I once watched a documentary about domesticated animals.Among the scenes in it was a cow being dragged to the slaughterhouse, and the eyes, where resignation and sorrow were mixed together, left a very strong impression.And,‘We’re screwed!’I feel like my eyes must look like that right now.“UI Entertainment trainees… we watched the stage, at least. But are you really from the same agency?”“Pardon?”“Your teamwork is not matching at all when you dance. I won’t even ask for angles or eye-line handling since you’re still trainees, but shouldn’t there at least be a sense of unity that you’re doing the same choreography?”“…Yes.”At the words of the judge, a famous choreographer, the contestants hung their heads as if burrowing into the floor.Just moments earlier, during the performance, their faces had looked full of life, but now they’d changed into expressions like patients with a terminal diagnosis, the day of death already assigned.“I also enjoyed the stage. But aside from contestant No. 24, Jo Yujin, the other two—do you know you ruined the singing parts?”“Yes…”“To be frank, I’m very disappointed. You didn’t come here to a karaoke with your friends, did you? This is exactly that level.”Even Hyeryeong of G.G., who had always shown only an angelic image in variety shows and such, delivered cutting evaluations that felt like stabbing with a knife.Just watching made me feel the pressure like I was the one being scolded.‘This is divisional-commander-level spiritual pressure.’Moments that reminded me of when a divisional commander visiting the unit would click the tongue after seeing a barracks that wasn’t being managed.“Contestant Jo Yujin gets a B grade, and the other two get D.”“…Thank you.”Watching the contestants descend from the stage with a barely held-back tearfulness and a “thank you” to the judge’s cold grading, I was about to go insane.‘No! At that level, isn’t that good?’To me, an ordinary person, the stage those contestants had just shown looked very convincing.They danced well, they sang fairly well, and in the midst of that they even kept smiling brightly… and yet the stage was panned like this.‘I took this too lightly!’Suddenly my aunt’s words came to mind.“You are practicing the dance or song you’ll show for the entrance ceremony, right? If you really can’t, go to a dance academy and learn for even two or three days.”After I decided to participate in the program, Aunt had urged me to practice, saying she was worried.“Aunt, it’s just that I don’t do it. If I do it, I do it well.”But I ended up ignoring that good advice.To be honest, it’s not like I didn’t prepare at all, but now that I’m on site, what I prepared is truly child’s play.Anxiety, restlessness, tension.It reminded me of middle school, when the teacher would check homework and scold the ones who hadn’t done it, starting from the students with the earliest numbers.The contestants were going out by number now, and my number was all the way at 100.The last stage would be my turn.***“Hello. We are trainees from Logic Entertainment. My name is Seo Ryujin.”“Oh, Logic means you’re {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} from a famous agency. I’ll look forward to it.”The contestants continued to carry on the stages without delay.Since most had formed teams with trainees from the same agency, three or four at a time went up on one stage, and before long more than half the contestants had already finished performing.The Logic Entertainment trainees now on stage were as many as five.“We prepared our seniors A Tempo’s ‘Be Your Man.’”“‘Be Your Man’? That’s not easy. Who chose the song?”“I chose it.”“Are you confident?”“Yes!”“Good. I’ll look forward to it.”At the brisk answer from the contestant named Seo Ryujin, the corner of Hyeryeong’s mouth lifted slightly.‘Interesting.’It wasn’t a sneer, but a smile rising from genuine interest.In fact, when she first received the offer to be a judge on a program called “Idol Ground 100,” Hyeryeong had flatly declined.Having herself undergone a long trainee life, debuting with difficulty, and continuing an entertainment career until now, she knew well how desperate trainees were, and she didn’t feel confident evaluating them.She could offer warm words or consolation to the trainees participating in the program, but handing down cold evaluations hurt her heart.—When you look back on your trainee days, Ms. Hyeryeong, did criticism help more, or praise?But persuaded by Kim Miyoung, the main PD of this program, Hyeryeong eventually gave in.—What idol trainees need most is the realistic advice of a successful senior who walked that path first. I want to make this program not just a hit but a turning point that gives trainees hope.Because of this, gritting her teeth, with a firm heart, Hyeryeong was evaluating the contestants’ stages coldly—enough to feel a bit excessive.‘The contestants’ level is more disappointing than I expected.’Maybe her standards were high because she herself belonged to SY, one of Korea’s big three agencies, but the abilities of the contestants so far hadn’t met her eye.The Logic Entertainment trainees now on stage were the first ones she felt a bit of anticipation for, though.‘Choosing an A Tempo song means they’re confident.’While not on the level of her own agency SY, Logic was also called a reputable idol agency in its own right.Since they were trainees from there, she thought they’d have more skill than those before them; and once she confirmed they had openly chosen a boy group’s song from A Tempo, she couldn’t help but feel anticipation.In truth, women covering a boy group stage is extremely burdensome even for pros.A representative feature of boy groups is the intense, sharply angled group choreography; this is a performance created by the difference in sex, regardless of dance skill.Just as women are attractive when they do choreography with soft and flexible movements, men are attractive when they do powerful, intense choreography.So if a woman covers a boy group song clumsily, it’s easy for it to become a failed stage that’s neither one nor the other.Because of this, at such a crucial juncture as the entrance ceremony stage, Hyeryeong was curious how Logic’s trainees, who deliberately chose a boy group song, had prepared their stage.Tak.What remains at the end of your dayAre the familiar footsteps you walk alone.The sight of your back that used to smile wordlesslyKeeps shaking my heart.‘A ballad?’Hearing the softly begun intro, Hyeryeong was startled.A Tempo’s “Be Your Man,” the original, is characterized by a powerful intro that starts straight away with a strong synthesizer, but Logic’s trainees had arranged it into a gentle, medium-tempo ballad.Thanks to that, unlike the original, the song exuded the feeling of an excited girl, and the choreography had also changed to focus on fluttering, swaying movements to match.All those days I pretended not to knowI can’t hide it any longerMy heart keepsRunning toward you‘They even changed the lyrics? And quite decently at that.’What she liked even more was that they hadn’t taken the lyrics as-is under the pretext of respecting the original.If you’re going to make an arrangement that completely changes the song’s mood like this, then changing the lyrics accordingly is the right answer.“I’ll be your girl,” by your sideSomeone you can lean on and rest with anytimeEven if I cry, even if it hurts, it’s okayIf only you smile.“I’ll be your girl.”When the stage prepared by Logic’s trainees finally ended, a brief stillness drifted through the filming site.And then,Clap clap clap.Starting from the judges, everyone—including the contestants seated toward the back—began applauding.“Ha… did your agency perhaps newly arrange the song and redo the choreography for you?”Producer Ahn Seongho, the judge who had been firing off harsh criticisms about stage composition while watching contestants so far.But now the expression was beaming as if a gem had been discovered.“No. We revised the arrangement and choreography ourselves.”“That’s unbelievable. Of course there were slightly awkward parts, but this arrangement is really well done. Especially keeping the feel of the original’s highlight—I loved that.”“Thank you!”Starting with Ahn Seongho’s praise, choreographer Lee Jungyoon also continued with compliments that the choreography clearly played to their strengths and matched well with the mood of the arranged song.And then,“Contestant Seo Ryujin?”“Yes!”“You’ll debut. The others did well too, but it stood out how you led the stage from the center. I’ll give you an A grade.”“Thank you!!!”With Hyeryeong’s praise as the last, the Logic trainees exited having recorded an astonishing result: one A grade, the rest all B grades.After that, beginning with the Logic trainees, contestants from agencies of a certain size started to come out little by little, and the judges’ evaluation standards kept rising and becoming stricter.‘Your pitch is far too unstable. Did you not properly learn breathing? Or did you not practice?’‘You know contestant No. 55 ruined the choreography alone just now, right? If this were a monthly agency evaluation, that’d be grounds for expulsion.’‘Don’t do arrangements unless you’re really confident. I’m honestly scared the original artists might hear this.’There were contestants who shone even amid that, but most ran into the now-higher wall, had to hear miserable evaluations, and came down from the stage.“Hello. I’m trainee No. 99, Ryu Ayeon, from TSP.”“TSP? Wait, you look familiar.”“Ms. Hyeryeong, aren’t you a bit too uninterested just because it’s a rival agency? Ryu Ayeon is famous. TSP’s treasured trainee.”“Is that so?”And before anyone knew it, the entrance ceremony had reached No. 99.When contestant No. 99, Ryu Ayeon—who had been sitting on the golden chair at the top of tier 13—came down, not only the other trainees but even the judges were abuzz.“What stage have you prepared, famous contestant?”Even so, since Hyeryeong actually didn’t know who Ryu Ayeon was, worry came before anticipation.‘Even if she’s a trainee, isn’t this planting too much expectation?’Compared to other contestants, having an unusually high level of attention would be advantageous in the competition, but if she failed to show skill matching that expectation—No one knew better than Hyeryeong that it would come back as a blade.“I prepared senior Rion’s ‘Pop Star.’”“‘Pop Star’?”But that worry was made meaningless; seeing Ryu Ayeon’s song choice, which raised the hurdle high on her own, Hyeryeong was taken aback.‘Among senior Rion’s songs, “Pop Star” is one that few can pull off—not just trainees, even among active singers…’Rion.A singer who represents Korea as a female soloist, a living legend active from the mid-2000s—when idol groups became the mainstream—up to now.In particular, the song “Pop Star” that Ryu Ayeon chose this time was a track Rion had ambitiously brought out while aiming to break into the U.S. market.Its public chart performance wasn’t good, but among industry people it was known as a song ahead of its time—and also famous as a song of insane difficulty, one only someone on Rion’s level could digest.Tak.As if not paying any mind to everyone’s worries and concerns, Ryu Ayeon immediately stood in the center of the stage, brought her hands together, bowed her head, and began to prepare.Soon the music flowed out.This is the fantasy I madePlay the beat by my rulesIn the pouring flashesLook at the dazzling me, yeahSeeing Ryu Ayeon begin the stage, Hyeryeong couldn’t close the mouth that had fallen open before she knew it.‘No way… a trainee dominated the stage alone?’Because the original itself was made for the female solo singer Rion, with ordinary movements and performance the stage would naturally look empty.But right now, Ryu Ayeon’s stage was so full it was hard to believe she was alone.I’m a pop star (pop star)The world calls me, louderOver the moonlight, shine like glitterI’ll never stopEspecially while executing high-difficulty choreography to create such a “full” stage, Ryu Ayeon’s unwavering vocal was enough to plunge the filming site into a moment of stillness.Pop star (pop star)A drama that sparkles like a starThe whole thing is my stage aloneWatch me now, I’m your pop starTak.At last, having perfectly carried the stage through to the very end of the song, Ryu Ayeon—who should have been exhausted—merely took a deep breath to hide her rough breathing, holding her final ending pose.And from the judges who had been watching this, to the contestants, to even the staff of the filming site, everyone could only remain silent.It was a wondrous stage.Both judges and contestants could tell.At this point, Ryu Ayeon had already stepped beyond the trainee level.In this moment, there was only one person who was thinking something else while watching Ryu Ayeon’s stage.‘Just kill me instead.’Only Lee Sion, the protagonist of the next stage.

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