Chapter 71
Chapter 71
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 71
Chapter Title: Individual Activities
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But this guy, as always, started rambling on his own.
“I can’t do it alone.”
I see.
“I thought I had to do everything myself. Honestly, I had no expectations for the group.”
Yeah. That’s why you trashed Zenith before your regression.
“But that’s not it. I guess I needed to let go a little. Honestly, it felt weird at first…….”
Kang Minje’s eyes wavered.
“It’s so much more comfortable now.”
Good for you. But what does that have to do with me?
I was about to say I’d get up and leave. But before I could, Kang Minje grabbed my arm.
‘The taste is gone. Did he really eat something bad? Oh, booze.’
Am I seriously listening to this drunkard right now?
‘Damn. My time is more precious than gold. What a waste.’
I glared at him. But no matter what I did, Kang Minje just grinned.
“I even wanted to be leader originally? Truth be told, I felt a bit upset when Dowon, you recommended Hajin. But now, I’m actually grateful. Hajin should be the leader.”
Is that so?
I admire you. How did a guy without even a speck of responsibility think he could be leader?
“But I can’t take care of Ki Jaeyoon.”
Ah, I totally agreed with that.
“Plus, with you pulling the group up like that, it’s way too easy.”
You know it.
“I don’t know the details, but it’s about boosting topicality, right? I thought the industry was just about good songs and concepts. But watching you, Dowon, I realized that’s not all there is to it.”
Of course not.
“Popularity is complicated. Good songs and concepts are just the basics, I guess. There’s something else needed. But what is it?”
I let out a sigh. Why the hell do I have to listen to this drunk’s ramblings?
“I want to make music until I die.”
Go ahead. Who’s stopping you?
“It’s pretty rewarding seeing my songs expressed 100%. But it’s weird. On the other hand, I feel inferior. Why does someone who isn’t even the composer perform it better? Dowon, do you know who I’m talking about?”
Like I care.
“Aren’t you curious?”
“Not really.”
“Really?”
Kang Minje smiled like he used to.
A chill ran from my toes to the top of my head.
Damn it. Don’t smile! Stop grinning like that.
“You really don’t know? I thought you’d figure it out.”
I took a breath.
Wow, this kid’s raising my blood pressure.
“Thanks, Dowon. It’s because of you.”
Ah, I want to punch him. I didn’t climb all this way to hear crap like that. I clenched and unclenched my fist.
I had nothing to say.
“Go rest in your room.”
“Yeah, yeah!”
Kang Minje got up right away and headed to his room. Why does he listen so well to this?
I let out a deep sigh.
‘Damn.’
I slumped onto the sofa.
Is that guy for real?
‘No way you’d change.’
Before his regression, Kang Minje tried to do everything alone and slipped up big time. Sure, he got back up, kept active, and in the end, he was the only one left in Zenith.
‘But why’d he switch to acting?’
Kang Minje, who’d topped charts consecutively as a singer, suddenly pivoted to acting. The results weren’t great, of course.
‘Just a year-end popularity award or something.’
Not bad, but nothing compared to his music success.
‘What was the point of acting?’
He should’ve just stuck to making good songs.
Damn it. Why do I care about that guy’s life? Why am I even seriously pondering this?
I’m going crazy.
I shot up from the sofa. Maybe because of the goosebumps all over, I felt endlessly uneasy. Kang Minje expressing gratitude—it was so ominous my body shuddered.
‘Guess I’ll sprinkle some salt.’
I headed to the kitchen first, grabbed a pinch of coarse salt, and rubbed it on my back. Couldn’t bear to waste the fancy sea salt by throwing it around.
***
“Ta-da!”
Executive Director Joo spun around, showing off the trophy on the table. I read the engraved text on the transparent trophy.
[KTBC 1st Place]
‘She looks thrilled.’
Executive Director Joo, in her black suit, spun two more circles before sitting down.
“Good work, Zenith.”
The dutiful leader Yoo Hajin gave the standard response.
“It’s nothing. We couldn’t have done it without you, Executive Director Joo.”
“Aigoo, such sweet talk.”
I shook my head and spoke.
“It’s not empty words. It’s the truth.”
Honestly, without her boldness, this would’ve been a pipe dream.
Executive Director Joo rubbed her cheek and winked.
“Oh, praise makes me happy? Keep going. More! More! I need more compliments!”
If she wants more, I’ll give it.
“Your perfect choices led us to number one. That judgment will be a model for society and bring prosperity to the company. Your abilities are miraculous and astonishing.”
I figured she’d stop me by now. But Executive Director Joo laughed loudly, loving it even more.
‘Oh dear.’
Is she just that shameless, or does she love praise that much?
“Keep it up after we finish the main topic. Anyway, the reason I called you all here today is…….”
Executive Director Joo sat on the long table.
“Next week, your music promotions end.”
Time flew.
‘Well, we did hit number one.’
The rankings were slipping back bit by bit. No matter how good a song is, it doesn’t last forever.
“I wanted to ask about your future paths. Zenith~, besides albums, stages, and concerts, what else do you want to do?”
Aha.
‘Idols these days don’t just do music.’
They’re closer to all-round entertainers.
Kang Minje spoke first.
“I want to focus on composing and release a solo album.”
“Minje, approved.”
Approved, huh?
Ki Jaeyoon piped up excitedly.
“I want dance!”
“If there are dance programs, I’ll push for them hard. Jaeyoon, approved too.”
Ki Jaeyoon grinned widely, thrilled.
‘Are there even dance programs?’
I think I’ve seen some, but can’t recall clearly.
‘Not my problem anyway.’
They’ll figure it out.
The surprise was Leader Yoo Hajin.
“I want to try MCing.”
“Oh? Why?”
“I think I can do well.”
Wow.
‘That actually sounds plausible.’
Yoo Hajin was good with words, had decent sense, and above all, a clean face.
‘He’d be even better on cultural shows.’
Executive Director Joo nodded.
“Could you do educational broadcasting?”
“I like kids.”
“Impressive resolve. Approved. I’ll look into it.”
Executive Director Joo whipped her head toward Lee Seungjun.
“You?”
“Modeling.”
“Not rapping?”
“I’m not confident in rap battles.”
I nodded.
“If it were rap battles, I’d block it. Doesn’t suit your image or Zenith.”
Totally agreed.
“Plus, how could I send our kind, reliable Seungjun to such a rough place?”
I almost burst out laughing. Yeah, battle shows aren’t gentlemanly.
“You’ve got too much muscle for runways anyway. I’ll pivot you elsewhere. But heads up—modeling doesn’t pay great.”
“I know.”
“What about acting?”
Lee Seungjun suddenly looked at me.
“I don’t have the confidence to match him.”
“He’s the exception. Your face screams actor, so ease into it step by step.”
Lee Seungjun’s eyes wavered.
“Still, I don’t think I can match him.”
“He’s the weird one, I tell you. Anyway, let’s start with acting?”
Lee Seungjun nodded like he got it.
Executive Director Joo turned to me. I smiled brightly at her.
“You…….”
What’s she gonna suggest?
‘Acting, obviously?’
But her words were unexpected.
“Do whatever you want.”
What’s this?
I blinked in bewilderment. Executive Director Joo shook her head at me.
“Variety, acting, magazines, solo—whatever. I’ll support it all. Just do what you want. That’s the conclusion after watching you for months.”
“That’s generous.”
How do I even interpret this?
“You excel at everything anyway.”
“You overestimate me. No way that’s true.”
“You do excel. Or if not, you’ll make it work.”
That surprised me a bit. As expected of Executive Director Joo. No wonder she has the full trust of Friends Entertainment’s president.
“I’ll back whatever you choose. What do you want?”
I grinned.
“Drama castings came in, right?”
Executive Director Joo’s shoulders twitched slightly.
“How many?”
“Four. We turned one down because it was too minor, even if they wanted buzz. Felt insulting.”
“Good call. Gotta have options to pick and choose.”
How rude.
“Give me the roles and scripts for the other three.”
“Got it. Cut music shows and jump straight into dramas?”
“If the role’s good. I’m a rookie, after all.”
I looked at her.
“I’m not picky about roles, generally.”
“Variety?”
“If castings come, let me know. I’ll pick and choose.”
Famous ones, I’ll do.
“When’s that rural life show?”
“Soon, probably.”
It’d get good reactions. The first episode aired last week, and the internet buzz was no joke.
“Right. Oh, yeah. Attention!”
Snap—
Executive Director Joo snapped her fingers.
“If your schedule’s free, college kids go to college, school kids go to school.”
Oh, right.
‘I forgot about school.’
Not entirely. If schedules ended early, I’d drop by for an hour or two.
‘Come to think of it, I’m in 8th grade.’
What about finals and stuff?
‘Gonna have to write reports or something.’
Wonder what the process is. What do I need for graduation?
“On that note, let’s ask.”
Executive Director Joo got down from the table and sat in her chair.
“Everyone planning to go to college?”
Kang Minje shook his head immediately.
“Not really me.”
“Minje aside, what about the rest? Dowon, you?”
Why me first? Because I’m the maknae?
I picked the most realistic answer.
“High school, obviously. College, not sure. But I want to. If I do, probably something unrelated to entertainment.”
I grinned at the members.
“It’s a choice either way. But if you have the leeway, better to go.”
I said it clearly.
‘If you have the leeway, that is.’
Flying around daily—will there even be time for school? Well, colleges allow leaves of absence.
‘If you want to finish that badly, go for it.’
The members nodded slightly. Then Kang Minje spoke first.
“I’ll go for it.”
Huh?
Yoo Hajin and Ki Jaeyoon followed.
“I’ll go for it.”
“I’ll go.”
Wait, why?
I looked at Lee Seungjun. No way him too?
“I’ll go too.”
Wow.
‘Why are they all so serious?’
It was absurd. What was Zenith like before regression?
‘Only Ki Jaeyoon overlapped, but didn’t Kang Minje skip it too?’
I tilted my head at Kang Minje. The enemy grinned back.
“Didn’t plan to, but somehow Dowon’s words feel worth listening to.”
Is he picking a fight?
“No, seriously, why?”
“Who knows. Why indeed?”
You wanna fight, Kang Minje?
“Well, creation does come from experience. But you don’t need to decide college based on my words.”
Kang Minje suddenly beamed.
“Oh! Creation needs experience too!”
What the hell’s with this guy?
Kang Minje smiled brightly.
“I’ll definitely go to college!”
Executive Director Joo nodded like it was settled.
“I’ll get you tutors from Daechi-dong for admissions.”
The company does that too?
“Yes!”
Pretty absurd. As I shook my head, Executive Director Joo stared at me.
“I think sending you to college is the way.”
I see.
“Idol careers are short, right? There’s life after that.”
Wow.
‘She’s filthy money-minded, but a good person. Executive Director Joo.’
Maybe that’s why Friends is thriving.
I smiled and said,
“No plans to end it short.”
Executive Director Joo blinked.
“Who said end short? I want to go long.”
I beamed at the members.
“You all do too, right?”
The members didn’t answer.
‘All ganging up on me?’
I turned to Executive Director Joo.
“Like you said, if it doesn’t work, I’ll make it work.”
We stick together till the end. We’re a team, aren’t we?