boyutpedia Chapter 129: Year-End (6)
Chapter 129: Year-End (6)
This was the stat screen Kang Rojun was looking at.-[Appearance (150/150)│Singing Ability (60.2/100)│Rap (50.5/100)│Dance (50.2/100)│Eloquence (26.8/100)│Acting (25.2/100)│Lyrics Writing (100/100)│Composition (23/100)│Arrangement (0/100)]
All the other stats still had a maximum of 100 points, but only the appearance stat had reached 150. Blinking as he looked over the stats for a moment, Rojun's gaze went back up. He was looking at himself in the mirror.
"......So 100 wasn’t the end?"
Rojun had assumed that 100 was the highest score since the appearance stat had been at 100 from the very beginning of the ‘AI Simulation’. But now that appearance stat had broken past 100 to 150.
Rubbing his chin, Kang Rojun muttered softly.
“I’ve been hearing more often these days that I’ve gotten even more handsome.”
What could have caused the appearance stat to rise? Several guesses came to mind, but the most likely were two.
‘Either from working out hard or getting some grooming and care here and there?’
Rojun had been in the entertainment industry for about half a year, had seen not just idols but various actors, and had even done filming. Environment has a major impact on a person.
‘Or maybe it’s the recently added passive, ‘Overwhelm’?’
It might have been the result of both combined.
Whatever it was, he had always had an insanely good-looking appearance, and now that explosive impact had been amplified. It was an amusing result. Kang Rojun couldn’t help but smile.
His physical build couldn’t be ignored either.
Not only had his body gotten more toned from repeated exercise, but he had also suddenly grown taller. Looking at himself in the mirror, Rojun tried striking different poses.
“If I looked like a boy before, maybe now I give off more of a young man vibe? Anyway, damn impressive.”
A moment of self-praise. Kang Rojun spent several more minutes in front of the mirror, striking various poses. If anyone saw him, they might think he was crazy. Then, brushing back his black hair, Rojun checked his stats again.
‘If 150 is possible for appearance, doesn’t that mean the other stats can go beyond 100 too?’
This part still wasn’t certain. Whatever the case, Kang Rojun was feeling extremely hyped.
“If I keep going like this, domestically or abroad, I could destroy everyone with just my face.”
Wiggling his butt, he started his shower.
The next day, Wednesday the 2nd, in the morning.
It was around 10 o’clock. Kang Rojun, Si-hoo, Kang-min, and Do-kyung were gathered in the lounge in a fairly natural manner. They were chatting about this and that, but it felt like they were waiting for someone. At this point, Kang-min, who had an exotic-looking handsome face, rubbed his hands together.
“What kind of people will come? I’m kind of nervous. It’s our manager team, after all.”
The one who answered was Do-kyung, with his usual blunt face.
“Are the people coming today the ones we’ll stick with going forward?”
Si-hoo, visibly nervous, slowly nodded.
“Ah, probably. Ugh- hopefully they’re good people.”
Rojun, who was scanning the members, also felt a bit nervous.
‘Managers. The fact that we’re getting managers now, it really feels like things are getting serious.’
Rojun recalled the support staff who assisted S-Class Top Actress Choi Rina during the 'Rental Lover' shoot. The reason everyone was reacting like this was simple.
The manager team from GN Entertainment, who would soon be in charge of Kang Rojun and the members, was about to arrive.
They had reportedly passed through the campus gate about ten minutes ago, so they would appear any minute now.
Right at that moment.
-Swish.
Seven unfamiliar people entered the lounge.
“Hello-”
“Hello!”
Three men and four women.
Kang Rojun and the members immediately jumped up to greet them.
“Uh- ah, hello.”
“Nice to meet you!”
After finishing his greeting, Rojun quickly scanned the seven people standing in front of him.
‘Is that man the manager-level??’
Among the seven, the man who looked the oldest seemed to have the highest rank. Roughly in his mid to late 30s? He was wearing a navy long coat casually, and his face was average. But how to put it, he gave off an overall drained of energy vibe? Wilted? Like he lacked presence? His scruffy beard added to his rough, unkempt image.
And then he was.
“Mm- nice to meet you.”
The first to introduce himself.
“I’m Manager Team Chief Kim Ki-baek. I’ll be taking charge of you all from now on, looking forward to working with you.”
His voice was also somewhat weak and lacked energy. Rojun felt a disconnect between his name and his vibe.
‘Kim Ki-baek, his name means ‘spirit and strength’, but he kind of looks frail.’
Suddenly, Chief Kim Ki-baek coughed and pulled a handkerchief from his coat pocket to wipe his nose.
“Ah, sorry.”
Even as he apologized, he reached out his hand to Rojun, who instinctively reacted. Interestingly, instead of a handshake, Kim Ki-baek pulled Rojun in for a light hug.
“Handshakes feel a bit too impersonal.”
What the heck is with this guy? His character was refreshingly unique. Despite coughing again, Team Leader Kim Ki-baek went on to hug Si-hoo, Kang-min, and Do-kyung as well before finishing his self-introduction.
“Uh- next up.”
He pointed to the team members he had brought along.
“This is schedule manager Lee Yul-bin ssi, next to her is road manager Han Tae-yoon ssi......”
It seemed the four women were part of the styling team. Road manager Han Tae-yoon had notably large eyes and looked to be in her late twenties. Schedule manager Lee Yul-bin was slightly plump and appeared to be in her early thirties.
While introducing the team, Kim Ki-baek gave a weak smile.
“That’s it for now. These are the staff who will support you all, and of course, there are more back at headquarters. These are the people you’ll see the most often, though.”
For the next few minutes, Rojun and the members chatted with the manager team. Kang Rojun found the stylists quite interesting.
‘Their hair colors... they’re all so flashy.’
Yellow, red, blue.
It wasn’t weird, though. The 'Produce That 100!' participants had all kinds of colorful hair, too. The stylists looked absolutely thrilled to meet Rojun and the members, though it seemed like they were holding it in because of the setting.
Then came the next words.
“Let’s go cause some real mayhem.”
With those drained yet passionate words, Chief Kim Ki-baek gestured for them to move, and Rojun and the others grabbed their bags and left the lounge. As they headed down the stairs, Chief Kim Ki-baek told them their next destination.
“Next up, we’re heading to the dorm you’ll be living in. I’m looking forward to it too. Right?”
That sounded completely soulless. Kang Rojun once again found Kim Ki-baek’s character to be unusual.
-Swish.
As soon as they stepped out of the dorm building, Rojun took a moment to look around the entire campus.
'I probably won't come here again. Thanks for everything.’
In that instant, memories of his time at the campus flashed before his eyes like a panorama. The other members were likely feeling the same. Soon after, Kang Rojun and the others split up into two parked vans. Strangely enough, Rojun ended up in the same van as Chief Kim Ki-baek.
-Vroom!
The van started moving not long after.
About twenty minutes passed.
Kang Rojun was sitting across from Chief Kim Ki-baek, watching him doze off with his arms crossed. Then suddenly.
“Ah.”
Lifting his head slowly, Chief Kim Ki-baek met Rojun’s eyes.
“Uh- the arrangements with ‘Culture Drawer’ for the SBC awards ceremony are all sorted out. I’ll let you know the exact plans for that day when the time comes. And... I’ve also gone through all your side jobs, Rojun.”
What. His tone was still lifeless, but Rojun somehow found it strangely trustworthy. Smiling, Chief Kim Ki-baek gave him a half-hearted thumbs up.
“I’ll take care of the schedule and the support work, so Rojun, just do what you want to do.”
“Thank... you.”
“No need. Achoo! Ah, sorry. I’m kind of a newcomer at GN too, so I’ve got to move fast. Gotta get a feel for the atmosphere and all.”
“Newcomer?”
"Yes. I came to GN through something like scouting? Recruitment? Something like that."
When Kang Rojun nodded as if he understood, Chief Kim Ki-baek brought up another topic.
“And you work out every day, right?”
“Yeah, usually.”
“I’ve registered you at the company gym too, so use it freely whenever you want. Also, I’ve arranged for the studio space you asked for. Let’s check it out later. Uh- by the way, it’s been reserved just for you.”
He was such a strange person.
‘Slow-paced, yet somehow sharp?’
Two contrasting vibes that are usually hard to coexist were oddly present in him. Just as Rojun was getting lost in that strange feeling, the two vans entered the underground parking lot of a building.
It was a luxury officetel.
The location wasn’t far from Hapjeong Station, where GN Entertainment’s main office was. This was.
“This is your dorm, everyone. Right here.”
The place where Kang Rojun and the other members would now be living. As the four of them got out of the van, excitement quickly lit up in their eyes.
-Ding!
After getting off the elevator, they arrived at the front door of a unit. Chief Kim Ki-baek, moving like it was second nature, unlocked the door lock.
“Basic appliances and furniture are all set up. Then, enjoy.”
Enjoy? Kang Rojun barely held back his laughter at the sudden English. As soon as he and the members entered the new dorm, his mouth opened slightly.
“Wow-”
“Whoa-”
It was quite spacious for four people to live in. Three rooms and two bathrooms. Just as Chief Kim Ki-baek had said, everything they needed was there. It was surprisingly luxurious. While the other members rushed to explore the rooms, Rojun, for some reason, opened the fridge first.
After the four had enjoyed the dorm for about ten minutes, Chief Kim Ki-baek approached them.
“Pick one of these.”
He extended a fist holding four wooden chopsticks. Not quite sure what this was about, Rojun and the members each picked one. Numbers 1 and 2 were written on the ends of the chopsticks. Wearing his usual lifeless smile, Kim Ki-baek gave the explanation.
“Those with 1s in one room, 2s in another. How is it? Fun, right? Feels like ‘Produce That 100!’ again.”
“......”
Rojun gave up on trying to figure out Kim Ki-baek’s personality. And then.
“Rojun, let’s unpack first.”
Kang Rojun ended up in the same room as Si-hoo.
Later.
After introducing the dorm and giving a brief rundown, Chief Kim Ki-baek said he would return the next day and left. Currently, Kang Rojun, Si-hoo, Kang-min, and Do-kyung were unpacking in their designated rooms. Kang-min and Do-kyung were thrilled they didn’t have bunk beds.
“Single beds, no less.”
Rojun and Si-hoo, sharing the same room, were also busy unpacking their belongings. While taking things out of his bag and placing them one by one on his bed, Si-hoo spoke up.
“Rojun, what did you think of the chief? I felt like... he was kind of unique.”
Holding an acoustic guitar, Kang Rojun let out a chuckle.
“Kind of unique? Nah. The guy’s practically an alien.”
“Ah- right. Seriously, I’ve never seen a character like that. He also looked kind of weak. I’m a little worried.”
“But when it comes to work, he’s sharp.”
“Really?”
“Yeah.”
Scratching his chin, Rojun shrugged.
“Well, as long as we just keep doing our part and working hard, it should be fine.”
As Si-hoo gave a knowing smile, Kang Rojun brought up something else.
“More importantly, hyung.”
“Hm?”
“Listen to this.”
“What? What do you mean listen? You got something heavy?”
“No, no. Not with your hands, with your ears.”
“Ah- so what is it?”
“My first song. That I composed.”
“Whoa!! You finished it??!”
Si-hoo immediately moved closer to Rojun, who shook his head.
“Not 100%. But I finished the first verse.”
"Yeah yeah, let me listen."
“Be brutally honest, alright? You know?”
“Yup. If it sucks, I’ll curse you out.”
“Please don’t go that far.”
-Swish.
Kang Rojun pulled the acoustic guitar close to his body. The sheet music was saved on his laptop, but it seemed he had it memorized, too. Letting out a small breath, he started plucking the strings.
-♬♪
A gentle yet moderately bright ballad with a trace of longing. The composition itself might have some rough edges, but Rojun’s guitar playing was skillful. After a little more than a minute of playing, his fingers stopped abruptly.
“How was it.”
With a serious expression, Si-hoo slowly nodded.
“It’s good.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. I was actually gonna tell you if it sucked, but I can’t. It needs a bit of polishing, but for your first composition? It’s solid.”
“Oh-”
Si-hoo gave him a double thumbs-up.
“That’s how I started too. Every song you make, save it, just in case. You never know when you’ll use one. I thought I’d never use ‘Witch', but I did, right?”
“I’ve actually been saving all the stuff I’ve been practicing as side jobs.”
“Yeah. That stuff’s all your asset. Sometimes when you revisit them later, an idea just sparks out of nowhere. And who knows, way down the line, you might do solo promotions with a song you made.”
“Solo?”
“Yeah. Haven’t you seen it? When idol groups finish promotions, they go solo or form smaller unit groups.”
“Ah-”
“You can write lyrics already, so if you master composing, you’ll be able to make a whole song on your own. You could even produce it yourself.”
Kang Rojun decided that he should continue practicing composition steadily, in addition to writing and lyrics writing, and keep the completed songs organized separately. He then turned on his laptop, changed the title of the ballad he was currently composing to something rough like ‘Song No. 1’, and created a separate composition file to save it.
At that exact moment,
-Vrrr.
-Vrrr.
Short vibrations buzzed from the smartwatch on his wrist. They were notifications from the ‘AI Simulation.’
-[You have completed the Sudden Title Mission ‘First Composition!’ As a reward, the item ‘Stat +8 Enhancement Coupon’ has been granted.]
-[Due to the addition of a new side job, the title ‘Side Job Tycoon’ has been enhanced by +1!]
-[The title ‘Side Job Tycoon’ is now enhanced by +4, increasing bonus coins to 4.]
And then,
-[Side Jobs: [1] Screenwriter, [2] Actor, [3] Lyricist, [4] Composer]
With the title enhancement, the side job ‘Composer’ was added.
*****
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