NOVEL NEXT Episode 26
October 13, 20XX – The first broadcast day.
The official channel of HON Entertainment, the hosting agency, and TBQ Broadcasting were bustling with activity, preparing for the broadcast and releasing episode 1 previews.
In their respective dormitories, the trainees waited anxiously for the broadcast to begin. More than anyone else, perhaps even more than the viewers themselves, they were the ones who had been looking forward to this day.
‘Finally!’
One of the trainees appearing on the show couldn’t contain her anticipation. She too had been eagerly awaiting this moment.
Since there was no TV in the trainees’ dormitory, she turned on her phone to watch.
The broadcast could be viewed live on ‘Y-app’, an application exclusively for entertainment industry professionals.
Though she wouldn’t be able to see herself on an actual TV screen, the trainee seemed too excited to mind.
“Phew…”
The broadcast time was 10:30 PM. Only about two minutes remained.
‘It would have been nice to watch together.’
As she prepared to watch the first broadcast, she couldn’t help but recall the moment her roommate was eliminated.
Her roommate had been cut during the second mission, and the feelings of regret were unavoidable.
Just as she was starting to feel down, someone lightly knocked on her door.
“Ha-reum, are you in there?”
The voice belonged to Yoon Hee-jo.
“Yes. Do you need something?”
“Oh, nothing much… Just wondered if you’d like to watch together.”
In her kind offer, she held out a tablet. Come to think of it, Yoon Hee-jo was in the same situation.
Her roommate had been eliminated too, leaving her alone in her room.
The trainee was naturally all for it.
They soon settled on the bed and opened the app on Hee-jo’s tablet. The broadcast was just finishing its commercials. It was now 31 minutes past.
The broadcasting station seemed determined to squeeze every last bit of value from their advertising.
And shortly after, “Hi.Light” opened with dazzling typography.
– Gulp
Both of them simultaneously lit up their eyes with anticipation and excitement.
The broadcast began with grand background music, opening with an introduction about HON.
They showcased a succession of the agency’s outstanding artists and excerpted related news articles. It was a comprehensive display of the agency’s status as a renowned idol powerhouse.
The MC in charge of hosting couldn’t be overlooked either…
【Hot Topic Even Before Broadcast!】
【’Hi.Light’ MC, Hi-Attack’s Han Yul】
That position was filled by Han Yul, a member of a famous group.
Though some might have already seen the news article four days ago, the excitement intensified as he was someone who had earned widespread public recognition.
↳ Why are you appearing there…?
↳ Han Yulㅠㅠㅠ I’m dying, dying early
↳ Should’ve been a trainer instead….
↳ Agreed, would’ve suited vocal trainer better
↳ Seriously, do this after the college entrance exam;;
Thanks to him, the reaction to his MC announcement was largely “extremely positive.”
【(Scene of Han Yul clapping while watching trainees perform)】
【(Scene of Han Yul smiling after noticing the camera)】
The final part of Han Yul’s introduction briefly showed him hosting. It was clearly meant to showcase his good looks.
Next, the broadcast showed the CEO and staff members on screen. They were seated in a conference room, their eyes fixed on a screen before them.
They were selecting which trainees from their company would be included in the program.
【CEO| This one’s definitely good】
【Staff 1| She ranked first in this month’s evaluation】
【CEO| I’ve felt this before, but ○○’s visuals are (good)】
【CEO| I think she’ll get better as she appears more on broadcast】
【Staff 2| Yes, yes, she has potential】
【CEO| ○○…? Ah, that one. The newly recruited trainee】
After briefly showing scenes of consulting with participants, the broadcast moved on to show the trainees’ first filming day.
The location was a practice room within the HON building.
Trainees lined up with nervous expressions. While showing various shots of them swallowing nervously and fidgeting, the camera turned to a thick door.
Through that door, the CEO and his entourage entered casually. The screen showed motion effects of trainees trembling.
In contrast, a dark aura emanated behind the others, with a caption reading ‘Judging Panel.’
The scene suddenly switched, showing footage from regular lessons and evaluations.
Those clips included a few seconds of a trainee breaking down during a monthly evaluation.
Though brief, the evaluation had been extremely harsh and cutting.
“Ugh…!”
“Hahaha.”
It was that same trainee cringing at her past, and Yoon Hee-jo comforting her.
Soon after the CEO’s greeting and explanation of why he had called the trainees, the focus shifted to him.
【CEO| That’s right, the company is launching a new girl group, though we haven’t exactly decided on the group name or number of members yet】
【CEO| However, the word ‘light’ is the keyword for this upcoming group】
The CEO added that this was why the program was titled “Hi.Light,” and went on to explain the format.
【CEO| The evaluation will consist of 5 rounds…】
Over the caption summarizing his explanation, suddenly, thick red letters dropped down.
‘Elimination System.’
It wasn’t just the trainees who turned pale. Viewers also sensed the serious atmosphere and put more effort into their encouragement.
The chat window was embroidered with various names marked by viewers.
↳ Our Seonha improved her rap according to the PR videoㅠㅠ Let’s debut!!
↳ Kim Seong-a’s beauty working overtime even while nervous
↳ But it’s a fact that Won Chaeseo’s skills and recognition are on another level;;
↳ Yoon Hee-jo’s blood alliance aiming only for debut
↳ Chaeseo, grandma’s cheering for you!!!!!
↳ Oh, she’s that one who sang Blue Travel Diaryㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
↳ Dan-ahㅜㅜㅜ!!!
The CEO then finished explaining the first mission. It involved showing individual capability through solo performances and earning additional points through self-PR recommendation counts.
Especially when the word ‘recommendation count’ came up, the chat window was flooded with question marks.
Though everyone had seen the PR videos early on, no one had any idea it would be part of the evaluation system.
↳ ??????
↳ What?
↳ Ah damn, Jinyu, auntie’s sorry
↳ Wait, was this on the homepage too???
↳ Whew, glad I clicked like on everything
↳ What do we do Seo-juㅠㅠㅠㅠ Really what do we doㅠㅠ
↳ Suddenly feeling like a woman who got backstabbed;;
Viewers’ initial reactions were mostly negative.
Comments like ‘Too harsh to have recommendation counts from the first mission’ and ‘How can they not announce viewer participation missions?’ were common.
However, viewer reactions weren’t just limited to that. There were also voices saying ‘I suspected this since they hid the recommendation counts’ and ‘What’s the point of complaining when popular trainees would obviously benefit if they announced it beforehand.’
In conclusion, only those who hadn’t clicked recommendations earlier were left wailing.
Now the screen was showing a time-lapse footage of participants practicing. It was from the practice room’s observation camera angle. The D-day countdown appeared over it.
‘D-14’ quickly changed to ‘D-Day’.
While focusing on those numbers, the broadcast suddenly zoomed in on a dark stage.
【MC Han Yul| A new girl group being born at HON】
【MC Han Yul| Who will become the new ‘Light’ that burns their ‘soul’ to shine!】
Han Yul’s greeting was energetic, as if saying this was just the beginning.
【MC Han Yul| Hello viewers, I’m Han Yul from Hi-Attack, MC of ‘Hi.Light’】
After introducing the broadcast and himself, Han Yul quickly introduced the judging panel and flipped his cue card.
After adding explanations about the first mission, he soon called out the first group of trainees.
By then, the back stage curtain was already splitting open as the first group trainees emerged. They were the first trainees to properly appear on “Hi.Light.”
However, except for one or two, they weren’t particularly noteworthy talents. Hence, viewer reactions weren’t very enthusiastic.
While trainees with decent skills or visuals at least got longer interview segments… Those who weren’t as notable were practically edited out of the group.
The trainee watching the broadcast was relieved to be among the former. She had received the most coverage in the first group.
On screen, she was singing a chart-topping ballad, followed by dancing to a boy group’s choreography.
Beside her, Yoon Hee-jo patted her head approvingly.
“Ha-reum, you’re amazing!”
“Th-thank you…”
As the trainee responded shyly, the screen showed the CEO and judging panel’s evaluation. The overall assessment was positive: they liked the energy from her smooth vocals and powerful dance lines, and noted that she seemed to have considerable potential.
It was a moderate compliment. But objectively speaking, she hadn’t particularly stood out. She had just done better compared to other first group members. It couldn’t be denied that she had received more spotlight than her actual skills warranted.
‘Was I just lucky….’
She seemed well aware of this herself.
With her as the last performance, group 1 ended. Following the same process, group 2 took the stage.
The first to appear on screen was Chae Seonha. Though she was actually among the later performers, this was due to editing.
After the somewhat tedious first group, she was shown to refresh the atmosphere.
【
They showed clips from when Chae Seonha appeared on
Finally, the scene where she proved her skills by achieving second place in the finals…
Though these scenes passed quickly, their impact was sufficient.
↳ That was seriously Chae Seonha’s legendary momentbb
↳ Ah if it weren’t for that voting error she would’ve definitely won
↳ Wait she’s crazy good at trap too???
↳ Those who looked down on her for being an idol trainee got destroyed as soon as she dropped her first verseㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
↳ Ah… I knew she was a trainee since Student Rap but still wished she’d debut as a solo rapperㅠㅠ
↳ If you don’t debut please go on Show Me The Money
↳ Seriously please go on SMTM….
Chae Seonha’s screen time continued.
【Chae Seonha| I love rap, but that’s not all I love】
【Chae Seonha| Since I was young, becoming an idol and being a rapper who makes the group’s songs shine has been… (my dream)】
During this scene of her consulting with the trainer, there were occasional comments criticizing her as too ambitious, but they were very few.
The broadcast returned to the stage view, capturing Chae Seonha in position.
Her energetic rapping about believing in her future resonated well with her weighty vocalization.
The self-produced beat and unexpected unique flow were also entertaining. It felt like swimming against a rapid current.
Along with perfectly placed clean rhymes and robot-like precise pronunciation… Everything heightened the audience’s engagement.
Her dance showcased a kitschy and exciting vibe, contrasting with her rap performance. The confident, serious eyes from her rapping segment now held a bright smile during the dancing section.
When that cute smile appeared on her face, which could have been considered intimidating, it showed a different charm from her rap stage.
In the dance portion, she received feedback to “work a bit more on details,” but it was generally positive. There was nothing to criticize about her rap. The rap trainer gave a standing ovation and even whistled.
Though the reaction might have seemed excessive, there was certainly nothing to fault about her skills.
↳ Yo she’s insaneㄷㄷㄷㄷㄷ
↳ Got goosebumps from the first line….
↳ Her dancing’s better than expected too? The rap goes without sayingㅋㅋㅋㅋ
↳ Wow didn’t know she could improve even more since Student Rapㄷㄷ
The chat window was the most heated it had been for any performance so far. This continued until the end of Chae Seonha’s following interview.
After Chae Seonha’s stage, a series of unremarkable trainees followed.
Just as the broadcast was becoming dull because of them, Kim Se-i appeared, and she also received great attention from viewers.
↳ Her singing is god-tier handsome
↳ Definitely S-tier vocals no doubt
↳ Wait what’s with that figure?? Are you literally a model?!?!
↳ Her physique is killing it;;
↳ Ah been waiting since seeing the PR videoㅠㅠ!!! Let’s debut
↳ Fell for her after seeing the PR video and her face is seriously handsome too, insane….
In the middle, they showed a scene from the vocal room practice… where she wasn’t alone but with another trainee.
For some unknown reason, the chat scroll speed suddenly increased during this scene. It seemed everyone was intrigued by this unexpected combination.
The trainee watching with Yoon Hee-jo also found it news that these two were close. They tilted their heads slightly in surprise.
And next up, the final performer of group 2.
【Won Chaeseo| Hello】
It was Won Chaeseo, as expected.
Just before her performance, commercials suddenly appeared, triggering all sorts of violent reactions toward the broadcasting station.
“A commercial break here… really kills the mood…”
“I know…”
The two trainees watching the broadcast felt the same way.
During this break, Yoon Hee-jo recalled the trainee who had appeared in the middle of the broadcast. She immediately picked up her phone and sent a CarrotTalk message to that trainee.
(T/N: ⌜Hee-jo⌟ ; ⌜Dan-ah⌟)
⌜Dan-ah, are you watching the broadcast??⌟
The reply came back faster than usual.