WETRIED TRANSLATIONS

[ Translation - Aren ]

I'm a Reporter, Please let me get off the Stage

________________________________________________________________________

Chapter 34

“Everyone, you’ve all dressed up so stylishly today.”

Well, yeah, because you guys told us to wear our stage outfits.

“However, you’ll now have to take off those outfits right here.”

“……?”

What was that?

Then what was the point in telling us to come in our stage costumes?

My pristine, pure white three piece suit, which I doubted I would ever wear again even for a wedding, suddenly felt ridiculously insignificant.

“For the first recording, we’ll be capturing the preparation process to recreate the longing and passion you felt before your debut. So please set aside those glamorous stage outfits you could only dream of wearing back then. Change into a sweat-stained tracksuit and bring back the pure desire you had before your debut.”

“What kind of bullshi-…….”

“Hey. the cameras are rolling.”

I overheard two guys whispering next to me.

It seemed like one of them was about to say something like ‘What kind of bullshit is this??’ but got cut off by the other.

But that unfinished thought ‘What kind of bullshit is this?’ was probably floating around everyone‘s head in that instant.

Seriously, what kind of nonsense was this?

‘Is this the military? A bootcamp?’

Any minute now they would definitely tell us to fold up these outfits neatly, pack them into a box, and make us write our home address on the label, wouldn’t they?

“Please fold your outfits neatly into the boxes you’ve been given and return them to the production staff.”

Was I clairvoyant or something?

……It was probably best if I stopped thinking about this altogether.

The idols, along with me, just kept their mouths shut and went to the dressing room located behind the stage to change out of their clothes.

Forcing a whole group to change clothes like this…… This really did feel like the military.

I just wanted to aim for the title ‘Ultimate Idol’ and yet here I was, feeling like I was enlisting again. It was almost to the point that the cost-benefit analysis I made before did not add up anymore.

At least the training outfits were colorful.

They gave us long-sleeved shirts and jogging pants, with colors assigned to each group.

Our group, WEEKANIZ, got green.

Once all the idols had wiggled their limbs into the colorful tracksuits without much resistance and sat back down, Lee Kyubin nodded his head deeply to signal that the recording was about to continue.

“I hope that by the time this program is over, you’ll all have grown into even better idols.”

He smiled brightly as he glanced at all of us.

That smile no longer seemed kind or welcoming to me.

The more I listened to him, the more this felt like some type of bootcamp.

What else but basic training comes to mind when hearing this explanation?

“So, everyone, what do you think? Now that you’re all wearing the same clothes, I believe we have established a sense of fairness in terms of appearance.”

Sure.

This was basically their way of saying ‘If you’re one of the lucky, mediocre ones who just stumbled their way into debuting, go home’, wasn’t it?

But what about the unlucky, mediocre ones like me? What was I supposed to do?

“Alright, everyone. Shall we have each of you step up for your ‘audition moments reenactment’?”

Hmm.

You know.

They should have just called this show something like <Operation Deadbeat Idol Rehab>.

* * *

“Hello, I'm 19-year-old Bang Junho. Nice to meet you all. The song I’ll be performing is……”

We were seated in separate sections, vocal, dance, and rap, as the staff instructed us.

Lee Kyubin called all of us by our name to come up to the stage.

On a large screen behind the stage, footage of each idol’s original trainee audition videos they had submitted to their agencies were showing.

Everyone, including the performer and the onlookers, couldn’t help but laugh awkwardly at the clumsy and awkward images of their early trainee days, so raw they were almost cringeworthy.

That Bang Junho guy turned completely red as he watched his disheveled younger self on the screen.

Hmm, it wasn’t that bad.

Why was he acting so embarrassed? Wasn’t this guy a bit too obsessed with looking perfect?

Bang Junho was in the vocal section, and he chose to reenact the ballad he had sung during his initial audition video.

It was a song called <To the Future>, a ballad released in 2019 making it still a rather recent song.

On-screen, Bang Junho’s face almost looked like that of a middle-schooler’s.

Back then, I think I had just started my first job, fresh out of school……

Now that I was old, reality checks seemed to hit me every second these days.

I shook my head lightly to clear my thoughts.

Fortunately(?), his vocal skills were still top-notch. Honestly, no matter whether it was dancing or singing, unless one stopped for a few years, it was rather rare for these skills to deteriorate.

Everyone seemed to breeze through their turn without much trouble.

“And next, we have Haedun-nim of WEEKANIZ.”

Seo Haedun, who was in the dance section, stood up and walked toward the stage.

He stepped forward and gave a polite bow to the camera.

“Haedun-nim, you’re three years into your debut now, right?”

“Yes.”

“When did you audition?”

“……When I was 17.”

“Wow, how young. Do you remember what song you auditioned with?”

“Yes, I remember.”

“What kind of song and performance did you do?”

“……I performed a self-choreographed dance to a hip-hop song.”

“Woow, that’s impressive!”

He already was choreographing his own moves when he was 17? That is pretty impressive.

―Hello. I’m 17-year-old Seo Haedun.

The audition video began playing on the screen.

A younger Seo Haedun appeared.

The intimidating aura he had around him now was nowhere to be seen.

A kid was still a kid, after all.

His slightly tanned skin hadn’t changed much, but his face still seemed to carry a bit of baby fat, like one might expect from a teenager.

Now not even a trace of that remained on him, and his sharper features only amplified his rather fierce vibe……

Well, regardless of species, young mammals always tended to look a lot cuter than their adult counterparts.

―So, for this idol audition…… you’ve prepared a lyrical hip-hop dance routine?

―Yes.

―Hmm……

Seo Haedun’s audition footage was a raw recording, showing him performing directly in front of the judges.

The judge in the video seemed a bit hesitant and unconvinced.

Even watching now, I could feel the nervousness of the young Seo Haedun.

―……I believe dance, regardless of genre, has intersections where it all connects. Just like people who are good at singing don’t limit themselves to one genre.

―Alright, let’s see what you’ve got first.

A slower-tempo beat began to play, noticeably different from something typically seen in K-pop.

Seo Haedun slowly started to move to the simple rhythm.

……Did he actually have enough time to do that in an audition?

Everyone in the studio couldn’t help but focus on the screen, intrigued by his actions which were completely different from what one might see in usual fast-paced idol auditions.

After a few beats, Seo Haedun kicked it up a notch, launching into a series of fast, precise steps.

He moved with great fluidity, like a person without joints, his body bending as if it was made of rubber.

He contorted his joints into sharp angular movements so easily and refreshingly.

Even as someone with no knowledge of dance, I could tell that this choreography was something special.

It felt smooth yet sharp. Something only a skilled dancer could probably manage to do.

If I had to describe it, it was like watching a ballet dancer collaborating with a B-boy, but all of this was actually coming from just one person.

“Wow, Hyung didn’t forget a single move.”

What was truly astonishing though was that as soon as the music started in the video, the Seo Haedun that was in the studio started dancing perfectly in sync with his younger self.

It had been eight years since he was 17, enough time for an entire era to change.

It didn’t seem like Seo Haedun had performed that dance ever again since his audition.

Even during <Dance Off> I never saw him do anything like this.

He danced with an expressionless face, his eyes showing seriousness.

The young Seo Haedun in the video looked almost like the shadow of the current Seo Haedun.

It was so surreal, as if his younger version inside the video stepped out of the screen to dance alongside his now older self.

―……You created this choreography yourself?

―I did reference some performances, but I adapted and modified them.

―I see.

Seo Haedun caught his breath, his eyes sparkling.

What an incredible talent.

It felt like a waste to place someone like him in some typical idol group that usually focused on synchronized choreography.

The judge, however, didn’t offer any praise nor criticism.

A brief silence flowed through the video.

……Right, this kind of raw talent might have been seen as a liability in K-pop.

While each K-pop group had their own individual flair, the most important thing was ‘harmony’ on stage.

―Have you ever been part of a team?

―I’m part of the…… dance club at my school.

―You’re the president?

―……Yes.

Ah, why did he have to admit to being the president?!

I was getting too immersed in this.

―Okay. Thank you for your performance. Take care on your way back.

―Yes, thank you.

The video ended just like that.

“Haedun-nim, it seems you’ve had exceptional dance skills from a young age. How does it feel watching your audition video again?”

Lee Kyubin, clearly entertained, asked Haedun with sparkling eyes.

“Frustrating. Even now.”

“Frustrating? From what I saw, it was incredible though.”

“……I shouldn’t have said I was the president.”

“Sorry? Hahaha.”

Everyone in the studio laughed lightly.

Seo Haedun, however, remained as stone-faced as ever, not offering any further response.

He couldn’t even smile politely. 

That stiff guy…… he should loosen up a little.

“Haedun-nim, your face does show a lot of regret. But even so, you passed the audition, debuted and became a part of WEEKANIZ, working alongside your fellow members, right?”

Lee Kyubin cheerfully asked some additional questions.

It was notably different from the standard, predictable questions the others had received.

This was a prime chance to grab some screen time.

Whether this was a good opportunity or not though…… entirely depended on how that guy decided to handle it.

Honestly, it might be a smarter move to just give a safe, generic answer and move on rather than doing something conspicuous and jacking up his notoriety score……

“I passed the audition, but I didn’t debut.”

“Oh…… Pardon?”

Hmm, right. Why did I even think I could trust Seo Haedun’s incredible social skills to give a well balanced response?

“Then, that audition……?”

“This is my audition for EOO Entertainment.”

“Whoa, you were an EOO trainee?”

“I had no idea.”

With just one sentence from Seo Haedun, the murmurs around us grew louder.

EOO?

EOO was one of the two major titans of K-pop agencies in Korea. 

Even being a trainee there was enough to spark interest and create some buzz.

And this guy was a former trainee there?

Then why was he stuck part of this failing group now?

“It seems like there’s more to this story. Hopefully, you’ll get the chance to share it with us later. Haedun-nim, your initial rank and current rank will be revealed after the audition reenactments are completed. Please return to your seat.”

“Thank you.”

The fluidity he had shown while dancing seemingly completely gone, he offered a painfully stiff bow before returning to his seat.

The after effects of the reveal of Seo Haedun’s background had quickly subsided.

Well, if one really thought about it, what did where one was a trainee at really matter?

When one stepped into society, even where one went to college didn’t really matter much.

College was only a big deal…… while one was still in high school.

“And now, the next participant we’d like to invite up is……”

There were about 20 people left. It started to drag on a bit……

“……WEEKANIZ Yuyoung-nim, please step forward.”

The inevitable had come.

But there was one problem.

……I had no idea what song Ahn Yuyoung had sung during the audition.

_________________________________________________________________________

Join our Discord for updates on releases! https://dsc.gg/wetried