3.
Choi Taeri, who had been a cold handsome man but appropriately playful and secretly innocent, now looked cold as ice and arrogant.
Like a crack splitting open, Taeri’s lips suddenly curved upward and his mouth opened. It was a surreal sight, like a rigid sculpture coming to life.
“Because I want to debut with you.”
Choi Taeri crossed his arms and looked at Lee Juha. His playful tone was either cunning or condescending—it was impossible to know his true intention.
However, judging by Choi Taeri’s actions so far, it didn’t seem like a lie.
“Me, with me? Why?”
“I’ve been watching everything. Which guy among the 80 would be useful. To work with me, you need guts and good skills, but above all, you have to be desperate.”
“…”
“You practiced for six years, went home, and barely managed to join here, right?”
It was true, but it was a considerably pride-damaging question.
Choi Taeri had as many individual YouTube subscribers and SNS followers as debuted groups. With overseas fans as well, he could become a world star once he debuted.
But his dominance was a double-edged sword for the members who would debut with him. They could gain recognition by riding on his popularity, but they could also end up as mere supporting characters without ever seeing the light.
If the balance wasn’t right, even a group with Choi Taeri would quickly lose steam, so it was understandable that the company would carefully consider his debut.
That said, Choi Taeri probably wouldn’t want to debut solo either.
Among the rookies coming out these days, there were almost no male idols who debuted solo without belonging to a group.
“So, who else have you found besides me?”
“Not yet. They all look like neighborhood punks, so I don’t feel like working with them.”
Choi Taeri said while leaning his back against the plush sofa.
Well, Juha felt the same way. There were a few used trainees who had joined after debuting once, but most trainees hadn’t received camera massage yet, so no matter how much they dressed up, they couldn’t hide their tackiness.
Having gone almost to debut, Lee Juha not only had sophisticated looks but also flawless skills to back them up, so it was natural for Choi Taeri to covet him.
After organizing his thoughts, Juha opened his mouth.
“Try harder. To make me want to debut with you.”
At Lee Juha’s words, Choi Taeri let out an incredulous laugh.
“Did you just tell me to try harder?”
“Then should I try to impress you?”
Lee Juha was confident.
That Choi Taeri needed Lee Juha too.
Though they were the same age, this program clearly had rankings of higher and lower. However, it was still just the beginning stage to bring that up.
Since there was no hierarchy in relationships based on necessity, Juha didn’t want to be at a disadvantage to Choi Taeri from their first meeting.
“Your personality isn’t bad.”
Choi Taeri chuckled and extended his hand while sitting on the sofa.
“It’s not good either.”
Lee Juha’s answer made Choi Taeri’s eyes sparkle.
They began preparing for the showcase according to the rankings from the first audition.
The practice groups were divided into 8 teams of 10 people each according to ranking, and each team was given a small practice room.
Lee Juha was 24th place, so Team 3, while Choi Taeri was 1st place, Team 1, so they used different practice rooms.
Juha’s teammates were Yeom Sangyeop, Oh Minsung, Seo Eunwon, Park Changhwan, and others—mostly 1-2 year trainees except for Juha. With ten similar-aged guys gathered together, it was noisy. Juha awkwardly joined their conversations.
While the kids were chattering, suddenly the TV at the front turned on with a beep.
“Whoa, that scared me!”
“What is it?”
Though they had predicted something would come from the TV, the kids showed exaggerated reactions as if surprised. Juha also flinched and stepped back.
The screen displayed the logo of ‘My Job is Idol’ in a flashy manner.
“Ooh! Something’s about to come on!”
Soon dance master Niki appeared on screen. When Niki stood in the center of the camera, music with a strong beat began playing. Niki danced skillfully to the music.
“Is this our showcase song?”
While the kids murmured again, Juha focused on the screen.
[Though we’re sitting down collapsed right now, You know we’ll get back up again Though today we’re only dreaming Tomorrow we’ll soar up powerfully Look at me, look at me, Look at me Feel it, feel it, Feel me The moment you took my hand I’ll fly toward you Only you can make me fly My job is idol My job is idol]
The song’s melody and lyrics were very simple, but the dance was extremely difficult.
Not all 80 trainees gathered here were good at dancing. Some had entered based on vocal skills, or just looks and charm.
But even to Lee Juha, who had been a trainee for six years, this wasn’t ordinary difficulty.
“Damn, incredible. I’m terrible at dancing.”
Park Changhwan gasped after watching the video.
The other participants’ reactions were the same. Seo Eunwon, the youngest participant at 15, was trembling alone, overwhelmed by his hyungs’ energy.
Then Niki, who had been on screen, burst through the practice room door.
“Wow! It’s Master Niki.”
“Huk!”
Everyone looked moved as if Niki were Nicki Minaj herself. Juha was also surprised. Not because Niki had appeared, but because the person who had been on TV just moments before suddenly appeared before his eyes.
“The video you just saw is the song and choreography you’ll perform at the showcase. Team 3, today you’ll learn this choreography with me. Those who don’t master it will stay behind to study until they finish.”
Since everyone equally disliked staying behind to study, the grumbling trainees lit fire in their eyes and straightened their postures.
“Now, left foot 11 o’clock direction two three, arms higher. Changhwan, you’re being sloppy! Seo Eunwon! Keep the beat properly!”
Niki taught the trainees while shouting. He didn’t let even a fingertip rest. Everyone put in tremendous effort as if preparing for a military parade in a dictatorship.
Even in the midst of this, fortunately Lee Juha wasn’t heavily criticized. Since his fundamentals were solid, he was quick to learn dances.
Niki passed by Lee Juha’s side and looked at him suspiciously.
“You’re good.”
Niki whispered quietly so only Juha could hear and patted his shoulder.
“Thank you.”
Though he also spoke quietly, inwardly he thought it was natural. He had to be different from those 1-2 year trainee scrubs. If after six years of practice he was at the same level as them, all his efforts until now would just be a waste of time.
Some might ask if that was such a big deal, but enduring that time was something to be proud of.
It took five hours just to learn all the dance. After five hours, even the kids who had been struggling somewhat matched the movements. For Juha, it was leisurely time even after memorizing all the choreography.
Official filming ended at 7 PM in the evening, and the trainees were given dinner and free time. The kids, exhausted from hunger, ran to the dining hall in groups of three to five. Everyone was excited about free time, playing around and unnecessarily passing back and forth in front of cameras.
When Lee Juha entered the dining hall with his teammates, he saw Choi Taeri in the distance.
He was surrounded by people like a quarterback male protagonist in a teenage drama. Having seen various trainees and active idols, there was no one who suited that position like Choi Taeri.
A person born to be revered. He was someone for whom popularity and attention were natural.
It was impossible to imagine him learning choreography while being scolded by masters like the others.
Unless he was a character who could copy everything after seeing it once and memorize choreography after seeing it twice.
‘He probably did well.’
As various thoughts passed through his mind, he even wondered if Choi Taeri would be evaluated by the masters. Frankly speaking, he had more YouTube subscribers than all the masters here. His dance and singing were already guaranteed to be popular, so it wouldn’t be strange if the masters immediately proposed collaborations to him.
Nevertheless, Choi Taeri quite silently went along with this program.
“You know how it is with survivals. They scout people from the program for publicity. Choi Taeri is probably like that too.”
As Juha was watching Choi Taeri, teammate Yeom Sangyeop whispered beside him. The dining hall had cameras scattered sparsely, so they could talk relatively freely.
“Are there many kids like that?”
Juha asked.
“I don’t know for sure, but there are probably two or three. Yoo Youngin was originally an SNS influencer, and Na Junho was a dancer who had fan clubs following him around in Busan.”
Information about trainees poured from Yeom Sangyeop’s mouth. Sangyeop, a trainee from a fairly large company, had unusually entered as a trainee after being discharged from the military. Though he should be impatient, he seemed more interested in industry gossip than practice.
While everyone was desperately trying to promote their faces, what was I doing?
Looking at each person Sangyeop pointed out, Lee Juha was newly reminded of his own situation.
Fans of major agencies start following agency trainees from the beginning. Since they debut with already formed fanbases, they can immediately ride the rushing waves.
Even if not from major agencies, trainees who were famous on YouTube, SNS, or in the underground scene also have fanbases.
But Lee Juha had really foolishly only practiced as a trainee. Rationalizing that social media was something only kids with time to spare did.
Thanks to that, he gained skills, but ended up remaining as trainee #1 with no recognition at all.
The sound of clattering meal trays quieted down as everyone put down their utensils. The food was better than expected, so Juha also ate all the rice on his tray without leaving any.
The teammates who ate together started chatting again after filling their stomachs.
While casually responding to them and putting down his spoon, Lee Juha unconsciously looked for Choi Taeri again. Rolling his eyes distractedly, he found Choi Taeri surrounded by kids from the same team, leaving the dining hall.
Seeing that made Juha feel like he had an obligation to follow.
Should he call it a mid-term check as roommates?
“Everyone rest well. We need to rest well to practice again tomorrow.”
While the kids were chattering, Juha first picked up his tray and stood up.
“They’re keeping the main practice room open. Kids from our room are going to practice, so you come too.”
“Hey, would Juha want to be in a sweaty practice room? Well, if I had a penthouse as my dorm, I’d want to stay in my room too. It’s better to practice in the room.”
At the half-joking, half-serious words thrown by his teammates, Juha hesitated for a moment. Though he wanted to rest right away, his heart was anxious. They would definitely film scenes of practicing late into the night, so it seemed better to appear on screen even a little.
Since he didn’t have unique charm like other kids, he needed to appeal with diligence at least.
Then someone tugged at his clothes.
“H-hyung, could you teach me a bit?”
It was 15-year-old Seo Eunwon.
Looking at those innocent eyes, Juha was reminded of himself at that age. While some people who were wary of the middle schooler who knew nothing would subtly pick on Juha, he had been able to endure his young trainee days because of kind hyungs who found him cute and taught him.
“I’ll change clothes and come back, so let’s do it together. I need to practice too.”
At his answer, Seo Eunwon’s face brightened. It vaguely occurred to him that inexperienced trainees helping each other was the only way to endure this harsh jungle.
Juha said goodbye and returned to his room.
“He’s not here…”
Choi Taeri, who had left the dining hall earlier with the kids, wasn’t in the room. Well, it was still 8 o’clock, too early to rest.
Juha changed his sweat-soaked clothes and went down to the practice room.
The lights in the small practice rooms assigned to each team were all turned off, and most trainees had gathered in the public practice room where the stage was set up. Though it was spacious enough to fit all 80 people and more, it was already full of the smell of sweat.
Juha first looked for Choi Taeri in that forest.
As expected, he was surrounded by people.
The trainees seemed busy trying to talk to him. The reason was obvious. Being nearby meant more camera exposure even once.
His teammates seemed to be on guard against any riffraff approaching.
It wasn’t strange for Lee Juha to blatantly stare at Choi Taeri. All the trainees gathered here would have had the experience of stopping their movements at least once to stare at him intently.
It was a blessing for a mere 20-year-old to have such strong attraction that made people’s gazes linger.
Especially in this world, it wielded power like a superpower. Thinking of the countless fans who would be drawn to Choi Taeri like magnets, one by one, Juha suddenly found himself smiling.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
