Chapter 154
Chapter 154
Translator: Penny
Chapter 154
"Ha, the gap just won't close."
Our album's first-week sales had managed to stay within a safe range, but One Chance's chart ranking remained stubbornly outside the top 10.
Last time, when our promotions overlapped with Come to My Universe, we had at least managed to trade places with Altair. This time, it was a complete defeat.
If the song hadn't been leaked, could my song have beaten Come to My Universe?
Seeing Come to My Universe firmly holding the top spot while One Chance languished at the bottom made me crave a cigarette, even though I'd quit.
The only consolation was that our album score had earned us a nomination for 1st Place alongside Altair.
Well, it was bound to happen.
Today's Search Quest was no different. As I scanned entertainment news headlines, I clicked my tongue.
TK Rookie Boy Group Survival Program 'Select My IDOL' Premieres
TK was one of the three major entertainment agencies where Ryu Jaehee had trained as a trainee. There, the agency held its own survival show to select members for a new rookie group from among its trainees.
Before the regression, two perpetrators who had effectively driven Ryu Jaehee out of TK would debut through that survival show.
The combination of TK and a survival show had garnered attention even before their debut. As soon as they debuted, they swept the charts, casually greeting Ryu Jaehee with feigned indifference while openly mocking him.
Reve, in its current state, shouldn't be the target of mockery from green rookies. But if their chart rankings continue to stagnate, who knows? Those clueless bastards might just manage to piss me off again.
The only difference now was that my Original Intent Score was too low to unleash a satisfying torrent of curses.
Considering the recoverable range of the Original Intent Score, setting the deduction at 14 points would allow me to hurl roughly seven curses.
Combined with some well-placed jabs, seven curses should be more than enough to crush their spirits.
Well, if Ryu Jaehee wants, I can give him a little boost before his debut.
Come to think of it, those Navy guys sure got lucky.
They snagged my song, and their debut date was just barely off from the TK Rookie Group's, avoiding any overlap that would have drowned out their buzz. They managed to debut unscathed.
Remembering the cheerful and polite members, I chuckled softly. As they began to emerge from their rooms into the living room one by one, I rose from the sofa as well.
It was Reve's first group variety show schedule in a long time: Introducing My Idol. The invitation to appear had finally arrived for Reve.
At the studio, we exchanged warm greetings with MC Cheong and Baek, whom we hadn't seen in ages.
After briefly introducing ourselves using the profile boards the production team had prepared in advance, we transitioned into the talk segment.
"During the On Top special, Eden claimed to be a strict and by-the-book leader. Today, we'll finally put that claim to the test. Reve members, is that true?"
"I agree he's a strict leader, but... I think we need to understand what a 'textbook leader' means before we can agree on whether he fits that description," Kim Dobin said, scratching his head.
MC Cheong pounced on this immediately, as if he'd caught a big fish. "Eden, you don't seem like a textbook leader at all! The agreement should have been immediate. It's clear the kids don't even know what a textbook leader is."
"Rather than a textbook leader, he's more like... a unique type of leader? The way he inspires trust has a different nuance..." Seo Yehyeon visibly struggled to explain without sparking controversy.
After smoothly navigating the conversation for a while, MC Baek brought up a recently viral video.
"The rapper line's coin karaoke video went viral again."
Ryu Jaehee had hastily filmed the video, "[What Songs Do the Rapper Line Sing at Karaoke?]" with Seo Yehyeon and me to calm public opinion. I have no idea what algorithm it triggered, but it racked up over 3 million views.
Seo Yehyeon and I each received two types of praise in the comments.
For Seo Yehyeon: "How can a human face look like that?" and "With a face like that, you'd expect a limited vocal range, but no! God is truly fair."
For me: "His rapping is seriously amazing!" and "After hearing him strain to hit those high notes, I finally understand why he stuck to rapping."
The vocal color battle we'd been having was exposed by those high notes, effectively nullifying any clear winner in our singing showdown. Of course, when it came to rapping alone, I had dominated completely.
"To be honest, calling us the 'rapper line' is a bit of a stretch. Yehyeon Hyung's parts are more vocal-heavy than rap."
"Then why are you considered the rapper line?"
"Well, we do rap... Sub-rapper and sub-vocal." Seo Yehyeon answered awkwardly.
"So, between Reve's two rappers, who's the better singer?"
"As someone who witnessed it firsthand, I'd say they're about equal," Ryu Jaehee replied.
At Ryu Jaehee's answer, Seo Yehyeon and I both jumped to our feet simultaneously.
"Kid, be honest, I'm way better!"
"No way! I'm clearly better! At least I didn't sound like a pterodactyl!"
"Yeah, but you hit those falsettos like a ghost wailing!"
Clap! MC Cheong clapped once to calm us down and then proposed, "Alright, let's settle this with a high-note battle between the rapper line right here!"
Seo Yehyeon and I both turned pale. It was one thing to share a self-recorded video among ourselves, but to have our singing skills publicly exposed on a major broadcast variety show?
Rappers just need to rap well, damn it!
"Stage 1, let's go!"
But as the junior members of the group, we had no choice but to comply. We reluctantly warmed up our voices.
Stage 1 went smoothly enough. This is manageable, I thought. But the real trouble began with Stage 2.
"Your voice is shaking! Yehyeon's pitch is wavering!"
"Mr. Eden, you were a bit shaky too, weren't you?"
The sudden jump in vocal range for Stage 2 caught us off guard. But pride wouldn't let me lose to Seo Yehyeon publicly. I somehow managed to get through it unscathed.
Then came the grand finale: Stage 3.
"Don't blame meee!"
"Don't blame me, cough!"
Seo Yehyeon and I, both straining our voices to the highest possible pitch, simultaneously bowed our heads and coughed.
At the MC's suggestion to determine the winner by a show of hands, we kept our heads bowed but glared at the Maknae Line. Choose wisely, kids.
And the result was...
"Wow, that's overwhelming! Eden wins 3-0!"
"Unbelievable! We need a secret ballot rematch!" Seo Yehyeon protested, demanding a secret vote, but the outcome was already set in stone. I gave the adorable Maknae Line a thumbs-up.
"Now, to cleanse our ears, we can't skip a high-note battle from the Vocal Line, can we?"
"Wait, cleanse our ears? As if we've polluted anything..."
My timid protest was ignored.
Unlike our lackluster performance, where the competition was barely even a contest, Gyeon Hajun and Ryu Jaehee's high-note battle truly deserved the title "duel."
While we had struggled to squeeze out every note, they effortlessly soared through four octaves. After marveling at their vocal prowess, I slyly cast my vote for Gyeon Hajun when the MC asked us to decide the winner.
I prioritized vocal tone above all else.
"Switch parts!"
"The rules are simple! You have to sing a part that isn't yours—that's the key! You must sing another member's part, but only one person can claim each part. Whoever calls it first gets it!"
"And if you don't sing any parts, there's a penalty. So you'll need to be quick on your feet!"
My top priority was Seo Yehyeon's part, followed by Kim Dobin's. Since Gyeon Hajun and Ryu Jaehee would undoubtedly swap parts, I only needed to focus on these two members' sections.
The problem was that Seo Yehyeon would definitely target Kim Dobin's part, and Kim Dobin would definitely target Seo Yehyeon's.
The conclusion was inevitable: a fierce battle of wits would ensue.
"Hey! My part! Why is no one doing my rap part?!"
As expected, my rap part became the most avoided. We kept missing our turns until Kim Dobin, on the verge of punishment, reluctantly performed it with tears in his eyes.
"Show just begin! Reverse in reverse!"
I fought tooth and nail against Seo Yehyeon, who was practically risking his life to snatch Kim Dobin's part. In the end, I was forced to sing Ryu Jaehee's part with tears in my eyes.
Gyeon Hajun, who had his part stolen by me, wore a desolate expression. I'm sorry, Jun-a. But I nearly shredded my throat paying for my karma, so please understand.
Still, we managed to sing at least one part each, avoiding the penalty.
"Wow, is it already this late? It's almost time to say goodbye to Reve."
"We can't miss this! The highlight of Idol Showcase! Let's wrap things up with a Random Play Dance! If we succeed, we'll win a Hanwoo beef set!"
Everyone turned to Seo Yehyeon with burning eyes, but he avoided their gaze, pretending to be preoccupied.
The first song, "Come to My Universe," started smoothly. Since the choreography was relatively easy, everyone completed the first verse without trouble. The next song was "One Chance."
We had practiced this dance so relentlessly that we could perform it with our eyes closed. Even though it had been a while since we were actively promoting the song, everyone—even Seo Yehyeon—executed the choreography flawlessly.
"Alright, let's speed it up! Double speed!"
The double-speed version of "Come to My Universe" blasted through the speakers. Since it was a song we were currently promoting, remembering the choreography wasn't an issue; we just needed to adjust our speed to match the doubled tempo.
Yes, that should have been enough... but I'd forgotten that our team had one member who was a notorious dance klutz.
No matter how much this dance klutz claimed to have improved, Seo Yehyeon could only manage the original choreography without struggling.
Faced with movements and formations twice as fast, Seo Yehyeon frantically tried to keep up, desperately shifting positions until he collided with me.
If we had collided while standing still, the difference in our physiques would have prevented me from falling. But the collision occurred just as I was taking a step to change positions, and my foot caught, throwing me off balance and sending me sprawling onto the studio floor.
Should I praise her for managing to keep up until the very end, only to mess up at the climax? At least she only missed the timing by one beat; her movements were otherwise correct.
Since I was already sprawled on the floor, I decided to roll over and lie flat on my back. Seo Yehyeon, who had been cautiously watching me, carefully lay down beside me.
Was this out of consideration, to save me from the embarrassment of being the only one sprawled on the floor? How touching. I could cry from gratitude.
Then the other members began flopping down onto the floor as well. Kim Dobin, who had landed on top of Ryu Jaehee, declared confidently,
"We changed our ending pose to this!"
"That's right! Eden Hyung didn't make a mistake!"
This is so unfair! I thought. It wasn't my mistake—Seo Yehyeon's mistake caused me to fall.
But since I could just keep my mouth shut and let them think it was the ending pose, I didn't bother correcting them.
"Wow, Reve is so heartwarming! Okay, I'll count it as a success! Reve Random Play Dance: Success!"
At the declaration of success, I sprang to my feet. After watching the Maknae Line hug each other and celebrate wildly, I turned to Seo Yehyeon beside me.
We exchanged grins and gave each other a crisp high-five. Even though he caused the mistake, I had to acknowledge his quick thinking this time!
We received the Hanwoo set and hugged the other members again, performing our celebratory routine one more time.
And so, we successfully completed the Random Play Dance and went home with a Hanwoo set to commemorate our victory.
📝 Translator’s Note:
You may notice that certain lines or phrases in this novel appear both in their original Korean (or Hanja) form and in English translation.
This is intentional — these phrases are classical idioms, divine titles, or poetic expressions that carry layered meanings.
To preserve their original tone and authenticity, the raw text has been kept for reference, while the English interpretation is provided right before or after it. This helps convey both the literal and cultural nuance of the original work.
but if you guys dont want tha raw for future chapters or my future other novels u can just text me on discord and say so discord name Mr.Penny