Chapter 84: Our Company's All-around Entertainer (3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 84: Our Company's All-around Entertainer (3)
『Hello, listeners of Midnight Conversation. I am I-wol of the group Spark, the final substitute filling in for our senior, DJ Polo.』
Kim I-wol’s voice was steady yet firm.
With an appropriate pace, clear pronunciation, and a refined tone, one might think he was a very well-composed DJ—if they were only listening to the audio.
However, Kim I-wol’s voice was the polar opposite of his appearance. Polo found himself intensely curious about where on earth he had found such bizarre bracelets.
‘Didn’t they say his agency is UA? Surely they aren’t so broke they can’t afford a stylist?’
Unable to even imagine that I-wol had shown up looking like that of his own free will, Polo half-listened to the self-introductions of his junior group, Parte.
The fortunate thing was that, regardless of his baffling style, Kim I-wol’s hosting skills were outstanding.
Of course, Polo had expected I-wol to be somewhat decent. That was why he had gone as far as recommending I-wol as a substitute after meeting him only once.
But Kim I-wol easily exceeded Polo’s expectations.
More than just not being dependent on the script, I-wol rarely looked at it at all.
‘Did he memorize it?’
Polo knew in his head that it was impossible.
The system didn't allow for scripts to be released a week or two in advance, and given the nature of a program where one had to talk for an entire hour, the DJ’s lines were substantial.
Yet, on the screen, Kim I-wol’s gaze was always fixed on one of three places: the guest who was speaking, the prompt showing comments, or the staff.
And that wasn't all.
Kim I-wol’s strengths shone brighter as the radio show progressed.
He showed a high level of understanding of the guests and hosted without making anyone uncomfortable.
Despite it being his first time as a DJ, he possessed the ability to ensure no one was left out, managing everyone's speaking time perfectly.
And...
『Thanks to the opportunity given to me by Polo-sunbaenim, I was able to have a great experience despite my lacking skills. I feel it was a stroke of luck that Spark’s first radio appearance was on Midnight Conversation. From next week, I will return to being a devoted listener of the show. To all the listeners who stayed with me, thank you.』
It was a conclusion so clean that even Polo’s fans and regular listeners had nothing to criticize—only praise.
Polo closed the replay with a satisfied smile. His head was filled with thoughts of bragging to his leader that his intuition had been right.
“I-wol, I got a message from Polo-ssi.”
Manager Chan-yeong, who had come over to check on our break time, approached me and spoke.
“From sunbaenim?”
“He said he was really grateful for the subbing on Midnight Conversation and that you worked hard.”
It’s surprising that he went out of his way to send his regards.
I guess experienced idols really are different. They say a highly specialized idol is no different from a regular member of society.
“It’s not like I did anything particularly special. Thank you for letting me know.”
As I bowed to thank the manager, Lee Cheong-hyeon cut in.
“Hyung, you did great! You didn't make a single mistake!”
“How do you know I didn't make any?”
“Because we all sat around a laptop and listened together!”
“You guys did something that cute behind my back?”
It felt a bit uncomfortable to imagine the five of them huddled together listening to my radio show.
It was a massive relief that these guys didn't have personal cell phones to send in stories via text. If they had phones, they definitely would have sent something.
‘Wait... all together?’
I glanced at Choi Je-ho, who was stretching in the distance.
Then I asked Lee Cheong-hyeon.
“Does that ‘all together’ include Choi Je-ho?”
“Yeah. Isn't it crazy?”
It sure is. Crazy indeed.
The fact that the five of them gathered to do something is significant. It means they’ve developed a willingness to do things together outside of work.
No matter how much trouble the Spark of the past had, it was a fact that they worked together for seven years. And that would have been impossible without at least a tiny bit of a bond.
‘I guess they’re slowly building intimacy among themselves.’
Through repeated instances like this, they’ll end up working together for seven years.
It’s annoying that my radio show was the catalyst this time, but I decided to consider it a repayment to the guys who are carrying me.
Besides, these guys have been listening well lately.
After I grilled them about the self-produced content, the individual content for all six members turned out excellently.
≫ fck fck Choi Je-ho is insane
He was born to seduce women in their 20s
└ Someone please tell me how to leave this video... I'm desperate, I've been watching this for 40 minutes straight
≫ Why the hell is Kang Gi-yeon’s favorite manga the same as mine?
I feel like I’ve met a comrade on the path of shoujo manga
└ Meanwhile, he stubbornly takes the second lead’s side lollll Gi-yeon, I can smell the second-lead syndrome through the screen
≫ Ju-woo, please, just start a YouTube channel
Upload a playlist plz... I’m serious
└ I’ve never heard any of these songs before, but they’re all good... You’re a veteran of the pop song world
└ I’m a guy in my 30s who prides himself on listening to a lot of pop, but I don't even know half of these haha. Thanks to you, I’m learning some great songs
└ It’s impressive that you even know half...
≫ I knew he composed, but he’s so good at piano too ㅠㅠ Cheong-hyeon is truly a jewel of the idol world
└ I heard Cheong-hyeon was originally going to major in classical music!
└ I wish he’d do piano covers of the B-sides, not just the title track ㅠㅠ
≫ Lmao, this is the first time I’ve seen an idol leader introduce a leadership book so seriously
└ I was ready to skip because I thought it was a paid ad, but no ads popped up once lol
The response was so good that I almost smiled while monitoring. Honestly, I’m so unprofessional.
For the record, I also checked the comments on my own content.
I wasn't going to at first, but since I’ve ended up continuing my idol activities, I couldn't just ignore the feedback.
≫ I clicked because the thumbnail ‘Members’ Pore Care Routine’ was too intense
≫ I flinched when I saw the Web Cell at 3:19. I think he uses Web Cell better than I do
└ “When you work, there are many times you need to use Web Cell.”
Why does an idol have so many reasons to use Web Cell? Lmao
≫ I-wol, you’re the first idol to be this honest
└ For real lol. They said it was a TMI dump so I expected stories, but then he suddenly tells us the dorm’s utility bill
└ This idol even gives us the model number of the shared laptop
The comment section was generally favorable. I occasionally saw posts saying they came over from the radio show.
However, as with everything in life, there weren't only good reactions.
≫ Doesn't Kim Peps honestly reek of a ‘concept-player’?
He’s trying way too hard to look like the ‘intelligent member’
I feel like his personality is just f*cking sly
└ Agreed lol. It’s so obvious he’s doing it to build a character, it’s amazing people think it’s his real personality
└ You can see the concept-playing from a mile away, but only they don't know it haha
└ Who’s Kim Peps?
└ Spark’s Kim I-wol
└ Why is he Kim Peps?
└ Don't you know how to read the room? ^^^^^^
└ Try writing his name in English
└ Kim + February’s first letter (Feb)
≫ Honestly, the kids are just nice so they listen to Kim Peps, right? ^^
He had the shortest trainee period and his skills are f*cking trash
Peps is so lucky ^^ getting a free ride thanks to the members ^^
I saw reactions like this quite often.
That I seem to be playing a concept... I guess my social mask of an office worker was caught after all.
I also somewhat agree that the kids are nice. They cause trouble sometimes, but they aren't unbearable.
So, I decided to accept these kinds of comments as legitimate expressions of opinion.
I organized the keywords from the malicious comments into a Web Cell and then closed my laptop.
Then, I spoke to Lee Cheong-hyeon, who was rolling around on the floor struggling with a composition notebook.
“Any progress?”
“None at all!”
“Well, at least your confident attitude is impressive.”
Lee Cheong-hyeon was in the middle of refining one of the musical pieces he had written before his debut.
Having done music for a long time, Cheong-hyeon had accumulated a fair amount of melodies.
However, turning that into a complete song was a different matter, so I had discussed it with the agency and grilled Cheong-hyeon whenever there was a gap in the practice or broadcast schedule. Of course, he had agreed to it as well.
To help Cheong-hyeon’s musical sense transition more smoothly from classical to idol music, I had intentionally planned his self-produced content as ‘Arranging K-Pop into Piano Versions.’
It might not have been solely because of that, but regardless, Cheong-hyeon showed a surprising rate of growth.
Even to me, who is completely illiterate when it comes to composing, Cheong-hyeon’s ability to learn was astonishing.
“Where are you stuck?”
When I asked, Cheong-hyeon approached my bed with his notebook as if he’d been waiting.
“First of all, I’ve finished organizing the bass line.”
“Didn't you start with the topline last time?”
“The God of Bass gave me a revelation... No, that’s not it.”
Cheong-hyeon ruffled his hair.
“So, we’re going to do a really exciting concept, right?”
That was the plan.
Our second comeback, which I had planned, was in May, about two months away.
And the title concept was ‘Mischievous youths who think playing is the best thing in the world!’
I suddenly remembered when I first shared this idea with the guys.
‘Hyung... do you perhaps need a vacation?’
I’ll never forget the way Jeong Seong-bin looked at me with pity back then.
But unfortunately, that wasn't an opinion I gave because I wanted to rest. It probably took an hour to explain the background of how that concept came to be.
So, I was doing monitoring, planning, and final organization, while Lee Cheong-hyeon was composing candidate tracks for the title song.
Watching Cheong-hyeon struggle more than expected, I wondered if I should revise the plan.
Since the goal given by the system required a significant long-term effort, I didn't want to create a situation where I pushed Cheong-hyeon too hard from the start and caused him to burn out.
“Right. Is it that difficult to express?”
“It’s not that, it’s just that the keywords you gave me don't really resonate.”
“Which part?”
When I asked, Cheong-hyeon replied.
“Back then, you said if I needed an image, I should look at children playing excitedly for Family Month.”
“I did.”
“But at my house, they only gave me workbooks every Children’s Day! Children’s Day wasn't even that happy! I don't have memories of being that excited, but the song has to be exciting, so I feel left out!”
“...What?”
“It feels like I’m the only one getting stationery while all my friends are getting toys! It’s like finding out about the existence of KidZania, only to realize that was the exact year I hit the age limit for entry! It’s like going to a trampoline park and being told there’s an extra fee for high schoolers!”
Ah, so that’s the problem?