– It will be revealed in 60 seconds!

While the advertisement was playing, Sun Ah knelt down and clasped her hands together.

“Now all we can do is pray.”

Sun Ah had already secured an opportunity to directly observe the music video filming that would take place later at Eun Seo’s house. The task was said to be a team battle between trainees who passed the second round of voting. Of course, it’s uncertain whether Chris’s team will come to Eun Seo’s house or not, but at least passing the second round creates a possibility.

“I want to pray together too.”

As Eun Seo followed Sun Ah, kneeling down and clasping her hands, Seung Joo did the same.

“You don’t have to do that too, Seung Joo.”

“But since elder sister Sun Ah is cheering so hard, I want to pray too.”

Sun Ah’s eyes welled up with tears of emotion.

“How can our Seung Joo have such a beautiful heart to match his handsome face? This makes me feel guilty for losing interest in him.”

Meanwhile, the advertisement ended, and it was finally time for the announcement.

– Now, it’s finally time for the announcement. Before we reveal the final rankings… which combine the on-site pre-voting results and the votes from you, our national managers, over the past two hours!

Unexpectedly, the host singled out Chris.

– Trainee number 54, Chris, where do you think you’ll rank?

The camera immediately panned to where the trainees were seated in rows. Chris, wearing the number 54 on his chest, was sitting in the very back row. The numbers the trainees wore were their rankings from the previous vote, and the seating arrangement was strictly determined by rank from first place onwards.

This was after he had already seen how maliciously his scenes were edited. Chris, whose face had been tense, was startled when the camera suddenly turned to him and carefully said.

– I… because all the other trainees worked really hard too, I’d be very happy if I could just make it into the top 30.

While Eun Seo was inwardly growing impatient, wondering why they didn’t just announce the results already, Sun Ah let out a sigh of relief beside her.

“Phew, he must have made it into the top 30.”

“Why?”

When Eun Seo asked urgently, Sun Ah answered.

“Think about it. Would they bother asking someone who didn’t make it what rank they think they’ll get?”

Eun Seo’s ears perked up.

“You’re right! Unless the producers are devils, they must be asking because he passed, right?”

Just as all three, including Seung Joo, let out sighs of relief together.

The host’s words that immediately followed proved that the producers were indeed devils.

– Yes. Chris’s ranking is… unfortunately, 31st!

Everyone was shocked by the sudden announcement of the ranking, which meant elimination.

“…!”

The other trainees present seemed to have had the same thought as Sun Ah, as they couldn’t hide their shock at the unexpected elimination.

After the camera captured each trainee’s shocked expression, it zoomed in on Chris’s face again.

– …

His face was almost like a still image.

According to Sun Ah, originally eliminated contestants weren’t announced separately. They would announce the passing contestants from 30th to 1st place, and those remaining would naturally become the eliminated ones.

But to single out just one person like this and humiliate them.

– It’s very unfortunate, but this is as far as trainee Chris will go with us. Is there anything you’d like to say to the national managers who have supported you?

More than the elimination itself, the method was even more shocking.

Did they really need to be so cruel? What could that 21-year-old have possibly done so wrong…!

“Sob!”

While the host was asking if he had anything to say, Chris’s face filled the screen, unable to properly respond due to the shock, and at that moment, tears burst forth.

Not from Sun Ah, but from Eun Seo’s eyes.

Sun Ah was rather surprised and looked at Eun Seo.

“Eun Seo?”

“That person, I feel so sorry for him…!”

Eun Seo was surprised at herself too, but the tears wouldn’t stop. They flowed endlessly like a faucet had been turned on.

The surprised Seung Joo quickly put his arm around Eun Seo’s shoulders.

“Elder sister!”

In the end, Eun Seo buried her face in Seung Joo’s chest and cried her heart out. Not even knowing exactly why she was crying.

*

The next morning, Eun Seo came to work with puffy eyes.

“Senior, did something happen?”

When Kwon Seung Hyun asked with concern, Eun Seo snapped back.

“Chris was eliminated from Apten.”

“Ap… what?”

Kwon Seung Hyun made a face as if he didn’t understand what she was talking about, but of course there was no obligation to explain. Eun Seo headed to the break room without even answering.

Even thinking about it again in front of the vending machine, she couldn’t understand why she had cried so much yesterday.

Anyway, now that he’s been eliminated, she’ll never see Chris again. Realizing that thinking this way made her feel empty, as if a huge hole had been punched in her chest, Eun Seo was surprised at herself once again. Why am I feeling this way?

Sun Ah also came to work with puffy eyes. Glaring at a particular drink inside the vending machine, Sun Ah muttered.

“I’ll be a dog if I ever drink My Cafe again in this lifetime.”

My Cafe was the drink that kept appearing as PPL in ‘Idol Project 10′. Eun Seo deeply agreed.

“I saw yesterday that communities everywhere were in an uproar.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. People were saying how it doesn’t make sense that someone like Choi Won Ha passes while Chris is eliminated.”

Trying to remember who Choi Won Ha was, Eun Seo recalled. The main vocalist from another team who couldn’t even sing well but was blatantly promoted. For reference, that Choi Won Ha passed in 14th place thanks to the angelic editing.

“I heard that even people who were rooting for other trainees got choked up because of Yoon Ho’s final message yesterday.”

Despite being the only one to receive such a humiliating elimination announcement, Chris left his final thoughts maturely.

[I’m truly grateful to all the national managers who supported me. Now I’d like to return to being a viewer and continue to cheer on the friends who have worked so hard until now. Since many trainee friends’ dreams are at stake, I hope you will continue to show a lot of love for our program in the future.]

“You said Yoon Ho’s been getting good reactions lately, right? Even with one day of devil’s editing, 31st place doesn’t make sense. There’s a lot of talk about vote manipulation and such, but what can we do? He’s already been eliminated.”

“Isn’t there something like a wildcard round?”

Eun Seo clung to a sliver of hope, but Sun Ah shook her head with a gloomy face.

“The producers made it clear from the start of the program that there’s no such thing. They said it’s a real survival show where you don’t get a second chance.”

“Then is Chris going back to America now?”

“Who knows. Maybe if an agency picks him up, he could debut with another group.”

“I hope so.”

Eun Seo said sincerely. Sun Ah, who had been saying she couldn’t lose twice until yesterday, was very pleased that Eun Seo had come to support Chris.

“You’ve really become a fan of our Yoon Ho, right? Right?”

But she soon became glum and muttered.

“To become a fan and be forced to give up at the same time…”

Both women let out deep sighs simultaneously.

*

Ji Yeon Hwa was having lunch and chatting with her friends at an upscale restaurant.

Her friends were mostly married female celebrities in their late 30s to 40s. Since the chaebol madams looked down on her as a mistress and wouldn’t associate with her, socializing with female celebrities and playing the role of big sister within that circle was Yeon Hwa’s social activity.

“Oh my, sister, did you buy that artist’s work too?”

“Yes, a small piece. Among the young artists in their 30s these days, he stands out the most. It’s like common early surrealism, but his own individuality clearly shines through…”

She was pretending to know quite a bit, but in reality, she neither understood nor enjoyed looking at paintings. It was just a means to appear cultured. The galleries Yeon Hwa regularly visited to maintain her dignity were almost like a march of tribulation for her.

“I’m going to the restroom for a moment.”

As Yeon Hwa left her seat briefly, one of the members followed her and carefully spoke.

“Um, sister, how is the chairman doing these days?”

“Fine, of course. Why are you suddenly asking about my man?”

“Well…”

Judging by how she was trying to speak away from others’ eyes and hesitating to get to the point as if she couldn’t quite say it, Yeon Hwa could guess the content.

“Why, does my man have a woman?”

The person who brought it up flinched in surprise.

“Sister, you knew?”

Yeon Hwa snorted.

“You think those kinds of women have been few and far between all this time?”

It had been 30 years since she met Chairman Kwon. Why wouldn’t there have been other women during that time? She herself had met him through an affair.

Still, Yeon Hwa had dealt with it wisely all this time. She turned a blind eye to one-night stands, and if there was a woman he seemed to be seeing for a while, she would either scare her off or pay her off to get rid of her.

Of course, it wasn’t pleasant, but as the saying goes, heroes are fond of beautiful women. Since her man was rich and successful, she had to put up with it to some extent. Of course, she also took into account the fact that she herself had initially met him through an affair.

So as long as her husband’s heart belonged to her, Yeon Hwa could accept him playing around with other women’s bodies for a short while.

“Thanks for telling me, but just pretend you don’t know. It’s not like it’ll last long anyway, and our chairman knows how to handle himself.”

However, the woman who brought it up shook her head.

“Um, it doesn’t seem like an ordinary relationship. I heard the chairman even set up a separate household for her…”

“What?”

Only then did Yeon Hwa’s face harden.