Becoming An Idol Wasn’T On My Plan [EN]: Chapter 98

98.

Lee Hyun-jae woke up and reached for the tablet on his nightstand. He could hear Ryu Eden screaming like a gorilla outside, but he figured Dong-hwa was probably putting him through some humiliating ordeal.

‘I wonder if there’s any news today.’

Among the members, Hyun-jae was the most tech-savvy. He considered himself the most civilized, so he made it a habit to browse social media and online communities every morning to stay informed.

These days, he was particularly focused on the criticism leveled against Dong-hwa’s musical abilities. Even though Dong-hwa *hyung* [older brother or male friend] had a strong mentality, Hyun-jae was personally annoyed by the negativity and kept a close eye on it.

‘Wow… are they finally starting to acknowledge him?’

After statistically analyzing the recent public sentiment, a smile of surprise and satisfaction spread across Lee Hyun-jae’s face.

Dong-hwa *hyung*’s journey certainly deserved the word ‘acknowledgment.’ He’d written both their debut and comeback title tracks himself, and Jun-sung *hyung*’s comeback song had also done well. He consistently contributed songs to the radio and past survival shows.

Especially Jun-sung *hyung*’s comeback song—of course, the Timers [TOT’s fans] were a powerful force, but—even people who listened without knowing the composer praised it, and it became a hot topic. Plus, the song charted in the top 20. Considering their fandom was still growing, that ranking suggested it had captured some public interest.

Lee Hyun-jae predicted that this acknowledging sentiment would gain even more traction after the composing trip was broadcast.

‘…This song is really good, actually. You can tell Dong-hwa *hyung* put a lot of effort into it.’

Personally, it was his favorite of all the songs Dong-hwa *hyung* had written so far. Dong-hwa *hyung* hadn’t said it outright, but Lee Hyun-jae, who received tutoring from him, could vaguely sense it—the meaningful message contained within the song. Some fans who enjoyed interpreting lyrics were already discussing it in relation to the keyword ‘Ouroboros’.

…If he ever went to college, wouldn’t it be nice to major in Korean literature? If possible, as Dong-hwa *hyung*’s junior.

It was a leisurely morning for Lee Hyun-jae, who indulged in a presumptuous dream.

* * *

Conference room. The agenda focused on the upcoming year-end stage.

“First of all, we’ve been nominated for the Rookie of the Year award at the upcoming Peach Music Awards.”

It was an awards ceremony hosted by a company whose charts they frequently checked. Compared to the three major broadcasting stations, the scale was smaller, but considering the number of teams debuting each year, just being nominated for the Rookie of the Year award was an honor. Winning would be nice, but if not, oh well.

“This time, we received a proposal for a joint stage. We have to do whatever they tell us, so I apologize for the somewhat unilateral notification.”

Team leader Jang Hae-jin said with an apologetic expression. I understood that a rookie’s position was inevitable. I knew that broadcasting stations were run by power and connections, even after my short time in the entertainment industry.

“Then I’ll announce it. The joint stage will be a collaboration between rookie teams. Among the rookies, our team, the boy group God A, and RE—121 have done quite well, and the girl groups are Monstaff and Scala.”

…Those names are pretty flashy. I thought Blossoms was a bit embarrassing, but this is the first time it’s sounded so plain.

“The five teams have been nominated for the Rookie of the Year award, and the plan is to form units by gathering members from each team based on their positions. Almost everyone has agreed. It seems the boy groups will form units with boy groups, and the girl groups with girl groups.”

Oh dear. What a Ryu Eden-like situation.

I don’t want to face anyone from God A except for two of them.

“So, here’s the list that’s been drawn up. Take a look?”

We each received a piece of paper and examined it.

‘Rapper and Vocal: Ho-yeon, Y, Sung-ho, Seok-jun, Dong-hwa.’

…Isn’t this a nightmare lineup? As I’ve said many times, nightmares are also dreams. Jang Hae-jin explained that this combination came about because the team with the bizarre name RE—121 didn’t have a rapper.

Seok-jun, oblivious to such details, just smiled and expressed his excitement at the thought of being on stage with Sung-ho *hyung* after so long.

“…Jun, are you happy?”

“Yes— *Hyungnim* [term of respect for an older male]. I’m so— happy—”

You son of a bitch.

The other units, except for ours, have fairly stable member compositions. Maybe only our group will be in a terribly uncomfortable situation.

“Practice will start in two weeks, after we finish our current activities. We’ll have a meeting beforehand to share opinions between the agencies, so it would be helpful to get to know each other a little by then.”

Then Jang Hae-jin immediately distributed the next paper.

“What I’m going to tell you about now is the dog-like sports competition.”

Jang Hae-jin’s expression soured completely, spitting out each word as if it tasted awful.

“In the past, TOT’s Jun-sung was injured while appearing on this program. Personally, I really don’t want to send you to this program, but you know how it is? The broadcasting station is making a fuss.”

I don’t know, but most people seem to, so everyone except Seok-jun and I nodded. Seok-jun just seems to have a flower garden in his head.

“For reference… TOT will also appear. They said they’d like to boost the morale of their juniors.”

I unfolded the document summarizing the program’s general information. It described how to form teams and how many people from each group should participate in each event. Hmm, our team has a small number of people, so we’ll have to team up with other groups.

“So, can each of you choose one event you’re confident in? You can find the list on page 4. I’ll try to assign events based on your preferences.”

Ha, sports. It’s one of the areas least connected to my life. It’ll be fun to go out there, come in last in everything, and get teased by the members.

“Eden *hyung*, wouldn’t you win everything if you competed in *ssireum* [Korean wrestling]?”

I nodded unconsciously at Chae Ha-min’s words. I’ve been lifted and swung around in that puppy’s arms several times, so I know it empirically.

“I’ll do the running events. I get a lot of compliments on my speed.”

Starting with Lee Hyun-jae, everyone revealed their strengths and selected events one by one. On the other hand, my physical talent is… well. Wouldn’t it be safe to say I don’t have any?

“Then Dong-hwa, what about you?”

I looked at the list. I knew there would be times when I’d have to do things I didn’t want to from the moment I chose this job, but I didn’t expect it to come so soon.

Isn’t there a songwriting competition or something? I’m confident I could win that.

“Ah, Dong-hwa. There’s a new event that’s just been added, so I think you could do that?”

Jang Hae-jin pointed to a small section written in one corner of the paper.

“The broadcasting station probably added it as a filler segment, so it’s not a big deal, but it’s better than doing sports when you’re not athletic.”

That’s true.

And at the end of her finger, it was written ‘Common Sense Quiz’.

“There are a lot of smart idols, so I don’t know if you can win.”

Hmm, I’m not great at common sense, so I don’t know if it’s a good fit. It would be nice if brain sports were recognized and chess or Korean chess were included, but that’s a pity.

* * *

Friday. Today was the Halloween special, fulfilling their promise for reaching number one. That meant they had to dress up as Wizney again in a place where all the singers were gathered.

“Looking at this outfit… I suddenly feel traumatized.”

Ryu Eden quietly muttered, receiving the Wizney character costume with its summery design.

“…Thank you, *heueok*, *da*. Dong-hwa *hyung*, thank you, *heueok*, for writing the song well.”

I recited exactly what Ryu Eden had said back then, as if reading from a Korean textbook. Ryu Eden had asked me to leave out the onomatopoeia, but no way.

At that moment, Chae Ha-min, who was the first to finish because his makeup was done, came over and whispered.

“Dong-hwa, let’s go to the cafeteria.”

I wasn’t sure if it was a story worth whispering about.

I had already changed back into the clothes of the character with the humiliating name of Ice Prince and walked out into the broadcasting station hallway with Chae Ha-min, who was wearing a rabbit headband. Hmm, shouldn’t he take off that headband now?

I thought there would be more people dressed up for the Halloween special, but it was hard to raise my head because we were the only ones. Please, won’t you take off that rabbit headband, Ha-min.

When I arrived at the cafeteria and saw Chae Ha-min buying carrot juice, I bought a few strawberry jam cookies.

As I sat at the table, took out a strawberry jam cookie, and bit into it, a fairly palatable taste lingered in my mouth. Chae Ha-min, who was sitting across from me, drank his carrot juice and opened his mouth as if he had thought of something.

“That’s right. Come to think of it, Ms. Nesquik went on a blind date with my cousin.”

Hmm, useless information. She’s already become independent and left her family.

…But, Chae Ha-min is also from a family that’s called ‘Young Master,’ is he free from the successor problem? He can’t be if he’s the only son.

“Thinking about it, Ms. Nesquik is amazing. She’s cut off from her family.”

Cutting off the economic benefits from there seems even more amazing. No matter how unfree you are, if you can shake off the temptation of money, you must be a person with great will.

“I’m also half cut off from my family!”

…Hmm?

I, who was biting a strawberry jam cookie, stopped and looked at Chae Ha-min.

“Oh? Didn’t you know? My father told me to quit after about two years of activity and take successor classes, so I fought with him a lot, but I didn’t tell you!”

Chae Ha-min was talking while smiling. For some reason, it seemed quite discordant. The meaning of the family system to an individual varies from person to person, but wouldn’t that be a story that couldn’t be told with a smile?

I tried to avoid reacting rashly and carefully formed my sentence.

“…Hmm, are you okay?”

Chae Ha-min tilted his head once after hearing my words. The rabbit ears moved accordingly.

“I’m okay… but my babies are the problem. If I keep fighting with my father like this, he might tell me to kick them out of the house.”

What Chae Ha-min calls babies are the reptiles he raises. A lizard and a snake that he’d been raising since middle school, and a snake that recently inspired me, are living there. Looking at it this way, you’ve told me a lot of useless information, you rabbit.

Anyway, the world’s first reptile father, the rabbit, frowned as if he was worried about what to do when he thought about his children.

No matter how I think about it, the problem with his father seems more serious than his children, but everyone has different values, so I decided to accept it.

“If you’re so worried, why don’t you talk to the members and bring them here? Anyway, if you raise them, you’re going to raise them in our room, and I’m okay with it.”

Fortunately, the house I moved to after the last stalker incident is quite large.

Chae Ha-min, who heard my words, looked at me with a slightly moved expression. Snow falls, ears fall, you damn rabbit.