Chapter 10

8:30 AM.

In front of the gathered trainees, I announced that the arrangement was complete.

"What?"

Seo Ryeok's expression suggested he was doubting his own ears.

"How did you finish it all in one night?"

"Good."

"......"

"Just kidding. It just worked out as I was doing it."

The guy, at a loss for words, asked,

"Is it really done properly?"

"You'll know when you hear it."

The youngest member grinned and chimed in,

"If it's a mess, it's invalid. You have to buy us snacks."

"Hey, is this the time to think about snacks?"

"Why not, hyung? They say even ghosts who eat and die have a good complexion, so of course eating is important."

While the youngest and the main vocalist bickered, Kim Joon-hyun, Kim Bi-ju, and the third-year line were having their own conversation.

It seemed to be something along the lines of, "You're already done?" and "I don't know, let's just listen."

I held the USB I received from the manager and connected it to the speaker.

I'm a bit nervous.

The manager said he had done the computer work, but I had never actually heard it.

What if it turns out to be a disaster after all my big talk?

"Alright, I'll play it now."

Everyone looked skeptical.

How good could an arrangement done in a day be?

But the atmosphere changed as soon as the intro began.

With a clean opening, Kim Joon-hyun mouthed an 'O.' When he nodded, Kim Bi-ju followed suit.

The youngest stopped chewing his chocolate and perked up his ears.

Seo Ryeok was listening intently.

Initially surprised by the high quality, they soon looked satisfied.

The first 30 seconds were for evaluation.

But after 30 seconds, the trainees were fully immersed in the song.

Two different songs.

After the first verse, the second verse began immediately, with a connecting melody in between.

The members looked puzzled at this unfamiliar section.

"This is where Joon-hyun will do the rap."

Everyone nodded, and Joon-hyun, the rapper, smiled in satisfaction.

He said it was a good melody for writing lyrics.

Eventually, the rap part ended, and the second verse began, with a different musical arrangement from the first verse.

Everyone listened anxiously, but they were all impressed by the natural transition.

"How was it?"

After the song ended, I asked for their opinions.

"Amazing. I was a bit skeptical when you said you'd do it in a day, but I didn't expect it to be this good."

"I like the rap part. It flows well."

"I'm disappointed about the snacks, but I like it too."

They all seemed genuinely satisfied, not just saying it to be nice.

I was relieved.

Actually, I was a bit unsure despite my confident talk.

It had been two years since I last arranged music, and I had worked through the night. I was worried about a bad reaction, but the response was better than expected.

"......"

Seo Ryeok finally spoke.

"Let's say you won the bet, hyung."

"Alright."

"I'm conceding because it's good."

Despite his reluctance, Seo Ryeok looked resigned, and I smiled at him.

Now I had achieved my goal.

Without relying on my age or experience, I had naturally gained the trust of the members through my arranging skills.

"I'll have full authority over the performance, as promised."

I recalled my plan.

"Let's start with role assignments."

* * *

Kim Bi-ju, the main dancer, would handle the choreography.

Seo Ryeok, the main vocalist, would handle vocal directing.

Rapping would naturally be handled by the only rapper, Kim Joon-hyun.

"What about me?"

"Hmm... I'm not sure."

Looking at the youngest with wide eyes, I was momentarily at a loss.

It was awkward to say he was useless.

I couldn't say anything negative to a budding sprout, so I thought of a good role.

"You'll handle the snacks."

"Huh? What's that?"

"Making sure everyone has snacks so they don't get hungry."

"Ah, I'm confident about that."

The youngest nodded, as if eager to take on the task.

"Hey, Woo-ju hyung."

Kim Bi-ju pulled something out of her bag.

It was a spring notebook.

Flipping through the pages, she stopped at the middle, where the writing was dense.

"What's this?"

"I heard your plan yesterday and roughly sketched out the choreography. If you haven't assigned parts yet, how about this?"

"Alright, let me see."

The pages were filled with crude drawings showing the movements of the members.

Though the drawings were rough, they conveyed the idea well.

Looking at it, I regarded her with newfound respect.

"You did this in one night?"

"Yes."

"You're impressive too."

It was a sincere compliment.

I knew how difficult it was to create choreography, having done it for group evaluations at TJ Entertainment.

To do it in one night was impressive.

Moreover, the quality was better than expected.

No wonder she had dark circles under her eyes.

Unlike the other trainees, she had gone home and worked on this alone.

"Alright, then let's go with this..."

I paused.

Huh?

While looking at the part assignments Kim Bi-ju had made, I noticed something odd.

It was too natural, and I hadn't realized it at first.

"Wait, I already assigned parts yesterday."

Part assignments.

To perform a group performance, you first need to decide who will sing which part of the song, and then create the choreography.

I took out the part assignment outline I had saved on my phone and compared it with Kim Bi-ju's choreography.

"Wow."

"Why?"

The curious youngest chimed in.

"Look at this."

As I scrolled through my phone, the four of them gathered around.

Like me, they alternated between looking at Kim Bi-ju's choreography and my part assignments, then blinked in surprise.

"What? Why are they the same?"

Kim Bi-ju's choreography and my part assignments were about 90% identical.

It was an unlikely coincidence.

Unless we had some kind of telepathy.

It was hard to imagine that Kim Bi-ju, who had worked on the choreography alone in her room, and I, who had arranged the music in the practice room, had the same thought process.

"......"

At that moment, we all felt a strange sense of certainty.

It felt like a sign of something great about to happen.

With everything falling into place, we all looked at each other and nodded.

"Shall we go with this?"

Everyone nodded in agreement.

In less than a day, we had assigned parts, choreography, and roles.

In other words, the basic framework was complete.

"By the way, what should we name our team?"

"Team name?"

In response to my question, Kim Bi-ju smiled and said,

"Since we're representing our agency, we need a team name. With the new member, we're changing it."

"What was it before?"

"Lemon Boys."

Why is my face burning?

"A bit strange, right?"

"Not a bit, but very strange. Who came up with it?"

"Our CEO."

"Actually, it's not a bad name when you think about it."

My change of heart made the trainees chuckle.

Creating a team name, even if it was temporary, was a difficult task.

All sorts of names like Devils, Yellow Green, and Five Star were suggested, but none of them felt right.

It was like choosing late-night snacks.

You need something that perfectly suits your taste, but it never seems to come.

"Let's just decide on something. It's only temporary, after all."

"How about Five Star?"

"Anything but that, Joon-hyun."

I shook my head at Kim Joon-hyun, who had been insisting on Five Star.

The guy, looking for agreement from the others, soon slumped at their cold rejection.

Seo Ryeok's words were the final blow.

"Let's go with Five Star."

"Really?"

"I can just quit if I don't like it."

"......"

We had arranged the music, assigned parts, and created choreography, but choosing a name was unexpectedly difficult.

After much deliberation, the youngest spoke up.

"Woo-ju hyung."

"Yes?"

"Hyung, where did you buy that hoodie?"

"K-mart."

I asked, smiling.

"Why do you like it?"

"Well, I only like expensive stuff."

Wang Ji-ho, who had been indifferent, pointed at my hoodie.

"Hyung, there's writing on your hoodie."

"This one?"

"Yes, what does it say? Joon-hyun hyung, can you read it?"

"Chicken is the new black."

Listening to Kim Joon-hyun's fluent English, I looked at the writing on my hoodie.

Wang Ji-ho said,

"How about what's written there? New Black."

"New Black?"

"How about it?"

Every time a name was suggested, there were objections, but this time there was no resistance.

It was simple and straightforward.

I even checked the internet to make sure it didn't have any strange meanings in English, but there were no issues.

'The New Black.'

It's an expression used to describe a new trend in English.

"Who agrees to New Black?"

Everyone raised their hands.

Thus, our temporary team name 'New Black' was decided.

Now all that was left was practice.

* * *

December 2013.

While everyone was busy wrapping up the year, we were also fully focused on preparing for the year-end evaluation.

Fortunately, all members of Team New Black performed their roles well.

"Let's check the choreography first."

Kim Bi-ju had created a choreography that left us in awe in just a few days.

While it might be lacking from a professional's perspective, it perfectly matched our style.

However, the unexpectedly high difficulty level made the other members, except for me, feel like they were in hell, with their skills improving day by day.

Especially Seo Ryeok, who was a dance novice, became paler each day, but he excelled in his area.

"Your vocal tone isn't coming through, Bi-ju hyung. Sing as you usually do. You're not using your voice properly."

"Sorry, I must have breathed wrong at the start."

"I'll go back to the beginning."

Her directing was more terrifying than a strict teacher.

Any mistake would result in sharp criticism, which forced our skills to improve rapidly.

"Hyung, can you listen to my rap?"

Kim Joon-hyun, the rapper, also performed his role well.

The rhythm in the lyrics made you nod, and the flow of delivering the lyrics enhanced the rhythm and rhyme.

After the rap, the youngest approached like an EMT and handed Kim Joon-hyun a chocolate.

It was a cute scene every time I saw it.

Like this, we were all doing our best in our respective areas.

December 28th.

For the upcoming final battle.

* * *

December 27th, the day before the year-end evaluation.

I called my grandmother to hear her voice after a long time.

After a few rings, a bustling sound and a clear voice filled my ears.

-Is that Woo-ju!

"Yes, Grandma. It's me."

-What are you doing at this hour?

"When have I ever called with a reason?"

I laughed and replied,

"I just wanted to hear your voice."

-You're being sarcastic.

"Here we go again."

-You always do things to get scolded.

"Really, Grandma. I called because I missed you."

Her grumbling on the other end made me smile.

"Are you ready to come tomorrow?"

-Everything's ready.

"If you're not feeling well, just stay home. It's not a big deal to come to Seoul."

-I have to see it, of course.

"Right?"

-Of course. If I don't go, I'll be disappointed. I'll be upset if I don't see it.

Well, she's not wrong.

"Actually, it would be nice if you came."

-Right?

"Yes, and I prepared a gift for you. I'll give it to you."

-What is it? Did you buy another cream?

"No, something else."

I had bought clothes for her at a department store recently.

Of course, it was a secret until tomorrow.

"What about the cream I bought last month? Are you using it well?"

-I'm using it sparingly. It's good because it's imported.

Her happy voice made me feel proud.

"If you want to buy more, let me know. I got my advance, so I'm rich now."

-You're being sarcastic again.

"I'm serious. I can buy you lots of cosmetics. That way, you can get date requests from the grandpas at the community center."

-Enough, you brat. If I were a man, I'd be tired of you. Do you know how much I suffered while your grandfather was alive...

I must have chosen the wrong topic.

Grandma's voice, like a rapid-fire talker, spewed out her complaints about the late grandpa.

"Grandma, I have to go now."

-Why? Don't you want to listen?

"No, it's time to practice. The others are calling me."

It was true.

The youngest was running towards me like a puppy from the hallway.

"See you tomorrow, Grandma."

With that, I hung up the phone.

* * *

Mrs. Kim Deok-soon sighed after hanging up.

"Ugh, that sarcastic brat."

She felt sorry for him, having to do something at this hour.

An idol, of all things.

Why was he so passionate about it?

She was secretly happy when he said he would quit.

But now he wanted to do it again.

'What can I do? It's his fate.'

He had been talking about being an idol since he was a child, and now he had come this far.

What was it called, the evaluation tomorrow?

She had laid out the clothes she would wear and was applying skin care before bed when she suddenly remembered something.

In the second drawer of her vanity, there was an old drawing.

Mrs. Kim Deok-soon took out the old drawing.

The yellowed paper felt the passage of time.

[2nd Grade, Class 1, Seon Woo-ju]

Under the clumsy writing was a drawing.

A child was playing the piano and singing under a yellow crayon spotlight.

[Future Aspiration: Space Superstar]

[Teacher, I will become the most famous person in the world]

Looking at it, Mrs. Kim Deok-soon prayed deeply in her heart.

Buddha in heaven.

Please.

Make this time better for my grandson.