The Idol Training Simulation I Messed Up

Chapter 14

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*Do you remember Colors from three years ago?*

*The members were having a hard time back then, and I cried a lot too… I keep thinking about that time, and it makes me feel miserable…*

└*Did you call me when you went to that idol competition… I still have trauma*

└*shivering*

└*When I think about the members, I feel a bit resentful and miss them at the same time…*

└*222 After that, there’s been no news at all, so I’m a bit worried*

└*Does anyone know what happened aside from them suddenly leaving the company?*

└*I only know they had a fight with the company…*

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***

“What about your part-time job?”

Since his working hours were in the afternoons on weekdays, I worried that he might have to go back to work.

Jae Min’s workplace was quite a distance from here.

Looking at the time, if he had to go to work, I would have to send him back immediately.

“A friend is covering for me until they find someone.”

“That’s a relief.”

It was a relief, so I didn’t have to worry about anything else.

‘He really came to sign the contract seriously.’

Even though I joked while holding the contract, his intentions were sincere.

It must have been a difficult decision, but I was grateful that he quickly made up his mind and came.

I first dealt with the contract and then took him to the practice room where the members were.

The members must have known I met Jae Min from Woohyung.

Maybe that’s why they seemed unable to stay still and were hanging around the company.

‘Why do I feel more nervous?’

It was time for the reunion of the former member with the current members.

I grabbed the doorknob of the practice room and took a deep breath.

Slam.

When I opened the door, the members’ gazes focused on me.

“Hello, Director…”

The members who first greeted me must have noticed someone behind me.

They froze in their standing positions.

Jae Min took a step inside, and I could see the expressions on their faces change distinctly as they saw him.

The first to break the silence was Haerang.

Haerang walked over and hugged Jae Min tightly without saying a word.

Unlike when he met Woohyung yesterday, Jae Min wasn’t flustered. He simply smiled with his eyes and looked at the members.

Woohyung started sniffling again.

‘You cried yesterday, and now you’re crying again.’

I was watching his consistent behavior with a smile when I was startled by a loud cry next to me.

“Wahhh! Hyung! Where have you been all this time?”

The voice wasn’t Woohyung’s. Jun-hae cried out loud and clung to the two hugging.

Should I say he acted like the youngest? Jun-hae didn’t hide his emotions.

“Hey, man…”

Han-yi put a hand on Jae Min’s shoulder, teary-eyed.

“Anyone would think I came back from the dead.”

“You disappeared and now show up again, what do you expect?”

Sandwiched between the members, Jae Min didn’t cry like yesterday.

He joked with a smile, and Han-yi commented.

Though it had been years, their conversation flowed as if they were old friends.

“Are you staying for good?”

Jun-hae, who had been clinging to him for a long time, looked up and asked.

They were happy to welcome him, but they didn’t know if he had signed the contract.

Woohyung and I had taken the contract to him just last night, so it was natural for them to be curious about why he came today.

They couldn’t have imagined things would be resolved so quickly.

Jae Min looked at me before answering.

Seeing his gaze, I felt he was about to joke.

However, seeing the members’ earnest expressions, I felt they would definitely resent me if he joked, so I stepped in.

“Ahem. This is our new member, Myung Jae Min.”

Was it right to call him a new member? He was new but not new.

Though there was no need to introduce him anew in this situation where everyone had already greeted him, I said so.

The important part was that I introduced him as a member.

The members looked at my face once, then at Jae Min’s face.

“Wahhh!”

The situation from when Jae Min first entered repeated itself.

This time, even Woohyung joined in, and the five of them clung together as one.

“Why are you all crying like that?”

“Why aren’t you crying, you heartless guy?”

Haerang hugged him silently, Jun-hae sobbed loudly, and Woohyung, who was hugging everyone, was sniffling. Beside them, teary-eyed Han-yi already started bickering with Jae Min.

While the members were crying their hearts out, Jae Min kept smiling brightly.

‘Now there’s only laughter left.’

After a few minutes of being tangled together, the members finally calmed down and sat around Jae Min.

“How have you been?”

“I joined a street dance team with some nice seniors.”

“You were good at dancing.”

Han-yi nodded as he spoke.

Though Haerang was now the main dancer, Jae Min was originally the main dancer of Monochrome.

“And… fans would occasionally visit me.”

“Fans…”

Well, he had been working part-time at an ordinary place. Some fans must have recognized him as a former idol.

Hearing that fans came to see him filled me with gratitude.

The others didn’t say it, but they seemed to feel the same.

At the same time, it made me realize that what had happened was not limited to just these five members.

How hard must it have been for the fans in a different position?

“Ah, we’re releasing our self-composed song.”

Wanting to lighten the somewhat heavy mood, Woohyung spoke up.

“We have a part prepared for you.”

While looking for Jae Min, Woohyung had prepared a five-member version for when he returned.

It wasn’t just copying Yunhwan’s part.

Removing one person’s part had slowed the process, but Woohyung seemed to remember Jae Min’s voice clearly, making this task progress quickly.

Jae Min, who had been calmly smiling and talking, looked surprised at having his part already prepared.

“Well, actually, I haven’t sung in two years.”

“…”

The atmosphere became solemn for a moment.

He hadn’t sung once since leaving the group.

His career as a singer ended badly, leaving a trauma that prevented him from singing.

Though it was an unfortunate statement, from the company’s perspective, it was worrying.

Standing a little apart, I subtly turned around and checked my smartphone.

‘Myung Jae Min’s abilities…’

My Enter, which updated in real-time, was quick.

It had removed Yunhwan from the member list immediately after his contract ended.

Checking now, Jae Min had been added as a member as soon as the contract was signed.

Seeing his abilities, I was astonished.

‘Dance level 9?!’

As I mentioned before, entering double-digit levels meant a top-notch skill.

Like Haerang, who had a visual level in the double digits due to his incredible looks.

Jae Min’s dance level was on the verge of reaching 10.

The reason I had replaced Yunhwan with Jae Min was that Jae Min’s average ability was lower than Yunhwan’s at the time.

Yunhwan was the main vocalist, so in terms of dance level alone, Jae Min was probably higher.

However, even though I didn’t remember the exact numbers, it definitely wasn’t this high.

If his level had been this high back then, I wouldn’t have replaced him so easily.

‘It means learning on his own was better than being at the company…’

How little must the company have provided if he grew more while being away?

They were truly neglected gems.

Calming my surprise, I checked his vocal level.

Jae Min’s vocal level was close to 4, but at 3.

For reference, trainees usually start with levels 1-2. Yunhwan had entered as a trainee but was already half a professional, so his situation was different.

Debuted idols usually had an average ability level of 3 or higher.

A level in the high 3s was good considering he hadn’t sung in two years. It meant his basic skills were still intact.

‘With this, he should be able to regain his former skills quickly.’

Judging it would be manageable, I sighed in relief.

I felt a bit superficial checking these things amid an emotional reunion.

I glanced back, worried the members might have noticed my suspicious behavior.

However, they seemed to think I was working as I turned around to check my phone.

They were chatting among themselves without paying any attention to me.

‘Phew…’

Given the thorough preparation of the game system, it was probably set up so that others couldn’t see my phone screen.

Still, it wouldn’t be good if anyone saw it.

‘I should get another phone for work soon.’

That’s why I hadn’t made business cards yet.

Even though I didn’t have many contacts in this world, I couldn’t keep using this phone.

It was uncertain if the My Enter app could be transferred, and I didn’t know if my mom’s message history would carry over, so I had to use it carefully for at least two years.

I carefully put my phone away and spoke.

“Jae Min.”

The members turned to look at me at the sound of my voice.

“When will you move into the dorm?”

Jae Min had come today with only his phone and the contract.

The members’ gazes now turned to Jae Min.

Jae Min scratched his cheek as he replied.

“I didn’t have time to pack…”

After all, he must have been busy reading the contract and finding someone to cover his part-time job. When would he have had time to pack?

But, like Woohyung waiting in front of the convenience store yesterday, everyone wanted to keep Jae Min close and clung to him.

“Just bring yourself!”

“I don’t even have a change of clothes.”

“I’ll lend you mine.”

“Since when did we care whose clothes we wore?”

As long as the sizes matched, they seemed to share clothes without distinction.

Is that what dorm life is like? Well, they weren’t drastically different in size.

“I don’t even have underwear.”

“Well, that’s a bit…”

What are they talking about?

“I-I’ll lend you mine…”

“Guys, take it easy. Take it easy.”

Everyone started blurting out anything, as if they were in a hurry.

My attempt to calm them down made Jun-hae, who was about to offer his underwear, shut his mouth.

Seeing the members like this made Jae Min chuckle.

“I’m not going anywhere.”

“Hyung…”

The members looked at Jae Min with emotional expressions.

Realizing the greeting might take a while, I took out the corporate card tucked behind my access badge.

“Instead of standing here, why don’t you take Jae Min out for a meal? He needs to gain some weight.”

Though not exactly emaciated, he seemed lean from all the dancing.

Even though he always seemed bright, there were traces of hardship in such aspects, which made me feel a bit sorry for him.

It felt like finding a cat that had suffered and lost weight after leaving home for two years…

‘Come to think of it, he does look a bit like a cat.’

His sharp, monolid eyes made his facial features seem even slimmer.

I decided to make sure he ate well once he moved into the dorm.

“Eat something expensive. It’s not my money anyway.”

As long as it was company money, it was fine to splurge. They should at least make up for all they took from us.

I would make sure there would be no situations where they could say, “The company can’t even do this for us?”

Woohyung happily took the card, thanking me.

Leaving the members, I went up to the office. There was a lot of work to do from now on.

I had to carefully consider when to announce Jae Min’s return.

‘I wonder how the fans will react…’

The unpredictability was frightening.

Still, seeing their joy at reuniting made me motivated to work.

After going through so much, we were finally back together.

And now…

“It’s time to start the real comeback project.”

I had started and retreated a few times before.

But now, the real beginning was here.