Chapter 5
“Oh, Trainee Baek-young?”
PD Oh raised an eyebrow.
“Earlier, Trainee Baek-young said something similar. She thinks her skills improved because she practiced with you.”
That’s a lie.
Cheong and Baek-young have never practiced together alone.
“Well, it’s not just about practicing together. Unnie simply helped me improve.”
That’s another lie.
What did she help me grow? I grew myself.
“It seems like you two have a great relationship, right?”
“Of course. Unnie is my savior.”
How did this happen?
We need to go back 30 minutes.
***
While other trainees were being interviewed one by one:
I handed Baek-young a water bottle.
I knew.
PD Oh intentionally pushed our interview to the end.
After extracting reactions and sources from other trainees, they would finally focus on us.
“Do you want to experience a day-to-day broadcast, unnie?”
“Thank you.”
Fortunately, Baek-young accepted without outright refusal, though her eyes showed suspicion.
“I should be thanking you, unnie.”
“Thank me?”
Baek-young hesitated, looking surprised.
“Yes. Thanks to you, I could provide content and showcase my skills.”
I didn’t worry much about the editing process.
I genuinely appreciated Baek-young.
Of course, I didn’t think she did it out of goodwill.
But the results were good, weren’t they?
“No, it’s because you did well that we have enough content. I also contributed by pulling my weight.”
That makes sense.
I agreed immediately.
Sure, the spotlight would shine more on me.
Being Before & After, I’d naturally get more attention.
But Baek-young had also demonstrated her skills by my side.
And regardless of the circumstances, during the broadcast, Baek-young had promised to help me.
From her perspective, there was nothing to lose.
“So, Unnie,” I sat next to Baek-young.
“Wouldn’t it be nice to pull even more content?”
“Huh?”
“Non-provocative and in a positive direction.”
***
“Oh, then could you look at the camera and say this?”
The production team smiled kindly.
“‘I wondered if Cheong had been hiding her skills all this time.’ Something like that.”
As soon as they made the request, Baek-young sensed it.
This was the moment Yoon Cheong had mentioned earlier.
“Definitely, PD Oh and the writers will be curious. They’ll ask if I’ve been hiding my dancing skills when they thought I couldn’t dance.”
“Really?”
“Later, I’ll explain. Right now, there’s no time.”
Baek-young thought to herself.
Was she always this confident in her speech?
She used to seem… quite passive.
“During the interview, PDs will surely ask if I’ve been hiding my skills all along,” she mused.
“Really?”
“Suppose you were to say that, how would it turn out?”
“…What?”
“For a moment, it might seem like you’re benefiting. It could appear as if my image is deteriorating. But in reality, that’s not the case. In the long run, I’ll prove that I wasn’t hiding my skills; I was simply in the process of growth. So ultimately, you’ll be the one labeled as ‘the person gossiping about other trainees out of jealousy.'”
“…!”
“In that case, let’s go for a win-win situation. Build some rapport too.”
“Trainee Baek-young?”
“Yes.”
Baek-young quickly regained her composure.
And she delivered her prepared response.
“I apologize. The truth is, I know why Cheong suddenly improved so much.”
“…Huh?”
PD Oh looked puzzled.
What is she saying with that expression?
“Cheong and I practiced together overnight. For three days straight. I helped her with the details of her dance.”
“Baek-young helped?”
“Yes. And Cheong—”
Baek-young hesitated momentarily.
Is it really okay to go this far?
But eventually, Baek-young steeled herself.
“Cheong also helped me with my vocal practice.”
She had nothing to lose.
***
PD Oh’s expression was peculiar.
In fact, he intended to push the two into a conflict.
How amusing.
The longest-serving Colors trainee versus the shortest training period.
Of course, PD Oh didn’t care about Yoon Cheong’s total training time of 10 years.
The duration of Baek-young’s affiliation with Colors was merely a few months.
As long as they could extract provocative content for the title, it was enough.
Veteran versus newbie.
Or perhaps, the main dancer versus the main vocalist.
They could pull any title they wanted.
PD Oh was confident.
Until Seo Baek-young blocked that confidence.
And until Yoon Cheong crushed the last remnants of his self-assurance.
“Yes. As you saw earlier, unnie was genuinely concerned about my dancing. So whenever she had time, she watched me closely.”
I intentionally wore an apologetic expression.
“Actually, I… was really bad at dancing, always causing trouble for other trainees.”
In situations like this, you have to play the sympathy card.
To the point where it’s almost pitiful.
“But I’m embarrassed to admit that I asked Trainee Baek-young for help. I requested her assistance.”
“Why did it have to be Trainee Seo Baek-young? There are plenty of other trainees.”
However, PD Oh didn’t give up.
He needed to obtain sources somehow.
Provocative content for the broadcast.
“Oh, because Trainee Baek-young has been with Colors the longest. She’s exceptionally skilled at dancing.”
But I wasn’t going to make it easy.
I absolutely couldn’t let this slide!
“How’s your relationship with the other trainees?”
“They’re all very kind!”
I didn’t provide an extended answer.
A lengthy response would give them more material to edit.
“Trainee Seo Baek-young mentioned that she’s helping with vocal practice?”
“Yes. Although my skills are lacking…!”
I said that and quickly added:
“But unnie helps me a lot. But honestly…”
Let’s laugh.
“Unnie, it would be best if you could stay a little longer. I really like Baek-young unnie, you know.”
Even if it’s edited.
***
As all the pre-interviews concluded, the day’s filming also came to an end.
It was a long, long day, really.
If it’s this tough from the first day, it’ll probably continue to be tough in the future.
I roughly packed my things and headed toward the vocal room.
It had been a while since I thought about my voice or singing.
But then, at that moment,
“Hey!”
Someone called out to me.
When I turned around, I saw a somewhat familiar face.
Kim Ryeo-yu.
An aspiring trainee like me from “Make a New Color.”
And—
“I saw you dance well earlier.”
Normally, she would be the trainee debuting in second place.
“Ah, thank you.”
I immediately responded to Kim Ryeo-yu’s greeting.
“Wow, but you. How did you suddenly become so good at dancing? I was surprised earlier.”
“Baek-young unnie helped me a lot.”
“Baek-young unnie?”
Ryeo-yu seemed quite surprised.
“That unnie, even though she’s a good unnie, she’s not someone who has time to help just anyone with practice.”
“…We helped each other because we both had shortcomings.”
I had already discussed our arrangement with Baek-young.
With other trainees too.
Not that I didn’t trust the other trainees, but there was a chance of falling into PD Oh’s trap.
Fortunately, Seo Baek-young understood what I meant.
“Ah, so you helped unnie with vocal practice, right?”
“Yeah, that’s right.”
“Then help me too!”
Ryeo-yu said cheerfully.
…The problem was.
“Yeah? Why?”
She wasn’t particularly close to Yoon Cheong in the first place.
If anything, she was the one who looked down on her.
In Yoon Cheong’s memories, Kim Ryeo-yu was something like this:
A promising talent.
Judge Kim’s niece.
And someone who oddly looked down on and ignored Yoon Cheong.
“Why? We might debut together~ Isn’t it beneficial to help each other out, like you and Baek-young unnie?”
“Sorry.”
And in Baek Nokha’s memories, Kim Ryeo-yu was like this:
“I only need Baek-young unnie.”
“…What?”
The trainee who caused a huge scandal within a year of debut, leading to the team’s disbandment.
“Oh, I must have misspoken. I didn’t mean that. It’s just that Baek-young unnie and I already worked out our practice schedules, so it might be a bit difficult.”
“…Ah, I see.”
Ryeo-yu looked somewhat conflicted.
But there was no reason to disagree, so she seemed to reluctantly accept it.
“Instead, when we’re on the same team for the next mission, I’ll help you then. As much as possible.”
Help? Yeah, right.
Even if I don’t know about the others, I’ll definitely prevent your debut.
***
The vocal training room.
Commonly referred to as the vocal room.
The reason I came here—
“Ah, yes.”
It’s been a while since I wanted to warm up my voice.
For idols, dancing is important, but vocals are crucial.
After all, we’re singers by default.
“Your vocal cords are really damaged.”
And above all, Yoon Cheong had a significant issue.
Because she didn’t receive proper vocal training from her agency, her vocal cords were considerably damaged.
“Fortunately… I’ve retained my original voice.”
That’s right.
The voice I’m using now isn’t Yoon Cheong’s voice; it’s Baek Nokha’s voice.
No one around seems to find it strange, either.
Is this also some kind of devil’s power?
“There’s no need to adapt to a new voice.”
My vocal range remains the same, and so does my skill level.
However, I need to take care of my strained vocal cords.
Let’s be cautious.
One wrong move, and my voice might give out during a crucial moment.
“…Should I start with some pear juice?”
I discreetly turned on my phone to check Yoon Cheong’s bank balance.
Hmm.
…I’ll buy the pear juice later.
Yoon Cheong had no family.
That meant there was no one to support or protect her.
Perhaps that’s why I felt even more sympathetic.
Since I’d already agreed to help her, despite it being part of our deal, I wanted to do it properly.
Especially after sensing the chilly air in the practice room today.
Loneliness was an emotion I knew all too well.
Even among hundreds or thousands of people, there were moments of loneliness.
I felt lonely among people, and Yoon Cheong felt lonely being alone.
“…Let’s stop overthinking.”
For now, I need to focus on the upcoming shoot.
The next shoot was crucial for making a strong first impression.
“Make a New Color,” or “Menucol” for short, actively utilized the video streaming site YouTube.
We planned to upload videos there even before the official broadcast.
That’s right.
Tomorrow, we’d be filming the second video to be uploaded on YouTube.
The first video would be a teaser, but it would be hard to identify who’s who, so let’s skip that.
What truly mattered was tomorrow.
It was time for—
Self-introduction.