Seon Ahyeon's attitude changed.
It started with a camp schedule meeting.
"Then it's okay not to collect more image references for concepts, right? Shall we do it like this?"
"It's okay!"
"Okay. So, if anyone has a different opinion..."
Then, there was a line that was spoken that was usually assumed to be nonexistent.
"Me, me..!"
"… !"
The guy who had never interrupted someone raised his hand before he could even finish his sentence.
Ryu Chungwoo seemed a bit flustered, but kindly asked him.
"Alright, what do you think, Ahyeon?"
"I-it would be nice if we could broaden the scope and collect it one more time. Because there is still time..."
"Hmm…"
And Seon Ahyeon even expressed the opposite opinion directly.
'What's wrong with him?'
'Will there be a moral problem if we close now?'
It even reached the point where the members said these words with their eyes, but Seon Ahyeon's words didn't end there.
"Two days, maybe more… ! Can't we? The deadline the project team member mentioned before is the afternoon of the day after tomorrow… If the schedule is like that, i-it won't go any faster even if we give it early... !"
With a momentum that made it feel like he was sweating, he started attaching even the persuasive grounds on his own.
And the basis for it was also a plausible fact.
"Ah, I see."
"Wow~ Ahyeon, you were able to remember that? It was 3 months ago..."
"Uh, I-I wrote it down…"
He didn't come up with any special ideas. However, in a given situation, he made good judgments and insisted on persistence.
It was in line with what Seon Ahyeon usually showed.
"S-so… ! Let's think for two more days... !"
"Well~ Of course, I agree! Right?"
"Mmm, yes."
However, as the momentum was about 10 times the usual amount, the power was different. Everyone was getting caught up in a panic.
'What's happening?'
I wondered if I should like it, but somehow I felt uncomfortable. What kind of sudden change of heart made this guy like this?
"Moondae, what do you think!?"
It felt like I was losing my temper.
"… I agree."
"Yes!"
Now, they even collected consent from me. It was an activism I had never seen before.
'What.'
And at the evening composition meeting, this momentum was the same.
"I-I… I wish the song had a bit more string accompaniment!"
"Oh, oh."
"Which string instrument?"
"A sharp, upbeat, dramatic sound that can be heard…, Um, for example, a violin fiddle! It feels more appropriate to the concept, I think... !"
"Fiddle?"
And Seon Ahyeon began to explain more diligently about what a fiddle was.
Among the violin playing techniques, it was the least classic, so it was given a separate name, and it sounded country-like, and blah blah...
"Oh, oh."
It was like he was making an announcement. Cha Eugene, who was listening with interest, was almost ready to clap.
"That's a good idea! Hyung is cool!"
"Yes!"
And even though it looked like Seon Ahyeon's face was about to explode at these words, he didn't even give up.
What?
I really didn't know what the situation was.
'Well, at least when the other guys speak loudly, and...'
Yes, it was a good thing if he had a change of heart and wanted to actively participate.
In fact, Seon Ahyeon hadn't intervened well in the past, and if I averaged out the level of self-assertion of the members, I couldn't say it was worse than that.
"Then, as Ahyeon hyung said, let's put the violin as a string instrument that has both sharpness and softness and harmonizes with the string arrangement…"
"Oh no! Not just a violin, but a fiddle! Fiddle! That would be good!"
"Yes, yes!"
"… …"
No, wasn't this too much?
'This guy is running to the level where it's like he will either die or live.'
"I will try my best!"
"Th-thank you… !"
With even Bae Sejin paying attention, the meeting was led by Seon Ahyeon and ended.
That night…
Keun Sejin, who was sitting in the kitchen drinking sparkling water, asked seriously.
"Moondaemoondae, there isn't a sad story about us failing if we don't release an album, right?"
"… …"
"Heok, or could it be that Moondae bullied Ahyeon to pay for the meal… Ow!"
How could that be?
I held back a sigh as I looked at the guy who had been slapped in the back.
"… There must be another reason. I don't think it's that."
"Yeah? Hmm… Well…"
As if he had judged that it was not a bad situation, Keun Sejin shrugged and went over the same.
"You don't have to know everything about people to be friends, right?"
"… …"
It was kind of pissing me off when a guy who had taken care of other people's affairs said things like that.
In the meantime, Seon Ahyeon ran to his room as soon as the night camp was over and didn't come out.
'What is he doing?'
I held back my saliva and opened my mouth.
"… I wonder if Seon Ahyeon feels left out."
"Hm?"
"Every time we do something, it's you and I talking without him."
In fact, regardless of age, time, or rank, the relationship was the same.
It was that he was angry at this unfair treatment and was relieving stress in a positive way by rushing out of meetings.
Keun Sejin shook his head as if thinking about it once again.
"Well, maybe that could be the case. Ah, but Ahyeon isn't the type to be like that… Ah."
He sighed.
"When Ahyeon was in school, he wasn't very good at making friends, right?"
"… Yes."
"That, um… He might have felt a little bad about it."
Keun Sejin glanced back at me and asked quite seriously.
"What are you going to do?"
"… …"
Did it look like I knew what to do?
Of course, it wasn't that I had to come up with a real countermeasure, but I had to think about how I was going to share a secret.
In the end, if the cause of Seon Ahyeon's abnormal behavior was because we all knew about this supernatural phenomenon…
"Hm… Of course, I can't tell you what to do, but I don't think Ahyeon's attitude will change just because he hears your story."
"… …"
That… I didn't think so either.
'He's such a nice guy.'
I let out a short sigh.
"Hey, and we're not going to bully you alone as a mentally old man… Ah! Hey, it really hurt just now?"
Yes. I still had the arm strength of a man in his twenties, bastard.
… No, actually, the most embarrassing thing was that it looked like my hand went out first after hitting him.
I sighed at the giggling Keun Sejin.
He stopped laughing before changing the topic.
"Oh, and speaking of words… What about Heeseung? Well, I was invited to this meeting too. Should explain it like that and tell him a little bit?"
The guy grinned.
"Or should I say that I came from the future too? Wow, that would be hilarious."
"Stop."
Don't even think about giving examples of hypotheses that don't match the timing.
"It doesn't work like that, because it seems to be transmitted in the form of a baton touch."
"Oh~ Moondae has analyzed a lot of things. As expected of Moondaemoondae. Did you care so much about Heeseung to find out about that?"
Quick-witted bastard.
I clasped my fingers.
"Yes, there are places to use Gold 2."
"… …"
However, Keun Sejin did not answer for a moment.
'What.'
Then, suddenly, as if in doubt, he opened his mouth again with a serious face.
"But Moondaemoondae."
What?
"I wanted to ask you earlier… That Gold 2. Are you talking about Heeseung?"
"… !!"
How did he know that…
"… …"
Wait, I... Did I say that out loud?
"Right! You were calling Heeseung Gold 2? Why?"
"… … That-"
"Wait, wait. Let me guess. No way… Gold rank in
"… …"
"Is this right?? Oh, this is great! Wow~ Look at how heartless Park Moondae is! Even after
Fuck.
I gnashed my teeth watching the guy who bursted out laughing.
"It's what I call him in my mind. So what."
"You should really be embarrassed… No, no, sorry did I laugh too much? Hey, I'm really sorry~"
This bastard was trying to gloss over things he didn't mean.
However, Keun Sejin shortened his real face and his eyes shone.
"Moondaemoondae, I'm asking because I'm really curious… Did you call Sejin that too? Oh, did you classify all the guys like that when we were just in Idol Inc? Am I Gold 1?"
He was dreaming big here too.
"… It was just Keun Sejin."
"Oh~ Is that it? It's just a nickname. Good, good."
I held my breath when I saw Keun Sejin shaking his head. This was driving me crazy.
"Then how long did you call me like that?"
"… …"
"Moondaemoondae?"
I still called him like that.
I left the whiner behind and went back to my room to go to bed.
* * *
The album production camp continued the next day.
And the momentum of Seon Ahyeon continued.
"If we keep making no progress like this, we have to do it until night. Everyone hates working overtime. Therefore…"
"W-working overtime… ! Let's do it!"
"… … Okay."
So far... What to do?
This was like a character collapse. I shut my mouth when I saw Seon Ahyeon burning with passion as if he were Cha Eugene who discovered a special device.
"Hyung, I hate working overtime!"
"W-we still have to do it if it's necessary… !"
Anyway, now he was saying something bad to Cha Eugene.
Of course, it wasn't a bad thing. On the contrary, it was a good thing in terms of efficiency, but that... I mean, it seemed like overkill.
I made my decision after seeing Seon Ahyeon secretly wiping the cold sweat from the back of his neck.
'I can't do this.'
I'd have to try my luck.
"You worked hard~"
"Well, let's sort it out."
After dinner, as soon as the meeting was temporarily over, I followed Seon Ahyeon, who left for his room.
Knock, knock.
"… !"
"It's me."
Thud.
When I opened the door and entered, I saw Seon Ahyeon lying on his desk as if trying to cover something.
What was he doing?
"I-is there something you're looking for… ?"
"I just want to talk…"
As I got closer, I realized what this guy was covering.
Articles, reviews, ratings.
It was a scrapbook of sorts, in which we printed out and organized everything related to our previous albums.
[The most important part?]
[The problem of expression]
And, as if this guy had put them up, comments in elegant handwriting were neatly organized here and there.
Not only that, but something floated on the e-reader that this guy reflexively covered.
[The Complete Works of Edgar Allan Poe 5]
… No way.
'Did he make this separately?'
Anyone could see that everything was preparation material for TeStar's new album.
But I asked one more time.
"What is this all about?"
"… ! Ah, yes, this... …"
Seon Ahyeon seemed to hesitate several times, but soon answered in a rather confident voice.
"Among the works of 'Edgar Allan Poe' that Sejin hyung told us about... I-I think I found a subject that suits us better."
"… !"
"Well, the black cat was nice too, but… A little, that, I feel that it overlaps with
Seon Ahyeon seemed nervous, but smiled faintly.
And what this guy said was already plausible.
"… …"
"He-here."
I accepted the note lying under the electronic reader that this guy held out with a slightly trembling hand.
In it, the title of the work and the existing concept group of TeStar that he wanted to combine with it were written.
I quickly read a few highlighted letters in the note.
[Burst of energy]
[Sense of immersion, sense of speed]
Then I read the notes all the way.
"… …"
"I-it looks fine, but the summary hasn't come out yet… I couldn't say it. S-saying it without reason… It wouldn't work."
Seon Ahyeon lowered his head as if somewhat embarrassed.
"I… Because I can't speak well... Even if it's the content, I thought it would be nice if it was composed faithfully..."
Really.
"Seeing what you've already done today, I don't think you should have worried about that."
Seon Ahyeon's face reddened.
"Th-thank you. Still, adding the finishing touches... …"
"Ah, you were working separately like that!"
It was a surprise.
When I turned my head, Kim Raebin, who was working at the desk over there with headphones on, took off the device and turned his head.
'Since when has he been here?'
I didn't see him because he was working without reacting like a rat died.
"I didn't know that the album review was what Ahyeon hyung has been reading all the time at the dorm lately."
"Yes…"
Seon Ahyeon's face turned red and affirmed, and Kim Raebin nodded as if he knew.
And his eyes lit up.
"I thought it was a new hobby that you developed during the tour, but I never thought you would spend so much time and money on a large-scale analysis. It is also a face of sincerity and talent."
"… … Yes, yes."
Even though he had a face that wanted to decline the compliment, he accepted it.
I chuckled.
"That's right. It's great."
"… !"
"The content is good. You could have suggested it right away. It's enough like this."
"R-really… ?!"
Would I lie in this situation?
"Yes."
To put it succinctly, this was something that would have been devastating if someone had just pitched the draft.
'The process of drawing conclusions is so neat.'
Of course, there were cases in the world where inspiration sprung up and people like Kim Raebin created something that captivated people in one shot.
However, sometimes there were people who found the right answer, but the number of cases was made by putting many pieces together like a puzzle and filtering them closely like a tray.
And now this guy's judgment was like that.
The conclusion that this guy came to after looking through and analyzing all the existing TeStar album data, which was huge even at a glance... It was very appealing.
'He must have worked hard.'
I thought of the guy who was depressed because he couldn't participate properly in the camp, and I was deeply impressed.
This was beyond my expectations.
"I want to try this right now."
"… !"
Seon Ahyeon's eyes shone brightly. He seemed almost thrilled.
"Moo-Moondae. Really… Thank you."
"Thank you for giving us a good opinion."
However, Seon Ahyeon's words did not end.
"Well, then… You know..."
Hmm?
"M-me as well… Maybe, about what's going on... ."
At that moment, I realized what this guy meant by 'what's going on'.
'This… Is he asking for the secret?'
I guess I misunderstood something.
This guy's aggressiveness didn't come from rage.
This guy's attitude... It was like paying for the credentials of a secret society.
"N-nevermind! No… I, I'll be organizing some more of this..."
Despite saying no, with a face full of anticipation, Seon Ahyeon crept towards the desk.
"Do you mind if I take a look?"
"Yes!"
"… …"
… Apparently, Seon Ahyeon moved in a very productive way than I predicted by merging the two emotions.
Two things: the desire to contribute to the Album Camp and the desire to be recognized by people of the same age.
'This… If I came all the way here and didn't tell him, it'd be shit.'
"… …"
Fuck. I didn't know either.
'Make room.'
It seemed like I was going to talk to all the heavy-mouthed guys regardless of this guy. I washed my face dry.
Anyway, on this night, Seon Ahyeon, who eventually called the meeting, made a presentation.
And, like those with good eyesight, the reaction came out similar to mine.
It was great.
"… I like this one more."
"Then, I think we can take a strand in this direction and work hard. Is Ahyeon okay with that?"
"Yes, th-thank you… Thank you!"
Seeing that everyone from the person who came up with the idea to the realist seemed to like it, Seon Ahyeon bowed his head.
The atmosphere was very cheerful, as if applauding Seon Ahyeon.
Until the next words came out.
"Well, then we should recheck the schedule."
"… ?"
Ryu Chungwoo smiled.
"That means… It means that we have to revise all the configuration plans that have come out until now."
"… …"
"… …"
Seon Ahyeon closed his eyes.
"I'm sorry."
"What are you talking about? The album concept is getting better, which is a good thing."
It was a reply that felt the sadness of the office worker.
'K-pop Overtime Hell Camp... it's reopening.'
Fortunately, the effect of this overtime camp was outstanding.
"I'll just add this one."
"Mmm."
And since it happened like this, I added what I wanted to include but excluded it for balance reasons.
'This is the end.'
By the time it was completely warm outside, we finished preparing for the release of our new album.