A Blank Slate Regression For The Idol That Lost His Original Intention

They turned on the camera installed in the dorm and gathered closely in the living room.

 

We needed some footage for the show, and this could at least make some content.

 

“Alright, let’s start the REVE light stick design contest!”

 

Ryu Jaehee, holding a spoon like a microphone, encouraged everyone to clap.

 

With a lackluster clap, I held up my phone displaying a crowbar-shaped light stick to the camera.

 

“Just so you know, in case anyone thinks our agency isn’t working, the LnL staff are working hard. It’s just that we didn’t like the design, so we’re doing this instead.”

 

Honestly, the crowbar was just too much.

 

When I suggested we design it ourselves, the others didn’t look too thrilled. Then, Kim Dobin raised his hand enthusiastically and asked, “Question! What if we don’t have any ideas?”

 

“Then you won’t win the 100,000 won prize.”

 

“Where’s that 100,000 won coming from?”

 

“My bank account.”

 

As soon as I mentioned the 100,000 won, everyone’s eyes lit up.

 

“Wow, as expected of REVE’s god-producer, King Eden,” said Kim Dobin, clapping.

 

“Is it ‘god’ or ‘king’? Pick one. So, are you giving up, Dobin?”

 

“Of course not. I’ll show you the power of an arts high school graduate.”

 

I chuckled as I watched him roll up his sleeves with a confident smile.

 

Alright, let’s see how cool these designs turn out.

 

The time limit was set to 30 minutes. Internet searches were allowed, but no copying designs.

 

For 30 minutes, only the sound of pens scratching, people inhaling deeply, and occasional groans echoed in the dorm.

 

I, too, searched the internet and quickly sketched out the design I had in mind.

 

It was a long period of silence, but the program editors would handle that well enough.

 

When the timer, set for 30 minutes, rang, I called out to stop and put down my pen.

 

“Alright, let’s start with Do-bin’s reveal.”

 

To the tune of REVE’s own background music, Kim Dobin confidently held up his paper, revealing a rather simple drawing of a line with a D on top of it.

 

“I’ve symbolized our fan club name, Daydream, with the letter D.”

 

Did he really go through all that trouble of rolling up his sleeves just to draw that? I evaluated it bluntly.

 

“Creativity 0, Artistic Value 0, Feasibility 5, Total 5.”

 

“Don’t you know modern art? Extreme simplicity and the multiple meanings contained in this one letter, D!”

 

“Is there any meaning besides Daydream?”

 

“The D in Dream.”

 

I was left speechless by his confident answer, just staring at Kim Do-bin. The other members seemed to feel the same, and under the pressure of their stares, Do-bin started to ramble.

 

“The D of the clan of D—”

 

“Alright, that’s enough.”

 

I cut him off quickly. Next up was Seo Ye-hyun.

 

Unlike Kim Dobin, who was visibly nervous, Seo Ye-hyun’s design and drawing were flawless.

 

A glass orb filled with black liquid and star-like fragments.

 

An LED device shaped like an eight-pointed star was installed in the center of the orb.

 

Ye-hyun began his explanation, tapping the words ‘spins around’ on the paper.

 

“I designed it so that when you turn on the light, it looks like starlight.”

 

“Is this a space concept? Or could it be that you’re reflecting the CEO’s preferences?”

 

“No, no, it’s not space, it’s the night sky. Dreaming is associated with night…”

 

Desperately trying to clarify, Seo Ye-hyun denied the unsettling implication.

 

“It would definitely look pretty in person.”

 

“Agreed. This gets an Artistic Value of 5.”

 

“Oh… Oh… but it’s so similar to mine…”

 

Ryu Jaehee groaned, clutching his head as if to show just how similar it was.

 

“But is that even possible to make?”

 

“I think it would be tough to make. The production cost would be no joke.”

 

“Creativity 5, Artistic Value 5, Feasibility 0, Total 10.”

 

Even with a 0 in feasibility, Seo Ye hyun was satisfied with the relatively high score and nodded approvingly.

 

Next, Ryu Jaehee held up his design sketch.

 

It was a clean design with a star inside a glass orb.

 

“Oh, it’s neat. The design overlaps a bit with Yehyun’s, though.”

 

“Right? But I took feasibility into account when I designed it. Daydream equals dream, dream equals night, night equals stars! And if it’s too similar, I’m okay with changing it to a moon.”

 

I nodded at his confident explanation and gave my evaluation.

 

“Creativity 3, Artistic Value 3, Feasibility 4, Total 10.”

 

“I object! Why is the feasibility only 4?”

 

“Dobin’s got a 5. It’s hard to beat that level of simplicity.”

 

“Was this a relative grading?”

 

Next up was Gyeon Ha-jun.

 

As soon as I saw his design, I felt a sense of déjà vu and found myself glancing between his and Dobin’s designs.

 

An R drawn in cursive was placed atop a line.

 

“I put the first letter of our group’s logo on top.”

 

“Creativity 3, Artistic Value 1, Feasibility 5, Total 9.”

 

I tried to be generous with the score, but Kim Dobin immediately protested.

 

“Isn’t that too biased? I got a 5, so why does Hajun-hyung get a 9?”

 

“Dobin, are you questioning my fairness?”

 

“Why… why are you suddenly talking so gently… Did I do something wrong…?”

 

Camera, damn you.

 

“Everyone focused on the dream theme, but he was the only one who focused on our group’s logo, so 3 points for creativity.”

 

“Then what about the Artistic Value?”

 

“1 point because the alphabet is in cursive.”

 

“Would I get bonus points if I changed mine to cursive?”

 

“Do you think so?”

 

As I frowned and muttered, Ryu Jaehee mouthed the word ‘concept.’

 

I gave up on messing with Kim Dobin and revealed my design.

 

“Wow, a dreamcatcher!”

 

“Oh, the design is really pretty.”

 

Satisfied with the enthusiastic response, I nodded and began to explain.

 

“This is a design based on a dreamcatcher. It has LEDs, so it lights up. I added three feathers as accents. And these parts are only attached at the ends, so it can spin around.”

 

As soon as I finished explaining, I gave my own score.

 

“Creativity 5, Artistic Value 5, Feasibility 5, Total 15. Okay, the winner is decided.”

 

I banged on the floor to declare the winner, but boos and objections flew in from all sides.

 

“Hey! Where do you get off grading your own work? Isn’t that against the rules of fairness?”

 

“Really? Then you guys do it.”

 

With my design laid out in front of me, the other four started murmuring among themselves so that everyone could hear.

 

“For creativity… I think this deserves a 5.”

 

“Agreed. I was so focused on daydreaming that I didn’t even think about a dreamcatcher.”

 

“For artistry, should we give it a 5 as well?”

 

“But if Ye-hyun’s design got a 5, giving this one a 5 might not be fair…”

 

“Then let’s go with 4.”

 

“What about feasibility? 5? 4?”

 

“It doesn’t seem particularly difficult to implement. The design isn’t simple, but it’s doable.”

 

“Then let’s go with 4 for that as well.”

 

Ryu Jae-hee, who had put down his spoon, spoke up to announce the scores.

 

“So to sum it up, creativity 5, artistry 4, feasibility 4, for a total score of 13!”

 

“Wait, so who’s in first place?”

 

“Do-bin hyung has a total score of 5, Ye-hyun hyung 10, me 10, Ha-jun hyung 9, and Eden hyung 13. So….”

 

Ryu Jae-hee made a drumroll on the floor with his hands and announced the final result.

 

“Yoon Eden, you’re the final winner!”

 

Amid applause, I stood in front of the camera with my design and delivered my acceptance speech.

 

“Yes, I’m really happy that my design was chosen. We’ll make sure to present this design to our agency. As for the prize of 100,000 won, I’ll promptly transfer it from my account to another one.”

 

Luckily, none of them had the creativity, artistry, or design skills.

 

I was just relieved I didn’t lose my hard-earned 100,000 won.

 

As I finished my acceptance speech, Ryu Jae-hee, who had been holding the camera, turned it off.

 

This will eventually be combined with a video of us holding the lightsticks when they’re released.

 

“Well, at least we got some content out of the agency’s mess.”

 

“But seriously, a crowbar was too much.”

 

“If we changed it, they’d probably come up with a hammer.”

 

Even at Kim Do-bin’s joke, I couldn’t laugh. The lightstick design from before my return had indeed been a hammer.

 

Looking back, REVE really had done it all before my return.

 

* * *

 

The day of the music video shoot and the long-awaited gift reveal was approaching.

 

Christmas was still far off, but since the broadcast had to coincide with Christmas, there was no choice.

 

Time was tight because we had to fly out for the WAMA awards ceremony in Hong Kong, which was happening in two days.

 

We arrived at the set, decorated with charming props and a Christmas tree, creating a festive atmosphere.

 

The music video’s storyline, which I had received in advance, was simple.

 

Make Christmas cake and party food + decorate the Christmas tree while wearing animal pajamas + pretend to sleep together, then one by one sneak up to place gifts by the pillow. That was it.

 

The entire process of shooting the music video was to be captured on camera and aired in a reality program.

 

A few days earlier, I had retouched my roots and now played with my hair that had been transformed into ash gray.

 

It felt strange to have bangs of a suitable length that didn’t cover my eyes after such a long time.

 

As soon as we arrived, we desperately hid the Christmas gifts we had packed to avoid them being seen by each other, placing them in a gift box, and then listened to the explanation of the music video concept.

 

“We’ll start shooting with the scene of preparing the Christmas party spread. You just need to make a salad and some canapés. For the Christmas cake and the roast turkey, you’ll only need to pretend to cook them.”

 

The salad, a dish perfect for dieting, was assigned to Seo Ye-hyun, and the canapés were assigned to Gyeon Ha-jun.

 

The roast turkey, which only required putting the raw turkey in the oven and taking out the finished one, was assigned to Kim Do-bin.

 

As for the Christmas cake, which required whipping cream, spreading it on the cake, and decorating it, Ryu Jae-hee and I were in charge.

 

“So… all I have to do is put this in the oven and take it out? Just pretend to turn the oven on?”

 

Kim Do-bin asked, pointing alternately at the raw turkey and the already-cooked one.

 

Ryu Jae-hee and I were in the midst of a discussion about how many strawberries to stack on each layer as we looked at the cake layers and strawberries that were already prepared in stages.

 

I lifted the whisk and the bowl of whipped cream toward the camera that was filming my side and grinned.

 

“Today, I am Kim Tak- I mean, Yoon Eden, the Bread King.”

 

“Not Yumeiro Patissiere?”

 

“Is that from an anime or a manga?”

 

“Both…”

 

As I whisked the cream, I thought to myself, ‘I just need to whip this to a certain point and spread it on the cake layers. This should be smooth sailing, right?’

 

As soon as I tried to spread the whipped cream on the cake layer, the cream suddenly flowed like water, catching me off guard.

 

“Hyung, I think you whipped it too much. They say you should stop when it forms soft peaks.”

 

“But Jae-hee, why are you chopping the strawberries? Are you making strawberry jam?”

 

“Oh no, wasn’t I supposed to chop them?”

 

“Have you never eaten a strawberry cake before?”

 

Haha, smooth? Yeah, right. If it goes smoothly, it wouldn’t be the usual REVE.

 

 

***

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