The Maknae Has to Be an Idol

Chapter 141

Park Dong-Jun woke up from the sound of faint typing noises. He had been so deep asleep that he didnt how long he slept. His original plan was to take a short nap, but his surroundings looked dark by the time he woke up. He checked the time and saw that it was already after 7 p.m.; he had napped for four hours. Dong-Jun got up, thinking he had slept enough for the night.

What? He saw then, Tae-Yoon and Do-Seung crouching over a laptop together in the corner of the living room.

Ah, you are awake?

Did you just wake up?

What are you guys doing?

Dong-Jun approached them while rubbing his eyes.

We were making a fan song.

A fan song?

Dong-Juns sleepy eyes burst open. Tae-Yoon and Do-Seung were using a cable that allowed them to transfer sound to two headsets at once while working on the song production. It seemed they were being considerate of the other members sleeping.

You produced a song?

We were planning to present the song after you all woke up.

I just made the core lyrics and left some spaces for you all to fill.

Really? Dong-Jun was about to feel sorry that these two had taken all the burden of the song production themselves but fortunately, that didnt seem to be the case. Dong-Juns eyes naturally turned toward the monitor screen. He saw several screens that he couldnt make any sense out of.

Can I listen to it?

Yeah.

You can use my headset.

Dong-Jun took the headset that Tae-Yoon handed him. Since they worked on this music for only about four hours while he was sleeping, he didnt expect much.

Oh. But the quality of the song was much higher than he expected.

I put the feelings I felt while relaxing here exactly into this song.

Dong-Jun stared at Do-Seung intently. Every time Do-Seung brought them a song, he thought this, but

WowItsreally annoying.

What?

The song is good.

Really?

Though Do-Seung never let him eat late-night food and dragged him to the gym to exercise every day, he really was impressive when making music.

But what are you saying is annoying?

Ah, well, I just got annoyed seeing your face right after I woke up.

Ha, this punk.

But the song is really good.

Really?

Then, Dong-Jun began to tease Do-Seung using the song as a hostage, and after the same scenario repeated three times, Do-Seung caught on to what was happening and Dong-Jun had to take off his headset without listening to the chorus.

***

At Gangwon-do Hongcheon downtown, a part-timer for an old recording studio was watching a video of Siren on her phone. As an Applied Music major who was currently on her leave, one of her greatest perks in life was watching idol videos.

She made self-justifications to herself that watching idol videos wasnt too far from her studies and spent about two hours every day doing just that. Though two hours was quite a long time, it was a huge development considering that was what she used to do all day long.

Her biggest source of interest was currently Siren. She first learned about them through The Showcase 2. They caught her eye when they prepared a refreshing and cute performance while every other group was doing a dark and serious concept. Ever since then, she had been trying to find more videos and content about Siren.

There will be much more content to see after they officially debut, she thought. Since the team hadnt even debuted yet, there was much less content available about them compared to other teams. But since the reality show that was uploaded last week was quite entertaining, she was satisfied for now.

If they are at Hongcheon, I wonder if they are nearby, she wondered and remembered hearing that the shooting site for the reality show was at Hongcheon, but it wasnt revealed exactly where in the city.

Though Hongcheon wasnt a big city, it wasnt so small to the point that someone could deduce where they were just with pictures and videos alone. If she was lucky, she might meet them while walking in the streets. No, if she was really lucky, they could open the doors to this place this instance to record their song

Is anyone here?

Hello?

The producers connected us with the nearest studio.

Ohit kind of has a retro vibe here.

The part-timer couldnt believe what she was seeing.

Hello, we made a reservation for this place in Park Soo-Chuls name.

The Woo Yeon-Hoon she had only seen through her phone screen was talking to her with cameramen behind him. The part-timer couldnt say anything and froze in her spot. Her boss did tell her that a shooting team from Seoul was coming here today to record a song, but as it had always been, she simply thought that a group of Indie musicians were coming to make clips for their self-produced music video.

After all, this studio was known for its retro vibe because they didnt redo their interior after first establishing the place many years ago. But who knew that it would be Siren coming today? If she knew, she wouldve worn something better than what she wearing or at least washed her hair!

Oh my gosh. The part-timer clasped her mouth.

Is there a reservation? Yeon-Hoon asked again and tilted his head.

Seeing him in real life, she realized why Yeon-Hoon had been so praised for his visuals. All his facial features fit perfectly into his small face and drew the attention of everyone around him.

Could we check our reservation status, please? Woon asked. Standing next to Yeon-Hoon, there was Woon. On the show, he simply looked pretty but in real life, he had both feminine and masculine beauty that exuded a mysterious charm.

Wow, this is the sort of interior that comes up in a lot of social media pages.

Indie bands come here to take music videos frequently.

Ah, really?

Do-Seung, at the back, looked much more manly than he appeared on screens. His body was bigger than she imagined and both his hands and feet were large. His features looked stronger and more defined in real life too.

On the other hand, Dong-Jun, who was looking around the room and talking, appeared similar to how he looked on screen; but because his expressions and behavior felt more real and full of vitality in real life, his cuteness factor doubled. Lastly, there was Tae-Yoon.

He looks so scary! She thought he had a cold face on screen but in real life, it looked beyond just cold but frightening. Of course, for her, who liked cold faces, this was a high form of praise.

Umso about the reservation?

Ah, Ahhh! Yes! She turned her face back to the front as Woon asked her. This was no big task. She just needed to confirm their reservation.

Excuse me?

Ah, Ahh! Yes! This was already the third time she had forgotten what she needed to do. She checked the reservation listReservation at 11 am; Fifth Room: Park Soo-Chul.

YesPark Soo-Chul made a reservation at 11 am!

Ahyes.

While looking at Siren, she wondered a thousand times in her head if she should ask them for a picture. Other people seemed to ask for a picture so easily when they saw idols they liked, but she had a hard time opening her mouth. It felt like she would be burdening them when they were shooting their show right now.

However, if she missed this opportunity, it could never come back again. Yet, she hesitated to approach them and lamented the fact that she didnt wash her hair. Then again, she thought she would be even more the fool to lose this chance just because her hair was a bit dirty. After struggling with these polar opposite choices about a hundred times, she planned to just let them go when Yeon-Hoon talked to her first.

.Um, do youperhaps, know us?

! In shock, she looked at Yeon-Hoon wide-eyed.

Ah, if you dont, sorry. We will just go"

No, I know! I really like Siren! She couldnt lose this golden opportunity. And as soon as the word, Siren escaped her lips, Siren members seemed even more surprised than her.

!

Wow!

You know us?

Thats amazing!

The way even the stone-faced Tae-Yoon appeared surprised struck her mind the most. She looked back at all the five members looking at her quietly and thought to herself, I used up ten years worth of luck here

While preparing herself for ten later years of misfortune, she enjoyed this moment in happiness.

***

The night after Siren visited the studio, a picture came up on Bluebird. It showed the group members taking a group photo with a woman in an old recording studios lobby. The womans face was covered with a sticker and only the Siren members faces were revealed. Because the owner of the account permitted others to share the picture, the picture quickly spread to other communities through Bluebird. Perhaps, it was because everyone was aware that this was the first picture that Siren members took with a fan, the members looked especially awkward.

What hahaha why do they all look so shy ahaha

Ive never seen Dong-Jun sit so poised ahaha

Tae-Yoonis smiling so shyly?

Why do our cutie peach look so excited?

It's been a long time since I saw princess without a crazed look in his eyes

Our black cat can make such a kind face?

It was a picture where one could feel that the artists were nervous along with their fans. Perhaps, it was because they had amassed popularity and fame instantly through The Showcase, they looked like newbies who hadnt debuted yet.

They are so cute sniff

They look like its their first time meeting a fan

Reply: Wouldnt that be the case, disregarding the times they were performing on stage?

Reply: After realizing that, it makes this picture even cuter

People realized that this was a moment that wouldnt come again and retweeted the post in their feed. But at this point, people also began to wonder.

But why did they go to a recording studio?

Are they going to record something?

Are they recording their debut song?

Reply: Theres no way they would record that in such an old studio.

Reply: Then, what is it?

What was the reason Siren had to go to a studio at this time?

But where is this place?

Reply: It says Hongcheon?

Reply: Did they go there as part of the reality program?

Reply: Seems like the case

People began to put the puzzle pieces together and eventually, reached a very accurate conclusion.

Are they perhaps, making a fan song?

***

While Siren fans were predicting and buzzing with excitement about an upcoming fan song on social media sites, Kang Hyun-Sung sat on the uppermost floor of a modern white building located on Teheran street[1].

Not just Kang Hyun-Sung but all the Only One members were sitting nervously on a sofa. They were at Q Entertainments office building and inside a space used both as a studio and office space for Lamin. Though there was another building for Another One, they decided to conduct their meeting here because the company didnt relocate their office and studio space yet.

However, a bigger reason why they chose this location was to leak an article about their meeting just like how they made news by just having a meal together. At that time, Q Entertainment planned to set up the scene so that journalists could shoot the Only One members entering the companys office space.

Right now, there were five contract papers placed in front of Kang Hyun-Sung and the rest of the Only One members.

How is it? Its a rate much better than the industrys average. The length of the contract is seven years too.

Yes

We checked each of the conditionsand it really is good.

Besides Kang Hyun-Sung, the rest of the other Only One members looked ready to sign this instance.

I will ask our lawyer to review the contract.

You are thorough till the end.

I am grateful that you made a lot of considerations for us and I also want to sign the papers right away, but my past experiences advise me otherwise.

Its fine.

Kang Hyun-Sung took the packet with the contracts and said, Lets keep in touch.

Yes.

If we dont see any problems with the contract, we will sign it immediately.

Im not offended so dont worry.

Yes, sir. Kang Hyun-Sung nodded and ended the conversation.

By the way, would you be able to tell us around what time you all are planning to debut? Since we have to make a marketing plan and come up with a budget with that? Lamin asked Kang Hyun-Sung before he left.

Kang Hyun-Sung hesitated for a bit and slowly replied, I will tell you after thinking about it a bit more. We still have to organize our thoughts.

1. Street in Seouls Gangnam district; many internet-related companies are located here