translation by mourningmoor
Siu, who was eating the rolled omelet, widened his eyes.
‘Fair,’ what do you mean by that? That was the expression on his face.
“You know too, right? Ichan and Jaewon have been actively participating in survival shows and working a lot in music. Even now, they’re busy as producers.”
From the beginning, Jaewon and I had received a lot of individual activity requests.
We had moved around, thinking it was the right thing to do, even just for promotional purposes.
“Roa is also steadily making a name for himself in our choreography.”
Despite his young age, Roa was already establishing himself quite well.
Director Gong Seokho was practically burning with ambition to push this kid forward.
“He might even become the performance director for the next debut group’s title track once the lineup is finalized. The company is already pushing the contract in front of him.”
On top of that, he was pretty good at writing lyrics, so he was credited as one of the lyricists for <Hades>.
He was a hidden talent, no less than our maknae.
And the same went for Hanjoon.
“I think I’ll be going out, too. After this tour ends.”
Hanjoon scratched his head awkwardly as he spoke.
He had received an offer, but he hadn’t been able to make a decision yet.
But for Siu’s sake, he had made up his mind to do it.
“Wow. Really? Hyung, that’s great news.”
At Hanjoon’s words, Siu was genuinely happy, as if it were his own matter.
For a rapper, this was another stepping stone forward.
Everyone knew that idol rappers weren’t treated properly among rappers.
Even if he ended up getting torn apart, just appearing and taking on the challenge was a good way to boost his status as a rapper.
For someone as timid as Siu, it was something he wouldn’t even dare to dream of.
“What do you mean, ‘that’s great news’?”
Hanjoon sighed in frustration.
“You’re the only one who keeps thinking about our team’s schedule and holding back on what you actually want to do. You idiot.”
“T-That’s because… Everything else is just an extension of our LIT activities, but acting is different.”
As expected of a timid guy, his voice kept getting smaller and smaller.
On the other hand, Hanjoon’s voice kept getting louder.
He had put so much thought into it and even decided to go on the show for Siu’s sake, but this was the reaction he got? Hanjoon was beyond frustrated.
“What are you talking about? How is it any different? It’s the same thing.”
In the end, the other members started chiming in too.
“This hyung really doesn’t get it.”
Jaewon put his spoon down and scolded Siu.
“Do you not realize how many people buy our albums just because they fell for hyung’s face?”
It was just the right amount of truth.
“One of LIT’s main entry points for new fans is hyung’s face, you know?”
Thanks to Siu’s elegant yet striking image, people who didn’t even know about us would become curious about the group just by seeing him once.
“Hyung, for our sake, you absolutely have to show your face on TV as much as possible.”
“That’s right, hyungnim. We all agree that you’re our team’s representative face, don’t we? You should do it for promotional purposes at the very least.”
Just a moment ago, we had finished our conversation with PD Pyo.
The drama filming was set for the second half of this year, after the tour ended.
It was a youth drama featuring a lot of young actors. Not a major role, but one of the protagonist’s close friends.
Apparently, the production company specifically picked Siu and expressed interest in casting him.
“If you don’t do it, hyungnim, you’ll regret it for the rest of your life. We might even resent you for it. Like, ‘You should’ve done it! That way, our next album’s first-week sales would’ve hit double million!’”
PD Pyo believed that grabbing this opportunity would be good for Siu and for us.
Whether it was good for us or not, I wasn’t sure. But for Siu, it might be a once-in-a-lifetime chance.
However, Siu couldn’t bring himself to decide.
No, rather, he had flat-out rejected it, and PD Pyo had to barely convince him to take some time and think it over.
“Why are you so hesitant?”
Even though he clearly wanted to do it, he was rejecting it for the team’s sake.
That’s why we had already discussed this among ourselves.
While group activities were important, it was also good for us to chase our individual dreams.
Siu would never agree to do it alone, so we thought it would be good if Hanjoon also went.
“Live your life doing what you want.”
Since we were all running toward the same goal, a little deviation wouldn’t hurt.
Especially for Siu, this was something he needed.
“And you shine just fine on your own.”
That stupid thought of his—thinking that without L.I.T, he was nothing—we needed to break that.
“Sure, when we’re together, we shine in a different way, but even as individuals, we shine enough. So don’t worry.”
“Even so…”
He looked like a child who had just been rejected by his mom.
Siu was so dependent on L.I.T that even the slightest deviation made him feel left out.
There was only one way to convince him.
Make him responsible for it.
“If you don’t do it, Hanjoon-hyung won’t do his either.”
This was a good opportunity for Hanjoon, too.
He kept rejecting the offer, saying it was a hassle, but it wasn’t really about that. He just hated competitions where there were clear winners and losers.
So if we treated this as a dual “overcoming weaknesses” project, it would be perfect.
“Is that… okay?”
“A-ah, no?”
Siu flailed his hands in a panic when I said that Hanjoon would quit if he did.
Siu, who usually blended into the background like he was invisible, was the type to go all out when it came to our members.
That’s why, when I brought Hanjoon into it, his eyes immediately filled with tears.
“T-that’s not okay. I don’t want that.”
I knew it.
In the end, this guy would only chase his dreams for the sake of others.
“I want you to be in the drama.”
Tears welled up in Siu’s eyes.
His complicated emotions were laid bare for all to see, making my heart ache.
Fear, guilt, and his longing for a dream—everything was tangled up inside, tormenting him.
He needed a push to make up his mind.
And it seemed like he was looking for that push from me.
“Ichan-ah. Can I ask why? Why do you want me to be in the drama?”
In moments like this, it was best to keep it light.
If I gave a serious reason, it would only burden him.
“Why else? Because I want to send a coffee truck to a drama filming set. That’s on my bucket list.”
I placed a piece of gyeranmari on top of Siu’s rice.
“Out of everyone here, who else is going to make that happen for me?”
Then, I gestured for him to eat.
“No one but you, Yoon Siu. So I’m counting on you.”
* * *
Before I knew it, April had arrived.
April 15th and 16th. The departure date was set for the 11th for the concert at New York UBS Arena. But I was the only one leaving two days later, on the 13th.
Because of filming.
There was filming on April 6th as well, exactly a week before departure.
The program was gradually taking shape.
Out of fourteen, ten of us were still surviving, and HS Entertainment had eight left, including Jung Yoobin.
HS's skills were nowhere near comparable to the other agencies. Except for the first day, they had never placed last. Instead, Melody Entertainment, which was far superior in skills, was on the verge of elimination instead of HS.
Getty and Seokwoo even protested to the production team, but they only got a vague response that it was due to poor pre-show popularity vote results.
Pre-show popularity vote. That becomes vague because they manipulate it.
I felt irritation creeping up.
Actually, the ones HS was trying to push to last place were us, but we were too overwhelmingly skilled and talked about to be pushed down.
The production team, which had close ties with HS, was the same.
If they discarded Blade Entertainment, the program would surely fail. That’s how dominant our team’s buzz was compared to the others.
The Music had already stepped back to watch, while we and Mega Entertainment were competing for first and second place, leading the pack.
Mega Entertainment, which had produced T.I.ONE, was definitely strong in idol production. But they couldn't surpass our team.
In that sense, today was the day to show our team’s true worth.
And the sacrifice would be HS.
Arriving at the TVH M&E Center, I headed straight to the waiting room.
Coincidentally, Siu had a meeting with the drama PD and couldn’t join us today, and Roa had arrived at the station before me to check on the <Big Eyes> team’s rehearsal.
When I entered the waiting room, the kids had just finished rehearsing and were changing clothes.
The moment they saw me, they all bowed deeply. Of course, Seo Hanul and Kim Wooyoung were exceptions. Those two just raised their hands high in greeting.
"How was the rehearsal?"
At that, Roa ran over and reported in a quiet voice.
"There was one mistake during rehearsal, but it's okay. If they perform like they did last night, we’ll definitely take first place today."
Seeing the usually strict director Roa looking so bright, it must have gone quite well.
"That’s a relief."
Then I placed the specially prepared snacks on the table.
Sandwiches and fruit juice, infused with my magic.
Today, these kids’ performance would shine brighter than anyone else's. So much that someone like Jung Yoobin wouldn't even be able to imitate it.
"I brought this to cheer you up, so no one leaves anything behind."
The kids cheered happily and each grabbed a snack.
In the midst of that, I glanced at Kim Wooyoung.
The kid was finally starting to look like a real leader.
He stood back and watched to make sure all the members got their snacks first. Only after everyone else had theirs did he pick up his own.
I called out to him in a low voice.
"Wooyoung-ah."
Kim Wooyoung, who had just opened his drink, looked at me.
"What? Did something happen?"
Seo Hanul also observed me with a hint of unease.
"It’s about Jung Yoobin."
By now, that guy’s brain must be working at full speed.
If he messes up this round, he won’t get another chance.
Which means he's been backed into a corner.
"You know him best. Tell me how he reacts when cornered."
At that, Kim Wooyoung’s face turned serious as he nodded.
"He'll cause trouble."