Chapter 45: Daylight (1)
45. Daylight (1)
"Good, you're well prepared. I was actually quite worried about Team B."
Seo Tae-il's satisfied applause echoed through the practice room. The Feather-class trainees, having just finished their mid-check evaluation, exhaled roughly while shouting "Thank you!" in unison. The cameras zoomed in on Hajin standing at the center. His slightly scrunched face as he caught his breath was clearly captured on the monitors.
"But Kyoungho needs more practice. You're dragging behind alone."
"...Yes, sir!"
"Anyway, the overall energy is great. Maybe it's because you're young, but everyone's got that fighting spirit."
"Thank you!"
Unaware that this fighting spirit was forged through Hajin's ruthless discipline (with no regard for blood or tears), Tae-il chuckled as he opened the trainee profile file in his hand.
"Who's the leader here? Hajin. Hajin's done well keeping the atmosphere together."
Hajin smiled modestly and shook his head at the continuous praise.
"The kids followed along well."
"Hey, being too humble brings bad luck."
"Guess they all recognized my outstanding leadership."
"Oh? Now that's a new kind of bad luck."
Even the production staff filming this steady back-and-forth burst into muffled laughter. Watching the warm atmosphere flow, Hajin became certain.
'This'll get good edits.'
In survival shows where narrative is key, underdog rebellions are always welcome. Especially when it's a program produced by Kwon Productions.
'And if there's a comparable top team to contrast with, that'd be the cherry on top.'
Hoping Team A's evaluation in another practice room right now would be less than positive (Sorry guys, but fail a little for me), Hajin smiled in relief.
"But Hajin."
"...?"
"You're still not being greedy this time?"
Hajin faltered at Tae-il's unexpected question as he meaningfully alternated glances between the part distribution sheet and Hajin. Seriously, why does this guy keep picking on me? It wasn't even like last time where I completely avoided my own parts.
'I'm doing the sub-vocals and dance break center—what more greed does he want?'
"The part distribution... was decided after discussion with the team members. If I get another solo stage opportunity, I'll be more greedy then."
After some thought, Hajin's answer made Tae-il's eyebrows wiggle again. What kind of answer does this punk want?
As Hajin grew increasingly frustrated while barely maintaining his expression, Tae-il nodded after making a thoughtful face.
"Well, whatever. Anyway, everyone worked hard, and I look forward to the mentor evaluations too."
"Yes! Thank you!"
When Tae-il made motions to wrap up, PD Kwon nodded. Okay, we're cutting~ Slate please. At this, the camera operators all placed their cameras in the center of the practice room.
"Uh, where's Seonjae?"
"CP Yoon went out earlier to settle the dinner bill."
"Ah, he went there. Then... Hajin-ssi, sorry but could you clap the slate once?"
"Ah, sure."
PD Kwon asked Hajin because the assistant director who usually clapped the slate had stepped out for another schedule. It wasn't anything deliberate—Hajin just happened to be standing right in the center where all cameras were focused.
Reacting instinctively to PD Kwon's call, Hajin raised his hand from the center.
"Slate please—!"
"......"
"March 2nd, 8:42 PM, Team B mid-check, one two three!"
"......?"
Clap—!
A loud, precise clap that would clearly pick up on all rolling cameras and mics resounded. Then an odd silence fell over the practice room from some inexplicable sense of déjà vu.
And the person who felt it most strongly was the one who'd clapped.
'Ah shit, I did it without thinking.'
He'd clapped the slate too skillfully and naturally!
The booming, clear enunciation from a trainee who was just supposed to clap casually in the center. Everyone—Seo Tae-il about to leave, PD Kwon giving next shooting directions, even the sweaty trainees fanning their T-shirts—blinked and stared at Hajin.
In that brief 1-2 second moment, Hajin thought:
'This is definitely behind-the-scenes material.'
He could literally see PD Kwon's expression changing in real time with interest! Hajin immediately scratched his head awkwardly with an embarrassed laugh.
"Uh, last time I saw PD-nim do it like this... Was that wrong?"
As the previously confident trainee laughed embarrassingly with his mouth wide open, laughter erupted again starting with PD Kwon. Six cameras recognizing an entertaining situation continued capturing Hajin from multiple angles.
PD Kwon shrugged at Hajin who kept creating fun editing points.
"Hahaha, what the—Hajin-ssi, if you get eliminated from the survival show, you can be our assistant director~! You clap the slate so satisfyingly."
Of course. He'd learned it by banging his shins during his previous life.
'Is telling an idol to quit the survival show and become a PD an insult or compliment?'
Hajin just smiled at his (former) boss (current) heavenly main PD who seemed determined to re-employ him (literally re-employ).
Naturally, he didn't agree even as a joke.
After the mid-check, the Feather-class trainees headed to their dorm floor to rest. Having received quite positive feedback from Seo Tae-il, the slightly awkward atmosphere from earlier incidents had long dissipated.
Then someone spotted Kyoungho walking ahead and brought up the question everyone was curious about.
"Hey, so why did that hyung get reborn?"
"No idea. Suddenly changed his mind."
When Hajin brought Kyoungho back after lunch, Team B couldn't hide their disbelief. They couldn't believe the Shin Kyoungho who'd been acting like a thug until yesterday was the same person now bowing politely to apologize.
Sure, we flipped our stances overnight like hotteok too, but wasn't that hyung on a whole other level? In this unbelievable situation, plausible theories started blooming.
"You guys don't know? Seok-i hyung begged Hajin hyung—asked him to forgive Kyoungho hyung. Said it was his fault as the older one for not taking responsibility."
"Nah, they just fought it out and Shin Kyoungho lost. Saw Hajin hyung going to find him at lunch."
"Both are right—they didn't fight but Hajin hyung went to persuade him. Saw them talking in a corner earlier. Kyoungho hyung looked like he was crying while Hajin hyung patted his back saying he understood."
"Right, I saw that too. Hyung pulled him into a hug and everything."
As the whispers continued, the heartwarming misunderstanding grew. They couldn't possibly imagine Hajin's ruthless threat—"Get your ass to the practice room now unless you want to die"—hidden beneath that affectionate scene.
And these innocent boys soon began overflowing with respect for Hajin who magnanimously forgave the rebellion and successfully led practice, restoring hope for their first mission they'd thought was doomed!
"Wow... Isn't that hyung literally an angel? Honestly, for a younger guy to forgive someone who challenged him like that yesterday..."
"Honestly we... We were all about to get screwed yesterday but Hajin hyung just gave us another chance, really."
The earnest boys then began self-reflecting. Looking back, they realized they'd been too weak and complacent—had Hajin not stepped in, they would've become prime targets for hate comments!
And after hearing all this, Park Jae-young spoke up.
"...Ah, I heard something about that hyung too. From Tae-hee."
"Tae-hee? What'd he say?"
All eyes turned to Jae-young. The recipient of these gazes was looking at Hajin who had just finished washing up, towel draped over his head as he wandered past in the distance.
"...He said that hyung is fucking terrifying so don't mess with him."
"Ah."
Everyone nodded in understanding at this single statement.
...Let's not mess with him. A precious lesson was being engraved into their bones.
"I think we got off to a good start."
Meanwhile, unaware that various heartwarming(?) tales about him were flourishing, Hajin passed by the source of his controversy(?) and strolled along the dorm floor's outdoor walking path (what kind of company building has this?). He wanted to dry his hair (he liked letting it dry naturally in the wind) and organize his thoughts.
The early schedule Hajin had noted in his phone for Miro Maze went roughly like this:
Mid-check [today]
Mentor evaluation [day after tomorrow]
Title track recording
Title track performance video filming>
What this meant was:
'It means we're working ourselves to death starting today.'
Since the first broadcast was in May, they'd probably squeeze in two more missions before then. It was only March now, so it was safe to assume the next month would be hell. Whether as an assistant director or holed up in an entertainment company, this period had always been the toughest in his past life. Being a participant wouldn't be any different.
"If we just get past the mentor evaluations..."
Though things seemed to be following his expected flow, something felt off. Tae-il's earlier comment kept nagging at him.
Greed? He was already handling leader duties, sub-vocals, and dance break center—what more greed did they want?
"...Feels like there's some intention behind those words..."
"Hey."
"Jesus! Who's there!?"
"Ah, sorry."
Just as he was sinking into thought, Hajin nearly jumped out of his skin at the massive shadow suddenly beside him. The equally startled figure flailed long arms as he stepped back.
"Lee Do-ha?"
"Sorry, I called you a few times but you didn't answer."
Completely decked in black, Lee Do-ha stood wrapped in a black scarf. Why a scarf in March? When asked, he replied, "I get cold easily."
'Wow, a literal winter bear.'
If this guy debuted, bear emojis would definitely appear in his reality show captions. This was an industry insider's intuition.
"I was taking a walk too."
"Dressed like that?"
"...I get cold easily."
Do-ha genuinely showed the notebook in his hand—likely lyric sketches covered in densely penned words and phrases. Ah right. This kid's a genius artist. Hajin nodded at the suddenly remembered fact.
"But you write on paper too?"
"I can write more freely this way."
"Isn't it hard to find things later?"
"Ah. I organize and transfer finished ones to my laptop later. Back them up on cloud too."
"...Backups. Backups are important. Backups."
Memories surfaced of his past life in the office where everyone would instinctively hit Ctrl+S whenever someone yelled in panic. Hajin quietly rubbed his goosebump-covered arms.
'Wait. Should I ask him?'
As Hajin considered wrapping up since they had nothing particular to discuss, he studied Do-ha intently. Though still a rookie, Lee Do-ha knew how to produce. Maybe Do-ha could understand what Tae-il meant?
"Hey Do-ha. Can I ask you something?"
"Sure. Ask away."
"What does 'not being greedy' mean? Seo Tae-il sunbaenim said that during the mid-check."
He felt slightly embarrassed asking a genius kid this, but Hajin was getting genuinely frustrated. Maybe because Do-ha wasn't on his team or one of the younger kids, the words kept flowing once he started.
"It seems connected to what he said during last month's evaluation... I actually have lots of parts this time? I'm doing the sub-vocal opening, dance break center, and there's ad-libs in verse 3 too."
"......"
"So what does 'not being greedy' mean? Since you produce too, maybe you see something from a different perspective?"
Do-ha stared intently as Hajin poured out his worries. While active listening is key in counseling, Hajin frowned at Do-ha who was just silently staring—What are you looking at?—and flicked his arm. Hey. What do you think?
After thinking a bit longer, Do-ha cautiously spoke.
"...Can I be honest?"
"......? Of course. Speak freely."
Wondering what warranted such caution, Hajin crossed his arms as Do-ha said:
"If I were the producer, I would never have given you those parts you just mentioned."
"...Why?"
"Because they don't suit you."
"The hell, you little—?"
Hajin blinked as if verbally slapped.