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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 21
Chapter Title: Clash of Opinions (3)
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Kang Giyeon continued, his gaze fixed on the floor.
“I’m not just guessing.”
“……”
“Jeho hyung, you’re not motivated when it comes to group activities. You know what I’m talking about, don’t you?”
Choi Jeho seemed to have an inkling. It was something you could notice even if you were just passing by on the KTX.
They hadn’t even debuted, yet trials and tribulations were crashing in like a tidal wave. Life really wasn’t easy.
As I watched their relationship crumble like a sandcastle, something came to mind.
It was the ‘Connection Function’ mentioned in my ‘New Task’.
Since it was described as a function, I hoped it would be helpful in some way.
I prayed silently and tapped the task page that had appeared right on cue, as if summoned by a ghost.
At the same time, the members’ movements paused as if time had stopped. A new explanation appeared.
If I dragged this out, the guys might get cramps in their legs, so I read through the text as quickly as possible.
+
[SYSTEM] The ‘Connection Function’ is now available to the ‘Subordinate’.
▷ This feature supports real-time monitoring of the cooperative status between team members.
▷ Information about the relationship between connected members will be revealed intermittently based on KPI achievements.
▷ You can create a connection by selecting team members and writing an appropriate combination name.
+
The fact that this function appeared now must have meant I was supposed to connect Choi Jeho and Kang Giyeon.
I dragged the floating names of Choi Jeho and Kang Giyeon and dropped them into the box before me, creating an empty square.
+
[SYSTEM] Please enter a combination name.
▶ [ ]
+
Without hesitation, I typed in ‘Oldest-Youngest Line.’
+
[SYSTEM] Inappropriate combination name.
▶ Reason: The facts differ from the combination name.
+
It was rejected in an instant.
“Why?”
There was no answer to my question.
This was absurd. It was an official name used by fans, so who was this system to reject it?
I slowly reread the reason for rejection. Then, I had a hunch about what the problem was.
‘Did Choi Jeho stop being the oldest because I joined?’
If you went by birthdays, I was born in February and Choi Jeho in November, so strictly speaking, he was no longer the oldest member.
I’d wondered what use memorizing Choi Jeho’s birthday would be, but I guess this was it.
After that, I tried over ten more combination names, and all of them were shot down.
The reasons for rejection were just as varied.
+
[SYSTEM] Inappropriate combination name.
▶ Reason: Uninspired.
[SYSTEM] Inappropriate combination name.
▶ Reason: Meaningless and simplistic.
[SYSTEM] Inappropriate combination name.
▶ Reason: Excessive malice detected.
+
The evaluation standards were sky-high. At this rate, I’d have to open a naming agency just to draw two lines.
Trying to find something moderately original, filled with affection, and cute like a nickname was as contradictory as a company dinner meant for team bonding.
So, I decided to include the word ‘love’. That should convey some affection.
When I got to ‘Lovebugs,’ it started to feel a little cute.
But if I entered ‘Lovebugs,’ the reason for rejection would probably be something like ‘Does not match their perceived image.’
Those two… were clearly a far cry from anything lovely.
After long deliberation, I entered my final word.
+
[SYSTEM] The combination name ‘Sandpaper Duo’ has been confirmed.
+
Thankfully, the system agreed that this nickname was appropriate for the two prickly young men.
Once I successfully created the combination, their images of each other appeared.
+
[Choi Jeho → Can’t tell what he’s thinking → Kang Giyeon]
+
I wasn’t sure if I should be happy it wasn’t something like ‘Not interested.’
He acted like he was the only person in the world, but it seemed he had at least a sliver of interest in his fellow trainees.
The surprise came from Kang Giyeon’s side.
+
[Kang Giyeon → Disappointed → Choi Jeho]
+
So his feelings were hurt because he was disappointed in his hyung. Isn’t that pretty cute?
It seemed Mr. Kang Giyeon, the youngest of Spark, had a warm heart behind his cold words.
If so, I could somewhat understand why he’d been bottling up his anger all this time.
Most importantly, if they didn’t hate each other, there was hope.
I immediately closed the Connection Function. The suffocating atmosphere returned.
Choi Jeho looked like he was about to speak, but I had a feeling it would be something like, ‘I don’t know,’ or ‘I don’t care,’ so I beat him to it and spoke to Kang Giyeon first.
“Could you tell me what part you were disappointed about? That way, I can be more careful in the future, too.”
“Disappointed…”
Kang Giyeon’s eyes widened.
It can be disconcerting when an emotion is defined by a clear word. I get it.
However, Kang Giyeon soon spoke with a firmness that belied his earlier hesitation.
“Jeho hyung, whenever we ask you to practice as a group, you always say you already know all the moves, so you don’t see why you have to practice together from the beginning. It’s not just once or twice, it’s every time.”
“Hmm.”
“I don’t know if it’s because you hate it when someone makes a mistake and breaks the flow or what, but it seems like you think your role is finished as long as you do your part well. I mean, you’re not wrong, but… I don’t like it.”
Kang Giyeon’s words were refined yet clear. The fact that his thoughts were this organized meant he had mulled over the same issue many times.
“Then you should have asked him.”
“What?”
“Choi Jeho, why did you say no when Giyeon asked you to practice together?”
As the focus of the conversation shifted from Kang Giyeon to him, Choi Jeho was taken aback.
“I didn’t say no. I just said I couldn’t find a reason to do it together.”
A typical Choi Jeho answer. Some people in the world just don’t feel a great sense of accomplishment from achieving something as a group.
“I understand. You didn’t feel the need because you didn’t think it offered any improvement, right?”
“Yeah.”
“It’s natural for people to have different thoughts, but I think I understand Giyeon’s side a little more.”
“Why?”
“Good question. Is it because you’re preparing for a group debut, not a solo one?”
A chill ran down my spine as I remembered Department Head Nam asking if I knew how important group culture was in corporate life.
I chose my words with all my might, determined not to become like him.
“Teamwork doesn’t just magically appear the moment you debut. If improving your skills is your number one priority, Choi Jeho, then maybe Giyeon thinks supplementary factors like teamwork are also important.”
“So individual skill development isn’t important?”
“It is, but your skills aren’t at a level where a few group practices would ruin them. That’s why I’m saying this.”
“……”
“So, when Giyeon asks to practice together, how about thinking, ‘Ah, he wants to do something as a team’? Isn’t that admirable? He’s even approaching his hyung first.”
“Is me being approached first such an admirable thing?”
“If you’re curious, try counting how many words you say to the members in a day.”
Choi Jeho’s expression turned strange.
Oops. That last part was a joke.
“That’s right, hyung. Giyeon is an only child, so he hasn’t had much practice asking his elders to play with him!”
“That’s not what I meant by it, so don’t twist my words, okay?”
Just as the atmosphere threatened to turn serious again, Lee Cheonghyun skillfully wrapped it up. Both of them were quite admirable today.
And so, the curtains suddenly rose on the ‘Why Do You Talk Like That?’ incident, which came to an end with the manager’s visit to the practice room.
Only after a long battle of wills, when I was back in the small, stuffy vocal practice room, could I finally calm my racing heart.
‘Don’t tell me they fight like this once a week.’
The thought alone was horrifying. I’d rather endure three straight weeks of Kang Giyeon’s special training than go through this ordeal every time just to get 20 experience points.
Though fighting was a hundred times better than falling into a slump like Jeong Seongbin.
How did I end up in a group as precarious as a candle in the wind?
I seriously wondered if my designated role of ‘Producer Member’ was actually supposed to be ‘Mental Produce Member.’
But from now on, there would be no more talks or gatherings.
Next time, I would just make them resolve it themselves with a simple, “I see.”
* * *
What I thought was just a session to extinguish a spark unexpectedly brought about a change.
It was minimal, but the members started talking to each other a bit more, beyond just greetings.
In fact, this morning, Choi Jeho…
“Are you baking that bread for teamwork reasons, too?”
…asked me. The question was so unexpected that I almost burned the bread.
The one leading this new atmosphere was Lee Cheonghyun.
Lee Cheonghyun, who had always been on his own energetic wavelength, had a sixth sense for when the stiff mood had loosened and began talking up a storm like a fish in water.
“Hyung! Aren’t you hungry?”
This kid had asked if I was hungry for the third time since he got to the practice room after school.
“I am. I was just thinking about what to eat for breakfast tomorrow.”
“You’re just going to eat bread or spicy chewy noodles anyway!”
He wasn’t wrong.
My body was that of a twenty-year-old in his prime, but eating only bread for breakfast and salads for lunch and dinner was bound to leave me hungry.
“Do you guys eat school lunch? I don’t think I’ve seen you packing salads.”
“Ah, we don’t eat lunch during the school semester.”
“What did you say?”
To think these kids were suffering like that where I couldn’t see them. It was shocking.
Yet Lee Cheonghyun nonchalantly said he skipped the perfectly good meals they provided.
“Our practice time is shorter, so we exercise less. If we eat the same as usual, we’ll gain weight.”
“But… you skip meals entirely?”
“It’s better than getting weighed and lectured.”
Then, Lee Cheonghyun sighed.
“Still, UA doesn’t weigh us that often. I heard the major agencies are really strict with management.”
“Aren’t you already on the thin side for your age?”
“Come on, hyung. You can’t be an idol with a standard weight.”
The more I listened to Lee Cheonghyun, the more troubled I felt.
Spark had consistently maintained the same appearance for all seven years of their career.
What they called a ‘well-managed appearance.’
But just as the human eye is sensitive to change, it also grows numb to what remains constant.
When you see people whose height and weight don’t change for seven years, you start to think, ‘I guess that’s just how they are.’
And in doing so, their efforts are naturally erased.
‘Still, they have to feed them.’
They were moving all day and eating nothing but salad, which already left them with no energy, and now they were skipping one of those meals?
In a nation of food fanatics, this was unacceptable.
It was also strange to be managing only their weight when their debut was over a year away.
Shouldn’t they be feeding them something to help them grow taller? Height is so important for male idols.
I knew management was hard. But there had to be priorities.
You could lose weight later, but once you missed your growth spurt, that was it.
“We do all this to live, so what is this…”
“Your expression right now is the most serious I’ve seen it in a while…”
Of course I’m serious, a high schooler is skipping meals.
For heaven’s sake, even Hanpyeong Industries gave us a lunch break.
Sure, it was legally required, and I had to eat in under ten minutes because I was running lunch errands for Department Head Nam, but still.
No fan in the world would want their idol to go around without eating.
I’d never seen a design for a lunchbox support sticker that didn’t include the phrase, ‘Don’t skip your meals!’
I suddenly remembered how Spark, seven years ago by my standards, had debuted with a very unfitting, delicate, high-teen boy style.
‘Did they diet so harshly to fit that delicate boy concept?’
I looked at Lee Cheonghyun before me, and then at the other three, including Choi Jeho, beyond him.
Unfortunately, they were all a group of faces far too cold to be called youthful boys.
What’s more, these kids had naturally good bone structure. Unless they went on an extreme diet, losing some weight wouldn’t even be that noticeable on them.
‘I need to… start thinking about a concept.’
Something that suits them as much as possible.
And most importantly, a concept that doesn’t require them to wear skinny school uniforms.
