Chapter 64: The Techniques of an Idol Who Never Fails

I chose one of the titles that the A&R team had selected.

[Trace]

For the first time, I felt that my understanding of my own song was lower than others. I decided to just accept it.

So, I blindly chose the title that both companies' A&R teams had pushed as their top choice and informed the group chat of the two companies.

[Going with Trace]

It turned out that all the A&Rs loved it. It seems that I was the only one being stubborn. Well, it is my song...

This time, with both companies' A&R teams involved, the preparation for the new song went smoothly without any major issues. Of course, no one got any sleep. I didn't sleep, and the New Days members said, "How can we sleep when hyung isn't sleeping? 😭" and "We just got tricked by Jin-yeong hyung. 😭" They gathered in the practice room and stayed up all night. They are quite strange, but thinking that we won't be working together after this week makes me a bit sad. I guess I've grown attached to them.

The A&R teams from both companies, of course, didn't sleep either. At least, I had one less thing to worry about since I was working with another company. The First Light members, split into four units, kept the A&R teams on high alert. It was fortunate that the members who were still in the survival show were available to some extent. The survival show was making the six affiliated agencies quite busy.

* * *

Shooting day.

I came to the waiting room with New Days and received my costume.

"Haewon, try this on first."

When I was in First Light, I wasn't particularly tall, but in New Days, I became one of the taller members. The first outfit I tried on was a bit short, so I wore an extra one.

There were tops with collars inspired by hanbok and members wearing outerwear inspired by gonryongpo.

No matter what outfit, they were intentionally torn and partially burned to look worn out. My outfit was a black robe. It felt familiar...

"Reaper?"

The stylist paused at my words.

"It is a reaper's outfit, but it doesn't look like one. Ah, it's pretty."

Fortunately, I didn't have to wear a hat or smoky makeup, so I didn't look like a reaper.

To make it even less reaper-like, I had an enormous amount of spray applied to my hair. The New Days stylist asked the First Light stylist if they were going to cut my hair for the final performance, and upon hearing that they weren't, they styled my hair.

"Your hair is too good, so it won't stay in place."

"Mine is the best at scalp... Ouch."

"Ah, close your eyes and keep your mouth shut."

The shop employee said this and sprayed again.

I wondered if it was okay to spray so much, but when I looked in the mirror, it was perfectly set.

The employee, still unsure, checked the stability of my hair.

"Ah, it would have been perfect with a bold makeup look. But they said it's not happening next week."

"Our stage next week is going to be really intense."

Until now, I had been complaining about wanting to look less intense, but since the final theme was set as noir, there was no choice. The shop employees, who had been dealing with me, were already looking forward to next week.

The TRV staff and First Light members also cheered at the idea of noir. First Light's stylist, Lee Ye-young, was already excitedly showing different types of leather gloves. However, it's a mystery why they tried the first proposal + tuxedo concept. Maybe it was the CEO's taste. If it was the CEO's lack of style, that makes sense...

After finishing the preparations, we sat in the chairs set up for reactions. The performance order was completely random. We were scheduled to perform last.

There were quite a few celebrity panelists today. They must have gained a lot of confidence in terms of popularity.

I paused when I saw the panelists.

"Huh?"

In the audience, idol group Big Blue's Lee Jun-hee and Park Min-ha were sitting there. I got nervous, and middle schooler Kwak Jun-woo came over and asked,

"Hyung, why?"

"I thought about becoming an idol after seeing the Big Blue seniors."

"Really? Hyung is a fan of Big Blue seniors?"

"Yeah."

Wow. I'm so nervous.

Since I was nervous, Kwak Jun-woo said,

"Hyung, our stage is awesome! Be brave!"

"Yeah, our stage is awesome... Jun-woo, what if I forget the lyrics?"

"Of course not!"

"Ah, right."

Right. Of course not. That's a good answer.

I giggled with Kwak Jun-woo and then looked back at the monitor in the waiting room.

Hwang Saebi, who was in the first vocal unit, was about to go on stage. He had been lonely all week because he was separated from An Ju-won and Park Seon-jae. The song they were performing was about love. It was about not being able to start a new relationship because of the trauma of an old love. It was a relatable interpretation.

I had told Hwang Saebi to always bring the introduction of any song, and fortunately, he succeeded.

"Wow, Saebi hyung is handsome..."

The young members of New Days were in awe.

With the units split, the individual skills of the First Light members became more apparent. Hwang Saebi's unique aura, which no one else had, stood out even when mixed with other teams.

The second unit was a rap unit without any of our members, followed by a dance unit, which was essentially a competition between Min-ji-ho and Han Hyo-seok. It wasn't because they were biased, but simply because no one else was visible. With twelve members, they could have shown more choreography, but it seemed that time was tight, so they used part of it to showcase individual skills. The result was perfect for Min-ji-ho and Han Hyo-seok.

The fourth unit included Park Seon-jae and An Ju-won. With the vocalists from each team together, Park Seon-jae's voice stood out strangely.

"Wow, did he live without any dust?"

I heard Kang Jin-yeong mutter to himself.

There's no better way to describe Park Seon-jae's voice. It sounds like he hasn't inhaled any dust.

I remember being shocked when Park Seon-jae opened his mouth during the first shoot with Kuk Sun-ah. A bear-like young kid came in and captivated everyone with his voice.

That's why he's even more challenging. While Hwang Saebi can bring any song into his own style, Park Seon-jae needs the song to fit his vocals or his vocals to blend into the music.

On the other hand, An Ju-won seemed almost nonexistent throughout the performance.

"Wow!"

They made everyone shout when his face was finally shown. If anyone still doubts that An Ju-won made it into the debut group based on his looks alone, they probably haven't seen his face properly yet.

While the fifth unit was performing, we headed to the backstage.

According to Shin Ji-un, the fifth unit members barely talked to each other. As a result, the stage felt like a competition and a rap battle. But it was hip-hop and quite cool.

Kwak Jun-woo said to me,

"Ji-un hyung is a real cheat."

"But his personality is obvious."

"Ah."

Kwak Jun-woo giggled. No matter what, Shin Ji-un is a cheat. He spent half the performance sitting on a chair on stage, but the audience's attention was drawn to him.

As we were about to go on stage,

My feet felt glued to the ground.

Hmm.

I was a bit surprised that my body wasn't moving according to my mind, so I told the members,

"Wait a moment, go on first."

"Huh?"

When the members turned around, the quick-witted Kang Jin-yeong realized there was a problem and pushed them onto the stage.

I hadn't realized how much I relied on the First Light members. Without them, my feet wouldn't move, and my hands were shaking.

Fortunately, Shin Ji-un was coming off the stage, so I quickly gestured to him.

"Hey, pull me up."

Shin Ji-un came over and asked,

"What's wrong?"

"My feet won't move. Is this my body? I don't understand."

Shin Ji-un pulled my arm. Once I got to the stairs, my legs started moving again.

"...I really need to rest after this."

I muttered to myself, and Shin Ji-un scolded me,

"It's too late. What rest? We need to prepare for the concert."

"Damn."

I cursed a bit, but it helped me relax. I apologized to the production team, members, and audience and went on stage.

The lights were so hot today that I felt like my body was burning. The audience's gaze felt as cold as the first day we went on stage.

Then, Kang Jin-yeong's opening line started. Seeing how he got the audience to respond, I thought he was a real pro.

The intro began. It was my music.

Cheers were heard from the first line.

'Ah, I made it well.'

Looking at the audience, they clearly liked the song.

The lights no longer felt hot. It was enjoyable.

* * *

The final stage.

Unlike the simple previous stages, the audience's eyes