After the small trouble with Kinder, or more accurately, a heartfelt conversation with Lee Chise, I felt a bit down.
‘What on earth am I supposed to do about this?’
When I found out that not only Cha Woon, but also Lee Chise was struggling, I felt my spirit was being completely drained. It had been a long time since I left Prism, so I never imagined that the members would be affected this much just because of my absence.
Of course, my heart also felt heavy every time I saw the members of Prism, so I wasn’t in a position to say anything.
‘I hate that even amidst all this, I’m still diligently preparing for the competition……’
However, just because I wasn’t in the best of moods, it didn’t mean I was preparing for the competition half-heartedly.
By the time I came to my senses, I had already diligently completed the trainer mid-term evaluation performance, and had carefully received praise from the trainers for each member.
“I was a bit worried about whether Trainee Lee Hwayoung’s unique and distinctive vocals would blend well with the other trainees, but the arrangement was so well done that it didn’t seem to be a problem. Wow, Trainee Han Seungbeom is really consistently good!”
“Thank you.”
Jay, who was currently showering me with praise, would definitely be furious if he knew what happened to me. He’d probably say I was crazy for even trying to prepare for the performance with this mental state. But what could I do? Reality didn’t consider my feelings.
I had to make my debut on this program with the greatest popularity until the end.
And that would definitely be helpful for Lee Chise too.
‘I need to be a hot topic so that it can help Lee Chise’s solo activities. Does it make any sense for Lee Chise to collaborate with an unknown rookie?’
Just as I was pulling myself together, Jay opened his eyes wide and said,
“You seem like someone who has been debuting for over ten years, haha! Should I just take you to my group?”
Amidst the favorable reviews, I felt a sharp thorn, but for now, I would pretend not to notice it.
As I forced a smile and turned away from Jay’s intense gaze, and soon I heard a tongue-clicking sound.
‘Don’t click your tongue, you bastard.’
After Jay gave his evaluation, it was Kinder’s turn. Leaning back in his chair and clicking his pen idly, he glanced at Lee Danbi and asked, “Trainee Lee Danbi, you said this is your first time performing a rap, right?”
“Yes, that’s right.” Lee Danbi straightened his body stiffly and replied quickly.
I could hear the sound of him swallowing nervously next to me, which was enough to give me a rough idea of just how nervous he was.
‘Excluding Lee Chise, this is the first time he’s being evaluated by someone who knows how to rap.’
I felt a little guilty as I looked over at Lee Danbi, who was looking very nervous. The thought crossed my mind because it had only been recently that I had a heated argument with Kinder, and that guy might harshly criticize Lee Danbi out of spite.
‘If he gets picked on unfairly, I’ll have to comfort him……’
“Kid, you can continue to pursue this position in the future. Well, you’re not quite ready to be a real rapper, but it’s not bad.”
However, the words that came out of Kinder’s mouth completely shattered my expectations. I widened my eyes and looked at Kinder. Then, Kinder glanced at me and said in a slightly grumbling tone.
“…You did well. It shows that you’ve learned well. Do well on stage tomorrow just like this.”
“Tha-thank you so much!”
Lee Danbi quickly bowed his waist at a 90-degree angle to express his gratitude. Kinder was infamous for being particularly strict with the rap position trainees, so it was a bit of a surprise to receive such a compliment from him.
“That was really great, Danbi-ya!”
“You worked hard! Good job!”
The members, who had been trembling with anxiety together, ruffled Lee Danbi’s hair as they shared his joy. Lee Danbi, who had been stuttering like a computer with the wrong command entered, finally burst into laughter with a childlike expression.
And in the harmonious atmosphere, the next person to take the microphone was the vocal trainer, Seezy.
“Overall, the team balance is great. With Trainee Han Seungbeom, who is skilled in dancing, and Trainee Nicholas, who has a solid vocal, neither position lacks anything. It must have been difficult for Trainee Lee Danbi as it was his first time in the rap position, but he prepared exceptionally well. It was beyond expectations. The arrangement is so impressive, it will only hurt my mouth to even talk about it.”
“Thank you!”
“Thank you!”
At the continuous praise, the members brightened with joy and bowed their heads. However, Seezy raised his hand in a gesture to stop them, as if to say it was too early to celebrate.
“However, this team has a fatal problem.”
Seezy’s words dampened the mood in the practice room as if cold water had been thrown on it. I sensed that the situation I had anticipated had come, judging by Seezy’s serious expression, and turned to look at Baek Kiryang’s face.
“Trainee Baek Kiryang, how long are you going to stay like this? Trainee Baek Kiryang should be gaining something from participating in this program.”
When Seezy mentioned his name, Baek Kiryang flinched and pulled his body back. He then looked around nervously and answered in a very small voice.
“…I’m sorry.”
“I’m only saying this because I’m worried about Trainee Baek Kiryang as a trainer. It’s not because I want to hear an apology.”
Seezy rubbed her temples with her hand, perhaps feeling a headache from the sight of him blindly apologizing and then looking around cautiously. She then spoke in a slightly softer tone.
“Trainee Baek Kiryang has skills that are good enough to be compared to already-debuted idols, but he lacks confidence to an extreme degree. He wasn’t given many parts before, so that aspect was relatively less noticeable. But now that he’s taken on a central role in the performance and there’s been no change, his shortcomings are becoming very apparent.”
“…….”
As I stood there watching the situation, I made eye contact with Seezy. She stared at me as if she were reprimanding me.
‘She was asking if I didn’t foresee this outcome when I entrusted Baek Kiryang with such an important part.’
I shook my head slowly in response. Seeing this, Seezy took a slightly surprised breath and then immediately fell silent with a disapproving expression.
“I’m sorry.”
Thinking that Seezy’s recent reaction was meant to reprimand him, Baek Kiryang apologized again and bowed his head. Seezy sighed deeply as she looked at Baek Kiryang.
“Trainee Baek Kiryang is someone who will always stand on stage in the future. This can’t continue as it is. Trainee Baek Kiryang, your goal is not to just become a reguler singer, but an idol.”
“…….”
“First of all, right now, every time Trainee Baek Kiryang’s part comes up, it seems to lower the stage’s energy and focus, so try your best to fix that issue first. Understand?”
“…I understand, thank you.”
.
.
.
With Seezy’s worried advice and Baek Kiryang’s weak voice as the final words, our team’s trainer mid-term evaluation came to an end. Despite the evaluation being over, Baek Kiryang was almost in a state of mental breakdown, staring blankly into the air.
‘He’s having such a hard time.’
“We have another shoot coming up soon, so get up quickly. We need to move.”
I tried to forcibly lift Baek Kiryang, who looked so out of it, and get him out of the practice room.
“Hey.”
Then, someone called out to me. It was Kinder.
The guy who had been standing there awkwardly fumbled with his words for a while before suddenly offering a brief greeting, “Hello.”
“….Yes?”
‘We were just face-to-face a moment ago, and now you’re suddenly greeting me?’
I tilted my head, my bewilderment evident.
“I-I have something I want you to pass on! It’s not that important! It’s just something that’s been on my mind, and I want you to pass the message along.”
Then, as if not caring about my reaction at all, Kinder started rambling. Seeing his stiff tone, as if he were reading from a Korean language textbook, and his flushed red face, I thought he had probably memorized the script in advance.
‘I’m not sure whether to feel sorry for him or laugh…..’
“….To Lee Chise-sunbaenim?”
I had a feeling that if I left everything to this clumsy idiot, the conversation would drag on. I immediately figured out Kinder’s intention and brought up Lee Chise’s name. Kinder’s eyes widened in surprise, but he soon replied with a simple “
Yeah
” and nodded. Then, he stammered.
“I, uh, I’m sorry for bringing up Yutae-hyung. I felt like he was ignoring me, so … I got angry and made a mistake. Could you pass that on for me?”
The moment I heard those words, the image of Kinder’s nervous face, constantly watching Lee Chise’s expressions during the hip-hop program, flashed through my mind. And then I remembered his back view as he left, having caused conflict without gaining anything, just like a noisy empty cart.
1
“…….”
‘This kid, isn’t he actually a fan of Lee Chise?’
With a reasonable suspicion in mind, I lifted the corner of my mouth into a sly smile and asked, “Why? Are you afraid of being hated by Chise-sunbaenim?”
“No! Don’t talk nonsense! Just tell him what I said. Okay?” Kinder waved his hands frantically, clearly flustered by my words.
I watched his reaction and debated for a moment whether or not I should accept his request. And very quickly, I came to a conclusion.
‘What’s so pretty about this rude bastard that I should help him?’
“I suggest you talk to him directly about it. That way, you’ll be able to reconcile.”
After throwing the cold words without hesitation, I immediately turned away and dragged Baek Kiryang to the gym.
“Ahh! No!”
I heard a scream behind me, but I pretended not to hear it.
Originally, love letters are supposed to be handed over in person.
***
I was sure we had received incomparably more favorable reviews than any other teams.
Something wasn’t quite right.
“Can you try not to show that you’ve missed so many group practices? Your lack of practice was really noticeable to the trainers because you messed up the formation.”
“There were so many trainees around, I had no choice but to stand closer to avoid stepping on anyone. I’ll do well during the actual performance, so don’t make unnecessary comments.”
Everyone else says it’s fine, so why are these guys pointing out each other’s mistakes and fighting like dogs?
‘There’s no need for a reflection meeting. What’s the point of holding one when they’re already finding and pointing out even the smallest mistakes like this.’
Listening to the Lees yelling in pairs, I thought my ears were going to bleed.
I watched the two dogs barking at each other with lifeless eyes.
I had no idea why Lee Danbi, who usually acted like a very docile lamb in front of me, was so full of venom in front of everyone else. I also had no idea why Lee Hwayoung, who was usually so dignified, only acted so petty and irritable in front of Lee Danbi.
‘Spring is here……’
There was no need for me to intervene in a fight like this.
Lee Danbi and Lee Hwayoung were both terribly incompatible in terms of personality. I had never once expected the two to get along. This level of conflict was something I anticipated would continue to happen regularly in the future.
And most importantly, there were cameras here. Fortunately, those two weren’t foolish enough to cross the line in front of the cameras, so I could rest easy.
The bigger problem was Baek Kiryang.
‘He’s cowering by himself again.’
It appeared that Seezy’s comments had hit him pretty hard, judging by how lost he’s been since the mid-term evaluation.
‘Baek Kiryang had lost the ability to distinguish between legitimate criticism and personal attacks due to Frick’s verbal assaults. I had expected him to be more severely affected than the other trainees, but the impact seemed to have hit him harder than I anticipated.’
“…….”
His shadowy face looked so grim.
As I was observing Baek Kiryang’s condition out of the corner of my eye, I heard Yang Hajun’s cheerful voice.
“Hello, trainees!”
I let out a quiet sigh in response.
The fact that they even called the MC meant it was quite an important event, and at this point, the large-scale events that could be held were already decided.
“From now on, I will reveal the second betting system!”
….This damn program really doesn’t give me a moment to catch my breath.
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Translator’s Corner:
For the exact expression, it’s actually
빈 수레가 요란하다 (An empty cart makes a lot of noise)
. This is an idiom that means
those with little substance often boast the most
. Like people who don’t know much tend to be the loudest.
This idiom is because, a cart carrying a heavy load makes less noise because the load absorbs the vibrations. On the other hand, an empty card makes a loud noise and is prone to tipping over if the road is slightly bumpy. Also, a cart filled with small foreign objects, such as rocks, makes the most noise, rather than a completely empty cart. ↩︎
ARGH I’M GOING TO D THERE WAS A POWER OUTAGE AGAIN FOR THE WHOLE 2 HOURS WHILE I WAS ALMOST FINISHING THIS . like seriously I was just typing the second betting system part, then suddenly poof. my laptop died. (it needs to be charged on, if not then it died). LIKE ??? CAN YOU WAIT AT LEAST 5 MINUTES MORE I WAS SO CLOSE TO THE LAST LINE? and when I was getting tired of waiting for more than an hour and just almost drifting back to sleep, the electricity returned ?????????????
But it kinda already ruined my mood since I’m afraid there will be another blackout like yesterday …. I’m going to take a break today and go pick up my graduate documents then (I forgot to do it). See you later~