Chapter 35

===================

Translated by Sylph

Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net

===================

Seon Ahyun and Big Sejin insisted we eat something before entering the filming set, so we met at a restaurant.

“Oh, Moondae, hi~”

“H-Hi… .”

However, even with food in front of them, both of their expressions were too dark.

One guy had become a reaction vending machine for social life, and the other guy looked like he was about to start sniveling at any moment.

‘Is it because of the minus voting?’

It was the most common-sense guess.

I considered just leaving them alone, but since I wondered what I was doing while eating, I asked them once.

“Are you worried about the voting?”

“U-Uh, yeah?”

“Both of your expressions are poor.”

Then the two of them reflexively looked at each other’s faces.

They probably hadn’t realized that the other person was also in a bad mood because their own states were messed up.

“…Ah, Moondae is a ghost~ No, well… it’s hard not to worry. I looked at the internet too much, haha.”

Big Sejin gave a soulless banter. At those words, Seon Ahyun also nodded with a glum face.

“I-In case they hate me a lot… .”

Good grief.

Apparently, he had looked up even the posts he didn’t need to see as much as he could. Looking at the atmosphere, it was clear he hadn’t left SNS all night and kept searching his own name.

Since once they entered the filming set, they would confirm in numbers how much someone hated them, I also understood why the food wasn’t going down their throats well.

‘…Still, we should eat before going in.’

I pondered for a moment, then eventually sighed and said.

“Since it’s an audition program, won’t there be more people who vote because they’re keeping you in check than people who vote because they hate you? The fact that your votes were deducted a lot could mean you look promising.”

“…!”

Immediately after the last team battle alone, didn’t the team with high rankings end up in 3rd place in the on-site voting?

“It means you don’t need to care unless it comes out significantly high.”

Of course, just because I say this doesn’t mean they can stop caring. But it would be better if there was a corner to achieve a mental victory.

As expected, Big Sejin recovered first.

“That’s true.”

And after lifting his spoon with a bitter smile, he muttered as if to himself.

“…I really have to achieve some kind of result this time. My trainee period was also too long… . Well, anyway, let’s eat well and go with strength!”

The guy quickly gathered the words that had inadvertently popped out and resumed eating combatatively.

Seon Ahyun still had an anxious expression from worry, but he did eat combatatively at the words ‘Isn’t it better to eat before going.’

‘It’s hard to even have a meal once.’

I also resumed eating while suppressing a sigh.

Although they were bashed a bit because they were latecomers, even kids with good recognition and who had never been destroyed by editing were acting like this, so the other participants were obvious.

‘The filming atmosphere today will be no joke.’

And this prediction hit the mark exactly.

“…….”

From participants at risk of elimination to those with high rankings, every single one of them had an atmosphere like a house in mourning.

It was because slander and rumors about participants became more severe on the internet after the ‘Please expel them if you don’t like them’ voting was introduced.

The only guy who was excited was Cha Yujin. It didn’t seem like the confidence of 1st place, but just a personality problem.

“Why didn’t you go with us?”

He even came to me and told the story of the day they went to see the advertisements with excitement before leaving. He truly had an amazing personality.

Not long after, filming began.

“Welcome to the second ranking announcement ceremony of !”

I didn’t know how it would come out in the broadcast, but the ranking announcement ceremony proceeded in a more depressed atmosphere than ever.

“The first rankings including the newly introduced system, , will be announced today. The rankings were determined according to how many people bought and sold.”

Gulp. The sound of someone swallowing saliva and small sounds of praying were heard.

I thought that full-grown adults were truly doing something they shouldn’t do to kids.

“Before that, we should announce the final 1st place of the last team battle, right? I told you that a huge prize awaits the final 1st place team.”

The MC did all he had to say cheerfully even in the heavy atmosphere.

“It is, nullification!”

“…What?!”

“My goodness.”

In an instant, the surroundings were filled with astonishment.

“The team that took 1st place will have their rankings evaluated with figures that do not include the negative figures through !”

The reaction didn’t grow larger, but rather subsided weakly. And someone muttered quietly.

“That’s too much.”

Certainly, it was an idea that couldn’t be made if one respected the participants. Because it was like the production crew was attaching and detaching benefits as they pleased.

‘What would I expect from guys who dropped the minus voting along with Episode 6 without any prior notice anyway.’

“1st place is… Congratulations! ‘Gigantic’ team who reinterpreted !”

The team Choi Wongil had picked eventually took the final 1st place.

It was no different from an SOS signal coming to Choi Wongil, whose elimination had been certain because of this system.

Choi Wongil was relieved while crying, but in fact, it wasn’t a good thing.

‘That guy is in trouble.’

If he had ended up dropping because of the minus voting, there was a high probability that sympathy opinion would have risen.

But if he was saved by luck like that, negative public opinion was bound to run rampant unless he did something enormous in the next team battle.

Anyway, the 1st place announcement was wrapped up with an appropriate impression.

“Then from now on, we will start the ranking announcement ceremony!”

The total number of survivors this time was 30. Like the last ranking announcement ceremony, they started announcing from 28th place, leaving two behind.

“28th place, participant Park Junkyeong!”

In fact, there were no major changes up to 20th place. There were no guys whose votes were exceptionally deducted, and no guys who were deducted less. Participants who were likely to pass at those ranks were called without any reversal.

The change appeared starting from within the top 20.

“20th place is… participant Choi Wongil!”

“Wow.”

“Daebak.”

It was a ranking even higher than Gold 2.

Perhaps because fans who were conscious of the minus voting rallied and concentrated their votes, it seemed he had rather risen.

Choi Wongil added an apology at the end of a long, rambling impression.

“…Also, I deeply reflect on my immature attitude… . I-I will show a good side in the future, *hic*.”

And he sat in his rank seat while sobbing.

‘Wouldn’t it have been better to just point out Gold 2 and apologize?’

Well, it wasn’t a problem for me to worry about. Let’s worry about my own rank.

To summarize the rankings after that… Lee Sejin crashed, and Kim Raebin succeeded in resuscitation and settled in 6th place.

And participants who were in Choi Wongil’s team, such as Big Sejin, rose. Their rankings rose sharply because they removed the minus voting from an already rising atmosphere.

Looking at the flow, I thought I would also drop a bit. So I was preparing to react immediately even if called quickly.

However, there was no need for that.

My ranking rose.

“4th place is… participant Park Moondae!”

“…?”

It was a good defense I hadn’t even expected in this mess.

Since they didn’t call me until 5th place, I wondered if I had crashed below 28th place, but I didn’t know they would call me at 4th.

As I jumped up in surprise, an even more flustered event was waiting.

“Congratulations!”

Ryu Chungwoo stood up, approached me, and patted my back with a satisfied expression. Cha Yujin also approached and gave his congratulations, following Ryu Chungwoo.

“Congratulations!”

‘I only planned to pretend to know them roughly on the way…?’

Apparently, because the stage reaction was so good, they had narrowed the distance of their hearts as they pleased.

In particular, the fact that Ryu Chungwoo didn’t have many close participants because everyone from his last team battle fell seemed to have played a part.

I roughly accepted the greetings, and after even high-fiving Seon Ahyun who was standing awkwardly, I went up to the podium.

I felt like I had become some legendary social butterfly. It was very unfamiliar.

“…First of all, I am grateful to the Shareholders who bought my shares. Keeping in mind that this is an excessive ranking compared to my skills, I will always work hard to produce results as much as you have invested.”

As soon as the textbook-style impression ended, the MC cut in.

“Participant Park Moondae, you are pleasing the Shareholders with popping ideas in every stage. Do you have any ideas you want to use next by any chance?”

It was a terribly difficult question. It would probably be easier if they asked me to do some aegyo instead.

Let’s just say something broad.

“…Next, I do have the thought that I want to try something cheerful.”

“Haha, are you slowly missing ? Participant Park Moondae, I will look forward to your next stage.”

Is there an MC who links cheerful with Popcorn?

Of course, I couldn’t stare at the MC, so I obediently bowed my head and went up to my seat.

The fancy sofa given to the 4th place was honestly an embarrassing sight. But because my waist was honest, I waited for the remaining ranking announcements much more comfortably.

“3rd place is~ participant Cha Yujin!”

“What.”

“He was 1st.”

Cha Yujin, who was 1st in the last ranking announcement ceremony, dropped two steps.

However, he himself didn’t seem to care much. He sat on the sofa after coming up with a bright impression saying ‘I’m happy to receive a high rank.’

And the long-awaited battle for 1st and 2nd place.

The ones who came up to the final were Ryu Chungwoo and Seon Ahyun.

‘Is he going to collapse?’

Seon Ahyun stood on the podium after standing up while stumbling. He had a face that looked like he would faint immediately if he took 1st place.

“The glorious 1st place of is… Congratulations! Participant Ryu Chungwoo!”

“Thank you!”

1st place was Ryu Chungwoo. In fact, I expected this unless a reversal occurred.

Since he’s a former national athlete and his broadcast image is favorable, he probably wasn’t affected much by the minus voting also.

After Ryu Chungwoo and Seon Ahyun’s impressions ended, the draining announcement of the 29th and 30th place participants followed. They dragged it out so much that my back was beginning to ache even on the sofa.

However, the real highlight came after that.

“This is the ranking you would have received if the system did not exist!”

It was because the production crew bastards disclosed all the number of buy votes and deducted votes, rearranged them, and put them on the screen.

Lamentations followed here and there.

“I can’t watch.”

I also quickly found ‘Park Moondae’ on the screen.

[Buy: 893,452 / Sell: 12,257]
[Combined Rank: 4th / Buy Rank: 3rd]

3rd place?

Checking 4th place, which was originally my rank, it was Seon Ahyun.

Apparently, because the vote counts of the very top tier were similar, a meaningful difference occurred in the minus voting.

But rather than regret, a different emotion arose.

‘This is unexpectedly… unpleasant.’

[Sell: 12,257]

That’s right. Even though the result was clearly good, seeing the five-digit number of the will that wished ‘Park Moondae’ would drop… was a bit of a strange feeling.

‘This sense of impact is more than…….’

…Wait!

‘Let’s stop the nonsense.’

My goal is to debut and avoid sudden death.

Fu…ck, at a time when even thinking about only that is not enough, what does it matter if one out of 90 people says they hate me.

‘Let’s just be grateful for the 890,000 votes that will prevent sudden death.’

I defined the situation and ended my thoughts.

But looking around, most of them had ‘I care like crazy’ faces, regardless of how their rankings came out.

‘The state of this team battle is going to turn out very well.’

I could already see the sight of kids sniveling.

* * *

“Please wait for a moment!”

Perhaps the production crew was also flustered by the funeral-like atmosphere, and the filming for the next team battle, which should have taken place immediately after the ranking announcement ceremony ended, was temporarily suspended.

Instead, the production crew came out with some strange mini-project.

…As expected of a hastily made project, it was extremely tacky.