Falling for the Omega Idol-Chapter 226: THE SIXTH EPISODE

"WHAT do you think?" Suho asked after he finished. His smile was bright, clearly proud of what he’d just shown.

Haneul thought the choreography they made fit the song’s mood pretty well. He was about to nod and say something, but before he could open his mouth, Jeon Hyunsik spoke up first.

"Um, don’t you think it might be a bit too complicated for Haneul?" Jeon Hyunsik said, his face full of concern. "I’m not saying the choreo isn’t good. It’s great, actually. But we need to think about whether all of us can actually keep up with it."

Suho’s bright expression faltered. His face shifted to guilt first, then settled into clear disappointment. "Ah, yeah, you’re right. Sorry, I..." He trailed off, not sure what else to say.

"No, no, it’s fine," Haneul said quickly. "I’ll work hard to keep up. Let’s keep the choreo." He turned to Jeon Hyunsik and forced himself to smile. "Thanks for worrying about me, but I don’t want special treatment."

Deep inside, he was cursing the guy out. Why did Jeon Hyunsik have to use him as an excuse to reject the choreo? It wasn’t like he actually cared. Or maybe he thought his fake concern would make Haneul grateful and warm up to him on his own? Ha. He could keep dreaming.

"Are you sure?" Jeon Hyunsik asked, his eyes full of concern as he looked at Haneul.

Haneul nodded as he took a small, careful step back. The way Jeon Hyunsik was looking at him made it seem like he was about to reach out and grab his hand. Haneul kept just enough distance so that wouldn’t happen.

Eunwoo clapped once to get everyone’s attention. "Alright. Let’s move forward with this choreo. If Haneul has a hard time with any of the moves, we’ll adjust things as we go. Does that work for everyone?"

"Yes," Haneul answered quickly, before Jeon Hyunsik could act like he had any say in what Haneul could or couldn’t do.

Suho’s face lit up again, and he nodded eagerly. Jeon Hyunsik shot Haneul an interested look before giving a slow nod of his own.

The rest of the day went on like that. Practice, minor adjustments, more practice. And then, by evening, the sixth episode of Boys Odyssey aired.

*****

The episode opened with a wide shot of the performance hall. The lights were dim, casting long shadows across the empty stage. Somber, dramatic music played in the background. A voiceover from the narrator spoke in a serious tone, reminding viewers of the stakes. The camera slowly panned across the empty chairs before fading to black.

Then the screen brightened, and the teams from the vocal mission appeared on stage one by one, each introducing themselves in their own style.

One team came out with bright smiles and did a coordinated finger heart, their greeting cute and polished. Another group went for a more playful approach, messing around with each other. A different team kept it simple but cool, each member striking a quick pose before bowing politely. Some were a little awkward, stumbling over their words. One team tried to do a synchronized dance move but messed up halfway, laughing it off. Each introduction was different, but all of them showed a bit of who they were.

One of the most eye catching introductions was from Jung Taeyang’s team. The five of them moved into position and formed a heart shape together. It was cute and a little funny, especially because Taeyang kept his usual serious expression the whole time he was doing it.

Once all fifty-nine contestants were in place, Lily walked onto the stage and the elimination round officially began.

She started by announcing the contestants ranked fortieth down to thirty-first. One by one, they walked forward and stood on the numbers painted on the floor that matched their rank. After all ten had taken their spots, the program cut to some behind-the-scenes footage from the vocal mission. Among the clips shown was Kang Haneul teaching Lee Haru vocal techniques.

This pattern continued for the next sets of rankings. Lily called the names from thirtieth down to twenty-first, and those contestants took their places on the numbered spots. Another batch of behind-the-scenes clips played. There were shots of different teams working together, some laughing, some looking stressed, and clips of mentors giving advice.

Then came the announcement for ranks twenty down to eleven. More contestants walked to their numbers, their faces a mix of relief and nerves. The program showed another round of behind-the-scenes footage. This time it focused on the relationships forming between contestants, quick shots of them eating together in the dining hall, walking around the ship, and comforting each other after tough practices.

Then the screen went back to Lily.

When it came time for the top ten, the contestants ranked tenth down to sixth were called up first. Unlike the earlier ranks where only some of them were shown speaking, this time all five of them got their own moment on camera to say their thank yous.

After that, there was a long commercial break. When the show came back, Lily announced the ranks from fifth to third. First, Park Mirae was called, then Jeon Hyunsik, followed by Li Wei. All three of them gave their thank you speeches.

And then, it was finally time for the top two contestants to be announced.

The two large screens on the stage lit up, showing Han Seojun and Jung Taeyang’s faces side by side. They were the top two. Lily invited them both to come up. They walked onto the stage and stood waiting as the tension built. After a long pause, Lily finally announced the first ranked contestant. Han Seojun. That put Jung Taeyang in second place.

With all forty contestants now announced, Lily began her final speech for the episode. As she spoke, the cameras moved through the crowd. They lingered on the relieved, smiling faces of those who had made it through. Then they showed the others, the ones who would be leaving. Some had tears running down their cheeks. Some just stared ahead with empty expressions. A few tried to smile anyway, congratulating the people next to them even as their own dreams ended.

And with that, the episode ended.