WETRIED TRANSLATIONS

[ Translation - Aren ]

I'm a Reporter, Please let me get off the Stage

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Chapter 46

Baba— Babarabababa— Baba—

Baba— Babarabababa— Baba—.

“Urgh…… What is this?.”

―Rise and shine, idols of the new world. It’s time to wake up.

“Hyung, we have to go. Yuyoung-hyung.”

“……!”

Snap!

My eyes shot open.

It felt like I had been launched out of bed as I jolted upright in an instant.

My eyes felt heavy.

Probably because I had stayed up trying to memorize the <Totter> choreography again.

It felt like I had barely slept 3 hours.

―It is wake-up time. 20 minutes remaining until assembly time. It is wake-up time. 20 minutes…… 19 minutes remaining.

The deafening announcement blared through the four-person dorm, loud enough to burst someone’s eardrums.

At the same time, a voice rang out from close by.

“Argh, that scared me.”

It was Haram.

Even in this situation, he wasn’t cursing and reacted very quietly.

The more I got to know him the more I realized that this guy was seriously soft-hearted.

“You……You’re already up?”

“Yeah. You’re heading out right away, right?”

Haram’s voice was rough and cracked, probably because the room was too dry.

“……When did you even get everything so neatly packed up?”

No, wait. Haram seemed completely fine.

Did this guy not even need sleep or something?

“What the……”

I felt a deja vu.

Was I…… about to go work on the tangerine farm again?

I swear, Haram woke me up just like this back on Jeju Island as well.

The announcement paused for a moment.

I rubbed my face dry and looked around.

The guy sleeping in the bottom bunk beside mine was still completely unconscious.

He was sleeping with one leg dangling off the bed, his blanket pulled all the way over his head.

―It is wake-up time. 15 minutes remaining until assembly.

“……15 minutes?”

My eyes flew wide open.

“Yeah. You’ve got five minutes to brush your teeth and wash up.”

Haram said it so calmly.

“If you knew that, why didn’t you wake me up sooner?!”

“I’m sorry. You looked like you were sleeping so well…… But you can do it in five minutes, right? You’re always the fastest one to get ready.”

Even though I was clearly flustered, Haram remained completely unbothered.

The Ahn Yuyoung he was talking about and the me right now might be different people, but strangely enough, the conclusion was the same.

I was fast at getting ready too……

At that moment, I discovered my very first commonality with Ahn Yuyoung.

Wasting time blaming Haram in this situation was pointless.

There was no telling what kind of punishment the production team might come up with if we were late.

Even if I had to crawl there on all fours, I had to make it to the recording site on time.

“Why do they give us only twenty minutes to—”

“Shh!”

“……Let’s go…… Let’s go~”

It happened in a split second.

Just as my mouth was about to run loose now that my guard was down, Haram warned me with e ‘Shh!’

That was something I had drilled into him just the other day when we arrived here.

That there were ears and eyes everywhere.

Haram had taken that lesson to heart and now he was practically saying ‘Don’t do it! There are eyes and ears here too!’

My eyes widened for a split second before I quickly shut my mouth and smiled sheepishly.

It had been worth raising him. Good job, Gong Haram.

Haram stayed behind in the room to wait for me while I rushed over to the washroom.

The place was already full of idols.

Every single one of them was standing there, puffy-faced and dazed, splashing water on their faces.

But fortunately, the washroom was large enough that there were still open sinks.

I scrubbed my teeth with the force of someone cleaning a public restroom and took in my surroundings.

Some people were washing their hair, others were showering.

I nearly did a double take when I saw someone’s head completely lathered in shampoo.

‘If you’re washing your hair right now…… Does that mean you’ve already given up on being on time?’

Of course, I also wanted to wash my hair.

But at this moment, I decided that getting to the meeting point on time was more important than dealing with my flattened hair.

I finished brushing my teeth and washing my face in exactly three minutes.

As I stepped out without hesitation, I felt a creeping sense of…… unease.

My members were nowhere to be seen.

They weren’t still passed out in bed, right?

But I had my own problem to deal with. I didn't have time to go wake them up.

“Urgh, it’s freezing.”

After hurriedly changing into my uniform back in the room, I threw on a padded jacket and rushed outside.

My feet felt cold as I walked in quick short steps.

Wait a second.

“……It’s too late to go back.”

I had put on my socks just fine, but……

I was still wearing slippers..

“Ahn Yuyoung. Your attire is out of regulation.”

Haram made a comment that sounded straight out of a boot camp.

Definitely the son of a soldier.

However, Gong Haram hadn’t even served yet.

You brat, your Hyung is in the civil defense reserves.

I may be in slippers, but I was still a fully discharged soldier.

Even the sound of that wake-up bugle had sent chills down my spine the moment it started to blare.

I had no idea why they had to choose that as the morning alarm.

Sure, we were just ‘failed idols’, but we were still idols…… couldn’t they have picked up a cheerier song? Would it have killed them?

They definitely did this just to torment people like me who had already served.

“What time is it?”

I stretched my strides as wide as possible, glancing at Haram.

“We’re not allowed to bring our phones to the filming site. I have no idea.”

Haram looked like he was about to cry.

“Excuse me, could you tell me the time?”

I turned toward the camera and asked.

A VJ had started tailing us the moment we stepped outside, and now they were shoving the camera even closer.

“……4 minutes left.”

“Oh, come on.”

His response hit me like a bolt of lightning.

Haram and I started power-walking through the bitter winter wind, practically jogging at this point.

Up ahead, I could see five guys who were already ahead of us.

I quickly scanned them to see if I recognized anyone.

Oh, there was one.

“……Yeojun-nim!”

I shouted loudly.

The man immediately turned around at the sound of his name.

It was Yeojun, just as I thought.

Of course, Mr.Work interview ace wouldn’t be late.

Even his appearance was immaculate.

That bastard…… Looks like he actually woke up early to wash his hair.

The back of his head was all voluminous.

He definitely used a curling iron.

“Good morning, Yuyoung-nim!”

Yeojun turned back and flashed a bright smile.

His pace never once slowed, even as he greeted me. I once heard that excessive amounts of dedication hinged on madness.

I lowered my arms, which I had been swinging energetically, to show that I had no intention of trying to overtake him.

Yeojun gave a small nod in response, acknowledging me.

Scary guy.

“Hyuuuuung!!!”

A booming voice rang out from behind me.

It stretched out for a full five seconds “Hyyyyuuuung” and I could actually feel the sound getting closer with an almost terrifying intensity.

I glanced back to see a familiar face.

“Run!”

“I’m already running!”

It was Tae Oh.

He bounded toward us using his long legs as an advantage.

He looked just like a young colt.

“Ah, the air is so fresh here, isn’t it?”

Tae Oh grinned.

It didn’t seem like a smile he just put on for the broadcast.

He was actually just happy that the air was fresh.

His face was cleanly shaved, and his skin looked fresh from a proper wash. His long bangs had been blow-dried for volume and neatly tucked behind his ears.

Not only had he washed his hair, but he’d also taken the time to blow-dry it.

This kid had surpassed mere diligence and ascended to the level of actually enjoying this.

‘What kind of a lunatic is this guy……?’

So he was one of those damn morning people who made life hell for night owls like me.

For a second, I felt like the word ‘lunatic’ was clearly written in my eyes, but Tae Oh didn’t seem to care.

“Where’s everyone else?”

“……Dunno? I don’t have any roommates.”

That didn't make sense to me at first, but it seemed that he had been given a room to himself.

‘Ah.’

The contestants couldn’t freely use their phones.

We were only allowed access to our devices once a week in the dorms.

On the day of the show’s broadcast.

Since there were no recordings scheduled on these days, we could use our phones, or even go out if we needed to.

(However, that said, we weren't allowed to participate in other shows.)

On any other day, our schedules were packed with recordings.

There were at least two days of group recordings. But if additional footage was needed, we could be called in for more.

Lee Kyubin had explained to us that when we weren’t filming with the whole group we would have training sessions or individual interviews.

During those days, we were only allowed to use phones provided by the production team.

Of course, there was no Wi-Fi or messaging apps.

Just a barebones phone that only worked for texts and calls to the production staff. A glorified burner phone, basically.

It almost made me wonder what kind of result they were hoping to achieve by restricting our freedom this much.

Honestly, I really did feel like I had been drafted back into the military.

Anyway, because of these restrictions, communication between members was nearly impossible.

The only way to meet was if you happened to wake up and head out at the same time.

Today was only the second day of filming, so I would have to keep observing, but at this rate, even if they gave us group missions, they probably wouldn’t let us have any real time to discuss them.

‘Breaking team dynamics, restricting daily life, cutting off outside contact……’

Just what kind of scenario were the producers trying to create?

The more I thought about it, the more curious I became.

* * *

“Hah, haah, haah……”

“Yes, welcome! It looks like Yuyoung-ssi and Haram-ssi from WEEKANIZ have arrived at the same time. Please sit down on the seats with your names.”

Lee Kyubin, the MC, looked spotless as he greeted us with a bright smile.

In contrast, we looked like complete wrecks, inside and out.

Halfway to the studio, the VJ oh-so-kindly informed us that there were only 2 minutes remaining.

From that moment on, the atmosphere turned deadly.

I could swear I heard the sound of hooves pounding behind me.

Haram, Tae Oh, and I had no choice but to bolt forward like we were being hunted.

At the front of the studio, a massive LED digital clock loomed overhead.

It was displayed on the same screen where they had aired our audition videos.

It was precise, down to the hour, minute, second, and even millisecond.

When I first looked at it, it read 00:01:10:49.

……Which meant I had saved myself with exactly 1 minute and 10 seconds remaining.

“WEEKANIZ’ Yuyoung-nim, you are the 12th to arrive, WEEKANIZ’ Haram-nim, the 13th. WEEKANIZ’ Tae Oh-nim, the 14th. Welcome.”

12th place, huh……

With six members from Chenstin, seven from IONER, five from VOV, seven from WEEKANIZ, and six from Loop7, that made a total of 30 participants.

Seemed like I landed somewhere in the middle. Not bad.

The real problem was that I was still wearing slippers.

“You think the others will make it?”

“……What else can we do? Let’s just sit.”

Among our group, I was the first to arrive.

Haram’s voice carried a slight tinge of worry as he asked.

I simply ran a hand through my messy hair, my expression showing resignation.

before I knew it, there were only 60 seconds left.

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