Chapter 43: The First Ranking Ceremony

They arrived at the broadcast station in the early morning.

Today marked the start of the third camp, and it was also the day of the first ranking announcement ceremony.

They found the waiting room as usual, changed into the school uniforms, and while getting their hair and makeup done, the atmosphere in the waiting room felt quite strange.

The waiting room, which was always bustling with the sound of voices from afar, now only had the sounds of staff working and various devices running.

Starting with ninety-nine contestants, they had been going for about two months, and today, more than a third of them would be eliminated at once, so it made sense for the mood to be somber.

Even if you weren’t eliminated yourself, someone you’d practiced with and gotten close to could be, so it was a situation where no one could feel at ease.

After finishing their preparations and waiting for a while, he was called to the studio along with fellow independent trainee Choi Gyeom.

Having had no points of contact during that time, he exchanged brief updates with Choi Gyeom, whom he was meeting after a long while, as they entered the studio.

“What pose should we do?”

At Please Take Care of My Idol’s ranking ceremonies, it had become a sort of rule for trainees from the same agency to enter together and show off some kind of pose.

So, he needed to coordinate a pose with Choi Gyeom, who was also an independent trainee.

Seeming to have already figured out that Jae-seo was hopeless enough to have earned the nickname ‘AI’, Gyeom didn’t wait for an answer after asking and made a suggestion first.

“Since there are two of us, should we just play it safe and do a heart?”

Having no confidence in coming up with good ideas regarding idol poses, he gratefully nodded.

As they discussed whether to make a heart with their hands or with their arms, soon it was their turn to go up.

At the staff’s signal, they climbed the stairs, and just like on the first day of filming, the words ‘Independent Trainee’ appeared on the screen.

They made a heart pose towards the camera using both their arms and hands, then went inside and sat down in the chairs.

Not long after all ninety-nine trainees had entered and taken their seats, Son Chae-i appeared on stage.

Son Chae-i, who was in the position of having to directly announce the eliminated contestants, also had a somewhat more subdued face than usual as she took her place at the center of the stage.

Filming soon began, and after a brief greeting, Son Chae-i looked down at her cue card and started explaining the ranking ceremony.

Based on the votes cast during the broadcast of Please Take Care of My Idol Episodes 1 through 4, thirty-nine trainees would be eliminated here.

The eliminated trainees would have to leave immediately, and only the remaining sixty would continue to prepare for the 2nd contest.

Even though they were all facts they already knew, the atmosphere became even more somber.

Son Chae-i, who would normally try to soothe the participants and lighten the mood, also silently flipped through her cue cards, moving her lips.

“Then, I will begin announcing the successful candidates immediately.”

At the same time, lights illuminated the front of the stage.

Below them, the number of chairs arranged in a pyramid shape, just like on the first day of filming, was noticeably reduced.

“Then, I will call out the 58th place trainee.

TUU trainee Kim Seung-gyu!”

***

From 58th place down to 41st place, the called trainees went forward, gave their acceptance speeches, and sat in the chairs marked with their respective ranks.

After that, a short break was given.

During that time, some participants secretly wiped away tears, while others approached those who had already made it to offer congratulations.

After that brief time passed, filming resumed.

Before Son Chae-i had even come back up, the screen on stage lit up, and soon a VCR began to play.

‘Trainee Pick!

What is the Visual Ranking?’

It was a segment inserted to liven up the entertainment atmosphere during the announcement of the sixty successful candidates.

[Please pick the trainee you think is most suitable as a visual member.]

Along with the writer’s voice, the faces of numerous trainees hearing that question flashed by in quick edits.

Soon, the screen changed, and one participant’s face appeared.

‘9th place!

Coz’s Nam Jin-wook’

Along with the caption, a slow-motion clip of Nam Jin-wook pulling up his training clothes to show off his abs played, followed by scenes of other participants praising Nam Jin-wook’s masculine looks.

He watched the continued visual ranking announcements with uninterested eyes, but as it went from 7th place to 6th place, a video of him suddenly appeared.

Participants sitting nearby, seeing his bewildered expression, smiled and congratulated him.

He answered with thanks for now and looked up at the screen with a dumbfounded face, and then a truly unexpected person appeared on screen.

[It’s the face that suits my taste the most.]

Following Seo Jun-jae, who had given an answer anyone would find absurd, Yeo Hyun-tae also appeared.

Next to Yeo Hyun-tae, who answered with a serious face that he was reminded of his pet dog, a photo of a small white dog appeared with the caption ‘Provided by Trainee Yeo Hyun-tae’.

…So, he picked me because I resemble that dog?

Behind him, looking dumbfounded, the trainees burst into laughter.

Though he hadn’t intended it, he seemed to be becoming a funny, or rather, comical character.

After two more rounds of ranking announcements and VCRs, only the final nine, referred to as the debut group, the cutline of 59th place, and 60th place remained to be announced.

And surprisingly, his name hadn’t been called yet.

Of course, the possibility of being below 59th place wasn’t entirely out of the question, but considering his rank of 13th place revealed at the end of the broadcast the other day, it seemed almost certain he would be within the top nine.

…No, why me?

Actually, he had placed 6th in the first broadcast, but since he had continuously dropped after that, he had thought it was just a bit of luck at the time.

So, he hadn’t even considered being in the ranking, and suddenly being 9th place felt surreal instead.

“From now on, these are the ranks corresponding to the debut group, right?

I will announce 9th place.”

Unlike before, when Son Chae-i had immediately announced the rank and the trainee’s name consecutively, she began to drag it out a little.

“9th place is….

Independent trainee Sim Jae-seo!”

The moment he heard his name, the first thought that came to him was that it was only natural.

He had been lucky enough to make it into the ranks, but it was obviously going to be the lowest, 9th place.

He got up from his seat and walked over to stand next to Son Chae-i.

“Trainee Sim Jae-seo showed great skill with his uniquely charming voice during the ‘July Snow’ stage, your 1st contest song, right?

Trainee Sim Jae-seo, congratulations on 9th place.

Could we hear a word from you?”

Receiving the microphone from a staff member, he thought for a moment.

Since he had never expected to be in the rankings, he naturally hadn’t prepared anything to say.

He couldn’t stall indefinitely, so he decided to speak very simply, from the heart, about what he usually thought, and raised the microphone.

“I am grateful to everyone who voted for me.

Even though I feel I’ve only shown my lacking sides, you’ve always supported me, and I always think I need to work harder, and I will continue to do so.

Once again, truly, thank you very much.”

***

After the ranking ceremony, which had been like a storm, ended, they headed back to the dorm.

The atmosphere on the bus was still somber, and someone, perhaps thinking of the eliminated participants, occasionally sniffled.

Listening distantly to those sounds, he leaned his head against the window and slowly closed his eyes.

When he woke from his light sleep, the bus had already arrived in front of the dorm.

As soon as he got off the bus, he headed to the hall in the practice building.

In the hall, several panels were set up, just like before.

Everyone glanced towards the panels as they entered the hall, and soon Son Chae-i appeared and filming resumed.

“Everyone who survived the first ranking ceremony, congratulations to you all.”

Son Chae-i, back with a much more relaxed face than in the studio, smiled and applauded for them.

The participants clapped back, but then noticed a staff member signaling them to stop, and halted their applause.

At the same time, Son Chae-i, seeming to have had a silent communication with the production team, nodded and picked up her microphone.

“Alright!

Everyone, from now on, all votes will be reset.”

All the votes they had received so far would disappear, and they would start anew.

Judging from the previous season, this might not have a huge impact on a few seemingly fixed members, but for the rest, any variable was possible, so it was a tense prospect.

“As such, how you prepare for the 2nd contest will be very important, right?”

At the mention of ‘2nd contest’ from Son Chae-i’s mouth, everyone glanced at the panels behind her.

The 2nd contest would likely be a position evaluation, where each person chooses their most desired position among singing, dancing, or rapping to create a stage.

The contest songs for each position would probably be written on the panels.

“Alright, then I will now reveal the 2nd contest mission!”

At the same time, a staff member pulled a thin cord, instantly peeling away the papers attached to the panels.

As expected, beneath the panel reading ‘2nd Contest Mission – Position Evaluation’, a list of song titles, some familiar to him, were displayed.

“Is there a song you want to do?

A song that catches your eye?”

At Son Chae-i’s question, shouts of “Yes!” burst out here and there.

After thinking for a moment, he also nodded slightly.

“But of course, you can’t all do whatever you want.”

At Son Chae-i’s words, the participants let out sounds of disappointment, “Aah,” but it was a fact already known to all participants that they could choose their 2nd contest mission songs in order of the ranks they received at today’s ranking ceremony.

“Trainee Yeo Hyun-tae, who placed 1st in the ranking ceremony, please come forward.”