Choi Yeon-Mi pretended to stumble by mistake and threw a kick toward Go Eun-Seo. But at that very moment, Go Eun-Seo casually shifted one step forward and effortlessly avoided the kick.

'Go Eun-Seo, how did you know?'

I immediately turned to Park Seon-Nyeo, who was still holding my arm. "Did you stop me because you knew Eun-Seo would handle it?"

"We will talk in a minute. There is still more to see."

After failing with the kick, Choi Yeon-Mi staggered and only regained her balance by grabbing Liu Lan's shoulder beside her. Because of that, the formation broke.

As if she had been waiting, Park Seon-Nyeo's sharp voice rang out. "Choi Yeon-Mi! Get it together! Minus three points!"

Caught off guard by the sudden deduction, Choi Yeon-Mi's face twisted.

Park Seon-Nyeo immediately unleashed another storm of scolding. "What is that expression? There are senior idols who danced on rain-slick stages, fell again and again, and still smiled until the end! And you are frowning? Did I not tell you that an idol never shows a sour face on stage no matter what? Minus two more points!"

In an instant, Choi Yeon-Mi lost five points. She forced a smile onto her face and continued the rehearsal.

Only then did Park Seon-Nyeo let out a quiet sigh of relief and whisper to me, "Go Eun-Seo knew Yeon-Mi was about to attack her."

"How could you tell?"

"From the moment the choreography started, she kept watching Yeon-Mi's movements. And when Yeon-Mi moved behind her, her eyes changed. I figured she would not let herself get hit, so I stopped you."

"I see..."

"Anyway, now that Yeon-Mi has been deducted points, she won't dare try anything else."

Go Eun-Seo had taken my warning to heart and memorized every possible collision point in the choreography with Choi Yeon-Mi. Since she had avoided the attack, I checked Everyday. However, the schedule entry was still there.

[Everyday V13]

[Date: April 12, 2021]

-02:00 a.m. [NEW. Jung Yoo-Jin]

[Star Exclusive] A word from Jung Yoo-Jin, whom we met in Yeongjongdo, Incheon. "What I regret most today is the elimination of Go Eun-Seo from Team 2."

[Weekly Star] Jung Yoo-Jin spoke again about the moment Go Eun-Seo was eliminated.

'Why is it not disappearing?'

Then, a sudden thought crossed my mind. Maybe Choi Yeon-Mi was not the reason the schedule entry appeared in Everyday. Yet, she might not have given up yet, so I decided to stop the rehearsal just in case.

Soon, the four would line up in a row, hold hands, and perform the so-called "running dance," charging forward together. The move itself was simple and not inherently dangerous, but just before the run, they had to cross paths to take their positions. If they collided wrong in that moment, someone could get seriously hurt.

To prepare for the worst, I slowly raised my hand to halt the rehearsal.

At that moment, I saw Go Eun-Seo dancing beside Choi Yeon-Mi lean in and whisper something to her. At the same time, Choi Yeon-Mi's face drained of color.

Then our eyes met. Still singing with a bright smile, Go Eun-Seo even gave me a small wink as if to tell me not to worry.

In the end, I lowered my raised hand. If Go Eun-Seo was confident, it was far better to let the rehearsal run its course for the sake of the live broadcast. And shortly after, the rehearsal concluded without a single incident.

'Go Eun-Seo. What on earth did you say to Yeon-Mi?'

***

"Thank you for your hard work."

As soon as rehearsal ended and the bows were finished, Choi Yeon-Mi spun on her heel and disappeared below the stage.

Just as the other members stepped down to head back to the waiting room, I called out to Go Eun-Seo. Everyday's schedule entry still had not disappeared, and I was curious about what she had said earlier.

"Eun-Seo, can you stay for a moment? I want to talk."

"Yes, Mr. Jung."

After the remaining two team members left with pouting lips, Go Eun-Seo came down looking calm as if nothing had happened.

"Eun-Seo, what did you say to Choi Yeon-Mi during the performance?" I asked.

Go Eun-Seo shrugged casually. "I told her if she tried anything funny one more time, I would not just dodge it next time and I would snap her ankle."

Well, Go Eun-Seo was not the type to knowingly take a hit.

"I thought so... But don't actually break it."

"I was just scaring her, just scaring her. Girls like that who only know how to hurt others hate the thought of getting hurt themselves."

"That's true."

Go Eun-Seo lifted her heel proudly. "Oh, and thanks to you taping my heels tight, it was easy to dodge her kick."

"That's a relief. Still, things seem tense with your team. Will you be okay for the competition?"

"They need to pass too, so they'll try their best."

"Even so, stay alert until it is over. Choi Yeon-Mi might try something again."

"Yes, sir. I will keep that in mind."

After bowing her head, Go Eun-Seo headed back to the waiting room. I watched her running figure disappear and fell into thought. Then a possibility surfaced—Go Eun-Seo's most vulnerable weak point.

'Could it be her parents?'

Recently, Go Eun-Seo's biggest weakness was none other than her father, Assemblyman Go Joon-Taek, and her mother, Han So-Ye. They had tried to push her as center during preliminaries and backed off only after I reprimanded them. Since then, they had not shown their faces.

However, parents and relatives of the contestants had been invited today. If those two, who adored their daughter to an extreme degree, heard about what happened today, I had no idea what they might do. It would be safer to take precautions in advance.

I immediately raised my hand toward Acting President Jin Ah-Ram. "Ms. Jin Ah-Ram."

"Yes?"

"Have Assemblyman Go Joon-Taek and Mrs. Han So-Ye arrived at the hotel?"

If a VIP at the level of a National Assembly member arrived, it would be reported upstairs immediately. Curious if she had heard anything, I asked.

Jin Ah-Ram spoke into her radio, "If Assemblyman Go Joon-Taek and Mrs. Han So-Ye have arrived, report."

Crackle.

-They have just entered. As instructed, we will escort them to Suite Room 1114.

Jin Ah-Ram looked at me as if to confirm whether I heard. "They are here."

I nodded and said, "Then please assign someone to stay with them today."

"That makes sense. They are extremely devoted to their daughter, right? All right. I will take care of it."

"And also, please assign someone to Choi Yeon-Mi from Team 2. She just came down from the stage."

"Understood."

Through the resort staff radio, she gave instructions. "Keep close watch on Assemblyman Go Joon-Taek and his wife, and on Team 2's Choi Yeon-Mi. Report immediately if there are any unusual developments until the broadcast ends."

Crackle.

-Yes, Ms. Jin.

Tick tock.

Despite all the precautions I had taken, time passed indifferently, and Everyday's schedule entry showed no sign of changing.

***

After stepping off the stage, Choi Yeon-Mi entered the corridor leading back to the waiting room. In the hallway, other teams preparing for rehearsal stood in a tense line, waiting for their turn.

Perhaps because of what had happened in the waiting room, no one said a word to her. In the end, Choi Yeon-Mi veered away from the line, moved quickly down the corridor, and stopped where no one was around.

Choi Yeon-Mi halted abruptly.

"Fuck... How the hell did she know?" she muttered to herself.

Behind her, Liu Lan and Nagai Haruko from Team 2 flinched.

Swallowing dryly, Liu Lan asked, "Yeon-Mi... did you really kick on purpose? That was near the edge of the stage. If you had hit her from behind, she could have fallen forward."

Choi Yeon-Mi whipped around and her eyes burned with rage. "What? Want me to kick you too? Make it so you cannot even compete?"

Startled, Liu Lan took a step back. She might be the daughter of a Shanghai conglomerate and there was little for her to fear, but provoking someone whose eyes had completely lost reason was unwise.

"Whatever. Whether Eun-Seo lives or dies is none of my business. Do what you want." With that, Liu Lan turned toward the waiting room.

Nagai Haruko followed after her. "I didn't hear anything either, so do not worry. See you in the waiting room."

The two hurried off. Once they disappeared, Choi Yeon-Mi began fuming.

'How did it end up like this?'

Choi Yeon-Mi couldn't believe that all of this happened over merely a single necklace. She had never imagined she would be cornered this badly. She had aimed for Go Eun-Seo, but ended up losing points instead.

'Damn it! What do I do?'

Choi Yeon-Mi's head felt like it was about to explode. The penalty points reset every week, so part of her thought she should just focus on the stage and survive somehow. Nevertheless, the urge to get revenge on Go Eun-Seo kept surging back.

"Ugh, damn it. I need to wash my face."

Unable to come up with an answer, she decided to cool her head in the restroom. But unlike the familiar Project I.O.A. set, today they were at Yeongjongdo Resort for the first time, and she had no idea where the restroom was.

"Where the hell is the restroom?"

As she looked around, Choi Yeon-Mi spotted a restroom sign on the wall at the end of the corridor. It indicated the restroom was twenty meters around the corner. Relieved, Choi Yeon-Mi quickened her pace.

However, when she reached the end of the hallway, she froze at the sound of two women's voices coming from beyond the corner.

-This area is restricted to authorized personnel. You cannot enter.

-Sorry, I took a wrong turn. Where is the press entrance?

-You need to go the other way. You cannot come this way.

-Oh, so is the Project I.O.A. waiting room over here?

-It should be, but you really can't go that way.

-Okay, okay. I'll just use the restroom and leave. Sorry to bother you. You must be busy.

-I am busy, so please make sure you only use the restroom.

At the word "press," something flashed in Choi Yeon-Mi's mind.

'Wait. If Go Eun-Seo gets eliminated, my chances of being eliminated go down.'

With her current minus 30 penalty points, Choi Yeon-Mi was barely hanging on to the cutoff for Team 8. If Go Eun-Seo were eliminated, a top spot would open up, significantly increasing her chances of survival. And if she could drag Oh Hae-Nim into it as well, that would mean two spots above her opening up.

In the end, Choi Yeon-Mi's mind turned in a darker direction.

'I will say I was abused.'

Go Eun-Seo's father was Assemblyman Go Joon-Taek, and her mother was the top star Han So-Ye. If word spread that she had been hit by Go Eun-Seo, someone backed by such powerful connections, people would surely throw sympathy her way.

She did not know how Jung Miso and Jung Yoon-Ho had seen through her lies, but most people were easily swayed by tears. And while she was at it, she could also leak a story that Jung Yoon-Ho was covering for Go Eun-Seo behind the scenes.

Having finished her calculations, Choi Yeon-Mi cautiously peeked her head out into the hallway. She saw the staff member walk off in the opposite direction and a female reporter in her mid-thirties enter the restroom with a disappointed look.

After glancing around, Choi Yeon-Mi quickly slipped into the restroom. Water rushed from the sink. A woman stood there washing her hands with an irritated expression.

"Unnie, are you a reporter?" Putting on an innocent tone, Choi Yeon-Mi addressed her.

Entertainment All Times reporter Gong Soo-Ji turned with a frown, then broke into a wide smile when she recognized Choi Yeon-Mi. "Oh? You are Choi Yeon-Mi, right? Third in Korea?"

Choi Yeon-Mi nodded. "Yes, that is right."

"Oh my, this is perfect. Want to do a quick interview with me? I will absolutely protect my source, okay?"

At Gong Soo-Ji's words, Choi Yeon-Mi's lips curved upward. "I can do an interview. But could you also write about something unfair that happened to me?"

"Unfair? Of course I would! What is it?"

Choi Yeon-Mi put on a wronged expression and began to speak. "Reporter unnie, actually..."

As Choi Yeon-Mi continued, tears began to well in her eyes. Her performance was beginning to shine.

***

『Let's all hold hands...』

On stage, Team 3's rehearsal had ended, and Team 4 was now rehearsing.

Beside me, Jin Ah-Ram suddenly spoke into her radio with a grave expression. "Really? The recording? You got it? Only part of it? That is fine. Even parts are good. Well done! Hold on."

She cut the transmission and turned to me urgently. "Mr. Jung, just as you warned, Choi Yeon-Mi caused trouble after all. One of our staff overheard her in the restroom."

A staff member from Yeongjongdo Jinseong Resort had been in the far stall when Choi Yeon-Mi entered and vividly heard her leaking internal information to a reporter.

"Do you mean about today?" I asked.

Jin Ah-Ram nodded. "Yes. She claimed she was assaulted by Go Eun-Seo and that staff, afraid of Assemblyman Go Joon-Taek, forced her to stay silent."

Choi Yeon-Mi was feeding the reporter complete fabrications.

"Which reporter?"

"Reporter Gong Soo-Ji from Entertainment All Times. Do you know her?"

"Gong Soo-Ji..."

She was a reporter blinded by promotion, nicknamed "Hit-and-Run" because she routinely broke promises and stabbed people in the back for exclusives. Even thinking about how many times she had betrayed me before the regression made the back of my head throb.

The person involved today, Go Eun-Seo, happened to be the daughter of a National Assembly member. If Gong Soo-Ji believed she had landed a scoop, she would undoubtedly exaggerate it and blast it everywhere.

Now I finally understood Everyday's warning. If I knew Gong Soo-Ji at all, she would wrap this up as an abuse-of-power scandal and expose it while Go Eun-Seo was performing live. If that happened, Go Eun-Seo would be eliminated naturally, without even a chance to defend herself. I had to act fast.

"You said it was recorded. Do you have the file?"

"Oh, yes. I will send it now. Though... embarrassingly, the staff started recording late, so only the end was captured. The audio cuts out in places."

"That's fine."

Jin Ah-Ram sent me the audio file through Kk Talk.

When I played it, the broken conversation between Choi Yeon-Mi and Gong Soo-Ji came through in fragments.

-...so I was unfairly blamed. And... Eun-Seo even hit me, but Mr. Jung only took her side... sob...

-Is that so? Oh dear...

-...Mr. Jung favors Go Eun-Seo because she is Assemblyman Go Joon-Taek's daughter...

-...All right. For now, just pretend you do not know anything and focus on today's performance. I will... handle it.

Though parts were missing, the meaning was clear. Choi Yeon-Mi had painted her own actions as mistakes and framed Go Eun-Seo as an abuser hiding behind connections.

Jin Ah-Ram, clearly hearing this for the first time, fumed. "Let's bring Yeon-Mi in and expel her immediately. Leaking internal information is grounds for expulsion."

I shook my head. "No. Even if we expel her, it must be after the competition ends."

"What? Why?"

"The other members did nothing wrong. We need to deal with Reporter Gong Soo-Ji first."

Project I.O.A. was a four-member team competition. If Choi Yeon-Mi were eliminated now, Go Eun-Seo and the other members would suffer major damage. Choi Yeon-Mi could be dealt with after her performance. The immediate threat was Gong Soo-Ji.

"Then should we arrange a meeting with her? She is in the first-floor lounge right now."

If I met Gong Soo-Ji directly, she would stab me in the back again. A promise from her meant nothing. As I searched for another solution, an idea flashed in my mind.

"No. There is a better way."

Without hesitation, I opened my phone and removed one particular number from my blocked list.