GIJS

Chapter 159 Slow on the Uptake

The results of the competition were announced starting from 7th place.

"For the second round, 7th place goes to... Unfortunately, Teibo takes 7th place."

As expected, Teibo, with their performance full of mistakes, ended up in 7th place.

"It's unfortunate, but we had no choice but to give Teibo 7th place. There were just too many mistakes... It seems like they prepared an aggressive stage similar to 7IN's, but in terms of presence, they couldn't be compared."

Even the Chinese judges and audience, who had always given high scores without question for Chinese stages, seemed to have turned their backs on Teibo this time.

6th place went to AKIRA, whose performance was once again lacking. Following them were SHINO and Guardians in 5th and 4th places, respectively.

For the Chinese teams, QUAN managed to secure a relatively high 3rd place, saving face.

"QUAN's stage wasn't perfect either. They had a mistake with one verse in the middle, but they handled it well, and the rest of the performance showed QUAN's strengths. Most importantly, despite it being an Instant Mission, they delivered a well-structured performance."

Although Teibo had been the main target of criticism from the start, QUAN consistently performed better than Teibo throughout the competition.

With all teams except for the Korean teams having had their results announced, only 7IN and Velocé remained.

The level difference between the two teams was apparent in the preliminary rounds, but for this stage, 7IN had delivered a performance that could overshadow Velocé. Even the usually relaxed Velocé members were visibly tense and nervous this time.

"Now, only the two Korean teams are left! The team that won 1st place in the second round's Instant Mission is..."

MC Jeong Hae-jin, after briefly checking the cue card, announced the 1st place team with a loud voice.

"Congratulations, Velocé—!!"

At the announcement, the slightly tense shoulders of the 7IN members fell simultaneously as they let out a long sigh. It was a sound of relief, but also tinged with a bit of regret.

"Second place."

"Yeah. It's okay, second place is still good."

"True, but... it's a bit disappointing."

The members couldn't hide their disappointment. Although Velocé was an outstanding team, they had hoped that they could win this time, making the disappointment even more acute.

"It's okay, we can do better next time."

"Yeah. We still have a lot to show!"

"Right. Let's at least greet the fans."

As soon as they had a break, the members went to the end of the stage to greet the fans. Even the fans who were disappointed with the results quickly brightened up and waved their hands when they saw the 7IN members.

"It's okay, it's okay!"

"You guys are always number one to us!"

Seeing the smiling faces of the fans, Gunja felt a strange emotion. He had gone to comfort the fans, but instead, he was the one being comforted.

As always, he felt truly grateful for these people. Gunja thought to himself how happy he was to be living this life with such wonderful people.

"Thank you!"

After bowing deeply, Velocé members gathered nearby. Members including Pael seemed to have something to say to the 7IN members.

"Hey, something seems off about the results."

"Hmm?"

"Anyone can see you guys should have been 1st."

"Haha, thank you for saying that."

"No, I'm serious. Didn't you see how the judges praised you?"

"Well, the results turned out this way. And you guys did well too..."

"Of course, we did well. But you guys were way better. I can't accept this result."

Pael spoke honestly about his thoughts on the results.

"I think the Chinese judges and audience gave out their scores unfairly. They couldn't give high scores to Teibo because their stage was a mess, and they couldn't give you high scores because you dissed China so much. So, they gave the 1st place to us, who did reasonably well."

"Well, who knows?"

"I do know. It's obvious. Anyway, I wanted to say don't be disappointed, because that's how we see it."

Saying this, Pael gave each of the seven members a friendly pat on the back.

"Why are you guys so good? Did I make you guys eat meat for nothing before coming here?"

"Um, wasn't it Hyung who bought the meat?"

"I raised some tiger cubs here. We'll definitely win next time, so remember that."

"You won this time too."

"Well, I'm not accepting that."

The fans watched the friendly exchange between 7IN and Velocé with smiles. Both teams' fans seemed to approve of this camaraderie.

As they chatted, the break time flew by. Following the announcement of the rankings, it was now time to announce the changed statuses.

Velocé maintained their throne as the 1st place team. 7IN and QUAN rose to the noble class, while Guardians and SHINO settled into the commoner class.

And once again, Teibo could not escape the status of slaves.

"...!"

Pi Houkam gritted his teeth, but it was an expected outcome. If 7IN or Velocé had made as many mistakes on stage, they too would have been demoted to slaves immediately.

"Residents of Dynasty Castle, are you satisfied with your new statuses?"

"Yes—!!"

"7IN, starting from slaves, have finally risen to the noble class. It's impressive to see you moving up step by step."

MC Jeong Hae-jin looked meaningfully at 7IN and Teibo alternately, smiling.

"From the noble class, more privileges will be granted. You'll get more comfortable accommodations, differentiated meals, and upgraded practice facilities."

"Oooh—."

"Most importantly, from the noble class, you will be able to command the slaves."

"!"

"We look forward to seeing how luxurious your lives as nobles will be."

As Jeong Hae-jin said, 7IN had become nobles. The camera captured the anxious faces of Teibo members, who had not yet escaped the slave class.

* * *

The next morning, the Teibo members, waking up in the slave quarters, were filled with anxiety from the start of the day.

After the two rounds of the competition, the positions of Teibo and 7IN had switched. Teibo, who had been nobles, had fallen to the status of slaves, while 7IN had steadily risen to become nobles.

"Damn it, what do we do now!"

"They're definitely going to seek revenge!"

"If I had known this would happen, I would have just left them alone..."

"Pi Houkam! Say something!"

The agitated members expressed their worries loudly in the basement, but Pi Houkam remained surprisingly calm.

"Stop worrying about useless things. Let's focus on preparing for the third round."

"Are you kidding me? We should be worried about what they might do to us..."

"Stop with the pointless worries."

Pi Houkam cut off his colleague and silenced him.

"It's not going to happen, so there's nothing to worry about."

"How can you be so sure..."

"Think about it. What's their concept? They're all about being virtuous. They've always acted like saints, and fans like that image. Don't you agree?"

"Well, that's true."

"Do you think they could suddenly adopt an arrogant attitude overnight? Probably not."

"Hmm... maybe."

The members nodded, finding Pi Houkam's words reasonable.

"Plus, those guys act all fake around Velocé."

"Right. They're different from us. They're probably putting on all sorts of pretenses."

"So, we don't need to worry then?"

"Of course not. There's nothing to worry about. Besides, worrying won't change anything."

Pi Houkam was confident. He was sure that the 7IN members would never act like they were masters over slaves.

Those who pretend to be nice are all the same. They can't express their true desires and only stay on the side of the good to gain public favor.

"We'll find out soon enough at breakfast. We'll see how they act."

Slaves always enter the dining hall last. By the time Teibo arrived, 7IN, now part of the noble class, was already eating.

Despite being in the slave class, Teibo held their heads high even in the dining hall. They received their meals with an air of composure and sat down at the table, as if there was no one to watch them.

At that moment, Gunja and Pi Houkam's eyes met.

"...?"

In fact, Gunja was staring at Pi Houkam intently.

What is it? As Pi Houkam tilted his head in confusion, Gunja gestured for him to come over with a wave of his hand.

Is he calling me? With such a rude attitude?

But it was quite strange. There was an unknown dignity in Gunja's gesture that made Pi Houkam feel compelled to approach him.

Before he knew it, Pi Houkam was walking toward Gunja. Gunja watched him steadily as he approached.

When Pi Houkam finally stood in front of Gunja, Gunja spoke.

"You're slow."

"...?"

"As a slave, you should always be quicker than your master."

"...??"

"You should always keep that in mind."

"...???"

'Am I really being scolded for walking too slowly?'

Pi Houkam couldn't believe it. What was even more unbelievable was that his hands were clasped together in a polite manner.

The 'pretending to be nice' Gunja he had expected was nowhere to be found.

Instead, there was a high-ranking noble who seemed very accustomed to commanding others.

"By the way, my slipper has fallen."

"...W-why is that..."

"Oh, so not only are you slow of foot but also slow-witted."

"?"

"If the master's shoe falls, shouldn't you run to get a new one immediately?"

Pi Houkam was so stunned that he could barely speak. He racked his brain but could only come up with a poor excuse.

"W-where should I get a new shoe..."

"Are you really asking me that?"

"Well, I..."

"Why don't you take off your own shoes and give them to me?"

For a moment, Gunja's voice raised, causing Pi Houkam's shoulders to flinch. He almost actually took off his shoes, but then Gunja clicked his tongue and shook his head.

"Forget it... Just put them away."

"..."

"Instead, clean up the area where we ate."

With that, Gunja and his companions stood up. Pi Houkam and the Teibo members watched their retreating figures with dazed expressions, but there was no trace of playfulness on Gunja's face.

"Move quickly. If you keep dawdling, you'll get flogged."

The situation unfolded completely differently from what Pi Houkam had expected. It was, in fact, quite natural. Gunja had grown up in a family accustomed to commanding slaves.

—