NOVEL WEB Chapter 9
My Idol Academia.
An idol survival audition program organized and planned by Nnet.
In this place, a total of 100 idol trainees and 23 agencies participated.
Participants: 100, Agencies: 23.
Some come from agencies alone, but most participants joined Na Ah Ah with several fellow trainees.
[Tai Hai Entertainment]
The highly anticipated first filming began, and as the name of the entertainment company appeared on the big screen, four participants revealed themselves.
“Wow~”
“Is this the set?”
Greeting the Tai Hai trainee, who entered with somewhat scripted reactions, were the chairs arranged in a pyramid from 1st to 100th place.
“Wow~ Amazing.”
“The ranks are all attached to the chairs.”
“How many should we sit on?”
As the Tai Hai trainees asked towards the outside of the set, a response soon followed.
“You can sit on the rank you think you will be placed out of 100.”
“Whoa~, we can choose where to sit. What do we do~?”
If subtitles were running here, it would probably go like this:
[The Start of the Intense Survival Challenge!]
[How will the Tai Hai trainees rank?]
-Yoon Se-a (Tai Hai): I felt it from that moment. Ah…, this is the real start of competition.
“Sisters, where should we sit?”
“Seriously…, ah…, why are we the first ones?”
Even though they said that, they felt relieved to be the first.
Coming out first meant they could get a lot of screen time and secure good seats.
“Then let’s sit here, how about it?”
“Wow~ Sounds great!”
So, they naturally sat in seats 18 to 21 where they could appear well on camera.
It was a good position to appeal their skills since it was among the upper ranks.
The Tai Hai trainees sat down contentedly and began to show the reactions requested by the PD before entering.
“But hey, who do you think will sit in that seat?”
Their gaze fell on the topmost 1st place seat.
Unlike the other ordinary chairs, it had brilliant decorations… truly a queen’s throne.
The Tai Hai trainees greedily looked at the 1st place seat with different expressions before shaking their heads.
They were greedy, but… that seat wasn’t for just anyone.
Sitting there would inevitably attract excessive attention, whether they liked it or not.
If they showed a good performance, they might rise to a higher rank, but if they failed…
-What guts does she have to sit in the 1st place seat without any skill?
-She’s overconfident and unlikable–, I hope I never see her again.
-She needs to know her place, haha.
They would become targets of public scorn.
Sitting in the 1st place seat was like holding a poisoned chalice.
“I don’t know, but someone with great skills will probably sit there.”
“I hope we can meet the others soon!”
As the Tai Hai trainees made that reaction, more text appeared on the big screen.
[Lahiti Entertainment]
“Oh, it’s the Lahiti crew.”
“We weren’t the first, huh? Ah…, hello!”
Lahiti Entertainment had a similar scale to Tai Hai.
The three Lahiti trainees that joined also bowed their heads to the Tai Hai trainees sitting in their chairs.
“Yes! Hello!”
“Thank you for having us~”
“Yes, nice to meet you. Thank you for having us~”
They weren’t particularly familiar or friends beforehand.
But as the camera was still rolling, they needed to present their polite demeanor to the public.
Lahiti Entertainment finished their greetings and seated themselves in the lower row of Tai Hai.
Similarly central, it was an easy-to-catch spot for the camera.
After that, participants from various agencies continued to come out and filled the seats.
“We’ll sit in the 71st and 72nd seats!”
“Wow! Nice to meet you!”
Before they knew it, all the popular central seats were taken… As trainees continued an empty-friendly camaraderie to get at least one more camera shot, it was then.
[SAV Entertainment]
“……!”
As a new entertainment name appeared on the big screen, the participants jumped in unison.
And rightly so…
“Are they really coming out from SAV…?”
SAV Entertainment was one of the big three agencies in South Korea alongside JJ and YW.
All the trainees present dreamed of being part of the big three but couldn’t cross that threshold.
Without prior information, the trainees showed even more realistic reactions to the entrance of SAV.
So, everyone’s tension and attention turned towards the entrance where the SAV trainees would appear…
“Wow, already so many have come. Hello~”
With a confident face, a smiling girl appeared.
-Jung Yi-hyun (Hazel): I felt it the moment I saw her. Wow…, SAV really is different…
“Nice to meet you~”
“SAV, that’s amazing! Nice to meet you!”
“Hehe, I look forward to working with everyone~”
Her outfit boasted her affiliation with SAV, and the name Seo Yoo-jin was written on it.
Seo Yoo-jin greeted the participants and looked at the remaining seats…
“There aren’t many seats left, huh? Hmm…”
Flop.
Feigning thoughtfulness, she promptly took the second-place seat.
“……!”
As the high-ranking seat finally found its owner for the first time, a ripple of surprise swept through the participants.
In fact, the second place seat didn’t have that much appeal.
While it carried as much pressure as the first place seat, it was disadvantageous for camera shots as it was positioned in the corner, unlike the centrally located first place seat.
However, she sat there with a satisfied smile as if announcing that screen time is created by people, not chairs.
As soon as she settled into the second place seat, the staff busily panned their cameras towards her.
Jealousy, rivalry, and longing gazes converged on her.
‘Ah…, this feels good.’
Seo Yoo-jin enjoyed the mixed emotions reflected in their eyes.
Being quite greedy, she had purposely sat in the second place seat for their attention and screen time.
Of course, she was confident in her skills, too.
‘Because I’m from SAV~’
Unlike other participants, she wasn’t one from a small agency.
She might not have debuted in SAV, but the company’s reputation filled her with self-esteem.
She believed she could stand out and show greater skills than other participants at Na Ah Ah.
And that sentiment continued as other participants entered after her.
[Retail Entertainment]
[Brotherhood Planning]
[Biggami Entertainment]
As the entry order pushed back, more impressive participants began to reveal themselves.
Among them were participants from fairly well-known agencies, even if not from the big three…
“Wow, that sister ranked 7th on K-Star last time!”
“That one’s famous on Shorts! I saw her doing a challenge with a famous idol…”
There were skillful participants who had ranked highly in music audition programs, and some who were already famous on SNS.
Yet, seeing all of them, Seo Yoo-jin remained confident.
She thought she was much better than them.
‘I should have just sat in the 1st place seat.’
The only reason this attention-loving girl hadn’t taken the 1st place seat was one.
Company policy.
After obtaining footage from the first filming through the lobby, SAV ordered Seo Yoo-jin not to sit in the 1st place seat.
Sitting there was simply too much of a double-edged sword.
‘What? There wouldn’t be anyone else to sit in the 1st place but me, anyway. The company was too careless.’
Even while she grumbled about the company, the seats continued to fill, and finally, the last seat, the 100th seat, found its owner.
Q: Why did you choose to sit in the 100th place?
-Park Yoo-jung (Revy): I feel lacking myself. I will show you a more grown-up version of me!
The participant who sat in the 100th place was playing a growth narrative to capture additional cuts for herself.
With most of the seats now filled… only two remained.
The 1st place seat and the 99th place seat.
Participants glanced at the 1st place seat, making decent reactions to catch the camera.
“There are only two seats left~, two seats.”
“Who will sit there, I wonder?”
Now only two participants remained.
The Na Ah Ah production team wasn’t foolish. They must have already decided who would sit in the 1st place seat before filming began.
The participants waited with tense gazes to see who it would be.
And then, a name of an agency appeared.
[Brotherhood Planning]
“Huh? Puhaha-!”
When the name Brotherhood Planning appeared, the participants burst into laughter.
And rightly so…
-Kim I-seo (Lahiti): When I first saw the company name, I laughed so much.
-Nishimura Yui (Tai Hai): Kyodai Planning? Hahaha, it’s still funny just thinking about it.
Its name was comically outdated compared to other agencies.
“Hehe.”
“Hahaha-!”
Participants giggled and bubbled in excitement about the name Brotherhood Planning.
“Brotherhood Planning? Have you heard of it?”
“No? Not at all. Hehe, who on earth named it that?”
It was the same for Seo Yoo-jin as she laughed off the name Brotherhood Planning.
“Haha, what is this small agency?”
She briefly forgot it was in front of the camera and laughed out loud.
As the laughter of the participants directed curiosity towards the entrance…
clack, clack.
When the trainees from Brotherhood Planning finally showed up…
“……!!”
Laughter faded as if it were rehearsed, replaced by shock.
“…….”
“…….”
Everyone in this place had lived with the words “pretty” ringing in their ears.
All participants knew they had objectively beautiful faces.
However…
The one revealing herself before 98 participants was on another level.
Beautiful? That word was inadequate to describe her.
With a cold but delicate face, perfectly measured proportions, and an aura that captivated everyone…
She was stunning.
Yes, she was… incredibly beautiful.
“…Hello.”
“……”
When expectations are low, the shock is greater.
The stunned participants forgot they were in front of the camera and failed to respond to her greeting.
In particular, her haughty and cold demeanor made it difficult to approach her. She had truly overwhelmed them.
“…?”
Ha Ye-rin from Brotherhood Planning.
She tilted her head at their lack of response and searched for a remaining seat.
“…Oh.”
Only the 1st and 99th seats were left.
Two seats with a drastic difference.
But all present knew.
The owner of the dazzling 1st place seat… was standing right before them, Ha Ye-rin.
Especially Seo Yoo-jin, sitting in the 2nd place, was staring blankly at Ha Ye-rin, not knowing what to think.
She had thought she was born to be an idol.
…But it turned out not to be the case.
She was proud but, at this moment, she could not help but recognize it.
The only one worthy of sitting in the 1st place seat… no, the one who must sit there…
Was no one other than that person.
As she gazed blankly at Ha Ye-rin, who moved toward the pyramid to claim the 1st place seat…
“…Huh?”
However…
clack, clack.
Contrary to everyone’s expectations, Ha Ye-rin did not ascend to the 1st place seat.
Instead, she walked forward, clack, clack, and…
Flop.
She plopped down right into the 99th seat.
“……!!”
This time, participants were hit with an opposite shock from when she entered.
They stared in disbelief at Ha Ye-rin, who made an unexpected choice at a moment any onlooker could see she should have taken the 1st place seat.
In that instant, all the participants instinctively understood.
‘This person… is a fox…’
A nine-tailed fox who knows how to play with people’s hearts and how to earn screen time.
Pretending to head to the 1st place seat, she sat in the unsuited 99th seat. No matter what, it would certainly become a hot topic.
Additionally, she would gain an image of being humble.
Ha Ye-rin had clearly intended to sit in the 99th seat for all these reasons.
Even in the midst of that, Ha Ye-rin showed no intention of dropping her mask of pretense.
“Let’s get along well from now on…?”
How pretentious it seemed to feign surprise at excessive attention on her.
Especially…
‘That sly fox…!’
Seo Yoo-jin, who came to her senses late, gritted her teeth at Ha Ye-rin, who had stolen all the attention from her.
Seo Yoo-jin’s share of the spotlight seemed to end as the cameras that were supposed to face her now directly focused on Ha Ye-rin.
This made her feel even more miserable.
As such, Ha Ye-rin, settled into the 99th seat, received several times more jealousy, rivalry, and longing than when Seo Yoo-jin had sat.
And while this had not yet come to fruition, in the near future…
Ha Ye-rin’s debut would mark the moment when Na Ah Ah’s Episode 1 hits the highest ratings.