6 PM, the Solar Entertainment basement practice room.
Kim Ji-su stepped inside and clapped her hands at the door to draw everyone's attention.
"Guys, gather round for a sec!"
At the same moment, four pairs of eyes shot our way all at once.
"This is Seol-han, who'll be practicing with you from now on. He's twenty-one, and he's joining the debut team straight away, so it'll be awkward for him. Look after him well, got it?"
"Yes!"
The four handsome men answered in unison. Having confirmed the energetic response, Kim Ji-su beamed and began a brief explanation.
"From the left over there, that's Cha Min-seong, Namgung Hyun, Ha Hyun, and Seo Seo-jun! Min-seong is the same age as you, and the others are all younger! Counting you, Seol-han, these five are going to debut, so you have to get along, okay?"
"Yes, understood."
Going by my original age, even Cha Min-seong was a much younger kid, though.
All four gathered here matched the PLUTO members I remembered.
Other than Baek Ji-hyuk leaving the company, nothing else seemed to have changed.
"We'll sign the trainee contract tomorrow, and we'll talk about the dorm then too, so today you just need to say a quick hello and go. Call me when you come out! I'll drive you home!"
Having finished her explanation, Kim Ji-su said 'Hwaiting!' quietly enough that only I could hear, then left the practice room.
After Kim Ji-su's exit, a brief silence hung over the practice room, and the first to break it was Namgung Hyun.
"This is the guy~ The handsome hyungnim I said I saw in the lobby earlier!"
"This is the person Hyun-hyung was talking about?"
Seo Seo-jun, who seemed briefly startled by Namgung Hyun's words, began glaring at me for all he was worth.
Looks like he's got complaints written all over his face.
Seo Seo-jun, who looked like a punk who'd enjoyed a fight or two in his younger days, was, believe it or not, one of the two great vocal pillars of PLUTO.
His performance was top-notch too, but since that was true of every PLUTO member, let's not count it as anything special about him.
And though he was often misunderstood because of his sharp looks, I knew that guy was the youngest member of this group.
Five years apart from Baek Ji-hyuk, the eldest and leader, wasn't it?
Maybe that's why I'd seen videos of the PLUTO members often treating him like a cute baby. I remembered Namgung Hyun being especially like that.
Love is great. No matter how I looked at it, his face seemed to suit 'bad' better than 'baby.'
Anyway, the guy kept glaring as if he was about to pick a fight, so I obliged and stared right back at him, when out of nowhere Seo Seo-jun bent at a right angle at the waist and apologized.
"Heok! I'm sorry! Hyun-hyung said I shouldn't just stare at people......! Uh, you look so much like someone I know......!"
"Our Seo-jun does look a bit fierce, but he's a good kid! He was abso~lutely not trying to pick a fight, so please see him as cute!"
Grabbing the shoulder of Seo Seo-jun, who kept bowing his head and breaking into a cold sweat, Namgung Hyun joined in the explanation.
Covering for him because they're both vocalists? Nice loyalty.
Namgung Hyun was the other of PLUTO's two great vocal pillars and was also counted as the group's visual member—a talent carrying on the so-called authentic 'K-pop visual main vocalist' lineage.
Even within PLUTO, which always got recognition for its visuals if nothing else, his looks were unrivaled, enough that you could understand why he was the one named the visual member.
It doesn't look like there's much difference between him with makeup and him now.
I could see why humiliating photos of Namgung Hyun and the like had never circulated in the online communities.
The answer was very simple. He was just born good-looking, from the base up.
"Guys."
At the sudden, dignified rebuke, Seo Seo-jun and Namgung Hyun, who had been fussing about with apologies and explanations, stopped dead. When I looked to where the voice came from, there was Ha Hyun.
"I'm sorry, hyung. The kids are being a bit noisy, I know. They're not usually like this......."
Laughing awkwardly, Ha Hyun grabbed Namgung Hyun and Seo Seo-jun and pulled them back toward himself.
How can Seo Seo-jun be the youngest of those three? Doesn't Ha Hyun look like the youngest to anyone?
Thanks to his body, the most flexible in the group with the most solid fundamentals, and his round, puppy-like looks, Ha Hyun's most famous nicknames were 'Ha-doggo' and 'Ha-day-old Puppy.'
Judging by the reaction of the two he'd just been talking to, he seemed closer to a trainer than a puppy, but the way someone looks in fans' eyes is always different from how they really are.
For reference, it's a single-syllable given name. Surname Ha, given name Hyun.
"It's fine. It's nice—feels like I'm being welcomed."
Here, I figured it'd be better to just talk to them in banmal.
Kids this age feel more burdened if you're overly polite with them.
While the younger ones were diligently smoothing things over, I turned my gaze to the one guy who hadn't opened his mouth once. My eyes then met those of Cha Min-seong, who had been standing still in the corner, watching.
"You said you were Cha Min-seong? Nice to meet you."
"Yeah."
He was neat, sure, but the whiff of an unsociable punk reeked all the way over here.
Idols tend to each have a '○○-type' nickname for resembling something.
For example, PLUTO had wolf-type Baek Ji-hyuk, deer-type Namgung Hyun, puppy-type Ha Hyun, and fox-type Seo Seo-jun.
In the animal empire that was PLUTO, Cha Min-seong's nickname, all on its own, was 'civil-servant-type.'
Apparently the nickname stuck because he looked like the kind of reliable-looking young man you'd find in a corner of your local community service center, who seemed like he'd quietly but diligently handle your complaint.
If there was one problem, it'd be that the position Cha Min-seong held was rapper.
Looks aren't everything, they say, but I suspected Seo Seo-jun's and Cha Min-seong's talents had each gone to the wrong owner.
Looking around the interior of the practice room, neatly papered in monotone, I asked.
"Have the four of you been practicing like this the whole time?"
"Huh? Uh......."
Ha Hyun, about to answer, suddenly trailed off. True to his looks, he had no talent for lying.
So that the hesitating Ha Hyun wouldn't be embarrassed, I deliberately broached it first.
"Never mind. I heard members come and go a lot in debut teams. I guess it's like that here, too."
"Ah! Y-Yes, yes. It's kind of like that......!"
Only then coming to his senses, Ha Hyun nodded vigorously. That desperate attitude looked so strained that I didn't even feel like digging any further.
"Hyung, did you come here after training at another agency?"
After I'd been considerate like that, this ungrateful guy immediately drove a sharp question home.
Even if I lied, my skill level would give me away right away and only earn me pointless resentment, so I decided to go at it head-on instead.
"No."
"Then cast from an academy......."
"No."
"Th-Then you applied to an agency audition......."
"I got a casting offer while I was eating."
The moment I answered, the whole room went quiet.
Judging by the suddenly chilly mood, the guys must have grasped the gravity of the problem. Seo Seo-jun was outright covering his mouth with both hands.
Yes, be as surprised as you like. You've got to rehearse in advance so you'll be less shocked by the real hardships to come.
Seo Seo-jun, who had been glued to Namgung Hyun's side watching worriedly, lowered the hand covering his mouth and asked.
"Theeen... have you ever learned dancing or singing?"
"No."
Seo Seo-jun's face was instantly colored with horror. It was a face that looked likely to show up in a dream, in the bad sense.
I was watching the situation for a moment when an unexpected person opened his mouth.
"Why did you join the debut team?"
Cha Min-seong, who had thrown out the question in a flat tone, was wearing an expression that, unlike his tone, looked extremely displeased.
"Because the team leader and the CEO told me to join the debut team."
"That's all?"
"I was surprised too, going straight into a debut team from the start. Don't worry, now that I'm in, I'll work hard."
This is sincere. It's a matter of life and death.
But apparently it wasn't an answer that satisfied Cha Min-seong, because the guy scrunched his brows sharply.
"Easy to say."
"Hey, hey~ What's wrong! Our Min-seong-hyung isn't usually like this, but he's a bit weird today!"
Namgung Hyun, who had been listening from the side, stopped Cha Min-seong with a forced, breezy laugh.
"Every kid here has practiced for years to be in this spot. There are kids who had as much skill as these guys but didn't make the debut team. Nobody came in as lightheartedly as you."
"What are you trying to say? Get to the point."
"It's a place where only kids who are that desperate to debut are gathered, so if you have a conscience, quit right now."
Look at this guy. A kid as pretty as a young master, trying to whip me into line right off the bat.
Honestly, whenever things seem to be going smoothly, something always comes up to snag on. This hassle is killing me.
No, let's not say "killing me" anymore. Words have a way of coming true.
'What should I do?'
Should I try crying and begging, saying I came because I'm desperate to debut too, that I'll work hard, that they should watch over me a little longer?
Then I'd need tears first, so let me think sad thoughts.
Sad thoughts.......
Sad thoughts.......
.......
I'm screwed. No matter how many sad thoughts I come up with, the tears won't come.
I can't exactly put on a performance of poking my eyes with my fingers in front of those guys, either, so let me find another way.
How about openly digging in my heels with 'I'm not desperate, but I'm going to debut anyway'?
No, that's more dangerous.
Then the other guys, far from stopping Cha Min-seong, would end up siding with that guy's opinion instead.
Then there's only one method left.
It can't be helped.
I can't turn the situation around with my own strength alone, so I have no choice but to trust these guys' character and place a bet.
I scrunched my brows as hard as I could, put on an irritated expression, and then spoke to Cha Min-seong.
"Meeting me for the first time today, and there's nothing you won't say to my face?"
"I'm sorry, hyung! First, both of you calm down......!"
"Ah, is this that famous trainee hazing? Getting this the moment I walk in, it sure is sh—tty."
Now even Ha Hyun stepped in to stop the fight.
Seo Seo-jun was just trembling, not knowing what to do. Meanwhile, Cha Min-seong, the actual party to the quarrel, didn't budge an inch.
"Fine, I'll quit. Like you said, I'm not so desperate to debut that I'd be fine rubbing shoulders all day with a twisted jerk who openly humiliates someone the moment he arrives. Is that why that Baek Ji-hyuk kid or whoever left too? Your team leader was looking for him really hard."
The moment Baek Ji-hyuk came up, Cha Min-seong's expression turned frighteningly cold.
Paying it no mind, I turned and headed for the practice room entrance.
And before grabbing the doorknob and leaving, I added in an icy voice.
"Go ahead and do well. I'm really looking forward to seeing how hugely successful guys who start by looking down on others like this will be."
I deliberately shut the practice room door with a loud bang, and took the stairs instead of the elevator, slowly making my way out to the lobby.
Was I angry? Not at all.
The wording was rough, but actually, isn't a reaction like Cha Min-seong's the normal one? The other guys were probably thinking something similar deep down, too.
Of course they'd be worried when some guy who knows nothing and seems to lack enthusiasm comes in as a so-called debut team member. If someone brought in a parachuted-in total rookie at a time when you need to hire experienced people, my blood would boil too.
And that parachute looks exactly like the guy who ran off? Perfect conditions for grabbing the back of your neck in shock.
But if I admitted that in front of others, it'd end up lending weight to Cha Min-seong's words.
So without admitting it, I pretended to back off while dragging things toward a situation that favored me.
Just as if I'd been sitting quietly and gotten chewed out one-sidedly.
Actually, it's not entirely wrong.
Leaving out the context, it looked as though Cha Min-seong had suddenly picked a fight with me while I was sitting quietly.
Anyway, if it comes to this, surely at least one of the other guys will feel guilty and pop out to apologize to me.
Seeing Seo Seo-jun, who ducked his head right away because he'd glared for a moment, and Ha Hyun, who immediately pulled back the noisy guys and apologized, I thought it was a bet with pretty high odds.
My goal is to win over whoever comes out to apologize first.
He can't talk back to company people, so right now the only ones Cha Min-seong can rely on are his fellow trainees—but even those trainees aren't on his side?
He may not like me, but what can he do? Unless he's prepared to kick both of us out, he has no choice but to take me along for now. If he really hates it, he can leave himself.
It's about time one of them took the bait.
"...Seol-han-hyung!"
I heard Ha Hyun shouting urgently from behind as he ran toward me.
I knew at least one of them would come out.
"I'm sorry, you must have been really startled by being cornered all of a sudden. Are you okay?"
I turned my head, deliberately keeping an angry expression.
"Where'd the guy himself go, making the younger one apologize for him? Seeing him try to play king among the kids, he's one seriously rotten guy."
"It's not like that!"
Ha Hyun, who was babbling incoherently as if he was badly flustered, carefully grabbed my arm.
"Um, I know it's a really shameless request, but... could you spare a moment? Just a moment is really enough. I'm not going to say anything bad. So......."
The expression of the guy, gripping my sleeve with a finely trembling hand, looked extremely desperate. At a glance, he also looked like he was gripped by fear.
He wasn't even the one who'd kicked me out, so did he really need to feel this guilty?
I pretended to think about it, stalling for a moment, then opened my mouth again.
"Got it, so calm down."
The moment I answered, Ha Hyun's trembling stopped. Only then letting go, Ha Hyun gave a faint smile and led me out of the building.
Heading outside, I happened to glance down at my sleeve, and it was wrinkled in exactly the shape of where Ha Hyun had gripped it.
'How hard was he holding on?'
It looked like he was a tender guy who'd feel sorry about even such a trivial thing as if he'd committed a major crime, so I neatly smoothed out my sleeve before he could notice.