The Villainous Member Has Returned! Episode 24
* * *
I looked at Jang Siu, who was writing this and that in his notebook without so much as pretending to see me, and secretly let out a sigh of relief away from the camera.
It had been a while, so I'd been worried, but he was still a bit shy around strangers.
Since our teammates were Yuchan, who had built up plenty of social skills out in the real world, and Ryota, who had come from Japan, I'd wondered if things would be okay.
Still, it was a relief that I could air things out appropriately before the atmosphere turned awkward.
“I think we've had some time now. Have you all given some thought to the song?”
“Uh, not really yet… It was such an unexpected result, so nothing's really coming to mind.”
“I've been thinking too, but I don't really know… Sorry.”
“.......”
The first rule of dealing with our youngest, Jang Siu the sensitive cat.
That is….
“This won't do. Let's all think more sharply together. We're all team members who will take on 'equal' roles, aren't we?”
Don't single him out and treat him like a child.
Was it because his age was noticeably young compared to his outstanding talent and his handsome, delicate face? Jang Siu had been treated especially often by others with an “Oh, our youngest Siu” kind of attitude.
But that won't do.
Siu visibly detested that. He had even deliberately debuted solo with a sexy concept to break away from the cute idol youngest image, so that said it all.
It hadn't gone over very well, but that was beside the point.
I had to respect him properly. As a single individual, not glossed over with just “he's young.”
And in reality, Siu showed his best performance when treated that way.
“—!”
Sure enough. At my words, which I had emphasized “equal,” Siu's expression brightened considerably. Only I could tell right now, but it would probably show quite clearly on broadcast.
Good. Let's keep it up like this. The mountain we had to cross right away wasn't just Siu alone.
“I think it would be better if we talked while writing things down.”
“Ah, should we? There's probably a board over there.”
“I'll go get it.”
I dragged the whiteboard from the back of the practice room and wrote in large letters with a marker. [Min Siyoung]
The greatest challenge that this team—and I—had to overcome right now.
Siu, I was going to somehow manage this with the experience of having lived with you for 7 years, but this was truly, utterly perplexing.
Who is Senior Min Siyoung?
A massively successful female solo singer who debuted at the young age of a second-year middle schooler and built the AG Building we have today.
The pillar of AG, the year-end daesang collector. A genius skilled at writing lyrics and composing, who personally made every song on her albums.
“Keuk.”
“Hm? Chunyong, what's wrong?”
“Ah, no. I just choked for a second….”
Just how surprised I'd been when I heard that name earlier.
If it had been the Lady Swan seniors, at least they were idols. Senior Min Siyoung didn't even dance once she had built up her career. She fought with high-note medleys that only she could sing, and…
On top of that, she openly hated me right now.
“Just thinking that trainees from our agency were eliminated because of an unprofessional kid like you really pisses me off.”…
Of course, she had hated me before that too.
Screeeeeeech—
“Waah! Chunyong ani-ki, a scary sound!”
“Ah, sorry. Sorry.”
Strength left my hand for a moment and the marker scratched the whiteboard, causing a terrible, mournful friction sound to echo widely throughout the practice room. That sound almost seemed to say:
You are doomed....
Are doomed....
Doomed....
I gritted my teeth and steeled my resolve.
Who's doomed?
The words that I would do anything if only I could turn everything back hadn't been a lie. I had returned with the genuine intention of doing anything.
If only for the sake of my family who would be waiting at home for Episode 1 to air. If only to avoid returning to the moment of my emergency arrest and ending up in prison, I had to debut through this
As if I hadn't prepared for something like this.
I drew a few branches next to the letters spelling “Min Siyoung” and put on a cheerful voice.
“First, Yuchan. If there's any song by Senior Min Siyoung that comes to mind right now?”
At my words, Yuchan, who had been stroking his chin in thought, rolled his eyes and opened his mouth.
“…‘Message at 25 O'Clock,’ which she sang a long time ago? Haha, it's my karaoke go-to song….”
I nodded and wrote the song title Yuchan mentioned on the whiteboard.
It was a vocal song boasting Min Siyoung's uniquely wide vocal range, going between her signature high and low notes.
However, for a vocal track, it was paired with light choreography and a cute stage composition, so it seemed Yuchan had mentioned it after some worry as a song that would suit our team members best.
Well, it was actually his karaoke staple too.
The cute lyrics about “waiting for your call, and before I knew it, it was 25 o'clock” suited the trainees currently fighting in this survival show quite well, and since the high and low tones were neatly divided, it would be easy to distribute parts.
But still….
“It feels like it would have too little impact compared to the other teams.”
Yeah. That.
“
Jang Siu, who had been burying his nose in his notebook, pointed out Yuchan's blind spot in a small voice.
He then wore a slightly nervous expression, seemingly worried he might be attacked for simply contradicting without offering any alternative opinions.
“…Sorry. I did think of other things too.”
“Ah, I knew it. I was just saying what came to mind. Siu, you're right. You're really smart!”
“.......”
Yuchan was quick on the uptake, so if he just paid a little attention to how I treated Jang Siu, he would immediately know what to do. For now, our teamwork was still a bit off.
Still, it wasn't a terrible approach, hyung.
I secretly gave Yuchan, who had probably scored around negative 42 points in Siu's heart, a thumbs-up, then smiled at Jang Siu, who had finally taken a step closer toward us.
“Jang Siu, do you have anything you've thought about? Speak freely. I think the more we draw out a mind map, the more it'll help.”
Jang Siu opened his eyes wide at my words, bit his fingernail once with a click, then opened his mouth.
“I… Siyeong-no, I mean. Senior Min Siyoung's b-side track from her 7th album that won Album of the Year last year, ‘Snow High.’”
“Snow High? Ah. That double title track! I think I know it. Hmm, ‘In this snow, let's go high together,’ right?”
As Yuchan showed off his excellent main vocalist-worthy voice, Jang Siu continued with a slight smile.
“…Yes. The backup dancers match the choreography too, and since it's summer now, it would give off a cool feeling. For costumes, I think it would be good to match things like goggles or hats.”
“Hmm. I agree with you, Siu, but wouldn't the vocal range be too high for four guys to sing? Uh, Chunyong and Ryota have kinda low tones….”
“…Ah.”
Yuchan and Jang Siu exchanged awkward glances. I could tell in an instant what they were saying to each other inside.
‘We knew it would be hard. But it's really, damnably hard now.’
In the practice room that had lost its way, all sorts of song titles began popping out.
From the debut song that announced Min Siyoung's genius, to the digital single released last month, to the guitar instrumental track that got her first win, and so on.
I calmly wrote down every song they mentioned on the whiteboard, smacking my lips. Of course, I didn't forget to mention usable songs here and there too.
But still….
If I guided them just a little, just a little more, the song I was thinking of might come out.
What to do.
Having kept my mouth shut for the smooth progress of this mission, I decided to give the team members just a very slight, very very slight hint, and turned my gaze to Ryota, who was still kneeling with a stiff expression.
“Ryota? Didn't you say earlier you'd think about it?”
“Uh, um. I, I mean….”
Ryota looked at me, Yuchan, and Jang Siu one by one, soon breaking out in a cold sweat, then suddenly banged his head against the practice room floor and shouted.
“I'm sorry! I don't know Mentor Min Siyoung's songs well!”
Already his third prostration.
Yuchan and I could now lift Ryota up familiarly and offer mechanical words of comfort. In the meantime, Ryota looked like he wanted to die.
“It happens. You're not Korean, Ryota.”
“You must have listened to more male idol songs, so I totally understand. And saying you haven't listened to the mentor's songs in front of the cameras is so like you, Ryota.”
“Ugh, I'm of no use at all right now…!”
“I told you, it's fine.”
I calmly patted Ryota's shoulder. Having perhaps become slightly assimilated into our atmosphere, Jang Siu, who had been sitting far away watching Ryota's comedy, awkwardly stood up and watched over us too.
This won't do, Ryota.
I was planning to pretend to get inspiration from your idea.
“…Ah, by any chance. Senior Min Siyoung used a different stage name when she was active in Japan—would you know it?”
At my words, Ryota, who had been wailing, wiped his face and looked puzzled.
“A different stage name? D-did Mentor Min Siyoung have to use a different name?”
“No, well. It wasn't for any big reason. Something about wanting to increase accessibility… I think. What was it. Yuki Ame, was it?”
At my deliberately clumsy words, Ryota's eyes suddenly sparkled.
“…Chunyong ani-ki. Could you mean Yurino Ame (Lily Rain)?”
See. There's no way you wouldn't know.
I held back a laugh and eagerly patted Ryota's thigh.
“Ah, right! I think that was the name. Do you happen to know it?”
Ryota glanced at the three of us Koreans, then straightened his posture with a slightly more confident expression than before.
“W-well, if it's Yurino Ame, there's one song I know. I'm sure all of you know it too….”
* * *
“Hah, this kid, really….”
“Hm? What's wrong, PD-nim?”
“No, the team with that Kim Chunyong kid submitted a song choice? Take a look at this too, Writer.”
Main PD Ju Cheolyeong passed the proposal with the song title and arrangement direction written on it to Writer Lee Hyeonjeong, clicking his tongue.
He had already been dumbfounded that they chose this song and had gone to check the filmed footage in the editing room.
Lee Hyeonjeong accepted the paper with a lackadaisical expression, then soon opened her eyes wide and double-checked if she had read it correctly.
But the song title written there remained the same.
“…
The first-season opening song of the children's animation 'Let's Leave on the Gallion,' which had taken Japan by storm and been exported to Korea.
With lyrics like “The sea we sail together with friends is nothing to fear, and beyond those waves, a treasure chest awaits,” it was a cheerful song easy for anyone to sing along to, and since the Japanese and Korean versions were nearly identical, there was almost no sense of awkwardness when covering it.
With summer just around the corner right now, it would be difficult to make a better song selection than this.
At Lee Hyeonjeong's bewildered gaze, Ju Cheolyeong clapped his hands and continued.
“Yeah. I was surprised too and looked it up, but Min Siyoung sang it first in Japan. Before her debut, apparently.”
“Before Min Siyoung debuted… So she sang it when she was really a child. Is that why people didn't know?”
“Maybe. She might not have wanted a kiddie anime opening under the Min Siyoung brand name. But that's not the important part. The scary thing is that Kim Chunyong is the one who picked this song again. It's almost frightening now, really.”
“So he even has a sense for picking songs. That's why he chose songs like that in the first ranking evaluation.”
“But that's not all. This kid didn't once say ‘Let's do this song!’ with his own mouth. He only guided the other team members into bringing it up.”
“Hm? That's a bit unexpected. He would get more attention if he brought it up himself. No matter how quick-witted he is, I guess he didn't think that far.”
At Lee Hyeonjeong's reasonable comment, Main PD looked at her with a puzzled expression for a moment, then tapped his knee as if realizing something.
“Ah, right. Writer, you said this is your first survival show, isn't it?”
“…Huh? Yes. It's my first time working with you, PD-nim.”
“Then it must be your first time watching trainees choose songs, arrange them, and choreograph them too.”
Main PD put on a strange smile and spoke clearly.
Writer.
In a survival show, when things don't go well….
“Everything gets torn apart. That's what a survival show is.”