I Was Trying To Debut My Baby, But I Ended Up Debuting Instead

Chapter 25

“Yeonwoo!”

With her freshly washed hair still damp and her clear face, she looked utterly adorable.

‘Crazy. So damn cute. She’s totally a squishy bunny princess.’

Seeing Na Yeonwoo in her pajamas, Hyesung flared her nostrils to hide her twitching lips.

“Is Youngwon unnie inside?”

“Did you come to see Youngwon unnie? Come in.”

Na Yeonwoo quickly ushered Hyesung inside the room, wrapping an arm around her shoulder as if she were escorting a VIP.

“Youngwon unnie! Hyesung unni is here.”

Inside the room were Lee Joo-ha and Han Youngwon.

‘I should’ve been in this room.’

Hyesung clicked her tongue, thinking that the current room lineup was the best.

It was already bad enough that she had been separated from Na Yeonwoo, and now she had to deal with a bratty kid in the room she was in.

“You didn’t come to see Yeonwoo but me?”

“Yes, I was wondering if I could borrow a swelling patch. Ami needs one, but she lost hers.”

“Ah.”

Han Youngwon nodded as if it made sense and took out a bunch of glue sticks from her drawer.

“Here, take them.”

“So many?”

“Share them with the kids in your room. I can’t just give them only to Ami.”

“Thank you.”

‘As expected of an adult, so generous. I like it.’

She remembered when she used to share a room with Han Youngwon and received plenty of expensive recovery supplements.

‘This should’ve been my room.’

Hyesung stood still in the middle of the room, not thinking of leaving, lingering with her regrets.

“Would it be okay if I slept here?”

“Why? Does someone in your room snore?”

Lee Joo-ha asked, lying on the bed.

“Not exactly… But the friend who uses the top bunk has bad sleeping habits.”

“Who?”

“Yoonji.”

Feigning pity, Hyesung subtly sat on Han Youngwon’s bed.

“Yoonji thumps around?”

“Yes. It’s a bit unsettling to sleep below.”

“Really? But there’s no empty bed in our room…”

“Where did she go?”

“She went to Ahyeon. She’s probably next door.”

The other roommate who was out was Namgoong Seol.

“Hyesung unnie. If you really feel unsafe, sleep with me.”

Na Yeonwoo patted her bed. It was a tempting offer, but Hyesung remembered she had something to do in the morning.

‘Oh, right. I have to sneak out.’

“Thank you, Yeonwoo. But I’ll try to sleep in my bed tonight. If it doesn’t work out, I’ll come to your bed.”

Hyesung trudged back to her room with heavy steps, handed the swelling patches to Ami, and lay on her bed.

‘Please let these friends be heavy sleepers.’

Hyesung prayed that her plans for the second training session wouldn’t be disrupted.

While the others might have expected a wake-up mission in the morning based on previous seasons, no one knew what the reward would be. Except for Hyesung.

* * *

At 6 AM the next day, Hyesung quietly rose in the dark. Taking her toothbrush on tiptoe, she gently opened the door and stepped outside.

She finished washing up in the shared bathroom at the end of the hallway and quickly prepared to go out.

Although the wake-up bell hadn’t rung yet, it seemed some trainees in other rooms were already awake.

‘I’ll pretend to be walking around near the stairs, then as soon as the bell rings, I’ll dash out.’

This season’s wake-up mission offered the top three the privilege of choosing songs and team members for the first competition round.

In previous seasons, the wake-up missions were merely allocated time for PPL, with useless health supplements or cosmetics as rewards, and a solo camera shot acting pleased was the reward.

Therefore, even if the bell rang signaling the start of the wake-up mission, there weren’t many trainees who would genuinely run.

‘Still, just in case, I need to be the first one in.’

Hyesung had already thought of the song and team members for Na Yeonwoo.

Even if the situation changed and the previous songs weren’t available, she had to secure the first place reward.

Hyesung began stretching near the stairs, watching for any movements.

She saw the filming staff gathered below, ready to capture the trainees rushing out of the dorm.

‘They’ll be surprised if I go down right now.’

Soon, the monotonous intro of “Chances” and the instructor’s voice echoed through the speakers.

[Everyone wake up! Trainees, please assemble in the plaza immediately. I repeat, trainees, please assemble in the plaza immediately.]

Hyesung pretended to be startled by the unmanned camera in the hallway, then quickly ran down the stairs.

‘I’m going to be first!’

Clattering down to the first floor, the waiting staff at the entrance looked at her in surprise.

“Hello!”

Hyesung greeted the camera energetically and immediately exited the dorm. It was a short two-minute run to the plaza.

“Huff, huff… I don’t really need to run this hard.”

As the plaza came into view, Hyesung slowed her pace.

“I knew I’d be first…”

Or so she thought, until she saw what looked like a human head among the flower beds.

‘What! Who is it!’

Hyesung quickly ran to the assembly point.

“Joo-ha unnie?”

“Oh? Hyesung? You woke up early?”

Lee Joo-ha stretched as she turned around.

“Unnie, what’s this? How are you here already?”

“Ah, I was jogging to warm up, then I heard the call to gather here.”

“Unnie, were you outside before the bell even rang?”

“Yeah, didn’t you come with Yeonwoo?”

“…I woke up early today to take a walk, but then suddenly we were told to gather. I thought I was the first to arrive, but I was surprised to see you…”

“I see. Then Yeonwoo will come with Youngwon unnie.”

“What about Namgoong Seol unnie?”

“Seems she slept in Ahyeon unnie’s room.”

Hyesung tried to remain calm, but she was inwardly flustered.

‘Damn. I’m screwed. No, second place is fine too… Just hope she doesn’t choose the same song. Please, please.’

Soon, the plaza filled with trainees gathering in small groups.

“Do you know why we gathered you here this morning?”

The instructor, wearing sunglasses, started some warm-up exercises as Seol Hanna appeared.

“Is everyone warming up?”

“Yes!”

‘No. This is too much in the morning.’

Hyesung, still groggy, reluctantly followed the exercises.

“Hyesung, you still look sleepy.”

“Me? Ah, no, no.”

“Instructor, what’s a good exercise for this?”

Seol Hanna pointed directly at Hyesung, and the instructor came over to show a few moves.

When Hyesung couldn’t follow properly, the instructor physically bent her body in half, performing some vigorous moves.

“Aaagh! My bones are breaking!”

“They’re not.”

“Aaah!”

‘He looks barely twenty-three or twenty-four. Is he working part-time as a camp instructor… Damn, my joints might actually break.’

Contrary to her fears, her shoulders felt refreshed after being bent backward.

“Oh? It doesn’t hurt.”

“Your face looks more lively now.”

Seol Hanna nodded in satisfaction.

Despite initially doubting the instructor, Hyesung felt more alert and lighter.

Seeing Hyesung’s reaction, other trainees raised their hands, wanting the same treatment, and a few more bodies were folded in half.

“Alright, everyone. Now that you’re fully warmed up, let’s talk about the reward. The top three, please come forward.”

“Wow! So lucky!”

‘They’re not impressed at all. This reward isn’t some useless health supplement, guys.’

* * *

After the reward was revealed, Hyesung became the object of envy among the trainees. However, she felt uneasy that she received more admiration than the first-place Joo-ha.

She knew it was because they saw her as less competitive.

“Wow, unnie, that’s amazing. We share a room, so let’s go together.”

Returning to her room after breakfast, Kim Yoonji spoke bluntly.

“Huh? I woke up at 6, it would’ve been a bit much to wake you then.”

If she had woken her up, she’d have complained about that too. Forcing a smile, Hyesung tried to smooth things over, but Kim Yoonji continued grumbling.

‘Be patient. She’s just a kid. She’s ten years younger than me. It’s just her age.’

As she struggled to keep her composure, a remark hit her nerve.

“Honestly, there are people who could use the song selection privilege better than you.”

“What do you mean by that?”

She meant that there were others, like herself, who could make a better performance with the privilege.

“Nothing, just…”

Seeing Hyesung’s eyes slightly widen, Kim Yoonji trailed off, scared.

‘She doesn’t even realize I’m being lenient.’

Hyesung silently stared at Kim Yoonji with her sharp gaze.

Since she was facing away from the room camera, her expression wouldn’t be broadcasted, so she didn’t bother to soften it.

“Unnie, let it go. Yoonji, you need to watch your words. You’ve been disrespectful to Hyesung unnie for a while.”

“Yeah, that’s right.”

Seeing Hyesung’s threatening expression, Kang Haein intervened to mediate, and Ami also chimed in.

“…Right, Yoonji. Watch what you say. Let’s not create tension in the room.”

“…Okay.”

Hyesung rubbed her eyes. She had kept them open for too long.

“Let’s get changed and go down.”

“Okay.”

* * *

The next shoot continued in the first auditorium.

Before explaining the new evaluation, Seol Hanna announced the number of trainees who would survive the first ranking announcement.

“The cutoff for survival in the first ranking announcement is 50th place. This means those from 51st to 100th will be eliminated.”

The trainees buzzed at the news that half of them would be cut in one go.

“Wow, all at once? Half?”

“Wasn’t it up to 60th before?”

“Oh no… I might get eliminated.”

Some trainees looked genuinely shocked at the lower survival count compared to previous seasons.

“Now, I will reveal the first mission that will decide your fate. It’s a team battle mission. Behind the screen in front of you are the mission songs. How many teams will compete per song?”

“Two teams!”

“Are you sure?”

Seol Hanna glanced meaningfully at the trainees.

“Oh no, maybe not.”

“Then, one song per team?”

“Oh… If it’s one song per team, the song selection will be even fiercer.”

“Exactly. Behind the screen in front of you are the group names and representative songs of globally active K-pop artists.”

Turning slightly, Seol Hanna pointed to the screen and continued.

“For this competition, it’s not the same song chosen by two teams, but the same group chosen by two teams performing different songs.”

The trainees murmured.

‘The situation has changed again. The competition format is different. The mission songs might be entirely new.’

Hyesung’s eyes narrowed.

“So, it’s one group, but two different songs?”

“Yeah, it seems like teams choosing the same group will compete with different songs.”

Voices explained the concept to those still confused.

“Alright! Now, let’s reveal the first mission songs of Supernova Project Season 5!”