Debuting by Riding the Returnee’s Bus Chapter 61

Benok, who usually provided positive feedback—acting as the Angel judge—didn’t look like he would stop scowling anytime soon. It was right after he’d watched our team’s performance.

 

The expressions on the faces of Paige and Kim Minhyuk beside him were the same. Even the vocal trainers and dancers who had been brought in to help the trainees looked conflicted. Of course, a few of them seemed to have simply followed Benok’s passionately expressed opinion…

 

But now that the atmosphere had shifted this way, it felt like the interim evaluation was a total failure. He wasn’t merely excited; he looked genuinely angry, so it was certain that the actual broadcast would be edited to make it look like we ruined the stage. They wouldn’t make Benok look like the crazy one, after all.

 

“Trainee Lee Unha. Have I been overestimating you all this time? No, it’s not just Lee Unha. Looking at the lineup, this was one of the teams I looked forward to the most… but what did I just watch?”

 

‘He’s being way too harsh. Is he mad because they didn’t pick his song?’

 

“Of course, it’s fair to evaluate this while taking into account that you didn’t have much time. Honestly, this isn’t even the stage where I’d normally say something like this. Some of you trainees probably feel this is unfair. You probably think you put on a better performance than the teams before you, so you can’t understand why you’re being criticized so harshly. Isn’t that right?”

 

“N-no, sir.”

 

“It has no style.”

 

“Pardon?”

 

“It has no style. It has no swagger.”

 

‘Swagger is a bit…’

 

At the unexpected use of such slang, Kim Minhyuk looked at Benok in surprise. However, Benok was so worked up that he didn’t even seem to notice what he had said.

 

“Just because a bunch of people rush onto the stage, dance, and sing doesn’t mean they become idols. A performance doesn’t become good just because nobody sings off-key, everyone dances in perfect synchronization, and you finish the choreography exactly as planned without making any mistakes.”

 

‘Then what does make a good performance?’

 

“It has no style. It was a damn boring performance.”

 

Frustrated, he put down the ballpoint pen he was holding. His actions and tone were so rough that it made me wonder if he was getting too over-invested in the show. For a moment, I wondered if he was just creating a memorable TV moment, but after hearing him use language that would never make it on air, I realized he wasn’t thinking about the cameras at all.

 

‘He’s seriously not just angry because we didn’t pick his song, is he?’

 

I wasn’t entirely sure what was going through his head, but honestly I had a rough idea of what he was trying to say. I could empathize with his words to an extent.

 

The performance itself wasn’t actually bad. In fact, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that I, Lee Unha, was the only weak link. Kim Haejun was Kim Haejun, and Jung Taehee had grown enough to show some composure. The two elders were veterans, so they didn’t lack in vocals or rap, and their teamwork was surprisingly good for having practiced together for such a short time.

 

Everyone had simply performed exactly as rehearsed, focused on not making mistakes, following the planned formations precisely. It wasn’t a 100-point stage, but it felt like a solid 70. If all the first interim evaluation performances were ranked, I thought ours would at least land somewhere above the middle.

 

But….

 

‘It definitely lacked swagger.’

 

If I had to diagnose the problem myself…

 

‘The Elder Duo are the culprits.’

 

It felt funny to go looking for a culprit, but no matter how I thought about it, it was them.

 

‘You were the ones who chose the song, and you were the ones who assigned the parts.’

 

This was my internal evaluation, excluding myself. Since they’d taken on the role of the performance’s central pillars, it was only natural to see it that way.

 

It was a cruel thing to say, but….

 

‘They’re the textbook example.’

 

Jeon Hocheol and Na Younghun were exactly the kind of trainees who spent years training but somehow never managed to debut. Even before I had been dragged to the other world—back when I was the Lee Unha who didn’t have the Succubus Eye—I’d known trainees like them too.

 

The so-called ‘talented hyungs’.

 

Yeah. The talented ones.

 

The hyungs who always looked like they were about to debut. The ones who constantly impressed during every monthly and weekly evaluation. Unlike someone like me, who had absolutely no talent, they were genuinely gifted and highly anticipated. They’d spent years becoming fixtures in the trainee system, always waiting for their next opportunity. On top of that, because they’d trained for so long, they were already friends with idols who had debuted.

 

But….

 

‘In the end, they’re always the ones who never debut.’

 

People always said the same things. People asked if they were finally getting picked for the debut group, and they were told not to forget everyone once they got famous. Yet somehow, instead of these hyungs debuting, it was always trainees with less skill who made it.

 

At the time, I couldn’t understand why. They were just as handsome, just as good at dancing, and just as good at singing, so why did some debut while others didn’t? I used to wonder if it was because the ones who debuted had some backing and those hyungs didn’t.

 

But after appearing on Idol Classism, after seeing so many different kinds of trainees, after watching people like Kim Haejun and Jung Taehee, now I finally understood why these men never managed to debut.

 

It was exactly as Benok said.

 

They had no style.

 

It was a word packed with meaning. Yeah, no style. You could also call it a lack of star quality or say it lacked aura, but to me, ‘it has no style’ essentially meant it had no individuality. At least, that was how I understood it.

 

The answer became even clearer when comparing them to Jung Taehee, who was in the same main vocal line. Unlike the hyung’s voice, Jung Taehee’s voice had a magnetic quality that naturally drew people in.

 

The same held true when compared to Kim Haejun. They shared similar dance lines and even rapped with a flow nearly identical to the original song, yet Kim Haejun overwhelmingly commanded people’s attention. They were all equally handsome, but your eyes were inevitably drawn toward those two. Joo Wooyoung, with his overwhelming visuals, was an exception, but there was still a clear difference between simply being handsome and being memorably handsome.

 

What Benok meant was likely that.

 

They lacked individuality.

 

In fact, under the Elder Duo’s leadership, we’d built an unremarkable performance around an unremarkable arrangement, so in a way, this outcome was only natural.

 

“…….”

 

“…….”

 

I glanced around and saw the duo unable to lift their heads. Since they had been confident they’d put on a decent performance, they seemed unable to accept the judges’ comments.

 

“Trainee Jeon Hocheol.”

 

“Yes.”

 

“Trainee Na Younghun.”

 

“Yes.”

 

“How was the performance? What did you think?”

 

“It… felt lacking.”

 

“You need to think about what exactly the problem was. I know you might feel this is unfair. But if you two are really the ones leading this team, then you have to keep thinking and questioning yourselves. You have to make a decision at some point about what direction helps the team most and what actions are truly for the team.”

 

“Y… yes.”

 

“Trainee Jung Taehee.”

 

“Yes.”

 

“What? Do you have a complaint?”

 

“A-ah, no.”

 

“I really can’t figure you out. Sometimes you leave me staring in amazement. Other times, I’m disappointed because you’re so far below expectations… Honestly, it almost feels like your performance depends on your mood that day. If you want to become a professional, you need to learn how to set your personal feelings aside. And Trainee Kim Haejun.”

 

“Yes.”

 

“I understand you played a decisive role in picking a [TOP9] song. You’ll have to show us why you chose it. I understand the arrangement couldn’t be helped due to lack of time, but that’s not your only strength, is it? The fact that I barely noticed Kim Haejun during today’s performance is honestly quite shocking.”

 

“I’m sorry.”

 

“Finally, Trainee Lee Unha.”

 

“Yes, Judge.”

 

“Sigh…”

 

“…….”

 

“Seriously… I guess you’ve already debuted?”

 

‘Seriously, what’s wrong with him? I was the one who wanted to perform your song. I pushed for your song. I wanted us to do yours. Don’t do this to me. Seriously.’

 

It was an incredibly aggressive remark. Considering I was currently riding a massive wave of popularity, it was a statement that could turn the entire Unha fandom into his enemies. Of course, Benok wasn’t the type to worry about offending anyone, but he still made a living in an industry built on public popularity, so it wasn’t easy for someone like him to speak this harshly…

 

‘He really must’ve hated that performance.’

 

It was proof that he truly disliked this performance, and Lee Unha’s showing. It made sense. I didn’t slack off on purpose, but I hadn’t used the Succubus Eye for this stage. He must feel that I was different from the usual Lee Unha.

 

‘Even so… I thought we were close. How can you say that?’

 

I’d thought Benok looked favorably upon me., but apparently not. He was simply someone who loved performances more than anything else.

 

“I… I’m sorry.”

 

It was time to drop a few tears.

 

“Sniff… I’m… sor… I’m sorry.”

 

“Ah. Don’t cry… Trainee Lee Unha. I think I may have been too harsh…”

 

“I’m sorry… I’ll work even harder… sob…”

 

“No. You worked hard. You worked hard, but… sigh….”

 

‘Or maybe not? Does he actually like me?’

 

It seemed he realized he’d gone too far. And that he’d been unusually aggressive compared to his previous evaluations. Benok’s expression softened slightly.

 

It was then that Judge Paige, who was sitting next to Benok, spoke up. She spoke up as if she couldn’t even wait for Benok’s review to finish.

 

“Let’s try swapping parts.”

 

“Pardon?”

 

“I said, let’s try swapping the parts.”

 

“I don’t think… we’re prepared for that yet…”

 

“Don’t worry about the blocking getting tangled or making mistakes. I think it would be good to see it again with the parts swapped… because I want to see it.”

 

“Ah. I was thinking the same thing… That’s a great idea, noona.”

 

“You all know the other parts besides your own, right? For the intro and the bridge, Trainee Lee Unha. Trainee Na Younghun, you take Verse A. Trainee Jeon Hocheol, take the Pre-chorus. Trainee Kim Haejun, take Verse B. Trainee Jung Taehee, take Chorus B and Chorus C… and Trainee Lee Unha, you finish with the outro….”

 

“…….”

 

“Let’s see it.”

 

‘Wait, even so, this is a bit…’

 

Wasn’t this downright cruel? Of course, I was hoping for things to go in this direction, and I couldn’t exactly say I hadn’t intended something like this to happen, but…

 

It was too cruel. Her intention was to directly compare the Elder Duo with Kim Haejun and Jung Taehee.

 

Sure enough. The faces of the Elder Duo were turning pale with anxiety.