Idol of the Heavenly One - Chapter 15.2
They must be announcing the name of the debut group.
“The group name is YEARZ, and the greeting slogan is ‘YEARS with you.’ The stage names, in order, are I-rip, Hee-min, ISUNE, Jae-heon, Cheonmyeong, and Ji-hak.”
As expected, the group name was YEARZ. The slogan was good too. It had a double meaning. It sounded like “YEARZ with you,” but could also mean “the years spent with you,” which made it even better.
“Um, my, my stage name is…?”
“Soonbok is ISUNE. It’s written like that, but just pronounce it ‘ISUNE.’”
“Ah, a-ah, ISUNE…!”
And the one who benefited the most from having a stage name was probably Lee Soonbok. From the name Soonbok, which he had been embarrassed about, he had now become ISUNE. How happy he must have been.
“I want to use a stage name like J-HAK too!”
“No. Originally everyone was supposed to use their real names, but Soonbok’s name had to be changed because foreign fans would have a hard time pronouncing it.”
“What about you, Myeong-hyeon-hyung? You have a stage name too, Cheonmyeong!”
“Just let it go.”
Ji-hak pouted at the manager’s words, but honestly, if they had really told him to use J-HAK as a stage name, he would have been the first to say he wanted to stick with his real name.
“The title track for the debut has been decided too. We’ll play it for you now, but you really cannot hum this anywhere.”
Debut was really just around the corner. The contract had only been finalized recently, and they were already letting us hear the title track. I had really just barely caught the last train.
“The title is ‘AGAINST TIME.’”
To go against time? I had never heard this song in my previous life. Or maybe I had, but just didn’t know the title. The only YEARZ song I knew was one that would come out years later.
♬♪♪♩~
A powerful intro flowed out. The beat was heavy overall, but it felt both like a dance track and like pop. When it reached the climax, it burst out even more grandly than the opening section.
How should I put it—it didn’t feel like a modern idol song, but closer to something from an older era. Of course, it was much more polished, but it was the kind of song that evoked nostalgia.
“How is it?”
When the song ended, the manager asked with a bright expression, like he was saying, “This amazing song is your debut track! Aren’t you lucky?”
“It’s so good.”
Honest impressions started popping up all over the room. Joo I-rip stood up clapping, Go Hee-min looked satisfied because there were a lot of high notes in the song, and Lee Soonbok—now ISUNE—was already bouncing in excitement. Kwon Ji-hak ran over to Joo I-rip, and the two of them jumped up and down together, saying how great it was.
And it was understandable. The song was really good. It felt like a second-generation idol song, yet was polished enough to easily win a lot of public love right from the start.
“…Hm?”
I was smiling as I watched everyone’s reactions, but unlike the others who were thrilled, Baek Jae-heon was just sitting there calmly. Did he not like the song?
“You don’t like it?”
I leaned toward him and quietly asked.
“No, I like it.”
Baek Jae-heon immediately straightened his body as he answered, and for some reason that made me feel a little awkward. Him pulling back that quickly was a bit… Did I smell bad or something?
“Do I smell?”
“Huh?”
“You flinched away.”
“Ah…”
I told him to let me know if I smelled, since I could just change into my spare clothes in the cabinet if needed.
“It’s not that. I’m just not that used to this yet.”
“Huh?”
“No, you don’t smell.”
He muttered something under his breath, then acted like I shouldn’t pay it any mind, so I decided to let it go. I figured it was just because we hadn’t known each other that long yet.
“All right, everyone. Practice will start two days from now. The same goes for recording. Since the song and choreography are already ready, we’re going to be running tight until debut.”
The manager calmed everyone down as he made the announcement. They must have had the debut song and choreography prepared for a while and were just waiting to finalize who would be picked. Judging by how smoothly everything was going, that seemed likely.
“And the most important announcement. Practice and recording start in two days. So what about tomorrow?”
Tomorrow? Were we supposed to have a last supper or something?
“Starting tomorrow, you’ll be moving into the dorms together. Everyone, pack your bags and head to the dorm!”
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