Chapter 38
Chapter 38
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 38
Chapter Title: Midnight Hug, It's EverPlanet (3)
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"Hello, I'm Yi Jae. I'm twenty years old this year, and in EverPlanet, I handle the vocals and the charm..."
It was the introduction the company had assigned us, but saying it myself still felt a bit embarrassing.
"Yes, Yi Jae-ssi. Oh, that's such a unique name. Yi Jae. Is it a stage name?"
"No, it's my real name."
"Your real name is Yi Jae? That's fascinating. What's your family name?"
"It's Ha."
"Ha Yi Jae. What a really unique name. It's the first time I've seen the name Yi Jae. Who gave it to you? Your parents?"
"Uh..."
I hesitated for a moment at Bae Joo-yong's question.
It was a question I couldn't answer, after all.
But saying I didn't know would be weird in its own way.
...Just gloss over it appropriately.
"My grandmother gave it to me. Using the hanja for 'benefit' from 'benefit the world' and 'timber' from 'fine timber,' meaning I'd become a fine person who benefits society."
By even pulling in the hanja from my resident registration, the members all seemed to accept it without suspicion. Good thing.
"Wow, your grandmother gave you such a cool name. But you really do have charm, Yi Jae-ssi. Your voice too—based on your face alone, I thought you'd be super bubbly, but talking to you, you have this calm vibe, so it's like, what’s the word, mysteriously appealing."
"I'm still lacking, but... thank you for the praise. I'll work hard to become an even more charming idol."
"And humble too. Wow, I like it. So, in your opinion, Yi Jae-ssi, what do you think your charm is?"
"My own charm, as I see it. Hmm..."
Ha Yi Jae's charm, as I saw it.
If I had to pick one, it'd be this face that's in high demand for idols.
But I couldn't say that straight out.
Just then, as I was pondering, Park Su-rim's voice reached my ears.
"In my opinion, Yi Jae has that surprise charm."
"Oh, Leader Su-rim-ssi spoke for you. Surprise charm?"
"Yes. Like what Joo-yong sunbae just said, Yi Jae seems like he'd be bubbly, but he's actually really calm. And he seems like he wouldn't care much about others' business, but he subtly takes good care of the other members. I think that's Yi Jae's charm."
"Yeah. And Yi Jae draws really well too!"
...These guys.
I felt a bit embarrassed and rubbed under my nose with my finger.
"Alright. With that, we've heard introductions from all of EverPlanet. Personally, I think the members are very well-balanced. Charming."
"Thank you!"
"Good. Now, let's have a real conversation. Before recording started, I took some questions from fans who are already cheering for EverPlanet..."
With that, all the members' introductions wrapped up.
After the introductions, the talk flowed smoothly under Bae Joo-yong's lead.
He'd ask a question, and we'd answer.
Debut impressions, album intro, dorm stories—nothing much different from our Ladies' Closet interview.
The only distinction was that as a Sunbae idol, he added his own experiences to the stories.
After we'd chatted for a bit, Bae Joo-yong glanced at his watch, nodded, and changed the subject.
"Yes. Time flies when we're talking, and it's already time for Part 1 to end. But before that, we have to do something, right? Our Midnight Hug special live stage. The intermission cover song. EverPlanet, what song are you preparing for us?"
Intermission cover song. Time to show our live skills.
"Yes. To express our respect for DJ Bae Joo-yong sunbae, we've prepared X.Y.Z's 'Promise.'"
"How do I handle this sensible song choice? I'm already so excited. I'll enjoy it waving a lightstick. Now, cue the MR."
"Yes, we'll cut here for a sec. Take a sip of water and we'll jump back in after one minute."
At the PD's words, I took a sip from the water bottle next to me and loosened my throat.
Exactly one minute later, the PD gave the signal and started the MR.
X.Y.Z's 'Promise.' The soft piano melody of the ballad flowed through the headset.
- Don't go, that's what I told you
But in the end, you left me
Tearing my heart to shreds
You finally walked away from my side
But now it's okay
Because you've come back to me
Park Su-rim started, with Han Tae-hee and Go Eun-young taking the first verse.
Low range and simple melody—without much practice, all three nailed their parts cleanly.
Now it was my turn.
- The moment you, whom I'd lost, embraced me again
My dark world lit up like daylight once more
Matching the accompaniment in my headset, I poured my all into the melody on the mic.
Imagining in my mind the scenario of a lover who left returning to me.
- Baby, right here, promise me
You'll never leave me again
No matter what you want or desire
I'll give you everything, oh
After the first chorus sung together by all members, the rap part followed.
Kim Kwang-myeong, Yi Jae-oh, and Teddy split the rap parts.
The original had a rough tone, but with the three of them, it came out much softer.
Next, the bridge part. Eun-young and I sang this together.
- You returned to my empty life
My breath eased, light shining through
I can't lose you a second time
So I'll hook pinkies and promise you
That I'll love you forever
Like our song, I took the front with the low notes, and Go Eun-young followed with the high notes in the back.
At the highlight where Eun-young hit the high note, I could see Bae Joo-yong's eyes widen in surprise.
As expected from our group's main vocal. Solid as a bowl of country staple food.
- Baby, please promise me
You'll stay by my side forever
No matter what happens in our time
I'll give my all to love you, oh
With the final verse sung together, the PD called cut.
The cover song recording was done.
Bae Joo-yong, who had been waving his arms from the DJ seat while listening, clapped vigorously.
"Wow, you guys are so good. Amazing, right?"
"Thank you!"
"Not empty words—seriously. I was shocked. Everyone's skills are solid. Especially Eun-young-ssi, I knew you were good, but hearing it live, wow."
"Thank you, sunbae-nim."
Not just Bae Joo-yong—the PD gave us a thumbs up too.
"Live at this level? You're set no matter what. Great job. Take a short break, then we'll start Part 2 recording."
Hmm. If even the PD acknowledges it, we must've sung pretty well.
Well, even I thought those guys weren't bad.
Except for Han Tae-hee and Kim Kwang-myeong, whose dancing was still a bit clumsy.
But with time, they'll improve, so eventually, we could reach a level where we're called skill-based idols.
With those hopeful thoughts, I prepared for Part 2 recording.
A moment later, with the song signaling the start of Part 2, the red light came on again, and Bae Joo-yong began his DJ script.
"Alright, let's kick off Part 2 of Midnight Hug with EverPlanet energetically. In Part 2, we'll dive deep into EverPlanet's charms. EverPlanet, ready to show off to the Midnight Hug listeners?"
"Yes!"
"Good. Now, I'll reveal what we're doing. This corner is the EverPlanet Talent Battle. You'll take turns showing off your best personal talents to the listeners. The Midnight Hug staff, including me, will vote to pick the EverPlanet Talent King. The member with the most memorable talent will get a prize from us at Midnight Hug."
That was why the company had told us to prepare personal talents in advance.
Opportunities for rookies like us to showcase talents to a wide audience don't come often.
Just then, Teddy raised his hand and asked Bae Joo-yong.
"DJ-nim! I have a question."
"Yes, Teddy-ssi. What's on your mind?"
"The prize! What's the prize?"
"Ah, that's a secret. But as a small hint, it's something super useful during your promotions. I use it a lot myself."
Hmm, what could it be? Now I'm curious.
But given radio budgets, it's probably not anything extravagant, so no big expectations.
Starting with Han Tae-hee, we began the talent battle one by one.
"Yes. My talent is... acting."
"Acting. Great. What will you act out?"
"I actually love sitcoms. I watch them a lot and imitate them. Among them, I'll recreate a scene from my all-time favorite legendary sitcom, 'We Don't Stop.'"
Han Tae-hee had prepared acting, drawing on her performing arts background.
She switched voices solo, handling the kid and mom's lines back and forth.
"Tae-young-ah, look at this. It's what you wrote. 3 times 6, right? What did you write?"
"18."
"Good job. So, 6 times 3?"
"Cold noodles!"
"No, why cold noodles here!"
"Mom doesn't know? It's pork-wrapped cold noodles!"
"Ugh, really now!"
Clean acting, no frills.
As expected from a Seo Yeon University performing arts student.
Next was Yi Jae-oh. For radio, it was hard for him to showcase his best talent.
Since he's the one best at physical stuff.
"Yes, that was great. Next up, our J-O-ssi. What talent did J-O-ssi prepare?"
"I prepared beatboxing."
"Beatbox. Nice. On the count of three, show it into the mic."
So Yi Jae-oh had been diligently practicing beatboxing from L-Tube videos for days.
For a first-timer, he picked it up quick and seemed ready to show it off as a talent.
"Whoa, that's good. How do you do that? I tried imitating but couldn't."
"I learned from L-Tube videos too."
"Anyway, that was great. On to the next talent."
With a solid kung-chi-ta-chi beatbox, Yi Jae-oh wrapped up to Bae Joo-yong's praise.
Next was Kim Kwang-myeong.
With rapping as his specialty and hobby, his talent was obvious even without seeing it.
"My talent, well, as everyone guessed, freestyle rap."
"Freestyle rap! Of course. Can't miss that. How will you do it?"
"Give me a prompt, and I'll rap on the spot."
"Oh, perfect. Then, rap about this place we're at right now, 'Midnight Hug.' Got a beat?"
"I'll do it over J-O hyung's beatbox."
"Good. J-O-ssi, drop the beat."
At Bae Joo-yong's signal, Yi Jae-oh, fresh off his beatbox talent, did it again into the mic.
Bobbing his head to the four-beat rhythm, Kim Kwang-myeong opened his mouth with light hand gestures.