Rightful

"Aigoo! Our maknae line is performing their coming of age stage soon! Awwe! That's so cute!" Nayeon teased as she pinched Chaeyoung's cheeks.

It's been a months since I've been scouted for the dating shows. It was hard to refuse since the producer was very persistent. He would visit the company just to see me and would try his best to convince me. In the end, I went through all the screening process and was asked to be interviewed for the show. They would just call me up when they were ready on their end.

Today, Alpha and Twice were hanging out inside our dance studio since my members were practicing for their stage on the year-end shows. I decided to take a pass on this one since I still had a lot to work out on my end. I was preparing for the songs for next year and was also looking for a way to get into some side projects while at it. I finalized most of Alpha and Twice's demos for next year. Inkigayo also called me up to become one of their permanent MCs for next year, and then there's the constant meeting for the upcoming survival show next year.

The episode for when I came back aired on Away to Escape, and the songwriting challenge blew the crowd away. There was even a rumor going around that I could compose ANY song on the spot. We didn't say anything about it even if it was during our VLIVE. Otherwise, I would be giving out non-copyrighted music. Because of that, PD-nim asked me to release an EP entitled "Into The Snow" for the songs 'Miracle' and 'Beautiful Life'. I also had to make an acoustic version of Adore U. So I really was busy the entire time. Even my plan to gain weight and to have that fit body that I desire was put on hold since I was only getting thinner.

This was the day that I was finally having my day off, so I get to spend time with people that I care about. Besides, it was my chance to be closer to HER. My members were goofing off with Zee and Dominic in the lead. It was until Nayeon tried teasing her members.

"Unnie! Please stop pinching my cheeks! It hurts!" Chaeyoung complained as she tried to get Nayeon's hands off her face.

"You guys are turning 19 soon. So you can now start dating." Jeongyeon teased.

"You mean like you, unnie?" Tzuyu teased.

Jeongyeon turned red as she slowly turned towards Yo Chul-hyung who gave her a smirk. "Y-Ya! Tzu-Tzuyu-ya! Stop it! You're also dating someone you know!"

The room erupted into laughter at Jeongyeon's shyness. It was fun to watch. Dominic then asked, "Speaking of maknae line, where's Dahyun-ie?"

"She said she's not feeling well and said that she'll just catch up when she's a bit better." Jihyo said while slowly standing up.

"We should start soon. What about Seiji-oppa?" Mina asked.

Everyone turned to me. "Well… he said that he has something to do and he'd catch up."

"Strange. I know that he complains a lot, but he's never late for practice." Jeong Do pondered.

He's actually right. Seiji-hyung was never late for practice, even when he was out for a schedule or if he's not feeling well, he always comes to practice on time. I wonder what's wrong with him.

Suddenly the door burst open with two people entering. Both of them were heavily panting. Seiji-hyung tried to speak in between his breaths. "Sorry... we're late… The traffic… was really… bad."

"Wait, 'we'? You two were together?" Jeong Do caught on.

They both stared at each other. It was obvious that they were anxious about something. Dahyun then replied for them. "We saw each other in the bus stop, and decided to come here together."

Dominic raised his eyebrow. "Really now? Our dorms are in opposite directions. Which bus stop did you guys meet?"

"Umm… we…" Dahyun was stuttering.

Something is up with these two. It was clear. No way. Were they… dating?

Suddenly both mangers from both our groups entered together with PD-nim. We immediately stood up and greeted them. PD-nim had a serious look on his face. "Are you guys having a break?"

"Yes, PD-nim." We answered in unison.

"That's good. Because we have something for you guys." He announced.

Just then, our stylists, make-up artists, and some of our label mates entered the room. With a huge cake being brought inside using a push cart. They all sang a happy birthday song to some of our celebrants. The other managers were filming it. I assume that this must be in VLIVE right now. On the cake were Sana, Matt-hyung, and Jiwoo's names.

"To our December celebrants. Happy Birthday to you all." PD-nim greeted.

The celebrants blew the candles and we started having some cake. We happily chatted but my eyes were solely fixed on her. She's getting prettier. I hope she says yes when I reveal my feelings for her.

Dahyun then smiled. "I hope you're happy with the surprise, Sana-unnie. It took us a while to get the cake. PD-nim asked us to prepare for it. I was the one who got the cake from the store for the VLIVE. There were no available cars today since most are used for the schedules. That's why I asked Seiji-oppa to pick me up."

"Makes sense. I thought you two were dating." Sana smirked which made Seiji-hyung and Dahyun blush.

The party went on like that for a while before they started practicing again. I was about to head to the studio to finalize something for tomorrow's pre-release check-up for the EP, but PD-nim stopped me saying that he wanted me to see some of the contestants while training. When I went through the list, I realize that this was far from the previous world's MIXNINE. Since there were just 5 companies. This world's version of MIXNINE would only consist of JYP Entertainment's trainees.

We have a total of 200 trainees who have trained for more than 2 years. It was still outstanding considering the number of debuts that we have. That's why the yearly eliminations are very brutal. Aside from Show Me Your Case, the yearly trainee evaluations was something every trainee didn't look forward too. While the idol groups celebrate at the after parties of year-end shows, trainees were at their dorms crying their hearts out.

Out of those 200 trainees, only 100 people would be asked to participate and would be exempted from the yearly evaluations. There were 50 male and 50 female trainees. I was meeting the 100 best trainees in the company. The thought of it got me so excited. This was definitely worth not finishing the task at hand.

________

"So… what can you say about these batch of trainees?" PD-nim was looking forward to my evaluation. According to him, I wasn't easily pleased this days. It was like I changed after I came back.

"Well, they're not bad. I was surprise with their assessment results actually. When I entered the room They didn't have that feeling of being intimidating towards me. In fact, it was the other way around. They were oozing with confidence." I replied.

This was true. Each of them was hungry for a debut. Since many of our sunbaes were unofficially retiring next year, the company was going to start releasing 8 groups all in all in the next two years. Meaning to say, if the average number of members within the group was 5-9 people, only around 60 of those 100 people will get to debut in the next 2 years.

"That's a relief. We were stricter this year with our monthly evaluation since we would be retiring a lot of our veterans. We wanted to have a more thorough bred next generation of idols." PD-nim said.

I nodded in response. "I'm glad that you decided not to hold back. What criteria are you basing it on?"

"Alpha's standards." He answered bluntly.

I snapped my head towards him in surprise. "How the hell did these 200 trainees survive?"

"There were 600 of them before. The 200 barely survived. The top 100 were the closest to the standard, but still very much far from you guys. But I'm pretty sure even the top 50 would surprise you." He replied.

I sighed. "I know you said that you were stricter, but this is just plain brutal. Alpha consists of prodigies that's why we can easily adapt. You can't apply the same method on these kids. You know what other artists in the company call us? Monsters. That's who we are."

He chuckled. "Then you'll be surprised with the upcoming show."

It made me shook my head as I sighed deeply again. "You're one crazy boss, you know that?"

He smiled at me. "Well, you and your group of freaks started it."

"Shut up." I rolled my eyes as I chuckled.

"JayB-oppa!" A voice then called out to me.

"Well, I still have business to attend to. Don't forget to submit the songs for check-up. I want it emailed to me first thing in the morning." He responded before he walked away.

I then turned my attention to the person calling me. "Yuna-ya. What's up?"

"Are you busy? Let's have lunch together!" She happily exclaimed.

"Sure. But are they… coming with us? Oh hey there, Chaeryeong-ah." I asked as I pointed out to the people behind her.

"Oh right! These are my friends. I heard that you met Lia-unnie already, and I know you already know Chaeryeong-unnie. So that leaves, Hwang Yeji-unnie." She introduced the people with her as they shyly greeted me.

I gave them a smile of my own. "Hey guys. Let's have lunch. But it's going to be my treat. There's a nearby shabu-shabu place here. Wanna grab a bite there?"

"Really? That sounds great! But can we wait for Ryujin-unnie to come? She's also coming with us." Yuna said.

"Here! I'm here!" She said as she stopped and panted from all the running.

"You didn't have to run, Ryujin-ah." I chuckled.

She playfully slapped my arm. "I know how busy you are, oppa. I wasn't even sure that you'd say yes to this."

"I already did. Besides, I still have time." I replied to her. After seeing that everyone was ready to go, I smiled at them. "Let's go then."

We happily chatted while heading towards the restaurant. I called ahead to reserve a private booth for just the 6 of us. The owner recognized me straight away so we didn't need to wait. After ordering, there was an awkward silence between us.

"Are you guys okay? You've been quiet this whole time." On our way to the restaurant, only Ryujin and Yuna were constantly talking to me. Even though I've met Chaeryeong in SIXTEEN, we didn't really have the chance to hang out.

Yuna giggled. "These three are fans of Alpha. They've always wanted to meet you. They already met Zee-oppa since we're dating. Chaeryeong-unnie especially wanted to meet you and maybe do a dance cover with you someday."

Seeing them try to shut Yuna up was hilarious. Their faces were growing red as Yuna was trying to finish her sentence. It made me laugh. "Sure. Let's do that after you debut."

Chaeryeong smiled at what I said. She couldn't contain her happiness as she swung her legs under the table. Ryujin then smirked at me. "You were really serious earlier when you met the trainees. You look more like an instructor than an idol."

"Yeah, you guys were really intimidating. I even questioned who the real judge in the room was." I smiled wryly.

Yuna then remembered something and tried to get my attention. "Ooh! Ooh! Oppa! I heard that you read the monthly evaluations of all trainees. Do you think we have a chance to debut?"

I know you WILL debut. You guys were the wildest rookies in the previous world to ever debut. You created so many iconic moments together. But I can't tell you that now, can I?

I smiled at her. "I don't read ALL the trainee reports. I only check the top 50 and the bottom 50. All your names were in the former."

"Omo… so you know us?" Yeji finally spoke.

I chuckled at her innocence. "Of course, PD-nim would ask the other idols to help him evaluate the trainees."

Yuna rolled her eyes. She knew I was lying. I was part of the evaluating team because I'm a board member for the 5 KPOP companies since I own 60% of the shares of each company. So I need to take part in the evaluations not just for the trainees but to the company as a whole. That's on top of managing other businesses across the world.

"You really are more handsome when you're up close." Lia whispered.

"Hmm? What was that?" I pretended not to have heard it.

She snapped her head towards me in surprise. "Ah! It's nothing!"

"So oppa, they wanted to see if we could have our pictures taken with you." Ryujin must have heard her and decided to change the topic.

"Of course. Let's do it when we're back in the company. Posting a picture with your future judge would cause some problems after all." I replied.

"Alright." Yuna nodded.

"By the way, I can't promise you that I'd hold back with my comments. I'm quite harsh with my comments. People know that. I separate work with my personal life. If you get to ask your Nayeon-unnie or Zee-ya how I am as a producer during our recording, they'll answer the same thing -- Horrible." I reminded them.

Although we're friends. I can't ignore the fact that they were also trainees which needed to grow to become better artists in the future. Without correction, people stop growing and I didn't want that for them. That's why I push people, and they understand that. Our food was soon served but it didn't stop us from getting to know more about each other. Lia, Yeji and Chaeryeong also started speaking up. Chaeryeong even started cracking up some jokes. These ladies didn't even know that they'd one day become legendary superstars in this industry.

_________

"You sounded great, Domi-ya. Take five." I leaned back on my chair after recording his parts.

We were nearing the end of the year. The promotions for our Christmas Album EP called "Into the Snow" went well. It really did well. Our fans were really happy that we released "Miracle" and "Beautiful Life". It was well received and are topping the charts. A producer for the drama even wanted to buy the rights for "Beautiful Life". Well, I guess that song was destined to be in "Goblin" after all. I was even hooked by the song in the previous world. It was on my playlist for years.

Now that we were ending the year, I was recording some of the songs for our album. It was a full length album but I've only produced some of the songs for now. I didn't want to strain myself. Today, we were recording "Thanks" which was sung by SEVENTEEN in the previous world. It's such a beautiful song and it fit what we wanted to say to our fans. I just hope that we'll be able to pull it off since our album would contain a lot of songs to dance to.

"You look tired. Did you even sleep, oppa?" Sana asked as I stretched my arms.

Her question made me ponder. I know that I slept well last night, it's probably because we've been recording since 4AM, and it's already 12NN. Well, sleep is still sleep for us idols. "I'm good. It's just that we've been recording from dawn up to now. And we're still at the 3rd song."

"I guess 13 songs ain't a joke." Dominic replied as he played with Mina's hair who was peacefully sleeping on his lap. We decided to expand our lobby in the recording area since 18 people couldn't fit in the room. Twice had already gotten used to visiting our studio. The floor was also carpeted so that anyone who wanted to sleep could rest on the floor.

"You've been recording many songs before and finished it in days. What makes it different now?" Dahyun asked.

Zhang sighed. "The song's difficulty. JayB-hyung just raised the bar on these songs. It's not even a notch higher. It's several notches higher. And in this album, most of it are songs with intense dance choreography, so we really need to properly distribute the parts. Otherwise, we'll end up exhausted once the concert starts."

"That's right. I heard that you'll be using the songs of the new album for the concert." Chaeyoung was on the couch and was poking Zhang's face as he was sitting in front of her.

"And I don't know how we're going to pull this off." I said as I lazily leaned back further on my rotating chair.

Jeong Do then chuckled. "It's rare for someone like you to be this helpless."

"I know, right? I guess I got used to taking it slow and going with the flow." I replied.

Zee rolled his eyes. "Yeah, right. If taking it slow means me doing my line again and again for about twenty times…"

"30 times actually." I interrupted.

"Whatever! Then it's not taking it easy! Ever since you came back, you've been stricter and more brutal. You've changed, hyung." He pretended to cry as everyone else laughed.

It made me chuckle too. "Well, if you just tried harder, then you would have nailed it on the first try."

"But I already did my best." Zee replied.

"I know." I smirked.

"Oooooh! Savage burn!" Dominic teased.

"Well, I should get started with Twice now. We still need to end by 3PM. Remember? We have to have our hair and make-up done for MAMA tonight." I reminded them.

"Right… but what about lunch?" Jihyo asked.

"What about it?" I returned a question of my own.

Nayeon rolled her eyes before she stood up from her seat and pulled me from my chair. "YOU need to have a break."

I groaned. "But we don't have time for that."

The rest of the people glared at me as Jeongyeon pinched my arm. "You NEED to take a rest. You've become even skinnier this time. Got it?"

I sighed. "Fine. But we'll order take out."

"Already did." Zee said as he waved his phone in the air. "Yuna-ya's coming over and she said she's bringing lunch over."

"Let's eat at the practice studio. The carpet might get stained." Yo Chul-hyung suggested.

We started heading towards the door to the practice room. I purposely walked behind everyone as I turn to look at my computer again. There's so much to work on. Christmas was in a couple of days, then there's the song festival for KBS. At this rate, I won't be able to finish most of the songs before the month ends.

"Don't even think about it." I turned to an angry Momo and Dahyun who were glaring at me. Nayeon and Jihyo were also looking at me as they were crossing their arms.

I sighed. "Tell me honestly, you just want an excuse to skip recording. Don't you?"

"YES. But we also care about our JayB PD-nim. Okay? We were really worried every time you collapsed from exhaustion last year." Momo answered.

"Alright. Let's have lunch first." I helplessly gave them a smile.

"Now you're talking more like a human being." Nayeon joked.

I smirked. "Oh don't worry. I can't WAIT 'til we start recording later."

Twice's members slowly turned their heads towards me and were staring at me in fear. Every single one of them knew what was going to happen next. And I could see them flinch once they've figured it out.

"Why did the room temperature suddenly drop?" Sana asked.

"Did I just feel a shiver pass my spine?" Mina added.

"My condolences, babe." Dominic joked as he patted Mina's shoulder

"I won't forget you, Sana-ya." Jeong Do also went along as he slowly held Sana's hand.

What awaited them after lunch was a long and painful recording session.

__________

"Stop staring, JayB-hyung. You're so obvious." Jiwoo whispered to me.

After somehow recording halfway through the song for Twice, our managers came to stop us since it was already time for our hair and make-up. The Red Carpet was just hours away at that time and we were still not in our clothes. We ended there and hurriedly went to prepare for the event. It took time to prepare since there were 9 members in each group. Thankfully, we managed to make it on time for the red carpet walk.

We were now inside the event hall and were waiting for the show to start. I met a lot of artists that I didn't get to see in shows this year. Unlike the previous world, the idols from different groups would try their best to avoid each other especially with the opposite gender. In this world though, it's totally fine. In fact, fans would love to see their idols interact with other groups and see that this is all a friendly competition, and that they are also human beings too. I wish the previous world was more like this.

As I was going around meeting new people, I ended up having a long conversation with Pentagon, IKON and GFRIEND. It was really fun seeing our hoobaes talk to girls. Especially when it's their seniors. SinB was clutching her stomach as Jinho was cracking his jokes left and right. The rest of their members were also joining in. It was until BTS came to join that the mood started to change a little. Especially since Jungkook was bringing along IU-sunbaenim.

"Huh? Oh. Yeah. Right. Don't worry. I was just surprised." I whispered back to Jiwoo to assure him that everything was fine. I was just really surprised that they would be so open about it. I mean, both companies haven't released a statement about it yet.

Jungkook turned to me and gave me a cocky smile as he pulled IU-sunbae closer. I chuckled at his reaction since he was being possessive and childish. He can have her. I'm just glad that IU-sunbae moved on. My response made him frown a little. IU-sunbae must have noticed it since she gave him a little nudge.

But Jungkook was not backing off as he intertwined his fingers with IU-sunbae's and proudly showed it to me while giving off a smirk. "JayB-hyung, I hope you don't mind, but I wanted you to know before our companies release a statement. IU-noona and I are dating."

It really made me laugh as I shook my head. "I'm happy for you both. Really. Please take care of her, Jungkook-ie. I know I haven't done my best to do that."

He frowned again. "That wasn't the reaction that I wanted."

"Well, that's what you're getting. Besides, it's all in the past. I'm just happy that she found someone who'll take care of her." I smiled at him before I excused myself to head for my seat.

As I was approaching my seat, someone pulled me to the side. "I saw what happened. Are you okay?"

"Oh? Dahyun-ie! Wow! You look really pretty today in that red dress. Don't worry about me I'm really fine." She was looking more like a lady tonight. It was really attractive to see this side of her.

She blushed a little as she stuttered. "A-ah… Th-Thank you. But seriously though. Are you sure you're okay?"

"What's up with you? You're usually feisty towards me. Are you genuinely concerned or is this a prank?" I asked.

"You know what? Forget it." She bluntly said as she turned around and left.

I sighed. "I'll never understand women."

The event soon started and we were on our seats. It was as if everything went by in fast forward. Alpha performed for the transition to the awards this year as I sat there on the seats to cheer for them. Twice was behind me and were cheering just as loud as the audience were. It was nice to watch my team without me on stage. The song that Zhang composed was really good too. Although it was a ballad. It sounded really fresh. I guess that's why it topped the charts when it was being promoted.

The awards soon came and just as we expected, we didn't receive as much as we did last year since we didn't promote much this year. BTS was owning most of the awards. For some reason, I was worried that Alpha was starting to get behind. According to the data I've studied, BTS is gaining popularity at a very fast rate. I guess they were still destined to be legends even on this earth. It was like they were the rightful rulers of this industry.

It started to bother me. Although I long for their success and there's nothing wrong with that. I needed to take care of my own group and my own company. Otherwise, BTS would take monopoly of this industry in this world again. I just hope I can still make it. They ended their performance which signaled the end of the event. Soon, we started heading towards the exit as we greeted one another. I saw IU-sunbae hugging and kissing Jungkook on the cheek.

They really looked so happy. They also look good together. But somehow, I'm still bothered that we only got a few awards this year. I could also see the disappointment from my members. Only one thought remained in my head. Now that I'm back, I won't allow anyone to take the crown.

"Hyung?" Zhang shook me.

"Hmm? You were saying something?" I asked.

He turned to look at Zee who also had a look of worry on his face. Zee then asked, "Are you okay?"

"Huh? Yeah! Of course I am!" I replied.

Yo Chul-hyung then decided to change the topic. "So anyway, as we were saying, which after party should we crash first?"

"I'm heading to YG Entertainment. I promised Lisa-ya that I'd be there." Matt-hyung answered.

"Ooh! Someone's making his move." Dominic teased.

"Finally. It's about time." Seiji-hyung added.

Matt-hyung chuckled. "I'll see you guys in the dorm."

He soon dashed towards the members of Blackpink who were waiting near the exit. The rest of the members of Alpha were planning their party route.

"Well, it's obvious where I'm heading." Dominic said.

Jeong Do nodded. "Twice is heading to SM's after party. So most of us will be heading there. How about you guys?"

"Obviously, I'm coming with you guys." Seiji-hyung answered. Even though he doesn't have anyone to date in Twice, he still finds comfort in hanging out with Jihyo since they were now best buddies.

"Zihao-oppa!" Yuna was coming over to us with the rest of the future members of ITZY.

"We're heading to SM. Are you guys coming with?" Zee asked his girlfriend.

"That's the plan." Yuna replied.

Lia then turned to me. "Will you be coming too, JayB-oppa?"

They were looking at me and were waiting for an answer. It was evident in their faces that they were excited and expecting a positive answer. I gave them a wry smile. "I have something to work on. I'll catch up with you guys."

"What could you possibly be working on after an award show like this?" Jeong Do questioned.

I smiled at them. "I'll see you guys later."

They were left there with concerned looks on their faces, but I didn't dare stop as I head for the parking lot. One thing was on my mind. Head to the clubhouse and start finishing some songs. And that's what I did. Upon arriving there, I locked myself in our clubhouse for the next couple of days and worked on the songs for Alpha. And that was the last thing I remember before everything went black.

_________

AN:

Join our discord server for the discussions about this novel. See you!

https://discord.gg/keSqU7B