Chapter 45: Pizza & Tears

All eyes were on the screen as the participants watched intently.

One by one, the numbers stopped, and with each halt, the faces of eliminated contestants disappeared from the display.

When only Lee Doha, Kim Jaemin, and one other contestant’s faces remained, Roy found himself anxiously bouncing on the balls of his feet as he saw the desperate look on Jaemin’s face.

“Congratulations! 70th place goes to contestant Kim Jaemin!”

“Yes!”

Roy clenched his fists in joy.

“And first place goes to contestant Lee Doha! With a whopping 1,056,323 points! Congratulations!”

Doha’s score appeared on the screen.

He smiled so broadly his narrow eyes turned into half-moons, and he waved confidently at the camera.

“Heuhh… Th-thank you… Really, thank you for letting me live…”

As soon as Kim Jaemin realized he had survived, his legs gave out and he collapsed to the floor.

Nearby contestants came over and patted his shoulders and back in comfort.

They were all participants who had been eliminated in this round.

Jaemin couldn’t stop crying, overcome with guilt that he had survived while they hadn’t.

“Contestants Lee Doha and Kim Jaemin, please proceed to the seats marked with your rankings.”

With smooth, sharp movements, Doha took his seat in the first-place chair.

It was like a king’s throne, towering as if commanding a court of vassals.

Far from looking intimidated, Doha looked more suited to that seat than anyone.

Even Roy found himself thinking this was the coolest he had ever seen Doha look.

‘My legs are about to give out.’

[Even I was getting nervous… I thought Jaemin-nim was going to be eliminated. My heart was pounding.]

Earth still didn’t have a physical form yet.

Roy wanted to ask how she could even have a heart but decided to let it go.

His whole body was stiff from being tense for so long.

“All surviving contestants, please stand up.”

Some of the survivors had dark expressions.

It was hard to feel joy just from surviving when so many others had been eliminated.

Once everyone was standing, Lee Jian stepped down from the stage and came to stand before them.

“Let’s all thank the fans who voted for us and bring this first ranking ceremony to a close. Everyone, bow together.”

“Thank you!”

Led by Lee Jian, the seventy surviving contestants all bowed toward the cameras.

Thus, the ranking ceremony, where joy and sorrow coexisted, came to an end.

***

[Comment Section]

[Donghoon-ah, isn’t this like, the definition of extremes?]

[Did you watch the performance evaluation stage?]

[Lol, is it just me or do none of them seem average at all?]

[Honestly, if I got on stage and saw monsters crawling under my feet, I’d freak out too.]

[But the reactions—lmaoo]

[It’s like they mixed a steel heart with glass emotions lolol]

[Maybe the editors made it more dramatic with crosscuts?]

[I watched it without thinking and lol… spilled coffee all over my phone]

[Even if you tried to script it, you couldn’t make it this funny]

[—I watched too, hilarious lolol]

[Ngl: Who was the funniest for you? For me, it was Kim Chan]

[He’s one of the bigger contestants, right? Both in height and build]

[His eyes were tearing up, and I just wanted to hand him a tissue]

[He’s kind of like a golden retriever—so pure]

[Yeah, maybe it’s because he’s good-looking too]

[—Is it fun? People keep talking about Donghoon-ah lately]

[Yeah. Honestly, just watching the kids’ faces makes me feel happy]

[Mhm. There are some really good-looking contestants]

[—Who’s that one again? I can’t remember his name. The one who looks super cold—pretty and handsome]

[He looked like he wasn’t nervous at all]

[You mean Ddu-shee-ppa-shee? Lol he was wild]

[He’s hilarious too lolololol]

[Mhm. The judges’ eyes were shaking—I felt embarrassed for them]

[He can sing decently but his dancing? Even I could do better]

[Show me]

[How?]

[Upload the video]

[—All the ‘Mochi Star’ kids seem scared, just like they look]

[Yeah. Even the baby was almost crying]

[Who’s the baby?]

[There’s a youngest contestant—he’s in middle school]

[Whaaat? I don’t like that they let such young kids on]

[—Lee Doha is way too good-looking T_T T_T]

[Agreed. He really is handsome]

[I think he’s definitely debut material. His only downside is being from a no-name company, but he lacks nothing else]

[That’s true. He’s been getting attention since Episode 1. He already had some personal fans]

[Which company is he from?]

[You probably won’t know it even if I say—”the place where whales live”]

[“The place where whales live”? I’m dead lololololol]

***

As soon as the episode aired, Bada Entertainment began collecting feedback from online communities and social media.

Seo Hyojin stood up and began flipping through the responses projected onto the screen.

“The amount of mentions these kids are getting is higher than we expected. Doha, in particular, is getting a lot of buzz compared to the other contestants.”

“Doha’s not a concern… but I’m a bit worried about Roy and Chan.”

At Hyojin’s words, Hwang Guman rubbed his chin with a concerned expression.

Kim Chan had some recognition among hunter idol trainees, just like Doha.

With both idol skills and an S-rank hunter grade, they hadn’t been worried about him—

But now, he was gaining a crybaby image, and that was becoming a concern.

“Some people are saying, ‘Why is a guy crying like that?’ but overall, the reaction has been positive. Probably because the majority of the fans are women. Most of them say it triggers their maternal instincts.”

Unlike Hwang Guman, Seo Hyojin didn’t seem particularly worried.

“Besides, negative attention is better than no attention. Especially in a show like this where votes are everything.”

“That’s true.”

They also weren’t lacking in screen time.

Unlike other major agencies, Bada Entertainment didn’t have the resources to lobby broadcasters or production staff.

They just did what everyone else was doing at a basic level.

Even so, the kids were managing to pull plenty of footage on their own.

Given Roy’s S-rank hunter status, they expected a certain amount of attention—but it was even more than they’d anticipated.

“Roy’s been circulating a lot in meme form.”

Seo Hyojin pulled up a screen full of memes made from Roy’s clips on the show.

Hwang Guman made a conflicted expression—caught between a smile and a frown.

“Am I the only one who can already picture the look Roy would make if he saw this?”

Most of the memes were of Roy, deadpan as usual, caught in ridiculous poses or situations.

The intense effect of the broom gag made Hwang Guman tap the table with a light thud.

“Do people see him as a full-on gag character now?”

“I don’t think it’s gone that far. Roy’s not the type to act silly just to make people laugh. But… people do seem to think he’s a little crazy.”

“Pfft.”

At Seo Hyojin’s comment, Do Minkyung couldn’t hold back her laughter and bowed her head, trying to hide her reaction.

Flushed red under the attention, she apologized quietly.

“I’m sorry…”

“No need. If it was funny, laugh.”

Hwang Guman replied casually, but the fact that Roy might now be stuck with a “weirdo” image made him frown in concern.

“It’s a relief that it wasn’t a solo performance of singing and dancing, but a team mission… Still, once this shoot is over, I’ll need to have a talk with Roy about this.”

“I think it’s okay as long as the reaction isn’t negative. There’s been a lot of buzz about his looks, too.”

“Our kids are top-tier visually, after all.”

As if he’d just received the compliment himself, Hwang Guman shrugged proudly.

Then his thoughts drifted to the kids who were probably struggling out there right now.

“I hope they’re at least eating well…”

***

“I wish we could get PPL* every day.”

[*PPL = Product Placement]

There was an unexpected pizza party on the island.

Though they were usually provided with nutritionally balanced meals, truly delicious food was rare.

But after the emotional chaos of the ranking ceremony, pizza suddenly arrived on set.

The production staff encouraged even the eliminated contestants to gather and eat together.

Though many had been crying, the smell of pizza tickling their noses made them sniff and stir.

They were all exhausted from the long hours of filming.

Even crying had to wait until after eating.

As their emotions calmed, they began to gather with their close friends, each grabbing a slice of pizza.

“What are you doing?”

“Hyung, it tastes better like this.”

Of course, Kim Chan was holding two slices.

Roy, who had just been eyeing a slice topped with colorful ingredients, watched as Kim Chan took the exact one he was about to grab.

He reached out in vain.

Roy’s cold gaze fell on Kim Chan, who offered one of the slices with a sheepish smile.

“There’s no mess from the toppings, and it tastes twice as good. Try it.”

Roy silently took the pizza sandwich Kim Chan handed him.

Just the smell had already made his mouth water.

As soon as he took a big bite, a burst of rich, layered flavors filled his mouth.

“Roy hyung’s cheeks always turn red when he eats something delicious. It’s so fascinating.”

Han Jihoo stared at Roy like he was observing a rare creature.

Roy’s skin was so pale that even a slight blush stood out clearly.

“Guys, your reactions are too muted.”

A producer approached Lee Hajun and whispered that they should show a bit more enthusiasm.

Since Roy’s team had high rankings overall, it seemed they were aiming to squeeze out more footage from them.

After all, Lee Doha, who ranked first in the initial announcement, was on their team.

“Doha hyung, how do you feel?”

As Roy lost himself in the pizza, Kim Chan nudged Lee Doha’s arm.

Doha, half-lidded as he chewed his pizza, finally looked up and turned toward him.

“Happy.”

The usually quiet Lee Doha smiled so brightly that his cheekbones visibly lifted.

“Wow… Doha, you’re seriously handsome. Did someone turn on a spotlight just for you?”

Kim Jaemin, still sniffling from earlier, was nibbling on his pizza and let out a breathless compliment.

Kim Chan, who was seeing Doha’s face up close, nodded in agreement.

***

“We’ll resume shooting in 30 minutes~ Elimination candidates, please board the transport vehicles outside.”

At the production crew’s announcement, the murmur of voices quieted.

The same went for Roy’s team.

Everyone was relieved that Kim Jaemin had barely made it through.

If he had been eliminated, he probably wouldn’t even have tasted the pizza—they all knew that.

“What’s the next shoot?”

Trying to lighten the mood, Lee Hajun changed the subject.

They’d thought today was just for the ranking reveal, so the mention of more shooting had them confused.

“It’s the theme song mission.”

“Huh…”