Chapter 919: Life is a Drama (3)
I calmed Miso down first before asking her. "Miso. Take it slow and explain. They got into a fight because of Mi-Hee? What do you mean?"
Miso nodded and spoke confidently. "So Ah-Rin unnie said, 'must be nice~' to Mi-Hee unnie. Then Eun-Seo unnie got mad, asking what's so nice about it, and they started fighting!"
Miso's eyes sparkled with pride as if she thought she had explained it perfectly. However, I couldn't make sense of it at all. It seemed like I had no choice but to go inside and check for myself.
"Okay, Miso. Then can you wait out here?"
Miso shook her head. "I'm going in too! I'm the one-day talent agent!"
Seeing how tightly she was hugging her tablet, there was no way I could leave her behind.
"Then stay right next to Ran-Hee, okay?"
"Yes, sir!"
I signaled to Do Ran-Hee to take good care of Miso and quietly opened the waiting room door.
"What!? Did I say something wrong?"
"Seriously! Hey, stop trying to hold me back."
Inside the waiting room, the four teams that had just finished the team battle were gathered around a temporary bed where Song Mi-Hee sat with her legs stretched out. In front of them, Kang Ha-Na and Sung Na-Ra were desperately trying to hold back Go Eun-Seo and Yoon Ah-Rin.
Looking closer, Team 1 and Team 2 were standing with Go Eun-Seo, while Team 7 and Team 8 were backing Yoon Ah-Rin. That meant the two groups had clearly taken opposing sides.
At that moment, Go Eun-Seo, fuming, shouted at Yoon Ah-Rin. "Hey, Yoon Ah-Rin. Are you seriously not going to apologize?"
Yoon Ah-Rin snapped back. "Did I say anything wrong? And seriously, why do you keep talking down to me? I'm older than you! Where's your respect?"
"You only deserve respect if you act like a proper unnie!"
At that moment, Kang Ha-Na tried to calm them again. "Guys, if Mr. Jung comes in like this, you're both getting in trouble! Stop it!"
Song Mi-Hee, still sitting on the bed, spoke with a guilty expression. "It's my fault, so stop. Eun-Seo, just stop, okay?"
Go Eun-Seo shook her head. "What did Mi-Hee unnie do wrong? This is just because Yoon Ah-Rin's all twisted up inside!"
Since they hadn't even noticed me come in, I raised my voice. "We're in the middle of a competition. What do you think you're doing right now!?"
At my booming voice, the two stopped arguing. At the same time, the members of Teams 1, 2, 7, and 8 lowered their gazes.
"What on earth is going on here?" I asked.
Then Song Mi-Hee, still on the bed, spoke urgently. "Mr. Jung, it's all my fault. They didn't do anything wrong, so if you're going to give penalty points, give them to me."
Go Eun-Seo flared up. "You didn't even do anything wrong!"
Song Mi-Hee grabbed Go Eun-Seo's arm. "Eun-Seo! Please stop. Okay?"
Go Eun-Seo stomped her foot before reluctantly lowering her head. "...Fine."
I immediately turned to Sung Na-Ra, who had been trying to stop them. "Sung Na-Ra. Tell me exactly what happened. Don't leave anything out."
Sung Na-Ra hesitated for a moment before speaking. "After seeing the things you've been doing for Mi-Hee unnie, Ah-Rin said that since the debut group can't be eliminated, you're really doing everything for her. And then when she even said it looked like you had already picked her for the debut group, Eun-Seo snapped and went at her."
A hollow laugh escaped me in disbelief. Even if Yoon Ah-Rin thought she might get eliminated, the fact that she would jump to that kind of conclusion was absurd.
Just as I was about to tear into her, it occurred to me that the other members gathered around Yoon Ah-Rin from Teams 7 and 8 might have been thinking the same thing. After all, except for the top two teams that would make the debut team, the rest could only move up if something went wrong with the higher-ranking teams.
In the end, I decided I needed to give an answer that would convince everyone.
After taking a moment to steady my breathing, I spoke to Yoon Ah-Rin. "Yoon Ah-Rin. You know that starting today, out of the 300 total points for the competition, 240 are decided by the public, right?"
The competition consisted of a total of 300 points—150 from the first team battle and 150 from the second individual battle. Out of that, the judges only contributed 30 points each round, for a total of 60. The remaining 240 points were determined by the public.
Yoon Ah-Rin nodded. "Yes..."
"Then if, like you said, we had already picked the debut group, why would we change the scoring system? We could've just kept it easy like last week and stuck with a 50:50 judge ratio, right?"
The higher the judges' scoring ratio, the more room there was for the production staff to interfere in the final decision. And the lower it was, the less power the staff had. However, since I.O.A was built on the catchphrase 'Your choice, your idol,' I had deliberately increased the weight of the public vote.
"Well..."
"And one more thing. Before blaming the staff, have you ever thought that maybe you just didn't put in enough effort?"
Yoon Ah-Rin flared up. "I really worked hard!"
"Really? Then why did you only upload five personal broadcasts this week? Mi-Hee uploaded fifty."
Currently ranked second in Korea, Song Mi-Hee constantly communicated with fans through the [PROJECT : I.O.A] app during her breaks. Even if it was just a one-minute clip, she turned on the camera and uploaded something. And if that wasn't possible, she at least posted a 15-second greeting video.
Sung Na-Ra uploaded around forty per week. Even Go Eun-Seo, who used to have the unfortunate nickname 'the queen of no communication,' had recently been uploading around twenty-five a week.
However, Yoon Ah-Rin, who ranked fifteenth last week, had only uploaded five. In other words, she had neglected her fans because she was tired from practice.
"I told you from the beginning, didn't I? For idols, managing your fans is the most important thing. Yet you don't even do the basics, and then you go around saying I'm giving Mi-Hee special treatment or that I've already picked her? How can you say something like that so carelessly? Huh?"
Yoon Ah-Rin, and the members of Teams 7 and 8, lowered their heads, clearly struck. Most of them had uploaded fewer than ten PR or communication videos themselves.
"And didn't I promise? That as long as I'm in charge of you, I'll take care of you to the best of my ability! If you have a problem with me looking after Mi-Hee like that, then should I just ignore you when you get hurt too?"
The members of Teams 7 and 8 hurriedly shook their heads.
"N-No, that's not what we meant."
"Right, that's not it."
The members who had briefly let negative thoughts take hold because of Yoon Ah-Rin waved their hands in panic.
Then Yoon Ah-Rin, who had sparked the whole situation, also glanced around before shaking her head. "I'm sorry, Mr. Jung. I was just feeling frustrated and impatient... I said something I didn't really mean."
Yoon Ah-Rin's eyes welled up with tears, but I wasn't fooled. Over the past few weeks of training, she had used tears to get out of situations every single time. Still, pushing her any further could make things worse.
So I lowered my voice and spoke calmly. "No matter what you think, I would've acted the same way no matter who got hurt. Like I said, you're all my kids."
Only then did the girls all bow their heads together, apologizing for taking sides in the fight.
"We're sorry, Mr. Jung."
"We're sorry."
Still, Yoon Ah-Rin looked like she wasn't entirely convinced, her apology half-hearted at best. Then, as I looked at her face, a thought suddenly crossed my mind.
'Could it be... the reason Everyday's schedule entry didn't get canceled... is because of Yoon Ah-Rin?'
For the Part 1 congratulatory performance coming up, they were set to perform 'Love Fight' by the girl group Sunshine.
'But what if Yoon Ah-Rin were to subtly shove Song Mi-Hee on stage?'
If Song Mi-Hee, whose ankle wasn't in good condition, were to fall because of that, there was a chance she wouldn't be able to participate in the final one-on-one battle.
If that happened, Song Mi-Hee would have to withdraw, and Yoon Ah-Rin would advance to the next round. Of course, this was only my speculation. And I couldn't do anything to Yoon Ah-Rin over something that hadn't even happened.
That left only one option—to prepare for the worst.
I immediately raised my voice as I looked at Go Eun-Seo. "And Go Eun-Seo! You, come with me!"
As we stepped out of the waiting room, Go Eun-Seo followed behind me with her shoulders slumped.
***
The moment we got outside, Go Eun-Seo apologized instead of making excuses.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Jung."
At that moment, Miso, who had followed us out. spoke up in Go Eun-Seo's defense.
"Eun-Seo unnie didn't do anything wrong. And earlier, Ah-Rin unnie was fake crying! I saw everything!"
With her sharp eyes, Miso waved her hand as she defended Go Eun-Seo.
I gave Miso a gentle smile. "I know."
"Really?"
"Yes. So Miso, go back to the waiting room for a bit and comfort Mi-Hee. That's what a one-day talent agent should do, right?"
Miso hesitated for a moment before nodding.
"Okay!" She looked at Go Eun-Seo and clenched her small fist. "Eun-Seo unnie! You got this!"
"Thanks, Miso."
But just as Miso was heading back, she suddenly stopped and spoke in a tiny, trailing voice. "But Eun-Seo unnie... My favorite is still Na-Ra unnie. Sorry!"
With that, she quickly ran off back into the waiting room.
Click.
As the door shut, Go Eun-Seo let out a small laugh. "Ah, I thought I was about to gain a fan. That's too bad. Oh... sorry."
Thinking she was being scolded, Go Eun-Seo quickly wiped the expression off her face.
I shook my head. "No, I didn't call you out to scold you."
"Then...?"
"I have a favor to ask. I only raised my voice earlier so the others wouldn't notice, so I hope you understand."
"No, I was in the wrong anyway. But what is it?"
At the mention of a favor, Go Eun-Seo's eyes lit up.
"I hope I'm just being overly cautious, but I'm worried Ah-Rin might try something against Mi-Hee during the performance. Like you know, I can't step in once you're on stage. So... could you help me out?"
Go Eun-Seo answered without a moment's hesitation. "Don't worry. I'll protect Mi-Hee unnie. If she tries anything while dancing, I'll just—!"
"No, it doesn't need to go that far."
"Then what should I do?"
I smiled and began explaining the plan. A moment later, Go Eun-Seo nodded with a smile.
"I'll do it like that."
I expressed my gratitude to Go Eun-Seo, who answered with such determination. "Thank you."
At that moment, Go Eun-Seo showed a bright smile I had never seen before. "It's nothing. It's about Mi-Hee unnie, after all."
Impressively, Go Eun-Seo was beginning to understand what teamwork meant.
"Right."
Just then, from far down the hallway, a staff member called out. "The rest of the team battles are finished. We'll air the intro video for Hee-Joo and Ling Ling now, and there'll be a group congratulatory performance in ten minutes, so please get ready in advance."
"Understood!"
I answered loudly, then grabbed the waiting room door handle and spoke to Go Eun-Seo. "Let's go in. Oh, and act like you've been scolded. Like you've been scolded!"
At that moment, Go Eun-Seo let her shoulders slump and started to tear up. "L-like this...?"
Maybe it was because she was once known as the daughter of top actress Han So-Ye, but her acting was pretty convincing. I never expected to discover this kind of hidden talent in her.
"Yeah. Keep that expression and follow me in."
We had to prepare for the congratulatory performance to wrap up Part 1, so I headed back to the waiting room with Go Eun-Seo, who was fully showing off her acting skills.
***
On stage, bathed in dazzling lights, Yoon Ah-Rin was performing in the congratulatory stage that would close out Part 1 of Project I.O.A.
The song was the hit track 'Love Fight' by the girl group Sunshine. It was a song about the sweet first lovers' quarrel of a couple who had only been dating for a week. However, under the pressure of performing in front of thousands of spectators and with the blazing lights pouring down from above, her vision kept blurring.
Even so, there was one position she had clearly etched into her mind. That was the position of Song Mi-Hee—the one she intended to sabotage.
'As long as Mi-Hee unnie is gone, I can make it to the next round.'
For Yoon Ah-Rin, who was confident in her dancing, slightly injuring someone who was hiding an ankle injury while performing was as easy as pie.
At that moment, the final line of the first verse flowed through the speakers.
『Should we make up now?』
As the highlight of the first verse began, multiple spotlights flooded the stage, once again throwing her vision into disarray. Even so, Yoon Ah-Rin didn't forget her position as she followed the choreography.
'Right next to the center, on the left.'
Moving quickly to Song Mi-Hee's side in sync with the music, Yoon Ah-Rin linked arms without even checking her partner's face.
The next move was a choreography where she would link arms with her partner, Song Mi-Hee, and spin quickly three times. So she thought that if she just added a bit of force while spinning, Song Mi-Hee would fall with her ankle injured.
'Now!'
Yoon Ah-Rin grabbed her partner's arm and spun quickly. Her partner was pulled along by the force and began spinning rapidly as well.
'Got it.'
Just as she thought all she had to do was complete the three spins, her partner, whose arm was linked with hers, whispered in a low voice.
"Mr. Jung was right."
A chill ran down her spine. Because that voice didn't belong to Song Mi-Hee. In that moment, her blurred vision cleared. Standing before her was Go Eun-Seo, glaring at her with a sharp expression.
"Go Eun-Seo? Why are you—?"
Startled, Yoon Ah-Rin forgot she was in the middle of spinning. Because of that, her rapidly moving legs tangled.
Slip!
Her body tilted forward. If she fell, she could get seriously hurt. Just as she was about to throw her hands forward, Go Eun-Seo tightly held her arm, keeping her from falling.
Grab!
"Honestly, I'd rather just let go, but I'm helping because Mr. Jung asked me to. Get up."
Grabbing Go Eun-Seo's arm, Yoon Ah-Rin pulled herself back up. But then, her right ankle hurt so badly that she could no longer continue the dance.
Throb.
In the end, Yoon Ah-Rin gave up on everything and stopped moving. At that moment, the very person she had been targeting came into view. It was Song Mi-Hee.
'No way.'
At the very front, where thousands of people were watching, Song Mi-Hee was linking arms with Sung Na-Ra, spinning around with a bright smile. Even though her ankle had to be in excruciating pain, she didn't show it at all.
The moment she saw that, Yoon Ah-Rin squeezed her eyes shut, overwhelmed by a crushing sense of defeat.
'I lost. I could never do that.'
The empty delusion that she would've made it to the next round if only Song Mi-Hee had been gone vanished completely from her mind.
***
'So it really was Yoon Ah-Rin!'
This was their first live broadcast stage in front of thousands. Inexperienced rookies couldn't pay attention to their surroundings and just moved according to the set choreography. That was why I had switched Go Eun-Seo and Song Mi-Hee's positions in advance.
The two of them executed the plan perfectly, and Yoon Ah-Rin ended up linking arms with Go Eun-Seo instead of Song Mi-Hee, spinning through the choreography.
As a result, whether Yoon Ah-Rin had abandoned her ill intentions or not, Everyday's schedule entry was now disappearing.
[Everyday V13]
[Date: April 26, 2021]
-00:30 a.m.: <Schedule Entry Deleted>
(Deleted schedule entry: [NEW. Seo Yeon-Woo]
[Weekly Star] SBC Project I.O.A — Seo Yeon-Woo, vocal trainer, reveals thoughts on Song Mi-Hee's elimination.
[Star Exclusive] Seo Yeon-Woo: "I will actively support Song Mi-Hee after her elimination.")
Just as I finally let out a breath of relief, the instrumental for 'Love Fight' continued, and the intro for the second verse began. Now it was time for the performers of the first verse to step down and those for the second verse to go up.
"Get on, get on! Hurry!"
At the staff's urging, the members from Teams 3 through 6, who were performing the second verse, rushed onto the stage. Meanwhile, those who had finished the first verse were coming down.
At that moment, Seo Yeon-Woo, who was standing beside me watching the stage, spoke with a worried expression. "Yoon-Ho hyung. I think Ah-Rin hurt her ankle too."
Following his gaze, I looked toward the stairs leading down from the stage. Yoon Ah-Rin was limping as she descended.
The moment I started to move toward her, Seo Yeon-Woo grabbed my arm. "Hyung. I'll help Ah-Rin down."
Do Ran-Hee, holding onto a wheelchair, urgently grabbed my arm as well. "Mr. Jung. I'll take care of Ah-Rin. I'll scold her properly, so please leave her to me. Okay?"
The two of them had also seen what Yoon Ah-Rin tried to do earlier and had been both shocked and angry. But they knew what would happen if I got angry, so now they were trying to stop me instead.
I calmly shook my head. "No. I'll handle Ah-Rin myself."
I gently removed their hands and slowly made my way toward the stage. Because there was something I had to say to Yoon Ah-Rin.
And something I absolutely needed to do.
