translation by mourningmoor
L.I.T’s debut stage, their first music show appearance, was a huge success.
PD Pyo Cheonhee, turning off the television, sat in their chair with a slightly flushed expression. Then, they opened their laptop and browsed the internet.
The reaction… is good.
On top of that, the follower count on L.I.T’s official SNS account, created just a few days ago, is skyrocketing.
“This is beyond expectations.”
Since it was their first stage, there weren’t high expectations.
No. To be honest, in this field where the outcome can be determined by the first performance, they were idols who didn’t spark much anticipation in their debut. From the start, there wasn’t much to hope for with these kids.
More precisely, they were kids half-given up on.
Yes, up until last March, that was definitely the case.
“Kang Ichan, this brat.”
After being struck by lightning, he turned into a true icon of luck.
No, maybe getting struck by lightning completely restructured his soul.
The kid who had no notable traits, to the point where even his name was forgettable, turned out to be a shining gem.
[For now, he’s unique.]
That was the first comment thrown by Gong Seokho, the executive who recently began giving him private lessons.
He's ruthless, and his gaze is no joke. He has leadership too.
If he had been like that from the start, they would have recognized it sooner. It was truly strange. For someone with such an eye for talent to have missed this gem?
[On top of that, his sense is beyond ordinary. He’s the type to learn ten things after being taught just one. And he has this uncanny ability to move people's hearts. You could call it... innate star quality.]
Gong Seokho referred to this as a transformation in Kang Ichan stemming from his "amnesia." Apparently, he displayed a completely different personality before and after the accident.
If that’s the case, there was no choice but to agree that the accident was the biggest catalyst for his change.
Some kind of defense mechanism that had been concealing Kang Ichan's talent must have disappeared along with his memory loss.
"Anyway, it’s a bit of an awkward thing to say, but for the company, this is a really great turn of events."
The transformation of Kang Ichan was shifting the entire team.
Feeling a little dazed, they reached for their phone.
Without hesitation, they dialed Team Leader Lee Gyuhyung.
—Yes, sir. CEO.
The voice sounded like it could take flight—it was clear Team Leader Lee Gyuhyung was in an exceptionally good mood as well.
"Team Leader Lee, are the kids out yet?"
—Yes, we just got them in the car, but they’re making a fuss about being hungry, so I’m planning to treat them to a plate of tteokbokki each before heading back.
Tteokbokki? Of all things. For kids who just barely managed to debut.
PD Pyo Cheonhee's eyebrows tilted crookedly.
"Tteokbokki? Feed them meat instead."
Yeah, a day like this calls for meat. Unlimited servings.
"But make it samgyeopsal, alright?"
The excitement in Team Leader Lee Gyuhyung's voice softened and melted away. When it came to the kids, he just couldn’t help but go all out.
PD Pyo Cheonun-hee let out a dry laugh and leaned back deeply into the chair before continuing.
"Tell them if they succeed at <Music Center> this Saturday, I'll treat them to beef."
On the other end of the line, Team Leader Lee Gyuhyung said nothing. Or rather, he was holding his breath.
Then, with extreme caution, he asked,
—Music Center? Did they contact us too?
"Yeah. It seems someone from their team was at the site. They’re asking for an appearance."
Despite all the promotions they had done until now, the people who hadn’t even batted an eye suddenly changed overnight.
[PD Pyo, the new group is pretty good too, huh? They can make it on Saturday, right?]
Pyo had expected them to list a long list of shortcomings with a condescending attitude, only to then reluctantly grant the appearance as if doing them a favor. Instead, they offered a brief compliment and a straightforward invitation to perform.
This was quite a promising sign.
"Feed the kids well, and from tomorrow, push them hard again."
―Yes, understood. Thank you, CEO.
Why is he thanking me? What did I even do?
Feeling a bit awkward, PD Pyo Cheonhee hung up the phone.
It was a card meant to be discarded, so I hadn’t really done anything to deserve it.
Maybe it was because the two carefully written songs seemed like they wouldn’t get the recognition they deserved, and I lost interest.
But those discarded cards didn’t just release the two songs into the world; they resurrected them perfectly.
Just earlier, when <Promise> and this played through the television, I couldn’t help but feel goosebumps.
The captivating voices were layered onto the songs he created, and perfect synchronized choreography was executed. Moreover, the strange energy emanating from the five kids as they faced the camera left even the one who gave them the songs speechless.
I feel like I have to do something...
Picking up the intercom, PD Pyo Cheon-hee immediately dialed the HR department.
"Manager Park. Attach one more road for L.I.T. Don’t let Team Leader Lee Gyuhyung drive. Make sure the kids are close together."
First, let’s handle the management properly.
* * *
That's right. This is a proper company dinner.
Unlike the samgyeopsal (pork belly) you eat at home, eating it at a proper restaurant made me feel good.
Following Gyuhyung, I entered the innermost part and sat down, when the youngest immediately sat close to me and started talking excitedly.
"Oh— I can see that Ichan-hyung's right corner of his mouth is slightly raised. He must be in a really good mood."
Is he excited again? The Gyeongsangdo accent is starting to show.
I didn't respond, so Siu, who was observing, opened his mouth.
"Does that mean he's in a good mood?"
"Yeah, how about Ichan-hyung?"
Jaewon, who had been wiping his hands with a wet towel in front of him, threw the towel down and subtly lifted the corner of his lips.
"When he's in a good mood, he smiles like this."
This time, he subtly raised his chin.
"What if he's in a bad mood?"
He slowly moved his tongue inside his mouth, creating a cold expression.
"He glares like this... viciously."
"Yeah, that's right."
Roa, sitting across from Jaewon, clapped his hands and chimed in.
"Exactly the same."
Pleased by the compliment, Jaewon straightened his neck and shot a glance at me.
"See? Even now, he's clenching his jaw and rolling his tongue, right?"
Then he mimicked the expression again.
This little rabbit. I can't even hit him.
"Are you messing around knowing that?"
I said coldly, but Jaewon flashed a bright smile and stuck his tongue out at me.
"Sorry."
Ha, when this guy smiles like that, I really can't think of anything else to say.
Then, the pork belly came out with the grill.
Seeing the thick slices of meat with pink flesh and white fat perfectly combined, the already round eyes of the youngest grew even rounder.
A gasp escaped naturally.
"Wow—"
"This is totally different from what we ate at the dorm."
Roa, too, boasted the maximum eye size, stretching his neck forward.
Even Siu, whose face clearly showed exhaustion, brightened up at the sight of the pork belly.
"This isn’t just pork belly, it's five-layered pork! Is this really okay?"
Then, he turned to Gyuhyung, His eyes sparkling.
No way would the stingy PD Pyo Cheonhee approve of an upgraded menu like this.
"Don’t worry. How would the boss know whether we ordered samgyeopsal or ogyeopsal? The restaurant’s name is Flower Pig Heaven,’ after all."
Gyuhyung’s reply triggered a burst of laughter.
Leaning back in my chair, I quietly watched these kids’ innocent expressions.
Simple ones. They just want good food in their mouths, right? Aren’t they happy?
But for a moment, my thoughts became tangled.
The stingy CEO feeding us this kind of meal means he's probably planning to work us even harder...
I have a short-term goal I've set for myself, so I'll accept it for now, but I have no intention of living like this for much longer.
Once I’ve helped Kang Ichan resolve his grudge with HS, I should wrap things up and leave here at a reasonable point.
Money? Well, I’ll just find some work, earn enough, and live decently. Big House, cocoa, pork belly... That should be enough to get by.
By the way, why has Han Junyoung been so quiet since earlier?
Hanjoon, sitting at the very end of the table, has been sitting cross-legged with his eyes closed for a while now.
Has he started practicing meditation or something?
"Hanjoon-hyung."
When I called his name, he slightly lifted one eyelid and made eye contact with me.
He didn’t speak, but his expression seemed to say, "What? You little brat."
"Why are you doing that?"
Hanjoon closed his eyelids again without responding.
If he doesn’t say anything, who would know? I triggered a sense of his emotions.
《Patience》, 《Pain》, 《Anger》, 《Ecstasy》...
What’s going on? Why is it so complicated?
This time, I activated the second stage of my emotional sensing.
《Goal Achievement》, 《Bad Guys》, 《Kang Ichan》, 《you bastard》...
I roughly get it... but I stifled a laugh and activated the third stage.
《Hey, you bastards. We’ve still got 1.5kg left to go before our next goal, and you seriously had to come here and eat samgyeopsal? Huh?》
《And on top of that, it's ogyeopsal. Must be nice. You blessed bastards who don’t need to worry about diets.》
《But for my future self, I’ll hold back. I’m definitely going to lose weight and make sure I can shout at that bastard Kang Ichan. I will.》
"Hyung, don't hold back, just eat."
When I looked up, I could see the full irritation in Hanjoon's gaze.
"Are you kidding me? Why don’t you eat a lot yourself?"
It will be infuriating.
The guy, who claims to be the strongest in every game, was always defeated in our betting games, despite his unfounded confidence.
As a result, his practice time increased, and he had to follow through with penalties like forced bedtime, forced wake-ups, and morning workouts.
He was faithfully carrying out the punishment for losing the bet.
It was because of these things that Hanjoon started to seem cute.
Though lazy, Han Junyoung is serious about everything he does.
According to the laws of this world, I was technically below him, but he never once spoke ill of me.
Moreover, he never took shortcuts.
He's like a diligent and loyal dog.
Ah, in this world, calling someone a dog is an insult, right?
Then let's make sure to emphasize that. A few days ago, through Media Acquisition, I learned about the dog breeds of this world...
Right, he’s like a loyal and stubborn Doberman. Black, big, sharp, and gruff, but… loyal, right? He may look intimidating at first glance.
"Don't do that, just eat. Just for today."
With a smile, I carefully wrapped a perfectly grilled slice of samgyeopsal in a lettuce leaf.
Then, I brought the wrap up to his mouth.
I thought he'd put up a bit of a fuss, but instead, he eagerly took it, even though his expression was as fierce as ever.
"Eat a lot."
I allowed myself to eat today because I had struggled with weight loss. There was a book I recently read called 《Effective Diet Methods》, and according to that book, this kind of thing is called a cheat day.
Right, Han Junyoung. Enjoy your cheat day. I’ll start running again tomorrow.
It was then.
"Excuse me... By chance...?"