Chapter 94:
Chapter 94
Idol Uni. (1)
“Hey guys, the song is out. Wanna listen?”
“Already?”
The members crowded in the narrow studio and listened to the song that Lee Juhyuk played.
‘This one is good too.’
The songs they had performed so far had rich beats and powerful concepts, so it was time for an image change.
Just in time, the song that Lee Juhyuk completed had a sweet piano melody in the intro and a rich sound that surged in the latter part, which was quite addictive.
It was a song that suited the autumn comeback season.
“Isn’t this title-worthy?”
“Juhyuk hyung is amazing.”
“God Juhyuk God Juhyuk!”
Not only Ian, but the other members also liked what they heard, and they shouted Woo! Woo! and danced a strange tribal dance.
“Really? That’s a relief.”
The members were honest about their work and life, and they would say if they didn’t like something.
“Actually, I was a bit nervous.”
Lee Juhyuk let out a sigh of relief. The previous work was too successful and he felt a lot of pressure.
Moreover, because of the success of ‘Side Effect’, the company entrusted him with the entire next album work, and he was so stressed that he got gastritis.
But he couldn’t give up, because the fruits of producing the whole album were too sweet.
“Let’s gather for the Lee Juhyuk overwork prevention committee.”
Kim Hyun said, seeing Lee Juhyuk’s dark expression. At his words, the members who were close to Lee Juhyuk gathered together and hugged each other tightly.
“Ow, it hurts!”
“Who’s elbow is that!”
They hugged too tightly.
After a fierce cuddle, Lee Juhyuk coughed and sorted out the situation.
“I don’t have lyrics yet, I just hummed it. If you have any ideas for lyrics, write them down and show me anytime.”
“Okay, this time it’s my lyrics.”
Cho Taewoong lit up his competitive spirit.
After their own study group with Awi, they all had a competitive mentality.
They wanted to have at least one share of their own in Awi’s work.
“It’s my lyrics this time too. Don’t forget that I wrote most of them so far.”
“Jinhyuk hyung, we have to get rid of corruption.”
“Am I corruption?”
While Cho Taewoong put a headlock on Kim Juyeong, Park Seodam rubbed Lee Juhyuk’s shoulder.
“You have to impress Juhyuk hyung. If you want to be chosen.”
“No, Juhyuk hyung is very objective.”
The members’ copyright battle became more intense after they got a hint of Lee Juhyuk and Park Jinhyuk’s royalties.
“I’m taking this copyright!”
“It’s mine!”
They were very materialistic, but money was still the best motivation.
****
When Awi was working on their next album, Ian headed to the airport separately for the recording of Idol Uni.
“Are you tired from working on the album? Hang in there.”
Park Dongsoo handed him a bottle of water as he passed by the fans at the airport and boarded the plane.
“I’m fine, hyung.”
Anyway, next year he wouldn’t be able to do much for a few months because of Corona. It was hard, but it was better to do a lot of activities before then.
‘Oh shit. What? Where did you go?’
As the plane flew to Guangzhou, Jin, who had disappeared for a while, appeared in front of Ian’s eyes.
[Just somewhere…]
Jin’s voice sounded tired somehow. Ian decided not to ask any more and opened his Chinese word book again.
****
“Hello. Did you have any trouble coming here?”
“It was good.”
Ian was able to come comfortably in the van prepared by the broadcasting company.
They even gave him a Korean staff.
He headed to the studio under Sinhwa Media Group and then to the waiting room.
While he was getting his hair and makeup done for filming, Chen Xinwei, who was hosting MC, came into the waiting room.
“Hello hyung. You came quickly.”
“It’s been a while.”
“We’re in the same waiting room.”
“That’s good.”
Ian grabbed Chen Xinwei’s hand and pulled him in for a shoulder greeting.
“It’s been since Arimpyeong right? How have you been?”
“Yes.”
Chen Xinwei’s Korean pronunciation seemed to have regressed more than last time.
He said he lived in English-speaking countries when he was young, so Ian immediately spoke in English.
“*Can you speak English?”
“*Yes, I almost forgot Korean.”
“*If you don’t use it often, you forget easily.”
Cheonsinwi sat next to Ian.
“*I came early to see you, hyung. Let’s go and greet the other mentors when you’re ready.”
“*Thanks, I was a bit nervous because it’s a foreign broadcasting station.”
Cheonsinwi smiled shyly.
He had a good memory of ‘The Rose of Sharon Has Bloomed’, which he did at the Idol Olympics.
The members of Awi approached him first, even though he was ignored as a flop.
“*Did you greet everyone?”
“*I had a meal with the mentors before the recording.”
“*Then, let’s go now since we’re talking about it.”
Ian fixed his slightly protruding bangs and walked out to the hallway with Cheonsinwi.
“*Can I ask who we’re going to greet now?”
Ian asked as he stood next to the waiting room. Cheonsinwi read the names of the participants on the door.
“*The dance mentors are senior Wei Hao and Zhang Hyuk, who won the Chinese dance competition.”
“*Wei Hao? The name sounds familiar.”
“*He was a Korean idol.”
[Dove. He was in Unknown and then flew away.]
Ian remembered what Jin said.
‘I know Unknown. They debuted around the same time as Diamond.’
He remembered how Unknown’s debut song exploded and then they flew away like doves.
That was Wei Hao.
He must be quite old, but he came out as a mentor.
He must have been popular in China.
“*That senior also lived in Canada, so we can communicate.”
“*Really?”
Ian was glad that there was someone else who had no problem with communication besides Cheonsinwi. Cheonsinwi opened the door and Ian spoke in English.
“*Hello. I’m Ian. I’m not good at Chinese yet.”
Wei Hao greeted them with a smile.
“*Hello, Awi! I know you. You’re my junior.”
‘Junior my ass…’
Wei Hao was a popular member, and Unknown was shaky at times. He caused trouble for the team and wanted to do Hallyu business.
Ian smiled and shook hands with him. They had to get along until the end of the program anyway. He also shook hands with Zhang Hyuk.
Ian had nothing to say either, since he appeared on a knock-off program that didn’t even buy the official rights from Korea.
‘Anyway, the original is Nnet.’
I wonder if Nnet would be more angry. He had already crossed the point of no return with Nnet because of ‘rigging’.
Cheonsinwi woke Ian up from his thoughts.
“*Let’s go and greet the other mentors too.”
“*See you later.”
Ian and Cheonsinwi left with the farewell of the dance mentors.
“*The rap mentor is Wang Yifeng from EXT.”
“*Is he influential enough to have his own waiting room?”
“*You’re quick-witted. EXT is a popular idol group in China. He can speak English too.”
That was good news. Cheonsinwi knocked on the waiting room door.
“*Senior, we came to greet you as mentors.”
“*Hello, I’m Awi from Korea, Ian.”
Wang Yifeng paused for a moment when he saw Ian’s face, then greeted him with a smile.
“*Hello, I’m Wang Yifeng from EXT. I know ‘Side Effect’. I did a cover song too.”
“*Really?”
‘Not only Korea was shaken up.’
Well, Joo Hyuk hyung did pick good songs. Ian felt proud of his members.
Wang Yifeng hesitated for a moment and then whispered to Ian.
“*Can you ask… if the composer of that song has any plans to give us a song?”
“*I’ll ask our leader hyung.”
“*Oh, you’re a member? You should impress Ian.”
It would be nice if Joo Hyuk got some Chinese royalty coins. Ian smiled and accepted his words.
The last one they met was the vocal mentor, who was a famous singer-songwriter in China.
“*Hello. I’m Awi, Ian.”
“*Nice to meet you. I’m Zhao Gaga.”
She also smiled and received Ian’s greeting.
“*They’re all nice people.”
“*Really? That’s good.”
The cast seemed to welcome Ian. It was good that they didn’t have any attitude problems. Ian sighed with relief and returned to his waiting room.
***
“Idols are in your heart. Idol Uni, let’s begin.”
With the end of Chen Shihui’s introduction, the mentors’ stages were broadcasted on VCR. The first one was Wei Hao.
‘He’s good at dancing.’
[He was a dance member in Unknown.]
Around the middle of the video, Wei Hao rose up on a lift and continued dancing from the video.
The trainees were ecstatic.
Then, the other mentors’ stages followed, and the last one was Ian.
When Ian’s mentor stage that was filmed in Korea was shown on the big screen, not only the other mentors, but also the production staff murmured.
“He prepared a lot.”
“Isn’t this getting more attention than the trainees?”
“Will there be a separate song release?”
After the short video of 1 minute and 30 seconds ended, Ian appeared from the darkness and danced and sang. The trainees screamed like fans.
“What do I do, he’s so cool.”
“He’s handsome.”
After finishing his stage, Ian greeted them in Chinese that he had practiced.
“Hello, I’m Ian, the vocal mentor.”
“He’s a very popular global male idol these days.”
While Chen Shihui was hosting, the mentors lined up in the center of the stage.
“Idol Uni, we will start the grade evaluation.”
With MC Chen Shihui’s words, the project idol officially began.
The trainees moved busily and found their seats.
“What criteria will you use to judge?”
Ian skimmed through the script that was translated into English as Chen Shihui hosted.
“Of course, it’s skill.”
“I look at personality. Someone who can follow the mentor’s teachings well.”
At the end of the mentors’ answers, Chen Shihui asked Ian in English. Ian smiled and held up his microphone.
“Skill and personality are important, but… I will look at potential.”
“Good.”
Chen Shihui translated Ian’s answer.
“Then, we will start with the dance group evaluation.”
The trainees who belonged to the dance group stood at the edge of the stage.
They all went to a shop as a group and came back with neat faces and distinctive stage outfits.
There were also trainees with androgynous charms that made it hard to tell if they were male or female.
[That type is popular in China. Girl crush? Something like that. He probably made it to the final top 3?]
‘Was he good?’
Ian drank some water and scanned the trainees. He didn’t intend to do it half-heartedly since he came out anyway.
“Before we decide on the order, is there anyone who wants to go first?”
“Me!”
Starting with the trainee who came out actively to the center, the dance group evaluation began.
Since they would be branded as unskilled in the first episode if they couldn’t dance, the dance group had skills that were above average.
There were even trainees who did modern dance and traditional dance.
“That was very good.”
“It seems like your movements don’t match with the beat?”
While Wei Hao and Jang Hyuk-gun were giving serious evaluations, Ian had no idea what they were saying and sat with his chin resting on his hand.
‘When will the vocal group stage start…’
He tried his best to look interested in the stage to prevent malicious editing, but he thought there was no law that said he wouldn’t get bad editing because he was a foreigner.
“The dance group evaluation is over. Next is, the vocal group evaluation.”
After a long wait, finally, the first vocal evaluation trainee stood in the center of the stage. Zhao Gaga and Ian looked at him with expectant eyes.
As soon as the trainee sang the first verse, Ian barely held back his collapsing expression.
[He’s bad.]
‘…Maybe he’s nervous?’
This wasn’t even vibration, his voice was trembling non-stop.
When it came to the climax part of the song, the trainee closed his eyes tightly and belted out a high note.
‘Wow, this is really awful.’
Ian unconsciously touched his head.
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