Chapter 216
Chapter 216
Riding the wave of national pride, Hellfire K-Pop Camp successfully aired its second episode following the first, drawing immense public interest.
It was an undeniable fact that Cheong-ryeo’s appearance played a significant role in this buzz.
It was the law of scarcity at work. Since the member withdrawal incident, VTIC had been refraining from appearing in lighthearted, fun content like variety shows.
And in the second episode, this guy hogged every bit of impact a mentor could possibly have.
‘I’m glad we hit our mark in the first episode and got out.’
Monitoring the broadcast, it seemed he had played every role from head judge to drill sergeant to counselor.
Even though his actual screen time wasn't that long—fitting for a busy top-tier star—he seemed to have snatched up only the most crucial parts.
‘Talk about insane efficiency.’
As expected, you really have to be famous first. The other mentors who appeared with him probably just wasted their filming time for nothing.
‘Come to think of it, those Golden Age guys were among them too.’
The group with Gold 1.
After the industrial spy incident, contact had been sparse, but after seeing each other again on this Aju-sa production crew's variety show, they’d been reaching out occasionally to maintain the connection.
[Golden Age Ha Il-jun Hyung: Moon-dae, it was good to see you after so long! It’s a shame our filming schedules didn't overlap this time. See you next time!]
I sent a standard reply to Gold 1’s message as I boarded the plane.
[Yes, I’ll see you again next time.]
Clean and simple.
This is exactly how professional relationships should be—no reason to get on each other's nerves.
Ideally, it’s best not to get involved with crazy bastards who make people lose their minds, but it’s incredibly annoying how work keeps bringing us together.
At least the guy going with me is well-behaved.
“M-Moon-dae. Did you get your passport?”
“Yeah.”
I’m talking about Seon A-hyun.
There wasn't just one special collaboration stage for the mentors; the special stage Seon A-hyun was part of was also being filmed this time.
‘Some group must have thrown a fit saying they didn't have time.’
If I’d known it would turn out like this, I should have thrown a fit too and said we wouldn't do the special stage.
“Get some sleep on the plane. Even if that team already learned the choreography, they’ll have to adjust the formations, so you won’t have much time.”
“O-Okay!”
Ignoring the cameras of the data sellers and fansite masters following us, Seon A-hyun and I safely boarded the plane.
‘They gave us good seats.’
I guess they pulled in enough investment. I pulled the curtain next to my seat to prevent any potential invasion of privacy.
As for the manager… I don’t know. The second guy followed us, so he’s probably sitting somewhere in the back.
‘Let’s just sleep.’
I reclined my seat until it was almost like a bed and was about to open a bottle of water.
Seon A-hyun spoke to me in a small voice.
“U-Um, hey.”
“Yeah.”
“A-Are you… u-uncomfortable with VTIC’s Cheong-ryeo sunbae-nim?”
“Pfft.”
The water almost came out of my nose.
‘How did he know?’
“A-Are you okay?! A m-massage…!”
“No, no, I’m fine.”
I waved him off and wiped my face. Seon A-hyun looked at me with concern before carefully speaking his next words.
It seemed like something he had been thinking about.
“If it’s u-uncomfortable… should I s-switch with you?”
“What?”
“Since you already know the choreography for our team’s stage, I thought it m-might be okay…”
“……”
“I-I’m used to being u-uncomfortable around people anyway… so it won’t make much of a difference…!”
“It’s fine.”
I let out a short laugh and closed the water bottle.
Man. It is quite touching, though. Is this guy actually worrying about my interpersonal relationships now?
“And when would you even have time to learn the choreography?”
“There’s a d-day, so… it should be fine.”
“……”
Talented bastards are so annoying.
“Anyway, I… I don’t really like the guy, but it’s not like I can’t work with him. He’s nothing special to begin with.”
“I-I see. B-But… if you change your mind, please tell me!”
“Got it.”
That won’t happen, but there’s no harm in agreeing.
I lay down on the bed-like seat.
After a moment, I asked as if it were an afterthought.
“By the way, is it that obvious?”
“Huh?”
“That I don’t like that sunbae.”
“…A l-little?”
“When did you notice?”
“E-Every time you meet him, you keep c-clenching your fists……”
“……”
I need to be careful.
And eleven hours later, I realized that I really do clench my fists.
“Hello.”
“Hello, sunbae-nim!”
‘It was true.’
We were in a large dance studio where the production crew had already set up cameras.
When Cheong-ryeo, who arrived a step late, greeted us with a smirk, my hand really did express its own will.
‘Is it because I have a memory of punching him?’
Anyway, thanks to Seon A-hyun, I learned something. I need to watch out when the cameras are on.
‘Regardless, the VTIC name certainly carries weight.’
Whether I was minding my fist or not, everyone else was greeting Cheong-ryeo with their bodies stiff from tension.
“Nice to meet you. Shall we start practicing right away?”
Amidst the guys oozing either admiration or inferiority, Cheong-ryeo casually got down to business.
‘This part is convenient.’
I have no objection to not wasting time before practice.
And so, the formation work began.
“One more time!”
The parts had been divided beforehand, and everyone had learned their assigned formations through videos.
However, when actually doing it together, differences in spacing, height, and the scale of movements were bound to appear.
Usually, a dance trainer would handle the adjustments, but…
“The person on the left, lift your elbow more.”
“Y-Yes…!”
At some point, the trainer was only shouting, “I’ll play the music again.”
Because some guy was catching every single detail.
“Enter a bit faster during the pre-chorus. Just snap the movement when you lower your arm and come in.”
“Ah… Yes!”
Naturally, it was Cheong-ryeo, the one with the most seniority here.
Seeing even the guys who might have slacked off due to their years of experience and popularity follow along out of intimidation made things easier.
“Shall we take a short break then? Hmm, ten minutes?”
“Yes!”
He even timed the breaks perfectly.
Ho.
‘This is actually quite useful.’
A guy who has lived as an idol leader for decades really is different. His efficiency is on another level.
‘This will be over quickly.’
It was just as I was about to slightly revise my evaluation of him.
“Hoobae-nim.”
“…Yes.”
I immediately took it back.
I had gone to a corner since the cameras were being adjusted and there was no need to mingle with these guys, but he just had to come over and talk to me.
However, surprisingly, no crazy remarks came out this time.
Cheong-ryeo lowered his voice and simply gave a quiet piece of advice.
“It’s good that you’re making your movements large, but you’re moving your joints incorrectly.”
“……”
“Here, look.”
A clean demonstration followed.
A movement where he bent his whole body and then snapped it to give momentum to his upper body.
“Your elbow and thigh touch here, right?”
“Yes.”
“Why do you think they touch?”
“I assume it’s to give a sense of rhythm to the movement of bending and straightening the body.”
“Correct.”
He agreed immediately, but he wasn't finished.
“But you shouldn't stop thinking there.”
“……!”
“Look. You have to move while considering the fact that you’ll be bending your upper body in the next movement.”
Cheong-ryeo pulled his elbow out to the side more than necessary and then pulled his upper body in.
“This way, the path of the arm joint becomes larger, so the movement snaps faster when you bend down.”
When he did that, a certain tension appeared in the movement.
It was what people called 'snappy' or 'crisp.'
“That’s how the lines look good.”
“……”
“If you pay attention to why the preceding and following movements were included, you’ll be able to show your full potential from now on.”
I almost bit my tongue.
Good god.
This bastard is being actually helpful.
Because I understood that the advice he just gave was extremely useful.
‘…I wondered why my dancing didn't feel as good as others with the same stats despite how much I raised them.’
This kind of thing required either innate talent or time-earned realization.
You either know it instinctively like Cha Yu-jin, or you realize it after countless hours of agonizing and practicing like Keun Se-jin.
And to refine that into language and convey it so that even a layman could understand… was something only someone who had attempted the same thing thousands of times could do.
‘He didn't just coast through all those years.’
I cleanly acknowledged it.
“Yes. Thank you.”
“……!”
Cheong-ryeo fell silent for a moment, as if he hadn't expected that.
But he soon seemed to understand on his own and nodded with a smile.
“Right. It’s better to hear these things privately, isn't it? It hurts your feelings to be pointed out in front of everyone.”
“……”
“Ah, I’m not saying you’re particularly bad at it. Haha.”
Damn, that actually hurts my pride a bit.
‘My dancing might be like this, but my singing is—damn it.’
It’s thanks to the status window, but I can’t help but feel defensive.
“I don’t get upset over things like that. I’m sure you wouldn't be upset if I gave you advice during recording, sunbae-nim.”
“……Aha. Right.”
Cheong-ryeo’s eyes narrowed.
But soon, he shrugged as if conceding.
“Well, I guess that’s the limit of talent. I couldn't get any further than that.”
“……”
He probably couldn't. Seeing how a guy whose vocal growth limit was B+ had stubbornly pushed it all the way to B+.
Just as I was about to feel a bit of admiration, I heard him mutter in a very low voice, almost to himself.
“That’s why it was always so annoying trying to find a sane young kid who could sing well.”
“……”
“Well, this time… I mean, even now, I can’t exactly call it a success. He left, after all. Haha.”
…Come to think of it, the VTIC main vocalist was that guy from the club.
This won’t do. I quickly changed the subject before any more crazy talk came out.
“But you’ve been promoting just fine.”
“I guess I’ve developed some know-how. So…”
Beep-beep-beep-beep!
At that moment, a loud alarm went off.
“Ah, time’s up.”
It meant the break was over.
Cheong-ryeo immediately went to the center of the practice room and said while stretching his neck.
“Then let’s match the details now.”
And so began a relentless process of unifying choreography details, so obsessive that one might wonder if it was necessary for a one-time special stage.
I’ll just say that the only ones thrilled by this were the production crew.
“Is it up yet?”
A personal fan of Cheong-ryeo was refreshing Netplus, constantly checking if Episode 3 had been uploaded.
And that action was soon rewarded.
“It’s up!”
She couldn't miss a variety show featuring Cheong-ryeo for the first time in a long while! The fan excitedly watched Episode 3.
But… Cheong-ryeo barely appeared this time.
“Hmm…”
Certainly, it was still provocative, and there was a certain pleasure in seeing the participants shedding tears and snot while being purified and refined through their hardships.
But since Cheong-ryeo, the most important person, hardly appeared, her excitement cooled down significantly.
‘Right… there’s no way he filmed for that long.’
He wasn't the main MC, and appearing that much as a mentor was already a huge deal.
“I should just watch the cut version.”
The fan shrugged and decided to stop wasting her time.
But at that moment.
[Coming up next!]
[A spectacular demonstration stage by the K-pop mentors!]
[Participant: Oh, holy crap!]
[My god. Will the participants even be able to replicate this stage?]
Suddenly, a teaser for the special stage appeared.
“Crazy, Shin Jae-hyun!!”
And the fan didn't miss Cheong-ryeo’s face.
‘What is this!!’
The fan didn't hesitate and immediately dragged the playback bar to the end. Guessing that since they teased it like this, it would surely appear at the very end.
And her prediction was correct.
“Aaaah!”
Amidst the video’s atmosphere, which had suddenly shifted to look like typical WeTube stage content.
The fan saw the seven idol mentors standing in formation.
And Cheong-ryeo was really among them!
“Gasp.”
It was almost the first time since his second year after debut that Cheong-ryeo was performing on stage with other idols!
‘Whoa, Park Moon-dae is there too.’
The fan’s mind was racing.
And just as she thought the formation—where the idols were posing with their chins up and arms crossed—looked somewhat familiar.
The intro began.
—ShhShhShh, Shh…!
“……!”
This was… a fresh idol hit song that had been released only six months ago!
And it wasn't just any hit song.
‘That’s Mirinae’s song!’
The hit song of a rookie girl group that hadn't even been debuted for a full year was flowing from the screen.