Chapter 27 - Because I Want to Check
“Manager-nim, Manager-nim!”
“Wake up!”
“Oppa, wake up...!”
“I-I'll call 119!”
The surroundings were noisy.
The moment Baek Hyeon-woo, realizing he had briefly lost consciousness, tried to open his eyes.
“Ugh!”
Suddenly, a strong impact was felt in the center of his chest.
Kim So-yeong was in the middle of pressing hard on the area near Baek Hyeon-woo's chest, putting her weight into it.
“U-gh, s-stop...”
“Ah, he woke up...!”
As Baek Hyeon-woo, in pain, asked her to stop the CPR, cries of relief burst from the surroundings.
“S-So-yeong unnie! That's amazing! To think you saved Manager-nim in one go...!”
“No, I think Manager-nim just woke up on his own...”
Watching Baek Hyeon-woo clutching his chest, Kim So-yeong made an awkward expression.
“Manager-nim, are you okay?”
“I-I'm fine...”
He checked his surroundings while stroking his continuously throbbing chest.
It seemed he had collapsed at the entrance of the practice room and lost consciousness.
“Oppa, shouldn't you go to the hospital?”
Laura asked, examining Baek Hyeon-woo's complexion.
“Should we call an ambulance after all? We have to go to the emergency room, right?”
“Ah, I-I'll call.”
Yoo Jeong-ah, who was holding her phone, urgently tried to make a call.
“No, don't call. I'm fine.”
“Huh?”
“It was just because I was dizzy for a moment, so you don't have to worry.”
Even though Baek Hyeon-woo said that, everyone made worried expressions.
“Manager-nim, by any chance, is your health not very good?”
“That's right. I think you should get a check-up.”
“Actually, something similar happened a while ago. I got a check-up then, and it came out that there was nothing wrong.”
When he had the electrocution accident at the orthopedic clinic, he received a detailed examination from head to toe.
It was normal, with no abnormalities whatsoever.
“I'm also someone who worked in the medical field. If it were a truly serious condition, I would go to the hospital on my own.”
“Still...”
“I think it's because I'm a bit tired, I'll be fine if I rest for a moment. For now, would it be okay if I sit in the corner and rest for a bit?”
As Baek Hyeon-woo said that and raised his body, the five of them rushed over at once to support him.
“I-I'll support you!”
“Don't overdo it!”
“No, if five people support me at the same time, it's actually harder to walk...”
Because the five of them were pulling in different directions, he ended up staggering as he walked.
After arriving with difficulty at the corner of the practice room and sitting on a chair, Seo Na-eun brought a sports drink and held it out.
“Then please rest while rehydrating. And if you feel like you're getting worse, please tell us right away.”
“Understood. Don't worry and please resume practice. I will be watching from here.”
He said it, deliberately making a bright expression.
They all had worried gazes, but... in the end, they returned to practice.
“Phew...”
After drinking the sports drink Seo Na-eun had given him, Baek Hyeon-woo took a deep breath for a moment.
‘It's been quiet all this time, so why is this happening?’
He had still occasionally felt the zapping sensation until now.
However, it had been a long time since such a strong sensation had come.
It was the first time since the strange letters had suddenly appeared while he was on the phone with Song Won-shik.
‘Don't tell me my status window ability has disappeared?’
Just in case, he checked once more.
However, the status windows of the Newstarz members were still clearly visible.
The items visible on the status window also had no changes.
‘Separate from the status window ability, did I just get the feeling of being electrocuted?’
Until now, Baek Hyeon-woo had been thinking that the zapping, electrocution-like feeling and his status window ability were related to each other.
But now, even though he had that feeling, there were no changes to the status window.
‘Don't tell me... the electrocution feeling and the status window had no relation to each other after all?’
Was it just that he felt the zapping sensation due to an abnormality in his nervous system?
If that sensation is occurring because his physical condition is poor, then maybe it would be good to go to the hospital again after all.
‘I was just thinking that I have to work even harder from now on, but of all times, for it to be now...’
Feeling conflicted, Baek Hyeon-woo placed the sports drink on the floor.
And he looked at the practicing Newstarz members.
“Then I'll start again from the beginning. Get in position.”
“Yes…!”
Receiving the leader Seo Na-eun's instruction, the members moved to their respective positions.
Originally, 'Gravity' is a song that begins with the four members standing in a cross formation.
However, now that there were five members, the position had changed.
First, the main vocalist, Yoo Jeong-ah, stands in the very center, and the remaining four members form an X-shape around Yoo Jeong-ah.
“I'm starting!”
As Seo Na-eun pressed the remote control, the music began to play.
As the simple drum beat began, the main dancer, Seo Na-eun, who was at the back left, walked forward and struck a provocative pose.
Kim So-yeong, who was at the back right, also came forward and showed a movement that crossed with Seo Na-eun.
As Kim So-yeong and Seo Na-eun crossed paths, a space was created in the center, and a moment occurred where the gazes were focused on the main vocalist, Yoo Jeong-ah, who was in that position.
It was choreography practice now, so she wasn't singing, but still, Yoo Jeong-ah performed the movements while thinking that she was singing.
Laura and Kanade also danced diligently, changing their positions according to their respective parts.
Appreciating the sight of the five of them dancing in harmony, Baek Hyeon-woo slowly nodded his head.
‘Yes, this is it.’
Compared to the live performance videos of 'Gravity' from their 4-member days, the balance definitely feels better.
He received the impression that it had become more natural overall.
‘Still, this probably isn't 100% perfect. We have to raise the level of perfection by the Night-Bomb Festival.’
However... he couldn't figure out what he had to do to raise the level of perfection.
Baek Hyeon-woo is a rookie in the entertainment industry. It's not like he was an idol enthusiast like Song Won-shik either.
To watch a girl group's choreography practice and then instruct them on what to improve is a difficult task with Baek Hyeon-woo's abilities.
‘If the status window indicates that a certain part is bad, I can just treat it... but if there's nothing in particular to treat, there's nothing I can do.’
Looking at their status windows now, all five of them are clean.
It would be a different story if it were after they finished practice and fatigue had accumulated in their muscles, but as of now, there is nothing Baek Hyeon-woo can do.
The only thing Baek Hyeon-woo can do right now is just watch.
‘Still, it would be nice if there was something I could do...’
As he was having such thoughts and watching Laura come forward for her part.
Baek Hyeon-woo felt a sense of unease.
“……?”
Laura's outline looked strangely blurry.
‘Why is this happening?’
He tried closing and opening his eyes, and he also tried rubbing his eyes with his hands.
But no matter what he did, Laura's outline didn't become clear.
Did something go wrong with his eyes?
Perhaps it might be a problem with his brain.
‘Do I really have to go to the hospital again?’
At that moment, Baek Hyeon-woo realized one fact.
Everyone other than Laura looked perfectly fine.
It was the same even when he moved his head this way and that to change the angle.
Only Laura looked strange.
‘What's going on?’
He strained his eyes and tried to focus only on Laura.
At that, a change occurred in her blurry outline.
Something like a translucent shadow began to overlap with Laura's body, like a game screen.
“……!”
Now, Laura's own outline looked normal.
However, a translucent shadow, like a graphic effect from a game, was overlapping with Laura's body and flickering.
‘What is that?’
Baek Hyeon-woo opened his eyes wide and examined it carefully.
The translucent shadow was dancing just like Laura, but their movements did not match perfectly.
At times, a gap of nearly 10cm would appear between Laura's hand and the shadow's hand.
And depending on that gap, the shadow's color also changed; in severe cases, it was a deep red color.
‘Wait a minute, don't tell me...’
Baek Hyeon-woo blinked and also paid attention to the other people.
He tried to confirm the identity and nature of this shadow by comparing them with each other.
While Baek Hyeon-woo was verifying the shadow like that, the song ended.
Everyone stopped moving and caught their breath.
“For now, let's check by watching the recording.”
“Yes, unnie.”
As the members were gathering to check the recorded video.
Baek Hyeon-woo opened his mouth.
“Laura-ssi, just a moment.”
“Yes?”
Laura raised her head and looked at Baek Hyeon-woo.
“When you move to the center in the latter part of the first verse, could you show me just that part again?”
“When I move to the center?”
“Yes, the part where you sing, Laura-ssi.”
“……?”
It confused Laura, but in the end, she did as Baek Hyeon-woo said and showed the choreography for that part again.
The other members' gazes were focused on Laura, who was dancing again by herself.
“Um…”
“Huh...?”
The other members tilted their heads slightly in confusion.
“Laura-ssi, right before you move to the side, there's a move where you stick out your fingers as if shooting a pistol, right?”
“You mean this?”
Laura raised her hand and made a pistol shape.
It's the part where she appeals to the audience with a provocative expression.
“That part, let's try starting again with your hand raised just 10cm higher.”
“You want me to raise it by 10cm?”
“Just try it.”
“……”
Tilting her head in confusion, Laura began to dance again.
And the moment she entered the part that Baek Hyeon-woo had instructed.
“Ah…!”
“Ah…!”
The members who had been tilting their heads in confusion earlier let out cries of admiration.
It was to the point where Laura was surprised and flinched.
“Wh-what is it?”
“Laura, it's definitely much better than before.”
“Yeah, the feeling really came alive. It feels like you're strongly appealing, as if you really shot a gun at my heart.”
Seo Na-eun and Kim So-yeong said with surprised expressions.
Seeing that reaction, Baek Hyeon-woo confirmed that his prediction had been correct.
‘Yes, so it was like this.’
Just now, Baek Hyeon-woo had given Laura the instruction to try moving like the shadow.
At that, the shadow that had been misaligned coincided with Laura herself, flashed with light, and then disappeared.
Just like an effect that occurs when you hit a specific timing perfectly in a game.
‘That shadow was showing the best possible movement.’
I just have to give instructions to the idols while comparing them against that shadow.
By doing that, I can correct every single movement of their performance.
‘Just like correcting a patient's skeletal structure, an ability that helps to correct an idol's movements...’
Why did I suddenly get an ability like this?
Baek Hyeon-woo recalled the moment he had lost consciousness earlier.
Right before that, Baek Hyeon-woo had been thinking, 'I've become a full-time employee and gotten the Assistant Manager title, so I have to change.'
He was looking at the Newstarz members practicing with that mindset, when he suddenly felt the electrocution sensation... and a new ability appeared.
‘When I was just working as a road manager part-timer, the existing status window ability was enough, but now I'm in a situation where I've become an official manager and I'm trying to take on a bigger role. Maybe that's why a new ability was added.’
If that's the case... new abilities might continue to be added in the future when the time is right.
If I become a team-leader-level manager like Park Yeong-ho, won't some new ability appear again?
‘If I get good results in the future and gain greater authority, a new ability befitting that might appear.’
If I become a director-level manager like Choi Tae-hyung, what kind of ability will I get?
What if I go independent like Baek Yeon-ah and become an agency CEO?
‘This... I feel like I have to keep working hard in the entertainment industry, if only because I'm curious what kind of abilities will appear.’
When he first got the status window ability, Baek Hyeon-woo had been talking with his friend Song Won-shik about starting an entertainment agency and even becoming a chaebol.
At that time, he had said it as a joke... but he might have to seriously make it his goal.
Because he wants to see where the end of this wondrous ability lies.
‘If that's the case...’
Baek Hyeon-woo began to continuously give instructions to Laura.
“Laura-ssi, I'll point out just a few more parts. When you enter the second verse, there's a part where you cross with So-yeong-ssi, right?”
“Ah, yes.”
He gave additional instructions while also checking the recorded video.
Every time she corrected her movements as Baek Hyeon-woo instructed, the shadow that had been overlapping with Laura gradually became invisible.
It seemed that the closer she got to the ideal movement, the higher its transparency became, making it invisible.
“I-It's definitely gotten better.”
“Manager-nim, so you're this good at analyzing dances too...”
Hearing the admiring voices of the other members, Baek Hyeon-woo spoke to Laura again.
“Laura-ssi, I think you need to do some strength training.”
“What?”
“When you lift your arms to the side in the middle of the second verse, it's a little lacking.”
There was a part that couldn't match the shadow no matter what she did.
If it's not that an antagonist muscle is stiff and hindering the movement, it means the agonist muscle isn't generating proper force.
The shoulder's abduction movement originates from the deltoid and supraspinatus muscles, so all that's needed is to strengthen those muscles.
“Dumbbell... we need to do some shoulder exercises with dumbbells.”
“Ah, dumbbells?”
Laura freaked out upon hearing that she had to exercise with dumbbells.
“I don't want my shoulders to get bigger...”
“I'll watch over you, so you don't have to worry. It seems we need to strengthen the deltoid and supraspinatus muscles, so let's start with lateral raises for now. Let's do a total of 5 sets, with five reps per set.”
As he suddenly created an atmosphere of weight training, Laura drooped her shoulders with a dejected expression.
As a bonus, her Mental Condition was also dropping by a few percent, but Baek Hyeon-woo just pretended not to see.
There wasn't much time left until the Night-Bomb Festival.
To raise their level of perfection by then, Baek Hyeon-woo had to steel his heart and train Newstarz.
“Wow… that looks tough.”
Kanade, who was looking at Laura, muttered with a blank expression.
Watching Kanade speak as if it were someone else's problem, Baek Hyeon-woo opened his mouth.
“Kanade-ssi.”
“Yes?”
“You're next, Kanade-ssi.”
Kanade tilted her head in confusion for a moment.
“You weren't calling me, right?”
“I was. Don't play innocent.”
Earlier, Baek Hyeon-woo had examined the other members besides Laura.
At that, he was able to observe the shadow not only on Laura but on the other members as well.
It seemed that if he focused and stared at someone, that person's ideal movement would appear in the form of a shadow.
“You had many lacking parts, Kanade-ssi. It seems you'll have to work even harder on strength training than Laura-ssi, so please suffer a bit for a while.”
“Eeeeh...!”
Kanade made a tearful face, but Baek Hyeon-woo coldly gave the instruction.
While thinking that he wanted to see where the end of these wondrous abilities lay.