Debut or Die

I overheard the conversation between the manager and Keun Sejin.

‘Let’s not expect anything.’

The new higher-up probably also had a great mindset like the former director.

In any case, Testar’s results were good when he became the director, so wouldn’t the company send a similar guy again?

However, this expectation was broken in a good way.

“…A payment bot?”

“That’s right! It seems he’s trying to save profit because he’s about to retire.”

What I heard from the people at the company, Director Lee didn’t interfere or pushed on projects, and he just let the staff do whatever they wanted.

‘…Come to think of it, no one said he’s calling us.’

Usually, they would ask to see the faces of the singers, but such a thing didn’t happen.

I didn’t think he was going to be this nice for a long time, but it wasn’t bad for now. Because it was more comfortable for a superior I didn’t know to shout ok than to get motivated.

However, one big project was dropped into us due to this influence.

“A concert…”

“Finally, we’re preparing for our solo performance.”

As the overdue large-scale approval was approved one by one, the concert date was finally set.

But here was another problem.

“…Isn’t the date for March a little ambiguous?”

Right.

It was perfect for the start of the semester, the start of the school season… The date was caught during a season when anyone would not have enough time to go to a performance.

…Originally, they were going to aim for a special event at the beginning of the year, but the company was apparently so chaotic at the time that they couldn’t properly rent it.

I didn’t know if I should say it was a relief, but thanks to this delay, reparations for the rental of performance equipment were already completed.

Fortunately, the members soon relieved their anxiety about the date.

“But since it’s the weekend, won’t there be quite a lot of people who want to come?”

“T-There will be fans who have a good time…!”

“It will be nice if a lot of people come!”

“I want to prepare well and show them a good performance.”

The atmosphere flared up.

‘…And there are three months left.’

Well, I had seen some singers who took more than half a year to prepare a concert, but three months wasn’t too bad.

‘Realistically, half a year ago, it was impossible to make a preparation because only our debut song just gotten released.’

It would be a bit of a tough job, but I thought I could handle it well since it wasn’t during my activity period.

…Just as I thought about this, a new proposal was dropped to the staff.

“Why don’t you present your first performance of your new song at your first concert?”

“…Are we making a comeback in March?”

“Isn’t it a little too much?”

It was too much.

I wondered if they had forgotten what they had gone through when we had to release our debut album within a month.

…But surprisingly, an answer that made sense followed.

“But in order to fill the concert set list, we have to pick a few new songs, so wouldn’t it be nice if it is Testar’s song instead of a cover of another singer’s song?”

“…Um, yes.”

“Besides, almost all the songs in this album have already been released, so we only have to work on the title track.”

They were right.

Actually, this comeback… It was our first full-length album.

So in order to put more effort, when I was working on the previous album, I had already selected half of the songs for the next album in advance.

Since then, I had been working on it in my spare time.

“Music video shooting and stuff like that have to be filmed on a concert VCR anyway, so I think we can do it according to the schedule… The concept photo can also be adjusted for the concert.”

“…”

Cost and time savings.

And it would be nice to have a concept for the concert. If the concept of the first full-length album was related to the concert, it would have a mutual promotion effect and the fans would enjoy it.

As a result, excluding the staff and the singers, everyone would be happy.

‘I’m going crazy.’

Sure enough, Kim Raebin, who had been listening quietly next to me, was trying to raise his hand as a sign of agreement.

The rabbit meat voluntarily went into the fire pit like no other.

Ryu Chungwoo cleared up the situation for now.

“Is it okay if we discuss it between ourselves and talk to you about it again?”

“Yes, yes, but please tell me by tomorrow.”

And there was nothing to decide until tomorrow.

Because the conclusion was reached in the company’s practice room.

Surprisingly, it was unanimous.

“We want to try working on it.”

“Ah, well thought out!”

The company was delighted.

And the members… It was obvious that their faces were saying ‘If I have done it once, I can do it again’.

It was the damage caused by the good results from the previous crazy schedule.

‘Even Bae Sejin is corrupted.’

After changing the year-end stage within a week once, it seemed that this side had also begun to gain experience.

* * *

Soon after, the company sent me a draft of the concert’s set list.

Ryu Chungwoo quickly briefed us.

“Our title tracks and all the b-sides included… Even if you include the b-side songs in the fan song, we only have 10 songs.”

“Hmm~ You need at least 20 songs for a concert, right?”

“In fact, we have less than 20 songs. Shouldn’t we add more?”

“T-That’s right.”

The set list, with empty songs here and there, was still lacking.

“First of all, even if we add two songs from the new album, we will have to add the remaining eight songs.”

A plan to include songs that didn’t have choreography from the new album was also considered, but they rejected it because they wanted more performance songs.

I was speechless seeing these guys voluntarily cutting off the sections where they could take a breather.

‘I’m going to collapse at this rate.’

Fortunately, I remembered the company’s suggestion.

“I asked them to include some of our unit songs, let’s fill them in for now.”

In this way, we would have a semi-forceful break while the members took turns.

Besides, the company seemed to be drawing a bigger picture.

“Ah, you said you’re going to film your own content with that, right?”

Right. We would edit the process of dividing and preparing the unit stage and then upload it on WeTube like a variety show.

And after the concert was over, we planned to upload the unit stage like a choreography video.

“Then, let’s think about the remaining five songs without those three songs. Does anyone have a song you want to sing?”

“Me!”

“M-Me too…!”

And after a fierce battle, five songs were selected.

Thanks to Bae Sejin, who exercised his right to remain silent, and Ryu Chungwoo, who chose to yield, the process went smoothly.

“Then I’ll put it up like this for now.”

“Yes!”

So, the company confirmed the set list by revising a few orders after asking ‘Is it really okay like this?’ about ten times.

However, I still felt uncertain, and I heard that the VCR time was set for a long time.

‘…I guess I’ll have to work harder on cardio.’

Looking at the response of the staff, I was strongly convinced that the concert would be extremely difficult.

And after spending several days deciding on the title and concept of the new album.

A camera came into the dorm for the first time in a long while.

It was right to shoot the scene of dividing the unit concert stage.

But the method was unique.

“What day is it today?”

“The day we change roommates~”

It was because we decided to change our roommates and perform on stage with suitable matches.

‘…It’s like an Idol Inc’s team match.’

They said if you stare into the abyss, the abyss stares back at you, but it seemed everyone was already corrupted.

Well, to be honest, it was unexpected and fun. I could feel that these guys were confident that they could do well with anyone.

“Let’s say goodbye to our dear roommates! Aigoo, hyung-nim and dongsaeng~”

Holding a cue card, Keun Sejin proceeded to hug Cha Eugene and Ryu Chungwoo while brazenly pretending to weep.

It was an atmosphere full of intense skits.

Swept away by this atmosphere, Kim Raebin politely said farewell to Seon Ahyeon.

“Thank you so much for always responding to my noisy work with a generous and gentle attitude. I hope we can share a room together next time.”

“I-I am really grateful! A-And it was nice to hear you working. Your song was nice…!”

It was a harmonious, but extremely formal image.

The two seemed to get along well and had good feelings, but it looked like they had failed to get close openly.

I also said farewell to Bae Sejin.

“I think we were good roommates because we have similar lifestyles, but it’s too bad.”

“…Indeed. It would be nice to stay that way.”

As Bae Sejin spoke, his eyes were subtly directed at Cha Eugene. I felt like I would get a stomach ache just at the thought of staying together with him.

‘…There’s no way, right?’

It shouldn’t be.

I ended the conversation by shaking hands with Bae Sejin and assimilating his thoughts.

“Okay then, let’s meet our new roommates!”

“Wow!”

After the clichéd applause passed by, Keun Sejin smiled and took out the prepared props from behind.

“This roommate system is… It’s card flipping!”

“Oh!”

“Do you see the number on the back? It’s the room number! Those with the same number will share the room together~”

Keun Sejin shuffled the cards. Perhaps he had played this game before, he moved as he was familiar with it.

Then, seven sheets were turned upside down on the floor.

“Now, everyone here chooses the card they want~”

“OK!”

“All right!”

Whoever chose the card first was decided by a casual karaoke scoring game.

“Y-Yes!”

In fact, the order of the card selection didn’t matter at all, so rather than the game, everyone was focused on picking out the amount of footage for content.

And the score was completely meaningless.

“First place is… Cha Eugene who scored 100 points!”

“Oh!”

Because the person who won first place was the guy who accidentally selected a song he didn’t know and just made it all up.

“Now, pick a card!”

“Yes!”

“Then… Oh! It’s number one!”

Anyway, starting with Cha Eugene, each person proceeded to pull a card.

And I… Surprisingly, I was in the same room with Bae Sejin again.

“Oh, Bae Sejin hyung-nim’s room number is… Number three! It’s the same room as Moondae~”

“…!!”

Bae Sejin clenched his hands tightly, then cleared his throat as if he was embarrassed.

“Hmph, then… I look forward to your kind cooperation.”

“Of course.”

In fact, I also avoided Cha Eugene and felt the same way, so I had nothing to say.

But the problem was number three.

Just like when we first decided on the roommates in the reality show, number 3 was a room for three people.

And the remaining lineup was…Keun Sejin and Seon Ahyeon.

“Ah~ we are the only ones left!”

“R-Right.”

“Okay, then I’ll pick first-“

Keun Sejin, who got to pick first, put his hand on the remaining cards as if he was agonizing.

Then he slipped his hand down and put his hand on the other card.

“…!”

Wait, this bastard….

“I’ll take this one! Ahyeon-ssi, shall we turn it over together?”

“O-Okay!”

“Then… one, two, three!”

Keun Sejin and Seon Ahyeon flipped the card.

The result was…

“Oooh!”

“Hey! Eugene! Please take good care of me again!”

Keun Sejin picked number one, Cha Eugene’s room.

And naturally, the one who picked number 3 was… Seon Ahyeon.

Seon Ahyeon showed the card with a broad smile.

“… ! T-Take good care of me! I will leave it up to you!”

“Yes, let’s get along well.”

Bae Sejin’s face instantly relaxed. It seemed he was satisfied with this room assignment.

I also added.

“It’s been a while since we shared a room.”

“Y-Yeah!”

Seon Ahyeon quickly joined the people of room number three, holding the card tightly.

“Well, then, we have a surprise announcement for Loviewers! What will it be?”

Members laughed and added drum rolls.

“Da-dum-da-dum!”

Keun Sejin lifted the cue card.

“This time, we’re going to perform a unit stage with our roommates!”

“Please look forward to it!”

As prepared, the members enthusiastically waved their hands toward the camera.

That was how the shoot in the living room ended.

“Whoo!”

“Then let’s move our luggage first~”

The members immediately started to move their luggage to the new room.

But the guy who was usually the first to dash did something different.

He took the card from the floor of the living room.

“Ah! Here it is.”

“Yes, thank you~”

Keun Sejin organized the cards, arranged them into the original box, and handed them over to the staff.

Then, when he saw me still staying in the living room, he smiled and talked to me.

“Moondae, aren’t you going to move your luggage?”

“…I am going.”

I followed Keun Sejin to the hallway.

And I thought.

‘You did something there.’

He had avoided number three on purpose.