Chapter 76
Chapter 76
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 76
Chapter Title: We're on Masterpiece Music Hall? (1)
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After receiving Go Eun-young's urgent call, Kim Kwang-myeong and I rushed back to the dorm.
We hurried up the four flights of stairs and opened the door to find a familiar face—one that wasn't familiar in this dorm—right in front of us.
"President Oh?"
None other than President Oh was sitting boldly at our dorm's dining table with the members.
"Hey, kids. You made it?"
"Good work on practice today."
"Oh, you're back earlier than I expected, both of you?"
"Yeah, I thought you guys might be in the zone and come back late again."
"Lee Jae! Kwang-myeong! Come sit down quick!"
The members waved us over with bright smiles, and President Oh spoke with his usual kindly grin.
"Yeah, Ha Jaeand Kwang-myeong. I love that you're practicing so hard even on your day off. Come sit down already."
"Yes, yes... But what brings you here, President Oh?"
"I have something urgent to pass along."
I recalled Go Eun-young's words about it being an emergency and to get back to the dorm as fast as possible.
Could it be... President Oh was doing a surprise inspection on our dorm?
Nah, this wasn't the army or anything. No way.
Speaking of the army, memories from my service days suddenly flooded back.
'We had surprise inspections all the time back then.'
Officers would barge in to check if the barracks were neatly kept, rummaging through everything.
...Wait a minute. The army?
As those memories resurfaced, a chill ran down my spine. Haijae was just barely twenty—he couldn't have served yet. So then...
'No way, do I have to go back to the army?'
The pessimistic realization hit me like a brick, leaving my mind blank. No way. That was ridiculous.
Just then, President Oh's urging reached my ears.
"...Lee Jae. Lee Jae!"
"...Yes?"
"What are you doing? I said come sit."
I snapped out of it to find President Oh and the members staring at me.
"Oh, yes. Sorry, I was lost in thought for a second."
I sat in the last empty seat and calmly sorted through my thoughts. I'd been startled for a moment, but...
'There's still hope.'
Top idols usually delayed their service until around thirty, going right when their peak was fading—that was the unwritten rule, right?
If EverPlanet rocketed to success like that, and I could clear the main quest before I hit enlistment age, returning to my original body (even if the main quest reward was blinded), it wouldn't matter at all.
'Now I've got one more reason to clear that main quest no matter what.'
A fresh resolve welled up inside me.
...Why did it feel like I was playing one of those trendy balance games?
Army again vs. Success with EverPlanet...
As those random thoughts clouded my head, President Oh cleared his throat with a hem and spoke up.
"Now that Ha Jaeand Kwang-myeong are here too, let me say it again."
"Yes. But what's so urgent that you called everyone and came to our dorm yourself? It must be huge."
"Well, you see..."
When Kim Kwang-myeong tilted his head and asked, President Oh explained calmly in his warm, serious tone why he'd shown up at the dorm.
At President Oh's words, Kim Kwang-myeong's eyes widened like a hamster spotting sunflower seeds.
"Huh? We're going on Masterpiece Music Hall?"
"Yeah. Pretty great, right?"
"Us?"
"Yeah, you guys."
"Masterpiece Music Hall?"
"Yeah, you guys are going on Masterpiece Music Hall."
"For real? Us?"
It was like a Möbius strip—the back-and-forth between President Oh and Kim Kwang-myeong looping endlessly.
I totally got why Kim Kwang-myeong kept double-checking. I wanted to add my own question too.
'Us? On Masterpiece Music Hall?'
Masterpiece Music Hall was a competition show where, based on a theme for each round, contestants picked a 'masterpiece' (must be a song released at least ten years ago), staged it, and performed for the judging panel.
Airing in prime time on a major broadcast network, MBS, it had solid popularity and great ratings.
So it usually featured established singers or idol groups with some recognition.
For us, only three months post-debut... this was really...
'A dream opportunity.'
A massive chance to introduce ourselves to tons of viewers. I was just stunned we'd landed it.
Meanwhile, Kim Kwang-myeong was still mumbling in disbelief.
"Us... on Masterpiece Music Hall... for real?"
"Yeah, kid. It's true, so quit asking!"
President Oh lightly patted Kim Kwang-myeong's back for making him repeat himself so many times. Han Tae-hee crunched into a pear on the table and chuckled.
"We were the same earlier. I seriously thought President Oh mistook today for April Fool's."
"Me too, hyung."
"Same here. I told him, 'President, April Fool's was already!'"
"You think you're the only ones? I nearly fell over when I got the call, you punks."
Then Lee Jae-oh asked President Oh with a straight face.
"President Oh, have you been doing lower body workouts lately? If you're losing leg strength from shock, your core might be weak. If you need a routine..."
"...No, I'm fine, Jae-oh."
"You gotta take care of yourself. You might collapse otherwise."
Classic Lee Jae-oh advice... President Oh averted his eyes at the guy's dead-serious tone. Judging by the little paunch on President Oh's belly, he wasn't much of a workout guy either.
President Oh cleared his throat again and continued.
"Anyway, MBS variety department contacted us directly. Of course, I said yes."
"Yes, we have to do it."
This kind of chance didn't come every day. I nodded while munching on a pear.
But Kim Kwang-myeong still looked puzzled, tilting his head.
"How'd they even know about us to contact?"
"Don't say it like that—you'll hurt my feelings. Your recognition's gone up a lot lately, you know?"
"Has it?"
When Kim Kwang-myeong asked back, President Oh nodded like it was obvious.
"Your first-week sales hit around 40,000, and the title track even charted briefly. Plus, Planet Studio's racking up views."
"Oh, right."
"President, so when do we perform? You haven't told us that yet."
Park Su-rim, sitting right next to him, beamed and asked. Her smile stretched ear to ear. She seemed the happiest among us.
President Oh glanced at us cautiously before speaking carefully.
"Well... the competition's the week after next."
"Huh? The week after next?"
"Whoa."
"For real? That soon?"
"Why didn't you tell us something that important sooner!"
Tch. Tight schedule. With two stages to prep for the show, the prep time was insanely short. Even starting song selection and practice now might not be enough.
And then President Oh dropped this bomb:
"And tomorrow's the pre-meeting recording."
"Huh?"
It short-circuited my brain. The other members froze too—Park Su-rim's beaming face iced over in an instant.
"...Tomorrow?"
"Yeah, it's a bit rushed. But good thing you have no schedule tomorrow. Haha."
"..."
As the members stared silently at President Oh, their expressions shifting from shock to absurdity, I thought:
'One of the contestants must've bailed last minute.'
Teddy raised his hand, clearly thinking the same.
"President, are we filling in again this time?"
"...You know that word too, Teddy?"
"Of course! I learned it."
Teddy shrugged proudly, like he'd pulled off another one. As eyes turned to President Oh, he admitted it readily.
"Yeah, you could call it that. You saw that Holy Boy member cause a scandal, right?"
"Oh, yeah. The premarital pregnancy thing..."
As Park Su-rim trailed off, President Oh nodded.
"Turned out the group slated to perform was Holy Boy. Lucky it was before recording started, so you guys are stepping in. But who cares if it's a fill-in? Point is, you're going on."
"True."
"We sure are good at filling in, though."
Yeah, at this rate, we could be pros at it.
"That's how solid your skills are. The PD saw your stage videos and picked you right away."
"Grateful they saw us that way."
"So, we're heading to MBS variety tomorrow?"
"By 10 a.m. Hyung-un'll pick you up. Make the most of it, kids. Script's there—study it before tomorrow's shoot. This is huge for you. Got it?"
Anyway, Masterpiece Music Hall was confirmed.
I nodded, popping the last pear into my mouth.
Right on cue, the system pinged.
[SUB QUEST generated. View? Y/N]
Had to be about Masterpiece Music Hall. I hit Y as naturally as possible.
[SUB QUEST generated!
[Today, I'm the Masterpiece Singer!]
▶You've snagged a spot on the popular prime-time network competition show Masterpiece Music Hall. Make the most of this rare chance—team up with the members, craft an amazing stage, show off EverPlanet's skills, and earn the public's acclaim.
Rank: D+
Quest Clear Conditions:
- Score 90+ on Masterpiece Music Hall judging
Clear Rewards: EXP, SPECIAL ITEM, Title, EverPlanet Fame Increase
Fail Penalty: EverPlanet Infamy Surge]
[Accept quest? Y/N]
Masterpiece Music Hall was infamous for stingy scoring.
I'd seen an episode once where a singer teared up over a score under 60.
But no reason to back out. If we're doing it, we go all out.
And above all...
'With these guys, we can pull off something incredible.'
Bring it on. I accepted the quest and waved goodbye to President Oh as he left the dorm, the members buzzing with excitement.
Confidence that we could nail it—that's all we needed right now.
* * *
The next morning, we got up early, stopped by the salon, and headed to MBS variety.
Entering the designated studio, we saw bustling staff and a ton of broadcast cameras set up.
Pre-meeting's being recorded too... Yeah, this was serious.
We greeted the staff and headed to the center. Familiar faces were already seated in the studio spots.
'Choi Sin-yeol, Bae Seung-yeon, and Neighborhood Honey Buns.'
Two solo singers and an indie duo blowing up on SNS lately.
We bowed deeply as soon as we spotted the four.
"Hello! We're EverPlanet!"
"Whoa, the ones from Busan! Hi, I'm Saebom from Neighborhood Honey Buns."
"Hello. Great to see you again. I'm Rune from Neighborhood Honey Buns."
Neighborhood Honey Buns stood first to return our greeting.
Right— they'd opened the Busan Summer Sea Festival stage.
Nice to see them again.
Then Choi Sin-yeol and Bae Seung-yeon next to them smiled and welcomed us.
"Hey, come on in. Nice to see you."
"Hi. Wow, you're all so disciplined. Rookies?"
"Yes, about three months since debut."
Park Su-rim answered for us, and Bae Seung-yeon laughed merrily, pointing to the spot with the 'EverPlanet' nameplate.
"Total chicks. Sit down quick. PD hasn't arrived yet."
"Thanks."
I sat with the members in our seven prepared seats and chatted with the others.
Self-intros and small talk created a cozy vibe.
Then a man walked into the studio.
Seeing his face, my eyes went wide in shock.