Chapter 45: Proof in a Single Verse

“Yeah.

Anyone else have any objections?”

Bae Jae-hyung still looked dissatisfied, glancing between him and Nam Jin-wook, but soon answered that he had no objections with a small sigh.

After conveying the revised positions to the staff, they re-entered the practice room.

Standing in a line before Won Ju-ha and Moon Gi-hoon, they explained the changed positions.

Only then did Won Ju-ha and Moon Gi-hoon nod with much improved expressions.

The three whose positions had changed would practice their new parts and be checked again next time.

For today, they decided to check only his and Hwang Sung-min’s parts first.

“Alright, Sung-min, shall we hear you?”

Perhaps due to the harsh criticism earlier, Hwang Sung-min seemed tense and somewhat shriveled as he sang.

Won Ju-ha and Moon Gi-hoon corrected various things but soon sighed as if it wasn’t working, saying they’d look at it together with the other three after more practice.

They skipped over Hwang Sung-min and turned their gaze to him.

“Jae-seo, shall we hear you?”

“Yes.”

He answered and began singing the parts corresponding to Vocal 4.

Honestly, he was quite confident about his part.

Of course, it wasn’t so much that he was good, but that Park Seo-hu was good.

Sure enough, Won Ju-ha and Moon Gi-hoon’s expressions weren’t bad at all.

When he finished singing, they both nodded simultaneously.

“Hmm, you did well.”

“The ad-lib riff is very well constructed, isn’t it?”

At Won Ju-ha’s question, Moon Gi-hoon kept nodding with a satisfied expression.

Then he soon shifted his gaze to him and added.

“I thought Vocal 4 would be a shame for Jae-seo to handle, but hearing it now, it’s quite good.

You seem to be using your tone much better too.

And as Ju-ha said, the ad-lib line is very well crafted.”

When he subtly interjected that Park Seo-hu had helped him, the two simultaneously made an “Ah” sound and turned to look at Park Seo-hu.

Moon Gi-hoon gave a thumbs-up to Park Seo-hu, who looked embarrassed at the sudden attention, and then looked back and forth between the two of them, praising them again for doing well.

***

Two days had passed since the last vocal lesson.

During that time, the three whose positions had changed practiced their new parts, and their team’s corrected song was definitely much better than before.

On the day of the next vocal lesson, as Won Ju-ha and Moon Gi-hoon entered as usual, Son Chae-i followed behind them.

Waving at their surprised faces, Son Chae-i smiled playfully and opened her mouth.

“Our kids are singing my song, how could I resist?

I’ll just quietly watch and leave.”

Despite saying she’d quietly watch, she blatantly settled herself between Won Ju-ha and Moon Gi-hoon.

In other words, it seemed like she was fully prepared to say something if they did badly.

“I’m excited, I’m excited.”

Thanks to Son Chae-i, who looked at them with a thoroughly excited expression, the tension increased.

Phew, he exhaled deeply as he waited.

Soon, the prelude to ‘A Letter’ began to play.

The first part was Bae Jae-hyung’s.

His pitch, trembling nervously at first, soon settled back into the correct notes.

And next was his part.

It was a part they had modified following Park Seo-hu’s suggestion to add ad-libs appropriately since it was a part with a narrow vocal range and a plain melody that would be hard to stand out.

During practice, it was the most tricky and difficult, but after completing it, it became his favorite part.

Of course, it was also the part he was most worried about how the original singer would perceive it.

Fortunately, not only Son Chae-i, who was tapping her foot with her eyes closed, but also the two trainers listening intently on either side, all had fairly bright expressions.

Afterwards, there was a slight stumble during Hwang Sung-min’s part, but overall, they finished the song without major mistakes.

Son Chae-i, who had listened with her eyes closed until the end, slowly opened her eyelids with a not-bad expression.

“It’s my song, but the male version is pretty good too?”

At Son Chae-i’s soon-to-follow smile, they all let out sighs of relief.

Although she pointed out some unstable parts from Bae Jae-hyung and Hwang Sung-min, even that wasn’t in a particularly bad atmosphere.

As they were laughing and moving on, Son Chae-i suddenly hardened her expression and looked at him.

“Trainee Sim Jae-seo.”

Startled at his suddenly called name, he met Son Chae-i’s gaze.

Soon, a satisfied smile spread widely across her face.

“Jae-seo’s part in the first verse was really, really good.

Maybe I’ll try arranging my song like that next time.”

Listening to her joking words directed at Won Ju-ha and Moon Gi-hoon, he belatedly bowed and said thank you.

Raising his head, all three were nodding with satisfied expressions and conversing.

Reflexively turning his head to look at Park Seo-hu, who met his gaze, Seo-hu also gave a big smile.

***

“It’s all thanks to you, hyung.

Thank you.”

Shrugging his shoulders as if glad he knew, Park Seo-hu soon started laughing heartily with a delighted face.

Looking down at Park Seo-hu, who was almost rolling on the floor laughing, he burst into laughter too.

“I’m glad I didn’t give up in the beginning, right?

Right?”

“Exactly.

I’m indebted to you too.”

After saying thanks for making him the main vocal, he quietly added “you bastard” under his breath, glancing at the camera.

Chuckling, he stood up, and Seo-hu extended his arm, saying “Me too.”

As he grabbed that arm to pull him up, he suddenly felt that strange yet familiar sensation.

The feeling that his body wasn’t his own.

At the same time, his balance gave way.

He staggered and then collapsed, practically covering Park Seo-hu.

“Aack!”

Hearing Park Seo-hu’s rough scream, he thought it was over, but fortunately, his arm caught on the wall, avoiding the disaster of falling together.

However,

“What are you doing?”

With a thud, he ended up in the strange position of propping himself up on both arms on either side of Park Seo-hu’s face, looking down at him.

Seeing that his palms were stuck to the wall and wouldn’t move, he had a bad feeling that this was probably going up on the gallery.

“Is this perhaps a kabedon?”

…What the heck?

Watching Park Seo-hu mutter incomprehensible words and sink into his own world as he looked down at him, thankfully, the arm pressing against the wall finally began to move according to his will.

Ugh, sighing, he quickly opened the door of the vocal practice room and got out.

***

[x00428 Please Take Care of My Idol Season 2 Episode 5 Live Discussion Thread]

[x00428 Please Take Care of My Idol Season 2 Episode 5 Live Thread
Today is the live ranking announcement ceremonyㅠㅠ]

[Comments]

Ah I wish the live ranking announcement would disappearㅠㅠ

Please let my picks all survive..

Seung-gyu pleaseㅠㅠㅠㅠ You’re still alive, right??ㅠㅠㅠㅠ

Young-bin will survive, right..?

↳ Of course, the July Snow team has the benefit, they’re guaranteed to survive

Ah I’ve never seen Son Chae-i with that expression beforeㅠㅠ She looks so exhaustedㅠㅠ

The expressions of the lower-rank trainees are tearing my heart apart,,

It’s already so sad seeing them tear upㅠㅠㅠㅠ

I already feel attached to all 99 of them, thinking that next week there will only be 60 left genuinely makes me tear upㅠㅠㅠㅠ

↳ Rightㅠㅠ Can’t they just let all 99 go to the 2nd round together..?ㅠㅠ

Holy they’re announcing already?

Aack I’m so nervousㅠㅠㅠㅠ

Who’s 58th??

Seung-gyu!!

Ah don’t cryㅠㅠㅠㅠ

…

Oh VCR time!

Bathroom break time lol lol lol lol

📢Announcing the visual ranking chosen by the trainees!!📢

The trainee pick visual thing is so cringe lol

↳ The wording is cringe, but the act of picking itself is so good

↳↳ Me too lol They pick pretty videos well, so from the perspective of the picked trainees’ fans, it’s good lol

But isn’t this just Seo Jun-jae and Yeo Hyun-tae? lol There’s zero tension lol lol lol lol

📢9th place Nam Jin-wook!! Congrats congrats!!📢

But it’s so obvious that the people who picked Nam Jin-wook are all Coz kids lol

↳ Same such an obvious favoritism pick lol

↳ I cautiously acknowledge he has a good body, but is his face really that level..?

↳ People usually pick people they’re close to for these things; other trainees do it too, why is it always a fuss only when it comes to Nam Jin-wook;

↳↳ Why are you getting so worked up..?

📢8th place Lee Woo-rim!! Congrats congrats!!📢

Right, Lee Woo-rim is incredibly handsome and pretty, I don’t know why his rank is so lowㅠㅠ

↳ They really don’t give Woo-rim screentime lol The July Snow self-cam of Woo-rim is longer than all of Woo-rim’s appearances in Please Take Care of My Idol Episode 4 lolㅠㅠ

Woo-rim is truly the epitome of an idol

↳ If someone asks what an idol is, show them Lee Woo-rim

He’s also incredibly good-looking, overflowing with charm lol

Jae-seo’s reason for picking Woo-rim was just because he’s cute, that’s it lol lol lol lol

↳ Me, finding it cute that Jae-seo finds Woo-rim cute

Watching the July Snow self-cam and four-cuts, Woo-rim is always clinging to Jae-seo and playing around, and Jae-seo acts like he’s avoiding it and dislikes it, but actually thinks Woo-rim is incredibly cute, I love that so muchㅠㅠㅠ The relationship is so goodㅠㅠㅠ

Sim Jae-seo also picked based on his connections, but you only b*tch about K-Stars;

📢7th place Park Kang-hoon!! Congrats congrats!!📢

I saw him once in the past at a fan signing + broadcast, and Park Kang-hoon is truly incredibly handsome. Smash the TV! Smash the camera!

Wow Oh Jung-min’s ment is so touching.. He said he only saw his hyung from beginning to endㅠㅠ

The two Juke members are always showing off their friendship, but it’s hilarious that only Lee Kwon isn’t mentioned lol Is he a former member? lol

↳ Huh is Lee Kwon being bullied?

↳↳ No it’s the opposite, Lee Kwon bullies the two of them lol

↳↳↳ Hey.. how can one person bully two people? There’s really been a lot of hate against Lee Kwon lately..

↳↳↳↳ Huh who doesn’t know this among people who watched the show lol There are tons of Kang-hoon and Jung-min fans who left because of Lee Kwon

📢6th place Sim Jae-seo!! Congrats congrats!!📢

Jae-seoㅠㅠ The video they released of him is so goodㅠㅠ

How can he be both cute and incredibly handsome?

In my heart, he’s 3rd~ (Sorry, 1st and 2nd are K-Stars..)

↳ I’m a Jae-seo one-pick, but I agree lol

↳↳ *222* I love Jae-seo very much, but still, K-Stars are a bit,,

Jae-seo, team warm handsome vs team cold handsome, where are you?

↳ *111* definitely pure and neat handsome

↳ Warm handsome, his features are warm

↳↳ His features are warm, but his vibe is subtly cold, so cold handsome suits him too

↳↳↳ *22* He does seem a bit cold

↳↳↳ It’s like the soul of a cat trapped in a Maltese’s body lol lol lol

↳↳↳↳ Holy that’s perfect lol

Huh Jun-jae?? He said it’s the face that suits his?? taste

↳ What’s with the question marks lolㅠㅠ Jun-jae can have his taste, why are you doing this to our Jae-seoㅠㅠ

He’s the best-looking himself, so he probably just picked anyone~

↳ Huh,, he said it’s the face he likes, personally, why are you like this,,

↳↳ Ignore them, there are tons of people here who hate on Jae-seo

Holy Jun-jae and then Hyun-tae? Isn’t this practically Jae-seo being 1st place? lol

K-Stars pick visual 1st place title is precious, so precious

The July Snow team’s mutual support is insane~

↳ Pretending to be a fan, insane~

Ack lol lol lol Hyun-tae picked him because he resembles his pet dog?

↳ (Looks like a dog_This is it.jpg)

(screenshot.jpg) But it does kind of resemble him..?

↳ *22* It does, it does lol

It’s a Jae-seo fan thing to say everything white and cute resembles Jae-seo, but Hyun-tae being a Jae-seo pick is totally right lol

↳ Right, he just seems to really like Jae-seo~

…

📢Joint 1st place Seo Jun-jae and Yeo Hyun-tae!! Congrats congrats!!📢

Incredibly handsome, and next to him, another incredibly handsome guyㅠㅠ

↳ I’m so happy to be born in the same generation as K-Stars

↳↳ I’m older than K-Stars, but I’m so happy they were born, even if late

↳↳↳ I’m younger than K-Stars, but I’m so happy they became idols at an age where I can watch them on Please Take Care of My Idol

Crazy, all the trainees unanimously picked them lol lol lol lol

↳ Makes sense,,

So they each got 98 votes?? lol lol lol lol holy

Ah, so that’s why it changed from 1-pick to 3-pick because of K-Stars lol

↳ I wondered why they changed it to picking three, but now I totally understand;

Ah crazy look at Sim Jae-seo being so firm lol lol lol lol

↳ Without even taking a breath lol

↳ And without even a reason

↳↳ But actually, they’re handsome, no reason needed lol

…

Ah another VCR? Just announce it alreadyㅠㅠ Fans of lower-rank trainees are going crazyㅠㅠ

And it’s even a PPL lol So annoying lol

PPL for chicken and pizza in the middle of the night, have some decency;

Why are they all so bad at acting lol

↳ Wow. It’s. Chicken! Pizza. Looks. Delicious!

No, why is Jae-seo eating so well, it’s like he’s on double speed;

Jae-seo is 100% sincere

↳ Right, Jae-seo is bad at acting lol

↳↳ Jae-seo’s bones are gonna break lolㅠㅠ

Mr. Chicken and Mrs. Pizza advertisers, are you watching? Our boy truly eats with sincerity (downside: if it’s not sincere, it shows)

Jae-seo, stop eating and lose some weight~

↳ Where does Jae-seo have anything to lose to tell him to lose weight?

↳ Of all things to nitpick, you’re nitpicking about weight he hasn’t even gained;

↳↳ Eating like that, it’s only a matter of time before he becomes a pig by the next album, right?

↳↳↳ Yeah, right~ Jae-seo will debut and release a next album~

…

📢Announcing the debut group📢

ㄷㄱㄷㄱ

9th place! Who is it!!

Jae-seo?

Holy 9th place, a bit disappointingㅠ

↳ It’s because there’s a lot of hate against Jae-seo

↳↳ It’s not hate, it’s because he’s a PD pick, the defense is ridiculous

↳↳↳ So what if an independent trainee is a PD pick? He’s handsome and does well, so they probably give him screentime

↳↳↳↳ Huh lol lol lol lol No conscience really

↳↳↳↳↳ He’s 6th in visuals and has that tone, what more do you need? lol

Why is his expression like that lol Is he saying 9th place is low? lol

↳ It seems like he’s saying 9th place is only natural~

↳ Wow the expression mind-reading is insane;

↳↳ Same Jae-seo’s default expression is just like that, what do you want him to do

↳↳↳ Fr they bashed him for having no expression based on the four-cut photo, and now he has the same expression as then, and they’re saying things like ‘only natural’~ What nonsense are they talking?

No, Jae-seo’s acceptance speech is calm, but why am I tearing up..

Jae-seo isn’t even crying, so why am I crying lolㅠㅠㅠㅠ

Ah but why do I want to make Jae-seo cry so badly? Will he cry if he debuts?

↳ It sounds perverted, but me too

↳ You too? Jae-seo, please cry,,

…