The Idol Who Returned from Hell Chapter 40

At that moment, the woman who had decided to establish herself as Ryu Si-hwan’s homma was wearing a pleased smile.

After all, simultaneously operating the TV and two tablet PCs had proven effective.

Since 〈ISL 2〉 was also live streaming on online platforms, she was using a tablet PC purely for recording purposes.

The large living room TV was used to observe Ryu Si-hwan’s face in more detail.

So the moment the scene appeared on TV of Ryu Si-hwan showing off his arm muscles while sweeping back his bangs.

The homma reacted faster than anyone, pulling up a file saved on her tablet PC to create a GIF.

Promoting her NeoTube channel with the concept of recording Ryu Si-hwan’s debut moments was a bonus.

Looking at her post that gained 100 upvotes in almost 5 minutes and became a hot post, the homma felt satisfied.

‘The channel promotion is going well too, and most importantly, Ryu Si-hwan is incredibly popular, so everything’s great.’

There were quite a few participants who didn’t show their faces even once in a single episode.

Since there were a whopping 100 people, there definitely wasn’t time to spare for participants who couldn’t gather adequate buzz.

Even in such harsh circumstances, Ryu Si-hwan’s face appeared quite frequently.

His outstanding performance in this dodgeball game probably played a part.

As seen in the individual trainee interviews, he also appeared to receive enthusiastic support from those around him.

Now that the nickname ‘Hwan-father’ had emerged, from KNet’s production team’s perspective, it was the best possible situation.

Not giving Ryu Si-hwan enough screen time would be ridiculous.

‘In the preview that passed by earlier, it looked like he made it to the 1st place candidates too.’

The homma watched the ranking announcement ceremony with hopes that Ryu Si-hwan, who had now completely become her asset, would soar even higher.

[First, let’s check the results of the 1st group battle round. Please turn on the screen.]

The results of the winning teams for this episode 5’s prediction topic, with countless people’s money on the line, appeared one by one on the large LED screen.

Looking at the clearly divided vote counts, the trainees’ emotions split dramatically between joy and sorrow.

[Ahh……]

[We won! We’re really so lucky!]

[Congratulations, Brother.]

[You all worked hard too.]

What was captured in a single camera shot was none other than Team 〈Volt〉’s vote count.

Even the homma doubted whether her eyes were seeing correctly.

[179:21]

Team 9, which Ryu Si-hwan belonged to, had won overwhelmingly.

Still, the defeated Team 4 was visibly trying their best to hold back bitter smiles, led by Kang Seon-woo.

[You guys did much better, so I think it’s natural! Congratulations.]

[Congratul… ations.]

This situation where they had to suppress their emotions was truly painful to watch.

The homma had watched many survival programs, but these result announcements were still the most uncomfortable times.

‘It’s natural to feel disappointed, but they can’t even show it. Such an extreme job.’

Isn’t there a saying that those who would wear the crown must bear its weight?

To proudly debut from a survival program and quickly reach stardom, you must steadfastly endure such trials.

[The winning teams will share a total of 20,000 benefit votes as previously announced. The individual voting 1st place will receive a whopping 10,000 votes immediately. Now let’s announce the most important individual rankings.]

The defeated team members looked at the screen with relatively calm expressions, while the winning team members clasped their hands together and sent desperate looks.

Everyone equally wanted the 1st place spot.

Time filled with tension passed quickly, and the screen revealed each team’s individual rankings to everyone at once.

The homma thought it was too cruel while watching the broadcast.

Instead of simply announcing verbally, they blatantly displayed them on screen for all 100 trainees to see.

The bad taste of close-upping the faces of participants who recorded the lowest individual rankings despite winning remained unchanged.

[Wow, 1st place.]

[Brother, congratulations!]

[I’m so jealous of those 10,000 votes!]

[No, no. Really… ugh… I’m so sorry.]

[What’s there to be sorry about? We all received votes in the end anyway.]

Most of the participants who placed 1st seemed to feel more sorry toward their teammates who suffered together than happy.

The other teammates mainly showed heartwarming scenes of comforting those participants.

And when it was Team 〈Volt〉’s turn, the homma waited for the results in a relatively comfortable state.

‘If Si-hwan doesn’t get 1st place here, I’d call it rigged.’

The tremendous gap of 179:21 was largely due to Ryu Si-hwan’s role.

During practice, no trainee had perfectly sung this bridge part.

Even Team 4 had pitch deviations here until the main stage.

But as if to show everyone, Ryu Si-hwan raised the notes by a whole 2 tiers, creating a cathartic explosion and drawing enthusiastic cheers from the audience.

Her prediction hit perfectly as Team 9’s individual voting 1st place went to Ryu Si-hwan.

[Brother Si-hwan! I knew it would be you! Really congratulations!]

[Brother, you really worked hard leading our team members.]

[Thank you. This was a stage I never could have created alone, but it was possible because you were there. Everyone worked hard!]

[Brother Si-hwan!]

True to his nickname as a father, Ryu Si-hwan humbly bowed his head while lifting up the other teammates.

The homma busily moved her hands, diligently checking the remaining rankings too.

‘Thank goodness, Chae Ha-ru is 2nd and Yu Ha-woon is 3rd. At least they can earn a few more votes.’

Like other Ryu Si-hwan fans, she was also hoping for Life B-cuts’ success.

Because she believed the chemistry they’d shown once would last forever.

Both visually and team-wise, she had the hope that all Life B-cuts members would debut together.

Team 10 also had no surprises as Seong-hwi took 1st place.

But unlike the other harmonious teams, Team 10’s atmosphere was quite awkward.

[……Congratulations.]

[Congratulations.]

[……]

[Haha, thank you all.]

Participants giving congratulations to Seong-hwi with not-so-good expressions. Even one or two just quietly clapped without saying anything.

As if he had expected such a reaction, Seong-hwi also didn’t show much high-fiving or greeting with his teammates.

The bad feelings generated while preparing for the group battle round still seemed to remain.

‘Still, it’s all being filmed, so at least make an effort.’

The homma thought to herself while drinking water, but reviewing it again, these were participants KNet had edited as discards anyway.

Except for Seong-hwi, who was a top-tier trainee and somewhat reversed public opinion with his skills, most members probably wouldn’t gain much even if they tried image-making here.

The harsh reality of survival.

[Now that individual ranking announcements are finished, it’s time to move on to the overall star voting rankings. As mentioned earlier, today only 60 participants will survive.]

Tense BGM played, and the trainees’ expressions became even paler.

The homma, who frequently visited the homepage, knew well how close the mid-tier vote counts were.

Depending on the team battle benefits just announced, rankings could be reversed.

But the homma could watch the lower-tier participants’ ranking announcements with relative indifference, confident that Ryu Si-hwan’s ranking would definitely be within the top 10.

She was actually so relaxed that she wrote various random posts on communities and her timeline.

[Si-hwan, this sister’s greed might be too much, but couldn’t you try for 1st place just once……☆]

—Please please, begging here too

—Lol everyone really fled here, the official homepage live chat is too chaotic

—Please let this post become a sacred post!

—Ssuni, I’m enjoying your videos~

She was somewhat proud to see people who had flowed in through her NeoTube channel.

‘We’re rising together, Si-hwan!’

The first remaining name to be called was around 38th place.

[The participant ranked 38th is trainee Park Chang-jung. Congratulations.]

[Th-thank you!]

This was clearly a trainee who had shown behavior like the tail wagging the dog both when practicing the theme song 〈HIT〉 and when belonging to the same 〈Volt〉 team as Ryu Si-hwan.

It seemed everyone had the same thoughts as the homma, as people who had taken refuge on her timeline sent quite negative reactions.

—That guy made it to 38th?

—Well…… he did grab screen time by making a fuss early on

—Wasn’t he last place in the Volt team’s individual rankings?

└He was last place, yeah. Still, the 300 votes seemed to have some effect

└He caught the bus quite comfortably LOL

Within the top 30, the remaining participants who had been on the same team as Ryu Si-hwan were called one by one.

As expected, the overall stage video had received a lot of attention, and through that interest, individual fancam view counts had also risen meaningfully, so it was a reasonable result.

The homma mentally recited all the names of Life B-cuts that hadn’t been called yet and indulged in happy fantasies.

‘Maybe all within the top 20?’

Unfortunately, her wish was dashed by just one place.

[20th place is…… Congratulations, participant Yu Ha-woon.]

[Re-really? It’s me?]

[Yeah, it’s you. Hurry up and go!]

[Go, our youngest!]

Yu Ha-woon, who had a dumbfounded expression, was shot forward by the brothers behind him.

True to being the youngest participant, he seemed to receive a lot of affection from here and there.

The homma also looked at the screen with loving eyes.

‘Right, all 5 members in the top 20 was a bit difficult. Still, barely hanging on at exactly 20th place isn’t bad.’

Next was Ma Si-hyeok’s turn.

[The protagonist of 15th place is…… participant Ma Si-hyeok!]

Ma Si-hyeok, who had been standing with Team 10 members, came out through the trainees with a bewildered face.

The Team 10 participants, still tasting bitterness, only gave formal greetings.

For some reason, only Seong-hwi was captured patting Ma Si-hyeok’s broad shoulder.

[Congratulations!]

[Ah, ah. Th-thank you.]

Even though they were the same age, Ma Si-hyeok seemed to use formal speech with Seong-hwi.

The homma was worried that Ma Si-hyeok might not be receiving proper congratulations. Fortunately, when passing Team 9, the three Life B-cuts members ruffled his hair with bright smiles.

Seeing Ryu Si-hwan’s rare mischievous smile, the homma immediately vowed to include that scene in her episode 5 moments video.

[The participant who earned 12th place is…… trainee Chae Ha-ru. Congratulations!]

Chae Ha-ru, who showed amazing presence as the center of the 〈Volt〉 stage, achieved a very high ranking. He definitely seemed to have fully benefited from the winning team bonus.

Now with his hair completely styled up in a center part perm, people left emotional comments about his visuals.

—Right, Ha-ru, that’s how you use that face, got it?

—I want to enter the manga too…… There are tons of kids like Chae Ha-ru in there

└Actually Ha-ru already tore through the manga and came out, so even if you go in, he won’t be there

└Please don’t shatter my dreams and hopes…

Now only the top 10 trainees remained.

The moment when Ryu Si-hwan’s fans had to swallow their tension.

‘Looking at what he’s shown so far and the fan voting proof posts, it’s practically a three-way battle between Seong-hwi, Kang Seon-woo, and Ryu Si-hwan!’

It wasn’t 10th place, and it wasn’t 9th place either.

As the numbers coming from MC Go Hyeon-ju’s mouth gradually decreased, the real-time live chat became even more heated.

Before she knew it, they had already reached 5th place.

[5th place is…… a participant who showed excellent dancing skills and unfortunately lost in the group battle but still effectively showed off their abilities.]

Not 5th place either.

The homma briefly inhaled as her target of top 5 was achieved.

‘Let’s go for 1st place.’

[Now only three spots remain for the 1st ranking announcement ceremony. The participants I call should come forward and stand on this podium.]

Participants who realized they were in the lower ranks due to the risen rankings just stared at the screen with envious eyes.

[First participant, Seong-hwi.]

[Second participant, Kang Seon-woo.]

[And the last participant is…… Ryu Si-hwan.]

Ryu Si-hwan on screen climbed onto the podium with a truly serene face.

Seong-hwi, standing at the left end, looked straight ahead with confident eyes.

Kang Seon-woo, standing in the center, showed a slightly sheepish smile while waving to trainees he knew. His silver hair, which he had changed this time, looked even more dazzling under the lights.

The three had such different characteristics that it was fun to watch.

[The participant who achieved 3rd place earned a high ranking based on excellent composing abilities.]

Anyone who had properly followed 〈ISL 2〉 would have immediately realized that 3rd place was Kang Seon-woo.

This meant things had really flowed exactly as shown in the preview.

‘Crazy, crazy, crazy! Si-hwan is really going to get 1st place? Not joking but for real?’

Without realizing it, the homma had become even more immersed in Ryu Si-hwan.

As if she herself had climbed onto the podium, the homma’s pulse beat extremely fast.

Adrenaline was overproduced, making her whole body tremble.

[〈Idol Stove League Season 2〉, 1st ranking announcement ceremony. Now only the name of the long-awaited 1st place remains. The glorious protagonist who will ascend to the throne of 1st place is.]

MC Go Hyeon-ju deliberately dragged out time to amplify everyone’s tension.

The watching fans were all dying, but the two trainees who had climbed onto the podium actually seemed to be enjoying this moment.

[That glorious protagonist is none other than trainee Seong-hwi! Congratulations!]

“Ah.”

The homma, who had been standing with her hands clasped together, collapsed right there.

It was really such a shame.

‘We should have humbled those Seong-hwi fans’ pride here—!’

No matter how much gossip had surrounded him, he was a trainee who had been famous for years, so he had a correspondingly thick concrete fanbase.

Ryu Si-hwan was an individual trainee who appeared like a comet in this 〈ISL 2〉. No matter how many fans he had gained over the past few weeks, he seemed slightly lacking in terms of cohesion.

When the total vote count was revealed, the homma’s regretful feelings grew even more.

No, this wasn’t just regretful.

She wanted to repeatedly bang her head on the floor.

‘Lost by only 40,000 votes? Seriously? Not 100,000 votes but 40,000?’

[〈Idol Stove League Season 2〉 surpassed 24 million total votes. Trainee Seong-hwi received 1,042,000 votes, and trainee Ryu Si-hwan received 1,001,000 votes. What an incredible record.]

Ryu Si-hwan was just smiling gently while looking at his vote count displayed on screen, but his fans were far from doing the same.

—Si-hwan, I’m sorry, if I had just correctly predicted the match results, I could have given you all the benefit items, I’m really sorry T_T T_T T_T

—No guys, this really isn’t right, if the gap was huge then fine but this really isn’t right

—From now on we should make a daily voting verification board or something lol

—Next time we just need to thoroughly unite with benefit items… This comes back as too big of a betrayal

—I’ll gather all my family’s IDs and vote every day. If I add all my paternal relatives, it’s over 20 people. Take that, KNet

—Sorry everyone, honestly I kept forgetting to vote daily hehe

└There was a traitor here

└Damn, tie this person up and beat them with clubs right now

└Aww forgive me just once

2nd place in the first ranking announcement.

And it was an achievement made as an individual trainee.

But considering the potential and skills Ryu Si-hwan had shown, it was a ranking that left deep regret.

The homma immediately turned off the TV and sat in front of her work desktop.

And after taking a big gulp of water, she opened her eyes wide.

Since it had come to this, she had to clearly show the power of a 10-year veteran homma.