team member first.”
Her expression clearly said: That’s it?
Really terrible at hiding emotions.
“Now, you’ll each pick members from other positions, excluding your own. We’ll go in order: Kim Geum, Kim Ryeoyu, and Seo Baekyoung.”
I wasn’t expecting much.
My position was lyrics.
But Kim Geum’s best friend Ryu Bora was also in lyrics.
Of course she’d pick Ryu Bora.
And lyricists weren’t a top priority yet, since no one really knew our capabilities.
If I were Kim Geum, I’d prioritize choreography first.
Not that I know who’s good.
“I’ll pick Yoon Cheong from the lyrics position.”
…?
“Okay. Yoon Cheong, stand behind Kim Geum.”
…Me? She picked me?
I pointed to myself in confusion.
But Kim Geum nodded with a very serious face.
Um… why? Why me?
Still confused, I walked over and stood behind her.
Then Kim Ryeoyu picked her best friend Jo Heeon.
Hmm.
I don’t know Jo Heeon that well, but judging from her earlier reaction, she’s terrible at composition.
Must be another classic example of a friendship pick.
“Now, by default, Shin Yoohyun from composition is assigned to Seo Baekyoung’s team. Seo Baekyoung, choose one more member.”
“I pick Ryu Bora from the lyrics team.”
That was clearly a strategic choice for votes.
The remaining trainees had lower rankings, so picking Ryu Bora was the better move.
“I’ll pick Yeon Juhong.”
Kim Geum picked next and chose Yeon Juhong.
Yeon Juhong, happy to be picked early, grinned as she stood behind me.
One by one, the teams were finalized:
Team A
Composition: Kim Geum
Lyrics: Yoon Cheong
Choreography: Lee Juseon
Concept: Yeon Juhong
Team B
Composition: Jo Heeon
Lyrics: Lee Kyungah
Choreography: Park Haeun
Concept: Kim Ryeoyu
Team C
Composition: Shin Yoohyun
Lyrics: Ryu Bora
Choreography: Seo Baekyoung
Concept: Bang Suin
Our team wasn’t bad.
I didn’t know much about Lee Juseon, but as long as she was decent, it’d be fine.
The other three didn’t have particularly bad reputations either.
I was a little worried about the choreography, though…
If it came down to it, I could just reuse some of the routines from my previous life.
“Oh, Ryeoyu unnie! I don’t have any close friends here.”
That… was worrisome.
Lee Juseon had run up to Kim Ryeoyu to whine.
So they’re close, huh?
“Don’t worry.”
“!”
“You don’t even need to think about Juseon. I’ll take care of her.”
At that moment, Kim Geum leaned in and whispered solemnly behind me.
When had she been watching me?
No, more importantly—take care of her?
“Unnie just needs to make sure the song is good.”
“Uh… aren’t you the one doing the composition?”
“Well, two heads are better than one, and we’re a team now. Everything needs to be shared. Even a grain of rice, we eat together.”
She’s not wrong, but why does it sound so annoying coming from her?
“Lee Juseon! Come here!”
“Wait, I just—”
“3, 2…”
“I’m coming!”
“If you’re late, you’ll be rolling to the left.”
…Are you a drill sergeant?
Thanks to Kim Geum’s sheer force of will, the three of us immediately gathered, backs straight.
“Alright. We only have 10 days, so let’s move fast.”
Somehow, she’d gotten a huge whiteboard.
“First, we need to decide on a general concept. Without that, we can’t make anything else. Yeon Juhong?”
“Y-yes?”
I’ve never seen Yeon Juhong so intimidated before.
“You’re in charge of the concept, so please share your ideas. What should we do?”
“Um…”
Yeon Juhong hesitated, struggling to come up with something.
Understandable. We just formed this team—how would anyone have ideas yet?
“How about this: let’s decide the broad direction together. Juhong can handle the specifics later.”
“Unnie…”
Yeon Juhong looked at me, visibly moved.
I didn’t say it for her.
I just don’t like inefficiency.
“Alright. Should we go for something dark? Or bright?”
I looked at the team members.
Kim Geum screamed dark, but not Yeon Juhong.
She seemed like the cute and bubbly type.
Lee Juseon leaned toward innocent sexy.
And me… I’m just me.
Wait.
“Hmm.”
“Uhh…”
“Gasp.”
We looked around at each other and realized one thing.
None of our images matched. At all.
The mood turned solemn for a second. No one spoke.
Kim Geum was pure street-style.
Yeon Juhong was cutesy.
Lee Juseon gave off a soft, sexy vibe.
And me… well, I was just me.
What kind of concept could possibly unify all four of us?
“Let’s go for a sporty, healthy vibe.”
“Yeah, I think that makes sense!”
“Like a fresh rookie energy, right? That’s not bad.”
Kim Geum proposed it, Juhong brightened, and Juseon agreed reluctantly.
Everyone was nodding when—
“That’s not enough.”
I alone raised an objection.
“We can use ‘sporty’ as the base, but we need something unique to set us apart.”
“True. The sporty theme is a classic…”
Kim Geum agreed.
Lots of idol groups had already done it.
If we didn’t add something distinct, our stage would be forgettable.
“Then how should we differentiate our concept?”
Another silence.
If it were easy to come up with a unique twist, it wouldn’t be unique.
Everyone began throwing out ideas:
School uniforms, cheerleading, athletes…
But nothing really struck a chord.
“This isn’t working. We can’t rely on just one keyword. Let’s combine two or three instead.”
“Ohh.”
Kim Geum’s eyes sparkled.
“I like that idea.”
“Juhong, what do you think?”
Since she was the concept lead, she needed to decide—even if I made the suggestion.
“I think it’s a great idea…!”
“What about you, Juseon?”
When I asked her directly, she looked surprised.
“If it’s too complicated, won’t it feel messy?”
“That’s possible.”
I nodded in agreement.
“Then let’s avoid combining totally opposite themes. Let’s pick ones that complement each other.”
“Hmm… that might work…”
“Alright. So what keywords would go well together?”
Everyone began writing on the whiteboard.
“Um, excuse me…”
Then, Yeon Juhong raised her hand.
“How about this?”
She began writing in the corner and explained her concept idea.
When she finished, she looked up nervously.
“…Is it bad?”
“No.”
“Not at all.”
Kim Geum and I answered at once.
“I think it’s really good.”
“I love it.”
Hearing our sincere responses, Yeon Juhong visibly brightened.
The timid girl from earlier had vanished.
“Really?!”
“Yeah, I think it’ll be fun. If we put it together well.”
“It’ll be visually interesting too. The concept is solid.”
“What do you think, Juseon unnie?”
Yeon Juhong turned to the still-silent Lee Juseon.
Juseon had a bit of a pouty face.
But when the camera turned to her, she instantly smiled shyly.
“If you all like it, then I do too.”
…I’ll need to keep an eye on her.
“Alright, now that we’ve set the concept, Cheong unnie and I will go pick out the song. Juhong, please refine the concept and styling.”
“Okay!”
“Juseon, please start outlining a dance style that fits the concept. We’ll get the song to you ASAP.”
“How long do you think the song will take?”
We had only 10 days to rehearse.
Way too tight.
“Give us 3 days.”
“Won’t that leave too little time for choreo…?”
Juseon trailed off.
I understood where she was coming from, but writing a song in 3 days wasn’t easy either.
Others seemed to take at least 5 days.
Only someone like Kim Geum could manage in 3.
“Then we’ll send you each part in real time. Even if we have just a line ready, we’ll send it.”
“…Okay.”
“Meanwhile, could you help Juhong with the concept?”
Kim Geum’s suggestion made Juseon’s expression darken further.
“Choreography’s already hard enough… helping with styling too? I have personal practice too…”
“…We’ll help with the choreo as soon as the song is done. Let’s all try to support each other.”
“No, I just—”
“You’ve got good taste, Juseon.”
Uh-oh. This was going to turn into a fight.
I quickly jumped in to stop it.
“You always dress well off-stage. And don’t you prefer picking your own outfits anyway?”
“…I guess that’s true.”
“Right? We all want the best results, so let’s help each other out. In return, Geum, Juhong, and I will help you with the choreography too.”
“Okay… I guess that’s fine.”
It was resolved—for now.
But the atmosphere still felt heavy.
I glanced over at PD Oh.
He looked like he was glowing.
This won’t do. The mood’s going to look awful on the broadcast.
I have to find a way to fix this—somehow.
