Chapter 37: Setting Dorm Rules
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 37: Setting Dorm Rules
“And with that, I hereby open the first-ever group meeting!”
“Woo!”
Everyone clapped enthusiastically at Seong-bin’s opening remark.
True to their Korean roots, all six of them had ignored the sofa and were sitting on the floor. It felt familiar and cozy.
“Today’s agenda is ‘Setting Dorm Rules.’ Honestly, we haven’t had any issues so far, but I thought it would be good to have a chat so we can get along even better in the future.”
His hosting was clean and professional.
As it turned out, after hearing about the content idea, Seong-bin had apparently written a script and practiced it.
It seemed his experience giving presentations as a class president and student council president was paying off. This was exactly why you hired people with experience.
Anyway… should I say something first?
It’s always easier for others to speak once someone breaks the ice.
I hadn’t really felt any discomfort living with these guys, but I had thought of a few things beforehand with the video’s runtime in mind—small, wholesome things, like making sure to drink a glass of water every morning.
I was busy racking my brain to make sure my ideas didn't overlap with whatever they had prepared when Seong-bin spoke up first.
“I’d like it if everyone in the dorm helped out whenever a member is doing chores. Unless there’s an unavoidable reason, like during exam periods?”
It was a great suggestion that made the group look harmonious.
Then, Choi Je-ho tilted his head.
“Don’t we all already do a good job with the cleaning?”
“The other day, I saw I-wol hyung folding towels all by himself. Hyung even makes us breakfast, so I don’t think it’s right for him to be doing all the things the rest of us aren't paying attention to.”
Wait.
Was this meeting called because of me?
I recalled Seong-bin coming over at the last minute that day to help me fold the towels.
And as for "making breakfast," all I did was toast some bread.
I, the sudden protagonist of the agenda, felt perfectly fine, but Seong-bin looked incredibly serious.
Even the other guys seemed to be taking the situation heavily. I had no idea why.
Still, it wasn't good for the conversation to take on a tone that sounded like they were blaming each other.
I wanted to show them being youthful and boisterous, not hold a personnel hearing.
If I don't save the mood here, this whole part will have to be edited out.
I squeezed myself into the heavy atmosphere, which felt like someone was about to go into a formal period of self-reflection.
“Who’s going to take notes on what Seong-bin just said? Looking for a daily scribe.”
“…I’ll do it.”
With that, Park Ju-woo grabbed a whiteboard marker. It was great to see him trying to contribute.
“Can I speak now?”
As if he had been waiting for the chance, Lee Cheong-hyeon raised his hand and shouted.
“Yeah, go ahead.”
“I want us to talk to each other more!”
“Talk?”
“You get closer by talking! Honestly, don't you think the ratio of us saying ‘Good morning’ or ‘Let’s practice’ is way too high?!”
Cheong-hyeon had a point.
If I had to rank the talkativeness in this dorm, Cheong-hyeon would be first, I’d be second, Seong-bin third, and the rest would be tied for fourth.
“I’m saying we should promote friendship through conversation. Of course, things are great right now, but we maknaes want the dorm to be twice as bright as it is now!”
“Why are you dragging me into this?”
“Do you like a bright, harmonious dorm, or a bleak, harsh one? Huh? Speak up.”
As Cheong-hyeon pounced on Kang Gi-yeon, they started bickering, creating a good picture for the camera. As expected of someone who knew how broadcasting worked.
Riding the momentum, I voiced my agreement.
“I agree that it would be good to talk more.”
Seong-bin added to that.
“Should we set specific topics?”
“Let’s just start with ‘Talk a lot’ for now! If it’s not effective, we can improve it then!”
“…Okay. I’ll write that down.”
Once Park Ju-woo finished recording it in the minutes, the ‘Let’s talk more’ agenda was successfully settled.
After that, Kang Gi-yeon and Choi Je-ho took turns sharing their opinions.
Kang Gi-yeon’s was ‘Line up shoes neatly in the entryway,’ and Choi Je-ho’s was ‘Always leave the mood lamp in the living room on at night.’
Gi-yeon’s reason was that he felt bad about accidentally stepping on other people’s shoes when he came home late at night.
As for Je-ho’s reason…
“When I come out to get a drink of water at night, I can’t see anything, so I keep bumping into the dining table.”
“Oh, right. You have bad eyesight. Can you really not see much when it’s dark?”
“Yeah. That’s why I brought that lamp specifically, but someone keeps turning it off.”
“That was yours, Hyung?!”
Judging by how guilty he looked, the culprit was clearly Lee Cheong-hyeon.
Anyway, everyone agreed that even if the main living room lights were off, the mushroom-shaped mood lamp should stay on.
Seong-bin: Do chores together
Cheong-hyeon: Talk a lot
Gi-yeon: Line up shoes neatly
Je-ho Hyung: Don’t turn off the mood lamp at night
After writing those down, Park Ju-woo looked at me and asked.
“What about you, Hyung?”
“Me?”
When my turn came, I was going to bring up the ‘Drink water in the morning’ idea I’d thought of last night.
But the atmosphere was a bit strange.
Why… did they all look like they were expecting something grand?
‘Assistant Manager Kim, I’m asking you this just this once.’
‘Team Leader… how can I set the team KPI however I want? I’m just an assistant manager.’
‘What does it matter who sets it? We just need to keep up appearances, that’s all.’
‘If the Department Head finds out, it’ll be a disaster, Team Leader.’
‘It’s fine. The Department Head even said to leave it to Assistant Manager Kim.’
‘Pardon?’
‘So please, do me this favor. Okay? You know I don’t usually ask for things like this.’
That was a lie. My team leader’s "favors" had happened about a million and twenty-one times during my time at Hanpyeong Industry.
It seemed others were always convinced that I would come up with something amazing.
Including the five members currently staring at me.
I had a feeling that if I mentioned something like drinking water here, I’d get cold stares for being unable to read the room.
Then what should I do?
Write a letter of apology every time someone speaks without thinking? Hold a dispute resolution committee whenever a fight breaks out?
I was confused. The first and last time I’d experienced group living, including room and board, was the military.
After agonizing over it for a brief moment, I blurted out the last thing that came to mind.
“Let’s… not ruin the practice atmosphere.”
“Oh… if anyone tries to skip practice or something, their life is basically over.”
I don’t know. It’s a good thing if everyone practices hard, right?
Having narrowly survived my turn, only Park Ju-woo was left.
“What about you, Ju-woo?”
“Everything else is fine, but… I’d like it if we did the dishes on time. …Preferably as soon as they’re made.”
It was a very meticulous opinion.
Since not many people ate in the dorm, it hadn't been much of an issue so far, but…
“That’s true. Once summer comes, we’ll start getting fruit flies.”
At my words, all five of them turned pale simultaneously.
Fortunately, it seemed no one had a hobby of raising bugs.
And so, the first six commandments of our dorm were established.
Along with a small amount of Experience Points. It was a historic moment.
After filming the raw footage—which felt more like a vlog than self-produced content—I was called by the Planning Team a few days later.
“The Production Headquarters?”
“Yeah. The Representative said you’ll be coming here often from now on, so he told us to show you the ropes.”
The Planning Team staff member said they had been asked to introduce me to the Production Headquarters.
Apparently, some kind of discussion had happened behind my back without me knowing.
Well, it didn't hurt to know the organizational structure. Especially if I had to collaborate with various teams while producing.
I was having trouble because there was no organizational chart on the company website, so this is perfect.
Happy for the opportunity, I did a round of introductions with the teams under the Production Headquarters.
In the process, I heard various small stories, even if they weren't particularly exciting.
‘Are you that kid? The one who carried boxes at Jang Jun-hu’s MV shoot?’
‘I believe that was me.’
‘The PD must have been really impressed. He kept talking about how you worked so hard in the heat. Maybe it’s because he’s a veteran, but he really looks at things like attitude.’
‘Je-ho helped too. And we really didn't do much…!’
Things like that.
Besides that, I heard things like, “I heard you said you wanted to film self-produced content?” and “I was actually planning to look at the proposal you submitted soon!”
The meaning behind these words could be summarized in two sentences.
So it’s you?
The guy who gave me more work.
It was heartbreaking. I, who had hated Department Head Nam dumping work on me so much, was now the one creating work for others.
I smiled as innocently as possible while bowing my head so low it almost touched the floor.
As we were finishing the tour of the Production Headquarters, the staff member spoke.
“Your parents must have raised you very well, I-wol.”
“Do you think so?”
“Yeah. I’ve never seen kids your age be this polite.”
Could I take that as a compliment on my upbringing?
Of course, that expression was technically incorrect.
I had never received anything resembling a proper upbringing at home.
My parents were the type who would rather kick me out of the house than discipline me if I got caught doing something wrong.
The only saving grace was that I grew up being smacked on the back by my older sister, which kept me from ever straying off the path.
However, I vividly remembered the struggle of having to pick up manners at school by watching others because I hadn't learned them in early childhood.
Learning how to speak properly while working in the HR team had also helped.
Looking at it one by one, my parents had absolutely nothing to do with the formation of my character, for better or for worse.
Still, I had no choice but to reply, “Thank you.” Because I knew how cruel society could be to someone with no family to lean on.
When I returned from the tour of the Production Headquarters, all the members were gathered in the middle of the practice room.
Since it was a rare sight, I had to ask.
“What are you doing instead of practicing?”
Had they already broken the rule about not ruining the practice atmosphere?
Just as I was seriously considering dragging them into the vocal practice room one by one for a talk, Lee Cheong-hyeon looked up and waved.
“Hyung! Perfect timing. Let’s watch the Parte sunbaenims’ teaser together!”
“Teaser?”
“Yes, yes. It just dropped!”
As Cheong-hyeon pulled me over, Park Ju-woo and Kang Gi-yeon moved aside to make space for me.
On the spare phone Seong-bin was holding, the teaser for Parte, which had apparently been uploaded an hour ago, was paused on the screen.
“You said it just dropped. It says it was uploaded an hour ago?”
“We just checked it during our break from practice…”
That was a relief. I wouldn't have to do any 1:1 interviews in the vocal practice room.
“Okay, I’m playing it.”
As Seong-bin played the video, a grand and eerie sound filled the practice room.