Chapter 98:
Chapter 98
He’s your fanboy, right?
The trainees who made it to the debut group climbed up the stairs on the stage and sat on the throne-like chairs at the top.
And the eliminated ones drank bitter cups at the bottom of the stairs.
It was only a few steps away, but it felt infinitely far.
Ian, who was sitting on the mentor seat and watching the scene, suddenly got up from his seat.
[What’s wrong?]
‘I’m worried.’
The audience left the venue, and there was still a lot of time left until they took a group photo on the stage.
“Can I go to the stage?”
“Yes. What for…?”
“Just… to comfort them.”
Ian asked for permission from the production team and went to the front of the trainees.
The interpreter and VJ who were assigned to Ian followed him.
As Ian approached them, the trainees looked up at his face.
“First of all, congratulations to the nine trainees who made it to the final group. You all deserve to debut.”
Ian scanned the nine members of the debut group and encouraged them.
“You must be happy with the busy schedule, but there will be more hard and exhausting things ahead. But you can overcome them. Have confidence in yourself. Congratulations again.”
Zhu Xi cried almost like a sob among the nine members of the final group.
She felt rewarded for her efforts after a long period of being a trainee in Korea for five years and debuting but being as good as unknown.
Ian turned his head and looked at the eliminated ones who didn’t make it to the debut group.
“It’s unfortunate that you didn’t make it to the debut group, but it’s not your fault. Don’t be disappointed, this is not the end. You will have plenty of opportunities.”
Unlike Kim Yong-min, who was in his late twenties after Produce A ended, they were young enough to have another chance to challenge idol. At least he wanted to believe that.
“In today’s society where luck is also considered as skill, you might feel unfair to be blamed for being unlucky, and you might regret and blame yourself for the past by thinking ‘If I did this back then…’, ‘Why was I so bad back then?’”
The interpreter translated Ian’s words busily.
“Those thoughts will hinder your growth. And whether you overcome them or not depends on your mindset.”
“…”
“You can use this program as a stepping stone to reach higher goals. At least I know that you all worked hard enough. You did a great job.”
“…”
“And it was an honor for me to be with you who worked harder than anyone else.”
Ian bowed his head and greeted them sincerely.
The trainees applauded him for his heartfelt consolation.
Yang Zha-ling came up to him and spread her arms to hug him, but Ian unconsciously put his hand on her forehead as the distance narrowed.
‘Oops…’
He tried to fix it by stroking her head, but he couldn’t stop the other trainees.
In an instant, they crowded around him, and even the trainees who made it to the final group came closer to him with sparkling eyes.
‘Whatever. Let’s just do free hugs.’
Ian gave a light hug of comfort to each trainee who came up to him.
The other mentors also went up to the stage and gave their consolation, handshakes, and hugs to the trainees.
-The behind-the-scenes of Idol Uni that caused a stir in China
(Link) The locals are touched by how he comforts the trainees
└Really?
└Wow he’s so handsome.
└Is that why this program did well?
└└The votes for the trainees exceeded hundreds of millions;; And that’s not even the total votes;;;
└I was curious and went there, but it’s constantly on real-time search
-A summary of Choi Ian, Idol Uni’s Confucian man.jpg
(Photo) Look at how he grabs her forehead when she asks for a hug??? He was surprised and tried to fix it by stroking her head????
(Photo) But they all rushed in and it was useless??????
(Photo) He was also a helpless Korean idol???
└What is this? A barrier?
└Look at how he desperately blocks them?????
└Look at his expression??? He looks like he’s screwed?????????
└This is so funny?????
└How much does he care about his fans’ eyes?
└└What is this sudden fandom whip?
└But anyway they all hugged him???? Look at the height difference and the size difference, it’s so sweet??
****
Ian, who finished his schedule in China, returned to Korea right away.
He came out of the departure hall and onto the road, and Kim Myung-jin, the road manager, drove the van and stopped in front of Ian.
“You’re back. Are you tired?”
“I’m fine. I have to go to practice right away… How have you been, hyung? Are our members in the practice room?”
“Yup, I was on my way back after dropping him off at the company.”
Park Dong-soo, who was sitting in the passenger seat, asked Kim Myung-jin.
“Nothing much happened?”
“Yeah, Ian got a good response here too, you know?”
Ian, who was about to close his eyes for a moment, woke up with a start.
“Really?”
“Yeah, the fan site of Awi exploded last night. The community reaction was also good… The director was worried about how to do the pre-order for the album, right?”
“Seriously?”
Ian leaned back on his seat. He had been busy teaching the trainees and preparing for the album at the same time. He hadn’t slept well for a while.
‘Maybe I can look forward to the next album?’
Ian smiled faintly.
***
As soon as he arrived at the company, Ian headed straight to the practice room.
The members were already sprawled on the floor of the practice room after finishing a round of practice.
“I’m here.”
As soon as Ian opened the door and entered, the members jumped up and greeted him.
“Teacher Choi! Teacher Choi is here!”
“Choi mentor! You brought us some souvenirs, right?”
The members who crawled over to Ian like zombies made him frown.
“Geez, you scared me. I don’t have any souvenirs, I forgot.”
“Why!”
“I was so busy that I didn’t have time to get them.”
‘Actually, I didn’t buy them because I was uneasy because of Covid-19…’
At Ian’s answer, Jo Tae-woong wrapped his arms around him cheekily.
“Your love has cooled down…”
What kind of horrible thing is he saying? Ian pushed Jo Tae-woong away with a gagging gesture.
“Now that Ian is here, let’s try it together.”
Lee Joo-hyuk got up and sat in front of the laptop. In a few days, there would be the Bada Chart Awards. And on top of that, preparing for a new album… They had to match their choreography in a short time.
“You know your position, right?”
“Roughly, but who was doing my role? He was good.”
“We picked one of our trainees who was good at it. They’re going to be our backup dancers anyway…”
Kim Hyun answered and Kim Joo-young continued.
“When we said we’d send you a video to practice, they all said ‘me! me!’ and volunteered. They really like you. They even watched the video of you as an idol trainee that was floating around on the internet.”
“Really? Why do they watch that instead of practicing…”
He scratched his cheek with embarrassment.
The members found their positions according to their positions and danced with serious expressions.
“Ah, it’s a bit off. Let’s do it again.”
As expected, they couldn’t get it right at once and the choreography was slightly off. There was even a time when they bumped into each other because their positions were tangled.
“Again.”
Lee Joo-hyuk tilted his head and played the music again. After dancing four times in a row, the members gasped for breath. Ian felt sorry and lay down on the floor.
“Sorry, it must be because of me.”
“No, we were sloppy without you too.”
“Really sorry, I’ll buy you lunch or something.”
“Let’s do it one more time first.”
Lee Joo-hyuk played the music again. Ian stared at the mirror and danced.
His expression brightened when the choreography matched perfectly at the most difficult part. When the music ended, he stretched his arms up to the sky.
“We did it!”
“Good. We just have to do it like this.”
“Let’s do it one more time and then eat for real.”
“So what are you going to buy us, teacher Choi?”
They played the music again just in case it was a coincidence. The result was perfect. The members quickly put on their clothes with relaxed expressions.
“Okay, let’s go eat now.”
“What do you want?”
“Pork belly?”
As they left the practice room with relieved faces, someone looked at them with envy.
“Hello!”
It was the trainees of this company.
“Oh, hi.”
Awi, who was used to receiving greetings from the trainees, headed for the stairs. Two trainees followed them closely.
“What do you want to say?”
“Well, Ian hyung has a favor to ask you…”
“What is it?”
Ian, who was climbing the stairs at the front, turned around and looked at them. Just as the trainees were about to open their mouths hesitantly, Ian cut them off.
“You’re not asking me for vocal lessons, are you?”
“Yes, that’s it!”
“Can you please teach us a little?”
Those trainees were the ones who received harsh criticism for their vocals in the regular evaluation. Ian thought briefly and said.
“I don’t think that’s possible.”
“Why?”
The trainees looked at Ian with a devastated expression.
“We don’t have much time left for our comeback, and if I teach you, what will your vocal teachers do?”
“But…”
“It would be better for you to ask your vocal teachers for intensive guidance.”
Ian sighed deeply at their puppy-like faces.
Wusang Uni was hired as a mentor, but he was an artist in this company, not a vocal lesson teacher.
He couldn’t do what he couldn’t do.
“Guys, work hard.”
Lee Juhyuk, who was watching from afar, pushed Ian’s back. The two trainees who were looking at Awi’s back as he left the ground frowned.
“What the hell, he was supposed to be nice.”
“He’s so rude.”
“What about Wusang Uni then?”
“They’re girls. He must be flirting with them.”
“That’s so gross.”
Their appearance from just before, when they were groveling, was nowhere to be seen. The two trainees laughed as they badmouthed Ian behind his back. In the midst of that situation, another trainee who had been secretly watching them blocked their way.
“What are you doing?”
“What… what are you doing here, Lim Noeul?”
“Did you… did you hear everything?”
The two who had asked Ian for vocal lessons were notorious for their bad personalities among the trainees.
“Look at you, having fun talking behind his back. You have no shame.”
“What.”
“What do you want.”
The two trainees who had been scared for a moment glared at Lim Noeul with a fierce expression.
Lim Noeul, who had only been a trainee for a short time, was ranking high in all kinds of trainee evaluations. It was natural for them to feel jealous.
“I heard everything.”
“…So what if you did.”
The trainee called Lim Noeul smirked and shook his phone.
“And I recorded it too. You bastards.”
“Hey… hey! Lim Noeul!”
“I’m going straight to the team leader with this. You know our company values personality, right? Get ready to be kicked out.”
Lim Noeul easily pushed away the trainees who tried to snatch his phone and pressed the close button on the elevator repeatedly.
“Hey! Wait… wait a minute!”
Lim Noeul stuck out his middle finger between the closing elevator doors and grinned.
***
And just in case, Ian checked the situation of that place through Jin.
‘There are always people with bad personalities.’
Ian looked at Lim Noeul, who was acting as if he had discovered his backbiting scene through Jin’s screen.
‘Why is he like this? Is he a spokesperson?’
He thought so, but he felt good.
When he looked closely at his face, it was the same trainee who had played his role in filming Ian’s practice choreography video.
[Why is he here?]
‘What? Do you know him?’
[He’s your fanboy.]
‘?!’
Updated from fr𝒆ewebnov𝒆l.(c)om