a/n: found this pic on pinterest. artist is supposedly yanux from instagram but i thought this looks a lot like seungmin in my head haha. a younger more gangster ver of san
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[ Cho Seungmin's POV ]
The waiting to be seated was boring.
The questions were also boring.
[ 2. You have won the Rooke of the Year award at ToneA, the largest music award in Asia. But on the way to the awards ceremony, a member is seriously injured in a car accident. Fortunately, you only have minor bruises. If you leave right away, you will be able to attend the awards ceremony. What choice will you pick? ]
I skimmed the answer choices.
"I would choose to go to the show," I muttered to the camera. "A few bruises are fine."
"I came to the program with barely functioning fingers. I would be fine."
I answered the questions quickly like that.
When I got to the 10th question, there was a stranger prompt. There was also a countdown. I stared at the tablet.
Then the front door opened. I stood up cautiously as a person walked inside.
"...?"
I glanced at the cameramen in confusion, but they just giggled. The camera was still rolling, so this was still a part of the filming.
"But who is this?"
"Hello," the person smiled, reaching out a hand for a handshake. "I'm Cheongryeo, the leader of VTIC."
"Oh, VTIC," I smiled back. "I'm Cho Seungmin. Nice to meet you."
Cheongryeo chuckled as he said, "You seem to know who I am now."
"I've covered a VTIC song in the first team match. It's a catchy song," I answered with another smile, keeping it respectful.
"Oh, yes, I saw the performance. You did great!" the leader noted. He motioned to the table, and the both of us sat down.
Then he talked about his agency and something about welfare and this being a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. He slid some papers toward me. It was a contract. I knew how to tell the difference between real and fake--this was a real one.
"Please make your decision now," he said in an MC-styled voice.
I had no thought in signing, but I acted like I was thinking. I twirled the pen in my hand.
Then I slid the papers back and bowed.
"I'm sorry," I said.
Cheongryeo sighed like it was a true pity. Then he asked, "May I know the reason why?"
I looked down at my hands on the table.
"Well," I smiled. "There are people here that made me love being on stage. I would like to debut with those people."
It was an honest answer. I had no thoughts on truly debuting until now, and it was because of the people around me. They made it fun. Moondae hyung made it fun, and I knew Moondae hyung would debut here.
He nodded his head as he took up the papers.
"Then..."
He ripped the contract in front of the camera.
"I hope you go far," he said to me.
"Thank you."
We moderately said our goodbyes, and then the writer called cut. The cameras stopped rolling. The microphones on us were taken off to readjust.
"Cho Seungmin," Cheongryeo called out before I could leave.
"Yes?"
"Should you ever need it, please feel free to contact me at LeTi."
"...?"
He was being serious about recruiting me. However, I had no interest in debuting if it wasn't with Moondae hyung, so I just nodded my head and bowed.
"I will be leaving first," I smiled, turning before he could say anything more.
I followed a staff member out to the room where others who finished the quiz were waiting.
"Moondae hyung," I smiled as I walked closer. Raebin and Ahyun, Sejin, and Chungwoo hyungs were also there.
"Seungmin, who did you get an offer from?" Sejin hyung asked brightly.
"Cheong...ryu sunbae? LeTi," I answered.
"Wow, I got LeTi too! Why didn't you take it?"
"I got an offer too! VTIC Sinoh sunbae-nim himself delivered it to me," Raebin excitedly said. "It was really priceless to be able to personally meet an artist I respect...if I had just a little more time, I'd ask him about his ideals in music...but I chose to stay here."
I smiled, "I want to debut here."
"M-me too!" Ahyun hyung shouted quietly. "I...I want t-to go all the way with y-you guys!"
Everyone smiled.
"Let's work hard together," Chungwoo hyung agreed, putting a hand on my shoulder.
I nodded, and everyone began talking about their opinions on the artists they matched with. I stared at the production team walking to and fro in front. There were so many people with cameras. They were whispering noisily about the programing direction.
This new life of Cho Seungmin was much louder than it was before.
I looked back.
More people entered the waiting room after their Casting Call.
In the end, only one person left the program: Choi Wongil.
"All casting calls have ended. Participant Choi Wongil has accepted a casting call from Traveler, so he'll be leaving <Idol Inc.> from today onwards," the MC announced.
It was definitely because of his minus voting results from the last episode. I smiled and clapped.
"Finally."
The cameras then turned off after getting people's reaction to the news, and we were told to sit in some other chairs while they prepared for another filming.
"Seungmin!" Eugene shouted as he ran close to my seat. "You didn't leave?"
I answered back to his English, "No, I want to debut here."
"Me too!" he grinned. "Let's debut together, okay?"
"Cha Eugene!" Raebin hissed, "We need to sit down!"
Eugene was pushed away by Raebin to their own seats.
Then, the shooting for the ranking announcement ceremony began. Ten out of thirty people were to be eliminated.
"The leaders of the two 1st place candidate teams in the third team match, please stand up and name the participant who will be given the benefit!"
Sejin and Chungwoo hyungs stood.
"Our Moon Rabbit team has selected Keun Sejin," Sejin hyung grinned a little bashfully, pointing to himself.
After he announced this, there was a silence. Chungwoo hyung looked conflicted.
"Husky team, please announce the selected team member," the MC smiled.
Chungwoo hyung slowly opened his mouth.
"...Our team selected participant Choi Wongil."
There was a murmur from the crowd. Wongil escaped the program even when he had a 50% chance of going to the finals.
"He wouldn't have debuted though," I thought to myself.
The production team hurriedly signaled to the MC and arranged an emergency meeting. A new notecard was given to him.
"Well," the MC read, "there has been an unexpected situation...however, considering the special situation of Casting Call, we will give the Husky team an additional three minutes to discuss!"
I exhaled.
That meant that their team won.
And they did.
"I thought we would win."
I felt a little dejected, surprisingly.
After a round of congratulations, the ranking results were next. People were called up to their seats.
Sejin hyung was 7th, and Moondae hyung was 6th, Raebin was 5th, Chungwoo hyung was 4th, I was 3rd, Ahyun hyung was 2nd, and Eugene was first.
"Coming out here...I learned a lot and think a lot. I will work harder and stronger in the future. Thank you so much for 1st place," Eugene said, giving his speech for the first time in a serious tone.
As he walked up to his seat, he gave me a high-five.
"3rd! Congrats!" he cheered.
"Congrats on 1st," I smiled.
Then 19th and 20th place were called, and everyone clapped as the MC's closing remarks were over.
I followed Moondae hyung absentmindedly to some people on the stage. The cameras were still rolling and following people around. The boggling of people in such a small area, calling out my name and congratulating me, it was still unfamiliar.
I made my way toward someone who was familiar.
Ahyun hyung was shedding tears. Someone I recognized to be the person who followed me during the PR live scavenger hunt was also about to cry. He didn't rank in the top 20.
He hugged Moondae hyung and muttered, "I think you're going to debut. Cheer up."
"Hyung, too," Moondae hyung replied in a soft tone.
I went to Ahyun hyung and wiped away his tears with my sleeve. He was too kind to be shedding tears.
"S-seungmin," he hiccuped, closing his eyes. "L-let's work hard!"
I nodded my head and laughed.
"We will debut together."
After all the eliminated contestants left, the remaining people changed into training clothes and regrouped at the dorm.
There were only 20 participants left.
The final team match was about to begin.