ALL NOVEL Chapter 7
Honestly, even Park Haeun, who had little to no conscience, felt sorry. Having played the game harder than anyone else, he knew how hard the members had worked on this album.
‘How many songs have they ruined with that shitty beast concept?’
But saying he’d die if they wanted him to was a bit too much. The problem wasn’t having thoughts or not; it was that he hadn’t thought at all, so he couldn’t pretend like he had a plan.
There was no other option. Haeun lowered his head and read the first option aloud.
“I-I’m sorry. I really didn’t mean it that way.”
“What were you thinking if it wasn’t like that then?”
As expected, it wasn’t very effective. As soon as he finished speaking, Seongjae snapped back, and even Junwoo, who hadn’t spoken, stood with his arms crossed, looking annoyed.
Il-hyun sighed and spoke up.
“Kim Seongjae. Park Haeun. The stage is right in front of us. Stop it, both of you.”
Maybe he should have just jumped out of the moving van on the way here.
“Do you think the stage will go well like this? Hyung, stop covering for him. He’s getting worse because you keep protecting him!”
Seongjae raised his voice at Il-hyun. But Il-hyun didn’t seem to be trying to protect Haeun. He looked like he wanted to get angry but was holding back because the stage was just around the corner.
“Honestly, no matter how I look at it, it doesn’t make sense. Seongjae thought the CEO ordered Haeun to curse and then act aegyo to gain attention from the public.
“Let’s say he did. Do you think he would do it? Without discussing it with us”
“Hyung, you’re the center.”
“What kind of concept are we even matching? We must look ridiculous right now.”
“Ha…”
Il-hyun exhaled deeply, trying to maintain his composure. The tension among the members was palpable, and Haeun felt the weight of his mistake pressing down on him. He had to find a way to fix this somehow.
Seongjae and Junwoo’s questioning continued. In Haeun’s mind, confusion, guilt, and embarrassment had now transitioned into avoidance and anger. If he had the kind of personality that could hold back such impulses, it would have been great, but Haeun couldn’t hold back in the end.
“Argh, just do the stage properly and everything will be fine!”
When Haeun, who was lowering his head, suddenly snapped, the voices of the other three members stopped in an instant.
The current body had a soft tone and a gentle voice, so the impact wasn’t the same like in his original body. However, the fact that
‘Park Ha’
was snapping back was shocking and absurd to the other three members.
“I’ll handle it myself, so just…”
Haeun’s rebellious tone, akin to a teenager arguing with their parents, gradually softened.
『Hey! Great idols don’t speak rudely to their members~~ Warning 1!』 『If the warnings accumulate, you can get a minor penalty in becoming a beloved idol!』Just as Haeun began to calm down, the system’s cutesy voice chimed in again. He didn’t know what the penalties were, but he was scared. He had already experienced the fear of being forced into something by the system once before, and he couldn’t bear the thought of another embarrassing moment like the one on stage. Quickly lowering his eyes, Haeun tried to speak in a more gentle tone again.
“Please… just stop it.”
The sudden shift in his tone and demeanor caused the members to exchange puzzled glances. The tense atmosphere started to ease slightly, but the tension was still palpable. Haeun’s plea, despite being more subdued, carried a hint of desperation that made the members hesitate.
Il-hyun finally broke the silence. “Alright, let’s just focus on the stage for now. We can talk about this later.”
Seongjae looked like he wanted to argue more but ultimately nodded, albeit reluctantly. Junwoo sighed and uncrossed his arms, looking away.
Haeun felt a small sense of relief but knew that this was far from over. He had bought himself some time, but he needed to think of a way to make things right—and fast.
Feeling defeated wasn’t enough; Haeun also had to add a pitiful, whiny tone to his words.
‘There goes my pride.’
He thought bitterly. But what could he do? He had messed up, and he knew it.
Haeun’s shrunken demeanor seemed to push Seongjae past the point of disbelief. A scoff escaped his lips.
“The fuck, was that supposed to be a concept or something?”
Oh, look at this? Haeun was a bit surprised. It may be because of the censorship but even though Seongjae in the game was harsh and irritable, he never outright cursed. Surprisingly, it was Junwoo who intervened, not Il-hyun.
“Just leave it for now, hyung.”
“What?”
“I don’t know if this is some kind of bait or what, but it is kind of ridiculous.”
“……”
Seongjae looked baffled but fell silent. Junwoo turned his gaze towards Haeun, examining his face with interest before speaking slowly.
“Did the CEO really order you to do this? Like, for some kind of noise marketing or whatever?”
“……”
“Either way, if we find it ridiculous, imagine how the audience must feel. If it was meant to grab attention, it definitely worked.”
The complicated stares of the three members landed on Haeun. If the one receiving those looks were not Haeun but the original idol ‘Park Ha,’ he might have already burst into tears from the pressure, given his timid character.
“
Haaa
, alright.”
Seongjae nodded with a completely unconvinced look. It seemed like he was saying, “I’ll let it go for now because there’s something urgent.” As he approached the mirror to get ready, he looked back at Haeun and spoke in an unkind tone.
“You said you will make sure the performance goes well, didn’t you?”
His face seemed to be saying, “Let’s see how far you can go.” Haeun deliberately played dumb, silently cursing the damn game with every fiber of his being.
Eventually, the performance began.
Haeun’s steps on stage were awkward, like a malfunctioning robot. His hands and feet moved in the same direction as she ascended onto the stage.
Il-hyun and Seongjae looked at his awkward steps with incredulous eyes. Junwoo, whether trying to console or intimidate after his earlier comments, did not even spare a single glance at Haeun’s direction. Maybe he really didn’t care if he ruined the performance or not.
Feeling like he was on the executioner’s block, Park Haeun climbed onto the stage, his gaze unfocused, unable to even look towards the audience.
‘Holy shit… what am I going to do now?’
He should have just fainted instead of throwing a tantrum.
‘I said all the big words I could back there.’
Haeun glanced around as if checking for someone’s reaction. As if he could copy the dance moves of those around him if he did that.
He had watched the choreography video during the time given yesterday. He had even tried to follow along in her room while looking in the mirror. But Haeun wasn’t a professional dancer, and there was no way he could master the choreography of a pro idol in just one day.
The song was bright and cheerful, but the choreography was difficult, making his own attempts look even more clumsy in the mirror. He felt too embarrassed to continue practicing. In the end, he hadn’t even memorized the main moves, let alone the entire routine.
Even if Haeun tried to mimic the moves of the person next to him, he’d still look ridiculous. It would be even more obvious if he was a beat behind everyone else. In the end, Haeun sighed, resigning himself to whatever would happen.
‘Whatever. So what if I embarrass myself? It’s not even my real face…’
Finally, the stage darkened, and just before the intro music began, a cheerful system notification dinged, contrasting with Haeun’s serious mood.
『Synchronizing information… φ(-ω-。`)』Haeun perked up his ears.
『Dance stats are at maximum! Σd(ゝ∀･)♪』Before he could fully grasp what that meant, the intro music started. His body, which had been stiff and rigid, suddenly began to move as if someone was controlling it.
His hand movements looked random at first, but when he looked closely, even Haeun could see the precision in them. His body, moving on its own, performed perfect waves and sharp dance lines. He seamlessly blended into the choreography with the other members.
The first stage was lip-synced, so all he had to do was lip-sync
hard
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