Chapter 120: Because We’re a Team

“-That’s my story.”

Cha Seongbin swallowed dryly and looked around at the members.

It wasn’t something he wanted to boast about as if it were a good story.

But now, he felt like he had to say it.

He couldn’t show that story to an outsider PD while hiding it from his own members.

He thought that was trust.

Trust and courtesy toward the guys who were in the same team as him.

“……”

A brief silence fell.

Kang Siwoo nodded slowly with a thoughtful expression.

‘Cha Eunha… I’ve heard the name before. But I didn’t know there was a story like that.’

The girl dubbed the Van Gogh of Korea. The broadcast had been so impactful that he remembered the title, but he didn’t know it had been that much of a commotion.

The public only remembered fragments.

The events that happened behind a sensational issue were left entirely to the person involved.

“Hoo… I see….”

Seo Ian was biting only his lower lip with a face that looked like he was about to die.

Because he saw his own reflection in Seongbin.

Seo Ian spoke with difficulty.

“So… you wanted to go out there to show us? That you could perform… even in front of Jang Juwon?”

That was right.

He wanted to show that he could overcome it somehow.

And he hoped his younger sibling would find the courage, too.

“Yeah. Even though I ended up just doing the arrangement, it doesn’t matter. As long as even one minute of my part goes into Boy’s Dream, I’m satisfied.”

“It was reckless.”

Jin Sehyun added a word.

Cha Seongbin lowered his head deeply at the undeniable remark.

“I know.”

Jin Sehyun let out a sigh and spoke.

“But I get why you did it. I understand. We would’ve understood.”

His gaze landed on Cha Seongbin. His soft lips parted cautiously.

“When it’s hard, saying it’s hard—that’s what a team is for.”

He didn’t want to hear people say their teamwork was bad just because they were a project group.

Even if it was a business relationship, he wanted them to be one team.

Probably everyone sitting here thought the same.

Because they were genuinely good people.

The fact that he met people like this through an audition program—it was an unparalleled blessing.

“Even if the whole world points fingers at you, we’re the only ones who can truly be on your side. So don’t turn your back on us too much.”

“……”

“From now on, tell us. Just… be a little more honest.”

Cha Seongbin nodded and repeatedly said he understood.

Ha Junseo patted Seongbin’s shoulder with a smile.

“Sehyun’s right. What’s so great about having a good team? At the very least, it means you have people you can talk things over with.”

“I agree~”

“Yeah, yeah.”

Seo Ian carefully spoke his honest feelings.

“I… want Seongbin hyung to trust us and lean on us…”

At those words, Cha Seongbin nodded.

“Alright, I will.”

“Wow, the warmth level here is off the charts.”

“At this rate, there’s gotta be a hidden camera, right?”

At that moment—

“Hold on.”

In the midst of the warm atmosphere, someone raised their hand.

It was Seohan.

“I think we really need to make this clear before we move on.”

“Mm, what is it?”

“I can be on your side no matter what, but there are exactly three things I can’t stand for.”

Seohan counted them off one by one on his fingers.

“Drugs, women, violence.”

“……!”

“T-That’s… obvious.”

Ha Junseo jumped in surprise and stuttered.

“There was a team that couldn’t keep those obvious rules and ended up… ha… never mind.”

There had been a team that turned to dust—true to their team name—because they couldn’t follow that.

Seohan shook his head and waved his hands.

“Anyway, I’m telling you, I really won’t let it slide. If you ever get caught, I’ll chase you to the ends of the earth.”

“C-Calm down.”

For some reason, his eyes carried a look that seemed to hide a story.

[Boy’s Dream 2nd Evaluation Mission has a Stardust song lol]

They said it’s a refreshing boy group song from their first year, and it shows up in the blind evaluation mission.

What’s going on?

Weren’t they sworn enemies with TBN?

Did the broadcasting station guys make up or something lol

And apparently the team covering Spacewalk has The Core’s Ray in it.

Strictly speaking, Ray’s probably the senior.

Seriously… fate’s twisted joke….

-No matter how you look at it, I’m telling you this isn’t an evil edit of Lee Junhyeok. Otherwise, why would the broadcasting station guys make up?

└But the moment they got the Stardust song, their expression totally soured lol The camera zoomed right in. What, is the PD done shielding them?

└They probably tried to push them with an image makeover through evil editing, but dropped them for real because their personality was rotten.

└Do you get joy out of making baseless guesses like this?

└Stop witch-hunting Lee Junhyeok.

└You’re the one white-knighting, not me~

└I was wondering who picked Lee Junhyeok, and here they are lol

-It must feel… really complicated for a The Core member to cover a Universe Dust song.

└Honestly, their face did look a bit complicated.

└Wait, did Ray leave The Core???

└ㄴㄴ Nope! They’re still in debut range, so who knows what’ll happen…

└Nope, Ray hasn’t left ㅠㅠ

-I heard the composer and choreographer will appear for the 2nd mission. Does that mean Billy Vinger will show up?

└Billy Vinger’s been kidnapped to a song camp in Europe.

└Huh??? Then who’s coming?

└Apparently Cha Seongbin’s coming instead.

└??? Him?

└It’s co-composed, though.

└Cha Seongbin can’t even compose, so what’s he coming out to arrange for? Is that even possible with his skills?

└What are you talking about, lol—this is the guy who co-composed two title tracks.

└Wasn’t that just a viral credit? Looks like Billy Vinger did all the work and just put his name there.

└What nonsense, lol. Are you jealous of the composing members or something? Why are you belittling our boy’s skills, haha.

└We’ll see soon enough if he’s capable of arranging or not.

└Rap genius, visual genius, and good at composing—you must be jealous ^^ Your bias doesn’t have a Cha Seongbin, huh?

└Yeah, viral, lol.

└Don’t bother engaging with Dusties. Just ignore.

When the Boy’s Dream 2nd mission was revealed, the Dusty members felt a bit puzzled.

It was natural—SBC had been pushing edits that looked like they were at each other’s throats, after all.

-What the heck, lol. So they used our kids for buzz and now they’re suddenly going for a heartwarming mode?

└Am I the only one who can’t tell if this is heartwarming mode or just a big picture to boost buzz? It’s even Lee Junhyeok’s team, which makes it more intense.

└Yeah, it feels intense, but after last episode I can’t tell yet, so I’m holding judgment.

-Why the hell did that damn SBC PD mess with kids who were just minding their own business?

└May you live long and rot, seriously.

└Pls sir.

There were plenty of Dusty fans cursing on their secret accounts, but on the surface, the reaction wasn’t too bad.

Because this was better than the Lee Junhyeok evil-edit angle Boy’s Dream had been running with.

-That bastard Lee Junhyeok makes me sick every time he uses Do Seohan for clout, so I’m just grateful they’re cutting his screentime like this.

-Sure, take our song, just get rid of Lee Junhyeok.

└Stop it, Sseobang.

└Are you a part-timer??

Now that promotions were over, whether for better or worse, the fan community began to burn with excitement.

It had been a while since they’d been thrown some bait.

Dusty’s Han Yooyoung also opened JjaekJjaek to join in on the fun.

“I wish they’d just get rid of Lee Junhyeo—”

—was exactly what she was typing.

Ding!

Ding!

With a cheerful notification sound, a popup appeared from her favorite YouTube channel.

“Huh?”

Han Yooyoung’s mouse froze midair.

“Gasp—holy crap.”

[Idol Human Theater – There’s a Chick Living in Stardust’s Practice Room (Part 1)]

She had been longing and longing for her babies to appear here.

And they gave it to her after promotions ended.

“I love you.”

Now was not the time to be cursing Lee Junhyeok.

The video opened with a shot of Stardust’s neatly cleaned practice room.

A camera was set up to capture the whole space.

Flop—flop—

The members were each lying on the practice room floor doing their own thing.

It was obviously staged for a concept, but even the clumsy parts looked incredibly cute.

Over it, the Human Theater narrator’s voice flowed in.

The Stardust members are practicing again today. Look at how focused they are.

The first close-up went to Seohan and Haim, who were seriously practicing personal talents in a corner of the room.

Seo Haim was listening intently to Seohan’s advice with a deeply serious expression.

“These days, the basics of being an idol are personal talents.”

“That makes sense.”

“Seohan, how can I become a perfect cicada like you? You’re not just good at cicadas—you have a wide spectrum, and I envy that. Remember that stork you did last time~?”

“It’s a bunting.”

“Right, a bap-sae. I want to do something like that too!”

“…Bunting.”

Today again, Mr. Seohan is doing his best to create a personal talent for member Haim. The special lecture begins.

And so the special lecture began.

Seohan stroked his chin and began to speak.

Ahem.

“The foundation of impressions is… listening.”

“Listening!”

Seo Haim nodded vigorously, taking in Seohan’s words. He looked ready to absorb every piece of advice, full of passion.

Mr. Seohan is a master of impressions.

“Hyung, I’ve been making cicada noises for 26 years, so I know—”

“You’re eighteen.”

“Ah.”

Busted, Mr. Seohan.

Ahem.

He cleared his throat and looked away.

“Anyway, let’s start by opening YouTube.”

“Sounds good.”

Seohan tapped at his phone and opened YouTube. Naturally, the main source for listening was YouTube videos.

If you don’t hear it properly, you can’t imitate it properly.

That was how the cicada and the bunting impressions had been born, too.

“Search for it and listen. Hyung, what did you want to do originally?”

“Me? I want to do a chick.”

Since fans had been calling him a chick lately, he wanted to return the favor.

Especially after getting such a huge reaction at the last fan signing just for one little cheep.

“Next time, I want to make it sound more realistic.”

“That’s a great motivator.”

“Right?”

Tap-tap-tap.

[Chick Crying Sound]

Seohan nodded and played the video.

At maximum volume, the loud chirping of chicks filled the practice room.

Cheep cheep! Cheep! Cheep-cheep! Cheep!

Complaints immediately came from all around.

“Excuse me, could you turn down the chick sounds~?”

“Cha Seongbin hyung’s trying to listen to music!”

“What, wasn’t he composing?”

Regardless of Jin Sehyun and Cha Seongbin’s chatter, the two were already immersed in the world of impressions.

Pointing at the chick on the screen, Seohan spoke seriously.

“Here’s where you find the key point.”

In art terms, it was similar to a caricature.

Finding the most defining feature and focusing on it.

That was Do Seohan’s philosophy for impressions.

“What’s the pitch of this chick sound?”

“About… three octaves?”

“And the BPM?”

“120 BPM.”

Nod—

Seohan gave a thumbs-up, praising Seo Haim.

“Your absorption rate is very fast.”

Naturally, an interview clip overlapped the scene.

.

.

.

Writer: Seo Haim, earlier you said the chick sound was 120 BPM. Are you, by any chance, a metronome?

Haim: Not a metronome…

Sehyun: Just a ‘nome.’ Chick-nome.

Haim: Quiet, you.

Seo Haim ignored Jin Sehyun’s words and smiled faintly.

Haim: It’s just… because I am a chick. I guess you could call it a kind of certainty? My heart rate is 120 BPM. It’s always beating like that. (Shy)

Sehyun: You should go to a hospital for that~.

Haim: Ugh, I said be quiet.

Seo Haim threw a punch in the air toward Jin Sehyun.

Over it came a calm narration.

They’re the same-age duo who are always bickering.

Even if the world ended, those two would still be bickering.

In any case, they’d succeeded in finding the BPM of a chick’s cry.

Seohan and Haim’s special lecture on impressions.

Now, it was time to move to practical application.

“I’ve totally got it now.”

“Then shall we try it?”

Ahem.

Seo Haim cleared his throat and began to cry out loudly.

It was a cry without a moment’s hesitation.

“Cheep! Cheep!”

“Stop, that’s enough.”

Cut immediately.

Mr. Seohan didn’t seem satisfied.

Seohan ran a hand through his hair and let out a deep sigh.

“Sigh… Hyung. Do chicks cry like that?”

“That’s not it?”

“Think back to what kind of vocalization that little guy made earlier.”

“The chick friend?”

Tap-tap.

Seohan coolly replayed the YouTube video.

The same cry as before filled the practice room again.

Cheep cheep! Cheep! Cheep-cheep! Cheep!

“The accent’s different. It’s Cheep! Cheep! with the accent on the first syllable. Not just cheep-cheeping.”

“Not ‘cheep cheep’ but Cheep! Cheep! Oh… I think I’ve had an epiphany.”

“Right?”

Hug—

Seo Haim threw his arms around Do Seohan’s shoulders.

“Do Seohan… you’re a genius!”

.

.

.

The screen cut to Jin Sehyun, who lowered his head with a troubled face.

“Sigh…”

Just then, in the background, the two were shown still cheeping away.

The writer cast a pitying glance at Jin Sehyun and asked quietly.

Writer: Why are they doing that?

Sehyun: I don’t know either.

Writer: But still… aren’t you proud of members who are honing their personal talents?

The chick sounds still played in the background.

Cheep! Cheep! Cheep-cheep!

Wow~. Your vocalization is insane~.

They were truly members you’d be embarrassed to show anywhere.

Jin Sehyun let out a dry laugh and shook his head.

-Again.

-Seohan, when will this end?

-When hyung cries like a chick.

-Hyung’s very existence is already…

-Yes, do it again.

Well, in that case—

Sehyun revealed his true feelings.

“I kind of want to keep my distance.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep