WETRIED TRANSLATIONS

[ Translation - Aren ]

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

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Chapter 57

“……Hyuuung, then what about us~.”

Haram said playfully, as if thinking I had just made a huge slip of the tongue.

“Y-yeah. We’re a team!”

Tae Oh added.

I just sat there quietly, listening.

A team, huh?

If that was really how they saw it, they wouldn’t have all tried to run away, right?

Who was it that went all the way to the airport, ready to book it out of here?

“……See? Even Haedun-hyung is mad.”

Baegyeom nudged me, whispering.

I turned my head back and looked at Haedun, who was sitting behind me.

Huh, that wasn’t the scenario I expected.

Why was he mad?

He was the one who thought the team was hopeless and ran off to dance somewhere.

Wasn’t I actually saying something good for his sake?

Well, whatever, the reason I dropped that bomb wasn’t to make Seo Haedun happy.

“If we’re in a team, does that mean we have to stay together no matter what? I don’t think so.”

“Gasp.”

Tae Oh had been gasping in shock this whole time.

“Since we’re a team, we should be asking ourselves ‘Am I dragging the team down? Is there a chance for us to grow together?’ That’s the direction we should be thinking in. So, the real answer is…”

The commercial break was almost over.

“If Haedun goes to EOO, then instead of saying ‘We’re a team, so we all go or none of us go’ shouldn’t we be working our asses off to improve until every one of us is good enough to get into EOO too?”

I quickly wrapped up my point.

“Ah…… So that’s what you meant! That makes total sense~!”

Yoon Sanho wiped the sweat off his forehead and nodded enthusiastically.

Baekgyeom also nodded like his life depended on it.

[Eloquence has increased! Those around you are focusing on your words.]

“And besides…… EOO may be one of the two top agencies, but we have our own strengths too. As long as we give it our all here, that’s enough.”

“That’s right.”

Ire nodded.

Honestly, even I would find this kind of lecture annoying as hell.

But maybe because they were still too young, or maybe because they never had someone to properly lead them……

They accepted this so easily, which was both surprising and frustrating.

“Sorry for the lecture.”

“No, if anything, it was motivating. I liked it.”

Haram grinned widely.

Well…… No need to thank me that much.

I was just looking out for my own interests too.

[Notoriety: 63

Notoriety Keyword: Failed Idol]

By the way, right before the commercial break, after it was publicly revealed that Seo Haedun had almost joined EOO, my notoriety score had shot up by more than 10 points, reaching [75].

The wave of cold sweat that hit me was obviously because of that.

Hadun’s fans were probably dragging Ahn Yuyoung through the mud just to let out their frustration.

Anyway, if things didn’t work out for Haedun, it was all going to be Ahn Yuyoung’s fault.

Now that Haedun’s segment had passed, my notoriety score seemed to have returned to normal.

I could practically predict the movements of Haedun’s fans.

Swarming to curse out Ahn Yuyoung when Haedun was on screen.

Then immediately forgetting about him when Haedun disappeared.

Honestly, I hope the conversation we just had in this monitoring room made it into next week’s broadcast.

It probably would.

Because, I mean, who else would be insane enough to lecture their own team members while monitoring the show.

―And now, the next participant we’d like to invite up is……WEEKANIZ Yuyoung-nim, please step forward! Nice to meet you, Yuyoung-ssi.

“Yuyoung-hyung’s up.”

“Yuyoung-hyung, who’ll be covered in tears.”

Ire and Baekgyeom chimed in one after the other.

After the commercial break my turn started immediately.

I should be grateful that I wasn’t edited out.

But following right after Haedun meant I had to be careful.

Because, the fans of Haedun, who were still fuming over him not making it into EOO, might decide to take their rage out on Ahn Yuyoung with metaphorical axes.

―Yes, I like listening to old songs……. It’s the first song I ever heard in my life.

―Alright. Go ahead.

The screen showed me recreating the full audition, down to what happened before I started singing, thanks to that damn item.

I felt a stange sense of embarrassment.

The members, however, seemed to have relaxed a bit and chuckled a little.

“Hyung, why’d you do that back then? Was it pressure from the broadcast?”

Baekgyeom threw in one of his usual off-the-wall jokes.

“Ah…… It was a reenactment, so I was just trying to remember everything as much as I could.”

“That’s really something. So funny. Look, even your nervous expression is the same. You didn’t change at all, Yuyoung-hyung.”

Baekgyeom said this while gazing at the screen, seeming nostalgic.

Anyone would think he and Ahn Yuyoung were childhood friends who used to play together all the time when they were younger.

―This morning, when I opened my eyes

And looked out the window to see……

The song began.

The screen showed Ahn Yuyoung calmly reciting the lyrics.

I stared at it in a daze.

No matter how many times I looked at it. Seriously, no matter how many times. It still didn’t feel like ‘me’.

That was kind of sad.

―No matter how much I swept them away,

They kept falling……

“You’re crying……”

Haram mumbled, pouting his lips.

Ahn Yuyoung really started to cry.

It looked incredibly natural.

Even the way he suddenly choked up, as if holding back tears.

His voice didn’t shake too much or break.

It was like his tears were edited in.

His eyes only reddened slightly, and thick tears rolled down his cheeks.

His voice wavered just a little, but his pitch and breath control remained perfect.

How was that even possible?

Shouldn’t crying make someone’s breathing uneven and their face contort with emotion?

I still had no idea why Ahn Yuyoung had cried.

At that moment, I had already slipped into another time and space, witnessing something that probably had been Ahn Yuyoung’s past life or just his past.

No matter how many times I watched it, his reenacted audition performance felt incredibly strange to me.

―Should I get you something to wipe your face with?

Lee Kyubin carefully approached Ahn Yuyoung.

He, who had been crying so bitterly, widened his round eyes as he looked at Lee Kyubin.

From this point on, I could clearly remember everything.

It was as if I really got possessed or something.

I thought I was past finding possessions strange, but seeing it like this made it seem completely bizarre again.

Ahn Yuyoung hurriedly went back to his seat.

Two or three more contestants' performances were shown after that.

Out of 29 participants, about six had gotten some screen time.

With both Haedun and me among them, it wasn’t a bad result.

―Now, with that, the audition reenactment mission is officially complete.

Lee Kyubin began his closing remarks.

―Could all group leaders stay behind for a moment? Everyone else, great work today!

[The gathered leaders]

This was the sequence where they introduced the ‘Emergency Bell’ to the leaders.

―During the program, if there’s something you’d like to address, whether it's to clarify a misunderstanding or highlighting an important moment that didn’t make the edit, you leaders can request it through the ‘Emergency Bell’ system.

And, of course, they added that we’d naturally learn how it worked once we entered the main recording.

“Ooh~.”

Ire responded in a tone that suggested that he found it interesting.

“Clarify? What do they mean by clarifying?”

Haram asked a rather pointed question.

―By clarifying…… Does that mean we can only use the Emergency Bell after the episode airs?

“Hyung, did you plan this with Heerae?”

Baegyeom laughed.

He was pointing out how Haram’s question had lined up perfectly with Heerae asking almost the exact thing on screen.

After that, the scene dragged out with shots of the leaders returning to the dorm.

Then, the screen abruptly changed.

[Coming up next]

[The five groups’ <Ultimate Idol> entrance performances will be revealed!]

So it was finally time for the performance held on the next day.

[WEEKANIZ - <Totter>]

[A first-ever exclusive reveal on this broadcast!]

“It’s our stage!”

Ire cheered excitedly.

[To be revealed in 1 minute]

“I’m getting nervous for no reason.”

Yoon Sanho muttered, his expression tense.

I kept my eyes on the screen, pretending to watch while secretly pulling up my status window.

[Notoriety : 60

Notoriety Keyword : Emotional Wreck]

“This is too much……”

“What is?”

“Ah, no, erm…… The commercial. It’s just too well-timed, haha.”

Sanho, as sharp as ever, caught my mumbling right away.

I panicked so I spat out whatever nonsense came to my mind.

‘Emotional Wreck’?!

Was it because I cried a little during the audition reenactment?

I mean, sure, I did tear up just a bit, but did they really have to call me an emotional wreck for it?

I always knew idol fans were ruthless, keeping a sword instead of a tongue in their mouth, but this seriously annoyed me.

I snapped my head up and stared at Baekgyeom, who was sitting beside me.

At this point, I figured it was a good idea to check his status window as well.

[Name: Baekgyeom

Notoriety : 40

Notoriety Keyword : Unable to Measure]

Looked like he was staying out of trouble (for now). Probably because he hadn’t gotten that much screen time yet.

[Name : Yoon Sanho

Notoriety : 38

Sanho was the same.

Alright then……

“……?”

Seo Haedun gave me a weird look, like he was seriously uncomfortable.

Guess staring at him blankly without a word must’ve freaked him out.

Sorry, I just needed to collect some data real quick.

[Name: Seo Haedun

Notoriety : 52

Notoriety Keyword : ‘Stop Showing Off’]

“Pfft.”

“……What’s so funny?”

Haedun’s expression immediately soured.

I barely managed to hold back my laughter, waving a hand dismissively.

“Ah, nothing. Don’t worry about it.”

“……”

We got one guy getting flamed for being an ‘Emotional Wreck, and the other getting roasted for ‘Showing off’. And they were even in the same age group.

Hah…… It’s not even funny, but I couldn’t stop snickering.

These two must have thrown hands in front of the fans at one point before I possessed this body. There was no other explanation for this.

[The Next Morning]

[A Busy Studio from the Early Hours]

[Everyone is Focused on Preparing for Their First Performance]

The broadcast showed scenes of idols getting their hair and makeup done, waiting around in the studio.

[But Amidst This Busy Atmosphere……]

[In the now Empty Dorm]

[One Idol Who Has No Intention of Waking Up – Who Could It Be?]

[IONER’s Eungi]

The show started exposing the latecomers, just like I expected.

I knew the kids who were late that day would definitely appear on the broadcast.

[Meanwhile, at the Studio……]

― Ugh…… What's that guy doing to be so late? So annoying

Yeeun spat out these words.

―So- A - nnoy- ing-.

These words were repeated again in slow motion.

Wow. That delivery was so sharp, it was bound to have an impact.

―Where’s our manager-hyung?

[VOV searching for Their Manager Like a Lost Kid Looking for Mom]

Look at that shade.

They actually wrote ‘like a lost kid looking for mom’ in the captions.

―Did you not hear your alarm?

―Yes…… I’m a pretty heavy sleeper.

Eungi’s solo interview followed.

―Who’s usually the worst when it comes to being late?

―Honestly? Our leader hyung. This feels so unfair.

From now on, I wouldn’t call them IONER anymore but Suicide Squad.

[The Recording was Delayed by a Whole 40 Minutes]

[Stages Will Be Performed in Order of Who Was Late the Most]

[Now, It’s Time to Reveal the Performance.]

The show smoothly moved to the performance segment.

It looked like they were going to show all the stages before ending the episode.

―Next up, we have WEEKANIZ with <Totter>. Surprisingly, this group will be debuting their brand-new song on <Ultimate Idol>. Let’s check it out!

“It’s us!”

I swallowed hard.

My notoriety will be fine, right?

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