Chapter 23

Now it was Yoo-young’s turn. She chose to sing a ballad, which really suited her. She had the vibrations in the right places and belted the high notes powerfully. She showcased her vocal talents perfectly and pulled off her performance flawlessly. She certainly sounded like a veteran idol.

Jumi chose a rock ballad while Jihyun chose a quieter one. Of course, neither of them were a match for Yoo-young. I mean, they did well too, but Yoo-young was that amazing. The other members danced, and Rhinzi wiped the floor in that category. Her choreography was intense. No one could take their eyes off of her.

Soon, it was Minji’s turn, the one who made fun of me until recently. I still regret that I didn’t pull out all her hair that night. If I had just a little more time, I could’ve plucked out every strand from her scalp. But surprisingly, Minji’s personality changed quite a bit. She must’ve been really intimidated by the soju bottle incident, because she was pretty quiet. It was completely different from what she used to be. Can a person really change that quickly? She’s not physically sick, is she? But when I asked, they just said she’s fine. I guess she’s just a strange case.

Anyways, with Minji, the rehearsal ended and we changed out of our costumes.

“The clothes are really pretty,” I said as I inspected the costumes. It was all black with red, white, and blue stripes. The sleeves and pants were narrow, but comfortable. And they were form-fitting. When I did my sword routine, the clothes moved in a pretty awesome way, the kind of way that made you wonder if such a beauty truly existed in the world. Even I looked pretty awesome if I say so myself.

“Isn’t it? I requested the designer to pay special attention this time,” the stylist said with a bright smile. It was obvious she favored me out of all the members of Fifteen. I think it was because we were both overweight. But after losing all this weight, her support for me became even stronger. I guess you can say she’s living vicariously through me.

“Thanks. I’ll wear this and get a good score,” I promised. The stylist’s smile became even wider.

“You’re definitely going to get a lot of votes. You’re 58 kg now? You went down 35kg from 95kg in such a short period of time. I bet people love you.”

“Thanks.”

I thanked the stylist one more time before heading back to the film set. I saw Jinwoo and C-Night having a discussion together. But, wow…C-Night. Her curves really are something. They’re big enough for her chest to literally lay on the table…

***

We all gathered on the stage. Seven people in front. Eight people in the back. We all stood in our lines and looked at Jinwoo.

“Hi, guys.”

Jinwoo greeted us with a wave. For some reason, he seemed pretty happy to see us. Next to him, C-Night just looked indifferent and aloof. Why does she always look so pissed? It was a good thing that the camera was filming. Otherwise, it would’ve been even worse. I wonder if she was mad about something.

“Good afternoon, Mr. Park.” Yoo-young greeted first, and we all followed after.

“How have you guys been?” Jinwoo sounded almost father-like when he asked that, and we all replied in an affirmative manner.

“It’s good to see you guys again. I already feel like we’re friends,” Jinwoo said with another smile. Then he continued.

“As I told you before, the voting results from your Week 2 Mission are going to be shown. You guys already saw the online results. But you know those aren’t the final results, right?”

Everyone nodded. We all knew they were going to add Jinwoo’s scores to the online scores. Those would be the final results.

“Okay. Let’s look at the online results.”

Jinwoo moved the screen so we could all see. The top 10 showed up.

10th – Jimin Kim(18)

9th – Sena (21)

8th – Ara(21)

7th – Yoojin Jeong(20)

6th – Jumi Yeom(21)

5th – Rhinzi(21)

4th – Jia Lee(21)

3rd – Hainan(18)

2nd – Jihyun Yoo(22)

1st – Yoo-young Lee(22)

The online scores showed up, but everyone’s expressions remained the same. Some were probably happy on the inside, while others were sad. Some were probably nervous as well.

‘What rank am I?’ I began to wonder. Since I wasn’t in the Top 10, my rank didn’t show up, which made me really curious. Was I last? But I showed up a lot in the episode, so it couldn’t be…

Just then, Jinwoo spoke again.

“The online results. To be honest, it’s pretty much the same with the results. That means the way I see you guys is similar to the way the public sees you.”

“Me, too,” C-Night said with a smirk. Was she glad that she got them all right?

“Oh, really? You agree with them too?”

“Yes, I do.”

“C-Night, you really are amazing.”

Jinwoo gave C-Night a thumbs up. I guess it’s true that C-Night does have some skills as an artist, considering how popular her own music is.

“Now I’m going to show you my results. I was as objective as I was, so I hope none of you guys are offended by the scores.

With that, Jinwoo gestured to the screen once again. This time, it displayed Jinwoo’s scores.

10th – Minji Lee(21)

9th – Ara(21)

8th – Areum Yeo(19)

7th – Hainan(20)

6th – Yoojin Jeo(20)

5th – Jia Lee(21)

4th – Rhinzi(21)

3rd – Jumi Yeom(18)

2nd – Jihyun Yoo(22)

1st – Yoo-young Lee(22)

There were a few changes, but for the most part, it was the same. Then finally, the final result that combined the two ranks showed up on screen.

10th – Jimin Kim(18)

9th – Ara(21)

8th – Sena(21)

7th – Yoojin Jeong(20)

6th – Rhinzi(21)

5th – Jumi Yeom(21)

4th – Hainan(18)

3rd – Jia Lee(21)

2nd – Jihyun Yoo(22)

1st – Yoo-young Lee(22)

Not many changes. The only thing that sucked was that Hainan dropped down to fourth, which meant she wouldn’t get the three stars.

“These are the final results of Week 2. Any objections?”

Everyone shook their heads, including me. And right then, I made a promise to myself. I promised myself that I would be in the Top 10 next week. I would make sure of it.

“As I mentioned before, The top 3 gets three stars, ranks 4 to 9 get two stars, and the last five get one star. Don’t be upset if you’re in the bottom. We still have a lot to film, which means there will be plenty of chances for you to rise in the ranks. The ones who got a higher rank got there because they worked hard so that’s what you need to do. Understand?”

“Yes!”

We all answered loudly in unison.

“Alright. Now let’s prepare for the Week 3 Rival Mission. Everyone get into your positions.”

At those words, we all began to move to our designated spots. I stood on the left while Jumi stood on the same place on the right. We exchanged a look and gave a friendly wave, silently wishing each other luck. Suddenly, Jinwoo began to turn his head this way and that before turning to C-Night to say something. I upped my hearing so I could hear what they were saying.

“But where’s Sian? I don’t see her.”

“What are you talking about? She’s right over there.”

C-Night jerked her head in my direction, but Jinwoo still struggled to find me.

“What? I don’t see her. By the way, you gave her the sword, right?”

“I said I would. And she’s right over there. You don’t see her?”

With that, C-Night pointed right at me. Jinwoo followed her finger towards me, and his eyes became wide at the sight of me.

“Whoa!”

It was obvious that he was shocked. I gave him a slight wink. That only astonished him even more.

“She’s Sian? What happened? How did she get so pretty?” Jinwoo said to C-Night, who scowled.

“How should I know? Why don’t you ask her yourself?”

“Wow…I saw her just a few days ago. Even then, she wasn’t that slim…That’s amazing.”

“I wouldn’t say she’s slim.”

C-Night scoffed.

“Hey, for her, it is. You didn’t see her before? She was really fat.”

“She probably got liposuction or something,” C-Night said. Somehow, I held myself back from taking my sword out of its hilt and throwing it at her.