10. Preparing for Debut (4)
1. Don't bring friends to the room! Staying out overnight is fine.
2. No phone calls at dawn! It interferes with coming up with inspiration.
3. Don't talk to me when I'm lost in thought! (★★★Most Important★★★)
4. If you're going to fight with the other hyungs, go outside the dorm to fight. It's noisy.
Additional clauses may be added later.
I thought he'd be uncomfortable living with me, but I guess I was worrying for nothing.
'Goodness... so that's what this was.'
Leaving aside the content, the fact that he wrote it all out so diligently in his own handwriting is just too cute.
Well, come to think of it, I may look my age on the outside, but I'm 27 on the inside, and Rion is 17, so it's only natural he feels like a much younger brother. A ten-year age gap. Maybe that's why Rion feels even cuter than he did in the past.
Thinking about it, Rion had been living apart from his parents overseas, alone in an officetel, and considering that, it wouldn't be strange if he had longed for a noisy, bustling life. If I dig through my memories, he never missed out when members gathered in groups of three or more in the past either. The seventeen-year-old Rion on this side is probably the same.
"I organized the things I hope hyung will keep in mind while living with me."
"What. These aren't even difficult. You could have just told me."
"I'm going to put them up. On the door."
"O-okay......"
"Why."
When Eunchan stared at him, Rion, who had been taping the paper to the door, turned his head. He must have felt the gaze. Certainly, this Rion was small in stature and slight in build.
Hmm, but his personality seems a bit pricklier on this side. Well, he was in the middle of puberty. I'll chalk that one up to my memory being fuzzy.
"Because you're handsome. Can't I look?"
"Yes. It wears you out. I'm going to sleep."
Rion scrunched his long eyes with their pronounced inner double eyelids and let loose the ponytail he had tied back.
'Whoa.'
I thought he'd show some irritation, but quite literally, he crawled straight into bed. I barely held back the laugh that threatened to spill out. He's such a baby. The last images I remembered of Rion were all of him being taller than me and expressionless, so thinking that he was actually like this made me feel strangely guilty.
'If the group hadn't failed, would Rion have kept this same personality even now?'
It felt overly sentimental to think about now, so I shook the thought off immediately.
Thanks to Rion, who always fell asleep promptly before midnight, Eunchan also prepared for bed early today for the first time in a while. Perhaps because it wasn't yet time to sleep, even after turning off the lights and lying in bed, sleep didn't come easily. Even though his body felt incredibly heavy.
'Come to think of it, today should be the day my photo gets released.'
He wasn't a public trainee at Minits, but since he had been confirmed for the debut lineup, it was about time his photo was released. He was inwardly nervous because the profile picture had been taken before the regression.
According to my memory, I hadn't been very satisfied with it.
Even though it was a picture of his current self, Eunchan opened the company account with his screen brightness turned down as low as possible, feeling the tension of looking at someone else's photo.
"Wow... so embarrassing."
It was really, truly embarrassing. The pose was awkward, his expression stiff, and he hadn't even worn makeup.
He couldn't uncurl his mortified hands and feet.
'Past Yu Eunchan... why did you do that.'
He wanted to grab the CEO by the pant leg and beg him to please retake it.
After kicking his legs repeatedly under the blanket and waging a solo battle like that for several minutes.
"Hyung, you're noisy......"
"Ah, sorry. I'll be quiet. Sleep well."
Eunchan apologized softly to Rion, who seemed to have woken up and was grumbling in complaint, then looked at the screen under the blanket again.
-----
MINITS Ent. @MINITSneighbor
2x0707 GENESIS Release!
Unveiling the member shrouded in mystery :D
#Genesis #genesis
#Who's Next?
Retweets 1,225 Quote Tweets 3,032 Likes 2,219
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The photo of me uploaded with this post was so......
'More embarrassing than I thought?'
It felt awkward to say it myself, but I have a baby face. The difference between now and when I was 27 was just whether or not I had baby fat.
Because of that, the shortcomings stood out more clearly, which was tormenting. After all, until not long ago, I was also a seventh-year idol who had released a fourth album.
If I had to nitpick, that photo itself hadn't come out weird. It had the awkwardness and freshness of a rookie... but relying on just that was too cold a reality for this industry.
The reactions I could gauge through the shares and likes on the post seemed better than expected, but I was afraid to check people's direct reactions with my own eyes.
-Don't look at useless things.
The words the trainer had casually thrown out in passing suddenly came to mind. He must have said this knowing this would happen.
But humans are creatures who want to do something more when told not to. Even while anticipating a future of agony, he couldn't resist the movement of his fingers. Eunchan squeezed his eyes shut and pressed on the quote tweets.
'Why am I trembling over something like this.......'
After breathing slowly, he carefully opened his eyes.
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Muyounghae♥ @M000ng
What, another rookie? Boy idols keep coming out lol
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AnyonePalm @efdzcji8
Isn't this that kid? From Socialbook......? The handsome guys and pretty girls page. Is he debuting?
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Nori @norriiea
Wow he looks so damn refreshing
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OK @ukkkkkkk
Ah fuck is Gim Gwangchun crazy?
Has he been hiding this the whole time and only looking at him himself?
He's no different from that greedy Nolbu bastard.
Keeping the good stuff all to himself, really -_-
.
.
.
Anyway so what's this kid's name?
Yu Eunchan? Hold out your bank account. Deposit incoming.
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HoldingOutForHyeonjuinDebut @Rskdfod2dka
This is Hyeonjuin's agency, right? When is Hyeonjuin coming out?
If he debuts, I think I could just suck on those two visuals alone lol
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Though these were reactions I had seen constantly for the past 6 years, perhaps because I was starting anew without Hyeonjuin, my mood soured strangely.
'It's not like this is new, but still.'
Can't they look at me without comparing me to someone else? If you put us side by side in terms of visuals, of course I'd be lacking compared to Hyeonjuin. Still, it stung a little.
'...I need to look at something else, something else.'
To change his mood, he exited the company account and pressed the home button on social media, and the latest updates scrolled up. Accounts he had followed as subscriptions.
But... perhaps because this was the list the pre-regression Yu Eunchan had followed, even things he didn't want to see entered his eyes. Quite a lot of them, at that.
-----
Nameless @Qldoqxnbeqla
#NineteenNineteen #JeongHaea #ByeonSeungchae
They were filming in front of my house so I watched a bit, and the actors' real-life visuals are insane...
It was 1 AM so there were only a few neighborhood residents lollll
Boyish beauty Byeon Seungchae kept looking our way and sending finger hearts until his manager smacked his back lolllll
Shares 7,218 Quote Tweets 2,193 Likes 1.7k
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└ HoldingOutForHyeonjuinDebut @hyundebutplz
Huk... um... what about the tall guy wearing a sweatshirt on the right??ㅠ
└ Reply to @hyundebutplz
Ah, the people next to me asked if he was a rookie actor too! Nothing particularly memorable except that he was incredibly handsome!!
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I truly cannot believe my eyes.
'...Eunchan, were you a Hyeonjuin fan?'
He asked himself, but there was no answer.
Even when he quickly scrolled through the screen, there was nothing unusual. Well, there were posts rambling about Juhyeok and Minits public trainees, and fan accounts for the senior artists I respected, but the shock was so great that they didn't register properly.
'...By the way, even though the eyewitness photo looks like it was taken with a basic camera, he's incredibly handsome.'
To have such eye-catching looks even though it was taken from far away. Moreover, his outfit was a simple black sweatshirt, making him barely distinguishable from the staff, yet his face alone was screaming "I'm a celebrity."
Seeing Hyeonjuin in the eyewitness photo laughing brightly among the people around him was slightly dissonant compared to the image in my memories. I guess he really was doing better because acting suited him more than being an idol.
'...Couldn't you have smiled like that when you were with us too.'
His head grew muddled, and Eunchan decided to just close his eyes. Whether due to psychological effects or because some influence from before the regression remained, he couldn't fall asleep easily despite being tired—even though he wasn't the sensitive type who couldn't sleep just because his bed changed.
Even though this was now a soft bed clearly different from a gosiwon.
***
He could definitely feel that the debut date wasn't far off.
[CEO: Eunchan, let's meet this morning.]
Having seen the CEO's message upon waking, Eunchan headed to the company earlier than usual. He had an instant inkling of why he had been summoned. It was the first week of May, and with the debut scheduled for July 7th, they needed to decide on the debut album concept. Just like it had been for Chilwol Chilseok.
Of course, today would be different from back then. He was going to be firm.
'There will be no more docile Yu Eunchan.'
The Yu Eunchan of Chilwol Chilseok was gone; he had to live up to his value as Yu Eunchan reborn as Genesis.
"CEO!"
"Oh, our company's first leader~"
The CEO welcomed Eunchan from in front of a fully open laptop, as if he had been working just moments ago. When Eunchan bowed deeply at the waist, the CEO walked out from behind and gestured for him to sit.
"Why do you think I called you?"
"...Could it be to decide on the concept now......"
"Oh?"
Though he had trailed off at the end in an internal conflict over whether he should pretend to know or not, the CEO's eyes widened greatly.
...Did I make a slip of the tongue? Should I have pretended not to know here?
"That's right. Eunchan is quick-witted."
"Ah... haha......"
According to Eunchan's memory, around this time the CEO would present a gasp-inducing concept and play the demo track of the title song 'Ojakgyo.'
The memory of being reluctant about that crazy concept and song title was as vivid as if it were yesterday, so Eunchan was on edge.
Now was the time. Prepare to give his opinion without revealing his displeasure as much as possible. Prepare not to play the fool by reacting positively to a concept that anyone could tell was hopeless and doomed!
"Then this should be quick. Want to listen to this?"
"Yeeees......"
He had said he would act decisively, but seeing how his words dragged at the end, it seemed he was overwhelmed even by himself. Eunchan's expression gradually hardened at the familiar melody flowing from the CEO's phone.
'No, the notes themselves are definitely fine. The overall atmosphere is good too.'
The problem was... a song isn't a done deal just because the composition is well done. Why on earth would you attach the title 'Ojakgyo' to such a nice melody, and the dance break sound effects, and the lyrics too... let's not even mention it.
"How is it?"
"It's good but......"
"And as for the concept, I was thinking......"
Wouldn't it be better if you didn't think? Stop here, please.
"Since it's the debut song after all, I want to show a strong impression. Something that catches the eye immediately at first glance would be best, right? By showing a manly will to target not just women's hearts but everyone, making men a target demographic too......"
As Eunchan listened to the CEO's words, his stomach felt suffocated by the turmoil.
It was the same concept as the Ojakgyo time. People really don't change easily. Holding back the sigh that threatened to burst out was quite a struggle.
"How about it?"
"CEO, I think this is......"
Eunchan prepared to continue. Taking a deep breath, he was recalling polite expressions of refusal. Mixing those two according to the CEO's suggestion wasn't even like jjamjja-myeon, but simply... a mismatched hybrid that was neither this nor that.
Just then, the CEO's words continued. Eunchan relaxed the strength from the corners of his mouth, which had been stiff from forcing a smile.
Now, Yu Eunchan! Don't get nervous and stutter, properly appeal your opinion. CEO, regarding Genesis's concept, in my opinion,
"There's one more."
Huh? He had no memory of there being another option in the past. Eunchan stopped what he was about to say and stared intently at the CEO's profile.
"I prepared two concepts. What I just said was the one I prefer. The other is one recommended in a board meeting."
It had changed. Clearly, such a choice hadn't existed when Chilwol Chilseok was formed.
Was this also something changed due to the regression? Unexpected parts kept popping out sporadically like this.
'This doesn't seem related to whether Hyeonjuin is in the group or not.'
Eunchan swallowed hard.