The first trainee promoted to Tier 1 entered the Tier 1 classroom.
On the trainee’s T-shirt was a large number 4, indicating they were a Tier 4.
In other words, this trainee moved up from Tier 4 to Tier 1 in one go.
“Hello! I’m Lee Seung-ah!”
Lee Seung-ah seemed to take a deep breath to hide her excitement, but she couldn’t contain the smile sneaking out.
Following her, other trainees promoted to Tier 1 started coming in one by one.
Two trainees from Tier 3 and two from Tier 2.
Not as many trainees as expected.
It seemed that the trainers had strict evaluations.
The existing Tier 1 trainees felt relieved.
“There are a total of 18 trainees currently in the Tier 1 classroom.”
“How many of the existing Tier 1 trainees do you think will maintain their Tier 1 status?”
“Kim Na-eun trainee?”
At the sudden mention, Na-eun Unni jumped in surprise.
“Uh?”
“How many of the 13 existing trainees do you think will maintain Tier 1?”
Na-eun Unni looked around and said,
“Everyone is doing so well that I think all 13 will remain as they are.”
“Really? But not all trainees can maintain Tier 1.”
“I will now call out the trainees who have been demoted.”
Moon Jin-woo held a notification sheet and spoke in a serious voice.
“The first trainee excluded from final Tier 1 is…”
“Jung Eun-ah trainee. Please come forward.”
Eun-ah Unni, who forgot the choreography during the video evaluation shoot.
She was the first trainee to be demoted from the Tier 1 class.
Eun-ah Unni stepped forward to receive the notification indicating her new classroom.
After opening the notification, she looked troubled, but Trainer Moon Jin-woo said coldly,
“Please move to the classroom indicated.”
Eun-ah Unni exited the classroom, and Trainer Moon Jin-woo called out one by one.
“Cha Hee-hyun trainee, please come out.”
Hee-hyun Unni, who had been the least stable dancer among us.
“Yeo-rin trainee. Please come out.”
And Yeo-rin Unni, who was constantly told her pitch was unstable during vocal lessons.
With three of the existing Tier 1 trainees gone, the atmosphere started to settle.
But Trainer Moon Jin-woo still maintained a solemn atmosphere and called my name.
“Lee Do-hee trainee.”
…Am I going out too?
“Yes…?”
“Yes, Lee Do-hee trainee.”
I stood up and walked forward.
Trainer Moon Jin-woo’s lips twitched, and he couldn’t hold back a laugh.
“I didn’t mean to call you out… just go back for now.”
What?
As I returned to my seat, Moon Jin-woo continued.
“Lee Do-hee trainee, how many trainees among the final Tier 1 trainees are qualified to stand center stage for the title track?”
Ah.
“Just one.”
“Yes, that’s right. There can only be one center who gets the most spotlight among Tier 1 trainees.”
“We will now begin the center selection competition.”
“You all have 1 hour to create a 1-minute performance to the title track ‘Fell In Love’ MR.”
One hour…?
…I messed up.
“The center will be chosen by a vote from the trainees.”
“We will select the center through the trainee votes.”
*
I sat still in my seat, watching the older sisters around me.
Just now, I was staring blankly at Seo-yoon Unni.
Seo-yoon Unni looked at me and said,
“Do-hee, aren’t you going to prepare?”
“I should…”
Is this the pain of creation?
I can’t think at all.
Everyone is definitely doing something.
Some are creating choreography, some are writing rap lyrics, and others are aiming to shine as vocalists.
Of course, I could do rap or choreography too.
But I felt like that wouldn’t be enough to become the center.
It seems like to be selected as the center, I should show my own charm rather than just my skill.
There are only 40 minutes left until the stage.
Honestly, there’s one thing that comes to mind,
but I don’t want to do it…
But I want to be the center…
But I don’t want to do it…
I want to be the center…
I don’t know if doing this will actually make me the center, but wouldn’t I at least be satisfied if I don’t do it…?
Maybe not?
I don’t know, I want to be the center…
*
In front of the trainees, I stepped onto the 1-minute creation performance stage.
I was wearing my hair in braids, which was different from usual.
Ah.
Is this right…?
I don’t know…
As the MR for ‘Fell in Love’ started,
I looked at the audience and poked my cheeks with my fingers, saying,
“Unni, I want to be the center!”
And while sending hearts to the audience,
“Please vote for your youngest, Do-hee!”
I started dancing vigorously to the MR, giving it my all…
The best coolness I could muster…
And while dancing energetically, I made cute faces, blowing kisses, throwing hearts, and winking…
“Everyone, fighting for Season 3! I love you~”
After finishing the performance, I returned to my seat in the audience.
Kim Seo-yoon looked at my flushed face and laughed out loud.
“Oh, don’t laugh.”
“That was hilarious!”
“What?”
“I love you~ Hahaha.”
“Don’t do that.”
“Youngest Do-hee, haha.”
“Please don’t…”
“That’s so funny, haha.”
“Please stop…”
What was the center about…
I should have just not done it…
Fortunately, in the later trainee votes, I was selected as the center.
*
The next day
Today is the day for participant profile photos.
The production staff transformed the large practice room into a photo shoot location.
After getting my makeup done by the stylist teacher and changing into the outfit I’ll wear on the title track stage, I was contemplating which props to use and what poses to take while looking at all the props laid out at the shoot.
“Oh! Is that you, Youngest Do-hee?”
Seo-yoon Unni approached me with a selfie cam.
It seemed like she was filming behind the scenes.
Since it was in front of the camera, I couldn’t say anything.
I pointed at the camera and said,
“Don’t take pictures.”
“Oh my, why are you being so grumpy, Youngest Do-hee?”
“Ah, just…”
It’s one thing if it’s just Seo-yoon Unni, but now Na-eun Unni and all the older sisters I’ve gotten close to over the past 5 days are all calling me Youngest Do-hee.
Even with this cool title of center…
Damn.
“Do-hee trainee, if you’ve decided on the props, we’ll start filming.”
“Yes~”
I stepped into the profile shooting area under a pink background with lights shining brightly.
My prop was a bit cliché, but it was an ion sweat.
I stood in front of the camera, striking a refreshing pose and a bright expression that matched the prop.
“Ah, that’s not the youngest Do-hee vibe, is it?”
Damn.
Even the production staff now.
“Do-hee trainee, you know the feeling you showed on stage yesterday, right?”
I wanted to say no right away. But as just a trainee… there’s nothing I can do…
“Yes…”
I forced a smile and struck a cute pose.
“Good! So cute!”
*
A week since being selected as a center.
On the day marking two weeks since the first recording.
After two weeks of filming various segments, interviews, profile shoots, and practicing for the title track stage, the trainees came to the Olympic gym early in the morning for the pre-recording of the title track ‘Fell for You,’ airing on the music show Mpulse.
As soon as I entered the Olympic gym, a massive stage came into view.
Amidst the glamorous purple and blue neon lights was a star-shaped stage glowing in white light.
And shining bright in the center position.
My heart, worn out by all sorts of humiliation, felt as if it was melting away.
I approached the source of my humiliation, Seo-yoon unni, and whispered.
– This is the center, Kim Seo-yoon. –
“Kim Seo-yoon? Aren’t you going to call me unni?”
– This is the center. –
“Ugh…”
Of course, I whispered to not show my excitement in front of the other trainees.
Before the first episode of the reckless season 3 aired, there was the Ep. 0 prologue of the title stage airing on Mpulse.
Every single shot captured by the camera could change the early rankings.
Meanwhile, the title track stage had a strict tiering system.
Starting with the center, the brightest star, were the 1st tier trainees.
Then, spreading out, the 2nd tier, 3rd tier, and 4th tier trainees.
Finally, the 5th tier trainees had to perform below the star-shaped stage.
Of course, this rather cruel arrangement was expected since the early episodes would focus on the trainees’ tiers.
Therefore, even the trainees assigned to lower tiers could only show disappointed and withdrawn expressions without voicing their complaints.
The trainees changed into T-shirts indicating their tiers instead of costumes for the main stage.
It was for behind-the-scenes filming.
“1st tier team will go up on stage first!”
The staff shouted loudly.
After the placement was finished one by one.
“We’ll start the rehearsal!”
*
After about three hours of rehearsal, it was time for a break and lunch.
Pizza from a famous franchise came in as PPL.
“Delicious!”
“Wow, this is so good.”
We tried to react as much as possible while eating, aware of the camera, and then started the hellish rehearsal again.
Of course, we hadn’t even started the rehearsal for the main stage yet.
“Sob… When will this end…”
“Wow… I really feel like I’m going to die.”
“Me too…”
Since it was a large group stage, fixing one issue took ages.
But the staff harshly yelled at the exhausted participants, “Smile~ Manage your expressions!”
The production staff, unfeelingly, could only shout at the struggling participants, “Smile~ Keep those expressions in check!”
If it hadn’t been for the air conditioning blasting in the gym, all the participants would have been drenched in sweat.
After three hours of rehearsal in the morning and five in the afternoon, it was finally done.
“Thank you for your hard work, everyone! Now, let’s change into our outfits and head to makeup before the main stage!”
All the participants came down from the stage, changed outfits, and moved to the hallway where the makeup rooms were located.
There were at least three makeup rooms, but it was still not enough to accommodate 99 participants at once.
Reluctantly, most participants had to sit on a row of chairs in one makeup room and wait for a long time.
Before starting with the makeup, the stylist teacher asked me,
“Do-hee, do you have a specific image you want?”
“Something cool…?”
“Hey, we still have to match the concept! I’ll make sure to pull it off well.”
“Okay…”
The teacher applied various things to my face and, satisfied, smiled.
“How is it? Is it okay?”
The touch of a professional is always impressive.
I gave a thumbs up.
“It’s super pretty.”
“Okay, then let’s hurry and do your hair, alright? Others are waiting too!”
“Yes~”
The teacher gave my hair some waves with a curling iron.
At least it’s not just plain pigtails.
*
The practice continued again.
Of course, this was not just any rehearsal, but the main stage rehearsal.
You might think it’s just a play on words…
After that main stage rehearsal ended, it was finally time for the real filming!
I hoped the actual filming would wrap up in one go, but no, it felt like we’d done it at least four times already.
I couldn’t even remember how many times.
“Ending fairy~ Ending fairy~ Look at the camera! Keep those expressions pretty~”
Each time the song ended, we filmed the ending fairy scene.
We must have stood there quietly shooting this scene for at least 10 minutes…
Especially since I was in the center, I couldn’t just slack off on it.
My eyelids winked nervously, and my smiling face was starting to cramp.
Finally, the PD gave the okay sign.
“Alright, great job! Thank you all for your hard work~”
The production staff cheered and clapped for the participants.
Finally, it’s over… phew.
Before wrapping up the filming, the staff gathered everyone together.
The main producer, Hyun-woong Lim, took the microphone.
“Everyone, you really worked hard. I know there were many moments over the past two weeks when you wanted to give up, but I want to thank you for not giving in and for your efforts. This stage will air in about two weeks, on June 2nd, on Mpulse, right?”
“Yes!!”
“Right. The day after it airs, on June 3rd, we’ll start filming again, so see you then. You’ve all worked hard. Make sure to rest well over the two weeks and practice hard again, understood?”
“Yes!!”
I didn’t even really understand what the PD was saying.
I just reflexively shouted yes…
It’s finally over!
