Chapter 45
I had a preview of Song Hyeong-bin's status window during the level test.
The abnormal state that was seen even then was 'indecisive.'
Other status abnormalities are difficult to identify with words alone.
Especially since I had no idea what debuff the status effect I had, 'Existence from Another World', had until it was activated.
But it is all too clear how 'indecisiveness' can have negative effects.
"So this time, I want to make sure that no feelings are hurt among the team members. I want to gather opinions and convey them as best as I can."
"But at the same time, you want to create a good stage. You want to be number one; is that what you mean? "
"... Yeah, how did you know? "
He wants to create a better stage.
But he doesn't want to hurt the feelings of the members.
That's why he had a hard time deciding what decision to make.
"The discord and hurt feelings that you mentioned just now are caused by the process of adjusting and changing differences of opinion. It is safe to say that they occur when moving in a better direction."
When I said this with a shrug, Song Hyeong-bin looked extremely surprised.
"That's right. I wanted to change something about the bridge part that was modified this time."
"What part are you talking about? "
"Here, this bridge was changed entirely to a rap. But when you look at the overall flow, there's a short rap section in the latter half of the second verse as well. Jae-hoon, who took on sub vocal number 3, has a part there too. So―."
"I guess the amount of rap unintentionally increased because the entire bridge was changed to rap."
Song Hyeong-bin nodded slightly.
The corners of his mouth were curled into a bitter smile.
"So I felt like it would be better to shorten this bridge rap a bit and move to a singing rap, or mix in some vocal parts. But if I say that, wouldn't I have to delete more than half of Jae-hoon's rap? Jae-hoon's specialty is rap, so it might feel like I'm taking that away from him. I think Jae-hoon will definitely feel bad if I say this…... I don't know what to do."
The status abnormality 'Indecisive' flashes more intensely.
I closed my eyes tightly, seeing this state of affairs that appeared more intuitively than anything else.
"Can I be honest with you? "
"Yeah."
"Hyung-nim, you are thinking too much and only negative thoughts. I also know that there were conflicts in the past. But aren't the team members now completely different from the team members back then? "
"...That's right."
"If someone rebels when you suggest a better direction, that's just their nature. In short, it's not your opinion that's the problem."
I spoke softly, bending forward.
"Having seen trainee Park Jae-hoon from the side over the past few days, did he seem like the type of person who would react emotionally to what you said?"
"... No. Jae-hoon followed what I said very well."
"Then the answer is already out there. I hope you don't let past memories sway your judgment."
I thought I spoke too strongly.
However, Song Hyeong-bin instead gave a relieved look.
"As expected, I was overthinking things. Thank you, Karis. Thanks to you, I feel a little more at peace."
"It's not difficult."
"That's why our younger brothers like you so much. You teach them so well."
I almost burst out laughing for a moment.
So that's why you've been looking at me and Heo Yu-bin with those eyes until now.
Song Hyeong-bin sighed, clutching the water bottle tightly.
"I'm sorry for showing you this side of myself as your hyung."
"It's nothing. It's something anyone would worry about."
"I should have shown you something you could rely on... I'm so sorry."
A guy who's only 21 years old is talking as if he's lived his whole life.
I got up from my seat, shaking my head slightly.
"If anyone had such an experience engraved in their head, their judgment would be clouded like it is now. Furthermore, we are under people who edit according to their own tastes. I think it is right to be as careful as possible to prevent the unfortunate event of the devil's editing."
"Thank you for saying that."
"However, I would like to make it clear that I hope you trust the current team members a little more."
Song Hyeong-bin also stood up, following me.
The eyes, which had been slightly dark until just now, became lively.
"There's only one day left until the midterms, so I'll have to bring it up as soon as I get up this morning. We'll have enough time to prepare, right? Isn't it too much of a burden on Jae-hoon? "
"I think it wouldn't be that difficult to change it to singing rap at a point where the lyrics have already been written. And if you explain the reason, I'm sure trainee Park Jae-hoon will be fully convinced."
"Yes, there's no point in worrying any longer. Thank you again, and I'm sorry for keeping you here when you should be sleeping."
Thank yous and apologies keep coming in.
I kept chuckling at the unexpected personalities I was seeing.
Who would have thought that Song Hyeong-bin, who held the undisputed first place in the last episode, would be this kind of character?
"Then I'll see you in the morning. Good night."
"Yeah, you too. Good night. Thanks for listening."
I returned to cell 12 and finally lay down in bed.
I set the alarm for 6:30 AM, looking at my two younger brothers, who were still snoring loudly.
'The forced march will begin in a few hours.'
* * *
Fortunately, no one was late.
Originally,
If the trainees do not come down by 10 o'clock, they will be considered late and given a verbal warning.
However, the leader of the group, Song Hyeong-bin, was a person who greatly valued practice time.
So today, the day before the midterm exam, he suggested that we come down by 9 o'clock to stretch.
"Did you all sleep well? "
"I feel fine, except that my whole body feels sore."
"I'm hungry! "
"I'm sleepy...."
I patted Heo Yu-bin, who was still wandering in dreamland.
"Yubin, wake up. The camera is rolling now."
"Camera... I like cameras."
"It means that all your actions will be relayed to the national managers in real time."
"Huh!"
As expected, the effect is excellent.
Heo Yu-bin repeatedly slapped his own cheeks and came back to life, bright and cheerful.
"I came back to my senses! "
"Hmm. I have a feeling that the scene just now will definitely be behind the scenes."
"Ahhhh."
Song Hyeong-bin, who had come down to the practice room first, called his team members together.
I was curious how long it would take before we could talk about the story we shared at dawn.
"... For this reason, I thought it might be better to modify the bridge part a little. What do you think, Jae-hoon? "
Surprisingly, the meeting proceeded without any delay.
Even as he spoke, a faint sense of anxiety was evident in Song Hyeong-bin's pupils.
The way he kept checking the mood of Park Jae-hoon, the owner of the part, really looked like an impatient hamster.
I said that strongly a few hours ago, but I was a little worried that Park Jae-hoon might object here.
Fortunately, such a catastrophe did not occur.
"I also felt like there were too many rap parts while practicing yesterday, but after Hyeong-bin told me this, I feel more confident. I think it's right to change it."
"Re, really? "
"Singing rap isn't that difficult to begin with, so I'll give it a try."
It's good that you said you would change it, but I mentioned some things that needed to be addressed first.
"How long do you think it will take to revise the part? The midterm is tomorrow, so is it okay if you change the part you practiced?"
"It's okay. I've already memorized all the lyrics, so I just need to take them out here, so I don't think it'll take long."
First, we need to reconfirm that he definitely agreed.
I also have a pretty good idea that Park Jae Hoon is not the type of trainee that would do that, but you never know.
If we get criticized in tomorrow's midterm evaluation, they might blame it by saying that it was because Song Hyeong-bin suggested revising the part.
It's like having a safety device in place.
"Okay, then let's practice hard today, ready to burn our bodies. Is everyone okay? "
"Yes!"
It's fortunate that my stamina level has increased to A-.
It was extremely sore and difficult because I had to repeatedly use muscles I wasn't used to, but I was able to endure it.
Compared to the swordsmanship training, where I repeated each movement 300 times, it was nothing.
'No one falls behind. With the abnormal status gone, Song Hyeong-bin's leadership has come alive.'
The stormy day passed, and the long-awaited midterm evaluation arrived.
"The 2010 teams. Did you all practice well? "
"Your eyes are so swollen, I guess you must have been running a lot without sleeping."
The judges who guided the three teams in 2010 were Baek Chae-hyeon and Ha Sang-pil.
Ha Sang-pil criticized my dancing harshly until the final evaluation.
So I felt like they were going to watch our group even more closely with their eagle eyes.
As expected, it was pointed out first.
"Let's see. Hyeong-bin is the leader, and Karis is the center?"
Well, I can feel it just by looking into your eyes.
If I don't make a proper presence in the center, I'll be in serious trouble.
But that didn't happen.
"... Oh."
"Gasp, gasp. Thank you! "
We showed the stage we had prepared and bowed, breathing hard.
I wiped the sweat from my forehead and looked into Ha Sang-pil's eyes, who seemed very surprised.
"I'll be completely honest. I never imagined that you would prepare it to this degree. Are you already this far into it? "
"It was possible because all my team members followed along diligently."
"You even arranged this, right? Who else did this? "
"I, I did it."
Baek Chae-hyun also stuttered next to him.
"Oh, honestly, I didn't even know you'd finish the arrangement. I think it was a stroke of genius to go with synth-pop. It has the feel of the original song, but it also has a sense of speed, so it's really good."
"Did you guys re-plan this concept? No, it's crazy that you even wrote out the costumes in advance."
I remained silent for a while and then quietly added a word.
"Because there was a lot of active exchange of opinions among team members, it wasn't difficult to decide on a concept that would fit the arranged version. Is it okay to continue like this―?"
"There's nothing to change here. Should we just leave it as is? "
"I think so too."
"Yeah. It would be better if the overall route was organized a bit, but of course, it's a matter of time. If you do more during the remaining period, it can be resolved."
The corners of Song Hyeong-bin's mouth naturally went up as we continued to receive compliments.
Now, even if the status abnormality wants to turn on, it cannot turn on.
"Thank you for your effort!"
"Thank you!"
"Okay, everyone, work hard. Let me know if you need any help."
The midterm evaluation of the 2010 mission songs has been completed smoothly.
On the way out of the practice room and towards the central stairs.
"Karis Hyung-nim, what's that in front of? "
"Hmm?"
Heo Yu-bin pointed at something with his finger.
There was a huge crowd of people gathered in front of the large practice room, right next to the central staircase.
Not only the trainees, but also the staff holding cameras and even the PDs, who seemed to have run in a hurry carrying various materials, were seen.
'What's going on?'
We also moved towards the stairs as if we were possessed by something.
I heard the production crew relaying urgent messages.
"Sehan. Is Park Sehan inside the trainee group?"
"This is a big deal. This is a problem."
"I think we should stop the midterm evaluation and start by telling you this."
An announcement that something has happened regarding Park Se-han.
I opened my eyes wide as I went back through the dates in my head.
'That's right. Yesterday was the broadcast of episode 5.'
Because I was busy practicing, I wasn't able to monitor the live broadcast of the ranking announcement ceremony.
It's been a day since episode 5 aired. If something related to Park Se-han broke out, there's only one answer.
"Hey, what do we do with that group? "
"It's a bit messy over there."
"Sehan was in 5th place. Wasn't he the leader now?"
"I think he had taken on both the leader and center roles."
"Wow, if he got off here, wouldn't it be a disaster? "
Park Se-han's school violence incident became public knowledge.
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