I began my presentation by handing over the Bonobono-themed PowerPoint, featuring a rainbow-colored rounded font tailored to the CEO’s taste.
Of course, I hadn’t made it myself.
Once again, I had outsourced the job to Kim Dobin, who had unintentionally hit the mark with the CEO’s preferences before. He perfectly replicated that magic this time as well.
“I thought about a theme that fits the song and enhances the performance concept. The answer is detectives and phantom thieves.”
With dazzling animations that were almost dizzying, images popped up one by one.
“From Arsène Lupin vs. Sherlock Holmes, a novel from the 19th century, to the pursuit battles between Kaito Kid and Conan in Detective Conan, the dynamic between detectives and phantom thieves is a well-established major genre.”
Saying Detective Conan and Kaito Kid out loud, thanks to Kim Dobin’s insistence on including them, left me with a strange sense of regret. Just mentioning Holmes versus Lupin would have been enough.
The presentation continued with a broad overview of the planned performance, concept photos, and the general direction for the music video.
At this level of detail, the agency could handle the rest.
The 100 Ways to Win an Argument card I had drawn from my expired idea pile worked wonders, automatically filtering my words into persuasive statements.
With every sentence I spoke, the CEO nodded in a trance-like state, as if he had erased the multiverse from his mind. It was satisfying. I love you, system.
“That’s all.”
As I concluded the presentation, the CEO clapped in satisfaction. It seemed he would no longer insist on the multiverse concept, and I could finally relax.
“Hmm, but next time, let’s leave out Bonobono. The blue is too distracting, making it hard to focus on the content.”
Wait, wasn’t this the same person who once called it aesthetically pleasing? Why was his taste in space-themed concepts the only thing that never changed?
Handing the USB with the PowerPoint to the planning team leader, I walked out of the conference room with a light step. Kim Dobin, pouting, grumbled beside me.
“Wow, the CEO is so unfair. I worked all night on that.”
On that? I had a feeling most of his time had been spent choosing animation effects rather than actual content.
“Why didn’t you just reuse the old one and change the content?”
“Oh… Oh…! That was an option…?”
Why did he never apply his abundant imagination in practical ways?
* * *
May 26th.
“Today is my birthday!”
As Kim Dobin scrolled through the flood of birthday messages, a bright smile spread across his face.
Posts celebrating his last year as a teenager filled his social media feed, and his birthday hashtag trended.
#Shining_Dobin_Day (It was written in English in the original text.)
#언제나_빛날_도빈이의_열아홉 = Always_Shining_Dobin’s_Nineteen
Early in the morning, he had visited his subway birthday advertisement with Ryu Jaehee.
Back when he was performing Come to My Universe, he thought he was doomed to the path of a failed idol. Now, he was someone whose birthday was displayed on a subway ad—it still felt surreal.
When he shared his thoughts with Jaehee, the latter scoffed instead of agreeing.
“Hyung, back then, you and Yehyun-hyung were both against the One Chance concept. If we had stuck to My Universe, we’d definitely be walking the path of obscurity. You should be bowing to Eden hyung in gratitude.”
“Come on, I was just complaining a little.”
“Complaints should be timed right. I seriously thought you’d lost it back then. Honestly, I think the only reason Eden hyung didn’t grill you as much as Yehyun hyung did was because at least you contributed to the choreography. You should be thankful for your talent in dance.”
“That hyung… He’s still kind of intimidating. I feel like I always end up talking nonsense when I’m with him. Don’t you?”
“Not really. Eden hyung has a clear preference for the type of people he gets along with. As long as you match that, it’s easy to stay on his good side. I actually find Hajun hyung harder to read. He… doesn’t seem to have any specific standards.”
“I get what you mean. Every group has that one character who’s kind and friendly to everyone but somehow gives off a chilly vibe underneath.”
“I said he has no clear standards, not that he’s cold.”
Bantering, they returned to the dorm, where breakfast—chicken breast seaweed soup—was waiting.
“Wow, is this a surprise?”
“Hyung, do you even know what surprise means…? Hajun hyung started soaking the seaweed yesterday.”
Jaehee sighed and scolded him lightly as Gyeon Hajun sent them both off to wash their hands.
Yoon Eden, his hair a complete mess, lazily walked out of his room with his hoodie thrown over his head. He scrunched his face at their loud chatter.
“Too early for this much noise.”
Then, he sat at the table.
Technically, the eldest member was Seo Yehyun, but for some reason, their unspoken rule was to wait until Eden picked up his spoon before starting. Did they respect his role as leader more than age itself?
Meals were usually quiet, with little conversation.
After finishing breakfast, Dobin, who didn’t have school since it was the weekend, plopped onto the sofa and turned on the TV.
Eden, having taken his vitamins and supplements, naturally grabbed the remote from Dobin’s hands and started flipping through channels.
The youngest members didn’t get a say in channel selection.
After a long scroll, he stopped at a channel airing Drop The Beat Season 2.
The second round of auditions was underway, and Eden chuckled while snapping a picture of one of the contestants. Was it someone he knew?
Watching him, Dobin spoke his honest thoughts.
“Hyung, you definitely look less scary when you smile.”
Eden turned to him with a frown, instantly becoming intimidating again.
Dobin quickly looked away, but a quiet chuckle escaped from Eden.
Encouraged by that reaction, Dobin sneaked a glance at his profile. The small teardrop mole under his eye stood out.
In Eden’s gaze as he watched the screen, there was a flicker of longing, maybe even envy.
It reminded Dobin that Eden had come from the underground scene.
“Hyung, you should enter next year. You’re the real king of Korean hip-hop.”
“I’ve been thinking about it. Should I join Season 3 or wait for Season 4?”
Accepting his words, Yoon Eden let out a small laugh.
“And what do you mean, the top of Korean hip-hop? There aren’t many, but there are still rappers better than me.”
Oh, so he’s not saying there are many better rappers. Still, it was a bit surprising that he admitted even a few existed.
Kim Dobin honestly expected him to claim he was the undisputed best, but it seemed he took hip-hop more seriously than he thought.
“Oh, this one’s pretty good. I think they’ll pass.”
“Whoa, they actually passed! Then what about this person? Do they pass or fail?”
“I need to hear them rap first, idiot. Just wait a bit… Hmm… Fail.”
“Damn, they really failed! Hyung, you could totally be a judge.”
At some point, Ryu Jaehee had attached himself to Yoon Eden’s side, constantly asking whether a contestant would pass or fail. The accuracy rate was an impressive 95%, which was almost uncanny.
By the time the program ended, it was nearly time to head to the practice room.
Excited for the surprise party the hyungs had surely prepared, he left for the practice room with the other members.
‘It’s probably just Eden hyung and Yehyun hyung fake fighting again.’
No matter how hard they pretended to argue, he wasn’t scared anymore. The days of trembling in fear at their heated words were long gone.
‘But if Eden hyung and Hajun hyung fought… even if I knew it was an act, that might actually be a little scary.’
That was an unknown territory, making it all the more terrifying.
The choreography they received from an external source depicted a chase between four detectives and a single phantom thief.
Thanks to his position as the main dancer, Kim Dobin was assigned the role of the phantom thief at the center. There was even a solo dance break, making it the most challenging part, but he was confident.
With an actual choreographer directing them, the burden on him had lessened significantly, and the overall quality of the routine had improved.
No matter how talented he was at dancing, he was still just a nineteen-year-old who hadn’t even graduated yet.
Only Yoon Eden knew that in the previous timeline, Dobin had shouldered the responsibility of choreographing so often that he’d reached a skill level that could rival professional choreographers.
Thanks to the dedicated practice he had done with Kim Dobin and the focused training from the choreographer, Seo Yehyun was now managing to execute movements that could at least be called a proper routine—without going through his usual struggle phase at the start of practice.
“Wow, this is seriously… a victory for humanity, a true victory.”
Leaning against the practice room mirror, Yoon Eden clapped and marveled at the sight.
‘Hmm, he’s setting up the argument to start the fake fight for the surprise camera.’
Taking a sip of water, Kim Dobin smirked.
“I have to admit, it really is a victory for humanity…”
“Damn, so when you said you’d do a group dance next time, you weren’t kidding?”
“I don’t throw around empty promises.”
Surprisingly, there were no raised voices—just a normal, calm conversation. Their expressions, too, remained peaceful.
‘…They’re not fighting?’
It seemed his expectation of a surprise party being triggered by a staged argument was way off the mark.
“We’re off to vocal lessons now.”
Ryu Jaehee, looping his arm through Seo Yehyun’s, waved before leaving the practice room.
Booking a vocal lesson without him on his birthday? That was an obvious setup for a surprise party.
‘Hajun hyung must’ve stayed behind so he wouldn’t be suspicious.’
They’d probably show up with a cake in about ten minutes.
But unlike his expectations, thirty minutes passed, and neither of them returned.
“I’m heading to the studio. You two, don’t overdo it and head back soon.”
Next, Yoon Eden left the practice room.
‘He’s going to join them and come back with a cake, right?’
Yet even after an hour, Yoon Eden didn’t return. Neither did Seo Yehyun and Ryu Jaehee, who had supposedly gone to their vocal lesson.
Receiving a call, Gyeon Hajun answered and then turned to Kim Dobin with an apologetic expression.
“What should we do? Eden just asked me to come to his studio. Do you want to come with me if you don’t want to be alone?”
“No, I’ll stay here.”
Surely, all four of them were waiting for him at the dorm instead.
It must’ve taken them longer than expected to decorate the place with balloons and other decorations.
And so, with high expectations, he made his way to the dorm.
Only to find—no surprise party, no decorations, nothing. Just an empty dorm greeting him in silence.
A wave of disappointment hit him, and he stomped his foot against the floor at the entrance.
At this point… had they all forgotten his birthday?
***
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