LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 98
Chapter 98
The reaction to the long-awaited reveal of the complete group, which had been anticipated with consistent praise for the trainees, was enthusiastic.
– What… What… Where do these insanely handsome guys suddenly pop out from to target my bank account… Sister is so happy…
– Wow, there’s not a single visual hole among them,,,God-seed,,,
– Seongha? This kid is my type ㅠㅠ He still looks boyish, but his frame is sophisticated, and he looks like an actor, so I’m excited for when he becomes an adult.
┗ 222 I expect mature vibes in 4~5 years.
– Now I see why Joo Yeoleum picked Seed.
┗ Seriously, Joo Summer is so picky about visuals.
– As a non-fan, I think this lineup is way better than Break’s.
┗ What’s this?
┗ It’s a fact thoughㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
– When they said it was a five-member group, I thought they were just relying on the boss, but they’ve really gathered only the ace-level members.
– What small company? Nowadays, even big agencies have a hard time showing such a lineup for boy groups, but Seed managed this..?
– Jiwoo: Handsomely kind and pure
Yohan: Handsomely bright and soft
Gyeol: Handsomely glamorous and delicate
Seongha: Handsomely strong and sharp
Raon: On Raon
Their styles are all different, but their faces harmonize really well, and there’s no visual barrier to entry, which is amazing. From today, I’ll bury my bones in Seed.
┗ On Raon is just On Raon, it’s hilarious but true, On Raon is On Raon.
– Other members have top-tier visuals that would make them the best in any other group, but unfortunately, they’re in the same group as On Raon…
┗ On Raon’s visuals in the last broadcast were killer… (picture) His face is a blessing, grace, and the future.
Thanks to Kang Jiwoo paving the way earlier, even the lesser-known Gyeon Seongha was received relatively comfortably.
* * *
[On Raon, Ban Yo-han, Seo Moon-gyeol return as ‘ORCA’ instead of ‘BOS’]
(picture)
Seed Entertainment has started gearing up for the debut of their new boy group, Orca.
Ban Yo-han, Seo Moon-gyeol, and On Raon, who performed well on ‘Pick Your Heart Season 3’, along with trusted vocalist Kang Jiwoo, the runner-up of ‘Voice of Heaven’, swimmer Gyeon Yoo-seong, and his brother, child actor Gyeon Ha-ram, currently a third-year practical dance student at Halla Performing Arts High School, have been confirmed as debut members.
(omitted)
Seed Entertainment stated, “We decided to reveal the debut group members earlier than planned to keep the fans waiting for the trainees’ news. However, we will carefully establish and sequentially announce specific activity plans and ask for warm attention to our precious trainees.”
(rest omitted)
* * *
Naturally, the fans, the staff, and even we had a lot of unspoken worries since Kang Jiwoo and Gyeon Seongha might have seemed like they suddenly fell from the sky.
Fortunately, the promotional team staff hinted that the reaction to the two was quite positive, allowing us to face various lessons and practices with a much more relaxed mindset.
We also heard that, to avoid competing with Breaker, who was highly likely to win the Rookie of the Year award this year, they aimed for a debut around the fourth quarter of this year to target next year’s Rookie of the Year award.
Winter could feel either near or far, depending on how you thought about it.
Moreover, Director Ban Ga-eul rarely stayed in the company these days.
Based on the conversations I overheard in the break room, Director Ban Ga-eul seemed to be busy meeting with investors who expressed their desire to invest properly in the group after the end of Pick Heart.
Executive Director Joo Yeoleum and other staff members also got busier as a result.
Seed, apparently short on staff, hired two more employees in their twenties, finally surpassing ten employees in total.
According to Ban Yo-han, Director Ban Ga-eul sighed deeply, saying there was no more space in the office even if they wanted to hire more staff.
“We have to succeed and escape the basement later. We should even build a new office building.”
Kang Jiwoo threw out a grand promise while we were finishing our post-practice cooldown.
“Winter-senpai will probably get it done much faster than we will.”
Gyeon Seongha cut off the unrealistic talk with precision.
“No, we have to succeed and each settle for a hundred billion.”
Ban Yo-han’s casual comment left Kang Jiwoo incredulous.
“Do you think a hundred billion is just a dog’s name?”
“He didn’t join a major company that offered him a hundred billion as a signing bonus.”
Ban Yo-han’s joke made the other three look at me with wide eyes.
Sorry to disappoint while you’re all impressed by the amount, but…
“What kind of false information is this guy spreading!”
After punishing Ban Yo-han for spreading false information, we cleaned the practice room.
“Cleaning done!”
“I’ll finish up here, so you guys take that and put it away.”
I took the cleaning tools we used and put them back in the storage, then asked Seo Moon-gyeol, who came with me, about something I’d always been curious about.
“I’ve been wondering for a while, why is this desk here?”
I gestured toward the old study desk that clearly hadn’t been used in a long time, judging by the dust on it.
“It’s the desk Yo-han used in his senior year.”
Seo Moon-gyeol replied.
“Yo-han’s desk?”
Hearing his name, Ban Yo-han, who had been chatting with a staff member nearby, casually approached and poked his head into the storage room.
The staff member, who followed, saw the desk and exclaimed, “Oh… I remember now.”
“I thought it was thrown out last time.”
“Why was your study desk here in the first place?”
“Back then, with my aunt’s permission, I studied here.”
“Here?”
Did he really study in this cramped, stuffy space that looked like it had no oxygen?
Sensing the question in my gaze, Ban Yo-han nodded.
“Yes. It was easier to focus here. I concentrate better with some background noise, and seeing the trainees working hard motivated me. Well, hearing them more than seeing, but still.”
“I was the same.”
Gyeon Seongha, who had been quietly standing by, waiting for Seo Moon-gyeol, spoke up.
“Same about what?”
“…Being motivated. You used to block the door with a heavy rice sack or something, right? So you couldn’t get out unless you forcibly pushed it away and studied in here.”
“Wow.”
He’s a tough one…
“Watching you do that made me think I had to work harder, too.”
As he spoke, Gyeon Seongha seemed embarrassed and turned his head.
“Wow, this is embarrassing.”
In contrast, Ban Yo-han, who didn’t seem embarrassed at all, said, “Back then, I really didn’t want to study. I felt that if I didn’t force myself, I’d just quit everything.”
“I remember those times. The kid who used to shine became all gloomy and prickly like a hedgehog.”
Recalling that time, an employee laughed, saying that Yo-han would suit a dark concept well. Seo Moon-gyeol seemed to agree with that assessment.
Ban Yo-han looked displeased. “If I had known it would turn out like this, I would have just played back then. I’m definitely not cut out for studying.”
Given that he was a perfect scorer on the college entrance exam, hearing that remark was rather annoying.
“But how did you get out when the door was blocked from the outside?”
“When Yo-han went in, one of the employees would block the door, and then the last one to leave would move it aside when they were going home.”
Seo Moon-gyeol explained as he closed the storage room door.
“What? The boss’s nephew can use the staff for personal matters like that?”
Kang Jiwoo teased as he finished the last bit of cleaning and turned off the practice room lights. Ban Yo-han snapped back.
“It wasn’t like that! I used to bring them coffee or snacks on my way and politely ask for their help.”
Amid their banter, I happened to catch eyes with Gyeon Seongha.
“…….”
He averted his gaze very naturally.
“?”
It might seem unnatural once I noticed that Gyeon Seongha was avoiding eye contact with me.
Reflecting on his behavior towards me, I acted like I hadn’t noticed anything and nudged him.
“Hey, let’s play some games at the dorm and then go to sleep.”
“…Sure.”
This kid really is acting strange.
To be honest, it wasn’t the time to leisurely play games at the dorm. If we had free time, we should be sleeping even for five more minutes.
If he was the Gyeon Seongha I knew, he would usually reject this suggestion brusquely, saying it was nonsense.
[Gyeon Seongha feels uncomfortable with you and is distressed by it. Gyeon Seongha’s favorability -0 Current favorability -30]
Did I see that wrong?
[Current favorability -30]
Unfortunately, I saw it correctly.
I remembered his favorability was around 20 the last time I checked. I had no idea why his favorability had dropped by almost 50 points.
My guess was that the favorability didn’t drop gradually but all at once.
Since I didn’t receive any notifications, it must have happened during the time we couldn’t meet directly.
But what’s this about him being uncomfortable and distressed at the same time?
‘What a complicated guy….’
If I hadn’t been able to directly check the favorability, I wouldn’t have realized how seriously Gyeon Seongha was uncomfortable with me until much later.
He hid it remarkably well.
Given how sensitive I am to negative emotions, it’s surprising I didn’t notice it.
This indicated that the reason behind his behavior was entirely different from when he first acted prickly due to unfamiliarity.
The biggest issue for me was that I had no clue what caused this change.
It’s natural for someone to dislike me.
But it’s odd for things to suddenly turn this way when we’ve been getting along.
To prevent any rumors of discord that could arise from working in the same group, I began to secretly observe Gyeon Seongha from then on.