Chapter 38
Chapter 38
“For now… I’d like to do Waiting is Good.”
“……!!”
Seon A-hyun was visibly shaken.
His expression made it clear he hadn’t expected me to agree with his song choice in the slightest.
“R-R-Really?”
“Yeah.”
Waiting is Good was a solid track, and the fact that it was five years old gave it bonus points.
The song Kim Rae-bin suggested, Soul, was only from the year before last.
‘I thought this during the first team match too, but VTIC’s latest hits are a burden.’
Kim Rae-bin seemed confident, but there was no need to take unnecessary risks.
However, I couldn’t completely ignore the opinion of the person who would be leading the arrangement. To utilize that guy’s trait, ‘Maestro,’ I had to throw him a keyword that suited his tastes.
In contrast to Seon A-hyun’s overjoyed face, Kim Rae-bin looked a bit gloomy. He must have expected his opinion to be rejected.
“But since the theme for this team match is ‘Self-Produced,’ it’ll be hard to use the original song as it is.”
“Ah….”
“So, I’d like to see a pretty radical arrangement. Personally, I liked the ‘Oriental’ idea Rae-bin mentioned earlier.”
“That is…”
Kim Rae-bin looked dazed for a moment as if lost in thought, then his face immediately brightened.
“Certainly, the lyrics wouldn’t feel out of place… and if we choose the instruments well, we could produce a very interesting arrangement. If the choreography is modified to match, we could create a very impressive stage scene.”
“That’s a relief.”
That took care of Kim Rae-bin.
Now, what about Keun Se-jin and Gold 1?
I turned my head and scanned the two of them.
As soon as our eyes met, Keun Se-jin gave a nonchalant grin.
“Then how about arranging it with a sexy Oriental vibe?”
“…!”
“Since we’re going with an Oriental style anyway, we have to decide what kind of atmosphere to use within that. I’m saying, let’s go for maximum impact and make it sexy!”
He wasn’t wrong.
‘He probably planned this from the start….’
None of the opinions brought up so far were incompatible with a ‘sexy concept,’ so he likely intended to link it this way no matter what I said.
‘He’s good at talking—just funny enough that it’s awkward to refuse.’
Sure enough, Gold 1 let out a playful groan.
“You really are something else, man. Seriously….”
That was essentially an agreement. Looking at the other two, they were already sold.
“Haha, am I?”
Keun Se-jin shrugged. With that, the opinions of four team members were reflected in the song selection.
‘Since it’s come to this, I might as well bring the last guy along.’
Few viewers disliked a warm, democratic team atmosphere. I spoke up again calmly.
“Should we use the rabbit too, then?”
“Eh?”
Gold 1 waved his hand dismissively.
“Oh, what I said? It’s fine. I was just talking.”
“No. I think it’ll fit well.”
“…A rabbit?”
“Yes. You know, the rabbit from our old folk tales.”
The other team members seemed to be recalling different stories.
“The Tale of the Tortoise and the Hare?”
“Wait… is the one where the rabbit and turtle race a Korean story?”
“That’s Aesop’s Fables.”
Amidst the whispering team members, only Keun Se-jin grinned. Quick-witted bastard.
“The Moon Rabbit?”
“The Moon Rabbit. Exactly.”
It was the rabbit from the old legend that made rice cakes with a mortar and pestle on the moon. Also known as the Jade Rabbit. It was even famous from a children’s song about it being under a cinnamon tree.
“…How on earth do you make that sexy?”
Gold 1 muttered in bewilderment, asking if this was some kind of childhood-ruining plan. He was probably imagining some kind of Playboy-style rabbit.
However, Kim Rae-bin seemed to like the keyword, as his eyes were already sparkling. It was honestly convenient since I didn’t have to open my mouth.
“I think we can reconstruct it by just taking the motif rather than using it literally. It’s a charming concept if we can capture the image of a mythical animal.”
“Oh, is that so? I mean, sure, I’m happy if my idea gets used.”
Gold 1 nodded half-heartedly. Keun Se-jin immediately wrapped things up.
“Mmm~ I like it too! Then, should we decide by a show of hands for now?”
A few teams nearby were already informing the production staff of their song choices.
Timewise, it was about time for our team to finalize the selection and move on to the details.
“Those in favor of reinterpreting Waiting is Good with a sexy Oriental concept featuring the Moon Rabbit, please raise your hands!”
Immediately, everyone’s hands went up. Keun Se-jin, who raised his hand as soon as he finished speaking, laughed.
“Man, that was truly democratic~ All of our opinions were reflected. Let’s work hard!”
“Yes!”
“Yay—”
And so, the discussion concluded with the same warm round of applause it had started with.
It was then.
“I said I don’t want to!”
Someone from another team nearby stood up with a shout.
Their face happened to catch my eye. It was Lee Se-jin.
“What’s going on?”
“Uh….”
“Are they fighting?”
The participants around us whispered quietly.
However, everyone tended to hold their tongues. Saying something unnecessary was no different from signaling that you wanted to be a victim of the editing.
In the midst of that, Lee Se-jin was glaring at the participants across from him.
I could see a stiff-faced Choi Won-gil and a dejected-looking Cha Yu-jin.
But the confrontation didn’t last long.
Lee Se-jin, teeth clenched, turned around and ran out of the filming set.
“…!!”
“Whoa. Those guys….”
Fortunately, Ryu Cheong-woo immediately regained his composure and followed Lee Se-jin out.
“You guys wait here for a moment. …Se-jin? Lee Se-jin!”
A camera hurriedly followed after Ryu Cheong-woo.
“…….”
Wow, that team is… doomed.
If even the simple-minded Cha Yu-jin was caught up in it, I could imagine the atmosphere.
“Good grief….”
Gold 1 let out a short sigh.
Kim Rae-bin’s face darkened, perhaps as his trauma from the last team match flared up.
However, no one was tactless enough to approach that team to offer comfort or ask questions.
They had been filming for weeks; there wasn’t a single participant left who couldn’t read the room.
‘Meddling is just fodder for the broadcast.’
So, this ‘Rabbit Class’ quickly finished reporting their song choice to the staff and moved to the practice room.
It was a wise decision.
It was well past midnight when the ‘Rabbit Class’ returned to the dorms.
Everyone looked like wilted bean sprouts.
“The bedroom looks so good….”
Keun Se-jin let out a dying groan and flopped onto the bed.
He looked completely knocked out, unable to endure the insane schedule of handling the arrangement, choreography modifications, and stage concept all on their own for ten days.
“I’ll… go wash up….”
After leaving those words, Seon A-hyun couldn’t even get up from his bed.
“…….”
He had been in a state of extreme tension while constantly recreating the choreography to match the progress of the arrangement, and it seemed his mental strength had finally given out.
Gold 1 muttered that he needed to eat something and slithered off to another room. He probably planned to scrounge a cup of ramen off Gold 2, but he could handle himself.
“…Would it be alright if I used the shower first…?”
“Sure.”
Kim Rae-bin called out to Seon A-hyun a few times, but when there was no response, he asked for my permission and went into the bathroom.
So, I was the only one left in the room who was still sane.
Ah, why was I relatively fine?
It was the status window, of course. I thought of the new trait floating at the bottom of my status window.
[Trait: Bacchus 500 (B)]
- A clear mind and a healthy body!
: All fatigue accumulation speed -50%
It was a trait I had pulled as a reward for the next stage of the ‘Fame Achievement’ after the last team match stage was aired.
[Fame is Ripening!]
500,000 people have remembered your existence!
: Draw Heroic Trait ☜ Click!
Honestly, it was a number that didn’t feel real.
500,000 people?
Just how popular had the program become for over 500,000 people to remember a single participant? Even for a top-tier participant, it was a startling number.
The fact that it looked like it would surpass 1 million soon based on the speed was almost eerie.
‘One million people will remember me… no, they’ll remember ‘Park Moon-dae’.’
In times like this, I felt it was a relief that I was in someone else’s body.
Anyway, the 500,000-unit Fame Achievement draw was a jackpot. It was the most useful thing I’d obtained for a survival environment so far.
It didn’t immediately increase my lung capacity or build muscle, but busy days with high physical exertion became significantly easier.
‘Even after running this hard, I still have the mental leeway to organize my thoughts.’
I stood up and gave a short stretch. I was still tired and lethargic, regardless.
‘I should wash up and sleep as soon as Kim Rae-bin comes out.’
Just then, there was a sound at the door.
Knock, knock.
“…?”
Was it Gold 1? But there was no way that guy would bother knocking.
‘If it were a staff member, they would have identified themselves already.’
I had no idea who it could be.
Knock, knock, knock, knock!
The knocking continued. However, the team members inside the room were all out for the count.
‘…This is getting annoying.’
I sighed, got up, and opened the door.
“…!”
Cha Yu-jin was standing outside.
Up to this point, it was a bit surprising but understandable. I figured he might have come to see Kim Rae-bin, since they were from the same agency.
The problem was that he was bawling his eyes out.
Cha Yu-jin was sobbing, his face a mess of tears and snot.
“…….”
‘…Why is he here crying?’
I was extremely bewildered.
Fixed cameras were installed in the dorm hallways and inside the rooms. That meant this guy coming here crying would have been caught on camera, and I had no idea how it would be portrayed in the broadcast.
No, more than that, why did he crawl in here of all places?
‘Wouldn’t it be common sense to talk to Ryu Cheong-woo?’
With Ryu Cheong-woo’s personality, he would have comforted him well. Why come to another team and create potential for conflict?
‘Then again, he doesn’t seem like the type whose brain works that way….’
After a myriad of thoughts during that brief moment of silence, I finally spoke.
“…Are you here to see Rae-bin?”
“Sniff, I came to see you and Kim Rae-bin.”
Cha Yu-jin answered with slurred pronunciation.
‘Why me?’
I didn’t think we had built much of a friendship… well, I suppose he must have really liked the last team match.
The result was good, and the process (from Cha Yu-jin’s perspective) was probably fun and stress-free.
‘I guess he’s missing it now that he’s tasted the hell of this team match.’
Regardless, if I sent him back now, I didn’t think the editors would portray it positively, no matter how the scene looked.
I suppressed a sigh and replied.
“Come in. Rae-bin is washing up.”
“Okay….”
Cha Yu-jin continued to sob as he entered the room.
On the beds, the other team members were sleeping like the dead. I was certain they wouldn’t wake up from this level of noise, so I didn’t bother lowering my voice.
I sat him down at a nearby table for now.
‘Should I give him something?’
I looked at Cha Yu-jin’s pathetic state with a heavy heart, then pulled a few chocolate bars out of my bag and handed them to him.
He’d probably feel a bit better if he got some sugar in him.
“Thank you….”
Cha Yu-jin took the chocolate bars and stuffed one into his mouth, his words still muffled.
“…….”
Only the sound of him munching on chocolate echoed in the room. I felt troubled.
‘Should I… damn it, should I ask him something?’
If I asked and ended up having to get involved in another team’s business, nothing could be more horrific.
But it was also a problem if I stayed quiet and let him talk to Kim Rae-bin.
‘Kim Rae-bin isn’t exactly the type with outstanding social skills either.’
There was no telling what kind of situation this could escalate into. It would be troublesome if the arrows ended up pointing at me for being the middleman.
In the end, I spoke up again, feeling like I was treading through a minefield.