Chapter 100
Noises that sounded like shouts, screams, or roars began bursting out from the studio. It was only then that I fully realized what I had done.
‘Ah...crazy.’ I think I went crazy for a second and became too immersed in the concept. I couldn’t believe I said nuna. I had never called anyone nuna in my life. I had no female acquaintances, and that term was too cringy for me. But...
‘I’m crazy...’ I was shocked that I acted cute in a public setting like this and said nuna. I felt like my face might explode from embarrassment. I thought something had gone wrong with my head a second ago.
“Mr. Tae-Yoon! Wow, I had no idea your personality was like this, Mr. Tae-Yoon!”
“You said nuna, how cute. Hahaha!” The two hosts burst into genuine laughter for the first time during today’s shooting. In particular, Nahyun laughed so loudly that her face turned bright red. Kim Young-Jin opened his eyes wide as if he was really shocked.
“Tae-Yoon!”
“Nuna!”
“Tae-Yooooon!”
The audience was still roaring, and I bowed my head low. I had no courage to look at the audience anymore.
“Mr. Tae-Yoon, your ears are becoming almost black, not even red anymore.”
“Hah, for real. Hahaha!”
The two hosts didn’t stop teasing me until the end. They talked about the ‘nuna fiasco’ for a while, and after clearing the scene, we were finally able to move on to the next team member's appeal to the audience for high rankings and commentaries about the performance.
“Ah, well, Mr. Tae-Yoon did something so incredible before I took the microphone that I feel a bit pressured. Haha.”
However, my name was included in everyone’s commentary. Even Kang Hyun-Sung was not an exception. “I don’t have Mr. Tae-Yoon’s cuteness, but I did my best, so please vote kindly for me,” he said while looking at me.
“Let’s now finish the commentaries and start voting! Audiences in the studio, please give each member their appropriate ranks!”
It was now time for the audience to vote.
“Thank you for your support!”
“Thank you~”
“I love you!”
We went down the stage after saying goodbye for the last time. And the moment we went down the stage, that was when it started.
“Nuna?”
“Nunnnna?”
“Nunnanunna?”
“Nununana~”
All the team members made fun of me as if they had planned it.
“Why don’t you call me hyung?” Even Kang Hyun-Sung made fun of me with a mocking voice.
I just answered all their taunts with silence, and I wished I could kill myself five minutes ago if I could. While I was finally relaxing after the fuss behind the stage—
[Thanks to your better-than-anticipated performance, the mission’s progress speed has increased.]
[You are showing signs of reaching the mission’s turning point.]
‘...What?’ Out of nowhere, the system rang out and uttered strange notices. Since that seemed important, I wanted to listen to it again, but—
“We will now head out for a group interview~”
I didn’t have more time to think due to the production team’s remarks.
* * *
After finishing the team interview, the joint team finally disbanded. Since we had grown quite attached the last two weeks, Only One members and OnebyOne members were sad about separating.
“It’s been a lot of fun, the last 2 weeks.”
“I wonder if I’ve ever practiced so hard in my life.”
“Everyone did a great job!”
“Let’s all get together and eat BBQ together!”
“That sounds great~”
I stood calmly during this warm farewell moment and kept my head down. The reason for that was... New novel chapters are published on
“Mr. Bongnuna, you will also come when we eat dinner together, right?”
“...Yes.” I was constantly teased whenever I raised my head. Like this, the interview time was over.
“Great job!”
“Thank you!”
We all separated. Though we had been separated into different waiting rooms by teams, we were now back to our original groups. In a way, things were finally back to normal. I stood in the waiting room, which said, ‘Siren.’ When I opened the door and went in—
“Tae-Yoon!”
“Hey!”
The host raised the tension by pointing out facts that everyone here already knew once more.
“Will the final first place of The Showcase 2 be born here today, or another new rising star will rise to the challenge? While we are eagerly waiting for the results—,” Kim Young-Jin looked around and said, “From now on, I’ll announce the ranking starting from 5th place.” He said in a more determined voice than before.
The atmosphere was tense, and fifth place went to—
“It’s a group that had a lot of issues while preparing for this round. It’s OnebyOne.”
Unfortunately, it was OnebyOne.
“Ah.”
“Hmph.”
OnebyOne members seemed like they were about to cry for a moment but nodded and looked towards the camera.
“Thank you...!”
“We will work harder.”
Then fourth place was announced right away.
“Fourth place is Luminin!” As expected, Luminin was in fourth place.
“Third place is Bleshu.”
Bleshu was a group that got separated into many teams but still showed great performances on their respective stages. Bleshu came in third, and it was the same pattern that had been going on since the first competition. Once again, Only One and we were the ones fighting for first place. Perhaps because they would win the final championship if they just won this round, Only One members looked visibly nervous. They had looked relaxed on stage, but they now looked nervous before the announcement. I briefly made eye contact with Kang Hyun-Sung.
‘He’s fine though.’ Strangely enough, Kang Hyun-Seung’s face looked blank. On the other hand, my members were—
“Ahhhhh.”
“Pweh.”
“Let’s calm down.”
“Hmmm.”
They were all extremely nervous. Even Dong-Jun, who was always relaxed, looked pale.
“In today’s joint mission, the long-awaited number one is...” The host stopped breathing before saying the final winner and scanned the surroundings to increase the tension. This moment’s pause was so nerve-wracking that sighs burst out everywhere.
When the tension seemed at its highest, he exclaimed, “Finally, this team was able to become the sole winner!” The host said a description that seemed to refer to us, and then he said, “It’s Siren! Congratulations!” He finally called our name.
“Huh?”
“Ohh!”
“...What?”
“Aghhh! Argh! Ahhhhh!”
The members all went crazy.
“Tae-Yoon! Tae-Yoooon! Tae-Yoon!”
Was it because Kim Young-Jin kept playing with our feelings so hard about who the winner was? Everyone reacted more intensely than usual. This was the first time that we won first place alone.
“Everyone did a great job.” On the other hand, I was calm, unlike my members. The reason for that was—
[Probability of winning first place: 98%]
The probability that hovered around 95% immediately after the stage rose to 97% at my nuna remark and then rose again to 98% while I chatted with the members in the waiting room. How could we not win first place with this probability? If we lost, the system would have been deceiving me all along. Thus, for me, I felt like I was receiving a report card just as I expected.
“Only One unfortunately got second place this time. Nevertheless, you were able to obtain a high score, so I hope you don’t feel too discouraged.” The host finished saying his lines with this comment.
Until then, the members could not hide their excitement.
“Hmmph!”
“We’re first place...!”
Sigh. The members could not hide their excitement. In particular, Yeon-Hoon was already crying. Since he cried so often, I wasn’t even surprised. Woon was also tearing up with Yeon-Hoon. But the real surprise was—
“...You’re crying?”
“Be quiet...”
Even Do-Seung was crying. He wasn’t sobbing, but tears formed around his eyes, so he seemed like he would burst into tears if anyone just tapped him. Only Dong-Jun and I didn’t cry and enjoyed this moment. Just in time, the final score was posted on the back screen.
‘What, there’s only a 1-point difference between us and Only One.’ Seeing that there was only one point difference between Only One and us, I got goosebumps for a moment. I briefly made eye contact with Kang Hyun-Sung, and he was smiling softly as if he had expected this result. When I was also getting goosebumps from that image—
[Mission success. Siren has won first place in the third round of competition.]
The system’s voice rang in my ear.
[Reward has been received.]
Then, it immediately moved on to the compensation part without delay.
[A part of the regression’s secret will be revealed to you.]
With that sentence,
Whoosh!
For a brief moment, my world’s time came to a standstill.