Though I had a secret conversation with him at dawn, Ji Hwa-seong's attitude didn't change dramatically. But... as always.
It was the subtle differences that brought about the biggest changes.
"Logan."
Choreography practice continues after breakfast.
Just like yesterday, in a stiff atmosphere, with only the music blaring and dancing going on, Ji Hwa-seong suddenly turned off the music and called Logan. It was right after the part where Logan had messed up seven times yesterday.
"H-Holy. Hwa-seong, what is it?"
"...Why are you so surprised? Afraid I'm going to eat you or something?"
"No, that's…."
I had to cover my smile because Logan was looking at me with those puppy eyes, wondering if he'd done something wrong. Why is he so cute, really?
Ji Hwa-seong, who was looking back and forth between me and Logan, muttered.
"...you did it."
"Oh, Sorry? What did you say? I'm sorry, I didn't hear you!"
"I said well done!"
Ji Hwa-seong's screams resonated throughout the practice room.
At first glance, he looked just as angry as yesterday. No, today was a little more intense. But there was no anger.
I quickly spoke to Logan, who was staring at Ji Hwa-seong with his eyes wide open.
"You did well. You didn't make mistakes like yesterday. Even I thought you did well, Logan. You've improved a lot. Good."
"Oh? Really!? Wow, thank you, Hwa-seong. And Chunyong hyung! This is the first time I've heard such praise!"
"What are you shouting about? Ji Hwa-seong is definitely the incarnation of the devil."
Logan was purely delighted, while Gao Yan, standing next to him, grumbled with a pout.
"Why? Are you upset because he didn't compliment you?"
"Chunyong hyung, of course not! I can do well even without Ji-hwa-seong's praise!"
"Oh, really?"
Ji Hwa-seong smiled confidently and wrinkled his nose.
"Well, I thought Gao Yan did well too... but if you don't want to hear that kind of thing, then there's nothing I can do. From now on, I'll practice without praising Gao Yan."
"What—! Praise me too!"
"Wow, look at the difference. You said you were doing well just now without my praise?"
Only then did Gao Yan, realizing the contradiction in his own words, roll his eyes and speak quickly, even faster than I, a native Korean, with an accent.
"That's different. There's a Korean proverb that says, "Even a whale dances when it's praised." When Gao Yan receives praise, he dances better than a whale."
"Huh…"
After hearing Gao Yan's words, Ji Hwa-seong gave a hollow laugh, then put his arm around his shoulder and chuckled.
"Gao Yan, you're really funny, you know? Really funny!"
"What, why are you suddenly speaking informally to me?"
"Why, you do the same to me, but I can't? We're friends. We're the same age!"
"...Now that I think about it, it makes sense. Logan, Ji Hwa-seong, and I are all friends."
"Oh, then can I hug you too?"
Logan approached, wagging his invisible tail, and Ji Hwa-seng shook his head with a determined expression.
"No. You can't. You have to practice. You can do it later."
"Then I'll practice now!"
"Gao Yan will too!"
They quickly matched their moves, grabbed each other, and began to practice the choreography. Seo Bin, watching the three of them, muttered with a dumbfounded expression.
"...Can you reconcile like that in just one day?"
I answered with a slight shrug of my shoulders.
"When you're young and the same age, perhaps it's possible."
"Why are you talking like you're in your thirties'? You're being as weird as them."
I'd been nearing thirty before I came back. And yet, having that pointed out by Seo Bin was something else.
"Bin-ah."
"Huh…?"
"Your shoulders were really stiff during the dance break isolation part."
"W-When did you see that?"
"We practiced in front of a mirror, of course I saw it."
From Seo Bin's comment, something deep inside me stirred, and I grabbed his shoulder with a chuckle.
"I will help you more diligently."
It was already confirmed that the others got better when I taught them.
This is how I'll repay you for advising me to quit drinking in my past life, Seo Bin.
Seo Bin's face turned pale at my strangely determined face.
Was that a good thing…?
* * *
Kim Joo-an made a face as he sneaked out of the lively practice room.
'I don't like it.'
Yesterday, Ji Hwa-seong had a sudden outburst and fought like a dog, so he'd intended to show himself practicing alone to the camera amidst the bad atmosphere and score an individual interview.
"...Kim Chunyong."
Right. Kim Chunyong.
That guy messed up his plans again.
Kim Joo-an stamped his foot unconsciously as he said his name.
Kim Joo-an hated seeing Kim Chunyong working so hard at everything, hated being compared to him despite trying just as hard.
...because Joo-an felt like he was being ignored.
Not knowing that it was his own ugly inferiority complex, Kim Joo-an gritted his teeth and bought a bunch of sports drinks from the vending machine in the hallway.
Since the spotlight in the practice room was already taken by other guys, he wanted to at least maintain his angelic image.
"What should I do with Kim Chunyong? No, if I get caught trying to sabotage him, my debut will be completely ruined, so I have to think about something else…"
Behind Kim Joo-an, who was having dark fantasies that didn't match his hamster-like appearance, someone suddenly appeared.
Kim Joo-an answered curtly without even looking back.
"Ah, hold up, I'll move out of the way..."
But the voice that came back to him was one he knew well.
"Yeah, it's okay. Take your time."
"...Huh? Jae-ha hyung?"
Behind him stood Son Jae-ha, the leader of the team that Joo-an had so desperately wanted to join, along with another team member.
As expected, the nickname "AG's Ace" never goes away. Even when drenched in sweat, Son Jae-ha shone brightly.
Oh, if only this guy had picked me, I wouldn't have had to suffer like this! Why on earth didn't he pick me? Oh, I'm getting pissed again.'
However, Kim Joo-an hid his true feelings and smiled faintly as he gave them the two drinks he had picked up.
"You two, have these. I already had some earlier."
"Oh, thank you. Take this, hyung."
"Excuse me, what's the name of the person next to Jae-ha hyung...?"
"Oh, I'm Bang Yoo-chan. Yoo-chan."
"I'm Kim Joo-an! You're older than Jae-ha hyung, please talk to me comfortably."
"Hmm...? Well, alright. I understand."
"Joo-an, how's practice going? I heard from Hwa-seong yesterday that there was a bit of a disagreement. It seems like it went well."
Kim Joo-an spoke with a pitiful expression, leaving out the fact that he was the cause in the first place.
"Well, it's one thing or another. Hwa-seong is having a hard time… But I'm trying my best to help him!"
"...I'm glad you're helping him. Hwa-seong follows me around a lot, so I was a little worried about whether he'd be okay on his own in another team."
"Hey, it's okay. I'll tell Hwa-seong that you're worrying over him a lot. You two, practice hard!"
Kim Joo-an, who hadn't forgotten to play nice with Son Jae-ha until the very end, quickly returned to his practice room. Yoo-chan, who had been quietly watching, whispered softly.
"Jae-ha. Are you close with him?"
"Ah.."
Son Jae-ha hesitated slightly in answering Bang Yoo-chan's question, but soon answered with a bright smile.
"I think we'll have to wait and see a little longer to know for sure."
* * *
In the break room on the 8th floor of Music Days's, or M-Days, HQ.
"Say it again."
Even though her head throbbed, Lee Hyeon-jeong finished telling the producer what she had to say.
"Because the camera was covered by a hood... I can't tell exactly where the two of them went. I thought it was the emergency stairs, but there's no footage."
"Huh, those kids who haven't even debuted yet are so arrogant. Where on earth did they learn such things?"
But despite saying so, the PD's face didn't seem particularly angry. Knowing his eccentric nature, Lee Hyeon-jeong was startled and asked back.
"Oh my, is that all?"
"Huh? What?"
"Well, normally... you would have cursed at me like crazy, being so clueless that you would even criticize your own broadcasting schedule."
"Ah, well..."
The main producer ripped open the candy wrapper on the table and stuffed it into his mouth, responding calmly. "Well, as the writer said, it would have been like that under normal circumstances. But Kim Chunyong did such a great job from the beginning. It's annoying, but bearable."
"You really... like him."
"This writer's seen how he does things, too. How could people like us not like it?"
Lee Hyeon-jeong nodded and quietly agreed with his words.
It's not a lie, Kim Chunyong really made good broadcasts.
The main producer played with the candy in his mouth and folded his fingers.
"Talking to Moon Yoon-ha shamelessly, getting strange scores by rearranging a song in a unique way, catching Jin Dasol's eye, getting the center spot for the dance break by showing off his dancing skills. It's a really amazing narrative."
Besides appearance and skills, it is the way of speaking and actions that attract people's attention.
Something that explodes at a crucial moment.
"...He has star quality. Kim Chunyong."
PD Joo smiled with satisfaction at Lee Hyeon-jeong's answer.
"That's it."
After all, the public wants a star, not just someone who is good-looking, or a good singer, or a good dancer.
That was an unchangeable truth no matter how much the denial.
In that sense, Kim Chunyong is a very good talent.
'We'll have to see if this actually works when it's broadcasted, but anyway…'
"Isn't his team doing the best right now? How are the other teams?"
"Oh, the other teams. Hmm."
At PD Joo's words, Hyeon-jeong put aside her thoughts about Kim Chunyong and thought deeply about the other team's circumstances.
First, the team that August's ace, Jae-ha Son, belongs to.
The team included Jang Si-woo, another AG trainee, and Bang Yoo-chan, who the production team had been paying attention to from the beginning.
"Those two are good. Son Jae-ha picked good team members."
The rest of the team members are moderately cooperative, so the overall atmosphere is good and the teamwork is not bad.
If she had to find something notable, it would be that the dance member keeps trying to stand out during the dance break, causing Son Jae-ha to falter.
Anyway, it's not as good as Kim Chunyong's team, but they're still making pretty good broadcasts.
And the problematic character that is causing headaches for the assistant directors in the editing room right now.
The team that Chinese trainee Liu Wei belongs to.
Unlike Kim Chunyong, this one was a problem in a negative way.
"Let's just keep doing this."
"..."
Regardless of what or where Liu Wei had spoken, no one there dared to mistreat him. And by "mistreating," it was not only verbally, but also physical contact and any form of communication.
What is essentially an idol survival program?
Growing from a lacking self to a better self, the friendship between trainees, and desperately smiling for a moment's opportunity on camera.
It must be the epic eight.
If you wanted to debut simply by singing and dancing well, you shouldn't have come out on a survival show like this. The company should have raised you like a baby bird, coaxed you, and then sent you straight out onto the music show stage.
In that sense, Liu Wei's tyranny was not good for broadcasting. To create usable cuts, the footage had to be cut up and recreated second by second.
But they couldn't do anything about it. The new director, directly connected to Liu Wei and Chinese investors!
That means the staff would have to work overtime until work's done.
'I guess I'll have to add four shots to my coffee later. Damn.'
When Lee Hyeon-jeong's face turned disgusted at the thought, the producer waved his hand as if he knew what he was talking about.
"Okay, okay. I understand. Since Director Shin isn't in Korea right now, we can just make it our way. Are you working on the trailers right now?"
"Oh, yes. I'm almost done with the first part now, and I'm currently working on the second part and the first episode."
"I'll go check later. This writer will go back to the dorms and get a personal interview. Make it provocative. Get a lot of content."
"..."
"..."
The two gave each other a thumbs up and stormed out of the break room.
Two and a half days until the first trailer for 〈Targeting Star〉 is released.
And only two days left until the trainees' first stage.