08

    Step Eight

    :: Center Position Part II ::

    It was unavoidable that the show's buzz had been fairly stable and quietly progressing initially. The feedback wasn't as explosive as during the golden era of these kinds of variety shows.

    Think about it, how many survival shows had there been in the last 5-6 years? Seeing that fans like them and they generate huge revenues, every network started doing them. Plus, the bands formed usually only last for two years, which didn’t really cater to fans who enjoyed watching the growth of the band.

    Thus, the number of followers for survival shows had been decreasing every year. Nowadays, for Star Fight to get one million followers within the first month of announcing auditions was quite significant, although it was not as high as in the beginning.

    Im Heewoo knew this well, hence the extensive planning, living in the editing room and monitoring room, making them his second home.

    Fortunately, this batch of trainees was talented enough to gain several fans. The stress he'd been carrying had somewhat eased.

    "PD, the show’s followers had increased by another half a million!!" The young team member constantly watching the screen rubbed her eyes in disbelief at the response just half an hour after the first episode aired.

    "Excellent!" The middle-aged man punched the chair armrest, his bearded face suddenly looking happier. "What about the TV ratings?"

    "It's currently at 0.9, and it looks like it might keep rising."

    "Not great, not terrible, but it's as expected. Let's keep monitoring the results. After today, there's a day off. Anyone who wants to take a break and go home, feel free." The senior producer gave a day off broad-minded, the team exchanged excited voices for a moment before returning to focus on the upcoming tasks. The middle-aged man took a deep breath, grabbed his phone, and checked the social media trends for a moment.

    [STAR FIGHT EP.01]

    Comment: Oh my, the scent of Star Fight, which I haven't encountered in a long time. I love how little Wang Qi got startled by the spotlights. I want to hug and comfort him to calm his nerves.

    Comment: The show doesn’t seem to focus on extravagant sets or effects like the previous one, but it still looks good. You can tell it's well-designed.

    Comment: I agree with the comment above. Even though I don't know if you're the show’s sockpuppet or not, the lighting and color tones make the show much more appealing. It looks sophisticated without overdoing it.

    Comment: What are they analyzing above? The contestants are handsome enough, aren't they?

    Comment: Jacan is superb. He's a foreigner who doesn't seem out of place compared to Asians. He's mixed-blood, isn't he?

    Comment: These trainees nowadays are so impressive. Their skills seem like they've been honed for ten years.

    Comment: Oh, who are these bold trainees, saying all bad things about the foreign trainees? Why doesn't the show just show their faces directly instead of just their voices?

    Comment: They didn't say anything wrong.

    Comment: These companies profit a lot from international members, more than from K-country folks. It's almost like they take a larger cut. It's better not to say anything if you don't know.

    Comment: The first two A Class are both foreigners, is this acceptable? Why are our people so incapable?

    Comment: Just read comments for a moment and when I'm back to the TV again my little Jacan has already turned into Jacan oppa. Kyaaa! His arm muscles are so tempting!!

    Comment: I'm Kim Jiseong's fan. I don't need another. But Jacan is impressive, even though he's a foreigner. Um... No, I'm not cheating on Jiseong.

    Comment: The above comment, if you’re sleep-deprived, go to bed now. You seem confused with life.

    Comment: So familiar with Jacan's voice. But I can't remember.

    The social media buzz wouldn’t affect the trainees on the show until the second episode aired. Until then, they wouldn’t have access to their own communication tools.

    "I want to see my own face in the first episode," Wang Qi muttered, rolling around in the practice room class, with Eiji linking arms after hearing the team's positive discussion about the improved trend following the first episode last night.

    "Soon, the team will show us," Kim Jiseong looked at himself dancing in the mirror, his dark eyes searching for areas that needed adjustment.

    "And when will that be..." The two little kids stretched their arms and legs, rolling around like logs.

    "Whenever it is," An Junsa, younger than Eiji, looked at Eiji, who was rolling around with Wang Qi, with a resigned expression. "Are you really 19, bro?"

    Jacan observed the chaos in Class A with gentle eyes. He was like a real kindergarten teacher. If he were the same age as when he debuted, he might join in the fun with the rolling.

    But because he had been in the industry for many years, he had seen both the good and the bad. To only see the beautiful side of the industry, like innocent children, that... he couldn't do.

    "Bro, who do you think the show will eliminate?" An Junsa saw the big brother of the show looking at the little kids playing and approached him for a chat.

    "I don't know. Maybe they'll cut those the judges are least interested in," Jacan didn't specify which person or class was special. He sneakily evaluated the boy directly asking a risky question.

    Did he seem targeted?

    Jacan recalled An Junsa's performance during the evaluation round of class shifting. The other side had a similar image to him. But if they stood close together, the differences could be seen. Besides, they both chose to sing their own compositions.

    Too much similarity often attracted more friction than friendship. And this was the self-competition of the people at the top of the pyramid.

    If one thought that those in classes B-E, who had to try harder than anyone, had to climb many trees and scale thick walls to get into Class A, were pitiable, keep in mind that life had struggles and those in the elite class were not necessarily comfortable. Even if they were higher than anyone else, internal competition was still fierce. The rankings, high and low, would determine their future after they'd debuted.

    Only those at the very top could grasp everything in their hands, including the resources SKM Ent. would provide after the debut!

    There would always be people eager to show off their skills, it was normal.

    But not Jacan.

    For him... the war hadn’t even started yet. It's just warming up before the real start. Because the current Class A was entirely the result of the judges' selection. When the time came for the audience to vote, the position he thought was his might not be anymore.

    Being approached by An Junsa this time didn't make him lose his head because he knew well enough. However, he still had to be careful not to dance to the other party's game. Otherwise, the image the audience saw would just be that of a headless teenager.

    He had encountered some trainees in previous seasons who didn't have much ability, but the viewers loved them. Even though they faced resistance from other trainee fan clubs, they ultimately debuted with overwhelming votes.

    Certainly, being closer to the finish line, like in Class A, helped draw the viewers' interest first. Whenever the program started distributing tasks, there would be many who would stand out.

    Therefore... the war wasn’t over yet. No underestimating even the lowest-ranking soldiers.

    ...

    For a week, Jacan spent his mornings learning singing and dancing. In the afternoons, he rehearsed with Class A for three hours and practiced alone for another three. The remaining time was spent checking the readiness of Class E, rotating like this until the day of evaluation.

    This time, there was no lottery like on the first assessment day. Instead, they had the trainees from Class E perform first and ended with Class A as the last class.

    All the trainees were called to gather again in the large meeting room. Seats were arranged at the back, with labels already placed indicating where trainees from which class should sit. In front of them were the seniors, also serving as mentors, sat facing everyone.

    Now they no longer had to wear the same gray shirts. Everyone had received clearly differentiated shirts.

    "Class E five persons, come and stand at the marked spots. We will evaluate everyone together at once," Kim Sujin waved her hand towards the small stage where the trainees had to stand.

    The lowest-class trainees in their pink tracksuits looked at each other for a moment before someone brave stepped out to be the first one on stage. Then others followed until everyone was on stage.

    It was unknown whether these boys saw Jacan as a pillar of strength. But no matter who it was, every time the evaluation started, they had to look at the young man.

    "Go for it!" The young man always sent encouragement. The image that the viewers saw from this tape, later on, resembled that of parents sending their children to participate in a school competition.