WETRIED TRANSLATIONS

[ Translation - Aren ]

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

_________________________________________________________________________

Chapter 51

“……You’re, bringing guns?”

“Huh? No! What are you talking about?!”

When I barely managed to ask, Haram finally looked startled and hurriedly explained.

“My dad has done a lot of consulting for drama productions. So, he knows some people in that field. I think we might be able to get props like the ones used in dramas.”

“Ah~ ah…… I see. Haha. Wow, that’s amazing, Gong Haram.”

Phew, what a relief.

At least I didn't have to worry about actually getting shot or struggling to pick up bullet casings on stage.

I smiled as I patted Haram’s shoulder.

Haram also smiled back, seemingly pleased at the praise.

Seriously, thank goodness. If things had gone wrong, we might have ended up recreating the nightmare of having to collect tons of bullet casings during the performance.

I kept losing one every time back when I served……

“Alright, let’s see. It’s 11:40 am right now.”

I pulled myself together and started calculating the time left in the day.

Our practice room was reserved for 3 pm, so we had to use the remaining hours to finalize the choreography and arrangement before heading in.

We would hold another meeting soon, so I had to sort out my own thoughts first before then.

Of course, rearranging the song and choreographing the dance were important, but we also needed to bring in external elements like props and costumes.

I pulled out some paper and a pen and started jotting down ideas as they came to me.

“Hmm……”

I wasn’t a design major, so I was absolutely terrible at drawing.

I would have to settle for drawing stick figures and adding notes next to them.

After all, I, having been a reporter, was better with words!

“Hyung, what are you doing? Oh, designing outfits?”

At some point, Baekgyeom had come back and was now looking over my absolute mess of a sketch.

“Oh…… This is more detailed than I expected, Yuyoung-hyung! Why didn’t you ever tell us that you had this kind of talent?”

What the hell was he on about?

This was literally just a stick figure with ‘fitted pants’ scribbled next to it. Where exactly was he seeing a detailed drawing here?

“Honestly, I don’t know that much about clothes, but…… we can’t just wear something completely mismatched.”

I sure wished I had the kind of refined fashion sense to immediately visualize stylish and flattering outfits, but if that was the case I probably wouldn’t have ended up in this world of failed idols after having spent years as a reporter.

So, instead, I resorted to the most top-secret investigative method available to me. Observing these guys’ body proportions in extreme detail.

No matter how nice the outfit, the most important factor was always the person wearing it.

If one ended up wearing clothes that didn’t fit well or highlighted their worst features, they would instantly look weird.

I would know that best, because I had personally suffered from it.

Back in the day, I had cluelessly worn checkered button-ups nonstop without realizing how much they emphasized my slightly shorter neck. It had gotten to the point where people would tell me stuff like ‘Stop hunching over so much.’

I wasn’t. I was just a creature tragically cursed with a short neck……

“Baekgyeom, you too. Hmm…… I think your neck’s a bit short.”

I narrowed my eyes and stared at Baekgyeom.

His face twisted into one of shock.

“Why are you suddenly insulting me?”

“Overcoming a flaw can turn it into your greatest strength……”

Was Baekgyeom’s neck really short?

Honestly, I had been exaggerating a little. It wasn’t that his neck was objectively short.

Neck length was largely influenced by posture, so I took a closer look.

“……Yeah, just as I thought.”

“What the hell, hyung? You’re creeping me out.”

Baekgyeom had a bit of a forward neck posture.

Considering how much time he spent on working (and gaming) on his computer, it was kind of inevitable.

If one’s neck looked short, then wearing turtlenecks or fully buttoned-up dress shirts was basically a death sentence.

Especially a jacket buttoned all the way up to the top. That would practically be social suicide.

It would make him look insanely stiff and uncomfortable.

‘But since we’re going with uniforms, he won’t get around wearing a dress shirt.’

In that case, Baekgyeom would probably look best in a wide-collared double-breasted jacket with lower-set buttons, or so I thought.

And to balance out the top half, he could wear high-waisted pants to give the illusion of a longer torso.

……All of this, by the way, was based on my own deeply personal experience of being called ‘Sea Turtle’ throughout college.

“Tae Oh is made for uniforms.”

He had the kind of body type that would make it a crime not to put him in one.

He had a long neck and was easily over 180cm tall.

His arms and legs were also pretty long.

Broad shoulders tapering into a narrow waist.

Basically he was an enviable guy who had every single feature that made men’s fashion look good on him.

“Tae Oh, stand over here for a sec.”

“Okay.”

There was only one thing of concern.

“Your upper body’s a bit……”

I vaguely remembered hearing that he did some kind of sports as a kid.

Maybe that was why he had a bit of a wide chest.

With this kind of build, if he wasn’t careful about what he dressed himself in, he would end up looking way bulkier than intended.

Uniforms relied a lot on physique, but we couldn’t forget that they were idols, not soldiers. A sleek image was an absolute must.

Looking sharp on camera meant getting that lean look, no exceptions.

I just hadn’t noticed before how built Tae Oh actually was.

Then again…… why the hell would I have been paying attention to his pecs?

“Tae Oh needs something more fitted.”

“Fitted to where?”

“Ah, just pretend you didn’t hear anything.”

He asked curiously…… but I easily ignored him.

What I meant was that his shirt needed to be more form-fitting.

Guys with solid upper arms like his would end up looking massive if they wore oversized outfits.

That might be fine in everyday life, but this wasn't a usual situation. This was for a performance.

Everything needed to be crisp, clean, and tailored. Not just for him, but for the whole group.

If Tae Oh looked significantly bulkier than the others, it would throw off the entire stage composition.

And since Tae Oh had pretty striking facial features, it might actually be better to add some more accessories like maybe a belt or a brooch to amp up his looks.

“Wow, Yuyoung-hyung…… You were so quiet during the preparations for <Totter>, but now it turns out you’re an idea bank.”

“It’s not that impressive. I’m just laying out the framework.”

“I can’t even do that. You have no idea how much I got roasted to my face for dressing badly.”

Haram laughed casually as he praised me.

Honestly, I wasn’t particularly good at fashion, nor did I care much about it.

I was just good at observing.

And these observational skills kept me afloat as a reporter.

Across the room, Haedun was off by himself, moving slightly as he thought about choreography.

Haedun had one of the more striking visuals in our team.

He wasn’t as tall as Tae Oh, but still probably around the upper 170 cm range.

What stood out most were his proportions.

Maybe it was all those years spent running around and dancing since he was a kid, but his legs were long.

That meant he didn’t need high-waisted pants to emphasize his leg length.

Too much would just make it look overdone.

A clean-cut shirt and pants with a belt would work best.

As for the jacket, something with a slightly tapered waist, giving a somewhat feminine silhouette, would probably enhance his looks.

Haedun was pretty thin, after all.

‘Maybe an earring would work as well.’

To be honest, Haedun’s first impression wasn’t exactly the friendliest.

Even if I left out my own personal feelings.

His eyes slanted upward, so even the slightest hint of a frown made him seem unapproachable.

It might actually be better to lean into that image.

I once covered an idol for an interview. He had a really masculine look but wore bold silver earrings.

That contrast in imagery was so striking that I even mentioned it in the article.

It might be worth trying that with Haedun.

Of course, I had to ensure he couldn’t refuse. I would make sure the stylist pulled it out instead of suggesting it myself.

“Haram has such a naturally soft look……”

“Oh, so Haram-hyung gets compliments? You only left mean comments on me.”

Baekgyeom whined, hovering around me like a kid.

“Go work on the arrangement.”

Baekgyeom backed off easily.

Then I turned my focus back to Haram.

Average height, average build……

Everything about him felt subtly~ neutral, which actually made things harder.

He didn’t have any major weak points to hide, nor did he have any standout strengths to emphasize.

His visuals were very trendy, though.

Slightly droopy eyes, a round nose, and a short philtrum gave him a youthful look.

When his lips were closed, his mouth didn’t seem that big, but the moment he opened it to sing, his expression became very dynamic.

Since Haram had neither major flaws to fix nor particular standout features to highlight, a standard look would probably suit him best.

A neatly buttoned-up jacket and a fully fastened shirt collar.

If he wore gloves and kept to darker tones……

He wouldn’t stand out too much, but this way he could naturally blend in with the group.

Even though Haram was handling the production, it wasn’t like he’d be completely silent on stage.

No matter what, his handful of fans would be dying to hear his part.

‘This isn’t a battle between rookie trainees.’

If we blindly flared our feathers like peacocks, we would just end up blinding people.

Carefully controlling the pacing was everything.

“I want to wear something white.”

Yoon Sanho appeared.

I nodded and jotted down ‘white’ in my notes.

Not that it really mattered, since he was all set already.

Sanho was the one member who didn’t need accessories or clothes that gave him a specific silhouette.

His face was everything.

Strangely colored hair, or overly flashy clothes would only ruin it.

Yoon Sanho’s core identity was ‘pure’.

Messing with that was practically suicide.

“And Ire……”

Ire also had a striking face.

If Sanho’s looks were delicate and Tae Oh’s were refreshing then Ire’s would be big.

It was just a simple metaphor, but……

If Sanho had the youthful looks of his 20s and Tae Oh had the polished appeal of someone in his 30s, then Ire had the fresh, untamed handsomeness of a teenager.

Even when I first met him he wore colored contacts.

He had already dyed his hair some unusual color as well.

However, Ire wasn’t all that tall.

He stood just slightly shorter than me, so he was probably somewhere between 170 cm and 175 cm.

Maybe we should put him in some height-boosting shoes to balance things out.

I wondered if we should dress him in softer tones to match his red hair.

But honestly, the flashier the look, the better Ire seemed to pull it off.

‘……Well, this should be enough.’

Wouldn’t the stylist handle the rest?

Even if I just scribbled some notes, their instincts would be a million times better than mine.

I always believed that trusting actual experts to do their job was the right way.

“Hyung, but why isn’t there a note about you?”

Yoon Sanho asked.

Oh, right. I hadn’t thought about styling Ahn Yuyoung.

“Uhm……I don’t know. I’m just kind of plain.”

“Huh. No way. You’ve got broad shoulders and your clothes always fit really well, Hyung.”

“Is that so? Haha.”

Crap. Hearing this body that wasn’t actually mine get compliments sure felt awkward.

“Hyung, lace really suits you. I was so shocked seeing you pull it off so well in <Totter>.”

“I see.”

I appreciated the praise, but there was zero chance of using lace for this concept.

“I wish we could find something unique like that this time as well……”

Yoon Sanho mumbled to himself and wandered off.

I thought about it for a second longer before scribbling something next to the name ‘Ahn Yuyoung’.

[Lace actually suits pretty well]

Then I put the pen down.

“WEEKANIZ’ Yuyoung-nim!”

It was at that moment.

“Time for your personal interview!”

My first interview session had arrived.

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