Chapter 8

“Hello.”

As soon as we entered the room, we saw Kwon Hak-jin sitting on the bed organizing his luggage.

“Oh, hi!”

Kwon Hakjin happily waved at us.

In his hand was a hippopotamus plushie that he had probably just taken out of his bag.

Every time he waved, the cute doll fluttered around in a way that completely did not match his muscular body.

“You’re Wonwoo and Haewon, right?”

“Yes.”

“I’m Kwon Hak-jin. Looks like we’ll be roommates from now on, so let’s get along well.”

Kwon Hakjin.

In the story, he was the third most popular character after Lee Haewon and Han Leejae, eventually debuting in third place.

Because he came from a small agency, he barely got any screen time early in the show and was constantly treated unfairly.

But as each mission passed, his sincerity gradually won people over, causing his popularity to rise.

He also had a background in traditional Korean dance, which explained why he had such excellent body control.

‘The dance skills he showed during the rank evaluation really were on another level.’

Kwon Hakjin smiled brightly while welcoming us.

“I heard both you and Haewon are eighteen, right?”

“Yes.”

“Then since I’m older, I’ll just speak casually.”

According to the setting, Kwon Hakjin was twenty years old, making him two years older than us.

“I already checked the beds earlier. Wonwoo, this one’s yours, and Haewon, yours is over there.”

“Thank you.”

We unpacked our luggage at our assigned spots.

It should have been awkward since this was our first meeting, but thanks to the conversation between those two, the uncomfortable atmosphere disappeared instantly.

“Honestly, I was shocked when I saw Haewon playing guitar earlier.”

“Ah, no way. Hakjin hyung, your dancing was amazing too.”

Meanwhile, I sat there completely silent, like someone had glued my mouth shut.

‘They can really start talking comfortably right after meeting… definitely extroverts.’

According to the settings, Lee Haewon was an ENFP and Kwon Hakjin was an ENTP.

Both were cheerful and sociable, but their styles were different.

Lee Haewon was more like an affectionate puppy who followed people around naturally, while Kwon Hakjin had a calmer kind of charisma.

That was why, after the debut, Kwon Hakjin eventually became the team leader.

‘Kwon Hakjin is actually a pretty layered character too.’

At first glance, he seemed just as bright and cheerful as Lee Haewon.

But in reality, Kwon Hak-jin carried a painful past.

According to the story, he grew up in an orphanage and was adopted and abandoned multiple times, leaving him with severe trauma about being thrown away.

Because of that, he had an obsession with always appearing cheerful so people would not abandon him again.

‘Looking at him now, though, he just seems like someone who grew up loved without any worries….’

While I quietly observed him, Kwon Hak-jin suddenly spoke to me first.

“Wonwoo, you’re quieter than I expected. Looking at your stage earlier, I thought you’d be super outgoing. Are you shy around strangers?”

“Ah… yes.”

Since I was barely speaking, he probably thought I felt left out of the conversation.

“He really does have a good personality. He’s like the class president who always looks after the lonely outsider in class.’

Well, that was probably why he became the leader.

While we were talking, the door opened and the final trainee entered the room.

All three of us turned our heads at the same time.

Then we saw Na Jaehyun standing there dragging a tacky flower-pattern suitcase behind him.

“…Hello.”

Na Jaehyun dragged his suitcase inside expressionlessly.

‘Now I understand why his profile described him as “4D.”’

“I’m Na Jaehyun.”

“Yes, I know. I watched your rank evaluation earlier. You sing really well.”

“Thank you.”

After greeting us, Na Jaehyun opened his suitcase and started unpacking.

Pretending not to stare, we secretly glanced toward him as strange objects slowly poured out of the suitcase.

“What’s that?”

“A rock… maybe?”

When Lee Haewon and Kwon Hakjin showed curiosity, Na Jaehyun answered calmly.

“This is my pet rock, Greenie.”

Na Jaehyun placed a green stone carefully on top of the bed frame.

“Greenie?”

“Yes. I’ve been raising this rock since I was seven.”

“Oh, really? Where did you find it?”

“In front of a construction site near my house….”

We completely lost our words.

But honestly, the green rock was not even the strangest thing.

The most eye-catching thing was Na Jaehyun’s T-shirt.

On the shirt, it said:

“I’m someone who eats fish-shaped buns starting from the head.”

“Where do they even sell shirts like that?”

Thinking the question was sincere, Na Jaehyun kindly told Kwon Hakjin the name of the online shopping mall.

“How much did it cost?”

“Hmm… maybe 48,900 won?”

“You paid 48,900 won for that?”

Na Jaehyun simply nodded.

Then he proudly started introducing his red flower-pattern suitcase.

Although it looked tacky at first glance, he explained seriously that every part of the design was intentional and that its retro style was the charm.

“So, what do you think?”

Na Jaehyun’s lifeless eyes suddenly became full of anticipation, desperately waiting for a response.

“Wow, it’s cool.”

“Seriously. It’s got style. Our Jaehyun really has individuality.”

When the two kind-hearted extroverts praised him, Na Jaehyun smiled brightly.

Then his gaze slowly turned toward me.

‘…W-What?’

Was he waiting for my opinion too?

“Uh… um…”

Normally, since I was terrible at lying, I would never say something I did not mean.

But with cameras installed all over the room, I felt pressured and reluctantly opened my mouth.

“Very. Cool. Maybe. I should. Buy one. Too.”

For a moment, I wondered if I really had to go this far, but I had no choice.

“Wonwoo, are you done unpacking?”

“Yes….”

After saying something I normally never would, I suffered massive emotional damage and immediately collapsed onto the bed.

Lying flat on my back, I could see the green rock resting on the opposite bed frame.

“…I just want to go home.”

* * *

After finishing unpacking at the dorms, filming resumed following a short break.

The trainees gathered on set wearing their training uniforms according to their ranks.

It was finally time to reveal the signal song for the next mission.

“Hello everyone. Nice to see you again. I’m MC Baek Doha.”

Appearing to loud cheers, Baek Doha stepped onto the platform beside the screen.

“All of you have now received your ranks through the evaluations. These ranks will determine your performance teams for the signal song stage.”

The MC began explaining the Signal Song mission.

“The signal song relay stage is a mission where each team performs different sections of the song. Teams A, B, C, D, and F will each perform their assigned parts.”

Soon, the screen lit up.

“However, not everyone will perform under equal conditions.”

The screen displayed the amount of screen time each team would receive.

A – 1:32
B – 1:00
C – 0:42
D – 0:30
F – 0:12

Groans immediately spread throughout the trainees after seeing the cruel difference in screen time.

“Wow, F only gets 12 seconds…”

“At that point, people probably wouldn’t even notice you appeared.”

For a moment, I felt like I finally understood why Do Wonwoo became so bitter in the original story.

If all you got was twelve seconds where you practically just showed your face and disappeared, even I would probably start hating the world.

Still, what could you do?

If your skills only deserved that level, then you had to accept it.

Thankfully, becoming C rank meant my screen time had increased.

‘As long as I don’t completely fail the upcoming re-evaluation, I won’t end up with only twelve seconds like in the original story.’

“Then, we’ll now reveal the signal song.”

The moment the MC spoke, the logo for the single song appeared on screen.

Since I had already read the novel, the title felt familiar to me.

But the trainees seeing it for the first time reacted with excitement.

Soon, the screen changed, and the Signal song performance video began.

― Inside a hidden world
Darkness blocks out the light
I can’t even see one step ahead
Like I’m trapped inside a long tunnel

When Baek Doha appeared as the choreography demonstrator, explosive cheers filled the room.

Embarrassed by the reaction, Baek Doha covered his mouth shyly while laughing.

― A door to the unknown opens
A new world stands before me
Now it’s time to discover myself
Now say my name

As expected from someone who debuted in first place, Baek Doha danced incredibly well.

Even through the intense choreography, his movements never broke flow once.

‘But that only looks easy because Baek Doha is doing it. If I tried…

The choreography required both power and elegant lines.

Honestly, my overall impression was simple.

This looked insanely difficult.

― An endless wait
A game I’ve never once won
Beyond the limits set by the world
Like a bird breaking free after struggle

The song itself was the same.

At first glance, it sounded deceptively easy, but actually singing it was clearly difficult.

The novel described the signal song as high difficulty too, but seeing it in person made me feel completely hopeless.

― I fly up, up, up

After the killing part, a group dance break appeared, and the video ended with the outro.

“So everyone, what did you think of the single song?”

The trainees immediately burst into automatic cheers.

I should have reacted too, but my mouth would not open.

Thinking about having to sing and dance at that level with my current skill made my vision go dark.

‘At this point, I’d be grateful just to maintain my rank, forget getting promoted.’

I had been feeling motivated earlier, but after watching the video, reality hit me hard.

“This is way too hard!”

Lee Haewon complained from beside me.

I quietly nodded in agreement.

“Wonwoo, do you think you can do it?”

“I mean… I probably can.”

Whether I could do it well was the real problem.

“Maybe if we work ourselves to death? Like staying up all night and completely destroying our bodies….”

While we talked, I noticed Han Leejae in the seat ahead already practicing the choreography while sitting down.

Just like the original story said, where he later received A rank and became the A team center, Han Leejae already stood out completely from everyone else.

‘Right now, the only strategy left is probably just working myself to death….’

In the original story, nobody acknowledged Do Wonwoo’s efforts.

But now, those forced settings no longer existed.

If I worked hard enough, maybe I would at least get one more camera shot or catch the masters’ attention.

‘Let’s work hard.’

The moment I made up my mind, the MC’s voice rang out from the stage.

“Now then, the masters helping with the signal song training will enter.”

The first master to step forward was Vocal Master Shin Suyeol.

Looking around at the trainees separated by rank, Shin Suyeol considered where to start.

“Hmm, where should we begin?”

Then, after spotting me, Shin Suyeol nodded as if he had made a decision.

“Let’s start with C rank.”

Soon, Shin Suyeol pointed somewhere.

“Trainee Do Wonwoo from C rank? Why don’t you sing just one line from the killing part?”