Second Try Idol

“Ugh, so tired,” I grumbled. As I stepped out of the car, I instantly felt the day's fatigue overwhelming me. If I knew today's Graduating shoot would stretch this late, I wouldn't have hijacked my busy senior's schedule.

I gazed at the illuminated building of YMM. Turning toward my manager, I said, “Thanks for the ride, hyung. The dorm's just around the corner, so I will head back by myself. The talk might take a while."

He glanced at his watch and nodded. “Send me a text when you are heading back, will you?"

“Sure thing, thanks."

With a casual wave, he headed inside the building. It was clear that he still had tasks pending at the company.

‘Tough day for him too.' Our rest time might be short, but not as short as his.

After a deep sigh, I hummed the tune of a game I had played at Hee-Su’s place and made my way to Kun-Ho's exclusive practice room. As I ambled down the dim hallway, the thudding bass and Kun-Ho's voice reached my ears. Though it was a new song from him, I had heard it multiple times. Back then, I often made trainees cover this song.

My humming soon shifted to Kun-Ho's new melody. When I reached the practice room, I paused outside as I didn’t want to interrupt. Only after the singing ceased, I knocked.

No response came, but practice rooms were always bustling. Therefore, I nudged the door open a tad and said, “Excuse me."

Kun-Ho was catching his breath. When he saw me, he beckoned with a bright smile. “Looks like a late shoot brought you here at this hour."

“Yeah, it was a casual shoot, just gaming at a friend's. Sorry to keep you waiting."

“No worries. I expected you'd be late. It's a nice break time anyway." Kun-Ho then turned to the dancers and said, “Shall we call it a day?"

“Already?”

“Is it because your adorable junior is here, Kun-Ho?”

“Yeah, that too. I was about to call it a day anyway. Let’s wrap up here. I can’t practice more since I am getting old. I have no energy left, haha.”

“Hey, Cheol hyung is going to smack you if you say that you are old in your mid-thirties.”

The dancers seemed tight-knit with Kun-Ho. This kind of camaraderie was absent in Chronos because we didn’t have a fixed dance crew. Hence, it was impressive to see them being close like one team.

“I heard you were practicing, so I brought some drinks,” I said. While handing out the drinks I bought, I felt somewhat out of place yet touched by their warmth.

“Huh? Did you buy all these with your own money? You are so kind, Hyun-Woo. Hey, everyone, take these. Hyun-Woo bought them for you.”

“Wow, not that many idols do that these days. He is so caring… unlike some I know. What's his name again?"

“Ah, he’s Suh Hyun-Woo from Chronos!"

“Hyun-Woo, I will enjoy the drink. Thank you!"

“Ah, yes! No, it's nothing..."

All fourteen of them looked like trainees practicing hard as a group, loud and cheerful.

I greeted each person who spoke to me and shared the drinks. Then, Kun-Ho took the bag of drinks all at once, placed it at the center of the room, and led me out of the practice room. He remarked, “When will you finish handing them out? You are really shy, aren't you? Or not. It must be a bit scary since they are all bulky guys."

“No, haha."

Kun-Ho at school was indeed quite different from the one I saw now. He spoke in a much more friendly and comfortable manner than during the shooting, which eased my nerves.

When we arrived at a small meeting room, I was somewhat surprised because I thought we were going to a vocal booth. After all, I had asked for singing guidance.

With a smile, Kun-Ho said, “A guy who has safely made a comeback and stood on stage several times wouldn't just come to me to ask for vocal advice."

“Ah..."

“This teacher knows everything. I saw you guys taking Cheol-Min to the bathroom and not coming out for a while."

I thought the monitoring would be off during the break, but it seemed Kun-Ho's gaze just happened to fall on the three of us at that time.

Kun Ho remarked, “Other staff might not have seen it, but I did. How long have I been in this industry? If you go into the bathroom without a mic and don't come out for a while, something's up, especially with Cheol-Min."

Considering the recent issue with Cheol-Min and the pocket money theft... Kun-Ho must have guessed what I was going to talk about and agreed to my request. He asked, “So what do you want to consult with me about? Feel free to speak up. I don’t like it either if there is a problem with the show I am doing.”

I nodded and said, “I have something to ask of you, Senior. It’s about On Ki-Hoon.”

“...Ki-Hoon?” He frowned, surprised by the unexpected name.

I laid it all out for Kun-Ho, from the supermarket debacle to the tangled web between On Ki-Hoon and Lee Cheol-Min. As the tale unfolded, Kun-Ho's expression darkened. “Bold move for a newbie."

“Yes, he debuted around the same time as us."

“That bastard is crazy. Well, the industry is filled with lunatics indeed."

Based on Kun Ho’s expression, it seemed that he had encountered lunatics like On Ki-Hoon more than once or twice.

“I avoided shows for a while to steer clear of such humans. And now, here I am, running into one right off the bat."

Perhaps Kun-Ho's sporadic activities were his way of dodging the industry's darker side. He asked, “So, do you want me to handle On Ki-Hoon? The crew might find it tricky since we are nearing the end of shooting, but if I speak up, they will act."

I shook my head and replied, “I appreciate that, but there's more to it. On Ki-Hoon is blackmailing Lee Cheol-Min. While I don’t think it’s a big deal, it's significant for Lee Cheol-Min. It seems On Ki-Hoon wants to continue pretending to be nice by using Lee Cheol-Min."

“Blackmail? You mean..."

“Moreover, Lee Cheol-Min is at his limit and might expose everything that happened during the broadcast.”

That was when Kun-Ho's expression turned grave. Someone who had seen the devastating effect of a scandal in the entertainment industry more than anyone else would understand. He knew very well how many people would be involved and swept away by a single person's revelation.

“Such an exposure could be problematic not just for Cheol-Min. I am not sure if you know this, but a scandal is scarier than you might think. It could involve all the participants and the production team of Graduating. I don't know what Ki-Hoon intends, but the controversy itself can significantly damage his image. It's like holding a time bomb. If we kick On Ki-Hoon out now, he might continue to contact Lee Cheol-Min privately and blow it up."

I bit my lip and paused before speaking, “So, what I'm asking is, could you please create some content for On Ki-Hoon?"

“Me?" Kun-Ho frowned as he didn’t understand.

I nodded calmly. Now that I had explained the situation, it was time to plan how to safely wrap up the remaining shoots. However, it would be a bit of a hassle for Kun-Ho.

“Some content? For On Ki-Hoon?"

“Yes, I thought you could easily secure some boring rookie content... I can only ask this from you, Senior."

This kind of a favor wouldn't be too difficult for a veteran like Kun Ho. The only pain would be having to witness On Ki-Hoon's shamelessness upfront.

Looking utterly unconvinced by my words, Kun Ho asked, “...Why?"

“Because it's the safest way to finish the shoot. You seem to know well about On Ki-Hoon's personality and behavior patterns. If he secures his screen time, he will quiet down."

After all, On Ki-Hoon had been using Lee Cheol-Min to appear on camera more. Given how nicely he had treated me and Goh Yoo-Joon, it seemed he preferred the “content secured through friendship with popular celebrities” approach over creating narratives with Lee Cheol-Min.

“Ah, there are indeed such psychos. They behave outrageously in front of the camera to secure content and then apologize later, saying it was all for the show. If you think about it, those people don't mess with the really popular ones," remarked Kun-Ho, shuddering again.

“That’s why I'm asking you, Senior. Please make sure On Ki-Hoon stops paying attention to Lee Cheol-Min, both privately and on set." It was like giving Ki-Hoon a sweet gift that he wouldn't care about using Lee Cheol-Min.

“Please secure some content for him, Senior. We will take care of Lee Cheol-Min."

Kun-Ho seemed to ponder for a moment before nodding. “Alright. Let's do that. Let's give it a try."

Just like that, an alliance between a senior and a junior was formed. After all, the entertainment industry was full of people like On Ki-Hoon. It was something I learned during my trainer days, and Kun-Ho's expression confirmed it all. Since the majority of such people eventually fell from grace, we should just ignore them. Our only task was to ensure that Lee Cheol-Min, the victim, didn't end up detonating the bomb.

***

The activities for “Joy” were already midway. Although it was not as popular as “Parade”— of course, most people didn't realize it was a song by the idol group Chronos—it was gaining momentum through introductory choreography, ad-libs, and the members gradually shedding their rookie image. This led to an influx of fans and a successful climb in popularity.

The excitement among the Rings was evident, especially with the numerous compilation and cross-edit videos on UTube.

[Collection of "Joy" Moments: Authentic Jumps]

[Collection of "Joy" Moments: Yoo-Joon and Hyun-Woo Piggyback Rides]

[Collection of "Joy" Moments: Leaves Rolling Down]

Especially popular was the “Collection of ‘Joy’ Endings.” It was loved for its unique direction where Joo-Han and Yoon-Chan, who were relatively less noticeable, were entrusted with all the endings and made each ending different.

This collection included various fun scenes such as Yoon-Chan shouting "Rings, I… I love you!" while making a heart shape, Joo-Han wearing sunglasses and striking a cool pose, sometimes kicking the buttocks of a fellow member who made a mistake in the choreography.

Among the various compilation videos and cross-edits, a new video was becoming popular among the Rings.

***

"When we look at this video, it seems like our dance styles are really different, right, hyung?"

“Yeah, that's right." I completely agreed with Jin-Sung's statement and nodded. The video that was becoming popular was the “Same Choreography, Different Feel, Dance Line Comparison Video” between me and Jin-Sung.

As this video started trending on the internet, there were a lot of mentions of me and Jin-Sung's dance lines on various social media, including BlueBird. Only then did we remember. It was the content of me and Jin-Sung that was postponed and eventually forgotten due to my injury, our variety show filming, comeback, and fan meeting preparations. However, the Rings were clamoring about our cover dance, asking when the next one would be.

To make that happen, Jin-Sung and I came to the practice room early after finishing a music show broadcast.

“It's definitely Allure's new song, right? Ah, I guess it's been a while to call it a new song..."

“It's their latest song."

Jin-Sung watched a dance video of Allure on his laptop and suddenly brightened up before turning his head to suggest, “Hyung, how about we just turn on a Q-app live and dance on the spot?"

“Q-app?"

“Yeah! The Rings asked us to dance live before. It would be more fun with you."

“Uh, yeah, let's get permission from Su-Hwan hyung first." It had been a while since we did a live, and we had never done a Q-app live just the two of us. Therefore, it could be a good content.

After we sent a message to Su-Hwan about the Q-app live, a quick reply came back.

- I'm heading to the practice room now. If you've thrown clothes and snacks on the floor, clean all that up first.

‘How did he know?’

“Yeah, looks like we got permission," I told Jin-Sung and picked up the clothes and snack bags we had carelessly thrown around.

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