Chapter 49: Part Allocation
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 49: Part Allocation
Park Ju-woo recovered in no time, thanks to the overwhelming amount of heartfelt attention he received from the members.
Of course, my nursing played a significant role as well. Thanks to my devoted care, Park Ju-woo’s complexion had become quite vibrant.
Afterward, I took advantage of a quiet Sunday evening to kindly drill the emergency protocols into their heads.
“If you notice any abnormal symptoms, report to Jeong Seong-bin immediately and go to the hospital during the day. Got it?”
Out of consideration for his status as a patient, I had Park Ju-woo sit on the sofa while I conducted the special lecture. Everyone else was relegated to the floor.
In the middle of this, Lee Cheong-hyeon raised his hand with a serious expression and asked, “Hyung, should we be taking notes on this?”
“Yeah. It’ll be on the test.”
Since Lee Cheong-hyeon showed such an excellent attitude as a student, I sent him back to his room early to work on composing.
Seeing one of their own get released, the rest of them started listening intently from then on.
Having been thoroughly indoctrinated on the importance of health management and maintaining their condition, the boys evolved into "God-tier lifers," eating, sleeping, and exercising with mechanical regularity. It was a desirable change.
The lyrics for the debut song were also completed smoothly.
The atmosphere was exactly what I had wanted. The reactions from the members and the company weren't bad either.
Seeing how well everything was going, I expected something to blow up soon, but even the system remained quiet.
This was the first time I’d experienced such peaceful days since I’d been rejuvenated. How many tears of blood had I shed while dreaming of becoming a high-teen star—a path I was never destined for?
“Hyung, what are you thinking about?”
“I’m thinking that even a mouse hole wouldn't grow mold at this rate.”
Feeling the warm sunlight of the universe, I focused back on the lyric sheet.
This was because Lee Cheong-hyeon and I had been tasked with considering the initial part allocation in our capacities as the composer and the producing member, respectively.
“I had some ideas about which member should sing which part, but nothing’s really clicking,” Cheong-hyeon admitted.
“It’s your first time doing this, so it’s natural not to have a feel for it yet. For now, just try to organize your opinions.”
“Can we really decide this ourselves?”
“The company will review it afterward.”
At that, Lee Cheong-hyeon furrowed his brow deeply and began to concentrate.
“First of all, unfurrow your brow. You’ll get wrinkles.”
“Geez, really?”
Geez, really?
I’m meticulously preventing vertical lines from forming between his eyes, and he says, "Geez, really?"
I almost flipped the lyric sheet over right then and there to draw a human face and explain the cost of Botox for each area, but I held back.
If I did that, this kid might get fixated on the wrong thing and ask, “Hyung, why did you become an idol instead of pursuing a career in plastic surgery?”
Seeing the edges of the lyric sheet crumpling in my grip, Lee Cheong-hyeon smoothed out his brow.
See, wouldn't it have been better to do that from the start? These kids always make me say things twice.
“I think... dividing it like this would probably be the most standard way.”
I then marked the parts that the members had originally sung nine years ago on the lyric sheet.
When you’ve spent years running streaming marathons, you can distinguish the parts of B-side tracks with your eyes closed.
Besides, at this stage, only Park Ju-woo and Jeong Seong-bin could handle the high notes.
After handing over the blank rap sections for Lee Cheong-hyeon to write himself, it didn't take long to carve up the remaining lyrics into pieces.
Lee Cheong-hyeon watched Kim I-wol’s "lyric dissection show" from beside me with great interest.
Then, looking at the lyric sheet divided by various colors of highlighters, he marveled, “Oh, I think I can imagine what the vibe will be like!”
“Right?”
I gave him a shameless smile.
However, Lee Cheong-hyeon, who was staring intently at the sheet, raised an objection.
“But, Hyung.”
“What?”
“You don't have a single part.”
Oops. I hadn't thought of that.
Because I was so focused on perfectly restoring the original parts, I had completely forgotten about the existence of the sub-vocalist, Kim I-wol.
“Hyung, you’re not planning to run away the day before our debut, are you?”
No. I’m planning to run away after the debut. I just have to debut first due to circumstances.
But in the eyes of Lee Cheong-hyeon, who didn't know how "desperate" I was to debut, suspicion was already blooming.
I scrambled to fix the mess I’d made.
“It’s not like that. I just forgot.”
“How can you forget to take even a single line for yourself?”
“The vocal harmony between the five of you was just so good that I...”
“You’re not actually using that as an excuse, are you?”
Lee Cheong-hyeon furrowed his brow again. I told him to unfurrow it, but he really doesn't listen.
“It’s true. More importantly, we don't have time, so let’s focus.”
I didn't have time to bicker with Lee Cheong-hyeon about whether I had parts or not.
Though he looked dissatisfied, Cheong-hyeon didn't press the matter further.
‘The points fans care about are the intro, the chorus, and the high-note parts, right?’
Positions that came with modifiers like "Intro Fairy" or "High-Note Specialist" all had to be distributed to the other members.
Aside from the chorus, I had to avoid the "killing parts" that were always mentioned for every song.
Consequently, I had to find parts that wouldn't matter regardless of who sang them.
Thanks to Lee Cheong-hyeon’s incredible touch, every melody was elegant and beautiful, but I somehow managed to find the most mundane and plain sections within them.
Watching me highlight two lines I’d painstakingly excavated, Lee Cheong-hyeon asked, “Is that seriously your part, Hyung?”
“Yeah. Why?”
“Isn't it too little? Look at the other members' parts.”
“This isn't the final version anyway. And we have different skill levels, so it can't be helped.”
Perfectly equal part distribution? It would be nice if it were possible.
In the idol world, where parts are earned through skill, it was common to measure and compare screen time and line distribution down to the second.
In such a market, nothing would be better than every member having an equal share.
However, that only applies when "everyone has the skills."
Imagine me, barely holding onto my microphone while fighting off dizziness, trying to force out lines in the middle of members who are pulling off flawless live vocals while dancing. Is there anything more pathetic than that?
Besides, it’s not like anyone would be upset on my behalf about my lack of lines.
So, two lines were plenty for me.
As it happened, one of those lines was a part originally sung by Choi Je-ho, whom Department Head Nam’s daughter had so passionately adored. I decided to consider this a small reward for the hardships I endured as an office worker.
Dear daughter, this line is mine now.
However, my perfect plan to cleanly use about 14 seconds of time and then retire after the debut vanished into thin air within a few days.
“I-wol. About the parts... could you talk to Cheong-hyeon and try rearranging them?”
“Pardon?”
My beyond-perfect part allocation had been rejected by the Planning Team.
I couldn't understand why. UA’s management policy hadn't changed between nine years ago and now.
‘Shouldn't things happening within the agency proceed similarly to what I know?’
Using the original parts as they were should have been the closest thing to the "Part_Allocation_Final" that UA would have come up with.
That was why I’d even forced the intro onto Jeong Seong-bin, who said it was too much pressure, by telling him, "Just trust me this once."
“Your parts are too few. Did Cheong-hyeon agree to this?”
“No, Cheong-hyeon pointed out the same thing.”
“Still, there needs to be some level of balance. It’s best if the six of you have similar amounts of time. Even if it can't be perfectly equal, it should be roughly balanced.”
No, it shouldn't. Their songs are most perfect when sung by the five of them.
Even the general public agreed on this.
To the point where a team that covered a Spark song on a certain survival program received all sorts of harsh criticism from judges and commenters alike.
≫ I admire the spirit of the challenge. I'll give you 3 points.
└ Is that out of 5?
└ Out of 100.
≫ Spark's songs are seriously unique... They look easy when the members sing them, but your throat explodes if you try them at karaoke.
└ LOL I boldly picked one and then hit cancel as soon as the first verse ended.
≫ It's amazing they didn't blow up when they sing this well.
It's not like they're ugly or short.
At this point, it's a talent.
└ They have as many scandals as they have members every year.
└ This group is more bitter than the change of seasons. They suddenly arrive one day, make your eyes and nose run with tears, and then leave on their own.
≫ I wish trainees on survival shows would stop covering Spark...
The difference in skill is too obvious, it just makes me uncomfortable.
They should just do a standard song that fits their skill level.
└ You sure expect a f*cking lot from trainees.
Among them were posts where it was unclear if they were praising Spark or backhandedly insulting them.
The system shouldn't have given me a hologram scheduler; it should have given me the original 5-member Spark audio files.
That way, I could have blasted them into the ears of the Planning Team staff to convince them.
My head throbbed. But as the lowliest of the low, I had no choice.
“Understood. I will draft it again.”
If there’s one thing I’m a master of, it’s repetitive labor—doing whatever I’m told.
In the end, I had to bow my head to Lee Cheong-hyeon, apologizing for the trouble, and redistribute the lyrics. I felt ashamed.
After a 100-minute debate between me and Lee Cheong-hyeon, an emergency meeting of the Planning Team, and a meeting of the Spark TF Team, the parts were finally confirmed.
When I watched self-produced content of idols recording, they just seemed to scribble their names next to the lyrics on an A4 sheet and sing, so I thought it would take about ten minutes to decide. As expected, nothing is easy.
Once the parts were set and the choreography created by Choi Je-ho and Kang Gi-yeon was finished, the trainees began practicing live in earnest.
This meant singing and dancing together during every practice session.
For someone like me, who could barely manage to dance when taught one thing at a time, singing and dancing while maintaining eye contact was harder than organizing Web Cell sheets at 4 AM.
Trying to conquer two mountains at once felt like my head was going to explode.
Whenever that happened, I thought of Hanpyeong Industry.
‘Assistant Manager Kim, isn't it boring doing the same thing all the time? The CEO wants us to set up something like an internal study group. You take charge and come up with something. Oh, and get the report to me before I leave for the day.’
‘Oh, Assistant Manager Kim. The CEO says his wardrobe won't open. Go over and take a look.’
Thinking of that, I couldn't not practice.
Rather than going back to Hanpyeong Industry to start a book club and fix someone else’s wardrobe doors, I’d rather meet my end in the practice room.
Perhaps because I rolled around the practice room until the soles of my shoes were worn down, I reached a point where I could dance even if I’d just woken up. The system finally recognized my choreography mastery.
+
[SYSTEM] ‘Task’ completed.
▷ Reward: Experience (5)
▷ Cumulative Experience: 95
▷ Cumulative Points: 0
+
That wasn't all.
As we finally secured about ten episodes' worth of the problematic self-produced content, we were able to begin video editing in earnest.
I had already organized the concepts, subtitles, and effects for each member and handed them over to the Planning Team.
I actively utilized web novel keywords this time as well. I could have gotten more ideas if I’d read past the preview chapters. I should drop ten bucks on it once I get paid.
As a result of stockpiling a solid amount of content:
+
[SYSTEM] ‘Task’ completed.
▷ Reward: Experience (5)
▷ Cumulative Experience: 100
▷ Cumulative Points: 1
+
I finally earned a point after what felt like a million years. My heart swelled with emotion.
Thinking of the upcoming recording date, I invested the point into Vocal Proficiency.
+
Performance Evaluation (100)
— Vocal Proficiency: 7(▲)/20
— Dance Proficiency: 6/20
— Self PR: 12/20
— Attendance Management: 18/20
— Organizational Adaptability: 10/20
Cumulative Experience: 0%
+
Since it was said that manual investment was impossible once a stat reached 7 or higher, the last thing I could raise with experience would be 1 point in Dance Proficiency.
‘Still, look how far I’ve come.’
Without the system’s help, let alone debuting, I’d probably be picking up cigarette butts dropped by Department Head Nam next to the entrance of the Hanpyeong Industry building.
Even though the path I was walking was a trail of fire, I felt relieved that I hadn't been roasted to a crisp yet.
However, peace in the workplace and society never lasts long.
Along with the autumn wind, an early storm was brewing at UA, as if foreshadowing a harsh winter.