Chapter 28
Chapter 28. Do You Want to Be Special? (6)
The world is unfair.
It’s definitely unfair. No matter how much talent surpasses effort in the fields of arts and sports, isn’t this too much? This time, I despaired while staring at the numbers that were unbelievable in another sense.
“Wow, Lee Doha’s composition is 34%? Thirty-four? Thir~ty-four~?”
Are those crazy tracks only 34% of his talent? No wonder they say that art is for those born with it.
“What a luck-based game.”
[System Alarm: Life is not easy.]
“It’s really infuriating when you say that, because it sounds so credible.”
Just thinking about competing with these guys and getting into the top ten gave me a headache. I pressed my temples against my throbbing forehead.
I needed sugar at times like this, but the chocolate bar I had was taken by Seo Taehyun and Dan Haru during their late-night practice. I had no choice but to grab a box of tangerines that Joo Eunchan had bought and return to the living room.
“Well, at least we’re in the same group for this month’s evaluation.”
I squeezed a plump, orange-colored tangerine with one hand, peeled off the thin skin, and bit into the flesh, filling my mouth with sweet and tangy pulp.
Satisfied with the taste, I nodded and picked up my charging phone to access the messenger app. The group chat pinned at the top was still buzzing with chatter.
‘They sure talked a lot.’
Except for Lee Doha and me, the three members of the group chat, formed to prepare for the end-of-month evaluation, were chattering endlessly. I didn’t need to read each message to know it was because of their anxiety about the evaluation.
‘I need to check these guys’ stats too.’
Since my skill proficiency wasn’t high yet, I had to see them directly to know. I decided I’d use my skills on the team members as soon as I got to work tomorrow, and left a short, concise notice in the still-buzzing group chat.
# Notice #
* Tomorrow’s evaluation meeting is from 4 PM
* Bring references for stages you like, are good at, or want to do
* Think about the positions you want to take
※Those who read this must reply to confirm (will call if read and ignored)※
└
└
└
└
Not long after posting the notice, the “1” indicating unread messages disappeared, and replies from the team members confirming they had read it came in. I replied to Yoon Taehee’s question about whether he could take the position he wanted, saying that I’d consider it, and popped the remaining tangerine into my mouth.
└
I was pleased that everyone responded promptly. Seeing the last member, Lee Doha, had replied, I immediately turned off the group chat notifications and tossed my phone away. I’d look for stage references later.
“Hajin hyung―, what are you doing?”
“Hyung, we’re back.”
As I lay back and peeled another tangerine, the front door opened, and the guests, including the house owner, appeared, having finished their practice. Dan Haru and Seo Taehyun, with freshly washed, warm faces, walked into the living room looking tired and stopped when they saw me.
“What, are you eating alone?”
“Tangerines. Want some?”
“Of course.”
Seeing Dan Haru, who liked eating as much as I did, quickly sit next to me, I handed him a tangerine. Seo Taehyun, carefully placing his bag in a corner of the living room, looked at the two of us and then asked with a face close to shock.
“…Hyung. Did you eat all those peels by yourself?”
“Yeah, why? Want one too?”
“…Did you have a fight with the tangerines?”
“What are you talking about?”
“You ate like either you or the tangerines shouldn’t exist.”
… I didn’t eat that many.
“Why are you demoralizing me while I’m enjoying my food?”
“Usually, you’d say ‘our kid’ instead of ‘me’, right?”
“Why are you demoralizing our kid while he’s enjoying his food?”
“Where’s our kid?”
“Right here, in front of your eyes. Kang Hajin, 20 years old. At an age where he eats a lot. My mom’s son.”
“Dan Haru, 17 years old. Normally eats well. Ate one kimbap roll today.”
“…Yeah, okay. My bad. Eat a lot.”
I shamelessly pointed a thumb at myself, and Dan Haru, who quickly peeled and ate a tangerine, made a V with his fingers and followed my words. Seo Taehyun, who watched this ridiculous scene, nodded in resignation.
And Joo Eunchan, the owner of the house who came in last, spoke while looking at me and Dan Haru, who were posing on the couch with a pile of tangerine peels.
“Make sure to collect and throw away the tangerine peels properly. Don’t drop any crumbs.”
“Yes.”
“Yep.”
…He’s the homeowner after all. Better listen to him.
* * *
Hajin didn’t dislike group projects.
He was confident that he could handle the task alone and achieve above-average results, and he was good at assigning appropriate roles to team members.
After quitting as an idol trainee in his first life, he turned to planning and production because he knew about his talent. If there was a will to do it, Hajin was quite good at identifying and utilizing what a person could do and knew how to do.
However.
If the team members weren’t chosen by him, weren’t close to him, and even had very different work styles, he would (not that he couldn’t, but) get a little (very slightly) stressed.
Like right now.
“Then let’s do double tumbling in the middle!”
“How about trying this ballad? I really like this song.”
“No, I’m telling you, let’s just do ‘Love Affair’? It was good when we prepared it last time.”
“Oh. Or how about Spear’s new song? Is it ‘Hush’?”
Each time a song was posted in the group chat throughout the night, Hajin wondered if these guys were serious.
They must be just going through a rough patch, looking for references without any particular direction, he thought. After all, they had been trainees longer than him.
And when the three hopeless members actually brought those songs to the monthly evaluation meeting, Hajin thought.
‘Ballad? Do you want to get crushed by Jung Siwoo and Dan Haru?’
‘How could you think of recycling something we used in the performance class?’
‘If you’re not confident you can do better than Spear, shut up. Besides, how are high school kids supposed to pull off that suit sexy concept?’
The words were on the tip of his tongue, but Hajin knew. With guys like this, there was no benefit to crushing their motivation from the start. They must have racked their brains all night to come up with ideas, so it was better to coax them gently at first.
“Oh, you guys really brought a lot of ideas. There are some good ones too….”
“Hyung, I also watched this video. It uses masks and fire….”
“I also looked up the stage that won first place in a previous monthly evaluation.”
“Oh, I really want to do a ballad.”
Encouraged by his remarks, the hopeless trio didn’t stop and went on and on. Hajin thought it was time to cut it short.
Looking for a way to shift the mood, Hajin noticed Doha, who had been silently watching them throughout the meeting, and spoke to him.
“Doha, what do you think? About the ideas the guys brought.”
At Hajin’s words, all eyes turned to Doha. What do you think, Doha? Doha hyung’s opinion is important too, the team members murmured.
And for the first time, Lee Doha, who had been quietly listening, opened his mouth.
“I think.”
“Yes.”
“They’re all bad.”
Ah, this unhelpful guy.
“Oh, that―.”
“They’re all bad. The ideas you brought.”
‘What’s this unhinged giant saying now?’
Sensing the suddenly chilly atmosphere, Hajin quickly gave Doha a look that screamed for him to stop talking, but Doha, who was as clueless as Joo Eunchan and as quick to grasp the situation as Seo Taehyun, didn’t stop.
“The ballad will likely be compared to Siwoo hyung’s team. I saw him pick a
ballad yesterday.”
“…….”
“High-difficulty acrobatics may look good, but if we don’t synchronize properly in a short time, it’ll look sloppy.”
“…Uh, that’s….”
“We should exclude routines used in previous evaluations. And it’s better to avoid Spear sunbaenim’s comeback song with a clear comparison target.”
‘This crazy guy….’
It’s over. There was no turning back from this atmosphere.
Hajin quickly scanned the feelings of the hopeless trio. The immediate sinking of morale was showing in various forms.
First. Self-rationalization.
“Still, isn’t it okay to have found this much in one day? It’s not that bad.”
That was Kim Wonho, who found a performance you might see in a year-end stage of an enthusiastic three-year-old boy group.
Second. Self-destruction.
“…Right, we all lack a database. Ah, I really tried to look harder too. I really didn’t know what to do with the concept and all….”
That was Gongseok’s excuse, who dug up high-scoring stages from past monthly evaluations.
Third. Rebellion.
“What did you bring, hyung? Do you know that just saying it’s bad without any opinion is really bad?”
Yoon Taehee’s amazing rhyme in his “Ballad Parrot” style made Doha frown.
“You should tell us what you prepared, to be fair.”
It was quite a rude tone and attitude, but he wasn’t wrong. Worse than free riders in group projects are those who always reject everything. Doha also nodded in agreement. He quietly took out his phone.
“Well, I.”
“…….”
“I wrote a song.”
…Starting with a cheat key?
At his nonchalant words, Yoon Taehee showed a reaction close to malfunctioning. The guy, opening and closing his mouth, soon asked in disbelief.
“Ah, you mean a song you wrote before?”
“No, I wrote it.”
“So, a song you wrote before?”
“No, I wrote it newly.”
“…Yesterday?”
“Yeah, overnight.”
‘What kind of guy is he?’
It was well past evening when I barged into his practice room yesterday. He didn’t mention a new song while we were together, so it must have been after that. Then, he really composed it overnight?
‘All these naturally talented guys should just disappear.’
While everyone was shocked, Lee Doha, the only one maintaining his composure, played the new track on his phone.
Slow, heavy electronic bass and drums started to build harmony with sharp string sounds.
It was a melody-driven pop song clearly meant to emphasize the vocals. (The guide vocal was Lee Doha’s voice heavily autotuned.) The appropriate synth sounds at the right points and the well-timed build-up made it just ‘adequate.’
‘A song that’s just right for guys who are average at both singing and dancing to pull off decently.’
In other words, Lee Doha had also put thought into it. Considering the skills of the team members, including his own dance skills.
Sure enough, the faces of the team members, which had darkened, brightened like a sunrise over Hallasan Mountain.
“I like it!”
“You wrote the song really well. Did you think of anyone in particular for the chorus? Have you thought about the parts too?”
“What’s this, hyung? If you had such a secret weapon, you should have told us from the start!”
Once they thought they could do it, they started talking a lot again. These guys are so easy to read. What will they do if they act like this even after debuting?
‘The song is definitely good.’
There’s no way a song written by Lee Doha would fail. With that song, we could pass this month’s evaluation smoothly.
And once again, the problem was that I had no intention of letting it go smoothly.
“Sorry, but.”
“……?”
“We’re not doing this song for our monthly evaluation.”
“What?”
“Pardon?”
I’m staking my life on this, guys. You’re not getting an easy ride.