translation by mourningmoor
It was around 8 PM when the kids returned to the dorm.
As I glanced at their hungry faces gathered around the table, thoughts naturally started piling up.
The past few days have been spent preparing for the music video.
Except for the school lunches, I personally made sure they ate breakfast, dinner, and even snacks in between.
Why did I bother doing such a tedious thing, you ask?
It was to make the kids, who were all pale and dull, look a bit more lively.
With the magic I have right now, I can't break mountains, stir up lakes, build defensive walls, or teleport.
But I can make food that will benefit the kids.
A potion that eliminates dullness, breathes life into them, and makes them look more attractive.
In Parapara, this was called the "Charming portion."
I threw in some ingredients and boiled them, then gently infused a bit of magic to finish it.
With the magic I have now, this is the best I can do.
I still haven’t gotten too close with the mana around here yet.
I brushed my palm over the bubbling spicy chicken stew in the large pot. The mana accumulated from my morning exercise wriggled and focused into my palm. A small amount of magic flowed out through my palm.
It’s a pleasant sensation.
I couldn't stop the corners of my mouth from lifting.
Once I feed this to the kids, they'll start looking a bit more human, right?
"Saennim rabbit!"
T.N.: saennim is term is a playful or somewhat mocking way to refer to someone as naive, innocent, or easily fooled. It’s a distortion of 선님 (seonnim), which is an old term for "gentleman" or "sir," but it’s used here in a lighthearted or teasing way.
At that, Siu suddenly sprang to his feet.
This guy doesn’t mind me calling him a rabbit.
"Lay out the books. Food's coming out."
"Okay."
Then, he hurriedly placed a copy of 《The Great Gatsby》 on the table.
I don’t know how great Gatsby is, but among these guys, it’s nothing more or less than a pot rest.
"Rabbit on drugs, set the utensils. Artistic rabbit, go serve the rice."
"Yessir!"
These guys don’t seem to have any objections either.
Well, except for the youngest one, who keeps whining about being called the "Rabbit on drugs" and asking if he could be called the "Energizer rabbit" instead.
This time, I turned my gaze to Hanjoon.
Clearly destined to be left out of the chicken stew feast, Hanjoon was already holed up in a corner of the living room, playing games.
This guy's got grit.
His goal was to lose 3kg before the music video shoot, and he’s already shed 2kg, which deserves some praise.
The problem is, to get him moving, I had to play games—something I don’t even like—as if my life depended on it. I played so much that the tiny characters on the screen are starting to feel like friends.
“Hanjoon-hyung.”
In the laws of this world, he’s the only one I can’t call a rabbit. With a blank expression, he looked at me.
“Eat just a little, mostly lean meat.”
For a moment, his pupils wavered ever so slightly.
But soon enough, his gaze dropped back to his gaming console.
“I’m not eating.”
Well, well. Not just grit, but still a shred of pride left, huh?
[Hyung, look closely. You're the only one standing out. Everyone else is just plain anchovies, but you're like a jumbo anchovy.]
[So then, only you'll get noticed, right? But is your performance exceptional? It's not, is it?]
[Let's blend in smoothly.]
I made him face reality as we replayed the music video together.
There was something a bit peculiar about the vibes that usually came from this guy.
《Swagger》, 《I'm Obviously a Gaming Genius》, 《Style》, 《A Man's Pride》, 《No Takebacks》...
Between his laziness and slacker tendencies, there was an untamable amount of self-love hidden.
With that level of self-love, you'd think he'd shine naturally through his abilities.
So, I decided to use that self-love against him.
The plan was to poke at his pride, break down his self-love, and eliminate his laziness in one go.
It wasn’t a bad choice, considering this lazy guy had finally started to move.
Of course, it came in the form of losing a game and taking on a penalty, but still.
"Aw, come on, just eat."
Siu scooped some dakbokkeumtang into a bowl and carefully pushed it toward Hanjoon.
"From now on, eat well and move more. You’ve got to take care of yourself until the variety show appearance."
At that moment, I could feel the kids getting restless.
Jaewon, who had just put his spoon down, crawled on his knees to come closer to me.
“Wow. Leader hyung.”
This guy, whose eyes were already big, somehow made them even bigger.
“Did we really get a variety show appearance?”
Roa, who had obediently gone to serve the rice, was just as excited.
“Wasn’t it 2 to 3 against just two hours ago?”
Yeah, up until two hours ago, it was 2 to 3.
I looked at them and answered casually, as if it were no big deal.
“It turned into 3 to 2 a little while ago, so we’re doing it now.”
"Who switched to approval? Siu hyung?"
The youngest pointed at Siu, who looked dazed, as if his soul had left his body.
"No."
It was obvious that he wouldn’t make such a decision.
If he raised his hand, it would overturn the whole vote, and Yoon Siu was far too timid to make such a bold choice.
"Me."
When the kids realized that I had switched to approval after emphasizing the risks of reality shows, they all looked shocked.
Even Hanjoon, who had been playing a game in the corner of the living room, suddenly stood up.
He had been one of the staunch opposers of reality variety shows, always emphasizing that we should never participate.
"Hey, Kang Ichan. Why are you deciding that on your own? Who said we're doing it?"
Seeing him throw the game console in frustration, it was clear he was really angry. His neck and ears were bright red.
"First off, I'm the leader, and we decided on a majority vote."
The day they accepted that I was the leader, we held a meeting.
I announced that from now on, all of our decisions would be made through meetings, and, except for special circumstances, everything would be decided by a majority vote.
And I stuck to that promise without fail.
It’s the same now.
"3 to 2, with more votes in favor."
At that moment, Siu, who had been watching Hanjoon, carefully raised his hand.
"I-I also agree."
"Well, that makes it 4 to 1."
I twisted the corner of my mouth into a smirk and looked at Hanjoon.
Then, with the courtesy due to an elder, I delivered the news.
"Hanjoon hyung is the only one opposed. Following the principle of majority vote, our team will appear on the reality show proposed by TVH."
* * *
ON THE DAY OF THE MUSIC VIDEO SHOOT.
The studio in Gwanggyo was incredibly chaotic, to the point where it felt overwhelming.
Makeup team, styling team, filming team, choreography team, set team, safety team... Countless people were rushing around, busy with their tasks.
Despite the hectic atmosphere, the children's expressions remained bright.
It seemed that having done it once before, they had gained some confidence.
They were even more excited about their new outfits and hairstyles.
"Hyung, the mint hair totally suits me, right?"
The youngest came running over, sticking his newly styled hair in my face. Beside him, Roa followed like a set.
These two had spent the whole day at the hair salon yesterday, changing their hair colors.
Jaewon went with mint, and Roa chose pink.
The colors suit them perfectly, especially with their fair skin and typical flower-boy looks.
I nodded silently, and both of them grinned, their eyes narrowing into crescent shapes.
Usually, they're quite the handful, but when they smile like this, they look every bit the noblemen. Especially with the sailor-style outfits they're wearing, it suits them very well.
"Hyung, the outfits are way better than last time. They're awesome."
Jaewon spun around in place, showing off his outfit.
Did only the outfits improve?
The makeup's gotten much better too.
At least, their eyes aren’t as blackened as Kung Fu Panda’s anymore.
“You look good, so make sure to give it your all today.”
After ruffling both of their heads, I approached Hanjoon, who was warming up in the corner.
Having successfully lost weight, Hanjoon now gave off a sharper impression than before.
As I approached, Hanjoon’s amber eyes glinted with suspicion.
Ah, I’m not going to eat you.
I smiled slightly and mixed a joke with my serious advice.
“Welcome to the world of regular anchovies. Please, let’s not stand out.”
For now, he had reduced his body to the desired size.
Now, it was about the level of perfection in performance, and Hanjoon was slightly slower than the other members. It might seem unnoticeable at a glance, but that subtle difference compromised the perfection of the performance.
That’s why I had been training him for about a week, using game challenges as part of the routine.
“You know, right? To blend in, you need to match the speed.”
With his body lighter, performing should have been much easier.
Maybe that’s why. During yesterday’s rehearsal, he finally managed to match the speed.
“All you have to do is keep it up like yesterday.”
I smiled and gave Hanjoon’s shoulder a light tap.
《The kid’s making me embarrassed.》《Ah, my pride’s hurt.》
Such a consistent guy, both inside and out. I didn’t even need to use the ‘Heart’s Resonance’—his emotions were clear on his face.
Hanjoon, his neck and ears flushed red, swatted my hand away.
“You should mind your own business. Don’t faint again.”
Huh? What does that mean? Don’t faint?
My brows furrowed instinctively.
“What?”
I asked again with a serious look, but Hanjoon didn’t seem to want to answer and quickly walked off in the opposite direction.
Hanjoon, what are you talking about? Fainting?
Could it be that there’s something about Kang Ichan that I don’t know?
I looked around, searching for Gyuhyung, but the bear-like guy was nowhere to be seen.
Just then, Siu, who had just finished his styling, caught my eye.
"Yoon Siu."
As I approached, Siu scratched his head and gave an awkward smile.
It seemed like he was still getting used to his new outfit and hairstyle.
"Is it strange?"
His light brown hair with a slight wave actually looked pretty good, so I was wondering what he found strange.
"No, it suits you well."
Among the L.I.T members, Siu is probably the one with the best looks.
This guy has a face that could rival actors in dramas or movies.
The only problem is that he lacks charisma.
"You look like an actor, so don't worry. Just make good eye contact with the camera. Don’t try to avoid it."
"Huh? Uh."
Siu, surprised by the compliment, gave a sheepish smile.
Well, this part’s on you. Now, it’s time to focus on my own matters.
"Yoon Siu."
When I called his name with a serious tone, Siu’s face tensed up.
"Have I... ever fainted before?"