"There's nothing to say except that you did well."
"Good. Now it really feels like the final performance."
Amid the stream of praise from the mentors, the team members were panting for breath but smiling happily.
Among the mentors who were briefly sharing their impressions, the first to speak in more detail was the rap mentor, Briddy.
"Honestly, my first thought was, 'What is this, a broken-balance team?' Every one of you has taken the main position at least once, right? With kids like that all gathered on one team, I wondered if it might fall apart with everyone trying to stand out…."
"They're good, right?"
When Jane chimed in as if to back her up, Briddy nodded as though she couldn't deny it.
"They're really good. Since you're all good individually, your unique colors stand out and the overall skill level looks high without anyone dragging behind."
"The main position kids are handling their main roles properly, and the ones in sub-positions aren't failing to bring out their parts either. Everyone's doing their job well. I like it."
"I can tell you really used your heads. You changed the blocking just now, right? Was it Ji hyuk and Hyunjin?"
"Yes."
"Good job. It suits you better and looks flashier."
Following the evaluations from dance mentors Jane and Rio, vocal mentors Do-min and Cha Mina also didn't hold back their praise.
"I like the direction you took in interpreting the song, and I can feel the passion bursting out."
"You do still need some polishing, but that'll work itself out as Team 1 practices. I don't think I need to give any comments."
"But Young-oh."
"…! Yes!"
Do-min called him abruptly, and Hwang Young-oh lifted his head with a stiff expression. Do-min let out a small hum, hesitated briefly, then quietly opened his mouth.
"You've gotten a lot better."
"...!"
"When I was hearing bits and pieces about Team 1 and Team 2's practice progress, I wondered if you were struggling… but you're doing well. Did something change for you this time?"
"…Uh… I just… since it's the final performance, I thought I should do it without regrets."
When Young-oh answered the probing question like that, Do-min studied his face for a moment, as if gauging the sincerity of the words.
Young-oh simply fidgeted awkwardly with a slightly embarrassed look, so Do-min quietly turned his head again and spoke.
"Good job. You didn't stick out awkwardly this time either. You controlled yourself well. The flaws I mentioned every performance didn't show up today. I think you've grown, Young-oh."
"Looks like everyone's changed a lot now that it's the final."
"They didn't survive to the finals for nothing. They stayed because they grew. I hope you keep going like this, this team."
"And there's one more thing I want to praise…."
At that, I turned toward Jane, who had been quietly listening while the other mentors poured out compliments. Our eyes met as if she had already been looking at me. Then Jane—rarely—gave a bright smile and said,
"The center's presence really carries your team."
"Oh, totally agree."
"Honestly, I never expected Yuha to end up as center…."
"Now that I think about it, their first impression already screamed 'center.' It's actually surprising they never did it before."
While the mentors nodded and talked amongst themselves, Jane smiled contentedly and continued.
"You set the mood right from the intro in the middle, start things off strong, and bring the killing part to life, so the overall vibe of the song is clear. You're really doing well as the face of the team."
"Thank you!"
"It's not just the center. All the positions were chosen well. I think you're showing the best performance this team can give. You could go on stage like this right now."
At those words, the team members' faces lit up. Jane was known for giving strict evaluations among the mentors, so getting praise like this from her was practically a miracle.
"Good work, everyone. Just keep this momentum going until the finals."
"Thank you!"
We all bowed and headed to one side of the practice room. And right after us, Team 2 stood up sluggishly and took our place at the center of the floor with awkward, uneasy expressions.
"I'm looking forward to Team 2, too. Shall we hurry and see?"
"Yes!"
At those words, Yoo chan-hee started arranging their formation, but from the preparation stage alone, the mentors' faces were already tightening in displeasure.
"No, hyung, not that side—this side…."
"That's not the center line."
Team 2 couldn't even find their own positions at first and wandered around before finally sorting themselves out and beginning their performance.
"Do you guys not want to do this?"
In the end, they had to face the disappointed, irritated stares of the mentors.
***
"Sigh…."
"...."
"…Ha…."
"Aiden. Stop sighing. If you're leaving, leave; if you're staying, stay."
"So cold…."
Aiden Lee, sprawled out in the practice room, dragged himself up. Leaning against the mirror with an uncharacteristically tired expression, he let the lyric sheet slip from his fingers.
"This is seriously no fun…."
Right after the mid-evaluation ended, Team 2 had apparently gone straight into an emergency meeting. The feedback they received had been that severe.
—I can't let you on stage like this.
—What are you planning to do? You're being compared way too much to Team 1. You were given the same amount of time, so why is one team like that and the other like this? Don't you think this is too much?
—I don't even know where to start. Everything's off.
So after training all day, they seemed to have scattered again by evening. Aiden Lee, frustrated to death, had fled his own practice room and wandered into someone else's.
I let out a sigh of my own as I looked at Aiden Lee, who seemed to have completely lost his motivation. Because he had been dragging the mood down since earlier, my own practice hadn't been going well either.
"Are you here to practice or complain?"
"Both?"
"Then hurry up and do it and go do your own stuff."
"So cold…."
Even as he said that, Aiden Lee straightened up. After thinking for a moment, he opened his mouth.
"You know… doesn't everyone want to debut?"
"They came to
"Everyone wants to be on stage, right?"
"Probably."
"Then why are they like that?"
It was a question with a lot omitted, but the meaning was simple. Why is their attitude such a mess? And how can two teams of the same trainees feel so different?
I answered without thinking too deeply.
"Because the situations are different and the people are different."
If one of those slackers from Team 2 were in Team 1 right now, the situation would be completely different. They'd get swept up in the atmosphere and try to match the team.
The same was true for Team 1's members. Put them in Team 2, and they'd probably get dragged down and lose motivation, unable to keep up the current practice intensity.
You can't blame just one person for a team's atmosphere. When it's formed by a majority, it's hard to even say who started it.
"I hope this ends soon."
Seeing Aiden Lee mutter like that at my words, I couldn't help but suddenly remember how he had become a runaway in his second year despite having debuted in the past.
In the early days of
But thinking about it now, maybe that wasn't the only reason Aiden Lee became a runaway.
"AIDIN scattered the moment they reached the year where solo activities became allowed."
AIDIN focused on group activities for their first three years, then mainly on individual activities for their next two. And as if those three years had only been spent sticking together because they had no choice, the following two years saw the members doing almost nothing but personal activities aside from three comebacks.
"Do Ji hyuk also completely switched tracks to acting starting in year four."
Discord within the team had been well-known. Even the fandom looked as though it was split apart, each side just waiting for their favorite member's contract to end. The fans must have known the members had no real attachment to one another.
I don't know why the members never built strong bonds. I don't know what the members of AIDIN—Kim Mingi's group—thought of one another, nor what kind of relationship chart they had built.
"But it clearly wasn't good."
Good enough that Aiden Lee couldn't endure it and thought, "This isn't fun," and ran away in his second year.
It wasn't just the relationships. Performing with that lineup probably didn't stimulate him at all.
That would be related to why Do Ji hyuk eventually ran away from the stage entirely in year four, and why Kang Hyunjin quit the entertainment industry altogether after his contract ended.
Unlike other groups, a project group has an 'end' from the very beginning. Once the contract period is over, they split apart as if nothing had happened and go their separate ways.
When time is predetermined, you can't help but think about the end in everything. And so a few members must have thought, "Let's just do the bare minimum."
"So you're planning to lose on purpose?"
That would naturally clash with those who always aimed for their best.
Aiden Lee and a few others must have been swallowed by that atmosphere. And among them, Aiden Lee was the first to get bored, unable to change teams, and ended up leaving on his own.
"Huh?"
"Are you going to match them and lose too? To those other people."
The situation was similar for this final as well.
Aiden Lee was already losing motivation before the performance because the team didn't meet his standards. And like the other trainees in Team 2, he was getting shaken badly.
But I didn't want Aiden Lee to get swept away and sink with them.
"…Huh?"
"You're being pulled into their mood right now. You said it wasn't fun."
"Me?"
"Then what else do you call this—lying around and not practicing—if not getting dragged down by the atmosphere?"
"...."
"You're not planning to give your best in this performance?"
Right now, the only one who could pull Team 2 together was Aiden Lee.
He spent the entire first round poking at me like crazy.
With his usual laid-back attitude, Aiden Lee kept provoking me throughout the first performance, pushing my nerves until I had no choice but to focus on the stage.
Reading people, poking at their pride, and forcing them to act—that was something Aiden Lee did without even realizing it. It was his strange talent.
But things were different now.
In the first round, everyone had the desire to survive no matter what, and Aiden Lee could ride that atmosphere and steer the situation to his advantage. But now, he had to lead people who had already assumed defeat.
Aiden Lee probably did try something, but in the end he couldn't move the team. And so he lost his pace.
Even someone like him couldn't handle an atmosphere molded by the majority.
Looking at it that way, Aiden Lee was also someone who got easily swept up by the mood. His behavior from the beginning of the final evaluation camp until now made that clear enough.
"Whether Team 2 sinks or not, that's their problem…"
But that didn't mean Aiden Lee should sink with them. In the debut lineup I imagined, Aiden Lee was included.
Besides—
"If you don't recover your pace here, you might get shelved from the team."
"...."
If Aiden Lee didn't regain his momentum, he wouldn't be able to properly show his skill. And nothing was worse than that happening on a live broadcast stage.
Of course, he wasn't someone who deserved to be sidelined. With his existing rank and fandom, even if he couldn't show his usual skill in the final stage, he wouldn't lose his predicted debut spot…
"…But I don't like the idea of the votes going to someone else."
Aiden Lee would simply lose votes he could have gotten.
Under normal circumstances, he'd attract the attention of idol makers and viewers watching the live broadcast, pulling in votes as one of Team 2's main appeal points.
But if he couldn't show his skills, that attention would scatter. Scattered votes would go to someone else.
"I can't let him repeat AIDIN's history."
I didn't want those scattered votes going to people who would just coast by.
I already knew AIDIN's downfall. I couldn't leave any chance for that to repeat.
I had to debut no matter what method I used. And I'd already had my fill of working with people who wanted to do things "halfway."
Seeing Aiden Lee widen his eyes at my words, I felt the need to push a little harder.
"Do you want to watch someone else debut instead of you?"
"...!"
Aiden Lee's eyes twitched. Looked like I'd successfully poked at his pride.
Well, of course.
Aiden Lee probably didn't like almost any of the other members in Team 2—and the idea that one of them could surpass him would be unacceptable.
"…I'm not planning to lose."
Hearing him grumble that out, I turned my gaze down to the lyric sheet in my hand.
"Not planning to lose, yet not practicing?"
"I am practicing."
With that, Aiden Lee jumped to his feet and stomped out of the practice room. Moving much faster than earlier, it seemed the spark of motivation had been reignited.
Only then did I let out a small sigh, clear my throat, and resume practicing. I didn't leave the practice room until dawn that day.
—I'm not going to just hand over first place. I want to take first!
I didn't want to lose anything to anyone either.
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