Chapter 11: The Techniques of an Idol Who Never Fails

While Park Hee-yeong's schedule was busy with traveling around the country, Firstlight's schedule was packed tightly, making it even more intense. There were countless practice schedules, and since they were still rookies, the company managed all their XeeApp schedules, so they often held XeeLive sessions during particularly busy periods. The members' individual popularity, which they had built through their roles in *Kukseonah*, also meant that they had a good reputation, leading to a continuous stream of photo shoots.

One day, on a Friday, all their schedules were cleared. This was to ensure that the Firstlight members would show their faces at school at least once per semester.

“Bro, can I borrow some socks?”

“Sunjae, our ties seem to have changed.”

“Performance high school students this way, Central Art High and university students that way.”

It was incredibly chaotic with four high school boys arriving at school simultaneously. The weak Huang Saebok was still sleeping, while An Joo-won, the art student, was looking at the fit of the students' uniforms. The three performance high school students were driven by Park Manager, while I took An Joo-won and Han Hyo-seok.

When we arrived at Central Art High, Han Hyo-seok got out first. I hadn't noticed it while he was with Firstlight, but seeing him walk into the school, I realized that even in a specialized high school, his proportions were outstanding. He looked like a power entertainer even from a hundred meters away. There was no way he could avoid becoming an entertainer.

Even with someone like him, a team that doesn't rise won't rise.

I returned to the car and drove An Joo-won, who had been sleeping in the passenger seat, to the university, which was an hour away from Central Art High. An Joo-won had been doing art since he was young and entered the industrial design department during his break.

When I shook An Joo-won awake, he opened his eyes, looked at the school, and was incredibly excited.

Isn't that a bit too much?

I felt a sense of foreboding and said, “Call Hyun-woo, don't take a taxi.”

“Yeah, yeah, I got it.”

Without waiting for me to get out of the car, he immediately ran off to find someone he knew and disappeared, patting their shoulder.

I never imagined that An Joo-won, who had been so quiet, would be so lively at school. He must be suited for being a college student.

* * *

It felt refreshing, like a parent sending their children back to school after a long break.

Yeah, this is why kids need to go to school, for the parents' rest...

With some free time, I headed to the studio of Yang Yi, the arranger from my *Kukseonah* days, near the company.

“Even if you call me, I'm still your senior, Yi.”

Yang Yi, who had been waiting for my call, got up and said.

“Ah, just seeing that kid's face makes me more tired.”

“Aww.”

I had no trouble being cute, having gone through the trainee life and *Kukseonah* era. The problem was that I wasn't cute to others, but that wasn't my responsibility. Yang Yi, looking disgusted, said,

“You were still a high schooler just now, right? If this were school, it would be bullying.”

Despite his annoyance, he gestured for me to come in.

His studio was definitely a level above mine, where I had only bought cheap equipment.

I felt embarrassed about playing my work for someone for the first time.

Since I couldn't play the music right away, Yang Yi, with tattoos all over his arms and neck, lay on the sofa with a frown.

“Hey, what are you doing? I don't have time.”

He wasn't a bad person, but he was scary, so I quickly played the music and sang, burying my face in the lyrics I had memorized.

Yang Yi didn't get up from the sofa, nor did he interrupt the music. He listened to my first original song from start to finish.

After the song ended, Yang Yi didn't say a word, so I started making excuses.

“I just wrote the rap part roughly, trusting Shin Ji-woon.”

“Really strange. The song is good, but it's oddly convincing.”

Yang Yi continued.

“To make it good enough to send to A&R, it needs a lot of revision.”

“Of course.”

“There's still an hour before the meeting.”

“That's why I brought it here, because I can't do it alone.”

To my surprise, Yang Yi didn't get angry. Instead, he looked more motivated and said,

“Sit down first.”

I thought it was good to occasionally use people who felt guilty about me. One of the advantages of the *Kukseonah* era is that I could do this.

Yang Yi, who was already exhausted from his schedule, listened to my requests and eventually passed out. When I took out a cigarette, he suddenly sat up.

“Don't smoke in the studio.”

“I won't smoke here, of course. I'll go out, so get up. You said you'd help more.”

“You make me lose motivation. How can someone who looks like that be a genius?”

“I've been playing the piano since I was young, so I learn quickly.”

“Learning an instrument and having inspiration are different. It's even more annoying because I know someone like that.”

Yang Yi, already looking disgusted, pointed at the requests I had written down.

“Why do you have so many requests? It's intense, but what does 'naturally intense' even mean?”

“Don't you get the feeling?”

“I have no idea.”

“Come on, you know.”

While talking to Yang Yi, I took my cigarette and went outside.

Composing seems to suit me. It was the most fun thing I've done recently.

I found a distant smoking area, smoked a cigarette, and returned to the studio. By then, Min Ji-ho and Park Sun-jae had arrived, probably after school.

Min Ji-ho, excited, said,

“Ah, the song is good? It's my taste?”

As expected, it matched Min Ji-ho's taste. On the other hand, Park Sun-jae looked a bit skeptical. Still, he showed interest and said,

“Hyun-woo, can you add that intro? Start with our slogan, Third, Second, First, and then Turn on the Light.”

When Park Sun-jae said "Turn on the Light" in a deep voice, Min Ji-ho and Yang Yi burst out laughing and patted his back.

“Wow, that's good?”

“Ji-ho, you try it. You're good at raspy voices.”

Min Ji-ho's raspy voice was indeed good, and when we did the double recording, the sound had a strong passion. After listening again, Min Ji-ho said,

“Ah, but the track... it's intense, but it would be better if it were naturally intense.”

Yang Yi, looking serious, alternated his gaze between me and Min Ji-ho.

“Did you write it?”

“I didn't.”

While I was answering, Min Ji-ho picked up a pen and scribbled on a blank piece of paper.

“And Hyun-woo, the title doesn't work. Let's change it.”

[Turn on the Light]

At the same time, a status window appeared.

[Changing the title of 'One Team One Goal']

[Title changed to 'Turn on the Light']

[Checking the hit potential of 'Turn on the Light'

C-grade hit production probability 0% (+2%)]

For the first time, there was a hit production probability. Even 2% for a C-grade hit is heartwarming.

Being around people who make music for a living definitely helped with the song production. This is what teamwork feels like.

It felt like it took longer than doing it alone, but others filled in things I could never think of.

Yang Yi said,

“Let's do the guide recording right away. Your singing is bad, so it will take a while.”

Just as we were about to start recording, the phone rang.

Sometimes, just seeing a number on my phone gives me a bad feeling. This was one of those times. It was a publicity team member.

-Manager Chul, have you seen the internet?

“No, why?”

-I'll send you a link.

When I clicked the link, it was a tweet that had been retweeted over 10,000 times. It seemed to have spread to other communities as well.

[An M. is probably a manipulated member]

[Watching recent activities, I feel that his skills are much lower compared to other members.]

[Fans say it's because he's an actor and gets a lot of non-fan votes, but really?]

[I'm not sure if he's even exceptionally good-looking compared to the other five...]

[Honestly, it doesn't make sense that he debuted without any standout performances in *Kukseonah*.]

[↳He talks about speculation as if it's official.]

[↳↳It's okay to say it's strange, right?]

[↳Spreading rumors is grounds for a lawsuit.]

[↳↳The fear of being silenced is scary.]

This was a recurring topic after the *Kukseonah* manipulation controversy.

As soon as I hung up, I got a call from Park Joon-woo's manager. As soon as I answered, Park Manager said urgently,

-Mr. Joo-won isn't answering his calls.

“...What?”

-Ah, I'm going crazy...

I took the call and ran out of the studio.

When I heard that An Joo-won wasn't answering, I remembered his cheerful face when he entered the school earlier. I immediately headed to the school.

Wearing a cap pulled down low, I stopped every passing student to ask for the industrial design department students.

Not knowing the university's structure, I found the department room and rushed to the industrial design department's lounge.

Inside, I saw two students playing games on gaming laptops, and a sleeping bag behind them. The students, recognizing me, quickly unzipped the sleeping bag and woke up An Joo-won.

Fortunately, An Joo-won jumped up and ran out, but he smelled of alcohol. The students said he was unusually depressed and had shared a bottle with two others.

An Joo-won, who was still underage, drinking was a problem, but the bigger issue was that he had been sleeping in the lounge with other students.

As soon as An Joo-won sat in the passenger seat, he sobered up and said,

“Man, I'm sorry.”

“What are you sorry for? You're in charge of your own life.”

“...”

“Bringing you back is my job. If you want to apologize, do it to the members.”

Thinking it was better that he hadn't passed out somewhere else, I drove back to the company. An Joo-won mumbled,

“I apologize to the members every day, every day. That damn apology.”

I didn't understand what he meant, but he continued,

“I'm not good at dancing or singing. Just following is already tight. I can only say sorry all the time.”

“...”

Given the ongoing manipulation controversy, An Joo-won was indeed a good-looking but seemingly incompetent member. He hadn't had any standout performances or scenes.

But from the perspective of someone who had been in *Kukseonah* with him, it wasn't strange that he could attract fans with his looks.

The Firstlight members were generally good-looking with unique styles, but An Joo-won was exceptionally good-looking in a classic way. His features were distinct, and he looked like an actor most of the time, but he also looked great with idol makeup and colored contacts.

An Joo-won mumbled,

“Without you, I would have been eliminated in the early stages of *Kukseonah*. You always split your practice time to help me.”

“It's a team.”

“Exactly. You did that. The current Firstlight members don't.”

“...”

“Anyway, the atmosphere is much worse than you think.”

As An Joo-won spoke, I thought about how I should promote him when he sounded weak.

I told An Joo-won,

“That's why I wrote the song that way.”

Even though I knew he would look at me with a "Why are you talking about this now?" expression, I boldly continued,

“Exactly what you said... I'll play it for you next time.”

There was only 30 minutes left until the 9:00 meeting. We would arrive at the company after 9:00, so it was impossible to submit the song for this meeting.

But I also knew that it was impossible for this song to be chosen for the digital single, which would only feature one song. So, I planned to aim for the next opportunity.

At that moment, the status window appeared again.

[Checking the hit potential of 'Turn on the Light']

C-grade hit production probability 2% (+5%)

Why did it increase by 5% again?

While I was thinking, my phone rang. It was Park Sun-jae.

-Bro! Did you find Joo-won?

“Yeah, I'm bringing him back.”

-That's a relief. But since he was gone, I did a rough guide recording. Should I take it to the A&R team right away?

“...Sure?”

Is this what they mean by "misfortune turning into fortune"?

“Wait, what about the rap?”

-Oh, Ji-ho really likes this song, but he can't accept the rap you wrote. Is that okay?

Did erasing the rap add 5%? That's a bit much.

But it probably wouldn't have added 5% anyway...

Anyway, it's good.

“Thanks, thanks a lot.”

The frustration from dealing with An Joo-won was immediately relieved. It was a blessing in disguise.

At 9:00, as I was heading back to the company, the meeting between the A&R team and the five Firstlight members began.