The singing coach was one of the judges, Mudi.

She gave me a generous score in my first evaluation, she also threw good words at the other participants. So she used to kindly comfort the contestants during her training, but that didn't mean there weren't situations that made her angry and critical.

-WonGil, that's not right... Ha.

-...

The participant who was still making the same lack of rhythm error on the fifth day of training, bowed his head. He looked like he was trying to hide the irritated expression on his face instead of remorse, but it didn't matter.

The important thing is that they had made so many mistakes that, when comparing his mistakes with the singing of another one of the trainees, it was already very difficult for the coach to hide who was her favorite participant.

And here she mentions me.

-MoonDae, would you like to sing that part?

-Yes.

When the coach called me, I walked forward and the musical accompaniment was played on the electronic piano while I performed the pre-chorus part.

-I draw the future like a shooting star~

When the trainer nodded her head to the clear sound and precise rhythm, the broken participant rubbed his feet nervously.

Yes, it is obvious that I sang this song very well from the beginning, because there is a difference between someone who already knew this song and someone who did not.

It was inevitable. I didn't even pay much attention to the demo, based on what I remembered, heard and sang the entire song.

Also, my voice fits perfectly in this song. The coach said it was a good thing because the way she sang was second to none.

There were some people who murmured seeing Mudi so pleased with me.

-Yes, he is very good at singing...

-Yeah.

But there were also others who didn't feel too good about it.

Although they were in the Advanced Singing class, a class that was supposed to be the most talented boys because they belonged to top-tier agencies, expectations had been greatly raised thanks to a boy who had been found. among the general public.

Especially if the contestant's only strong point is singing about him.

According to the first evaluation, there were two contestants with A-grade vocals this season, while their dance grades are below C-grade. Everyone, including me, was on the same terms.

And the contestant named Choi WonGil, who was being criticized by the trainer at the time, was one of the two A-levels.

The funny thing is that this is the middle school student who approached me to see if he was someone suitable to ally with before filming. Well, he's not a middle school student, he's a high school freshman.

Regardless, he deserved to be mad because he's been hearing the same criticism from the coach for days at an age where he's self-aware and can rebel.

It was outrageous to him that they are comparing him to the very person who ignored him.

-You did it very well!

As soon as I finished singing the pre-chorus part, the coach lightly tapped her keyboard as if she felt satisfied and relieved. Despite that, Choi WonGil did not raise his head.

-WonGil, did you manage to identify what your mistake was?

-...

Considering the degree of his ability, I don't think it's possible to make that many mistakes. After learning the whole song on the first day, I constantly fight and I think his mentality was destroyed.

Let's see, I think the first day started more or less like this.

-Wow, I'm glad you got compliments on your singing. You have to rise quickly from the lower ranks of the dance class!

-You seem like a fan of singing, so this song suits you because it has a touch of purity.

He used to throw out phrases that were vaguely annoying or irritating.

They were criticisms so subtly sharpened that, if the affected person got angry, he would be treated like an idiot because he excused himself by claiming that he did not understand that he was saying it "in a good way and not as a joke."

Well, he said it that way because there were microphones turned on nearby. After all, he couldn't bear to be so pissed off...

-You are very lucky, I envy you. You are the most important factor in the entertainment industry. It would have been better if you could dance, it's a pity you can't, sorry. But still, cheers!

I think it's okay to have a lucky person on top of someone who works hard. Most of the people here risk their lives and are desperate. But no matter how you participate, you always get great reviews.

His comments had reached this point.

He already found it embarrassing to openly pick a fight and be rudely ignored. However, it is inevitable that he cannot do anything else about it.

Although he doesn't remember it, I also had my chance to stay on the show or be eliminated.

-Keep calm, don't get nervous, try again.

-...Yes.

Choi WonGil struggled to sing again and made yet another mistake. That was very unfortunate.

That day I received multiple compliments from the trainer and all the attention from WonGil until the end of the class.

He was tired because it's been a long time since I got this ranking, but he was not bad. He wouldn't have had these kinds of lessons if he had the actual grades from MoonDae's first stat window.

And the last day of training came when both classes remained the same, with their practice achievements piling up.

On the morning of the last day, the singing class participants recorded the song.

Either way, it will be a group song, so the names weren't specified or meant much.

Instead, let's focus on the afternoon, as it brought the long-awaited new qualifying.

***

The set lights came on.

-How have you been, dear young people?

-Oh, it was difficult!

-I'm... I'm so tired.

-Have you been taught strictly?

-Yes! Oh, I hope all our efforts are worth it.

The judges sat around the chairs and greeted us properly, although we had already greeted them in the waiting room in the morning, it was a demonstrative conversation for the opening scene of the episode recording.

The set they entered and sat down on was a room decorated like a personal interview room. It was actually a recycled set as it was used last season, only this time they added special effects.

The judges, who were asked to react as far in advance as possible, pretended not to know and spoke naturally.

-It's so similar... Yeah. It looks like we're going to have an important interview.

-Of course it's an important interview~ It's a grade interview!

-Is this an interview to join Idol Corporation?

As soon as the judges finished talking, the desk in front of their chairs lit up.

-wow!

"Shine your Star" shone on the desk in very colorful cursive writing. As this season's iconic catchphrase made its big appearance, the judges began to clap as they had in previous seasons.

But this time, surprisingly, the wall began to move.

-Eh?!

-What's going on?!

The walls of the interview room fell to the ground and drew shocked looks from the judges. When the wall behind the jury table disappeared, everything around the set was revealed.

The judges turned their heads as they heard the MC's voice loudly behind them.

-For the new season of Idol Reincorporation! The first hurdle is... A public evaluation!

-wow!

Behind the judges' seats were seats for the audience such as those seen in theaters. In fact, the front seats of the audience were filled with participants, who had thought they were just temporary waiting seats. They were seen surprised until the moment the MC appeared.

The 77 contestants who practiced the same song will rate each other as the audience!

Participants were able to see each other's performance during the first test.

However, everyone's faces stiffened because they didn't know that they could openly rate people practicing the same song in the same period of time.

Until last season, each contestant entered the practice room alone and received an independent evaluation.

-The evaluations will be given according to the order of position. But we will start from the last position to the first!

-...!

-At rank 77, Cho SeongGu, please come forward!

The named contestant staggered onto the stage as if he were half dead. Sympathetic gazes and whispers filled the air, but Park MoonDae remained silent.

It was because he learned that sympathy can seem misleading depending on the edition, just like Seon AhHyun's first ranking evaluation.

This knowledge also came from the experience of regularly searching idol communities to set selling prices for their recordings.

-Yes, good job.

-...Thank you...

Naturally, the 77th-ranked contestant messed up most of the first verse and completely messed up his evaluation.

-...

In a cold and uncomfortable atmosphere, the following participants would join the stage nervously.

After about five or six people like that showed up, the judges couldn't hide the discomfort on their faces.

Starting from last place was a cruel intentional deal to discourage the boys, but the production team had nothing to lose.

"If they can't get it right anyway, they have to at least get a cut of some provocative or thought-provoking image so we can include them for a few seconds in the show's episode."

Not for nothing these young people were described as "disposable".

But this cruelty also made clear all the problems they had to adapt to and overcome.

There were trainees placed among the last places who, although they were suffering mentally, came out to present themselves very well under the pressure. There were also other participants who have shown significant growth in this short period of time.

Some calculated that those who were remarkably good-looking or well-known in advance among the low-ranking participants would not bother to draw attention to themselves with their little or almost non-existent skills.

Interestingly, there were also participants who possessed both characteristics, but did make an effort.

-Contestant Lee Sejin must have put in a lot of effort.

-He did a great job!

-Oh, umm... Thanks.

It was the case of Lee Sejin, a former child actor. Although he was barely breathing and his face was flushed red from the intense choreography, he followed the song to the end without missing a beat.

It was such a rare case that they didn't know if it would be enough to describe his performance as "good."

But he looked much better compared to the participants in positions similar to his who came up on stage before and after him.

Park MoonDae was suspicious for an instant.

"Is he the 'Lee Sejin' who debuted?"

Of course, he wasn't sure, so he immediately concluded his thoughts after including that participant in his watch list.

"I have to stay away from drug dealers."

The tedious evaluation continued until more than half of the contestants were surpassed.

The performance of the participants got better and better and sometimes there were notable participants. But listening to the same song over forty times made it hard not to tire of it.

After the terrible atmosphere at the beginning died down, everyone showed off their skills to the best of their ability, so the judges also regained their peace and began to get bored.

-Hmm...

-It's okay.

And when it was Park MoonDae's turn, the boredom had reached its peak.

Seon AhHyun raised his fist to encourage Park MoonDae with a blank face. He looked gloomy as he had finished his evaluation just before, although he did manage to perform the song well.

-Y-You... you can do it.

-...? Oh, yeah.

Why is he suddenly acting friendly?

Park MoonDae wondered in bewilderment, but politely thanked him. That was the triumph of social consciousness.

He trudged up to the stage. The sensation of a slight heat on his head appeared due to the high tension of the environment.

-Ranked 22nd, Park MoonDae!

-Yes.

The judges showed full and severe attention.

"He can sing well but he can't dance."

The choreographer, whose expectations for Park MoonDae disappeared after several days of repetitive lack of progress, clearly thought about it.

"That's annoying."

Let the evaluation begin.

The boring prelude to the song played and Park MoonDae took the first step. It was a movement in which he braced both arms and turned around.

-...?

The first person who noticed the big difference was the choreographer.

"Does his "line" look different than it did before?"

Until the last dance class he had two days ago, Park MoonDae didn't seem to have a "dance line", which is the feeling of coinciding the points of connection and disconnection, that is, affirming and losing strength depending on the steps.

If that's the standard for dividing dance and rhythm, Park MoonDae's moves were only rhythmic.

He was sure that it was so, but...

-Why is he so good at dancing now?