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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 27
Chapter Title: An Enthusiastic Recommendation
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"Then let's go with a girl crush concept. It's powerful and cool."
"Oh? Hey, that's not a bad idea. I think the other team would be surprised to see it."
Shin Hyun-ah, another Middle-grade team member, said. Kim Ga-young immediately agreed, seeming like the easily swayed type.
"Let's wear something edgy, like leather, and change all the lighting to be dark. A dark, girl-crush version of 'Call Me Everyday.' Short for 'Black Call-Day!' What do you think? Sounds good, right?"
*To take this song in a dark direction... That's sacrilege.*
*Do they think girl crush just means acting tough in black clothes?*
Hye-sung, who had been listening quietly, carefully opened her mouth.
"Um, excuse me, Eonnis. I think you might be misunderstanding the meaning of 'girl crush'… We can totally pull off a girl crush vibe even if we stick to the original song."
"What are you talking about? This song has a fresh concept. Girl crush is a strong concept. They're completely different."
*I knew they thought that way.*
Seeing her teammates who had completely absorbed the distorted meaning of "girl crush" from its reckless use in the media, Hye-sung prepared to explain.
"Okay, Eonnis. Think about the original meaning of the words. Girl crush isn't about 'wearing black and killing everyone!' It's anything that makes a girl's heart flutter when she sees it."
"What do you mean? Are you saying the original meaning is that a fresh concept is girl crush?"
"Nooo…"
"Doesn't 'crush' mean to break something? So a concept that looks strong enough to destroy everything is a girl crush, right?"
"It's used to mean 'to fall for someone,' not 'to smash'…"
Hye-sung's voice trailed off, sensing they probably wouldn't listen to her.
"The original meaning is about a girl getting flustered by another girl, so Hye-sung is right, but it's also true that at some point, it started being used with a meaning similar to what Hyun-ah and Ga-young are thinking."
Lee Ju-ha summed it up simply.
Shin Hyun-ah still looked at Hye-sung with a face that said she didn't quite understand.
"It means that a fresh concept can be a girl crush, and so can lovely, cutie, or dreamy concepts. Treating only strong concepts as girl crush is a distortion of the meaning. Anyway, I normally like strong concepts too, but! I'd like for us to stick to the original for this song."
"Hmm... But don't you think female fans' hearts won't flutter much for a fresh concept?"
*Why wouldn't they? They're starving for it because there's none to be had.*
Proper fresh concepts had become nearly extinct in recent years, leaving Hye-sung, among others, absolutely famished.
"Right, the senior artists with lots of female fans almost all have strong concepts. Black Rose did back in the day, too."
*That's because of their faces, not the concept. With faces like theirs, they could do a beggar concept and still have a line of female fans.*
"I want to get a lot of female fans. So let's go with something strong."
"N-No, we can't do that!"
Hye-sung waved her arms and exclaimed urgently.
She had sensed the atmosphere shifting toward a concept being hastily decided under Shin Hyun-ah and Kim Ga-young's lead.
"What is it, Hye-sung? Why are you shouting?"
Kim Ga-young looked at Hye-sung, slightly taken aback.
"Hold on, everyone. Let's get this straight. Hyun-ah and Ga-young want a girl crush concept, a strong one, and Hye-sung wants to stick to the original fresh concept, right?"
Though they hadn't chosen a leader yet, Lee Ju-ha, who already felt like one, quickly organized the situation.
"What about the rest of you? Share your opinions."
"I-I agree with Hye-sung Eonni. I don't think we need to change the concept to the point of abandoning the song's identity…"
Na Yeon-woo, who had been silently darting her eyes around, backed Hye-sung's opinion. She had been cautiously watching the others, hesitant to voice her opposition.
"Isn't the most important thing to show the Mates what they're expecting from this song? This isn't the kind of song we can do just anytime. They'll want to see that specific vibe that only rookies can pull off…"
Hye-sung pleaded with the other team members with her eyes.
"I feel like deliberately changing it would be a kind of betrayal. It's not that I dislike Hyun-ah Eonni's and Ga-young Eonni's opinions, but I'm speaking from the perspective of a fan, since I've been one for a long time."
There was also the fact that sticking to the original song would be more advantageous for getting Na Yeon-woo chosen as the center, but right now, Hye-sung was strictly representing the viewers' perspective.
"Hmm... Like Hye-sung said, with a song like this, it's probably best not to ruin the atmosphere the Mates are expecting. I'll cast my vote for Hye-sung's opinion. What about everyone else?"
Lee Ju-ha, who thought they might lose the song's greatest strength if they got too greedy,
"I vote for girl crush. Honestly, I like strong concepts. I think it would suit me better."
and Seong-bin, who thought it was more important to pick what suited her, cast their votes.
"It's 3 to 3."
A tie. They were back to square one.
"Aaaah~! Let's do Black Call-Day~!"
"This is the right way to go if we don't want to be overshadowed by the other team's song! We can't look too cute and easy to beat. Hye-sung, Yeon-woo, huh? Ju-ha Eonniii~ Just this once~"
Shin Hyun-ah and Kim Ga-young made a strong appeal to the entire team.
*If we do this half-heartedly, we're bound to hear that we ruined the song. I can already hear My.B's fans coming for us with clubs…*
What Hye-sung wanted was the reaction that they had *stolen* the song.
Of course, even if they managed to elicit that reaction, My.B's fans would still come at them with clubs, telling them not to disrespect the original artists, but that was a much better outcome.
"Alright, the rest of you. Have you made up your minds? We'll decide by a show of hands, so please raise them."
*Rurika will never vote for girl crush, and this one…*
Hye-sung glanced at the Middle-grade trainee in a pink practice uniform sitting next to her.
*I'm not sure which way she'll vote.*
"Those who think we should stick to the original song?"
The remaining two both raised their hands for Hye-sung's opinion.
And so, the result was 5 to 3.
"Ah... Too bad, but it can't be helped."
"Well, if that's the majority opinion…"
The two, slightly surprised by the result, scratched their heads and nodded.
*Phew, they're not pushing back.*
In fact, they seemed a bit embarrassed, as if wondering if they had pushed too hard without giving others a chance to voice different opinions.
"Then, should we pick a leader before distributing parts?"
"I think you should do it, Eonni."
Hye-sung said, looking at Lee Ju-ha.
Lee Ju-ha was the oldest in the team along with Seong-bin, and she had also been the class president in the Ace class, so there seemed to be no need for a vote.
"I, I'd like to try being the leader!"
The trainee sitting next to Hye-sung shot her arm up, covering her armpit with her other hand.
It was Cha Ju-yeon, the Middle-grade trainee who had been sitting quietly until just a moment ago.
*She's wearing long sleeves, so why the 'manner hands'?*
"Oh, Ju-yeon, you want to try?"
Lee Ju-ha smiled warmly and wrote Cha Ju-yeon's name on the paper she was holding.
"Bin, what about you?"
"I'm more of a lone wolf, so being a leader is not for me."
Seong-bin, who was sitting in a Buddha-like pose that seemed to say, "Oh, you've come? Attain enlightenment," shook her head.
*She didn't seem to have much leadership potential, but a lone wolf? Is she an ex-gangster, not a model?*
"Any other volunteers?"
…*Crickets.*
There was no one. It was the moment that confirmed being a leader in K-pop wasn't some coveted position of power.
"Then you can vote between me and Ju-yeon."
The vote was held in secret, but the result was obvious.
Lee Ju-ha, 5 votes. Cha Ju-yeon, 1 vote.
"Ah, too bad. But hey, I got at least one vote! Who was it, Yeon-woo?"
Cha Ju-yeon, who had a personality for trying anything, laughed heartily and accepted the result.
Then, curious about who voted for her, she looked around at her teammates. She seemed to guess it was Na Yeon-woo, who was from the same agency.
"It was me. I voted for you."
"You did, Eonni?"
Cha Ju-yeon looked at Hye-sung with surprised eyes, then immediately lifted the corners of her mouth and gently nudged Hye-sung's shoulder with a playful expression.
"What's this~? I think this eonni has a crush on me."
"What?"
"Don't be so obvious in front of everyone, it's a lot of pressure~"
"Wow, you're really something else…"
Dumbfounded, Hye-sung could only twitch her eyebrows.
She couldn't bring herself to say that she had only voted for her because she thought she'd get zero votes and be hurt.
*Yeon-woo might seem soft, but in situations like this, she's decisive. She wouldn't vote for someone just because they're friends.*
Na Yeon-woo had followed Lee Ju-ha well before, so it was likely the same this time.
She already had recognition, skills more than sufficient for one person, and a great personality—what younger trainee wouldn't want to follow her?
Hye-sung herself sometimes felt the illusion that Lee Ju-ha was her real older sister.
"So, it's decided that Ju-ha is the leader, right?"
"Yep!"
"Thank you, everyone. I'll do my best. Next is part distribution. Should we start with the center?"
At the word "center," Hye-sung's eyes gleamed.
*That belongs to our Yeon-woo.*
"Uh oh? This eonni suddenly looks like she's burning with ambition. You said you didn't like being in the spotlight, but it turns out you wanted to be the center, Hye-sung Eonni!"
Cha Ju-yeon, who had been getting more and more hyped up, said teasingly to Hye-sung.
"I have no such ambition."
Hye-sung gave a distorted smile and lightly tapped Cha Ju-yeon's chest with the back of her hand, telling her to stop.
"Ouch! I'm against violence!"
"Stop pretending it hurts. Don't be so dramatic."
"Alright, alright, you can fight later. I'll take volunteers now. Anyone who wants to be the center, please raise your hand~"
Hye-sung's burning gaze turned to Na Yeon-woo.
[Na Yeon-woo (18/Female)]
Visuals ★★★★
Vocal ★★
Dance ★★★
Star Quality ★★
After the re-evaluation and the M-Space recording, Na Yeon-woo's vocal and dance stats had both improved by half a star.
Her singing ability had now surpassed average, and her dancing was definitely on the skilled side. Although Hye-sung had helped her briefly with a rewind, for her stats to rise this much after a single training camp meant she was a fast grower.
"Cha Ju-yeon volunteers!"
"R-Rurika, too…"
"Ah~ I think I'll stand out too much if I do it, so I'll pass this time."
Cha Ju-yeon and Rurika quickly raised their hands. Seong-bin also raised her hand but gave an excuse to decline, even though no one had nominated her.
*Her narcissism is on another level. I really need to keep my distance.*
"I'll volunteer for now, too."
"I'll volunteer as well."
Kim Ga-young and Shin Hyun-ah also raised their hands.
"Ju-ha Eonni, aren't you volunteering?"
"Nope, I want to be the main vocal. I'll have to give up on being center."
For one person to be both center and main vocal was hogging the spotlight.
Lee Ju-ha refrained from volunteering for center out of common sense, but there were bound to be greedy trainees in other teams who took both the center and main vocal positions.
"Any more volunteers?"
Lee Ju-ha's gaze turned toward Hye-sung and Na Yeon-woo.
Just like before, Na Yeon-woo was cautiously glancing around, clenching and unclenching her fists, her arm hesitating to go up.
*Why are you hesitating again? You're in the Ace grade, what are you so hesitant about? Hurry up and raise your hand. That's right, let's raise it.*
Frustrated by her inability to raise her hand, Hye-sung shot her own hand up and shouted.
"Appearing like a comet, the unprecedented sculpture of innocence! The human embodiment of summer born from the Supernova Project! I recommend the milk-soda, fresh-and-bright rabbit, Na Yeon-woo, for center!"
"Hye-sung Eonni…!"
