Translator: Dreamscribe
‘An androgynous vibe is never an easy concept.’
Geum Shin-yu recalled the tomboy concepts of singers she had seen so far.
Tomboy.
This word, created with Tom, one of the most common male names in the English-speaking world, was generally used to refer to lively, masculine women, but in the Korean music industry, it was widely known as a type of concept.
Thus, the tomboy concept, which emphasized the androgynous charm of women, was surprisingly a long-standing and historic concept in the music world.
However, regardless of its history, very few singers had ever had a real hit with it.
‘If you half-ass the vibe, it’s better not to do the concept at all.’
Just looking at Leeon’s “Fire” which she had just watched with her teammates, proved that.
There had been other female solo singers who had come out with a tomboy concept similar to Leeon’s in the past, but all had received poor results and were remembered as dark marks in their careers, that was the tomboy concept.
In fact, Shin-yu believed the reason Leeon was able to pull off the tomboy concept was entirely due to her overwhelming skill.
It wasn’t the concept that elevated Leeon’s performance; rather, it was as if the performance showed that Leeon could even pull off such a concept.
‘Then how do I tailor this to fit our team?’
A difficult song, a difficult concept, and even a difficult arrangement.
Shin-yu, who had taken on the task of arranging Lucid Dive this time, couldn’t help but fall into deep contemplation.
No matter how positively she assessed it, neither she nor her teammates had the kind of skill that could embody a concept like Leeon could.
That said, reinterpreting Lucid Dive in the safest direction, such as with an innocent concept, wasn’t the right answer either.
From the start, the opposing team, led by Park So-yoon, was stronger on average in skill, and they were also more suited to the innocence concept.
‘Ga-hyun unnie as well, but especially Si-on unnie doesn’t suit innocence.’
Yun-kyung was still young, so she leaned more toward cuteness than innocence, and while Soo-yeon was the only one who really suited the innocent concept, relying on just one person for the concept was far too risky.
Even Shin-yu herself didn’t suit innocence very well, which contributed to her hesitation.
‘What is our team’s strength?’
In the end, Shin-yu decided to return to the fundamentals of producing.
A concept was originally supposed to enhance the artist performing on stage, so it was Shin-yu’s role as a producer to highlight the team’s strengths.
One by one, Shin-yu quietly recalled each of her teammates.
The first person who came to mind was the team leader, Yun-kyung.
Despite being the youngest in the group, Yun-kyung had been selected as the leader and carried that burden, and during team meetings, she was particularly noticeable for constantly gauging the reactions of the other members.
At least when she was with Si-on, she seemed lively and acted her age, but with the other members, she spoke less and became more passive.
‘But Yun-kyung... I think she might surprisingly suit the tomboy concept well.’
If someone asked which teammate best suited the tomboy concept, Shin-yu would immediately think of Yun-kyung.
Perhaps because she was still in middle school, Yun-kyung exuded more of a boyish youth than a womanly vibe.
Shin-yu imagined Yun-kyung wearing a boys' school uniform for a moment, and it felt like quite a fitting image.
‘Yun-kyung wears a boys' school uniform.’
Next up was Soo-yeon.
However, since Shin-yu hadn’t even had a personal conversation with her yet, she didn’t have a clear image of Soo-yeon.
‘Her eyes were particularly striking.’
Soo-yeon, whose face resembled a gentle squirrel, had glared at Si-on right after the team had gathered, that moment came to Shin-yu’s mind.
That intense look in her eyes, as if she were staring at a sworn enemy, left a deep impression on Shin-yu because it contrasted so much with her appearance.
‘Then maybe something slightly decadent?’
Although Soo-yeon was the closest to an innocent image among the team, Shin-yu felt that if she wore a stylish suit with smoky makeup, it might unexpectedly suit her quite well.
After Soo-yeon, the next person who came to mind was the team’s eldest, Lee Ga-hyun.
‘She seemed scary at first, but once you get to know her, Ga-hyun unnie actually has a lot of little flaws.’
Ga-hyun, the oldest among the team, gave off a cold first impression, but surprisingly, she had a certain charm that made teasing her enjoyable.
Especially Lee Si-on, the team’s second eldest and de facto leader, would often playfully tease Ga-hyun like a child who had found an amusing new toy.
‘Stop it!’
‘Said don’t~.’
When Shin-yu had first seen them, the two had definitely seemed awkward around each other, but now, to someone unaware of the past, they looked so close they could be mistaken for real sisters.
‘No, come to think of it, Si-on unnie seems to get along with everyone.’
As she thought it over, Shin-yu concluded that since Si-on played around with everyone indiscriminately, Ga-hyun being on the receiving end now was simply because she happened to be nearby.
Anyway, regardless of that, Lee Ga-hyun’s image was solid.
‘Athletics club!’
With a tall and slender figure that could qualify her as a model, Ga-hyun gave off such a strong impression at first glance that she seemed perfect for an athletics club concept.
Even just imagining her in a baseball or soccer uniform for a moment, it felt as if she was born to wear them, they suited her that well.
‘And last is...’
As she sorted through the images of each member one by one, the final person approached.
Lee Si-on.
Unlike with the other members, Shin-yu found it extremely difficult to come up with a concept that matched Si-on’s image.
‘The problem is, she suits every concept.’
It wasn’t that concepts didn’t fit her, it was that she made everything look good, and that was the problem.
Honestly, Shin-yu still found it hard to get used to Si-on’s looks, to the point she flinched every time she saw her.
‘How can someone be that beautiful....’
As a trainee herself, Shin-yu had seen real idols up close many times, but even compared to idols known for their visuals, Si-on lacked nothing.
No, she was actually more captivating.
When she stayed still, there was a kind of pressure that made it hard to even start a conversation, yet when she joked around with the team, she came off as extremely approachable.
When she was dancing and singing, she looked like a born idol, but when she was doing something she didn’t want to, her laziness and excuses made her seem just like an uncle loafing around during the holidays.
Because of this, Shin-yu couldn’t quite grasp what image best fit Si-on.
Sure, she could pull off any concept at a basic level, but that wasn’t acceptable to Shin-yu.
‘It’s like using a diamond on a child’s toy ring!’
To Shin-yu, producing was like the process of crafting a gem, and to her, Si-on was a diamond.
Giving Si-on a concept at random when she could be transformed into a masterpiece depending on how she was crafted, it would be no different than using a diamond to make a toy, so Shin-yu kept worrying and worrying.
“What are you groaning about so seriously?”
“Ah! Uh... It’s nothing!”
As Shin-yu was deep in thought, trying to pin down the right concept for Si-on, someone came up beside her and placed a hand on her shoulder.
So lost in thought, Shin-yu hadn’t even noticed anyone approaching, and startled by the sudden touch, she turned her head quickly.
The owner of the hand was none other than Lee Si-on, the very person who had been the source of her struggle.
“Is it not going well?”
“No! I can do it!”
Si-on asked if something was difficult.
But Shin-yu, worried that her concerns had been too obvious, answered loudly as if nothing was wrong.
‘I can’t let Si-on unnie, who trusted me even though I’ve shown nothing, worry.’
Shin-yu recalled the moment before the team’s concept meeting, when she had spoken with Si-on.
‘I... I’m not as talented in producing as you think, Si-on unnie.’
In fact, when Si-on had chosen her and asked her to take on the producing role, Shin-yu had wanted to refuse.
But at the time, she had been too conscious of the other members’ eyes, and more than anything, she had been too intimidated by Si-on’s gaze to say no.
Later, during a short break, when she saw Si-on alone, Shin-yu went straight up to her to say she couldn’t do it.
However.
‘Did you volunteer to be on our team?’
‘...No.’
‘Right, I picked you, and I gave you the producer role.’
-Then even if you mess up, all you have to do is apologize to me. I’ll take responsibility.
Si-on had told her that she would take full responsibility, so all Shin-yu had to do was her best.
And it wasn’t just empty words.
‘Okay, everyone, attention. Honestly, is there anyone in our team besides Shin-yu who can do the producing?’
Right after finishing her conversation with Shin-yu, Si-on immediately gathered the team members and made a bombshell announcement.
‘I think it’s right for Shin-yu to take charge of producing if we want to achieve the best results as a team. If anyone disagrees, bring another option. If there’s no alternative, then I’m leaving the production to Shin-yu. And if that turns out to be the wrong decision, then blame me.’
Was it because Si-on’s voice overflowed with confidence?
All the other members nodded in agreement, and as Shin-yu stood there with a puzzled expression, she turned her head and met Si-on’s gaze.
At that moment, Si-on gave her a bright smile and a thumbs-up.
‘Ah…’
For some reason, whenever Shin-yu recalled that moment, it reminded her of a scene from a fairy tale she had read as a child.
And in that very moment, Shin-yu became convinced that this was the perfect concept for Si-on.
***
“Thank you all for waiting!”
“Is it all settled?”
“Yep! I’ve perfectly locked in the concept for our team’s performance.”
Looking at Shin-yu’s confident expression, I finally felt at ease.
‘She looked like she was about to die earlier.’
When the concept meeting ended and Shin-yu asked for time to finalize a performance concept reflecting the team’s opinions, her expression was no joke.
She had looked utterly spaced out, as if the fate of a nation rested on this one decision. But now, seemingly having found the answer, she called everyone together in a bold voice.
“First off, while keeping the mystical and dreamy concept, I found only one concept that could also bring in a sexy vibe and show off some androgynous charm!”
‘She must’ve had a lot bottled up.’
Hearing Shin-yu describe our team’s direction like that, I couldn’t help but feel a little shameless.
Dreamy and mystical, plus a spoonful of sexy, and another spoonful of androgynous charm?
If you made that kind of order in a store, you’d be immediately featured as a nightmare customer on an investigative news program.
“So, I’ve decided our concept will be... a succubus no, an incubus!”
“Incubus?”
“Yep! An incubus is a type of demon from medieval European legends, known for appearing in women’s dreams and seducing them!”
Incubus.
It was a name I’d heard before.
Usually, in games, it wasn’t the incubus but the female demon, the succubus, that showed up frequently, so it was hard not to remember it.
‘The ones known for their racy outfits.’
The succubi that appeared in games always had voluptuous figures and outfits that were pretty hard to look at with kids around.
And she wanted to use that as our concept?
At first, I was taken aback, but thinking it over, it really did seem to fit the song “Lucid Dive” well.
More than anything, it was a concept that perfectly fulfilled all our team’s demands.
“Nice. If it’s incubus, it’ll definitely allow us to express some sexiness.”
“Exactly! And since we’re women portraying male demons, it also has an androgynous vibe.”
“Shin-yu… is she a god?”
The other team members seemed to agree with Shin-yu’s proposal too, nodding repeatedly and showing positive responses to the incubus concept.
“Thank you! And I’ve prepared individual concepts that suit each of us.”
“Individual concepts too?”
“Yes! First, Yun-kyung will go with the high school boy concept!”
“I have to wear a school uniform on stage…?”
Yun-kyung seemed slightly displeased about wearing a school uniform instead of something prettier, but in my eyes, since she still had a youthful vibe, it looked like it would suit her very well.
“Next, Soo-yeon will go with a decadent office man concept!”
“What?! Decadent?”
Soo-yeon’s concept was also excellent.
Though she was fervently denying it now, Soo-yeon, who had looked like she was about to kill me for choosing her this time, was a squirrel hiding ferocious fangs inside, so she needed this kind of unexpected twist of charm.
“Ga-hyun unnie’s concept is a wild football player!”
“Okay. Well, you worked hard on it, so I’ll go along with it.”
Hmm.
Ga-hyun’s concept. This seemed to be where my opinion clashed with Shin-yu’s.
‘Not “wild” more like a school bully swaggering around in some back alley, that would be perfect.’
Of course, with Ga-hyun glaring at me, I couldn’t say that out loud.
“I’ve decided to challenge myself with a nerdy engineering oppa style!”
“What- why does that suit you so well?”
“Right? That concept was totally made for Shin-yu unnie!”
“But seriously, we’ve gone through almost every concept now, so what’s left for Si-on unnie?”
Finally, with Shin-yu’s own concept revealed, only mine remained.
‘What are they going to make me do?’
If it’s something like a soldier, I’d totally be able to pull it off.
As I waited for Shin-yu to speak,
“Si-on unnie’s concept is...”
“What is it?”
“A prince on a white horse!”
-You gotta be fucking kidding me.
For the first time since joining this program, I ended up cursing out loud.