Episode 21. Clash of Opinions (3)
Gang Giyeon continued speaking with his gaze fixed on the floor.
“This isn’t me jumping to conclusions.”
“…….”
“Jeho-hyung, you have no enthusiasm for things we do as a group. Don’t you know what I’m talking about?”
Choe Jeho also looked like he had some idea. It was something he could have noticed from the very beginning, even just from passing by on the KTX.
Not even having debuted yet, hardships and adversity were flooding in like a rising tide. Life sure wasn’t easy.
Watching a relationship crumble helplessly like a sandcastle, something came to mind.
It was the “Stick Function” written under “New Tasks.”
Since it was called a function, it might have some helpful aspect somewhere.
Praying inwardly, I tapped the mission page that appeared with ghost-like timing.
At the same time, the members’ movements paused briefly, as if time had stopped. New instructions also appeared.
If I dragged this out, these guys might get leg cramps, so I read through the text as quickly as possible.
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[SYSTEM] The ‘Stick Function’ is announced to ‘Eul’.
▷ Supports real-time checking of team members’ cooperation status.
▷ Information regarding the relationship between members bound by the Stick is disclosed irregularly according to KPI achievement.
▷ After selecting team members and writing an appropriate unit name, a Stick can be created.
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The fact that this function appeared at this point must mean I should tie Choe Jeho and Gang Giyeon together.
I dragged the floating names of Choe Jeho and Gang Giyeon from midair and placed them into the box before me, creating an empty square.
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[SYSTEM] Please enter a unit name.
▶ [ ]
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Without hesitation, I wrote “Eldest-Maknae Line.”
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[SYSTEM] Inappropriate unit name.
▶ Reason: The factual relationship differs from the unit name.
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And it was rejected instantly.
“Why?”
There was no answer even if I asked.
This was absurd. It was the official nickname fans used; how dare it reject it?
I slowly reread the rejection reason. Then I guessed what the problem was.
‘Did me joining make it so Choe Jeho is no longer the eldest hyung?’
If you counted birthdays, I was born in February and Choe Jeho in November, so strictly speaking, Choe Jeho was no longer the eldest hyung now.
I used to wonder when I’d ever use the fact that I’d memorized Choe Jeho’s birthday; turns out it was for something like this.
After that, I wrote more than ten unit names and they were all rejected.
The reasons for rejection were varied as well.
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[SYSTEM] Inappropriate unit name.
▶ Reason: Insincerity
[SYSTEM] Inappropriate unit name.
▶ Reason: Meaningless and simplistic
[SYSTEM] Inappropriate unit name.
▶ Reason: Excessive malice detected
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The review difficulty pierced the heavens. At this rate, I’d need to open a naming agency just to draw two sticks.
Something appropriately original, containing a loving gaze, a cute nickname like that was as paradoxical as a company dinner meant for team bonding.
So I decided to put in the word “love” for now. This way, at least affection would be felt.
Getting to “Lovey-dovey,” it started to feel a little cute.
But if I entered “Lovey-dovey,” it would obviously pop up with a reason like “does not match associated image.”
Those guys were worlds apart from anything resembling a lovely feeling at first glance.
After deep deliberation, I entered the final word.
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[SYSTEM] The unit name is confirmed as “Sandpaper Cuties.”
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Fortunately, the system also acknowledged that the nickname was appropriate for the two prickly men.
Upon successfully creating the unit, the images each person held of the other appeared.
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[Choe Jeho — Impossible to tell what he’s thinking → Gang Giyeon]
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I wasn’t sure if I should be happy that it wasn’t something like “doesn’t care.”
He seemed to live alone in this world, but it appeared he had at least some interest in his fellow trainees.
The twist was on Gang Giyeon’s side.
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[Gang Giyeon — Feels slighted → Choe Jeho]
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To think he was upset because he felt slighted by his hyung. Wasn’t that rather adorable?
I suppose Spark’s maknae, Gang Giyeon, was a man with a warm heart beneath his cold words.
If so, I could somewhat understand the situation where Gang Giyeon was the only one holding back his anger.
Most of all, if they didn’t hate each other, there was hope.
I immediately ended the Stick Function. At the same time, the suffocating atmosphere returned.
Choe Jeho seemed about to open his mouth, but sensing something like “I don’t know” or “I don’t care?” would come out, I beat him to the punch by speaking to Gang Giyeon first.
“Could you tell me which part felt slighting? That way I can be careful in the future too.”
“Slights…….”
Gang Giyeon’s eyes widened.
It can be bewildering when emotions are defined by clear words. I understand.
However, Gang Giyeon soon spoke decisively, as if his earlier hesitation had never existed.
“Jeho-hyung, whenever I ask him to practice together as a group, he says he doesn’t get why we need to match up from the start when everyone shows up anyway. It’s not once or twice, but every time.”
“Hmm.”
“I don’t know if he hates it when someone makes a mistake and breaks the flow, but hyung seems to think his role ends as long as he himself does well. It’s not exactly wrong but…… I don’t like it.”
Gang Giyeon’s words were refined yet clear. The fact that his thoughts were organized to this extent meant he had worried over this same problem many times before.
“Then just ask him.”
“Huh?”
“Choe Jeho, why did you refuse when Giyeoni asked to practice together?”
As the subject of the conversation shifted from Gang Giyeon to himself, Choe Jeho flustered.
“I didn’t say I disliked it, I just said I couldn’t find a reason we had to do it together.”
It was an answer befitting Choe Jeho. There were people in this world who didn’t feel great excitement about achieving something together.
“I understand. You didn’t feel the need because there wasn’t anything better about it, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Everyone thinks differently, which is natural, but still, I understand Giyeon’s position a little more.”
“Why?”
“Well, isn’t it because you’re not debuting solo but preparing for a group debut?”
Manager Nam, who used to ask if I didn’t know how important group culture was in society, came to mind, and a chill ran down my spine.
Not wanting to become like him, I chose my words with all my might.
“Just because you debut doesn’t mean teamwork happens automatically. If growing your skills is your top priority, Giyeon might consider supplementary factors like teamwork important too.”
“So individual skill building isn’t important?”
“That’s important too, but I’m saying this because your skills won’t crumble from a few group practices.”
“…….”
“So when Giyeon asks to practice together, how about thinking, ‘Ah, this kid wants to do something together’? Isn’t it adorable? He even approached you first.”
“Is him talking to me first really that big of a deal?”
“If you’re curious, count how many words you say to the members each day.”
At that, Choe Jeho’s expression turned strange.
Oops. That last part was a joke.
“That’s right, hyung! Ganggyeon is an only child, so he’s not used to asking elders to hang out!”
“I didn’t say it to ask him to hang out. Don’t twist my words.”
Yi Cheonghyeon skillfully wrapped up the atmosphere that had been turning serious again. Both this one and that one were quite admirable today.
And so the sudden “Why do you talk like that?” incident that had flared up ended with the manager’s visit to the practice room.
Only after returning to the narrow, stifling vocal practice room following the long battle of nerves did I finally calm my startled heart.
‘Please tell me they don’t fight like this every week.’
It was horrible just to imagine. Rather than going through this ordeal every time to gain 20 EXP, it would be much better to endure Gang Giyeon’s special training for three weeks straight.
Though fighting was 100 times better than hitting a slump like Jeong Seongbin.
How did I end up in a group as precarious as a candle in the wind?
I seriously wondered if my decided position, “Producer Member,” was actually “Mental Produce Member.”
But from next time, there would be no heart-to-heart talks or gatherings.
I’d just say “I see” and make the parties resolve it themselves.
* * *
The conversation time, which I thought had barely extinguished the embers, brought unexpected changes.
Very slight, but the members started talking to each other a bit more, outside of just greetings.
And this morning, even Choe Jeho…….
“Are you baking that bread for teamwork too?”
……he asked. It was such an unexpected question that I almost burned the bread.
The one who led this atmosphere was Yi Cheonghyeon.
Yi Cheonghyeon, whose energy had always been on another level, sensed with a ghost-like intuition that the rigid atmosphere had loosened slightly and opened his mouth like a fish meeting water.
“Hyung! Aren’t you hungry?”
This was the third time he’d asked if I wasn’t hungry since coming to the practice room after school.
“I’m hungry. I was just worrying about what to eat for breakfast tomorrow.”
“Knowing you, it’ll be either bread or jjolmyeon!”
That was true, but…….
My body was twenty years old, in its prime for eating, but having bread in the morning and only salad for lunch and dinner meant I couldn’t help but be hungry.
“Do you eat school lunch? I don’t think I’ve seen you pack salad.”
“Ah, we don’t eat lunch during the semester.”
“What?”
To think these guys were going through such pain where I couldn’t see. It was shocking.
Yi Cheonghyeon himself said this as calmly as could be, despite not eating the perfectly good food being served.
“Practice time has decreased, so our activity level dropped too. If we eat the same as usual, we gain weight.”
“What…… so you skip meals entirely?”
“It’s better than getting called out at weight checks.”
Then Yi Cheonghyeon sighed.
“Still, UA doesn’t weigh us that often. I heard big agencies have really strict management.”
“Aren’t you on the thinner side among your peers?”
“Come on, hyung, idols can’t have standard weight no matter what.”
The more I heard Yi Cheonghyeon’s words, the more distressed I became.
Spark had definitely shown only a consistent appearance throughout their seven years of activity.
The so-called “well-managed look.”
However, people’s gazes are sensitive to change and become dull to things that don’t change.
Watching people whose height and weight never changed for seven years, you’d think, “I guess they’re just born that way.”
In doing so, their efforts would naturally be erased.
‘Still, you’ve got to feed them.’
Moving around all day and only eating salad already saps your energy, and they skip even one meal?
This was unacceptable in a nation of rice lovers.
It was strange that they were only managing weight when debut was still over a year away.
They should be trying to eat and grow taller. Height is so important for male idols.
I know management is hard. But shouldn’t there be priorities?
Weight can be lost later, but height is over if you miss the growth period.
“We do all this to make a living, what the hell…….”
“Of all the expressions I’ve seen from you lately, you look the most serious right now…….”
Well of course I’m serious when a high schooler is skipping meals.
They even gave lunch breaks at Hanpyeong Industries.
Of course, they had to by law, and I had to finish in 10 minutes to deliver Manager Nam’s lunch.
No fan in the world would want their idol walking around without eating.
I’d never seen fan-dedicated lunchbox sticker designs that didn’t include “Don’t skip meals!”
It suddenly occurred to me that by my standards, Spark had debuted seven years ago with a boyish, delicate, high-teen style that really didn’t suit them.
‘Did they diet even more harshly to achieve that delicate boy concept?’
I looked at Yi Cheonghyeon before me and the remaining three members beyond him, including Choe Jeho, one by one.
Unfortunately, rather than boys of youth, they were faces frighteningly cold and aloof.
Moreover, these guys had such good bone structures that unless they lost weight to the extreme, it wouldn’t even show.
‘I’ll have to…… think of the concept ahead of time.’
Something that suits them as much as possible.
Most of all, a concept where they don’t have to wear skinny school uniforms.