Chapter 90
Chapter 90
The message from Ahn Jiwon arrived on the third Wednesday of November, a full four months after we exchanged numbers.
[Ahn Jiwon: Hyung]
[Ahn Jiwon: I'm taking the CSAT tomorrow]
"......."
I was so flustered that my thoughts stopped for a moment.
When I came to my senses and went online, the whole world really was in an uproar over the big event happening tomorrow.
'Was I that isolated?'
Well... I had been really busy these days.
Still, I couldn't just brush off a student taking the CSAT tomorrow with an excuse about being busy.
Besides, for Ahn Jiwon, this CSAT was a trial he had to face right after making a sharp turn, so his burden would be heavier than others. Just like I had a year ago.
Or maybe not.
'Why did I sense the air of a carefree loafer from someone taking the CSAT tomorrow....'
Even though not a single message from my side had been sent yet, our chat log kept growing endlessly thanks to Ahn Jiwon's one-man show.
[Ahn Jiwon: Oh but Gyeonwoo hyung went to your company too]
[Ahn Jiwon: That guy's a nutjob]
[Ahn Jiwon: He fried Kim Hanul's soul with his laser eyes]
...I should say something.
[Me: Gyeonwoo is watching next to me]
[Ahn Jiwon: (shocked emoji)]
[Ahn Jiwon: It's okay because we won't run into each other anyway]
Looking at the suddenly polite tone, Baek Gyeonwoo spoke up.
"Ask him where his test site is."
"Why the test site?"
I asked anyway.
A message arrived, as fast as it was immediate.
[Ahn Jiwon: It's in Gangneung, you gonna come?]
[Ahn Jiwon: My parents are coming, so you don't have to]
[Ahn Jiwon: Come next year, I'll probably take it again next year]
[Ahn Jiwon: Today's just a taste]
[Ahn Jiwon: But if I get an insanely high score, you never know]
"...Why did you tell me to ask?"
Baek Gyeonwoo said.
"To pack a lunch for him."
"You can't cook."
"Does that matter?"
Didn't it matter...?
Anyway, I sent an appropriate encouraging message.
Ahn Jiwon seemed not to be after encouragement either, as he just replied with a nonchalant 'yeah' and continued the conversation.
[Ahn Jiwon: Hyung, but when are you debuting?]
I answered immediately.
[Soon]
It wasn't just a perfunctory answer; it was the truth.
The D-day widget I had on my home screen would make this 'soon' even more real, so while I thought of it, I took a look.
The D-day widget sparkled over the high-definition wallpaper that Director had sent me.
Below our final team's group name, black numbers were visible.
[January 21]
This was our debut date.
...though temporary.
* * *
If you asked whether nothing had happened from October until now, it absolutely was not the case.
First of all... last week, the investigation into the <MAKE100%> manipulation scandal had concluded.
However, after mediating between the victim's agency and the perpetrator's agency, they'd agreed not to name either the perpetrator or the victim.
So did that mean it would end in a fog forever?
Half right, half wrong.
[PROMISE ME(MAKE100%7 ending song)―Team P]
That ending song music video I'd last asked PD about.
A rule came down that it could only be released through the victim's agency's channel.
In other words, for the sake of protecting the trainees, they wouldn't reveal it openly, but they'd give indirect hints so the public could catch on themselves. That was the gist.
Anyway... the conclusion was this.
The ending song music video was also uploaded to our channel.
'A bit late, though.'
Since Hyun-i hyung and I were the only victim agency trainees in Team P, this video could only be uploaded in two places.
And we secured the second spot.
...Hyun-i hyung's company was really fast.
"......."
"If you're going to watch it, watch it; if not, don't."
Baek Gyeonwoo scolded me as I hesitated for a long while, looking at the just-uploaded music video thumbnail.
After a firm resolution, I pressed play.
The music video alternated between scenes of our team playing in Gangneung and in the recording studio.
It wasn't a low-quality video of just photos strung together like a slideshow with nostalgic effects overlaid; it was crafted like something that could pass for a movie preview.
'Why did they put so much effort into it.'
Unnecessarily....
Was it because they wanted to wrap up the survival show, full of competition, condemnation, and manipulation, beautifully at the end after all?
Or was it the overnight work of an ignorant outsourced production team? Whatever it was, when combined with the ending, it only maximized the bitterness.
Before I knew it, the song reached its final stretch, and Baek Gyeonwoo's rap part came on.
What light is
What a dream is
Why, even with nothing in my hands,
I feel like I have everything
And hurt as if I've lost everything
Next, the trainee doing the other rap passed, and my part appeared.
Even if the brilliant world abandons me,
For you who believed in me,
I'll run to the end, catch that light,
And give it to you
The next part after that... of all people, Ahn Jiwon did it.
Even if our story ends here,
These brilliant lights
That you shone on me
Will never fade
In this universe
The last part was the group sing-along.
Inside us
"......."
Listening in a situation where the story had really ended made me feel very complicated.
It was lyrics written with the idea of never being released, but they'd become like innocent lambs before an approaching disaster....
The comment section visible in the preview was already a sea of tears.
Comments
―Ah, please, Jiwon...
―Still can't believe it, the Airplane Duo at the same company, ㅇㅇ
―Free Ahn Jiwon
―Cha-gyeom and Gyeonwoo were close even then, what's with the coffee cup lol so cute
―Production team, you guys really go to hell
―What is Jiwon doing these days? Does anyone know?
└He's studying, I saw him at an academy
└Ah...
Back when the rumor first spread that Ahn Jiwon would quit being an idol, most people were skeptical.
At that time, thanks to fans pushing public opinion, the sentiment that 'the company is at fault, what sin did the trainees commit?' was dominant, so many expected Ahn Jiwon would soon find a new agency and return.
Moreover, since he was the only pre-selected contestant to confess his conscience, the opinion was growing that Ahn Jiwon should be excluded from the typical pre-selected list.
Watching that public opinion, I... thought that maybe Ahn Jiwon would change his mind and challenge the idol world again.
But not long after that.
Ahn Jiwon released a handwritten letter on his Inheart.
It was a letter expressing gratitude to the fans who had supported him until then, alongside a firm resolve that he would no longer pursue being an idol.
Some noisy reactions like 'Is this betraying the fans who waited?' and 'If so, why did you expose it in the first place?' briefly arose, but Ahn Jiwon was quickly forgotten.
It was thanks to the fans who respected Ahn Jiwon's final choice.
'Looks like it was smoothly settled with the company, too.'
...I hope I can see him soon. Not just through my phone.
Anyway, it was clear that even if only ashes remained, this music video had brought back memories of <MAKE100%>.
And maybe that was the timing they aimed for.
I meant the <MAKE100%> derivative team with Hyun-i hyung, O Yunhwan, and Choi Junbin.
[KIff(Kick off) debut trailer]
A debut teaser thrown out at this timing when former Kes who had scattered here and there gathered to reminisce after a long time.
Of course, I watched it too.
What left an impression was the logo motion at the end, where a line was drawn through the cursive 'kiss' to create 'kiff'.
For reference, Han Neuti, who watched the teaser with us, covered Kim Sanho's and Jeong Sowol's eyes with both hands and added this comment.
"Wow, Hyun-i hyung is, re, really sexy."
Just as he said, this team...
They came out with a blatantly sexy concept.
'Hyun-i hyung does have that kind of... face.'
With his long, slit eyes that gave him a desert fox look, I knew that kind of face often earned comments about being sexy.
O Yunhwan didn't have a refreshing face either.
...Still, I thought they should have stopped Choi Junbin and Mun Jeongjin. Both had faces that could pass for middle schoolers if you put them in school uniforms.
Oh, right. Mun Jeongjin was also in this team.
It felt a bit like watching a class reunion, so it was nice.
Of course, not just nice—they were also giving us a trickle-down effect, so it was worth hitting 'like'.
Comments
―My aching fingers ㅜㅜ I hope all the Mechil kids do well
―Wow, they spent a lot of money
―Can't we just say the debut team this time is them?
―Wow, the response is really great. The Sorasum kids are worth looking forward to too.
―Congrats on debuting! Sorasum fans are dying of thirst ㅠ
To the last person... Our debut announcement article was scheduled for a month later, so I hoped they could hold on just a little longer.
Comments
―But three of them are new faces? Kids I don't know
└They say they're trainees from a management company
―Hmm... they debut only with kids from Mebaek...
―I don't know about the new faces' visual synergy, maybe it'll get better over time
'Indeed, the participants and non-participants had different levels of attention.'
How could we close that gap?
Well, these days individual fan tendencies were growing, and I myself didn't believe that all members had to receive equal attention.
The problem was inflow.
There was a limit to the fans drawn in through <MAKE100%> alone, so to make other groups curious, the new faces would be key rather than us.
'The early spurt was important.'
And it was then that the manager came to the practice room.
"Is there anyone between Neuti and Gyeonwoo who wants to perform on a stage?"
We, who were on break, all turned our heads toward the door simultaneously.
The manager, phone in hand, had his eyes sparkling with excitement.
"What kind of stage?"
Han Neuti, one of the two mentioned, spoke first.
"I got a call asking if we could borrow Neuti or Gyeonwoo for the Music Box year-end event stage."
"From where...?"
"From Sweetie Entertainment."
Sweetie Entertainment...
"......."
Where is that?
"Ah, you know Yeonhee from Onpirem? She's doing <Between Walls> there, says she needs a rapper. Sounds like they heard we're debuting soon. They said it'd be good to get some face time before the debut."
Ah, it was Joo Yeonhee's agency.
'But why those two....'
If they were cast based on what they saw on <MAKE100%>, those two weren't that good at rapping... Well, of course, that was back then. They'd improved a lot by now.
Anyway, beyond surprise, I was honestly even getting suspicious.
'Were they good enough to beat all the current active rappers?'
It wasn't that I was putting them down because I loved them less; it was because the rapper spot was for <Between Walls> of all songs.
<Between Walls> was a solo song by Joo Yeonhee released ten years ago.
Back then I was an elementary school student, so I didn't know the exact chart performance, but I did know this song's nickname.
'The rapper discovery song'....
It started when the original feature rapper caused a scandal and got buried, so other rappers started helping out on stage as supporting fire.
Maybe because the response was pretty good, from then on, every time she performed it, she brought a new rapper, and that's how it got the nickname.
One idol rapper who got overwhelming praise in the 'Between Walls Rapper Compilation' video even went on a rap survival show not long after, solidifying recognition....
'Wait.'
I asked the manager.
"You need a rapper?"
"Yeah, just a rapper."
And he looked at Kim Yuri and said.
"She said no other rappers?"