Chapter 58: The Technique of an Idol Who Never Fails

Asking the PD to do something is really a delicate matter, especially for someone like me, who is just a nobody. If I were a PD with some clout, I wouldn’t have asked.

PD Hwang Jisuk rubbed his tired eyes with his fingers and said, “Well… Haewon, too much of anything isn’t good. You know that, right?”

It seems that PD Woo Hyejeong, the head PD, promised to avoid controversy in the show, considering there were several minors involved. The parents of Firstlight’s members were convinced to participate in another survival show because of that promise.

Still, if we edit the footage to portray Haewon in the opposite image of Kook Seona, it will essentially be a direct attack on Kook Seona, and while I hope it will stir up some controversy, I’m worried about how fragile my mental state is. But since VMC is already making my life miserable, I need to see them suffer too.

I don’t want VMC to be happy… It would have been easier to say it directly, but I found a way to hint at it.

Of course, I know that PD Hwang Jisuk hasn’t done anything to harm me, and that the production team of The Rising all strive to maintain basic professional ethics.

However, doesn’t everyone in the entertainment industry eventually learn that today’s ally can be tomorrow’s enemy, and that even when you know someone will be your enemy tomorrow, you still have to work with them today? Trust no one but yourself.

“You really did a great job editing this time. I’ve never been edited so positively in a variety show before. I’m really grateful, and I want to help in any way I can. This is the only thing I could think of. Something that could at least stir up some interest…”

At my words, PD Hwang Jisuk let out a serious sigh.

* * *

After I spoke, I felt much lighter.

Just then, a TRV staff member came to inform me that my studio had been set up. I had been living in Yang Euihyung’s studio and borrowing the company’s control room, but the company had asked me to take a studio because they felt it was too inconvenient for me to be without one, especially since I would be working on a public broadcast.

Until now, I had refused mainly because I thought I would be leaving soon. But now, I don’t think I’ll be leaving Firstlight anytime soon, so I decided to accept the studio.

Anyway, I reluctantly agreed to take the studio. It might sound unlucky, but it’s not entirely wrong. I accepted it even though I didn’t really need it.

By the time I finished organizing my studio, it was past eight o'clock.

“…I wish I had asked for this earlier.”

I muttered this to myself in front of the studio door.

The studio, given the excitement over the success of our last regular album, was small but had an incredibly good view. It was a room facing Gyeongbokgung Palace and Bukaksan Mountain.

The view was so nice that I immediately called my parents for a video chat. My mother answered right away.

- Yes, Haewon. Have you eaten?

“Of course. What do you think?”

- What do you mean, ‘what do you think’? You always say you’ve eaten.

I hadn’t eaten. Hehe. I should order some jajangmyeon after hanging up. After all, the first day in a new place should be celebrated with jajangmyeon.

“Mom, is Dad home?”

- Yes, wait a moment.

My mother called for my father, but he didn’t answer, so she put down the phone and went to look for him. The screen went black.

“…Is the call still connected?”

I called out loudly, confused by the black screen.

“Mom! Dad!”

After a while, my father picked up the phone.

- What! What’s going on!

“I was just feeling lonely because the screen went dark.”

My parents looked bewildered, but I was confident.

Anyway, I continued.

“I got a studio at the company.”

- Really? Are you there?

“Yes. Hold on a moment.”

I showed them the view through the phone.

“There’s Gyeongbokgung Palace.”

- Oh my…

- Does the company give such a nice room to a twenty-year-old? Is that okay?

My parents were worried before they were happy. I looked at the camera and said,

“They forced it on me even though I said I didn’t need it.”

My parents looked relieved after I said that.

After a long chat about recent events, I hung up and was about to order jajangmyeon when the members burst in. The production team of The Rising followed, setting up cameras and leaving. Since Firstlight has many shy members, they usually avoid the studio during such times. Editing must be tough.

“Didn’t you go back to the dorm?”

“I heard you were ordering jajangmyeon, so I came to eat too.”

Hwang Saegil laid out the newspaper on the floor. I had mentioned it in the group chat.

Shin Jiwoon looked around the studio and said,

“But there’s not enough space for all seven of us to sit.”

“Then use more newspaper.”

Min Jihoo said, extending the newspaper out into the hallway.

“Sit like this!”

At that, Han Hyoseok sighed.

“…I get it, but don’t look so proud.”

It was ridiculous, but we opened the door wide, laid out the newspaper inside and outside the studio, and played rock-paper-scissors.

The studio is mine, but I ended up eating in the hallway.

“I’m the studio owner, and I’m eating outside on the first day.”

“Well, you should have won the rock-paper-scissors.”

Hwang Saegil said, and the kind Ahn Juyeon added,

“Then Haewon, as the studio owner, should eat at the threshold.”

Eh, not so kind.

“Man, this is crazy… But it’s better than the hallway.”

We would meet the eyes of passing employees in the hallway. The threshold was wide and flat, and I could lean back. It’s true, humans are adaptable. I accepted this situation.

When the food arrived, it started drizzling, and by the time we were eating, it had turned into a steady autumn rain. I picked up a piece of tangsuyuk and looked at the members, finding it hard not to laugh.

“You guys really look crazy.”

“Thanks, ten thousand won.”

Shin Jiwoon said, and I replied,

“I’m not scared anymore. I’m succeeding in quitting smoking, you know.”

Park Sunjae then said,

“Bro, that’s amazing. Wasn’t quitting smoking hard?”

“What, it’s only been a few months. It’s not that bad.”

“True.”

Of course, when it rains in autumn and I think about having a drink, the idea of smoking pops up too. Quitting wasn’t that hard, but I often think about the taste of a cigarette in the fresh air after a drink.

Shin Jiwoon looked out the window and said,

“The rain kills the mood.”

I agreed.

“Yeah, but it’s still nice.”

Despite the ridiculous situation, the atmosphere was really good. It was funny to be with the members, and I was happy to have my equipment and the night view, and the smell of the rain. Hwang Saegil stirred another bowl of jajangmyeon and said,

“Isn’t it good when it rains on the first day of moving in?”

Min Jihoo chimed in,

“Yeah, they say if it rains on moving day, you’ll have a good life. Bro, you’ll have a good life.”

“Yeah, good is good.”

I nodded.

While eating, I thought about our mission song, “Butterfly Dance.”

The song starts with the narrator seeing a student from the same school dancing and thinking it looks like a butterfly. The lyrics are somewhat vague, but the music video dramatically explains everything.

Set in the girls' high school where MC Lee Heese’s girl group, Lunaris, attends, it begins with one member doing ballet and another, wearing glasses and holding a poetry book, watching her.

The ballet student greets the poetry student first.

[Your dance is the butterfly dance, I want to be your friend]

[It was hard to talk to you, so I just watched from afar]

[My heart is the butterfly dance, thank you for saying hello]

[We are different, but that’s why we like each other]

The story is about two people who are very different in daily life, personality, and background, becoming friends and sharing their friendship with the rest of the Lunaris members.

And at the end, the ballerina tells her friend, who became a poet, that the way she turned the pages of her poetry book in school looked like a butterfly’s wings.

When I first asked the members for their thoughts on the song, they were quiet at first, then one by one, they spoke up.

- The ballet girl is so popular.

- She’s so brave to talk to someone she doesn’t know.

These naturally introverted guys had such impressions.

I looked at the members and organized my thoughts for a moment before speaking.

“On the first day of Kook Seona, Han Hyoseok introduced himself and did ballet. What did you think then?”

When I asked, all the members except Han Hyoseok answered simultaneously.

“He was determined to debut no matter what.”

They all said the same thing and laughed, lying on the newspaper. Han Hyoseok, embarrassed, pretended not to hear and drank the leftover jjajangmyeon broth.

Yeah, it’s… quite different.

Trying to understand the lyrics, I realized that we were different from the beginning, and my mind cleared up.

These shy guys might eventually become a team. We share interests, so we quickly became comfortable with each other.

Come to think of it, we had the same goal.

When I tried to clean up quickly, Hwang Saegil said,

“Hey, just work. We’ll clean up.”

“Really? Then I’ll buy ice cream.”

“Give us your card.”

The members, regardless of their financial situation, never refuse when someone offers to buy something.

I gave them my card, and they immediately played rock-paper-scissors to decide who would buy ice cream and who would clean up. Meanwhile, I sat down.

After making some adjustments, I was startled by the sight of ice cream being placed next to me and snapped back to reality. I looked at the members and asked,

“Is it okay if we change a lot?”

“We have to change a lot.”

Shin Jiwoon answered, and I asked,

“How will we practice? We’ll have to stay up all night, won’t we?”

Min Jihoo, eating ice cream, said,

“We’ll just do it.”

“Yeah, we’ll just do it.”

Park Sunjae nodded in agreement. Fortunately, they all have good stamina and learning ability. They’re not afraid of practice.