NOVEL NEXT Episode 28
Since I just scrolled down with the video still playing, my song continued to play.
〚When I see you, that summer comes to mind〛
〚Stars filling both your eyes and mine〛
〚Our galaxies meeting〛
〚A single star contained in flowing water〛
It kept playing between reading comments, like background music.
@SoI’mLuluLala
∥Voice was amazing in the broadcast too, came back to listen again∥
↳ She’s the one who sang Pureum Pureum Travel Log
↳ OMG that was her?? LOLㅋㅋㅋ
↳ Oh the one who was trending on Twitter for a whileㅋㅋㅋㅋ
↳ You’re my pick Dan-ah!!!!
@RiceBowlBowl
∥Why wasn’t she visible when intro videos first came out but now she isㅠㅠㅠ??∥
↳ Agreeㅠㅠ seems like she was quite famous early on from the comments but why did only I not know
↳ For real why did I only notice her now…? Visuals are totally my type
↳ Me too… she’s so pretty but why didn’t I know
‘Well, I didn’t have much of a presence back then…’
Who could I blame for that? It was my past self’s fault for having trash stats.
Maybe it’s because I’ve raised various stats now. Even people who didn’t know me before seem to be noticing me.
Moreover, it wasn’t just regular viewers showing interest.
As expected, fans of ‘those guys’ were also filling up the comments section.
@HarinDestroyedTheStage…
∥OMGㅠㅠ there’s a trainee who sang Starry Rainㅠㅠㅠ this is one of the best tracks among Idyllic’s b-sidesㅠㅠㅠ∥
@SoyiGrandma
‖00:16 What…? Our Idling’s Starry Rain…?‖
↳ As an I, this makes me so happyㅠㅠㅠㅠ
↳ I’m an I too, just clicked because it was in recommended videos and was so surprisedㅠㅠㅠ!!
@qkreorkfl….
∥00:14 wow she knows one of the Idlings’ top 3 b-sides? Especially Starry Rain is a fan song that’s only famous within the fandom….∥
↳ Starry Rain is only performed at concerts so non-hardcore fans don’t know it well
↳ Think she might be an I, suddenly feeling super connected to herㅋㅋ
↳ She’s got good taste in musicㅎㅎ and her voice is amazing
↳ For real the internal connection is strongㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
↳ Checked her intro video and like her even moreㅋㅋㅋ how about a 19-year-old woman coolly singing children’s songs
↳ And she sang it like an apocalyptic movie OST?
↳ Going to listen right now~!
↳ She sang well with no accompaniment in her PR too…. definitely has great stage presence
(T/N: Idling is a nickname for fans of Idyllic. It’s just another name besides their official fandom name ‘I’. It’s just like how TXT would say “our moa.” In this case, Idyllic would say “our idlings”)
The fans called “I” – the fandom name of girl group ‘Idyllic’.
They seemed very pleased that a contestant had sung their idol’s song.
From the moment I chose “Starry Rain,” I’d expected this, and to be honest, it was somewhat intentional…
But even considering that, the impact was substantial.
If I’d sung it poorly, I would’ve just gotten hate instead.
But thanks to the performance, its editing, and the good impression from the song choice, the response was excellent.
@RollyRollyRolly
∥What’s the name of the song she sang?? Why is it so good∥
↳ Idyllic’s ‘Starry Rain’
↳ It’s all over the comments, why ask again??ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ Your fan behavior is showingㅋㅋㅋㅋ
↳ They might have missed it, don’t be so harsh
↳ If you like songs like this, I also recommend ‘Sunset Sea’ and ‘New Moon’! These three are considered masterpieces among fans
↳ Thanks thanks
Plus, fans could promote their artist’s songs using this as an excuse.
So naturally, this was a welcome situation not just for me, but for them too.
Good.
If I could build buzz as ‘the one who sang Starry Rain,’ that would be exactly according to plan.
‘…What’s this now?’
But this wasn’t the only video related to me.
Among the recommended videos that appeared after the one that just ended, the top one caught my eye.
– Hi.Light Episode 1 Seo Dan-ah Clip zip
It was a thumbnail where my face was decorated cutely, or rather, quite ridiculously.
Curious, I clicked on the video, but the content wasn’t particularly special.
【Dan-jjing surprised at CEO’s wordsㅠㅠ】
【Silently practicing, back view (cute)】
【Becomes tiny next to the tall ones】
As the title suggested, it was just my broadcast parts edited together.
Even the performance was just highlights, a short video around 4 minutes including the intro. Since it was uploaded just minutes ago, it had only reached 100 views.
【Yoon Hee-jo| A very… mature dongsaeng?】
【Chiba Yoko| Looking at her, her skills suddenly improved a lot! I want to learn from her】
【Lee Yeonje| She seemed to struggle a lot before… but these days it’s nice to see her working hard】
Interviews from trainees who appeared on the broadcast followed, with captions like 【How others see Dan-ah】 appearing on these scenes.
【Vocal tone king-wang-jjang…】
【Our Dan-jjing can dance well tooㅠㅠ】
【As expected of Pureum Pureum(?)】
【Summary: Let’s debut Dan-ah】
(T/N: “킹왕짱” (king-wang-jjang) is a Korean slang expression that’s used to emphasize something is extremely good or the best.)
“Huh…”
…While I appreciated the support, the video itself didn’t particularly resonate with me. It was the same feeling I had watching episode 1 earlier.
It felt like peeking at someone else fanboying over another person.
I guess that’s natural since I’m still barely getting used to my own face.
‘Also, what the heck is ‘Dan-jjing? Surely that’s not meant to be my nickname.’
There were words I didn’t understand, but the fans’ cheerful reactions were definitely interesting.
After finishing with the YouTube videos, I checked other sites too.
The first place I looked was a typical anonymous forum. It was buzzing with entertainment-related talk.
After scrolling past posts featuring other trainees, I saw a title with my name.
《Am I the only one who likes Seo Dan-ah’s vocal tone?ㅠㅠ》
∥My jaw dropped watching the broadcast for realㅠㅠㅠ Guess I’m the only one who likes it since nobody’s mentioning itㅠㅠㅠㅠ∥
@Anonymous (best!)
I didn’t know it before but guess this is the kind of voice I wantedㅋㅋㅋ It’s unique but good
↳ Her tone is totally my style;; even her speaking voice is somewhat low which makes it charming
↳ Agreed! And somehow feels like she’ll improve a lot! Can totally see her potential for growth!
↳ I wish Idyllic would do Dan-ah’s version of Starry Rain please
@Anonymous (best!)
Just amazed hearing her sing normally after seeing her sing Pureum Travel Logㅋㅋㅋㅋ
↳ Same hereㅋㅋㅋ
↳ Oh rightㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
@Anonymous
Isn’t it just her tone carrying her? Kinda iffy that she’s relying on her voice when her skills aren’t that great….
↳ ??? Isn’t she good enough? Am I tone deaf??
↳ Probably better than your idol’s live performances
↳ It’s not like she’s trying to be the century’s greatest vocalist, this level is enough for a traineeㅋㅋㅋ
↳ Agree with above. Good visuals and star quality but surprising she doesn’t stand out more….
↳ Right;; I’m not a fan but with this much demand already isn’t this not bad? She had decent screen time but weird she’s being treated as a character with no presence from episode 1
↳ She even made waves on Twitter, don’t get why other pickers treat her as unpopular;;
↳ Just stay quiet, these days everyone’s getting hate or downplayed unless they’re exceptional
@Anonymous
Don’t worry I really like her too, Seo Dan-ah will absolutely debut
↳ Yesssss she’ll definitely debut
↳ Let’s go pleaseㅠㅠㅠㅠ
↳ Wonder what rank she’ll be next week’s ranking announcement??
↳ Curious since she wasn’t in episode 2 previewㅠㅠ
↳ No no she was in episode 2 preview, showed up briefly at the end
↳ Think she was behind Won Chaeseo… are they close?!
@Anonymous
Came to YouTube after reading your comments haah… Now I have a reason to watch Hi.Light
↳ I thought I was the only one watching Hi.Light but guess everyone doesㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
↳ What do you meanㅋㅋㅋㅋ some PR videos already have over 1M views
↳ Can’t miss it as a HON hardcore fan
↳ Everyone’s had that HON phase in their heart^^
These were the top comments.
Except for a few comments, they were mostly positive, and my thumb was already busy hitting like on each comment.
‘Hm?’
Then my attention caught on to a recommended post at the bottom….
《Who’s your favorite in Hi.Light??》
It was quite an interesting title.
Though I wasn’t particularly hopeful, I clicked on the post to check public opinion.
↳ Uwaaah Chaeseoㅠㅠ my baby please debut finally!! Auntie will always support you!!!
↳ Wouldn’t it be better for Chae Seonha to just join a hip-hop label if she gets eliminated? Honestly her rap skills are too good to waste on being an idol….
↳ Why did they edit Lim Yeonseo? The full version was pretty good
↳ That Jinyu kid is cute, went to check her PR videoㅋㅋㅋㅋ sigh… am I already a fan
↳ No one else likes Jane? Guess I’m the only one with minority taste again….
↳ Minor22 I like Jung Ha-reumㅋㅋㅋ zero mentions here seriously frustratedㅠㅠㅠㅠ
↳ Super minor screen time too~
↳ I like faces like Cha Sihyun and Yoon Hee-jo, that soft sunlight beauty? I’m going crazy again
↳ Agree, I like them plus Jo Soha
‘As expected, no comparison.’
As I’d anticipated, it was hard to find mentions of me.
But it was too early to be discouraged.
↳ I like Seo Dan-ah? She’s good too
↳ Ah Pureumㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
↳ Am I the only one who likes the Hee-jo-Dan-ah-Jinyu chemistry?ㅋㅋㅋ Didn’t show much in broadcast but the three of them huddled under a blanket is so cute
My name did appear occasionally between the comments.
While I might not feel it myself, my ranking was definitely in the upper tier.
Plus, I at least had positions like ‘that Pureum Pureum girl’ or ‘the one who sang Starry Rain’.
With my still lacking stats, just avoiding being invisible was already a major achievement.
‘Right. If things continue like this, there’s hope for debut.’
If I can just maintain this momentum, that is.
After confirming that much, I put down my phone. This was enough monitoring.
‘Main screen.’
When I tapped the message icon at the top of my profile, the notification that had been flaunting its presence with an exclamation mark obediently unfolded.
>>You have succeeded in the Main Task ‘Get your team’s performance into the top 3 in the Team Live Mission’!
>>As a reward, your ‘Dance’ stat experience increases by +5! [Collect]
It was the reward from the second mission that I hadn’t checked yet.
As I applied it by tapping around the main screen, the experience points in my stats window had noticeably increased.
It was the result of completing various challenge tasks and secret tasks along the way.
—– —–
>Vocal: 55/100
>Dance: 50/100 → 55/100
>Charm: 30/100
>Likability: 20/100
>Passive Skill 1: 『Mental Stability』
>Passive Skill 2: 『Steel Constitution』
>(Currently Locked Slot)
—– —–
Importantly, both Vocal and Dance stats had now crossed ‘that threshold’ – the cursed zone where growth slows down as experience gets closer to 50.
At this rate, I should be able to raise stats through normal practice again.
Now that the major stats seem to be settling into place…
‘Since things are going well, I hope the next reward is a『View Target Profile』.’
I looked at the still-locked slot.
>(Currently Locked Slot)
Hoping I could put my desired passive skill there, I turned off the screen.
……And the next day.
This was the big day of the 3rd mission announcement and team selection.
But I had to suffer through intense regret and frustration…
Because of Chae Seonha, who was standing right next to me.
“Tsk.”
“……”
She slightly furrowed her brows before relaxing them. It was definitely only visible to me.
I too managed my expression while standing next to Chae Seonha.
…To cut to the conclusion.
Earlier, I had fought with Chae Seonha.
‘Damn it.’
And it was a really bad fight…
* * *
All the Hi.Light trainees were gathered. We were waiting in a practice room.
I was casually wedged between my teammates from the second mission.
Even then, I was just stuck in a corner with Won Chaeseo.
While we both waited quietly with deflated spirits, we could hear other teammates’ conversations nearby.
“Did you watch episode 1 yesterday?”
“I was literally shaking while watching, seriously…”
Among them, comments about yesterday’s broadcast caught my ear. Their voices were particularly elevated while discussing it.
However, that wasn’t the main point.
There was a major reason why we were all gathered like this.
Well… today was the big day of the 3rd mission announcement.
Plus, this filming would take place at an external gymnasium. So we were waiting here to move by company car.
But my situation was different.
I had someone I needed to meet separately before that.
After making various excuses to Won Chaeseo who tried to follow me, I smoothly slipped out of the practice room.
“What is she up to now…”
While quickly heading down the stairs, an irritated mutter escaped without me realizing.
Although this was only possible because filming got delayed, I still couldn’t hide my displeasure.
Cha Sihyun, who had just texted me.
She was the reason.
「Dan-ah, it’s Sihyun.」
「Can you come to the back door of the company building for a bit?」
I was internally exasperated at the person who sent these messages.
How did she even get my number, seriously.
I didn’t even have her number saved in my phone. Wouldn’t it normally be the same for the other person?
We were awkward enough to use formal speech before I possessed this body…. there’s no way we would have exchanged numbers.
‘Everything about her rubs me the wrong way.’
I clicked my tongue openly.