"Loner isn't a simple song. The second verse goes as fast as 12 syllables per second and that didn't last for a short time either. Chaeyoung-ssi is an untrained rapper and Sung-Jun-ssi is a gifted vocalist. It's very difficult for both of you to deliver this song without mistakes. Not to mention, you only have five days to practice." JYP was clearly against Jun picking this song for the upcoming performance.
He did not doubt that both of them will get into one of the Big 3 Entertainment agencies and they also have a lot of expectations riding on their shoulders.
On top of that, JYP as their mentor. If Jun's performance turned out to be below par, it raises suspicions onto him with how YG already considering Jun as the trainee of Genesis. There was that too.
Son Chaeyoung didn't know what to reply to her former boss. Since Jun is the one that suggested it, she looked at him.
Jun fell into thoughts for a while. If he's alone, he won't have a problem with the song but what about Chaeyoung. She isn't the same rapper from twice. This girl standing beside him is only a 15-year-old who sure had experience as a trainee but may not be a trained rapper either.
After a brief silence, Jun replied, "JYP-nim, line distribution can reduce the burden on us. I can take the difficult parts to make it easy for Chaeyoung-ssi."
"Eh?" "Eh?"
His reply surprised both of them.
"Aren't you the problem here?" Chaeyoung looked at him in a daze. She was the rapper here and Jun was the vocalist. What does it mean by Jun taking difficult parts?
JYP was also thinking similarly. He was talking about Jun, not worried about Chaeyoung.
Seeing the confident look on Jun, JYP thought of breaking his stubbornness for his benefit and said, "Okay, the song submission date is always Saturday evening. So, that means you have twelve or so hours to decide on the song. I'll give you an hour. If the both of you can prove that you can handle the song, I will give my approval."
For the next 60 minutes, he kept an eye on both of them. Chaeyoung and Jun sat separately, working on their parts. And just like Jun requested, he was given the most difficult part of the song.
Clearly, Jun appeared to be struggling. He couldn't go that fast.
JYP waited patiently. In the meantime, he was preparing a list of songs in advance.
At half-past 10, Chaeyoung and Jun stood up and walked towards JYP with the lyrics sheet.
Jun looked very nervous.
The music started to play in the background and they have to sing while looking at the lyrics.
In the end, the result was devastating for Jun. He thought with 6.7 points, he would be able to do it but it turned out that it wasn't enough.
He wasn't able to do it, thereby, bringing a smile to JYP's face. "See, this is why I said earlier. Speed rapping for more than 15 seconds is very difficult for a vocalist."
"Sorry," Jun bowed lightly and apologized in disappointment. Chaeyoung also sighed in relief that Jun didn't make it.
In her eyes, Jun is indeed great, perhaps, the best in vocals among the contestants. And if he were able to pull this off with ease, then, he wouldn't be a human. As a rapper, she felt more ease to see Jun fail at it.
But, at the same time, she also acknowledged that he was really good at rap.
JYP handed them a list, "Here, I prepared a list of songs that are extremely suited for your team."
"I swear I will perfect this song, sooner or later." Jun took it as a challenge but for now, it isn't the time to think about the song.
Chaeyoung and Jun sit down before the computer and look at the list. She was a little bit worried that her teammate might be in disappointment because they have wasted an hour for nothing but seeing that Jun is fine as if nothing happened, she put her concentration on the screen.
One after another, they listened to each song. After losing an opportunity to sing "Loner," he wanted to find a song more or less equally challenging but none appeared so far.
After an hour of listening, Jun clicked on the 14th song. "Red sun? Never heard of it but Zico is well known though."
At first, this song has a piano touch but after a few seconds, the song started with casual speaking in a deep tone.
"Let me be dark
What's the use of forcing myself to be bright?
Just one candle
That can't be light for me"
***
The start appeared to be normal to both of them but soon, electronic music started in the background and the song continued. It gave Jun, goosebumps for a second.
On the other hand, Chaeyoung had a glow on her face from the start. She heard it before.
Jun isn't the type to like hip hop songs, Chaeyoung was an exception because he is the fan of her counterpart, as for Outsider, it was the extreme speed that attracted Jun's attention.
So, when Jun loved this song, expressing his emotions by continuously nodding his head, it indicated he decided on it.
Before the song even finished, Jun said, "I like this one."
"Me too…" Chaeyoung replied as she continued to listen to it. "It's cool."
The song was actually released only about three-four months ago. With the other idol group releasing comebacks, "Red Sun," which was sung by Zico, Swings, and Hangzoo, struggled to gain popularity. Moreover, the song was targeted to a specific audience who are into hip hop music. So, there's that too.
Jun returned to A-Block during lunchtime. A chef was busy in the kitchen. Daniel stuck to the television as his practice session will soon begin after lunch.
"Hyung, you are back."
"Yeah." Jun collapsed on the couch and closed his eyes, feeling good as he smelled the aroma coming from the kitchen.
"Eh?" Chaeyoung-ssi?" Daniel was naturally surprised about how it turned out. In his opinion, it was the worst that can happen to Jun, considering the girl is a rapper.
"What was the menu, by the way?" Jun then asked him slowly.
Daniel gestured that he doesn't know.
Jun sit straight and turned his head, "Seong-Hyeon-ssi, what is the lunch menu, today?"
The chef answered while continuing to cut the veggies. "Broccoli, Mushroom and Beef Stir Fry; Seaweed and Tofu soup; and Bibimbap. For side dishes, we already have rice and kimchi, I'm going to make simple cucumber salad, seasoned spinach, and tuna pancakes."
"That's a lot." Jun thought about it. To save time, he offered to help but the chef rejected it, saying that he can manage on his own.
Jun remembered the previous day. Even during the dinner preparations, the chef rejected his help and finished the job in time before leaving the place with barely talking to anyone.
Since the man doesn't want it, he didn't help either and continued to watch the television.
After finishing lunch, everyone left for the playroom. The five of them decided to compete in Air hockey.
The rules were simple. They participate in rock, paper, and scissors. The winner will get a bye and will decide who will battle who. Then, the remaining three will play rock, paper, scissors again, with the winner getting a bye and getting to the finals.
During the first time, Jongho gets the bye. Jun vs Vernon, and Shonwu vs Daniel.
In the first match, Shonwu wins.
It was the second match, Jun took his place.
While he was playing the game, he remembers his dates in this life with Somi of original Jun. At the same time, he remembers another girl in his previous life that he dated for like two years during high school before breaking up because of graduation. In both of the lives, during the dates, two places were extremely common. One is the amusement park and the other is the Arcade center.
"Hmm? Why am I thinking about Ji-Eun, now? It's already been ten years." Jun shook his head, throwing the thought away, and focused on the game.
In the end, Jun barely won the match with an 11-9 score. After that, he played with Jongho and faces defeat. Shonwu and Jongho go to the finals and the latter wins the game.
Jun enters Jongho's name on his notepad, not taking this game much seriously.
And by the time, the game is over, the break is also over, and Daniel went to the practice room. Jun goes downstairs to watch television, Jongho continues to practice at karaoke, Shonwu goes to the gym for a workout, and Vernon goes to sleep.
At around half past 2, a young man enters the A-Block.
Jun greets him while thinking about his identity and remembers him. He's one of the thirty members in the mentors' panel. His name is Park Bongyoung, a choreographer who runs a youtube channel with over a hundred thousand subscribers and also teaches dance at One million dance studio.
He was also popular in social media with over 152k followers on Instagram and nearly 5k followers on Twitter.
"Where is Kang Daniel?"
"He's at dance practice." Jun points to the first floor.
"Got it."