Chapter 866: Answer (19)

Amid the loud laughter filling the venue, I picked up the microphone.

"Jihyeok."

"Yes! Sunbae!"

The contestant looked at me with bright, shining eyes, clearly showing admiration.

I nodded.

"Excellent. My heart is already feeling very Deoksun."

"It’s an honor, sunbae."

"How did such a talent remain hidden in the countryside..."

Laughter burst out at my exaggerated praise.

If it had been a private setting, I would’ve gone on for a hundred verses about Deoksun—but this was broadcast, so I held back.

In that cheerful atmosphere, the stage began.

"OK."

Cold Brown lifted the mic.

"DJ. Drop the beat."

Soon, Team 4’s cypher stage began.

As the audience cheered, the first contestant stepped forward.

From the KLV

yeah my dreams have only grown bigger

they’ve never gotten smaller

A contestant from an amateur hip hop clan began telling his story.

The judges’ eyes softened.

They liked it.

Cold Brown nodded.

"I like these guys."

The team’s coordination was strong.

"Good timing. Nice transitions... good, good."

As he muttered and took notes, I watched the stage.

A cypher was a mission where rappers performed one after another.

So the transitions between verses were crucial.

Among the teams so far, this was the smoothest after Gye Hongju’s team.

"Not bad."

"Better than expected. On par with Hongju’s team."

"They’re good."

As the judges exchanged comments, the final performer stepped up—

Kim Jihyeok.

The one Haitian wanted to recruit.

And he was right.

I recalled what Machine Gun had said in a previous episode.

"Jihyeok, rap is about space. You need space for rhythm. Yours is too cramped—open it up."

Advice about creating space to enhance rhythm.

And Jihyeok had clearly improved.

Cold Brown’s eyebrows lifted in approval.

"That’s rare."

He seemed impressed by how quickly the contestant had grown from feedback.

In terms of raw skill, Jihyeok was slightly behind Bang Yochan and Gye Hongju.

One was praised for talent and potential, already gathering fans.

The other was like a weapon raised by DNS Media.

Compared to them, Jihyeok lacked a bit—

But—

"Jihyeok is really worth teaching."

"Definitely."

As the judges said, he was someone you wanted to teach.

Solid fundamentals.

A distinctive tone—half of rap was voice.

Diligence.

It made sense why Haitian wanted him.

If he weren’t in hip hop, I might’ve been tempted too.

My, I’ll show you what I have

Me, and what holds meaning for me

His composition was strong.

Since rap communicates directly, clarity mattered.

Laying out the structure at the beginning helped the audience understand.

Something Junghyun had often said.

"Rap has to be heard and understood, hyung."

"Junghyun... you should know more than just farming. You’re a singer...."

Then the progression—

I, My, Me, Mine.

Who I am.

What I have.

What matters to me.

And declaring he would make everything in this competition his.

A sincere self-introduction.

Even incorporating rhythmic English phrases like eeny meeny miny moe.

Cold Brown glanced at me.

"What do you think, Sunny?"

"Same opinion."

We both wrote our scores.

[Wooju & Cold Brown]

25 points

A perfect score.

As the stage ended, applause erupted.

Other judges smiled as well.

"Great performance."

"You must’ve practiced a lot."

"Respect."

The contestants beamed.

After all evaluations—

"Any final words?"

Each contestant spoke.

Then Kim Jihyeok took the mic.

"I think I finally have fans... thank you so much. I don’t deserve..."

Someone shouted, "Nooo!"

Laughter.

He turned to Haitian.

"Thanks to my mentor, I improved a lot."

Then—

"And... to Wooju sunbae."

"Me?"

"...I once auditioned for Lemon Entertainment. Several times."

"Ah..."

"I wanted to be like NewBlack."

With a 1000-to-1 competition.

"I didn’t make it... but being praised by you means a lot. Thank you."

He bowed.

I clapped, smiling.

He seemed like he had more to say.

Maybe I’d talk to him after.

Soon, the final rankings were announced.

Judges’ scores plus audience votes.

"Now, the elimination."

Tension filled the air.

Each team submitted their “heart cards.”

Team 1—

Green light.

"Survived."

Relief.

Team 4—

Survived.

Jihyeok exhaled.

‘I made it....’

Then—

Team 2 vs Team 3.

"One will be eliminated."

Team 3.

Red light.

Their cards burned.

Gasps.

Then individual battles determined the final elimination.

Filming ended.

"Thank you for your hard work!"

After saying goodbye to the audience—

Participants and judges greeted each other.

Some cried.

Some hugged.

Cold Brown and I comforted eliminated contestants and did fan service.

Photos.

Hugs.

Then—

"Excuse me."

A pleasant voice.

Jihyeok turned.

It was me.

"Sunbae!"

"I came to say—you did great today."

"Thank you."

"And... you had something you wanted to say, right?"

"Yes."

No need to lie.

"I want to audition for Lemon Entertainment."

He explained.

His future here felt uncertain.

So—

Back to his original dream.

Idol.

"If you said you auditioned before?"

"Yes. Five or six times... I even reached the third round once."

"I see."

I examined him.

"No way Director Jo missed you."

"...?"

"Is it dance?"

"......"

"Ah. It’s dance."

I nodded.

"What about other skills?"

"Composing... a bit. I made today’s beat."

"Really? How?"

As he explained, I listened carefully.

"You added delay? That’s unusual..."

"I’m still a beginner..."

"Ah, sorry. I get excited about composing. But—you have talent."

I looked at him with interest.

"How old are you?"

"18."

"You’re mature... I wish Ri Hyuk or Jiho were like this..."

Then—

I took out a business card.

"If after this show you still want to be a trainee, contact me."

"......!"

"I can recommend you. But passing depends on you."

An opportunity—but results are yours.

He stared at the card.

"Then I’ll win and come."

"I’ll look forward to it."

And I left.

He looked down—

The card shimmered.

[Park Gyuho]

CEO, Lemon Entertainment

‘I can’t call this....’

His heart pounded.

"Where were you?"

"Went to meet a contestant."

Back in the dressing room—

I looked for a trash bag.

"Why do you need that?"

"This."

I pulled something out.

Biju’s handmade cookies.

From the trash.

Silence.

"They threw it away right in front of me."

Chaos erupted.

"Who threw Biju’s cookies?!"

"I only got them once!"

"I’ll throw them in the trash!"

I explained.

Silence.

Then—

Second explosion.

"I won’t let this slide!"

"I’ll unleash a million Souffle on their SNS!"

Wonseok spoke.

"This isn’t right. I should say something—"

"No."

I smiled.

"There are better ways."

We shouldn’t act directly.

I had other plans.

Cold Brown asked,

"What will you do?"

"I have ideas."

We finished and left.

Then—

A PD ran up.

"The director wants to greet you."

Ah.

Perfect timing.

I spoke—

Paused.

Looked distant.

"...It was fun today. Thank you."

Then left.

Cold whispered,

"What was that?"

"I solved it."

"You did?"

"You’ll see."

After we left—

The K-net director panicked.

‘What did I do wrong?’

Then—

Something happened.

Rumors spread.

The CP was replaced.

Because of what happened on set.

In the dorm—

"What? The CP got replaced?"

Bang Yochan froze.

‘...What?’

Then realized.

His protection was gone.

The room turned cold.

No shield.

Only consequences.

His future darkened.

In the industry—

Rumors spread fast.

"Wooju got a CP replaced."

Not fully accurate—but enough.

Meanwhile—

At a broadcast station—

Jiho tilted his head.

‘Why is everyone nicer...?’

Then—

Conclusion.

‘...I must be really cute.’

As always—

Completely wrong.