ALL NOVEL Chapter 99
Chapter 99. Bomb? (10)
‘I knew that would happen.’
Once again, our out-of-control, eight-ton truck successfully crashed into Lee Yugeon today. Even from a distance, I could tell he was uncharacteristically flustered.
‘It’s because it stings the first time you get hit like that.’
I was relieved that Lee Doha reacted exactly as I had predicted.
A person like Lee Yugeon would find it much more comfortable dealing with someone like Lee Taehyun or Dan Haru, who are emotional and empathetic, rather than someone who cuts straight to the chase without any fluff.
Now that I knew the whole truth, the parts of Yugeon I couldn’t understand before started to make sense—like the unnervingly light attitude, the Copy & Paste ability, and the debuff applied to him.
[Lee Yugeon (Affiliated: Miro)]
-Debuff: All stats are decreased due to the effect of the unique trait.
Singing: D (C+)
Dancing: B+ (S)
Expression: C- (A-)
Charm: D+ (B+)
Special: Copy & Paste (B)
-There’s a certain probability that he can completely make the target his own.
Appeal Point:
‘There are still 12 more ships left.’
-Responsibility, Perseverance, Strong Immersion
‘I don’t know what his unique trait is… but it seems like he needs to have a sense of responsibility to become deeply immersed and to absorb things thoroughly. But if he has no intention of debuting, there’s no way he’ll develop a sense of responsibility.’
But that was all in the past. The quest still hadn’t disappeared, and no matter what, I had to make sure this guy got through this stage safely.
To do that, I needed to instill a sense of responsibility in him….
‘How do I convince this stubborn guy? Should I just throw it out there and say he has to take responsibility because he ruined the mood?’
As I watched Lee Yugeon struggle with Lee Doha’s straightforward pitch, I pondered how to win him over, when Joo Eunchan, who had been sitting quietly in the corner, raised his hand.
“……?”
Everyone’s eyes turned to Joo Eunchan. He looked at me with a strong gaze, as if asking for permission to speak.
“Uh, uh… sure, go ahead, Chan.”
“Yes. I’ll speak up. So, the reason Yugeon-hyung isn’t fully participating in practice right now is because of that part-time job, right?”
“Well… yeah. He’s been filling in at the convenience store and getting paid weekly.”
“Then I can take care of that.”
Huh?
Everyone had question marks floating above their heads at Joo Eunchan’s confident statement. At that moment, a certain thought quickly crossed my mind.
‘No way….’
“Hey, Joo—”
“I’ll hire hyung as our dance teacher.”
Before I could stop him, Joo Eunchan pulled something out of his wallet. It was the card that I’d seen at the housewarming party not long ago, which belonged to his older brother, Eunseok.
“For the duration of the survival show. I’ll pay double the hourly rate when we’re on the same team.”
Even though it was ridiculous to hire someone with money like that, our team members, shocked by Joo Eunchan’s words, all turned their gazes toward Lee Yugeon. However, contrary to our concerns, Yugeon simply stared at Joo Eunchan and the card in his hand….
“I’ll be happy to serve you, customer. How much are you willing to pay?”
… and quickly turned into a slave of capitalism, his eyes gleaming.
Seriously, this is insane.
* * *
Needless to say, the crazy idea of Joo Eunchan hiring Lee Yugeon with his own money didn’t actually happen.
“There are already bad rumors circulating about Han Sungwoo. If word gets out that trainees are exchanging money, who knows what will happen?”
Jung Siwoo calmly and kindly persuaded Eunchan to drop the idea, stretching out the words “stop this nonsense” into a long, drawn-out sentence. Fortunately, it seemed that Yugeon had only half-accepted the offer as a joke because he agreed with a laugh, without further argument. (However, it seemed that Joo Eunchan was serious about it.)
So then, how were we going to solve this issue? Surprisingly, the answer came from Lee Yugeon himself.
“Actually, before I came here, I already told the manager that I might have to quit.”
“What? Why?”
“…I do have some sense of responsibility, you know? I really tried to come before the shoot today, but I lost my phone while dealing with a troublesome customer, so I couldn’t even contact anyone…. Anyway… just because I don’t plan to debut doesn’t mean I intended to cause trouble.”
But the situation had gotten out of hand because of the part-time job, and he explained that he realized it wouldn’t work out.
“So, can you continue practicing with us now?”
“Usually, I would take some time until a replacement is found, but the manager’s son just got discharged and doesn’t have anything to do, so I’m only working until today.”
“So, you’re okay with your living expenses…?”
“I still have some savings. And the appearance fee should be coming in soon. I’ll manage for a month or two. Besides….”
Yugeon leaned back in his chair as if it was nothing. There was a slight hesitation and awkwardness in his expression, but for the first time, his attitude conveyed a serious mood.
“My little sister’s classmates watched the broadcast and apparently talked badly about me.”
“Oh….”
“I already have nothing to pass down to my siblings. If I embarrass myself, how could I face them?”
He said that with a big, refreshing smile, his characteristic grin lighting up his face.
“Then should I put the collar on now?”
“It’s called a choker.”
When I snapped back in a frustrated tone, for the first time, laughter filled the conference room. Even Jung Siwoo turned his head with an exasperated sigh.
Finally, we were at the starting line.
* * *
“Hajin, are you okay?”
“Huh?”
The shoot that was originally scheduled had to be pushed back to early afternoon, a little after lunchtime.
The writer in charge came over with a tumbler of water and suddenly asked Hajin how he was feeling. Though momentarily flustered, Hajin understood Siwoo’s subtle signals from behind and smiled naturally.
“Oh, yes. I took some medicine and rested well, so I’m fine now.”
“When I got the call this morning, I was really worried, you know? For people like us, health is everything. You’ve got to take care of yourself.”
“Haha, thank you for your concern. You must have been really worried. I’m sorry for delaying the shoot because of me.”
“Oh, what are you talking about? Health comes first. We’re not the kind of people who chase after sick people with cameras.”
They must have used Hajin’s condition as an excuse when explaining the delay to the production team. Since he was actually unwell, it wasn’t far from the truth.
“Alright, let’s get started. Today we’ll be filming the song selection meeting and some practice. Hajin, did you record the self-cam yesterday?”
“Oh, that…”
When the PD asked about it, Hajin fetched the self-cam bag he had left in the corner of the practice room and handed it over. He then made a sheepish face and spoke in a playful, apologetic tone.
“Oh~ I’m sorry. I worked really hard on it yesterday, but I must have pressed something wrong because none of it recorded….”
That was a lie.
The camera had been working perfectly during the two late-night meetings yesterday. It wasn’t like he was dealing with a complex DSLR or a handycam, just a simple VIXIA that only required turning on and pressing REC. There was no way Hajin could have made a mistake with it.
“Oh no, really? None of it got recorded?”
“I swear I followed the instructions you gave me…. But I’ll make sure to get lots of good footage today!”
The reason Hajin had wiped the memory was that after much thought, he decided that none of the discussions from last night should be aired.
It was a shame since there were a lot of interesting moments…. But he had already separately filmed useful clips (like him and Wonho choreographing late into the night) on his phone and sent them to the writer via email, so it didn’t matter.
Of course, since Miro was doing the final edits, he could have subtly hinted at Ji Suho to cut out the problematic scenes.
‘But to minimize the risk regarding Lee Yugeon, it’s better to erase the footage altogether.’
The PD seemed momentarily disappointed by Hajin’s excuse, but seeing Hajin’s contrite expression and clasped hands, he just clicked his tongue.
“Well, there’s nothing we can do about it. It was just backup anyway…. So, you’ve finalized the song selection, right?”
“Yes! I already sent the details to the writer yesterday!”
“Okay. There’s nothing we can do, then. Let’s cover the song selection in an interview and focus today on….”
The PD quickly discussed with the writer and finalized the filming plan for the day. Hajin subtly guided them towards the direction he wanted the shoot to take, all while pretending to offer useful ideas. The key was to control the density of his suggestions so that they didn’t feel like he was overstepping.
“Alright, let’s go with that.”
And thus, today’s scenario was set!
“For the Blue Fl
are team, today’s concept will be something like, ‘We learned sexy from a book. The chaotic journey of chick trainees adapting to sexiness!’”
“Yes, and add to that ‘Yugeon’s whirlwind introduction to rap.’ I think it’ll be fun to focus on Yugeon and Doha since their roles reverse when it comes to dancing and rapping.”
“It’s also the first time Eunchan will showcase his vocals on stage…. Last time, Siwoo and Hajin had that main vocal showdown, but now they’re on the same team, which is interesting. This team has a lot of drama.”
The keywords Hajin had painstakingly come up with to move away from titles like ‘Conflict between Jung Siwoo and Lee Yugeon’ or ‘Lee Yugeon’s bad attitude causing discord’ flowed effortlessly from the PD and writer’s mouths.
Of course, they found these clues among the casual comments Hajin had thrown out, but neither of them realized that Hajin had steered the conversation intentionally.
“But how did Yugeon end up rapping? Not Eunchan?”
The writer asked out of genuine curiosity, and Yugeon, who was stretching nearby, laughed awkwardly. Then, he recited the answer Hajin had drilled into him a few minutes earlier.
“I’ve always had some interest in it, and my teammates encouraged me to give it a try. So I decided to take on the challenge this time. I want to show Destiny fans a new side of me. I’ll do my best to transform into a skilled dual-class idol alongside Doha-hyung.”
“Haha, that’s a great attitude. I’m looking forward to it too.”
The PD gave Hajin an approving look, impressed by Yugeon’s sudden enthusiasm. His eyes seemed to ask how on earth Hajin had managed to tame that troublemaker.
-But I’ve never rapped before, how am I supposed to do this? Isn’t Joo Eunchan here?
-We wrapped that up nicely and heartwarmingly yesterday. If you’re curious, watch the broadcast.
-What? How can I watch something that hasn’t aired yet… No, that’s not the point!
-You said you’d take what’s left over, right? You didn’t mind?
-That was because, well, but still, I should be doing something I’m good at…!
-If you can’t do it, none of us can.
-……
-Choose. Will you willingly wear the choker and take the rap part with a good image, or be forced to wear the collar and get stuck with the remaining parts unenthusiastically?
-What’s the difference!?
…wear the collar.
Hajin answered the PD’s surprised look only in his head.