Already, Chris’s malicious sin wasn’t even a problem. If they transparently revealed the vote counts to correct the rankings, they would be caught manipulating the fact, and if they fabricated the vote counts and made them public, the Chris fandom would never accept it and would persist to the end.

As expected, the one who made the decision this time was the main PD.

“Let’s have a comeback battle and put Chris back.”

It’s fine as long as they go to Seoul. The judgment was that if they somehow let Chris pass, this uproar would quiet down. Then, they could pass without exposing the fact of manipulating the rankings.

Other production team members showed displeasure.

“What? We started by firmly saying there won’t be a comeback battle…”

“Then should we reveal the real results? Want to eat rice cakes?”

Carrying out a comeback battle, which was not originally planned, would undoubtedly invite criticism. However, the direction of the broadcast was ultimately the unique authority of the production team, and if they closed their eyes and ignored the criticism, it would be over.

To avoid prison and continue the broadcast, this was the only way.

“Prepare for a comeback battle.”

After being eliminated in the second vote, Chris, who was preparing to return to the United States, received a call.

Chris, sorry, can you come to the set for a moment?

It was from the youngest writer sister who was relatively close among the production team.

“Why?”

I’m currently with the ‘Fateful Apple’ team.

‘Fateful Apple’ was a song by a famous senior idol and one of the mission songs given to the second-round qualifiers. Thirty trainees were divided into five teams of six each, and they were supposed to shoot music videos according to the ideas each team came up with.

But Jinyoung is turning pale and having a hard time. You know, he has camera anxiety.

Jinyoung, the trainee mentioned, shared the same room as Chris. At 18 years old this year, he was the youngest among the four sharing the same room. So, he relied a lot on Chris, who was the oldest among them.

It seems like we can’t proceed with the shoot. I’m really sorry, but could Chris come and comfort him a bit?

To be honest, he didn’t want to go. How cruel it was to call a rejectee and ask them to come to the shoot for the sake of the successful candidates.

However, thinking about Jinyoung, who followed him like a younger brother, he couldn’t refuse. When Chris was eliminated, Jinyoung was the one who cried the most. Chris couldn’t even be happy for himself, thanks to Chris.

In the end, Chris nodded.

“Yes, sister. Please send me the address.”

That way, Chris took a taxi with the address the youngest writer sent. On the way to the shooting location, Chris looked out the window and thought.

‘I wonder where the neighborhood I lived in when I was young is.’

He vividly remembered the appearance of the neighborhood. But the problem was not knowing where that neighborhood was.

‘If I only knew the neighborhood, I might be able to find my way home…’

Thinking like that, Chris chuckled. What he remembered was a landscape 15 years ago, and by now, it would have changed beyond recognition.

He vividly remembered the house he lived in when he was young. It had a traditional Korean architectural style with a slight modification, a spacious yard, and a jangdokdae.

When playing hide-and-seek with his sister, the small-bodied Chris often crawled under the large porch to hide. Each time, he got covered in dust and scolded by his mom, but in the end, he couldn’t find him. When his sister, who called him ‘can’t find it, fox,’ saw him, he was triumphant.

‘Now that I think about it, my sister pretended not to find me on purpose…’

While Chris was reminiscing about the past, the taxi arrived at the destination. Getting out of the taxi, the youngest writer was waiting outside.

“Thanks for coming. Let’s go in quickly, Chris!”

Loud music was coming from inside the entrance. It was the mission song, ‘Fateful Apple.’
Guided by the writer, Chris entered the yard and suddenly stopped in his tracks.

The jangdokdae he climbed onto and got scolded by his mom, the porch where he always hid during hide-and-seek.

The dazzling glass wall of the spacious main room, reflecting the sunlight.

The landscape from the distant memories unfolded right before his eyes.

“…….”

Before he could even process it in his mind, tears welled up in his eyes.

No, isn’t it still far from being over?

Seon-ah was hiding in the kitchen, looking outside and talking to Eun-seo. While filming ‘Aften’ at home today, Eun-seo was at Seon-ah’s house. Seon-ah was the only one allowed to watch.

“Jinyoung is here, the trainee who cried a lot when Yoonho dropped out. It seems like he’s too nervous, and the shoot isn’t going well.”

The important thing wasn’t that; it was that Seon-ah had overheard the conversation between the youngest writer and Jinyoung earlier.

“So Yoonho is here to comfort him now. Eun-seo, come quickly!”

I haven’t gotten permission to watch though?

“There are a lot of staff here now, and it’s chaotic. If you hide in the kitchen, no one will know. And, seriously, as the homeowner, would I kick you out?”

Still…

“Eun-seo, you’re also a Yoonho fan. Come quickly.”

Hesitating Eun-seo, Seon-ah nudged her.

“Yoonho will be going back to the U.S. soon, and if you don’t come now, you may never see him again!”