A Blank Slate Regression for the Idol That Lost His Original Mindset - Chapter 269

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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 269

As expected, fierce debates erupted over the results of Yupi and my match.

That was exactly the situation I had wanted.

Rather than being ridiculed for losing, it was better to have a proper fight like this.

Of course, there were those who put down my skills to elevate Yupi, but I turned a blind eye to those and only looked with clear eyes at the comments saying I won, so I didn’t care about the rest.

Isn’t the fact that things are burning up like this proof that these results were wrong?

If the victory and defeat had been convincing to everyone, I wouldn’t have become a victim of online hate and DubNet’s script manipulation.

My friends who were watching DTB and my hyungs from my underground connections also sent messages asking if this was really a scripted setup, begging me to spoil the results of the revival round.

[400 million won compensation for spoilers]

[Catch the live broadcast next week ㄱㄱ]

Of course, I unified my replies with this. What if DubNet sues me for spoiling?

“Eden, I’m telling you to come eat, so why are you smiling so wickedly?”

Gyeon Hajun scolded me as he placed a plate of grilled mackerel on the dining table. I stopped humming and rubbed the corners of my mouth that had started to pull up from smiling so widely, then asked.

“I was smiling wickedly? Me?”

“Yeah, you were.”

Gyeon Hajun nodded firmly.

I closed the YouTube comment section that still showed no signs of the flames dying down and sat at the dining table.

Since Kim Dobin had joined a travel variety show as a regular member, Seo Yehyeon had been invited to a luxury brand fashion show and left for Paris, and Ryu Jaehee was hosting a music broadcast, only Hajun and I, who had no individual schedules today, remained at the dormitory.

The dining table that was always bustling with five members felt quite empty with just the two of us. When the meal was almost finished, I threw a question at Gyeon Hajun.

“Jun, what if someone suddenly told you, no, that’s not right. I need to match the scenario as much as possible, so um…”

Since Gyeon Hajun and I had already formed a sufficient mutual trust relationship, using myself as the hypothetical wouldn’t yield a meaningful answer.

“What would you think if someone working on the same project suddenly told you to temporarily change your singing style because it doesn’t seem to match the melody?”

After thinking for a moment, Gyeon Hajun answered simply and clearly.

“I’d feel bad.”

“Even if it was a situation where you absolutely had to change for the sake of the song’s completeness?”

“Well, feelings and circumstances are separate things. And it’s not easy to change a method that’s already ingrained in your body. The fact that I keep insisting on that method means it’s already been established as a style that suits me.”

I tried to put myself in their shoes, but since I’m someone who could endure such trouble for the sake of improving a song’s completeness, I couldn’t really empathize.

That’s why I needed Gyeon Hajun’s opinion. Gyeon Hajun and Toohyeok had similarities.

In that they both had some skill and strong pride. From what I observed while working, Toohyeok’s pride level was roughly similar to Gyeon Hajun’s.

However, while Gyeon Hajun would yield to me just as I would to him, Toohyeok had no loyalty or reason to do that for me, so it would be more accurate to base it on how Gyeon Hajun treats people other than me.

“So how would you want to be asked so that you’d feel less offended?”

“Is this about the group music mission?”

Well, I hadn’t planned to hide it anyway, so I nodded.

“As long as there’s sufficient justification for why it must be changed, I might feel bad but I wouldn’t show it. It’s a one-time team anyway, so the other person’s feelings don’t matter much. As long as there’s no direct conflict, right?”

Hmm, that was really situation-specific advice.

Though it is a one-time team, we have to work together from stage preparation to the team-building event that the production crew will soon demand.

“And if the final product turns out well, if it’s confirmed that the person’s request was ultimately right, the bad feelings will clear up quickly.”

Gyeon Hajun added that this was just his perspective and shrugged.

The ‘sufficient justification for why it must be changed’ that Gyeon Hajun mentioned had already been secured.

Namely, the producer mid-check authority I won through the group leader guerrilla mission.

I even endured the extreme measure of dissing DTB to get this. Of course, the future DTB will have to take some criticism.

“If you’re okay with it, taking a yielding attitude would be best. There’s a clear difference between notification and request.”

“A yielding attitude…”

I accepted it in my own way and nodded. Fine, I’ll yield in my own way.

* * *

D-1 from the producer mid-check authority chance usage day.

The reason I chose G1, that is, Jiwon hyung, wasn’t just because Jiwon hyung was excellent as a producer, but because there was an even more important reason.

Because I could meet with him privately in a place without DubNet’s cameras.

It was a bit of a trick, but since I would have given up on calling Jiwon hyung separately if I hadn’t won the mid-check authority, I didn’t feel particularly guilty about it.

“Hey there, center of attention!”

As soon as I entered Jiwon hyung’s studio, a place that had become familiar now, Jiwon hyung picked up his yellow sunglasses from in front of the monitor, put them on, and spun his chair around to greet me with a grin.

I noticed his open shirt that was somewhat revealing, though not as much as the chest-baring ones I wore.

Trying my best not to look down at his chest, I asked with a sour expression.

“No, hyung. With all the clothes you have, why on earth are you wearing something like that?”

“This guy’s funny. You started the trend and now you’re disgusted by it yourself.”

“That was for broadcasting, for fan service. Who would have thought such a horrible thing would become trendy?”

The Yoon Eden disease was about to be treated like a plague again. Fortunately, it wasn’t a random trend, but still.

“Hey, calling the clothes your hyung is wearing horrible.”

Jiwon hyung put me in a headlock. As his arm tightened, the wide-open chest area getting closer to my face was truly burdensome.

“You said it was burdensome before! Is this visual terrorism revenge?”

“No? It looked pretty good when I saw it on the broadcast.”

“Could it be that? The Yongcheol effect?”

“Yongcheol effect? D.I? What’s that?”

“It’s when you get relatively elevated due to surrounding circumstances.”

It was a scientific name coined among our crew after Yongcheol hyung appeared on DTB 3 and was called handsome.

Honestly, Yongcheol hyung isn’t exactly a handsome man. Even if my standards got higher because of Seo Yehyeon, I’d never really thought of Yongcheol hyung as handsome before.

When Jiwon hyung kindly said he’d definitely convey the meaning of the Yongcheol effect to him, I countered that he already knew since it had been overused in the group chat, then got to the main point.

“The mid-check is tomorrow, but I brought this for you to listen to in advance.”

I played the first recording of the group music mission I had brought. Since the hook I put in from the start was my part, Jiwon hyung’s expression as he bobbed his chin wasn’t bad.

But as he listened to the verse that followed the hook, his expression became subtle, and he maintained a frowning expression until my verse came at the very end.

“You did this on purpose, didn’t you?”

As soon as the first recording finished playing, Jiwon hyung suddenly threw the question at me.

“Huh?”

When I pretended not to know, criticism immediately flew my way.

“Hey, don’t pretend you don’t know.”

As expected, I couldn’t fool this hyung’s eyes.

“From the part order, you put the most deflating and annoying guy as the very first verse, left two guys with similar rap styles lined up consecutively so it gets boring. Even though it’s a first recording, you could have easily fixed it with your discretion, right?”

“You caught me red-handed.”

When I smiled weakly, Jiwon hyung raised his eyebrows.

“The mid-check will air before the music release, but is it okay to show this quality even if it’s a first recording? Everyone must have expectations for your producing skills, right?”

I had thought it all through. It wasn’t for nothing that I decided the order with something like ladder lottery and left Toohyeok’s rap style untouched.

“You know that hot narrative going around right now. The narrative where I got properly schooled.”

Jiwon hyung, who immediately understood what I was talking about, let out a small laugh.

Yupi who hid his skills. The underdog who lowered expectations and then exploded, inflating 80-level skills to seem like 90.

“I want to try that too. Everyone knows teamwork is difficult, right? So when else would I get to return the favor completely?”

When I pulled up one corner of my mouth in a grin, Jiwon hyung lightly poked my ribs with his elbow.

“You little punk, you’re quite vindictive.”

Jiwon hyung straightened his crooked sunglasses and asked me while resting his elbow on the chair’s armrest and interlacing his fingers.

“So, what do you want to ask for after excluding your teammates and meeting alone like this?”

There was exactly one thing I wanted to ask producer G1.

“When you evaluate during the mid-check, please clearly say that Toohyeok’s part can’t stay as it is. That’s all I need.”

I could handle everything else with my own discretion, so I just needed help with shaking Toohyeok’s mind, which was hard to do with my discretion alone.

“Okay, I’m also a specialist in this kind of thing.”

“I know well. That’s why I asked you, hyung.”

Wasn’t G1 notorious for meticulously nitpicking every single recording session? I had experienced it firsthand and witnessed it with my own eyes. So he was definitely trustworthy.

“Toohyeok’s doing the first verse, right?”

“Oh, you figured that out right away.”

“The first verse is a part that anyone can tell won’t work as is. This guy heard the beat and still chose this spot? He’s so clueless… Even if he makes it through here, he’s going to get eliminated at the producer team selection stage, isn’t he?”

Jiwon hyung clicked his tongue, sensing Toohyeok’s fate.

“By the way, how’s it going? Is overcoming your slump progressing smoothly?”

I nodded, thinking of the musical ideas that were gradually returning with the confidence I had completely regained after the Group Leader guerrilla mission, and the short completed songs accumulating one by one in my folder.

“It’s getting better little by little.”

“See, I told you that appearing on DTB would help with overcoming your slump. Either way, the best thing for a slump is to clear your head by doing whatever you like to your heart’s content.”

Jiwon hyung lightly patted my back. My head felt like it was going to explode from that damn evil editing, but it definitely never got cleared.

Right now I’m in a situation where I have no choice but to use the judgment and intelligence I had outsourced to Ryu Jaehee myself, so clearing my head is out of the question.

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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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