After the lesson on the first day, daily life went by normally.
The kid's attitude towards me seemed to have changed, but it was certainly a change for the better. (Same as chapter 1, Wooju refers to the members/trainees when he says, 'kids')
How should describe I this?
At first, I felt completely like an outsider waiting in front of a sign that read, 'Entry prohibited!', but now I can say it felt like I was allowed to enter onto the fence.
It was a relief that the kids were nice.
However the peacefulness of daily life, which seemed to go on smooth, was shattered when a new incident occurred.
Early December.
While practicing a choreography, the door to the practice room opened. As soon as we saw director Cho Kyuhwan's face, the youngest quickly turned off the MR.
"Hello, director!"
"Oh, okay."
Director Cho Kyuhwan smiled lightly as he was greeted.
"Phew, the smell of sweat. You all must have been practicing really hard. I came down because I had something to tell you. It's not a big deal, so relax."
He held out a paper.
"Your end of the year evaluation assignment has come out."
"Really?"
Everyone gathered next to Kim Bijoo who received the paper. A notice was written on the piece of paper printed in the neat official form.
[2013 JOINT END OF THE YEAR EVALUATION ANNOUNCEMENT]
- LOCATION: Taehwa High school's auditorium
- DATE: Dec 28, 2013 (SAT)
- PARTICIPATING AGENCIES: DNS MEDIA, LEMON ENTERTAINMENT, WHITE ENTERTAINMENT, BIG BROTHER COMPANY, EOULLIM ENTERTAINMENT
- ASSIGNMENT: A performance that combines two different songs into one theme
- Traffic conditions around the day may be confusing, so please inform the parents of the trainees in advance
Unlike those who looked at the notice with a nervous expression, I was spacing out.
What's an end of the year evaluation?
I know about the monthly evaluation though.
If an ordinary high school student takes a mock test every month, idol trainees then take a test called, 'monthly evaluation'.
It's the same that it's still a test, but isn't run by the state.
It's the same that you'll get stressed out depending on your grades.
The difference is that high school students don't get cut off for failing their mock exam, but trainee's contract are immediately terminated if their skills changes for 2-3 months depending on the results of the monthly evaluation.
If it doesn't get better, the life of being a trainee will be thrown away.
When I was in TJ ENTERTAINMENT, there were more than 3 or 4 such evaluations in a month. A small evaluation once every two weeks and a big evaluation conducted on Thursday of every month.
Events vary from time to time.
Sometimes it may say, 'You're weak at high notes, so master this song,' and another time compete with others as teams while being told, 'Make a choreography between you two'.
Perhaps, 'A performance that combines two different songs into one theme' written on the paper was one of those tests.
What I didn't understand is that the end of the month evaluation is conducted publicly.
With other agencies, too.
Can I just think of it as a showcase?
Showcase is a term that refers to a stage for publicity. Like the meaning of the word showcase, to show in advance and see the reactions.
I heard that MOP, one of the four major agencies, will show trainee stages to the general public this way.
'I need information.'
"Yws, sth end of sth year ewarustion? (Yes? The end of the year evaluation?)"
"That's right."
During the break, Wang Jiho, who was chewing on the chocolate bread I bought for him, asked.
"Is this your first end of the year evaluation?"
"I only know about the monthly evaluation."
"Oh, that's because we conduct monthly evaluations with nearby agencies every six months. Among them, December is called the end of the year evaluation."
"It's similar to the MOP showcase."
"It's a little different. In MOP, the general audience is invited. Our end of the year evaluation is conducted by inviting family members or people around us."
"I think ordinary people would be better."
When I shuddered, the youngest agreed, "I know right. I'm so embarrassed when I see my parents while rapping."
Just the thought of singing and dancing in front of my grandma made my hands and feet cringe.
While feeling depressed for the dark future, Jiho munched on the chocolate bread.
"But there's another real reason to do well on the end of the year evaluation."
"What is it?"
"This is between companies, so there's competition. DNS and us are the biggest out there, so there's a sense of rivalry. When we release a girl group, they also release a girl group. That's how the end of the year evaluation goes."
"Is it like a match between Korea and Japan in terms of soccer?"
"It's similar."
Wang Jiho drank milk and continued to talk.
"In addition, we were completely annihilated in June. In soccer terms, should I say it was 7 to 0? The atmosphere was no joke then. The CEO didn't even greet me for a few days."
"Our CEO?"
"You can't believe it? But it was really like that."
"Do we have to win this time?"
"Yep yep."
"But you guys have amazing skills, too. Did DNS do that good?"
"As far as I remember, they did a great job. Maybe it's the people in the debut team this time?"
Wang Jiho showed me the articles he searched on his smartphone.
- 'LA VIE EN ROSE's younger brother group has come out. . . nine member group, 'STREET BOYS'
- DNS MEDIA rookie 'STREET BOYS' debut reality show.
- 'LA VIE EN ROSE' junior group, 'STREET BOYS', debut with a K-NET reality show
Looking at the descriptions, it was a nine member boy group with a hip-hop concept. They're currently filming a reality show scheduled to air on K-NET with the goal of debuting in April.
"Are they our competitors?"
"Yes."
"Why are they filming a reality show even before their debut?"
"Aren't you really jealous? If they do this something like that, the fans will come in."
I also nodded.
From the general public's point of view, it's a program with a ratings of 0.1%, but it was different for idols. Like for the four major agencies, it would be difficult to know if the recognition was created to be exported on or not, but for small and medium-sized idols, it was a big deal if they could gain recognition.
I touched the youngest's arm looking at the Internet articles with envious eyes.
"Let's go in. The kids must be waiting."
"Hyung."
It was a so-called operational meeting. A discussion on how to prepare for the end of the year evaluation task, 'A performance that combines two different songs into one theme'.
"Last time, the DNS kids came out in hip hop. Should we go with a strong concept too?"
"Hyung, there are four rappers in the other team. You're the only rapper we have. Even with the two of us are together, we'll be crack apart."
"I don't necessarily think that way. Junghyun has a point."
Kim Bijoo said.
"We have to go with a strong concept too. If we go with a soft concept like last time, we'll be eaten up."
"Well. If we fight head-on, we'll be at a disadvantage."
"Hey, you have to be manly."
"This is not an easy problem."
There was a calm debate as arguments slowly come and go.
There was always the stage of discussing the concept of the song before picking out the song. The three actively express their opinions as the youngest and I waited and watched to see the situation.
Unlike the youngest who was looking at his hyungs and playing with his cell phone, without thinking, I was engross in my thoughts.
Anyway, I don't think that was it. It seemed like they were are all making the wrong guess.
* * *
- DNS's kids. . .
- With the concept that DNS did last time. . .
- We need to be overwhelmed by the vocals of DNS. . .
Was the defeat in the first half that painful?
Just like the members said, DNS MEDIA appeared everywhere.
This wasn't something you can do by fighting. It felt like the end of the year evaluation was treated as a kind of survival. A war in which you have to defeat your rival and win.
If it were the usual, they might not have been engross in such thoughts.
However, the fact that families are coming to visit and the painful defeat of last time has reinforce the idea of, 'we have to do better than the other side'.
That was passed onto me as well.
Nevertheless, the reason why I kept silent was because of my years of experience.
Simply I had the longest terms of experience, but it was difficult to give a response since I joined LEMON ENTERTAINMENT less than 2 weeks ago.
It could said as if like a newly appointed company commander was involved in the discussions with the chief sergeants.
"Hyung, we have to make a decision quickly."
Seo Rihyuk says as he taps the floor.
"It means that it'll takes more time to arrange the song." (they'll need a lot of time to make the song, so that's why they should hurry up and decide)
"The director didn't arrange the song?"
"The director and engineers are all busy because they're working on Yoon Chanhyuk seonbaenim's album." (seonbaenim is used to refer to senior colleagues)
"It's has to be done by ourself."
"If we make the choreography here, the actual practice time will be about two weeks."
"Then let's decide."
"Whatever you do, I like everything."
The other three pairs of eyes were directed at me.
"I have an opinion."
"Really? Anything is fine, so tell us."
". . .I'm a little sorry to say this, but I don't think the way you guys are doing it right now is right, it's weird."
Suddenly the mood became quiet.
A thorn was buried in Seo Rihyuk's voice who gently gathered his eyes.
"What's weird?"
"From what I heard, most of them are only talking about what DNS will do."
"So what?"
"It's important to win against a rival, but this is not a survival program. I think we should consider the nature of the stage."
There wasn't a very favorable response.
Expressions like, 'What do you know' pass over several of their faces, but it couldn't be help. If it continue to go on like this, it would have flowed in a strange direction and we'll be ruined.
"I think the audience should come first."
"Audience?"
"The reason we're on stage in the first place is because it's fun and our goal is to entertain the audience."
The goal of all entertainers is to entertain the public.
"I think we should analyze the audience's tendencies first before selecting a performance theme or song."
I've been thinking about that a lot since I was a kid.
What should I do to increase the sales of my grandmother's Baekban restaurant?
In order to run a food business, you have to think about what nearby commercial districts are like, what food people eat these days, and what the customers are like.
That was the gist of the story that I wanted to tell them.
Let's not sell steamed monkfish because the next door's steamed monkfish is good, but let's think about the customers who are coming to the store first.
Kim Bi-joo smiled.
"That makes sense."
"It makes sense."
Seo Rihyuk's sharp eyes turned towards me.
"But it's a fleeting story. Who among the people here doesn't know how to entertain the audience? What's important is the concrete alternative."
"I also have an idea."
"Really? Then please tell us."
I told them my plan.
It was an idea that came to mind when I first heard the theme. A stage that can satisfy the audience while making use of our charm.
The reactions were different.
"I like your idea too."
"It's fine, but wouldn't it be ambiguous? It's either all or nothing."
"As long as the rap part is guaranteed, I'm okay."
"It's too difficult. I like the idea, but it will take two weeks to arrange this. Among us, Junghyun and I are the only ones who know how to arrange songs."
"It'll only take a day or two."
"That's nonsense-"
"Do you want to make a bet with me?"
Rihyuk hesitated for a moment.
"A bet?"
"Yeah. If I can't finish the arrangement by midnight of tomorrow, I'll treat you to snacks for a week."
"Wow, really?"
The youngest, who had been still like a wooden stone so far, opened his eyes wide.
Junghyun and Bijoo looked at the scene as if they were interested, but seemed tempted to hear that it was snacks for a week.
I showed a gentle smile to Rihyuk, who was hesitating wondering what kind of trap this was.
"It's a bet with you having nothing to lose anyway."
"What are the condition?"
"Huh?"
"What do you want hyung?"
"It's simple." I answered, "If I win, let me plan the end of the year evaluation performance as I want."
". . ."
"It's a bet that you won't lose anything anyway. Don't you think so?"
"Right, it's a bet with nothing to lose."
The youngest was blinded and sold on the snacks while the high school seniors quietly watched what Rihyuk would do.
Soon after, Rihyuk who had been thinking about it for awhile replied.
"Okay."
Seeing that, I smiled.
As expected, the strategy of crouching and waiting does not fit my personality.
If the situation has already arose, I would lead the way.
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