WETRIED TRANSLATIONS

[ Translation - Aren ]

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

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Chapter 70

“……Why?”

That familiar pain.

It was the feeling that came whenever my notoriety score increased.

But no new broadcast has been aired yet. So what the hell was going on?

Confused, I couldn’t take another step and just sank to the ground.

“……Hyung!”

“Ah, damn.”

A voice boomed over me like thunder.

When I looked up it was Heerae.

This guy always startled me whenever he appeared.

“Are you okay? What’s wrong?”

“Ah…… No, it’s nothing. My leg just cramped up out of nowhere.”

“What? No, hyung, did you see the interview clip that just dropped”

“……Huh?”

“Did you not see the pre-released interview? They announced it in the studio earlier. Oh, were you eating at the time?”

I furrowed my brows, not fully understanding what he meant.

My headache showed no signs of letting up.

“Want to watch it together? The practice tablets they gave us can connect to Wi-Fi. Everyone’s watching it right now.”

As expected, as sloppy as ever.

Scoffing at the production team in my head, I sat up.

“Is the interview problematic?”

“I only saw my team’s part, but…… Just watch for yourself. I’ll lend you my tablet. Do you have yours, Hyung?”

“No. Chenstin’s Iho has it.”

“Then use mine and drop it off in my room later.”

Heerae smiled kindly as he readily handed me his tablet.

“Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it. But Hyung, are you really okay? You’re sweating quite a lot……”

“The cramps are just really bad…… I’m fine. I’ll watch it quickly and bring it back to you.”

With that, I quickly turned and walked away.

I could feel Heerae’s concerned gaze on my back, but I had no time to worry about that.

Going to my room would be risky since someone might be there, so I found a spot in the emergency stairwell and sat down.

The mic was still on, but it didn’t matter.

There weren’t any cameramen following me right now, so as long as I didn’t start an argument with someone, this audio file would be scrapped.

[<Ultimate Idol> Interview Sneak Peek! What Do Members Really Think About Their Leaders?]

As soon as I unlocked the tablet, a list of video clips popped up.

The Loop7 clips were grayed out, so it looked like Heerae had already gone through them.

I scrolled down, and soon, a familiar face came into view.

It was Baekgyeom.

“When the hell did they even film this……?”

I muttered under my breath. It must have been during the same round of individual interviews, similar to the one I had.

Beneath the video, a short description was included.

<Viewers, are you excited for Episode 3 airing this Saturday?

Before the main broadcast airs, we’re releasing sneak peeks from the interviews conducted early in the recording process.

<Ultimate Idol> contestants share their raw thoughts and honest feelings!

These clips will be dropped randomly, so stay tuned for more surprises!>

Interviews, huh……

The only things I remember from mine were that dumb ‘sales’ joke and the part where I basically sacrificed Haedun as a topic.

There was only one video for WEEKANIZ. The thumbnail showed Baekgyeom. I decided to watch it.

[Baekgyeom : Erm…… Our leader? Hmm……]

[Haram : Hmm…… I think he’s a bit soft-hearted, but he doesn’t really say much.]

[Ire : He’s nice, I guess.]

[Tae Oh : Honestly, I don’t really know.]

[Sanho : Lately, he seems kind of different……]

[Haedun : ……Hmm.]

“…… What the hell is this?”

The screen darkened, and then our members’ interviews popped up.

[Q. Please introduce your leader.]

[Haram : Our leader…… His name is Ahn Yuyoung. At his core, he’s really kind. He’s not particularly cunning or someone who aggressively looks out for himself. He tries to listen to us..]

Hmm, that was a pretty vague evaluation.

[Baekgyeom : Do we have to talk about the bad stuff too?]

“Come on……”

I was already exhausted.

My pointless muttering echoed through the emergency stairwell.

[Ire : I think he’s probably going through a lot of confusion…… His expressions are pretty honest. Even if he doesn’t talk much.]

[Tae Oh: When he’s in a good mood, he talks a lot, but when he’s mad, he completely shuts down.]

[Q. When does he get angry?]

[Tae Oh : Uhm…… Actually, I’ve never really seen Yuyoung-hyung get mad. Oh, wait. There was that one time during practice…… Ah, wait, am I allowed to say this?]

‘No!!!’

I expected Baekgyeom to throw me under the bus, but Tae Oh planned on betraying me as well?

I screamed internally as an overwhelming sense of doom crashed down on me.

[Sanho : He has a kind of scary side. I used to think he was really mild, but…… I realized this recently.]

Yeah, that was probably because I literally hunted him down at his house not too long ago.

[Baekgyeom : Honestly, he’s a bit moody.]

“Oh, come on.”

A sigh slipped out of me as soon as Baekgyeom’s interview started playing.

[Baekgyeom: I can’t really figure him out. When he’s in a good mood, he just goes along with things, but if something rubs him the wrong way, he’ll call it out…… Maybe I just don’t know him that well yet.]

Baekgyeom shrugged as he spoke.

Did he not realize that this was making us both look bad?

You’re an idol too, damn it. I wanted to storm over there and grab Baekgyeom by the collar, but if I did that, I might as well jump into my own grave before next week's episode aired.

No complicated funeral arrangements needed.

[Sanho : Baekgyeom-Hyung said he doesn't know? Haha, that’s pretty honest. But actually, I feel the same way. He didn't talk much before. Lately, he’s been speaking up more…… Sometimes, it feels like he’s changed.]

[Q. When exactly is ‘lately’?]

[Sanho : Uhm, well, erm, actually, so……]

[Q. Was it after that ‘live stream’?]

[Sanho : Uhm…… yeah. I’m not really good at lying…… Haha. But I talked things out with Yuyoung-hyung, so it’s all good now.]

Sanho lowered his head.

Well, back then, I did kind of stir up a mini fan war by publicly replying to a comment.

I had to give the production team credit, their monitoring skills were solid.

[Q. What do you think about having a leader the same age as you?

[Haedun : Hmm…… Well, a leader’s a leader. And I’m just me.]

Right now, the more someone talked in this interview, the worse things got for me.

At this point, Seo Haedun, with his curt and vague answers, seemed like the most reliable one here.

Normally, he’s an absolute pain in the butt. Well, I guess he did have his moments.

[Q. Have you two ever fought?]

[Haedun : ……Well. Not really.]

Haedun sat there, hands resting neatly on his lap, his face completely unreadable.

Wow, look at this guy acting like a nice person now.

[Q. The other members say your leader has ‘changed’ a little lately. That he’s become more proactive. What do you think?]

Haedun tilted his head slightly, as if mulling over the writer’s question.

[Haedun : Changed……]

The longer he hesitated, the more I could feel my back getting drenched in sweat. Whatever came out of his mouth next could end up ruining me completely……

[Haedun : Rather than changing, it feels more like he’s going back.]

[Q. Going back?]

[Haedun : Yes. Back to how he was before.]

[Q. Do you mean in a good way?]

[Haedun: I definitely don’t mean it in a bad way.]

Haedun answered cautiously, his expression still unreadable.

For the group, and for me, this was a good outcome.

But what did he mean by going back?

Moreover, why wasn’t he roasting me? If there was anyone I expected to drag me through the mud, it was Haedun, yet he was barely saying anything.

“No way……”

……Was he holding back for my sake?

“That can’t be.”

I immediately dismissed that thought.

There was no way that guy would ever do that.

If anything, he was just doing it because he was worried for the group’s future.

[Q. Can you please be honest about the leader’s flaw?]

[Sanho : He doesn’t really talk about himself?]

[Haram : It’s frustrating. Lately, not as much, but he always tries to handle things on his own.]

[Baekgyeom : He kinda avoids things when problems come up? Something like that.]

[Tae Oh : He gets super pouty.]

[Ire : Sometimes I get confused too, but…… Well, he’s the leader.]

[Haedun : Haram said he’s frustrating? Hmm…… (nods)]

“Hah……”

I checked my notoriety score, feeling miserable.

[Notoriety : 87

Notoriety Keywords : Incompetent, Rude, Shameless, Materialistic]

“Well, it’s not just one or two things this time.”

I already confirmed my ‘incompetence’ from their interviews. Time to check the rest.

[<The Ultimate Idol> Exclusive Interview! The Leaders’ True Feelings?]

I definitely remembered filming this one.

[Yuyoung : My name is Ahn Yuyoung. I’m the leader of WEEKANIZ. It’s been five years since I debuted. I’m the leader, and, uhm, I also take on the roles of a sub-dancer and sub-vocalist.]

A very nervous Ahn Yuyoung appeared on screen.

Even the subtitles read ‘Yuyoung seems quite nervous.’

It wasn’t unlikabel, but…… for some reason, it was kind of embarrassing.

[Yuyoung : Honestly, I kept thinking about the end……]

[Q. By the end, you mean disbandment?]

[Yuyoung :……Yes.]

[Q. Why?]

[Yuyoung : To be honest, I think it’s the sales.]

I was screwed.

It was this.

This was the reason why my head was on the verge of exploding!

[Yuyoung avoids direct eye contact with the camera. Is he holding something back?]

After those subtitles faded again, that damn Yuyoung opened his mouth again.

[Yuyoung : As you all know, this industry is incredibly oppressive, right? Technically, we’re freelancers, so things like annual salaries or pay scales are out of the question……. Of course, if I’d been dreaming of stable pay and benefits, I wouldn’t have chosen to be an idol in the first place, right?]

[Yuyoung hesitates for a moment]

[Yuyoung : ……Realistically, no matter what dream you have, if it becomes too difficult to sustain yourself, I think you have to reconsider.]

Was this a candid interview or a withdrawal announcement?

Everything I had said to cushion that ‘realistically’ had been completely cut out.

So things like, I really love our fans a lot, or I don’t really see them as just money, all gone.

I had carefully crafted my words to avoid this exact outcome and yet they edited it all out!

[Q. “So you mentioned money earlier. Just how bad was your financial situation?]

[Yuyoung: Uhm…… Simply put, we weren’t receiving any earnings.]

They left in the part about our finances.

Ah, I’m sorry, this was so embarrassing. Even I thought I sounded pathetic, so, how much worse would it be for fans and viewers?

Regret hit me like a truck.

The pain in my body intensified, and before I even realized it, my fist clenched tightly.

[Q. There were reports that your member, Haedun-ssi, was out of contact, correct?]

[Yuyoung : Ah……]

Was I going to die before that interview even finished?

[Yuyoung : ……That’s right. Before joining this program, our member Haedun was briefly out of contact…… To be honest, our group started to wonder if it was truly possible to keep going. That led to a long period of conflict between Haedun and me.]

[Q. So, is this about disbandment?]

[Yuyoung : ……WEEKANIZ is not disbanding.]

[Q. So does Haedun want to leave?]

[Yuyoung : Haedun is, as you know, a dancer. He’s amazing at creating and performing choreography. He wanted more opportunities to showcase that talent, and we fully supported him in that.]

And then, the screen suddenly cut to Haedun.

Was it even allowed for another member to randomly appear in the leader’s interview?

[Q. How did the members react to your participation in <Dance Off>?]

[Haedun : Uhm…… They just told me to do my best.]

[Q. What about the leader’s reaction?]

[Haedun : Hmm……]

[Headun hesitates. Why is he struggling to answer?]

And then the screen cut right back to my interview.

[Yuyoung : We weren’t fighting or anything, we were just busy. Both of us. Haha!]

“Wow.”

They seriously edited it like that.

I remember explicitly saying ‘Headun has incredible talent, and more people should recognize his abilities’

But they cut out all of that, so now the story was twisted into Ahn Yuyoung and Seo Haedun having some petty personal conflict to the point that it got in the way of their careers and their relationship was still strained.

And Ahn Yuyoung looked like a weak, incompetent leader who couldn’t even manage his own team and got criticized by his own members as ‘incompetent’.

This was the narrative the producers wanted.

This was why PD Kim was so eager to stir things up between me and Haedun.

“Damn it……”

My own team didn’t fully trust me.

The producers also had completely turned against me.

In this competition, I was now just some useless, powerless leader.

“What the hell am I even doing……”

Still sitting on the stairs, I slowly lowered my head in defeat

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