“Don’t tell me there’s really nothing? Alright, next person with an idea.”
Seo Yehyun, unable to stand the suspense any longer, gestured impatiently.
“High school house party.”
The casually thrown-out suggestion received a positive response.
“Oh, that’s a good idea! We can insist it’s refreshing since it’s high school.”
“Yeah, it’s good. It’s perfect for shooting a music video and creating a stage concept.”
“See, the original author should be the one giving ideas…”
Kim Do-bin, who had been sitting silently and avoiding eye contact, suddenly flinched and nodded furiously when our eyes met.
What’s his problem? Should I really drag him to the agency?
“But aren’t Do-bin and I the only teens here?”
“Then why did you, a minor, suggest a club concept?”
With one sentence, I effortlessly shut up the boastful Ryu Jae-hee and continued the meeting.
Using Gyeon Ha-jun’s laptop, we searched for references from high school movies, idol music videos with high school concepts, and pop music videos.
As we threw out and gathered opinions, we roughly sketched out the framework.
“So, should we organize this and present it at the concept meeting?”
“Let’s make a PPT. There’s no way the CEO will be convinced just by words.”
“PPT?”
“We can include all the opinions we’ve given and the references we found. It’s no big deal.”
“Oh, are you going to do it, Hyung?”
“What the… nonsense?”
Seeing Ryu Jae-hee already clapping as if assuming I would make it, I raised an eyebrow.
“Do you think I would do it with my experience?”
[A statement promoting discord among members has been detected.]
[Initial Intention -1]
“Actually, saying that is a bit much, isn’t it? Let’s play rock-paper-scissors to be fair.”
I quickly changed the subject to avoid losing more initial intention points.
My body hurts, and my heart hurts too. When will I stop seeing this discord-promoting message?
Rock-paper-scissors, shoot!
I threw out a fist and cheered as soon as the loud call ended.
“Yes!”
The others had all thrown scissors.
Lying comfortably on the mattress, I watched the fierce rock-paper-scissors match as if it were someone else’s business.
The final loser was Kim Do-bin.
Staring blankly at his hand showing paper, Kim Do-bin muttered with a dumbfounded expression.
“How do you make a PPT?”
“Who knows, just make it as eye-catching as possible…”
I hadn’t made one since my freshman year of high school. He’ll figure it out since he has to do it.
“We don’t know when the concept meeting will be, so make sure to finish it by tomorrow at the latest.”
I added one more comment, worried I sounded too commanding.
“Good luck.”
[A statement promoting discord among members has been detected.]
[Initial Intention -1]
Damn it. Even encouragement triggers it.
Returning to our room with Gyeon Ha-jun, who willingly offered his laptop for making the PPT, we found Seo Ye-hyun already lying down with a facial mask on.
As soon as I lay down, my stomach growled, making me realize I was hungry.
“Jun, are you hungry? Should we have a bag of snacks?”
Seo Ye-hyun responded instead of Gyeon Ha-jun.
“Don’t eat and just sleep. What kind of snacks at this hour?”
“Fine, you don’t have to eat.”
“Do you think I won’t want to eat if you eat next to me?”
I held back the retort, ‘Is that my problem? Just hold back with some willpower,’ to preserve my precious initial intention points.
“Eating at this hour will make you gain weight. Do you remember you’re an idol?”
“It’s fine, we’re still growing.”
“Growing, my ass.”
“Hey, they say guys keep growing even after twenty.”
I nonchalantly replied and headed to the kitchen with the old refrigerator.
Opening the freezer door, I was greeted by a few water bottles and side dish containers.
The Banana Kick snack I had heard was good frozen was gone.
It was there a few hours ago.
Seo Ye-hyun wouldn’t have eaten snacks after 6 PM, and Gyeon Ha-jun had been with me the whole time.
That leaves the culprit…
I barged into Ryu Jae-hee and Kim Do-bin’s room.
“Wow, that’s a proper sugar boost.”
“Hyung, is it okay to eat without permission?”
I casually responded to Ryu Jaehee’s question while picking up a snack.
“Of course not.”
Hearing my voice from the doorway, the two stopped mid-bite.
“Is it good?”
Seeing them stuff their mouths with snacks, I decided to let someone more effective deal with them.
“Ye-hyun hyung! They’re eating snacks at this hour.”
“What? I thought only Eden would be crazy enough to eat snacks at this hour!”
Seo Ye-hyun rushed in.
“Guys, do you know how many calories that is? Eating a bowl of rice at this hour would be insane, and those snacks have more calories than a bowl of rice.”
Rapping well. If only he rapped like this during recording, he’d get an OK in one go.
The younger ones, looking pale, pushed the snack bags away as Seo Ye-hyun continued ranting about the calories.
Watching this scene with satisfaction, I returned to our room.
That’s what you call solving a problem without getting your hands dirty.
“Seriously, how strict. If he’s like this off-season, how much will he nag during active promotions?”
I clicked my tongue as I lay back on the mattress, hearing the distant sound of scolding.
“We never know when the schedule will come up. We should consistently manage ourselves like Ye-hyun hyung said.”
“Yeah, but can’t we get individual variety shows or photo shoots? Or are we too vaguely popular for that?”
Laughing slightly, Gyeon Ha-jun chuckled.
“It’s not as bad as we thought, right?”
“Yeah, at least we avoided becoming a failed group.”
I hope everyone acknowledges how big my contribution was without me having to say it.
“When do you think we’ll make a comeback?”
“It’s September now, so maybe around January if the schedule is relaxed.”
I recalled making a comeback early in the year in my previous life, so unless something major happens, it should be the same.
Wait. Early in the year in my previous life…
[Fuck! They fucked up the debut date, and now they fucked up the comeback date too!]
Why did I say that in my previous life…?
Feeling a rush of anxiety and unease, I bit my lip. Something must have gone horribly wrong.
Seo Ye-hyun, satisfied after scolding the younger ones, returned to the room with a pleased smile, still wearing his facial mask.
As soon as the lights were off, the room was engulfed in darkness.
At exactly midnight, the now-familiar status window appeared.
[☀Weekly Quest Settlement begins.]
[Since all quests have been completed, an additional 3 initial intention points are awarded.]
[Having reached 80 initial intention points, the ‘Item Selection’ restriction is lifted.]
Finally, I met the condition of having over 80 initial intention points.
I can’t tell you how much trouble I went through, putting up with so much annoyance to get to 80.
I completed all the weekly quests.
‘Every time I raise my initial intention score, it drops again. Am I Sisyphus, rolling a boulder up a hill?’
Thinking about it again, that youngest member who managed to do all this without any reward was really something else.
Since raising the initial intention score was tough but lowering it was easy, I decided to use the item selection option before it fell below 80 again.
The initial intention score could drop in just a minute.
[Would you like to use the item selection option?
Yes/No]
I selected Yes, and four windows appeared.
『 Item 1. 100 Ways to Win Arguments
Description: Gain the skills to bamboozle your opponent with dazzling rhetoric.
Limit: 3 hours/1 use 』
『 Item 2. Penalty Exemption Ticket
Description: Remove penalties for incomplete weekly or sudden quests.
Limit: 1 use 』
『 Item 3. God of Sports
Description: Maximizes stamina, athletic ability, and performance in all sports.
Limit: 1 day/1 use 』
『 Item 4. Monthly Music Chart (TOP100)
Description: View monthly music charts for the past seven years prior to the regression.
Limit: Can choose only one month 』
Wow, none of them are garbage.
100 Ways to Win Arguments would be very helpful for the concept meeting tomorrow.
The Penalty Exemption Ticket speaks for itself.
God of Sports would be perfect for drawing attention at the Idol Athletics Championship and for winning MVP.
And lastly, the Monthly Music Chart from the seven years before regression.
Seven years before regression means it’s the future from this point.
It’s an item that allows you to avoid intense comeback battles and predict the best times to release music.
While Item 1 seemed most necessary given the upcoming concept meeting, I kept being drawn to Item 4.
[10 seconds remaining until selection time ends.]
[10, 9, 8, 7…….]
“What’s with this time limit?”
With the rapidly decreasing countdown, I selected Item 4.
Although I had some lingering attachment to Item 1, I had no regrets about my choice since I had been leaning towards Item 4 anyway.
I immediately chose the chart for January of next year, which I anticipated to be the comeback period for REVE.
As soon as I saw the chart, memories came flooding back, and I grabbed my head, shouting,
“January is no good!”
Seo Ye-hyun, tossing and turning, mumbled irritably with a sleepy voice,
“Let me sleep!”
This isn’t the time to sleep! I’m the only one getting frustrated again!
* * *
On the day of the concept meeting.
I sighed briefly as I watched Kim Do-bin toss a USB to Ryu Jae-hee, who confidently caught it while wearing round glasses, probably having been assigned the presenter role.
Everyone seemed worry-free, possibly because of the PPT.
Only I, burdened with another worry, felt gloomy.
“Should I have chosen Item 1…?”
I was confident in music, but I had no idea how to persuade them about the comeback schedule.
“Still, Korea is all about shamanism, right?”
“Huh? What are you talking about?”
Ignoring the CEO’s ramblings about the multiverse concept, I shook my head, used to such nonsense.
“Nothing.”
But seriously, what’s with the concept of a detective crossing space and time to solve an unsolved murder at a party?
***
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