Second Try Idol

Chapter 389: Red Rouge (8)

“Only those who haven’t made mistakes can ask to reduce practice hours. So, Joo-Han and Yoo-Joon hyung, you are disqualified from speaking on this matter,” Jin-Sung said firmly while snorting a little. Given that the main reason our practice hours had increased was indeed due to Joo-Han and Goh Yoo-Joon, they found themselves speechless.

“See, hyung? We should just stay quiet. Hyun-Woo should handle this,” Goh Yoo-Joon muttered softly to Joo-Han.

“Would you rather have your mistakes caught on camera during the broadcast or practice with me until dawn?” Jin-Sung pressed on.

Joo-Han thought for a moment before looking at the camera and conceding. “Alright, let’s move on to the next agenda item.”

“What? So, will the practice hours stay the same?”

“Hyung?”

“Next agenda, please!” Joo-Han hurriedly moved on by ignoring our questions. The agenda of reducing practice hours was something everyone, except Jin-Sung, wanted. Joo-Han had just taken the lead on it.

Surprisingly, Jin-Sung’s solid rebuttal left the usually eloquent Joo-Han at a loss for words, hurriedly pushing the topic aside. Jin-Sung flashed a victory sign at the camera while Joo-Han shuffled his cue cards and muttered under his breath. “We will practice more and revisit this issue later. Ah-hem. Next topic, quickly!”

At Joo-Han’s request, another banner descended from the ceiling.

[Discuss the name and future direction of Chronos' first variety show!]

“This agenda item comes from our production team. Let’s talk about what we should name our first variety show and what we should do in it. How about it?”

“Oh, so that’s why they didn’t tell us the show’s name earlier?” Goh Yoo-Joon nodded in understanding. They had kept referring to it as “Chronos Variety Show” and “Our First Variety Show,” building up to letting us name it ourselves.

“Who should start? This time, let’s give Yoon-Chan the first chance to speak,” Joo-Han suggested.

“Me?” Yoon-Chan squeaked.

“Yes, you, Yoon-Chan. You’ve had less participation in this meeting. What do you think is a good name for our variety show?”

Yoon-Chan’s eyes darted around. I could see him straining his mind from across the table as he tried to come up with something.

“...What’s with the silence?”

“Shh, let Yoon-Chan think.”

“Right. Be quiet, Goh Yoo-Joon.”

“Oh, come on! Dead air on a show? I’m just trying to help! Come on, people, say something!” Goh Yoo-Joon exclaimed by filling the silence.

Despite the chatter, Yoon-Chan remained deep in thought. After a long pause, he finally spoke and looked a bit teary-eyed. “All I can think of is Chronos History.”

“Oh.”

The members let out a collective sigh. Our first-ever show Chronos History was named by combining our group name and the title of the original song we used during the competition. It was a fitting title.

“How about we create another name based on one of our songs?” Jin-Sung suggested.

“Chronos Parade? No, that’s too grand.”

Other song titles that came to mind were “Parade,” “Joy,” “Phantom Spirit,” “Blue Room Party,” “Red Rouge.” None of them seemed to fit perfectly.

The set fell silent again. Even Goh Yoo-Joon, who had been adamantly filling the silence by saying someone had to speak, was quiet now.

‘What should we name it? What are other groups using?’

I thought of familiar names like "Allure Camp" from the Allure or “High Tension's High Tension” from High Tension, clearly named by Ji-Hyuk. ...They were not particularly inspiring.

“Can’t we just continue with Chronos History?” I asked.

“Hmm, let me ask. Aside from that... Do you have any ideas, Yoo-Joon?” Joo-Han prompted.

“Uhh...” Even Goh Yoo-Joon seemed out of ideas. He smiled sheepishly. “Does it have to be fancy? I think something simple and catchy would work.”

“Simple and catchy?” Joo-Han repeated.

Yoo-Joon nodded. “I’ve noticed that variety shows usually don’t have grand names. Something more familiar and easy to remember would be better.”

“Alright, give us some examples.”

Caught off guard, Goh Yoo-Joon scratched his head. Then, he grinned. “Uh, I didn’t think that far ahead~”

At least we had a sense of direction now thanks to Goh Yoo-Joon’s suggestion.

“Something simple and cute, but still related to Chronos...”

“Does it have to include ‘Chronos’ in the title?” I asked.

“Yes, ‘Chronos’ must be in the title,” Joo-Han affirmed.

Simple, catchy, and related to Chronos. What could it be?

“Hmmm...” I thought aloud, feeling stuck.

Trying to come up with a name that fit all the criteria seemed harder than expected. I finally let out a sigh and realized that we were probably overthinking it. I decided to clear my mind and just blurt out whatever came to my lips.

“How about ‘Chronos Time?’”

The members commented on my idea.

“Oh, should it be simple like that?”

“Uh, isn’t that a bit too plain?”

“Mr. Kang! Suh Hyun-Woo’s idea is so random and cheesy!”

“Why don’t we come up with more ideas? That is umm... too...”

“Oh... okay... Umm... then...”

‘I guess it was a bit off. Hmm...’

Feeling utterly embarrassed, I just slumped down. What could I do if nothing came to mind? I had never been good at naming things. Sure, people thought it was cute now, but remember when we first decided to call our fans Rings? Back then, Goh Yoo-Joon had laughed and called it cheesy.

“Then, how about this? Instead of Chronos Time, let’s call it Chronos Playtime. I think this one is pretty good.”

“Chronos Playtime? Hmm...”

Joo-Han seemed unsatisfied, but when Jin-Sung suggested, “How about Chronos Rock and Roll? It kinda gives us the vibe of ‘Joy,’” Joo-Han quickly settled on Chronos Playtime.

“Chronos Playtime. Let’s have the production team vote on this as well. Anyone who agrees, please raise your hand.”

It seemed clear that we wouldn’t come up with a better idea. Both the members and the production team raised their hands without hesitation. It appeared the production team was ready to accept whatever title we chose.

Joo-Han picked up the gavel. “Then, our variety show’s name is officially Chronos Playtime.”

Bang, bang, bang!

The sound of the gavel echoed as a grand soundtrack filled the set, like an awards show. The music played dramatically with flashy lights until Joo-Han signaled for it to stop by dramatically waving the baton.

“Alright, now that we’ve decided on the name, let’s discuss the direction this show will take.”

“This meeting sure is long,” remarked Goh Yoo-Joon.

Joo-Han acknowledged it with a wave of his gavel. “We are filming two episodes' worth of content, so there are more topics to cover. But this is the last one, so hang in there.”

Honestly, Joo-Han looked more tired and worn out than any of us.

“I’m all for it. This is fun.”

“What should Chronos Playtime be about? Any suggestions?”

Joo-Han’s eyes were already on Goh Yoo-Joon, who answered without much thought. “Isn’t it a show where we do whatever we want? That’s what I thought.”

I nodded in agreement. “Right, I thought it was going to be about different themes each time, starting with the Chronos meetings.”

“Different themes, but you know, like trying out new things?”

Joo-Han pointed his gavel at Goh Yoo-Joon again. He paused for a moment, then grinned at each member. “We should do things we normally wouldn’t.”

“What do you mean by that? Like what?”

“Things like sports day, surviving a week on a deserted island, making Suh Hyun-Woo act, or cooking.”

“Hey, what was that about me acting?”

‘What’s with the acting?’ I nudged Goh Yoo-Joon, and he shrugged.

“To improve the Rings’ tolerance level? It’d be fun to film a drama with the members.”

“That sounds fun. We could also do escape rooms, street performances, or some real survival games!”

“I’d love for us to go on a field trip, like camping. We’ve been too busy for real trips, so a travel episode would be great.”

Unlike the discussion for the show’s name, there were countless ideas for activities. There were so many suggestions that it was hard to write them all down. We had been talking about what we’d like to do since deciding to have our own variety show. Acting or filming a drama was new, though.

Would they really pick acting from all these ideas? Joo-Han knew how much I hated acting and how embarrassed I got...Though, knowing him, he might just go for it.

I pushed my worries aside and suggested, “How about a courage test or a horror special?”

Jin-Sung, who was excitedly discussing ideas, stood up and shouted, “Hey, hyung! That’s not fair! You’re not scared of anything! That’s just not right!!!”

“Alright, alright. I understand. Everyone, calm down and take your seats.” Joo-Han nodded at every suggestion with a business-like smile and said, “I’ve heard all your wonderful ideas. They all sound very entertaining.”

With a satisfied expression, he flipped his cue cards and exchanged a look with the director behind the camera. Seeing this, I couldn’t help but blurt out, “Why are you two exchanging looks? Director? Hyung?”

Joo-Han then spoke decisively. “We respect all your suggestions. So, we will cover many topics in future episodes, but we will absolutely do all the ideas mentioned here at some point!”

He pointed at Jin-Sung. “Courage test.”

Then he pointed at me. “Drama. And also survival on a deserted island, school trips, and more.”

“I knew it!” I yelled as I unconsciously jumped up. Jin-Sung looked equally devastated and glared at me.

Joo-Han smirked, and Goh Yoo-Joon looked pleased with himself while Yoon-Chan clapped with a tired but amused smile.

“Shh, we need to wrap this up. Jin-Sung and Hyun-Woo, be quiet. That concludes the third Chronos meeting.”

“Wait! Why are we the only ones getting punished?”

Despite our protests, Joo-Han continued. “Everyone, please join us next week for another episode of Chronos Playtime! Goodbye!”

“Goodbye!”

Joo-Han, Goh Yoo-Joon, and Park Yoon-Chan waved at the camera.

Bang, bang, bang! The gavel marked the end of the meeting.

This was unbelievable. I was already embarrassed just thinking about it. I glared at Goh Yoo-Joon, but he pretended not to notice, and I did the same when Jin-Sung glared at me.

“Good job, everyone!”

It was too late to change anything now since the filming was done.

“Oh well,” I sighed.

‘I guess I will have to endure the acting part. It’s a shared embarrassment, after all.’

I resigned and followed the others out of the set.