The lights on the set turns on, drawing your attention to the MC, as he stands in the centre with his dark suit and microphone in hand. "When we first met the 101 trainees, we asked this question. What does being a trainee mean to you... One trainee answered, it's like rocking waves. One said it was like riding an elevator with no buttons, you don't know when the doors will open and you will get to walk in the sunlight. Another said, it's like walking towards a mirage, you think you will reach it but you don't. The boys also talked about hope amidst the nervousness and uncertainty regarding their debut. The first button of the shirt that fills the trainees' daily lives. 'A thread of hope'. A phrase that I hope would disappear from in front of my name. And, just like there's light at the end of the tunnel. The 101 boys that are waiting for a bright future at the end of this road... Now it's time for these boys to fulfil their dreams with the producers Produce …. Is starting
The boring middle period of evaluation follow with nothing worth note happening over the next hour. The skills of the contestants gradually improved, and there were some that stood out from time to time. But having to listen to the same song over 40 more times made it hard not to get bored. "Well...." "It's fine." Around the time when boredom had peaked it was finally Soo-Ha's turn. Go Yoojun raises his small fist towards him with a grim expression. He had just finished his evaluation and was one of the few who had managed to display the song at a professional level. "F-Fighting Hyung" "...? Huh, yes" Surprised at the little kids attempt at moral support, Soo-ha forms a slightly smile before he begins his slow ascent onto the stage. Under the spotlight, facing the crowd it felt familiar. The nervousness, the spine-tingling sensation that came every time he felt the hardwood of the stage floor. He felt alive. "No 15, Park Soo-Ha" "Yes" The choreographer had for all inten
-The person to steal your heart, it's me, it's me, it's me -The last person, it's me, it's me, it's me Soo-ha finishes the song without losing his tempo and strength. The seats of the judges were silent. Immediately after the song has ended, Soo-Ha, struggles to control his breath. This body was not the one who underwent 10 years of daily torture, even if he had the skill, he didn't have the tools to carry them out perfectly. Nonetheless, Soo-Ha felt an immense sense of relief and joy. Unlike in the audition where he had used his experience to succeed, this time he used his abilities to the utmost. It was a performance he was proud of. It was a performance filled with his blood, sweat and tears. It was a performance worthy of the stage he was standing on. Facing the audience and judges, his bright smile lights up the set capturing the attention of the audience, burying itself deeply in the hearts of those watching "Haa-Ha-Ha, thank you ...haa-haa … for watching my performan
Like any other idol audition program, the theme song was the first performance revealed to the public. With screen time being limited, it would focus on those with the highest potential to debut. The is no need to waste precious broadcasting time on 'nobodies', right? In Produce, following the first evaluation, trainees would be divided into gold, silver and bronze. As for those who don't meet the condition for bronze... well they were ejected. There was one more grade above the three categories.... Platinum. In any case, the participants were all nervous as they await the MC's announcement. In front of each participant was a metal box, which contained a badge symbolising their ranking. Those in the bottom half would get bronze, the top 50 would get silver, the top 25 gold and the top 10 would be Platinum. "Participants, please open pandora's box!" Soo-Ha's hand caresses the metal lock, turning the latch before opening the lid. Holding onto his expression, he slig
"All those Platinum-rated contestants... please come up to the stage!" For the theme song stage, the participants were put on a multi-tiered pyramid shape stage. With the Platinum group situated on the highest platform. The higher the rating, the closer you came to the centre. Fortunately for Soo-Ha, all contestants with more than an A dance rating were placed further ahead. He was rather thankful that he was placed in the back of the pack, as those in front would act as a barrier to hide his deficiencies. To his left was Go Yoojun, Lee Soobin and Han Jinsang, all with their shiny gold badges. They seemed like the most likely candidates to enter the top 10 once the broadcast had aired. "Hyung, isn't the air clearer up there" Jinsang says with a cheeky smile. The wall which Soo-Ha had built was involuntarily torn down. "Not really". Soo-ha answers bluntly, as he guesses that the kid is still a bit bitter that he isn't ranked higher. "I'm so jealous, you will get a
The week went by in flash. Soo-Ha's plan to build up his stamina was only half successful. This was because after the first shooting, all the fatigue from the past week had suddenly caught up to him. It seemed that while mentally he suffered from no fatigue, the muscle strain and pain had all hit his body at once. As a result, he had to stay under covers for 3 days. After the fever passed, he had felt like he could devour a cow. With the increase in appetite, he restarted practice and his exercise although at a lower clip than before. Currently he was holding dumbbells as he watched Music Bank, as he continued to work hard. [Siwon, did you enjoy Aiyu's comeback performance? I could not stop my feet from moving the entire time!] [Uh... Siwon-ah wyas syo excyited that my heart skipped a beat, Aiyu-nim is really pretty too] [Did you bite your tongue or something? Get a grip] [Nyooo] On the screen the pair of idol hosts, were putting on a fun yet wooden act as they were forced
[Produce is back!] The first ad aired shortly after. [I have high expectations this year] [It's going to be tough, only the best of the best is going to be chosen] [No [beep-] way? Noona you are here too?] It was a short scene where the judges took their seats and talked. Before shifting to a montage of the auditions. [Awesome! That was a great performance] [You are a natural dancer] [Hahaha Bo-Peep?] To Soo-ha's surprise, he was also a part of the promotional activities. The judges smiling faces are immediately replaced with their stiff visages as they begin making abusive remarks with no regard. [You call this.... a stage?] [There are no excuses. Only facts, and the facts they don't care about your feelings.] [Aren't you embarrassed?] The bitter faces of the contestants and their firm expressions and trembling lips, overlapped and passed/ In the end, a scene was edited as a sudden situation had come out. [(beep)-ssi? (beep)-ssi, wait a minute, wait...!] [(The c
"Boys! did you all have a good rest?" "Yes!!" Looking around the set the contestants answer the MC's question vigorously. Signs were now placed around the auditorium, in a manner that anyone who watched the previous season would expect a team fight. The thought seemed to be shared between other contestants as they look around the set and exchanged glances among themselves. While it was unclear what the criteria would be, it didn't seem a bad idea to make some allies. Looking at the young-looking boy next to him, Soo-Ha can't help but have the thought that any team who had a nervous 16-year-old Go Yoojun in their team would either be a blessing or a curse. Focusing on the MC's announcement as he says. "This week's challenge... is a group competition!" "Oooh!" As expected, everyone's eyes reacted with a look of anticipation. "I'm sure everyone has someone they wish to team up with, right?" Seeing these kinds of words, Soo-Ha bets against himself that the next sentence would s