Chapter 52: The Empty Eighth Place

Anyone could see that if you just shove a clearly skilled participant into any empty slot just because it’s available, you’d be criticized for being greedy.

He spoke eloquently, laying it all out.

Jae-seo wondered if perhaps Kwak Jun-sung’s favorability towards him had increased after the incident last week, but he had been so preoccupied thinking about the teammates he’d practiced with afterwards and the ranking ceremony that he had completely forgotten to even check Jun-sung’s favorability level.

So now, he had no idea what the current favorability was, nor what it had been in the first place.

…What if I check later and it’s only 1% or something?

Ah, there was one more possibility.

Knowing that Nam Jin-wook and Bae Jae-hyung had a secret cooperative relationship and found him annoying, Kwak Jun-sung might be trying to check them by taking Bae Jae-hyung’s part and giving it to him.

“Wait a minute!”

Rohan, who had been quiet the whole time, suddenly shouted.

Was he Taiwanese-Canadian?

He had heard Rohan couldn’t speak Korean at all, but thanks to several repeated camps, his pronunciation of “Wait a minute” was quite accurate.

Pointing at the numbers on the lyric sheet with his finger, Rohan muttered something in English, then suddenly blurted out, “Me!”

“No, Four!

Yes, Five!”

It seemed he had been thinking of simple English combinations so the participants could easily understand.

As they moved Rohan to the empty Sub-Vocal 5 spot, Kim Jae-ho spoke up.

“Then, if we’re definitely giving Jae-seo at least Sub-Vocal 2, I’ll take Sub-Vocal 4.

That’s okay, right?”

Everyone nodded, deciding Kim Jae-ho for Sub-Vocal 4, leaving only Sub-Vocal 2 and Sub-Vocal 3.

“Then shall we have you two sing it once and decide?”

As Kim Jae-ho spoke with a slight smile, Bae Jae-hyung shot up as if provoked and started singing the Sub-Vocal 2 part.

When Bae Jae-hyung finished, the other team members applauded to acknowledge his effort.

Kim Jae-ho, who had been clapping along, naturally extended one hand towards Jae-seo and called his name.

Having no choice, he nodded, stood up like Bae Jae-hyung had, and began singing the same part.

He finished more quickly than Bae Jae-hyung and sat back down to applause.

As always during part battles, he lowered his head with his eyes closed.

After a moment of rustling, he heard a voice announcing the decision.

Opening his eyes, Kim Jae-ho, holding the position assignment sheet, flapped the paper and pushed it towards him.

“Sub-Vocal 2 is decided to be Jae-seo.

How about you do the honor of signing it yourself?”

Taking the offered paper, he answered with thanks and wrote his name in the slot marked Sub-Vocal 2.

“Alright, then let’s start practicing!”

***

[Please Take Care of My Idol) Did you guys see this exposé post?]

[(screenshot.jpg)]

The exposé post is too long, but to summarize:

A Please Take Care of My Idol 2 contestant dated a minor years ago, had an accident, and she got pregnant and gave birth.

But they didn’t get married, instead maintaining a common-law relationship.

Recently, while appearing on Please Take Care of My Idol 2, he hasn’t been coming home, and when she looked into it, he had gotten another woman.

But what’s even more shocking is that the woman he’s seeing now is also a minor, apparently.

The KakaoTalk conversation logs are too explicit, it’s shocking… but it’s fake, right..?

[Comments]

Holy I’m seeing this for the first time..

If it’s true, it’s too shocking?

So, you’re saying he had a common-law wife and a kid, and he deceived them to appear on Please Take Care of My Idol?

Reading the comments on the exposé post, it says the minor was a ^fan^ and he had a child with her? That narrows it down a lot, right?;

↳ ..No way, it’s not OJH, rightㅠㅠ

↳↳ Hey, it’s super obvious you’re an A.C.E fan lol

↳↳↳ Same you’re obviously itching to comment on anything about former debuted idols, it’s super obvious, right?

It says it’s not an eliminated contestant, but a current one??

↳ Looking at the KakaoTalk dates, it matches. Seems like he even survived the last ranking announcement.

↳↳ Holy then he’s somewhat of a popular member, right?;

↳↳ But the KakaoTalk itself could be fabricated;;

What am I even looking at? He dated a minor, had a child, and the woman he’s seeing now is also a minor? And the partner was a fan?

It could just be a rumor. If you write a post like this without naming names, everyone will get dragged into it. What’s the point?

↳ *222* Look, someone’s already getting their head grabbed up there; It’s seriously disgusting;

↳ *33* If you’re going to expose someone, expose them by name. How is a screenshot of a KakaoTalk without a name any kind of evidence?

Still, if he had a child and is raising it, isn’t that responsible?

↳ Are you crazy?? The partner was a minor, what responsibility are you talking about??

…

***

[Please Take Care of My Idol) The exposé post circulating since last night is fact]

He was a member of a group that debuted, got a fan who was a minor pregnant, and now he’s cheating with another fan who is also a minor.

It’s not just that he got her pregnant; he pressured her to get an abortion, and when that didn’t work, she had the child.

The partner and her family wanted to get married, but he was worried it would affect his activities, so he insisted on maintaining a common-law relationship.

I don’t know if the company or the Please Take Care of My Idol production team knows, but he probably does lol lol lol lol

[Comments]

Who’s going to believe a rumor post with no evidence posted as fact;

I could write a post like this too lol

↳ Fr I’m dating Seo Jun-jae, it’s a fact lol

↳↳ I’m dating Yeo Hyun-tae, it’s a fact

↳↳ I’m dating Yoon Ji-heon, it’s a fact

↳↳ I’m dating Nam Jin-wook, it’s a fact

↳↳↳ lol

↳↳ I’m dating Sim Jae-seo, it’s a fact

↳↳ I’m dating Park Kang-hoon, it’s a fact

…

***

[Please Take Care of My Idol) Isn’t the 3rd contest the day after tomorrow?]

Assuming it’s true, here are the problems

If the name isn’t revealed by then, people going to the live audience will feel uncomfortable, what then

There are many minors going to the live audience, I’m worried, what then

If it gets revealed within today or tomorrow, what happens to the team that has him

[Comments]

Still, number 3 is relatively better,,

↳ For number 3, the audience can just take it into accountㅠㅠ

↳ Number 1 is bad too, but number 2 is truly terrible

It’s also possible that it never gets revealed and Please Take Care of My Idol 2 gets buried along with it

↳ Could the program be cancelled?

↳↳ If the damage is proven but the perpetrator is uncertain, it might be cancelled, but the premise is too unrealistic;

Wouldn’t the worst of the worst be Please Take Care of My Idol 2 continuing unaffected + the perpetrator not being revealed?

↳ Right, if the production team plays dumb, then we’d have to boycott

↳ Would a boycott even work;

↳↳ Dating a minor is shocking enough, but pregnancy, abortion pressure, and now common-law marriage..

↳↳↳ Honestly, the common-law marriage part might be the most damaging.. lol

…

***

[x00519 Please Take Care of My Idol Season 2 Episode 8 Live Discussion Thread]

[x00519 Please Take Care of My Idol Season 2 Episode 8 Live Thread

It’s the 2nd ranking announcement]

[Comments]

…

They’re showing 3rd contest practice first??

↳ If you get eliminated today during practice, you’re outㅠㅠ

No, what’s that? An announcement in a parking lot?

lol lol lol lol Production team, get your act together, seriously..

But the new songs are all good picksㅠㅠ

↳ Same especially number 1, it’s practically not even a contest song

↳ *33* They’re all good, it feels like it’ll just come down to personal taste lol lol lol lol

Are the bus numbers the same as the preview numbers??

↳ No, they’re different!

You guys, what number do you think is which??

↳ First of all, number 1 seems to be Villain

↳ I’m 100% sure number 3 = Beautiful Hate. Bae Jae-hyung’s fans pushed for it hard.

↳ Number 2 is either Want It or Over the Sky? The trainees who got it are all young or have an energetic vibe

Oh Han-ul got number 2

I hope number 2 is Over the Skyㅠㅠ

↳ Right, I want to see refreshing Han-ulㅠㅠ

Jae-seo got number 3!

↳ Please let it be the preview number 3!!

↳↳ This above comment says preview number 2..

↳↳↳ Holy whyㅠㅠㅠㅠ

↳↳↳ No, we all agreed to vote for 3 or 5,, why suddenly,,

↳↳↳↳ (screenshot.jpg) Apparently fans of other trainees deliberately voted Jae-seo into number 2ㅠ

↳↳↳↳↳ Wow.. looks like all the fandoms hating on Jae-seo united..

Number 3 is definitely Beautiful Hate. Nam Jin-wook and Kwak Jun-sung are both in it. Save Jae-seoㅠㅠㅠㅠ

But why do Jae-seo’s fans hate Beautiful Hate??

↳ Just hearing Beautiful Hate, it’s obviously a sexy concept, they think it won’t suit him,,

↳↳ Same emotional or refreshing suits him betterㅠㅠ

I like Jae-seo for Beautiful Hate! I think vocals will suit him well!

Holy CheonSangJeu + Chan-seo all got number 1??

↳ Number 1 is definitely Villain lol

↳↳ Right, any other possibility is gone lolㅠㅠ

↳ It’s a bit disappointing that it’s a recycled combination, but the last time they were together was for July Snow, so I’m all for it

↳↳ Same what I wanted to see from that combination was something like Villain

…

Huh what’s that temporary Beautiful Hate team lol

↳ (screenshot.jpg) Looks like they just split based on where they were sitting

The composition is a bit funny. They should have put Sim Jae-seo on the non-elimination team instead.

↳ Are you talking about elimination zone and non-elimination zone like that?

↳↳ It’s a fact though, Nam Jin-wook’s side only has trainees who look like they’ll survive, and Sim Jae-seo’s side are all trainees in the elimination zone;

Sim Jae-seo doing temporary leader, center, main vocal all at once is hilarious but admirable lol

↳ But it makes sense given his grade or rankㅠㅠ

No, Jae-seo is even learning the choreography lol

↳ But why is he hiding in a corner to learn the choreography lol lol lol lol

I’m a Jae-seo pick, and I really like this team..

↳ Yeah, you can clearly see Jae-seo paying a lot of attention and caring about them

↳ And surprisingly, they’re all good. They’re likely to be eliminated, but they’re working so hardㅜㅜ

Ah, they said since this mid-point check might be their last, they worked the hardestㅠㅠ

Please, I hope at least one of them survives, but it’ll be hardㅠㅠ

…

The ranking announcement is starting..

Ah, the kids must have already cried, their eyes are redㅠㅠ

The entrance poses are so cute but it makes me cryㅠㅠㅠㅠ

↳ To think we might not see this anymore,,

Ah crazy Jae-seo’s arrow heart lol

Gyeom probably suggested that, right?

↳ 100%, 1000% sure lol lol lol lol Jae-seo is too awkward

Look at Woo-rim teasing him about his lopsided heart lol

K-Stars’ entrance shot looks like models. It’s a miracle that school uniforms look like suits lol

They’re handsome today tooㅠㅠ

Aren’t they overdoing the close-ups? lol lol lol lol

↳ K-Stars deserve it,,

↳ Honestly, the production team probably wants to show off too, saying ‘we have kids like this on our show’

↳ Fr lol K-Star is lucky, but Please Take Care of My Idol 2 is also lucky to have them

…

Jae-seo 9th place!!

Next time, rise higherㅠㅠ

Look at Jae-seo’s expression, it’s not good..

↳ Because the people he did Beautiful Hate with are aroundㅠㅠ

Jae-seo’s speech is my tear buttonㅠㅠㅠㅠ

Ah what lol Does he think he’s debuting right now?

↳ That’s such an overreaction lol

↳ ?? He’s saying that because of the trainees getting eliminated this time, isn’t he??

↳↳ Same the kids on Jae-seo’s team are all definitely getting eliminated now, can’t he even say that much??

Huh? Wasn’t the editing weird just now? It cut off abruptly in the middle; an editing mistake?

?? They’re announcing 7th place??

↳ Didn’t they skip 8th place?

What; a trainee just disappeared, and it’s an editing mistake?

↳↳ They’ve been editing for days, how could they make a mistake like that

Guys watching the live thread,, it’s because the name from the exposé post earlier got revealed,,

↳ The 8th place trainee is the one from the exposé post????

↳ ..Who is it? Never mind, I’ll go see for myself

…

***

[Please Take Care of My Idol) The name from the exposé post has been revealed]

[NJN NJW]

[Comments]

Holy I’ve seen some strange comments about NJW here before..

What, you can just reveal a name without evidence?

↳ (screenshot.jpg) They were in a common-law relationship, but it seems they had a small wedding ceremony. Photos have been leaked.

↳↳ Holy shit.. lol lol lol lol

↳↳ Ah..ㅠㅠㅠㅠ

…

***

[Please Take Care of My Idol 2 Recent Updates]

The name of the contestant involved in the minor fan pregnancy exposé was revealed, and all reruns have been taken down.

During today’s ranking announcement, it was edited in real-time, and the ranking spot was left blank.

[1st Place Seo Jun-jae
2nd Place Yeo Hyun-tae
3rd Place Yoon Ji-heon
4th Place Lee Woo-rim
5th Place Lee Chan-seo
6th Place Park Kang-hoon
7th Place Kwak Jun-sung
8th Place .
9th Place Sim Jae-seo
10th Place Kim Woo-hyun
11th Place Na Yoon-jae
12th Place Park Seo-hu
13th Place Chae Han-ul
14th Place Rohan
15th Place Lee Ha-jin
16th Place Park Hyun-jin
…]

[Comments]

This is truly too shocking..

8th place was the subject of the exposé?? Wow, what if he had debuted?

I guess we should be thankful he’s out now, even if it’s late.. I’m so dumbfounded I can’t even speak.

Still, it’s a relief it got resolved quickly..

All contest videos containing NJW have been taken down

↳ That’s only natural, but,, what about the teammates and their fansㅠㅠ

So the exposé post was all facts??

↳ Judging by how strongly they’re reacting, seems so.

Geez.. what kind of crazy mess is this;

…

***

[Please Take Care of My Idol) In the midst of this, the voting method is changing from next time]

[http://kmbs.com/mydolplzseason2/vote/]
*From tomorrow, it’s 2-pick lol*

[Comments]

Holy, will there be some changes now?

↳ Ah please! The rankings have been too boringㅠㅠ

↳↳ If CheonSangJeu + Chan-seo don’t change, won’t it just keep being boring?

↳↳ Same those guys probably won’t change much even with 1-pick lolㅠㅠ

Ugh, with 2-pick, it’s K-Stars..

↳ Same with two picks, no questions asked, you gotta go K-Stars lol

Holy I have 3 fixed picks, what do I doㅠㅠ

↳ You really have to be careful with this. In Please Take Care of My Idol 1, some trainees in the safe zone ended up getting eliminatedㅠㅠ

It’s still 2-pick, so maybe there won’t be much change except for Coz?

↳ It’s not just agency picks, there are also chemistry picks, so you never know

↳↳ Same there were lots of people who voted for the whole July Snow team together,,

↳ And Coz fans originally pushed for NJW, but he’s gone now, so who knows lol

Let’s go Jae-seo + Woo-rim

↳ Fr I can’t lose that cheek heart four-cut chemistryㅠㅠ

…