𝐃𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡 𝐈𝐬 𝐍𝐨𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐎𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐏𝐞𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐲 ―𝐝.𝐨.𝐝

Chapter 32

[ Park Moondae's POV ]

The final ranking results weren't what really mattered. The real highlight was what came next.

"Everyone, as a reminder, the current rankings are a result of combining with the stock sales. If it weren't for the liquidation, what would the results have been like?"

On the large screen above the production team, our current rankings were put in order. And then, the number of purchased, sold, and totaled votes were exposed. Next to those columns was the rank we would've been at with only the number of purchased votes.

As expected, Cha Eugene would have been first. Then it would have been Ryu Chungwoo, me, Seungmin, Ahyun, Raebin etc.

"I placed in 3rd in purchased votes...? And Ahyun was originally 5th, but he rose to 2nd..."

That's when I realized.

Because the difference in purchased votes at the top ranks is small, in the end, it was the number of sold votes that determined the rankings.

Ryu Chungwoo had 902,654 purchased votes and only 8,231 sold votes. In contrast, Cha Eugene had 914,218 purchased votes and 28,798 sold votes, so he dropped from 1st to 3rd. I had 893,452 purchased votes and 12,256 sold.

Meanwhile, Ahyun had 889,356 purchased and 5,735 sold. But his group benefit didn't subtract the stocks sold, which is how he was able to rise to 2nd place from his original 5th place.

I continued to look at the others' data.

"Wow, Kim Raebin got 35,677 stocks sold. That's the highest out of everyone. It's amazing that he still ranked 6th overall."

But what surprised me most was the number of Seungmin's sold stocks.

"891,633 purchased votes and...29,542 minus votes?!"

He was right below me in terms of purchased votes, but his minus was more than double mine. It was even more than Cha Eugene's.

I glanced at Seungmin, who was sitting next to me in the 5th-rank seat. He had those same insipid black eyes of his staring at the screen. When he noticed me looking, he tilted his head in my direction and smiled.

The punk didn't seem to realize what situation he was in. When I pulled up his status window, his skill wasn't active, meaning he wasn't under any pressure. His animosity progress was only at 9%.

"He's not upset at all. Does he not care that almost 30,000 stocks were bought to keep him from debuting? That people were willing to spend tens of thousands of dollars to see him fail?"

I wasn't sure what happened. There weren't any scandals that broke out, and unlike Raebin, who got the highest number of sold votes, Seungmin wasn't a victim of evil editing. He's good-looking, raps well, dances well, and has a nice personality on camera.

Just a few weeks ago, he was being called a cute black cat. Did I miss something while monitoring?

For some reason, I felt bitter.

The feeling remained weighing on my mind as us remaining participants moved locations to another set. We were all sitting on the floor, waiting for the production team to start recording.

The filming of the next team match should have taken place as soon as the ranking ceremony was over, but it was temporarily suspended because of the funeral-like atmosphere. Instead, the production team was trying to begin an impromptu plan: an idol talent show.

Sitting against the wall, I hit my head back.

Beside me, Seungmin flinched. I didn't realize until now, but his head was resting on my shoulder. I woke him up.