Idol Revive: If I Don't Debut, I'll Disappear
Chapter 80: Bidding War (1)

Chapter 80: Bidding War (1)

"Don’t think like that, Yuzuka-chii!" Sophie said. "If you say it like that, it might happen! Come! Knock on the table three times!"

Despite her puzzlement, Yuzuka did as Sophie said and knocked on the table.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

Rayen’s lips twitched.

’Is Madame Sophie the same as Adrian?’

After the meeting that didn’t seem like a meeting at all had ended, it was finally the start of the war. In a swift transition, Miles brimmed in unusual enthusiasm as he stared at the monitor in front of him.

Well, it wasn’t only him.

Although Rayen’s sponsors appeared calm outwardly, their eyes betrayed them. There was a fire hidden beneath it.

"Sponsors and participants, are you ready for the second round?" The voice that spoke was no longer from the stoic Director, but Yeon Miwol.

She was projected on the screen, wearing a gorgeous one-piece dress that accentuated her figure.

"Yeah! Let’s get on with this!" Miles yelled.

Rayen felt a bad omen coming. He recalled the last time Miles had been this enthusiastic. He was unstoppable.

Well... as long as they had Yuzuka, they could probably calm him down.

Rayen looked at the middle school girl sitting in one of the seats. As she noticed him glance, Yuzuka flashed a shy, gentle smile. Lifting both her hands, she clenched her fists, making a "fighting" gesture.

Nodding, Rayen turned his gaze back to the screen.

"The bidding for the unit slots will now commence," Yeon Miwol announced.

On the screen, 34 slots were displayed: 12 for the performance and vocal units, and only 10 for the visual unit.

"Place your bids now! The starting price for each slot is 200,000!"

’200,000 what?’

Rayen blinked in confusion. Because this was a segment where the sponsors were the main protagonists, the specifics hadn’t been explained to the participants.

"During the bidding, the sponsors will bid using memorial coins."

Rayen’s lips twitched at Yeon Miwol’s words.

’They’re blatantly using memorial coins in the public broadcast?’

"Memorial Coins is a currency exchangeable for different resources in the show," Yeon Miwol further explained, not to the participants but for the public viewers. "The Memorial Coins that would be pooled through the bidding will be the teams’ overall budget!"

Immediately, the atmosphere in Rayen’s room grew heated as the five sponsors tapped at the black monitor. Rayen also felt excited because of Yeon Miwol’s explanation.

To the public, memorial coins might just be a made-up currency, but to the participants, it’s a treasure trove!

With 12 slots in the Vocal Unit, it was quite a large unit in Rayen’s opinion. The sponsors also thought the same. To have twelve members share one song meant fewer lines for each member.

But that wasn’t their immediate concern. They had to win a slot first before worrying about that.

"Let’s just add a thousand first so it doesn’t inflate, okay?" Sophie asked.

After the meeting, to prevent chaos, the group of sponsors decided Sophie would be the one to bid. They’d just send their share of the bid to her.

After tapping at the black monitor, the other sponsors nodded in agreement. Receiving their shares, Sophie bidded for a slot using her own monitor with a satisfied smile on her face. Just then, Rayen’s name appeared in one of the empty vocal unit slots.

[Im Rayen: 201,000 Memorial Coins]

’Heck! It’s really more than 200,000 MC... That’s a sum I’ve never even seen before.’

Just as Rayen ogled the large number, his name suddenly faded from the slot, replaced by another name.

[Ren: 202,000 Memorial Coins]

"What?" Miles exclaimed. "What’s this Ren doing?! There were other empty slots!"

There were still three empty slots in the vocal unit, but this Ren chose to take Rayen’s slot instead of one of the others.

"Don’t mind it. Just put his name on the other slots," Harjun said.

With that, Miles annoyingly tapped the monitor to send another share to Sophie. Rayen’s name reappeared in one of the empty slots when Sophie bidded for it again.

But not long after, his name suddenly disappeared again, replaced by the same name. Rayen looked at the slot his sponsors had first tried to bid for, and Ren’s name was no longer there either, replaced by Kayla.

"What’s the deal with this person?" Miles clicked his tongue in annoyance.

"No worry, no worry. I’ll just bid on the other empty slots."

But there were no longer any empty slots. All twelve were taken, all priced at 205,000 memorial coins.

"Raise it another five thousand. We must be strategic," Harjun suggested.

Rayen’s name reappeared on the screen. Since they couldn’t bid on multiple slots at once, it was a suspenseful bidding war. Many times, Rayen’s name kept being switched out by Ren, making Miles’s nose flare in anger.

Rayen also had a frown on his face now.

’What did I do to this Ren?’

Although Rayen didn’t know if it was the exact participant behind this scheme or his sponsors, it was still a blatant provocation.

For the last time, when Rayen’s name was replaced by Ren once again, Miles’s head was practically smoking with anger. Sophie also looked annoyed, though she didn’t show it. Yuzuka gently tapped Miles on the shoulder to calm him down.

Seconds after Sophie re-entered Rayen’s name, it was replaced again. Although it wasn’t Ren this time, so Miles was less annoyed.

"Just wait until the last moment," Grandma Sponsor said, leaning back in her seat.

Currently, there were still seven minutes left. The battle for the vocal unit slots was fierce. The names on the slots changed repeatedly every second.

If the sponsors kept at it, they’d only waste their time in a silent war with the other sponsors. Besides, raising the stakes repeatedly would only hurt them.

If they could secure a slot for a lower price, that would be ideal. Even though it would be used by the participants, their memorial coins weren’t endless.

Meanwhile, the situation in the performance unit was more stable. It was full, but the names didn’t change much. However, the visual unit had plenty of slots.

’How do they even expect us to perform in the visual unit?’

With nothing else to do, Rayen watched the other units with interest.