NOVEL SIMPLE Chapter 23
The trainer’s words that I might not maintain an A Rank in the final Ranking Evaluation.
I didn’t really think there was a high chance of that.
It’s a bit embarrassing to say this myself, but… I consider myself the second most influential participant after Yoo Seol in Na Ah Ah.
Among the Na Ah Ah participants, I have the highest appearance stats, a dance stat of 99, and I was the first to receive an A Rank.
With so few A Ranks to begin with, are they really going to drop me to B?
That almost made no sense.
But…
‘… Just in case.’
That tiny glimmer of remaining possibility.
That’s my Vocal Ability stat of 65.
This number is definitely above average among Na Ah Ah participants, but it’s kind of lacking compared to A Ranks.
If the Production Team decides to stage something dramatic for the ratings…
‘There’s a tiny, tiny chance they might forcefully drop me…’
After all, when you fall from a high place, it hurts more.
If I were to drop to a B Rank, the impact would surely be huge.
Thinking about that naturally darkened my expression.
And this…
Zing-.
The camera caught every bit of it.
“So let’s do well, Ye-rin. You have talent. To show that off, you need to work harder than now, you know what I mean?”
Even now, I was cutting back on sleep and practicing hard with Lee Hye-jeong until 2 AM.
How much harder can I work than this?
Internally, my discontent grew, but I kept my trademark expressionless face and replied.
“… Yes, I’ll remember that.”
“… Right.”
The trainer nodded at my response and shifted his gaze elsewhere.
This time the goal was Lee Hye-jeong.
“Hye-jeong, you’re next. You know what your problem is, right?”
“… Yes, I do.”
“Okay, tell me what it is.”
“Um, dance.”
Unlike my cold expression, Hye-jeong trembled and barely managed to respond, clearly nervous.
But the trainer didn’t show her any mercy and continued harshly.
“Right, dance. Hye-jeong, you want to become an idol, not just a singer, right? So do you think it’s acceptable to be bad at dancing? Especially someone who’s supposed to be the center among 100 people?”
“I-I’m sorry…”
And the arrows aimed at Hye-jeong began with dance…
“How’s your weight management going?”
“…!”
…Finally, it hit her weak spot.
“The dance trainer said that no matter how well you dance, you look strange with that body. Your figure isn’t pretty.”
“……”
“We told you to start weight management a week ago, right? So how come? You don’t think we saw you eating two bowls of rice every day, do you?”
I saw her eating three bowls sometimes.
Honestly, I couldn’t defend Hye-jeong’s weight management at all.
“For an idol, weight management is basic! If you can’t do that, you need to leave.”
“……”
“Or… do you want to be demoted to a B Rank right now?”
“N-No…! That can’t be…!!”
Technically, the custom classes hadn’t finished yet.
If the trainer set his mind to it, he could demote her on the spot.
Realizing this, Hye-jeong turned pale and waved her hands in protest.
“Hye-jeong, I’m telling you to work hard.”
The trainer growled one last time at Hye-jeong.
“I’ll be watching you tomorrow… You need to show clear results, Hye-jeong.”
“…Yes.”
After getting a gloomy response from Hye-jeong, the trainer turned to Yoo Seol.
“And Seol.”
“… Yes.”
When the trainer glared, Yoo Seol lowered her head with a dark expression.
I thought she was pretending to be gloomy because of the camera.
“Do you think you’re perfect right now? No? That’s just an illusion.”
The trainer didn’t think it was fair just to scold me and Hye-jeong, so he squeezed out Yoo Seol’s shortcomings and forced himself to reprimand her.
Zing-.
Of course, the camera captured all of that.
And at that moment, I saw.
The Production Team giving an ‘it’s okay’ sign, as if they had gotten what they needed.
‘……!’
I couldn’t help but flinch.
Was the trainer’s especially harsh wording this time also part of the Production Team’s schemes?
Those rating devils… it gave me a chilling feeling.
“Ahem… Anyway, we’ll wrap this up today. Tomorrow morning is the final Ranking Evaluation, so manage your condition well today. Got it?”
After receiving the Production Team’s okay sign, the trainer finally stopped his harsh talk and cleared his throat.
“Remember everything I said today.”
“… Yes.”
“……”
The sharp criticism had blown through, and the atmosphere felt heavy.
The trainers seemed to think it was best to leave, and one by one, they began to exit.
The same went for the vocal trainer who had taken on the harsh words for us.
But before she left, she gave us one last word.
“I hope all of you can maintain your A Ranks in the final Ranking Evaluation.”
The vocal trainer looked rather uncomfortable saying that.
It seems she felt guilty for forcing herself to scold us.
Bang.
Thus began the exodus of trainers from the practice room…
“Cut, thank you for your hard work. Now we’ll leave, so feel free to spend your time!”
The Production Team also left, leaving only a few cameras behind.
“……”
“……”
Finally, with the Production Team now gone, the place felt freezing.
Especially for Hye-jeong.
“……”
She wasn’t crying, but her expression was on the verge of tears. It seemed the trainer’s words had hit her hard.
‘… Should I comfort her?’
I’m not good at warm words.
Brush-.
I sought a look of help from Yoo Seol.
But she showed her usual indifference and didn’t look our way as soon as the camera pulled back.
There was no one else. It had to be me to comfort Hye-jeong.
“… Unnie.”
I approached Hye-jeong and gently patted her back.
“You sing well and dance just fine. The trainer probably had to speak harshly for the broadcast.”
“… Do you really think so?”
“Yes, so don’t worry too much. You’ll definitely keep your A Rank tomorrow.”
“…… Okay, thank you.”
As I finally managed to comfort her, Hye-jeong gave a faint smile as a sign of gratitude.
I took her hand as I spoke.
“We need to wake up early tomorrow, so let’s get back to the dorm and rest now. We need to manage our condition.”
All this time, Hye-jeong and I had been practicing until late into the night even after lessons.
But with the final Ranking Evaluation in the morning…
For the sake of condition management, it was better to rest well today.
“Okay, let’s go back.”
Hye-jeong nodded as if she understood and agreed to leave.
But just then.
“… Wait a moment.”
“……?”
A voice stopped us from returning to the dorm.
And surprisingly, it was Yoo Seol.
Seeing Yoo Seol, who never talked to us when the cameras were off, initiate a conversation made both Hye-jeong and me flinch.
What was even more surprising was what Yoo Seol said.
“How about we stay and practice together tonight?”
Yoo Seol said this with a smile, and Hye-jeong and I could only tilt our heads in confusion.
It was baffling because…
“… Right now? But we need to get up early tomorrow morning?”
Yoo Seol, who had been avoiding practicing with us, was now suggesting a last-minute practice session.
Yoo Seol was among the most skilled trainees in Na Ah Ah.
There’s no way she didn’t know the importance of condition management before a stage.
Yet, Yoo Seol just smiled at our puzzled expressions.
“Come on, let’s stay together. I’ll help you both with your singing and dancing tonight.”
And even…
“If we practice together tonight, something good will happen.”
…Along with words that made no sense.
“Huh….”
Na Ah Ah’s A class vocal trainer, Kim Ye-sol, swallowed some water and medication for her throbbing headache.
The reason she was suffering such a severe headache was due to stress.
And the source of that stress was none other than the A class she was assigned to.
When she was first assigned to the A class, she felt elated.
She had the chance to teach more talented kids.
In fact, the A class trainees were all outstanding in their skills.
First, there was Yoo Seol and Lee Hye-jeong.
Their vocal abilities surpassed those of any idol. Both were talents that could confidently be main vocalists.
And then there was Ha Ye-rin.
Her strength lay in dance. The immersion and stage presence she exhibited during the Ranking Evaluation was an extraordinary talent, something you wouldn’t expect from a trainee who had only been learning for a month.
While her singing ability was lacking compared to Yoo Seol and Lee Hye-jeong, she was certainly good enough.
Ha Ye-rin was meant to be the main dancer, after all. Her vocal ability was more than sufficient for that role.
With such excellent kids, Kim Ye-sol thought she could train the A class trainees smoothly.
However, problems began the moment the Production Team called her aside on the first day.
“Trainer Kim Ye-sol, right now there is no screen time for the A class participants. We need special measures.”
“What special measures…?”
“To show dramatic scenes, we would like you to overly scold the participants.”
“……!”
Forcing her to scold kids who had done nothing wrong.
That was just outrageous.
She tried to refuse the Production Team’s request.
But…
“Trainer Kim Ye-sol, please remember that you have an obligation to fulfill the demands of our Production Team according to the contract signed with the broadcasting station.”
…With that half-threat from the Production Team, she had no choice.
She began to point out the flaws in the kids.
“Ye-rin, is that right?”
“Hye-jeong, don’t you want to debut?”
“Seol, you can do better. You need to practice.”
These were all kids with many strengths and few weaknesses. Forcing to dig into their flaws was truly heart-wrenching.
That became the source of her stress, leaving her with acid reflux and headaches.
“Hah…”
All she could do was pray for the kids to show a good performance in the final Ranking Evaluation tomorrow.
As she crawled into bed early that night, she suddenly…
“…Huh?”
She realized she didn’t have her cellphone with her.
Now that she thought about it earlier…
“Teacher, I need to call my parents later; can I borrow your phone?”
The Na Ah Ah participants return their personal phones to the Production Team during filming.
But since Yoo Seol had a reason to use her phone…
“Really? Here you go.”
“Yes, thank you. I’ll place it on the table in the practice room after I call my parents.”
She had handed her phone over.
It seemed her phone was left on the table in the practice room.
Thus, she raised her body to get her phone before sleeping.
The distance between the dorm and the practice room wasn’t far, so she thought she could get it quickly.
“Hah… it’s cold.”
It was already past midnight.
The corridor connecting the Na Ah Ah dormitory and practice room was deserted.
‘Since filming starts early tomorrow.’
Almost all the participants must have gone to bed for condition management.
‘There shouldn’t be anyone in the practice room. Just quickly grab the phone and head back.’
Thinking that, Kim Ye-sol entered the practice room.
Just then.
“Uh…? Trainer Kim Ye-sol?”
“Uh? Writer-nim.”
Before she could enter the practice room, she turned at the voice calling her to see the Na Ah Ah writer standing with a cameraman.
“What brings you here at this hour?”
“I feel like we might be short on screen time… I was wondering if there are any additional cuts.”
“At this hour? Oh, all the trainees would’ve gone by now.”
“Seems so. What about you, Trainer Kim Ye-sol?”
“I left my phone behind. Since there’s no one, I just wanted to quickly grab it…”
As she spoke and opened the practice room door…
♪♬♩-!
“Hmm…?”
“Uh…?”
The faint sounds of singing echoing inside surprised both the writer and cameraman.
“Is anyone practicing at this hour before the final Ranking Evaluation…?”
Kim Ye-sol was shocked, and the production team immediately…
Zing-.
…Turned on the camera.
A strong broadcast quality was emanating from the practice room.