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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 5
Chapter Title: 5화.
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“Oh, you mean Seo Baek-yeong?”
PD O Baek-gyeong hummed, a slight smile playing on his lips.
“Seo Baek-yeong also said earlier that her skills improved thanks to practicing with you.”
That was a lie.
Yun Cheong and Seo Baek-yeong had never once practiced alone together.
“Oh, it wasn’t just practicing together. Unnie practically raised me.”
This was also a lie.
Raised me? What nonsense. I raised myself.
“You two have a very good relationship, don’t you?”
“Of course. Unnie is my savior.”
How did this happen?
We’ll have to go back 30 minutes.
***
While the other trainees were having their interviews one by one.
I handed Seo Baek-yeong a water bottle.
I knew.
PD O Baek-gyeong would deliberately push our interview slot to the very end.
He’d extract all the reactions and material from the other trainees first, and then he’d come for us last.
It wasn't my first rodeo, you know.
“…Thanks.”
Fortunately, Seo Baek-yeong didn’t refuse, though she looked at me with a suspicious gaze.
“I’m the one who should be thanking you, Unnie.”
“Thanking me?”
Seo Baek-gyeong asked back, as if surprised.
“Yes. Thanks to Unnie, I could get screen time and show off my skills.”
And I didn’t think it would be edited out much either.
I was genuinely grateful to Seo Baek-yeong.
Of course, I didn’t think Seo Baek-yeong did it with good intentions.
But the outcome was good, wasn’t it?
“…No. You did well, that’s why you’re getting screen time. And well, I also got screen time next to you, so it’s a good result for me too.”
Right.
I immediately agreed.
Of course, the spotlight would be on me more.
I was a complete before-and-after case, so I’d probably get more airtime.
But Seo Baek-yeong also showed off her skills properly right next to me.
And regardless of the behind-the-scenes circumstances, on broadcast, Seo Baek-yeong had offered to help me.
From Seo Baek-yeong’s perspective, there was nothing to lose.
“So, Unnie.”
I sat down next to Seo Baek-yeong.
“Do you want to get more screen time?”
“…Huh?”
“In a positive way, without being too provocative.”
***
“Ah, in that case, could you please say this to the camera?”
The production team asked with a gentle smile.
“‘It even made me wonder if Yun Cheong had been hiding her skills all this time.’”
The moment she heard that request, Seo Baek-yeong instinctively knew.
This was the moment Yun Cheong had mentioned earlier.
‘PD O Baek-gyeong and the writers will definitely be puzzled. They knew I couldn’t dance before, but now I’m dancing better than expected.’
‘I was curious about that too. How on earth—’
‘I’ll explain that later. We don’t have time right now.’
At that moment, Seo Baek-yeong thought.
Had she always been so confident and articulate?
She always seemed so… timid.
‘Later, when Unnie goes in for her interview, PD O Baek-gyeong will definitely ask if I’ve been hiding my skills all this time.’
‘…Huh?’
‘If Unnie says yes to that, what do you think will happen?’
‘…What?’
‘For a moment, it might seem like Unnie benefits. Because my image would seem to worsen. But that’s not true. In the long run, I’ll prove that I wasn’t hiding my skills, but simply growing. Then, in the end, Unnie will just become ‘someone who badmouths other trainees out of jealousy’.’
‘…!’
‘Instead of that, let’s go for a win-win. And build up some rapport too.’
“Seo Baek-yeong?”
“Ah, yes.”
Seo Baek-yeong quickly collected herself.
And she gave the prepared answer.
“I’m sorry. Actually, I know why Yun Cheong’s skills suddenly improved so much.”
“…Hmm?”
PD O Baek-gyeong asked again, stiffening.
His eyes asked, *What is she talking about right now?*
“Yun Cheong and I practiced together all night. For three whole days. I helped Yun Cheong with her dance details.”
“…Seo Baek-yeong helped her?”
“Yes. And Yun Cheong—”
Seo Baek-yeong paused mid-sentence, hesitating for a moment.
*Can I really go this far?*
But in the end, Seo Baek-yeong made up her mind.
“Yun Cheong helped me with my vocal practice.”
She had nothing to lose.
***
PD O Baek-gyeong wore a strange expression.
He had actually planned to push the two of them into a conflict storyline.
How entertaining would that be?
The longest-serving trainee at Colors versus the shortest-term trainee.
Of course, he knew that Yun Cheong’s total training period was 10 years. But PD O Baek-gyeong didn’t care.
Her time at Colors was only a few months. All he needed was a provocative title.
Old Hand vs. Newbie.
Or, the Main Dancer vs. the Main Vocalist.
He could come up with any number of titles.
PD O Baek-gyeong was confident.
Until Seo Baek-yeong cut off that confidence.
And until Yun Cheong completely trampled on his last shred of confidence.
“Yes. As you saw earlier, Unnie was very worried about my dancing. So she helped me whenever she had time.”
I deliberately put on a very apologetic expression.
“Actually, I’m really… so bad at dancing, I always ended up being a burden to the other trainees.”
In times like these, you have to act pitiful.
So pitiful that it becomes boring.
“So, it was embarrassing, but I asked Baek-yeong Unnie for help.”
“Why Seo Baek-yeong of all trainees? There are so many others.”
But PD O Baek-gyeong didn't give up.
He had to get material somehow.
Provocative material to send to broadcast.
“Ah, because Unnie has been at Colors the longest. And she’s so good at dancing.”
But I wasn’t a pushover either.
Absolutely must not give in!
“How’s your relationship with the other trainees?”
“Everyone is so good to me!”
I didn’t answer at length.
Answering at length only gives them more to edit.
“Seo Baek-yeong mentioned that you’re helping her with vocal practice?”
“Yes. Although my skills are lacking…!”
I said that and quickly added.
“Still, Unnie helps me much more. But honestly, while I’m grateful for Unnie’s help…”
Let’s smile.
“I like being able to spend even a little more time with Unnie the most. I really like Baek-yeong Unnie.”
Even if it gets edited out.
***
Once all the pre-interviews were finished, that day’s filming also concluded.
It was a truly long day.
If the first day is this tough, the future will be really hard too.
I loosely packed my things and was about to head to the vocal room.
With the thought of warming up my voice after a long time.
But then,
“Hey!”
Someone called out to me.
Turning around, I saw a somewhat familiar face.
Kim Ryeo-yu.
A trainee appearing on ‘Make a New Color’ like me.
And—
“I saw your dancing earlier. It was good.”
The trainee who, originally, would debut in 2nd place.
“Oh, thanks.”
I immediately accepted Kim Ryeo-yu’s greeting.
“Wow, but you. How did you suddenly get so good? I was quite surprised earlier.”
“Baek-yeong Unnie helped me a lot.”
“Baek-yeong Unnie?”
Kim Ryeo-yu asked back, sounding very surprised.
“That Unnie, even if she’s a good Unnie, she’s not free enough to help someone with practice.”
“…We just helped each other with what we lacked, you know.”
I had already told Seo Baek-yeong to keep our deal a secret.
From the other trainees too.
It wasn’t that I didn’t trust the other trainees, but they could fall victim to PD O Baek-gyeong’s leading questions.
Fortunately, Seo Baek-yeong was good at understanding.
“Ah, you helped Unnie with her vocal practice, right?”
“Yeah. I did.”
“Then help me too!”
Kim Ryeo-yu said brightly.
…The problem was.
“Huh? Why?”
She wasn’t friendly with the original Yun Cheong at all.
Rather, she was the one who looked down on her.
In Yun Cheong’s memories, Kim Ryeo-yu was roughly like this:
A rising star.
The niece of Director Kim Mo-gyeong, a judge.
And someone who subtly looked down on and ignored Yun Cheong.
“Why, you ask? We might debut together, right? Then wouldn’t helping each other be beneficial? Like you and Baek-yeong Unnie.”
“Sorry.”
And in Baek Nok-ha’s memories, Kim Ryeo-yu was like this:
“I only need Baek-yeong Unnie.”
“…What?”
The one who caused a major scandal and disbanded the team within a year of debut.
“Ah, I spoke in a way that might have caused a misunderstanding. It’s not like that. I’ve already set up a practice schedule with Baek-yeong Unnie, so it would be a bit difficult.”
“…Oh, really?”
Kim Ryeo-yu’s face showed she was quite displeased.
However, since it wasn’t an unreasonable excuse, she seemed to force herself to accept it.
“Instead, if we’re on the same team for the next mission, I’ll help you then. As much as I can.”
Help her? Fat chance.
I don’t care about anyone else, but I will absolutely prevent your debut.
***
The Vocal Training Room.
Also known simply as the vocal room.
The reason I came here was—
“Ah, ah.”
To warm up my voice after a long time.
For idols, dancing is important, but vocals are extremely important.
Because they are, fundamentally, singers.
“My vocal cords are completely ruined, as expected.”
And most importantly, Yun Cheong had a big problem.
She hadn’t received proper vocal training at her previous agency, so her vocal cords were significantly damaged.
“The good thing is… I brought my voice with me.”
That’s right.
The voice I was making now was not Yun Cheong’s voice, but Baek Nok-ha’s voice.
For some reason, no one around me seemed to find it strange either.
Is this also just some kind of devil’s power?
“No need to adapt to a new voice, then.”
My vocal range was the same. My skill was the same.
It was just that my vocal cords were very tired and needed some management.
I should use them carefully.
Otherwise, my voice might give out at an important moment.
“…Should I start with pear-bellflower root juice?”
I subtly turned on my phone and checked Yun Cheong’s bank balance.
Hmm.
…I’ll have to buy the pear-bellflower root juice later.
Yun Cheong had no family.
That meant there was no one to support or protect Yun Cheong.
Perhaps because of that, I felt strangely more concerned.
Since I had decided to help… I wanted to help her properly.
Even though I had agreed to help because of a deal, I still wanted to do my best.
Especially after sensing the chilly atmosphere in that practice room today.
Loneliness was a feeling I knew best.
Sometimes, you can be lonely even among hundreds, thousands of people.
I was lonely among people, and Yun Cheong was lonely being by herself.
“…Let’s stop these stray thoughts.”
For now, I needed to focus on the next filming.
Because the next filming would be the truly important ‘first impression’.
‘Make a New Color’, or ‘ManuCol’ for short, actively utilized the video streaming site O-Tube.
They planned to upload videos to O-Tube even before the main broadcast.
That’s right.
Tomorrow was the day to film the second video to be uploaded to O-Tube.
The first video would be a teaser, but that one made it virtually impossible to properly identify anyone, so we could skip it.
The truly important thing was tomorrow.
Namely—
Self-introductions.
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