Idol Hides His Military Service

Ryu Ayeon had never once been nervous when stepping onto a stage.

That was only natural. To Ryu Ayeon, a stage was simply a place to show what she had practiced up to now, and as someone who had practiced harder than anyone else, she had always been confident.

“Contestant No. 99, Ryu Ayeon, has stepped up onto the platform. Please give her a big round of applause, everyone!”

“Waaaaaah!!!”

But now, for the first time, Ryu Ayeon was feeling nervous on stage.

Unlike usual, her hands were clenched tight.

Inside those hands, sweat was pooling heavily.

—I really love chicken. I wanted to eat it so badly···.

—I’m pizza! When we went to the convenience store last time, there wasn’t any, so I was super disappointed.

—Sion and Gahyeon worked really hard, you know.

When Lee Sion had taken first place in the talent show, the atmosphere in the Bang! Bang! Love team had been like a festival.

But not long after, when Seo Ryujin snatched first place away, no one showed it openly, yet the sense of disappointment was unmistakable.

So maybe that was why—

—···I’ll bring it.

Seeing her teammates with their gloomy expressions, Ryu Ayeon ended up blurting out that she would go, without even realizing it herself.

Of course, the team members hadn’t expected Ryu Ayeon to say she’d go out for the talent show, and they stopped her, saying she didn’t have to overdo it.

But the moment the words left her mouth, there was no taking them back.

Ryu Ayeon had strong pride.

In truth, right after saying she’d go on stage for the talent show, she wanted to retract it.

—Hey, Ryu Flip-Flop!

But if she did that, she could already feel the inevitable certainty that Lee Sion would add yet another nickname for her.

She didn’t have the confidence to endure that, and more than anything, she couldn’t betray the expectations of her teammates, who were trying to stop her yet still looked at her with eyes full of faint hope.

“Contestant Ryu Ayeon. What will you be showing in this talent show?”

“I’ll···.”

Thus began a talent show stage decided completely on impulse.

Ryu Ayeon felt as though her head was spinning, unable to figure out what she was supposed to do.

‘The only things I can do are sing and dance.’

A special personal talent.

Things like vocal impressions or breaking, which previous contestants had shown, were things she had never done and could not do.

But if she just sang or danced normally, it was obvious that the excited atmosphere filling the auditorium as everyone stared at her would cool down in an instant, like the weather outside.

‘I need to do something fun.’

Ryu Ayeon was often told she lacked tact, but even she knew that on a stage like a talent show, you were supposed to make people laugh.

However, being told she was boring even more often than being told she lacked tact, it wasn’t easy for Ryu Ayeon to come up with how she could make people enjoy themselves.

So she thought about it the other way around.

If she didn’t know what would make others have fun, then why not do something she herself had found entertaining?

‘That’s it.’

At that moment, a scene that had left the strongest impression on her recently surfaced in Ryu Ayeon’s mind.

“I’ll show Pink Spell.”

“Pink Spell?”

“Yes, but not the original—I’ll do Lee Sion’s Pink Spell exactly the same.”

***

“Ryu Judas··· you are a creature that should never exist.”

“Hold it in! Hey, hurry and come restrain Lee Sion! Why is she so strong?!”

“Sion-unnie, please endure it! But didn’t Ayeon-unnie reclaim first place for us?!”

“Captain! Honestly, it was funny! You have to admit what deserves admitting!”

My entire body trembled as humiliation coursed through me.

Pink Spell.

Ryu Ayeon had just released a memory I had finally managed to seal away.

—Hidden in everyday life

One secret spell

Love, laugh

But don’t push too hard!

What Ryu Ayeon sang after boldly climbing onto the platform, declaring she’d do a talent show, was Pink Spell: Lee Sion ver.

Pink Spell was actually a difficult song despite how it looked, but with Ryu Ayeon’s ability, it wouldn’t have been a problem to pull off.

But Ryu Ayeon had deliberately zeroed in on my Pink Spell and recreated it with 100% synchronization.

As a result—

—Kkbb··· even the way she’s stiff and locking her gaze straight ahead is exactly like Lee Sion.

—Is Ryu Ayeon insane? She’s even copying the way she ignores the rhythm perfectly.

—Wow, Lee Sion really got used like this. I remember how embarrassed I got watching that.

Not only the contestants, but even MC Jang Junseok burst out laughing, then seemed to choke, bending over in a corner and coughing for a long while.

That wasn’t all.

The production staff, energized, whispered among themselves with faces glowing like enlightened Buddhas, and then—

—An incredible score! With 9.9 points, contestant Ryu Ayeon’s khhup··· Pink Spell takes first place!!!

They raised scoreboards nearly perfect, like Olympic judges witnessing Kim Yuna’s triple axel.

“I just did exactly what I saw···.”

“How could you sell out your teammate’s dark past just because you wanted chicken and pizza!!! Judas··· from now on, you’re Ryu Judas!!!”

What made me even angrier was Ryu Ayeon’s shameless attitude as she claimed she’d merely copied it exactly, not even making eye contact with me.

I wasn’t a shameless person who used violence against the weak.

But Ryu Ayeon had sold even a teammate’s pain···.

“Lee Sion, do you have no conscience?”

“What?”

Just as I was gathering strength in my core to punish Ryu Ayeon, Kim Nayeon’s voice rang out.

“When Seo Ryujin was chasing us, you sold me out back then too. Don’t tell me you already erased that from your memory?”

“That was···.”

Kim Nayeon’s expression as she suddenly brought up the past was anything but ordinary.

During the previous training camp—back when outside food hadn’t been banned yet—Seo Ryujin would always bring a suitcase full of snacks like chocolate, making her my prime target for plundering.

Usually I’d have Yunkyung or Shinyu stand watch, then quickly rummage through Seo Ryujin’s suitcase and steal chocolate—it was practically routine.

—Hey! You there, don’t move!!!

I thought I’d taken only enough not to get noticed, but apparently Seo Ryujin had been a very meticulous type.

I was sure she’d left the dorm before I began plundering, but in reality, Seo Ryujin had been hiding and watching the raid unfold.

When Seo Ryujin charged at us in a voice full of rage, the plundering expedition, myself included, had to flee immediately.

And in the process, thanks to Nayeon’s holy sacrifice···.

“You definitely said this back then, didn’t you?”

—Ryujin!!! The mastermind is Kim Nayeon! Kim Nayeon said we should do it!!!

Watching Nayeon grind her teeth as she mimicked my words, I had no choice but to avert my gaze.

But that was an unavoidable choice.

At the time, among the members of the plundering expedition, Yunkyung was the slowest runner and was about to be caught, and given Seo Ryujin’s personality, there was no way she’d go easy just because Yunkyung was a middle schooler.

Either Kim Nayeon or I had to be the one captured and bear Seo Ryujin’s fury.

But if I’d been caught back then, I might’ve had to leave the training camp due to injury.

Since Nayeon had no prior offenses against Seo Ryujin, I judged she’d go relatively easy on her and made that decision out of necessity.

“Let’s all forget about the past. Yeah, what does that even matter! What’s really important is that our team took first place.”

For the sake of team unity, I could overlook a small deviation from Ryu Ayeon.

Definitely not because Nayeon’s glare was scary.

“Now, contestant Yoo Jihae, the leader of Bang! Bang! Love—the team that took first place in the talent show—please come up onto the platform.”

Just as the Operation Eradicate Ryu Judas was falling apart, MC Jang Junseok called out Yoo Jihae, our team’s leader.

“I’ll be right back!”

Answering Jang Junseok’s call, Yoo Jihae strode toward the platform with a dignified air befitting the leader of the first-place team, and we—and the other contestants as well—sent applause her way.

“As a prize, the Bang! Bang! Love team—the team of contestant Ryu Ayeon, who took first place in the talent show—will receive one box of chicken and one box of pizza per person!”

“This is crazy! One box per person?”

“There’s no way we can finish all this.”

“Eat! Even if your stomach explodes, eat it!”

Some voices said the amount of chicken and pizza was too much, but that was a naive thought.

To earn that reward, Lee Gahyeon had to become a water deer, and I had to set my forehead on fire.

Ryu Ayeon, as irritating as she was, absolutely wasn’t the type to put on a stage like that in front of others, so she must have let go of a lot of herself.

Wasting the results earned through the sacrifices of the three of us? 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

That was impossible.

“Congratulations.”

“Thank you!”

As I was giving orders for every team member to absolutely finish one entire box each, on the platform Jang Junseok was offering congratulations to Yoo Jihae along with a sign that read “Idol Ground 100 Talent Show 1st Place.”

‘So it was an advertisement.’

The brand names of the chicken and pizza were plastered in big letters across the sign Yoo Jihae was holding.

It was a little sad that all of this had happened because of the production team’s capitalism, but it was fine.

Since the food had come in as PPL, they’d surely paid attention to making it, which meant it would taste even better.

“Now then, we’ll give the right of choice to Yoo Jihae, the leader of the first-place team!”

“A right of choice?”

“That’s right. Yoo Jihae may choose one of two options. First, to share the chicken and pizza just among your team members. Second, to share all of today’s chicken and pizza with all contestants!”

“Huh?”

“Please choose one of the two!”

***

“They played us again.”

“The production team’s scheming is seriously no joke.”

“Why did I have to become a water deer···.”

“···.”

After the chicken-and-pizza party in the auditorium ended, we returned to the practice room.

—Contestant Yoo Jihae has chosen the second option! Then, from now on, everyone, please enjoy the pizza and chicken! It’s Cheating time!

The two options given to Yoo Jihae.

Of course, Yoo Jihae chose to share with everyone.

I was a bit pissed at getting played by the production team—no, my aunt—again, but honestly, it wasn’t a bad thing.

If anything, it was nice.

We’d at least eaten at the convenience store, but the other contestants had been surviving only on training camp meals.

If they’d gotten nothing to eat today because they couldn’t shine in the talent show, that would’ve been too cruel.

“We should get back to practice now. We ate so much that if we don’t move, I’ll feel guilty instead.”

“Yeah, shall we start matching the choreography again?”

The production team must’ve had a conscience too, because they’d prepared a generous amount of food, letting all contestants eat as if there were no tomorrow.

As a result, our team members’ faces were now shiny with grease.

“Then I’ll take Gahyeon, and Ayeon and Nayeon can each—”

“Just a moment, Jihae-unnie.”

Just as we were about to start practice under leader Yoo Jihae’s control, now that we were full, Ryu Ayeon raised her hand as if she had something to say.

“What’s wrong, Ayeon? Is there a problem?”

“I’ve finished the new choreography.”

In response to Yoo Jihae’s question about whether there was an issue, what came back was the answer that a new choreography was complete.

“Done, done!!!”

Jiyeon shouted in triumph as she stared at the text on the screen.

—You have won tickets to attend the recording of Idol Ground 100.

The screen was packed with small text, but that didn’t matter.

What mattered was that she had obtained tickets to attend the recording of Idol Ground 100, famous for its brutal competition rate.

[What’s wrong with MPlay? Why only 500 people? Just the number of applicants alone must be tens of thousands. What were they thinking choosing such a small number?]

As if proving it, the popularity of Idol Ground 100 kept rising day by day, and getting recording tickets had become like plucking stars from the sky.

Even during the previous Group Battle Mission, the competition for recording tickets had been fierce, but now it stood at 80:1—selecting only 500 people out of a staggering 40,000 applicants.

Because of that brutal competition rate, Jiyeon, who had failed to get tickets last time during the Group Battle Mission, «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» couldn’t help but feel her heart pounding at the thought of failing again.

—The Group Battle Mission stage was pure art.

—Yeah, I saw it too, but if I spoil it I could actually get punished, so I can’t tell you.

—I feel so bad for the fans who couldn’t see it live.

When it came to fandom, the people as irritating as antis were fans who bragged about having seen things live.

Even so, fans who hadn’t been able to attend had no choice but to listen closely just to hear scraps of information from those bragging fans—that was the sad reality.

After all, having advance information about your favorite was practically divine.

‘They really locked down information hard.’

Strangely enough, though, there were almost no spoiler posts about Idol Ground 100.

Most of what surfaced were just fragmentary impressions of stages, with no mention of which songs were sung or which teams were good.

[MPlay will collect all electronic devices, including mobile phones, upon entry to pre-recorded broadcasts, and anyone who posts spoiler-related content afterward may face legal action.]

The conditions laid out by MPlay had been so severe that it wasn’t surprising.

In fact, after someone anonymously posted even a brief spoiler on one community and then claimed MPlay had sent a lawsuit, posts about the recording broadcasts vanished altogether.

‘It’s fine.’

Thanks to that, Jiyeon, who had been dying of curiosity about the Group Battle Mission, finally had her problem solved by winning tickets today.

In just two more days, Episode 4 of Idol Ground 100 would air, letting her see the long-awaited Group Battle Mission stage and its results.

And after waiting just one more day after the broadcast, she’d even be able to see the results of the next stage ahead of time—meaning she’d no longer have to be toyed with by the deceivers.

‘I wish Friday would hurry up and come!’

Thinking fervently for the broadcast day of Episode 4 to arrive, Jiyeon logged into Sionism, the Lee Sion fan café she personally managed, and began browsing the posts.