The stage performed by Team 2 that followed did not turn out nearly as disastrous as idol-makers had feared.
Compared to the performance Team 1 had just shown, its completeness and impact were weaker, but unlike the mid-evaluation footage revealed in the VCR, this was at least a performance where they managed to come together properly.
Each trainee managed to fulfill their share, and among them, several stood out in particular—Yoo Chan-hee, Aiden Lee, and a few others. That was the general evaluation idol-makers gave to Team 2.
Of course, the result was the blood, sweat, and tears of Aiden Lee—who fell perfectly for Won Yu-ha's provocation after the mid-evaluation—and Yoo Chan-hee, who ended up forced to take on the unwanted role of leader. But thanks to the skillful way the VCR was edited, the viewers had no way of knowing any of that.
After both Team 1 and Team 2's performances ended, idol-makers watching both on-site and through TV could no longer hide the rising tension.
— Haaah... just announce it already.
— I just finished praying under the moon… please, please, Won-hyo, let's debut ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ
— How did I even fall into a survival show and end up suffering like this.
— How is this fair… you make me fall in love and then take them away, that's the work of a devil—you bastards at AINET, I can't let even one of those twenty kids go…
The true final moment was approaching.
The broadcast had lasted two months, and for the trainees it had been nearly half a year. The long, long survival show was finally reaching its end. With the mixture of sorrow, anticipation, and anxiety toward the upcoming ranking announcement, idol-makers could no longer hide their complex emotions.
"Ah…!"
"Aaaaah!!"
"Kids!!"
Just when the idol-makers at the final stage thought the trainees' performances were over, the trainees suddenly appeared again—and the venue erupted into cheers.
As expected of
— Remember the day we first met
Back then, all I knew how to do was dream
— In front of my eyes where nothing could be seen
A light approached us, and that's how we met
Under the stage lights stood boys dressed in white jackets and pants. Holding microphones decorated with lace ribbons of different colors, the twenty trainees began to sing in steady voices.
The special song, created specifically for the final broadcast, was made from ideas collected from all twenty surviving trainees—a kind of fan song in which every trainee held a share.
Its lyrics expressed gratitude for idol-makers who had stayed with them through the long journey, as well as encouragement and longing for the trainees who had already been eliminated—and those who were about to be. Soon the entire venue turned into a sea of tears.
The reactions of idol-makers watching the broadcast from home were no different.
— AINET: Cry.
— Me: Okay I'll cry.
— I cursed out the PD so much but now I want to bow and beg them to keep this going until episode 100… I don't want a single kid eliminated, keep the survival going please… I know it's cruel but not seeing them anymore is even crueler…
— Wow reality is hitting hard… DEAR DOLL is really ending…
— Kids, you worked so, so hard. Knowing you and watching you try so hard made me so happy. I hope your lives ahead are filled only with flower paths.
As comments and community posts poured in—filled with regret over the show's ending and prayers for the trainees—the camera busily swept across the stage.
Some trainees gazed softly at their fans with faint smiles, while others, overwhelmed by the thought that this really was the end, couldn't hold back their tears. All of it tugged painfully at the idol-makers' hearts.
Soon, white confetti burst above the trainees' heads, and the stage was bathed in warm light.
Under the white illumination, paper petals fluttered through the air, and as the venue filled with the beautiful harmonies stacked by the trainees, the song raced toward its finale.
— The day we meet again in the light
Someday, we'll meet again
I'm watching you
That version of you
— Finally happy,
That version of us
Among the twenty trainees singing the chorus together, the last line was delivered by Won Yu-ha. As the gentle outro settled in, the camera lingered on Yu-ha's face as he stared quietly forward.
A face carrying deep, unspoken emotion.
And then, just for a moment—
— What the—
— Oh my god—
— ????
As the confetti falling from above brushed against Yu-ha's hair and he subtly tilted his head, the stage lighting caught on the glitter beneath his eyes.
The tears he had been holding back welled up, and when they mixed with the shimmer of the glitter under the lights, it created a soft, aching glow. Under the rain of paper petals, Yu-ha gazed forward as if looking at someone only he could see, blinking once before offering the faintest, gentle smile.
— ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ
— ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ Yu-haㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ
The comment section was flooded with a single emoticon.
Throughout the stage, the camera had relentlessly captured every trainee's tears, the storyline that
All of those elements overlapped, and the wistful emotion Yu-ha released in that final moment struck the idol-makers with a force more powerful than anything else.
The true climax came with the VCR that played afterward.
「What kind of 'idol' do you want to become?」
Text appeared on a screen fading into darkness. Then, the trainees wearing practice clothes appeared.
The screen divided like a checkerboard as twenty trainees sat separately in small monitoring rooms. Then one trainee's screen enlarged, and on the tablet before him, a video began to play.
[…Hey, Dan-woo. Are you doing well? Are you working… hard?]
Joo Dan-woo in practice clothes faced an older, gloomier version of himself—recorded before he joined
[Aiden, did you enjoy it?]
Next was Aiden Lee. Wearing a black coat, he looked toward the screen as though looking at his future self through it, his face bright.
Then, one by one, the screens shifted to show the rest of the twenty trainees.
[Staying until the final round means you must have worked really hard. You must have gone through a lot.]
[You should be proud you made it to the finals. Wow, it's incredible. You survived among a hundred people!]
[We worked hard. We really worked hard.]
The footage had been recorded before
Beginning with a time-lapse of the roommates' late-night practice room—used during the level reevaluation—the video showed scenes of trainees practicing in the training room, hallways, stair landings, and even in their dark dorm rooms while their roommates slept.
[…Maybe it'll feel a little lonely. Maybe you'll feel anxious, too.]
A new scene appeared on the screen, and the eyes of the viewers watching the TV were immediately drawn to it.
The video showed three small rooms.
A single camera revealed all three at once—tiny soundproof practice rooms, just big enough for one person. In the rooms on the left and right, trainees were smiling brightly as they talked on the phone with someone. In the center room, a boy sat quietly and alone.
Viewers quickly realized that the boy sitting there was Won Yu-ha—the same trainee who had just delivered the most overwhelming performance on stage moments ago.
Sitting with his phone in hand, staring blankly into space, he looked unbearably lonely, simply passing the time.
As they watched, viewers understood that this footage was from the mid-level reevaluation, during the trainees' "call with family" chance—and that Won Yu-ha hadn't had anyone he could call.
[But now… now it's finally time for your dream to become reality. Only the very last step remains.]
While viewers sighed at that revelation, the sorrowful scene faded, replaced by a trainee's voice laid low beneath the visuals—and the mood began to shift.
[Waaaaa!]
Scenes of the trainees' journey flooded the screen.
From the very first grading evaluation, to their performance of "Look" on Music A, to the mini segments inserted between missions, to all the brilliant moments when the trainees laughed and cried…
[To me, five years from now.]
The screen shifted to show the present-day trainees. Gazing quietly into the camera—some shyly, some with determined faces—they each spoke a line.
[Will I be doing as well as I endured? Will I still be standing on the stage I wanted so desperately to reach?]
[You're enjoying it, right? Of course you are—how could you not? Even I'm having the best time right now!]
[Don't forget to return the love to the fans, become an idol who enjoys the stage, stay humble, always….]
[You've always imagined the kind of singer you wanted to become your whole life. You're still holding onto that, right?]
[Don't tell me you gave up already? My mom did NOT raise her son like that!]
Doubt, hope, encouragement—each voice continued until the camera focused on one particular trainee.
[…I wonder if I debuted. If I debuted through
Speaking calmly and softly, Won Yu-ha looked into the screen. And with his sincere tone, viewers found themselves leaning in, waiting for whatever he would say next.
[…But I think I'd still be trying to stand on stage.]
[The stage you're doing right now will stay forever, and it'll explain who you are. So… it'd be nice if you set a new goal and kept going. To become an idol who performs without regret.]
The screen shifted again, showing a shadowy silhouette of a boy backstage—his identity hidden by backlighting—as he walked toward the stage.
[Because that, for us, will be success.]
With that final narration-like line, the VCR came to an end.
And then, the text that appeared on the screen:
「Vote for your 'idol' right now!」
The second viewers saw the message, everyone watching grabbed their phones and typed the name of the trainee in their heart.
And sent it.
[Three, two, one… all text voting has now ended!]
With the MC's countdown echoing over the stage, the entire survival show had finally reached its conclusion.
***
"..."
Standing backstage, watching the VCR play, I did everything I could to avoid meeting anyone's eyes.
"Hyung… they said you did great, but…."
"Yu-ha, were you crying?"
One guy muttered in a voice that sounded almost betrayed, and another asked with innocent bluntness. All of them—waiting backstage with me—couldn't simply let the video pass without comment. Rather than respond, I chose the option of simply ignoring them altogether.
Enduring the hellish silence, I watched as the VCR ended and the screen dimmed, finally letting out a small sigh.
They really went all-out making me look pitiful.
The editing was effective—I couldn't deny that. Especially since, combined with the other trainees' stories, the producers had highlighted my "tragic but rising" growth arc to the extreme.
It would certainly help with the votes, but… I couldn't help feeling uncomfortable. It seemed I would need relentless effort to break away from the "young breadwinner" image they had forced on me.
"Trainees, please come up to the stage now!"
Of course, I had to debut first before worrying about that.
"…Let's do our best."
"Let's all debut!"
"We can do it!"
Hearing Joo Dan-woo, Cheon Se-rim, and Aiden Lee whisper beside me, I quietly nodded. Just like at the start, the boys had once again pulled on their matching blue blazer school uniforms and were walking up the stairs one by one.
I took a deep breath.
"…Let's go."
And finally, we stepped onto the stage where the results would be announced.
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