Chapter 61
It was the same in the previous episode, and it was the same in this episode.
I have never seen Chae Eun-gyu's facial expression change so drastically.
Always a diligent model student.
A person with a gentle and amiable personality.
The eldest brother, whom his younger brothers completely rely on and follow,.
I never thought that the merchant, Chae Eun-gyu, who always smiles calmly, would have such a look in his eyes.
It was really surprising and refreshing.
"Why don't you have time? You always told me that all you have left is time."
The yellow-haired idol entered the waiting room with a bright smile.
Then, Chae Eun-gyu's feet trembled, and he took a step back.
"When did I contact you these days?"
"Hey, that's what you said before you went on a survival program. Oh, but I think your grades are good. Congratulations, bro."
A strange feeling of discomfort prickled the tip of my nose.
Karis von Walden, who lived among countless people and in the political arena.
The experiences accumulated over the years were sending an ominous message this time as well.
The idol turned his head and looked at us, who were quietly listening to the conversation.
"Eun-gyu, stop being so stiff and introduce me. It's so embarrassing."
"Ah, oh, that's right. Guys, this is Bae Min-seo, who was in the same agency as me. He just debuted―"
"Hello! My name is Bae Min-seo from Connex. Please take good care of our Eun-gyu~."
If it's Connex.... It's a 7-member boy group that debuted in the first half of last year.
When a current idol senior suddenly greeted them, the team members quickly stood up from their seats and bowed.
"Hello, senior!"
"I'm listening to this new song well!"
"Hey, you don't have to greet me like that. I'm not the type of person to hold military discipline."
Bae Min-seo waved his hand and laughed.
His eyes turned back to Chae Eun-gyu.
"Besides, it seems like they're friends who spend time with our Eun-gyu, so it would be rude to act so coldly towards an old friend, right?"
"Haha······."
"Hey, are you going to keep reacting like that? Judging by your reaction, it seems like we're not close at all."
"I have a question!"
Out of nowhere, Ken Hashimoto's hand went up.
Looking at Ken's smiling face, it seems like he didn't notice the strange atmosphere between these two at all.
"I'm curious about the relationship between you and Eun-gyu hyung. I'm also curious about how close the two of you are."
"Hahaha! Oh, didn't you hear what Eun-gyu said?"
Bae Min-seo's eyes sparkled in an unusual way.
Chae Eun-gyu, standing next to him, continued to make contrasting expressions.
When I saw that sight, I sighed inwardly.
'He touched on exactly the topic that shouldn't have been touched.'
Since I already had memories of
However, foreign trainees like Ken Hashimoto, who have no prior information at all, may not know enough.
The timing is really bad.
"We were in the same agency two years ago. We made it to our debut, but unfortunately, our agency went bust, and we failed. Thinking back on that time brings back so many memories, Eun-gyu."
"... Yeah, that's right."
"After our original agency went bust, the director there took us to a big agency. So, luckily, we were able to reorganize as a 7-member group and successfully re-debut last year, haha. Oh, it's too bad about Eun-gyu. The director-"
"Min-seo."
Chae Eun-gyu's voice was low.
He put his hand on Bae Min-seo's shoulder and sighed for a moment.
"Oh, is this too awkward a topic? I was going to tell you that I'm sad that I can't go with you."
"... Since that's my job, I think it's okay if you don't say anything."
"Well, I don't understand why you left behind someone as talented as me. I just didn't understand the situation."
I snorted quietly.
It was quite a sight to see him pretending to be sorry after already talking about an awkward topic.
I felt even worse when I thought of the Brantz family, the socialite who had fought with me over the reorganization of the army in
"Anyway, I'm happier that things are going well this time, Eun-gyu. You should debut before you get older, bro. Keep up the good work until the end."
"Haha, thanks."
At this point, I thought it was time to reevaluate Chae Eun-gyu's character.
How can you control your facial expressions even when you hear sarcasm hidden beneath words of encouragement?
It was quite impressive.
"Minseo, we have to go up on stage soon."
"Oh, so the next shoot is for your team. Did I keep you there too long?"
"No, it was just fine. I'll contact you later."
"Okay, let's keep in touch often."
Bae Min-seo patted Chae Eun-gyu on the shoulder and waved at us.
"It was nice meeting you, juniors. I hope to see you on stage next time."
"Thank you, senior!"
"Thank you!"
"Oh, right. Now that you mention it!"
Bae Min-seo, who was greeting us, suddenly snapped his fingers.
His bright eyes were fixed on me.
"I see. I was a little confused because I only saw you briefly when we greeted each other earlier. Are you the trainee named Karis von Walden?"
"Yes, that's right."
"Wow, the real person is crazy. Nice to meet you, nice to meet you!"
Bae Min-seo smiled brightly and grabbed my hand.
Even as I was receiving a firm handshake, I wondered what was going on.
"I saw you on Blue Bird, a direct shot of the subway advertisement. I thought you were really handsome while watching the video, but seeing you in person like this makes you even more handsome."
"You are too kind."
"How can someone have this kind of vibe? Doesn't everyone think that way?"
Questions were also asked to other trainees.
A normal person might answer awkwardly, but the team members enthusiastically agreed.
"I think he is a facial genius."
"It's awesome!"
"Karis nim is always handsome!"
"As expected, my eyes weren't weird."
Bae Min-seo, who had been looking at my face for a long time, slightly raised the corners of his lips.
"Actually, there's a really handsome kid on the team that's about to debut under our agency. As soon as I saw Karis' video, I felt like he reminded me of my younger brother, so I was even happier."
"Really? There's a trainee as handsome as Karis?"
"I can't believe it."
"Is it real?"
"Haha, you all look like you can't believe it. You'll understand later when you see him."
Bae Min-seo laughed out loud.
"I'm really going to go now. It was nice meeting you."
"Goodbye, senior!"
"Take care."
"Okay, Eun-gyu. Call me!"
It felt like a storm had swept through.
As Bae Min-seo went out the door, Chae Eun-gyu closed his eyes and took a deep breath for a moment.
"Hyung, are you okay?"
"Oh, it's okay. You don't have to worry."
Chae Eun-gyu answered Song Hyeong-bin's worried question with a faint smile.
Then he clenched his fist at us.
"I'll do well on stage and come back. See you all later."
"Have a nice day, hyung."
"Come and have a nice time!"
"I will be cheering you on."
When I nodded and added a word, Chae Eun-gyu's expression relaxed a little.
But for some reason, a shadow still hung over his face.
"It feels like something huge has passed."
When only his teammates remained, Song Hyeong-bin stretched and said:.
The other younger brothers also nodded while glancing at the door through which Chae Eun-gyu had exited.
"Still, Eun-gyu hyung will do well, so let's watch the stage with peace of mind."
"Yes!"
The situation was settled with Park Jae-hoon's words.
I leaned back on the sofa and exhaled slowly.
'First of all, I'm glad that the stage ended more smoothly than I had worried about.'
No one made a mistake.
This is the most important part.
In fact, I was in a more precarious situation than Heo Yu-bin, who was trembling with anxiety.
Since the singing ability stat dropped due to the penalty, it is only natural that it will affect the live performance.
With that in mind, I made a big decision right before going on stage.
I invested the 30 skill points I had accumulated so far to restore my singing ability stat to its original state.
'It's very important to maintain a B+. If I can get to B+, I can handle most parts without difficulty, as long as they're not super high notes.'
I had been saving up points because I thought an emergency might come up someday, and it helped me a lot.
Of course, it's a waste of points, but when I think about it objectively, if I don't use it now, my reputation that I've worked so hard to build up could be damaged.
It was the best decision I could make at the time.
'I hope the live stage will be the starting point for more buzz.'
* * *
The day after the original broadcast of Music K Showdown.
Homma was typing on her keyboard while looking at posts on the YouTube channel
'Coming soon!'
Just like
With an average view count of several million, you'll enjoy incredible promotional effects.
She prayed that the Dance in the Box video would be chosen as a hit and that Karis' name would be spread even further.
And then the promised 7 o'clock came.
[ Team Pathfinder 'Mayday - Labyrinth' ∥ Dance in the Box X Idol Producing Simulation]
A thumbnail of the team wearing their full uniforms has been uploaded.
Homma felt infinitely moved as she watched Karis take center stage.
What kind of visuals will he show off and tear up the stage this time?
She clicked on the video with great anticipation.
And a few seconds later,.
She noticed something was strange.
'Wait a minute. Isn't this a Dance in the Box video? Why are they all wearing ear mics?'
However, the team members did not have a sound-source version of their voices.
It was a live performance where even the faint sound of breathing could be heard clearly.
She got goosebumps a little bit.
She knows it well because she saw it on stage firsthand.
How well the team performed live.
They also proved their skills without a doubt by singing live mixed with AR on Music K Showdown.
She never dreamed that they would do the same thing in Dance in the Box.
'... These guys are crazy as a group.'
After watching the video for about 3 minutes, Homma immediately went to check the comments.
It hasn't even been ten minutes since the video was posted, but it already has over a thousand comments.
―??? They did a live show at Danbox???
-Isn't it attractive?
―OMG WHAT?? They are singing live in Dance in the Box?? I can't believe it
―No, it's hard enough just dancing, but the live performance was really crazy... Wow
―Singing in a dance choreography channel is just next level. Never seen this kind of video in a long, long time
―[00:12] Karis at the center
[00:24] The universe's strongest hamster, Hyeong-bin
[01:11] Heo Yu-bin, crazy about stability and vocal strength
[01:58] Ken who pretends to be deadly but is cuteㅠㅠㅠㅠ
[02:30] Park Jae-hoon, the top Korean hip-hop artist
-You're saying this isn't a sound recording, but a live performance?? How did you do this?
―It's my first time watching them and now I'm addicted to their vocals SO AMAZING
The atmosphere was even more surprising because it was completely unexpected.
Just in case, Homma looked for other teams'
But they just danced without any live performance.
She even clicked on the video description to see what on earth was going on.
[They came through the maze to meet us! Labyrinth of the Pathfinder team
4K full live performance only available on
PD: You guys are the first to say that live is more comfortable.]
She can't help but say that their passion is truly incredible.
Watching the comments go up in real time, Homma was certain of one thing.
With only a few days left until the second global vote ends,.
Karis will definitely be included in the list of trainees who have achieved fever time.
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