Idol Hides His Military Service

Lee Gahyeon, who had taken on the role of F class’s leader, was on the older side for an idol trainee.

Twenty-two.

Outside, it was still a young age, but by idol standards, unless debuting right this instant, it was old.

‘What am I supposed to do...?’

And over the past two days, because of the pressure, Gahyeon had reached the point of not being able to properly sleep or eat.

— Gahyeon, if you’re the leader, you have to lead F class.

It wasn’t like Gahyeon had wanted to become leader.

But F class needed someone to take command and lead practice, and since in F class, Gahyeon happened to be the oldest and comparatively better in skill, there was no choice but to take on the leader role.

‘This is my last chance.’

Idol Ground 100, entered with the thought that this would be the last chance.

More than anyone, Gahyeon knew that if staying here in F class, there would be no future, so there was no choice but to be desperate.

But the problem was that under Gahyeon’s lead, the practice F class had done and the stage that resulted had received harsh criticism from the judges.

‘Anyone would be like that!’

It would be a lie to say that, in the process of leading practice, Gahyeon hadn’t gotten greedy for center and the vocal part.

It was true that, thinking this might be the last time, Gahyeon had gotten greedy.

Above all, it was largely because among the current F class participants, there was no one who could stand center or take the singing parts instead of Gahyeon.

From the start they had been assigned to F class because their skills were lacking, so there wasn’t a single person fit to stand center.

However,

‘I heard Nayeon is that good?’

‘Well, that one’s from Zero One, and that agency really looks hard at trainees’ skills, right.’

‘I heard the last stage got ruined because of bad condition, and because of that, for the mid-check, Nayeon is grinding teeth to show true skill.’

Because of a rumor that suddenly started to spread about one participant, F class was now starting to buzz.

‘Kim Nayeon?’

Kim Nayeon, a Zero One Entertainment trainee, was a participant Gahyeon knew too.

Nayeon was one of the few in F class who could at least follow the singing and dancing.

But from what had been seen while practicing up to now, the only feeling was that Nayeon was decent; it never felt like there was some tremendous skill, so Gahyeon felt doubt.

Why was a rumor suddenly going around that Kim Nayeon was a skilled one, and at the same time, why were F class participants sending looks full of doubt toward Gahyeon—this was a situation impossible to understand.

But that doubt was soon resolved.

“Unni Gahyeon, can I talk to you for a moment?”

“Talk? Sure.”

The one who came to find Gahyeon, who had been worrying alone in the practice room where a strange undercurrent was swirling, was someone completely unexpected.

Lee Sion.

‘Even just staying put in F class, this one will definitely make it to the next round, right?’

If Gahyeon had to pick the person most envied among the F class participants, the first place without question would be Lee Sion.

Despite having no agency, the pre-interview video views had already surpassed a hundred thousand and recorded second place.

And judging by looks alone, in Gahyeon’s personal opinion, Sion seemed to shine the most among this program’s participants.

The skills were very lacking, so it was unclear whether the final top seven would be possible, but thinking of the story shown on the Entrance Ceremony stage that could wrap even that lacking skill, it seemed like advancing to the next round was practically a given.

For the above reasons, Gahyeon had always been keeping an eye on Lee Sion.

But since there had been no personal connection at all, having Sion come over now and strike up a conversation like this was a bit flustering.

‘What did Sion come for?’

While Gahyeon was hiding the momentary tension and pretending to stand calmly, Sion began to speak.

“I think our F class is in danger if we keep going like this.”

“What?”

And what Sion brought up was so extremely straightforward that the face that had been trying to appear calm stiffened before Gahyeon even realized it.

“All the trainers who watched our stage mentioned adjusting center and vocal parts. If we keep going like this, won’t that be bad?”

“···That...”

“Of course I know you’ve been working hard, unni. But our F class is a community of shared fate. Do you perhaps have any plan in mind?”

At Sion’s sharp question, Gahyeon felt slightly out of breath.

“First, for the formation... we’ll keep the center as is, and change the rest of the formation considering height.”

“What about the singing?”

“For that too... I’ll just practice as much as I can for the remaining time, so that we can get a better evaluation at the mid-check...”

Gahyeon tried to calmly say what had been in mind.

‘Right now, if it’s not me, F class will fall apart even more!’

The harsh criticism from the judges and the worries of the F class participants were all known, but precisely because of that, Gahyeon judged that taking on even more responsibility was the right thing.

Rather, suddenly throwing away the formation and parts that had been practiced up to now and starting over from scratch felt like what would break F class even more.

But after hearing Gahyeon’s answer, Sion’s expression looked like it couldn’t accept it.

“In my opinion, I think Nayeon should be the leader of our F class.”

At last, Sion said that Nayeon should be made leader.

***

In war, there is such a thing as a declaration of war.

A declaration of war is a kind of promise: that you’re letting the other side know in advance, I will attack you from this month, this day, this hour.

Of course, there were cases where it wasn’t followed, like Japan in the days as a war criminal state, which struck first and then gave a declaration of war afterward.

“That too... I’ll just practice as much as I can for the remaining time, so that we can get a better evaluation at the mid-check...”

So before I started the coup, I went to see Lee Gahyeon one last time.

If the current leader, Lee Gahyeon, had come up with a path that would benefit F class more than what I had, then there would be no need to overturn it—we could just proceed as is.

However,

‘It’s not that this is a bad person... it just seems like the pressure has been really heavy.’

In truth, the leader’s position may look good from the outside, but once you actually do it, it’s a really difficult seat.

F class’s leader Lee Gahyeon was only twenty-two.

Leading dozens of people is on a level of difficulty completely different from the class president back in school.

Even for me, when I think about when military life was the hardest, leading fewer than thirty platoon members as a platoon leader was the hardest period—that’s how not-easy a role the leader was.

And whether feeling the burden of such a leader’s seat or not, it seemed Lee Gahyeon wasn’t able to make a normal situational judgment.

If there were a talent that could raise skill in the mere five days remaining until the mid-check, there’s no way Lee Gahyeon would have received an F grade.

“You’re saying Nayeon should be the leader?”

“Yes. I think that’s what’s best for F class.”

“You’re saying Nayeon is really better than me?”

Of course, I hadn’t thought Lee Gahyeon would accept it easily.

‘This is something you only understand once you see it.’

As they say, hearing a hundred times is not as good as seeing once—first, there was a need to show Nayeon’s skill in front of everyone.

“Yes. Not only you, unni; in our F class... no, among the contestants, there are almost no people who can do better than Nayeon.”

“···If you’re that confident, then show me once.”

Maybe my words, spoken with such conviction, pricked some pride, because Lee Gahyeon gritted teeth and answered.

“Nayeon, are you ready?”

I turned around and spoke to Nayeon, who had stepped slightly away from me and was trembling.

“Uh... y-yeah.”

The moment Nayeon heard about the rumor Yunkyung had spread, the already timid Nayeon had shrunk back even more.

But,

“It’s fine! If you mess up the stage, we’ll just go on broadcast as bluffers who are crazy for screentime, what else would we be?”

“···Huh?”

“With all the cameras and mics here, everything we’ve done so far must have been recorded anyway, so if you can’t do the stage, Nayeon, that’ll just be the end of it, so relax!”

Tap.

After hearing my words, Nayeon’s eyes went wide and stared at me.

It was a resentful expression, like, Why are you doing this to me.

But it couldn’t be helped.

From the start, people only display their full ability once they’re driven to the extreme.

Humans are such a truly sly animal that, when you say “Don’t be nervous,” they get even more nervous, and when they receive a pressure they can’t escape, they instead concentrate.

Even now, in the eyes of Nayeon, who had been shaking, you could see it with a glance—like a fire blazing, passion was springing up.

***

‘I’ll kill her.’

Nayeon was someone who often heard that the personality was gentle.

To the point of feeling it was more comfortable to get hit than hit someone else, sometimes even being told Nayeon was a pushover.

But right now, Nayeon was feeling hostility toward another person for the first time in a very long while.

‘You be the F class leader.’

Lee Sion, who had suddenly come over and, saying everything about Nayeon’s skill was already known, had shoved the F class leader position onto Nayeon’s back.

But if Nayeon had been the type of person whose personality was so proactive as to become leader just because someone pushed from behind, there wouldn’t have been constant trembling and nervousness at every stage.

So originally, Nayeon would have said, “That’s too much for me. Please talk to someone else.”

‘Unni, I told everyone in F class that you’re actually a real powerhouse who’s just been hiding true strength!’

Because of Yunkyung, who sticks to Sion like some kind of doll, Nayeon ended up forcibly joining the fight to seize the F class leader position.

‘Why... why do I have to...’

At this point, Nayeon was feeling a fated intuition that, regardless of personal will, things would go exactly as Sion intended and Nayeon would be dragged along.

Even now,

‘It’s fine! If we ruin the stage, we’ll just go on broadcast as bluffers, that’s all!’

Lee Sion, who had suddenly thumped Nayeon’s back in front of all of F class, telling Nayeon to really show proper skill, was wearing an extremely composed expression.

An attitude like, If not, oh well.

‘I... am going to become a bluffer...?’

The F class leader, Lee Gahyeon, and the participants, all of whom were now staring at Nayeon with fierce eyes.

Not only that, but a cameraman who had appeared at some point and was filming F class’s practice room with fervor, as if a fascinating scene had been found, also came into Nayeon’s eyes.

At first, it was fear.

The fact that so many people had gathered here for the sole purpose of watching Nayeon’s stage was frightening.

Next came avoidance.

The hopeful circuit of thought, ‘If I say right now that I can’t do it, maybe I can get out of this?’

After that was resignation.

‘I wish time would just stop like this forever. Like a scene from some old sitcom—if only all of this could just be a dream.’

The last was anger.

‘Lee Sion... I will absolutely survive this crisis and kill you!’

Humans are a species that, for tens of thousands of years, have had the instinct of struggle engraved in their DNA.

It’s just that, as countless years passed and civilization advanced, that instinct for struggle was buried deep down and life went on—but when a situation arises like now, where survival feels threatened,

At last, it gets drawn out.

The struggle to survive.

♬

From the speakers installed in the practice room, the intro of Idol Ground 100’s theme song “Spotlight,” which by now had been heard so much it was sickening, began to flow out.

Nayeon closed both eyes, and in time with the beat of the intro, tapped feet slightly, riding the rhythm.

I’ve been waiting for this moment (Oh yeah)

The light I’ve kept hidden

Now it’s time to show it

You can’t avoid my eyes

As the vocal part finally began, Nayeon sang and danced, thinking only of Sion’s slick, smirking face.

‘Absolutely!’

Thinking that once this stage ended, there was no way to endure without at least slapping Sion’s brazen face once, Nayeon instinctively danced the choreography.

“What the, that kid’s really good?”

“Is Nayeon really doing all the vocal parts alone while dancing right now?”

“No, more than that, at this level Nayeon seems better than the A class participants.”

And the F class participants watching that stage couldn’t hold back their admiration.

There was nothing to say about the choreography hitting perfectly in time with the music.

Even while doing the “Spotlight” choreography, which, contrary to how it looked, required feet to be moving without rest, Nayeon was digesting the singing parts stably; if not for the F-grade sticker attached to the clothes, it was a level that would make «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» you mistake Nayeon for an A class participant.

“But why does the expression look kind of savage?”

“Probably because Nayeon was really angry about falling to F class due to bad condition.”

Only, throughout the whole stage, the fact that Nayeon’s eyes were too murderous was the one flaw, but everyone just thought it was because too much strength was being put into the performance.

And the very culprits who had truly made Nayeon emit killing intent,

“I knew it!!!”

“Nayeon unni, you’re really good?!”

Were just watching Nayeon’s stage with satisfied expressions.