Chapter 8 |
“If you want to … then just… do it. There’s no other way. You know what I mean?”
A voice that I couldn’t tell was real or a dream echoed in my ears. As I fell into a daze and started to forget the words, a loud noise assaulted my eardrums.
Beepbeepbeepbambadadabambambambam!
It was a wake-up alarm scheduled for 5 a.m.
‘These crazy people…..’
If only there weren’t cameras, I would have cursed already.
They set some kind of military bugle call as the morning alarm. I wasn’t the type to set alarms, so I wasn’t happy to be woken up forcibly. As I sat there dazed, Woo Kangwon suddenly stood up and approached me.
“Let’s get up.”
I woke up, but my eyes weren’t open.
“No…..”
“We have to go to practice. They said the official song will be announced today.”
Among the trainees, Woo Kangwon and I were closer in age, so it wasn’t hard to get along comfortably, and we quickly became familiar with each other. Although, of course, Woo Kangwon treated me like an older brother humoring someone younger.
‘XXXXXX…….’
“Aren’t you tired?”
“I’m fine, I woke up later than usual today.”
Even after we chatted, he stayed up late to work out, so I couldn’t believe he got up so early. This is killing me.
Crash!
Do Yuda, who was sleeping on the bed right next to mine, rolled off onto the floor. Staggering up, I grabbed him by the scruff of his neck and dragged him into the small bathroom. His just-woken-up face was definitely not fit for broadcast.
***
Following the guidance of the production team, we moved to the auditorium inside the Lucky Center, where we stood side by side in a seat marked with blue tape like a checkerboard. Cameras were everywhere, but the drowsy children couldn’t afford to care about it.
Boom!
The giant screen in the center of the auditorium lit up with sound effects. Do Yuda, who hadn’t even opened his eyes yet, was startled awake by the loud noise.
[<survive idol official theme song>Born to be IDOL’ Revealed>]</survive>
A colorful subtitle appeared on a black background and cut directly to a video of dancers standing in formation.
A voice filled with echo resonated loudly without any instrumental backing.
“I’ll win, my shining dream!
Born to be IDOL. That’s me!”
The dancers began the choreography with a prelude that heightened the tension. It was a choreography that would showcase the basics of most of the trainees.
“I will devote all my potential
Set your worries aside. They’ll only bring fear
Born to be IDOL. That’s me!”
“Bet on me. JACKPOT!
Born to be IDOL. That’s me!”
“I’ve been waiting for the rising tension
I’ll show you my dream!
Passion that never misses an opportunity. Make me shine”
“I’ve been waiting for you
You who will look at me!”
“I won’t make you regret it
For believing in me!
Born to be IDOL. That’s me!”
The song had a refreshing vibe, but the guide vocal sounded like an older brother about to enjoy a glass of makgeolli1 with some pajeon2. The choreography wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. It had a familiar touch, so it seemed like it was choreography that Jay had made.
“I’ll give you all my passion
Let go of regrets, those will only cause hesitation
Born to be IDOL. That’s me!”
“Bet on me. JACKPOT!
Born to be IDOL. That’s me!”
The mood of the song intensified, and with a slightly trot-like beat, the dancer in the center suddenly lifted his head and flashed a grin. Then, like a deflating balloon, they danced a crazy fast and difficult breakdance.
‘They did that again this season.’
The choreography was not very efficient compared to the effort put into it. It was difficult to learn and required a lot of time to perfect the details, but the spectacularness of the dance break didn’t feel like it was proportional to the effort.
‘I bet my neck that choreography will never make it into a group performance, and only the skilled ones will get close-ups of their upper bodies.’
It seemed that the choreography was intentionally twisted so that the trainees would freak out for the broadcast.
“What’s that?”
“Do we have to do that?”
I could hear the freaked-out trainees muttering.
“Kick it! kick it! Look it! look it! I’m shining! shining
“Sing it! sing it! Look it! look it! I’m shining! shining
Nicholas Hwayoung Lee, a British citizen, made a subtle expression after hearing the lyrics. He seemed to be wondering what on earth those English lyrics meant.
‘Welcome to K-POP, you little brat.’
English was just something to be exploited, and the meaning and grammar weren’t that important.
If it sticks to your mouth, then that’s all that matters. Especially for programs targeting the entire nation, even if it sounded silly, the most important thing was having an addictive quality that took over the brain.
‘That’s pretty decent, I guess.’
“Bet on me. JACKPOT! I’m sexy! I’m cute! I’m cool!
Cause I was born to be an idol!”
I took it back.
My dear little brother, K-POP is finished.
‘You tell me to do that. I’m sexy, I’m cute, I’m cool.’
I didn’t intend to blame the lyricist. When clients asked for something catchy, lyricists had no choice but to write it that way. As someone who wrote lyrics and composed songs, I couldn’t say I didn’t understand their position. But the thought of me having to sing those lyrics drove me insane.
“…….”
After the video ended, before my mental state could even recover, the trainers came in. The trainees greeted them with applause.
“Wooow!”
“Hello!”
First came Jay, the choreographer, and then two more idols whose main focus was dance. Sure enough, this included Frick.
It was quite a sight to see the trainees with bird’s nest hairstyles standing side by side with the fully styled trainers.
“Hello, trainees. I’m Jay, the choreographer of the official theme song ‘Born to be IDOL’. Today, I’m here to teach you the choreography.”
“The dance is so hard!”
“Haha, that’s true. But it can’t be helped. Everyone, if you become an idol, you have to do it anyway.”
After laughing at the trainees’ whining, Jay spoke a bit sternly.
“I will only show the choreography once. After that, I won’t take any questions. If you can’t copy it now, you will have to watch the choreography video and follow it on your own.”
“…….”
Even for active idols, if they were slow at learning the choreography, the choreographer would show it to them multiple times. This was because if they didn’t learn the choreography as intended by the choreographer, a situation where major revisions to the details had to be made later might happen.
They’re resorting to ineffective tactics like this to intimidate and put pressure on the trainees. Jay probably didn’t want to do this, but I couldn’t help but sigh in frustration.
‘Or rather, they hoped that the trainees wouldn’t be able to keep up.’
“The grade re-evaluation will be based on how well you have mastered this song and choreography, so trainees, please practice to the best of your ability.”
In order to make the program provocative, they needed to see the trainees fail rather than just keep up with the class.
They gave us an impossible task, and the few geniuses who could handle it became the standard.
This industry, which I love with all my heart, is really the same as always.
But objectively speaking, it was actually only difficult for the trainees, not for me. I slowly loosened my body, where there was no trace of tension.
“Okay, let’s get started. One, two, three, four.”
Following Jay’s count, the 77 trainees began to follow the choreography in the large auditorium.
“Can’t you do it straight?”
While Jay was performing the choreography on the high stage, there was a guy wandering around the D-Class trainees, picking on them. It was Frick, the guy who argued with me on the grade evaluation.
“…….”
Since the S-Class trainees were following along quite well, it seemed like there was nothing to criticize, so he didn’t approach us.
‘I want to hit him.’
Seeing that tiny bean-sized thing wearing a trainer’s hat and acting cocky, I just wanted to strip him of everything and kick him out. That guy always had this rotten, lifeless look in his eyes, but they would suddenly brighten up whenever he was bullying the trainees.
‘I’ll gouge your eyes out.’
But what was a modern intellectual?
Even if there’s a desire to hit someone, isn’t it about holding it in and refining that murderous intent? If you threw the first punch based on your temper, you’d have to retire from the entertainment industry before even debuting and return to the world where only the strong survive.
As I was continuing my serious contemplation, I made eye contact with Woo Kangwon, who had been standing in front of me. He was so quiet that I didn’t even realize he had been watching me.
‘What.’
Woo Kangwon shook his head. He didn’t just shake his head, he closed his eyes tightly and shook his head slowly. He seemed to tell me not to do it.
‘What do you mean by no?‘
Do you know what I’m going to do?
“…….”
After facing each other in silence, I put the fist I had clenched into my pocket, and only then did Woo Kangwon nod. It meant ‘don’t lose‘.
‘You caught on like a ghost.’
I really didn’t intend to hit him. Who in their right mind would throw the first punch? Feeling a bit awkward, I smiled lightly, and Woo Kangwon’s stern face softened a little. After all, compared to Woo Kangwon, my punch would probably feel like a soft slap.
I looked at the back of Woo Kangwon’s back as he started practicing the choreography again.
‘He has the physique that’s too good to be wasted as an idol.’
I heard that Woo Kangwon was eliminated from the national judo team selection and immediately chose to enlist, bringing his career as an athlete to an end. The official reason given was due to injury, but looking at how he used his body, somehow there was no sign of injury.
‘As of now, Woo Kangwon is the second most likely to make the debut lineup.’
Above all, he had good physique, so when placed among several members, he had the effect of making the entire group appear mature and complete.
He was quick at learning the choreography, and his body control was so refined that even with his long limbs, he didn’t look clumsy at all. Plus, his deep, low voice added a nice variety to the group’s songs, so it would have been nice to have someone like him.
‘He’s in a similar position to me in my previous life.’
Currently, my voice tone was higher than in my previous life, and my height had also shrunk. So I was lucky to find a trainee who gave off a similar vibe.
‘Awesome.’
Even though it must have been a long time since he stopped his intense athlete training, his body still looked like a weapon. His short black hair and slightly tanned skin made him look like a hunting dog.
‘That … whatever it was. That handsome dog.’
With his well-defined muscles popping through the thin t-shirt, he looked like a badass Doberman standing guard. A true role model for men.
‘Since I’m not nervous at all, I have all sorts of random thoughts while learning the choreography.’
It was common for active idols to have to prepare a perfect stage within a few hours. Learning choreography like this was nothing. As soon as Jay demonstrated, I finished copying all the choreography.
“Okay, now that I’ve taught you all the choreography, I should go in.”
“Nooo!”
“Don’t go! I still don’t know a single thing.”
Jay slightly raised the ends of his eyebrows at the trainees’ cries and cast a pitiful glance at the main PD, but it didn’t work.
“Everyone, I can’t help it either. Huhu, huhu. Then I’ll do the ending comment and leave.”
“Aaaah! Noo!”
“The official theme song stage is your first time presenting this program to the public, so please do your best. Prove yourself worthy.”
Stop talking and go home quickly.
“You have one day until the midterm check and the grade re-evaluation. All you have to do is finish everything up to the second verse.”
Okay, okay. I can do it. I already memorized the choreography.
“And you have to sing along with the choreography. You have to memorize all the lyrics by tomorrow. Fighting!”
“…….”
I’m not okay. This damned world.
Translator’s Corner:
- Makgeolli is a Korean fermented rice alcohol ↩︎
- Pajeon is a Korean pancake made with green onions. ↩︎
I forgot to do it in the stage evaluation chapter, but as you can see on this chapter, from now on, every lyrics that originally already written in English will be in italics.
AKFDSJFSKDJ OKAY to be fair i wasn’t planning on doing this but I kinda ??? became obssesed after I finished reading it all ? and I want people to join me too so instead of doing it for my personal reading only, I’m uploading this here
ALSO IDK WHY THE NU RATING LOW BUT GUYS !!! Trust my taste!!! I’m always so picky with idol novels (I spent most of my life being an idol fan, so I usually have so many complaints because some of them are too … out of touch with reality) especially when they have hundreds of chapters but this one !!! I enjoyed it from start and finish T_T HAN SEUNGBEOM-AH T_T
I know MC sounds like a jerk in his monologue but please don’t be mean to him, that’s my precious child