Chapter 269

I’m not good at remembering people’s names.

Even if I did manage to memorize it by force, I soon forget it after time passes.

While I could thoroughly memorize information about important figures related to work—to the point of making them afraid—I often struggled to remember the faces of people I wasn’t particularly interested in.

“Hyung, isn’t it a bit abnormal that you can perfectly remember the shared entrance code to the members’ houses but can’t remember whether you’ve met someone before, even if you just met them?”

The members said so, and I also thought there might be something wrong with me, so I once got tested, but there was nothing wrong with my brain.

After hearing the doctor say that my brain was as strong as a gorilla’s, the conclusion I came to after much contemplation was simple.

It seemed that I clearly distinguished between what I was interested in and what I wasn’t, and if something could be ruled out, I completely blocked out that information to conserve energy.

I had always handled numerous tasks, including planning, producing, composing, and arranging performances for Prism and the members’ individual activities, as well as managing their personal lives. Since I was particularly sensitive to these matters, I naturally used up more energy than most people, and the solution I instinctively arrived at was that.

For example, COMA-1. Since they were no longer our competitors, it was fair to say that I had completely lost interest in them, except for Taeui.

Prism, who should have naturally fallen away from the top as the years went by, had held on for an abnormally long time. Among the few groups that came closest to catching up, Raize was the one currently leading the idol market. And now, when I was looking at it as Pantheion , they were the frontrunners, maintaining their first-tier team position ahead of us

‘They’re the group we should realistically be competing against right now.’

Therefore, since Raize was within my range of interest, I was aware of all their activities, their agency’s strategies, their members’ personalities, scandals, and so on

‘Among them, the center is the one we should be paying the most attention to.’

I simply hadn’t remembered his name yet because I had no intention of socializing, but I did have quite a bit of information about the Raize’s center .

[“Center, I think Leada is the top. All lowly beings kneel before him.”]

Based on that information, that statement was completely out of line.

‘…….’

I could see the light in Raize center’s eyes fade in real-time.

If you look carefully, Zen’s statement was actually three short, separate video clips— ‘Center ‘, ‘ I think Leada is the top ‘, and ‘ All lowly beings kneel before him ‘—cleverly spliced together.

‘They probably stitched together answers from different questions.’

However, that level of choppy editing was common even in ordinary situations, not just used in intentionally evil editing, so the cast didn’t seem to find anything unusual.

“Oh.”

The key was how the person in question would react, but unfortunately, Zen seemed completely clueless.

[Q. What’s your target ranking?]

[“Of course, first place. Those who don’t always aim for the top can never seize victory.”]

That’s true.

But the timing couldn’t be worse.

“Wow, you have guts. I guess this is how kids are these days?”

“You’re saying you’ll beat all your seniors and take first place? Really? Oh wow, how cute, so adorable!”

I could hear the sound of whistling as the other members of Raize stared at us intently, their expressions fixed in broadcast-friendly smiles. But regardless of that, Zen was, as always, stepping on the gas all by himself.

[“I’m going to trample you. Bring it on.”]

And then, he gave a thumbs-up, slashed his thumb horizontally across his throat, and jabbed it downward.

“Boomtta. 1 “

‘…What is that?’

I figured it was some kind of internet slang. Worried that it might be an unbroadcastable word, I silently grabbed Do Yuda’s thigh with a fierce look. The fear-stricken guy started frantically explaining, “I-I didn’t teach him that!”

“Ahaha! He’s giving us a ‘ Boomtta ’!”

In the meantime, Zen disappeared from the screen, and Lee Danbi’s face filled the entire frame.

[Q. The members of Raize have chosen Pantheion as the group they’ll keep in check. You’ll be competing against the group currently predicted to rank first, what are your thoughts on that?]

[“…If I have to do it, I’ll do it. It’s not like I can avoid it just because I want to.”]

“ No matter how hard it is, if I have to do it, I just do it. And I humbly accept the results “. It was a calm response that clearly reflected Lee Danbi’s usual attitude. However, coming from a Pantheion’s member who had just been thrown into the aggro king position thanks to Nagi Zen’s comments, it almost felt like he was saying, ‘Why should I make a fuss over something as insignificant as Raize?’

“Wow…….”

The seniors, who had been forcing themselves to smile as if they were amused and unfazed at Zen’s ‘ boomtta’ comment, now raised their eyebrows crookedly. Meanwhile, Woo Kangwon and Baek Kiryang, who had been deathly pale ever since the interview video started playing, finally clutched their heads and wailed, “Ahhh, Danbi, not you too!”

‘It’s a f**king mess.’

As I watched the scene with a straight face, I decided to be grateful that Lee Hwayoung hadn’t been dragged into it.

“Why do I have to lower my value with my own words?”

“Let them talk all they want. I don’t care.”

If that young master, who rejected the virtue of humility with his ‘ Throughout Heaven and Earth, I Alone Am The Honored One ‘ 2 attitude and never hid his aggression in front of anyone except Camila and me, had been the one interviewed, our group would have been finished even without the need for any ‘ evil editing ‘.

“…….”

Look, our little young master seemed very satisfied with Lee Danbi’s answer. I could tell by the subtle arc of his mouth.

“Where are you? Let me see your face.”

The group’s name had already been displayed in the subtitles, and Zen’s face had just filled the screen a moment ago. Yet, they were deliberately craning their necks in that unpleasant manner to look at my members—no doubt intending to intimidate us with just their gazes.

A normal junior would have avoided eye contact or swallowed hard, showing signs of being intimidated.

But are the members of Pantheion the kind of guys who would be easily intimidated?

“Everyone’s staring at us.”

“…….”

Lee Danbi quietly met the gazes of the seniors staring at him, while Lee Hwayoung sat comfortably with his legs crossed, leaning back in his chair like a well-fed lion.

And Nagi Zen…….

“Everyone is looking at me. From now on, the era of the genius idol Nagi Zen, begins.”

He had always been unparalleled.

‘…Yeah, if you’re going to cause trouble, you might as well fully commit to the concept.’

Oh, and the rest of the cowards had all fainted in their chairs under the pressure from the seniors, so they weren’t moving at all.

If the juniors showed even a hint of fear and shrank back, the seniors might soften up and regain their composure. However, thanks to the two ‘ strong to the strong, strong to the weak ‘ 3 Lees, and Nagi Zen—who, despite being the cause of this whole mess, remained utterly clueless—the atmosphere in the studio only grew more intense.

Lee Chise, who had been scanning the cast, tilted his head toward Jo Inchan and commented, “These kids are really docile, don’t you think?”

Well, compared to rappers who started cursing and dropping diss tracks the moment they got annoyed, this must seem like mere child’s play. But that didn’t mean they could be taken lightly either.

If fights between rappers or dancers were all about throwing punches in plain sight, the psychological battle here felt more like a noble ladies’ tea party—where, if you let your guard down, you’d find yourself stabbed with the knife hidden in their mouths before you even realized it.

If you’re going to fight, just fight openly . As I began to feel a bit weary from the petty power struggle, where no one was outright fighting but just irritatingly skirmishing, Raize’s center spoke to the cast.

“Ah, come on, everyone, don’t be like that. You’re scaring the kids, they can’t even say anything. They’re still young, so they probably didn’t know any better. Let’s just look at them kindly. We’ll see how well they do in the future.”

“If you say so, sunbaenim, then I suppose I have no choice.”

“Just as expected, our friends in Raon are so kind. Thank you.”

‘They’re putting on airs.’

He didn’t miss a single thing: showcasing his personality and senior-like relaxedness to the camera, flashing a refreshing smile, cheekily flipping Pantheion’s image to make it seem like we were subtly intimidated, and even making allies of groups that wouldn’t cause trouble by associating with them. That guy, he was like the perfect embodiment of a noble young lady from a novel, except he wasn’t wearing a dress.

He was clearly the annoying type, but anyway, if we let it slide like this, it wouldn’t matter.

After all, I was here to create opportunities for my members to grow on their own.

“Did I help you with that, Seungbeom-ssi?”

But for some reason, he singled me out and said such things, as if he had some kind of grudge against me. Was he acting like this because his pride was wounded by Zen’s ‘ lowly being ‘ remark earlier? He was quite skilled at winking like he was just joking and speaking in a cutesy tone to avoid public backlash.

‘Ah, this kid is really good at laying on the old-fashioned lecturing.’

With an internal ‘ tsk ‘, I deliberately focused my gaze on the sketchbook the writer was holding. Then, as if I had belatedly realized he had spoken to me after noticing the stillness of my surroundings and the many gazes directed at me, I widened my eyes in feigned surprise before quickly shifting my gaze toward the center of Raize.

And then, as if I hadn’t quite heard what the other person had said to me, I asked back with an apologetic expression.

“Pardon?”

Go on, say it again. It’ll probably make you look pathetic, like a crazy person begging for a thank you, and you’re probably too embarrassed to do that whole wink and aegyo thing to prevent hate comments twice. But go ahead, give it a try.

“…….”

After confirming that the Raize’s center didn’t respond immediately, I tilted my head a little, feigning concern, and blinked a few times. Then, he intentionally exaggerated his dialect accent and, with a playful tone, said “Forget it!” while laughing it off.

Jay, who was watching the situation that seemed to be ending appropriately, spoke softly with a subtle smile on his face.

“Our Seonghwa has grown a lot. Now he’s even taking on the role of a senior to the juniors…….”

Normally, Jay didn’t casually call his juniors by their names in front of the camera and would always add ‘- ssi ‘ to show respect. However, this time, he deliberately called him “ Our Seonghwa “, which implied that he was speaking down to him.

“Isn’t that right?”

I understood the intention behind his actions. No matter how popular and senior Raize was among the competing groups, they were ultimately below Prism, so that was a warning to tone down his disrespectful behavior of putting juniors in their place in front of far more senior figures.

‘…Hoo.’

Seeing the atmosphere in the studio lighten in an instant, I couldn’t help but think, ‘ So, even the villainous noble lady loses her power in front of the nine-tailed fox .’

***

After that, we proceeded with a segment where the cast members took turns giving their evaluations on each of the groups.

[“Honestly, it will hurt our pride to lose to the junior, right? But still, we have more experience on stage. If we can’t win, I think our fans will be disappointed.”]

[“Ah, I saw Pantheion’s year-end performance. It was really impressive. But I’m a bit curious, though. Is it really true that our friends planned it from start to finish? That’s what I’m wondering…….”]

[“I know the main vocal line is really strong. But to be honest, when it comes to the dance line, that one … Han Seungbeom? Aside from him, I don’t really feel like I need to be too wary.”]

Our group was mainly attacked for our ‘experience ‘, as well as the skills of members like Woo Kangwon and Lee Danbi, who weren’t naturally gifted in stage-related talents. Or for Zen’s basic skills.

They were so clearly displaying their discomfort that I thought they were only saying nice things about the other groups, but it turned out to be a ‘ passive-aggressive attack with a smile ‘ fest. I wasn’t sure if they did it intentionally to spice up the competition, or if it was something they were unknowingly led into by the production team.

Since our group was one of the most junior, it seemed like the other cast members were much more comfortable with their critiques.

‘…I just want to go to the practice room and practice.’

As I was washing my hands to shake off the fatigue from the filming that went on until just before break time, someone entered the restroom. He stood near me, took a deep breath, and then spoke in a quiet voice.

“You smell really similar to the stalker who used to follow me.”

“…….”

“It doesn’t seem like an off-the-shelf 4 product.”

He was the center of Raize.

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Translator’s Corner:

Positive response (upvote) is 붐업 (boom-up)’ .

So, basically, Zen is giving them downvote. ↩︎

The great Jay-sunbaenim of Prism … omg, Jay is really attractive everytime he’s doing something outside being Prism’s maknae and Yutae’s baby … suddenly remembered that all mentors on Survive Idol were afraid of him

NO BUT SERIOUSLY, in a perfect world where Yutae is with Prism, and the Han Seungbeom here is the OG Han Seungbeom … I would happily watching this show shipping Seungbeom with Gong Seonghwa …. the material for alternative universe is there …… the visuals ….. both Centers but with very different personalities …. rival is my favorite trope …. if isekai isn’t possible, the author really needs to write a whole new level with OG Han Seungbeom as MC and Yutae as MC’s dad figure ….. we know even if OG Seungbeom can’t sing or dance, his face alone would make him debut ……

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