CH31

The main writer may not have known, but Han Si-On was eating the grilled pork belly with that exact mindset.

He usually didn't like eating alone, so he did not eat much Korean food while staying in Korea.

Since he avoided Korea for image-making purposes when he was active in GOTM, this was his first time eating grilled pork belly in a very long time.

'Not bad.'

However, the main writer, who was unaware of that situation, was bowled over by how sophisticated Han Si-On looked while eating.

Next up, the person who was on her radar was Choi Jae-Seong.

Being the only minor (18 years old) among them, Choi Jae-Seong was not just any maknae, but the perfect maknae.

*TL/n - maknae = the youngest member of a group of people.

He watched Go Tae-Hwan grilling the meat, unsure of what to do, and then repeatedly took a bite whenever Han Si-On ate.

It did not seem like he was purposely acting cute, but rather his natural personality.

As for On Sae-Miro and Lee Ye-On, they were eating casually, but surprisingly, On Sae-Miro was quite a big eater despite his looks.

At first, the main writer did not notice because he was quietly eating the meat, but if you looked at him, he was eating non-stop.

It seemed like he had put away around 3-4 servings in his stomach.

'This isn't a mukbang, and the big-eater concept isn't that great.'

As the writer mulled over what personalities to give the five members, the pork belly supply ran dry.

After polishing off the scorched rice dessert, they finally got down to some real talk.

It started with one of the writers frantically waving a whiteboard that said 'Name Addressing.'

"Uh, as far as I know, I'm the oldest here… right?"

Lee Ye-On, the only one among the team B members with experience from a debut group, spoke up first.

As Lee Ye-On said, he was the only 21-year-old, while Han Si-On, Go Tae-Hwan, and On Sae-Miro were all 20.

Choi Jae-Seong was two years younger at 18.

Except for Choi Jae-Seong, they were all a tad old for idol trainees.

However, they were on the younger side for participants in an audition program.

This was due to the abnormal planning intentions of <Coming Up Next>.

The participants of <Coming Up Next> had to possess talents that could immediately compete with Take Scene.

Otherwise, there would be no tension in the program.

But at the same time, they had to be ready to sign on with Lion Entertainment as trainees once the show wrapped.

That way, they could debut as Take Scene's follow-up group after 1 or 2 years of training.

In this situation, to meet both conditions, they could not be too young or too old.

That was why 7 out of the 10 participants in the team B selection round were 20 years old.

Therefore, there were more 20-year-olds among the final 5.

"I'm calling you 'hyung' from now on."

"I'll be casual too. What do your friends call you, On Sae-Miro? Sae-Miro? Or Miro?"

"Barely anyone calls me Miro, it's either On Sae-Miro or Sae-Miro."

"Got it. Let's roll with Sae-Miro."

The name addressing was as cozy as a group project in college, but the next topic was quite serious.

It was time to decide on a team name, which had been simply referred to as Team B until now.

The first to suggest a name was, once again, Lee Ye-On.

"How about Scene Stealer? I thought about it at home. Because we're going head-to-head with Take Scene."

"Oh, isn't that fire!"

"I'm down with that. Scene Stealers… feels pretty good."

Even Han Si-On nodded in agreement, but then the main writer cut in and stopped the filming.

"Hold up, everyone. Based on the broadcast flow, you're not supposed to know the name 'Take Scene' yet. You only know when you're brought up against Lion Entertainment's debut group, right?"

"Ah..."

"Even Scene Stealer matches the title of the song Take Scene's prepping. Let's start over. You don't need to act. Just brainstorm names as you would normally."

As the main writer took a seat, Lee Ye-On cleared his throat and took another shot.

"Got any team name ideas? I came up with a few at home, but… None of them really stuck."

The members looked at Lee Ye-On with eyes that said, 'You've done enough.'

He had suggested names that he had prepared in advance at home, even though they wouldn't be shown on the broadcast.

As expected, Choi Jae-Seong, the youngest of the group, was the first to speak up.

"How about Wild Flower? Since we're not all from typical entertainment companies."

"Hmm, that's decent, but will it vibe with our image as a boy band?"

"Ah, you're right. Um, Sae-Miro, do you have any ideas?"

"Since we're stepping onto <Coming Up Next>, I thought of Next Boys."

"...Next Boys?"

"Next Boys."

"...."

While everyone marveled at On Sae-Miro's naming skills, Go Tae-Hwan turned to Han Si-On.

"Uh, Mr. Si-On. Scratch that, Si-On… Huh?"

"Yeah."

"You got any name ideas?"

"Hmm... How about <Three Months>?"

"Three Months? Like counting moons?"

"No, like our team is 3 months old."

"Geez... You're not exactly the romantic type, huh?"

Go Tae-Hwan blurted that out, then clapped a hand over his mouth in shock at dissing Han Si-On.

Seeing this, Han Si-On flashed a mischievous grin and quipped.

"That's because I'm a T."

"A T? What's a T?"

"MBT.... Ah, nevermind."

Han Si-On was well aware of MBTI because Korean fans had hit him up about it so much through DMs, but he did not know what year it would be popular in Korea, so he stopped himself.

The atmosphere was definitely not from 2017.

"Anyway, let's hope we make some waves in 3 months."

When Han Si-On added this explanation, the members fell into thought.

While the team name 'Three Months' itself was ambiguous, they realized there was no need to come up with a grandiose name.

"How about <Hundred Days> instead? We'll be shooting for about a hundred days until the selection."

"That's better than Three Months, right?"

Everyone seemed to relax a bit, and they continued to evaluate each other's opinions and have a conversation.

And the team name was decided.

<Three Months, Hundred Days>.

Some of the staff wondered what kind of name that was, but others thought it was okay.

Because in any case, people who harbored curiosity about the three-month-hundred-day would watch this program.

"So, shall we do intros now?"

"Our introduction? Right now?"

"You're all aspiring singers, right? You should introduce yourselves with a song."

The next stop is an NRB.

Surprisingly, the karaoke vibes are better than expected.

It seems our casual conversation while deciding the team name has eased the awkwardness a bit.

Or maybe it is because there aren't any TV crew around.

Instead of a filming crew, only fixed cameras are set up in the spacious NRB that could fit up to 20 people.

Anyway, everyone happily sang their songs, but the funny thing was that we sang in order.

Starting with the oldest, Lee Ye-On, then me, On Sae-Miro, Go Tae-Hwan, and finally, Choi Jae-Seong.

It isn't like I'm the only person singing while the rest watch me; we all join in for songs that have lines for multiple singers.

What's interesting is that Go Tae-Hwan's and Choi Jae-Seong's singing skills have leveled up big time in just a few days.

They might not realize it themselves, but they seemed to have gained some insight from the previous <Coming Up Next> shoot.

Actually, more singers are made through real-world experience, more than you think.

Once they hit a certain level, many singers don't improve much through practice alone; they only get better through live performances.

Those two are probably like that.

Go Tae-Hwan's improvement is off the charts, especially.

He sings Justin Bieber's <Love Yourself>, claiming it's his favorite pop song. I'm blown away by the first verse.

His rhythm in the intro is truly unique.

His singing skills still need work, and he has a lot to iron out, but that sense of rhythm is in his bones.

However, once he hits those high notes, he becomes too focused on breathing properly to hit those, causing his rhythmic charm to go out of the window.

Still, Go Tae-Hwan is the one worth observing closely.

Maybe not in this life, but one day, I should gather the sickest crew, like GOTM, and form a K-pop group.

What if Go Tae-Hwan's singing keeps getting better, and he acquires the capacity to express himself without being held back by his vocal range?

He might just land a spot on the squad I put together.

Of course, he'd have to level up several times from where he's at now.

As I ponder that, the main writer pops open the NRB room door and calls us out.

She then hands us a list with five song titles scribbled on it.

"These are the songs you'll be crooning from now on. Each of you, choose one song to perform."

"What if we don't know one of the songs?"

"The list is based on your pre-interviews, so at least one of you will definitely know the songs."

Mulling over what the writer says, I remember jotting down the songs I liked on my pre-interview.

Sure enough, one of the songs on the list was the one I'd written down.

But why do they pick this one?

I remember listing it pretty low.

"Alright, each of you guys, please choose a song to sing."

There's a brief moment of confusion as Lee Ye-On and Choi Jae-Seong seem to have similar favorite song lists, but everyone else knows their pick.

For the record, the song I'll be singing is <At the End of Dawn> by Wead.

It's early '90s city pop, and I think Korean songs from that era had a nice structure.

But I still don't get why they picked it.

To avoid looking like a hipster, I prioritized recent popular songs and K-pop boy group songs over pop songs when making my list.

Could it be the writer's taste?

"We'll pick the singing order with a ladder game."

A staff member handed me a phone with a ladder game app already set up.

"Han Si-On."

When the writer points at me, I hit the button, and the order is locked in a jiffy.

Go Tae-Hwan, On Sae-Miro, Lee Ye-On, me, and Choi Jae-Seong.

"Do we sing in this order?"

"Yes."

"Is this some kind of challenge? Do we get any rewards for a high karaoke score?"

"Similar to that. You'll find out the details later, but first, there are some notes."

The staff will operate the karaoke machine, so focus and sing when the song starts playing.

Don't change the tempo, don't ad-lib, don't change the song. Sing the original version.

Once you have finished singing, quietly leave the room and come downstairs to the first floor.

I might be wrong, but I swear she is staring right at me when she says the second part.

Oh well, I haven't sung original versions of songs until now.

"Alright, please head back to the room. Focus on the screen."

We file back into the karaoke room, and Go Tae-Hwan, up first, grabs the mic.

But for some reason, the song takes quite a while to start.

"What's taking so long? Si-On, do you have any guesses?"

"I think there might be people outside watching us."

"Huh? Passersby?"

"They could be people recruited by the broadcasting station as the audience."

Actually, there's one more possibility with higher odds.

I don't want to spook the team, so I didn't mention it, but the Take Scene members might be watching.

It is time to face them.

At that moment, the title of the song Go Tae-Hwan will sing flashes up on the karaoke screen.

TL/n - 

You can read 5 chapters in advance on p@treon.com/inkbound