Chapter 13
Chapter 13
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 13
Chapter Title: Extreme Job Debut Team (2)
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After eating and getting a bit of rest, my stamina had mostly recovered.
I practiced a little more with the guys and headed back to the dorm.
By the time I crossed the threshold, the stamina I had left was down to just 2.
Climbing up to the fourth floor on those stairs, my legs were shaking so bad I nearly died.
Still, thanks to it all, I’d pretty much memorized the first verse part.
“Who’s up first for showers tonight?”
“Tonight… let’s see… Teddy.”
“Yippee! Me first!”
There were a few set rules in this dorm.
Morning showers were first-come, first-served. Evening showers rotated by age every day.
Since Teddy—same age as me but with a later birthday—was first today, I was dead last.
A long wait. I let out a sigh and plopped down on the sofa, flicking on the TV.
A drama called *For You Only* was on. Since I couldn’t really remember it, it must’ve flopped.
I watched the male lead confess to the female lead with a bored expression.
[Because I never want to let you go again. Because I never want to lose you again. Because I never want to just pine for you again! Because I love you… so.]
Huh, not bad. Pretty solid acting for an actor I’d never seen before.
Was there a guy like that? I pulled out my phone and searched the drama’s cast.
Actor’s name… Ji Woo-yeon? First time hearing it.
That’s when Go Eun-young plopped down next to me.
He was glued to his phone, totally absorbed in something.
Tap tap tap on the keyboard, then snap—a selfie…
Wonder what she’s up to.
“What’re you doing?”
“Oh, about to post on Flitter.”
“Flitter? We’ve got one too?”
“Of course. Wanna see?”
Flitter, famous for its blue cat logo, was a social network service limited to 150-character short posts, known for how fast info spread.
Fans used it a ton to chat with each other or grab related news. Lots of photo shares and events happened there too, from what I’d heard.
That’s why it was hailed as the best SNS for building fandoms. Though it had its dark side, like alt accounts.
I took the phone from Go Eun-young and checked out our group’s official account.
[EverPlanet @everplanet_official
Official Flitter for EverPlanet, under UJ Entertainment
Following 1 | Followers 303]
Just a humble little account with around 300 followers.
Well, yeah, makes sense.
A group that hasn’t even debuted yet, and 300 people know about it? That’s more impressive.
Scrolling down, I saw posts from the members.
[Hi everyone, it’s Su-rim. EverPlanet’s practicing hard today to meet you all soon! See you~ (Photo of hand making a V)]
[Hi pretties, Tae-hee here♥ On my way to the company! (Commute photo)]
[Lee Jae-oh here. Practicing. See you soon. (Photo of Lee Jae-oh in the practice room)]
[Cat I met today. Teddy’s friend. Cute, right? (Cheshire tabby cat photo)]
[Working hard. See you soon. B-light. (Photo of Kim Kwang-myeong in the studio)]
Wrote just like themselves.
I couldn’t help but chuckle—their voices came through in the writing.
But only Lee Jae-oh, Kim Kwang-myeong, and Go Eun-young had face pics.
“Why no face shots from the others?”
“It’s a private member thing.”
“Private member?”
“I’m already out there since I went public, Jae-oh hyung’s famous from his athlete days, and Kwang-myeong hyung’s the guy with 5 million L-Tube views. So we three post faces, and the rest stick to no-face daily life pics. That way, the debut reveal packs more punch.”
“Got it. But what’d Kwang-myeong do to hit 5 million on L-Tube?”
“Diss rap battle. Against some underground rapper. Name was… Young-soon or something. Anyway, Kwang-myeong hyung demolished him.”
“Ah…”
I hadn’t seen the video, but thinking of the guy who shone in diss rap battles during Showbiz made it believable.
Anyway, guess I shouldn’t post my face either.
But no matter how far I scrolled, skipping faces, I didn’t see any Flits from Ha Jae.
Why no Ha Jae ones? He was debut team too.
“Hand it over now. Gonna post.”
“Yeah, sure. Hey, Eun-young.”
“Yeah, hyung.”
“Why’s there nothing from me?”
Go Eun-young hesitated a moment before answering.
“Oh, that… Manager Hong probably deleted them all.”
“What?”
“After your accident, he didn’t think you’d rejoin debut team, so he just wiped ’em.”
Ah, that damn guy. Nothing he did ever sat right, not even this petty crap.
After a moment’s thought, I called up the system.
‘System.’
[Yes?]
‘Got any items for firing someone?’
[Nope.]
Cold. Well, a trainee like me couldn’t just axe a manager anyway.
I glared at nothing for a sec, then pulled my phone from my pocket.
Figured I’d post a Flit myself.
Go Eun-young was typing away: ‘Hi, it’s the maknae Eun-young! Dance practice today left me wiped out. Hope your days are always comfy!’ with cute emojis.
“Eun-young.”
“Yeah, hyung.”
“Flitter password, please.”
“Oh, it’s in the group chat.”
“Where? …Not seeing it?”
“Search the chat history.”
The debut team group chat with all seven of us wasn’t super active—just Han Tae-hee’s errand requests and a few emojis from Teddy.
But yeah, makes sense it’s gone. I changed phones.
“Switched phones, everything’s wiped.”
“Oh? Hang on. Sending it now.”
Soon after, I downloaded the Flitter app, got the password from her text, and logged into the official account.
So this is what it looks like.
Unlike regular accounts, no notifications tab—kinda neat.
Hmm, what to post… I snapped a photo with a V-sign and wrote my Flit.
[Hi everyone, Jae’s here. About to head out. Bye. (Photo)]
Jae’s here, about to head out. Nice rhyme?
Could slap Kim Kwang-myeong with this.
Posting it filled me with a smug sense of pride.
“Hey, Ha Jae. What’s that Flit? Lame drip.”
“Kwang-myeong hyung, you don’t say that out loud.”
“…”
That was, right up until Kim Kwang-myeong crawled out of his room to pick a fight.
System, seriously. Can’t I get one—no, two items for firing someone?
He’d helped me out before, so I wasn’t really planning to ditch him, but right then? I couldn’t stand the sight of him. Damn punk.
Then, a notification popped up.
[First Flit uploaded. Fame +1]
Just one like, and fame went up by 1.
So this is how you build fame.
Grinning in satisfaction, I closed Flitter. Gotta post more often.
* * *
Next morning, after the usual war, we headed to the practice room.
Today’d probably bring more of that hellish choreography lesson…
Steeling myself, I walked in—and what do you know?
“Hey, kids!”
“Hello, teacher.”
Not Kim Jung-hyun. Someone else.
A woman with red-dyed hair and ears loaded with piercings.
Her bright voice and vibe stood out.
“Liz unnie!”
“Oh, Teddy. Full of energy today. Ah, Jae’s back too! Heard about it. Glad you’re here.”
Kinda like Teddy personality-wise.
I glanced back and forth between the two who seemed to click.
She beamed and introduced herself.
“Oh, I’m Liz. Vocal trainer. Call me Liz teacher.”
“Yes. Looking forward to working with you, Liz teacher.”
“Wow, vibe’s different. Heard you lost your memory.”
“Don’t even start, teacher. He’s like a whole new person. Eats like crazy now. Overeating Ha Jae? Unreal.”
Everyone nodded at Han Tae-hee’s words like they agreed.
Did I… eat that much? Just average for a 20-something guy.
Feeling awkward, I rubbed my stomach.
Good, still flat.
“Anyway, great. Let’s start with stretching and vocal warm-ups. Today we’re practicing a track from your album for recording.”
“Yes.”
For a good song, you need to loosen three things.
Body, throat, and tongue.
Otherwise, your best voice won’t come out.
Once prepped, Liz handed out sheet music.
Top of the page: Album Track 3.
Cosmic vibe, huh? CEO Oh loves space.
Or maybe tailored to the group name EverPlanet.
“For now, let’s sing through the parts in order as marked. I’ll play the MR. Jae doesn’t know it yet, right?”
“Yes.”
“I’ll sing your part then. Listen close, and you take it next time. Ready!”
Playful Liz switched expressions the second the MR started, singing like a total pro.
I followed along silently in my head while eyeing the sheet. Melody and rhythm weren’t tough, so I didn’t miss a beat.
After the group run-through, Liz gave individual feedback.
“Good. You all did well. Let’s tweak a bit. Su-rim, watch that rolled pronunciation at the end. Told you to fix it. Be careful. Tae-hee, try singing softer. The flow’s too stiff. Eun-young, solid. Jae-oh, rap like water over the beat. Flow like water. Got it? Teddy, more focus on Korean pronunciation. Again. Jae joins this time. Know your parts.”
“Yes.”
My turn for real now.
My parts: Intro to verse 1, second half of pre-chorus, second half of verse 2.
Repeating lyrics and notes in my head, I locked into the flowing MR. Timing on the intro beat was key.
- Cool summer night, breeze cooling the sweat
Playing like star children under the Milky Way
Liz’s eyes went wide hearing me, surprised.
Park Su-rim, following me, wobbled a note from shock too.
After the song, Liz clapped wildly.
“Whoa, Jae! How’d your skills jump like this? What’s up?”
“Huh?”
“Way better than last lesson. It’s alive now. What happened? Secret vocal cord mods?”
Nothing like that—just vocal skill leveled up a bit.
Couldn’t say that, so I just smiled.
Liz tilted her head, baffled, then burst out laughing.
“Memory loss sparked some emotion? Works wonders. Better than most vocal trainers, seriously.”
“You’re kidding, right?”
“Obviously.”
She grinned mischievously, added “Good job anyway,” and kept the lesson going.
From watching, Liz was definitely a top-tier vocal trainer.
“Su-rim, careful on that ending pronunciation.”
“…Yes.”
“Jae-oh! Smoother rap!”
“Yes.”
“Eun-young, good, but push the high notes more.”
“Got it.”
Pinpointing flaws, maximizing strengths.
Satisfying lesson.
At least… better than dance.
Not that I had beef with Kim Jung-hyun.
Just… endless dance practice was brutal.
That’s all.
* * *
But dance practice was unavoidable today too.
After vocals, we dove back into practice with the guys.
Reviewed yesterday’s verse 1 choreo, then picked up verse 2 bit by bit with main dancer Teddy’s help.
“Jae, looser hips here. Like this, like this.”
“Like this, like this?”
“No no. Like this, like this.”
“Tough.”
“Dance always is.”
“You’re good.”
“’Cause I’m main dancer!”
“Show-off.”
Dance level hit 4 from practice, but still, dance was no joke.
Guess original me wasn’t dance-talented.
Plus, it’d been ages.
“But Jae, you’re better than usual. Picking up moves faster, getting it quick quick.”
“…Yeah?”
“Yeah. Good job. Keep it up, and you’ll be team dance number two!”
Music to my ears.
I snorted a laugh at his encouragement.
Then, mid-practice grind, Kim Kwang-myeong let out a deep sigh.
“Haa…”
Kim Kwang-myeong was one of the so-called ‘weak wings.’
Weakest dancer in the group, usually hidden on the side.
Came in on rap, but dance? Struggled hard.
Seemed to stress himself out big time during dance practice.
Unlike chill weak wing Han Tae-hee.
“Gonna hit the bathroom quick.”
“Yeah, go ahead.”
Kim Kwang-myeong stepped out for the bathroom.
Then Park Su-rim gathered everyone.
“Guys, Tae-hee hyung. C’mere.”
“What? What’s up?”
“Why?”
What’s this?
Curiosity got me, and I joined Park Su-rim.
Once huddled, she whispered.
“Kwang-myeong’s birthday’s in a few days.”
“Oh yeah? When?”
“April 12.”
April 12—super soon.
Even without him there, Park Su-rim kept whispering.
“Birthday though, so cake at least? What do you think?”
“Sounds good. Who’s buying?”
“Thursday the 12th, I can grab it on my way back from rehab.”
Park Su-rim nodded at Lee Jae-oh.
Then Teddy shot his hand up like he’d had a fun idea.
“Birthday surprise camera! Let’s do surprise camera!”
“Surprise camera?”
“Who taught Teddy hyung that?”
“So…”
Teddy grinned mischievously and whispered his plan.
‘…Sounds fun.’
Hearing it, I couldn’t help smiling. Just the idea was hilarious.
Checking the others, they were grinning too.
And so, Kim Kwang-myeong’s birthday surprise camera began.