Chapter 173

Targeting Star’s filming was now approaching its final stretch.

The trainees, who’d spent quite a long time stuck in the training facility, could feel the end drawing near.

“My trainee years add up to three, but… I think I improved more during the time I spent on Targeting Star prepping for the stages.”

“True, Seo Bin hyung. You used to struggle a lot with picking up choreo, but now you’re doing great. It’s a big improvement.”

“Y-Yeah, well. Back when we were first working on ‘Aiming’… Hwa Sung, you were being real sensitive.”

“Hyung, all of a sudden? Do you seriously have to bring up my embarrassing past right now?”

“No, no. Hwa Sung’s hypersensitivity is still very much a current event.”

“Wow, Logan. When did your Korean get so good? Seriously… it’s making me all emotional.”

Reunited for their upcoming live stage of “Aiming,” the Ji Hwa Sung team found themselves reminiscing about the past, trading easy banter as they waited.

“Ah! If I could go back in time, I wouldn’t have acted that way, okay?! I was just a houseplant in a greenhouse! That’s all! But now, now! I’m totally not like that anymore!”

Whether it was embarrassment at how arrogant he’d once been or just being overwhelmed by the teasing, Ji Hwa Sung flailed and clutched his head, his face turning as red as his dyed tips.

“Stalin showing remorse. A truly rare phenomenon. Ryota, what is your take on this current situation? Gao Yan suspects it may be another lie.”

“Hm, I agree. We’ll need to observe further. My grandmother always said people don’t change—they just get better at hiding.”

“…Why do people from different countries get along so well? Shouldn’t someone here be on my side?”

“Sorry, Hwa Sung. We’re all flatmates, remember? Flatmates share one mind and heart. Don’t know exactly what that means, but Gao Yan explained it!”

“Argh! Please! Wait, there’s someone else in this room! Where is he?”

Flustered under the hail of teasing, Ji Hwa Sung ran toward the one person who’d been quietly sitting under the mirror, lost in his own world.

“Yongyong hyung! Say something! We’re matching dyed-hair comrades now!”

“Wh—what? Ugh. Gross. Move back a little.”

“Awww, hyung!”

Pulled from his own thoughts, Kim Chunyong ran a hand through his red hair, looking a little unsure.

“Our team’s… actually got good vibes right now, huh?”

“What, you expected it to be bad?”

Ignoring Kim Joo An’s usual snide remarks, Chunyong lightly hooked an arm around Ji Hwa Sung’s neck in a half-headlock and looked toward the rehearsal room door.

‘Yeah. Our team’s in a really good place right now… If there’s any issue at all, it’s just Kim Joo An and that cranky hamster personality of his.’

But when it came to the other teams, things were different.

The Ji Hwa Sung team just hadn’t brought it up, and the staff were working hard to keep things quiet, but…

The problem trainee was still inside the training facility.

The news of Liu Wei’s fiancée had spread like wildfire among the trainees the moment the 4th performance ended.

“No, seriously? Like, in this day and age? Who even gets engaged when they’re kids anymore?”

“Seriously, I mean, it’s not impossible, but still. That’s wild!”

Some were shocked.

“…You know I messed up my ‘Aiming’ performance because of that guy, right? He had it coming.”

“Me too. Honestly… He was always so stiff. One mistake and we’d have to start all over again. I never liked him.”

Some who had already disliked Liu Wei were secretly thrilled.

“Wait a sec. Isn’t that Chinese guy ranked 4th right now? I’m sitting at 11th. If I do really well during the live broadcast, who knows? Maybe things flip? Ugh. Something else better drop on him!”

“Joo An, come on. You shouldn’t be so mean-spirited.”

“Seo Bin, worry about yourself. Look, at the end of the day, it’s all about debuting, right?”

“…Well, you’re not wrong.”

Some who hoped that a drop in Liu Wei’s ranking would help them.

And then there were those still deciding how to act.

“……”

That was where Kim Chunyong stood.

He’d cleared the air around his own rumor, exposed Liu Wei’s weakness, and delivered a strong performance—but now, he had to go even further.

He had to debut.

More specifically, he had to rank within the top six of Targeting Star’s final lineup.

You could say that successfully wrapping up the earlier “Groggy” stage meant Kim Chunyong had gotten himself back on track to a certain extent.

In a space where core fandoms had already solidified, earning enough public support through live text votes was just as crucial.

‘Sure, if I go ahead and drop what Li Ming Shen promised to help with, I could definitely pull votes away from Liu Wei… But the timing is tricky.’

Yesterday’s drama courtesy of X—ranting, “How am I supposed to imagine a future where you don’t debut when I’m helping you this much”—and Li Ming Shen’s unmistakable, stormy emotion.

‘Chunyong hyung, everything’s finally working out!’

And from the other side, giving him a solemn thumbs up: our 16th place trainee, the pride of Hong Kong, perfection itself.

Gao Yan.

No matter how you looked at it, Kim Chunyong had to live up to the expectations of those supporting him as the one to debut instead of Liu Wei.

‘God. If the one who came back wasn’t a scandal-magnet ex-member with a drinking problem, but that genius Yeon Woo hyung—he would’ve solved all this in seconds. This is seriously pissing me off.’

But no matter how long Kim Chunyong dwelled on it, it wasn’t going to make things simpler—or better.

—“All trainees, please gather in the main auditorium within 30 minutes. Final mission filming will begin shortly.”

Some things… you just had to face head-on.

“What the hell? What kind of mission filming are they doing at night? If we don’t sleep early, our skin barrier’s gonna disintegrate!”

“…Right? Haha! Still, orders are orders.”

“Kim Chunyong, I wasn’t talking to you.”

Snapped back to attention by Kim Joo An’s grumbling, Kim Chunyong rose to his feet with that trademark cheerful grin.

“Sure, Joo An. Either way, we still gotta film. Who knows—you might actually like this one.”

“…What are you talking about?”

The final mission shoot, which had been pushed down the priority list in Kim Chunyong’s overloaded brain, was finally here.

A signature feature of PD Joo Cheol Yeong’s survival programs.

No, a rite of passage no idol could skip.

Targeting Star Courage Test.

That special and oh-so-important time was now waiting for the trainees.

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