The screen flickered, reshaping into a new grid.
Names. Numbers. Letters beside each one.
"Your current rank," PD Kwon said, voice measured, "determines whether you continue in this competition. Your popularity ranking determines something much more important—whether the public wants you in the final group."
He let that settle.
The list materialized.
#1 — SEO HAEJUN | S
No one looked surprised.
Haejun stood with his usual composed stillness, accepting the result like gravity.
#2 — LEE RIAN | A
Ren's face remained unreadable. But something flickered in his eyes—relief, maybe. Or vindication.
#3 — HAN JIWON | S
My heart slammed against my ribs.
Third.
I'd climbed to S-rank.
The collapse. The unmasking. The viral videos.
They'd worked.
But I wasn't processing my own name yet—I was searching the list.
#4 — KIM TAEYONG | A
#5 — LEE HYUNKI | S
Hyunki shifted beside me. Fifth wasn't first. But it was survivable.
#6 — IM SEJIN | A
#7 — PARK YUHYUN | B
