Chapter 152

"I don't think I've ever hated saying this line as much as I do today."

Seo Taeil — recently back after wrapping overseas location shoots and a packed schedule, showing his face for the first time in a while — lowered his head as he spoke. He took in, one by one, the thirteen boys who by now weren't just people he'd grown attached to but really did feel like his own students.

"Those who would reach the sun — fly high. The journey to become Miro's Icarus is at last coming to its close."

Seo Taeil cleared his throat, gripped the cue card in his hand tight, and spoke.

The list of the Final 10, who would advance to the live-broadcast finals, was right there in his hand.

"So first — let us reveal the first-place team of round 4, the team taking home the Benefit points."

This round-4 judging had factored in a range of things — offline voting, online real-time voting, and like counts on the stage clips released afterward.

But everyone here had already, inwardly, guessed the result.

"The round-4 first-place team, taking the 100,000-point Benefit, is…!"

"…."

"…Team Raebingyu, who delivered the best rap cypher of the round even under unfavorable conditions! Congratulations!"

On-site voting aside, what put Team Raebingyu on top was iTube view counts and like counts running overwhelmingly higher than any other team's.

Maybe it was the strain built up from every angle finally breaking — the moment the result was called, Shin Kyungho burst into tears, and Jayden couldn't hide his stunned expression. Yugeon patted Jayden on the shoulder, telling him good work, and Doha nodded evenly, apparently satisfied with the result.

"Trainee Lee Doha. Even under unfavorable conditions, you finished the stage successfully — and now here you are, first-place team, taking home the Benefit as well. As Team Raebingyu's leader, please give us a word."

"…first of all, my thanks to the Destis who cast their votes for our stage. But I still don't think our stage was under unfavorable conditions. What our stage came down to, more than anything, was the skill of the team members handling the rap — and my teammates and I proved that skill."

"…."

"For a rapper, there's no compliment more gratifying than being told your rap is good. I think this result is the greatest compliment the Destis could have given us. Thank you for the compliment."

Lee Doha's remarks carried the resolve to be remembered — not as victims of malicious fandom sentiment, but as winners who'd earned first place on their skill alone.

Understanding what Doha meant, Seo Taeil found himself feeling oddly proud.

A hoobae of ours should have at least that much guts.

Hajin's remarks last time, Doha's words this time.

Not one of these kids, apparently, had any intention of walking the easy road. A perfectly serviceable thank you for putting me in first place, I'll definitely debut, we worked so hard and this feels like it's paying off would've been enough.

How did every last one of them, not even debuted yet, end up with the kind of personality that just goes ahead and says what it wants to say?

…thinking about it, my own kids come to mind and now I'm the one feeling called out.

When his own younger brothers — leading the charge on the k-pop industry's 'do it my fucking way' school — came to mind, Seo Taeil quietly shut his mouth and, with a swift well, guess it happens, pivoted his internal stance in a hurry.

Just recently, hadn't he heard how the maknae, at a solo event, had gone deadpan and served a rude reporter a piece of his mind?

"Yes — a first place you proved and earned for yourselves, a truly valuable result. Team Raebingyu, congratulations once again. What effect these 100,000 points will have on today's cut ceremony results — that's honestly got me curious too."

As Seo Taeil delivered the line, the lighting shifted and the LED backdrop behind him switched with it. On screen: ten wings — signifying the survivors — elegantly designed and inscribed on a banner. With that screen — staged as if a heraldic standard had been hung — behind him, Seo Taeil finally flipped to the next cue card.

"Then starting now — Miro Maze's second cut ceremony. Let us reveal the Final 10 list, those who will advance to the live-broadcast finals."

The moment for saying goodbye is always hard.

Even so, Taeil raised the mic.

For some, this would be the moment of walking down the stairs, closing that door behind them, and leaving — but for others, it would be the moment a new door opened.

---

"First — we begin by revealing the trainee in first place, confirmed to advance to the live-broadcast finals."

Along with the tense on-site BGM, the most brilliantly designed first-place banner fluttered across the big screen. In a tense voice, Seo Taeil read out the script's next line.

"This trainee, on the round-4 stage, made a hundred percent use of his primary weapon and gifted the audience the joy of a live performance."

Blurbs like this get written slightly vague on purpose so no single trainee is uniquely identified. And yet, even with a sentence this broad, the boys tensed. Every one of them had eyes that said hurry up and call my name so I can get out from under this.

On the production team's signal, Seo Taeil caught his breath, held for a beat, then called out the name on the cue card.

"First place goes to Trainee Jung Siwoo."

The spotlight swung toward Jung Siwoo, in a white shirt and glasses.

That someone who'd always been neck-and-neck with Seo Taehyun had taken first wasn't much of an upset — but for Jung Siwoo, at least, it carried a meaning all its own.

"Trainee Jung Siwoo, on the round-4 stage, showcased outstanding guitar and vocal skill. He also mashed up and arranged two songs offering comfort to youth into one — and for that and other ways of demonstrating his worth as an artist, he received high marks."

For Jung Siwoo, this first place wasn't simply his own ranking.

This first place was his father's first place — the world's verdict on his father's songs.

Jung Siwoo slowly settled into center stage, then lifted the mic.

"…when I first quit piano and said I was going to sing. No — when I said I was going to be an idol. Everyone tried to stop me."

The voices that had shouted are you insane? were still vivid in his ears.

The arrows the world rained down had pierced him at times, and at times pierced his father.

"But having made it this far, I'm certain that decision back then was the most valuable one of my life. I want to debut, without fail, and share more songs with all of you. Thank you."

Every trainee sent Jung Siwoo their congratulations with applause.

The fact that they themselves weren't in that spot right now stung — but that Siwoo had poured in the effort and passion to earn it was something every one of them acknowledged.

"Then next up, we'll announce the trainee in fifth place."

The total number of trainees advancing today came to ten.

The fifth-place trainee, sitting right in the middle, served as a rough gauge letting the other trainees estimate their own voting outcomes too.

In a white shirt and black slacks, Kang Hajin — spine held straight at his spot — cast a small sidelong glance at the trainees standing in line beside him.

Fifth place last time was Dan Haru.

With Lee Parang cut at the last ceremony, the odds were his votes had either vanished as-is or shifted over to a similar-role 'cute and lively maknae-line' trainee.

Among the current trainees, the ones capable of absorbing Lee Parang's votes were, roughly, Dan Haru and Park Jaeyoung.

Would honestly be easier if Dan Haru just locked it down at around fifth again this time.

As long as he was suspecting Dan Haru of being the Selreg, Dan Haru getting cut this time was the worst-case outcome, and his ranking falling outside debut range was the second-worst. With the fandom he'd built up over this time, it wouldn't go as far as elimination, but….

The Benefit going to Team Raebingyu could hit harder than expected. On top of the general vote, our fandom side already went and piled cheer-votes their way as it was.

Yugeon and Doha were trainees who'd been in the upper ranks anyway, but with votes piling on even lower-ranked Jayden and Shin Kyungho, no one could predict what kind of result this cut ceremony would produce.

Hajin swallowed the tension down tight and hid a slightly trembling fist with his other hand.

"The trainee in fifth place is… Team Raebingyu's Trainee Lee Yugeon."

Lee Yugeon in fifth?

At the unexpected result, Hajin's eyes went wide.

Yugeon's rank last time had been fourth. Given that he'd taken the Benefit on top of that, the result didn't add up — but….

It's not a completely unreasonable placement. The buff he'd gotten from his family situation coming out in round 3 has probably run out.

If anything, it could be read as him defending well — through this stage and the Benefit — a ranking that might have slid further with the voter count shifting under two-picks.

Unable to hide his own dazed expression, Hajin watched Lee Yugeon deliver his remarks. Yugeon looked even more surprised by this result than he had at fourth last time. Watching Lee Yugeon — face somehow conflicted, unable to easily open his mouth — Hajin roughly guessed at the remaining trainees' rankings.

If Lee Yugeon's at fifth, Lee Doha — who took the same Benefit — has obviously climbed too. If we say Seo Taehyun's at second, then maybe fourth for Doha? Even with votes piled on him, wouldn't it still be around third?

Additional trainees expected to climb: Kim Wonho and Jayden, or maybe Park Jaeyoung riding the Lee Parang buff. Shin Kyungho had taken a Benefit too, but with his existing fandom's own votes not even guaranteed, elimination was, in all likelihood, already locked in.

Of course, since he'd brought it on himself, Hajin didn't feel especially sorry for him. If Kyungho just hadn't gone and dragged his girlfriend out even to the guerrilla concert to trade some little just-the-two-of-us secret signal, Hajin could've at least thrown him some kind of cover.

Cynically, Hajin wiped Kyungho's name out of his head. Right here at this ceremony, Shin Kyungho aside, there were ten other people who wanted that one spot desperately.

As for me — I took a hit on vote count this time, so realistically it's drop or hold, no way around it….

Recalling his ninth-place ranking from last time, Hajin cautiously predicted something in the same neighborhood again.

Elimination…. shouldn't happen. After the first cut ceremony results, everyone got fired up about voting, and the agency evaluation scores aren't exactly a criterion you can ignore either.

Gong Seok — solid marks starting from round 3, and on this round-4 stage tugging at people's hearts with an earnest song.

Park Jaeyoung — starting the survival dead last, showing frightening growth every round, and locking down a character read as the chipper action-captain of the maknae line.

Yuki, with a solid hardcore fanbase built on overseas fandom support; Jayden, on the same footing but with the Benefit points on top.

Running through the lower-ranked trainees who could end up on the elimination shortlist alongside him, Hajin waited solemnly for the result.

As if handing down a sentence, Seo Taeil spoke in a heavy voice.

"Next — we'll reveal seventh place and eighth place, where a hair's breadth can flip fates entirely."

Seventh — the last debut rank — and eighth, which unfortunately fell just outside the debut range.

Kim Wonho, seventh last time, and Yuki, eighth, both lifted their heads.

"Miro Maze's second cut ceremony. The two trainees whose fates split at seventh and eighth are…."

Across the wide big screen, the seventh- and eighth-place candidates were caught on camera in a split-screen shot.

Waiting for Seo Taeil's verdict, Hajin's eyes moved naturally to the big screen.

"Trainee Kang Hajin, and Trainee Dan Haru."

On the big screen, his own face and Haru's were being broadcast in real time.