Chapter 44: Special Mission! Shine Bright (5)
44. Special Mission! Shine Bright (5)
The trainee who hadn't shown up until the end was the same one who'd been spewing vulgarities about how those who didn't make it shouldn't act up.
'His name was Shin... something.'
I'm the type who remains completely uninterested in things I don't care about from the start. I recognize his face, but I can't quite remember what his deal is.
"Uh, Hajin. The writer-nim is asking if we're starting practice... What should we do? Should we go find Kyoungho?"
"No, let's just start practice."
Ah, Shin Kyoungho. So it was Kyoungho.
I waved off Gong Seok who was hesitantly approaching and stood up. Then I walked over to the production staff who were busy preparing cameras in one corner.
"Writer-nim, Kyoungho seems to be feeling unwell. Would it be alright if just the rest of us practice first?"
"Oh, of course, of course. Just proceed naturally as if the cameras aren't here."
"Understood."
While the writer discussed today's filming schedule with the accompanying PD, I approached the other seven members who were stretching nervously. The mics were on but the camera slate hadn't rolled yet.
'If I'm going to say something, now's the time.'
I brought up the thoughts I'd been organizing ever since deciding to come to this practice room today.
"Listen up."
"...?"
"I'm an ENFP. You know how ENFPs tend to bottle up their hurt feelings, right? Honestly, I was really hurt yesterday."
Some of the guys rolled their eyes while checking my reaction. I deliberately made eye contact with each of them as I continued.
"But let me be blunt. I want to debut. Seriously."
'To be precise, I have to debut.'
Looking at the guys wondering what I was getting at, I asked with complete sincerity in that moment:
"Don't you?"
An awkward tension filled the air. In the distance, an assistant director came running and loudly clapped the slate in the center of the practice room. This meant everything from now on was officially on the record.
"Let's win this, Team A bastards."
That's perfect teaser material, assistant director noona. Please make sure to use this audio.
I clapped with an inaudible laugh. It was the signal flare for our first practice.
Trainees aren't as special as I thought.
That was the conclusion of Assistant Director Park, three months into his job, who had successfully made his broadcast debut through Miro's upcoming survival show.
He'd come in with high expectations about getting to see idol trainees (especially Miro's next generation!), but the trainees he actually met were just ordinary teenage boys you could find anywhere on the street.
Maybe slightly taller and better-looking than average?
When he shared this observation with his senior who was leading today's shoot, the senior laughed heartily and said:
—Of course, they're just kids in their teens standing in front of cameras for the first time. It takes years after debut to develop that real idol aura~.
Well, that made sense. Seo Taeil from yesterday's opening shoot had truly looked like a celebrity!
'Ah. Maybe I'm underwhelmed because I saw Taeil first? The gap is too big?'
Nodding to himself, Assistant Director Park resolved to take a photo with Seo Taeil before this program ended. Just then, someone's sharp command cut through the music blasting in the practice room.
"Wrong again! Focus properly!"
"Whoa, scared me."
Damn, that was intense.
The volume carried clearly even to Assistant Director Park in the corner. The source was the leader of Team B directing practice in the center. His name was Kang... something like that.
"Watch your lines! Your lines!"
"Align properly! Everyone's off right now!"
"Who still hasn't memorized the lyrics?"
Not once relaxing his stern expression as he barked orders, he reminded Assistant Director Park of their main PD. He pursed his lips. Then—
Another sun rises, shining upon you and me
Let's hold hands so we don't lose our way
I'll go with you, so night never comes
Probably his part, the trainee continued singing live loudly while executing the choreography. Assistant Director Park found himself instinctively drawn to that raw, unfiltered voice. Whether it was his natural volume or not, the trainee's voice came through clearly over the backing track.
'...He's good?'
Assistant Director Park, who'd just been thinking trainees were nothing special, found his gaze increasingly fixed on the trainee in the snapback cap. As the song approached its climax, he realized he was unconsciously waiting for that trainee's parts.
And (before he knew it!) that wasn't his only charm!
"Let's take it slow, one two."
"Right, but we need to make it feel smoother than this."
"You've all memorized the moves quickly. We're halfway there."
"No, you can ease up there. Hitting it too hard looks tacky."
Practice led by Snapback Leader (his newly acquired nickname) was undeniably efficient. He'd shout energetic cues when needed, then switch to warm, detailed explanations for finer points. It was almost like—
'Like he completely understands what the song's creator wanted to express.'
The only downside was the other trainees struggling to keep up with Snapback Leader's directions.
Suddenly curious, Assistant Director Park asked the junior writer feverishly taking notes beside him:
"Writer-nim, how old is that leader kid?"
"Who, Hajin-ssi? Probably... nineteen? Or twenty?"
'Nineteen? Not twenty-nine?'
There's no way a Korean high school senior could have that level of maturity and experience! That Snapback Leader was secretly a twenty-nine-year-old veteran of group projects would remain a fact she'd never know.
During break after the first practice session, Hajin downed an entire bottle of water in one go and thought:
'Guess my military training is paying off here.'
The soldier's stamina he'd urgently acquired through the system yesterday proved even more helpful than expected. All that forced marching and singing military songs had given him lung capacity that made singing live while dancing surprisingly manageable!
[System Notification: Ahem (Feeling proud)]
'Yeah, thanks.'
Genuinely grateful to the show-off system this time, Hajin tossed the empty bottle into recycling and surveyed the practice room atmosphere.
'They said they're wrapping up filming. The kids... not bad.'
The awkwardness from this morning had long since shattered under Hajin's intense practice. Bowing to the production staff filing out with promises to see them tonight, Hajin thought:
'So the only problem left is... that one guy.'
"Let's take lunch, rest a bit, then regroup at 2pm. Good work everyone—"
At the mention of rest, they all collapsed onto the practice room floor with a mix of groans and cheers. Watching them, Hajin quietly slipped out with another water bottle in hand.
Shin Youngho. (Wrong) Time to retrieve one lost lamb.
Shin Kyoungho (age 18, Kang Hajin's lost lamb1, not Shin Youngho) felt something had gone terribly wrong as he came down to the company cafeteria for lunch.
"Traitor bastards. Leaving me out..."
Was ignoring Seok's message last night about needing to talk, choosing instead to immerse himself in the console game his roommate Seongwoo brought, his mistake? The moment he heard his teammates had all practiced with Hajin (with cameras rolling!) without him, Kyoungho started panicking.
"I shouldn't have listened to Seongwoo hyung!"
The problem was buying into Seongwoo's advice that Hajin would hog all the spotlight, so Kyoungho should demonstrate superior leadership to stand out more on broadcast.
Already jealous that Hajin, who joined much later, had become close with the people he admired while getting higher rankings, his envy and inferiority complex had exploded into yesterday's incident.
—Hyung! What do I do? They're filming without me right now!
—...Kyoungho-ah. I told you to show you're working harder and better than Hajin. I heard about yesterday too—I'm disappointed. You even dragged me into it?
This morning, when he confronted Seongwoo about the situation asking what to do now, seeing Seongwoo express disappointment and back out made him realize:
'I'm screwed.'
Visions of being cursed at by the entire nation, flooded with hate comments, never debuting or even dreaming of being a celebrity again made Kyoungho clutch his head in despair.
Then someone slammed an ion drink onto his table.
"...?"
"Hey, Youngho-ah."
"...!"
Without waiting for a reply, Hajin pulled out the opposite chair and sat down, deploying his 'kind and caring hyung smile' reserved for when he wanted to appear nice.
"Let's talk."
"......"
Clutching his last shred of pride, Kyoungho stayed silent, but Hajin continued regardless.
"Seok-i hyung told me. That you've never made it to the special class since joining Miro."
"Th-that's—"
"That you've been a trainee for ages but keep getting passed over by newcomers like Haruna and Eunchan. Hearing that made me think. I get it. Seeing me get better results than you must have stung."
"...Yeah."
'What? He's not mad?'
Kyoungho felt his guard lowering slightly at the unexpectedly gentle tone.
'Is this guy a pushover? Maybe I can smoothly take the reconciliation route if I play this right?'
Seeing potential escape routes, Kyoungho's lips twitched upward. Hajin patted his arm with increasingly sentimental eyes and voice.
"It's okay if you don't like me. Honestly, we're all still young. It's that age where we fight and get sensitive. Losing control of emotions—I get that."
As Kyoungho fully let his guard down at the wistful words—
Thud.
"But even kids know the difference. What to say and what not to. Manners and rudeness. Common sense and being clueless."
Huh?
Hajin tightened his grip on Kyoungho's arm and yanked him forward. As Kyoungho stumbled noisily, Hajin smiled and showed a photo on his phone.
"Th-this is...!"
"Life's about real battles, Youngho-ah. Why'd you leave evidence?"
It was screenshots of messages from a group chat Kyoungho made excluding Hajin—filled with Hajin slander, complaints about other trainees, and Kyoungho leading the practice boycott.
And the recipient of these screenshots...
<Miro_Team Leader Ji Soo-ho>
"Choose. End your trainee career, or crawl back obediently."
Lost lamb?
[System Notification: 777 Cash bonus awarded! (Reason: Satisfaction)]
I never said I'd be nice about it.