I simply didn’t like the fact that Baek Kiryang was being swayed by pointless words, and I merely took action to put an end to it. My suggestion was just to rank the advisors based on their capabilities and to prioritize whose advice should be accepted first. That was all.
However, I didn’t know something until I complimented Baek Kiryang.
‘Fuuuuuuuu*k…….’
I didn’t know things would turn out like this.
“Eek, Kiryang-hyung is here. The practice room must be uncomfortable and dusty, why is he sleeping here instead of in his bed…?”
“…….”
‘Exactly, that’s really what I wanted to ask.’
I looked down at Baek Kiryang’s face, who was curled up next to me, soundly asleep. I had come to the practice room for my late night practice, and Baek Kiryang had tagged along, watching me practice until he eventually fell asleep.
“Seungbeom-ah, let’s eat together……”
“What are you going to do next, Seungbeom?”
Baek Kiryang started following me around after our conversation the other day. The whole 24 hours, only excluding the sleeping time.
No, actually, it would be more accurate to say that he followed me around even when he was sleeping.
Look. Isn’t he sleeping with such an innocent expression right now?
‘What’s with the sudden friendliness? He was always running away from me before. His behavior is beyond me.’
It hadn’t been long since we started talking, but he already felt like an enemy to me. I let out a deep sigh and gulped down a bottle of water.
Another thing to note was that Baek Kiryang regained his composure very quickly, much faster than at the beginning of the program. He no longer trembled when interacting with others. Sometimes, he even initiated conversations and expressed his opinions quite persistently. Anyway, since one of the problems I pointed out was sort of resolved, this should definitely be seen as a positive change.
However, as a price of that, or perhaps a side effect, Baek Kiryang started following me around.
Yeah, just like now.
“He sleeps so peacefully. Before, when the other trainees were taking short naps, he was the only one who couldn’t sleep and was anxious.”
Do Yuda watched Baek Kiryang’s relaxed face for a moment, then took off the pink blanket that was draped over his shoulder and covered him with it. And then he looked at me and asked.
“Did something happen with Kiryang-hyung? He has been strangely following you around lately, hyung.”
“I don’t know. I just complimented him a little, and now he’s acting so weird all of a sudden.”
“As expected of my hyung! I trusted you! I thought if it was you, hyung, you could quickly become Kiryang-hyung’s ally.”
“What do you mean?”
I asked Do Yuda, who was rambling in a way I couldn’t make sense of. Then, Do Yuda looked at me with wide eyes, like he couldn’t believe I didn’t understand.
“Kiryang-hyung was really scared of you. When he saw you arguing with Trainer Frick, he thought you were a really scary person. Now that he recognizes that scary person as his ally, it must be such a relief for him.”
Do Yuda’s explanation finally made it clear to me why Baek Kiryang was so afraid of me. All of Baek Kiryang’s standards seemed to be based on Frick, and Lee Hwayoung and I seemed to be considered as anomalies, since we had managed to beat
that
Frick.
‘Just how terrified of Frick is he, anyway?’
I recalled Baek Kiryang, who was completely intimidated in front of Frick on the day of the grade re-evaluation. I shook my head and said, “…I’ll have to fix that pathetic personality of his soon. Once he debuts, he’ll have to deal with a lot of people more often, and if he’s this timid, he might not even be able to refuse properly.”
Do Yuda, who made a subtle expression after hearing my words, carefully looked around the practice room. When his eyes landed on the digital piano in the corner, he quietly spoke.
“Still, I think he knows how to properly refuse something he really doesn’t like.”
“…What kind of nonsense is that?”
The idea that the guy who had just accepted it when all his parts were taken away could refuse was completely unbelievable. However, despite my firm denial, Do Yuda didn’t back down and asked while staring straight at me.
“Hyung, have you ever seen Kiryang-hyung play the piano?”
I immediately shook my head at the question. Then, as if expecting that response, Do Yuda murmured ‘
I knew it
‘, and then opened his mouth again.
“There was something that happened during the second mission. Kiryang-hyung was playing the piano alone, and Kang Baeyoung-hyung saw him. Then, without any warning, he brought everyone over and asked him to play a piece.”
“…….”
“But at that time, Kiryang-hyung got really angry. He pushed Kang Baeyoung-hyung away, and stormed out of the practice room … it was the first time I’d ever seen Kiryang-hyung that angry.”
“He got angry?”
‘This guy?’
I lightly tapped Baek Kiryang’s peacefully-sleeping face with an empty water bottle. His body flinched a little, but he didn’t complain. No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t imagine this gentle guy ever getting angry.
“I’m telling the truth! After that, as you know, he was ostracized by the members. After making himself disliked by everyone, I guess he didn’t want to cause me any trouble, so he just hid by himself.” Do Yuda clenched his fist as if to emphasize that he was telling the truth appealed to me in a serious tone.
“Hmm.”
I snorted at Do Yuda, who was trying to act all serious for the first time in a while, and immediately grabbed him by the nape of his neck to pull him up.
“Alright, that’s enough. Go in and get some sleep. It’s late.”
The hidden side of the member who would be performing alongside me was quite an intriguing story, but it had gotten too late. It meant that the child who was in his growing phase should go to bed now.
“Ah, hyung, I’m looking so cool right now, what am I supposed to do if you treat me like this!!”
Ignoring his feeble resistance, I shook Baek Kiryang’s shoulder, who was lying on the floor. Then, Baek Kiryang slowly got up and looked up at me, still half asleep.
“Go to your room and sleep now. We have a recording tomorrow. If you eat all the dust in the practice room and it affects your voice, I won’t let you get away with it.”
“Hello. Did you sleep well?”
Baek Kiryang still seemed to be half-asleep, as he sat blankly without responding to my words or Do Yuda’s greeting. Do Yuda, who was peeking out from behind my hand that was still gripping his nape, winked at Baek Kiryang.
“…….”
Baek Kiryang, who interpreted that wink, smiled brightly and went back to lying down.
I calmly told that guy,
“This isn’t a dream.”
***
As soon as the sun rose, I called the members into the recording studio one by one to start recording Live MR for the performance. However, when it came to Lee Hwayoung’s turn, I encountered a major obstacle.
“Lee Hwayoung.”
‘What happened?’
Lee Hwayoung was giving me the silent treatment all day.
It seemed like this young master was seriously sulking.
‘I thought you said the recording was going to progress smoothly.’
Lee Hwayoung was sitting cross-legged in the center of the recording room, his arms folded and his head turned away. It was the most defensive attitude he had shown in front of me so far. Even in the midst of that, it was a little amusing that he was quietly sitting behind me.
‘You’re being very obvious about how unhappy you are.’
I had expected from the beginning that Lee Hwayoung would not be happy with the current situation.
Lee Hwayoung was never the type to have the generosity to embrace all the members. With that kind of personality, it was no wonder that he couldn’t understand my actions of looking out for the timid Baek Kiryang and the inexperienced Lee Danbi to the very end.
‘Well, I guess I should say he has done a good job just for enduring this far. Honestly, the fact that he stayed still when Baek Kiryang made a fuss last time should be considered a miracle.’
I clearly told him that, as a leader, I wanted him to hand over the decision-making authority to me. While he didn’t fully understand my decision, he seemed to trust my abilities, so he remained silent and waited.
I didn’t even want to imagine how the situation would have worsened if Lee Hwayoung didn’t have trust in me.
And this attitude was a sign that his patience was wearing thin, and his discontent was starting to surface.
“You brat, are you going to ignore my words like this for the rest of your life?”
“….Why.”
“Finally, you’re answering. Are you sulking?”
As if offended by my use of the phrase ‘
Are you sulking?
‘, Lee Hwayoung turned his gaze away from the wall and glared directly at me. Then, he spoke in a displeased tone.
“…I am very unhappy with the current situation.”
“What situation?”
“This situation, where you willingly put your ankles on the line to drag people who are of no help at all. Your abilities are far too valuable to waste your time on them.”
It was astonishing how he was saying the exact same things as I did during my newbie days. I sighed as I recalled my old self through Lee Hwayoung.
‘Now that I’m on the receiving end, it’s really frustrating. I guess this is what they mean by putting yourself in someone else’s shoes.’
“Are you trying to tell me what I said was wrong?”
Perhaps because he had heard my sigh, Lee Hwayoung asked me in an even more irritated voice. I shook my head as I looked away from his furious face and replied,
“Young master, you are still too young to understand.”
“…I was born earlier than you.”
‘You must have been born awfully early, you brat.’
I didn’t say anything to Lee Hwayoung, who was only making childish nonsense. Instead, I played the recording of Baek Kiryang, who had gone before him. Then, Baek Kiryang’s clean and polished vocals began to flow out through the speakers.
“…….”
At first, Lee Hwayoung made an expression that seemed to ask why I was playing this for him. However, by the time the song reached its climax, that confusion had completely vanished, leaving only surprise on his face.
“This is….”
“This is the fresh original recording, finished just three minutes before you arrived. Pretty good, right?”
Lee Hwayoung kept his mouth shut without answering my question. Seeing that he wasn’t denying it, it seemed that he was beginning to understand just how talented Baek Kiryang really was.
That was understandable, as Baek Kiryang’s recording, despite being an unedited original, was flawless in both pitch and rhythm. In this industry where idols often relied heavily on corrections to mask their lack of singing skills, a trainee with his level of precision was a rarity.
‘And Lee Hwayoung falls behind Baek Kiryang in this aspect.’
I didn’t stop there and added something that would get on his nerves even more.
“He’s already perfectly recorded the guide and chorus for the other members’ parts. Yours too, of course. Baek Kiryang-hyung finished it all in one take and went back to practice the choreography.”
“…….”
The fact that he could produce a result of this quality in one take showed that his fundamentals were exceptionally solid. And Lee Hwayoung, perhaps realizing this without me having to point it out, immediately frowned.
Watching Lee Hwayoung like that, I felt that things were going according to my plan.
‘Yes, be conscious of Baek Kiryang. That’s the path for you.’
Lee Hwayoung and Baek Kiryang showed completely opposite traits, not just in personality but also in their vocals.
Lee Hwayoung possessed an unparalleled stage presence, but his vocal skills were inferior compared to Baek Kiryang’s. On the other hand, Baek Kiryang possessed incredibly delicate singing skills, almost akin to being an instrument, but he was seriously lacking in confidence and stage presence.
‘It would be ideal if they could complement each other’s weaknesses, challenge each other to do better, and further strengthen their individual strengths.’
I will make this group the best group to succeed Prism.
These guys were still just chicks, it meant that they must grow endlessly from now on. And I already knew the most effective way to
motivate
Lee Hwayoung.
“I’ve never said that the only ones who need to prove their skills are Baek Kiryang and Lee Danbi.”
I opened my mouth with a bright smile.
“I’m still not satisfied with you either.”
At that, Lee Hwayoung, who had been sitting quietly, suddenly stood up and strode towards me with a fierce look. Then, he grabbed my shoulder tightly.
“Ouch.”
“Start recording right now, Han Seungbeom!”
……Did I encourage him too much?
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Translator’s Corner:
These fools … (affectionately)