Chapter 48: Then That’s Enough

“Everyone did really well.”

“Seohan, your solo dance was killer.”

“Thank you! I gave it my all out there.”

After the stage ended, we went down the stairs exchanging cheerful compliments.

There had been plenty of exhausting moments during preparation, but at least there were no conflicts among us.

I was grateful to my teammates who even trusted and followed along with the solo part that Kang Siwoo suggested.

I smiled and gave Cha Seongbin a thumbs-up.

“Hyung, your style today was insane.”

“Right? I look kinda cute, don’t I?”

“……”

At Cha Seongbin’s brazen comment, Seo Haim turned to him with a deadpan look.

Those two guys, who claimed themselves the twin icons of cuteness.

Yeah, even he must know that was too much, right?

I thought this might be a turning point for reflection…

But then Seo Haim responded to Cha Seongbin in a cutesy voice.

“I’m cuter though~”

“Stop it. Stop it. Stop it!”

“Hmm?”

What did I just witness?

“I said stop!”

Kang Siwoo stepped forward like a true leader and stopped their mischief.

Seo Ian, quietly observing, clicked his tongue and muttered softly.

Tsk.

“People who are truly cute just stay still. Like Seohan.”

“…? Me?”

Why was I being brought up all of a sudden?

At Seo Ian’s calm remark, Kang Siwoo nodded in agreement.

“Honestly, that’s true.”

“The youngest is naturally cute even when doing nothing.”

“Old folks need to try hard to look cute.”

“…Excuse me?”

“Anyway, I’m jealous, man.”

Pat pat.

Seo Haim tapped my shoulder, and I blinked and stepped back.

“Please move.”

“Are you shy?”

“It’s not that…”

From my perspective, these guys—who looked like young kids—calling me cute was triggering cognitive dissonance in my twenty-six-year-old mind.

Being treated like a child at this age.

Is this normal?

I couldn’t help but feel that their teasing skills had definitely leveled up.

While I was awkwardly fidgeting, Kang Siwoo waved us over.

“Alright, alright, stop teasing. Everyone, gather around.”

“…?”

“Shall we do a cheer?”

“Oho. Sounds great~!”

Seo Haim beamed and ran over first.

Even though we hadn’t planned it, everyone simultaneously placed their hands in.

“We should’ve done this before the performance.”

“But it’s before the results are out, so maybe it’s fine.”

Kang Siwoo chuckled at my words and nodded.

“Yeah, honestly, I’m nervous.”

“I feel like I’m gonna die right now.”

“My heart’s still racing, I swear.”

The excitement of the performance hadn’t worn off yet.

It still felt like the heat of the stage was rising from my toes.

Our first performance shown to the audience.

I didn’t know if we could keep the first place spot after the remaining two performances.

But one thing was certain.

Kang Siwoo placed his hand on top of our overlapping ones.

Then, in a loud voice, he asked,

“Did you enjoy it?”

“Yes!”

“Were you happy?”

“Yeeep!”

I gulped.

At the team’s loud response, Kang Siwoo’s eyes sparkled.

His face looked happy, as if recalling the stage just moments ago.

“Then that’s enough. That means we succeeded.”

Let’s rise.

After all three teams had finished performing, we finally returned to the waiting room.

Everyone was completely out of it, having poured everything out on stage.

I lightly slapped my cheeks a couple of times to snap out of my daze.

Ah, now I’m finally coming to my senses.

Inside the waiting room, I saw familiar faces here and there.

It was Ha Junseo, who had crushed the stage today as Betters’ main rapper.

Even though he looked unwell right before the performance, he seemed noticeably more at ease now that it was over.

“Hyung, are you okay?”

“Yeah, once I got on stage, adrenaline suddenly kicked in and I felt fine. I caught my breath.”

Ha Junseo gave a thumbs-up while sipping his deadly coffee.

But that coffee was soon snatched away by Jin Sehyun, who had been quietly sitting beside him.

Swoosh—

“Nope. That’s enough. Stop drinking this.”

“…?”

Swish—

Jin Sehyun snatched the deadly coffee and gulped it down himself.

In the same moment, he boldly downed five shots of caffeine, and his face quickly twisted.

“Ugh, that’s insane.”

It was such an unbelievably dumb sight.

Why?

“Why would you get rid of it by drinking it yourself?”

“Wow. That’s such a touching sacrifice. Truly.”

“…Sehyun?”

Jin Sehyun shuddered, clearly feeling chills.

I couldn’t understand why that smart hyung sometimes made such dumb attempts.

“Ahahaha! Ahaha! What are you doing?”

“……”

“Ahaha…ack!”

Seo Haim laughed bizarrely at Jin Sehyun before stumbling forward.

Ha Junseo added with a satisfied smile.

“Sehyun is so sincere about my health. I’m really thankful.”

Jin Sehyun retorted without backing down.

“Of course. I think only about you, hyung. All the other dongsaengs here are just a bunch of sycophants.”

“Ahaha! Listen to Jin Sehyun talk.”

I quite liked the new nickname.

While Seo Haim burst out laughing, Sycophant No. 1 waved at the camera with a smile.

Sway, sway—

“Do Seohan is kinda… crazy too.”

Thank you for the compliment.

I brightly smiled and gladly accepted Seo Haim’s praise.

“Yeah. He’s surprisingly crazy.”

“…Huh?”

Of course, that wasn’t Ha Junseo speaking.

If it were someone else, maybe—but hearing that from Ha Junseo was unacceptable.

This was something I had to protest immediately.

I had to set the record straight.

“You’re not one to talk, hyung.”

“Right. You’ve got the weirdest appetite.”

“Think about Byeoldol on your bed. Whether you’ve gone completely or only half crazy.”

As the rebuttals poured in, Ha Junseo quietly shut his mouth.

“…What’s wrong with Byeoldol.”

His genuinely sulky expression was so absurd that I couldn’t help laughing.

But the laughter couldn’t last long.

Just as we were having fun, laughing and chatting—

MC Han Dawon opened the door and walked in.

Creak—

“……”

No one planned it, but the once noisy waiting room suddenly fell silent.

MC Han Dawon walked forward, cutting through the heavy atmosphere.

“You’ve all waited a long time, haven’t you?”

Did the script he was holding contain the results?

I gulped and fixed my gaze on the monitor above.

Han Dawon began to speak with a faint smile.

“All three teams worked very hard today. Any one of them could have won—it was truly a perfect set of stages.”

“Thank you!”

“But still, we need to reveal the final result.”

The TV screen hanging on the waiting room wall grew larger. It was still a blank screen with no results.

Han Dawon turned toward the monitor.

“Among the three teams that performed today, only the winning team will receive a benefit during the third ranking announcement. The benefit is worth 100 points in converted score.”

“Out of a thousand points, a hundred. That’s huge.”

“If it goes to the whole team… That could really shift the third ranking.”

Reactions erupted here and there.

Just as one trainee said, those near the elimination line could see their fates change in this evaluation.

Everyone had felt during the last round just how much the results could impact elimination.

That’s why this benefit was all the more precious.

And that’s not all.

“The team that wins the concept evaluation will also receive the right for all members to have their own PR videos uploaded on TBN’s YouTube channel.”

A five-minute self-PR video opportunity.

Plus, there was one more thing.

“Lastly, the top-ranking team will get to perform on TBN’s music broadcast.”

“A music show too?”

“Wow, they’re getting everything…”

“I really want to win first place. Seriously.”

It would be our second music show appearance, thanks to the Signal Song.

A 100-point benefit and a music show appearance.

At this point, my mouth was starting to go dry.

Gulp.

“Then we’ll begin by announcing the judges’ scores for the concept evaluation.”

A dry swallow passed through my throat.

While it carried less weight than the live audience score, the judges’ score was still crucial in determining the outcome.

Personally, I was more hopeful about this part.

“Please reveal the judges’ evaluation scores.”

Flash—

The numbers popped up on the monitor.

Touch Me: 289 points

Betters: 285 points

All Time: 273 points

Han Dawon spoke in a quiet voice.

“Yes, in the judges’ evaluation, Touch Me Team took first place with 289 points.”

“Ugh… ah…”

A strange sound came from Seo Haim’s mouth—it was unclear whether it was a groan or an exclamation.

“That’s way too close.”

It was too early to clap just yet.

Han Dawon calmly continued with the script in his hand.

“However, for the concept evaluation, the final score is calculated with 300 points from the judges and 700 points from the live audience. So the live scores could still create an upset.”

I had hoped they’d just reveal the results right away, but there was no way the broadcast station would grant that wish.

Han Dawon smiled and addressed us with a line.

“Touch Me Team, how do you feel right now?”

“Huh? I feel like I’m going to die from the nerves…”

“Puhaha!”

Laughter burst from All Time Team at Seo Haim’s honest reply.

They seemed relaxed now, as if third place was a given—but that wasn’t the case for Betters and us.

This time, Han Dawon’s gaze shifted to Kevin from Betters.

Kevin, who had made his presence known as the center of Betters.

Stage performance aside from personality—he was definitely good.

“Betters Team, it’s a very close match. Kevin, how are you feeling right now?”

It would’ve been natural to be flustered by the sudden call, but Kevin was surprisingly composed.

As if it had been prepared, his answer flowed right out.

“Ah, yes. I definitely want to win first place. And…”

Kevin held the mic and turned toward me.

Why was he pausing here?

He seemed overly aware of me, to the point of discomfort, then raised the corner of his mouth in a grin.

What he said next was quite a shock.

“Seohan, I’ll be taking first place.”

Wow.

So that’s how he’s going to throw it?

“Whoa! That’s a provocation.”

“A healthy rivalry~~!”

“Ah, they’re going head-to-head again~.”

The PD, who had been desperately waiting for a rivalry, had stars in their eyes.

They were clearly thrilled.

I swallowed a hollow laugh and turned toward the camera.

“Alright, let’s hear from Seohan!”

Han Dawon’s mic came rolling over to me this time.

I had gotten a little slick in this kind of setting, too.

I smiled and raised the mic to my lips.

“Sorry. I’ll be taking it this time, hyung.”

At the same time, gasps burst from all sides.

“Whoa!”

“Aww~ this is really neck and neck.”

“The tension is no joke!”

Everyone had given their best.

Now, the results were up to the heavens.

Han Dawon pointed to the monitor with one hand and finally spoke again.

“Now, let’s reveal the final scores from the concept evaluation, combining the judges’ and live audience points.”

Please.

“Drumroll…”

The tense background music made me squeeze my eyes shut without thinking.

That brief moment felt like an eternity.

Please.

Please.

I kept repeating those words endlessly in my head.

And then—

As the numbers shot up rapidly—

The final score finally appeared on the monitor.

Flash—

Touch Me: 930 points

And then.

All Time: 912 points

“Touch Me is still first for now?”

“Will they beat Betters?”

“The crowd response was pretty even.”

As the trainees murmured, the final rapidly spinning numbers came to a stop.

Flash—

Betters: 928 points

Holy crap.

Is this real?

“Touch Me Team with a total score of 930 points, Betters Team with 928 points. With just a 2-point difference, Touch Me Team takes first place. Congratulations.”

“Waaah!”

“Thank you, supporters!”

Seo Haim and Cha Seongbin jumped up in place at the same time. They were busy bowing repeatedly to the camera. Their faces glowed with happiness.

“Wow… ah…”

Kang Siwoo, finally releasing the tension, plopped to the floor.

My legs also gave way for a moment, but I managed to brace myself against the wall.

“Ahh…”

To be honest, I was so happy I couldn’t even express it.

I had believed changing the future outcome I knew would be no easy feat.

But more than anything else, what came first was a sense of relief.

Relief that my choice hadn’t been wrong.

“It happened…”

Wham—

I bit my lower lip hard and hugged Seo Ian tightly.

Maybe it was because memories of our struggles flashed before me like a film reel.

I nearly burst into tears without realizing it, but barely held it back.

Hyung patted my shoulder and repeated in a quiet voice.

“You did great. You worked hard, Seohan.”

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