Chapter 59 |
[YOO JAY’S POV]
“Trainer Jay-nim, please enter the practice room!”
Today was only a few days after I had taken out all my frustration on Yutae-hyung. I arrived at Lucky Center in a car driven by my manager to fulfill my schedule, but to be honest, I wasn’t in my right mind.
“Hyung, are you an idiot?”
“How long are you going to live so foolishly? When I look at you, I feel like I can’t breath.”
The memory of that day when I poured out my resentment towards my hyung kept coming back to me.
Back then, I was so angry that I lashed out at my hyung without thinking. But now when I thought about it, I realized that I must have lost my mind. If I had shown that kind of attitude to Yutae-hyung during our Prism days, I definitely wouldn’t have been forgiven.
However, my hyung didn’t react that way that day.
Perhaps it felt even more that way because it wasn’t my hyung’s original body, but rather a skinny, youthful one, but his body seemed to shake with every cruel word that was thrown at him.
His expression was that of someone who believed they didn’t even deserve to ask for forgiveness.
‘Aah, I should stop thinking about it.’
Even with the camera in front of me, my mind kept wandering.
If I went to the hospital now and explained my current condition, the doctor would eagerly type away on the keyboard and increase the dosage of my medication. I had been putting off going, afraid of hearing that my condition, which had improved after learning my hyung was still alive, had actually worsened. But if these symptoms persisted, I didn’t think I could delay it any longer.
“But I don’t want to see any of you suffering because of something related to me. Even if my name is brought up now, it will only lead to an unhappy ending for everyone.”
I discovered the truth as I had hoped, but my hands were tied.
After hearing such words from him, what on earth could I possibly do?
Whether in the past or the present, there was nothing I could do.
‘You looked unwell, I should’ve at least helped you walk to the dorm.’
When I forced myself to look away from a problem I couldn’t solve, everything else started bothering me. Since I could clearly see that he wasn’t feeling well, I regretted just sending him away after I forcefully brought up a difficult topic.
As I let out a deep sigh as if the ground was going to collapse, the trainer sitting next to me burst into laughter.
“Sunbaenim, are you tired? Did you have a drink last night?”
“No, I just couldn’t sleep well.”
‘Is it that obvious?’
I was shocked to realize that my fatigue was visible enough for my juniors to notice. I forced myself to look at the materials on the table.
Then, I found something that surprised me.
“…Han Seungbeom has been assigned to the refreshing concept.”
“Surprising, isn’t it? There was a heated debate among his fans. It was really intense. In the end, I think they came to the conclusion that since this concept might not be seen again in the future, they should enjoy it while they can.”
‘That hyung is doing a refreshing concept?’
When I imagined Seo Yutae’s original appearance in my head and layered the boyish marine look outfit on top, it was really shocking. For starters, his long, rocker-like hair was already a mismatch, and his muscular physique might even rip the outfit apart.
‘Now that you have a slim body, it seems like you’re going to do a concept that was never destined for you.’
Just as I thought that and smiled faintly, the trainees came rushing in all at once and greeted us loudly.
“Hello!”
“Yes, come on in.”
As I responded to their greetings, my eyes met my hyung’s. My hyung avoided my gaze and awkwardly mumbled a greeting, trying to blend in with the other trainees.
“….Hello.”
To think that the great Seo Yutae is actually being cautious of me now.
When I widened my eyes, my hyung furrowed his eyebrows slightly, turned his head, and pressed his lips together tightly.
That was the expression he made when he felt awkward. Even though his body had changed, his expression remained exactly the same. Seeing the discomfort clearly written on his face, I nodded a couple of times and slowly smiled.
As I said before, I’m not the kind of person who can blame my hyung.
I never have the intention to burden him.
When my hyung saw my smile, he seemed startled and held his breath. It was because, since a long time ago, smiling was my sign of reconciliation. It was possible because my emotions had been somewhat organized over the course of a few days.
***
After the silent reconciliation, the mid-term evaluations took place one after another, and finally, the turn for the refreshing concept team arrived.
“Oh my, Baeyoung got both the leader and center positions? You’re really benefiting from the mini mission.”
“I’ve worked hard to show you a good performance. Please look at me kindly!”
While Kang Baeyoung was brightly answering and bowing his head to the trainers, the trainees were adjusting the spacing of the formation, looking at my hyung like ducklings following their mother.
‘Oh my, the real leader is our Seo Yutae-ssi.’
Even if it wasn’t me, all the trainers must have felt it. Who was the real leader of this team.
“Han Seungbeom’s biggest advantage is his face, but he’s wearing a hat.”
The trainers tilted their heads at the sight of my hyung wearing a black cap pulled down low. It was a choice that seemed to throw away his own weapon, so they questioned it.
‘There must be a reason.’
He was the most capable and meticulous person I had ever seen. I decided to watch their performance with a relaxed mind.
“Please play the song.”
“Get ready, let’s go! 3, 2, 1!”
.
.
.
As the song progressed to the middle part, I began to feel a sense of discomfort.
The quality of the stage was undoubtedly good. As expected, it was excellent. The formation was perfectly aligned, and the choreography was copied down to the smallest detail. It was truly a stage where everything that ‘Seo Yutae‘ insisted on was upheld. However, there was something off about this stage.
It wasn’t until I looked around at the other trainers that I realized the source of the discomfort.
All six trainers were only looking at my hyung, and only him.
Trainers should never focus on just one trainee. We must view all trainees equally and objectively. All of us knew that. But we couldn’t.
Even though I intentionally tried to look at the other trainees, the moment my hyung’s figure passed by at the edge of my vision, my gaze would naturally be drawn to him.
Is that exactly what they call natural talent?
As I watched that figure, I felt like my childhood wounds were being reopened.
‘I had to grind my teeth just to keep the camera from being stolen by that person, even in my own part.’
When we had just debuted, even though it was another member’s part, it became a common occurrence for the camera directors to naturally focus on him. This led to conflicts between the members, so it was an all-too-familiar sight to me.
The only difference from those days was that this felt intentional.
‘That explains it.’
It was only after seeing the part distribution sheet and Kang Baeyoung struggling that I was able to finally understand my hyung’s intention.
It seemed like he was adjusting his performance moderately in the first and second missions, but today was different. That person had made up his mind to bring Kang Baeyoung down.
‘The only ones who can give instructions that go against the program’s system are the trainers.’
My hyung wanted to show how incompetent Kang Baeyoung was as a leader, as a center, and as a member who took up the majority of parts. He wanted the trainers to remove Kang Baeyoung from his sight with their own hands.
A look of surprise crossed Kang Baeyoung’s face when he belatedly realized that the trainers weren’t looking at him. If you looked closely, you could see that the formation had been cleverly manipulated so that the focus shifted to the far ends instead of the center, but there was no way Kang Baeyoung could know that.
‘Just because you’re standing in the middle doesn’t always mean you’ll be the center of attention….’
That trainee would be caught completely off guard and fall into a trap without knowing anything. However, all of this was the result of his own laziness, so he would have to accept it.
“Marine Marine…..”
“Marine Marine!
Look at the blue waves under the blue sky!”
As Kang Baeyoung, who was greatly shaken, stumbled through the chorus, a voice that pierced my ears was suddenly heard. It was an ad-lib with a high note that hit the fifth octave. The name tag ‘DO YUDA‘ caught my eye for a moment.
‘Up until the stage rehearsal of Domination, I thought he was just a trainee who could somewhat live up to the reputation of a big agency.’
That wasn’t an official part. It was an ad-lib on the ultra-high-pitched chorus that was added without considering the live performance to enrich the sound.
‘This person really … came prepared to steal the part.’
Seeing him wear a smug expression, as if he had done a good job, when he returned to his position, it seemed like he had done it under my hyung’s order.
I thought it was unlike him to be sticking to someone, but it turned out he was raising a baby monster.
The really funny thing was that even though Kang Baeyoung’s presence had long been erased, the performance didn’t seem lacking at all, and the rest of the members were very calm. It was as if all the team members, except for Kang Baeyoung, had expected the current situation.
After the climax passed, the ending part, the only part assigned to my hyung, began.
“When the waves crash, we head towards that endless sea”
My hyung, who had been singing the beginning part with his eyes closed, slowly lifted his eyelids.
And my eyes met his.
“It’s waiting for us.”
I got goosebumps from head to toe.
That person’s presence was something that could never be hidden, even by reducing their parts.
Kang Baeyoung, as if giving up on understanding this situation, was staring at my hyung with empty eyes. I felt uneasy as I watched him. It felt like I was seeing my past self reflected in him.
‘If you just stand there like that……’
When my hyung lifted his chin, his eyes, which had been shadowed by his hat, sparkled as they caught the light. With just that small change, everyone in the practice room let out a gasp.
‘You’ll be eaten.’
And the way his lips curved into a gentle smile was imprinted in my mind like a scene from a movie.
As if driving a wedge, Kang Baeyoung’s presence was erased in the final part, and everyone in the practice room watched just one person until the performance ended.
“Thank you!”
The trainees who had finished their performance lined up in a row. Kang Baeyoung, with a pale face, was dripping with cold sweat. And the members of the Marine Marine! team didn’t even glance at him. As if this outcome was inevitable.
I kept my mouth shut. Even if I did nothing, the situation would go as my hyung intended. My hyung’s skills were that unrivaled, and the situation was clear.
“Trainee Kang Baeyoung, what are you doing?”
“Yes?”
Kang Baeyoung, who had been standing there, dumbfounded by the composer’s cold voice and answered in surprise.
“I can’t see Trainee Kang Baeyoung at all right now. You’re being completely overshadowed by Trainee Han Seungbeom. I should be able to see the center, but I can’t see you at all.”
“…….”
“You’ve taken almost half of the part, and then you do this? This is really irresponsible. Are you going to ruin my song like this?”
“…I’m sorry.”
“This isn’t something that can be solved by simply practicing being the center from now on. Anyone can see that the center of this team is Trainee Han Seungbeom. Right now, I’m not even sure if Trainee Kang Baeyoung is properly fulfilling his role as the leader. The members are completely following only Trainee Han Seungbeom.”
As if everyone felt the same way, the other trainers nodded in agreement with his words.
“…….”
“I think this team should consider changing the center and redistributing the parts. It’s a program rule, so I won’t force it if you really can’t pass it on, but in my eyes, Trainee Kang Baeyoung seems to be struggling with both his current position and parts.”
One trainer let out a deep sigh and spoke to Kang Baeyoung. The content was a command disguised as a suggestion.
It was rare for someone to stubbornly refuse to change when the composer and trainers were speaking this directly. Kang Baeyoung would eventually give up his parts and position on his own.
‘Redistributing the parts and practicing from now on might make the time tight, but if it’s that person, he’ll manage to make it work.’
My hyung’s face, when I glanced at him, showed no sign of surprise. It was as if he had anticipated this outcome all along.
“You can go back now. Thank you for your hard work.”
“Thank you!”
After finishing the performance, Do Yuda, who was brimming with excitement, started humming a song while leaning in close to my hyung. The other trainers were too engrossed in conversations with the production team to hear it, but I heard it clearly.
“….Hmm.”
It was Kang Baeyoung’s part. There’s no way a trainee who was already struggling just to practice his own part would memorize all the lyrics of another trainee’s part just for fun.
‘You’ve been secretly practicing without the leader knowing, so that you can perform on stage without any issues even if the part changes.’
From the very beginning, my hyung had no intention of giving most of the parts to Kang Baeyoung.
I shook my head and called out the next team.
“….Next, Charisma Concept team, please come forward.”
And before any of the trainees from that team stood up, the practice room door opened. My hyung’s usually-stoic expression hardened with tension as he heard the soft voice of the person who opened the door.
“I’m sorry. I got delayed because of my schedule. My team’s evaluation hasn’t started yet, has it?”
I had hoped he wouldn’t come until the very end, but Cha Woon showed up.
[END OF YOO JAY’S POV]
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Translator’s Corner:
WHOS READY TO MEET CHA WOON~
anyway since this will happen ocassionally, I will give the sign [character name’s POV] when the chapter was from the first person pov of another character, and when it ends I will put [end of xx pov]
when it’s the usual MC first-person POV or a third pov, I won’t put any sign so I hope it’s not confusing!
Oh if you’re wondering why Jay was thinking like that. Han Seungbeom looks like the perfect beautiful female lead you often see in manhwa. Tall but skinny. Like Suho from True Beauty or Kiyu from Your Smile Is A Trap. If real live idol then I think Cha Eunwoo type of beauty? So handsome but looked fragile, that kind of type.
Meanwhile, the original Seo Yutae’s body is like ….. just think of Suguru Geto from Jujutsu Kaisen. Similiar to that.