Free Web Novel"Hello, I’m Kurosawa Yuri, in charge of cuteness in Iam!"
Kurosawa Yuri walking around the dorm with an action cam in her hand.
-Yuri, this in-house content is a vlog video, and I think it’d be good if you try being in charge of filming once. Want to try?
-Yuri reporting, preparation complete!
Because she’d been given the special mission of filming this time’s Iam in-house content vlog, Yuri got up alone early, before the members were awake, and finished getting ready to film.
If it were another member, talking to an empty camera all by herself might’ve been embarrassing and awkward.
'This is fun!'
Yuri liked stuff like this.
"Then, first, I will launch a surprise attack on the members’ rooms!"
Il-Sion.
One of Yuri’s nicknames, given because back during Agbaek she enjoyed making the other contestants flustered.
In truth, it was only because of the huge wall called Lee Sion that she got hidden, but among Iam’s members, Yuri would’ve been sad if she wasn’t considered number one or two in terms of mischievousness.
Even now, excited at the thought of ambushing the members who were still sleeping, Yuri headed toward the members’ rooms.
And the first stop was the room the youngest line used.
Creeeak.
Like a thief, she moved carefully, trying not to make any footsteps at all, grabbed the doorknob, and cautiously opened the youngest line’s door.
Yunkyung still sleeping deeply,
"...Huh? Yuri... you’re here?"
and then—
"What, Shinyu, you were already awake?"
"Yes, that’s right! But what is that in your hand?"
"This is an action cam! Today Yuri is in charge of filming the Iam vlog."
"Wow, that’s amazing!"
"Right?"
Shrugging her shoulders at Shinyu’s praise, Yuri headed over to the computer desk where Shinyu was sitting.
"But what were you doing?"
"This? I was working on a song that will go into the follow-up album."
"Oho!"
Iam’s follow-up album, currently in the middle of production.
Iam’s members, including Yuri, knew the progress, but because the company had repeatedly warned them that it was absolutely secret until the release date, Yuri hesitated for a moment about whether she could film this, but—
"Editing is the filming team’s job!"
"Huh?"
"Can I come a little closer?"
"Of course."
Since it was filming the role she’d been assigned anyway, Yuri moved toward Shinyu’s computer without hesitation, thinking that if there was a problem, the content team would edit it out.
"The program looks so complicated..."
"Once you actually use it, what you use is pretty set, so it isn’t that hard."
"Since when did Shinyu start composing?"
"Um... I think it’s been about four years this year."
"Hieeek! Shinyu is a composing master?"
"Not at all!"
"Can you let me hear it once?"
"Yes, first, please put this on."
Maybe because she was being considerate of Yunkyung sleeping, Shinyu put headphones on Yuri.
Then she clicked the mouse.
♬
The melody of the song Shinyu was composing herself came through the headphones into Yuri’s ears.
"This is..."
"Is it bad...?"
"No! It’s so good! Shinyu, are you a genius?"
"Thank you!"
It wasn’t just because it was a member’s song—Yuri thought the song Shinyu was playing was objectively a good song too.
Unlike idol songs that came out lately, it wasn’t flashy, but it had a simple, somehow cozy kind of melody.
Even the number of instruments making up the melody was minimized, so it felt easy on the ears.
And as she kept listening, for some reason it felt like she was being comforted, so Yuri closed her eyes for a moment and listened.
"The lyrics?"
After listening for a while, Yuri realized there were no lyrics yet and asked Shinyu again.
Then—
"It’s not even certain it’ll go on the album yet... so I didn’t prepare lyrics separately."
"It’s definitely going in! Yuri will grab PD Raon’s pant leg and cling on!"
"You can’t, Yuri!"
"It’s fine! If PD bullies Yuri, Sion told me that’s abusing foreign laborers!"
"That’s even more something you shouldn’t learn!"
Even though Shinyu tried to stop her, Yuri was already hooked on this song.
Even though it didn’t even have lyrics yet, this song that fit perfectly into Yuri’s heart somehow resembled its owner, Shinyu, exactly.
Among Iam’s members, who all had strong tendencies to do whatever they wanted, if there was someone who served as a mediator, Yuri thought it was Gahyeon and Shinyu.
And among them, Shinyu looked timid at a glance, but the more you got to know her, the more she was someone with a straight inner core.
Even though she was younger than Yuri, whenever Yuri saw her firmly centered, not wavering, and working toward her goal, it made Yuri feel proud for no reason.
So Yuri really hoped this song that resembled Shinyu would make it onto the follow-up album.
***
"The culprit is in here!"
"All we have is company practice in the afternoon, so rest, you executioner."
Bang!
"This is a major matter we can’t just let slide!"
At Ryujin’s words, Lee Sion slapped the kitchen table with her palm and shook her head.
Yuri, who’d been bustling around filming the members since morning, saying she’d shoot the vlog, was capturing all of it with the action cam without missing anything.
On top of that—
"What should we order for lunch today?"
"We should start getting ready for our comeback too, so how about something simple? Our meals have been kind of out of control lately."
"Then should we order something salad-like?"
"Let’s go with a tender salad. If there’s no meat, Lee Sion might lose her mind and run wild again."
The other members, like they were used to Lee Sion’s antics by now, were calmly thinking about lunch with no particular reaction.
'People really are animals that adapt, huh?'
For a moment, she remembered how unfamiliar it felt when she went down to her parents’ house during the last vacation and saw how peaceful everything was at home.
Ryujin, who’d even felt anxious because it was so peaceful, felt her mind relax once she came back to the dorm after vacation.
"Who ate my pudding behind my back?!"
"Just let it go. What are you making a fuss over pudding for?"
"This isn’t just pudding! A famous Japanese convenience-store pudding got stocked in small quantities at domestic convenience stores, so I even disguised myself and went in person to get it!"
Ryujin had reached the point where it would feel awkward if she didn’t hear Lee Sion yelling like this, angry that someone secretly ate her pudding.
"Stuff like that, you should just eat it right away. Why did you put it in the fridge?"
"Yesterday I didn’t feel like eating pudding. I had it perfectly set up to eat today."
As if she had some kind of grudge tied up in pudding, Lee Sion started explaining her anger like she’d woken up planning to lounge around and eat pudding today, and the members watched her avant-garde performance like they were watching a play.
'Hmm... roughly danger level 3, I guess.'
Watching Lee Sion, Ryujin was assessing the danger level.
Lee Sion danger level: 7 levels.
A classification the company staff and Iam members had made after watching Lee Sion.
Normally, once a day, Lee Sion would cause an incident like she was trying to rebel against the world, and to respond to that, they needed a classification chart.
Level 1 was normal state, level 2 was simple pouting that happened a few times a day.
But starting at level 3, it was when she got a little heated, and starting at danger level 3, sometimes physical restraint was needed, so Ryujin watched Lee Sion carefully.
"Seo Ryujin, Ryu Ayeon... it wasn’t you two, right."
"I don’t like sweets to begin with."
"I only eat chocolate for sweets. I hate pudding because it’s soft."
Lee Sion crossed two people off the suspect list.
Ayeon, who didn’t like sweets, and Ryujin, who liked things you could chew like chocolate, weren’t the type to steal pudding.
"Then is it Gahyeon?"
"Why is it me!"
"You have thief’s blood running through you."
"You little—!"
"Is it not?"
Lee Sion’s suspicion immediately went to Lee Gahyeon, but seeing Gahyeon bristle, Lee Sion immediately removed her from the suspect list.
'Gahyeon can’t lie.'
Among the members, Lee Gahyeon was especially the type where it showed if she lied, so just poking her lightly was enough to tell she wasn’t the culprit.
If Lee Gahyeon had eaten Lee Sion’s pudding—
-Me? Me... me? It wasn’t me. I didn’t eat it...?
She would’ve rambled and gotten caught right away.
"Hmm... then are there two left?"
"Why are you looking at me, Captain! And there are three, so why are you narrowing the suspect list to two?"
"Even if Shinyu ate it, if she thought it was mine, she would’ve confessed already."
"That’s right! Sion, it wasn’t me."
"This is too much, this is member discrimination!"
"Right, Sion, this is racial discrimination! Yuri did not eat the zazi pudding!"
"What?" freewebnovel.cσ๓
"Huh?"
While Lee Sion’s deduction continued, Yunkyung complained about Lee Sion narrowing the suspect list to two, and the moment the word “zazi pudding” came out of Yuri’s mouth as she agreed—
Lee Sion’s ears perked up.
"I never said the brand name of that pudding."
"Ah... yikes."
"You thief!!!"
"Kyaaah!"
The moment the culprit was revealed, Lee Sion lunged at Yuri like a wild beast—
Tap.
Ryujin snatched the action cam from the Yuri who was getting attacked and filmed that scene.
Because filming was clearly part of the content, and as leader, she felt responsible for not missing this scene.
"Sion, I’m sorry! Ack!! I missed the taste of home!"
"You were in Japan not that long ago!"
"I woke up early and there was pudding in the fridge!"
"Why did you eat it?!"
A scream rang out as Lee Sion’s knee strike slammed into Yuri’s side.
'At this level, we won’t need restraint.'
Ryujin just ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) filmed it all and watched Lee Sion’s danger level 3 come to an end.
***
Tap.
"Good work."
"Thank you!"
At the trainer’s words signaling the end, the Iam members collapsed onto the practice room floor like they were falling over.
"Yuri can’t rest."
"Didn’t you film enough?"
"A director films the same scene a hundred times for one shot."
"You’re not a director, Yuri."
"The moment a camera is in Yuri’s hand, Yuri is a director."
Just because idols were in an off-promotion period didn’t mean they didn’t train.
Before promotions, they practiced the new song’s choreography and singing. During off-promotion periods, the basics and advanced course were the standard, sharpening their skills again.
Iam also trained three times a week with famous dance and vocal trainers, and it was surprisingly intense, to the point that once you finished, your entire body felt drained.
Because of that, after training, it was routine for all the members to be drenched in sweat and lie down on the practice room floor.
But Yuri, who felt a sense of mission in weird places, was exhausted and wobbling after the vocal and dance training that went on all afternoon, but she still didn’t let go of the action cam.
Instead, like she couldn’t miss a single thing, Yuri filmed the exhausted members and asked them for their thoughts.
And even while waving her away like she was shooing a fly, Iam’s members still ended up answering Yuri’s interviews.
"Hmm?"
"What now, Captain?"
"Ryu Ayeon isn’t in my line of sight."
"Ah, Ayeon left the practice room earlier with the trainer."
"Did she?"
Watching Yuri interview the members, I realized Ryu Ayeon wasn’t in sight, and when Yunkyung said she saw Ryu Ayeon leave, I felt a strange curiosity.
'She’s been stepping out a lot more lately.'
Lately, our schedule was simple.
If we had an event, we did the event. If not, we rested at the dorm and did the training the company set.
And because I’d suggested working out due to the members’ lack of stamina, going to the gym was also part of our recent routine.
So unless it was an event, the schedule had gotten extremely relaxed compared to promotion time, and maybe because of that, all the members used their personal time for hobbies.
Shinyu did music work, Yunkyung went shopping with Yuri.
Lee Gahyeon and Seo Ryujin did little everyday things like going to cafés together.
But Ryu Ayeon, alone, would suddenly go places on her own—
-Where’d you go?
-It’s nothing. Finish your game.
-Sniff, sniff.
-What’s that suspicious look?
-I smell something suspicious.
-Isn’t that because you only played games today without even showering?
-How did you know?! freewebnovel.cσ๓
-Because you’re still wearing those pajama pants!
Even when I asked where she’d gone, Ryu Ayeon dodged with vague answers, so it was obvious she was hiding something.
Slide.
"Where are you going, Sico!"
"I told you not to call me Sico. My name is similar to a champion I don’t like in Legend of Valley."
"In Japan, we add -сo to a close friend’s name!"
"This is Korea. Call me Sion."
"Yes!"
Pushing away Yuri, who stuck close for a moment and shoved the action cam at me, I stepped out of the practice room.
Then, in the hallway, I saw Ryu Ayeon and the dance trainer having what looked like a close conversation.
Slide.
With ghostlike movement, I hid behind a potted plant and secretly listened in on their conversation.
"The choreography we made together got picked as the final draft."
"Yes, I heard too, and I actually have something to say about that."
"What is it? When Ayeon does this, it makes me nervous."
"I think we need to improve the draft a bit more before the final choreography decision. This song is pretty distinctive."
"Develop it more? It’s not like we didn’t think that, but... Ayeon, will you be okay? Even lately, whenever you had a moment, you came to our academy and made choreography and left."
"I think I’ll be okay as long as the events aren’t too far away."
"Sigh... okay, got it. Then I’ll tell the kids, so tonight..."
Just listening to that conversation, I could infer Ryu Ayeon’s actions so far.
'She’s been participating in making the choreography.'
Ryu Ayeon, who already had a lot of interest in choreography, seemed to have been working with the choreography team to make the title track choreography draft for this comeback album.
'She must’ve gotten really fired up.'
She didn’t say it out loud, but Ryu Ayeon seemed to have gotten really stimulated after seeing LYNX and VYNNIA’s stages.
-...
After all, whenever those two groups’ stages came on broadcast, Ryu Ayeon would stare at them without saying a word.
Step.
Avoiding the sight lines of Ryu Ayeon and the dance trainer, I quietly headed back into the practice room.
If I got caught, it could turn into an awkward situation, so I went back in secretly again, like Yuri who stole my pudding.
"Everyone, attention!"
"What now?"
Then I got the members, still sprawled out resting, to focus.
"Let’s match the choreography one more time!"
"We just finished training."
"Going around to events, what I felt is that no amount of practice feels like enough."
"That’s true, but..."
Unlike broadcast stages, event stages were basically outdoors and had all kinds of variables, so they gave us plenty of trial and error.
Thanks to that, our skills actually improved too.
More than anything—
'No matter what choreography Ryu Ayeon brings back, we have to be able to pull it off.'
Shinyu struggling lately to make the song that would go on the follow-up album, and Ryu Ayeon giving up her personal free time to focus on making our choreography.
It couldn’t happen that the rest of us, me included, couldn’t pull off what those two made because we lacked skill.
"Fine, let’s practice."
"I’m rested enough!"
"We should practice while Ayeon isn’t here so we can catch up even a little!"
"Yuri filmed plenty of vlog already!"
"That Lee Sion, she’s a demon when it comes to making people practice."
And even though I didn’t explain the reason, seeing the members get up and prepare to practice at my suggestion made a smile form on my face without me realizing it.
