TMMIB!

90

The reactions of the trainees returning to the dormitory after their two-day break were all over the place.

“Why was my screen time so little… Am I not charming? Am I lacking? Ah, I should have been more proactive….”

While some were filled with self-reproach,

“Great. I’ll work even harder and get more screen time. As the second son of the Ji family, I need to make my parents proud.”

Others were burning with passion.

“Ah, seriously annoying… Why did they have to show me crying….”

Some were already frustrated with resuming filming without having fully recovered their mental strength.

And my international roommates in our dorm room…

“Do I really look like that? Lies! Lies! I don’t look so skinny and gloomy! Look at my muscles!”

“No, Ryota. It was accurate. My sculpted face was captured without a single error. It can’t be wrong.”

“Eek! That’s just the camera angle!”

“The more you deny it, the more you smear your own face, Ryota! We used the same camera!”

“Unbelievable! Come here, Gao Yan. It’s time for another showdown!”

“Guys, don’t fight among roommates. We have filming soon. And check the cameras properly.”

I naturally stepped between Ryota and Gao Yan, patting their shoulders and separating them.

While doing so, I didn’t miss noticing Logan having a conversation with Ji Hwa Sung in the distance.

“So, you played thief with Gao Yan and Ryota… and you cheated? Logan, isn’t that too low?”

“Hwa Sung! It wasn’t cheating, it was bluffing. Bluffing is the essence, the alpha of card games.”

I was worried because he had abruptly cut off our conversation so firmly at dawn.

“No, if you were stacking the deck, that’s cheating, not bluffing… You’re scarier than I thought.”

“Scary? God, I think Hwa Sung is the scariest one here.”

Fortunately, it didn’t seem like he was in a bad mood.

I shifted my gaze from Logan to the production team, who appeared quite busy.

It made sense, considering today’s shoot was in a new format, and they seemed to be meticulously checking everything.

‘If my memory is correct, around this time….’

“Everyone, did you enjoy your break?”

Right on cue.

I quickly grabbed Ryota and Gao Yan, watching as Choi Gaon burst through the front doors of the auditorium, camera crew in tow.

“Wow, getting to see all these trainees, who are showered with love from Star Shooters, up close again—I must be the luckiest MC alive. Soon enough, you might all be even bigger superstars than I am.”

“…Oh, come on. It’s an honor for us to be on a program with the wildly popular Gaon!”

“Whew, he deflected that smoothly! Let’s give it up for trainee Lee Chae Hyuk and his sharp wit, everyone!”

Clap, clap, clap!

Along with the other 17 trainees, I joined in on the applause for Lee Chae Hyuk, who skillfully responded to Choi Gaon’s teasing. Knowing how to turn a veteran’s joke into a camera moment was a skill in itself.

“Haha… Thank you….”

Regardless of what I thought, the filming continued smoothly, like water flowing.

“I missed you all so much that I ended up watching episodes 1 and 2 of Targeting Star four times! All thanks to our partnered OTT service!”

The main writer standing behind the camera gave a thumbs up at Choi Gaon’s ad placement, and Choi Gaon winked at them before continuing to read from the teleprompter.

“But back to business, everyone! Do any of you know what kind of shoot we’re doing today? How about you, trainee Seo Bin! Care to take a guess?”

“Uh, um….”

Cameras zoomed in on Seo Bin, who quickly angled himself to show off his best, most handsome side, carefully choosing his words.

“It’s for the third evaluation shoot, right? Last time Gaon-nim showed up, it was for something similar!”

“I’d love to say you’re right! But… unfortunately, you’re not. So close, Trainee Seo Bin. Because today’s shoot is….”

A little more special.

As soon as Choi Gaon finished speaking, an image popped up on the auditorium screen.

Between pictograms resembling darts and guns, bold pink letters spelled out:

<MISSION TIME!>

“Mission time? What?”

“Trainee Logan’s perfect native pronunciation! Haha, yes, you’re right. It’s mission time!”

Choi Gaon continued with his usual bright smile.

“The ‘Mission’ is part of Targeting Star’s exclusive WeTube Blue content. Your scores will be determined by the views and likes on that content. Remember, the trainees with the highest final scores will debut! So, of course, you have to give this mission everything you’ve got!”

As the trainees absorbed his words, confusion spread across their faces. An exclusive WeTube Blue content? And their points are based on its views and likes…?

‘What does that even mean?’

It was as if Gao Yan and Ryota were voicing what everyone else was thinking in their hushed whispers.

“…I thought I had mastered Korean. But no. I don’t understand any of this. God help me.”

“Me too, Gao Yan. Truly, there is no end to learning.”

“Hey, it’s okay if you don’t get it. It’s fine.”

I cut into their conversation with a light laugh, prompting the two foreigners to exchange bewildered glances.

“Chunyong hyung….”

“Chunyong Aniki!”

Moved by my attempt to comfort them, they responded by calling my name. I patted Gao Yan and Ryota on the back, thinking they must have believed I was just offering some kind of reassurance.

“Uh…”

But that wasn’t it.

I genuinely meant there was no need to understand.

[Idol Survival ‘Targeting Star’ Mission Points System Controversy… ‘Transparency Hard to Find’] 

[Simply for Chemistry? Or Rigging the Debut Lineup? A Deep Dive into <Targeting Star>’s ‘Mission’] 

[‘Points via Methods Beyond Performances?’ Unpacking <Targeting Star>’s ‘Mission System’]

Just as the trainees didn’t fully understand, the public also struggled to grasp the method easily. 

And most critically, the production team of <Targeting Star> never managed to explain how the ‘mission points’ were calculated and allocated to each trainee, even by the end of the broadcast.

“There was no rigging. It was just a unique format intended to increase viewer engagement.”