Idol Hides His Military Service

If the risk is great, then the return is great as well—such is the way of the world, is it not?

That being the case, my choice was a choice made to win big, and was by no means a choice swayed by emotion.

Extremely rational and logical···.

“Ugh, I knew you were going to do this.”

“What did I do?!”

“Look at your voice getting louder because you feel guilty.”

Kim Nayeon’s aggression toward me seemed to be rising day by day.

“How do you always manage to pick exactly the songs you’re told not to pick? Is that just your kind of taste or something?”

“Oh, what a tragedy. How could a sparrow ever know the heart of a phoenix.”

Kim Nayeon’s shallow perspective was just like Madam Sukja’s.

She was scolding me as if the choice I had just made was some kind of emotional decision.

But my choice had been made based on thoroughly logical reasoning, and was absolutely not driven by emotion.

-To participant Lee Sion, who ranked 1st in the previous ranking announcement, please come up onto the stage!

Once Sluggish Ryujin, who ranked 2nd, finished choosing a song, it was finally my turn.

Until the moment I walked energetically up to the stage at main MC Jang Junseok’s call, I was still agonizing.

‘Blackout and Hidden Sketch both don’t really pull me in.’

I had been thinking of choosing one of the two songs Sluggish Ryujin recommended, but no matter how much I thought about it, they just didn’t appeal to me.

First of all, both Blackout and Hidden Sketch were songs by male idol groups, and I felt that choosing a boy group song again after we had already performed a Boyvicious song last stage would not be good.

For the same reason, Glass Flower did not appeal to me much either, since it was said to have a similar vibe to Lucid Dive.

‘Ah··· in the end, it has to be that song, huh?’

-Participant Lee Sion, it’s time to make your choice now.

It seemed quite some time had passed while I was debating inside my head.

Jang Junseok was urging me to decide, and the cameras, excited by how interesting my hesitation seemed, were filming away.

In the end, I decided to follow where my heart was leading.

Once my mind was set on which song to choose, my feet headed to one spot without hesitation, and

-The choice of participant Lee Sion was Bang! Bang! Love!

Soon, I was standing in the line for Bang! Bang! Love.

“Commander!!! Did you come to save us?”

“No··· I got dragged here too.”

As soon as I joined the line, Im Yunkyung hugged me, overjoyed, like a family reunited after being separated by war.

“This idiot always acts so high and mighty and then shows up here, why!”

Lee Gahyeon scolded me, as if she thought I had chosen Bang! Bang! Love for their sake.

But the main reason I chose Bang! Bang! Love was that it was a song I had heard before.

‘It was a pretty cheerful and exciting track, and if choreography was added, just that alone could make it quite a spectacle.’

Even I, a former soldier in my past life, had heard it several times; that was how globally popular Bang! Bang! Love had been.

The song created by three top American divas coming together was the kind of song that was fun just to listen to.

On top of that, it had proudly taken 1st place on the Billboard charts, not even on domestic music sites, so in terms of potential, it was probably the best among the mission songs this time.

Only a song of this level could let me show off all of this body’s abilities and make a dramatic image change in the viewers’ minds.

Like how Cao Cao, after seeing that the horse Guan Yu rode while staying under him temporarily was lacking, gifted him the beloved Red Hare and drew out Guan Yu’s full ability.

I needed a song called Bang! Bang! Love too. This was absolutely not because I was worried about Yunkyung, who was clinging to me right now.

Nor was it for the sake of Lee Gahyeon, who was grumbling but couldn’t hide the way the corners of her mouth had lifted just a little.

It was a decision made with only myself in mind.

“Still··· I feel relieved now that Sion-unni is here.”

Not knowing anything about my meticulous scheme, Geum Shinyu spoke with the expression of a puppy greeting its owner who had just come home.

Shinyu didn’t hug me like Yunkyung did, but from the silly smile on her face it was clear she was genuinely happy I was there.

‘At least the member lineup will be a hot topic.’

I made eye contact with the other participants who had picked Bang! Bang! Love besides me and the A-team trio.

In the very front row, arms crossed and expression indifferent as that gaze rested on us, was Ryu Ayeon.

Behind that, standing with a tense face, was Yoo Jihae.

And last, watching me with a “You again?” face, was Kim Nayeon.

The second I chose Bang! Bang! Love, as if she had been waiting for it, Nayeon started laying into me.

“Hey, then why did you pick Bang! Bang! Love?”

“What···?”

“You just rolled your eyes around on stage and in the end couldn’t push a single person out and came here.”

“Ah··· that’s not true? I wanted to do this song from the start?”

Nayeon seemed to have forgotten that just as she looked into me, I also looked into her.

Ranked 14th and able to choose a song, Nayeon had hesitated to the very end in spite of Lee Gahyeon’s shout, and ended up picking Bang! Bang! Love, which still had spots left.

Sure enough, people don’t change easily. Even though I had personally helped her overcome her trauma, Nayeon still hadn’t gotten rid of her timid streak.

From the way she had launched a preemptive attack on me, I had a reasonable suspicion it was just to hide that side of herself.

While I was looking at Nayeon with suspicious eyes for a moment,

“It’s time to move to the practice room.”

I heard Ryu Ayeon’s dry voice.

***

At that very moment.

MPlay, a Korean cable broadcasting station considered a giant in the field, and said to have more influence than the public networks in music.

In the variety department head’s office, which could be called the core of that place and the home base of MPlay’s variety shows, a man was unable to hide his constantly excited expression.

“This is insane.”

The man was MPlay’s variety department head, Kang Hyukjin, and he could only marvel as he watched the preview for episode 3 of Idol Ground 100 that had just been completed.

-We need to go 120 minutes!

The main PD of the show, Kim Miyoung, had come to him a few days earlier, asking him to extend Idol Ground 100’s broadcast time.

If it had been a proposal made by a public network, it would have been something that would not even be considered.

But MPlay, where Kang Hyukjin was head of the variety department, was a cable station, so they were comparatively freer when it came to adjusting program lengths.

Of course, that “comparatively free” did not mean that adding time beyond the original schedule was easy; it was hard enough that normally he would have refused.

‘The moment I saw the rough cut of episode 3, I had no choice but to say yes.’

Hyukjin was convinced that even someone who did not watch idol programs would find today’s episode 3 fun.

The reason was simple: the episode he had watched was jam-packed with incredible scenes.

A live broadcast stage, the 100-person chicken fight, the Group Battle Mission properly getting underway.

And finally, the speed quiz that still remained deeply etched in Hyukjin’s brain.

Those 120 minutes were such a continuous rush of dopamine that they felt short.

Above all, Hyukjin trusted the show’s main PD, Kim Miyoung, immensely.

-Controversy? A show with no controversy is a show with no fun! Trouble doesn’t start where there aren’t people!

Honestly, Idol Ground 100 had its share of controversy proportional to its popularity.

For instance, there were even articles criticizing the survival system as too harsh, saying it was too much to make 100 trainees compete under the condition of debut.

But when he heard Miyoung saying controversy was proof of popularity and that they should not stop but instead really show what they could do, Hyukjin could only smack his forehead, admitting he still had a long way to go himself.

In the end, swayed by her persuasion, Hyukjin decided to entrust full authority over the program to Kim Miyoung.

-Take this and splice it together with that!

-Huh? But this is from a completely different part.

-That’s why it’s a preview! A good preview is one that makes viewers curse when they come watch the main episode after seeing it!

And in line with Hyukjin’s expectations, the skill of ratings monster Kim Miyoung, who had been given full authority, was astonishing.

[Idol Ground 100 Episode 3 Preview]

-The participants’ mission this time is XXXXX!

(Participants’ shocked faces at Jang Junseok’s words)

The first mission!

The first ranking announcement!

(Shots of Sluggish Ryujin and Ryu Ayeon looking at each other)

Intensifying competition, and discord?

(A participant collapsed on the field, and a mosaic-blurred participant throwing a punch)

-Did you actually practice this? What were you thinking when you arranged the song like this, XX?

(Lee Sion’s eyes shaking in shock, struggling to decide)

And finally, the much-talked-about Idol Ground 100 Music Count broadcast stage.

(Lee Sion and Ryu Ayeon leaning on each other in the ending pose)

You can see it this Friday at 10 p.m.!

↳What the, is this week’s episode going to be 2 hours long? The runtime is insane.

↳Did Sion’s team get chewed out by the judges or what?

↳More importantly, who’s that participant throwing the punch in the preview? Their form is insane.

↳Why is it still 7 hours until 10 p.m.?

↳MPlay, release the participants’ focus cams!

From the moment the preview was posted, hundreds of comments piled up, and online communities were heating up with talk of today’s episode 3.

People were looking at the preview and posting their own guess threads about how things would probably unfold.

[Looks like the team with both Ryu Ayeon and Sluggish Ryujin are going to go head-to-head?]

[Isn’t that mosaic-blurred one Sion? The hair length is exactly Sion’s lol]

[But then why is the name beeped out when the one who’s shocked at the judge’s words is Sion?]

[According to someone who went to the pre-recording for this mission, two teams compete with the same song]

‘Oh, a few of them are sharp.’

A handful had managed to see through the heavily manufactured preview he had poured his soul into.

Unfortunately, though, the majority were hung up on the provocatively edited bits and were fiercely debating them.

Watching people’s reactions to the preview on the department head’s office computer, Hyukjin grew very curious about what people would say after they actually watched episode 3, which was just hours away from airing.

***

“Nice to meet you, everyone. I know all your faces, but this is the first time we’re actually talking like this!”

“Hello!”

“You can speak comfortably! I am the oldest, but from now on we’re one team.”

Once the song selection for the Position Evaluation was finished, practice rooms were assigned to each team.

Teams with fewer members had to share one practice room between two teams, but our Bang! Bang! Love team had 7 members, so the production gave us a private practice room.

After arriving at the practice room, we sat in a circle in the middle and exchanged light greetings.

Bang! Bang! Love team was made up of seven people including Lee Gahyeon, Geum Shinyu, Im Yunkyung, Kim Nayeon, Ryu Ayeon, Yoo Jihae, and lastly me.

In truth, except for Ryu Ayeon and Yoo Jihae, the others were very familiar faces, so it wouldn’t have been strange for the atmosphere to get a bit awkward.

But Yoo Jihae, the oldest among us and even two years older than Gahyeon, smoothed things over first.

‘They said Yoo Jihae was from May Girl, right?’

Yoo Jihae was known as the only participant this season who had actually been active as a current idol.

May Girl.

Apparently they had done stages on public broadcasts and appeared on variety shows; they were a girl group with some recognition, but I hadn’t known them well so I just thought, “Oh, okay.”

Unexpectedly, they did seem to have some name value, since Yoo Jihae had placed 7th in the previous ranking and received a high rank.

Of course, it was a bit of a mystery why a current idol like Yoo Jihae would join a survival show meant for trainees.

-I wanted to try a new challenge.

When the judges asked about it during the Entrance Ceremony stage, Yoo Jihae had only given that kind of canned answer, so it felt awkward to ask more.

“Then, should we start by choosing our leader?”

“Yes, sounds good.”

After going around with quick introductions in turn, we moved straight into a meeting.

As the oldest, Yoo Jihae not only tried to soften the team’s mood from the start, but seemed ready to handle the facilitating as well.

‘They’re nicer than I expected.’

Honestly, I had been a little worried that a participant with debut experience might have a stuck-up attitude, but so far there was no sign of that at all.

“Is there anyone who wants to be leader?”

At Yoo Jihae’s words, the A-team trio and Kim Nayeon all turned their eyes to me.

But,

“I think it would be best if you were the leader.”

“Will that really be okay?”

I nodded at Yoo Jihae’s question to signal that it was fine.

‘Even as it is, except for Ryu Ayeon and Yoo Jihae, we’re already close. If I even took the leader position on top of that, it would just mean we were excluding those two.’

The most important thing when leading a team is to let go of the idea that it has to be you.

It didn’t matter who took the leader’s seat, as long as that person did their job.

The important thing was to carry out the role given to me within the team properly—that was what I considered leadership.

Yunkyung seemed a little disappointed that I wasn’t stepping up as leader and made a slightly sulky face, but as soon as our eyes met, she loosened her expression again.

“Since this is a Position Evaluation, the most important thing this time is probably the choreography. Does anyone here have experience creating choreography?”

Once everyone indicated /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ they were fine with Yoo Jihae as leader and there were no big objections, Yoo Jihae thanked us briefly and began leading the team discussion in earnest.

“Bang! Bang! Love doesn’t have choreography originally, so we’ll have to make it ourselves. I think it would be best if someone who’s created choreo before took the lead.”

Just like Sluggish Ryujin had explained, our team’s song was definitely going to be tough.

Even just tweaking the existing Lucid Dive choreography had taken Suyeon several days of hard work; now we had to make something from scratch, so the difficulty would be several times higher.

“I can make choreography.”

With nobody readily volunteering at first, Ryu Ayeon—who had been sitting quietly—raised a hand and said she would handle the choreo.

“Uh··· really? Then let’s have Ayeon make the choreography.”

“Just give me about an hour. I’ll start by drafting the outline.”

Without waiting for an answer after she finished speaking, Ryu Ayeon picked up the practice tablet and moved in front of the mirror.

“Ayeon is kind of hard to approach.”

Watching that, Yoo Jihae spoke in a low voice, and the other members nodded just slightly in agreement.

But my eyes went to Ryu Ayeon.

‘How do you make choreography, anyway?’

Up until now, I had only ever followed choreo; I had never even thought about creating it, so suddenly I became curious about the process.

So I got up from my seat and quietly walked over to Ryu Ayeon’s side.

‘She’s not even pretending to notice me?’

At this distance, a quick side glance wouldn’t have been too much to expect, but whether she truly didn’t notice I was there or was ignoring me, all of Ryu Ayeon’s attention was fixed on the Bang! Bang! Love stage video playing on the tablet.

“Hm hm···.”

“···Do you need something?”

Only when I let out an awkward little cough did Ryu Ayeon finally look at me and ask what I wanted, in that same flat voice. 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

“No··· it’s nothing important.”

“If it’s not important, tell me later. I need to focus right now.”

“···.”

Ryu Ayeon was a tougher opponent than I thought.

Still, retreating here was not an option.

I sat down next to her and began spying on the process of how she created choreography.

Apparently, she had no intention of chasing me off that far; she continued to ignore me and started working on the choreo.

‘Oh.’

With the music playing from the tablet on the floor, Ryu Ayeon stood before the mirror and danced along to the song.

Even I, who still didn’t know much about choreography, could instinctively feel that the moves she was showing fit the song quite well.

Slyly.

In the middle of dancing, maybe she saw my reflection in the mirror, because I noticed Ryu Ayeon sneaking a sidelong glance at me.

“Ah, just think of me as a decoration!”

“Decorations don’t talk.”

“···.”

When I mimed zipping my lips, Ryu Ayeon shook her head once and went back to concentrating on the dance.

‘Will I ever be able to make choreography just by listening to the song like that too?’

And I watched her movements intently.

I hadn’t really thought much of anything about Ryu Ayeon up to now, but at that moment, I wanted to steal every little move she was making.

Because I wanted to be able to create choreography that fit a song perfectly like that too.