Chapter 33
“How are we going to decide on roommates?”
Do Hee-young wore a somewhat evil smile.
“From now on, we will blindfold all of you. Then, one by one, you will take off your blindfold, choose a room, and enter. Be careful. Once you open a room door, you must stay in that room. You can’t choose twice.”
This method… seemed a bit harsh.
“The remaining two people you meet in the room will be your roommates.”
Oh no.
This is a game of luck.
“If a room is full with three people and another trainee enters, the trainee with the lowest rank in that room will be kicked out. The kicked-out trainee must choose a room again. If that room is also full, the trainee with the lowest rank will be kicked out again.”
“!”
Everyone was shocked.
I’ve never seen such a rankist program.
“Yes, it’s a bit cruel. But it will be a good motivation for you.”
It seems like it’s causing discord, not motivation.
“Now, Yeon Juhong, as the youngest, you will have the first choice of rooms.”
“Gasp.”
Yeon Juhong looked as if she couldn’t believe she was getting this privilege.
She has a surprisingly timid side.
When she’s bold, she’s almost unstoppable.
“Actually, it doesn’t really matter who goes first. It’s all decided by rank anyway. Don’t worry and make your choice.”
…They admit that they’re rankists.
I could feel Yeon Juhong getting up from her seat.
I could hear the sound of the door opening and closing.
After that, a few more trainees were called.
Listening carefully, it was my turn.
The trainees sitting next to Yeon Juhong left one by one.
Seo Baek-young, Lee Kyunga, Lee Juseon….
In the early stages, the trainees left quickly.
But at some point, it started to slow down.
It must mean that the room competition has started.
“No wayyy.”
…That sound is definite proof.
Anyone could tell it was Yeon Juhong’s voice.
She must have been kicked out of the room already.
Yeon Juhong is ranked 6th, so to kick her out… it means that the rest of the people are all debut candidates.
“It worked!”
That’s Kim Geum’s voice.
If you were to choose the best room in this house, it would definitely be the master bedroom.
It has an attached bathroom, it’s the largest, and it’s the furthest from the noise.
But I’m not the only one who knows that.
Most of the trainees would know.
To be honest, I didn’t care which room I went to.
I was just worried about the roommates.
There’s nothing more stressful than an uncomfortable roommate.
To be honest, I didn’t want to share a room with Kim Ryeo-yu or any of the trainees who are close to her.
After all, this is a girl group survival show.
People want chemistry between the members.
And I sincerely want that chemistry too.
As a solo singer, I wanted to experience that at least once.
“Next, Yoon Cheong.”
Do Hee-young called my name.
As expected, I was the third from the last.
“Go choose a room.”
As I slowly stood up and took off my blindfold, I could see the remaining two trainees who were still blindfolded.
I turned my back on them and walked towards the room door.
No matter which room I go to, I won’t be kicked out.
Because I’m ranked 1st.
Kim Geum is 2nd, Kim Ryeo-yu is 3rd.
So probably… if I choose this room.
“…I knew it.”
Of course, Kim Ryeo-yu, Kim Geum, and Ryu Bo-ra would be there.
I didn’t want to share a room with Kim Ryeo-yu, so why did I come here?
There’s no particular reason.
I’m not the type to give up on a given problem.
I also like to confront things head-on.
“….”
The three of them were rolling their eyes, looking incredulous.
What are you looking at?
You guys also took other kids’ rooms.
Especially Ryu Bo-ra, she was ready to leave as soon as the door opened.
4th place.
It’s not a low rank, but it’s the lowest rank here.
Because this room has 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place in a row.
In a way, it’s the room with the most content.
…I can’t tell if it’s good or bad,
“Bo-ra, you use this room.”
There was a twist.
“…Ryeo-yu unnie?”
“I’ll go to another room. You use this one.”
Kim Ryeo-yu declared that she would go to another room.
“I wanted to share a room with Hee-on anyway. Bo-ra, you said you’re sensitive to noise. The master bedroom is probably the quietest, so use this one. I’ll leave.”
Kim Ryeo-yu spoke in a very kind voice, picked up her stuff, and left.
And she pointed at the bed with her chin.
“Cheong, you use this room.”
I just smiled quietly.
Haha, haha.
When I didn’t react much, Kim Ryeo-yu seemed to get a little upset and added,
“Oh, it’s really a shame. It’s a really good room. I really wanted to use this room.”
Oh, is she pretending to give up?
I finally caught on to Kim Ryeo-yu’s intention.
She thought that if she appeared to be giving up, I would back off on my own.
“That’s right. But to give up this room… Ryeo-yu, you’re really kind. Bo-ra will be really grateful.”
“…No, I didn’t say it to be thanked.”
At Kim Ryeo-yu’s words, Kim Geum and Ryu Bo-ra made eye contact.
“Ryeo-yu, you adapt well and are popular, so you’ll be welcomed in any room, right? I haven’t been here long, so I don’t have many close trainees. I’m envious.”
“Huh?”
“Can you take care of the younger ones for me? You can do that, right?”
Kim Ryeo-yu’s left cheek twisted strangely.
What does she want?
Did she think that if she pretended to give up, I would back off on my own?
Why should I?
I’m not the type to kick away a given opportunity.
I unpacked my stuff on the bed that Kim Ryeo-yu had pointed to with her chin.
It’s a good spot.
“Goodbye, Ryeo-yu. Thanks for the nice room. I hope you go to a better room and have fun.”
“…Ah, I should.”
Kim Ryeo-yu still seemed flustered, as if she couldn’t even think about leaving the room.
I helped Kim Ryeo-yu with her luggage for her.
“Is your luggage heavy? I’ll carry it for you.”
I kindly carried Kim Ryeo-yu’s luggage and placed it in the hallway.
“Ryeo-yu, you’ll adapt well wherever you go. Because you take good care of the younger ones. Bo-ra, let’s go to Ryeo-yu’s room often.”
“I… yeah, sure.”
Ryu Bo-ra also had a face that was holding back laughter.
I winked at Kim Geum.
Kim Geum understood my wink perfectly.
“Unnie, goodbye! Thank you!”
“…Thank you, unnie.”
Ryu Bo-ra also bowed her head and said goodbye.
When the two of them finished saying goodbye, Kim Geum quietly closed the door.
“….”
The three of us lay on the bed without a word.
It’s a good room, even when I look at it again.
“Ryeo-yu is really a good kid for giving up such a good room, right?”
“Of course.”
The three of us praised Kim Ryeo-yu so that it could be heard on camera, and throughout the entire hallway.
Good deeds should be widely known.
***
That’s how all the room assignments ended.
Yeon Juhong seemed to have ended up in the same room as Kim Ryeo-yu.
Of course, Yeon Juhong’s expression was… a relieved face.
I’ve been thinking about it since last time, but should I say she’s strangely unlucky….
I’m sorry, Juhong.
You were the victim….
“Now, now that everyone has been assigned a room, we should announce the next mission.”
Do Hee-young sat across from us and spoke.
“The next mission is position evaluation.”
Oh no.
All the trainees were in a state of despair.
Position evaluation.
It’s an evaluation where trainees who aspire to each position form a team and compete.
Of course, since people who aspire to the same position compete with each other, their skills are compared much more severely.
Especially vocals… there are many cases where the difference is very clear, so it was even more so.
“The positions are vocals, dance, rap. We will divide it into these three. You can apply for any position you want. If more than five people apply for one position, we will divide it into two teams.”
It seemed likely that people would flock to vocals or dance.
The rap position is known to be only Kim Geum and Park Ha-eun.
If ten people are divided into two positions….
It won’t be easy.
“However, this position evaluation is not a normal team mission. You must cooperate and compete with each other at the same time.”
Do Hee-young turned on the television in the dorm living room.
Then, a video prepared by the production team was played.
<Position Evaluation On-site Voting Method>
-100 audience members can vote for only one MVP in each team
-The ranking within the team is determined by the number of votes
-Once the MVP of each team is decided, MVP of MVP voting is conducted
-The audience can vote for one trainee who was the most skilled among the MVPs
-The trainee who receives the most votes is selected as the MVP of MVP
-The benefit of the MVP is 20,000 votes
-The team of the MVP of MVP gets a benefit of 15,000 votes for everyone
-The MVP of MVP gets a benefit of 50,000 votes
It’s complicated.
Anyway, I understood that they pick the king of each team and then pick the king of kings at the end.
But the 50,000 vote benefit is really useless.
Even if you get the benefit and raise the mid-term popularity ranking, you’ll only get scolded.
If it’s the final ranking benefit, it might be different.
“First, the trainees who want to apply for the vocal position. Raise your hands.”
At the end of Do Hee-young’s words, hands started to go up one by one.
Me, Ryu Bo-ra, Lee Kyunga, Jo Hee-on.
Four people.
We will compete as one team.
If it’s like this, the crowded side will be-
“Trainees who want to apply for the dance position, raise your hands.”
It’s the dance position.
Seo Baek-young, Yeon Juhong, Kim Ryeo-yu, Shin Yu-hyun, Lee Juseon, Bang Su-in.
It won’t be easy there either.
“So, Kim Geum and Park Ha-eun, who have not yet applied for any position, are you going for the rap position?”
“Yes!”
At the word of two people, Park Ha-eun’s face turned pale.
I’m sorry to say this, but I would have done the same.
The skill difference between the two is too severe.
Park Ha-eun is not bad. She’s a trainee of Colors, so she has the basics.
The problem is that Kim Geum’s skill is not basic.
“Now, then, the dance position where six people applied. We will divide it into two teams. The way to divide the teams is.”
Do Hee-young looked at Kim Ryeo-yu with a slightly subtle expression.
“Kim Ryeo-yu, the trainee with the highest rank in that position. Please come forward.”
Kim Ryeo-yu, as if she had expected it, came forward.
Then, Seo Baek-young and Yeon Juhong’s faces showed anxiety.
I was also anxious.
“Kim Ryeo-yu, which trainee do you want to compete with directly?”