Preparing the New Album

"Is it really that fascinating?"

Jungseo asked with a smile as he headed over to drink water mixed with pumpkin powder and caught sight of Rembrary.

Rembrary lay sprawled on the sofa, holding his phone up in both hands and staring blankly at the screen. Every now and then he would chuckle to himself, looking utterly delighted.

"It fascinates me that people leave comments on my photographs."

Hye-gyeol, who had been playing that infamous Three Kingdoms game on the sofa, snickered and butted in. "Hyung, your photos always got tons of comments. It's just that most of them were hate."

"These are photographs I posted myself, are they not?"

Jungseo shook the bottle to help the pumpkin powder dissolve and asked, "What kinds of comments?"

"Nothing in particular. Perfectly obvious things, for the most part."

"?"

"Things like 'he's handsome,' and so forth."

"Ugh, insufferable."

Kicking the leg of the sofa, Hye-gyeol grumbled before asking, "Anything else? Any comments besides the compliments?"

"They ask what I have on my head, and why I took the picture that way."

"What did you even post?"

When Rembrary showed him the photo, Hye-gyeol asked, "Is that a light?"

Rembrary dodged the question and reclaimed his phone.

Jungseo walked over toward the sofa and offered careful advice. "I know it's fun when people react to everything you say or post, but be careful. One poorly chosen remark and you can end up badly misunderstood more often than you'd think."

"A misunderstanding from a single slip of the tongue? How could that possibly happen? A person's true character reveals itself in how they misspeak, does it not?"

"...Just don't. Saying things like that only hurts you."

"?"

Rembrary looked bewildered, but Hye-gyeol understood exactly what Jungseo meant and snickered.

Jungseo continued. "Your memory's unreliable, so you're especially easy to misread. Show your posts to Jongwoo-hyung before you upload anything, and ask if it's okay."

"Ah, ah. As it happens, Jongwoo has already said as much."

"He has?"

"Photos may be posted freely, but I am to show him any writing first. Failing that, I am to show it to you."

"Good. That'll work."

Rembrary agreed, then grabbed his phone again and checked his comments before asking, "But Jungseo."

"Yeah?"

"What does ppakdaegari mean, again? People keep calling me that."

"...Just ignore it."

"I pressed the heart on them, intending to look them up again later — that should be fine, no? Apparently there is a function that gathers all the comments you've hearted. I hearted every comment that used strange words."

"!"

The next day, the choreographer they'd booked arrived at the practice studio.

He'd already received the demo tape and played it dozens of times, and he gave the members a thumbs-up. "The song blew me away. I think we can expect great things from Wild Animal this comeback."

He shot Rembrary a gaze brimming with expectation in particular. As the most famous of the group by every measure and the center of constant buzz, he naturally drew the most attention.

But fifteen minutes into dance practice, that interest slowly curdled into fury.

"How can you not dance this naturally?"

"You just lift your foot and put it down! It's not hard! How does this turn into a high kick?!"

"I don't want acrobatics, I don't want windmills, I don't want anything hard! This is the easiest choreography there is!"

"Dammit, Woo Yeon-woo! Seniors who just started learning salsa would dance better than you!"

"Hey! Are you going to do it properly or not?!"

His voice rising by degrees, the choreographer finally couldn't take his own blood pressure anymore and clutched his forehead.

If Yeon-woo simply couldn't memorize the choreography and fumbled around cluelessly, at least the man wouldn't get this angry. No — the problem was that he memorized the moves all at once and then couldn't keep up afterward, so he threaded the needle of being just barely, infuriatingly off.

The base of the choreography the choreographer had designed for this concept was waacking, where the point was relentless, sharply punctuated arm movements on the beat.

Having caught a subtle hint that Yeon-woo was a terrible dancer, he'd deliberately kept the group-dance feel while cutting down the footwork. Just because someone could move their arms didn't mean they could move their whole body, but he figured it beat complicated blocking.

The idea was that the singing member would break away from the waacking and step to the center of the stage, reciting the lyrics with an angelic expression while the other members danced behind him, channeling something demonic.

But with Yeon-woo — the most eye-catching member thanks to that face — looking like that, how could anyone not lose their temper?

"At this point, just fake a leg injury. Say you hurt your leg, sit on a chair, and sing. That'd be better."

Rembrary apologized, then threw himself even harder into practice. But no amount of effort could make a stiff body move smoothly.

"It is because I cannot eat meat."

Having watched all this, Hye-gyeol made his case to Jongwoo. "We need to feed Yeonwoo-hyung meat, Jongwoo-hyung. He only ever eats bland, dry food, so he's got no oil in his joints. That's why he's so stiff."

Jongwoo decided there was logic in it, and that evening, secretly from CEO Im, he grilled pork belly for the members.

But when Rembrary's dancing was no better the next day, Hye-gyeol had his faulty argument confiscated along with a full day's worth of chicken breast.

And then came Thursday.

When the magnificent, brilliant group choreography he had designed kept getting tripped up by Rembrary's ankles and never got to shine, the choreographer finally exploded. He went to CEO Im and made a grave request.

"For the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠music video, fine — say we just shoot his face. But shouldn't we cut him from the comeback stage at least? Put a cast on him, sit him in a chair to sing, and push out articles like 'Woo Yeon-woo performs through injury!' That would honestly be better, sir."

"Is it really that bad?"

"Yes. The only idol I've ever seen dance this badly is Yuli O. And at least her group has nine members, so they can hide her in the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠back. Wild Animal can't even do that..."

Grasping the severity of the situation, CEO Im visited the practice studio himself. He'd already watched Rembrary's disastrous dancing several times, though, so the shock didn't hit him the way it had the choreographer. His expectations had been low to begin with.

Still, he figured a man doesn't talk like that without a reason, so he quietly pulled Rembrary aside. "You sing beautifully, Yeon-woo. And if you can sing well, you can dance well. Think of it as an extension of the same skill. They're both about riding the rhythm, aren't they?"

"All men pray, yet not all men receive an answer, do they? It is the same with dance and song."

"That's a weird analogy."

"I am making an effort. I sleep so poorly I've grown this gaunt."

Thanks to his Divine Power, Rembrary's face was as flawless as ever, but his expression genuinely looked exhausted. Dancing, it seemed, was simply beyond what even Rembrary could do anything about.

In the end, CEO Im called the choreographer back in and tried to talk him around. "Yeon-woo's dancing is a little awkward, I'll admit. But he's the one getting the most attention right now. We can't cut him from the comeback stage."

"But sir, because of Yeon-woo, that group formation I envisioned — the one big synchronized routine — just doesn't happen."

"I'm sorry, but please just revise his part to make it a bit easier."

But on Friday, when they headed to the studio for the jacket shoot, the atmosphere flipped entirely.

"I saw the pictorial you did at the funeral home. Seriously gorgeous stuff?"

The photographer had seen both of Rembrary's previous pictorials and had been excited from the start; once the shoot began, he only grew happier.

"Ooh, yes! Yes! Like that! Hold it right there! Perfect!"

They dressed, struck poses according to the concept, and started with Polaroid test shots — and even from those alone, the photographer marveled. "Wow, it's like there's a halo around him in the photos."

Heaping on the praise, he threw himself into the real shoot, hammering the shutter with growing fervor. Rembrary, long accustomed to adulation, gleefully struck pose after pose every time the photographer shouted "Amazing! Incredible!"

During the break, it was a little odd when Rembrary said "Ah, I'm thirsty" and Cathy suddenly bolted off to fetch him a drink, but on the whole it was an enjoyable experience.

"The mood is rather different from the last pictorial, is it not?"

"Back then we were the ones hired to shoot. This time we're the ones doing the hiring."

"Is that so?"

"This side's always going to be more relaxed."

Answering Rembrary's question, Jongwoo flicked his eyes toward a studio staff member holding a small camera. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠"And they told us they're filming the jacket shoot as video footage, remember? They'll use these scenes as material later. Of course the mood is relaxed."

"Ah, ah."

Rembrary sipped the cider Cathy had brought him and stole a sidelong glance at the boy.

Now that he thought about it — why had Cathy been so meek and accommodating all day, so unlike his usual self?

"Alright, back to shooting!"

At the call ending the break, Rembrary set down his cider, and the scattered stylists came swarming back with their makeup boxes.

Then, right as the shoot was finally winding down — everyone exchanging words of thanks all ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠around — a familiar face walked into the back of the studio.

Oh Jung-shin?

It was Oh Jung-shin, his bitter rival.

And today, Oh Jung-shin hadn't come alone. Whether the whole rival group had come to visit, the other members were there too, along with more managers than usual.

Everyone — every member and manager — already knew about the bad blood between Oh Jung-shin and Rembrary, and the fan wars that came with it, so the atmosphere chilled fast.

Still, with all the staff and studio employees around, the managers and members exchanged stiff, awkward greetings and parted ways.

"Ugh, insufferable."

Once they were far enough away that the cursing couldn't be heard, Cathy muttered under his breath.

Oh Jung-shin's real loathing was aimed at Rembrary, but as members of the same group, if Oh Jung-shin's fans pulled anything thuggish, all of Wild Animal paid the price. It was only natural that the other members had come to hate Oh Jung-shin, his group, and his fans right along with him.

But when they stepped outside, Oh Jung-shin and his group weren't the problem.

"Whoa... we're deep in enemy territory."

Hye-gyeol murmured it in the tiniest of voices.

Jongwoo swallowed dryly.

Jungseo frowned, thinking only that this was a bind.

And no wonder.

The area outside the studio was packed with Oh Jung-shin's fans, all gathered to cheer on him and his group.

"Wait, isn't that Woo Yeon-woo?"

"Why are they coming out of there?"

— End of Chapter 58 —