LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 95
Chapter 95
On the very day Director Joo Yeol-um joined SID.
CEO Ban Ga-eul gathered the trainees and staff for a meeting.
“We need to decide on a group name first. We had something previously, but it doesn’t quite fit the current image, so I got new suggestions.”
Though it was unclear what the previous name was, the relief on the staff and trainees’ faces was apparent.
‘This person’s naming sense is not great.’
One staff member asked,
“Got new suggestions? From whom?”
“A fortune teller.”
“…What?”
Everyone was dumbfounded.
Despite the blatant awkwardness, CEO Ban Ga-eul nonchalantly waved his hand.
“I understand your reactions, as I’m not someone who believes in superstitions, but this person is quite reliable. Even businesspeople and politicians often seek them out.”
“So, what did the fortune teller say?”
Director Joo Yeol-um asked, seemingly intrigued by the mention of businesspeople and politicians.
“Our kids are going to do well.”
“That sounds like just a sales pitch.”
“They won’t just do well, they’ll hit it big.”
“CEO… how much did you pay for this?”
“……”
“CEO?”
The staff’s reaction was extremely cold as CEO Ban Ga-eul waved his hand with a forced laugh.
“I paid with my own money, so don’t worry. Anyway, names related to the sea are said to bring good luck.”
The sea, suddenly?
“So, I came up with a few in advance.”
As CEO Ban Ga-eul listed the group names he had thought of, the faces of the staff, including mine, turned pale.
“So, Kraken, which implies expanding into various fields like an octopus… Geoce, which means charging ahead fiercely like a shark… right?”
Might as well just call it Jaws.
Geoce, really.
It was oddly petty.
CEO Ban Ga-eul had a few more names in mind, but they weren’t worth mentioning.
“……”
“Why, don’t you like them?”
This was bad.
Fortunately, CEO Ban Ga-eul, despite his lack of sense, was flexible and didn’t insist on his terrible names.
If he had insisted on those fish market-like names, I would have shredded the contract as soon as I received it.
“Aren’t they good? Kraken… Geoce…”
“CEO, please stick to scouting and working on songs. Don’t get involved in other planning.”
Hearing the CEO’s words, who seemed still attached to his names, Director Joo Yeol-um cut him off firmly.
“We trust Director Joo.”
Betrayed by his trusted staff, CEO Ban Ga-eul downed his coffee.
His usually gentle expression twisted into a grimace, indicating that it must have been too bitter to drink all at once.
“But you can’t give up on the sea theme, right?”
“The sea is crucial. The fortune teller said they saw our kids crossing the sea to open new horizons.”
New horizons.
Just hearing it sounded grand and impressive.
The result being Kraken and Jaws, though.
Anyway, respecting the CEO’s effort in paying an unknown amount for a hint of the name, the staff started offering various opinions.
The sea motif itself wasn’t bad.
“Isn’t there something like that? Someone who sings so well they captivate everyone. Ah, Siren!”
“Isn’t that a female monster?”
“Can’t do that. Our kids are boys and not monsters. Where would you find such handsome monsters?”
For some reason, Gyun Seong-ha blushed.
“What about Dolphin, to suggest a friendly image like a dolphin?”
“Are you close to dolphins, Yu-rim?”
“Not really, but they’re cute, right?”
“How about Sea Pearl, meaning to become a team as precious as pearls?”
“Are you serious?”
“Wow, you guys can’t criticize me anymore.”
As CEO Ban Ga-eul laughed, Director Joo Yeol-um, who initially seemed unable to adapt to the overly relaxed atmosphere, began to enjoy the situation.
The only ones not enjoying it were the trainees, who had their future group name hanging on this unfunny banter for the next seven years.
With each bizarre name, Gyun Seong-ha’s face turned alternately blue and red.
“I think Sea Pearl is okay…”
“Didn’t we dismiss that idea earlier?”
“Who just cursed?”
“No, I didn’t curse. Someone said Sea-Pearl.”
In the end, no name that everyone could agree on emerged immediately, so CEO Ban Ga-eul tasked the staff with thinking of one name each by the next day, ending the meeting.
Thus, the staff returned to work, and the trainees resumed their practice.
“Right now, Geoce, which the CEO mentioned first, seems pretty good.”
Having been tossed around by all kinds of names in a short time, Kang Ji-woo spoke nonsense in a calm voice.
Then Ban Yo-han, looking horrified as if hearing something terrible, said,
“Get a grip. It’s obviously Jaws. Unless you want to stake the group’s future on a shark bar commercial, forget that monstrosity and find a better name.”
Every word he said was true.
* * *
Having just finished an insane level of dance practice, I sprawled out in the practice room, panting.
“You guys, no, you all didn’t practice this hard before… What’s this…?”
Is there a harsher, more aggressive term than ‘hard’?
I’m exhausted to the point of vomiting. I’d rather die than do this again.
Anyway, their practice was no joke.
Much more intense than when I used to sneak in and join them.
Seo Moon-gyeol, who brought me a cool glass of water, spoke casually while worrying about me, who didn’t even have the strength to lift a finger.
“We always practiced like this.”
“That’s right. I suggested to the CEO that we take it easy while you were here, partly as a vacation, so you wouldn’t run away if we pushed you too hard. At the time, the overall condition of the guys wasn’t great, so it was a good opportunity to rest.”
Kang Ji-woo, who looked less exhausted than I was, grinned and continued after Ban Yo-han.
“Just know that we were serious enough to go to any lengths to bring you to our company.”
“We even go hiking with some staff members every weekend, picking up trash along the way. You’ll be coming this weekend too.”
“We were going to do it while you were here, but Ban Yo-han said you’d never join our company if you knew about such a culture, so we took a break while you were here.”
“Actually, it was partly because I didn’t want to go. Who wants to go hiking on a nice weekend?”
“Haha, you think I didn’t know that?”
Ban Yo-han and Kang Ji-woo, annoyingly in sync, fanned the flames alternately.
They thought they had already caught the fish.
I was furious.
“Swindlers…”
“I told you, you’re too good-natured to survive in this deceitful 21st century.”
Ban Yo-han mocked me.
“My contract isn’t in Korea yet. I haven’t even moved into the dorm. This contract is void.”
“Ah, coming in is up to you, but leaving isn’t.”
“That’s right. Accept it and settle in.”
Is this not just a gullible company but a gang pretending to be naive?
I didn’t know whether to be touched that they wanted me so much or to feel betrayed that the company was a den of foxes.
Swallowing my tears and curses, I designated my physical strength, a stat certified as the worst in efficiency, as my burning stat.
I had to survive first.
* * *
After finishing all the practice, the dorm I returned to after a long time hadn’t changed much since I left.
As soon as I took off my shoes and stepped inside, a system window popped up.
[Would you like to designate SID Entertainment’s trainee dorm as your official dorm?]
[Y/N]
I firmly pressed Y.
[SID Entertainment’s trainee dorm has been designated as your official dorm.]
[A dorm buff has been applied to you and your roommates. (Roommates: Kang Ji-woo, Gyun Seong-ha, Ban Yo-han, Seo Moon-gyeol)]
[With the dorm buff effect, your stamina increases by 10% as long as you consider this place your dorm, and fatigue recovery rate increases by 50% when sleeping in general mode at the dorm.]
It was a subtly beneficial effect.
I switched my sleep mode to general mode.
For now, we decided to use the rooms as before.
Gyun Seong-ha and Seo Moon-gyeol took the small room, and I shared the big room with Kang Ji-woo and Ban Yo-han.
“I’ll shower first, okay?”
“……”
Gyun Seong-ha, who made eye contact with me, simply replied, “Do as you like,” and went into his room.
* * *
The night I left this dorm, all kinds of thoughts swirled in my head, keeping me up all night.
But tonight, as soon as my head hit the pillow, I fell asleep.
Then, at some point, I felt a bright light and opened my eyes.
‘…Desert?’
No matter where I looked, gold-like sand was piled up like mountains, sparkling.
The sun was so intense, but my soles didn’t feel hot; they only felt coarse and ticklish, confirming it was a dream.
It had been a long time since I had a dream, and this was my first lucid dream.
I wanted to move somewhere, but my feet were buried in the sand and wouldn’t budge.
While my feet couldn’t move, at least my arms and neck could move freely.
Just as I was feeling a bit hopeless, wondering if I had to stand there until I woke up, something enormous erupted from the sand.
Grains of sand sprayed like a fountain.
Wow. I was amazed.
‘Flying whale…’
The era of ducks flying was over.
The trend was flying whales now.
I didn’t quite understand this nonsense myself, but it was true that a giant whale was magnificently soaring through the air.
To describe the species in detail… it was as large as a blue whale, but even the parts that should be black were white, making it a bit confusing.
It looked like an orca.
The entirely white orca swam freely through the air and on the ground.
I wasn’t scared of being eaten by this gigantic creature because the song it sang was gentle.
Every time the massive sea creature swam through the sand that flowed like a river or ocean, a grand and majestic melody, unbound by reality, echoed.
When it rose back into the sky and lightly flicked its tail, the golden sand stuck to it scattered, making a clear, whistling sound.
As the melody changed, the white part of the orca’s back was dyed as if transparent paint had been poured into clear water.
Simultaneously, the sky was colored with the same hues, exponentially increasing the sense of beauty.
A feeling that touched upon mystery and wonder.
I was utterly overwhelmed by this fantastic moment that could only be realized in a dream.