Chapter 55
Chapter 55
Translator: Penny
Chapter 55
We turned on the cameras installed in our dorm and gathered in the living room.
Since we needed to create some daily content, we figured we might as well make something out of this.
"Alright, let's begin the Reve lightstick design competition!" Ryu Jaehee announced, holding a spoon like a microphone and prompting applause.
We clapped halfheartedly before he shoved his phone screen—displaying the crowbar-shaped lightstick—into the camera.
"Just to clarify, in case anyone thinks LnL isn't doing their job, they're working hard. We just don't like the design."
No matter how I looked at it, the crowbar was just too much.
Ever since I suggested we design something, Kim Dobin had been wearing a skeptical expression. Suddenly, he raised his hand and asked, "I have a question! What if we don't have any ideas?"
"Then you won't get the 100,000 won prize."
"Where did the 100,000 won prize come from?"
"My bank account."
The moment they heard "100,000 won," everyone's eyes lit up with excitement.
"Whoa!" Kim Dobin exclaimed, clapping enthusiastically. "As expected of Reve's god-tier producer, King Eden!"
"God-tier or King? Pick one, Dobin. So, are you giving up?"
"Absolutely not! Let's show them the power of our art school!"
I chuckled as I watched him roll up his sleeves and grin confidently.
Alright, let's see how impressive your designs really are.
The time limit was 30 minutes, with free internet access allowed. However, plagiarism was strictly prohibited.
For the next 30 minutes, only the scratching of pens, the occasional hiss of inhaled breaths, and the occasional groan of concentration filled the dorm room.
I, too, searched the internet as I sketched the design I had pre-planned in my notebook.
The silence was long, but I trusted the production team would edit it out effectively.
When the 30-minute timer went off, I shouted "Time's up!" and put down my pen.
"Alright, let's start with Dobin Hyung's reveal!"
Kim Dobin confidently held up his paper as Reve's original background music, a dramatic reveal theme reminiscent of a gambling scene, played in the background.
The drawing was strikingly uninspired: a capital D perched atop a vertical line, the kind of generic design anyone could come up with.
"I tried to visualize the 'D' from our fan club name, Daydream," he explained.
Is that all you came up with, after all that show of rolling up your sleeves? I thought coldly.
"Creativity: 0, Artistic Merit: 0, Feasibility: 5, Total Score: 5."
"What? Don't you understand modern art? It's all about extreme simplicity and the multiple meanings packed into this single letter 'D'!"
"Besides 'Daydream,' what else does it mean?"
"The 'D' in 'Dream'!"
His confident declaration left me speechless, and I could only stare blankly at Kim Dobin.
The other members seemed to share my reaction. Overwhelmed by the four pairs of eyes fixed on him, Kim Dobin blurted out whatever came to mind.
"The 'D' in 'The D Clan'—"
"Alright, alright, that's enough," I cut him off abruptly. Next up was Seo Yehyeon.
I braced myself for another disaster like Kim Dobin's, but to my relief, Seo Yehyeon's design and artwork were flawless.
Inside the glass sphere, a black liquid swirled, speckled with starlike fragments.
At the sphere's center, an LED device shaped like an eight-pointed star glowed.
Tapping the words "Spinning, spinning," Seo Yehyeon began his explanation.
"I designed it to create a starlike glow when lit."
"A space concept? Ah, did you actively incorporate the CEO's preferences?"
"Of course not. It's not space, it's the night sky. Dreams are associated with night, after all..."
Seo Yehyeon hastily clarified, desperate to correct the terrible misunderstanding.
"It'll definitely look beautiful in person."
"Agreed. This is artistic merit level 5."
"Ah... ah... it's exactly the same as mine..."
"How similar is it?" Ryu Jaehee groaned, tearing at his hair.
"But is that even feasible?"
"It'd be tough to implement. The production costs would be insane."
"Creativity: 5, Artistic Merit: 5, Feasibility: 0, Total Score: 10."
Despite the 0 in feasibility, Seo Yehyeon nodded in satisfaction at the surprisingly high score.
Next, Ryu Jaehee held up his design sketch: a clean design featuring a star-shaped object encased in a glass sphere.
"Oh, that's clean and decent. The design overlaps a bit with Yehyeon Hyung's, though."
"Right? I designed it with feasibility in mind. Daydreaming means dreams, dreams mean night, and night means stars! If it's too similar, I can easily swap the star for a moon."
Nodding at his confident explanation, they gave their evaluation.
"Creativity: 3, Artistic Merit: 3, Feasibility: 4, Total Score: 10."
"Objection! Why is the feasibility only a 4?"
"Because Dobin got a 5. It's hard to surpass that level of simplicity."
"Was this a relative evaluation?"
Next up was Gyeon Hajun's turn.
The moment I saw his design, I felt a sense of déjà vu and unconsciously glanced back and forth between his and Kim Dobin's.
A cursive "R" was perched atop a vertical line.
"I've placed the first letter of our group, Reve, on top of the line."
"Creativity: 3, Artistic Merit: 1, Feasibility: 5, Total Score: 9."
Despite my attempt to give him the best possible score, Kim Dobin immediately protested.
"Isn't this a bit biased? I got a 5, so why does Hajun Hyung get a 9?"
"Dobin, are you questioning my fairness?"
"Why... why are you suddenly speaking so gently...? Did I do something wrong...?"
Damn camera.
"You focused on our group logo instead of the dream theme, earning you 3 points for creativity."
"What about artistic merit?"
"The alphabet is in cursive, so 1 point."
"If I switch to cursive too, will I get extra points for artistic merit?"
"Do you think you would?"
As I frowned and grumbled, Ryu Jaehee mouthed the word "concept" at me.
Giving up on teasing Kim Dobin, I revealed my design.
"Wow, a Dreamcatcher!"
"Oh, the design is so pretty."
Nodding in satisfaction at the enthusiastic reactions, I explained:
"This design is inspired by a Dreamcatcher. It's LED-lit, and I added three feathers for emphasis. It's fixed only at both ends, so you can spin it around."
As soon as I finished explaining, I gave myself a self-evaluation:
"Creativity 5, Artistic Merit 5, Feasibility 5, Total 15. Okay, the winner's decided."
Tap, tap, tap. I declared, striking the floor, and a chorus of jeers and objections erupted from all sides.
"Hyung! How can you grade your own work? Isn't that a conflict of interest?"
"Is that so? Then you guys do it."
The other four huddled around my design, whispering loud enough for me to hear.
"Creativity... I think this deserves a 5."
"Agreed. I was so focused on 'Daydream' that I completely forgot about 'Dreamcatcher'."
"Artistic merit? I think we can give it a 5 too."
"But if Yehyeon Hyung's design got a 5, giving this one a 5 would be a bit unfair..."
"Then let's make it a 4."
"Feasibility: 5? 4?"
"The implementation itself doesn't seem too difficult, just the design isn't exactly simple."
"Then let's go with 4 for that too."
Ryu Jaehee picked up the spoon he had set down and announced the scores.
"So, to summarize: Creativity 5, Artistry 4, Feasibility 4, for a total score of 13!"
"Wait, who won?"
"Dobin Hyung scored 5, Yehyeon Hyung scored 10, I scored 10, Hajun Hyung scored 9, and Eden Hyung scored 13. Therefore..."
Drumroll Ryu Jaehee tapped the floor to create his own sound effect before announcing the final results.
"Yoon Eden, you are the final winner!"
Amidst applause, Eden stood before the camera, holding his design and delivering his acceptance speech.
"Yes, I'm truly delighted that my design was chosen. We'll make sure to properly convey this design to our agency. As for the 100,000 won prize, I'll swiftly transfer it from my account to the winner's account."
It was fortunate that none of us had any creativity, artistic talent, or design skills.
At least I didn't have to waste my hard-earned 100,000 won.
As I finished my acceptance speech, Ryu Jaehee, who had been holding the camera, turned it off.
Now this footage would be combined with our video of holding up and introducing the light stick once it was released.
"Well, at least the agency's screw-up gave us some content," I said.
"Still, the crowbar was way too much, seriously," Dobin replied.
"If they'd changed it, it probably would've been a hammer," Kim Dobin joked.
I couldn't laugh at his joke. The light stick design before my regression had actually been a hammer.
Looking back, Reve really did try everything before my regression.
The day for filming the music video and unveiling the long-awaited gifts was fast approaching.
Christmas was still a ways off, but the broadcast had to air in time for the holiday, leaving them no choice.
With their departure for the WAMA Awards Ceremony in Hong Kong just two days away, time was tight.
They arrived at the set, which was meticulously decorated with charming props and a Christmas tree, radiating a festive atmosphere.
The music video's synopsis, which they had received in advance, was simple:
Baking Christmas cakes and preparing party dishes + Decorating the Christmas tree in animal pajamas + Pretending to sleep together, then secretly getting up one by one to place gifts by each other's pillows. That was it.
The entire filming process would be captured on camera for a reality show.
A few days ago, I had my roots dyed again, and I ran my fingers through my ash-gray hair.
It felt strange to have my bangs properly trimmed to a moderate length, no longer covering my eyes after so long.
As soon as we arrived, we desperately hid the Christmas gifts we had brought from each other, stashing them in boxes in a corner before gathering to hear the music video concept explanation.
"We'll start by filming the scenes of you preparing the Christmas party spread. You only need to make the salad and canapés. For the Christmas cake and roasted turkey, just pretend to cook them."
Seo Yehyeon, who was amazing at making diet-friendly dishes, took charge of the salad, while Gyeon Hajun handled the canapés.
Kim Dobin was in charge of the turkey roast, which was as simple as putting the raw turkey in the oven and taking the cooked one out.
Ryu Jaehee and I were tasked with the Christmas cake, which involved whipping cream, spreading it on the cake layers, and decorating the whole thing.
"So... all I have to do is put this in the oven and take it out? And just pretend to turn the oven on?" Kim Dobin asked, pointing alternately at the raw turkey and the already cooked one.
Ryu Jaehee and I were already discussing how many strawberries to layer on each tier of the cake, looking at the pre-cut cake layers and the bowls of strawberries.
I grinned at the camera pointed my way, holding up the whisk and the bowl of whipped cream.
"Today, I'm King Baker Kim T— 아니, Yoon Eden."
"Not Dreamy Patissier?"
"Anime or manga?"
"Both..."
Just whip the cream lightly and spread it on the cake layers, I thought, whisking the cream. This should be easy enough.
But as soon as I tried to spread the cream, it ran off the cake like water, leaving me flustered.
"Hyung, you must have over-whipped it. You're supposed to stop when soft peaks form, not keep going until stiff peaks appear."
"Jaehee, why are you chopping the strawberries? Making jam?"
"Huh? I thought we were supposed to chop them?"
"Have you never had a strawberry cake before?"
Ha ha, easy? What a joke. Right. If it were easy, it wouldn't be Reve.
📝 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