Apart from Lee Cheonghyeon, the mbers of Spark were generally quiet by nature.
Moreover, they didn’t speak in high volus. Naturally, the personalities of the mbers all seed similar whenever they were exposed on the broadcast.
Lee Cheonghyeon alone had limits in lifting up the subdued atmosphere.
Thanks to this, if I had to put it kindly, the shows Spark appeared on could be compared to nature docuntaries.
To put it unkindly, well, I don’t have to bother telling you.
‘That’s why it’s hard for people to beco fans.’
In a situation where you would still have a hard ti even if you put a group that suited everyone’s taste.
Putting them in a lineup as if they were stamped out from a fish-shaped pastry mold and saying, ‘Look! We’ve got this many of the sa ones, so it must be even tastier, right?’ Who would co to see them?
Marketing only worked if you had sothing to sell.
To allow fans to dig into the mbers’ A to Z with an excavator, it seed good to at least dig a shallow hole in the bare ground.
‘At the very least, they have to be able to reveal their individuality to so degree.’
That way, at the very least, an additional perfect-fitting prop could be added to their debut album.
(TL note: In case you’re confused, the additional perfect-fitting prop Iwol ntioned here is referring to himself.)
After letting out a deep sigh, I erased all my search history and returned the phone to the manager.
Then, I watched the mbers closely during the break ti of group practice.
I recalled the email I received from Director Nam’s daughter, which said that perfect character understanding ca from affection and obsession.
There was nothing more convenient than using refined language when defining sothing.
So I started describing these guys’ personalities by borrowing the keywords I saw in web novels.
For instance, I set ‘aloof puppy’ as the default image for Park Joowoo, who always sat blankly in a corner during breaks.
As for Choi Jeho, who monopolized the director’s daughter’s affection and would beco the shining center of Spark…
“So you are… a cool, aloof genius character with a tactless side.”
…I gave him a particularly more flashy label.
However, Choi Jeho responded indifferently.
“What are you talking about all of a sudden?”
“What do you think about changing your personality a bit since your aloof trait overlaps with Joowoo?”
My reasonable suggestion did not ease Choi Jeho’s scowl.
It was undesirable for over half the team to achieve the triple crown of aloofness, coldness, and indifference. Such a sha.
“Hyung! What about ?!”
Thinking that I was saying sothing interesting, Lee Cheonghyeon bounced over, leaving Kang Kiyeon in front of the mirror.
“There was sothing like ‘sunshine’. You can be that.”
“Why am I one making a compromise?!”
“If a better description cos up, we can always change it.”
As I was assigning the third trait to each mber, the practice room door opened.
It was Min Jukyung.
“Sorry for interrupting your practice!”
Min Jukyung, who entered with a smile, was holding a piece of paper.
He stuck the paper onto the whiteboard installed on one wall of the practice room.
Then he looked at and said.
“I’m posting the evaluation results here. There are no special notes, so everyone just check when you have ti!”
Surely he knew it was human nature to check your grade reports as soon you received it.
He was probably trying to talk lightly out of consideration for the trainees.
I probably had a similar expression when I said to people around , ‘I’ve finished inputting the performance evaluation results, please check them.’
And since there were no special notes, it seed I wasn’t getting cut off.
Well done, Kim Iwol. You managed to survive these terrible conditions.
Having achieved my minimal goal, I headed straight for the whiteboard.
Since I avoided getting cut, I could gladly accept whatever the remaining results were.
February Monthly Evaluation (Ranked by Score)
Park Joowoo
Choi Jeho
Lee Cheonghyeon
Jeong Seongbin
Kang Kiyeon
Kim Iwol
※ Detailed feedback will be provided during class!
Even though it was the expected result, actually ranking 6th out of 6 people made feel complicated.
Maybe it was because I’d never been in the last place before. I guess people really do need to experience everything.
[SYSTEM] ‘Task’ completed.
▷ Reward: Exp (30)
▷ Total exp: 40
▷ Total points: 0
Just in ti, the exp for passing the monthly evaluation arrived as well.
But it didn’t end there
[SYSTEM] Additional exp awarded.
▷ Reason: Highly rated by a ‘close team mber’
▷ Reward: Exp (10)
▷ Total exp: 50
▷ Total points: 0
Soone must have thought very highly of , as I received an additional 10 experience points.
Thank you. May your family be blessed for three generations.
I turned around, resolving to grow at least to the level of ‘last place but fought hard’ before debuting.
At that mont, I made eye contact with Jeong Seongbin, who was calmly checking the paper.
At the sa ti, I recalled what Jeong Seongbin had said a few days ago.
‘There aren’t that many trainees at the company, but at so point, the rankings haven’t really changed much.’
Jeong Seongbin now… couldn’t be said to be at ease, but his expression looked better than before.
A face with a complicated expression but not at all looked grim.
For so reason, seeing that face, I felt sowhat compensated for the sha I felt that day.
* * *
The advantage of being a beginner was that I looked like I had made great progress just by taking one step.
And that one step was indeed a huge leap from a beginner’s perspective.
Thanks to the solid groundwork laid in the initial stages, the subsequent lessons didn’t feel overwhelmingly daunting.
Moreover, UA was a company that didn’t hold back on praise in such areas.
“Iwol, you’ve improved a lot.”
“Really?”
The vocal teacher nodded. It was a great environnt for a beginner to grow.
Though I still had a long way to go in the dance classes where I worked my legs until I felt like they would explode, there was still progress.
The most helpful aspect was that once I learned the movents, I didn’t forget them. I didn’t want to be the one stopping the music during group practice.
With a desperate heart, I diligently invested the welfare points I earned from accumulating over 100 exp into proficiency.
As a result, my current proficiency levels were like this.
Performance Evaluation (100)
– Vocal proficiency: 5(▲)/20
– Dance proficiency: 4(▲)/20
– Self PR: 12/20
– Attendance managent: 18/20
– Organizational adaptability: 10/20
Total point: 0
Even though I hadn’t invested any points into vocal proficiency, it increased on its own. It was a comndable feat.
From this case, I learned that skills didn’t necessarily only increase from gaining exp.
It was disappointing that the total proficiency was still in the single digits, but expecting results after just a month of practice was unrealistic. So, I decided to just appreciate the fact that the scores had gone up.
A new task also appeared.
[SYSTEM] ‘New task’ has been assigned.
▷ Raise dance proficiency to 5 by the end of the March monthly evaluation.
▷ Reward: The right to view other mbers’ resus, 3 standard proposal templates for debut album planning
The next monthly evaluation in March would probably be the final assessnt to determine the debut team.
Since I had pushed the debut schedule forward by a year, the group should be finalized soon.
But how could they drag it out until March while saying the debut team would be finalized based on the February evaluation?
This was why the group disbanded and society collapsed in the past after delaying the debut for two whole years…
Putting the task aside, the reward was really disappointing.
I was interested in viewing the resus, but the fact that they said it as a ‘right’ felt petty, which was annoying. As for the debut album planning… I just had a strong feeling it would only create more work.
Once you had things like that, you inevitably ended up using them at so point. And it would always be using them.
So I really didn’t want to receive the 3 template set.
However, since my job was set as the producing mber, it seed more convenient to receive them in advance, so I decided to accept the situation calmly.
If necessary, I could just receive the templates and think, ‘Oh right, I had those!’ a few months later.
“Should we tear off the calendar now?”
“Yes, please!”
With Jeong Seongbin’s permission, Lee Cheonghyeon tore off the page from the wall calendar hanging in the practice room.
March had begun.
* * *
The concept of ti for office workers differed slightly from non-office workers.
For example, when I was in college, my concept of ti was like this.
March–June / September–November: Sester period minor part-ti work
July-August/December-February: Working part-ti like a dog
Then, after joining Hanpyeong Industry, my perception of ti changed to this:
March-November: Busy months
December: The month when I barely breathe
January: The month I can’t even breathe
February: The month I can’t go ho
As a result, I had montarily forgotten.
That March was the month when a new sester began.
That ant the high school students at our dorm also went back to school for the new sester.
It was when Lee Cheonghyeon’s alarm went off earlier than usual that I noticed this fact.
Thinking that it seed to ring earlier than usual, I got up and noticed that Choi Jeho across from wasn’t even stirring in his sleep.
Just as I wondered what was up with that guy who usually got up right when the alarm rang out, Lee Cheonghyeon ca down from his bed with a tired expression.
“Are you sick? Why the long face?”
“I’m just tired… Hyung, set your alarm and sleep more. It’s only 7 now.”
“7?”
I checked the ti and it was indeed 7 am. It was an hour earlier than our usual wake-up ti.
“I should’ve gone to bed early yesterday… I stupidly stayed up late.”
Then Lee Cheonghyeon opened the closet and took out a familiar gray school uniform.
It was the uniform I saw when compiling his private life photos to make a subway birthday ad.
‘Right, he’s seventeen now.’
So, Lee Cheonghyeon was just starting high school.
It felt like ages since I entered university.
I worried again whether debuting in the sa team with these guys was morally right.
“Is today the start of the sester?”
“Hyung, it’s not the start of the sester, it’s the start of the school year! And it’s not the start of the school year for , it’s the entrance ceremony!”
Lee Cheonghyeon pounced on my slip of the tongue. Seeing him so energetic just 3 minutes after waking up, it seed I didn’t need to worry about his stamina.
I left the room following behind Lee Cheonghyeon who seed to be heading to wash up.
In the living room, Jeong Seongbin and Kang Kiyeon were wandering around in their school uniforms.
Perhaps because they were from different high schools, their uniforms looked quite different in color and design from Lee Cheonghyeon’s.
≫ Those blueberry yogurt era photos are precious… Why the f*ck they didn’t take selfies with those faces? Not taking 100 selfies a day with those faces is dereliction of duty, it pisses the f*ck out of
└This isn’t just a gradient of anger, it’s straight-up rage.
Looking at their light purple uniforms reminded of a post I had seen on social dia.
When I had ti, I should tell these three to sit on the dorm couch and take so selfies.
“Are you guys going to eat breakfast before you leave?”
“Seongbin hyung said he’d make toast for us.”
Now that I looked at it, three slices of bread were on the frying pan.
It seed he was just toasting the bread without any jam or eggs. The world of idols was tough on both the mouth and the heart.
“If it’s just toasting, I can do it. You guys get ready to leave.”
“Yes? You don’t have to…”
“I can’t sleep anymore anyway. Once I wake up, I can’t go back to sleep.”
I wasn’t particularly good at cooking, but I could at least toast so bread.
When I took the spatula away, Jeong Seongbin fidgeted around before retreating.
“I think there are so eggs in the fridge. Should I fry them?”
“No, hyung! It’s really okay!”
“I am okay too…”
“Please put eggs on mine!”
Before Kang Kiyeon could even finish his sentence, Lee Cheonghyeon shouted from the bathroom. I wondered what kind of hearing he had to catch that.
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