The Maknae Has to Be an Idol

“Then, should we take a look at the video first?” Kang Hyun-Sung brought out his tablet and played the video of Light’s “Never Mind” performance. Since this was a song that everyone had heard of already, no one was surprised about the song. Though it wasn’t popular among the public, this song was famous among idol fans and those involved in the industry. Yet, there were some who watched the performance for the first time, though they had heard the song before.

“Ah, so this was how the mood of the performance was,” someone commented. Perhaps, they had actually seen it before but were only saying it for the camera. Anyway, we finished watching the video and went on to discuss the main points.

“Are we going to follow the choreography as it is?” Someone asked.

This song had a medium tempo and a bright melody. There was an addictive chorus in the background and a chorus that would faintly linger around the listener’s head while in the shower or studying. Accordingly, the dance moves were also light and cheerful.

“Though these dance moves helped liven up the song better, it doesn’t have enough impact for a competition,” I said, and my group members looked contemplative after hearing me. The first one to speak was OnebyOne’s Kim Sang-Hoon.

“It’s true that there’s no hook usable for a competition, but won’t the song not feel as bright if we change the choreography?”

That was true. Everyone nodded and agreed.

“It’s good for things to be bright, but for a competition, there’s a need to have memorable points.” This was something we couldn’t miss.

“Hm.”

“How difficult.” Everyone looked serious. I also stared at Kang Hyun-Sung for a bit. Kang Hyun-Sung was the one who suggested this song and concept. Perhaps, he had the answer to everything.

“What do you think, Senior Hyun-Sung?”

Kang Hyun-Sung wasn’t the type to speak first. He was the type to speak after everyone talked quite a bit and after the conversation had progressed to some stage. But rather than it being part of his natural character, this behavior appeared more honed.

‘Is it a habit he gained at Select Your Idol?’ Since there were many contestants who fell to ruins by opening their mouths and making the wrong suggestions, it seemed Kang Hyun-Sung had picked up this skill during his last survival show.

Kang Hyun-Sung opened his mouth slowly and said, “How about we make impactful points fitting for a competition but make it bright and refreshing at the same time?”

It was the standard model response—the ideal answer that everyone wanted. But the problem was how we would manage to bring that to reality.

“The chorus comes out three times in total. One time in the first section, another time in the second section, and the last time after the bridge and at the highlight. How about we keep the original choreography in the first chorus and make our own choreography for the remaining two parts?” Kang Hyun-Sung suggested a blueprint that we could follow.

It was to go with the original in the beginning and give more impact in the second part and the highlight of the song. It was a format close to the standard. With this, we would be able to make both a bright and impactful performance.

“Oh, that sounds like a good idea.”

“Yeah, it’s important for us to maintain the same feeling as the original.”

“It’s not bad!”

Everyone responded positively. I also felt no qualms about the idea and accepted it. This was Kang Hyun-Sung’s positive trait; he knew how to propose a solution that everyone could accept.

‘Hm.’

[Probability of winning first place: 55%]

The possibility that had been remaining at 56% dropped 1%.

“Then, if we request the editor to make this new arrangement…” Furthermore, when Kang Hyun-Sung spoke again, the possibility dropped another percentage.

[Probability of winning first place: 54%]

“Wait a moment,” I hurriedly changed the direction of the conversation.

“Sorry?”

“Why?”

People’s attention concentrated on me, and I racked my head. First of all, I thought Kang Hyun-Sung’s idea was good, but there was a little more that could be done. I needed to suggest a provocative change that didn’t change much from what Kang Hyun-Sung proposed. I thought about using my Insight ability, but it didn’t seem like the time to use it.

After picking my head as much as possible, I reached my answer, “How about we lengthen the chorus of the song?”

Simultaneously, the probability increased.

[Probability of winning first place: 55%]

That seemed to indicate that this was the right direction to take.

“You mean to increase the time of the chorus ?”

“Yes.”

“What do you mean?”

“You know there are three times the chorus melody appears in the song. One time in the first section, another time in the second section, and one more time at the end.”

“Yes.”

“Then, how about we do the chorus two times in the first section?”

“Hm?”

“Then, at the second section, we don’t have to meddle with it much and do it as it is.” People began to listen to me more deeply and even Kang Hyun-Sung leaned his body towards my direction.

“Then, after following a similar format until the third section, how about we…” I paused for a bit and said, “Continuously loop the chorus melody after passing the bridge and going to the outro?” That was the key to this arrangement.

[Probability of winning first place: 58%]

The percentage shot upward again.

“Oh!”

“Ah, I understand what you want to do!”

“Ahh! I get it!”

“This is good.”

Most of the members’ responses were positive and sounded more genuine than the time Kang Hyun-Sung proposed his idea. After hearing how we could ‘constantly loop the chorus,’ they seemed to have come up with a proper image in their heads.

‘What a success.’ I was glad that I seemed to have overcome another hurdle. It was then Kang Hyun-Sung and I met eyes again. I wondered why he was staring at me suddenly and flicked my head away. There was no need to do another staring contest right now.

“Then, let’s rearrange the song according to what you suggested.”

“Yes, sir!”

Like that, we finished our first meeting, which touched on the most important topics. Now, it was time for us to decide on the basic choreography.

“Before we discuss the choreography…” Kang Hyun-Sung spoke then, “Should we choose our positions?”

‘Ah, it’s finally time.’ This was the huge hurdle that contestants in a team alliance mission needed to do: choosing positions. It was also the perfect time for a person to be edited as a villain of the show.

‘There were many people who fell to their dooms at this time in survival shows.’

***

Everyone became dead silent after Kang Hyun-Sung brought up the topic of choosing our positions. I clasped my lips tightly and glanced at Kang Hyun-Sung. I also knew that if I rashly opened my mouth, I could fall victim to evil editing. My probability of winning first place in this round could drop again. Nevertheless, the position I was aiming for was lead vocalist since although I was beginning to feel that performing on stage was fun, I still wasn’t used to it.

The stage still felt unfamiliar to me, and rather than leading my group in the front, I wanted a position where I could support the other members from behind. It wasn’t only an issue about my confidence, but I also had a logical reason for this. Though a position where I could catch the audience’s eyes was good for getting high scores, there was a possibility that I could receive a huge backlash after taking a main position just out of greed.

K-pop consumers had high standards these days and wouldn’t give good scores for a bad performance. Thus, if I didn’t feel confident about carrying the performance and there was a possibility of me ruining it by taking the main position, it was better for me to take a position where I could do my best and raise the performance’s quality. Thus, all in all, the position of ‘lead vocalist’ was strategically most sound for me.

“Mr. Tae-Yoon, what position do you want to do?”

“I want to be the lead vocalist,” I said my top choice. In this song, the lead vocalist had many killing parts and could get as much attention as one of the main positions. In a way, it was the safest choice.

“Hm, okay. What about the others?”

“Well, I still want to aim for the main vocalist!”

“Since I’m a rapper, I would like to keep rapping.”

“I’m also in the vocal line, so…”

Everyone said their reasons for picking the positions they wanted to do. Without the conversation getting too heated, everyone exchanged their opinions politely. But as expected, because there were a lot of people in the vocal line in this group, the position as the main vocalist was the most popular.

“Still, since Mr. Si-Woon’s vocal seems to fit this song better, I think the main vocalist position will suit you better!”

Gasp!

“Then, I will try to live up to your expectations as the main vocalist…!”

In the end, Only One’s Kim Si-Woon was chosen to be the main vocalist. The main rapper position went to Bleshu’s Kang Jin-Kyu, and the sub position went to Only One’s Kim Joo-Hyun.

“Let’s do a good job!”

“I will try to do the rap part well!”

The main dancer was chosen most easily. It was because Kang Hyun-Sung applied for the position.

“Will it be all right for me to become the main dancer?” Kang Hyun-Sung asked and everyone nodded wordlessly. And this wasn’t some privilege given to an ex-first-tier idol but because Kang Hyun-Sung was objectively the best dancer among the group.

‘Now that I think about it, he didn’t choose anyone that could be a main dancer for this group.’ This was the part that surprised me the most about Kang Hyun-Sung’s cunningness.

“Then, let’s decide the center now.”

This was the moment everyone had been waiting for: the competition for the center. Though I wasn’t greedy about the center, a couple of my group mates raised their heads with eager eyes. The producing director would probably focus on this part too. The first one to raise his head was Only One’s Park Young-Ho.

“Since this is a younger man's concept, I think this is an area that I could do well in!” As he said, Young-Ho looked most fitting for the concept among everyone else.

“I know I might be overstepping my boundaries, but I also want to try out for the center position!”

“I also wish to try it! Haha!”

OnebyOne’s Kim Sang-Hoon and Choi Jin-Young also applied. I watched them on the sidelines because I didn’t care who became the center–until I saw the probability..

[Probability of winning first place: 55%]

‘What? Seriously, again?’ The probability dropped again on its own.

‘Well, it’s still over 50%...! I shouldn’t be anxious,’ I thought. Besides this chance, I thought there could be other opportunities to increase my percentage of winning first place.

[Probability of winning first place: 50%]

‘What the heck?’ It felt as if the system was playing with me now. ‘Still, there’s a half chance…’

[Probability of winning first place: 49%]

‘I can’t let the numbers drop any further.’ Unable to win over the system’s forceful push, I also said, “I know it may be bold of me… but I also want to…try out for the center position…I will let down the position as lead vocalist for now.”

[Probability of winning first place: 50%]

The probability increased again and afterward, a very exhausting discussion of who would be the center continued. We discussed who would be the most fitting as a center but of course, couldn’t reach an answer. The one who mediated the issue was Kang Hyun-Sung.

“Why don’t the people who want to be center follow the chorus’ choreography, and the one who does it best can be center?” he suggested. It was a fair and reasonable method. All the applicants for the center position, including me, got up and learned the “Never Mind” choreography. Since it wasn’t a hard dance move, it didn’t take us long to master it.

Whoosh!

Since this was such a crucial time, I used the Insight ability that I had been saving the whole time.

“Mr. Tae-Yoon, were you always this good at dancing?”

“How could you move so lightly and smoothly with such a big body…?”

“Is it because you are thin though your physique is large…?”

And as a result, I had an overwhelming victory.

“I admit it. Wow, Mr. Tae-Yoon should be the center.”

“H-How cool…!” Young-Ho exclaimed from behind. I didn’t understand this response since I wasn’t dancing a cool dance move. Perhaps, there was something wrong with his eyes.

“Then, it’s decided that Mr. Bong Tae-Yoon is the center.”

‘Ha, damn it. I wonder if I can do a good job,’ I wondered.

But despite my worries, the probability seemed to assure me.

[Probability of winning first place: 65%]