15
Step Fifteen
:: Diligent Center ::
That night, many trainees couldn’t sleep.
Their minds were filled with thoughts about their popularity after their fan clubs watched the second episode.
The next morning, everyone’s eyes turned into panda eyes due to insufficient rest.
“Today, we’ll exercise with the new groups we’ve just drawn,” Jung Wangseong urged, gathering the trainees who were walking out of the apartment at a snail’s pace.
“Let’s get moving a bit faster.”
This morning, the judges all came together.
They were clearly paired up on opposite sides to avoid confusion when their teams gathered.
“Hurry up, kids.
We want to finish quickly and go to bed, right?” Kim Sujin whispered quietly.
“Ah, I’m ready to sleep standing up,” the dance instructor raised his hand to stifle a yawn.
If it weren’t for the fact that this show paid by the hour, he wouldn’t have accepted the job…
wasting energy like this would kill him.
Dancing non-stop in the studio for three hours was still not as tiring.
“Good morning, seniors,” Jacan led his group to greet the team leaders for the second mission.
“Good morning.
Today, we will start dividing teams for the three types of shows.
Right now, we have a total of 49 people.
We’ll divide them into 9 people in 3 teams, 8 people in 1 team, and 7 people in 2 teams.”
“Each team will have a center, four of which have been selected by us, and the other two will be chosen by luck.”
Buzz buzz buzz
The trainees in Kim Jung’s team looked at each other, each with a spark of hope…
hoping to stand out in that bright spotlight.
“Senior Park In-sa must have told you that we will choose the center based on your performance in the first mission,” Kim Sujin explained the evaluation criteria, but as she looked up, she saw the boys’ faces looked puzzled.
“Oh, Senior Park didn’t tell you?”
“Senior Park only said how the centers would be chosen, but didn’t say that the previous mission would be used for the assessment,” Jacan replied.
“Oh, that’s alright, it’s no different to know now.
The criteria for selecting centers this round was based on your actions in the past rounds.
The first two centers are the talented centers, Kim Jiseong and Im Kureum.
Congratulations.”
“Eh!” The boys all turned to look at the big brother of the show with wide eyes, never imagining that the other side would lose the center position.
Even the current centers who were chosen were furrowing their brows.
“Next up, diligent centers.
Congratulations, Kang Manja and Jacan.”
“Oh…” Everyone let out a long sigh of relief.
“…,” Jung Wangseong.
These guys!
This was a competition, instead of being disappointed about not being chosen as the center, they’re relieved that their competitors got chosen as centers.
Their brains had to be completely reversed!
“Do you know why it’s called ‘diligent center’?” Kim Sujin asked.
“Because they’re diligent,” one trainee from the class replied, raising their hand.
“Surely, but to which point??” The woman smiled, lowering her gaze to the script in her hand, reminiscent of her own struggles in the past when she was still struggling at the bottom of the industry.
“Throughout the first 7 days of the mission, Kang Manja used the practice room during the day just like you guys.
That’s 3 hours in the morning, a 1-hour break at noon, and 5 hours in the afternoon.
Then he would rest, eat, and start practicing again until 3 in the morning.
In total, he spends 17 hours a day in the practice room.
That means in one week, he spends 119 hours practicing the theme song for the show.
As for Jacan, he spends less time, only 1 hour a day, totaling 112 hours.
Let’s count the time he spends teaching a class as a special case, because teaching others is a form of self-review.”
“Practicing until 3 AM!!
That’s insane!” A trainee who was upset earlier for not being chosen looked at both of them with a shocked expression.
They usually gave up and went to bed by midnight or one am.
Were they even human?!
“You’ve probably heard this sentence before, haven’t you?
‘Effort never hurts anyone.'” Jung Wangseong used a calm and sweeping gaze to look at all the trainees.
“The selection of diligent centers is a demonstration for you to see that…
this is the result of effort.”
…
No one dared to say anything.
Those who weren’t chosen sank into their own thoughts.
Kang Manja usually practices late at night.
Everyone in Class D is used to it.
Even Lee Sangah, who stayed up late practicing, couldn’t match his level.
Some nights, when Jacan left the practice room, he still saw Kang Manja hard at work.
He wasn’t close enough to tell him to rest, and besides, Kang Manja seemed to be fully absorbed in his practice, so Jacan didn’t dare disturb him.
If he got tired, he’d go to bed on his own.
Many trainees secretly looked at Jacan.
This guy was already talented to begin with.
Even without doing much, they believed he would still be immensely popular…
Despite that, he still tried harder than anyone else.
What about them?
What had they been doing?
Wasn’t this show the opportunity to showcase their training?!
The opportunity was right in front of them, so why can’t they seize anything at all?!
“Next up are the luck centers.
Alright, anyone who didn’t get chosen as a center, come draw from the box.
If you get a red ball, congratulations, you’re out.
Those who get to stay must draw a white ball,” Kim Sujin said with a playful wink.
The drawing begins, and each trainee had their own tricks to get some airtime, even if it was just a little bit.
This time, it was not about picking the team they wanted to be on but about getting a rare chance to hold a coveted position.
So…
let’s see whose lucky charm was the strongest!
“The luck centers go to Eiji and Lee Hajun!” The applause sounded a bit forced.
Everyone was hoping it would be them standing there.
Dang, even with some merits, it was still not enough, huh!
“Now that the centers are selected, let’s pick the team members.
Alright, centers, we have three shows for you to choose from.
Which show do you want to do: singing, dancing, or composing?” Kim Sujin handed over sealed envelopes, preventing them from seeing inside.” Of course, this round relied on luck again.” She waved the envelopes in front of them.
“Pick the envelope you like,” Jung Wangseong signaled.
The centers glanced at each other briefly before Kim Jiseong walked up to pick the first one.
Then it was Kang Manja, Jacan, and the other centers.
“Inside the envelope are the details of the show and the song that will be your task for the next 10 days starting from today.
If you encounter any problems, you can inform either of us at any time.
We’ll be monitoring your progress until the actual performance day.” During this period, all judges had to temporarily suspend any outside work and stay at the apartment to be available for consultations outside of filming hours, like during meal breaks or late-night self- practice sessions.
“Can I open it now?” Jacan lifted the envelope to chest level.
“Sure, go ahead.
Once you’re done, we’ll select the team members.”
[Song Composition Team (Cute Song) / 9 people]
“Oh, it looks like our sky-eyed boy is going to compose a cute song.
The fans probably love your aegyo (cute acts) so much that fate made you pick this one,” Kim Sujin, seeing the young man’s conflicted expression, teased and giggled.
She was curious to see how he would handle this dilemma.
Because boys his age all want to show their cool, handsome side to the fans.
Seeing the results of the program’s eldest brother, the remaining centers swallowed nervously, trembling with anticipation.
Some got what they wished for, while others sat dejectedly, staring blankly at the walls.
“Alright, centers, gather here.” Jung Wangseong called out.
“Stand in rows in front of the board, arms’ length apart.
Once you’re ready, raise the show task envelope to chest level.
Then close your eyes.
No peeking.” Everyone obediently followed instructions, closing their eyes with excitement.
“Now, when I call your name, choose the show or center you want to join.
The first person…”
As Jung Wangseong called out names, the sound of footsteps echoed as trainees moved to the center of their choices.
This brought intense excitement to the centers, praying that those joining their team could contribute effectively.
It took almost twenty minutes to successfully group the participants for the second mission show because some hesitated in their choices.
Some believed that being with talented individuals would make their show more eye-catching.
However, if the talented person drew too much attention, the remaining members would be no different from extras or background dancers.
They also had to consider the task each center had picked.
Therefore, the decision couldn’t be rushed and had to be carefully weighed for both positive and negative outcomes.
When Jacan finally opened his eyes, he saw his team consisting of five members from Class E, two from Class B, and one from Class C.
Unfortunately, most of the trainees he was closest to were in Class A, and they all ended up becoming centers chosen by other competing participants.
“Alright, now that you’ve seen your team members, right?
Tomorrow morning, I’ll let you gather first for half a day.
Choose your leader, main vocalist, rapper, and dancer.
Stickers will be provided.
In the afternoon, we’ll see how well you’ve prepared.
We’ll help each other figure out what needs adjusting or additional practice,” Jung Wangseong elaborated.
“Oh, and whoever gets the sticker will earn an extra 10 points each.
Make your decisions wisely,” both judges concluded before excusing themselves for a break.
It seemed like the other team had also finished dividing their teams for the show.
Kim Bomi and Lee Danbi went their separate ways.
Before the staff team informed them that another large practice room had been prepared for the other team, both teams were to be separated to prevent any knowledge of each other’s show preparations.
The trainees from Team Kim Lee walked out of the room in their respective groups.
They quickly formed their teams.
When it came to a battle-like competition, meetings had to be tightly controlled to avoid repeating shows from other teams and embarrassing themselves.
“I’ve to go now, Jay hyung.
See you at dinner,” Wang Qi smiled.
In his hand was a task sign indicating he had been chosen as a center.
If he guessed right, he must be a talented center.
Jacan waved his hand back before turning to look at the members of his team who were looking at him with innocent eyes.
“…” Why did it feel like he was seeing these kids as ducklings?
He had to be hallucinating.
“Um, shall we introduce ourselves first?
It would help us get to know each other better.
I’m Jacan Miller.
Nice to meet you,” the eldest suggested after finding a suitable spot in the room to serve as the secret meeting corner for the songwriting…Mmm cute songwriting group of Kim Jung’s team.
“Hello, big bro.
We’re Kim Doyun, Kim Siwoo, Kim Minjun, Kim Hajun, Kim Sojun, Kim Juwon, Hwasung, and the last one is Kim Yuseong.
You can just call yourself ‘hyung’ since you’re older than all of us.”
“Oh, all of you have the Kim surname?” Jacan lowered his gaze to the stickers with each person’s name on their shirts.
“Really, all Kim surname.” Even though Kim was a common surname in the country, having all the Kims in the same group was quite….
“That’s right, such a coincidence,” Hajun laughed until his cheeks hurt after reading the name tags.
Doyun, Siwoo, Minjun, Hajun, and Sojun were all in the same Class E.
When they divided into teams, they didn’t expect to end up all together.
What’s more, when it came to choosing the task, they all ended up choosing to be with Jacan as well.
And what made it more amusing was that the remaining members also happened to have the Kim surname!
“I won’t talk about the 10-point stickers just yet.
The first thing we need to do is to come up with a theme for the song we’re going to compose.”
“A theme?”
“Yes, a theme.
Although the task says to make a cute song, what kind of cute song?
A cute song about secret love, romantic love, inspirational, or friendship.
There are many themes, right?” Jacan explained the first task they had to do.
“If it’s a cute song, it should be about romantic love, giving a feel of boyfriend,” Hajun commented.
“Since most of the audience are females, this type might be more suitable.”
“A friendship theme isn’t bad either,” Minjun remarked.
“I envy those who got the cool song theme.
I also want to wear a tank top and show off the six-pack I’ve been sculpting just for this show, especially for a bit,”
“Cool song, huh?” Jacan furrowed his brows.
“How can a cute song be cool?
Don’t daydream,” Siwoo wanted to flick his friend’s forehead.
It was good that the centers had to close their eyes when members were choosing teams.
Otherwise, Jacan would have been sad to see high-class trainees avoiding walking towards this kind-hearted older brother.
“It’s not impossible.
A cute song can be cool too.
I’ll show you later,” the confident young man narrowed his eyes, smiling mischievously.
“Can a cute song be cool?” Kim Yuseong picked up his notebook to jot down what needed to be done.
Typically, cute songs tend to be the trending style of newly debuted idols, showcasing freshness and youthfulness.
However, if it was from a senior with a bit more experience in the industry, it could turn out cool.
Could these boys, who resembled newly blossomed teenage boys, truly pull off coolness?
“Of course,” Jacan nodded confidently.
“Since our group is for song composition, it’s our prerogative to decide what kind of cute song we’ll create.
As long as we don’t stray too far from the theme given by the show, it’s fine.
Let me ask, does anyone have experience in composing songs?
Or perhaps, any unpublished works you’ve done for fun?”
“Um, I’ve composed an underground stage show song before,” Doyun raised his hand shyly.
“Oh, let me see that later.
And what about others?
It’s okay if you haven’t, just say so.
Or if you’ve composed just for fun, that counts too,” the young man said, his tone easing the pressure from the song theme for the group members.
As a result, among those who had composed songs before, only Doyun remained, while the rest had composed very few or incomplete songs.
“What do you think the theme song of our show should be like?” the group’s center asked.
“Inspirational,” Yuseong raised his hand to answer.
“And what about the melody?”
“Cheerful and lively,” Hwasung replied before falling silent as he pondered further.
“So, would it be considered a cute song?” Jacan grinned widely as he noticed the Kim family gang widening their eyes and dropping their jaws, as if just realizing something important.
“Whether it’s the lyrics or the melody, even if we infuse it with rap verses until it catches fire, it can still be a cute song.
Our task right now is to find a topic we want to address…
Let’s vote on what kind of song we want to create,” Jacan took out a blank paper and began writing down song themes he remembered, one by one.
Love / Sadness / Friendship / Inspirational / Life, etc.
Once the writing was done, the paper circulated to the nearest person, making its way around in less than five minutes.
The same sheet of paper ended up back in Jacan’s hands again.
“We’ve got 4 votes for inspirational songs, 2 for love, and 2 for friendship.
The majority vote is for inspirational songs,” he swept his gaze over each person.
“So, it’s settled.
Does anyone want to object?”
“…,” all 8 trainees exchanged glances, accepting the voting outcome.
“Okay, if it’s about inspirational songs, I have one idea.
I don’t know if everyone agrees, but I want us to compose a song based on our own stories…
What do you think?”
“Our stories?”
…A song that was ours
…A song that told our stories
“Yes, it’s not often to get the chance to compose a song.
Don’t you want to include your own stories as memories?”
“Yes!” all eight Kims responded simultaneously.
“Are you sure?
If so, feel free to suggest anything.
Don’t worry about my seniority or being the center.
We’re a team.
Speak your mind anytime.”
“I think composing a song that’s about ourselves is a great idea,” Kim Yuseong gave a thumbs up.
“I agree,” echoed all.
“So, let’s get started,” Jacan distributed papers and pencils provided by the production team.
“No pressure, just think about your own stories, that’s enough.
Write a brief summary, about 10 lines.
I’ll teach you how to refine these stories into a song.”
“Teach us?”
“Yes, teach you.
Do you think I’ll compose all the songs alone?” Jacan raised an eyebrow, before leaning forward when he noticed some of the kids looking perplexed, as if they wanted to explain that they didn’t mean it that way, but didn’t know what to say.
Pop
The mixed-race young man playfully flicked the forehead of the person closest to him.
“Get ready, because in 10 days from now, you’ll meet hell,” he grinned mischievously.
“I’ll make sure you guys remember…
just how fun songwriting can be,” he returned to his grin, his blue eyes sparkling like water under the sun.
All eight ducklings looked stunned, never expecting to see their seniors tease them as if they were a group of little kids.
No…
more like a cute little pet gang.
“…”
“Alright,” the oldest among them clapped his hands to regain attention.
“Start writing your own stories.
Try to finish before lunchtime.
In the afternoon, we’ll work on the lyrics together.
Then, we’ll ask the seniors on the melody,” even though he could do it all himself, he decided to make the most of the top-tier mentors provided by the show.
Otherwise, they might end up with too much free time.
The young man grabbed his own pencil and paper, starting to write his shortened story first.
The Kim family ducklings glanced at each other for a moment before lowering their heads and beginning to write as well.
While Jacan’s group made their first steps, the other groups continued to argue about the 10-point stickers that the seniors had left at the end.
After all, anyone would want those extra points.
“I’m older, so I should be the leader,” one trainee used a loud voice to assert dominance over his team, disregarding the center, Lee Hajun, who was chosen by lot.
Perhaps it was because Hajun was just a Class C trainee, so there wasn’t much attention given to him.
It was just luck, not talent at all!
“Fine, you can be the leader,” Lee Hajun accepted easily, handing the leader sticker to the other side.
“Alright, now that you’re the leader, the remaining positions that haven’t been filled yet, how should we decide?” The boy looked at the situation, blinking, as if he didn’t realize that his teammate was taking advantage of him.
“I’m good at rapping.
I’ll be the main rapper,” another trainee grabbed the sticker before it was snatched away from his hand.
“I’m good at rapping too,” another retorted.
“In that case, why don’t you guys compete by rapping a verse?” Lee Hajun interjected before the argument could escalate further.
“Alright, if you’re so good, let’s compete,” the other side accepted, and soon there was a freestyle rap battle happening in the nearby group.
After ten minutes, the winner was decided—the trainee who had snatched the sticker.
It created dissatisfaction for the first trainee but there wasn’t much he could do about it.
Well, there was something he could do: try to suppress his dissatisfaction and not let it show on camera, pretending to accept the decision like a gentleman.
“The nearby group seems lively,” Kim Doyun glanced surreptitiously at the group behind him.
He felt extremely lucky that he didn’t choose to be in that group, having to constantly navigate through their hidden claws.
“Same name, huh?
Good thing the surname is different.
But seriously…
since we have the same name, why aren’t I a center too?
” Kim Hajun joked with a chuckle.
The name Hajun was a popular name given by parents to their children back when he was born, indicating that the other side must be of a similar age.
“…” Jacan sneakily glanced at the neighboring group just as the center of that group turned to meet his gaze coincidentally.
The other side nodded to greet him once.
Before he could return the greeting, the other had to divert his attention back to the members who were starting to bicker over the stickers again.
This kid…wasn’t bad at all.
Considering Jacan had assigned them tasks correctly, it took less than two hours from starting to write their own stories to finish the compositions smoothly.
Now Jacan was holding everyone’s papers in his hands, reading them one by one earnestly.
Meanwhile, the ducklings seemed to have a hallucinated vision of their big brother transformed into a teacher checking homework bewilderedly.
“Before we start turning these compositions into a song, I want to know everyone’s strengths.
It seems like we need to choose who gets the stickers, just like the others have,” the ducklings who were half sitting and half lying down, feeling relaxed after submitting their homework—sorry, their life stories—for their big brother to consider, immediately sat up straight, fully attentive.
“I’ll pick up the stickers.
If anyone wants one, raise your hand.
If more than one person raises their hand, we’ll decide by majority vote,” the boy with blue eyes began sticking the C sticker on the left side of the chest as an example for the younger ones to see.
The first one Jacan picked up was the V sticker, which stood for Vocal, assuming there were likely many who were talented in this area.
As expected, three trainees from Class C, Class D, and Class E raised their hands simultaneously.
“Yusung, Juwon, Sojun, please stand up.
We’ll let everyone in the group vote at once,” Jacan chose a popular current song for them to sing and then asked the others to vote.
The same method was used for the other two stickers.
However, for the last remaining sticker, no one raised their hand.
“Doesn’t anyone want to be the leader?”
“…” looking at Jacan with bright eyes.
“Whoever wants to be the leader, raise your hand.”
“…” Still looking at him, blinking innocently.
“Do you want me to be the leader?” The older brother guessed from their gestures.
“…” Nods of heads in unanimous unison.
Jacan glanced down at the L sticker in his hand.
His light-colored eyebrows, matching his hair, furrowed slightly, before he reluctantly nodded.
How could he have forgotten that seniority was highly respected here?
These youngsters probably saw him as the oldest one here.
“What if I told you that you don’t have to go by age?” The young man smiled wryly.
“Well, even if we don’t consider age, we still think you’re the most suitable for the role,” Kim Juwon confirmed, standing firm.
Even if age was taken out of the equation, the other side still had more leadership qualities than all of them combined.
“If that’s what you all think, then I’ll try my best to fulfill the role,” Jacan said, looking at the L sticker in his hand.
He then peeled off the backing paper and chose to stick it on top of the C sticker that was already there.
The members who received stickers in Jacan’s group were as follows:
L Leader / C Center: Jacan Miller
V Vocal: Kim Juwon
R Rap: Kim Yuseong
D Dance: Kim Minjun
“Let’s go have lunch together.
Later in the afternoon, we have to report our progress to the seniors,” Jacan glanced at the digital clock by the entrance door.
It was almost break time, and he didn’t want the members to overwork themselves and neglect their health.
“Yes, sir,” all eight ducklings saluted and followed their big brother in an orderly manner, pretending to march like disciplined soldiers.
Little did they know, when this scene aired, the show had animated all eight duck characters following their mother, which wouldn’t be shown until a week after the actual performance on stage.
During lunchtime today, Jacan’s group was buzzing with their own team.
With tight rehearsal schedules, every second was valuable.
They couldn’t afford to waste a single moment.
Even when they arrived at the lively cafeteria, Jacan’s brow remained furrowed, as if there were lingering thoughts occupying his mind.
“Brother, even though we write a cute song, we still need dance moves.
Do you think we can come up with it on our own?”
“We should ask Senior Jung Wangseong to help with that.
If the other side can help us design the dance moves, it would be fantastic.”
“That’s true!
We’re in Senior Jung Wangseong’s team, the main dance king.
That’s a relief,” Hwasung said, picking up a piece of kimchi to eat, feeling relieved that the problem that had been bothering them was quickly resolved.
“Can we really compose, arrange, practice singing, and practice dancing all by ourselves?” Juwon pursed his lips, staring at the food in front of him with empty eyes.
In reality, he wanted to be in the singing group, but because he was the last one announced by the seniors, all the teams were already full.
He could only reluctantly join the songwriting team, even though it wasn’t his forte.
“To be honest, I don’t want to pressure you all too much.
Tonight, I’ll teach you how to turn the compositions into song lyrics.
As for Yuseong, who’s in charge of rapping, you can compose your own lyrics freely.
There’s no need to rush.
Do what you think will turn out best.
If it’s not finished, consider it homework.
Tomorrow, we’ll review our progress again.” Jacan took out a notebook and wrote down the numbers 1 to 10, representing the number of days assigned by the program.
Then he started listing what needed to be done each day, only going as far as day 3.
“Because I’m not sure if we can follow what’s written here, I’ll just list three days in advance.
If we finish faster or slower than planned, we can adjust our plans accordingly.” The young man passed the notebook around for everyone to read.
“…”
“Trust me, everyone.
We’ll definitely get to perform a complete song on stage for sure.
But before that day comes, let’s hurry up and eat, then go prepare our progress report for the seniors.” Jacan grabbed a plate of pickled vegetables and added it to everyone’s plate as a way to speed up their eating.
“Quack!
I mean, yes, sir!” Kim Doyun accidentally made a duck noise before quickly switching back to human language.
But…
why did he have to make a duck sound?