Chapter 126

Chapter 126

So he intends to just focus on dancing and give it all he’s got. I could understand where he was coming from. The sub-unit performances at the upcoming concert were going to be promoted as exclusive WeTube content and the company was even planning on posting videos filmed at said concert.

This meant it would draw a lot of attention from the fans. If he really outperformed Cha Eugene in this, nobody would ever accuse him of being not up for the role ever again. But I wasn’t sure if what he was proposing was possible.

“What if... we gave you the dance breaks in the album instead?”

“Haha. No matter how well I do... people will just say Ahyeon or Eugene should have gotten it,” Big Sejin argued immediately. It seemed as though he’d been thinking about the situation for quite a long time.

Even so, going head-to-head with Eugene doesn’t seem like a good idea... It wasn’t that Big Sejin’s stats were bad exactly.

Status window.

I decided to take a look at Big Sejin’s status window for the first time in a while.

[Name: Lee Sejin]

Singing: C+ (B+)

Dancing: A (S)

Physical attractiveness: A- (A+)

Charm: A- (A+)

Trait: Quiet, Please (B)

Status abnormality:

Big Sejin’s stats were impressive. His growth was made all the more obvious since his charm stat had reached A during the awards ceremony season.

His stats are strong enough that he stands out wherever he goes. The problem was that they were slightly lower than Cha Eugene’s all around, with the exception of singing, where he was equal to Eugene.

Things would be better, perhaps, if one or two of his stats were actually higher, but as it stood... it wasn’t looking good for him.

Eugene will eat him alive in most scenarios. His charm stat was currently at S- now, and he had a stupidly powerful trait called Black Hole. He wasn’t the kind of performer who had good synergy with others, either—he simply dominated everyone else. Not even I liked the idea of performing alone with Eugene, even though my role was completely different.

People would start saying Moondog is still clumsy as hell. I’d invested a lot of points into my dancing stat, but all of that would be rendered completely pointless up against Eugene.

I held back a sigh and looked Big Sejin in the eye. “Look, I’ll be honest with you.”

“Okay.”

“Whether it’s you, Seon Ahyeon, or anyone else for that matter, I doubt anyone could outshine Cha Eugene in a one-on-one comparison. That’s probably already occurred to you as well.”

It would no doubt have turned out better for him if he’d joined room three and picked a role well-suited to his strengths. But he’d picked Cha Eugene... which meant that he had a lot of greed and fear motivating his need to prove himself. He stared down at the van floor, looking disappointed.

“You think I don’t even stand a chance?”

“I think... you should approach this from a different angle, rather than trying to beat him head-on.” I could think of one scenario that had the potential to work out, given the circumstances. “Just concentrate on making the performance itself incredible, so people won’t even feel the need to compare the two of you.”

They needed to be so impressive that everyone would talk about nothing but how good their subunit was.

“And if you can do that while managing to hold your own, everyone’s opinion of your dancing will improve for sure.” It would be difficult, but more realistic than trying to win against Eugene in a duet performance. “You have to force him to work with you on stage.”

“Right...” Big Sejin said, nodding calmly. He was clasping his hands so tightly, however, that his knuckles were bone white.

They’re shaking, too. I’d never seen him so nervous and agitated, even leading up to the finals of Idol Inc.

He’s treating this almost like when that school bullying rumor popped up. This reaction was excessive, wasn’t it?

“Is there something else going on?” I asked.

“What?”

“The things people are saying about you? They’re not even the majority opinion. It’s just haters talking sh*t, is all. You must know that, but you still seem really anxious.”

He was quiet for a while, then laughed hollowly. “I never thought I’d tell you this... Hey, do you know why I was cut from the group I was going to debut with? Because they couldn’t assign me a clear position.”

“Huh?!”

“Just before debut, a guy whose parents were both actors joined the agency. He was already pretty well-known, so they wanted him on the team... but management decided they only wanted seven members. So what did they have to do? One of us had to be cut.

“There was a better dancer on my team, a younger guy, someone who was better looking, a better singer, and a rapper. The leader couldn’t be cut, of course, and that left me—the only one that was disposable.”

Big Sejin slapped his hands against his thighs decisively. “That’s why I was forced to leave the team. What else could I have done in that situation? That’s why I can’t just sit around. What if the rumors spread, and suddenly the group doesn’t need me anymore? That would be... hilarious. I might even end up with the worst deal come contract renewal time. Ugh, what am I even saying?” He worried his lip, bowing his head. Apparently, he’d never confessed any of these fears to anyone before.

This sort of conversation definitely needs a drink or two to wash it down. I came into our talk with a clear head, but just listening to him was making my head spin.

The situation makes sense now, at least. The experience of almost debuting had clearly left an impact on him. It was clearly because of this, and not from a simple desire for more screen time, that he’d been so attached to the idea of positions like leader or main dancer.

How am I supposed to react, though? He’d had a lot to say, and I wasn’t sure how to respond. There was nothing I could say that would fix what had happened to him in the past. I wasn’t very good at consoling people, either.

Can’t be helped. I’ll just give him the positive facts like I always do. Beating back the urge to sigh yet again, I spoke. “Well... All mention of roles aside... our team needs you.”

“For what? Variety shows?”

“No, to cut through the sh*t.” This was sad but true. “As you know, half our team doesn’t possess tact and more than that are too easily hurt. Consider what would have happened to them without you.”

He stared at me silently, clearly thinking. Maybe he was considering everything from the rush a month before our debut to the recent Onyx incident. He eventually shook his head. “You were the one who came up with most of the solutions. I doubt anything would have been all that different.”

“Yeah well, about that... I only ever went for it because you were there to help.”

“What?”

“I knew that you’d have my back if anything I suggested was truly useful.” I felt a little embarrassed saying it out loud. Clearing my throat, I continued, “Chungwoo is the leader, of course, but I think you’re the best team player. It’s very rare to find someone capable of holding their own in any situation, be it on the stage, on TV, within the team, or outside it...”

It was time to wrap this conversation up.

“An all-rounder like you is necessary in every idol group. Just saying.”

Having listened to all this, he pressed his lips together, turning his head the other way.

Don’t tell me he’s crying. I sincerely hoped he wasn’t. That would really make things weird.

Only moments later, Big Sejin finally exploded. Not into tears, but laughter. “Hahaha! You’re dying inside right now, aren’t you?”

“Did you just... laugh at me?”

“Pfft! You’d have laughed in my position, too! Someone like you, trying his best to console someone!”

Goddamn it, after all the effort I put into complimenting him! He stopped laughing before I could smack him with my neck pillow.

“Hahaha! Really... Phew. I get it. It’s funny, but I feel better, too. You’re pretty impressive.” He grinned, then suddenly crossed his arms, muttering with an exaggerated sulky tone. “But there’s no point if the fans don’t know how amazing I am, is there? Maybe I should take over the position of leader?”

Don’t package your real wishes as a joke, you bastard. I tried to keep my cool. “Most people know already, I’d wager. You’re worried more fans will start thinking like the antis, but... I think you’re in a better position in the long run.”

“Yeah?”

“Sure. The longer you’re an idol, the more obvious it will become that you have no weaknesses.”

This was a trend I’d noticed when I was still selling fancams. When groups began to suffer dips in popularity, it was people like Big Sejin, the all-rounders, who managed to stay afloat surprisingly well.

Big Sejin didn’t seem to believe me entirely, but he smiled and nodded. “Right... I’ll try to keep that in mind so I can put on a killer performance!”

He seemed to mean this, at least. In any case, he seemed to have reached some kind of internal decision, so his trait was likely to kick in.

[Quiet, Please (B)]

: No buts!

Drive +100%

I’d been surprised by his special trait, since based on his personality and the trait name, I’d assumed it probably had something to do with public opinion.

This suits him, too. It probably applied to himself just as much as everyone else. He would need to take such a stance with Eugene while preparing for the sub-unit performance.

He’ll coax everything he needs out of Cha Eugene. I wondered how effective his trait would be.

“I’ll get going now. You come back up when you’ve sorted yourself out.”

“You solved everything for me, obviously. I’ll go up with you!”

He stretched, preparing to climb out of the van. Seeing his hands waving around in the air reminded me of how he’d gone out of his way to pick out the card he’d wanted.

“Come to think of it, how did you mark the cards?”

“Huh?”

“When you picked the card to choose your sub-unit.”

“Oh. What! Wait a second.” Big Sejin snickered. “Hey, I didn’t mark any of the cards. I was feeling the cards, and I just happened to remember one of them had a scratch on the backside. I guess I’m just too smart for my own good, huh?”

I supposed it was a good thing he hadn’t premeditated it to that degree, but I still felt pretty pissed off for some reason.

Big Sejin laughed as we walked to the waiting room. He turned to me, adopting a more serious tone, when we reached the entrance. “In that case... I’m even more grateful. You thought I’d marked the cards, but you were still willing to hear me out.”

“Buy me beef if the concert is a success.”

He guffawed. “Fine. And not just any beef. It’ll be premium Korean beef.”

“Sure.”

“And you can tell me if anything ever bothers you, too.”

If anything bothers me? I pictured myself telling him about my situation. I would probably be put on a forced hiatus and told to see a therapist. This advice, I’d have to ignore.

“Sure. If anything comes up.”

“Wow! So you’ve been doing good so far, then!”

He laughed and went inside. One of the managers had figured out what was going on. Noticing Big Sejin was back to his usual self, he gave me a subtle thumbs up.

He can still see you. Regardless, the rest of our time in the waiting room was uneventful. None of the members even glanced at the Xyrop members, except for Raebin.

TeSTAR took home the fourth quarter’s bonsang and the Rookie of the Year award that day.

“Thank you so much! It’s been 200 days since our debut as of last week...”

As I waited for Big Sejin to finish delivering his smooth speech, I finally got the pop-up I’d been waiting for.

[Award Received!]

You’ve won the Rookie of the Year award from the most reputable awards ceremony of all—public opinion!

Time cap: Satisfied (Perfect)

Status Abnormality: “Receive an Award or Die” removed!

: Reveal the Truth ☜ Click!