[ Park Moondae's POV ]
We were given a longer break again, and this time, I didn't fall sick.
I was actually pretty satisfied as the days went on--the public opinion of me as a puppy acted as a "hidden trait" of the supposedly soulless character the editors made me out for.
My PR video was ranked 3rd too, flipping the child actor's video to 4th. Seungmin's video was in 5th.
I wasn't surprised. The photos of him as a cat and his abs were buzzing all over the internet, and he sold all of his items. The only issue I had was that he mentioned my name, but I let it go. I have to admit, his stamina was so impressive I decided to forgive him.
I was motivated after seeing his video to build up my own stamina. Throughout the week, I exercised and ate balanced meals.
Anyway, after spending a full week by myself like this, Friday returned and I was surrounded by familiar people.
October 31 decided to watch episode 3 together at Ahyun's house. Keun Sejin ordered some chicken, and it arrived just as the show was about to start.
As expected, everyone was in high spirits to see our performance.
"It's a shame we couldn't get chicken feet, but please enjoy the chicken legs, at least," Keun Sejin grinned from beside me.
Kwon Heesung laughed hard.
"Moondae Moondae, is it good?" Ha Iljoon giggled.
I dealt with it, muttering, "Yeah."
I would much rather stay in this position than be down on the floor where Choi Wongil and Lee Sejin A were sitting. The gloominess those two radiated was a complete contrast of the vibe of those on the sofa.
Luckily, the shouts died down as the program began.
It began with explaining how we chose groups for the first team match. The editors made it out so our side of the Leti agency were always in high spirits. People were giving each other high-fives, patting others on the back, and grinning widely.
"We've got such great vibes," someone commented.
[ But unlike those on Team A, the contestants on Team B look quite glum. ]
The camera panned over to Team B members glancing in our direction warily.
Clips of their interviews flashed through.
[ Choi Sangjin: Well, I can't say I was feeling super excited... ]
[ Park Jungsup: Ah, is this even going to work? ]
[ Ryu Chungwoo: We should at least try. Oh dear. ]
I didn't think they would edit it this way, but it makes it look like Team B was doomed from the start.
No other team was edited in such a way like theirs.
Then the clips of the song selection played. Again, we were painted in a funny light with our interviews.
[ Ha Iljoon: Sorry, guys... ]
An exaggerated scene of us getting Marshmallow's song was displayed.
[ Kwon Heesung: So we're supposed to be...fairies? ]
[ Lee Sejin B: Well, the concept might be a little difficult... ]
[ Park Moondae: I was happy. ]
[ A fan's passion wins over everything! ]
Bursts of laughter came forth. The camera zoomed in on my face with pink letters floating around. They even edited cartoon blushes onto my cheeks as I gave a thumbs-up.
"Moondae, is that for real?" Keun Sejin managed to ask within his laughter.
"I meant I was happy about our team."
I could feel my face heating up in embarrassment, but I kept calm.
Thankfully, the voice of the teachers criticizing us stopped the mockery. Everyone froze, seeing the harsh expressions of the judges as they told us our performance was lacking.
In particular, the editing focused on Ahyun being told he was worse than me. Clips of him sitting alone as others continued to practice were emphasized. And then...
[ Contestant Park Moondae approaches Contestant Seon Ahyun, who's sitting by himself. ]
It was the scene when I comforted him in case his status abnormality flared. While others began to compliment me for my deep words, I furrowed my eyebrows.
"I was sure I talked to him only after the main cameras were turned off. But now they made it look like I'm some character recruiting comrades in a shounen manga..."
The only conclusion I could think of was that the editors decided to change my narrative.
But even more surprising than this change in direction was the fact that they completely cut out the part where Choi Wongil starts quarreling. They didn't even show the part where he asked to change lines with him and only edited in the moment I suggested making the concept horror.
In other words, they were painting us as a perfect group to make the performance more dramatic.
On the ground of the living room, I could see Choi Wongil breathe a sigh of relief.
[ Lee Sejin B: By the way, don't you think Moondae is pretty hilarious? He always has this expression like a Tibetan fox. Like a blank face regardless of how he's feeling. ]
"What is this about all of a sudden?"
A large picture of that fox showed, and suddenly the clip went back to the first rank evaluation during Ahyun's stuttering.
It zoomed into my face. I just nodded.
And then it showed the tense expressions of the October 31 members as the teachers were yelling.
Lee Sejin's voice dubbed over another close-up of my face. To the side, the face of a Tibetian fox faded in.
[ Lee Sejin B: It's like there's no life in his eyes. ]
I was almost regretting getting close to that punk, but his dubbing continued.
[ Lee Sejin B: But still, he really works hard for the team. He always comes up with great ideas, so it's very inspiring. I'm sure we'll do great! ]
"...!"
An ad played, and I turned to Keun Sejin. He grinned.
I guess sometimes he could say some nice things.
Afterward, our performance stage was showed. They put a lot of effort into the editing. I tried not to be embarrassed by how they showed such reactions to my high note.
"Wow, we really killed it, huh?" Heesung muttered proudly. Everyone naturally agreed.
In comparison, the opposing team was shown again, still in terrible condition.
Clips of others goofing around, Ryu Chungwoo failing to get one member to talk, another laying on the chairs pretending to be sick, etc were shown on the TV.
"No wonder why Seungmin was frustrated," I thought grimly. "His teammates were acting like this...."
[ Two members discuss their concept together in the dim practice room... ]
Ryu Chungwoo and Cho Seungmin were talking by themselves with serious expressions before Chungwoo said out loud that he would try to gather the members again.
The camera work suddenly became low quality and was focused more on the floor, as if the editing team weren't planning on recording this moment.
Laying alone in the practice room, Seungmin started at the ceiling with a conflicting expression. It zoomed in on his clenched fist.
[ Cho Seungmin: ... ]
Then he rolled up onto his hands and began freestyling without music for a long time.
[ A participant suddenly dances alone in the empty room. ]
There was a sudden scene change to the interview room where Seungmin sat.
[ Producer: How do you feel about your performance now? ]
His face made a complicated expression for a while.
[ Cho Seungmin: ...I'm worried we won't live up to its hype as trainees, but it's fun to perform anyways. ]
There was some disheartened BGM that played as the screen faded back to a slow-motion of him dancing and finally turned dark.
[ Trying to keep his love for dancing...Cho Seungmin challenges the stage. How will the Mountain Heroes do? ]
The living room we were in became silent as the Mountain Heroes performance ran. It focused most on Seungmin and Chungwoo, but as an entire group performance, it was obviously lacking.
"Seungminnie did so good!" Keun Sejin said, trying to lighten the mood. "We should treat him well next time we see him."
Ahyun nodded vigorously beside me.
The episode ended with a huge difference in votes between our two teams. And even if the editing was done for viewers to sympathize with Seungmin and Chungwoo, it was clear that our team achieved a complete victory.
After the episode ended and some easygoing conversations were held, I got on a bus to go back home. Outside, the sun was already setting.
I turned on my phone and tapped on Wetube, searching up TNET and scrolling through the comments of the October 31 stage video. They were all overwhelmingly good. The same could be said in the discussion boards.
For the other team, there were sympathies given to Seungmin and Chungwoo. A large number of people were saying that Seungmin, the youngest talented non-trainee, should be given support with stocks.
I stared at the article of Seungmin for a long time.
At some point, I moved on to Cakaotalk.
Then I sent a message.
Park Moondae: Hey Seungmin, how's your break?
But even as the week went on, I didn't get a response back.