NOVEL NEXT WORLD Chapter 27
Chapter 27. Do You Want to Be Special? (5)
From this point, let’s switch to Lee Doha’s perspective.
Lee Doha was just happy to meet a friend his age who shared his tastes after a long time.
He knew that Taehyun had packed his things and left the dorm with the intention of quitting as a trainee (though he didn’t know exactly what had happened). (Since they were dorm roommates to begin with.) He also noticed that Hajin played a big part in Taehyun’s return (since Taehyun had been sticking with Hajin ever since).
Although Taehyun seemed to be friendly with everyone, he clearly drew a line between his people and others. Watching Hajin handle Taehyun as if he were a cat taming its owner, one thought circled Doha’s mind.
‘I want to be friends with him!’
To begin with, Kang Hajin was not an unfamiliar figure to Lee Doha. Even before Hajin joined Miro, the employees who saw Doha mentioned him.
“A friend your age is coming this time, and he’s incredibly talented.”
“Taeyil guarantees it, and Team Leader Ji personally scouted him, so his skills are unquestionable.”
“I heard his position is a vocalist? Doha, you might finally have someone other than Siwoo to do guide vocals.”
Among the numerous stories, one word stuck in Doha’s ear.
Guide vocalist….
Guide vocalist…?
Guide vocalist…!
‘I want to become friends and ask him to do guide vocals…!’
From a young age, he had been recognized for his self-taught skills, and he was thankful to be learning more about producing and composing at Miro. However, Doha was a real hip-hop boy who had never even tried the trendy sing-rap.
It didn’t matter when he made songs with only rap, but since he decided to become an idol, he couldn’t just write songs with only rap. Until now, he had been asking Jung Siwoo, who sang the best in the special class and was the closest to him, but he thought it was no longer polite to keep asking only him.
Then, a new guide vocal candidate appeared!
“If Senior Taeyil vouched for him, his skills are definitely top-notch.”
Moreover, he was even more eager because the vocalist was coveted by the senior he respected the most (the very person who made him switch from real hip-hop to idol).
Therefore.
“So, I was wondering if I could listen to some of your work.”
Seeing Hajin suddenly appear in his studio and ask to hear his work, Doha felt like he was being grilled by a boss who demanded an unprepared proposal from a new employee!
“…….”
“…Doha?”
“Oh, yeah.”
“Hey, careful!”
Doha, unusually nervous, clumsily bumped into a shelf while turning a chair, causing the albums stacked there to fall with a crash.
“Sorry, I’ll pick them up.”
“No, it’s fine. I’m the one who barged into your small studio.”
After they gathered the albums again, an awkward silence filled the room. Doha was both curious and anxious about how Hajin would react to his work, while Hajin had his own reasons for feeling the way he did.
At that moment, only one thought dominated Kang Hajin’s mind.
‘What the hell is this guy’s deal?’
It was because of the information that appeared in front of him.
[Lee Doha (Affiliation: Miro)]
Singing: 17% (Rap 64%)
Dance: 47%
Expressiveness: 35%
Special: Composition, Producing (34%)
Appeal Points:
‘Strong Heart’
– Conveyance, Stage Adaptability, Performance Realization (80%)
‘How is he securing a spot in the special class with such garbage stats?’
Except for the performance realization under special, there wasn’t a single stat over 50%. Was this a joke? This could only be explained by either Miro going crazy or the system malfunctioning.
Hajin decided to listen to Doha’s song first. If this guy’s work was as bad as his stats, he would immediately consider Doha’s spot in the special class as a scheme by the Director and revise his strategy.
“It’s okay, just play the most recent thing you’ve worked on. I don’t know much about the special class, so I want to get a sense of the kind of music you usually work on.”
After hearing Doha nervously muttering “this isn’t the finished version…” about eighty-two times, Hajin finally managed to listen to Doha’s first piece of work after reassuring him at least a hundred and twenty-one times.
♬♪♬♩―
A sentimental piano melody layered with a steady drum beat. It seemed like the lyrics were yet to be added, as a voice hummed softly with neither English nor Korean pronunciation.
“Is this you? The voice?”
“No, it’s Siwoo hyung. He always helps with my guides.”
A low voice with clear pronunciation rapped over the refreshing sound. Although the lyrics were incomplete, Hajin could already feel it.
‘Damn, this is good.’
It was an achingly refreshing sound that one couldn’t believe came from Miro’s tiny studio. Was this really made by a trainee who hadn’t debuted yet? No wonder they’d want to keep him around.
However, Hajin still couldn’t ignore the discrepancy with the numbers in front of him.
“Sorry, but can I hear another song? Preferably one with finished lyrics.”
“…Wasn’t it good?”
No, it was so damn good that it’s suspicious, dude.
Unable to say that, Hajin equipped a social smile and shook his head.
“No, it’s good. It’s just that I need to listen to more to get a sense of your musical style. Your rap style too. It would be great if it’s a song with complete rap.”
Doha’s sharp gaze softened a bit.
Man, does he have to look so defensive when he thinks his song isn’t good? Miro trainees had such intense looks that it was genuinely scary when they glared at you like that.
“Um… then this one.”
Doha seemed to hesitate before playing another file.
The beat, which initially sounded like it was underwater, grew louder, then dropped with a heavily distorted electric guitar sound. A high and fast melody burst forth.
Hwweeeeeo―!
Along with a catchy whistle sound, the band sound surged. The composition of the song made one think of a well-organized boy idol group’s choreography. Just when the listener’s breath was taken away by the increasing tempo and fragmented beats,
Shhhh―,
All the sounds disappeared again as if submerged in water, followed by a slow beat and a heavy voice.
A melody shattered beyond count, broken overnight like a car crash.
The lyrics were more lyrical than expected. A rap that was neither too fast nor too slow. Despite the heavy voice, the lyrics were full of effective wordplay and maintained excellent delivery.
At this point, Kang Hajin was convinced.
‘This crazy guy is really good…?’
This was undoubtedly an error in the system.
* * *
‘Let’s think about it.’
After leaving Doha’s studio absentmindedly, Hajin found himself back at Joo Eunchan’s house instead of Room A, lying on the sofa that was almost his own now.
‘Yeah, there were some dubious stats.’
Thinking back, Seo Taeil and Seo Taehyun’s stats weren’t easily comprehensible either. It was weird to see them expressed in percentages in the first place. Normally, wouldn’t it be graded as high, medium, or low? Or ABCD absolute grading?
“Doha’s dance is in the 30% range, but Seo Taehyun is only at 67%, does that make sense?”
Hajin had already monitored all the practice videos of his team members. Doha’s dance wasn’t as terrible as he thought, but it certainly wasn’t so bad that there should only be a twofold difference with Seo Taehyun, who had made it to the survival finals.
“What’s the standard? The standard.”
The system window remained silent during such crucial moments. Wishing he could punch it, he pulled up the data of the three again.
[Seo Taeil (Group: Utopia)]
Singing: 93%
Dance: 83%
Expressiveness: 91%
Special: Composition, Producing (63%)
Appeal Points:
‘Everything in my hands!’
– Leadership, Charisma, Stage Domination
[Seo Taehyun (Affiliation: Miro)]
Singing: 45%
Dance: 67%
Expressiveness: 52%
Special: Acting, Entertainer (82%)
Appeal Points:
‘My eyes go, my eyes go!’
– Tone, Dance Lines, Stage Expressiveness
[Lee Doha (Affiliation: Miro)]
Singing: 17% (Rap 64%)
Dance: 47%
Expressiveness: 35%
Special: Composition, Producing (34%)
Appeal Points:
‘Strong Heart’
– Conveyance, Stage Adaptability, Performance Realization (80%)
Hajin, repeatedly forming and erasing numerous hypotheses while comparing their skills against the system’s stats, wondered when percentages were usually used. By the time about seven hypotheses had been crossed out, he realized.
“Oh, right. The battery. I should have charged it.”
As he picked up his phone to check the messenger notifications, he noticed the battery level and clicked his tongue. Remembering he had left the charger at the practice room, he intended to use Eunchan’s spare charger and was about to get up from the sofa when a new hypothesis sparked in his mind.
“…Percentage.”
Another hypothesis flashed brilliantly. A standard that could be represented in percentages.
“It shows how much of their abilities they are using. It’s indicating the percentage of their potential they are realizing.”
And as if waiting for that, a golden hologram with fanfare appeared in front of him.
[System Alarm: (≧∇≦)/ Correct Answer―!
]
[System Alarm: Skill
[System Alarm: Skill
[System Alarm: Skill
[System Alarm: Replace
[Existing penalty: Mental Care System 5% decrease / Replacement cash: 300 cash]
“The cost keeps rising?”
[System Alarm: The system shakes its head, saying it’s at a level where it’s digging for business.]
[System Alarm: Guaranteed no other system offers this much!]
“Reality patches keep getting weirder….”
Feeling a shiver like he had met a fruit seller at a traditional market, he reluctantly paid the 300 cash. Soon, a cheerful calculation sound echoed.
He reviewed the stat windows in front of him again. By the way,
“…These guys are really crazy.”
Knowing the definite standard changed the entire perspective of data analysis. With that, new facts began to emerge, and he thought.
“How can I beat these guys?”
He lost his motivation. This is so frustrating.