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

Kim Dobin alternated his gaze between Ryu Jaehee and me with a horrified expression, stammering.

“Ha… Has Eden hyung been influenced by the CEO’s spirit too…? Is the CEO’s determination for a cosmic lore that strong? Should we do an exorcism or something?”

“You punk, I told you to drop all interest in shamanism and just stick to anime and comics like you’ve been doing.”

At my scolding, Kim Dobin silently stuffed a piece of rolled omelet into his mouth.

“Ugh, can you all just let me finish what I was saying? Who’s making me out to be some junior version of the CEO here?”

“No one called you the CEO’S junior. We just doubted whether you’d been possessed by his spirit.”

“That’s right, maknae. No one’s labeling you the CEO’s junior. We’re all keeping our boundaries here.”

Ryu Jaehee grumbled in frustration, seemingly disgusted by the misunderstanding that he had merely parroted the CEO’s ideas. He banged the dining table in protest but quickly lowered his hands under the table when met with Gyeon Hajun’s piercing glare.

“Anyway, what were you trying to say?”

“I was saying, how about taking just the detective theme from ‘time-traveling detective catching criminals across dimensions’ and pairing it with a thief concept?”

“So you’re suggesting a combination of detective and thief themes? Like Sherlock Holmes versus Arsène Lupin?”

“Yes, exactly that! Gosh, after hearing only Dobin hyung’s ridiculous comments, I finally feel like I can breathe again after hearing this concise summary.”

Apparently still reeling from the absurdity of Kim Dobin’s remarks, Ryu Jaehee nodded fervently.

Kim Dobin turned to me, his jaw dropped.

“Holy crap, Eden hyung just mentioned Sherlock Holmes and Arsène Lupin. It feels so out of character and like… a total collapse of our universe or something…”

“Who doesn’t know Sherlock Holmes around here?”

Did he think Sherlock Holmes was some obscure otaku pick like the anime and manga he always talks about? Raising an eyebrow, I asked, and Kim Dobin scratched his cheek before responding.

“Sherlock Holmes is mainstream, but Arsène Lupin feels relatively niche. Kind of like a favorite for nerds.”

“What nonsense. My family had the entire series when I was a kid.”

“Gasp, Eden hyung actually read books?”

“What the hell do you think of me?”

I rubbed my temples, sighing.

Did I really come across as someone who shunned books? Admittedly, I had spent way more time on games than books up until high school, but still.

“But wouldn’t juggling two themes at once feel too scattered? Maybe we should stick to just one—either detective or thief.”

“It could work with one thief against four detectives. Anyway, if we go with detectives, the concept has to involve catching criminals.”

“What about a team of five thieves?”

“Five people teaming up just to steal one thing? That’s not exactly… cool.”

“Your priorities seem a bit off.”

“Let’s not overthink this right now. We’re not finalizing the concept here. Save that for the actual concept meeting.”

This wasn’t the concept meeting but rather a brainstorming session to gather inspiration for song ideas.

Details like this could be decided once the title track was confirmed. But to do that, I needed to write the title track first.

“Anyway, so far we’ve got school uniform ballads and a detective-thief hybrid. What else? Throw out more ideas—we’re still short.”

“Cops and robbers?”

“Just throw stuff out. I won’t even complain if it’s ridiculous.”

“Now that you said that, I’m scared nothing will come to mind. Please, just scold me for fooling around like usual.”

“Sure, if you want a sequel to Come to My Universe, keep joking around. If I can’t get over this slump, what can I do? Guess we’ll just be stuck singing whatever tracks the CEO brings back.”

The urgency in my tone seemed to spark a sense of panic in the members. They started throwing out ideas in rapid-fire succession.

“What about a fusion of traditional Korean styles? Like incorporating gugak (traditional Korean music) with hip-hop?”

“Not bad.”

“How about a musical concept? Like, telling a story from an extra’s point of view rather than the protagonist’s?”

“That’s a solid idea too.”

“Retro style?”

“Retro is always good.”

“Game characters! Superpowers! Villains versus heroes!”

“Yeah, keep it coming, keep it coming.”

“Wow, it’s like hyung has been secretly studying subculture just for this moment.”

In the span of a few minutes, we’d brainstormed enough ideas to fill several years’ worth of activity concepts.

Mulling over their suggestions while finishing my meal, I suddenly shot up from my seat.

“Sh*t, the slump is over.”

[A profanity has been detected.]

[Initial intention -2]

Screw that! I almost failed to make it to the first tier because of this slump, even imagining what it would be like to regress and debut all over again. Compared to that nightmare, losing two points from my Initial intention was a small price to pay.

I left my meal behind and dashed straight to the studio. Who’d have thought the members could actually be useful like this for once?

***

“‘It’s meaningless unless it’s 100%.’”

I sat in the studio, tapping the edge of the synthesizer keyboard with my fingers, deep in thought.

I had two tracks ready as title contenders.

One was an intense electro-pop track with a minimalistic vibe, while the other was a dance track featuring brass sections in the chorus layered over a drumbeat.

Both were based on ideas from Ryu Jaehee.

As much as I hated to admit it, Kim Dobin’s subculture suggestions hadn’t been particularly helpful in overcoming my slump.

Still, themes like “villains versus heroes” or “game characters” could be repurposed for future conceptual songs.

The songs I completed after my slump were significantly better than my earlier drafts. But were they enough to surpass our previous hit, To My Star?

Not quite.

“Still missing 5%, just 5%.”

Despite following G1’s advice to pour all my ideas into the tracks, I couldn’t shake the feeling that they were incomplete.

Settling for mediocrity wasn’t an option. I hadn’t gone through all this just to settle for “good enough.”

This time, I decided to lean on someone else for help instead of doing everything myself.

“Hyung, can I ask you to do some arrangement work for me?”

When I suddenly blurted out my request, Lee Ji-won raised an eyebrow. “Let me listen first, then I’ll decide.”

After hearing the songs I’d put on a USB, he nodded in satisfaction after just six minutes.

“Wow, looks like you’ve worked through your slump. I like these tracks. How much freedom do I have to tweak them?”

“As long as the original essence remains intact, do as you please.”

“Fair enough. Doesn’t seem like I need to touch much anyway. I’ll keep as much of your style intact as possible.”

“Thank you so much.”

Grinning, I bowed deeply.

Lee Ji-won chuckled, patting my shoulder as he handed me a USB.

“And here’s the track you asked for. Special ‘friend discount’ included.”

“Thank you, hyung. I’m really touched.”

“Don’t get too emotional. I’m going to work you hard to make up for the discount.”

“Understood! Feel free to work me to the bone!”

Thanks to Lee Ji-won’s discount, I managed to secure a track within the budget set by the company.

A week later, the arrangement Lee Ji-won sent back didn’t just fill the missing 5%—it added an extra 5% on top of that.

“Damn, this is insane. This hyung’s skills are really out of this world.”

Listening to the song that had become a perfect 105%, I praised G1’s blessing.

With four tracks I had worked on before my slump, the two tracks as potential title songs, one song from G1, and another from Sangyeol, I now had a total of eight tracks.

For the record, Sangyeol didn’t give me any “friends and family discount.” He charged full price. Still, since he hadn’t gained as much fame as G1 as a hitmaker pre-regression, his rate was cheaper.

“Only two songs left now.”

Thinking about the company president, who had confidently declared for me to trust him, I felt a bit at ease.

He’d surely manage to secure the remaining two songs. As long as they weren’t on the level of “Black Soul” or other disastrously bad songs, it didn’t matter if they made it into the album.

As long as they didn’t end up as the title track, it would be fine.

But if he insisted on pushing one of those tracks as the title, that’s when the war would begin.

With shamanistic rituals now out of the question, I wondered what new tactics I’d need to confuse the president this time around.

“Hey, Jun, thanks.”

“For what?”

Catching me off guard, Ha-jun, who was closing the book he’d been reading, asked with a smirk.

Lying down, I couldn’t nod, so I rolled onto my side to answer with a casual tone of gratitude.

“For your advice. I finally remembered what it was.”

“Are you admitting you forgot about it until now?”

Laughing softly at his teasing tone, I responded casually.

“Come on, it’s not like you cared either. And hey, better late than never, right?”

With a sly grin, I added one more thought.

“Sometimes, it’s not so bad to rely on the people around you.”

Ryu Jae-hee, walking into the room, spotted me lying on the bed and started grumbling.

“If this is how you’re going to be, just move your bed here, hyung. Even Dobin-hyung, with his own room, keeps coming here every day.”

“What can I do? My roommate and I are awkward.”

Seo Ye-hyun and I were currently in a very delicate situation.

We no longer outright disliked each other as we did before, but we weren’t exactly fond of each other either. It was a strange middle ground.

We weren’t at the level of openly confiding in one another, but there was at least some understanding between us now.

And so, all I could do was wait for the day when we’d switch rooms again. Ideally, I’d get a solo room this time.

By the way, just as Ryu Jae-hee had predicted, Kim Do-bin lasted only a month and a half before claiming he was lonely and bored being by himself. He ended up hanging out in our room almost every day.

It made me wonder why he’d stubbornly held onto his room in the first place instead of taking the 100,000 won and solo song I had offered in exchange.

Hearing my candid response, Ryu Jae-hee sighed deeply and shook his head in disbelief.

“Why are you and Ye-hyun hyung always so extreme? It’s either fighting or awkwardness. Can’t you find some middle ground?”

“Wouldn’t it be weirder if we were suddenly friendly after fighting so much?”

After all, the only people who pretend to be friends after fighting like hell are politicians.

***

Merry Christmas 🎅 🎄

I’ll try to update more today as my Christmas gift for you (all the novels I’m translating not this one only) but not a promise tho (I’m dying here with final exams) 

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