Chapter 17 |
Japanese trainee A, who left the practice room without saying a word, never returned.
Since we were running out of time, we had no choice but to continue practicing until he returned. However, when he didn’t return for more than two hours, the members started to feel anxious and wanted to leave the practice room.
“Is he crying on the stairs?”
“Should we go comfort him?”
“He’s still our member … I don’t think we should leave him alone. Let’s go find him.”
“No, don’t go. Let him come back on his own.”
Lee Danbi firmly stopped the members from going to find Japanese trainee A.
“I just gave him a reality check. If he can’t pull himself together after that, it’d be better if he doesn’t come back. We’re not only teammates who need to create a stage together on equal footing, but we’re also rivals competing for the same debut spot.”
Lee Danbi was right. If we went to bring him back, the one offering help would end up being the one bowing1. I also thought it would be best if Japanese trainee A could manage his emotions on his own and return to practice.
However, no matter the circumstances, taking two hours to calm down was far too excessive. We were in a situation where every minute and second mattered, and having the least skilled trainee absent like this was far from efficient.
Creak. Just as I was wondering what to do with Japanese trainee A’s behavior, the door to the practice room opened.
“Ah, Yamada-hyung!”
The rest of the group cheered and dashed toward the practice room door. But it wasn’t Hayato Yamada we were seeing, it was the main PD.
“Everyone, I’m here because I have something I need to tell you.”
“Yes?”
“Trainee Hayato Yamada has informed us that he would like to withdraw from the program.”
“I-Is that true?”
“So, did he leave just now?”
The members, startled, asked the main PD again. Seeing Lee Danbi flinch, it seemed that he had been secretly worried about pushing Japanese trainee A away so harshly.
“Yes, it seems there was some trouble during practice, but he refused to listen to the production team’s persuasion and immediately started packing his things.”
He didn’t seem particularly attached to this program, but I never imagined it would be to this extent. To think he left without saying a word, not even to Japanese trainee B, who he had pretended to be close with.
“…….”
Japanese trainee B was simply watching the situation unfold, looking completely disinterested.
“…What should we do?”
“He’s really not coming back?”
“From the production team’s standpoint, there was no need to keep a trainee who didn’t have the will to continue in the program, so we immediately proceeded with the withdrawal process. The problem is that you guys are about to have a group performance, but one member is quitting.”
“So, does that mean we have to prepare the performance with one less member?”
In a normal situation, a change in the number of members would be a critical blow. Especially since arranging the formation would become quite a headache when there’s an even number of people.
“Since this happened after a significant portion of the practice had already been completed, I believe there will be some drawbacks. However, it is also your responsibility for not properly resolving the conflicts within the team, so please bear with it.”
With that cold rebuke, the main PD turned around and walked out of the practice room.
‘Are you serious about that group project responsibility nonsense?’
A member like Yamada Hayato, who had neither a sense of responsibility nor skills, was close to a disaster. There was no one to blame, we were just unlucky.
“…….”
Perhaps feeling a sense of guilt about the current situation, Lee Danbi grabbed my sleeve and lowered his head deeply.
“Why?”
“Hyung, it’s because of me that things turned out like this….”
Hayato Yamada most likely dropped out of the program in order to create an uncomfortable situation for Lee Danbi. He probably did it to shift the blame for this situation to Lee Danbi.
But I refused to fall for that kind of trick.
“It’s okay. If he was going to leave over this, something like this would have happened sooner or later.”
I offered a few simple words of comfort and ruffled Lee Danbi’s fluffy hair. In response, the child, without knowing what was going on in my mind, lowered his head to rest it on me.
The members seemed completely disheartened, but I thought differently.
‘….Actually, this is better?’
The remaining members, although their average skill level was lower than that of other teams, were passionate and motivated young chicks. Most importantly, they listened to me well.
To be honest, the uncooperative Japanese trainee A was just a nuisance. We hadn’t even started practicing the choreography properly yet, so there was no need to rearrange the moves.
“It’s okay. I’ll make sure you get the benefit.”
As soon as I said those words, the camera director took a close-up of my face.
Fine. Shoot me.
In order to prevent Lee Danbi from being the target of evil editing, a more dramatic narrative was needed.
“Really, hyung?”
“Yes, let’s give it a try. We can do it.”
With Lee Hwayoung and I neck and neck for the first place, I couldn’t afford to miss out on the benefit ticket. And I had absolutely no intention of making excuses like ‘I have bad luck with teammates‘.
“Instead, you’re going to practice until you die, just as I say? Without complaining?”
When I said that with a bright smile, the members gasped in fear.
‘What are you scared of already, I haven’t done anything.’
The public was strange. A performance practiced for just a week sometimes got a better reaction than one practiced for three months straight.
There were artists who, even if they were lacking in skill, were loved by the public.
What, then, played a decisive role in winning the public’s applause?
It’s the production.
It’s true that when the performer’s skills were lacking, there were clear restrictions on the kind of stage that could have been created. However, no matter how outstanding the members’ skills might be, if they meet a shitty producer, they would inevitably flop.
If there was a producer with a deep understanding of the public’s psychology and the individual characteristics of the members, along with outstanding producing skills, these limitations could have been overcome.
And I was the one who led Prism to become the best group in South Korea. This level of trial didn’t even make me itch.
“That team is the weakest. Even if Han Seungbeom joins now, it won’t make any difference.”
As the trainees from the other group passed near our team, they whispered. And unfortunately, Han Seungbeom had very good hearing.
‘My team is the most behind? The weakest? Meee? This me? Defeat? Seo Yutae is behind?’
So I listened to the whole conversation.
“Heh, hehehe! Hahahahahaha! Practice, shall we practice? Haha, hahaha!”
I’m going to show you that with enough producing skill, I can hide any flaws.
Of course, by stripping the souls of my teammates. The members were shaking in fear, clinging to each other, but they were invisible to me.
I will kill them all.
***
For days after that, the practice was so intense that even the trainers who dropped by to check on us were so astonished that they couldn’t help but shake their heads in disbelief.
Jay even looked at the kids with sympathy. He said something about it reminding him of the past.
‘Still, the kids are doing better than I expected. We’re nearly done with the choreography.’
The kids lacked skill, but they didn’t have any unnecessary stubbornness, so they absorbed everything I taught like sponges. On days when the practice was especially intense, there were occasional runaways, but I made sure to catch every single one of them and shove them back into the practice room.
“Seungbeom-ah, drink this.”
As I dragged a stray chick back into the practice room, a C-Class trainee quickly approached me and handed me a drink.
“Euk, eugh! Hyung, I was wrong.”
I heard some noise from below, but I couldn’t quite make it out. Rubbing the tip of my nose, I accepted the drink with a warm heart.
“I will never escape without permission again.”
“Oh, thank you. Is this drink for me?”
“Yeah, you haven’t eaten anything during practice, so … I was worried.”
Since I wasn’t really fond of eating anything during practice, I didn’t eat anything, and it seemed like that made him worry. I couldn’t ignore such a considerate gesture.
“Give me that. My throat hurts.”
Nagi Zen, the Japanese trainee B, appeared out of nowhere and pointed at the drink in my hand with his finger.
‘Are you very thirsty?’
“This?”
“Yes. Give me that.”
The guy who smiled like a snake slyly placed his hand on top of the drink. This little kid, he seemed pretty thirsty, probably because he was in his growing phase.
“Sure. Sangjoong-ah, is it okay if I share the drink?”
“Ah, but…..”
The C-Class trainee trailed off in his words. The guy, who had been looking straight down at me the whole time, grabbed the drink from my hand without even listening for an answer.
‘….What’s with this attitude?’
“Thank you for the drink.”
The C-Class trainee’s face was already turning red and pale, and his expression had hardened.
‘It looks like a fight is going to break out over just one drink.’
I stood there dazed, like a raccoon that had lost its cotton candy2. I thought he would take a few sips and give it back.
People often said the Japanese were usually very perceptive, but as I watched that kid, I began to doubt that stereotype. I was quite irritated, but I didn’t want to antagonize the only remaining Japanese trainee, so I decided to let it slide.
“I’m going to the bathroom.” Nagi Zen, who had slipped the drink into his pocket, suddenly said.
“What?”
“It’s urgent. I have to go.”
“…….”
Then, he left.
What can I say. Hey, you little brat, I can’t exactly tell you to wet your pants in the practice room because you have no manners, can I?
“Zen, you have to be back in 5 minutes!” I yelled at the back of his head and clapped my hands, “Now, shall we start practicing again? Get up.”
I wasn’t worried about Zen, because I had a special ability.
The ability to hear other people’s voices. I’d gotten more use out of it than I originally thought. Mostly to monitor the runaways chicks.
‘Nagi Zen.’
I didn’t think the heavens gave me this ability for this purpose, but what could I do? It’s convenient.
“…..der.”
The voice in my head echoed. It seemed that he really went to the bathroom like he told me.
But there was something off with what he said. I felt like confirmation was necessary.
“I’ll be out for a minute. Just keep practicing the moves we went over earlier, over and over again.”
“Where are you going?”
“I’m going to get you guys some drinks. You didn’t get any earlier.”
“Oh, really? Then I’ll come with you! There are six of us, it would be heavy to carry!”
“No? Who stopped practicing?”
Without blinking an eye, I stared at them, and the chicks, who had become as stiff as stone, hurriedly stood in front of the mirror again. Then, they forced a laugh, glancing at me.
“Okay! Let’s start practicing again, shall we? Haha!”
“Good,”
After making sure the kids had resumed their practice, I rushed out of the practice room and into the bathroom.
It seemed that Nagi Zen and I had missed each other, as we didn’t end up meeting.
“This…..”
I couldn’t help but frown as I entered the bathroom. The air was reeking with the smell of drink.
‘As expected, is physiognomy3 a science?’
I opened the door to every bathroom stall and found a plastic bottle, cleanly emptied and discarded. It looked like the inside had all been poured into the toilet.
“He’s just doing something pointless.”
“Watching him play around with his colleagues like that makes me sick.”
It seemed I hadn’t misheard after all.
‘…..What’s this unheard-of personality?’
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Translator’s Corner:
- It means “it would make us look like we were the ones at fault“. I keep the translation literally because it sounds cooler … like you know they’re only trying to help him by stating the facts but if they went to ask him to come back, it would make them look like they’re apologizing for being in wrong (since you bow when you apologize) ↩︎
- This refers to a viral video where a raccoon was given a cotton candy. Raccoons, being naturally clean animal, often try to wash their food before eating it. So this raccoon instinctively tried to wash the cotton candy, but of course, the cotton candy dissolved in water. So you can just image the confused raccoon expression wondering what happened to their treat.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rfbb4yRBH64 ↩︎
- Physiognomy is the practice of assessing a person’s character or personality from their outer appearance, especially the face.
Since Nagi Zen looked like a gangsta, MC was saying if predicting someone’s personality from their look is really science. ↩︎