Chapter 86
Episode 86
The broadcast started with a CG screen showcasing a harmonious blend of purple, pink, black, and white.
Maybe they wanted to show off their spending, because the quality was impressive.
I set up my tablet next to me to check the live comments.
Bingdari – What’s up with the CG?
Mild Seven – If Yujin’s part is lame, I’m gonna wreck the broadcast board.
ZEZE – Seeing the CG, looks like they spent some cash. This isn’t just some marketing talk.
Myungjun – Spending money is great and all, but couldn’t they have named it something better than Girl 100?
zin-A park – For real.
CosmicTopModelRona – I hope our Rona makes it into the debut group.
It seemed like the viewers had a similar impression; they reacted positively to the quality of the video.
Most seemed more interested in their favorite trainees, as expected.
Girl 100 was indeed focused on trainees or girl groups that could generate buzz, making it rare to find completely new faces like Gyeoul.
The show kicked off with the calm voice of a female narrator.
“Somewhere in the world, there are dreams we don’t know about.”
The screen transitioned to a girl in a practice room, sweating as she danced.
“A dream to dance better than anyone else.”
Then it showed a girl with an acoustic guitar singing to a small crowd on the street.
“A dream to sing songs that touch people.”
Finally, a girl sat in a corner of a concert hall, staring blankly at the dazzling stage of vibrant stars.
“And a dream to become an idol.”
The earlier girls started walking out onto the stage, dressed in pure white dresses.
“Please protect that dream. And cheer for it.”
Eventually, their backs faded out, revealing the title of Girl 100.
“Your meeting with the girls, Girl 100.”
Cheon Aram watched the screen with intrigue, munching away on chocolate popcorn. Next to her, Seo Soo-yeon, who had been observing, cautiously reached out to grab some chocolate popcorn too.
The broadcast progressed quickly.
It briefly covered what kind of show Girl 100 was and how the voting system worked, before swiftly showing the main focus: the girls.
The first trainees shown were the three-member group Counter Kids from Neulbom Entertainment.
Since it was confirmed that one of them, Kim Yujin, would debut later, it seemed Kim Seon-ye wanted to show her support.
The three chatted away as they moved through a purple-lit path in a dark space and then emerged into the lobby, where they encountered Gyeoul.
With a mix of chatter, we moved through the dark space, following a purplish path until we reached the lobby, where we encountered Gyeoul.
Gaeul brightened up and exclaimed, “It’s Gyeoul!”
The way Gyeoul walked in, calm and composed, paired with her sharp facial features, radiated a strong girl-crush vibe.
It seemed Kim Seon-ye had put in more effort than expected.
Burgundy- Wow, she’s so pretty, who is she?
Male Mosquito- Whoa, too pretty! If you pick based on looks, she’s definitely making the cut for IN 11.
sin07- I don’t like it; she looks too strong for my taste.
Sijugapbaekmanbuteo- I can read faces a bit; she probably catches her manager like a mouse and smokes a pack a day.
sin07- For real, she’s exactly that vibe. Isn’t she a bully underneath?
“Uh… hello!”
sin07- Nope, that’s not it.
Gyeoul couldn’t hide her nervousness and glanced at the counter members.
Gone was the confidence and aloofness she showed on her first appearance.
Maybe it looked a bit pitiful, as Kim Yujin started to take care of her in various ways.
“I think that Yujin girl might come off a bit rough, but she’s actually a nice kid.”
“True. She has good chemistry with the other member who’s trying to rein her in.”
I started to grasp the context of the agency forming a rare three-member group that hadn’t seen success before.
They must have seen ample potential in the chemistry of those three.
Of course, the outcome was that they played a part in vote manipulation and crashed spectacularly…
Once the introductions were done, the four girls confidently established their characters while filling the audio space and reached the black door.
As the four kids began pondering how to open the door, the entire hallway lit up like a flood of light, and the black door started to open. They stepped onto the space outside, which was the stage. As they each reacted with awe, a wide camera captured the segregation between the stage and the class’s viewing seats.
In the meantime, the camera focused on Gyeoul’s eyes diligently observing the light extending towards the seats. The spotlight and dazzling lights reflected in her eyes, illuminating her in a dreamy way.
She was beautiful.
It wasn’t just me; Seo Soo-yeon also commented in admiration, “Ms. Gyeoul is truly beautiful.”
“Right, Soo-yeon? She usually looks like a kid, but seeing her like this on screen with full makeup is really something.”
After that, lights were introduced for the other trainees who began to step out, battling for pride across the A Class seats, along with the introduction of six evaluators, including a former actor MC. Thus began the initial impression test, which would later record an average of 4 million views.
It became clear. And thus began the first impression test, which would later average 4 million views.
The first stage featured the trio from the girl group Counter, who handled the intro alongside Gyeoul.
They showcased “Wolf’s Courtship” by Wals, known for their acrobatic performances and deep music videos, rather than their own song.
Given that this was a piece performed by a male idol group, all of whom were called main dancers, it was a challenging song. However, the Counter trio completed the stage with no mistakes and stable performance.
The quality they displayed without any rehearsal hinted at their practice volume and focus.
“Clearly, for dancing, they’ll get an A.”
“The vocals were also decent. Doing live while handling such intense choreography deserves passing marks. Considering there are trainees in this program, an A is only natural.”
However, contrary to our trainer duo’s expectations, they all landed in the B class.
“No, that’s a bit much.”
“…The evaluation criteria seem too tight, don’t you think?”
They had every right to feel that way.
Kim Seon-ye must have wanted to give the judging panel a piece of her mind by editing the stage with more flair and freshness than ever before. Moreover, with post-processing on the vocals added, Counter looked ready for a music broadcast. This made the judges, who rated such talent a B class, seem a bit nasty.
ZEZE – Are you serious? Giving all of them a B? Can’t at least Yujin get an A?
zin-A park – For real
Skyblue-Lover – I think they set the standards high for the first evaluation.
Mild-Seven – Well, Yujin did well, but lacking in star quality? Seriously, isn’t star quality something we decide with our money? Who are they to complain?
Double-Cheese-Bagel – I’m betting on James Oh’s N-star link.
Judgment – Ah, is it time again to play ‘Judge’ on the keyboard?
The real-time comment board was in chaos.
It seemed Kim Seon-ye’s editing worked as intended.
Next up were four girls who called themselves the Blanc Girls.
Their performance didn’t quite measure up to the quality showcased by Counter, but it was still somewhat worth watching.
This was thanks to Kim Seon-ye’s editing, which cut out numerous mistakes from a three-minute song, leaving only about 40 seconds of highlight. However, the evaluators, having seen their live performance, concluded that they deserved an F class. Naturally, the viewers who sensed the disparity began to curse the judging panel.
…Seon-ye, when you set your mind to something, you really go all out, don’t you?
In the heated atmosphere, Gyeoul made her entrance.
“Ms. Yeoreum is coming out already.”
“Ms. Yeoreum is coming out already.”
“Ahhh, Brother Taeyang, I’m so nervous!”
“Older Sister Gaeul, how about we tone down the hugging on Team Leader Seon? We’re trainees, after all.”
“Wait, can we not just take a little longer?”
“A little? How long?”
“Two hours?”
“…that would be until the broadcast ends.”
Winter, fumbling and glancing around, clearly looked untrustworthy to anyone watching.
The judges, with indifferent expressions, told them to start, and Winter prepared. In an instant, the screen shifted to Winter’s interview. It seemed to be a scene where Kim Seon-ye requested additional filming.
-“This time, a variety of talented girls have participated in Girl 100, breaking through fierce competition. Do you have confidence in beating them and making it into the debut group, Winter?”
-“…I don’t have confidence.”
Gaeul watched the screen with a sense of pity.
“What should we do? Winter looks like she’s really nervous.”
-“I have confidence in losing.”
“…that wasn’t what I meant.”
“‘…’”
The staff of TwoBear fell into silence.
Cheon Aram, gulping down the popcorn she was chewing, looked at me and asked.
“Is that okay? Team Leader Seon?”
“It’s fine. I’ve verified everything until the results. It won’t have a negative impact on TwoBear.”
…Probably.
“Brother Taeyang, can we check the comments?”
“Wait, Older Sister Gaeul, let me cover my eyes… I’m so scared of comments.”
“…Sorry, I’ll just look at them myself later.”
And then, the problem stage erupted.
Colleagues, who felt that even breathing could be disruptive, held their breath in amazement and only cautiously spoke up after the stage ended.
“…It’ll be an A, no doubt.”
“It’s almost regrettable that there’s no class above A.”
The judges unanimously declared it A without further commentary.
This level is deemed worthy of being called A.
“Team Leader Seon, show me the comments! Comments!”
“…But you said comments were scary, Yeoreum.”
As I lifted the tablet to check the live comments, Gaeul, Yeoreum, and our colleagues crowded around me from behind and the sides. They were all secretly curious, I guess.
Cheon Aram, who had climbed up behind me to see the tablet, exclaimed in awe.
“…Wow, the reactions are explosive.”