Chapter 71:  Rookie Training Doctrine

“……Does all that fit in there?”

“This food is really good. Especially this ketchup spaghetti!”

“That’s not ketchup spaghetti, it’s Napolitan.”

Han Yujin not only destroyed the tteokbokki.

She even finished off my tonkatsu and spaghetti.

Calories this, blood sugar that, high-fructose corn syrup, sodium something-something.

Yujin-noona went on and on with a whole bunch of chatter.

Ah, she also added that if I ever worked with an idol who seemed sensitive, I should give them some leeway at least three times.

Apparently, it was all because they couldn’t eat carbohydrates or something.

“Ah, this is bad. I really ran my mouth today.”

“Is your mouth usually blocked? You’d die if it got blocked……”

“You seriously don’t know what it means when someone says their mouth ‘opened up’?”

“Then what, does a person’s mouth really burst open if it doesn’t?”

“……Aish, I really can’t talk to a loser with no friends.”

“No! You said you didn’t have friends either!”

“Seotei-ssi should just stick to composing.”

“That’s too much……”

I had no idea what she was talking about.

But even though she sometimes looked this careless, I could tell she was still an idol who managed herself thoroughly.

At this point, I almost took back what I said about idols being just like regular people.

Anyway.

After rambling on with words that I couldn’t tell were self-talk or a lecture, Han Yujin finally declared she had to go work out and strengthened her resolve.

“You should exercise whenever you can. Music is stamina too!”

“I’ll try. Ah, but, noona.”

“Yeah?”

“What’s ‘Seotei’?”

It wasn’t a mistake. She kept calling me Seotei.

After laughing her head off, Han Yujin answered like this as she left my studio.

While tying her sneakers tightly.

“Seo Taeyoon and Stay. Put them together and you get Seotei. Easy, right?”

……That actually makes sense?

I thought it was some kind of dialect.

Listening in on Han Yujin chatting with the teachers backstage.

I edited the name in my phone contacts from ‘Singer Han Yujin’ to ‘Yujin-noona’.

A little later, at Manny Entertainment.

Chairman Jeong Jaewook had been troubled lately.

Signum—it was about time he made a decision.

The strategy to pit a small band against Signum.

They had saved some face, at least.

The album sold fairly well, and the fandom was growing.

Their debut stage was a bit disappointing, but they were constantly growing, using that disappointment as a stepping stone.

On top of that, wasn’t UTAR’s true identity the legendary band Cheongseong?

He barely managed to steady his dizzying mind.

‘Thank goodness they didn’t stir things up.’

If they had kept provoking with claims about being “authentic” or “live”……!

For a moment, his vision went dark.

‘It’s a bit disappointing that I don’t know who the DJ is though…….’

Since things had come this far.

He decided to focus on their identity as idols rather than as a band.

It was an unexpected success.

How much money had gone into it, what their original concept had been.

He had already forgotten all of that.

For that reason—

“Oh? Chairman…….”

“Oh, were you practicing? You’re all working hard. Doing well.”

It wasn’t strange for him to drop by Signum’s practice room under the pretense of encouragement.

To be precise, it was spying.

Looking at the hesitant Signum members, Jeong Jaewook asked,

while raising the corners of his lips and putting on the gentlest expression he could act out.

“You haven’t been struggling with anything lately, right?”

In truth, what he wanted to say was this:

Even the Chairman himself is stepping up to watch over you like this.

You know you’re the pillars of this company, right? So don’t shrink back—stand tall and carry out your activities proudly.

Sharp as ever, drummer Hwang Seunghyuk stepped forward.

With a sly grin, he answered.

“With the Chairman caring for us like this, even if it’s tough, we’ve got to stay strong. Right, guys?”

“That’s right!”

“We’ll work hard!”

These kids. Their rookie aura was leaking everywhere.

At best, they were just showing faint signs of evolving from chicks into young roosters.

Even if they looked more relaxed, they were still far from ready.

Jeong Jaewook smiled faintly.

Right. Better this than catching celebrity disease and wandering around just because they debuted.

He patted Hwang Seunghyuk’s shoulder and advised.

“Don’t be too wary of UTAR. They’re middle-aged men way older than you guys. If you pay them too much mind, you’ll just get tangled up, you know?”

It was genuine concern.

It would be a problem if they got carried away trying to imitate Cheongseong.

Bands and idols belonged to completely different realms.

They must never forget their identity as idols.

Just as he was about to turn away after that advice—

He couldn’t resist adding the words he had been debating whether to say.

“Right, I heard the maknae is learning DJing? That’s not something just anyone can do. UTAR’s Seo Rabbit? If you try to follow him, you’ll split yourself in half. Don’t forget—he’s an absolute master, older than even your fathers.”

At that moment, someone hurriedly called out to stop Jeong Jaewook.

“Uh. Chairman, actually……”

“Hm? Our maknae, do you have something to say?”

The youngest, Lee Yehwan, blurted out without tact.

No—more precisely, the words slipped out before he could stop them.

“Seo Rabbit. He’s not that much older than us. That DJ-hyung is really handsome, really kind, really nice……”

From the moment he first saw Taeyoon in the restroom.

Lee Yehwan had decided to become his fan.

Because it was the first time he had ever seen someone so composed and confident.

He felt more at ease with Taeyoon than with his own senior labelmates.

So much so that he wanted to invite him into the members’ group chat.

“Ahaha. What is this kid even saying……. Chairman, please take care on your way!”

Leader Han Jaeho laughed awkwardly and jabbed the maknae in the ribs.

Only then did Lee Yehwan realize he had made some sort of mistake and hurriedly tried to smooth things over.

“……Hm? What? The DJ is young? Handsome? Tell me more about that.”

Jeong Jaewook turned back.

The Signum members froze on the spot.

Because they realized something had gone wrong.

That was when they remembered Manager-hyung’s warning.

— In front of the Chairman, just say you’ll work hard. No matter what, no matter what. If you slip up and say the wrong thing…… you know what’ll happen, right?

If the Manager heard of it, it would mean an hour-long nagging session for sure.

That was why no one dared to open their mouths.

But Jeong Jaewook was persistent.

Smiling a hundred times more kindly than before, he locked eyes with the youngest, Lee Yehwan.

“Yehwan-ah. Are you close with that Seo Rabbit guy?”

Jeong Jaewook was carrying out his long-unused Rookie Training Doctrine.

Speak kindly, but maintain pressure.

There was no rookie who could resist it.

And Lee Yehwan was no exception.

When the Chairman himself called his name and asked him something, no rookie could just shake their head and insist, ‘I don’t know anything!’

“The DJ-hyung is… kind of close with me.”

“Really? Young? Seriously? How old? Is he from a club? Who taught him DJing? Wow, showing that kind of performance live isn’t easy.”

It had been a long time.

Since Jeong Jaewook wasn’t a Chairman but a musician again.

The fact that he had replayed UTAR’s stage dozens of times was his own secret.

It had started as competitor artist analysis.

But the more he watched, the more he learned about UTAR, the more he was simply amazed.

Without a doubt, their overwhelming skill was unmatched by any band today.

‘If it’s Cheongseong, then it makes sense.’

When he saw Cheongseong unmasked.

He suddenly wanted to see what expressions they had worn behind the masks too.

They must have been happy expressions.

Most people who played like that did.

And that wasn’t all.

The song… the song was outrageous!

When he checked the Credits just in case.

He couldn’t hide his amazement, muttering to himself in the Chairman’s office, “Amazing, amazing.”

The very Stay he had been searching for was right there.

It was uncanny.

He had almost begged Minsoo to arrange a meeting the very next moment.

‘Ugh…… Me, going to that bastard Minsoo?’

But he couldn’t bring himself to do it.

When that man he had dismissed as just another producer founded an entertainment company, he had only scoffed.

When he found out he was a chaebol heir, fourth generation, he had been uneasy.

Because in this industry, he had long realized—if you smothered it with money, you were halfway to success.

But as time passed, he became intoxicated with a strange sense of triumph: ‘So even chaebols aren’t much. Yeah, in this industry, talent comes first…….’

To him, Kim Minsoo was nothing more than another middling agency.

‘But he worked with Stay?’

And then, KIM Entertainment appeared holding none other than a song by Stay.

With Stay’s song, UTAR had turned the industry upside down.

On YouTube and social media, it was all UTAR talk. Covers, challenges, everything.

Which only made him more curious.

Because good songs never lied.

Gripping the maknae’s hand tightly, Jeong Jaewook asked again.

“Really…… close?”

“Yes. We’re supposed to meet later today too.”

“Oh, really? Where?”

He had forgotten about appearances.

Right. As humiliating as it was, he had to admit it.

This was pure fandom.

Once upon a time, he had dreamed of being a DJ himself.

He had even flown back and forth to the U.S. several times just to watch DJ performances.

Martin Garrix, Diplo, Marshmello……

Famous DJs flickered before his eyes.

In Korea, there were only two DJs who could stand alongside them.

DJ Blackhole and Seo Rabbit.

And now, the chance to meet one of them in person!

“Are you meeting at the company café, by any chance?”

“Uh, that’s right.”

It was an opportunity.

To finally meet the DJ he had been curious about, and perhaps casually ask about the writer, Stay.

Since they said he was young, persuading him wouldn’t be difficult.

“Yeah. Right, right. It’s good to be close with people your age. Keep up the hard work.”

Not knowing what was in Jeong Jaewook’s heart, the Signum members just glanced at each other and shrugged.

“Hyung!”

“Oh, you’re here?”

“Sorry. I tried to come out early, but……”

“It’s fine, I didn’t wait long.”

That was a lie. I had waited about an hour.

But I had been so busy exploring the café and lobby that I didn’t notice the time pass.

It was pretty fascinating how the first-floor atmosphere was different in each agency.

Seeing the empty cup in front of me, Lee Yehwan spoke gloomily.

“Oh? You already had a drink. If you mention our name, it’s free.”

“I’ll do that next time.”

Honestly, I had planned to tease them for being late and get a bunch of snacks out of it.

But when I actually saw their faces, I couldn’t bring myself to do it.

Why did the kids look so……

wilted?

I hadn’t realized, since I only saw them at the broadcasting station.

I didn’t know they had this side to them.

Wearing training clothes with bare faces, they looked so young. I didn’t even recognize them at first.

Yeah, idols were people too, just people.

“Hyung, wait a second. Try this ice cream. It’s really good.”

The maknae was, what, eighteen?

And the oldest leader was twenty.

So young, so very young.

To me, they still looked like chirping chicks.

“Hyung, can’t you teach us DJing? DJing is the trend these days.”

DJing wasn’t much.

To me, it even felt easier than playing an instrument.

“But why DJing? It gives you an occupational disease.”

“Occupational disease?”

“Yeah. When you listen to music, you automatically start calculating the BPM. And when you’re walking down the street, you want to record the sound of car engines.”

Even though I said it half as a joke, they listened seriously.

This was why I liked these kids.

They didn’t feel like celebrities at all. More like the younger students I used to see back at the academy.

When they kept following me around calling me hyung, it made me want to do anything for them.

“Hey, eat yours.”

“You ate mine before too.”

“Just go buy another one.”

“I don’t have many points left, I said.”

……I take back what I just thought.

Was there really any need to bicker that much over one ice cream?

Could kids like these even handle my songs?

I joined in half-jokingly.

“Let me have a bite too.”

“Oh! Hyung! You like strawberry too? I’ll go buy one right now.”

“No, no. Sit down.”

He hadn’t even served in the army yet, so why was he acting so quick and sharp?

Or maybe it was because they were with the Signum kids.

People passing by kept sneaking glances.

Something about team leaders, assistant managers.

They got greeted constantly.

And each time, the Signum kids couldn’t even eat their ice cream in peace and had to jump up to bow. It was a little pitiful.

While we were chatting about trivial things like that—

The kids suddenly jumped up again, bowed at a perfect ninety degrees, and greeted.

“General Manager! Hello!”

This time their greeting was much sharper than before.

“Oh, oh. Relax and enjoy.”

I turned my head toward the voice, and there stood some man in a suit.

He glanced around the table, then took a sip straight from the leader’s coffee and asked.

“You were talking about a DJ or something. Hasn’t he arrived yet?”

The kids hesitated awkwardly.

Wait, was that DJ…… me?

It felt a little awkward to step forward, so I stayed still for now.

Just as Yehwan was about to say something, the man stared right at me and spoke.

Changing his expression, putting on an authoritative air.

“You. Don’t you know who I am? Kids these days are spoiled. You don’t even greet me?”

Huh? Since when was I supposed to greet employees from another company? That was the first I’d ever heard of it.

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