A Blank Slate Regression for the Idol That Lost His Original Mindset - Chapter 219

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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A Regression Guide for Idols Who Lost Their Initial Intentions Episode 219

“Hyung, where are you going?”

“Convenience store.”

Forget being bored, I couldn’t stand that damn cigarette smell any longer.

Don’t test my patience by making me experience the pre-regression past when I was gasping from nicotine deficiency, damn it.

“I want to go too.”

Kim Dobin, who had been rolling his eyes, quickly followed along.

“I’m not buying cigarettes, man.”

“I also believe hyung isn’t the type of person who would buy cigarettes without a mask or hat and deliberately cause controversy. I just have business at the convenience store too.”

Kim Dobin scratched his cheek while sneakily avoiding eye contact. Those pupils shifted to the side reminded me exactly of how Baduki looked at me when he had caused trouble.

Unlike me who only picked up a toothpick container and air freshener at the convenience store, I clicked my tongue watching Kim Dobin sweep up cup noodles and snacks as if he wanted to get scolded by Seo Yehyeon.

Even after coming back up to the studio, he kept sneakily watching for my reaction, then I grabbed Kim Dobin’s wrist as he quickly shoved a bag into the drawer where I usually stored snacks.

“Stop right there. Why aren’t there any snacks in the drawer?”

The drawer where I kept a week’s worth of snacks was completely empty.

“Well… parallel world Eden hyung was reluctant to eat with the members, so he ended up eating his meals here…”

“He did all sorts of things. No wonder my body feels heavy. He didn’t go to the gym either?”

“No.”

“This is driving me crazy. Did he lose muscle mass?”

Grumbling, I generously sprayed air freshener everywhere and evacuated outside the studio with Kim Dobin for a moment.

“But why did you buy toothpicks?”

“Because I can clearly picture someone who would roll their eyes and tell me to read how many calories are in Chupa Chups if I’m eating candy.”

I buttoned up my jacket tightly and took out a toothpick to put in my mouth as I replied.

“True, I also got caught by Yehyeon hyung recently when he found my hidden Pringles and made me read the calories in front of him.”

Kim Dobin nodded. Kim Dobin deserved to get scolded. Are Pringles and Chupa Chups the same thing?

Chewing on the toothpick, I checked the Quest that was essentially the cause of making me experience this situation.

If I continued to fail at raising the relationship improvement levels, it was obvious that another penalty would come.

‘Huh…?’

While scanning through the Quest that had been given another grace period, my eyes widened.

[▶Relationship improvement levels with members

-Seo Yehyeon (97%)

-Gyeon Hajun (99%)

-Kim Dobin (100%)

-Ryu Jaehee (96%)]

The relationship improvement levels that wouldn’t budge from 95% no matter what had gone up.

Moreover, Kim Dobin’s relationship improvement level, which hadn’t risen much in the beginning and had been eating away at me, had achieved a whopping 100%.

And all by himself!

If I had told my past self that Kim Dobin would be the first to achieve 100% relationship improvement, the first thing that would have come out would have been to stop talking nonsense.

“Hey, Dobin. What did you do with me for five days?”

Now that I had confirmed that these relationship improvement numbers could actually go up, what I needed to do was benchmark what I had done with Kim Dobin who achieved 100%.

“I acted as the strange hyung’s representative.”

“No, man. Explain it in detail.”

“Um, I desperately came up with excuses so that the strange hyung wouldn’t seem weird to the other members, got dragged to the studio and diligently erased the strange hyung’s cigarette smell with Febreze, finished the song while getting scolded by the strange hyung…”

I was skipping through the unnecessary words when I raised my eyebrows at a particularly annoying term.

“You keep really emphasizing ‘strange hyung’?”

“No way. I’m just stating the facts as they were.”

I lightly ruffled the head of this guy whose cheekiness had only increased, wondering what exactly had happened, and found the answer in Kim Dobin’s words.

‘So… I just need to work on songs together?’

But it didn’t make sense that Kim Dobin, who had been doing enjoyable composition play with me all this time, only now raised his relationship improvement to 100%.

I should try including them in song production once each in the near future.

After calling Gyeon Hajun to finish guide recordings for two songs and sending the modified version and completed song via email, I finally felt relieved.

Once it gets selected as the title track in the meeting, I can make more detailed modifications while doing the recording work.

* * *

There were a total of three songs that came up as candidates in the title track selection meeting. One was from an external composer, the other two were mine.

‘Wow, it’s this divided…?’

, which I had confidently presented as a title track candidate in the selection meeting, wasn’t chosen by an overwhelming ratio as usual, but barely managed to exceed half the votes.

Since it was conducted as a blind test, the other members except Kim Dobin and Gyeon Hajun who participated in the song production didn’t know that was my song, but it was quite shocking that Ryu Jaehee chose another composer’s song.

Seo Yehyeon surprisingly raised his hand for , but his expression was still quite puzzling.

The other title track candidate wasn’t a big deal since I myself acknowledged that it suited a B-side track more than a title track, but was different.

wasn’t a particularly heavy or complex song either. If anything, it was closer to easy listening.

The only difference from previous songs was that I strongly incorporated the music style I wanted to try.

Although my style had come through in all songs except the first song while I was in charge of Rev’s producing, until now I had been somewhat conscious of mass appeal.

So was a song I made focusing on musicality rather than mass appeal.

It was something I had tried once before regression, and since that result ended in success, I was quite confident.

Of course, the group that took the song then wasn’t Rev but another group, and this genre was my first attempt too.

I scanned through the people who raised their hands for and tapped the desk with my fingers before opening my mouth.

“I’d like to hear some opinions about the song.”

Even at my request, they seemed to be reading the room first, worried about hurting my feelings, but I didn’t particularly care.

It would be better for my mental health to hear the flaws and fix them.

“Musically, is the best among the three songs. But is what grabs you on first listen.”

Most of the comments that followed were similar opinions.

was an intense beat electronic dance song and was future house style with prominent weight.

It was natural that would catch your ear immediately upon listening.

Actually, I acknowledged that part too.

However, since the image of Rev as a group produced by Yoon Eden was so firmly established in the public’s mind, the agency would have many concerns about selecting as the title track.

But it was too tight on time to get another song or for me to work on one.

I didn’t know that scheduling things tightly to minimize the hiatus would come back to bite me like this.

Since both songs had similar votes and opinions weren’t converging, the planning director tapped the desk and said.

“Let’s start with the recording work first and have another meeting in two days. We need to finish the concept meeting before the New Year. It would probably be better to judge with the artist’s voice on the songs rather than demo versions.”

Since the other B-side tracks were already recorded, we just needed to finish recording the three title track candidates.

I left the conference room with an unsettled feeling without anything being definitively decided.

“Is it really right to push for …?”

As I muttered while rubbing my face, Ryu Jaehee, who had been the only member to choose , quietly came up beside me to comfort me.

“It’s okay, hyung. I just chose because it caught my ear at first listen, but when I think about it more, has better musicality. If was Rev’s usual style, then is a new challenge?”

You’re trying, really trying.

I lightly ruffled Ryu Jaehee’s hair as he tried his best to come up with good things to say, apparently feeling quite sorry, and let out a sigh.

“It doesn’t matter that it didn’t get a majority. The opposing song had such a strong melody. was also evaluated as better in terms of musicality.”

“Right, considering who composed it.”

Kim Dobin sneakily pointed at himself with his finger and nodded his head. So that’s why he was so enthusiastic about raising his hand for .

Gyeon Hajun looked back at me with a gaze asking why I was like this.

Letting out a heavy sigh, I brought up what I had kept buried in my heart throughout the meeting.

“More than anything else, I’m really bothered that CEO chose .”

When CEO Kim Nodam, who was second to none in having no sense, picked my song, the emotion I felt wasn’t pride that my song was finally recognized, but fear.

Even before regression, wasn’t the only thing CEO got right by luck? Everything else was a complete miss.

Thinking of CEO who always liked strange songs, my confidence in my song was currently in free fall. I worked on a Kim No-dap pick? Really?

If the CEO doesn’t choose my song, I used to gain confidence thinking ‘Ah, this song won’t flop either,’ so why did he choose my song this time?

“Right…? The CEO’s pick? Hmm…”

What was even sadder was that no one refuted my words and the atmosphere was one of agreement.

“Let’s start working on it first.”

I was confident I could definitely bring to life through recording.

“This recording will be a bit more intense than usual, so everyone prepare yourselves.”

At my words, Seo Yehyeon was already muttering with a pale complexion.

“It can get even more intense than that…?”

Kim Dobin already had the expression of someone facing the gates of hell. Even Gyeon Hajun and Ryu Jaehee, who were usually relaxed before recordings, showed signs of tension.

“Why is everyone reacting like that?”

“Hyung, your eyes look too murderous…”

Ryu Jaehee replied. Without caring, I immediately dragged the members straight to the recording studio in the company building.

“Again.”

“Let’s do it again.”

“Jun, again. Try singing without forcing it.”

“Jun, raise it a semitone and do it again.”

“But Yoon Eden, why do you keep chewing on that toothpick?”

“My mouth feels empty. Doby, we’ll have to do it again, right? Keep the beat properly.”

“Yehyeon hyung, again.”

“Sing it again.”

“Yeah, the beat was right just now. But your pitch wavered. Again.”

“Let’s go all the way, you keep missing the beat in this part. I told you. If it’s hard to follow the beat, tap your palm with your finger while doing it. Again.”

“Save me…”

“There’s no ‘save me’ in the song lyrics. Again.”

“Jaehee, reduce the vibration and do it again.”

“You put too much force into it, again. This isn’t a powerful song.”

After finishing the recording, for a while any words containing ‘again’ became forbidden, but this isn’t important so let’s just move on.

And two days later, at the meeting held with the completed version, surprising results came out.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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