30 minutes after Ryu Chungwoo suddenly appeared on the
"Then, I look forward to seeing you improve further in this performance."
"Yes!"
The addition of supplementary teams and team organization had been completed. And naturally, there was a short movement and rest period before moving on to the practice part.
Of course, the camera was following us tenaciously as if it would never miss the conversation between me and Ryu Chungwoo.
Earlier, when Ryu Chungwoo was in the
-… Hyung, are you surprised?
-Yes.
-A lot?
-Yes.
Even if I didn't watch it, it was obvious how stupid I would look on the live broadcast.
And what might go in between the clips…
'They're going to give us a lot of interviews…'
Sure enough, the interview with the production team was scheduled first, and the answers took longer than ever.
"Did you know in advance that Chungwoo was participating? Not even a signal? Oh, you had no idea?"
"I heard you two are living alone~"
"Is there anything you are looking forward to while participating with Chungwoo-ssi?"
"On the other hand, there may be some who say that you need to be more careful now. You've become a competitor."
They were excited.
I expressed my confusion in a non-serious way and then gave a moderately gentle answer.
"We both have to do well, so I think we should prepare harder for this stage."
There was no need to attract more aggro or exaggerate it.
[I-is that so?]
Yes.
'Because it's going to be shit the moment it airs anyway…'
A relative of a gold medalist who went to the same school suddenly appeared? Fuck it, I'd have to watch it too.
I suppressed my silence and returned from the interview site to the practice room. And then I pointed to the next person.
Ryu Chungwoo.
"The writer is calling you."
"Hyung."
I raised my hand to the guy, pretending to put down my notes, and showed him the sentence away from the camera's view.
I should tell him this much.
- Make sure to answer softly.
"… !"
Ryu Chungwoo nodded slightly and left the practice room.
'Looking at his posture, it seems like he's not completely clueless.'
What on earth was going on? Why did a guy who was doing well in college suddenly appear on a survival program?
'… I didn't even intentionally suggest it.'
He seemed to be doing well already, and I thought he didn't have the impression that this agency would prefer, so I was going to leave him alone.
So why did he come out in person? Without saying anything as well.
"…"
[Hmm, asking directly…]
No, I couldn't throw a fastball like that when the camera was rolling. Once they added the background music, it would immediately be used to edit the conflict section.
'Later, I'll ask as gently as possible before we go to bed.'
That was what I concluded. And I began to revise the strategy.
What should be done in an individual team that included a variable named Ryu Chungwoo?
• * *
Because the interview was long, practice started a night late.
And Ryu Chungwoo, who returned from the interview, seemed to have properly sensed the atmosphere of the broadcast and voluntarily spoke to me in a shallow and gentle manner.
"I was going to tell you in advance, but I suddenly got a call that morning that I was accepted… I didn't tell hyung because I was afraid it might interfere with your condition."
He was taking this lightly.
I slapped him on the back and laughed.
"Okay. I got it."
"… !"
"You're not the type to recklessly try anything just because it looks fun. Of course, I believe you will do it seriously."
"… Yes. Of course, I will."
Ryu Chungwoo nodded with a faint smile.
If this was enough, it would leave a warm feeling when combined with the interview.
Of course, I added this comment, anticipating reactions like, 'It's competition, so it's not good to relax just because they're related by blood.'
"Don't look at me."
"Haha, okay."
Good. At this level, I didn't have to worry about the camera.
And once the situation was settled, another team member who was looking at us in a bit of annoyance opened his mouth.
In fact, he was the owner of this team's performance. The former main vocalist of VTIC.
"Hmm… Now I would like to tell you guys a little about the song. Is that alright?"
"Oh, yes. Thank you."
Just by looking at him, he seemed a little annoyed, as if he felt like he was being robbed of his screen time, but he quickly calmed down as soon as the camera started rolling.
Hmm.
'It's not that he doesn't have a head.'
And he never asked for opinions on song selection and started with what had already been decided.
'He's trying to take the initiative.'
This guy was two years younger than me. Normally, during a team game, he would have told me to relax and talk comfortably, but he kept bringing it to mutual respect.
'He has a good head and has strong self-esteem.'
Then, the type of stage this guy would push was one thing.
"Because this team was comprised of aspiring vocalists, the stage has been organized around vocalists."
"Ah yes."
I thought so.
'This kid isn't very confident in his dancing.'
Even though he had been a trainee for 3 years, his dance stat was at best a C+. It meant that he was at the same level as I was during
So, what would he do if he wanted to clearly show only his good skills? It was right to choose a stage that maximized only the vocals.
'Because that guy's vocals are A-.'
And he seemed to believe that his vocal skills were similar to mine.
'Then he'd think it would be decided by the song selection.'
Good. He could do whatever he wanted. Coincidentally, Ryu Chungwoo also had similar dancing stats to that guy, so the standard would be correct.
'There won't be much of a scene where Ryu Chungwoo can't keep up with the dance and gets into trouble.'
I brought up the status window of Ryu Chungwoo in front of me.
[Name: Ryu Chungwoo]
Vocal: B (S-)
Dance: C+ (A)
Appearance: A- (A+)
Talent: B (A)
Trait: Full Draw (B)
It wasn't not bad. No, to be honest, it was remarkable that a college student had a report card like this.
'If I were an employee of the agency, I would have caught him somehow and made him sign a contract.'
… But still.
The problem was that I knew Ryu Chungwoo's abilities in reality, where he had been a member of the first-tier group TeStar for 5 years.
Let's compare.
[Name: Ryu Chungwoo]
Vocal: A (S-)
Dance: B+ (A)
Appearance: A- (A+)
Talent: A- (A)
Characteristic: Full Draw (S)
A perfect singing-oriented all-rounder.
A lead vocalist who would be good enough to be placed in the main role in another group, and choreography perfection and talent that would not be lacking even if he was placed in the center.
But right now, Ryu Chungwoo here probably hadn't even practiced the basics. Aside from appearance, his abilities had dropped by one or two levels compared to
'And his characteristic is also strange.'
I recalled the original Ryu Chungwoo's characteristics.
[Full draw (S)]
-When you pull the bowstring, it will hit the target.
: Performance composure +150%
It was a correction value that allowed him to express exactly what he wanted on stage and act naturally.
In short, a professional image.
This was definitely an overwhelming S from the time he appeared in
'Why is this guy here rated B?'
I thought this was definitely a trait he would have had from his archery days…
But there was no time to think further.
Because we were filming.
Club Main Vocal, who was looking at the lyrics, spoke in a quiet voice.
(TN: Moondae's nickname for VTIC's former main vocalist who was caught up in the clubbing scandal directly translates to Club MaBo/클럽 메보. "MaBo" is the shortened version of main vocalist!)
"Then the part is… First of all, there are rules set for this."
"Yes."
Let's deal with this bastard first.
I smiled inwardly and opened my mouth.
"There are rules."
I was afraid that if I said it out of my own mouth, I would look selfish, so I was hesitant to speak.
I recalled the president's remarks.
-The 〈Honors Class〉 member who owns the song will be leading the song. Think of the remaining members as just being featured.
"Of course, we have to follow the rules. Taejun-ssi, please sing half the song as the main vocalist. You are the owner of this song. We are challengers."
"Ah… no. It's a stage we'll make together as well, but rules are rules."
Yes, he was trying his best to show off his humble side. I knew what kind of image he wanted to create, but…
He was giving me the right to do what I wanted.
If you let others talk, they would have the right to speak.
He had gone through all the trouble of picking the song carefully, but if he acted like this during the part distributions, what was the point? It might have been better to do it the other way around. It was up to him after all.
I liked it.
"I think it would be good if you could sing the entire song. You have to hold on to the performance."
"Yes… Hmm. Thank you."
I appropriately gave him the climax in all sections except the bridge. The guy quickly took it away.
[Ackkkk, don't give him too much… … Ahhh~ No! I understand now!]
Yes, it was appropriate.
I smiled inwardly at the pop-up of the guy reading my thoughts and admiring me, then took the remaining half of the parts and waved it to Ryu Chungwoo.
"Is there a part you want to do?"
"Ah, I'd like to try this part."
The guy who didn't participate in the conversation between me and Club Main Vocal and just nodded his head only answered when questions were directed toward him.
'He's only active in the sections where he's required to speak.'
After listening to all of his opinions, I immediately called Club Main Vocal.
"We're thinking of taking exactly half of the remaining parts. Would that be okay?"
"What? Oh, of course, it's okay."
He answered willingly, but I knew he wasn't really interested. No matter who took which part, he had the advantage anyway.
'He's not really interested in criticizing others and improving overall quality.'
The mindset was that if he looked good to others and didn't lose money, he wouldn't care about anyone else. I could see how Cheongryeo had been controlling him for several years.
"Yes. I look forward to your cooperation."
From then on, I continued to practice with Club Main Vocal by guiding him, and I deliberately didn't make time to talk alone with Ryu Chungwoo.
'Because it'll make it difficult to frame it as two guys being friendly and alienating that guy.'
This meant that I was not missing out on the pictures that were well taken care of by this Club Main Vocal.
And Ryu Chungwoo followed the practice steadily without any opposition… That was it.
[Hm? Is he good at it?]
He was okay.
However, since he was an ordinary person and was following a team situation where other people had all the authority, this meant that his impact was weak.
'Hmm.'
… Now that Ryu Chungwoo was participating, it would be a lie to say that I didn't have the desire to lead the way.
But now, it was realistically difficult to do anything other than somehow select this guy as a companion and awaken him. Because the period was too short.
'Besides, I don't know what this guy is thinking right now.'
"… "
There was no choice.
First of all, I needed to come up with a structure so that Ryu Chungwoo could have a fresh experience without being criticized.
[Ah…]
I tapped Club Main Vocal and encouraged him to modify the stage, slowly adjusting my strategy.
Three days passed like that.
As always, when I was locked in a remote place like this and just practicing, time flew by.
And Ryu Chungwoo… Amazingly, his skills were improving at an inhumane rate.
[Chungwoo-nim's dance stat has become B-… ?]
Did this make sense?
If I didn't know about this guy, I would have treated the fact that he had never been a trainee as bullshit and doubted his past.
[… Wait, that happened to hyung in Idol Inc. though… …]
That was because I was able to level up my stats. Ryu Chungwoo couldn't do that.
'However… Well, I don't think it's enough to push through and debut here.'
This was because a guy introduced in the mid to late game needed to be overwhelming to push other people out.
When the audience would hear the vague story of him being recognized as a gold medalist and being brought up by blood relatives… I didn't know if a guy who was not awakened and had no trauma would be okay.
[ㅠㅠ]
I couldn't help it.
I relented and started walking again.
I was waking up this early in the morning and walking down the hallway to organize my thoughts.
As I was doing this, I seemed to remember the days when I was rolling around while using the characteristic, 'Sleep is what you do after death'…
[Hey, over there!]
Hmm?
I could see the practice room with the lights still on. And that was the practice room I was using until just now.
'… No way.'
I grabbed the door handle and opened the sliding door.
Dururuk.
"… !"
I immediately saw the face of my teammate.
It was Ryu Chungwoo, covered in sweat.
"You aren't sleeping?"
"Oh, I was just thinking that I should practice a little more."
It was 3 in the morning and the unmanned camera was out of battery and not working. This guy was still in the practice room.
"What about you, hyung?"
"I have something to think about."
Actually, Club Main Vocal disappeared exactly when the camera turned off. Seeing as he wasn't even in the dorm, he was probably doing something with the other trainees.
"…"
Wait a minute, this guy's skills had improved so quickly… Had he been doing this shit every morning? Did he believe in his own physical strength?
"Have you been doing this the whole time?"
"Hmm… I guess I felt that I was lacking."
"Take care of your stamina. If you can't perform in the actual performance, it would have been for nothing."
"Yes. It seems so."
Ryu Chungwoo answered obediently and lay down on the floor of the practice room. Even if he said something like that, it seemed like he had no intention of going back to the dorm.
'Oh.'
I closed the door for now.
Then the guy who was lying down looking at the ceiling suddenly opened his mouth again.
"I'm sorry, hyung. I didn't apply to disrupt hyung's performance."
"… !"
"A writer recommended me to choose
And then I realized.
'His tone of speech has changed.'
I guess he was careful to only use informal language. He was afraid that Ryu Gunwoo would be criticized if a person of the same age used honorifics on TV.
"… … I know that too, so there's no need to apologize."
I quietly sat down next to him and asked.
"So, why did you actually join?"
Did the production team at least pay tuition for him?
"That…"
Ryu Chungwoo answered slowly.
"Because you look a little different."
I froze quietly.
But the guy didn't notice and continued his next words.
"Remember how you made an alcohol-free calendar to celebrate the New Year?"
"…"
What?
"Hyung didn't tell me, but when I saw the calendar posted on the refrigerator, I figured it out automatically."
Here I had no reason to stop drinking, so why on earth would I do such a thing… There was no way.
'Is he doubting me?'
Ryu Chungwoo's explanation did not end, and I rolled over several possibilities in my head.
"But hyung drank alcohol willingly…"
So…
"It seems like you weren't drinking because things were difficult, so seeing how you kept following this path made me wonder if you were having fun."
"… … !"
I recalled a pattern from several conversations I had with him.
Questions about being an idol.
-How is it?
-It's fun. It's the most rewarding thing I've ever done in my life.
That… Did he interpret it that way?
"And this year, it seems like hyung has changed a lot as you tried out a new field…"
He hesitated a little but continued.
"A little… I think you felt unfamiliar."
"…"
"I was also jealous."
What?
Ryu Chungwoo muttered lowly.
"Actually… I'm not sure why I quit archery."
"…"
"Originally, it felt like I was going to work myself to death. I thought that it suddenly felt like things wouldn't matter even if I couldn't do it. In a way."
I reflexively completed my inference from what he meant.
In reality, Ryu Chungwoo was forced to quit archery after being injured, crying and even breaking his bow.
'But instead of the injury disappearing…'
A gap was created.
And the most appropriate and reasonable reason was included.
"So just… I didn't think I had to keep doing it."
"…"
I thought he was doing well in college, but that wasn't the case.
'Hoo.'
And now, the guy who impulsively jumped into the industry his relative was working in spoke with a firm voice.
"So it's been a while since I've stayed up all night like this. This… I feel like I'm not good enough right now, but I like the feeling of improvement every time I practice. It's been a while since I've felt like this."
"…"
"I guess that's why hyung said you liked it too. I understand now."
Ryu Chungwoo laughed briefly. I stayed silent for a while, unable to answer, and I eventually asked him a question.
"Do you want to win here?"
"What?"
Did he want to continue?
Ryu Chungwoo looked a little embarrassed, but soon burst into laughter.
"Of course! Hyung, there is no one I want to lose to."
I replied to him in a firm voice.
"Me too."
I got up.
Actually, I was planning to give Ryu Chungwoo an appropriate position so that he would not be compared to anyone else, and then take Club Main Vocal's most decisive part…
I changed my mind a bit.
"Okay."
I needed to revise my plan.
The next day, before going to the trainer, I gave the lyrics to Club Main Vocal.
There was a new notation on the paper.
"So, if this performance is structured like this anyway… I would like to supplement it in a way that improves the level of stage perfection."
"What?"
He glanced at the new lyrics as if it were annoying, but his concentration came back the moment he checked the notation.
And the thing that escaped his eyes uncontrollably was… It was greed.
'Yes.'
"And… I think this will emphasize Taejun-ssi's stage more. Because it'll fit the theme of the performance. What do you think?"
"Ah"
This guy knew too. It was better for his image to decline this a few times.
However, I was only presenting an opinion, not making an argument.
The moment he rejected the offer, I would turn around and say, 'Is that so?' without any regrets.
He wouldn't be able to stand that.
"Hmm… Yes, yes. Only for the sake of completeness."
Good. He bit the bait.
[Huh, then, does Chungwoo absolutely have the ability to defeat this person?]
That wasn't it.
I calculated calmly.
Due to the nature of this in-house survival show…
'I guess we'll have to open the lid to find out.'
[ㅠㅠ But I still want to have hope… …]
That was personal freedom.
But I decided not to look at the situation too optimistically.
'Even in the worst-case scenario, we wouldn't get scolded.'
At this time, I didn't know that the proposition that I had already felt since 〈Idol Inc.〉 would work this time as well.
It was all about…
Ryu Chungwoo had never suffered a loss in a survival program.
And during the dress rehearsal right before the stage, the president spoke firmly.
"Among those who are unable to perform the new song, there will always be those who are eliminated. And it may not necessarily be just one person."
"… !"
This meant that he would begin reducing the number of participants in earnest.
And this time, everyone on the team was told not to even dream of survival, and the mentality of those who prepared the best was broken… or something like that.
The next words continued.
"And I will not be the judge of this performance."
No way.
"The public will be your harshest critics. This will be the audience's vote."
"…"
I clenched my fist briefly.
I had already won.