Lee Hwayoung, fully provoked by the mention of Baek Kiryang, entered the recording with fire in his eyes.
“I’ll do it again.”
“Again. I don’t like it.”
Without me even having to ask him to do it again, Lee Hwayoung repeated the recording until he was satisfied, and the final result was truly a masterpiece.
‘Lee Hwayoung has a tendency to have ups and downs depending on the situation and his condition. So, giving him a little motivation like this sometimes can lead to good results.’
Lee Hwayoung was the type who always showed better performances on stage than on recordings. Although this showed how outstanding Lee Hwayoung’s stage presence was, it also implied that his recorded vocal fell slightly short of his live performances.
As the producer for this team, I wanted to close that gap as much as possible, and I was very pleased with the results of my attempt.
‘The performance? Well, he’ll figure it out and do well on his own.’
Of course, this strategy wasn’t without side effects.
“He’s glaring at me. I guess I’m being hated……”
“You won’t die. Don’t lose.”
Lee Hwayoung glared at Baek Kiryang with an expression far more menacing than before, and Baek Kiryang, almost like a small animal placed in front of a wild beast, was either terrified or had to hide behind me.
I briefly wondered if I should step in, but since it was enough for me as long as the results were good, regardless of whether Baek Kiryang was being harassed by Lee Hwayoung or not, I decided to just leave them alone.
‘The vocals for this mission are top-notch.’
With those two guys who could easily take the position of main vocalist in any other idol group, the recorded song was absolutely stunning.
“…….”
‘Of course, the spectacle isn’t just in the vocals.’
I clicked on the completed file and played the rap part that I had postponed until the very end. I couldn’t help but gasp in admiration.
“…I never thought Lee Danbi would improve this much.”
The last person to record was Lee Danbi.
It was a decision I made to give him a little more time to practice, but after hearing Lee Danbi’s rap in the studio, I immediately realized it wasn’t necessary.
The current Lee Danbi seemed like a completely different person. He had risen to a level where he could even outshine the trainees who had previously performed in the rap position.
I had a certain amount of confidence that Lee Danbi would live up to my expectations. But I never imagined that he would come back in such a dazzling growth.
‘Is this even realistically possible?’
It was only a week. I couldn’t believe that it only took a week for a child who had never rapped before to reach the level where he was able to master such a difficult rap part.
Lee Chise, who came to the recording studio saying he would take responsibility for even the recording, had a calm face as if Lee Danbi’s transformation was to be expected. And even in a state that seemed already completed, he went the extra mile to find ways to make it better and and provided feedback. I couldn’t hide my bewilderment and asked Lee Chise.
“…Didn’t you say you weren’t confident because he was too young?”
Lee Chise tilted his head in confusion, as if hearing it for the first time, to my question.
“When did I?”
“….When you first saw Lee Danbi. You said, he’s way more of a chick than I expected.”
After watching him playing dumb, I recounted the exact time and words, and Lee Chise started to pinch my cheek, asking how I could remember such little details. Just as I was beginning to realize how difficult it was to endure being treated like a baby while living in another person’s body, Lee Chise spoke again.
“I was just surprised because he was so much younger than I expected. I don’t think anyone has ever heard me say that I’m not confident?”
“…….”
Come to think of it, I didn’t think I had ever heard the words ‘
not confident
‘ came out of his mouth, not even once. Not when he joined RH Entertainment late, not when he debuted with PRISM, and not even when he went on the hip-hop audition program. Lee Chise never once showed a lack of confidence.
‘…Yeah, this child was always like this. He’s still the same.’
Just as I was thinking that, Lee Chise bent down and made eye contact with me. He pouted and said,
“I’m Lee Chise.”
“…….”
“Do you think I would find it difficult to merely make one chick usable?”
I watched Lee Chise’s composure with my own eyes and took a deep breath.
The know-how to improve one’s skill to this level in such a short period of time was not something that could easily be shared with others. Regardless of talent, such know-how could only be obtained through years of intense effort.
The reason why the rap trainer, Kinder, didn’t offer much guidance to the rap position trainees was probably because he didn’t want to give professional-level advice to idol trainees who weren’t fully dedicated to rapping.
However, Lee Chise forcibly brought Lee Danbi up to that level without any hesitation. It was as if he didn’t feel even the slightest fear that the child who absorbed his know-how would soon catch up to him.
I knew that he normally had a generous personality, but honestly, I didn’t expect him to go this far. Although I was in a position to help Lee Danbi right now, since my bond with Lee Chise was originally closer, I couldn’t shake the feeling that his actions were a bit of a waste.
So, putting a little bit of that kind of feeling in, I hesitantly asked.
“I know it’s awkward to say this as the one who made the request, but is it really okay for you to do this much? I feel like you’re helping me too much.”
“The rap that I’ve already touched is all captured on camera, so it’s okay. I think it’s more important for me to impress Seungbeom and get a song from you, haha!”
Lee Chise laughed very nonchalantly at my question, then he calmly continued.
“And anyway, even if I tell him everything, he will never be as good as me.”
I chuckled bitterly at Lee Chise’s response. It dawned on me that I had been worrying for nothing.
Lee Chise as right. Even if he shared all his know-how, catching up to Lee Chise would be impossible. I forgot this fact because I was surrounded by chicks.
‘You’ll have to work hard, Lee Danbi.’
Baby Lee Danbi didn’t seem to have any idea what was about to happen, but I could already feel the impending doom and let out a deep sigh.
“Haaa…..”
“If you keep sighing like that, you’ll get old quickly?”
Lee Chise, who happened to be next to me, must have heard my sigh, as he joked and put his arm around my shoulder. I had no idea why this guy was still sticking by my side like this even though his training was already over and he should be heading home.
“What were you thinking?”
I waved my hand at Lee Chise, who looked at me with a puzzled expression as if to ask why, signaling that it was nothing, and quickly asked a question to change the subject.
“Do you not have to go back?”
“That’s exactly what I was thinking. Why is Lee Chise hanging around here?”
But it wasn’t Lee Chise who answered my question. I turned my head in the direction of the voice and saw a man leaning against the wall with poor posture.
“You’re not even a program trainer, yet you’re being so presumptuous.”
It was none other than Kinder, our program’s rap trainer, and someone with a notorious bad history with Lee Chise. The moment I saw Kinder’s face, I gritted my teeth behind my closed lips.
‘He barely showed his face throughout the entire program, so why is he suddenly showing up now? This freaking crazy behavior, f**king nonsense.’
It’s not as bad as Lee Chise, but I wasn’t particularly fond of Kinder either.
It was partly because of the memory of him doing an unaccompanied diss rap while standing up in front of me, who wasn’t even a rapper. And the other half was because, despite being cast as a rap trainer for this program, he hardly showed his face except on important filming days.
‘The reason I had to find a separate rap teacher for Lee Danbi in the first place was because this bastard hardly showed up on set.’
I was furious to see the face that I hadn’t seen in a while, but I couldn’t let my displeasure show.
I’m not ‘Seo Yutae’ anymore, I’m ‘Trainee Han Seungbeom’ now.
“….Hello.”
I tried to calm my anger and force myself to greet him, but Kinder was glaring at Lee Chise without even looking at me. He was completely ignoring me.
‘This bastard…….’
First of all, I knew it would be awkward to respond with ‘
Ah, yes. Seungbeom, hello!
‘ when he was the one who started the conflict. But I couldn’t help but feel offended.
Lee Chise blankly stared as my greeting was completely ignored, and then suddenly asked, “You’re not returning his greeting?”
“What?” Kinder repeated, not understanding what Lee Chise was saying.
Lee Chise, tilting his head slightly to the side, wrapped his hand around my shoulder and said once again, “He’s greeting you. Shouldn’t you greet him back?”
“Are you seriously concerned about that right now? Whether or not I return his greeting has nothing to do with you.”
“…….”
A murderous aura began to linger. I inwardly screamed as I saw the two of them, fully prepared to attack.
‘No, enough with the greetings. If you’re going to fight, send me away then fight, you guys!’
It felt like the trauma of the unaccompanied diss rap, or rather, the trauma of Jay vs. Frick was coming back to me. I wanted to push away the arm that was holding my shoulder and run out of there, but I couldn’t.
Of course, those two guys, not caring one bit about what I was thinking or feeling, continued their verbal battle.
And, as always, it was Kinder who refused to put an end to the argument.
“Seeing you crawling out again, looks like your life is worth living now, huh?”
“…….”
Lee Chise stared down at Kinder with a slanted gaze, unfazed by the other’s taunts. Irritated by Lee Chise’s lack of reaction, Kinder gnashed his teeth, then smirked as if he’d found something to attack.
“…Don’t force yourself to act so relaxed. The rumor has already spread everywhere. I heard you can’t write songs anymore, isn’t that true? That’s why you stopped showing your face on broadcasts.”
I, who was existing in this space as Lee Chise’s armrest without any soul, suddenly snapped back to my senses.
‘Lee Chise can’t write songs?’
No, what do you mean? This guy who was living perfectly well suddenly be unable to write songs?
I looked up at Lee Chise in confusion, but he was standing there quietly with no change in expression. Unable to stand Lee Chise’s indifferent attitude, Kinder started saying even more provocative things.
“How many years has it been since you’ve shown your face, except for Prism songs?”
“…….”
“No matter how much people praise you as a top-tier rapper, in the end, you’re nothing without the name value of Seo Yutae or Prism. You were just another mediocre idol rapper.”
“…….”
“How dare someone who can’t write songs call himself a rapper? So, you should have just focused on your idol activities instead of acting so arrogant in the hip-hop scene. All you have is rapping and stage performance, there’s nothing else worth seeing about you.”
Lee Chise didn’t say anything in response to Kinder’s taunt. He simply stood by and watched.
‘…..Why aren’t you refuting it?’
I felt my heart sink as I watched it.
Was he deliberately keeping silent because he had something in mind?
Where on earth did that bold attitude that he showed me up until the recording go? Lee Chise remained silent.
“Filling a 3-minute song with just 20–30 seconds of rap is something even a dog or cat can do. It’s a bit laughable to call yourself a rapper based on just that.”
“…….”
I clenched my fists at the sight.
Due to my current circumstances, I couldn’t express myself freely and was just taking care of those young children right now, but I was originally someone who devoted my entire life to raising Prism.
Every single one of the Prism members—including Jay, Cha Woon, and Lee Chise—were raised preciously with my own hands. I raised them as precious as gold and jade. There was no way I could just stand by and watch this situation where my child was being blatantly disrespected.
“….Huh.”
The heat that rose all the way to the top of my head was boiling, as if it was going to burst my skull.
Leaving my pounding heart behind, I took a step towards Kinder.
“He’s planning to release a song, don’t you know?”
“What?”
Then, with a bright smile, I said,
“I don’t know where you heard that, but … it’s all just a rumor. Because soon, he’ll be releasing a song together with me.”
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Translator’s Corner:
I seriously want to call him father. Seo Yutae, please be my father……………………