Once the song selection ended, the first thing our circle did after sitting down together was analyze the mission song and determine our direction.
Looking over the lyric sheets the staff gave us, I once again recalled the original concept of the song.
This mission's song, Same And Different, was a dance track that mixed refreshing brightness with a dreamy atmosphere.
Its overall classical chord progression and string-heavy base created that dreamlike feel, while certain sections had sudden bursts of quickening rhythm—dramatic shifts that served as clear highlights.
Because of that, distinguishing which parts we could emphasize and which would be harder to pull off was easy. The part distribution was also balanced between positions, making it a strong candidate for a mission stage.
Except… changing the concept would be tricky.
"But should we keep the fairy concept as is?"
…because the song's concept was extremely stylized.
'The fairy concept was divisive even at release.'
At the time, Orchid promoted with a floating, airy vibe and the image of harmless, fragile boys. Since the members were young, the concept didn't feel out of place, but it was definitely a concept only that specific age range could pull off. Some people even thought having boy idols act like fairies was going too far.
'But the theme itself is good.'
I stared at the lyric sheet. Hidden beneath the fairy concept, the underlying theme was actually quite strong.
-Woo- The unfamiliar gaze left a single word
A reflection like a mirror
A feeling like I've been pushed into another world
-look like me another me
The intense question tempts me
Making it impossible to hide
Even within the overarching fairy concept, Orchid's chosen theme was another self—a "changeling."
'Depending on how we handle it… it could make for a very compelling narrative.'
Thinking that, I reread the lyrics. Matching the concept, they were intricate and demanding, but if we set the direction clearly, I could see us crafting something very good.
Once the lyric and concept analysis settled, the first to speak was Do Ji-hyuk.
"So a changeling is when a fairy child and a human child get switched—so the fairy grows up in the human world, and the human grows up in the fairy world, right?"
"Right. Same And Different is about those two selves, who've been living in confusion, meeting each other, discovering their true identity, and eventually healing."
"Mm. I like the story itself. So I think we should keep the narrative as is. But we should define a clear direction for the rearrangement. We'll need to tell the helper."
Unlike the previous creation mission, this time we had a helper. Since this mission focused more on positions than creation itself, we were allowed to use a professional to assist with arrangement.
But that didn't mean the position missions didn't exist. For example, the rapper position had to write rap parts according to the song.
'Which means we need to set the direction properly.'
Helpers were just that—helpers. Setting the actual direction of the arrangement and adding conceptual elements was up to us.
So from the foundation, we needed to decide firmly what we wanted, to avoid complications later.
"Before that, shouldn't we decide the genre?"
As we were studying the lyrics, Yoo Chan-hee suddenly raised his hand. When all our gazes turned to him, he spoke as if he had been waiting for the chance.
"I think it'd be better to decide the direction of the rearrangement first, then do the detailed analysis. I want to remove as much of the classical element as possible."
"What kind of rearrangement direction do you want?"
"Hiphop."
He answered my question immediately. With a confident expression, he added:
"This mission, I want to show the Idol Makers something intense. And since I got the reverse position, I think choosing a genre I'm more familiar with will help me show my skills properly."
In other words, since he had no idea how the reverse position would affect him, his plan was to at least secure stability by keeping the genre in his comfort zone.
'…It's not a bad idea.'
Going from classical to hiphop wasn't inherently bad. I could already see a possible direction for the rearrangement.
But Yoo Chan-hee's idea of hiphop and my idea of hiphop would not be the same.
He would want something closer to traditional hiphop, while I believed keeping some classical elements would actually help us in rearrangement.
So before responding, I decided to redirect the discussion. Fortunately, there was one thing we still hadn't decided.
"Have you all chosen your reverse positions?"
At my question, Yoo Chan-hee frowned slightly and nodded reluctantly.
"…I… I'll take Sub Vocal 1."
Sub Vocal 1, in group terms, was basically the lead vocal—the position that sang the second-largest portion of the song after the main vocal.
'So main vocal is too much pressure for him.'
During the last grade evaluation, when he practiced "Bwa," he struggled to hit the high notes. The song's key was simply too high for a rapper like him.
But even then, Yoo Chan-hee had pushed through with relentless practice and managed to get the pitch right—though his stability was shaky. He had compensated with his dance and managed to rise from B to A-class.
Still, the memory of struggling with vocals wouldn't be pleasant, and he was likely feeling a lot of pressure about the reverse position.
"I want to take Sub Rapper 1. What about you, Yuha—what's comfortable for you?"
"I think I'd prefer Main Rapper over Main Dancer."
There were several trainees in our team who could easily take the Main Dancer position. Which meant I didn't particularly need to take it.
'You need good ears, sure—but in the end, what matters most is catching the eye.'
I had been the dance leader in D-class, but that was only because I memorized choreography the fastest among the class.
Rapper or dancer—either way, they weren't my usual positions, so the risks were the same regardless. And since our team currently had multiple trainees capable of leading formations and holding the center as Main Dancer, having one of them take the role would increase the overall completeness of the performance.
"Hmm, then the Main Vocal position is open."
While checking the remaining roles, Do Ji-hyuk muttered that—and beside him, Hwang Yeong-oh abruptly raised his hand.
"Then I'd like to volunteer for Main Vocal."
His expression brightened for the first time since the last mission, where he'd had to give the Main Vocal position to me. He must have felt that his competitor was gone.
But that smile vanished almost instantly.
"Oh! Me too~!"
Because right after him, Cheon Serim raised his hand with a broad grin.
"…Hmm, Serim—wasn't your position rapper?"
"Ah, the rapper spots seem full. I'm not picky about positions anyway. And hyung, just call me Serim comfortably! Saying ssi makes it awkward."
"Ah—yeah. Okay."
Cheon Serim, who spoke just as warmly to the visibly uncomfortable Hwang Yeong-oH, exaggerated a thoughtful expression.
"Mm, Ji-hyuk hyung and Chan-hee-nim can take the positions you wanted… Minseong, what about you? Which position do you want?"
"Huh? Ah… I think something that really brings out the dance would be good for me."
"Then that leaves the Main Vocal for just the two of us, right?"
"…Looks like it."
"It could be good to try singing the Main Vocal parts once each before deciding, but… I think getting a sense of the overall rearrangement direction comes first. Hyung, if you're okay with it, should we decide our parts after the rearrangement direction is set? The center position isn't decided yet either."
Pushed along by Cheon Serim's smooth, river-like flow of conversation, Hwang Yeong-oh nodded reflexively.
And as I watched the whole sequence, I couldn't help feeling perplexed.
—Hyung, could you check my singing?
Because there was absolutely no reason for Cheon Serim to want Main Vocal.
'It's true Serim doesn't care much about positions, but there's no way he wants Main Vocal.'
During the previous individual grade evaluation, Serim had asked Joo Dan-woo for help with vocals. He danced well and rapped well, but vocals were where he struggled.
To be precise, like Yoo Chan-hee, Seren wasn't accustomed to belting high notes. His range wasn't suited for Bwa.
Thanks to learning some techniques from Joo Dan-woo and practicing, he'd shown decent performance and managed to remain in A-class—but that didn't mean his discomfort with high notes had vanished.
And Main Vocal was the position that handled the most parts and carried the high-range lines—the very role Serim would want to avoid.
Yet he was doing the exact opposite now, which could only mean one thing…
'…This is definitely some kind of setup.'
If I looked at the situation with more nuance, the most convincing explanation was that he had something he wanted—and he was laying groundwork to get it.
And what he probably wanted was…
'Smooth progress, and a solid rearrangement direction and concept.'
—Hyung, do you have any ideas for the concept?
—Just a vague sense.
—Mm~ so you do have something. Got it.
As soon as we chose Orchid's Same And Different and started moving toward the marked area, I remembered the casual remark Serim had thrown my way.
I looked over the team members again. Then I recalled how they reacted whenever I voiced an opinion.
'There's a high chance there'll be another uproar.'
And the ones causing it would, without fail, be Yoo Chan-hee and Hwang Yeong-oh. Both bore hostility toward me, and whatever opinion I gave, they'd latch onto it just to oppose it.
Hwang Yeong-oh would be compelled to stir trouble to get screentime on the producer-set stage, and Chan-hee—for some unknown reason—seemed desperate to drag me down whenever he could.
And in the current situation, that kind of pointless conflict would waste a shocking amount of time.
'Playing into the producers' hands is fun, but that's not what matters right now.'
What mattered was deciding our direction quickly and starting practice. No mission required as much practice time as this one.
A reverse position that was practically a penalty, and a shared-responsibility mission where a single person falling behind could drag the entire team down.
This was absolutely not the time for useless power struggles. I wanted to avoid them too.
Which meant Serim was probably laying groundwork for my sake.
'Well—more precisely, because he wants a win-win.'
After finishing my thoughts, I looked at Serim. Our eyes met. He smiled at me like he was telling me to go for it, which made me feel oddly exasperated.
Finally, I looked at Do Ji-hyuk. He saw the exchange between me and Serim and seemed to have realized we were plotting something.
And he'd probably support us. Because we were allies—that kind of allies.
'…Ha.'
Either way, I had a general idea of how to steer the atmosphere. I swallowed the sigh I couldn't let out and pressed my throbbing forehead.
"About the concept."
Then I opened my mouth.
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