|  𝐒𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲 |    ꜱᴛᴀʀᴅᴜꜱᴛ ʀᴇᴀʟ-ᴛɪᴍᴇ ᴛᴏᴘ 7

𝟏𝐬𝐭 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞: 𝐇𝐚 𝐉𝐮𝐧𝐬𝐞𝐨

𝟐𝐧𝐝 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞: 𝐂𝐡𝐚 𝐒𝐞𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐛𝐢𝐧

𝟑𝐫𝐝 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞: 𝐉𝐢𝐧 𝐒𝐞𝐡𝐲𝐮𝐧

𝟒𝐭𝐡 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞: 𝐒𝐞𝐨 𝐇𝐚𝐢𝐦

𝟓𝐭𝐡 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞: 𝐃𝐨 𝐒𝐞𝐨𝐡𝐚𝐧

𝟔𝐭𝐡 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞: 𝐋𝐞𝐞 𝐃𝐨𝐤𝐲𝐮𝐧𝐠

𝟕𝐭𝐡 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞: 𝐒𝐞𝐨 𝐈𝐚𝐧

◇─◇──◇─◇

-Seohan???

└Seohan is ranked 5th?

└5th place???????

└What am I looking at?!

└this is just bullshit I'm heading to the Stardust company to riot

└it's called survival for a reason

-Wowow Seongbin 2nd place... Seohan 5th place... Dokyung ranked 6th...

└Is this rigged?

└I think I'm going to the company building. Choi Han, why didn't you make it to the debut group?

└Choi Han originally had a debut ticket ㅠㅠ

└Please, please...

└Lee Dokyung has risen again. I guess fans were caught off guard

-My pick is just hopeless... Hahaha, there is no sign of the ranking rising. The producer has no intention of giving him any amount of screen time.

└Who is it?

└Kang Siwoo ):

└11th place...

└Can other trainees donate some screen time to my boy?

└Should I give up? It's so hard for me

There was a huge change in the rankings released at the last ranking announcement ceremony.

Fans of trainees whose rankings rose significantly were enjoying the festive atmosphere, but there were also those who couldn't help but frown.

Fans of Do Seohan.

— [Did anyone expect Seohan's ranking to drop?]

- Maybe it's because I thought he would be in the debut zone for sure, but the shock hasn't gone away... They only debut 7 people, and it's stressing tf out of me

-Seohan fans are preparing to riot.

└Do Seohan has a lot of dedicated fans

└#SAVEOURHAMCHI

└✰ ✰ ✰ Vote for our Shining Hamster! ✰ Cutie Seohans Path to Stardom! ♡ Don't lose the best of the best, and make the best of the best decision! ✰ ✰

└the poor kid just wants to debut man...

-Did the votes get dispersed because of the overseas vote, or did the votes decrease because fans let their guards down down? His ranking dropped like crazy after the system changed to a one vote per person. He must have been an extra add-on when people voted.

└The votes seemed to have declined since it was changed to a one-pick vote. I think his core fandom is weak.

└He isn't as popular as he's made out to be, people just vote for him because they have an extra vote.

└Someone had to say it

└Do Seohan antis are having a field day

└He isn't a bad person, he's just uninteresting. I couldn't care less about him

└So everyone was also using him as an add-on?

└✰ ✰ ✰ Vote for our Shining Hamster! ✰ Cutie Seohans Path to Stardom! ♡ Don't lose the best of the best, and make the best of the best decision! ✰ ✰

-Seohan is special. Still, no one knows a thing until the final rankings.

└This is right, no matter how much you guess, you'll never know until the last minute.

- Seohan, don't worry, Noona will help you debut ㅠㅠ

└I'll make you debut no matter what, Hamchi. If you don't become an idol, who will?

└It may be better to get hit now than to get hit during the finals... it will increase the unity of the fans ㅠㅠ

└✰ ✰ ✰ Vote for our Shining Hamster!  ✰ Cutie Seohans Path to Stardom! ♡ Don't lose the best of the best, and make the best of the best decision!  ✰ ✰

└All my mutuals are preparing to vote.

Half of the opinions were that it was because of the fans' carelessness, and half of the opinions were that the rankings would have dropped significantly as the voting method was changed to one-pick.

Either way, every party could agree with one statement.

'Ranks can change in an instant.'

It was a fact that fans knew, and Seohan also knew.

The survival was so intense that it now resembles my distant past life.

Seohan bit his lower lip hard.

"Whoa..."

5th place.

It was a rank that was still within the debut range.

However, considering the previous ranking, the ranking fell by as many as four places.

Memories from his previous life kept coming back to him, making Seohan uneasy.

I missed my debut by one.

It's a terrible story that I don't want to even think about, but I couldn't help but imagine it

'If I come in 8th place...'

This time, too, I couldn't helplessly blow this opportunity.

I was so anxious that my heart sank, but I tried my best to remain calm.

"..."

Seohan slowly raised his head and looked into the mirror.

A poisonous gaze stared back

Is it because I stood there blankly for a long time?

My thoughts have cleared up a bit.

"What should I do first?"

Let's practice.

Let's practice, Seohan.

There is no choice but to tear up the final stage.

* * *

Over the past few months, 34 trainees have been running tirelessly toward their dreams.

There were moments when we laughed, and there were moments when we cried.

It was undeniable that everyone was running with only one destination in mind.

Finals and debut.

Since the last episode was aired live, the trainees were sensitive.

If you want to debut, you must put on a better stage than ever before.

Choreographer Myunghwan Choi asked the trainees with a serious face.

"So, the songs we you have prepared for the finals are one ballad song and one dance song?"

"Yes!"

"Time is ticking, but there is a lot to do."

The ballad song is out of the question as the group plans to sing it in separate parts, and two dance songs were created.

<Attracted> is a bright yet addictive EDM dance song like the signal song with an impressive concept and powerful choreography.

In some ways, they were two songs with opposite concepts.

Choreographer Myunghwan Choi slowly scanned the trainees in front of him.

"This is an odd team."

Team distribution was carried out in a fairly simple manner.

Based on the results of the last 3rd ranking selection ceremony, the ranks were divided into odd and even ranks. This combination was interesting,

Do Seohan, Seo Haim, Cha Seongbin, Choi Han, Kang Siwoo, Lee Dokyung

Except for Kang Siwoo, the team as a whole has a lot of fresh and talented trainees...

He spoke, frowning.

"Is this team's song 'Tied to You?'"

"Yes!"

"Why?"

Why are you going with such an intense concept?

Also, with this combination?

Seo Haim hesitated and raised his hand.

"In rock-paper-scissors... I lost."

"Oh, did you make a bet?"

"Yeah..."

"Ha... I can't help it."

Do Seohan, who had been chanting sexy chants with his mouth, bowed his head in grief.

'Even when I try to imagine it, it won't work like this.'

It usually has to be a challenging song.

Because it was a song that was difficult to complete in a short period, it seemed that the opposing team did not prefer it either.

Perhaps due to bad luck, Seohan was assigned this song in his last life as well.

When I think about being eliminated in the finals, I feel like a distant nightmare is coming back to me.

It wasn't just me that was worried about this situation.

'I can see the problems even without looking too deep into it...'

It's already becoming difficult to carry out this intense song with this combination.

Choreographer Choi Myunghwan said while holding his pounding head.

"Let's take a look first."

.

.

.

.

Like a satellite that orbits, pulled by the gravity of you

I spin around you

You know it's too late to get out

Tied to you

I can't break this chain

Get ready for a great day

I struggle to escape from you

A song that requires a frenzied performance from beginning to end.

The first verse of with a strong beat came to an end, and Choi Myunghwan sighed.

"Ha..."

Choreographer Choi Myunghwan tilted his head and twirled his ballpoint pen.

As it was towards the end of the program, no trainees were particularly lacking in skills.

Of course, they don't break that role.

If we were to judge it based solely on dance... It was neat.

But.

"Something... it's a bit disappointing."

Choi Myunghwan sighed and bit his lip.

Since there isn't much time left until the final stage, it's unclear whether they will be able to change everything, but the overall evaluation was this:

"It lacks impact."

Although the choreography is difficult and the performance is spectacular, the song did not have enough impact to excite me when I saw the overall picture.

Choi Myunghwan checked the list of odd-numbered team trainees and asked again.

"The center is Lee Dokyung, right?"

"Yes."

"Are you lacking?"

Gulp-

Lee Dokyung swallowed hard and stared at Choi Myunghwan.

A song with a strong concept was a style Lee Dokyung had never tried before, but now was not the time to hide that with the finals approaching.

To prove his worth, he had to take the final center position.

It was a position that was earned through fair voting by the team.

It just wasn't enough in Choi Myunghwan's eyes.

Lee Dokyung lowered his head and said nothing.

"..."

Choi Myunghwan frowned and looked in the opposite direction.

"Cha Seongbin. Can you come out and dance one more time?"

"Yes? Ah, I understand."

The following person to be pointed out was trainee Cha Seongbin, who is currently ranked 5th.

Originally, he was a trainee who was good at dancing with his long stature.

Cha Seongbin stood in the center and gritted his teeth to show off his choreography.

It was somewhat powerful for fear of criticism.

Tied to you

I can't break this chain

Get ready for a great day

I will struggle to escape from you

"Wait a second."

Choi Myunghwan immediately shook his head and waved his hand.

As it was a choreography he designed himself, he had a separate picture drawn in his head, but the kids could not follow it at all.

"No, it's weak. Weak. What should we do?"

Because it is a live performance, there is no turning back once the performance begins.

That's the final.

It was an important contest ahead of the debut.

Choreographer Myunghwan Choi spoke as if he was frustrated.

"You're going to stand on stage side by side with the other team."

"Yes."

"Let's say you guys perform first, and then they came out later. However, I don't remember anything about the previous stage. What happens then? You all just get buried."

It's not just a performance that's disappointing; this performance can be the difference between a debut.

The faces of the trainees darkened as they understood what choreographer Myunghwan Choi said.

"It would be difficult to stand on stage like this."

Choreographer Myunghwan Choi sighed and spoke carefully.

"I think you need to think a little more about the center part."

"Yes."

"Dokyung, I'm not asking you to change your role as center right now. If you're going to sing this song, you must think about how you will make it memorable."

"Alright."

Personally, Myunghwan Choi's opinion was that the center should be changed.

Lee Dokyung is not a trainee who lacks skills, but he is not the type that could hold the center of this song.

But if you ask me, his power supply wasn't good...

That wasn't it.

Even in the disappointing group dance, two trainees caught Choi Myunghwan's attention.

"Kang Siwoo."

"Yes."

All of the preceding comments were harsh criticism.

Kang Siwoo looked at Choi Myunghwan with an anxious expression.

However, the words that came out of Choi Myunghwan's mouth were cool compliments.

"I didn't know that Siwoo was a good dancer."

"Thank you, thank you."

"Why didn't I see this clearly during Touch? Your dancing has improved a lot more than I expected."

It feels like Kang Siwoo is finally wearing clothes that match him.

His dance style was powerful and sensuous, so it was nice to watch.

His skills had shockingly improved compared to when he first appeared in the Stardust Project.

You must have worked hard.

Choi Myunghwan continued to express his admiration and nodded with satisfaction.

And.

"Do Seohan?"

Choi Myunghwan's smile turned to one person.

Is it because of his mood?

'The kid looks a little venomous.'

The difference in his eyes was as if he has made a firm decision.

Choi Myunghwan spoke softly as if he couldn't believe it.

"When did you grow up like this?"