Chapter 55

Joo Yeonhee entered the practice room with a question in her eyes. The 'I Want to Give All This Spring to You' team, lined up in a row, greeted her in unison.

"Did you work hard?"

"Yes!"

"Okay. Let's go."

Im Cheon-seon, the composer, should have been there for this, but he wasn't in any shape to appear on broadcast right now.

Because of that, Joo Yeonhee, who had been handed full authority, was also able to screw the production team over exactly as she pleased.

The mid-term evaluation stage ended after about three minutes had passed.

Joo Yeonhee uncrossed her legs.

"Gyeon-woo, that was a little more like a threat than a confession just now, okay? Soften up your expression. Jeongjin, watch out so you don't go flat after 'one, two, three.'"

"Yes, sorry!"

"And Cha-gyeom......"

Hmm. Joo Yeonhee folded her arms and looked at Seo Cha-gyeom.

Joo Yeonhee's training motto was 'praise is completely useless.'

Her reasoning was that only being criticized allows you to grow, and that praise alone has zero value as feedback.

But up until now, Joo Yeonhee had tried to give Seo Cha-gyeom nothing but praise whenever possible. She could see exactly how the production team, rabid to highlight his flaws, would weaponize her feedback.

'Not that there was much to give feedback on.'

Today, though.......

Joo Yeonhee recalled the script the production team handed her again.

[Seo Cha-gyeom trainee

Please compliment him by mentioning the word 'main character'~

Example) You're like the main character~ Like that]

She didn't know why, but it was obvious the production team's attitude toward Seo Cha-gyeom had changed. And in an overwhelmingly favorable direction at that.

That meant... this time at last, her feedback wouldn't be used against him.

Joo Yeonhee took a moment to choose her words before opening her mouth. Her earlier resolution to follow the production team's orders had vanished without a trace.

"Cha-gyeom."

"Yes."

"You don't need to be perfect in this song."

Seo Cha-gyeom blinked.

"Pardon?"

"Right now, it's way too obvious that you're performing."

Seo Cha-gyeom's face held both a message of 'What are you talking about?' and 'Still, I'll listen carefully because it's your advice.'

Without missing a beat, Joo Yeonhee continued.

"It's especially noticeable during the bridge."

"......."

"It's the highlight part, but there's nothing that really hits you."

Her feedback finished on a vague note.

Watching Seo Cha-gyeom's puzzled expression, Joo Yeonhee debated supplementing with more explanation, then decided against it.

'That kid will figure it out on his own.'

In truth, Joo Yeonhee's primary reason for choosing Seo Cha-gyeom as this song's muse was her single-minded desire to make the production team eat dirt.

Her second reason was her sense of duty as a mentor.

She hadn't once thought that 'Seo Cha-gyeom suited this song.'

Concept alone, Choi Jun-bin was a much better match, and she felt Seo Cha-gyeom was worlds apart from this kind of fresh, innocent love song.

But that had been a misjudgment.

It was simply that Seo Cha-gyeom had never selected songs like this before. His voice was a perfect match for this song.

That was the day Joo Yeonhee finally realized Seo Cha-gyeom's true strength.

'He has no genre limitations.'

Idols, even more than other singers, must pull off an especially wide range of genres.

The ability to maintain your own distinct color in songs of constantly different styles and add an original interpretation.

That's precisely what sets an idol vocal apart from other singers.

The reason Seo Cha-gyeom had harmonized so well with the songs he'd done before wasn't simply because he'd selected songs that suited him.

He knows how to control his voice.

Everything boiled down to that one fact.

'He's the type who grinds.'

Humans of this type desperately need feedback above all else. The same way Joo Yeonhee herself had been in the past.

That was why she'd tried meticulously catching points she would normally have let slide.

"The composer really treasured this song, and at this level, I think even he would acknowledge it! Great job, everyone~"

Wrapping up with a warm closing remark, Joo Yeonhee thought to herself.

'To think I'd see the song Im Cheon-seon tossed aside, calling it boring, brought back to life like this.......'

Maybe even Im Cheon-seon, holed up at home from burnout, would feel motivated again if he saw this guy.

Joo Yeonhee smiled at her daydream before dropping the corners of her mouth.

'Oh.'

Because something surfaced in her head.

'Oh!'

The person who dimly crossed her mind every time she saw Seo Cha-gyeom.

No, it wasn't a person.

Once the mid-term evaluation filming wrapped and cameras were withdrawn, Joo Yeonhee pulled out her phone and sent a text.

[I found him, oppa!!]

* * *

The mid-term evaluation concluded in a warm atmosphere, and lunchtime arrived.

While we ate first, the other team that came in after us all looked completely deflated. It seemed they'd gotten thoroughly chewed out during their evaluation.

"Man, our team must've done well to finish early, huh."

Half-listening to Jo Woo-jin loudly talking right beside me so everyone could hear, I shoveled my food and thought.

'I look like I'm performing too much?'

I'd left behind childish rebellious thoughts like, obviously you're performing, what do you expect, back in middle school. Because this kind of stage is exactly the sort of thing that gets decided by that vague concept and a razor-thin margin.

And the exact reason... I had a rough idea, too.

was a confession song.

The speaker's personality comes through from the verses: this speaker was truly, frustratingly timid.

The speaker, who'd dragged things out for a full year after resolving to confess, hesitated and vacillated throughout the entire second verse before finally executing the confession in the D' part I was in charge of.

Since the part itself wasn't crucial, the reason I'd been criticized was obvious.

'My acting was lacking.'

Honestly... I admit it.

I couldn't get immersed from the start. If it were a song about saving the earth with superpowers, I might buy it, but this kind of thing, I just can't relate.......

And even though I'm admitting it now, I was originally a perennial bottom-tier student in acting lessons who barely scraped by above the worst score.

"Haah."

"What's with the sigh."

Baek Gyeonwoo scolded me from the side.

I felt more at a loss because it felt like a weakness I'd been hiding had been found out. I had no appetite, either.

I stood up from my seat to clear my finished tray.

"You finished eating already?"

A staff member asked as I was putting my tray away.

When I nodded, the staff member said with a flustered look.

"Um, don't go toward the auditorium yet. Hm, please go around via those stairs."

I said okay and moved my feet.

'Hmm.......'

So they're doing that.

It was certainly the perfect event to pull when the trainees' spirits were crushed after mid-term evaluations.

As I waited on the second floor per the staff's instructions, before long trainees started coming up one by one. Everyone wore a bewildered expression.

"Do you know what we're doing?"

"No idea?"

It was my tenth time devoutly pretending not to know for the sake of the production team's perfect surprise camera.

At last, the staff gave us the order to come down.

Around the entrance of the auditorium we reached, pink and white balloons dangled in flower shapes. The aesthetic had a heartwarming feel like something from a kindergarten talent show.

"Oh, what's this~? Should we open it?"

"Let's open it together!"

Two trainees standing in front ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠of the door shouted in contrived tones. They were one hundred percent reading a script the production team had given them.

When the two opened the door, a pitch-black interior where you couldn't see an inch ahead was revealed.

"Gasp, a courage test?"

Simultaneously with those words, the lights abruptly flicked on.

"......Hyung!"

"Huh, Mom? You came all the way here from Toronto?"

"Teacher!!!!"

Just as expected.......

The people seated at the white round tables, letting out cheers, were all family members, respected teachers, agency staff, and other connections of the trainees.

Shockingly, there were people who applied to me too.

"Cha-gyeom!"

It was our President and Manager, who looked wonderfully close.

"Both of you came?"

"What would we have to do if you weren't here."

"I heard our son has a sports day, so I came here!"

Didn't she have to go to the sports day?

On the table, all sorts of refreshments were laid out.

The moment I sat down and picked up a butter cookie, the staff played a video.

It was ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a video letter personally recorded by family members who couldn't make it to the event.

[Neuti, really... (Woof!) Neuti, when you were little... (Woof!) Nari, quiet! So Mom, Neuti, you... (Woof!) Ah, this isn't working. I'll cut here. Neuti, fighting! (Woof!)]

"What? She didn't say anything?"

At someone's remark, laughter burst out inside the auditorium.

I saw Han Neuti, who was sitting far away, grab both ears in embarrassment and collapse onto the table.

The video letters continued after that.

Trainees burst into tears ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠here and there. With the atmosphere openly insisting on crying, it didn't seem like anyone would get accused of 'milking tears' here.

As for me... well... I didn't particularly.......

I know it's kind of a mood killer, but honestly.

'Cringe.......'

I just wanted to get this over with quickly and go practice.

My parents' faces never appeared until the end, and I felt genuinely relieved as I clapped fervently.

After the videos ended, the food the staff had prepared came out.

"Enjoy your meal!"

Thankfully, it wasn't cocktail sausages. Dishes like ssambap, California rolls, canapés, and fruit were spread across ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the table.

I picked up a canapé in front of me.

I'd thought I had no appetite and wasn't eating much up to now, but I guess I just hated cocktail sausages. The food went down fine.

And as I picked up my second one, I realized.

It had actually been my survival instinct to kill the unbearable awkwardness by eating something, anything.

"Ah, um... What's San-ho doing?"

"Probably with So-wol."

"So-wol?"

"Yeah."

"Is that friend still staying in the dorms?"

"Yeah."

"What about school?"

"He said he doesn't go."

"Ah......."

I wrapped up the conversation with a dry cough.

I wasn't surprised, because his appearance alone screamed that he wouldn't be attending. If you call that a prejudice, I've got nothing to say.

'Is he really joining?'

With talent that would rocket upward after just a few months of training, if Jeong Sowol joined, I felt we wouldn't have to worry about vocals much anymore.

Then the position we'd need going forward was... a high-tone rapper?

Or, since our current members all had strong colors, it would be nice to bring in a sub vocal who could balance things out.

Since we were bound to be a small group, we had to cut useless headcounts and fill it only with effective ones.

"......."

Things seem to be going well, I noticed. It's funny that I've gone from wishing anyone would come to filtering them out one by one.

Anyway, with four people (including Han Neuti), we at least met the bare minimum.

I felt a bit more at ease. I decided to briefly forget that only half of that was confirmed and the rest was nothing more than hopeful delusion.

"Cha-gyeom, you not eating?"

"Ah, I ate right before this."

"Already managing yourself like an idol, I see."

But I really did eat before coming.

Fair enough; looking around, it was hard to believe. Because the other trainees were eating like they'd been starved for days.

Of course, there was also someone not eating, like me.

'Did someone from his company come too?'

Baek Gyeonwoo had his hands lowered beneath the table and was blankly staring straight ahead.

It was impossible not to be concerned.

Because... that guy normally eats a lot. Seriously.

Knowing what I knew about the relationship between the company and Baek Gyeonwoo, it wasn't entirely pleasant just watching.

"Manager."

"Huh?"

"Don't you want to see Gyeon-woo?"

The manager, who had been about to put ssambap in his mouth, stopped and called out happily.

"Right, Gyeon-woo! Where's Gyeon-woo?"

"Shall I bring him over?"

"That'd be nice!"

I stood up from my seat.

Baek Gyeonwoo, spotting me as I approached his table, looked at me with eyes that said 'what are you doing.' I ignored it.

"Hello."

At my greeting, the Youth employee who had been quietly eating raised his head.

"There's something I need to discuss with my team about the parts......."

"Seo Cha-gyeom."

The employee cut me off.

"You remember me, right?"

Hmm.......

I answered.

"Yes."