Chapter 42: Internal Networking (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 42: Internal Networking (1)
Kang Gi-yeon’s presentation was a real piece of work.
Gi-yeon went through a list of specific reasons, explaining exactly why I was a total maniac and just how weird of a guy I was.
“The fact that his lunch menu consisted of nothing but chewy cold noodles for an entire month offers a glimpse into Hyung’s uncompromising personality.”
I think you’re just trying to screw with me.
As the person in question, I was beyond flabbergasted, but the others were nodding as if they deeply related. What kind of ridiculous situation was this?
“I have another question. Did I perhaps do something wrong to you, Kang Gi-yeon?”
“I believe the most baffling part is how he remains unaware of his own eccentricity.”
“I agree!”
The sight of the five of them banding together against me reminded me of the old Spark.
You guys should bond when I’m not looking. Just thinking about Spark makes my blood pressure rise.
While I fought this lonely battle, the five members heated up the room with an intensity that felt more like a public hearing.
“You keep objecting, but if you continue to provide counterarguments without evidence, we will have to call a witness.”
“And who exactly is this witness?”
When I asked, Lee Cheong-hyeon covered his face with Jeong Seong-bin’s cue card and attempted a pathetic voice modulation.
“Everything stated so far is the truth… Kim I-wol has atrociously wiped out the local population of chewy cold noodles in our neighborhood…”
“That’s all well and good, but don’t cover your face. Make sure your face is fully in the frame.”
Fans are going to watch this video to see your faces; what’s the point if you hide them?
Unfortunately, my instructions for the sake of future fans didn't quite land.
“Did you hear what he just said? I’m telling you, that hyung is a total ice man!”
“Why are you disparaging my sincere desire to give your face even three more seconds of screen time?”
“The fact that you don’t understand why is proof of how extraordinary you are, Hyung.”
With that, the introduction of my profile—which I, the subject, didn't understand in the slightest—came to an end.
Even Park Ju-woo was avoiding my gaze, staring off into space while desperately trying to suppress a grin. I felt betrayed by the world.
“Next is… pfft… I-wol hyung’s turn.”
Jeong Seong-bin, whose face was flushed from holding back laughter, struggled to continue as the MC.
The person I had to introduce was Choi Je-ho.
The only trainee in the team of the same age, my roommate in the dorm…
And the guy who had given me the hardest time in Spark before I returned to the past.
To be honest, I could write Choi Je-ho’s profile without even looking.
How many years had I spent monitoring his every move under Department Head Nam’s orders?
The only thing I probably didn't know about him was his exact hair count.
But if I said that, I’d just be called a maniac again.
Since I planned to leave the team after only one round of promotions, it was better to stay under the radar.
To make my work look as ordinary as possible while still being detailed, this is definitely the best way.
And so, I prepared this.
“Alright, everyone take a copy.”
“Huh?”
This… was the Kim I-wol version of the ‘Choi Je-ho School Conduct Record.’
A School Conduct Record was a representative document that fit the school concept perfectly while serving as a way to introduce a person.
I used the standard categories as a reference, but to avoid any controversy over document forgery, I created everything from the header to the footer myself so that the difference was obvious to anyone.
Since it was a prop for filming, it wouldn't violate any laws, but it’s always best not to leave any room for complaints.
I had written the profile in a reasonable 15-point font, but since it wouldn't look good on camera if everyone was just staring at their papers, I decided to use a beam projector for the presentation. Of course, this had all been discussed beforehand.
“Name: Choi Je-ho. He is part of the Oldest Line in the practice room. In accordance with the current social trend of moving toward blind evaluations, no photo has been attached to the record.”
“Are you giving a briefing on a criminal suspect or something?”
Choi Je-ho cut in, but I didn't even pretend to hear him.
I’m explaining this in the kindest voice possible, so why the attitude?
Believe it or not, I used to look at dozens of resumes a day at Hanpyeong Industry.
On top of that, I had the experience of scrutinizing photos for Choi Je-ho’s fan accounts on a weekly basis. There was no way a document I created would have any flaws.
Whether Choi Je-ho looked bewildered or not, I steadfastly presented what I had prepared.
“He is a trainee who contributes to improving dorm life by doing things like placing a mood lamp in the room.”
“So he’s a trainee with an impressive level of initiative?”
“Correct. It can be said that he strives to demonstrate a cooperative attitude for the sake of group living.”
Furthermore, Lee Cheong-hyeon chimed in at the perfect moments. His word choices were remarkably similar to those found in an actual school record.
There might be a difference between high school and university admissions, but it seemed he had learned a thing or two while preparing for his arts high school entrance exams.
His older brother and younger sibling were also from a gifted high school, so he probably picked up a few things from them as well.
“His hobby is spreading jam on toast with a transparency level of 80%.”
“That’s not a hobby! I do that because of the calories!”
“As a result of his efforts to achieve a Grade 1 in arm strength, he has become the number one in arm wrestling within the team, showing great potential for the future.”
“Sigh…”
Choi Je-ho shouted, perhaps out of embarrassment.
I put in this much effort for the enemy who was the root cause of all my overtime; he should at least be grateful.
I gave a gentle smile to Choi Je-ho, who had no idea how much patience I was exercising, and said, “Thank you for listening.”
Looking at his expression, I should probably ask them to edit Choi Je-ho out of my scenes as much as possible.
As the debut song, 『Unsolved』—which didn't even have a title yet, perhaps because the lyrics hadn't been written at this point—neared completion, the system dropped a massive pile of work on me as if it had been waiting.
Thanks to that, I was able to gather a ton of experience points and forcibly boost my dance proficiency once again.
+
Performance Evaluation (100)
— Vocal Proficiency: 6/20
— Dance Proficiency: 6/20
— Self-PR: 12/20
— Attendance Management: 18/20
— Organizational Adaptability: 10/20
Cumulative Experience Points: 0
Cumulative Fatigue Level: 20% (Labor Support Service active)
+
However, this time, my vocal proficiency hadn't gone up automatically.
I definitely didn't feel my singing improving rapidly through practice alone like before.
If I’m short on the points needed to raise my skills… I’ll just have to earn them.
I opened the scheduler and checked the piled-up tasks once more.
+
[SYSTEM] A ‘New Task’ has been assigned.
▷ Final approval of the debut song
▷ Reward: Experience Points (5)
[SYSTEM] A ‘New Task’ has been assigned.
▷ Perfect mastery of the debut song choreography
▷ Reward: Experience Points (5)
[SYSTEM] A ‘New Task’ has been assigned.
▷ 3 pieces of advice for stage quality improvement (0/3)
▷ Reward: Experience Points (1)
+
Seeing the dense list made me feel as secure as a new employee who had just stocked up on office supplies.
I had no idea why I had to give the ‘final approval,’ but I had long since given up trying to understand, viewing it as part of the arduous path to becoming a producing member.
“Let’s start practicing again!”
Just as I finished scanning the scheduler while pretending to drink water, Jeong Seong-bin signaled the end of the break.
At Seong-bin’s signal, Lee Cheong-hyeon and Park Ju-woo, who had been lying on the floor, stood up weakly.
The practice intensity is definitely getting higher.
I never thought my basic physical strength was lacking, but lately, I could definitely feel the fatigue in my body.
What was the point of being able to put chicken breast on my evening salad? The PT sessions had doubled.
If it weren't for the Labor Support Service or whatever, I would have been quite drained by now.
So, it went without saying for those kids who were doing this with nothing but their bare bodies.
The fortunate thing was that no one showed how hard it was while they were practicing. Overall, it was a good thing.
However, not complaining didn't necessarily mean they were giving it their absolute best.
Twenty minutes after practice resumed, I finally spoke up.
“Hey, can we stop the music for a second?”
At my request, Park Ju-woo, who was closest to the spare phone, turned off the music. The only sound left in the practice room was the sound of breathing.
“You guys know our concept because you heard it from Cheong-hyeon and the company. Do you remember what it was?”
“Fresh but mischievous, troublemaking classmates… right?”
“Right. Now, why don’t you all take a look in the mirror?”
The five of them turned their gazes toward the large mirror that took up a major part of one wall.
The faces reflected in the mirror were a disaster.
I wasn't talking about their features. The problem was their expressions.
“It’s natural to look like a mess. We’ve been dancing for hours.”
“…”
“But your expressions shouldn't be like that. None of us have even a hint of a smile. We can’t afford to have bad expressions just because we’re tired from promoting after we debut.”
Since the lyrics weren't out yet, we were rotating through several songs by other idols for practice.
However, most of their brows were furrowed so deeply it made the bright, refreshing songs we had chosen feel pointless.
Jeong Seong-bin and I were dancing with bright smiles, but there was no need to draw a line between us.
“And crucially, I don’t see us looking like ‘classmates who share their daily lives’ at all.”
A heavy atmosphere never improves work efficiency.
Department Head Nam used to worry that the employees would slack off if he wasn't around, but in reality, everyone worked best when they were in top condition.
The practice atmosphere for Spark wasn't much different from Hanpyeong Industry when Department Head Nam was present.
It meant everyone was incredibly tense, just without that hopeless boomer bastard around.
It’s obviously important to practice as if it’s the real thing.
But struggling just to breathe and being terrified of making a mistake was a different matter.
That kind of worrying was enough for me, the team’s only clumsy person.
“I’m not saying you should giggle while practicing. But I want us to think more seriously about our concept and pay attention to whether that’s coming through while we practice.”
“Yes…”
“I’m sorry for saying this when I’m much worse than you guys. Instead, I’ll start speaking up more to cheer us on.”
“No! I’ll start a ‘100 Cheers a Day’ challenge for the members starting today!”
“A hundred is a bit much.”
“Then how about we praise each other once every time we finish a song?”
“No, I said it’s too much.”
Thanks to the active interaction from Lee Cheong-hyeon and Choi Je-ho, my statement was accepted rather than being dismissed as ‘Whatever, coming from the worst one here.’ The others didn't seem offended either.
It worked out. A supportive atmosphere is more important than one might think.
Despite being drenched in sweat, the sight of them starting to smile was, as expected, not bad to look at.
Over their smiling faces, a notification appeared stating that ‘Advice for stage quality improvement’ had been fulfilled once.
Spark’s strength lay in their quick learning ability.
For some reason, their way of speaking in front of a camera never seemed to improve, but their comprehension when it came to building technical skills was outstanding.
Perhaps that was why. Even during the final practice at 9:57 PM, when we were all exhausted to the point of collapse, the six of us were able to dance with mischievous expressions.
I don’t know if this is growth or an awakening, but…
They all looked a bit like they had a crazed look in their eyes.
But since being called ‘fierce and determined’ was a hundred times better for them than being told they had ‘dead fish eyes,’ I decided to leave it be.
Now, is it time to handle this?
As it neared 3:00 AM, I stared at the system glowing all by itself in the dark room.
+
[SYSTEM] A ‘New Task’ has been assigned.
▷ Music video location scouting
▷ Reward: Experience Points (Varies depending on the condition of the filming location)
+
Seriously, if you’re going to make me do this, just let me be an office worker instead of an idol.