Chapter 39
Chapter 39
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 39
Chapter Title: Midnight Hug, It's EverPlanet (4)
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Kim Kwang-myeong's signature husky voice rapped along with the beat, crisp and rhythmic.
- A midnight hug dedicated to you
Body heat rising in an instant as I hold you tight
Drive On, riding the airwaves straight to you
I'll race there until the bells of the night toll
DJ Joo-yong and EverPlanet teaming up together
To make sure your night is never lonely
We'll decorate it just like those stars stitching the midnight sky
So follow us, we'll make you shine bright, yeah
Oh, Kim Kwang-myeong. Not bad at all.
The rhymes and flow were so clean, it was hard to believe it was freestyle.
Combined with his husky tone and solid enunciation, it made for a seriously catchy verse.
As expected from our main rapper, the guy who'd go on to dominate the rap battle show *Show Me the Beat* far in the future.
Of course... the lyrics were a bit cringey, but that was on the production team for assigning a rap about *Midnight Hug* in the first place.
Even our country's top rapper, Heyday, wouldn't find it easy to deliver something like that without cringing.
Maybe that's why even Bae Joo-yong stuck out his tongue in admiration.
"Wow, B-light. You're seriously good. How do you freestyle a rap this well?"
"Thanks. I practice freestyle a lot normally."
"I should record this and use it later. It's too good. That was incredible, B-light. You're a real talent. Now the next member must be feeling the pressure. Teddy, you okay?"
"Yeah! I'm good! I can do it too."
"Oh, great. So what talent did you prepare, Teddy?"
At Bae Joo-yong's question, Teddy lifted his head proudly and answered.
"I'm good at guessing song titles from the intro."
"Oh, really? Any song, no matter what?"
"Yes! I'm confident. Any K-pop is fine. Even old songs."
"Let's see how many our UK-born Teddy can nail. We'll play about three seconds of the intro, and you just tell us the title."
With that, Bae Joo-yong played intros from several songs.
Teddy nailed every single one.
The most surprising was when he got this one.
"This one! It's Jin Ju-bong's *You in My Sad Memories*."
"No way, how do you know this song, Teddy? It's from the '80s."
"Hehe. It's super famous."
"Yeah, impressive. You sure you lived in the UK? You're basically a native."
He was practically living in his headphones, and it showed—he'd been listening to all genres of K-pop diligently.
Good attitude, Teddy. I mentally patted his head.
Next up was Park Su-rim. Her talent was impressions—specifically, bird calls.
"I'll do a hungry bird call."
"Okay, not just any bird call, but a hungry one. Let's hear it."
"Peep, peep, peeeep...."
It's always amazing to hear it.
That prim and proper voice producing such a high-pitched sound.
"Oh, it really sounds like a hungry baby bird. Amazing. Got anything else?"
"I prepared a chicken call too."
"Great. Chicken. What kind of chicken this time?"
"A sad chicken that's lost a cockfight."
"Unnecessarily specific. Alright, let's hear it."
"....Cluck cluck. Cluck cluck cluck."
Ah. That one was funny.
Laughter erupted from several spots as she mimicked a chicken so convincingly it felt like we were in a coop.
She followed up with spot-on impressions of singers with unique tones, then it was on to the next.
Go Eun-young's talent was whistling.
She often whistled tunes around the dorm, so she was showing that off here.
"Whistling. Looks like you whistle well, Eun-young. I suck at it. Something about my mouth structure not being made for it, I think."
"I've been good at whistling since I was little. Blew it at night so much my mom nagged me every day about snakes coming out."
"That's a pretty famous superstition—whistling at night summons snakes. Not sure where it comes from. Anyway, show us."
Go Eun-young pursed her lips round and started whistling.
She'd chosen a dramatic vocal piece with a complex melody line.
For whistling, her pitch and rhythm were flawless, no mistakes.
"Wow, you really nailed that. No wonder it'd summon snakes."
"Thanks. Maybe it's because I look like a snake too."
"Anyway, that was great. Now for the last member's talent."
The final member's turn. Finally, mine.
I cleared my throat with a *ahem* and spoke into the mic.
"My talent is tongue twisters."
"Tongue twisters. You mean pronouncing tricky sentences accurately?"
"Yes, exactly. As precisely and quickly as possible."
I was confident in this. I'd done tons of them in the theater club.
For drinking games, vocal exercises—you name it.
Perfect for radio.
Bae Joo-yong nodded and pulled out a sketchbook from under the desk. He said,
"Great. So we've prepared three levels of sentences for *Midnight Hug*. Say them all in one go without pausing or messing up, and we'll give you the next level. Nail all three, and it's a success."
"Got it."
"Ready... and go. Level one, Lee Jae. Read it!"
He flipped the page on the sketchbook, revealing a long sentence in neat handwriting.
I read it out calmly and swiftly.
"Reo, Jaeun Ha Jaewill return to this star in two weeks, and Teddy-carrying Tae-hee will calmly conquer Italy with taekwondo... Is that right?"
The content was kinda funny though. Did he write it himself?
Teddy's eyes went wide as he muttered, "Tae-hee hyung's gonna carry me and conquer Italy with taekwondo?"
"Yes. Oh, you read it super fast and accurate. Content's veracity aside, on to the next."
"Next to the little bunny bunny barrel is a big bunny bunny barrel, and next to the big bunny bunny barrel is a little bunny bunny barrel."
The next one was easy too. Bunny bunny barrel.
But the last one was tougher than expected.
"Chapopfkin and Chis-chakof devoured potato chips, papaya, and more while watching *Power Training*, the film with Rachmaninoff's piano concerto melody flowing through it."
Still, you need stuff like this to qualify as a talent.
I focused and nailed it perfectly. Everyone's eyes went wide in shock.
"Oh! Lee Jae, you aced that one too. Wow, impressive. Anyone else wanna try? Tae-hee?"
"Chapopof... Can't even start. Need more pronunciation practice."
"How about our main rapper, B-light?"
"Chapopfkin and Cheese-chakof.... How'd he do that in one go?"
The others tried too, but everyone failed the last one.
Thanks to that, my tongue twister got recognized as a legit talent.
After everyone's talents, we did a quick talk segment while the staff voted, then Bae Joo-yong got the results.
"Yes. The staff just finished voting and sent me the results. Announce now?"
"Yes!"
"Great. The winner of this *Midnight Hug* EverPlanet Talent Battle is...."
*Drumroll drumroll.* Tension-building sound effects played.
Bae Joo-yong eyed us, paused for suspense, then shouted cheerfully.
"B-light, who treated us to that awesome freestyle rap on *Midnight Hug*! Congrats!"
"Oh, me? Thanks."
Knew it.
From the production side, they had to pick the one who did something broadcast-related.
Kim Kwang-myeong looked sheepish as he received congrats from Bae Joo-yong and the members.
Then, Bae Joo-yong pulled a white box from under the desk. Must be the prize.
"To our winner B-light, we have an amazing prize. Here it is... a heated eye mask!"
Heated eye mask? I stared at the small box Bae Joo-yong handed to Kim Kwang-myeong.
I'd figured it wouldn't be anything pricey, but a heated eye mask? Didn't see that coming.
Those things are good though. Used one back in my heavy study days to crash hard—helps you sleep, relaxes your eyes.
"Perfect for catching a quick nap on the move. Warms up your eyes, melts away fatigue, makes you all drowsy. Hope you use it well."
"Thanks. I'll make good use of it. Though I doubt it'll stay mine alone."
Kim Kwang-myeong bowed and accepted the box with both hands.
Yeah. With those guys from the other room who share everything... that thing was 200% becoming communal property.
Bae Joo-yong smiled warmly and moved on.
"Yes, great. Hope you enjoy it, B-light. Now, let's wrap up with a song. Our EverPlanet friends' new track that lit up tonight's *Midnight Hug*—give it a listen."
Our title track flowed out through the headsets right away.
While it played, we members lip-synced our parts to the camera.
By the end of the song, we were at the recording's close.
"Yes, we've heard EverPlanet's . Wow, love the song. Really nailed it."
"Thanks!"
"Now it's time to end *Midnight Hug*. EverPlanet, mind sharing a quick thought on being here tonight? Starting reverse this time—Ha Jaefirst."
"Oh, sure."
A quick thought. I racked my brain and spoke.
"I've always wanted to be on this show, so just being here is a huge honor. Had a blast. Thanks to all the listeners too."
"Good. Next?"
After everyone's thoughts, Bae Joo-yong's closing followed.
"That's it for tonight's *Midnight Hug*. Thanks again to our EverPlanet friends. This has been DJ Joo-yong. Let's hug it out warmly again tomorrow. Bye."
"Cut! Good work."
The PD's cut ended the recording.
After, I joined the members in thanking the PD and staff.
As greetings wrapped up, Park Su-rim gathered us.
"Guys. Group photo. For Fleek."
"Oh, nice."
Bae Joo-yong, who'd been chatting with a writer nearby, jumped in.
"Taking a pic? Mind if I join?"
"Oh, it's for our Fleek post—is that okay?"
"Of course. That's why we're taking it. Gather 'round. Noona, snap one for us?"
He handed Park Su-rim's phone to the writer.
We posed with Bae Joo-yong in the middle.
The phone camera aimed at us.
"Smile on three. One, two, three."
*Click, click, click.*
After three shutter sounds, she handed it back.
We checked—no shake, perfect group shot. Nice.
"Thanks!"
"No prob. You all worked hard today. Impressive for rookies. Any schedules after?"
"Nope, none."
"Head back and rest then. Good luck with activities."
"Thanks, sunbae!"
We thanked Bae Joo-yong and the staff again before leaving the station.
The broadcast airs in a few days, so we can huddle in the dorm and watch then.
As I thought that and climbed into the van, *ding!* A notification popped up.
[Successfully completed your first on-air radio recording. Special reward: 'Tiger Energy Extract' added to inventory.]
Oh, sweet.
No sub-quest this time, so I thought no rewards, but I was wrong.
The kind of wrong I always welcome. Tiger Energy Extract benefits everyone.
Once everyone was in, manager hyung started driving.
Park Su-rim, in the middle seat, said,
"Guys. Post to Fleek tomorrow. Fans are sleeping now."
"Yeah, sounds good."
Heading back to the dorm, I leaned my head on the seat contentedly and closed my eyes.
Hope things keep going this smoothly.