2.
“Waaaah!”
The screen showed the view of a top-grade penthouse in a Seoul hotel.
It was on a completely different level from the 4-person bunk bed rooms that other participants used. The open view overlooking the cityscape, the spacious living room, and even a bed wide enough for three grown men to lie down.
It was a dreamlike place for young men to see.
However, the contestants’ reactions were just polite—they didn’t think they would go there. Everyone was anticipating who first place would be.
“24th place, Lee Juha.”
Along with the MC’s announcement, Juha’s face appeared on screen.
“Thank you.”
Juha bowed at the waist in greeting.
It wasn’t high, but it wasn’t a bad start.
“Oh, this is news that just came in. The first place contestant can designate one roommate.”
“Ooooh!”
At MC Park Jusung’s words, the trainees cheered.
Juha, along with them, forced his eyes to sparkle. It’s not that he particularly wanted to use that room. The 4-person room was better for creating chemistry, and trainees needed to be bustling and active together to get caught on camera even once more.
On the other hand, Juha originally had low sociability, so just thinking about using a room alone with someone made him uncomfortable.
He should focus on other contestants’ rankings too, but Juha kept getting distracted. Since his ranking had already been announced, he wasn’t really interested in other people’s rankings anyway.
The announcement was down to just the last first place.
“First place is…”
While the MC drew it out, the contestants murmured.
“It’s Choi Taeri.”
“Choi Taeri.”
“Teri Us.”
The skill gap was so overwhelming that the contestants didn’t seem particularly resentful.
“Congratulations. Choi Taeri!”
Taeri stood on stage with an appropriately moved expression.
“Thank you.”
“Have you decided on a roommate? You haven’t had a chance to get close since they’re all friends you’re meeting for the first time?”
MC Park Jusung held out the microphone.
“I’ve decided.”
Choi Taeri’s eyes held inexplicable confidence.
Juha blankly stared at the stage. Choi Taeri’s roommate was too much someone else’s business for him to be interested.
“Oh? You’ve already decided?”
At the firm answer, Park Jusung’s voice rose.
“I haven’t gotten close to anyone yet, but there’s someone I’d like to get close to.”
“Who is that?”
At Park Jusung’s question, everyone had interested expressions.
“Lee Juha trainee.”
At Choi Taeri’s answer, Juha’s head shot up.
“…Me?”
Juha mouthed the words as if he couldn’t believe it, blinking his eyes rapidly.
“Lee Juha trainee! Please come forward!”
Even at Park Jusung’s words, Juha couldn’t readily stand up from his seat.
Choi Taeri, who had placed first in the initial judging, said he would room with Lee Juha. Juha naturally couldn’t believe it.
Though they had briefly encountered each other while preparing for the program, they had never even exchanged a word.
“Get up. He called you.”
When someone poked him from the side, Juha finally stood up from his seat.
“Th-thank you.”
Juha greeted first.
“Lee Juha trainee. Do you know the reason?”
Park Jusung asked playfully.
“No. I have no idea at all.”
“He says he doesn’t know. Then Choi Taeri trainee, what exactly is the reason?”
“Since he’s been a trainee for a long time, I thought there would be a lot I could learn from him. We’re the same age too.”
“I think I’ll be able to learn much more from him.”
Damn it. He stuttered.
It would definitely come out looking stupid on TV. If he was set up as this kind of character from the beginning, the editors’ scheming would be obvious.
‘Let me pull myself together.’
The last chance.
To not make the past six years meaningless, Lee Juha needed to be a little more cold-hearted.
* * *
The first ranking announcement was compiled from the masters’ scores. Though they hadn’t yet been shown to the public, many things were decided by this ranking. The seating arrangement for the first showcase stage, group activities up until right before the showcase, and room assignments.
Since they had to clearly enter the public’s eyes in the first broadcast, everyone had to be sensitive about their ranking.
After the ranking announcement, individual interviews followed. 24th place Lee Juha, chosen as Choi Taeri’s roommate, aroused unexpected interest from the production team too.
“How did you feel when your name came out of Choi Taeri trainee’s mouth?”
“I’m still a bit dazed. It kind of creates a sense of responsibility.”
Lee Juha smiled awkwardly. Other trainees smoothly raised their energy even in behind-the-scenes videos, but Juha still found that difficult.
Being calm but lacking eloquence to appear before the public. In that regard, his charm as an idol who should attract fans was inevitably diminished.
Filming that started at 6 AM didn’t end until past 11 PM. No matter how young the men were, it was an exhausting schedule.
The procession of blinking emergency lights from vehicles lined up outside the filming location surrounded the broadcasting station building like stage lights.
Every time a trainee came out, family members ran up to hug and comfort them.
‘There was a time like that.’
Standing alone watching that scene, Juha wasn’t particularly sad.
His parents had done enough until now.
When Juha was 12, the former company president who had already noticed him personally persuaded Juha’s parents. At the time, his parents naturally opposed it. They scolded him asking where a 12-year-old was trying to go, but Juha stubbornly insisted he would do it.
Even when he entered as a trainee after enduring hardship, Juha thought he could debut within 1-2 years.
There were quite a few idols who debuted in middle school, and the company seemed confident about Juha too. When Lee Juha was in 8th grade, his height was close to 170cm, so if he just wore insoles, his proportions matched reasonably well next to his hyungs, and his skills didn’t fall behind compared to his hyungs either.
‘That’s enough now, so go to college.’
When he was eliminated from the debut group he’d barely made it to around age 19, his parents persuaded Juha again. His 6-year trainee contract period had also ended at the right time, and the company president Juha had followed like a father didn’t give him confidence. Rather than betrayal, he felt lost.
Once you’re eliminated from a debut group, you don’t know how long you’ll have to wait.
If he signed again, he’d be in his mid-twenties in the blink of an eye, so Juha couldn’t sign carelessly. While he was contemplating whether to look for another company or follow his parents’ advice, Juha came across this program’s audition.
Just one more time, as a last chance. With that heart, Juha insisted on going on ‘My Job is Idol.’ His angry parents firmly declared they wouldn’t provide any support.
It was common among trainees, and since his parents had always been skeptical about Juha preparing to be an idol, he didn’t feel particularly wronged.
There was no time to get sentimental looking at the lined-up vehicles. Since public transportation was about to be cut off at a precarious time, Juha hurried his steps.
“Lee Juha!”
Then someone called him.
It was Choi Taeri. Leaving behind the group of trainees trying to get close to him, Choi Taeri walked straight toward Juha.
Only then did Juha remember that he hadn’t separately expressed thanks to him.
“Thank you.”
Why specifically him, what was the reason. Juha had many things he wanted to ask Taeri, but with too many people around, his lips wouldn’t part. Come to think of it, the chosen one had nothing more to say beyond thanks.
“Put it in.”
Putting aside Juha’s thanks, Choi Taeri held out his cell phone.
Beep beep beep beep.
When he pressed the numbers, Taeri immediately called. Confirming that Juha’s cell phone rang, a smile readily appeared on Taeri’s lips. It was a smile whose meaning was unclear.
“See you later.”
As soon as Taeri waved and turned around, someone put him in a car.
Juha stood dazedly watching Taeri’s car disappear. His refreshingly tall height and build. Though his shoulders were broad and his build was good, he never looked dull.
Even in a place where only the most outstanding guys among Korean men of similar age were gathered, Choi Taeri’s presence was definite. He was a visual that showed with his whole body why male idols also get male fans.
“…Ah, the subway!”
Suddenly remembering what he’d forgotten, Juha hurriedly ran to the subway station.
He arrived home at 12:30.
Even the living room lights were turned off, and the house shrouded in darkness was as quiet as if no one lived there.
‘Everyone’s sleeping.’
Since his family knew today was the first day of filming, they acted more cynically. Though they didn’t say it, his parents would rather he be eliminated in the first round. They would believe that waking up from his dream even a day earlier would mean living a more practical life.
‘Let me just sleep.’
Juha quietly entered his room and closed the door.
Soon, he would have to live in the dorm for a week. He should pack so he wouldn’t be rushed in the morning, but he was too tired today.
* * *
The place they gathered for filming ‘My Job is Idol’ was a hotel in Seoul. It was a place often used as lodging for domestic and international events, equipped with economical 4-person rooms as well as hotel-grade rooms and a penthouse, plus several large and small halls, making it a good structure for filming survival auditions.
Other participants except for Choi Taeri and Lee Juha were divided into rooms according to ranking.
The lowest-ranked four’s room would definitely be like a funeral home, but their scene of working together would be used as a good scene, so there was nothing to pity.
Lee Juha knew well the despicableness of this industry. Here, regardless of the person’s will, it was routine to cleverly target editing points and create completely different stories.
He thought it might be because of memories of seeing hyungs and noonas from the same agency who had suffered from devil’s editing that his eloquence had become so lacking. To save words and save them to the point of not giving any room for editing at all.
When the elevator stopped at one floor, the participants poured out and only Choi Taeri and Lee Juha remained. While he pondered finding conversation topics, the elevator went up to the top floor. The feeling of going against gravity created unnecessary tension.
When they entered the designated penthouse, waiting cameras filmed their reactions.
“Wow, it’s really nice. Right?”
Choi Taeri admired the room and sought agreement from Lee Juha. The two, who were the same age, had somehow started speaking casually.
“Right.”
Honestly, Lee Juha was more surprised. Though his home was in Seoul, he had lived in dorms during every vacation during his trainee days. Since his home and practice room were over an hour away by public transportation, the travel time was wasteful.
Trainee dorms were predictable. The company’s method was to cram them in as long as there was just a place to sleep, so winter was manageable, but summer was hot enough to get heat rash even while sleeping.
Lee Juha’s family home was on the 14th floor of an apartment, so the view was good. However, the Seoul seen from a well-located hotel penthouse was like a different city he didn’t know, compared to the view from home.
Rather than the burden of having to share a room with Choi Taeri for a week, his anticipation of staying in a comfortable room was greater.
“Grateful, right?”
Choi Taeri put his arm around his shoulder pretending to be close.
“Thank you, really.”
“Repay the favor.”
Matching the camera director’s movements, Choi Taeri naturally talked to Juha and made physical contact. Though he wondered when they had become so close, he couldn’t show it in front of the camera.
“Wow, the bed is really soft.”
Choi Taeri jumped into the spacious bed like diving. The bed was so big that even with Taeri’s long limbs spread out in a big character, there was plenty of space left.
“I’ll use the sofa. You use the bed alone.”
Juha headed to the sofa, gathering his luggage like a guest. Since it was a penthouse, the sofa was as big as a single bed.
Even if he could share a room with Taeri, since they were complete strangers, sharing one bed felt awkward no matter how he thought about it.
“Why? Let’s use it together. Come here.”
Choi Taeri jumped up from the bed and patted the mattress.
“Ah, no. It’s fine.”
“What’s wrong between guys?”
“Because we’re guys, that’s why… Ah, please edit this out.”
Lee Juha said to the camera director in surprise. It might sound like he could lie in one bed with a woman.
Words he’d heard enough to get calluses in his ears during six years of preparing to be an idol. Never do anything that could trip you up when you become famous.
“Puhaha, what are you really?”
Choi Taeri lay down on the bed and laughed heartily.
“What, what is it?”
Lee Juha lowered his face that had reddened for no reason.
The filming team, having roughly extracted their content, organized their equipment and left the room. They said the observation cameras weren’t ready yet and would be installed starting tomorrow.
“Thank you for your hard work!”
Lee Juha and Choi Taeri came out to the door and bowed 90 degrees to see off the staff.
When equipment and personnel went out like low tide, the large penthouse felt desolate. Only now did awkwardness come flooding in.
“But, why did you really choose me?”
When Lee Juha asked, Choi Taeri turned around and looked at him.
‘Huh?’
His expression had changed like he was a completely different person.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
