WETRIED TRANSLATIONS[ Translation - Aren ]

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

_________________________________________________________________________

Chapter 55

Caw—

“Urgh……”

Morning already?

The crows were cawing ominously.

That’s right.

The big day had arrived.

It was the first broadcast of <Ultimate Idol>.

But, of course, practice had to continue as usual.

I had gotten a measly three hours of sleep and just like yesterday, I was out the door by 5:30 am.

I had considered sending someone else, but if anything went wrong, that would just have been a hassle for me, so in the end, I took it upon myself again.

I really was working myself hard, huh?

‘Why is no one here?’

Ten minutes before 6 am.

I had expected to see Heerae, but he was nowhere to be found.

Even Yuho and the Chenstin guys, who had practically threatened me yesterday, weren’t here.

It was just me.

The sun hadn’t risen yet, and the only sounds filling the eerie morning air were the howling wind and the cries of crows.

The cold temperature and eerie atmosphere made me shiver down to my bones.

“……Hello? Is no one here?”

It was 6 am.

I cleared my dry throat and called out loudly.

A staff member should’ve been rubbing their sleepy eyes and coming out by now.

But no one appeared. That was strange.

I wasn’t dreaming, right?

I wasn’t experiencing something supernatural again, right?

Nothing unimaginable was about to happen, right?

Ever since my body changed and time got reversed, I had started to blindly believe in all kinds of supernatural occurrences.

Just then, I saw a figure approaching from a distance.

The thick fog made it impossible to tell who it was.

But since they were walking at a leisurely pace, they probably weren’t a contestant.

I waved my hand broadly to signal my presence.

The figure got closer until I was finally able to make out their face.

It was a young male staff member, carrying a pack of cigarettes in his hand.

Starting the morning with a smoke, huh? One could say that he was diligent in a different sense.

“Excuse me, hello. Do you know where the staff member handling the practice room reservations went?”

“……Huh? Practice room reservations?”

“Yes.”

“I think they said they weren’t doing that anymore starting today.”

“……What?!”

I let out a loud yelp in my surprise.

The staff member flinched, hurriedly shoving the cigarette pack into his back pocket before adding more detail.

“I think one of the writers mentioned it…… That’s why the lightning crew’s start time got pushed back too. Hold on a second.”

He pulled out his phone and scrolled through it.

Then, as if he just found what he was looking for, he turned the screen toward me.

It was a message from a group chat.

<Starting tomorrow, we won’t be doing practice room reservations~ Keep that in mind. Participants will be informed individually.>

“……I never got any notice.”

“Maybe they were planning to tell you all today?”

The staff member replied with a laid-back tone.

That only grated on my nerves even further.

“No, this kind of thing needs to be communicated right away. There’s even a central announcement system in the dorms! Why are they only notifying the staff?”

“Urgh, why are you getting mad at me……? I don’t know either. Ask the writers……”

The staff member looked completely flustered by my outburst.

Which made me even more annoyed.

God, this is exhausting. What kind of pointless wild goose chase is this?

“So does that mean we can use the rooms whenever we want?”

“I guess so? There are a few more practice rooms beside this one. I think the studio building has some too. It used to have broadcasting equipment, but they cleared it all out yesterday.”

“Sigh……”

I ruffled my hair in frustration.

I couldn’t contain my annoyance.

It was already hard enough that I had to work so hard without getting enough sleep.

“Wait a second.”

“……What now?”

“No, not you.”

……What was it that Yuho said yesterday?

‘True. I guess I was too complacent. But now…… I feel like you don’t really have to do that anymore.’

“Hah, unbelievable.”

“……I’ll be going now~”

“Wait!! What’s your name?”

“Huh? My name? Erm…… It’s Kim Ji Oh.”

The staff member vanished in a flash.

Probably because he could see the sheer ‘rage’ written all over my face.

Right.

I was damn pissed off.

“So they knew all along, huh……”

Yuho really only approached me yesterday to mess with me.

He probably knew that I would come here at the crack of dawn again.

The thought of his smug face was seriously pissing me off.

Ugh, making enemies sure was exhausting……

“But you were the one to throw the first punch.”

I would get my revenge someday.

Even as I trudged back to the dorm, I couldn’t shake this uneasy feeling.

“This is suspicious……”

How did Chenstin get this info before anyone else?

Did the writers slip it to them in secret?

Then was this competition even fair?

Did I even stand a chance?

“……Whatever. It’s not like I’m a goddamn detective.”

If it came down to it, I’d just punch someone in the face.

Somewhere off-camera, of course.

* * *

“They’re filming this too? That’s kinda creepy.”

Yoon Sanho muttered as he scratched his arm.

I just shrugged.

It wasn’t like I didn’t agree, but what could I do?

With 30 minutes left until the first episode aired, we were gathered in a tiny room.

It was about the same size as the interview room.

However, instead of being covered in white tarp, the walls were lined with green ones.

The exact same color as our uniforms.

Apparently, even our reactions to the first broadcast were going to be filmed.

Like Sanho said, it was a bit unnerving.

At least there weren’t any cameramen in the room (Short on staff, perhaps).

Instead, standing cameras were set up at different angles to capture everything.

“It’s starting!”

Haram shouted.

Without another word, we all locked our eyes on the screen.

―What do you think an ‘idol’ is?

―Uhm…… Someone who gives strength to their fans. Who brings energy to their lives.

It was Heerae’s interview.

―Have you ever regretted becoming an ‘idol’?

―Never. Absolutely not.

That was Yeeun’s answer.

Huh, that kid would never have answered like that though.

[An idol who brings energy to life]

[An idol who has never, absolutely never regretted it]

[But]

[Is that really true?]

I knew this would happen.

It was a new clip that was basically a compilation of that highlight reel.

Or in other words, an <ultra-compressed disaster compilation>.

Broadcasting really was insane.

I had heard about forced program participation before, but this level of exploitation was a first.

The next segment didn’t feature idols.

Instead, screenshots from platforms I recognized flashed over the screen.

They looked to be posts from Pings and DukDuk Forest.

[<@ Honestly, male idols these days all have dead fish eyes and dance like so lazily– what are they even doing?>

<@ Ya kno, there’s a whole thread about how boy groups lost their discipline and all>

<@ Like fans keep feeding them, showering them with love, calling them cute just for breathing, and then these guys go and take it all for granted. Pissed me off so much, that I left the fandom lolol>

<@ So many guys out there who don’t know their place……>

<@ I swear, throw them into a normal office job for a week, and they wouldn’t last a day.>]

“Gasp…….”

Next to me, Baekgyeom sucked in a sharp breath.

I was sweating profusely as well.

I knew opinions like that existed, but airing them as if they were the ‘dominant public sentiment’, was quite the problem, wasn’t it?

There were plenty of fans who cherished idols with genuine, unconditional love!

And there were still so many idols who were full of passion and dedication.

This was just taking a minority’s opinion and making it seem like the universal truth……

[<(Reporter Park Doyoon) Is it really okay for idols to keep their ‘Dead Fish Eyes’?>]

Of course… Why did that have to show up again?

Shining first place in the ‘digging my own grave’ championship goes to…

―People naturally grow numb to their environment if they stay in it too long. But if you introduce a little change, it brings back energy, boosts efficiency, and helps refresh their mindset…… I think that’s the goal of this program.

It was an interview with the PD.

So to summarize in one sentence.

This really was an ‘Idol Dead Fish Eyes Rehabilitation Project’.

My worst fears were never wrong, huh?

[The production team secured a 3300 m² suburban site for filming]

[A fully equipped environment with dorms, a main studio, practice rooms, recording studios, a cafeteria, and more]

[Here, the idols’ endless growth will begin]

[Don’t stop. Keep moving forward. <Ultimate Idol>]

“Wooow~……”

Tae Oh let out a lifeless cheer.

Following his lead, the rest of us dully clapped at the air as well.

Since we couldn’t just sit there with no reaction at all.

……Yeah, this place really was a prison. Damn it.

[First day of Entry]

The subtitles appeared, and the scene cut to the grand entrance we had all arrived at.

No one had appeared on screen yet.

Instead, various voices played over the footage, accompanied by captions.

[?? : Whoa! It’s huge!]

[?? : I thought it was a resort.]

[?? : Wow, is this for real?]

[?? : It’s like…… a really fancy prison.]

“Gasp.”

Tae Oh sucked in a sharp breath.

I was just as shocked.

That was something Tae Oh had only said to me when we first got here.

And he didn’t even say it that loudly.

How the hell did they pick that up?

There must have been a hidden camera somewhere.

A chill ran down my spine.

That wording wasn’t great either so I felt my stomach dropping.

They didn’t show who said it, thank god……

But any fan who knew his voice would recognize it instantly! Damn it.

―Wow, it’s so huge!!!

And just like that, the first person to get screen time made their grand entrance.

It was Munsu from Chenstin.

Munsu swung the door open wide and spoke in a cheerful voice.

He was the first one to arrive out of the participants in our room.

Not that it mattered, but…… in a year or so, he would be kicked out of the group and sell certain phone services for a living.

This part of the episode was relatively easy to watch.

―I’ve debuted two years ago, so this is fun. Feels like a retreat!

A short solo interview of Munsu played.

He seemed pretty excited.

―Oh, someone’s coming!

Kim Munsu was wandering around the room, lowering the window blinds, climbing onto the bunk bed, and just bustling about.

Then, at the sound of the door opening, he perked up and turned his head.

The door swung open, and the people who entered were Haram and me.

―Welcome! You’re the second ones to arrive.

―Ah, yes, yes. Hello. When did you get here?

―I just got here as well. This place really is out in the middle of nowhere, huh? Haha.

Munsu beamed brightly.

Hmm, seeing this from an objective perspective now, my expression looked like absolute shit.

I looked beyond exhausted.

[A face that looks worn out for some reason]

As my face got a close-up, a caption appeared at the bottom.

Damn it, they didn’t let that slip by, huh? This was the kind of editing we were getting from the start?

―By the way…… you’re WEEKANIZ’ Yuyoung, right? It’s been a while. I think we met once at a music show a while ago……. Haha.

―Ah, yes…… I vaguely remember that too. Haha……

[Munsu & Yuyoung’s Room where warmth and awkwardness coexist]

……This made it look like I really didn’t like that guy!

―Ah, Haram went to the bathroom as soon as the door opened. You didn’t notice?

―Ah! Right! Yes, I know, I know.

―Anyway, nice to meet you!

―You too. Haha.

Just as it was getting too painful to watch myself stumble over my words……

[What about the other rooms?]

The focus shifted to another room.

Join our Discord for updates on releases! https://dsc.gg/wetried