NOVEL NEXT Chapter 62
Kim Ye-eun Unni’s high notes made Gong Chae-rin Unni beam with joy.
“Hey Ye-eun! That’s so good!”
“Hehe… Thank you!”
Ye-eun Unni was smiling happily at Chae-rin Unni’s compliment.
But just a while ago, when she came out of the restroom, she was all teary-eyed.
Is she simple-minded or just positive?
Still, it’s definitely great that she’s improved…
For now, I guess we’ll just have to keep trying.
“Then I’ll give it another shot~”
As expected, after a few rounds of practice, it seemed like the hype had faded, and Ye-eun Unni’s pitch went off the rails again.
– I’m the it girl, so charming, come hug me~
oh
–
The team members kept showering her with praise, which was the problem.
That’s why the hype fades.
“Do it again…”
I was about to shout for Ye-eun Unni to try again, but I noticed the sisters collapsed in exhaustion around me.
Their faces looked so drained.
‘Did I push too hard with my tempo?”
Looks like we repeated the live stage practice non-stop, and everyone got really tired.
After all, in our top-tier class, the only one who could keep up with my tempo was Hana Unni.
“Should we take a little break?”
The sisters’ faces lit up.
Meanwhile, Ye-eun Unni’s face turned pale.
“I can do it well!”
Who cares?
“I think it’s better for everyone to take a short break since you all look tired. Ye-eun Unni, let’s take a bathroom break together~”
Ye-eun Unni was trembling.
How much more would I annoy her?
I was just trying to keep the effort up with a little comment.
“Hurry up~”
Like a stone statue, Ye-eun Unni didn’t move until I grabbed her hand and pulled her along.
.
.
.
– Come hug me~oh –
Her voice was clean and ethereal.
Her range was decent too.
I realized after repeating this several times.
To unlock Unni’s potential, I needed to push her to the limit, whether it was externally or internally.
Without necessarily nagging, just continuing to encourage her would build up her confidence, allowing her to showcase her abilities herself.
But honestly, nagging is much easier.
Encouragement takes ages.
So, I decided to keep encouragement for the cameras, and nagging for behind the scenes.
Thank goodness Ye-eun Unni was just a year younger at 16, a middle schooler.
If there were a bigger age gap, I’d have to worry about societal perceptions, making it inconvenient for care.
“Our Ye-eun is doing so well~”
The sisters were showering Ye-eun Unni with compliments.
This shouldn’t be happening.
We need to dish out compliments sometimes, but if they keep doing it, the hype will fade…
I guess I can’t help it.
Until she can do it on her own, my care will be necessary.
Unaware of my thoughts, Ye-eun Unni giggled at the compliments from the sisters.
Looks like she’s going to zone out again soon.
But why does my mouth keep curling up?
*
[web notification]
☆Mwave [Justdol Season 3] Attendance Info☆
Congratulations on being selected for the live audience of [Justdol Season 3].
※Attendance Details
– Date: June 18, 2022 (Saturday)
If you’ve won in the polling, please reply to the number below only if you cannot attend.
– Writer 010-xxxx-xxxx
‘So I actually won.’
Ryu Ho-beom was bewildered.
Here’s how it all started.
As a 30-something office worker, he had finished work, sat at his desk eating snacks and drinking beer he picked up on his way home, watching YouTube.
“Nothing to watch.”
Habitually clicking on trending videos, his eyes landed on a thumbnail featuring several girls brightly smiling.
<[ENG sub] justdol3 [First Release] Justdol3_Crush On U Performance 220602 EP.0>
‘Ah, so this is it.’
It had been a topic of conversation at the company for a few days.
Curiosity got the better of him, and he clicked on the video.
‘Oh… they’re pretty, all so cute.’
But just like that.
Once he hit his 30s, he didn’t feel any particular attraction to idols anymore.
After all, it’s just a story from another world.
However, his encounter with JustDol3 did not end there.
Perhaps because of that one video he clicked on that day, JustDol3 videos occasionally popped up on his YouTube Shorts, and he ended up watching the bright and cheerful atmosphere till the end.
Moreover, while surfing through internet communities, he frequently stumbled upon discussions about JustDol.
As he kept encountering related videos and posts, he found his gaze drawn to a girl.
A girl showing off while standing center stage.
‘There’s definitely a reason she’s the center.’
Through community posts, he learned her name was Do-hee Lee, and he got curious about what she was up to, so he checked TreeWiki.
Thus, he entered the JustDol3 community and looked for relevant posts about Do-hee.
[Profile Released] Topist Do-hee Lee
[Profile]
Do-hee Lee #ION Sweat Advertising Model
Date of Birth – 2008.02.04
MBTI – ESTP
Height – 167.5 cm
Trainee Period – 3 years 7 months
Hobby – Sleeping
Special Skill – Piano
(Profile Photo 1)…(Profile Photo 13)
└ Damn.
└ Wow, she’s really pretty.
└ Super pretty, lol.
└ Let’s just debut her already.
└ What’s with this season’s Topist, whoa.
└ Perfect as is… Simply perfect.
└ ESTP? Sounds a bit cocky.
└ Trainee period? Started at 11 and trained for 3 years and 7 months, huh?
└ So her skills must be good?
└ Dunno. There were loads of kids in season 1 with over 5 years of experience who were terrible.
└ She’s perfect; she’s the center.
└ But piano as a special skill??? Didn’t someone on Twitter say Do-hee won several piano competitions?
└ Don’t get confused; there are tons of competitions, so it’s easy to win. The ones you think are tough are the major competitions.
└ Ah, is that so? Didn’t know that. But still, a trainee who plays piano well is great!
└ With that height, she’ll be model-fit in no time.
└ Do-hee, can I love you…?
└ Pretty means nothing; we need to see the skill.
└ My number one pick is definitely Do-hee.
[Upvote Request] Do-hee PR Video GIFs
(GIF 1)…(GIF 5)
└ Heart fluttering.
└ So pretty…
└ This is what our country is!
└ This season is definitely her.
└ But her aegyo isn’t great, lol.
└ Her being shy with that face just makes her cuter, lol.
Thus, Ryu Ho-beom, who was searching daily for Do-hee’s posts and videos.
His YouTube was flooded with Do-hee algorithms.
‘What does a 30-something adult office worker have to do with idols? I’m just watching because she’s cute, that’s all.’
He was denying his own growing interest.
His fascination with idols was a thing from his 20s, during his two years of military service.
Then came a post in the community.
[First Round Competition Application Opened]
(Promotional poster for the first live evaluation application)
Application Link – https://twitter.com/justdol3official
└ Woah.
└ Already? That was quick.
└ The first round is just a popularity vote; does live voting even matter?
└ Let’s go for the competition!
He half-heartedly applied for the first round audience, not expecting to win a spot.
[Does anyone have tickets they want to sell…? ㅠ.ㅠ]
[The scalper prices for the competition are insane right now.]
[Can someone sell it a bit cheaper?]
The JustDol3 community was flooded with posts asking for tickets, but he had no plans to sell.
There were no thoughts.
Scalping is bad, after all.
And when would I get to experience something like this? It’s part of cultural life.
So Ryu Ho-beom was just rationalizing himself.
Before I knew it, it was the day of the live audience.
The place was the Ilsan studio owned by LE, Mwave’s parent company.
The ticket exchange time was 3 PM.
Even though Ryu Ho-beom arrived well before 2 PM, the line of audience members in front of the studio was packed.
Moreover, it was early June, a hot summer day.
He had to sweat it out in the long queue with no shade in sight.
Fortunately, fans of the trainees began handing out fan goods.
“Do you want one?”
“Oh, I’m fine.”
Ryu Ho-beom declined the fan goods for another trainee and waited until Do-hee’s fan passed by to receive one.
He fanned himself and thought,
‘This fan is pretty nice.’
As 3 PM rolled around, the audience began to enter gradually.
“Everyone! Please sign this first!”
A staff member shouted from the front.
What the staff was holding was a pledge form.
Only after he signed the pledge promising not to spoil or film could he get his ticket.
But that wasn’t the end of it.
The production staff insisted on checking bags and cell phones for any hidden cameras, even making everyone walk through a metal detector.
“Sigh… I’m already getting worn out. Is it always like this?”
Even when he got into the set, the hardships didn’t end.
He didn’t really expect a seat, but the studio was all standing, and the audience had to wait on their feet until the show began.
Ryu Ho-beom felt like giving up and leaving, but he didn’t want to waste the wait time.
After waiting for three long hours, the MC finally took the stage and started a talk show to relieve the audience’s fatigue.
After the talk show wrapped up,
“This mission is a hit song battle featuring girl groups by year! Two teams covering hit songs from each year will compete!”
The MC only explained the basic rules and voting methods.
It was to prevent spoilers since he knew the audience would post their reviews online anyway.
“Now, let me introduce your first girl group! The hit song from 2014! Teams covering ‘A Sip of Tea Party’ come up!”
As the MC finished speaking, the two teams took to the stage.
Ryu Ho-beom wasn’t particularly interested in the two teams.
However, since they were trainees, they all had pretty faces, so it wasn’t completely boring to watch.
“Oh, isn’t Kim Na-eun from the same agency as Do-hee?”
As he subconsciously connected the dots with Do-hee, Ryu Ho-beom didn’t realize it yet.
When he assessed the performance of the two groups covering ‘A Sip of Tea Party,’ it was at a talent show level.
Even he, who had no interest in idols, could tell it was just that.
Of course, the choreography was clean, precise, and showed signs of practice compared to regular folks.
But the problem was the vocals.
There were parts of the song that were hard to listen to.
Maybe it was because they were dancing, but the pronunciation was off, and their vocal delivery was amateurish.
Well, they were trainees, so expecting pro-level skills from them wasn’t realistic.
“But this is too much.”
At least the main vocalist, Kim Na-eun, managed to hit high notes despite lowering her pitch in parts.
“I wonder if the next kids can do as well as Kim Na-eun.”
However, contrary to his hopes, the performance from 2015 didn’t live up to his expectations either.
And so it went on through the stages of 2016, 2017, and 2018.
Sure, there were a few standout trainees here and there, but the anticipation for the upcoming performances had long faded.
“My legs hurt, should we go home?”
“The kids’ singing is serious.”
“Seriously, this is just too much.”
“Looks like everything shown in seasons 1 and 2 was all edited…”
The surrounding audience seemed disappointed too, and apart from the loyal fans, the atmosphere was pretty chaotic.
The atmosphere was chaotic, except for the loyal fanbase.
However, what kept them hanging on was the still-to-come popular members.
Whether it was the production team’s intent or just random, it seemed that most popular members were grouped toward the latter part.
But after such a disappointing previous stage, could the next one really be any better?
Even the relatively decent stage was lacking in vocal power.
If the next stage turns out to be disappointing too, Ryu Ho-beom decided he’d just go home, regardless of Do-hee or anyone else.
2019 stage.
Finally, the most talked-about popular members arrived.
In group one were Kim Seo-yoon and Jeon Ha-rang, while in group two was Eun Se-ra.
“Wow… Damn… She’s ridiculously pretty…”
Among the popular members, Eun Se-ra’s beauty was on another level.
She had a tiny face with features that all fit perfectly together.
She looked even more stunning in real life than in photos.
I never expected to feel such emotions towards an idol again.
It was the first time I’d felt this kind of emotion since my days as a soldier, when I was crazy about women.
The set was buzzing again with the introduction of the popular member.
The cheers for their appearance were on another level.
And most importantly, the quality of the performance had changed.
First up was group one with Kim Seo-yoon and Jeon Ha-rang.
It seemed like Kim Seo-yoon was taking the lead with high notes and Jeon Ha-rang caught the eye as the center.
“I see why the trainees are proud to be in formation. Those two, Kim Seo-yoon and Jeon Ha-rang, are different from the other trainees.”
I guess my expectations had lowered so much until now, but surely they had to be this good to be idols.
And finally, the performance of group two, Eun Se-ra a leading candidate, began.
Maybe it was because Kim Seo-yoon and Jeon Ha-rang were so good beforehand, but the stage with Eun Se-ra felt unexpectedly bland and boring.
Even Eun Se-ra, who I had high hopes for, had mediocre dance skills and didn’t showcase anything particularly outstanding compared to Kim Seo-yoon.
Just as I was mentally declaring group one the winner, Eun Se-ra’s high notes suddenly erupted in the chorus.
In that moment, my heart thumped.
It wasn’t an emotional thump; it was a physical one.
With her refreshing high notes, the volume resonated in my ears.
“Wow…”
“Insane…”
The volume echoed throughout the set.
“This is why she’s a leading candidate…”
I pressed the vote button for Eun Se-ra on the remote given by the production staff.
I felt sorry for Kim Seo-yoon, who was in the same agency as Do-hee, but it felt like I became a fan of Eun Se-ra.
“But could Do-hee do better than this?”
I highly doubted it.
Eun Se-ra’s vocal power felt as if she were a professional singer.
I might as well just be a fan of Eun Se-ra.
“Since I’ve come this far, I should at least watch Do-hee’s performance, right…?”
But Do-hee didn’t even make it to the 2020 stage.
I wanted to go home quickly, but of course, Do-hee’s stage was the very last, which annoyed Ryu Ho-beom.
After the 2020 stage ended, we finally reached the last stage of 2021.
“Here comes the final stage of theAttack Season 3 team battle!”
“This song is the 2021 mega hit, 3M’s IT G.”
“Let’s meet the two teams responsible for this glamorous finale!”
Twelve trainees climbed onto the stage.
But his gaze was fixated on one person.
I bet other audience members felt the same.
She looked even prettier in person.
That feeling was way too obvious.
It wasn’t going to end on such a note.
Do-hee, dressed in cute stage outfits and radiant makeup, stepped onto the stage, exuding a playful smile devoid of any nerves.
“Is she flirting with me right now…?”
Do-hee had a unique aura or vibe about her.
“If I was thrilled by Eun Se-ra earlier…”
This was the title track of Attack Season 3.
[Crush On You]
“I’ve fallen for a girl 17 years younger than me. Damn.”