76 - Mulan's Debut and Polo Arrogance
Suhyeon headed down to the second basement floor to meet Mulan, running into the usual crowd of trainees in the hallway as always. As he exchanged greetings with them along the corridor, he could vividly feel just how much his status had risen lately. The trainees who once looked at him with eyes full of envy now gazed at him with burning ambition and greed. Those who had merely bowed their heads lightly now bent at the waist in deep, folder-like bows, shouting out in loud voices as if begging him to notice them.
"Hello, sunbae-nim. I'm Jo Se-hong."
"Trainee Im Mi-jeong, at your service."
"Sunbae-nim, I'm Park Jeong-seok—confident in dance and vocals."
"Dance, acting, singing—I can do it all. Song Seon-mi here."
"Rapper Kim Jong-han. Please remember me."
No one among these trainees was unaware that Mulan's debut album was already complete and their stage was just two days away. And everyone knew it had all been decided under Suhyeon's lead. Watching trainees not much younger than him blaze with desperate longing to make it as idols and their hunger for social ascension, Suhyeon reaffirmed his resolve inwardly once more.
'Phew. Come to think of it, I've been pretty lucky. From now on, I need to tackle everything even more aggressively. Playing it safe after I'm old will be plenty—I should just focus on reaching the top right now.'
Suhyeon quietly opened the door to Practice Room 3, where Mulan was rehearsing. Amid the shouts and scoldings from dance trainer Park Song-hee and vocal trainer Lee Jin-hee, the Mulan members were sweating buckets to the beat of Rapunzel.
"Feet! Hey! Are your feet even in sync? Feet have to match first before hands will!"
"Your debut stage video will follow you for life—want to keep messing up like this?"
"Don't want to debut? Just say the word. I'll swap you out right now."
"Fingertips! Expressions! You gonna grimace through your dance? And you call yourselves idols?"
To avoid disrupting their practice, Suhyeon stood quietly by the entrance and observed.
'Way more polished than I expected. As expected, the trainers are pros at this. I can't be good at everything...'
As the Rapunzel track ended, the exhausted Mulan members collapsed onto the floor, panting heavily. The trainers spotted Suhyeon, acknowledged him, and approached.
"Suhyeon-ssi, come on in. If you need to talk to the girls, I'll give them a break now..."
Suhyeon cut off dance trainer Park Song-hee, who was speaking softly with a smile.
"No, teacher. I'd like to see it from the start once. Since I came in midway..."
"Alright?"
In that instant, Park Song-hee's face twisted into a demon's glare as she whipped her head toward Mulan.
"Hey! Everyone up! You slacking off...? Your debut album producer's here—want him seeing you like this? Full power from the top. Hurry up!"
The Rapunzel track blared again, and Mulan resumed dancing. Suhyeon focused on the overall stage flow and the members' breathing synergy.
'They've all worked hard. Now I get why the trainers don't call out individuals during practice—they've all reached a solid baseline. In that case...'
As the music ended and Mulan collapsed again, Park Song-hee glanced at Suhyeon. He met her eyes, raised his right index finger, and circled it once. She nodded faintly.
"Gonna keep sprawling? Want me to lay out blankets? Weights this morning showed you all gorged last night—where's that stamina? Up, now. Gonna waddle like pigs on TV? Lose the fat. Get up while I'm asking nice."
The music flowed again, and the dance restarted. This time, Suhyeon zeroed in on each member's individual moves. When it ended, he nodded to trainer Park Song-hee.
"Everyone, 10-minute break. Gotta slim down, so don't chug water..."
While Mulan rested, Suhyeon held a quick meeting with the trainers, sharing the key points he'd noted. Then he approached the sprawled-out members. Up close, the girls' sweat from early-morning practice hit his nose, but he kept a straight face and smiled.
"Great job, everyone. Seeing it live today, the teachers have put so much into you—it's shaping up to be an awesome debut."
At his words, Erika raised her hand among the members.
"Oppa, can't you come to our debut stage in two days?"
"Me? Why? You've already left my hands. In two days, you'll be proper idols—why would I babysit? From then on, you're not trainees anymore; you're entertainers like me, adults earning your keep through effort. Handle it yourselves... Plus, I'll be training in Jeju that day. I've got my own nose to grind..."
He brushed off the members' groaning protests and continued with what he wanted to say.
Leaving the practice room shortly after, Suhyeon headed up to Recording Studio 1, where Robin was working on arrangements.
"How's the thing I asked for coming along?"
Robin, sounding weary from days of overwork, replied to Suhyeon.
"Arrangements are mostly done. Just fine-tuning now."
"Good work. Let's hear it."
After listening, Suhyeon said,
"Not bad at all. Wrap it up nicely, then... It'll be ready by our new song recording in four days, right?"
"Phew. If I stick with it nonstop, yeah."
"OK. Then we'll all listen together when the members gather. Keep it up."
After encouraging Robin, Suhyeon left the building for drama filming, heading to the parking lot. Amid his packed schedule, two days flew by, and Sunday arrived. To earn his scuba open water certification with ocean practical training, Suhyeon flew to Jeju early morning with his manager.
Arriving at Seongsanpo in Jeju, Suhyeon received intensive instruction from the instructor from 9 a.m. to 11:30, then surfaced for lunch. He entered a nearby restaurant with the other trainees and ordered sashimi platters and Jeju's local obumjagi hotpot. Pulling out his phone,
'Should be starting about now...'
As he fiddled to watch Mulan's debut on SBC Music Core, a woman training alongside him asked cautiously,
"Suhyeon-ssi, what're you watching?"
"Oh, yeah. A rookie girl group debuting from our agency today on SBC Music Core. Starts at 12:10, so I'm catching the live..."
"Oh! Forget the phone—let's watch on TV together. Ajumma! Ajumma! Switch the TV to SBC, please."
Moments later, the restaurant TV flicked on, tuned to SBC. The woman spoke again.
"Suhyeon-ssi, hasn't started yet. Commercials... No need for your phone now, right?"
"Yeah..."
"Then, photo together? For my SNS... Gotta head to Seoul tomorrow for work."
"Sure, anytime."
At his words, everyone who'd been waiting whipped out their phones and swarmed him for pics and autographs. After the chaos, Suhyeon finally watched the TV. Tense as he ate lunch, his face relaxed into satisfaction once Mulan's debut ended.
'Nailed it. Fixed everything I pointed out in just two days. No mistakes from any member, Erika's aerial jump looked perfect in form and face... Faces a bit tense, but first stage jitters. Wonder how people react...'
Mid-meal, tempted to check reactions on his phone, Suhyeon thought better and pocketed it, focusing on food.
'They're out of my hands now. Agency'll handle it. Oh, this obumjagi hotpot's killer...'
After lunch and rest, he did afternoon training from 1:30 to 3:30. As they surfaced, the instructor approached Suhyeon.
"Suhyeon-ssi, good work training."
"You worked harder, instructor. Diving deep felt so cozy, like Mom's embrace... Now I get why people scuba."
"Right? Suhyeon-ssi, you're supposed to continue ocean practical tomorrow afternoon, but..."
"Yeah."
"You're catching on so well and staying calm underwater—wanna join a soft coral tour?"
"What's that?"
"Boat out to coral reefs off Jeju—soft corals. Fall's the best time. Usually for advanced, but you could handle it."
"I'm in. Won't cause trouble—just take me."
"Great. Wrap practical tomorrow morning, coral tour afternoon. One dive there, and you'll be hooked on scuba."
"Looking forward."
"See you at dinner, then. Rest up."
"You too, instructor."
Back at the lodging with his manager, Suhyeon showered.
"Suhyeon-ah."
"Yeah, hyung."
"Call came while you showered."
"From where?"
"BJ Kim Seong-hui."
"Why'd she call? What'd she say?"
"Wants to meet now-ish."
"Didn't say I'm in Jeju, can't?"
"She's in Jeju too."
"Really? How'd she know I'm here..."
"Saw on SNS."
"What'd she want?"
"Talk script revisions, simple dinner."
"What'd you say?"
"......"
"Phew. I get it. She's the boss for now—gotta go if called. Head out now?"
Soon, Suhyeon rode in the manager's rental car.
"Where'd she say?"
"Sent address. Don't know Jeju well—nav's guiding. Gujwa-eup, Jeju-si... I'll find it, you sleep."
After thirty minutes, they arrived. Kim Seong-hui had arranged it—quick entry check, parked. Vast lawn like three soccer fields stretched out, horses carrying riders darting around.
"Hyung, what's this place? Like polo...?"
The manager replied,
"Not sure, but sign said polo field. Game on now."
"Polo... First time seeing it."
Then, one rider galloped toward them—Kim Seong-hui, who'd summoned them. Pink helmet, pink shirt with number on back, white pants, knee pads, Wellington boots to calves. Mallet in hand, she smiled from horseback.
"Faster than I thought. Easy to find?"
"Yeah, quick drive. Playing polo now?"
"Yes. Friendly match at today's gathering. Only polo field in Korea's here in Jeju—came down morning."
"I see."
Another rider approached, eyeing Suhyeon irritably, thrusting his mallet forward with a snide tone.
"Who're you punks? How'd you get in? Told staff no outsiders—rented for our group today. How'd you sneak... This ain't for just anyone..."
Suhyeon stood stunned at the mounted man's arrogance and rudeness, thinking inwardly,
'What mutt is this? World's wide, full of punks...'