Chapter 14
Chapter 14
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 14
Chapter Title: Extreme Job Debut Crew (3)
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A few days later, the long-awaited April 12th arrived. Kim Kwang-myeong's birthday.
The moment the guy woke up and headed into the bathroom, we all exchanged glances.
A short while later, Kim Kwang-myeong emerged from the bathroom, towel-drying his wet hair as he approached the kitchen.
He alternated his gaze between the dining table and the counter, tilting his head as if something felt off.
He casually asked Park Su-rim, who was boiling soup.
"......Su-rim hyung. What's for breakfast today?"
"Today? Kimchi jjigae. Why?"
The instant he heard "kimchi jjigae," the corner of his mouth stiffened subtly.
His pupils shook just a bit.
After hesitating for a moment, Kim Kwang-myeong shook his head.
"......Nah. Nothing."
"Was there something you wanted to eat? The kimchi was about to go bad, so I just made stew."
"Oh, no. Kimchi jjigae. Kimchi jjigae is good."
He couldn't say it outright, but he'd clearly been hoping for seaweed soup deep down.
His face as he sat at the table might as well have had "I'm upset" written on it.
I forced back a laugh and poured water into a glass, setting it on the table.
A quick glance showed the others were also struggling to hold in their laughter.
Ah, this is fun.
After finishing breakfast a short while later, we all got ready to head to the practice room.
Everyone except Lee Jae-oh, who had to go to rehab.
"Alright, I'll head straight to the practice room after rehab."
"Take care."
Lee Jae-oh's role was to pick up the cake on his way back from rehab.
The real surprise camera would kick off five minutes before his arrival. That way, the timing would be perfect.
And so, in the practice room without Lee Jae-oh, we continued our independent practice.
But today, Kim Kwang-myeong's face looked unusually downcast. His dancing lacked energy.
Park Su-rim asked him, looking concerned.
"Kwang-myeong-ah, what's wrong? Did something bad happen?"
"Huh? Oh, no. It's nothing."
As if.
It was written all over his face. I'm upset.
After denying it and hesitating a bit, Kim Kwang-myeong spoke up again.
"That......"
"Yeah? What?"
"Do you...... not know what day it is today?"
I bit the inside of my cheek while looking at him. A desperate move to hold back the laughter.
The others seemed to be barely containing their chuckles too.
Park Su-rim tilted his head, sounding genuinely puzzled.
"What day is it?"
"Isn't it Wednesday?"
"It's Thursday, Tae-hee hyung."
"Shoot."
"......No. Nothing."
He was sulking. Totally sulking.
He seemed properly pissed off.
I snuck a sigh while he fiddled with his phone in the corner.
My exhale was laced with laughter.
That's when the awaited text from Lee Jae-oh came in.
[UJ Lee Jae-oh: Cake purchased. Arriving in 5 minutes.]
That was our cue to put the plan into action.
"Huh? What the hell. Someone drank mine."
"Why, Tae-hee hyung?"
"Who drank my drink?"
"Your drink?"
"Ah, someone drank it again. Confess."
Han Tae-hee's voice, glaring at the members, dripped with irritation.
"Where was it?"
"On that chair over there."
"Didn't Eun-young unnie drink it earlier?"
"Ah, busted."
Go Eun-young, who had been pretending to mind her own business, scratched her head awkwardly when Teddy called her name.
"Sorry. You shouldn't leave it lying around."
"......Hey. Go Eun-young."
"What's yours and mine between us? Just drink it if it's there."
"If you're thirsty, buy your own with your own money or bring water. Why always drink someone else's without asking? And not just once or twice."
Oh, is this our school's film department class rep in action?
Even knowing it was all for the surprise camera, I swallowed hard at their spot-on acting.
That glare made him look genuinely furious—I was almost intimidated.
I knew our school's film program was top-tier in the country, but Han Tae-hee was no slouch either.
With skills like that, why bother with sponsors? He could've made it on talent alone.
I eyed the two while gauging when to step in.
Then, Go Eun-young tsked in disbelief.
"Come on, it's just a sip. You're making a big deal out of that?"
"What?"
"You know, between us."
"Hey."
"Ah, fine. Sorry, sorry. Happy now? I'll be careful next time."
Oh, Go Eun-young's got game too. His backtalk was annoyingly spot-on.
Though his tone had a slight awkwardness—that was the flaw.
"......"
I glanced at Kim Kwang-myeong standing beside me.
'He might be catching on.'
Maybe Go Eun-young's lines felt a bit forced?
Kim Kwang-myeong's narrowed eyes on them were sharp.
I gave Han Tae-hee a subtle signal. Plan B it was.
"Is that how you apologize?"
"Well, what more do you want from me?"
"Ha...... Look at this."
At Go Eun-young's retort, Han Tae-hee lifted one corner of his mouth in exasperation.
He ran a hand through his hair as if trying to calm his anger, glaring at her.
"Tae-hee hyung, Eun-young-ah. Cut it out. Just stop."
"Yeah, stop it. Fighting's bad. Stop it."
Park Su-rim and Teddy stepped in between them, pretending to break it up.
But Han Tae-hee still snapped back, face full of anger.
"Who do you think you are, talking back to your hyung like that? You should be bowing your head and apologizing profusely."
"Am I your servant? Bow my head? Total boomer."
"Hey, you done talking?"
As Han Tae-hee nudged Go Eun-young's shoulder, I moved in too. My turn.
"Hyung, stop it. Just stop. You too, Go Eun-young."
"Ah, let go, Ha Jae. I need to fix her attitude."
"Who are you to fix my attitude? Worry about your own habit of leaving stuff everywhere first."
"Enough, you two! Ugh!"
I took a hit to Han Tae-hee's arm and collapsed to the floor. Or pretended to.
This was our Plan B.
Ha Jae flips out over Han Tae-hee and Go Eun-young's fight.
Since I'd "lost my memory" in the accident, it'd sell better.
"W-What? Ha Jae!"
"Ha Jae! Snap out of it!"
The already heated mood peaked as I went down.
"D-Did he hit his head again? Hey, Ha Jae. Ha Jae! Jae-oh hyung!"
Wow, calling me "hyung" only now in a situation like this.
I felt Kim Kwang-myeong roughly shaking me and poured every ounce of effort into playing unconscious.
Wonder if my acting skill will level up.
Then, Han Tae-hee yelled at Kim Kwang-myeong.
"Kwang-myeong-ah, hurry. You have to do it!"
"M-Me? What do I do?"
"What do you mean? Give him mouth-to-mouth!"
What? Hold on.
"Me?!"
"You're the only one who can!"
"Why me?!"
"Because!"
A hush fell with Han Tae-hee's shout. And then,
"Today's...... your birthday......!"
Bang!
Confetti popped. Lee Jae-oh, waiting outside, entered with the lit cake.
At the same moment, the birthday song for Kim Kwang-myeong rang out. I jumped up in surprise and joined in.
Kim Kwang-myeong's face as he listened was the most dumbfounded I'd ever seen.
After the song, we clapped loudly.
"Happy birthday, Kim Kwang-myeong."
"Happy birthday, Kwang-myeong-ah."
"Happy birthday, hyung!"
"Happy birthday, Kwang-myeong!"
Only then did Kim Kwang-myeong grasp what was happening.
"Ah, seriously! Why pull a prank like this!"
He stomped his feet, fuming.
He looked just like a hamster robbed of its sunflower seeds, all indignant.
Teddy, the mastermind behind it all, patted his shoulder with a grin.
"Pain makes youth, Kwang-myeong."
"Ha, seriously....... I really thought you two were fighting for real, and then Ha Jae collapsed, and I was wondering what next......"
Kim Kwang-myeong glanced between the cake and the members, mumbling incoherently.
He must've been really shocked.
"Come on. Blow out the candles before the wax drips."
"Ha, damn it......"
Kim Kwang-myeong held back a curse and blew out the candles with a huff.
Thunderous applause followed once more.
Kim Kwang-myeong stared at the cake with that same dazed look.
Park Su-rim chuckled at him and continued.
"You looked so bummed this morning when I served kimchi jjigae."
"Of course. I thought you'd forgotten my birthday....... But you were planning this behind my back."
Kim Kwang-myeong swept his gaze over us with betrayed eyes.
Han Tae-hee ruffled his hair roughly, laughing.
"You little punk, so cute. Makes me wanna do it more."
"So, not eating the cake?"
"You think I'd wanna eat right now?"
"Yeah? Then we'll eat it all."
"Ah, wait, no."
I didn't say I wasn't eating. Kim Kwang-myeong grumbled as he snatched the cake from Lee Jae-oh.
He stared holes into it for a long moment before muttering.
"......Anyway. Thanks for remembering and celebrating, everyone. No more of this from now on. I almost got really upset."
"Got it. Happy birthday for real, Kwang-myeong-ah."
"Yeah, happy birthday. Hey, Eun-young-ah. Birthday punch."
"Sure."
"No no, Tae-hee hyung. Cake wash first."
Kim Kwang-myeong flinched at "cake wash."
"Ah! Don't! I said don't! Take one more step and see!"
"Heh heh......"
"No!"
"Yes!"
"Eek!"
The touching moment didn't last.
Gazing at the practice room back to its chaotic glory, I burst out laughing. Puahaha.
Somehow, since becoming Ha Jae, I've been laughing like this more often.
Thanks to these guys, each carrying their own massive bombs.
Whatever.
As they smeared birthday cream on Kim Kwang-myeong's face, I thought.
Right now, we're having fun. That's what matters.
And so, the Kim Kwang-myeong birthday surprise camera ended successfully.
* * *
Even after the birthday surprise, practice had to continue.
I had three days left.
The singing hadn't been a big issue from the start.
I'd already met the completion conditions after several practices and lessons.
Dance was the real hurdle.
Thanks to intense practice, I could now do the first verse with my eyes closed.
But the second verse was the problem.
The dance break in the second chorus was pretty tough.
Especially one part kept tripping me up.
'Driving me crazy. Why won't it work?'
"Jae-ah. This part giving you trouble?"
"Yeah, teacher."
"Okay, follow me. Feet like this. Twist your waist naturally while bending a bit. Arms out straight. Yeah. Now fast."
The section where feet, waist, and arms connected like waves in quick succession.
No matter how many times I tried, the rhythm tangled.
It worked slow, though.
"It works slow, but fast, the moves keep getting messed up."
"There's a way."
"What is it?"
"What else? Repetition."
"Ah."
Right. Repetition is always the answer.
In the brutal world of dance, repetition was the only path to survival.
Over the next three days, I repeated the debut title track choreography dozens, hundreds of times.
My stamina was shot—I felt like dying—but I had to keep going.
Can't mess this up or the debut stage fails. Can't lose face.
[Item, 'Tiger Essence Extract' used. Tiger energy surges through your body! Stamina +50]
Burning through my saved items as I obsessed over practice, memories flooded back of when I was 14, first joining the agency and prepping for month-end evals.
Those were the days. Body full of energy.
Dragging Ha Jae's even weaker body through dances, I missed my old self.
If I'm like this already, what about later? Stamina drops every year with age.
Gotta work out or raise stats to boost stamina before then. Otherwise, I might collapse onstage.
The three days flew by, and the alert finally hit D-0.
"Jae seems to have the choreo down now. Let's run it through. Everyone, positions."
My chance came to match the choreo in front of Kim Jung-hyun like it was the real thing, with the others.
I had a gut feeling. I had to nail this perfectly.
One mistake here, and the quest was as good as failed.
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