The Maknae Has to Be an Idol

Chapter 139

“Let’s rest a bit for now. I wrote too many songs while competing,” Do-Seung slumped to the ground. “It’s not as if a song just comes into being from thin air.”

“That’s true.”

“We came here to rest, so it’s best if we just do that.”

I stared at Do-Seung in silence. I couldn’t force him to make a song, and as he said, he had been creating new songs left and right for The Showcase 2 and probably wanted some rest. I could understand how he felt, but I also knew the kind of person Do-Seung was and what kind of traits creators had.

No matter how exhausted they were, if they felt something stir in their hearts, they couldn’t help but create; and Do-Seung was the type to fall for such temptations easily. Of course, I couldn’t be so blatant or direct about this.

“It’s thanks to our fans that we can enjoy such a happy time right now. So, I just thought that it would be nice for us to make a song and release it right before this program ended or right after it ended,” I said in a carefree tone like it couldn’t be helped if he wasn’t up to it.

Do-Seung probably felt something at this point, and as proof, his chest that had been heaving up and down steadily halted at the words, ‘thanks to our fans’.

“But I think it will be too much pressure on you to make a song right now. Writing lyrics for a song is hard enough. I can’t imagine how difficult it is to produce a song.” Then, I continued to pressure him with my next lines without going overboard. “If it’s possible, it will be nice but fine even if we don’t have one. Don’t feel so pressured.”

I decided to end things by saying that it didn’t matter what decision he made. Considering his personality, I thought Do-Seung would succumb to making a fan song in the end.

“Wow, Bong Tae-Yoon, are you playing mind games with me? I almost got tricked.”

“Ah.” But unexpectedly, I was caught red-handed. I was surprised because he wasn’t the type to catch onto things like this. How did he realize what I was doing?

“On Bluebird, people are always going on about how you are like an evil mastermind. It really is true.” It appeared Do-Seung had reanalyzed my character through social media sites. I felt that this was quite an unfair assessment since I didn’t do anything wrong.

“I guess that’s how Tae-Yoon pretends to hate the younger guy concept and the next second, steals the scene by saying, ‘nuna, please pick me~’”

After Do-Seung brought up my weakness, I couldn’t say anything more and froze in my spot.

“Beware. I won’t easily get swayed by you now,” Do-Seung said, and unable to do anything against his mental attack, I crawled into a corner.

“But I will think more about whether I will make a fan song or not. I agree that it’s a good idea,” Do-Seung said and smiled. Yes, I thought I should be satisfied with this result for now.

***

The next day, happy and lazy days continued. When we woke up this morning, we ate French toast and cereal first. It felt different eating cereal while watching the sun rise above the mountains on the porch.

“Who made this French toast?”

“Woon did.”

“Really? Woon knows how to make things like this too?”

“Are you kidding me? Look at how Woon’s hands look now. Don’t ever make him cook again. I’ve never seen someone cut their hands while making French toast.”

“Huh? Is there even a need to use a knife for this?”

“That’s what I’m saying.”

“Well, the bread package didn’t open so I tried to slice it with scissors…”

“What? It’s not even a knife? He got cut by a pair of scissors?”

“…”

There were quite a lot of accidents that happened when Woon made us breakfast for the first time. Well, since it was a dish someone else made for me, I ate it all up. Though the dish was called french toast, it wasn’t sweet or soggy at all, and I wondered if I could even call this meal ‘French toast’. Of course, I didn’t say that it was untasty out loud though.

“Don’t you think we can even wear these clothes at our dormitory?” Someone asked then.

Because we had been so accustomed to wearing these daily-wear hanbok, we were thinking about ordering them in different colors.

“There’s a variety besides just clay color.”

“What colors?”

“Hm, um, prune color?”

“…I think clay color is the best.”

We did some internet shopping for daily hanbok and discussed what we should have for lunch.

“Should we eat dumplings for lunch?”

“Doesn’t dumpling take too much work?”

“All we have here is time.”

“If we make dumplings, I think we will have to eat them for dinner instead of lunch.”

“Let’s just eat something simple like ramen, Tae-Yoon.”

“Oh, that’s a good idea.”

“Ramen sounds good. Let’s have that.”

Since Producer Park Soo-Chul was behind this reality program, we thought we would get some big missions, but surprisingly, there wasn’t anything like that. After seeing how we tried to make a wooden table on our first day, it appeared he thought he would ruin the show’s theme of healing and relaxation and stopped giving us missions. I was satisfied by his conclusion since that was easier for us.

‘I wonder if Only One is looking for a agency right now.’ Even while I was spending this blissful and peaceful afternoon, my mind kept shifting in that direction. When I searched ‘Only One’ on the internet, I only saw articles that said the group was still looking for an agency. However, I didn’t think I would be able to grasp the general public opinion about this topic with a few internet searches, so when I checked social media sites, I saw that Only One fandoms were quickly grouping around the issue.

—Hoping that Only One will make a contract with a company that can properly care for them.

#Only One_Wish_You_The_Best

— Don’t worry guys. No matter what decision you make, I can continue to wait for you all.

#Only One_Wish_You_The_Best

—I’m really going to root for them till the very end.

#Only One_Wish_You_The_Best

Please Kang Hyun-Sung Kim Si-Woon Park Young-Ho Kim Ju-Hyun Lee Chul-Woon, please be happy! Wish you the best!

#Only One_Wish_You_The_Best

The fever of The Showcase 2 hadn’t died down yet. Right after our reality program was revealed and right when people were wondering what the other teams were up to, they released an article at just the perfect timing. Though we won the show, it felt like Only One was getting all the buzz right now. I was deep in thought when Yeon-Hoon suddenly talked to me.

“Tae-Yoon! Let’s go on a walk!”

After staring blankly at the porch, I smiled by reflex. This wasn’t a lifestyle and environment where I could be gloomy.

“Yeah, let’s go on a walk.”

“Should we take some snacks or something?”

“Sweet potato! Potato!”

“Yay, a walk~”

“Should we also bring a mat?”

“Good, good~”

Like that, we took potatoes and sweet potatoes and walked towards the back of the mountain.

***

Back in Seoul where the WD Entertainment office was, people were taking the final steps necessary to establish a joint company. The director, Yoo Won-Dong, appeared with three other employees into an office complex mostly used by small to mid-sized companies. Lee Hyuna and Seung-Yeon were naturally nervous to meet someone so high up in the corporate ladder, and since Yoo Won-Dong was personally coming to this meeting, the boss of WD Entertainment also appeared. Kim Dong-Hyun came on behalf of the other bosses.

“Hello, I am WD Entertainment’s CEO, Kim Dong-Hyun.”

“Ah, yes. Hello. I’m Yoo Won-Dong.”

The two decided to sign the final agreement of creating a joint company between WD Entertainment and JI ENM today. The new company that would be established was named ‘Next Wave.’ The name meant that the company would become a great wave for the sea fairies that were Siren.

And though Next Wave was said to be a joint company between two companies, in reality, it was more accurate to say that it was JI ENM’s. JI ENM would take 90% of the share holds while Yoo Won-Dong would take 6% and WD Entertainment would take 4%. This bizarrely unequal setup was possible because WD Entertainment bosses didn’t place much importance on the company’s operation or owning shareholdings.

The WD Entertainment bosses, including Kim Dong-Hyun, wished to earn more money rather than take more shares, while JI ENM judged it was preferable to buy as many shares as they could with money. As a result, WD Entertainment became a great company outwardly but with no actual authority or standing, and Siren cleanly transferred to JI ENM’s subsidiary company.

The bosses were satisfied that they received a good sum of money in their later years without doing anything at all; and in JI ENM’s perspective, they were able to take an item with sufficient future value at a bargain price. The contract was made quickly because each of the groups came with their lawyers. Finally, after they signed the contracts, Yoo Won-Dong and Kim Dong-Hyun shook hands.

“Please take care of our Siren from now on. Hahaha.”

“Hahaha. There’s no need to worry.”

A photographer took a picture of the two shaking hands.

“Then, I have to leave now, because I have some other matters to take care of,” Kim Dong-Hyun left the office first after the contract was signed.

His actions were akin to a homeowner leaving before the guests, and people from JI ENM couldn’t hide their bewilderment by what happened. Still, they weren’t the types to dwell too deeply on such details when it was already applaudable that someone like Kim Dong-Hyun had maintained an imitation of a company for this long.

After Kim Dong-Hyun left, the only people left from WD Entertainment were Yoon Seung-Yeon and Lee Hyuna. A strange silence followed and Yoo Won-Dong was about to get up when Seung-Yeon cautiously spoke.

“Um, Mr. Yoo, I would like to discuss a matter with you.”

“Oh, yes, what is it?” Yoo Won-Dong smiled congenially at her.

Seung-Yeon looked back at him silently. Seung-Yeon and Hyuna had been thinking hard for the last couple of days. Though they were establishing the joint company, ‘Next Wave’ in the name of Siren, there was nothing about the company that was for Siren besides the name. At this rate, they felt fearful that nobody would take a stand for Siren. Thus, uncaring about whether or not their efforts would be fruitless, the two decided to fight till the end.

“If you are looking for managers for Siren, could you consider us two for the position?”

“Though we don’t have long experience or majored in this field, we believe that we have developed a strong bond and level of trust with the members over the past months.”

“We both have a type 1 license and have no problem driving. There is more detailed information in these resumes.”

“Yes, you two can take charge of Siren.”

“…?”

“Sorry, sir?”

Seung-Yeon and Hyuna looked at Yoo Won-Dong again in shock. Yoo Won-Dong still looked at them brightly and replied, “We need to quickly settle things and prepare for Siren’s debut, so it will be ideal for someone who already knows the members well to continue to take care of them. In fact, we were planning to ask you to do just that, so I’m grateful that you brought up the topic first. I like your passions! Hahaha!”

Seung-Yeon and Hyuna stared at Yoo Won-Dong in shock. He didn’t have a great reputation in the entertainment world so they were surprised to see that he had a surprisingly easy-going side to him too.

“Nr. Jang, please get their contact numbers and resumes later and send them to me.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Then, I will also take my leave,” Yoo Won-Dong said and left. A person from JI ENM side approached Seung-Yeon and Hyuna.

“You can give me your resumes to me. I will give you these documents here and you can write your desired salary here.”

“…Desired salary?”

“Yes.”

Seung-Yeon and Hyuna’s mouths gaped upon hearing just this. When they joined WD Entertainment, their salaries had been decided for them from the very beginning.

“Wow.”

“I understand…!”

But here, they could decide their salaries.

***

After eating breakfast and before eating lunch, we went out for a walk behind the mountain to help digest. I thought there wouldn’t be many problems when we first went out for a walk, and everything seemed fine when we found a place and unfolded a mat over it. As we felt the warm spring breeze and smelled the grass around us, it felt peaceful and nice. Yet, the problem began when Woon left on his own and returned.

“…Hey?”

“…Woon…?”

“…?”

“What did you bring with you..?”

“…I don’t know either. They just keep following me…”

Ho, hop, hop.

Hop, Hop, hop, hop. .

Woon came back with five mountain rabbits.

𝑖.𝘤ℴ𝘮