[ Park Moondae's POV ]
In the practice room, all of us sat in a circle. Ryu Chungwoo had a piece of paper in one hand in a pen in the other.
"So, let's first discuss the general theme of our performance. Personally, I think it'll be best if we do a cheer concept, especially because this song is used as a fight song. What do you guys think?"
"Cheerleading?" Cha Eugene restated as if in thought. "Well, a new experience is always nice."
[ Name: Cha Eugene ]
Vocals: C+ (B+) (Rapping: B)
Dance: A+ (S+)
Visuals: A (S)
Charm: A+ (EX)
Characteristics: Black Hole (A)
Seriously, those triple-A stats are scary. His charm grade was even higher than the judges.
While I thought about my own charm stat, others piped in with agreeing comments.
"Hmm," Chungwoo muttered, twirling his pen. "Some of you haven't said anything. What do you think, Sejin?"
Lee Sejin (A) flinched beside me.
"Um, I think a cheering squad might look a little tacky," he answered honestly.
His uncooperative attitude hasn't been highlighted on TV yet, but if he kept it up while on the same team as Chungwoo who's consistently been edited well, it might not end up nicely for him.
Anyways, Chungwoo didn't seem agitated. He just asked back calmly, "Do you have any other suggestions?"
"No...that's why I didn't voice my opinion."
Next, Chungwoo asked for Raebin's opinion, but apparently, he wasn't even familiar with the song yet.
We decided to listen to the song with a smart pad provided to us before making a decision.
Seungmin, who also didn't know the song, closed his eyes and held his head high as if he were absorbing the music. Because of this, he didn't see the grim expressions of the other members.
Ryu Chungwoo put his hand on his face in deep thought.
"For starters, the key is incredibly high," he mumbled. "Seungmin, what do you think?"
Seungmin finally brought his head back down and looked at the leader.
"It only feels...youthful. If we lower the key, it won't have a concept anymore," he remarked in his lull voice.
"Do you have a different idea then?"
He shook his head with a small smile.
He wasn't the only one who realized the problem. Beside Chungwoo, Raebin had his elbows on his knees and his face cupped in his hands, thinking hard.
"Raebin, were you able to get the general picture? I'm asking because you're best at rearranging songs out of all of us." the leader noted.
"Yeah, it's like Seungmin hyung said. It's a nice song, but...I don't think it'll be easy to rearrange..."
Chungwoo nodded his head and continued, "What else is tricky about it?"
Kim Raebin took a deep breath as if he were going to pour out words, but then he glanced at the cameras and shut his mouth. It seemed he was paying attention because he was beaten up over a personality controversy in the last team match that aired.
"...Nevermind," he muttered with his head drooped. "I'm open to any ideas."
Chungwoo jotted some notes.
"Alright then, lastly, what did you think of the song, Moondae?"
It was finally my turn.
"I think there's something we need to decide before we talk about rearrangements," I stated, "and that's deciding which part each person's gonna take. We should begin practicing this song ASAP."
It doesn't matter if we can't arrange it if we can't perform it either. Currently, I'm probably the only one who can sing the chorus properly, but I can't sing the entire chorus by myself.
I shouldn't have doubted Seungmin's mysterious stats.
While we tried to sing different parts to determine who to give what, I was the only one that could vocalize the highest notes. And other than the peaks of the chorus, no one else could sing the rest of it. Except Seungmin.
[ Name: Cho Seungmin ]
Vocal: A (?) (Rapping: ?)
Dance: ?
Visual: ?
Charm: ?
Characteristics: On the spot! (active)
!Status abnormality: Sealed truths & Debut or die!
Animosity progress: 10%
"His vocal stat changed from the other times I've seen it..." I paused. "Don't tell me all his stats are actually maximized and he's just doing whatever suits the situation?"
I glanced at him suspiciously, but when he noticed my gaze, he gave an innocent smile.
"Um," Kim Yojoon spoke up. "Maybe it's best that we lower the key before assigning parts...honestly, even with practicing, I don't think anyone will be able to sing it except Moondae and Seungmin, and even Seungmin struggled. Plus, if we rearrange it first, we can add in some rap parts for us."
Murmurs of agreement came forth. As a leader, it was obvious what Chungwoo's decision would be.
"Raebin, why don't we lower the key first and rearrange the song after? Because only then will we be able to practice."
Raebin looked awfully conflicted.
"A-alright..then..."
He looked like a scientist who just discovered when the world would end.
I leaned my head against the wall with a curt exhale. In the end, we started with rearranging anyway. It'll sound like I want to hog the chorus if I say it's not a good idea and have no alternative solution, so I shut up.
Maybe when the teachers say it sucks at the midterm evaluation, everyone will reconsider.
For some reason, I was strangely disappointed. I know becoming an idol wasn't something I chose to do in the first place, but I gotta admit...it's still fun. I thought I would be able to think of another concept like last time. Yet, my mind was blank.
The rest of our meeting felt less satisfying.
∘₊✧──────✧₊∘
After talking a bit more and creating a choreography up to the first verse, we were allowed to go to our new rooms and unpack.
It had been a long time since I shared the same room with Seungmin.
"Hyung, can I sleep in the bed above you?" he asked before we even got in.
"Sure," I answered in a slightly playful tone. "You're not going to try getting the single bed?"
He tilted his head and smiled.
"A double bed with hyung is better than a single."
My lips narrowly curved upward as I walked into the room. Everyone chose a bunk bed, and Ryu Chungwoo, being the oldest and the leader, ended up getting the single.
It was late into the night. The fourth episode showing the PR live bts and the ranking results should have been aired by now. Without my phone on me, however, I couldn't monitor what public opinion was like.
Hopefully, the editing team focused more on my puppy image because of the PR. If I was lucky, they would add in a lot of clips of me with golden hair in the second part too.
Unbeknownst to me, it was going in a stranger direction than I would've imagined.
- Heol, look at how Seungmin holds Moondae's hand ㅠㅠ
<screenshot of Seungmin and Moondae standing together while holding hands>
- Seungmin and Moondae, the two non trainees, show off their out of the box thinking! Just look at how they nodded to each other without a word. Lesson of the day: if people are struggling to get out the front door, go through the back ㅋㅋㅋ
- Seriously, it's so obvious Seungmin is besties with Moondae. I mean, just look at how they peeked out of the corner together in this ㅠㅠ
<screenshot of the two checking the hall for people>
- Look at the non-trainee trio sitting together during break omg. Seungmin's sleeping on Moondae's shoulder!
<screenshot of Moondae on his phone, Seungmin sleeping, and Ahyun eating chocolate>
- Seungmin the black leopard becomes a house cat with Moondae~
- Moondae traded his two golds for Ahyun's bronze...seriously, he's such an angel...
- That's it. I'm stanning the non-trainee trio. This noona will buy all your stocks!
- Crazy crazy crazy. If you zoom in during the back of Kim Raebin's speech, you can see Moondae patting Seungmin's head. I'm going crazy
<zoomed in screenshot of that scene>
- For the sake of Seungmin's happiness, I will buy Moondae's stocks
- Is Moondae raising a pet cat?
...Apparently, I was now raising a small black cat.