Chapter 271

Following that, the Grade Evaluation proceeded, with Prism assigning grades after watching each group’s title track performance. In the case of Pantheion’s song, we had already practiced and performed it so much under my lead that we were practically sick of it, so there were no major difficulties.

“As expected of Pantheion, you guys are really good at performing.”

“Each member has outstanding individual skills, so I think they can show a really diverse range of performances.”

After smoothly receiving positive feedback, we, along with Raize, were confirmed for the highest Grade, A. As a benefit, we were given priority in selecting our competition song and were able to choose a mentor to provide feedback during practice.

‘Even though they’re just chicks, they’re chicks I picked … their innate talents are on a different level.’

The ‘ senior groups ‘, who had boasted about how they couldn’t possibly lose to juniors because of their stage experience, were now pretending they had never said a word after receiving lower grades. There was no way to protest the evaluation results. After all, the grades were determined by Prism themselves.

“Which sunbaenim would be a good choice?”

After deciding on our competition song, while we were choosing our mentor for the practice period, Do Yuda turned to me with sparkling eyes and said, “Give us a hint.”

‘Why are you looking to me for hints on how to win over Prism? You know who I am.’

As the members, looking dejected at my firm refusal, huddled together to discuss, Lee Danbi, who had remained silent the whole time, finally spoke up.

“…I think Cha Woon-sunbaenim would be a good choice.”

“…….”

“Is it okay if we go with that, hyung?”

The corners of my mouth pulled up slightly as I stared at Lee Danbi, who was looking straight up at me.

***

A week had passed since the first filming.

And today was the day the Prism members fit the juniors’ practice into their schedules to observe and give feedback

“Hello, sunbaenim!”

“Hello.”

While we were practicing alongside Raize—who, boldly enough, had chosen the same mentor—Cha Woon suddenly walked into the practice room, dressed casually in a light shirt. Our eyes met for a brief moment, but he quickly looked away and approached the temporary desk set up by the production team, placing down the file he had brought along with his coffee.

‘He’s completely addicted to coffee.’

Perhaps because he had been forced to squeeze Legendary Singer into his already packed schedule, there was a hint of fatigue on his face. Just as I was watching him with slight concern, he uncomfortably crossed his long legs on a chair that didn’t quite suit his height and turned to Raize to ask a question.

“…Shall we take a look at what you’ve prepared? Let’s start with the seniors.”

“Yes!”

If it had been Lee Chise, he would have lightened the mood by saying something like, “ Alright, rock-paper-scissors !” to decide the order. Unfortunately, expecting that level of communication skill from Cha Woon was wishful thinking. Given no choice, Raize had no option but to step forward and perform first, unable to show even the slightest hint of how burdensome it felt.

Then, following Gong Seonghwa’s lead, they got into formation and began performing their practiced stage to the MR played by the production team.

As expected, Gong Seonghwa was the one to open the song.

Gong Seonghwa seemed to focus on dance as his main position, but he had such a strong presence that just standing in the center made the performance feel more polished. So, having him take the intro wasn’t a bad choice at all.

‘Not bad. The song choice is decent too.’

The song Raize chose was the title track from our fourth full album.

Among Prism’s songs, it was on the easier side in terms of difficulty. However, its catchy hook made it stand out, making it a good match for Raize, whose biggest strength was their public appeal.

‘The fast tempo makes it easier to hype up the atmosphere on stage.’

It was a smart choice, fitting for the leader of the active first-tier groups.

As I was listening to the smoothly passing parts while making such evaluation, a member who had been stuck in the back the entire time stepped forward the moment Jo Inchan’s part started.

“…….”

The moment he opened his mouth, the first to react were Cha Woon and me—the composers of this song.

I subtly lowered my eyelids, and right after, Cha Woon tapped the tip of his fountain pen against the desk. Then, Baek Kiryang’s eyes began to tremble wildly. It was obvious why the person who was probably the most sensitive to pitch and beat in this room would suddenly react like that.

‘…The pitch is off. The tempo is also half a beat too fast.’

It seemed like he lacked singing skills and had developed a habit of relying heavily on AR during performances.

Doesn’t every group have one?

A member who was relatively less skilled than the other members, commonly referred to as the ‘ hole ‘.

‘If it was his own song, he would have practiced that part to death to sing it decently. But this time, he had to prepare a song more difficult than Raize’s songs in a short period, so his shortcomings were bound to show.’

I remembered him as a member who often showed instability even during encore performances, and Gong Seonghwa frequently had to help him. So, it was no surprise that his pitch and tempo were subtly off when he was asked to sing to a raw MR.

Even though this part didn’t have any high notes, it was actually much harder to sing than it sounded, as it required switching between very low and comfortable notes while keeping an offbeat tempo.

It meant that the quality could drop by just a hair’s breadth, a difficulty that people often failed to recognize.

Most of Jo Inchan’s parts were like that.

‘On top of that, he also had to be mindful of his movements on stage…….’

They probably distributed parts based on vocal range to avoid pitch problems in the high notes, but that was a somewhat lazy decision.

‘It would have been better to just force out the high notes by screaming.’

Sure enough, just like us, Gong Seonghwa sensed that something was off and glanced at Cha Woon. The moment he did, Cha Woon raised his hand. At that, the production staff cut off the MR, leaving the Raize members, who had been performing a stage they had prepared for so long, frozen in place.

“…….”

“…….”

In an instant, the atmosphere turned cold.

But Cha Woon didn’t seem to care as he kept his head down, filling the paper on his file with dense notes. Every time the nib of his fountain pen scraped against the paper with a sharp, grating sound, the members of Raize’s blinking got faster and faster.

“Come forward.”

As Cha Woon spoke while keeping his eyes fixed on the paper, every gaze in the practice room immediately turned to the member who had made the mistake. Still looking disoriented, he glanced around in confusion before Gong Seonghwa gave him a nudge, prompting him to hesitantly step toward Cha Woon.

“Can you sing your part again?”

At Cha Woon’s instruction, Woo Kangwon let out a sharp breath. In this tense atmosphere, the sheer cruelty of making someone who couldn’t even sing properly with the MR to perform a cappella must have made his head spin.

It was only natural.

Once someone ruined the teacher’s mood, the entire lesson was as good as doomed—unless the next person pulled off something brilliant. And even if someone managed to do well, they’d only end up as a point of comparison, making things even more uncomfortable for everyone. A perfect recipe for collective misery.

‘Still, considering it was Cha Woon , I think he was speaking rather gently.’

Unfortunately, his expression was so cold that speaking gently no longer had any meaning. As he took in his fierce appearance, the member of Raize swallowed hard and began singing his short part.

“Again.”

But all he got in return was a command to do it again.

In response, the Raize member sang again, but this time, the tempo was a bit too fast.

“Again.”

It was the endless ‘ again ‘ hell that all artists and athletes dreaded.

As the Raize member hesitantly began singing again in the bone-chillingly cold air, Gong Seonghwa nodded along to keep the tempo. However, he made the same pitch mistake again in the part he kept getting wrong.

“…….”

Cha Woon, who had been looking down at the papers on the desk, rolled his black eyes toward Gong Seonghwa.

Seeing the look in Cha Woon’s eyes, which clearly told him not to help, Gong Seonghwa lowered his head. Without a word, Cha Woon turned toward the keyboard standing upright beside the desk.

Then, as he played the accompaniment for the repeatedly sung part on the keyboard, he asked, “Can you sing it like this?”

When the Raize member successfully sang the part correctly, the rest of the group exhaled quietly, as if they could finally catch their breath. However, Cha Woon simply turned his body back to the desk, looking unimpressed.

Then, after glancing over the paper where he had written notes, he quietly spoke.

“You should be ashamed of yourself.”

“…….”

“It makes no sense that I have to guide you with the keyboard to hit the right notes at this level. You’re not even a trainee.”

“…I’m sorry.”

‘Cha Woon is also good at playing jazz piano.’

While I was nonchalantly lost in thought, watching the long, slender fingers that had been on the keyboard just a moment ago, Do Yuda’s teary eyes turned toward me. It was clear from his expression that he wanted to ask, ‘ Wasn’t Cha Woon-sunbaenim supposed to be the right answer? ‘

I quickly looked straight ahead, pretending not to notice him.

‘I did say Cha Woon was the right answer, but I never said he was the easiest choice.’

In fact, even within Prism, a group that all the juniors tended to avoid, there were members who were particularly hard to approach or became objects of fear.

Me, Seo Yuseong, and Cha Woon.

The three of us, all with black hair, were the primary figures.

‘It’s probably because of the way we look. In Seo Yuseong’s case, it’s because he never smiles.’

But in reality, two of the three, Cha Woon and I, were the ones who actually showed a somewhat sincere attitude toward the juniors. I hate to admit it, but I guess you could say we just couldn’t let go of our affection.

‘As for Seo Yuseong, he should be avoided by any means possible.’

At first glance, Lee Chise seemed to have the most approachable impression among Prism, but in reality, it wasn’t the case. If it was just about briefly hanging out and then drifting apart, Lee Chise might be the best choice. However, if you were looking for a close relationship, or for any kind of emotion-based actions, Lee Chise wasn’t exactly a good option.

‘…That guy has a very peculiar personality.’

Lee Chise wouldn’t show any special reaction, even if the juniors failed to meet his expectations and showed an insincere attitude. On the outside, he would just smile and laugh, but inside, he would think, ‘These guys are a lost cause’ , and simply draw a red line over their names.

‘Probably, the practice atmosphere is the best where Lee Chise is.’

He didn’t care whether their future was ruined or not, so he just maintained an overly lenient attitude without much thought.

That was Lee Chise’s basic attitude.

‘Jo Inchan had to miss this practice mentoring session due to a scheduling conflict.’

Likewise, Jay and Nam Yihwon also strictly limited their interactions with the juniors to work-related matters, and they wouldn’t invest any interest beyond the bare minimum required by the production team. This was similar to the way Jay acted on Survive IDOL .

The appropriate tension arising from the mentor’s strictness could help improve the quality of the results. And scolding or encouragement were actions that required the mentor’s passion and affection.

I believed that Cha Woon was the only one in Prism who could play that role for Pantheion.

‘Just learn by getting properly beaten. This is what you came here for anyway.’

It might not just feel like getting beaten, but more like being stabbed with a knife, but whatever, that’s the reality.

“This program is not just about senior singers evaluating fully prepared performances. We observe your preparation process along the way and provide feedback so you can deliver even better performances next time.”

“…….”

“At the end of the day, we’re here to help you put on a great performance for the public. We understood that clearly when we decided to appear on this show. That’s why we took time out of our busy schedules to be here now, but…….”

Cha Woon, who had been speaking calmly without any interruptions, rested his arms in front of him, leaned forward, and looked up at the member who had been making repeated mistakes.

“You haven’t mastered the basics of this song?”

You can support this translation through Buy Me a Coffee or Wishlist!

Translator’s Corner:

If scary then why attractive ….

I just ate burned rice … I’m writing it here to report if there’s any side effects later

If you find any errors (non-standard content, ads redirect, broken links, etc..), Please let us know so we can fix it as soon as possible.