Idol Hides His Military Service

“Hey, you idiot, Lee Gahyeon has to be in the debut line-up!”

“No, Corporal Kim, doesn’t Lee Gahyeon look kind of sharp and vicious?”

“Let’s be honest and admit what we have to admit, Gahyeon’s the biggest.”

“That’s true. All right, I’ll yield as far as Lee Gahyeon. But Lee Sion is nonnegotiable.”

“Okay, I’ll acknowledge Lee Sion too.”

The PC room.

Its official name was the Cyber Knowledge Information Room, and it was one of the few places where soldiers in the army could communicate with the outside world legally.

Because they could use that modern marvel called the computer, the PC room was always packed with soldiers trying to get in.

Even in the army, where almost everything was solved by seniority, the PC room was so important to the soldiers that it was the one place where they set up a numbered order regardless of rank.

Maybe that was why the PC room was always bustling.

Not only the people actually using the computers but also the ones who couldn’t get a turn would stand behind them, giving back-seat orders about doing this and that. It was a common scene in the PC room.

And what they asked for was mostly similar.

-Log into Facebook.

-Wow, what the hell did this kid do in college that he doesn’t have a single woman in his Facebook friends?

-Why are you watching a praying mantis and a stag beetle fight in the PC room? Put on some girl group stage videos!

Starting with requests to log into social media and check their messages, the most common thing was asking them to check the posts of a girlfriend (or, with very high probability, an ex-girlfriend).

Besides that, most of them tried to coax the user into playing fancam videos or stage clips of currently popular girl groups.

But that usual PC room scenery had been changing lately.

“Ah, today we really need them to extend TV time···.”

“Sergeant Yoon already bought coffee and snacks at the PX to try persuading the duty officer today.”

“Isn’t the duty officer today the headquarters company commander? That guy’s so strict he usually won’t allow it.”

“They switched shifts, so the duty officer today is the 1st Guard Company commander.”

“We’re set!”

TV extension.

It was a small event held at the discretion of the duty officer if nothing special was going on in the army.

Normally, they had to turn off the TV at 9 p.m. and go to bed after roll call, but on TV extension nights, they were allowed to watch TV until midnight, or even later depending on the duty officer’s mood. It was an amazing miracle.

Of course, it wasn’t something they got all the time, but usually on Fridays before the weekend, permission was granted more often than not.

The officers knew that if they didn’t at least allow this level of minor rule-breaking, bigger problems would crop up later, so even though they knew it was technically against regulations, they just told the soldiers not to cause trouble and let it slide.

The reason the soldiers wanted TV extension this badly was usually because there was a program they absolutely had to watch.

For example, a hip-hop survival show or a currently trending drama were the classic cases.

And if you asked them to name the program that was most popular among the soldiers these days, they would all choose the same one.

Idol Ground 100.

The fact that 100 female trainees appeared on it was more than enough to attract the soldiers’ attention, and when you added a survival format on top of that, it had turned into a complete uproar.

In the PC room, everyone was busy picking their own “pick” and voting, and in the barracks, it was common for debates to break out about who would end up in the debut line-up.

“If you could date Ryu Ayeon in exchange for having your service extended by 100 days, yes or no?”

“Isn’t 100 days worth the try? Just think of it as going career NCO.”

“Hm··· then 200 days?”

Given the nature of the army, most of their conversations were pointless delusions like this, but that only showed how popular Idol Ground 100 was among them.

‘What a headache.’

-Oppa! My phone verification isn’t working, so you have to sign up yourself and vote for me!

Corporal Lee Hakyeon, who had six months left until discharge, had gotten a call from his younger sister two weeks ago.

He had thought, well, she’s still my little sister, maybe she’s calling to ask how her brother in the army is doing, but when he heard the mission his sister was assigning him, Lee Hakyeon was dumbfounded at first.

-You said you can use computers in the army, right? Then vote, vote for Lee Sion! As long as you vote for Lee Sion, I don’t care about the rest, pick whoever you want, Oppa.

His younger sister Lee Jiyeon had brazenly demanded that he vote, like she was telling him to hand back something she had left in his safekeeping.

At first, he thought of ignoring her, but when he imagined how she would whine the entire time he was home on leave if he did that, he got tired just thinking about it, so in the end, Lee Hakyeon decided to grant her request.

‘Idols, seriously, tsk.’

To be honest, Lee Hakyeon even had complaints about TV extension.

What he wanted to watch was soccer.

In particular, he wanted to watch overseas soccer matches, but he always got pushed aside by the other barracks members and ended up watching variety shows he didn’t even want to see, so even on TV extension nights, he usually just wrapped himself in his blanket and went to sleep.

‘Still, I am curious who I actually voted for.’

But today, instead of sleeping, Lee Hakyeon was debating whether to watch Idol Ground 100 Episode 3.

Even if it was because of his sister, he had voted anyway, so he was curious who he had voted for and why people were reacting so wildly to this variety show.

“It’s starting!”

So, thinking that he could catch up on any sleep he missed on the weekend and that he might as well take a look, he started watching Idol Ground 100 Episode 3.

By the time Idol Ground 100 Episode 3, which had a fairly long slot, ended, it was already 2 a.m.

But at that late hour,

Even knowing that if he shouted too loudly he might get chewed out by the duty officer, Lee Hakyeon couldn’t help but shout.

“Whoo!!!”

Because the moment his ultimate bias was decided had just arrived.

***

[Sionism live broadcast chat]

[Ah I’m seriously going crazy! Why do they always only use Sion in the previews?]

Looking at the chat flying up in the Sionism café’s live broadcast chat, Jiyeon agreed intensely.

‘Look at them mindlessly exploiting Sion just because she gets buzz, seriously!’

Thanks to the Episode 3 preview that had been released earlier, Jiyeon’s fingers were practically half-paralyzed by now.

-That punch is 100% dtd

-I thought she was sketchy from the start, people’s faces don’t lie.

-She doesn’t even have any skill, so I don’t get why people lick her boots that hard

The part of the Idol Ground 100 Episode 3 preview that had caused controversy was the appearance of a participant swinging a fist.

Of course, the participant’s identity was hidden under mosaic blur, so you couldn’t tell who it was.

But there were plenty of “time Bill Gateses” online who could afford to invest all the time in the world into investigating things like that.

-If you look at the hair length and face shape, that’s Lee Sion, no mistake.

Thanks to that, it wasn’t long before posts started popping up saying that the participant throwing the punch was Lee Sion.

And as if they had been waiting for it, the underground forces lurking on Twitter started crawling out, attacking Lee Sion.

As Idol Ground 100 grew more popular, the number of antis sneakily attacking the participants had increased, and the one they had been targeting especially often lately was the most talked-about of the participants, Lee Sion.

“dtd.”

They even went so far as to change the consonant-only spelling of her name into “dtd” just to dodge searches, «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» and used that to sneak around spreading rumor posts.

The Sionism staff couldn’t just sit and watch all this.

Each of them had been dragging around rebuttal posts, pleading with people not to be fooled by devil editing, and Jiyeon had even skipped cram school today to wage a keyboard war with the anti forces online.

Thanks to that, the current mood in the communities was,

-We have to watch first.

It had shifted to that.

They were well aware from past cases just how good variety producers—especially MPlay’s variety team—were at devil editing, so they hadn’t been easily swayed by incitement.

[Why do we always get this nervous every time the live broadcast starts?]

[We have to accept it. It’s the fate of the people who picked the 1st place participant.]

[But honestly, it’s more infuriating because it is fun.]

So the Sionism staff were watching Idol Ground 100 Episode 3, which had just started airing, with their hearts in their throats.

And understandably so. If Lee Sion had actually used violence for real and not through devil editing, then no matter what the situation was, controversy would have been inevitable.

-The miraculous all-member promotion of F class!

At last, Idol Ground 100 began, and contrary to expectations, it moved along at a fast pace.

Picking up from last episode’s shot of F class undergoing the mid-check, it showed the result of all F class members getting their grades raised accompanied by praise from the judges.

(A scene of Seo Ryujin grabbing hold of Lee Sion and making her practice dance and singing)

Then, along with the three participants who had been promoted to A class, it focused heavily on showing the process of A class preparing for the live broadcast stage.

And then,

Pick me now, pick me wow

The name that’ll make your heart race

Out of all these countless stars

Choose me— right now!

Idol Ground 100 Episode 3 quickly went on to reveal even the long-awaited Music Count live broadcast stage.

(A scene of center Ryu Ayeon slipping slightly during the choreography, and Lee Sion grabbing her and naturally taking the ending pose)

[Wow, so that wasn’t planned, Sion actually covered for Ryu Ayeon’s mistake?]

[I thought it was so natural they’d prepared it as an ending pose.]

[This is insane, seriously! Back at the Entrance Ceremony she was still so clumsy, how did she improve that much in just two weeks?]

And the chat watching this scene was in a total frenzy.

Not only had their favorite, Lee Sion, been promoted to A class, she had even shown outstanding performance on the live stage.

It was only natural that they felt this way, considering it felt like their hard work running around the communities promoting Sion until now was finally being rewarded.

‘This is why I can’t quit idol stanning!’

Like the other staff, Jiyeon was in such a state of joy she wanted to scream.

There were many reasons Jiyeon liked idols, but if she had to pick the biggest factor, it was growth.

That strangely satisfying feeling when you saw an idol that only you knew at first slowly build skill and experience and become loved by many people.

Proof that her own eye hadn’t been wrong, and the joy of watching the group she liked develop and move forward—those things turned out to be more fun than she had expected.

-The participants return after a brief rest

While Jiyeon was briefly lost in her feelings like that, the program had moved on to showing the participants returning to the dorm after their break.

(A shot of participants surrounding Lee Sion as a group and bombarding her with questions)

[What the, when did Sion get that close with Seo Ryujin again?]

[They were stuck together in all the A class practice scenes, I think that’s when they got close.]

[Anyone watching would think they were real besties lol]

-How did it feel when you got the nickname “ending fairy” after the Music Count stage?

-···.

(A shot of participant Lee Sion keeping silent with her head bowed)

[No but she belted Pink Spell so shamelessly, why is she embarrassed about this?]

[lol come to think of it, Sion still hasn’t seen Episodes 1 and 2 where she was on, right?]

[Judging from how her ears are already red just doing that interview, when she watches Episodes 1 and 2 later her entire face is going to be red lol]

After showing interviews with the participants who had returned to the dorm, the program then shifted to a scene of the participants assembling on the field.

-Everyone, did you manage to rest well, even if only for a short time?

The camera showed the participants gathered on the field and MC Jang Junseok standing on the platform.

[They must be freezing, ugh]

[Why are they assembling them on the field in the middle of winter when they have an auditorium?]

[Looks like they’re going to do something short?]

As Jang Junseok explained that the first mission of Idol Ground 100 would now be carried out, something appeared behind him.

-From now on, you will proceed with the mission as 20 teams. And the songs that the 20 teams will be singing are written on the boards behind me!

[Wow, look at those songs!]

[Are those the songs they’re using for this mission?]

[Exactly 10 songs?]

-20 teams, 10 songs. Do you know what this means?

Whirr.

Idol Ground 100 began fast-forwarding the footage.

Soon, it showed the participants standing inside a huge circle drawn on the field.

-Shoo shoo shoo!

-Hey, I told you to warm up your body, why are you throwing punches?

-Tsk tsk. In no time at all, the cameras will be capturing the sight of you rolling across the field after being hit by my dazzling fist.

And among those participants, the camera caught Lee Sion and Seo Ryujin hanging out together off in a corner.

[Holy crap! That’s what they used for the preview?]

[Ah··· f*ck, I mean, I’m relieved it was nothing, but this PD is insane!!!]

[Not “he,” “she.”]

In the Sionism chat, messages were flying up that mixed sighs of relief with deep, simmering anger.

The identity of the participant shown swinging a fist in the preview had indeed been Lee Sion.

But as it turned out, that scene was not her using violence against another participant, but just warm-up exercises before the chicken fight to decide the team leaders.

‘I’m seriously going crazy, but it’s so funny I can’t even complain properly!’

After spending the entire day locked in a keyboard battle over this, Jiyeon felt nothing but emptiness and laughter bubbling up.

No matter how you looked at it, the sight of Lee Sion joking with Seo Ryujin and preparing for the chicken fight, sounding so confident, was just plain funny.

And then,

-The 100-person chicken fight to decide the team leaders begins now!

On the broadcast, Jang Junseok’s line announcing the start of the chicken fight was playing before they knew it.

[Oh, Lee Sion’s really fast!]

[But why is she heading for the center?]

[Sion looks like she’s going to do well.]

As soon as it started, the camera followed only Lee Sion as she charged straight for the exact center of the field.

With an extremely confident expression, she reached the center of the field at high speed.

The Sionism staff, watching that, stared holes into the screen, full of expectation that Sion was about to show some incredible performance.

But,

“Kkuaaah!”

What appeared on the screen was the sight of Lee Sion rolling across the field, letting out a bizarre scream.