The atmosphere at the dormitory was somber from morning. Today was the day of the first ranking announcement ceremony. The 44 participants who had started Reloading Project Season 2 would be reduced to 35 by the end of the day.
One by one, the participants, dressed in their group uniforms, packed their belongings and boarded the large bus. Those who were eliminated would have to leave with their luggage immediately.
As Seha looked at the crowded bus, the thought that there would be empty seats on the return trip made him involuntarily shudder.
Dohyuk's seat remained empty. Seha deliberately avoided looking at it and sat elsewhere. The shock of "my dear" still lingered, and after their previous clashes, sitting next to him felt too awkward.
The bus arrived at the set, and the participants gathered in the waiting room to await their entrance. The structure was the same as the first shoot: trainees from the same agency entered together.
"Individual participants, please enter!"
Following the announcement, Seha lined up with the other individual trainees and walked onto the set. During the first filming, lights had illuminated seats ranked 1st through 44th, but this time, only seats ranked 1st through 35th were lit.
'I guess I should go sit over there.'
Opposite the ranked seating, 11 temporary chairs were arranged in four rows. It seemed they would wait there until their names were called and their rankings announced. Seha strode toward an empty seat without a second thought.
"Trainee On Seha, where are you rushing off to?"
Dohyuk quickly caught up with Seha, grabbing his shoulder and turning him around. Seha was momentarily startled by the sudden touch, but then he saw the other individual participants posing for the cameras behind him and belatedly realized what was happening.
'There was an entrance pose...'
How could he have made such a mistake? He tried to appear calm, but he was actually quite nervous. Seha squeezed his eyes shut and retraced his steps. The participants who had already entered and taken their seats chuckled at the sight.
'This is so embarrassing.'
He would have found it easier to wink or blow a kiss to fans. But right now, Seha wasn't facing the fans, but dozens of burly men.
"Ha ha..."
After a moment of awkward hesitation, Seha bowed politely to the camera.
"I'm On Seha, an independent contestant. Thank you... always."
"Seha-hyung! You gotta show us your winning heart throw!"
As Seha struck a nonchalant pose, Woo Jei, seated far across the arena, cupped his hands to his mouth and shouted loudly. So much for being an introvert, Seha thought. He'd throw caution to the wind just to tease someone he's close to.
"My hyung taught me the heart throw yesterday!"
"Jei..." Seha stared at Jei with a dumbfounded expression. What a clueless kid.
Last night, Seha had enthusiastically taught Jei several entrance poses while the younger man struggled to decide on one. And now he's using what he was taught to tease his own teacher? Seha thought. Such ingratitude! I'll give him a proper scolding when we get back to the dorms. If we both survive, that is.
"...Haa."
Forcing himself to ignore the expectant gazes of the men around him, Seha took a deep breath. He then formed a heart with his hands, looked directly into the camera, and pretended to throw the heart. He even added a wink with his large, dazzling eyes.
As if to spare Seha from embarrassment, the other participants erupted in cheers. But within that cheering, there was also a distinct sound:
"Pfft..."
The unmistakable sound of someone desperately trying to stifle a laugh. Seha turned his head to find the source of the sound. D-hyuk, his face flushed, was holding back laughter with all his might.
Dohyuk covered his face with his large hands. When Seha glared at him, he turned his back completely, his broad shoulders shaking visibly. Only after several dozen seconds did he finally regain his composure and hastily ushered Seha to his seat. Settling into the empty seat, Seha immediately bowed his head, overwhelmed by a wave of shame. The tips of his ears were as red as apples.
"Yes, it seems even the producers are melting at On Seha's pose," Dohyuk smoothly deflected the situation. He smoothly delivered his lines while checking the script intermittently, then announced the start of the ranking ceremony.
The ceremony began with the assistant host announcing the rankings. By the time the 20th-place contestant was called, the area around Seha had noticeably thinned out. Taking advantage of the gap, Jei moved behind Seha and poked him on the shoulder. Seha startled and turned around.
"As expected of you, Seha-hyung! I did a sloppy job." Jei gave Seha a thumbs-up, not content with just one hand, he used both to give him a double thumbs-up.
'He really is such a good kid...'
Sehah gave a faint, resigned smile and patted Jei's shoulder. Jei's eyes sparkled like an excited puppy as he urged Seha, "You can even pat my head!"
"You just got your hair styled," Seha pointed out.
As befitting a trainee from Seid Entertainment, Jei's half-up hairstyle suited him perfectly. The combination of his naturally sharp features and the carefully styled hair gave him the air of a pampered youngest son from a wealthy family.
"It's fine if it's messy."
"Nah."
"Hurry up."
Jei even grabbed Seha's hand and placed it on his head, smiling warmly. His usually cold expression melted instantly. Still, Seha couldn't bring himself to ruin the carefully styled hair, so he merely rested his hand lightly on Jei's head. As he turned back to face forward, he thought he caught Dohyuk's gaze for a moment.
Before Seha knew it, the rankings announcement had reached the top 5, leaving only the 35th place spot remaining. Seha scanned the other contestants who hadn't been called, still rooted to their temporary seats. It seemed that none of the members from Team ON's A group, which Seha was part of, had been announced yet.
"Next, the trainee who secured 5th place is someone who delivered a powerful performance in the first competition, earning the votes of many 'Power' fans," Dohyuk announced, reading from his script as he surveyed the remaining contestants.
"This trainee also shares a special connection with me," he added.
At those words, Seha immediately thought of Cha Dohun. In the interim rankings revealed after the first episode, Dohun had held 3rd place. As Ryu Dohyuk's junior from the same agency, Dohun had performed a vampire concept in the first competition, fitting the description perfectly.
But why did his ranking drop from 3rd to 5th?
The thought had barely crossed his mind when:
"Independent contestant, trainee On Seha."
Dohyuk called Seha's name. He clapped, tapping the hand holding the mic against the one holding the script.
'A good connection, huh!'
Seha screamed inwardly. No matter how he thought about it, his connection with Dohyuk wasn't good—it was closer to bad karma...
'That’s probably what was written in the script, right?'
The production team, completely unaware of Dohyuk and Seha's past, seemed to be milking the popularity of their photos from the press conference.
"Contestant On Seha led his team as leader in the first competition, delivering a zombie concept that garnered a positive response. Furthermore, the photo of us together has gone viral."
Dohyuk rattled off Seha's past achievements and viral moments, his voice dripping with theatricality as if reading from a script.
Leaving the applause of the participants behind, Seha walked to Dohyuk's side, accepted the microphone, and delivered a brief statement:
"I am deeply grateful to the 'Power' voters for granting me this undeserved 5th place despite my shortcomings. I will strive harder to show you my best self."
"Can you throw us another heart?!" Woo Jei, who hadn't been called yet, shouted again. This time, filled with gratitude, Seha made eye contact with each camera one by one and threw hearts, his eyes glistening with tears of relief at surviving.
As Seha returned to his seat, he stole another glance at Dohyuk. Dohyuk hadn't taken his eyes off Seha, watching him quietly as he secured fifth place. When their eyes met again, Dohyuk mouthed something silently. 'Congratulations', his lips clearly formed that word.
'This is so strange...'
Seha had taken another step closer to his long-desired debut. The fact that Dohyuk was here, announcing the rankings, and ultimately congratulating him—even if the pronunciation wasn't perfect—made Seha unbearably happy. Tears he had been holding back threatened to spill over, so he closed his eyes and looked up at the brightly lit ceiling.
Woo Jei secured third place, maintaining his previous ranking. After delivering a spirited acceptance speech, Jei strode up the stairs and paused beside Seha, asking,
"You were crying, weren't you?"
"I wasn't."
"Hyung, you're terrible at lying."
"Just go sit down already."
"Yes."
Still, thanks to Woo Jei's words, Seha's tears dried up completely. He smiled brightly, his face still damp. Now, only the 1st and 2nd place winners remained, along with the final survivor at 35th place.
Thanks to the lingering 'center position' effect, 1st place went to Sion. 2nd place was secured by Cha Dohun. As the announcement for 35th place approached, the screen displayed the three candidates. None of Seha's teammates were among them.
"Congratulations, trainee Ju Seongwon."
As Dohyuk called out his name, Ju Seongwon burst into tears. Seha watched him for a moment before scanning the remaining trainees on the temporary seats. They couldn't even cry freely, instead cheering incessantly for the surviving trainee.
For some reason, Seha felt a pang of bitterness. He recalled his past self, clapping and congratulating his fellow trainees who had made it into the debut group. He had applauded them, celebrating the end of their challenge.
The 35 trainees who would continue with the Reloading Project had now been finalized. The eliminated team members patted Seha on the back, offering words of encouragement. Despite not being particularly close to him—some had even badmouthed him behind his back—their voices carried genuine sincerity.
'How many more goodbyes like this will I have to endure before debuting?'
On the way back to the dorm, the bus felt spacious with fewer passengers. A sudden wave of emptiness washed over Seha, and he let out a deep sigh. It was going to be an emotionally turbulent night, he sensed.
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