In This Life, The Greatest Star In The Universe

Translator: MarcTempest

Editor: Rxel

Chapter 8 

Year-end Evaluation

After the first day of lessons, life went on as usual.

Seon Woojoo could sense a change in the way the kids treated him, but it was definitely a positive one.

How should he put it?

At first, he felt like a complete outsider, waiting in front of a sign that said ‘No Entry!’. But now, he felt like they had allowed him to enter their fence.

Seon Woojoo was glad they were nice.

But the peacefulness of his daily life was shattered by a new event.

In early December.

While they were practicing their choreography, the door of the practice room opened.

As soon as they saw Director Jo Gyuhwan’s face, the youngest quickly turned off the MR.

“Hello, Director!”

“Uh, yeah.”

Director Jo greeted them lightly and smiled.

“Wow, you guys smell like sweat. You must have been practicing really hard. I came down to tell you something. It’s nothing big, so relax.”

He handed them a piece of paper.

“Your year-end evaluation assignment is out.”

“Really?”

Everyone took the paper and gathered around Kim Bijoo.

The paper was printed in a neat official format with an announcement.

[2013 Joint Year-end Evaluation Announcement]

-Location: Taehwa High School Auditorium

-Date: 2013.12.28 (Sat)

-Participating Agencies: DNS Media, Lemon Entertainment, Hwai Entertainment, Big Brother Company, Oullim Entertainment

-Assignment: A performance that combines two different songs with one theme

-Please inform the parents of the trainees in advance, as the traffic situation around the venue may be chaotic on the day.

Unlike the others who looked tense as they read the announcement, Seon Woojoo was clueless.

What was a year-end evaluation?

Seon Woojoo knew about the monthly evaluation.

If a normal high school student took a mock exam every month, then an idol trainee took a test called a monthly evaluation.

It was the same as a test, except it wasn’t about math, English, or Korean.

It was also the same in that you got stressed depending on your score.

The only difference was that if you messed up a mock exam, you didn’t get kicked out of high school, but if a trainee’s monthly evaluation results were stagnant for two or three months, they got their contract terminated right away.

If you didn’t improve, you got  thrown away. That was the life of a trainee.

When Seon Woojoo was at TJ Entertainment, he had to take several of these evaluations every month.

A small one every two weeks and a big one every month.

The subjects were different each time.

Sometimes it was individual, like ‘You have a weak high note, so master this song’.

Sometimes it was team-based, like ‘Make your own choreography and compete with each other’.

Seon Woojoo guessed the ‘performance that combines two different songs with one theme’ written on the paper was one of those test subjects.

What he didn’t understand was why they did the monthly evaluation publicly.

And with other agencies.

Was it like a showcase?

A showcase was a term for a stage that was used for promotion.

It was like showing them in advance and seeing their reaction, like the word showcase meant.

Seon Woojoo heard that one of the four major agencies, MOP, did this kind of thing and showed the trainee stage to the public.

Well. Anyway, that wasn’t important. Seon Woojoo needed information.

What was a year-end evaluation?

As he looked at the trainees who were scanning the announcement, he picked the one who had the loosest mouth.

“Huh? Year-end evaluation?”

“Yeah.”

During the break, Wang Jiho, who was munching on the chocolate bread Seon Woojoo bought him, asked, “Is this your first time hearing about the year-end evaluation?”

“I only know about the monthly evaluation.”

“Oh, this is when we do the monthly evaluation with the nearby agencies every six months. The one we do in December is called the year-end evaluation.”

“Is it similar to the MOP showcase?”

“It’s different. MOP invites the general audience, right? Our year-end evaluation is when we invite the trainees’ families or acquaintances.”

“Isn’t it better to have the general audience?”

Seon Woojoo shivered, and the youngest agreed.

“I know, right? It’s so embarrassing to mess up or rap in front of your parents.”

Seon Woojoo felt like crawling into a hole just thinking about singing and dancing in front of his grandmother.

While they were gloomy about the bleak future, Wang Jiho chewed on his chocolate bread.

“But there’s another real reason why we have to do well on the year-end evaluation.”

“What is it?”

“It’s because it’s a competition between the agencies. We and DNS are the biggest, so we have a rivalry. If we debut a girl group, they also debut a girl group, and so on. The year-end evaluation is also like that.”

“Is it like a Korea-Japan soccer match?”

“Kind of.”

Wang Jiho drank his milk and continued.

“Besides, we got totally crushed in June. If it was soccer, it would be like 7 to 0. The atmosphere was no joke. The President didn’t even greet us for a few days.”

“Our President?”

“Can you believe it? But it’s true.”

“Do we have to win this time?”

“Yep.”

“But you guys are amazing. Did DNS do that well?”

“From what I remember, the guys over there did really well. Maybe they’re in the debut group this time?”

Wang Jiho showed Seon Woojoo some articles he searched on his smartphone.

-‘Lavender Rose’ brother group debuts… 9-member ‘Street Boys’

-DNS Media rookie ‘Street Boys’, first appearance with debut reality show

-‘LaRose junior group’ Street Boys, debut story revealed with K-Net reality show

The description said they were a hip-hop concept 9-member boy group.

They were aiming to debut in April and were currently filming a reality show to be aired on K-Net.

“Are they our competitors?”

“Yep.”

“Why are they filming a reality show before they debut?”

“Isn’t that so enviable? If they do this, fans will flock in.”

Seon Woojoo nodded.

From the perspective of the general public, it was a 0.1% rating program that they didn’t even know about, but it was different for idols.

If you were from one of the four major agencies, you would get recognition just by sending them out, but for small idols, this was a big deal.

Seon Woojoo tapped the arm of the youngest who was looking at the internet articles with envious eyes.

Seon Woojoo bought another chocolate milk for the youngest, along with drinks for the other members, on their way back to the practice room.

They sat around in a circle, each holding a drink.

It was time for a strategy meeting.

They had to discuss how to prepare for the year-end evaluation assignment: a performance that combined two different songs with one theme.

“DNS did hip-hop last time, right? How about we go for a strong concept too?”

“Hyung, they have four rappers on their team. You’re the only rapper we have. If we go for an intense concept, we’ll be at a disadvantage.”

“Hmm… But don’t you think Junghyun has a point?” Kim Bijoo said.

“What if we try a strong concept too? If we do a soft concept like last time, we might lose.”

“I don’t know. If we challenge them head-on, we’ll be in trouble.”

“I think we can do it.”

“This is not an easy problem, you know?”

They calmly debated.

The first step was to decide what concept to do before choosing the songs.

Three of them were actively expressing their opinions, while the youngest and Seon Woojoo were watching the situation.

The youngest was playing with his phone, not caring about anything, while Seon Woojoo was deep in thought.

Something didn’t seem right.

They all seemed to be barking up the wrong tree.

***

-DNS guys…

-DNS did the same concept as last time…

-We have to overpower them with vocals…

Was it because of the defeat in the first half of the year?

DNS Media came up in every sentence they said.

This was not something that could be solved by fighting.

The year-end evaluation felt like a survival program.

A war to defeat the rival and claim victory.

Maybe they wouldn’t have been so obsessed with this idea if it wasn’t for the fact that their families were coming to watch and the painful loss last time.

They seemed to be driven by the obsession to do better than the other side.

And Seon Woojoo felt it too.

But the reason Seon Woojoo kept silent was because of seniority.

He had the most experience, but he had only been at Lemon Entertainment for less than two weeks.

It was awkward to butt in.

It was like a newly appointed captain joining the discussion of the senior sergeants.

“Guys, we have to decide quickly.”

Seo Rihyuk banged the floor.

“It’ll take more time if we have to do the arrangement too.”

“Didn’t the Director say he would do it for us?”

“The Director and the engineers are all busy because of Yoon Chanhyuk Sunbae’s album.”

“So we have to do everything ourselves.”

“And if we add the choreography, we’ll have only two weeks of actual practice time.”

“Then let’s decide soon.”

“Did anyone hear what DNS is doing?”

The year-end evaluation topic was a performance that connected two different songs. In other words, singing different verses from different songs.

Choosing the songs was a challenge.

They looked at them as they racked their brains.

“Do Jiho and Woojoo Hyung have any opinions?”

“I’m fine with whatever you guys do.”

The other three pairs of eyes turned to Seon Woojoo.

“I have an idea, but…”

“Yeah? Just tell us.”

“Sorry to say this, but I think the way you guys are doing it is wrong.”

The atmosphere suddenly quieted down.

Seo Rihyuk’s eyes narrowed and his tone became sharp.

“What’s wrong with it?”

“From what I heard, you guys are only talking about what DNS is doing.”

“So?”

“Beating the rival is important, but this is not a survival program. I think we should consider the essence of the stage.”

They didn’t seem very friendly.

They looked at Seon Woojoo as if to say, ‘What do you know?’

But Seon Woojoo had no choice.

If they went on like this, they would go in a weird direction and ruin everything.

“I think we should think about the audience first.”

“The audience?”

“The reason we stand on stage is because it’s fun, right? And our goal is to make the audience happy.”

The goal of every entertainer was to please the public.

“Before we decide on the performance theme or the songs, we should analyze the audience’s preferences first.”

Seon Woojoo had thought about this a lot since he was young.

How could he increase the sales of his grandmother’s restaurant?

If you wanted to run a food business, you had to think about the nearby market, what people ate these days, and what kind of customers came to the store.

That was the gist of what Seon Woojoo wanted to tell them.

Don’t sell fish stew just because the next-door restaurant does well. Think about the customers who come to your store first.

Kim Bijoo smiled.

“That makes sense.”

“It does.”

Seo Rihyuk’s eyes were still sharp.

“But that’s too vague. Who doesn’t know that we have to please the audience? The important thing is a concrete plan.”

“I have an idea.”

“Yeah? Let’s hear it.”

Seon Woojoo told them his plan.

It was what he had in mind since he heard the topic.

A stage that would showcase their charm and satisfy the audience.

They had different reactions.

“I like Hyung’s idea.”

“It’s not bad, but isn’t it a bit vague? It’s either all or nothing.”

“I’m fine with it as long as I get a rap part.”

“It’s too difficult. I like the idea, but it will take at least two weeks to arrange this. And only Junghyun Hyung and I know how to do it among us.”

There was a solution for that.

“I know how to arrange.”

“No,” Seo Rihyuk said again, frustrated. “It’s not just about knowing how to arrange. It’s too hard, don’t you get it? If you know how to arrange, you should know how difficult this is. By the time you finish, the year-end evaluation will have already started.”

“One day.”

“What?”

“One day is enough.”

A silent tension filled the air.

They all looked at Seon Woojoo with expressions that said, ‘What is he talking about?’

They might not understand from their perspective.

They might think Seon Woojoo was just being overconfident and blabbering without any evidence.

But Seon Woojoo had a reason for what he said.

He had studied hard for two years, not only for the college entrance exam, but also for the music composition major.

Seo Rihyuk narrowed his eyes at Seon Woojoo.

“Are you serious?”

“Of course I am.”

Seon Woojoo said with a smile, “One or two days will do.”

“That’s nonsense-”

“Then do you want to bet with me?”

Seo Rihyuk hesitated for a moment.

“A bet?”

“Yeah. If I can’t finish the arrangement by midnight tomorrow, I’ll buy snacks for a week.”

“Wow, really?”

The youngest, who had been silent like a stone, lit up his eyes.

Kim Junghyun and Kim Bijoo looked at this scene with interest, but they also seemed tempted by the offer of a week’s worth of snacks.

Seo Rihyuk paused, wondering if this was some kind of trap, and Seon Woojoo gave him a gentle smile.

“It’s a bet you have nothing to lose.”

“What’s the condition?”

“Huh?”

“What do you want?”

“Simple.”

Seon Woojoo answered.

“If I win, you’ll let me plan the performance for the year-end evaluation.”

“…”

“It’s a bet you have nothing to lose, right? Isn’t it?”

“Yeah, it’s a no-lose bet.”

The youngest, who had his eyes on the snacks, agreed, and the senior line quietly watched what the younger one would do.

After some deliberation, Seo Rihyuk answered.

“Okay.”

Seon Woojoo smiled as he saw him.

He guessed hiding and waiting was not his style.

If he was in the game, he would take the lead.