* * *
Today's filming took place in Sangam, and Coming Up Next's accommodation is in Pocheon.
Pocheon and Seoul are not that far away, but they are not close either.
So the production crew gave the contestants a vacation on the condition that they return by noon tomorrow.
I think it's a much more humanitarian broadcast than I thought.
I only practiced for a week and they gave me a vacation.
Thanks to you... … .
"There's nothing to do."
There was nothing left to do.
Uncle Hyunsu will be in the hospital anyway, and I don't want to go to the hospital where my parents are.
Although he has been judged to be in a vegetative state, he has not yet found an appropriate nursing hospital, so he remains there.
I don't really have any friends in Korea.
… … Nope.
At this point, I have no friends in America either.
Anyway, the only people looking for me now were two black men.
Jiyiing.
[You say today is free time? Would you like to have pork belly and a glass of soju below the studio?]
[Ki Jeong also joined.]
[Aren't you curious about today's performance evaluation?]
CEO Hyun-seok Lee and Jo Ki-jeong.
No, but how on earth do you know that the cast members got free time?
Should I just go home and rest?
While I was thinking that, Koo Tae-hwan gave me a surprising offer.
Let's play together.
So far, out of all the members of Sedalbaekil, I have talked to Koo Tae-hwan the most.
But we haven't become particularly close, so why would you want to spend your golden vacation with me?
Since today's performance wasn't very good, I'm going to go home and practice.
With that in mind, I was going to reject Koo Tae-hwan's offer, but what he said next made me curious.
"I'm going to my parents' mushroom farm. "How about we go together?"
"Is it in Seoul?"
"huh. "You have to eat anyway, so you can just eat and leave."
Was Koo Tae-hwan actually rich?
There is a mushroom farm in Seoul.
After thinking for a moment, I nodded.
As Koo Tae-hwan said, you have to eat, and I was curious.
I caught a taxi like that, and suddenly Choi Jae-seong joined me.
At first, it was so hard to catch a taxi that I asked them to get off at the subway station, and they were as fascinated by the story about the mushroom farm as I was.
Well, I'm curious if there is a mushroom farm in downtown Seoul.
The place we arrived at was… … .
It was a restaurant.
A huge restaurant specializing in mushroom dishes located in downtown Jongno.
What kind of mushrooms does a building have to be three stories tall to sell?
However, looking at Koo Tae-hwan's embarrassed expression, it seems like he said that on purpose, knowing that we would misunderstand.
That also means I don't really understand the character.
He seems to be quick-witted, but doesn't talk much.
"Shall we go in?"
Gu Tae-hwan nodded at what he said, still looking embarrassed.
There were quite a few customers in the restaurant, but Koo Tae-hwan's parents were nowhere to be seen.
Koo Tae-hwan, who was holding the table, only exchanged a few words with the kitchen aunts who seemed friendly.
As the food was served and we were eating quietly, the reason for today's meeting came out of Koo Tae-hwan's mouth.
"My performance wasn't that good today, was it?"
I guess I was curious about this.
But before I could answer, Choi Jae-seong reacted right away.
"Hey, bro, what do you mean? "You won."
"I did win."
"You won because you did well."
As Choi Jae-seong said, Koo Tae-hwan beat Fade.
To be more precise about the results, Choi Jae-sung and On Sae-mi lost, while the other three won.
But that's not because Koo Tae-hwan is good, but because Fade self-destructs.
If I remember Fade's original skills, Koo Tae-hwan should have lost.
Oh, isn't it?
The Fade I remember is from For the Youth, which was formed two years later, so isn't that still the case?
Anyway, it's clear that Koo Tae-hwan wasn't very good today.
"huh. "It was so bad."
The one who was startled by my answer was Choi Jae-seong.
Is this such a surprising answer?
Koo Tae-hwan, the person involved, is calm.
"I worked really hard, but why didn't it work out so well?"
"Because the directing was not good in the first place."
"huh?"
"The direction given by CEO Choi Dae-ho is lame."
Choi Jae-seong is once again startled.
No, why is the youngest one so unmotivated?
Back in my day, I was suffering from indie disease and when a casting director gave me his business card, I would do a quiz on my guitar.
If you guess the title of the song I'm playing, I'll go to the office with a business card.
For your information, no one guessed it right.
I deliberately played jazz from the 50s that you might not know.
Compared to Choi Jae-seong, who made a fuss, Koo Tae-hwan was calm.
"But I don't think you're saying anything wrong… … ."
"Of course, what you say is correct. "He has a very accurate strainer."
"Strainer?"
"If the jewel is too small, it won't get caught in the strainer and will fall through, right? All those trainees are eliminated. Those who know how to grow large enough to be caught in a strainer will pass."
Choi Dae-ho taught Koo Tae-hwan how to name weight classes as a singer.
Increase your vocal range, study your expressive skills, and develop your live skills.
It's not wrong.
In fact, if he practices for a few years, Koo Tae-hwan may be able to show off his strengths while moving up in weight class.
However, I tend to think that producing method is a bit irresponsible.
The idea is to raise several people in a similar way and only take on one talented person.
This is especially bad for someone like Koo Tae-hwan who has a clear weapon.
Nevertheless, the reason I haven't said anything much until now is because I am not responsible for Koo Tae-hwan's life.
Telling Koo Tae-hwan to take charge of the introduction is like telling him to specialize in one part.
I became an introductory master like that, but what if the three-month-100-day project ends?
It may take on the shape of a deformed jewel that does not fit into any idol group.
Of course, over time, you will be able to grow while maintaining your strengths, and it will be more efficient than Choi Dae-ho's method.
But there is no reason for me to intervene in Koo Tae-hwan's life to that extent.
When I explained my thoughts, Koo Tae-hwan tilted his head.
"Aren't you looking too far?"
"What are you talking about?"
"What is given to me right now is the task of doing well in three months and one hundred days. "If there is a way to do it well, shouldn't we do it first?"
"… … "That's right."
I have a habit of looking into the distant future.
But soon I became curious.
Is Koo Tae-hwan sincerely saying something like that?
"You trust me, a fellow participant, that much?"
"You're good at it. "That's a lot."
"You don't feel jealous?"
This time, the person who gave a loud reaction was Choi Jae-seong, who was listening next to him.
"Wow, bro really… … . "I think he's a genius."
"Does that mean you're unlucky?"
"Just a little… … ?"
"I asked Koo Tae-hwan, so you stay still. how is it?"
Normally, I wouldn't have asked this question.
However, as I promised during my last conversation with Onsaemiro, I decided to completely consume this life.
It was decided to stick to the role of a throwaway episode.
That's why I'm curious about Koo Tae-hwan.
Because he is a person with talents that I don't have.
"Of course I'm jealous."
"… … ."
"I want to be like you, but I guess I can't go that far. "Is this jealousy?"
It feels strange to say something.
Koo Tae-hwan is quiet and is more of a smart person.
Looking back now, I think he was embarrassed at first when he became the 'I will try my best' bot and started looking for me.
Even if you think about it, your actions must have been ridiculous.
Well, I thought I was a weird guy at the time too.
Anyway, I don't know why a smart guy talks like he's broken like this.
It was Choi Jae-seong who gave the correct answer.
"Hey brother, I don't think you know what jealousy is?"
"no. know. "I'm jealous, I want to follow, I want to surpass."
"What are you talking about? Jealousy is not an emotion that elevates you, but an emotion that wants the other person to come down. Well, it takes some time to reach that feeling."
"… … ."
This time, I was surprised by Choi Jae-seong's expression.
Accurate.
This is not an easy thing to say unless you have experienced it.
Looking at Choi Jae-seong's suddenly bitter expression, it seems like he has some experience.
"If jealousy is that feeling… … . "I don't think I've ever felt that before?"
I chuckled at Goo Tae-hwan's words.
I don't completely believe that, but I don't ignore it either.
Because there was a guy in GOTM who said something similar.
"Fuck, I've never been jealous of anyone else!"
Guitarist Dave Logan.
"Yes, if that's the case, I can easily help you."
"What should we do with CEO Choi Dae-ho's direction?"
"Ignore it. Anyway, when it comes to company CEOs, everyone is performance driven. "It doesn't matter as long as the results are good."
"Shion, since we're talking about directing… … . Have you ever thought about a self-producing mission?"
If I look closely, I can finally see the intentions of the two people.
Koo Tae-hwan brought me to the mushroom farm to solve his own curiosity, and Choi Jae-seong eventually joined because he wanted to talk about producing.
"It's not like it's not there, but we should listen to the members' stories, right?"
"We are also part of the members, right? "Can I just listen to part of it?"
"What are you worried about?"
"Well, I was worried that you might end up like your brother."
"Under the streetlight?"
"yes. To be honest, I didn't think there would be any surprises because it was a song I kept listening to during practice and rehearsals... … . You completely tore it up on stage. "I wonder if you'll want to do something like that again."
"You don't have to worry. "Because it won't happen."
This time, we will perform a perfect idol stage.
All I had to do was show off my skills once.
My goal in this life is to become a K-pop idol.
Choi Jae-seong's face brightened.
"sure. "What did my performance look like in your opinion?"
"It seemed okay. "Except for the live performance being a little unstable."
Among the members of Sedalbaekil, the one with the most hexagonal shape is Jaeseong Choi.
There are no notable drawbacks, and there are many reasonable advantages.
The problem is that it's hard to become the main character, and I'm the type of person who gets bored easily if I sing a whole song... … .
This is not a story that can be experienced in words.
The time will come when you will feel it.
While we were talking, a middle-aged woman approached our table.
"son!"
She was Koo Tae-hwan's mother.
I got up with Choi Jae-seong, said hello, and ate endless amounts of food until my stomach exploded.
After that, I did some busking on the street to digest the fire.
It wasn't my opinion, it was Choi Jae-seong's idea after hearing that Koo Tae-hwan had a guitar in his room.
Although I didn't sing and just played accompaniment on the guitar, more people showed up than I expected.
Well, in the eyes of the general public, Koo Tae-hwan and Choi Jae-seong are good enough vocalists.
At that time, a man came up to us and handed us a business card.
"Can we talk for a moment?"
Funnily enough, he was the casting director for Drop Out's agency, Double M Entertainment.
I thought about old times and played around.
"If you guess the title of this song."
I played swing jazz from the 50s like that.
"Isn't Count Basie Dear?"
… … What is this person?
I played a piano song on guitar, but how did you get it right so quickly?
In the end, we told the truth, but the casting director forced business cards into our pockets.
"You might have something to contact me after Coming Up Next is over, right?"
Well, that could happen.
At Double M, we might be able to negotiate with Ryan Entertainment and accept trainees.
After that, we performed a few more songs and ended the busking.
"Oh, it was fun. Zion, there's no song you don't know, right? "He plays the guitar well too."
"I know most pop song scores. "K-pop can be played in a similar way to some extent."
"Wow, so talented."
"You mean bugs?"
"… … See you tomorrow! "Mom is making a fuss at home!"
So they dispersed to their respective homes.
Well, it wasn't a very fun day, but it wasn't a bad day.
[We're still drinking, do you want to come late?]
[I'm currently moving from Hongdae to Sangsu, so I'll leave you the address. As for where you're going... … .]
At least I think it was more fun than the drinking party between Lee Hyun-seok and Jo Ki-jeong.