Chapter 6 |
The trainers all sat down at the judges’ table, and the grade evaluation began.
‘We’re last in line again.’
Since we’re from the SU Entertainment, a haughty entertainment company, the broadcasting station guys seemed really excited.
I didn’t care about the order anyway. I’ll be the best.
.
.
.
“With this level of trainee experience, you should actually be doing better. But it looks like you’ve gotten complacent.”
“Did the company really say it was okay to perform like this? I don’t think it looks okay.”
“You need to practice again.”
“We will announce the grade of trainee Go Gildong.”
Go Gildong’s profile appeared on the screen, followed by a CG of a stamp with the letter D on it.
“Trainee Go Gildong’s grade is D. Please get off the stage.”
Hearing the trainers’ sharp criticism, Do Yuda gasped, “Woah, the judging is tough. The evaluation is almost over, but there are only four people in S-Class.”
“True.”
Apparently, since the trainers were mostly idols, they were evaluating the trainees more strictly.
‘Half of it is not wanting to be looked down upon by the public, and half of it is not wanting to be looked down upon by the trainees.’
“I thought the trainers would be a little more generous since they’re all idols.”
“Me too! My happiness circuit is broken.”
I heard giggles from the other seats.
Baby, you can’t say things like that when you have the mic on.
While I was watching the devil editing’s free source being created, the person next to me suddenly stood up.
‘I’m surprised.’
It was the guy who was sitting in the first place. Judging from the production team staff gesturing from below, it seemed like he was going down to the evaluation stage.
‘Blond?’
The back of his head was yellow. It looked too soft to be bleached, and there were no stains at all. Perhaps noticing that I was staring at the back of his head, Do Yuda gently pulled down both of our microphones and whispered really quietly.
“They say he’s the son of the eldest son of Sanghwa Group and the youngest daughter of a British tycoon, born from a love affair. He’s a biracial, he has blond hair and incredibly long eyelashes. His older sister is a brunette, though.”
“Really?”
“He’s really handsome. Even when standing next to hyung, his face won’t lose.”
Something was bothering me. It wasn’t that I had a bad feeling about him because he was handsome, but I felt a strange, uneasy feeling. Of course, it was also irritating that someone was as good-looking as Han Seungbeom.
It was his turn.
“Wow.”
The trainees exclaimed as his face appeared on the screen.
He might look a little too sharp, but he was definitely handsome.
[NICHOLAS HWAYOUNG LEE]
‘That’s a killer name.’
The name tag, designed with the usual three-character name in mind, seemed like it was about to burst.
“First of all, it may not have been intentional, but since it’s already been made into an article … the production team knows, and we know, that trainee Nicholas comes from a very good family.”
“Yes.”
Compared to the female vocal trainer’s cautious opening, his answer was so cold.
‘With looks like that, you’d expect his face to be the first thing people mention.’
He had a handsome face, but the environment he was born into was too special to pay attention to his looks. I felt a little sympathy for Lee Hwayoung.
“But I wonder why someone like you is appearing on this program.”
“I came to Korea because I admired Yutae-sunbaenim.”
I almost spit out the water I was drinking from the bottle placed under the chair.
“Ah…..”
“…….”
He came to Korea, admiring someone who had already passed away and was no longer in this world. It wasn’t the happiest of stories. The atmosphere in the studio quickly sank, and an awkward silence filled the air. Except for me.
‘Quickly ask him why he likes me. I’m curious. Hurry.’
“I see. Okay…..”
Ha, this is crazy. I’m going to go insane. They don’t even bother to ask him that?
The trainers, seemingly oblivious to my frustration, changed the subject and continued their questioning.
“Wow, what you’re wearing right now is luxury brand, right? How much is everything you’re wearing combined?” A dance trainer named Frick asked outright.
Lee Hwayoung tilted his head as if he didn’t understand the intent of the question and replied bluntly.
“I don’t know. I don’t buy clothes.”
“Woah…..”
It meant that there was someone employed to shop on his behalf. Setting aside the impolite way Lee Hwayoung spoke, the content was so shocking that no one pointed it out.
“Then, can I start the performance now?”
“Yes, yes. Let’s start.”
.
.
.
‘Singing, excellent. Dancing, above average.’
I thought he would perform terribly since he was a young master, but his skills were better than I expected. As expected of my fan. The trainers and trainees cheered and clapped.
‘He performed alone, but it didn’t look shabby at all. It’s something that can only be done because his singing is exceptional.’
Performing solo instantly raised the stage’s difficulty level. Since he had to handle all the parts by himself, it’s impossible to mask any shortcomings, and it wasn’t easy to highlight his strengths either.
‘If the vocal was weak but the dancing was exceptional, it would have come across as unbalanced.’
“Given trainee Nicholas’s striking visual, I assumed he’d be a great dancer, but his singing is surprisingly impressive.”
“Considering your stated admiration for senior Yutae, I assumed you’d select a Starz or Prism song for your evaluation. I was quite surprised when you chose a different artist’s song.”
“That’s right, I was expecting a song from our group!” Jay said in a joking tone.
‘He’s a smart guy.’
PRISM boasted the highest level of difficulty among existing idol songs. If you had attempted it carelessly at the trainee level, you would have ended up with a failed performance that would have been immortalized on the internet, haunting you for the rest of your life.
What’s more, since one of the original singers was sitting in the trainer’s seat, in order to receive praise, you would need to either show something distinctive from the original song or deliver a flawless performance. However, he was still not at that level yet.
“It’s true that the singer I admire is my inspiration, but I don’t intend to limit all my possibilities to that.”
‘He’s skilled. There’s not even a hint of nervousness.’
“Both the vocal and dance were stable and good. The balance is really nice, so even though you performed alone, it didn’t feel empty. Well done.”
“Thank you.”
He thanked them, but didn’t bow down. His citizenship was showing.
“I will announce the grade of trainee Nicholas Hwayoung Lee.”
Lee Hwayoung’s profile appeared on the screen, followed by a CG of a stamp with the letter S being stamped on it.
“Trainee Nicholas Hwayoung Lee’s grade is S. Please get off the stage.”
“Hyung, we have to go down.”
Do Yuda waved his arm. I hadn’t realized it because I was watching the screen so intently, but our turn finally came.
.
.
.
Baam!
As we stepped onto the stage, just like when we first entered, the SU Entertainment logo appeared on the screen.
“Hello. We’re SU Entertainment trainees.”
“Do Yuda.”
“I’m Han Seungbeom.”
“Wow, you’re really handsome. Han Seungbeom, could you turn to the right for a moment?” Jay said into the microphone.
‘As expected.’
With a face like this, of course, this appearance should be taken from different angles.
“Wow…..”
There were gasps from all directions as my face was captured on the screen.
“To the side?”
I had no idea why he’s making me do this, but since he asked, I blinked a few times and turned to the side. Originally, the most handsome men were the ones who was unaware of how good-looking they were, and that was what made them an unreachable kind of handsome.
“Woah … that’s insane. Look at the bridge of his nose.”
“Is that the kind of person who becomes a celebrity?”
Another exclamation of admiration erupted.
I lifted my head to the angle where my jawline looked the best on camera, then burst into a shy laugh. Han Seungbeom’s laughter was refreshing, and as my eyes completely closed, the eyelashes forming a single curve.
Do Yuda stood next to me, looking utterly enlightened. His expression was clearly stating “That’s fake“.
Oho, what kind of expression is that while your colleague is working hard?
“I’m so dumbfounded by how handsome you are. No, your handsomeness is just unreal.” Jay rubbed the back of his neck and laughed.
“Jay-ssi, don’t you like him too much? It looks like you’ve already decided on your favorite.”
“That’s right. I think he’s my number one bet right now, haha.”
In my previous life, he said I was so scary-looking that I looked intimidating, but now he said he liked my face.
I clenched my fists.
“I think I like it more now than I did in season 3.”
Everyone in the studio burst out laughing. Season 3 of Survive IDOL was a girl group project.
‘The amount of screentime is great. Our youngest child, do more.’
There was a high possibility that the part where people could laugh like this would be left unedited, so I would be on screen for a while.
“I heard that you got SU Entertainment’s discipline under control just one day after joining?”
‘Who is the kid, the one who spilled the beans?’
I glanced to the side and Do Yuda was sweating profusely.
“I didn’t do anything on the company’s discipline, but I think they said that because I did well on the entrance evaluation. In this day and age, that kind of behavior would put me in a big problem. As a new trainee, I couldn’t do that even if I wanted to either.”
I laughed and placed my hand on Do Yuda’s shoulder. Do Yuda quickly put his hand on my back and laughed along, trying to find his own way out.
“Let’s do well, Yuda-ya?”
“Uh-uh! Yes!”
The guy, flustered, went to his position and stood there.
“I’ll look forward to it.”
“Please play the music.”
Taang!
Weeoo! Weeoo!
The gun and siren sound effects, which had been added separately to increase focus, went off.
The chaotic evaluation scene was instantly organized, and the trainers straightened their postures.
“………”
I closed my eyes and slowly opened them.
Whether it was in the past or present, when I was on stage, I only had one thing on my mind.
Kill them all.
“Uh-oh! uh-oh!
(Grrr!) I smell something fishy.
Sensed Threat. I can’t stand it (kill it!)
Stress exploding, uncontrollable Adrenaline! Hold your breath and hide your claws (Hide!)
You probably don’t even know you’ve fallen into the trap
I’m a gangsta. (Grrr!) the ruler of this area.”
It was a raw live performance with no AR, but Do Yuda performed the intense choreography without showing any signs of struggle. There wasn’t a pathetic person on this stage who couldn’t sing live.
As we nailed the intense choreography while singing live, the production staff was in uproar. It seemed they were checking to see if they had mistakenly played the AR audio.
“This is a match between you and me
There is only defeat, no victory.”
Do Yuda placed his right hand on my left shoulder and stood facing me. It was the build-up for the upcoming dance break.
The trainers didn’t notice because we had closed the gap, but Do Yuda’s hand movement was slightly off.
‘Get your head straight. Do the same as in practice.’
I made eye contact with him and gave him a subtle nod. The slightly distraught look on Do Yuda’s face quickly disappeared as he regained his composure.
‘Good.’
I hadn’t expected him to perform this well on his first real stage. I was very pleased with the fact that he managed to sing the song without any problems even though he missed the choreography slightly.
“1, 2, 3. Fight!“
Woohoo.
In time with the bass sound effect for changing the atmosphere, Do Yuda pushed my shoulder. I slowly tilted my upper body back, as if floating in zero gravity. All the melodies faded away and only the beat remained.
Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump!
Following the beat, he pulled his elbow back forcefully, striking the empty air and sweeping across my body. I popped my body in sync with his movements.
‘Ah, sh*t.’
I bent backward to the limit, and my body, relatively lacking in muscles compared to my previous life, felt the strain. I gritted my teeth and pushed through, seamlessly transitioning into the next move.
Thump. Kukugugugu. Tak! Thump. Kukugugugu. Tak!
I broke down the monotonous beat with fast-paced choreography. Between these movements, I inserted slow, groovy moves synchronized with the quiet finger snaps sound effect to create a sense of catharsis.
“Hey!”
After a well-energized dance break, the melody line came back in. Do Yuda’s part began again.
“Only scars will remain
But I won’t stop.”
I followed suit, swiftly turning on my hind legs to drop to one knee.
One corner of my mouth turned up, and I extended my right hand toward the camera. The main camera captured my face as it was.
“I’m addicted.”
Do Yuda took a step back, giving me space to showcase my elaborate dance moves. He would time his final move to coincide with mine, but a beat behind. While Do Yuda, with his simpler movements, sang steadily, I would harmonize with him on the final part.
As if we were each other’s shadows.
Thump!
Back on the beat, Do Yuda’s hand was on my neck.
Thump, thump, thump!
In time with the fast beat, I grabbed Do Yuda’s wrist and pulled it roughly away, as if resisting the leash.
“This is a match between you and me
I prove my worth without mercy”
There was a reason why I handled the difficult choreography while Do Yuda only joined in for the key points.
‘Give him strength, but also save him stamina.’
Most of the trainees avoided the parts of the seniors’ songs that had high-pitched ad-libs, but I couldn’t tolerate such a weak performance.
“Bite it! Swallow it whole!”
Do Yuda’s clean, straight high notes filled the studio.
‘This guy’s strength isn’t just his vocal range. It’s the stable and powerful volume that comes from proper breathing….’
“…….”
“…….”
He dominated the scene.
Jay, who had been watching the trainees’ performances with a bored expression the entire time, stared at us with blank stare. Everyone in the studio was left speechless, and a brief silence followed.
“We are wild dogs
We don’t think twice. We do what we have to to survive.”
As soon as the whispering part of the ending was finished, cheers erupted.
“Woooooow!”
“This is legendary!”
“Crazy! This is the greatest!”
After the endless applause was somewhat settled, Jay picked up the microphone.
“After seeing a performance like that, what more can I possibly say? There’s just nothing to criticize. The dance break in the middle, you were dancing like you were possessed.”
“Usually, it’s really rare for good-looking guys to be this talented.”
“That’s right. It’s really rare.”
“What’s the song? Did you make it yourself?”
“Yes.”
“It’s a song that Seungbeom-hyung composed and choreographed! I also helped write the lyrics!” Do Yuda answered brightly.
“You can compose songs too? That’s insane.”
“Trainee Han Seungbeom performed like a pro on stage, and Trainee Do Yuda has an amazing vocal range and was so stable in live performance that I was really surprised.”
“As expected, a big agency is a big agency. The CEO of SU Entertainment must be so proud.”
“I enjoyed it. I’m really looking forward to seeing what kind of stage you’ll show us in the future.”
At the continuous praise, Do Yuda clung to my side, beaming with a bright smile.
This kid, he forgot to do the greeting. I clapped him on the back and and we bowed together.
“Thank you.”
“Thank you.”
“Now, I will announce the grade…..”
“Wait a minute. I have something to say.”
In the warm atmosphere, just as the evaluation was about to end, the guy sitting at the very end opened his mouth.
“Two months … so, you’re stealing the opportunity from those who have been trainees longer. Am I the only one who feels uncomfortable with this? There are many trainees who have worked harder and longer.”
He was a member of the 6-year-old idol group Overture, Frick.
“But from what I see, since you have a good-looking face, you must have thought ‘Im going to debut no matter what’. I think you came here with that kind of mindset. Do you think being an idol is that easy?”
“…….”
Wow!
I lived long enough to see myself getting criticized by someone who’s so much junior to me.
Translator’s Corner:
Nicholas’ father surname is Lee, and his first name is “Nicholas” since he’s a British citizen. But as Korean descent, his korean name is “Lee Hwayoung”, that’s why it was “Nicholas Hwayoung Lee”.