Chapter 10
8:30 a.m.
I declared that the arrangent was complete in front of the gathered trainees.
What did you say?
Seo Ri-hyuk had a doubtful expression on his face, as if he didnt trust his ears.
How did you do that in one night?
Well.
Im kidding. It just happened as I did it.
He looked speechless and asked.
Are you sure you did it right?
Youll know when you listen to it.
The youngest one chid in with a smirk.
If you ssed it up, its invalid. You have to buy us snacks.
Hey, is snacks the most important thing in this situation?
Why, hyung. They say a well-fed ghost has a good temper. Of course, eating is important.
While the youngest and the main vocal were bickering, Kim Jung-hyun and Kim Bi-ju, the high school seniors, were talking among themselves.
It sounded like sothing along the lines of He finished it already?, I dont know, lets just listen to it.
I took the USB that I got from the director and plugged it into the speaker.
Im a bit nervous.
The director said he did so computer work, but I never actually heard it.
I made such a bold claim, but what if it suddenly sounds like a ss?
Okay, Im going to play it now.
They all looked skeptical.
How high could the quality of an arrangent that was done in a hurry in one day be?
But the atmosphere changed as soon as the accompanint started.
Kim Jung-hyun made an o shape with his mouth at the neat introduction. He nodded his head, and Kim Bi-ju also nodded.
The youngest one stopped chewing his chocolate and listened attentively.
Seo Ri-hyuk also listened seriously.
The first 30 seconds were the ti for evaluation.
But after 30 seconds, the trainees were fully imrsed in the song.
Two different songs.
The part where the lody that connects the middle of the song cos out, which goes straight from the first verse to the second verse.
They tilted their heads in confusion at the sowhat unfamiliar section.
This is where Jung-hyun will rap.
They all nodded, and especially the rapper Jung-hyun smiled with satisfaction.
He said it was a good lody for writing lyrics.
Soon, the rap part ended and the second verse began.
The second verse was composed of a different music from the first verse.
They all listened with nervousness, but they all marveled at the smooth transition.
How was it?
I asked for their opinions after the song ended.
Its amazing. I was a bit skeptical when you said youd do it in one day, but I didnt expect it to be this good.
I like the rap part. It fits well.
Im sad about the snacks, but I like it too.
They all seed genuinely satisfied.
I was relieved.
To be honest, I wasnt confident.
It was the first ti I did an arrangent in two years, and I made it hastily overnight, so I was worried about the reaction, but it was better than I expected.
Well
Seo Ri-hyuk opened his lips last.
Lets say you won the bet.
Yeah.
Im conceding because the quality is good.
He looked reluctant but helpless, and I smiled at him.
Now I got what I wanted.
I didnt rely on my age or trainee experience, but I gained their trust naturally through my arranging skills.
As promised, Ill have full authority over the performance.
I recalled what I had planned in advance.
Lets start with the role assignnt.
***
The choreography was done by the main dancer Kim Bi-ju.
The vocal directing was done by the main vocal Seo Ri-hyuk.
Kim Jung-hyun, the only rapper in the group, naturally took charge of the rap part.
What about ?
Uh well.
I was montarily at a loss as I looked at the youngest mber, who was staring at with wide eyes.
It was hard to say he was useless.
I couldnt say anything bad to a budding sprout, so I ca up with a good excuse.
Youll be in charge of supplies.
Huh? What are supplies?
Its taking care of snacks so that no one goes hungry.
Oh, Im confident in that.
The youngest nodded his head as if to say he could handle it.
By the way, Woojoo hyung.
Kim Bi-ju took out sothing from his bag.
It was a spring notebook.
He flipped open the notebook that said practice notes and skimd through the densely written words until he reached the middle.
Whats this?
I heard your plan yesterday and I roughly sketched out so choreography. What do you think of this if you havent divided the parts yet?
Really? Let see.
On several pages, there were crude drawings of figures moving along different paths.
The drawings were rough, but they conveyed what he wanted to do well.
As I looked at them, I saw him with new eyes.
You made this in one night?
Yes.
Youre amazing.
It was a sincere complint.
When I was at TJ Entertainnt, I had to make choreography for the monthly group evaluation, so I knew how hard it was to make choreography.
And he did it in one night.
And the quality was better than I expected.
No wonder he had dark circles under his eyes.
He was different from the other trainees. Why did he have shadows under his eyes? It turned out he went ho alone and made this.
Okay, then lets go with this
I was about to continue when I stopped.
Huh?
I noticed sothing strange as I looked at the choreography distribution that Kim Bi-ju made.
It was too natural that I didnt notice it.
Wait a minute, I divided the parts yesterday.
Part distribution.
The first thing to do when doing a group performance is to divide the parts of the song.
And then you have to make choreography.
I took out the part distribution outline that I saved on my phone and compared it with Kim Bi-jus choreography distribution.
Wow.
Whats wrong?
The youngest, who couldnt stand his curiosity, joined in.
Look at this.
I handed him my phone, and the four of us gathered around to look.
Just like , they looked back and forth between Kim Bi-jus choreography distribution and my part distribution, and then blinked their eyes.
What? Why are they the sa?
Kim Bi-jus choreography distribution and my part distribution matched almost 90 percent.
It was an unrealistic thing.
It was as if we had telepathy.
It was hard for Kim Bi-ju, who divided the choreography by himself on the bed, and , who arranged the song in the practice room, to have the sa frequency of thought.
At that mont, we all felt a strange conviction.
It was like a sign before a big hit.
We all nodded quietly as we looked at each other, feeling that everything was falling into place.
Shall we go with this then?
They all nodded at my question.
It was the mont when the part distribution, choreography distribution, and role allocation were decided in less than a day.
That ant that the basic frawork was completed.
By the way, what are we going to call our team?
Team na?
Kim Bi-ju smiled at my question.
As we belong to different agencies, we have to make a team na before we debut. We also have a new mber, so we want to change it.
What was your previous na?
Lemon Boys.
Why does my face feel hot?
Its a bit weird, right?
Its not a bit, its very weird. Who ca up with that?
The CEO did.
Now that I hear it again, its a nice na.
The trainees chuckled at my change of attitude.
Even though it was temporary, making a team na was a difficult task.
Devils, Yellow Green, Five Star, and all kinds of nonsense ca out, but none of them stuck.
It was like choosing a late-night snack.
I needed sothing that would capture my appetite, but nothing ca to mind.
Lets just decide on sothing. Its only temporary, right?
How about Five Star?
Not that one, Jung-hyun.
I shook my head at Kim Jung-hyun, who had been insisting on Five Star.
He looked at the others with pleading eyes, but soon deflated at their unanimous rejection.
Seo Ri-hyuk delivered the final blow.
Just go with Five Star.
Really?
I can always quit.
I never thought choosing a na would be so hard, after we had arranged the song, divided the parts, and learned the choreography.
As we were struggling, the youngest spoke up.
Woojoo hyung.
Yeah?
Hyung, where did you buy that sweatshirt?
This one? K-mart.
I asked with a smile.
Do you like it?
No, I only wear expensive stuff.
Wang Ji-ho said sarcastically, pointing at my sweatshirt.
Hyung, theres sothing written on your sweatshirt.
This?
Yeah, what does it say? Jung-hyun hyung, read it for us.
Chicken is the new black.
I looked at the words on my sweatshirt, hearing Kim Jung-hyuns fluent English pronunciation.
Wang Ji-ho said.
How about that? New Black.
New Black?
How is it?
Every ti a na ca up, there was always so criticism, but surprisingly, there was no objection this ti.
It was decent.
I even searched the internet to make sure it didnt have any weird aning in English, but it seed fine.
The New Black.
An expression used to an a new trend.
Who agrees to go with New Black?
Everyone raised their hands at my question.
Thats how our temporary team na New Black was decided.
All that was left was practice.
***
December 2013.
While everyone was busy wrapping up the year, we were also imrsed in preparing for the end-of-year evaluation.
Thankfully, all the mbers of team New Black did their jobs well.
Okay, lets check the choreography first.
Kim Bi-ju ca up with an amazing choreography in a few days.
It might not be impressive to an expert, but it suited our taste.
But because of the higher difficulty than expected, the other mbers, except , were dying every day as if they had entered hell.
Especially Seo Ri-hyuk, who was a dance hole, his face turned paler by the day, but he was like a fish in water in his own field.
The vocal tone is not clear, Bi-ju hyung. You told to do it as usual. Youre not using your voice properly.
Sorry. I think I ssed up the breathing at the beginning.
Ill go back to the beat.
It was a terrifying directing, more so than any tiger teacher.
We had to improve our skills by force, because if we made even a slight mistake, we would get a sharp criticism.
Hyung, can you listen to my rap?
Kim Jung-hyun, the rapper, also did his role well.
His lyrics had a rhythm that made nod my head, and his flow was full of rhythm and rhy.
When the rap was over, the youngest ca over like a paradic and gave Kim Jung-hyun a chocolate.
It was a cute scene every ti I saw it.
We were all doing our best in our own areas.
December 28th.
For the upcoming final battle.
***
On December 27th, the day before the year-end evaluation.
I wanted to hear her voice after a long ti, so I called my grandmother.
After a few rings, a Busan-like voice and a cheerful voice rang in my ears.
-Is it Woojoo?
Yes, grandma. Its .
-What are you doing at this ti?
When did I ever call you for a reason?
I answered with a smile.
Ah, I just wanted to hear your voice, grandma.
-Youre sick.
Dont curse.
-You deserve it for doing such things.
Thats too much, really. I called you because I missed you, grandma.
I smiled at the grumbling that ca from the other side of the phone.
Are you ready to co tomorrow?
-Im all set.
If youre not feeling well, just stay ho. Its not a big deal to co all the way to Seoul.
-I have to go, then.
Right?
-Yes. If I dont go, youll regret it later, right? Youll say, Grandma, I was sad back then, how could you not co?
Well. Thats not wrong.
Actually, Id be happy if you ca to see , grandma.
-Right?
Yeah, yeah, thats why I prepared a gift for you this ti. To give it to you, grandma.
-What? Did you buy another nutrition cream or sothing?
No, sothing else.
I had bought a clothes for my grandmother at a departnt store a while ago.
Of course, it was a secret until tomorrow.
How about the nutrition cream I gave you last month? Are you using it well?
-Im saving it. Its good because its foreign.
I felt proud at the sound of her liking it.
Tell if you want to buy anything else. I got a signing bonus this ti, so Im rich.
-Youre sick again.
Its true. Buy a lot of costics, too. Then you can get date requests from grandpas at the senior center.
-Enough, you. If I were a man, Id be sick of you. You dont know how much I suffered, bleeding and crying, until your grandfather died
I guess I chose the wrong topic.
My grandmothers voice, spitting out her complaints about my late grandfather like a machine gun.
Grandma, I think I have to go now.
-Why? Dont you want to listen?
No, its ti for practice. The kids are calling .
That was true.
The youngest was running towards like a puppy from afar, while I was talking on the phone in the hallway.
See you tomorrow, grandma.
With that, I hung up the phone.
***
Mrs. Kim Deok-soon sighed after hanging up the phone.
Ugh, what a sick kid.
It was pitiful that he had to do this until this ti.
An idol, huh.
Whats that, that hes clinging and crying like that.
She was secretly happy when he said he would give up.
But then he said he would do it again.
What can I do? Hes twisting his own fate.
Ever since he was young, he dread of being an idol.
And now, He finally made it this far.
Tomorrow is the day of the evaluation.
What was it called again?
Mrs. Kim Deok-soon laid out the clothes she would wear tomorrow and applied so skin cream on her face before going to bed. Then, she suddenly rembered sothing.
Sothing in her vanity drawer.
In the second drawer, there was an old picture.
An aged paper that showed the passage of ti.
[Seon Woojoo, 2nd grade, class 1]
Under the clumsy handwriting, there was a drawing.
A child was playing the piano and singing under a yellow spotlight.
[Future dream: Universe Superstar]
[Teacher, I will be the most famous person in the world]
Mrs. Kim Deok-soon looked at it and prayed deeply in her heart.
Dear Buddha in heaven.
Please.
Please let my grandson succeed this ti.
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