Chapter 7

Chapter 7.

As for why Hwanyeong's evaluation score, which had been 18 at dinnertime, had dropped to 5,

It was because Yuseong's photo happened to be directly above Hwanyeong's, which looked rather pitiful with only a single sticker attached to it.

As if being compared wasn't bad enough, the difference was immediately obvious at a glance.

Yuseong could roughly imagine just how much that must have irritated him.

Moreover, since the A-grade trainees here were the last to vote, even if Hwanyeong received all their remaining votes... he had no chance.

“I'll give my vote to Yuseong hyung~ Honestly, this is supposed to be a vote based on personal taste, but hyung is seriously... I've never seen anyone as handsome as you in my entire life. Never. Your face is this small, but somehow your features are so... Even putting personal preferences aside, objectively speaking, you're in a league of your own, hyung.”

Juan delivered an entire speech as he placed his sticker on Yuseong's photo.

[4]

At the same time, Hwanyeong's evaluation score dropped by another point.

“But I really agree with that too. Everyone here is handsome, but whenever I look at Yuseong hyung, I feel like there's a wall.”

“A wall of perfection?”

“Exactly.”

The others followed suit, each casting a vote for him.

[3]

[2]

“There's just no arguing with that, no arguing...”

[1]

Fortunately, Iseong, who was next, voted for Juan, preventing Hwanyeong's evaluation score from dropping all the way to zero.

Only Yuseong and Hwanyeong remained.

Before deciding whether or not to vote according to his own preferences, Yuseong briefly reflected on the past few days.

Just today alone, he had filmed two pieces of roommate content with Hwanyeong.

In the morning, they had shown their morning routines using sponsored skincare products,

And in the evening, they had chatted about trivial things while eating sponsored cup noodles.

To viewers, it would simply look like a peaceful glimpse into their everyday lives,

But every scene that made them appear close had been staged through detailed instructions.

In other words, it was acting.

Unlike the other trainees, who naturally became friends and actively created entertaining footage on their own,

There was a clear reason why only the two of them had to put up with such troublesome arrangements.

Kim Hwanyeong.

How many times had Yuseong wanted to reach an agreement with the production staff to deliberately create a conflict and have a huge fight, all because of Hwanyeong's rotten attitude that surfaced regardless of the time or situation?

Earlier, Hwanyeong had been eating snacks alone in the dormitory. Instead of eating in his own spot, he had been sitting on someone else's bed, and when Yuseong asked why, he said it was because he was worried about spilling crumbs.

So it's fine if you spill them on my bed?

He hadn't even cleaned up after himself before leaving, so Yuseong had ended up using a lint roller to remove the crumbs all by himself.

His skills were mediocre, his looks were mediocre, and his character was rock bottom.

As if giving an A grade to someone who obviously wouldn't be of any help wasn't enough,

Seeing how they were trying so hard to portray him positively and give him screen time... it seemed he really was another of the producer's picks.

Why had they gone out of their way to put someone like that in the same room as him?

To make matters worse, Hwanyeong had often found the production staff's instructions bothersome.

Unless he somehow fell out of the producer's favor and got moved to another grade, the suffering was bound to continue.

'Perhaps... it would be better to coax him into behaving and eliminate the source of trouble altogether.'

It was about time he came up with a solution.

“Why is everyone being so generous with the compliments? Hearing all that while you're looking at my face is making me so embarrassed.”

Although he wasn't actually embarrassed, Yuseong needlessly fanned his face with his hand.

After casually wondering aloud who he should vote for, he subtly extended his hand.

“But actually, there's someone I've already decided on.”

When he placed his sticker on Hwanyeong's photo, exclamations of “Oh~” erupted around him. At the same time, he found himself facing a pair of eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

“...Me?”

“It's a vote based on personal taste, after all. Personal taste. I liked how you've been quietly watching everything on your own this whole time. It felt like you were sticking to your own principles. Being the strong, silent type is cool, isn't it?”

He deliberately avoided mentioning his appearance.

Hwanyeong had already been trying to generate publicity by claiming he looked like Seo Juan.

Yuseong had no desire to give this inferior version, who couldn't even compare to Juan's toes, another opportunity to become conceited about that subject.

Instead, he worked hard to make his reasoning sound convincing by mentioning other qualities without making it seem unnatural.

As long as he included words like suited you, looked cool, and had a certain vibe... it sounded plausible enough.

Human hearts were truly fickle. No matter how unpleasant someone's mood had been, the moment they received a compliment that appealed to their tastes, they inevitably puffed up with pride as though nothing had happened.

Hwanyeong rubbed his neck, pretending otherwise.

“It's also a bribe for my roommate...”

At just the right moment, Yuseong gave him a smiling look with eyes carrying a Charm score of 95.

Then, suddenly, a yellow light appeared above Hwanyeong.

That yellow light that only appeared when someone fell under Enchantment.

...I wasn't hoping for this...

He had no idea what had suddenly worked on him.

Was it because he had smiled while looking directly at him?

Well, I suppose I've never smiled at him like this before.

“Good grief... Even a bribe, huh.”

Don't blush... Don't act shy, damn it.

At that moment, everyone, even Iseong, had fallen silent, but Hwanyeong alone failed to notice the sudden hush-

And another vote was added to Yuseong's photo.

“Even without doing something like that, well... I already thought you were handsome anyway...”

[66]

Leaving behind that miraculous score and a remark worthy of a tsundere, he hurried away as though fleeing.

It... worked out, but why did it feel so irritating?

____________

At dawn, Yuseong headed to the practice room.

Rubin had arrived first and was waiting while stretching.

A black guitar case stood neatly in the corner against the mirrored wall.

“Hyung!”

Spotting Yuseong, he smiled brightly and waved his arms enthusiastically.

“Have you been waiting long?”

“No~ I just got here too! Ah, hyung, do you want to see this? I brought my guitar!”

When Rubin opened the case, a sleek black electric guitar appeared inside.

Contrary to the impression he gave off, there were no cute little stickers decorating it. It was simply polished and gleaming, clearly well maintained.

He seemed to treasure it quite a bit.

“I was going to use it during my self-introduction, but things didn't work out, so I couldn't. I brought it along just in case~ It'd be nice if I got a chance to play it... But if not, there's nothing I can do~”

Rubin spoke as he sat on the floor and laid out the things he had prepared one by one.

A tablet PC containing the audio file, sheets of scrap paper, writing utensils...

Since all electronic devices had been surrendered for security reasons upon entering the dormitory, he must have borrowed the tablet.

Yuseong remembered the announcement stating that they could download the materials they needed for their cover songs and borrow devices to work on them.

Judging by the sticker marked with a 1 on the tablet's case, Rubin must have been the first to borrow one.

“...But why are we the only ones in the practice room right now? Wasn't it usually a little crowded until around this time?”

“Ah, it's probably because a lot of rooms haven't finished filming their mukbangs yet~ They said we could leave as soon as we finished. And... a little while ago, they announced that the repairs to the basement practice rooms were finished, so everyone from our room went down there.”

He seemed to be talking about the sponsored cup noodle mukbang...

To think there were still people who hadn't finished filming that.

Yuseong stroked his chin.

“The basement... That's the place where they said water was leaking from the ceiling, right?”

“That's right~ We should go there next time too! It's much bigger down there! All the rooms are separated, and there's even a water dispenser inside...”

Maybe the air conditioning works better than it does here, too.

He said the last part almost in a whisper before grinning mischievously.

It wasn't that the air conditioning here didn't work at all, but one of the two ceiling-mounted units seemed to be broken, producing little more than a weak breeze. Complaints kept coming in because the room quickly became sweltering whenever people practiced intensely.

In contrast, Yuseong hadn't felt hot even once since entering this body.

He had to keep moving for several hours before he would finally break a sweat.

Even then, his hands and feet remained cold, and a chill permeated his entire body to the point that he was becoming concerned about this body's health.

'Hwan's' body had been like this too, but this one was human.

...Could it be because his vital energy is weak?

“Shall we listen to the original song first?”

“Hm? Oh, sure. We should listen to it.”

Distracted by his thoughts and even recalling the moment he had first encountered this body, Yuseong reacted belatedly and hurriedly nodded.

“This song is pretty long... About five minutes? Even if we only use the first verse, I think it'll be over a minute... So it'd be better to skip all the instrumental-only sections, right? The intro is really long too. If we include all of it, there won't even be ten seconds left for singing!”

To be precise, the song was five minutes and twelve seconds long.

For a song that long, however, there were far too many sections that seemed a shame to cut.

The guitar riff in the intro, in particular.

Before the bass, drums, and keyboard joined in, the sequence of guitar chords ringing out on its own was catchier than any other part.

It was certainly long... but so good that he could hardly bring himself to cut it.

“It's really long, right? Should we just leave it out entirely?”

Lost in thought, Yuseong stroked his chin again.

More importantly... there was something he needed to check first.

“...No, no. Rather than leaving it out completely, for now... first... I think it'd be better if we each tried singing it before deciding. I also want to hear how you interpret the song. I think we'll get a much better result if I adjust my singing to match your interpretation.”

“Ah, okay... Then, um... What should I do? Should I sing it now?”

Yuseong nodded, indicating that he should give it a try, but

Rubin merely scratched the back of his head restlessly, played the song from the beginning, then rewound it again, repeating this inexplicable behavior several times.

He didn't stop there. He picked up his water bottle and moistened his throat, only to fall silent again and clear his throat repeatedly.

He's nervous.

Even though this wasn't a session arranged to evaluate his abilities, Rubin was so frightened that he merely hummed the notes in a tiny voice.

As though a stern interviewer were sitting across from him instead of Yuseong.

Then, while singing, he suddenly stopped and looked up at Yuseong with an anxious expression.

“Hyung, would you like to try first...?! I'm actually more curious about how someone hearing the song for the first time would interpret it...!!”

“...Huh?”

The only section Yuseong could confidently sing was the highlight of the first verse that Rubin had sung earlier.

But Rubin stubbornly insisted that he sing even just that part, continuing to put off his own turn.

“We stuck together-...”

Although he sang it simply, his voice naturally conveyed the atmosphere the song was intended to create.

It was convincing enough that someone might believe he had chosen the song after three days and nights of careful deliberation rather than simply ending up with it by chance.

'Hmm, it's not bad when I actually sing it.'

Although Yuseong had never managed to debut, the solid vocal skills that clearly reflected his years as a trainee were one of his strengths.

Rather than possessing extraordinary techniques, his charm lay in the straightforward way he sang, which suited his voice.

And now, with his characteristic confidence added to the mix, he sounded closer to an A-grade vocalist than a B+.

For a moment, the light vanished from Rubin's eyes as he listened.

“...Why are you looking at me like that? Did I sing something wrong?”

At the question, Rubin quietly pulled only the corners of his mouth upward into a smile.

“Hyung, you're really... really good.”

A strange expression, with only his mouth smiling, flickered across his face for an instant.

It immediately changed into his usual smiling eyes, with the plump areas beneath them rising adorably, erasing that fleeting moment.

But Yuseong wanted to know what was hidden behind those words.

Nevertheless, he didn't press him and simply accepted the compliment as it was.

Because Rubin's evaluation score hadn't changed.

“Ah~ I want to sing like you too, hyung!! Seriously, why are you so good at everything~! You're handsome, you're good at dancing, and you can even sing...! I'm telling you, God definitely failed to balance your abilities when he made you. Please share just a little with me!”

“Haha... Have you ever heard the word 'flattery'? I'm not that good.”

“What do you mean you're not~? I'm sure everyone thinks the same thing!”

It was frustrating.

Not only had he never particularly wanted this kind of praise, but just when he thought Rubin was finally going to sing, he suddenly started talking about how he would just play guitar in the background instead.

It was blatant avoidance.

“But you said you were in a band, didn't you? Then you must have performed onstage too, right?”

In that case... let's try guiding him toward it.

“That's right! We always performed at festivals~ My high school days were my golden age. We were really popular back then~ I bet there are still videos on YouTube. Someone filmed a fancam of our talent show during a school trip and uploaded it, and the views were, like... Actually, that video was the reason I got scouted in the first place~”

“Really? Ah, if we hadn't had to turn in our phones, I'd ask you to show me... What a shame. Did you sing Chicken Stock back then too? You said you'd sung it a lot.”

“No, no. There were other songs that were popular back then... In high school, I think we sang <The Intersection of Youth and Romance> so many times I got sick of it.”

The moment the title came out of his mouth, Yuseong looked at him with the same unfamiliar expression as last time. Once again, Rubin said, “Ah, you know the one~” and sang him a short verse.

Not wanting to miss the opportunity, Yuseong quickly brought up Rubin's status window in advance and secretly observed it.

Soon,

[Vocals C+ (2)]

A number fluctuating between 2 and 3 appeared beside Rubin's vocal stat, where there had previously only been a question mark.

[Vocals C+ (0)]

When he finished singing, the question mark disappeared completely, leaving only a zero.

Just as I thought.

“Ah... I think I know what song that is. Isn't it this one?”

Yuseong hummed a vague melody without any lyrics.

Since he was merely pretending to know the song, the melody would sound completely wrong to Rubin.

And if Rubin continued singing to correct him, the number would probably appear again.

His prediction proved exactly right.

“Ah, hyung~ That's completely different~! Listen carefully~”

[Vocals C+ (3)]

When Rubin sang again to correct him, the number 3 appeared beside his vocal stat.

'It's back to 3 again... and his voice has changed. I can tell that he sings like that when he isn't consciously thinking about it... but what does the number have to do with it?'

“Hyung, you don't actually know this song, do you?! You're just pretending, aren't you?! Every note was wrong!!”

“I do know it, okay? We write youth and read it as romance~...”

“That's the part I just sang~! That's not it~ Now, listen. Honestly, this song is basic knowledge, basic manners, common sense... that kind of song, you know? I'm teaching you specially, so listen carefully!”

Rubin casually picked up his guitar, took his position, and plucked the strings.

The unplugged strings produced soft, ringing notes.

Giggling as though he found the situation amusing and enjoyable, he skillfully moved his fingers to warm up before taking a short breath.

“In this blue that chills me with its blinding brilliance, the name of youth-...”

[Vocals C+ (5)]

The first note, which had trembled a little unsteadily, quickly stabilized.

[Vocals C+ (6)]

Confidence filled the lyrics he sang, and his breathing became more comfortable.

“We write it as youth and read it as romance... searching for the intersection of midsummer~”

[Vocals C+ (8)]

[Vocals C+ (9)]

His 'true voice,' skillfully alternating between falsetto and his natural register, grew stronger.

...

[Vocals C+ (10)]

He finished by belting out a soaring high-note ad-lib that no one had even asked him to do.

He added a playful “Yeah~” and vigorously strummed his guitar strings.

It was a clean rock vocal performance, more exhilarating and liberating than anything he had shown before.

To think he could produce such a powerful, full-bodied sound.

At the same time, his skill was also unlocked.

The moment Yuseong saw it, his eyes couldn't help lighting up.

[Release Lv. 1

-Increases the more you enjoy yourself.

Converts points into stat values and applies them to abilities.

Stats increase by one grade for every 10 points.

Has a 70% chance of leaving an 'Afterglow,' extending the duration of increased abilities.

Can raise 'Vocals' up to a maximum of S grade.]

[Vocals B-]

'It's not even that high yet, and he's already this good... Strictly speaking, it's not an ability that benefits me directly, but since the competitions from here on will continue to be team-based, I can make good use of it until we end up facing each other as opponents...'

His mind raced.

An ability that improved his skills the more he enjoyed himself, that voice, his singing style, the song choice, Yuseong's own abilities...

The best way to showcase all of those things within a fifty-second video was-

“I just had a good idea....How about we arrange <Chicken Stock Soup> like this?”