Instruments Ready, Fuzz Face Reveal
The band club, a talent that comes once in a millennium, had been established about three weeks ago. But we still hadn't done a single proper activity.
The reason was simple.
"Okay, all the instruments are finally here."
We didn't have the instruments needed for ensemble practice. The school could only lend us drums, a keyboard, mics, and amps. Electric guitar and bass had to be bought with our own money.
Originally, the majority opinion was to pool money and buy one each for communal use. The electric guitar came from the company.
"Heuheut!"
"...You're grinning like a total perv."
"Heeheut!"
And the bass was fully covered by Choi Saeron, who was now stroking it with a creepy smile. I had no idea how the company knew to send an electric guitar... but anyway, they tossed us a high-end one, so from my position, I had no choice but to gladly accept it.
"Anyway, our vocalist and drummer skills are top-notch, so no worries there..."
Yun Seola's vocals and the class rep's drums were nothing to fret over. Especially the class rep—she'd been playing drums for over five years, so she might even be better than me.
"The problem is..."
I glanced at Choi Saeron.
"...What."
"Root notes are fine and all? Even beginners can just keep the beat on roots."
"...That's why I said I'd do bass."
"But look at the songs you sent in the group chat saying you wanted to jam to."
I picked up my phone and clicked the link Choi Saeron had sent. A powerful sound blasted out immediately. It was the title track from Orchid's second album... a bass-heavy song. And it even had a bass solo later on.
"That's beyond your current skill level. You know that, right?"
"...Yeah, I know. I just wanted to try it someday."
That 'someday' feels like it'll be six months or a year from now. I swallowed those words. No point discouraging her before we'd even started.
"We know it can't happen right away. Let's try it once you've built up more skill."
"Got it."
"And everyone remembers we're setting up our YouTube channel, right?"
"Of course!"
"Oss."
...Oss was a seriously weird new habit. It looked so out of place on someone who appeared totally normal.
"We'll start after midterms."
That reminded me of something I'd forgotten. It was exam period right now. Which meant we'd gathered for practice with just ten days until midterms.
But we couldn't exactly skip it.
Everyone was clearly looking forward to jamming, so for this week, we'd just do club activities.
"I think that's everything... Let's jam. Wake up Seola a bit."
"Okey-dokey."
Choi Saeron connected the desks and strode over to Yun Seola, who was sprawled out starfish-style on top. Then she shook her.
"...Is it over?"
"Yeah, time for practice."
"Hwaaam... Got it."
As Yun Seola sat up, we finished prepping for practice.
"It's okay to mess up—as long as you don't stop midway. It's just practice, after all."
I said it to ease everyone's tension... but it seemed like only one person was actually tense.
"...I said, messing up is fine. Just don't lose your mental and freeze."
My first high school midterms had ended yesterday. Students' faces were full of smiles because of it—but that didn't apply to me.
It wasn't because of bad grades. I was confident in every answer I marked; no need for partial scoring. There wasn't a single problem I didn't know.
So why wasn't I smiling?...
It was because of this sudden schedule.
Of course, getting face-time with the people I'd be working with was good. It was something that naturally had to happen.
But the fact that they were carving out time just to see my face. To confirm my identity. That came with massive pressure.
"They're not people with time to burn."
One of the top active third-gen idol groups under HS. A veteran idol from the old guard who could be said to have dominated an era in Korea.
They were all busy in every way... yet they'd made time just to see my face.
"Why bother for something like this."
I muttered to myself and stepped into the classroom.
"Hey."
But the scene was a bit different from usual.
"What? Where's Yun Seola?"
"No idea. Overslept maybe?"
Yun Seola wasn't in the classroom. I'd thought her presence wasn't that big since she slept all day... but.
Something feels... super empty.
Without her there, blanket-covered, pillow-propped, dead-to-the-world sleeping, it felt off somehow. But that awkwardness didn't last long.
I had a more pressing worry right now.
What should I even say?
What to say when I arrived at the company tomorrow and faced them. "Nice to meet you, I'm Fuzz"... nah. Just shrinking back in a corner wouldn't fly with my pride.
But too much confidence is bad too.
As my worries deepened...
"Something bothering you?"
Kwon Dain turned her head my way.
"......"
Maybe I can tell her.
Having decided, I explained the situation to Kwon Dain.
"Yeah, that'd be stressful."
She seemed to empathize after hearing me out... but soon shifted the topic.
Not because she couldn't empathize, of course. She probably realized sympathy wouldn't help someone like me much.
"Come to think of it, I need to drop by the company too."
"Why you?"
"Just... my aunt asked me to come by. And I have stuff to talk about with her anyway."
Aunt?
She meant the CEO? The new term for Bae Sol felt super awkward... but after a moment's thought, it made sense. You call your mom's friend "aunt," right?
"Wanna go together tomorrow?"
"......?"
The unexpected offer made me tilt my head. Maybe that's why Kwon Dain quickly added the reason.
"...Kinda scary going alone..."
"Ah."
Fair enough. Trainees often hate even coming to the company before debut. Especially newer ones without much tenure.
Kwon Dain... on the surface, she fit that vibe perfectly.
But isn't she kinda famous?
She probably didn't have that kind of status at the company. Everyone would know who her parents were.
"But letting you go alone? Won't your parents drive you?"
"I'm going without telling them."
"...I see."
I decided not to pry further. Sneaking around without telling parents usually wasn't for positive reasons.
"Meeting up first would be inefficient, so let's meet at the cafe in front of the company at 3:30."
"Sounds good."
"Senior, hello!"
"Long time no see."
HS Entertainment headquarters. Down in the basement was a roughly 100-pyeong practice room—the largest one HS owned.
"You're active right now, must be tough, but you showed up on time?"
Despite the huge 100-pyeong size, only five people were inside.
The undisputed senior among them was Choi Tae-seong. First-gen idols nearing fifty were mostly retired, so they weren't in this project. That made this second-gen idol the eldest in the unit.
"Of course I had to! Aren't you curious too, senior?"
"That's why I'm here."
Chatting amiably with Choi Tae-seong was Min Ji-won. Leader of HS's flagship boy group OnlyOne, currently active.
"People are saying it's some famous person's alt persona."
"I think that too."
"Doesn't feel like a rookie to you either, right?"
Min Ji-won was what you'd call an all-rounder center. Great singer, dancer, even composer.
"No way it's a rookie! I'm five years into composing... and even I'm blown away."
To him, Fuzz's skills were insanely impressive. It reminded him of the sporadic composing lessons from Bae Sol over the past five years.
Fuzz's music was like it instantly opened his wrong-answer notebook.
As they chatted, a message hit Choi Tae-seong's phone.
"Oh, CEO's coming soon."
"With Fuzz senior, right?"
Choi Tae-seong gave Min Ji-won's innocent question an incredulous look.
"...Ji-won, why would Fuzz be your senior."
"But with skills like that, they have to be a senior..."
"By skill, you'd have to call me senior too."
"Ahem..."
"Don't stress too much."
Min Ji-won assumed Fuzz was definitely a veteran. Choi Tae-seong was different.
He didn't rule out Fuzz being a rookie. Geniuses always popped up in this scene.
Plus, if Fuzz was a rookie, winning the mental game from the start was key.
They've tasted success, so their ego must be sky-high.
It wasn't about pride. He just wanted Fuzz to thrive.
Even if they clashed mentally today, he'd treat them well after.
Or so he thought...
"...CEO."
"Yeah?"
"That guy's Fuzz...?"
"Yep, Fuzz. Real name Jeong Jisul. You all know why he uses Fuzz as a stage name, right? This stays between us."
Seeing Jeong Jisul's face shattered every thought.
Why be a composer?
Even if he couldn't dance or sing, just put him on stage and money would roll in with that face.
"Fuzz... sir, you're insanely handsome..."
Choi Tae-seong wasn't the only one shocked. Min Ji-won gaped and blurted it out.
In that moment, Choi Tae-seong felt deep confusion.
...Mental game? What mental game.
Jeong Jisul wasn't arrogant. His aura felt far closer to humble.
Straight-backed, shoulders squared, looking down at them—but it was confidence in his own skill, not looking down on others.
But what flustered Choi Tae-seong even more was...
Play the mental game against that face?
He'd been in the industry over ten years, but this was the first time his jaw dropped on sight.
A genius, sure.
But not just a genius.
Choi Tae-seong's mind started buzzing with excitement.
Is that the once-in-a-millennium type?
How fun would this project be? That anticipation surged.
And a bit later, when Jeong Jisul plugged a USB into his laptop...
"...Insane."
Choi Tae-seong's excitement pierced the heavens.
There's more where that came from?
The melody flowing out was that breathtaking.