Chapter 16
A few days after the mentors were assigned.
The trainees prepared for the competition stage by discussing with their assigned mentors.
The mid-evaluation stage was a stage where the arrangement was not completed.
Although this mission was indeed a ‘senior idol cover’, it did not mean to follow it as it is.
No, rather, reproducing it as it is was a minus factor.
Would there be a cover that surpasses the original?
“They say you shouldn’t think about surpassing the original in a cover stage.”
At dawn, in one of the few practice rooms where the camera was not installed.
Seo Baek-young spoke while lying on the floor of the practice room.
In her hand was a long, sunned carrot.
“You just have to think of it as a different stage, just like the song. Because no matter what happens-”
“You can’t surpass the original who has practiced for hundreds of days, for several years.”
I nodded my head.
It’s a given. If you thought to surpass it in the first place, it was just right to be hated by the fans of the original.
Rather than such greed, I had to think that I would approach with a different charm.
It’s a remake, not a surpass.
“Yeah. The mentor also said that.”
“Who were you assigned to?”
“Senior Jin Hwa.”
Ah.
I nodded my head right away.
The main dancer of Grayish.
He was already called a top among idols in dance.
It was perfect for Seo Baek-young, who was a dance powerhouse.
“Good for you. Does he treat you well?”
“Yeah. We’re originally acquainted, and he’s a very skilled person.”
That’s a relief.
I quickly erased my anxiety about Seo Baek-young.
“But you know.”
“Yes?”
Seo Baek-young had a complicated face as if she couldn’t understand.
“Why didn’t you… steal the mentor?”
I wondered why this question didn’t come in.
I shrugged my shoulders.
“There’s no need to steal it. I decided to get help from other trainees. Fortunately, everyone decided to help.”
As soon as the deal with PD Oh was over, PD Oh gave me a camera.
And he even captured the touching scene of getting cooperation from other trainees.
…Of course, to be honest, most of them probably didn’t help me out of emotion or friendship.
How can you refuse when there’s a camera in front of you?
If you refuse, it’s just right for a personality controversy to erupt.
“Does that… make sense?”
As expected, Seo Baek-young, who has a realistic side, did not accept it at all.
“No matter how much we fly and crawl, we’re trainees in the end. We can’t beat the mentors.”
“I know.”
“So why the hell? Are you doing this to save your image?”
Ouch.
That’s a painful question.
“I can’t say there’s none. Honestly, if I had stolen the mentor there, I would have been criticized.”
“Even if you get criticised, it’s only for a while. Everyone thinks they can’t help it-”
“I don’t trust the broadcasting station, and I don’t trust PD.”
I said firmly.
“If you want to debut here, don’t trust it.”
“…!”
It’s PD Oh, not another PD. …There are even celebrities who retire because of PD Oh 7 years later.
“No… so are you confident? You only ask for advice from other trainees when there’s a camera, right?”
“They’ll be busy.”
“In fact, you didn’t even think about getting help from us from the beginning. You just wanted to do it alone?”
Was it caught?
To be honest, I was more used to being a producer.
Ask the chicks to help, ask for help.
If I had to help out subtly, I wouldn’t know.
I wondered how to answer.
“I’m not very used to getting help from others. I’m sorry too.”
“What’s there to be sorry about? It’s good enough that you didn’t steal our mentor.”
“It’s a thankful thing that you think so. But other people may not think so.”
For example, Kim Ryeo-yu.
Whether Seo Baek-young read my thoughts accurately or not, she did not refute.
“Did you finish the arrangement?”
“Of course. It will be quite a different atmosphere from the original.”
I upgraded it more than the mid-evaluation stage.
I deliberately did not show the completed stage at the mid-evaluation.
There was no need to hide it, but it wouldn’t be fun.
“I didn’t know you could arrange it yourself.”
“Nobody would have known.”
That’s because the arrangement ability is not Yoon Cheong’s, but mine, Baek Nokha’s.
But whether Seo Baek-young interpreted it that way or not, she had a guilty expression.
It seemed that the fact that she had been displeased with Yoon Cheong until recently came to mind.
I didn’t mean it that way.
Well, let’s not correct it.
“Aren’t you worried?”
Seo Baek-young looked at me with worried eyes.
It’s surprising that she’s worried about others despite his tough exterior.
You’re a born leader.
I blinked at the unfamiliar feeling.
“You know this stage is important, right? Of course, every stage is important… but this is the first mission.”
“That’s right.”
Although I was an idol, I had never been a member of an idol group.
I debuted as a solo from the beginning.
Considering that many solo idols come out to stand alone after group activities, it was not a very common case.
So maybe I didn’t know what group activities were like.
I only felt it indirectly thanks to my friends who were from idol groups.
I can’t say they weren’t envious.
Being alone was always a lonely thing, and it was also an anxious thing.
The relationship of ‘members’ in an idol group seemed to be a very special relationship.
Comrade, fellow comrade, friend, colleague.
Something that combines all of that.
I was definitely envious of that bond. It’s better to hold a blank sheet of paper together.
Of course, I’ve seen a whole group collapse due to a single mistake.
So I had no complaints about being solo.
But-
“Don’t worry.”
It’s not bad to have someone worry about me like this.
***
The competition day was approaching.
As usual, I practiced until 2 a.m. and prepared to leave.
Cleaning the practice room, locking the door and coming out-
“Hello.”
I heard a soft voice.
A voice with good pronunciation and good resonance.
This is….
“Hi.”
It was Ryu Bo-ra.
A voice that’s perfect for acting. A strong and solid voice.
Rather than a cuckoo-like voice, it was a voice with some depth.
“Are you leaving now?”
“Yeah, you too?”
“Yes, me too.”
She’s still here at this time.
She’s working pretty hard. I nodded my head.
“You… were mentored by Senior Sa Yoon, right?”
“Yes. I’m covering Senior Sa Yoon’s solo song.”
White Noise’s Sa Yoon.
As an all-rounder member, she didn’t have a special main position, but she was one of the most charming members in White Noise.
And she was also the only member who released a solo album.
That album was a huge success. It doesn’t seem to be burdensome.
She seems to be a type with more guts than she looks.
She looks like a baby deer that would fall if you poked her.
“Yeah, good job. See you next time.”
Just as I was about to say hello and leave,
“Sister.”
Ryu Bo-ra grabbed me.
“Huh?”
“Geum wants to get close to you.”
Geum… means Kim Geum, right?
Suddenly Kim Geum?
I couldn’t answer the unexpected topic.
“The rumor that you’re good at arranging has already spread. The producer also said that he wouldn’t touch your arrangement anymore after hearing it.”
That’s what….
I shrugged my shoulders.
“Thanks for the compliment.”
“So Geum seems to be greedy.”
“Greedy?”
“She thinks she can make songs together if she debuts with you. It’s more comfortable than one.”
Kim Geum and Ryu Bo-ra.
Both were strong candidates who wanted to debut together.
There was nothing to say about Kim Geum’s ability. Kim Geum did not go bankrupt even after Steel Blue went bankrupt.
Rather, the more prosperous it was, the more prosperous it was.
It wasn’t that she was doing well ‘for’ an idol, she was just doing well outright.
But Ryu Bo-ra….
“You?”
She does not debut as an idol.
Nor did she return to acting.
Ryu Bo-ra just retired from the entertainment industry as if she had evaporated.
“Yes?”
Ryu Bo-ra’s eyes shook slightly.
“Do you want to debut with me?”
“…Of course. Of course.”
Ryu Bo-ra immediately put on a mask on her face, and smiled politely.
“Anyone would welcome the opportunity to debut with someone as talented as you.”
It sounded very sincere, but I could feel that it was not sincere.
An actor-like, seamless acting ability.
She’s really disgustingly pretty. I muttered to myself.
How did she live a normal life with that face?
“Anyway, please take a look when Geum practices next time. She looks a bit like that, but she’s a good kid.”
“I will.”
Well, it wouldn’t hurt to get close to Kim Geum.
It was surprising that Kim Geum and Ryu Bo-ra were close.
Well, they were the same age. 18 years old.
“Yes, then go in.”
Ryu Bo-ra said so and bowed her head.
She’s neat and polite.
…I definitely felt a wall.
Ryu Bo-ra did not wait for my greeting, but turned her body right away.
“Bo-ra.”
I called Ryu Bo-ra like that.
“Do you need practice help besides Geum?”
Ryu Bo-ra stood still without turning around.
Then she answered.
“Yes, I’m fine. Thank you for caring.”
Hmm.
I definitely felt a wall.