“Okay, break!”
As the last line ended, at my shout, the members collapsed onto the practice room floor. Everyone was drenched in sweat, hurriedly gulping down water.
“Wow… it’s actually possible…”
Seo Ye-hyeon, lying spread-eagle, repeated in a daze. Thanks to intensive dance lessons from Kim Do-bin and me, Seo Ye-hyeon had managed to pull off the moves without awkwardness in just a week.
It was still hard to say he was dancing well, but compared to when we first got into formation and he stuck out like a sore thumb, this was an improvement.
What’s a guy with such a standout face supposed to do if he dances like he stands out too?
I had put in some tough choreography, so I worried if Seo Ye-hyeon could keep up, but effort never betrays you. As long as we worked him hard, it worked out in the end.
Though my head almost exploded from having to filter my words so much.
However, Seo Ye-hyeon, with his glass heart and glass mind, got hurt despite my desperate efforts to be gentle, and I ended up shelling out 500,000 won over the week.
Kim Do-bin, who was wiping sweat from his head with a towel next to me, mumbled something halfway between admiration and a sigh.
“It’s actually possible to prepare for the activities in a week… I feel like I’ve lost about 10 years of my life, though…”
“The guy who only did the choreography is talking a lot. Besides, everyone except one member pitched in to help, you know.”
At my rebuke, Seo Ye-hyeon, who was lying down, lifted his head.
“Did someone just take a shot at me?”
“Can’t we just let this slide smoothly? Honestly, it’s a fact.”
While Ha-jun quickly separated Seo Ye-hyeon and me, who looked ready to argue, with himself and the youngest member, Kim Do-bin, who had been watching me with a somewhat curious look, asked slyly.
“I collapse as soon as I get back to the dorm, but you have the energy to go out. So, where do you keep going?”
Do you think I go out because I have extra energy? It’s all because I lack mental strength.
But I didn’t feel like explaining it all, so I cut it short.
“I’m doing the most important thing for our team’s future, why?”
I was currently working on the most important next song.
Even though the track had been created, since it was made early in my composing career, there were awkward parts now that I listened to it again.
With my experience and standards having risen since then, it didn’t quite satisfy me.
Other tracks to be included also needed tweaking, but fortunately, we still had two weeks left.
Thanks to the random ticket the system gave me, we could practice the follow-up song without pushing ourselves too hard. If I didn’t have that track, I might have collapsed from pulling all-nighters.
I’ve coughed up blood because of certain people. No, come to think of it, the system is just giving me both the disease and the cure!
[Coughing blood is a penalty that does not affect physical health!]
Now it even adds exclamation points at the end?
While I was mentally wrestling with the system, Kim Do-bin hesitantly asked again.
“Something important?”
“Yeah, matching people’s tastes is the hardest thing, sigh.”
I can’t count how many times I’ve buttered up Sang-ryul hyung, who would later become a hit song maker, and bought him meals just to get his opinion.
A guy who used to go around saying idol songs annoyed him and he had no interest in them, would become an idol song producer in four years. You never know how things will turn out in life.
Anyway, I get beaten up here, beaten up there. Poor wallet of mine.
Seeing Kim Do-bin, who turned around with a glum face, made me think he finally understood my struggles as a young breadwinner. I don’t expect much, just listen to me well.
Glancing at the clock, I saw that 10 minutes had flown by. I stood up and clapped my hands sharply, shouting.
“Break’s over! Let’s run through it two more times and then head back to the dorm!”
***
REVE_official @LnL_reve
[Eden Dream]
Finally starting One Chance promotions from today^^
See you at 6, Daydreams
#Reve #레브 #Eden #Daydream #OneChance #원찬스 #WCountdown
(Photo)
Shared 412 Quoted 23 Likes 674
—
Dream♥Daydream @revedream
Replying to @LnL_reve
OMG, the follow-up song One Chance
Looks like JNL finally came to their senses
│
Dream♥Daydream @revedream
But they still haven’t posted the schedule… they clearly haven’t gotten their act together yet, damn them
—
Byouj @hamzziUJ
Replying to @LnL_reve
Finally, lol
Eden, you must have hated singing “Come to My Universe” too, lol
│
WalkingUnknownDog @whosdog
Honestly, they probably hated the stage outfits first. Those sponge jumpsuits were ridiculous.
│
Byouj @hamzziUJ**
Replying to @whosdog
Thinking about the “Come to My Universe” days makes me suddenly worried about hair and makeup. Even a white shirt and black slacks would be fine, just keep it simple, please.
As soon as we hinted at the follow-up song activities on our official SNS account, replies poured in immediately.
“They didn’t even post the schedule…?”
Damn agency, what do they do besides getting complaints?
Considering how the fans had to bombard them with emails and faxes three times before they got their act together before I returned, it looks like I might have to lead a fax campaign soon.
Today, REVE had a live performance without any pre-recording.
The groups gathered in the joint waiting room were either not very experienced or not very popular.
Even though we had taken about a week off, there were many faces I hadn’t seen last week.
At least today’s schedule didn’t have us in a partitioned waiting room, which was a slight improvement.
Some groups mingled with each other, while others, like us, stuck strictly to their own members.
“I’m so glad to be free of those damn jumpsuits…”
Ryu Jae-hee looked at our stage outfits with teary eyes. The stylist scolded him, saying not to cry since it would ruin his makeup.
Our stage outfits were simple black suits, often jokingly referred to as funeral home fashion.
It was obvious they chose the safest option to avoid spending money on stage outfits, but after experiencing those horrid white jumpsuits, we were grateful for even this.
We had been feeling stares prickling us for a while.
As soon as our eyes met, they started talking loudly as if they wanted us to hear.
“Damn, I’m jealous. They got lucky with one song and now their slot is moved back. Life really is about luck.”
“Could it be… sponsorship?”
At the mention of sponsorship, even Seo Ye-hyeon wasn’t as startled as Kim Do-bin.
Why is he so surprised? Did the company suggest sponsorship to him? No matter how hopeless our CEO is, he wouldn’t go that far, would he?
I made a mental note to have a deep conversation with Kim Do-bin later and cross-checked the group name and music show order on their name tags.
It looked like they were first.
Up until two weeks ago, we were first, but as our slot moved back, they seemed to have taken the first spot.
‘Who were they again?’
Since I couldn’t remember, they were probably just another failed idol group that eventually disbanded before my return.
Well, that’s common in this industry. Our luck with the fancam that went viral was extraordinary.
Anyway, I left the underground scene because I was tired of the mind games and backtalk, but it’s no different here.
Receiving this kind of rivalry and antagonism less than a month into our debut felt strange.
Back then, we were such a failed group that nobody even bothered to pick a fight with us. So, I guess this antagonism is a very good sign that we’ve escaped the failed idol status.
But a sign is a sign, and feeling lousy is feeling lousy.
Without a word, I stood up and walked over to the sofa where they were sitting.
Watching them giggle among themselves, thinking I wouldn’t actually come over, I smirked.
“Jealous?”
Before they could answer, I slammed my foot down next to the guy’s face who had been running his mouth.
Their chatter stopped instantly. All eyes turned towards us.
The guy who had been mouthing off glanced at my leg next to his face, then looked up at me stiffly.
“Hey! Yoon Eden!”
My members rushed over to me, but I leaned in closer to the guy’s face and taunted him.
“If you’re jealous, you should make your own songs and work hard to communicate with your fans. Isn’t wasting time complaining like this just pointless?”
I let them pull me away, lowering my leg and stepping back. Honestly, it was a pain to stay that close to his face.
“Talking about self-made songs when you got lucky with a mediocre song, damn.”
Trying to save face, he stiffened his neck and sneered. I returned his sneer with a smirk.
“Oh, really? Let’s hear how good your songs are then.”
I made a show of searching for his group’s song on my phone and played it.
A poorly produced song, heavily autotuned, blared from my phone. It was as bad as “Come to My Universe.”
At least we didn’t rely on autotune as much, so we were better.
As soon as the one-minute preview ended, I grimaced and said,
“First, get rid of the autotune. It’s unbearable. With skills like that, you won’t succeed even if you get a top-tier composer. Wake up from your dream.”
Their faces hardened at my mockery, but I didn’t care.
If they didn’t want to hear such things, they should have shut up their member who was spouting crap in the first place.
I turned my gaze to the guy who had mentioned sponsorship.
“And you, damn, do you keep mentioning sponsors because you want one but don’t have the face for it?”
“What?”
“If you want a sponsor, you should fix that ambiguous face first. Sponsors have standards too, and they wouldn’t want to be seen with you.”
[Profanity detected.]
[Initial Intention-2]
As the Initial intention points were deducted and the stabbing pain cooled my heated head, I reflected on my words.
Phew, at least I didn’t say anything too harsh.
Seeing him clenching his fists on his knees, trembling but not daring to grab my collar, I scoffed.
“Kennis, get ready!”
At the staff’s call, the group got up and left the waiting room without looking back.
Returning to the sofa assigned to REVE, I plopped down, and Gyeon Ha-jun frowned.
“You should have held back a bit.”
I searched and found that Kennis debuted just a week before us. Their agency was as unknown as ours.
No matter how fast word spreads in the entertainment world, a fight between two newly debuted groups isn’t much of an issue.
Especially not for two small, failing groups like us.
Besides, they started it, so we had nothing to lose.
If they tried to post about it online when we got more popular, a simple explanation from us would turn the tide against them. At least I didn’t cross any major lines.
I leaned back on the sofa and chuckled.
“Getting blacklisted for this level of conflict? After hearing that, I should hold back? You’ve got quite a temperament, our Jun.”
“You really…”
Gyeon Ha-jun seemed to want to say something more, but eventually, he just sighed.
What? Was I wrong again? As a leader, I showed initiative to protect our group, and this is the response?
Sigh, this is my life.
***
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