NOVEL NEXT Chapter 41
I wasn’t the only one who caught on to the identity of the sandwiches provided by p.p.l, as soon, countless participants stared at their own sandwiches with wide eyes.
And soon…
“Uh, unnie. What’s that sandwich?”
“You, you chose what kind of sandwich again?”
They began to check who had chosen the same sandwich as them.
Han Si-woo, watching this from the podium on stage, picked up the microphone with a pleased expression.
“There are indeed some people who have already figured it out. Yes, that’s right. In the first team competition, your team is made up of those who chose the same sandwich.”
“……!!!”
So are those who picked the same sandwich a team?
If so…
“Uh, unnie! We…!”
“Yes, Ye-rin! Yoo-jung! We…!”
Before I could even turn my head, Park Yoo-jung and Lee Hye-jeong came over and grabbed my hands.
“Wow-!!! Long live the mackerel sandwich-!!!”
And they screamed as if the set was about to fall apart.
“Mackerel sandwiches are divine-!!”
Especially Park Yoo-jung was smiling twice as brightly, as if she was really happy to be in the same team as Lee Hye-jeong and me.
“Hey, hey! You two calm down first….”
Even though I tried to settle Park Yoo-jung and Lee Hye-jeong down since it was too noisy, honestly, I felt just as good as they did.
Lee Hye-jeong and Park Yoo-jung.
Both had decent stats, and I was already on friendly terms with them.
We could probably start the all-important first team competition on a good note.
‘What luck I have, right?’
So we pirouetted around happily and went off to check who else was on our team.
Of course, the first thing we checked was Yoo Seol’s sandwich.
Yoo Seol’s spot was already filled with those trying to figure out what her sandwich was, so we had to sneak a peek from a distance.
“Seol-ah, what’s your sandwich?”
“Um, I….”
I kept my keen eye on Yoo Seol’s sandwich wrapping.
And her sandwich was…
“A veggie sandwich.”
…A veggie sandwich made solely of vegetables.
‘A person so committed to self-management….’
How could someone choose a sandwich with only veggies…?
I let out a sigh that was half relieved, half disappointed after confirming that she had a different sandwich from mine.
If I had been on the same team as Yoo Seol… well, the stage would have been successful even if the relationship was awkward.
‘It’s unfortunate but… it’s fine.’
I pushed my disappointment aside and set out to find the other team members with Lee Hye-jeong and Park Yoo-jung.
“Anyone who picked the mackerel sandwich, come here-!”
Thanks to the loud voice of Park Yoo-jung, we quickly found our team members.
“Oh? That’s a mackerel sandwich!”
“Me, me too-!”
“Wow-! Me too!”
Two C-ranks and one D-rank.
Not bad selections.
“So, is that it for our team?”
Since there seemed to be mixed opinions about the mackerel sandwich, our team was a bit small compared to others.
A total of 6 members.
But compared to the many low-ranking participants, it was much better.
‘One A rank, two B ranks, two C ranks, one D rank….’
The members were more than sufficient.
Moreover, the three newly joined members, though not particularly close, seemed nice and gentle.
They also seemed pleased to be teamed up with me, a participant who had gained some buzz in episode one, since they were also A ranks.
“It seems we are finally composed of these 6 members! Wow-! Everyone, let’s do our best!”
As the good-natured Park Yoo-jung took the lead in conversation, the atmosphere soon became warm and cheerful.
A good start.
I felt that with good teammates like this, we would wrap up the first team competition successfully.
Thud.
…That was until she appeared.
Thump Thump.
Someone was poking us who were forming a circle, thinking our group of 6 was final.
“Hmm…? Oh?”
I turned my head to see someone frowning, seemingly unhappy.
“…Yoo-jin? Why….”
It was none other than SAV Seo Yoo-jin.
By the way, despite being in the same A rank category, I hadn’t been able to drop the formalities with Seo Yoo-jin.
It wasn’t easy to become friends with someone who constantly glared and restrained me.
‘But why is she here…? …No way?’
Hoping it wouldn’t be true, I glanced at the sandwich packaging in Seo Yoo-jin’s hand.
[Ura Chacha Sandwich – Mackerel Sandwich]
…It was a mackerel sandwich.
“…I’m also on this team.”
“…….”
“I had a mackerel sandwich too.”
Her mackerel sandwich packaging was spotless, with not even a trace of seasoning. It must have tasted good.
‘Would sighing here be rude…?’
Until now, the members were good, but suddenly a thorny member had popped in.
Although I felt like sighing, I tried to appear welcoming to Seo Yoo-jin.
But then….
“…Yoo-jin. Welcome….”
Shock.
“…….”
Seo Yoo-jin shot me a look as if she didn’t like me as soon as she saw me.
There’s a saying about how a single eel murkies a puddle.
Grrr-, growl, growl.
With the addition of a chihuahua, the atmosphere of our team turned icy in an instant.
“Ham and egg sandwich! Over here!”
“Tuna mayo is this way-!”
It didn’t take long for each team to take shape.
Our mackerel sandwich team saw no additional members after Seo Yoo-jin joined.
A total of 7 members.
Two A ranks, two B ranks, two C ranks, and one D rank.
‘Yeah, that’s above average.’
It was a bit surprising with Seo Yoo-jin joining, but the fact that our mackerel sandwich team members were good didn’t change.
No? On the contrary, in terms of rank alone, our team was overwhelmingly strong.
Even though Seo Yoo-jin brought the mood down, she was still an A rank from SAV and skilled in both dancing and singing.
‘Indeed, our team is better than those over there.’
I thought this while looking at the ham and egg sandwich team, which had a vibe of impending doom.
One C rank, three D ranks, two E ranks, and three F ranks.
That was the composition of the ham and egg sandwich team.
It was a disaster that occurred because team formation was decided randomly.
Maybe they realized their fate, as they wore gloomy expressions.
None of the other teams looked particularly threatening either.
Yoo Seol’s team had no one remarkable aside from Yoo Seol.
‘Are we the team with the best composition…?’
Just as I thought that, Han Si-woo resumed the proceedings.
“It seems all teams are complete now. How is it, everyone? Are you happy with your teams?”
“…….”
“Yes-!!”
Only our mackerel sandwich team shouted that we were happy.
Han Si-woo, seeing Park Yoo-jung shout the loudest, chuckled before continuing.
“I’m glad to hear that. It seems some of you may not be satisfied with your teams… but, you will still have to work hard. Many participants will be eliminated during this first team competition.”
“……!”
As the talk of elimination came up, the participants raised their heads with keen interest.
Boom Boom.
With a heavy BGM playing, Han Si-woo continued in a serious tone.
“If your team falls into the bottom 6 in total vote counts, all team members except the top 3 individual vote-getters will be eliminated.”
“……!”
As soon as Han Si-woo finished speaking, I considered what would happen if our team were to be in that bottom 6.
Seo Yoo-jin and I, as A ranks, wouldn’t be at risk of elimination due to lower individual vote counts.
But…
B ranks Lee Hye-jeong and Park Yoo-jung.
One of them could be the worst-case scenario of getting eliminated.
‘I don’t want that….’
It seems we’ll have to do our best to avoid being in the bottom 6.
Rustle rustle.
As many eliminations were expected in the first team competition, participants began to whisper nervously.
But in the next moment, Han Si-woo continued speaking, and immediately the place turned as silent as a mouse.
“Now, we’ll proceed to song selection.”
Song selection can be considered the next most important thing after member selection in team competitions…
How this song selection would be determined wasn’t clear at all.
“I mentioned earlier, right? Everything in this first team competition will be decided by luck.”
“…….”
“This will be no exception either. Now, please look at the screen.”
Boom-!
As Han Si-woo’s words ended, a large electronic display turned on, and…
Whirl-.
A spinning wheel appeared on the screen.
“This cyber wheel encompasses idol hits from the last five years. You will select your songs through this. Should I show you how it works?”
Quickly.
Once Han Si-woo finished his sentence, production staff quickly set up a switch on the stage.
It was a red switch that reminded me of the ‘5 billion years button’ I had seen in a cartoon before.
Once Han Si-woo saw the production staff give him a sign that the setup was complete, he pressed the switch.
And then…
Whirl-.
The cyber wheel began to spin before coming to a stop at a certain portion.
[YW Entertainment]
The first thing that popped up was the company name.
“Hmm, heh, my former company YW has appeared. Anyway, pressing the button for the first time will yield a company name. If you press it again…”
Press.
Whirl-.
With another press, the display spun again, stopping at a song this time.
[Really Right Now! – Wider]
“And there you go, that’s the song. Each team must perform the song they draw.”
Great… so you pick the company first and then get one of its hit songs… it was easy to understand.
But…
“Why is that song coming up?”
“…Wider is a boy group, right?”
Wider is definitely a male idol group. Why did that song show up?
Hearing the whispering participants, Han Si-woo chuckled and said, “Ah, and as you just learned, the wheel includes songs from boy idols as well.”
“…….”
“So let’s actually draw a song now! Each team, please send up one representative!”
Going up as a representative would definitely get more camera time.
“Who wants to go…?”
Thus, a slightly awkward atmosphere fell among our team as we began discussing it.
Of course, I wanted to go up as the representative.
But if I raised my hand immediately, I would feel a bit greedy…
“I’ll do it! I want to go!”
…Seo Yoo-jin didn’t seem to care about such feelings.
She immediately raised her hand and shouted that she wanted to go.
“Hmm, then…”
Glance.
Once Seo Yoo-jin called out first, my teammates began to glance at me.
It seemed they were looking for my approval.
I pondered briefly and said…
“Yeah, then you can go, Yoo-jin.”
I just nodded.
After all, going out once wouldn’t give me much screen time anyway.
With someone like Seo Yoo-jin, I wouldn’t get overshadowed by her presence. It shouldn’t be a big problem if she went.
“Ah, then Seo Yoo-jin is going as representative…”
Just as my decision was about to finalize Seo Yoo-jin going up…
“Hold on a minute.”
Someone stepped in to overturn this decision.
It was none other than…
“I’m sorry to interrupt, but I think Ha Ye-rin should go instead.”
…The production staff outside the stage had spoken.
After overhearing our decision, they intervened and suggested me instead of Seo Yoo-jin.
“…What?”
We couldn’t help but be taken aback.
“What do you mean! I was going to go…!”
Seo Yoo-jin especially shouted, looking vexed, but…
“Sorry, but I think it looks better for Yerin to go. Please understand for the sake of the program~”
The production staff cheerfully dismissed Seo Yoo-jin’s opinion.
Since the production staff had said this, it seemed Seo Yoo-jin had no choice but to drop her argument.
Instead….
Shock.
…She glared at me.
‘No, it’s not my fault…’
If you look closely, it’s just her and Yoo Seol who act this way towards me.
“…Okay, then I’ll go.”
I too couldn’t refuse the production’s request.
I stepped onto the stage while receiving Seo Yoo-jin’s piercing gaze.
Other teams also began sending up high-profile participants, including Yoo Seol.
After Han Si-woo observed the participants on stage, he grabbed the microphone again.
“Now, let’s proceed with….”
“…….”
“Let’s start with the ‘Mackerel Sandwich’ team in alphabetical order. Yerin, step forward.”
“……What?”
What on earth was going on all of a sudden?
Alphabetical order now…?
As I looked at him with a resentful gaze, Han Si-woo flashed a playful smile at me.
I had no strength to go against the production staff or Han Si-woo.
So, I nodded and stepped forward.
“…Yes, understood.”
Once I stepped up, Han Si-woo smiled and asked me.
“Yerin, do you have any song you want to pick?”
“I don’t particularly want anything… I’ll just do my best with whatever song comes up.”
“Okay! Let’s draw now!”
Even though I said this, I was praying internally.
I needed anything but a weird song to come up.
Han Si-woo had said that only hit songs from the last 5 years were included, but I couldn’t believe that word blindly.
There were plenty of experimental tracks among hit songs that would be tough to express on stage.
‘Phew…, please be something normal.’
I offered a final prayer to the God of Broadcasting, and then…
Press.
Whirl-.
… I pressed the button.
I first needed to select the company.
The cyber wheel spun for quite a while before stopping.
And the name it then landed on was….
[JJ Entertainment]
It was one of the top three agencies, JJ.
“Oh, first off, it’s JJ Entertainment. Now, let’s press the button again.”
“Yes…!”
JJ Entertainment, huh… at least the company seems decent.
As I thought about who from JJ had made waves in the last five years, I pressed the button again.
Press.
Whirl-.
And then….
Click.
…The results soon appeared.
“……Huh?”
I widened my eyes at the song indicated by the electronic display.