The Schedule Is Set

"Do you have... bad relations with your members?"

Jackpot!

Oh Hee-tae's eyes sparkled with interest.

Jong-woo's expression, on the other hand, crumpled.

Letting the interview fizzle out into something dull and quietly disappearing, or pulling an interview so provocative it bordered on aggro and getting torn apart for it — neither was a good road, and the worry gnawed at him.

But for now, Jong-woo decided to sit still and watch.

At this point, Yeon-woo was their noise-marketing card.

Yeon-woo's image was already in tatters, so there was no choice but to exploit that to save the group.

It would hurt Yeon-woo to know, but Jong-woo wasn't his personal manager.

He had to choose whatever path benefited the group the most.

Unaware of what Jong-woo was thinking, Rembrary shook his head again.

"It's not that."

"But you said you don't get along."

"We neither get along nor fail to get along."

"So — it's a strictly business relationship, then?"

"I suppose."

Rembrary nodded, thinking of the members who dragged him around without even listening to what he had to say.

If they truly got along, they would have heard him out when he said he was in pain.

Shoving him up onto a stage even as he protested he was unwell?

Theirs was clearly not a good relationship.

Oh Hee-tae hid the corner of her mouth, which kept creeping upward into a smirk, and asked again.

"Could you tell me about the dorm?"

"It is very cramped."

"Is that so?"

"The bathroom has no bathtub. Without a bathtub, can that truly be called a bathroom?"

"Wow... that's how you see it?"

"It is."

"Could it be that you're from a wealthy family, Mr. Yeon-woo? Your way of speaking has a certain... air about it."

Rembrary said nothing and merely shrugged.

"Who can say."

He knew absolutely nothing about Woo Yeon-woo's past.

He had been told to keep the memory loss a secret, so this was a question he had no way of answering honestly.

Oh Hee-tae continued to fire off question after question after that.

What was the hardest part of idol life. Whether he had anything to say to fans, now that he was trending. What his fellow members had to say about the whole affair, and so on.

It was a kind of psychological tactic — deny him a moment to think, keep the questions coming, and force the truth out of him.

Each time, Rembrary answered honestly, while Jong-woo gaped and writhed in silent agony.

The public's eyes were razor-sharp.

They sifted through the interview with surgical precision, separating Yeon-woo's own answers from the ones the agency had clearly prepared for him.

CEO Im read every line of Yeon-woo's interview from top to bottom, then studied the reactions pouring in, torn between whether to laugh or to weep.

The answers were a disaster, and people were questioning Yeon-woo's basic character.

Some said the historical-drama speech was pretentious; many more seized on the "business relationship" comment to call him a terrible person with no loyalty to his own members.

Over the "I have fans?" line, protests came pouring in — was he mocking his fans?

The implication being that a handful of fans didn't even count as fans.

No — that was what the vast majority were saying.

And yet plenty of people were also marveling over his looks in the photoshoot accompanying the article.

In an industry where idols who trended were usually swept away and forgotten just as quickly, this was his second wave of noise.

Love it or hate it, the noise marketing had undeniably worked.

CEO Im set down his phone and turned to Jong-woo with an awkward smile.

"Have the kids seen this?"

"Yes."

"What'd they say?"

"They seem a little hurt about the 'business relationship' part... but honestly, they didn't look all that upset."

CEO Im let out a long sigh and asked ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠again.

"What about elsewhere? Any reaction?"

"Yeon-woo's getting torn to shreds out there."

"No, I mean — has anyone called? Broadcast stations, anyone?"

"Sing Sing Sing Sing reached out. They said Wild Animal can appear."

"Not bad. What else?"

"Music Is Coming also offered a slot, returning this week."

CEO Im nodded slowly.

Sing Sing Sing Sing was the rival music program of Music Music, the very show whose stage they'd just wrecked, and Music Is Coming was a fiercely competitive weekend music broadcast.

For three years, <Wild Animal> — forever unknown — had only ever managed to scrape onto these shows in the dead-end opening slots.

Shows they had to beg with dozens of phone calls and free meals just to appear on once more.

After botching the Music Music stage, he'd assumed even that much was gone forever.

If the stations were contacting them first, then things were looking up, at least.

They were banking on the buzz — and the people cursing Yeon-woo now would be staring hard at the stage the moment he stepped on it, too curious to look away.

No, they'd be glaring with their eyes ablaze, just waiting to hate-watch.

Even that was an opportunity.

"Put the kids in something really sharp, and get 'Marna' to do their makeup."

Marna was the famous styling salon said to practically rebuild a human face from scratch with cosmetics.

Every A-list idol and actor got their makeup done there, but LLL Entertainment had never once worked with them.

The price point was simply too steep.

"Their schedule's going to be packed solid next week, you know."

"That's why I said ask."

He meant pay several times the going rate and book a dawn slot.

"They can keep turning us down forever, for all I care — just this stage, the two performances."

Jong-woo nodded.

"Yes."

"Style them sharp, too. Especially Yeon-woo."

"Yes."

"We had to fight tooth and nail for his character, so at least let the visuals carry it. Make them unmistakable."

"Yes."

"Oh — for Yeon-woo, have them do a slight cat-eye lift or something, go for a fierce image. The others should look soft and sweet."

"Yes."

CEO Im mulled over whether there was anything else, then suddenly barked, "Ah!"

The biggest problem was still sitting there.

"We've got to get Yeon-woo to memorize the choreography!"

"You're right!"

"And the songs. Forget singing live if we have to — at least have him lip-sync his own parts properly. Got it?"

"Yes. Yes!"

At the very moment he was trending.

Rembrary was being taught about the internet by the other members.

His original world had no such device, and Rembrary fell completely, hopelessly in love with the internet.

And then, the next day.

When Jong-woo arrived at the dorm, Rembrary was still glued to his phone, surfing the web.

"We don't have anything scheduled today, right?"

The members who greeted Jong-woo, all mid-yawn, were dressed head to toe in sweats.

"You've got choreography to learn. Up, all of ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠you."

"What's the point of memorizing the dance... do we even have a next stage?"

"Did you kids see the interview that came out?"

"...Yes."

"Off the back of that, Sing Sing Sing Sing and Music Is Coming both called. You've got two stages next week."

At Jong-woo's words, the members' eyes went wide.

Jong-woo slapped the cheering members on their backs, encouraging them.

"Everyone's going to be watching us this time. And when they do, we show them the absolute best we've got. Got it?"

Watching the members erupt in cheers, Jong-woo bit his lip without meaning to.

Three years of fighting with them, three years of scolding them ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠— but they were still one team.

Seeing the kids who'd worked so hard while being dismissed as nobodies light up like that filled him with strength too.

"We can make it. Let's do this right. Got it?"

Having rallied the members one more time, Jong-woo hurried them off to change out of their sweats, then herded everyone to the agency.

There, he first ordered the other members to practice the choreography among themselves, then took Yeon-woo alone into a separate room.

It was an audiovisual room, with a TV so enormous it dominated the entire wall.

Jong-woo seated Rembrary in the center of the room and played the broadcast footage of <Wild Animal>'s comeback stage for their current song on the screen.

"What do you think?"

"It is chaos."

At Yeon-woo's merciless verdict, Jong-woo let out a sigh and said,

"You have three days to memorize this."

What manner of dance is that atrocity...? Rembrary, who had been pondering exactly that, whipped his head toward Jong-woo in shock.

"What?"

He had never once danced in his life. And yet—

"You want me to memorize that?"

"That's right. Stages are booked for Friday and Sunday next week. You'll be performing there."

"!"

"Standing there like a fence post this time is absolutely not an option. People get tired of the same issue fast. Even if you trend again, no amount of noise marketing will save you."

"I have never danced in my life!"

"Wrong. You've danced plenty. You practically lived in the practice room back in your trainee days."

"But—"

"Even if the memories are gone, it stays in the muscle. So memorize it. No — you have to memorize it. No exceptions."

This is troubling indeed, Rembrary thought — and still, he nodded.

Before Jong-woo had arrived.

Rembrary had, in fact, asked the members how much money he had to his name.

He understood that this person, Woo Yeon-woo, was an idol. He understood that idols were singers.

But Rembrary himself was no singer, and he wanted to quit the job.

He wanted to give up the singer's work and find a way back to his original body.

However, the members' answer was a shock.

"What money, you? We've never even gotten a settlement."

Woo Yeon-woo didn't even have enough money to eat!

And Rembrary, who knew nothing of this world, would hardly find it easy to scrape together coin through some other trade.

In the end, Rembrary resolved to continue Woo Yeon-woo's occupation — at least until he had adapted enough to this world to earn his own keep.

Which was why he had no choice but to answer Jong-woo's dancing proposal with a docile yes.

"Very well. I shall attempt it."

"You'll ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠need the lyrics down too."

"The song?"

"You don't have to actually sing. For now, just the lip-sync will do."

"What, pray tell, is a lip-sync?"

"You move your mouth along with the words of the song. Understood?"

"...Understood."

Once Rembrary seemed to grasp it, Jong-woo made him watch the stage performance ten times over, then said,

"Up."

And they returned to the practice room where the other members were, where Jong-woo gave his instructions.

"You watched where your starting position is, right?"

When Rembrary shuffled over to roughly the right spot and stood, Jong-woo relaxed.

The kid had gone strange in the head, sure — but at least he understood what he was told.

Woo Yeon-woo wasn't the group's dance position, but he wasn't a terrible dancer either.

Memory loss wouldn't erase the instincts, so Jong-woo figured he could get the choreography drilled into him within three days.

Right on cue, the dance teacher arrived as well.

"I heard the story. He lost his memory?"

Jong-woo had contacted him in advance, before picking up the members, explained the situation, and made his request.

"That's right. But he still has to be on that stage. Please teach him well."

Jong-woo pleaded with the teacher over and over before stepping back, and the teacher boomed that he should just leave it all to him.

"Plenty of students come to my dance school having never danced a step in their lives, you know."

And so the lesson began — and the dance teacher and Jong-woo made a startling discovery.

Memory-loss Woo Yeon-woo had become a complete rhythmless klutz.