Chapter 86

There are people like that.

What on earth are they thinking as they live their lives?

In our group, there are four such people.

Excluding me, everyone has some strange point about them.

Of course, there is one person who stands out among them, but our youngest member also has a peculiar personality.

Apart from the 1% of the time when he's admirable, 99% of the time, I can't help but think, "Oh my, look at that."

Our youngest member was that hard to understand, but now I can see clearly what he's thinking.

"Acting?"

I asked with a smile.

"Why acting all of a sudden?"

"Ah, I was just asking. I also remembered how I was scammed by an older member last year. He said he hadn't sung for two years, but he did well."

"I sing better."

"You didn't ask the older members."

Lee Hyuk, who had briefly interrupted, twisted his lips and turned his gaze back to 'First Steps in Japanese.'

He glanced at me before doing so.

His eyes seemed to say, "You know you have to answer well, right?"

"Anyway, I was just curious. The older members might be good at it, but I might also be good, so..."

It looks like that.

He's like a child clutching a candy, worried that someone might snatch it away.

In fact, in areas like singing, dancing, rapping, and composing, our youngest member wasn't particularly outstanding.

And he was concerned about that fact.

Even if he tried to hide it, it was obvious to those around him.

During the year-end evaluations, when everyone was assigned a role, he even tried to create a role for himself to be of help.

Of course, his role was to be in charge of snacks, which was quite cute, but no one laughed about it.

It showed how much he wanted to be of help.

And regardless of whether he could contribute as a group member, acting was the only strength he could boast to the older members.

Didn't he say he originally wanted to be an actor?

He came here to be an actor but ended up becoming an idol.

But he didn't give up on his dream of being an actor.

Whenever it was time for personal lessons, while everyone else learned rapping or composing, he went to acting lessons.

I don't know how significant acting is to Jiho, but the thoughts he revealed were not light.

"I don't know. I've never learned acting."

"Hmm? Why not?"

Jiho asked, surprised.

"Well, in big agencies like TJ, they only pick the ones who are likely to succeed, right?"

"Rice sprouts. Idiot."

Lee Hyuk chuckled and lifted the book when the youngest member turned his head sharply.

Jiho cleared his throat and said,

"Anyway, they make good-looking people take acting lessons."

"Ah, that's probably MOP, which has a wide range of actors. TJ doesn't have that kind of system."

Each of the four major agencies has its own characteristics.

SNH values character, KM emphasizes hip-hop, MOP focuses on visuals, and TJ values performance.

TJ is obsessed with performance.

Even if someone is a good dancer, if the group's overall choreography is off, they might be removed from the debut lineup.

It wasn't for nothing that rumors of favoritism spread among the trainees when I was selected for the TNT debut lineup.

"Anyway, they don't give acting lessons. If you're an aspiring actor, it might be different, but..."

The conclusion was simple.

"I've never learned it, so I don't know about acting."

"Really?"

"How much have you learned?"

Jiho counted on his fingers and said,

"Since middle school, I've been learning at an acting school... for three years."

"That's a long time."

"If you include the storytelling school, it's ten years."

Lee Hyuk and I burst into laughter while reading the book.

Jiho alone had a serious expression.

"I was serious..."

"I know."

"Anyway, I don't know much about acting. I'm probably lacking in many ways, so I'll need your help."

"Trust me, older brother."

"Please take care of it, senior."

While we were joking around, Lee Hyuk put down the book and asked,

"But have you really never learned it?"

"What?"

"Acting."

"Yeah."

...I was about to answer when something came to mind.

"Ah, now that I think about it, I did receive a lesson once when I was at that company."

"Really?"

"The teacher said something."

"What did they say?"

Looking at the curious faces of the two, I recalled the past.

What did the acting teacher say back then?

He just casually said it.

"Just, not bad, I guess?"

* * *

After the schedule ended, we received instructions from the manager.

"Your commercial CF shooting schedule is set. The filming will take place at a boys' middle school in Yeongdeungpo."

The location was confirmed.

"Probably over two days."

"Two days?"

"You know the EverDream models, right? Blink."

We nodded.

Blink.

They were a new group with a similar debut year to us, and among the new girl groups that debuted this year, they received the best reviews for their performance.

"It seems they caused some trouble at the filming site. The lines seemed simple and the concept light, but they were apparently careless in their preparation. As a result, they kept making mistakes on set."

I recalled the nightmare we only imagined, which Blink had experienced firsthand.

"According to TJ's Kim manager, it was the worst. The director was almost swearing. The executives from the advertiser were there, and everyone was frozen. It was as if they were about to die from the tension."

Then, they apparently begged over the phone for better preparation.

After the manager left, we gathered to discuss.

The main person was Jiho.

"First, we need to divide the roles among ourselves before practicing."

Since we were five, it was natural that we would have five roles.

The CF was in a short, simple web drama format, so even minor parts had a bit of dialogue.

New Student

Class President

Model Student

Athlete

Student 5

The roles were roughly equal.

Each role seemed to have about 20% of the lines.

It didn't take long to divide the roles.

After Jiho took the role of the new student, which had a slightly tricky scene, we each chose the role closest to our usual character.

"Wait."

Of course, there was someone who raised an objection.

"Why am I the only one as Student 5 when everyone else is an athlete or new student?"

* * *

11 PM.

At the time when my younger members had all returned to the dorm, I was sitting in the studio, absentmindedly tapping the synthesizer.

"Ants."

Ding ding.

"Today also."

Ding ding.

"Work hard~ on their jobs."

Ding ding.

The grand organ sound you hear in a cathedral.

Indeed, it was worthy of a synthesizer that costs several million won.

If the head of the management support team knew I was using it like this, he would probably come running and shake me by the collar.

I hummed "Ant Song" and "Ant Beetle" in succession and then tapped my cheeks.

"Ah, it's not coming to me..."

What I was struggling with was songwriting.

Although I'm not sure exactly when, I think our second album will be released in October or November.

This time, it seems the title track will be selected through a submission process.

The company seems to want to include one of my songs in the album because of my image as a songwriter.

So, I had to come up with a song.

"What should I do?"

I had already shown a refreshing summer song with "Fireworks" and a warm, emotional song with "Night Sea."

What should I do now?

Everyone has their own way of composing, but I need a clear image to start working.

For example, the fireworks I saw with my parents when I was young, or the night sky I looked at while lying on my grandmother's lap.

"Hmm..."

I felt like I had focused too much on myself. Maybe I should try composing a song about my younger members this time.

But that was a problem in itself.

If I think about maintaining the overall color of NewBlack, the result might not be much different from "Fireworks."

If I were to focus on each member, I didn't know much about their individual musical styles.

And I couldn't predict how the other members would react if I wrote a song based on one of them.

"It's difficult."

The deeper my relationship with the members, the more such minor issues bother me.

Should I call it emotional sensitivity?

Whenever I sang "Night Sea" as a duet with Lee Hyuk, the younger members subtly showed their envy.

It's not a bad thing.

It's natural for humans.

I also want to be part of it, and I want to stand on stage and receive attention.

That's why it was hard to casually mention that I was thinking of writing a song focusing on someone.

It was something I needed to think carefully about.

After tapping the synthesizer for nearly an hour and singing some pointless songs, I decided to take more time to think about it.

I had other things to do first.

I turned off the synthesizer and sat on the studio sofa.

['EverDream' CF — 'Magic School' Edition]

The ad storyboard I had just seen in the car was in my hands.

My eyes went to the tenth scene.

#10.

[VIDEO]

The class president approaches the new student.

[AUDIO]

Class President: "Hi, you're the new student, right?"

Starting from the part where I play the 'class president' and going to the end.

I kept thinking about it while repeating the lines.

What should I do?

Can I just read it?

"Hi, you're the new student, right?"

Oh, it's embarrassing.

If I were Lee Hyuk, I would have blushed instantly.

I read the other lines that followed several times, but it didn't feel much better.

Acting isn't something just anyone can do.

It seems to be a different field from singing and dancing on stage.

I kept repeating the lines, and while they did stick in my mouth, I didn't feel particularly good at it.

Maybe, as I heard at TJ, I was just not bad.

Well.

On the other hand, it means I need to put in some effort.

Ever since I was a trainee, I've always tried to cover my weaknesses by thinking about stage choreography and such, so it's become a habit to find solutions when problems arise.

If I can't grasp the emotion...

I need to excel in other areas.

For example, facial expressions or body movements.

While thinking about this, I wrote down roughly what actions would be involved in each scene on A4 paper.

The next part was easy.

Through my ability, practicing expressions and movements that fit the scene wasn't difficult.

While I was practicing like this, standing and moving my hands, the door clicked open.

I turned my head to see Biju.

"Hey, Biju."

"Brother, I came."

Biju smiled slightly, looking a bit tired.

Behind him, a familiar face appeared.

A short, very pale girl group member.

"Hello, senior."

In response to my greeting, she narrowed her eyes.

"It seems we've gotten closer. Can't we just use informal language now?"

"I'm more comfortable this way."

It was Daisy.

The rapper and youngest member of Scarlet.

Seeing her come in with Biju, I asked,

"Why are you two together?"

"Ah, I met Na Yun on the way up."

Biju wiped the sweat from his forehead with a tissue and said,

"I was about to go back to the dorm after finishing practice, but I thought it would be safer to go with you. It's dangerous to walk at night these days—"

"You're thoughtful. You're worried about me."

"I thought it would be safer to go with you."

"......"

"Oops."

Biju and I stared at each other blankly before bursting into laughter.

After laughing for a while,

I turned my attention to the guest in the studio.

"What brings you here, senior?"

"I was just working on a mixtape and got bored, so I came to visit."

"Shouldn't you be resting? You're busy, and yet you came here..."

"It's just a break, so it's fine."

She didn't leave.

Her constant interest in our studio's interior design made me feel uneasy.

Her studio has a pink sofa and polka-dot cushions.

She noticed something on the table.

"What's this? 'Waves his hand.' 'Casts a spell.'"

"This is the storyboard for the commercial."

Biju snatched it with a gentle smile and handed it to me.

Surprising.

If it had been Lee Hyuk or Jiho, they would have asked, "Brother, is it okay if I take this?" But to someone not in our group, he seemed more decisive.

"Wow, how mean. Brother, is this some secret among company members?"

The other side pouted.

"I even did a cameo in the music video."

I thought only our youngest member was like a sticky rice cake, but here's another soft and fluffy one.

Daisy started chattering.

"I even brought sushi to the filming site and gave you 100,000 won for snacks."

"100,000 won?"

A memory suddenly came to mind.

At the beginning of the year, I gave her 100,000 won for helping move, but I told the younger members it was 50,000 won.

Oops.

Before Biju could say anything, I quickly interjected.

"So, how was practice?"

"Huh?"

"Didn't you come up after practicing dance?"

"Oh, right. There was one hand movement I couldn't get right. Brother, do you want to see it?"

Biju stood up and took a pose like a dancer.

It was an elegant movement, like a magician bowing to the audience after a performance.

"Wow."

"This one is too bad."

"......"

Then, he showed the same movement again.

"How is it?"

"...It doesn't seem much different?"

"Isn't there a difference in feeling? There's a difference between gentle and strong, and strong and gentle. Do you understand, brother?"

No, not at all.

I turned to Daisy, but she also shook her head.

After a while of practicing the hand movement, Biju changed the topic.

"Brother, were you practicing acting just now?"

"Yeah, I was working on a song a bit."

I also had something come to mind thanks to Biju.

"Hey, Biju. Can you watch me once? Ah, senior, you too."

"What? Acting?"

"Yeah, I've been practicing, but it's not going well... it feels awkward."

The two of them smiled and said it was okay.

"It's fine. It's your first time."

"Yeah, I'm not good at acting either."

"Okay, I'll show you."

I nodded at their encouraging smiles and showed the first few scenes where I appear, which I had roughly prepared.

I recited the lines while moving my body.

Now, for the third scene...

I stopped.

Because of the two carp that were just blinking at me on the sofa.

"......?"

What kind of reaction is this?

"Why are you guys doing that?"