Chapter 10

Chapter 10.

“Oh... I like cute concepts, though. I'm really confident I can pull it off~ Honestly, I'm also curious how cute everyone can be. Especially you, Yuseong hyung~”

After Yuseong revealed the concept he had drawn and returned to his seat, Juan exclaimed excitedly.

While producing every possible cute gesture with his hands and arms, one after another.

“I think it's fine too. The song itself has that kind of atmosphere. I think it's a direction that could bring out the best in both the original and the remake.”

“Hmm... Me too. Seems doable...”

Patrick was positive as well, and Ijun, who had been sitting indifferently with his eyes half-closed the entire time, briefly added his agreement.

Whether they genuinely meant it or not, the others showed similar reactions.

“Huh, it looks like Hwanyeong doesn't agree?!”

Obliviously, Dael pointed at Hwanyeong with a bright smile.

He was right.

Hwanyeong was only managing to conceal his expression because the cameras were diligently filming. He hadn't said a word for some time, silently displaying his discomfort.

“No, well... It's not that I necessarily dislike acting cute.”

He finally opened his mouth.

Letting out occasional scoffs between his words,

“I'm just wondering if it would suit us... Honestly, neither I nor anyone else here really has the kind of face that looks cute-”

He waved his hand up and down in front of his face.

As if to say, “That's not really what we're like.”

In other words, he was saying that, judging by their appearances, none of them seemed suited to pulling off a cute concept.

Yuseong agreed with him on this point.

Patrick, sitting right beside him, had broad shoulders and thick eyebrows that gave him a distinctly masculine appearance,

And Ijun looked as though not a single drop of cuteness had ever been added to his entire life.

And what about Juan?

He claimed to be confident, but his appearance was so cold that it was difficult to imagine him acting cute just by looking at his face.

His playful personality and constant smile softened that impression somewhat, but he was also tall and sturdily built...

Judging purely by appearances, the only people among them who seemed suited to acting cute were Rubin and the refreshing-looking blond Dael.

Even so, there were plenty of people whose tastes included watching enormous guys act adorably,

And since they were all aspiring professionals, perhaps it wouldn't be such a bad idea to treat it as practice for the cute things they would eventually have to do for paid fan services... However.

Just because something was possible didn't mean it would necessarily succeed, so Yuseong secretly hoped Hwanyeong would make an even bigger fuss.

If Yuseong opposed the concept himself, the footage might be maliciously edited to make him look like 'a leader who abuses his authority and insists on having his own way even though all the other members agree.' Instead, he intended to use Hwanyeong as a sacrifice and naturally change their direction.

'Acting cute might attract attention, but it'll be difficult to win a competition with that alone.'

Even on Catch One, the concepts that survived until the end were sexy or refreshing ones, not cute ones.

With these members, it would also be more appropriate to carry their existing images onto the stage and fulfill people's expectations.

“Then let's go with sexy. Sexy. I'm telling you, sexy suits me. Look, all of us-”

“...I think that would make it difficult to achieve a polished result.”

As Hwanyeong grumbled in one last desperate attempt about how a sexy concept suited him, Kang Chan countered without taking his eyes off the lyric sheet.

“Even though we're allowed to overlap with the other suggested keywords, if we proceed without knowing what the other arranged versions sound like... we might end up producing something that looks like a copy.”

It was a calm, pointed observation.

“Besides, we're short on time. Still... if you can explain exactly what you want and implement it quickly... I won't object.”

He raised his head with a gentle smile, as though seeking agreement.

Yuseong sensed something similar to Iseong about him, though his edges were considerably less sharp.

Perhaps realizing that was beyond him, Hwanyeong said to forget it and fell silent.

Well, of course.

[Kim Hwanyeong (22) / C]

[Vocals D

Rap C

Dance B

Appearance B+

Reputation E-

Special Skill: My Way Lv. 2

Hears only what he wants to hear.

When his opinions align with those of his team, his 'Vocals,' 'Rap,' and 'Dance' stats temporarily receive a 48% adjustment bonus.

Otherwise, there is an 82% chance that one randomly selected stat among 'Vocals,' 'Rap,' and 'Dance' will drop as low as E.]

Because he didn't even possess the ability to implement what he wanted himself.

Rather...

[Kang Chan (25) / B]

[Vocals A

Rap -

Dance B-

Appearance A-

Reputation C

Special Skill: Designer Lv. 3

Brings imagination into reality.

Can gain up to 120% inspiration through 'Source of Inspiration.']

It seemed this one possessed the ability to bring ideas into reality.

Although the description of his skill was less detailed than those of the others, it wasn't difficult to guess what kind of ability it was.

If that skill really was related to musical ability, then surely it involved writing lyrics, composing music, or perhaps producing.

Though it seemed that he would first have to obtain or unlock something called 'Source of Inspiration' to activate it.

'...What the hell is that supposed to be, you unhelpful status window?'

He continued glaring at the status window, but no additional explanation of 'Source of Inspiration' appeared.

Kang Chan didn't say anything further either.

Yuseong had no intention of bringing it up before Chan mentioned it himself, so he was about to move on.

If only an ominous premonition hadn't suddenly crossed his mind.

'Wait a moment....Didn't it say that if his opinions don't align with the team's, one of his stats can drop as low as E?'

Yuseong hurriedly examined Hwanyeong's skill again.

If their opinions don't align, one of the three stats can drop to E.

...A moment of anguish arrived.

Calculate the probability that the entire performance will be affected when one ability stat drops as low as his reputation, with a probability of 82%.

The answer is...

High, anyway.

'...This performance has to be perfect.'

He didn't want to create a weakness unnecessarily.

The rules of this competition included the votes received by individuals in their team's score, and they were already working with a kid who wasn't particularly talented to begin with.

Even if Hwanyeong's skill only amounted to stepping into one small hole, to Yuseong, who pursued perfection, that was harder to tolerate than having the entire floor collapse beneath him.

Yuseong obsessively repeated a single sentence in his mind.

This is different from the cover song. This is the real competition.

I can't mess it up, I can't mess it up...

He steadied his breathing and collected himself, pretending to let out a small laugh.

I nearly lost my composure. That's unlike me.

...I can do it. Perfectly, just as I always have.

The camera positioned near the wall seemed to be glaring at him.

Yuseong stared back at it for a moment before looking away.

“...I'm a little torn. Keeping the cute concept would certainly be the safer choice, but if possible, I'd like us to create a performance that everyone can enjoy together. We're one team, after all. Besides, this is the first performance we'll be showing our fans.”

Hwanyeong, who had been tightly curling the edge of his lyric sheet with his fingernails and scratching beneath his nose, furrowed his brow.

Rather than looking displeased, he seemed unable to believe what he was hearing.

“Honestly, I was a little tempted by those 30,000 points. I didn't mention it because I thought I might be getting too greedy, but... how should I put it? I want us to... do something a little more meaningful together. Since it's our first time? It's not often that we get an opportunity to create a performance however we want, starting from the very first mission.”

“This is also the first time our producer has ever introduced a rule like this.”

When Patrick expressed his agreement, he and Yuseong exchanged remarks of “Right-” and “Exactly-.”

Yuseong slowly looked at each person in turn.

Charm score, okay. Reputation, okay...

“And... I think we can afford to be a little ambitious with the members we have right now.”

After confirming that everyone's scores were safely within an acceptable range, he immediately drove his point home.

“Ah, I knew you understood what you were talking about...”

The moment he finished speaking, Hwanyeong retracted all the thorns he had been bristling with and gave Yuseong a high evaluation score approaching 80.

Dael, sitting diagonally across from him, suddenly hugged Yuseong and pretended to burst into tears with a loud “Waaah!!!!!” though Yuseong had no idea what had moved him so deeply.

They had never practiced together before, so he hadn't realized Dael had this kind of personality.

He slowly patted Dael while opening his eyes as gently as possible.

“Even if we don't get any meaningful results right away, I think it would be good to at least discuss things so that we can incorporate the direction Hwanyeong wants too.”

Everyone seemed willing to accept it.

Their shrugs and nods gradually turned into verbal agreement, beginning with Juan's cheerful “Sounds good to me-.”

Yuseong glanced at Kang Chan, who was the last to express his approval.

“Before that... is there anyone here who can do arrangements? Even Pioneering needs a captain to establish some kind of direction...”

The question had been aimed at Chan, but Rubin suddenly pointed at Yuseong.

“...You, hyung!”

“Huh? Me? Why? Why me?”

“Hyung, have you already forgotten Chicken Stock Soup?”

“That's different from this...”

“I'm telling you, hyung, you've got a good sense for this stuff~! I don't know about instruments or composing or anything like that... but I think you'd be good at producing~ Besides, you're already the leader~ You're the captain yourself, so why are you trying to back out?”

Sorry, but I can't even read sheet music.

That time, it had only been possible because he'd done things like rearranging the order of the lyrics and lowering the key. This would obviously require far more than that...

But when the guys who had fallen under Enchantment, all displaying the same yellow glow above their heads, began staring at him intently, he couldn't bring himself to say anything more.

“...You're good at it, though.”

Kang Chan interjected.

“Aren't you being a little too modest?”

He spoke as though he knew perfectly well, without even meeting Yuseong's eyes, merely tapping his finger against the back of the lyric sheet.

...How would you know when we've never even interacted before?

“I was just wondering if there's anyone here who doesn't know how good you are, hyung. I'll support you....Go ahead and try. Don't worry.”

That makes sense.

Hearing the additional words, Yuseong found himself convinced.

In any case, it was practically an admission from Chan himself that he knew how to arrange music... Well, wasn't that enough?

Yuseong decided to be satisfied with that and raised his eyebrows.

“Well... then shall we start by discussing what direction to take? Hwanyeong, so you're saying you'd prefer something... sexy or cool?”

“That's right.”

“Since another team already has a sexy concept, let's try to avoid overlapping with them as much as possible.”

While everyone spent a moment staring blankly into space as they thought, Yuseong mentally replayed everything Hwanyeong had shown them so far.

Then his recollection stopped at the random dance session on the first day of filming.

He remembered how enthusiastically Hwanyeong had danced during the challenge song.

Rather than sexy or cute, it had been more on the cool side, though it hadn't been designed to look stylishly hip either. It was simply a challenge meant to be enjoyed, relying entirely on its addictiveness.

In that case...

“...Hwanyeong.”

Might as well suggest it.

“How about something exciting?”

“Isn't the song already exciting...?”

“It's a little different. First of all, a sexy concept would be very likely to overlap with the other teams. So instead, why don't we bring out the atmosphere of both original versions to the fullest and make the song twice or three times as addictive, while still leaving room for everyone to look cool in their own way... Think of it as creating our own challenge song.”

“...A challenge...”

Apparently intrigued, Hwanyeong raised his relaxed eyebrows.

“If that's what we're going for... adding EDM or giving it a synth-pop feel might not be a bad idea.”

“And we absolutely have to keep the dance break~”

Kang Chan and Juan added,

“Let's also add a rap section, considering Hwanyeong's and Ijun's positions. The original song doesn't have one.”

Encouraged by another suggestion from Yuseong, various ideas were quickly added one after another.

Unlike before, Hwanyeong simply listened without complaining.

By the time the outline of the new concept had roughly taken shape, they formally applied for Pioneering and continued the rest of the work in a room equipped with the necessary equipment.

As expected, Kang Chan, who had experience composing music and knew how to operate the equipment, became a reliable pillar of support.

While they worked, the words 'Source of Inspiration' in his skill description continued flashing yellow.

They blinked particularly quickly whenever Yuseong whispered suggestions beside him, and Chan's hands moved like lightning.

It took less than thirty minutes to turn their ideas into reality.

“...But something about this feels familiar.”

“Ah, it shouldn't feel familiar~!”

“No, I don't mean it sounds like a song I've heard somewhere... There are already two original versions to begin with, anyway. What I mean is that the overall flow somehow...”

They inserted a section for the rap parts, preserved the existing dance break...

Then, by adding synthesizers to the instrumental arrangement and further emphasizing the electronic sound and hooks, they ended up with something that felt strangely familiar.

After spending some time trying to figure out how to describe it, Yuseong continued in an uncertain tone.

“It sounds like an old song now, but not something really old. Should I say it feels like something from a generation just before the current one...?”

“Oh... I've actually been wondering what this familiar style reminded me of too. Are you talking about something from around 2008 or 2010, hyung?”

“Yeah, yeah. That's it.”

The original song was from the 1990s, and the remake was from the 2020s, but this one had the feel of the 2010s...

“Millennium... what was it again? Ah, Y2K. Was that around then?”

“That was the 2000s, so it's a little off. Around 2010, it would be that, you know... the thing that had another boom recently...”

As expected of the walking encyclopedia Seo Juan, an answer came immediately.

'That' from the mid-2000s.

Yuseong gently stroked his chin and chuckled.

It was about time to give their new concept a name.

“I think I've just found a way to really catch people's attention.”

Wasn't this what they called attracting attention for the sake of it?