Chapter 35 |
“Huh?”
“Is that Zen?”
A few of the more reactive trainers exclaimed, covering their mouths.
Not surprisingly, they didn’t recognize him.
Before I worked on him, Zen’s style was a mix of what people typically think of as a Japanese delinquent and a host. His tacky blonde hair, the oddly stubborn wax styling, and the dark eyebrows that didn’t match his hair color; it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say it was a complete disaster.
When I asked if this was a popular style in his home country, Zen said that even in Japan, people avoided him.
‘You idiot, if people are avoiding you, you should think about what the problem is.’
Sticking to your style is fine. But we’re idols. We have to do what people think is cool.
So, I took everything away from Zen. It was an inevitable choice.
“Please take good care of him. He’s a member of my team, but his hair is a complete mess.”
“What? He’s a member of Seungbeom’s team? Then we absolutely have to do a great job!”
I requested a two-tone bridge style for Zen at Han Seungbeom’s aunt’s salon, leaving some of his blond hair intact while covering the rest in black. The severely damaged hair was restored to a silky, flowing state with a hair treatment that the hair designer poured their soul into.
The vibrant hair styled in a half-updo was complemented by simple silver-toned piercings and accessories that swayed with every movement, making his actions even more dazzling.
Juniors, look at this. This is the ‘gangster styling’ that fans really like.
There wasn’t a single person who actually liked a real gangster.
‘This is going to be on the air.’
I brought the camera along to capture everything, from taking Zen to the salon to dressing him in new clothes, all to create the image of someone with good fashion sense.
Once the perception of having expertise in fashion is established, it opens up a wide range of opportunities, such as fashion events and muse activities. In recent years, it could have been used as a means to enter the overseas market.
However, there were limits to Han Seungbeom’s ability to wear clothes well.
‘Han Seungbeom’s face is so stunning that it’s hard to see his styling.’
Wasn’t this exactly what they call mutual benefit? Zen got the cool styling, and I got the image of having a great fashion sense.
“Tsuitekoreruka?“1
A blast of intense beats and sound effects exploded as Zen grinned so coolly you could see his fangs. Zen nailed the killing part, then switched places with me and slipped into the back.
It was time to perform the intense choreography in earnest.
“Engine, On, light, On. Broom Broom!”
“Wow.”
“They arranged the choreography to be more difficult.”
“Aaah! Han Seungbeom is crazy!”
The trainers screamed as the dance break unfolded neatly, as if the dancers had become one body.
Since there were two main dancer-level members and the overall skill level of the team was high, I modified the choreography to maintain the original artist’s moves while making it appear more spectacular. This was a complete turnaround from the first mission where I simplified the choreography.
This was the reason why I gave Zen the killing part.
As a result of teaching Zen by correcting each and every angle of his joints, he had improved enough to manage most of the choreography, but he was still not at a level where he could participate in high-difficulty choreography.
‘You definitely need to own your scene if you want to be recognized for doing your part.’
Luckily, our team’s concept was a motorcycle, so we were able to emphasize the team’s concept around Zen’s bad boy vibe.
“Everyone, gather here. Let’s go Start the engine, see the blue light, let’s go
Blow the horn.”
“Let’s ride without fear As far as we can go. As far as we can go.”
The parts were generally evenly distributed, but Woo Kangwon was given relatively more parts. One reason was that the mood of the song blended well with Woo Kangwon’s deep voice, and another major factor was that he didn’t get easily out of breath even while performing intense choreography.
I had some room to spare, but since I took the center position in most of the group choreography, I had to reduce my vocal parts a bit.
‘I don’t want to be criticized for taking everything for myself.’
A humble and well-behaved character like me could get criticized if I steal all the parts like Lee Hwayoung did.
“Moto Moto Motorcycle I’ll show you from now on. A new world”
“Anywhere you want to go I can go to the end of the world. I will
Every time the other members performed their parts, the trainers nodded and drew circles on their evaluation sheets.
It seemed like we were doing well enough, but that wasn’t all.
There was still Zen’s part left.
“Broom Broom!
Make a wild noise. Run without brakes!”
As soon as Zen opened his mouth, the trainers’ eyes widened in surprise. Since the first part had been more like narration, his sudden shift to a completely different vocal style was both unexpected and impressive.
The sound Zen was making now has completely shifted 180 degrees from the previously nasal tone to what was known as the “electric guitar” vocal style.
“Japanese people are less sensitive to nasal sounds due to the nature of their language, but Korean audiences are different. If you keep this vocal style, you might face criticism about ‘nasal voice’ and all sorts of other things. If you want to work in Korea, you have to adjust your style to Korean preferences to some extent.”
“What is nasal sound?”
“The sound that resonates from the nose. You and Japanese idols often use that sound. If you overuse it like that, even though you don’t have a cold, it becomes tiring for the listener. It also makes your voice sound flat.”
“Half air, half sound!”2
“Yeah, that’s not going to work. It’s hard to easily let go of habits built up over time, so instead of consciously removing the nasal sounds, let’s focus on consciously using the vocal technique that’s in contrast to it.”
I gave an example using J-POP songs that Zen was likely familiar with, demonstrating how the same part sounds different when using a nasal sound versus when not using it. I had Zen listen to songs by famous rock singers and those with husky voices all day long, and then made him imitate their songs.
“Start the engine, see the blue light, let’s go”
Thanks to this training, Zen established a singing style that intentionally rasped his voice to create an ‘electric guitar‘-like effect, instantly capturing the listener’s attention.
Since his natural voice was already very husky, not only did he perfectly master this vocal technique, but the nasal sound, which had been one of his original drawbacks, dramatically disappeared.
With the intense style, even his slightly awkward pronunciation became almost unnoticeable.
“Does your throat hurt?”
“It doesn’t hurt. Victory through mental strength.”
“If you don’t want to have the limit of your mental strength tested right in front of me, answer truthfully.”
“It doesn’t hurt at all. I just wanted to say that line. I was wrong.”
Zen’s vocal cords were unbelievably strong, and because there weren’t many parts, it was a feasible method.
‘I really like it, but there’s still a lot of room for improvement.’
With Do Yuda as the top main vocalist, I thought that using Zen’s unique voice as a seasoning in between would make the song even more diverse.
This was the moment I decided to pick Zen as a member of my future group.
“Let’s run without thinking Don’t worry. Don’t hesitate”
“Moto Moto Motorcycle
The cool breeze is surrounding us.”
Next was the chorus, where the key choreography was also performed, so it was my part.
I carried out my part without any issues and then made a camera appeal, looking at the camera awkwardly placed to the left of the trainers. Since this would end up on broadcast anyway, I thought it would be a shame to be too focused on just the evaluation.
At that, the trainers let out a forced laugh and rubbed their foreheads with their hands.
“He’s poisonous, this guy. Really … he’s born to be center.”
“How many years has this guy been training? How can a trainee be this good?”
The trainers made a rather sharp remark, questioning whether my experience was just for show. Of course, they probably said it without thinking much about it.
I laughed and moved to the next formation.
“Wrap your arms around my waist and lean on me But don’t close your eyes”
“Moto Moto Motorcycle You won’t want to miss this sight”
“Running, shouting for freedom over and over again.”
.
.
.
“Thank you!”
After finishing the song, the members gathered in a line and bowed together to greet. At that, the trainees from the other team, pale-faced, clapped with tears in their eyes.
‘Our performance will probably be considered a legendary stage within the program.’
My overall evaluation was ‘It’s not bad’.
But considering I performed with a bunch of squawking chicks, it could be considered a very successful stage.
I nodded to the members, who were overwhelmed with excitement. It was a compliment on a job well done.
“Look at his expression. He’s not even worried that we might give harsh feedback. It’s obvious. That face is totally thinking, ‘Oh, okay. You like it‘. Oooh, I can really feel it!”
One of the male trainers, who was quite arrogant, pointed a finger at me. Just when my inner old-fashioned self was about to come out, Jay quickly intervened.
“Haha, you really did well. Even in practice clothes, you look this cool, so just imagine how amazing you’d look dressed properly on stage. You’ve worked hard.”
“Thank you.”
I bowed my head as a courtesy and thanked him, and Jay’s jaw dropped.
That brat.
“Seungbeom always seems to prepare for his stages perfectly, without anything to criticize. Watching him, it’s almost awkward for our trainers because there’s nothing to improve … it feels like watching a top idol with a lot of experience.”
“Seungbeom doesn’t get nervous, does he?”
“No, he doesn’t.”
“I knew it. I’m jealous. I envy him. I want to be like that too. I’m always nervous.”
I didn’t know how to respond to such words, so I just decided to bow my head.
“And … this time, Trainee Zen has made a great improvement. The flaws you used to have are gone, and you’re now much easier to watch. Who helped you practice?”
“Practicing … Leada helped me a lot.”
“I had a feeling it was something like that. I could see that you were relying on Seungbeom a lot because you kept following him around.”
“Thank you. I’ll follow him harder from now on.”
‘Oh my goodness.’
I got chills down my spine at Zen’s resolve as he clenched his fist tightly. He was already sticking to me like glue, but now he said he would follow me even harder. I was already scared.
“Haha! That’s good. And next is … Trainee Woo Kangwon!”
Regardless of how I felt, the trainers continued with their evaluations, checking the notes they had written down.
“I think Kangwon has figured out how to move his body in a way that looks even cooler. You danced well before, but now your style feels clearly defined. The dance lines using your solid physique are really impressive.”
“Thank you!”
At the dance trainer’s compliment, Woo Kangwon bent at a 90-degree angle and looked at me, smiling innocently.
‘Why are you looking at me?’
If you heard a compliment, you should just be happy by yourself, why are you looking at me?
As I searched through my memory, I recalled that he would carefully watch me whenever I danced and ask me to repeat certain moves. I had no intention of taking credit for something he had learned on his own.
As I shrugged my shoulders, Woo Kangwon raised his eyebrows and smiled, as if there was no helping it.
After that, the praise for the other members and the team as a whole continued.
With the midterm evaluation successfully completed, we looked forward to the rehearsal day with excitement.
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Translator’s Corner:
- This part is said in Japanese ついて来れるか? It means “Can you keep up?” ↩︎
- This phrase, “공기 반, 소리 반!” is an iconic vocal instruction in K-POP, famously popularized by JYP Entertainment founder Park Jinyoung. It describes a specific singing style that balances a breathy, airy quality with a clear vocal tone. The official (?) name for this technique is Breathy Voice. Breathy Voice refers to a vocal technique in which a deliberate amount of breath (air) is mixed into the sound. The vocal cords do not close completely and vibrate while remaining partially open, allowing some air to escape with a soft friction noise during phonation. As a result, (ideally) the sound is not clear or crisp, but instead carries a warm, wistful, or even slightly husky texture. ↩︎
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