#16. Between Friends (2)
The year had changed.
Preparations for ‘Arcus’ debut were proceeding smoothly. It was palpable that Midnight Entertainment, a major established agency, was putting everything on the line for this.
A few days ago, a confirmation article came out that I would be joining as the fifth and final member of the group.
Behind-the-scenes work for a cleaner resolution wasn’t left out either. The story was about the merger and acquisition of UJ Entertainment, which had been struggling with financial difficulties, and recommending the talents who had nowhere to go to appropriate places. By casting me in a major project, they had thoroughly secured the justification of promoting harmony and coexistence in the industry.
We got up at dawn and traveled between Cheongdam-dong and Nonhyeon-dong, receiving management and styling services and continuing various shoots. Profile shoots, jacket shoots, music video coordination tests, studio meetings and camera tests… It was a schedule where you had to be photographed about ten thousand times wearing all kinds of clothes, making all kinds of expressions, and from all kinds of angles before being released.
That didn’t mean the amount of classes for debut decreased. Basic physical training, camera gaze handling training, vocal training, choreography movement confirmation, joint practice with backup dancers.
It was a murderous schedule where twenty-four hours a day were ridiculously insufficient, packed densely with schedules that weren’t easy to digest, naturally leaving us breathless.
‘Is this idol debut or extreme endurance training?’
Fortunately, unlike me who was experiencing this for the first time, there were quite a few people around who had been through such situations.
‘Being conscious of the camera is good, Seowoo hyung. We’re not actors, after all. But you need to have a purpose. It’s not about being shown, but showing. Don’t know what I mean? Um, director-nim. Could you take just one two-shot of me and hyung?’
Hapil taught me how to become shameless in front of cameras. Given the nature of the job where gazes inevitably follow you everywhere, he said you had to control what image you show and what impression you leave.
‘If you try to memorize everything at once, it’s difficult. Find the key points. Remember and focus on what the producer intended and what the viewers expect. In English, it’s called “focus on.” Yes, like that. Then you save time and effort too.’
Lee Seon, who had often done covers of existing songs, was good at pointing out the necessary aspects for memorizing choreography and lyrics. Following his advice, the parts where I kept getting confused and making mistakes were definitely corrected.
‘Ah. I’m sorry, teacher. This brand doesn’t seem to suit Seowoo, so could you please change it to a different product? We used this company’s foundation for the profile shoot last time, but after cleansing at the dorm, his cheeks got a bit red.’
Haesol’s reliability was beyond compare. I heard he became the leader by unanimous decision of the planning team, and I could see why. From dorm life to activities, he skillfully coordinated the detailed parts, making it feel like we had one more manager.
‘Hyeonjun hyung gave you the expected interview questions, right? Let’s look at them together. I’ll revise them a bit based on the answers I gave when I was interviewed before… Yoon Seowoo, are you tired? I’ll be checking this, so close your eyes for a bit. Hyung, can you get the eye mask from the glove box? I’ll let Seowoo sleep.’
Na Jihan was still in the closest place to me. He even took care of me more delicately as I experienced more emotional ups and downs due to the winter season. Perhaps because he hoped I wouldn’t give up on being an idol, and on being by his side.
‘Still, the number of wreaths in front of our company building has decreased a lot lately, right?’
‘…Hapil, do you count them one by one?’
‘I don’t particularly pay attention and count them. Maybe it’s because I see them so much on the way to and from work? Don’t you notice it’s gotten sparse?’
‘Honestly, they probably know it’s a meaningless act. It’s not like we won’t debut like this because of that, and it wasn’t a groundless controversy either.’
‘Guys, can you come down to the first floor living room for a moment? The exact schedule came out.’
Debut single in February, first mini-album in June. And the Jeju Island location shoot for the debut song was scheduled for next week in January.
“What’s this?”
“A reality documentary proposal.”
“Real… what?”
When Haesol shrugged his shoulders, Hyeonjun, who was standing behind him, explained instead.
“It’s a company recommendation. They’re making a documentary about you guys. The goal is to release it a week after the digital single comes out, during Valentine’s season.”
“Not a variety show?”
Hapil asked as if it was unexpected.
“What’s the purpose of releasing it?”
“Fan service, and to show the strong relationships between members.”
“Ah, right. That sounds good. So basically, we just need to show natural and human sides?”
“That’s right. It would be even better if you show close relationships.”
“Close relationships…”
At those words, I reflexively looked back at Na Jihan. Our eyes met immediately, as if he had been watching me the whole time.
His well-shaped lips silently curved upward. The corners of his mouth slightly lengthened, then opened a bit enough to show his reddish tongue, then pressed his upper and lower lips together and apart in succession.
Roleplay.
It was time to fulfill my promise with him.
* * *
When did I say we should pretend to be more than strangers?
‘Isn’t this worse than strangers?’
My complaints about being mercilessly pushed ended there. Now that I knew, complaints were a luxury you could only have when you had the energy for them.
A stern voice fell over my head, which had collapsed like jelly left in sweltering heat for about three hours.
“I’m counting to ten. Get up.”
I pretended not to hear and squeezed my eyes shut, but the owner of the voice didn’t let it slide.
“You know this isn’t something we can just get through halfheartedly right now.”
Haesol, who couldn’t bear to watch, defended me.
“Jihan. It’s been three hours now… At this rate, Seowoo will collapse from exhaustion.”
“He won’t, not from this much. Yoon Seowoo. You still have stamina left, right?”
Na Jihan had been watching me his entire life. That meant he had seen me longer than even my biological parents and knew me that much better. To an absolutely uncanny degree.
Na Jihan, who had left what was a notification disguised as a question, commanded again.
“The first verse is fine though. Start again from after the chorus.”
I know. When Na Jihan, who’s anxious to take care of even one more thing for me, uses this tone, it means he won’t give in even if the sky splits in two.
I let out a deep sigh and got up. My knees were shaking and I felt dizzy, but as Na Jihan said, I still had energy left. That was exactly the problem.
“I’m fine.”
I tried to smile as brightly as possible, but it must have looked weak to Haesol’s eyes. He lowered the ends of his eyebrows and gave a pitying smile.
“Would you like to go in first? I’ll finish this and go with Jihan in his car.”
“Is that okay? Let’s eat dinner together at the dorm.”
“…”
“That’s fine, right, Jihan?”
Na Jihan also conceded this much.
“We’ll return without being late.”
“Good.”
After Haesol left the practice room, the forced march began again. Na Jihan leaned against the mirror attached to the front of the practice room with his arms crossed, examining me with a meticulous gaze that felt almost persistent.
“Again. You just came in half a beat late.”
The song returned to the chorus again.
“You moved too far from the cross in the center. That’s why you’re late getting into position for the next group dance. Again.”
The song stopped abruptly.
“Your wrist angle and side profile need to be clearly visible. The camera isn’t only in front. It won’t work if fans turn on your fancam but can’t even make eye contact with you.”
“…I think I did it properly.”
“With voguing, if the angle is even slightly off, it becomes very unnatural. You can’t hesitate in the middle. It doesn’t start when you move your arms, it starts from when you stood up from your position.”
The words that I couldn’t control my limbs that perfectly rose to the tip of my throat, but Na Jihan wasn’t someone who would let it slide just because of that.
The trainers’ concerns about worrying over the dance difficulty were accurate. Unlike UJ, which wanted to debut with a fresh and light easy-listening song emphasizing our young age, Midnight had pushed through with a somewhat conceptual challenge from the start.
As a result, my understanding of choreography lagged behind other members and progress differences began to emerge, and Na Jihan intended to pull me up before that gap widened further.
In the end, this was for me. Na Jihan was also handling the busy schedule the same way, so he could have just rested and left me behind whether I fell behind or not.
“Get up, Yoon Seowoo.”
You’re always so serious about me like this.
That’s why I couldn’t not get up.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
