“I’ll explain the contract first. Questions will only be answered when I’m all done explaining. Look at the first page — I’ll explain in order, starting from the first clause.
“Clause 1: the idol group contract lasts 7 years. After 7 years, we’ll update the contract. During that update, we’ll be asking you whether you’d like to remain as a part of our company or leave. Afterwards, the contract will be re-written.
“Clause 2 is about the income split. We originally wrote this contract with a 7:3 ratio in mind — 7 for the company and 3 for you. Even that much was reserved for those who write their second contracts. But I heard that Suan argued with the president and changed it to 6:4 yesterday. So for you guys, it’s 6 for the company and 4 for you.”
Ah. I remembered that I had ambitiously negotiated, determined to quit everything and leave the company, especially after having my debut overturned multiple times during my 6 years as a practising candidate.
I was pissed at the president, who was overcome with the belief that I would doubtlessly be a big fish and earn him good money, for dragging me against my will and making me sign a slavery contract in the name of a practising candidate contract. That’s why I had argued with him so that he’d kick me out…
Why were they staring at me with such sparkly eyes? I really couldn’t get used to it.
“You guys look as if you’d pierce him with your stares. I get that Suan took the bullet for you in negotiating, but you can thank him after the meeting! Right now, why don’t you concentrate while I explain the rest of the contract?”
“”””Yes!””””
Ugh, my skin is crawling. No need to sugarcoat it, chief. Please just kick me out.
This isn’t what I wanted!
“Clause 3: even if you get individual gigs, your share of income will be equally divided among you. Even though you might think it’s unfair if you do a lot of individual gigs, it’s going to have to be split equally for the next 7 years, no exceptions. Of course, the royalty earned from your songs will be given to the individual.”
No objections were raised. Everybody nodded and replied that they didn’t mind.
“Clause 4: while the contract is valid, all of you will be living together. After you sign the contract today, you will move into your rooms and from then be together through heaven and hell for the next 7 years.
“Alright, we’re almost done. The last clause is about the forfeit. Once you sign the contract, the down payment will be deposited into your bank accounts right away. If one party wishes to terminate the contract during those 7 years without a special reason, they must pay ten times the down payment as forfeit. When you were being given good terms in income share, I believe that this was the negotiating factor. Usually, the amount of forfeit is about three times the down payment.”
Ah, fuck. Freshly-20-year-old me probably doesn’t even have the money to pay the forfeit…
If I were going to be sent back in time, I really would rather have been transported to before I signed the contract.
Being sent back to after when I signed the contract was basically like having a big bird flipped at me.
“Was there anything you didn’t understand or thought was unfair while listening to my explanation?”
“No! None. I think it sounds good!”
“Let’s leave it like this.”
“I also think that the company was kind to us in writing this contract.”
“I don’t mind, either.”
“I object!”
“You’ve already signed the contract. Abstained. The rest of you can sign the contract now! Rion and Sunho, your parents have already given permission, so could you sign the contract right away and give it to me like Yoon and Jitae?”
Chief Kim Miyoung collected all the contracts and left the room to hand them over to the president.
Sunho, who was sitting beside me, tapped on my arm. I turned to look at him.
“Hyunggg, did you negotiate because you were concerned about us?”
“No.”
“Haha… Sunho, if you ask so bluntly like that, Suan will be embarrassed.”
I’m not. I’m just at a loss.
“Thank you.”
Why are you pitching in, too? Oh Rion, you don’t even speak unless you have to criticise…
“Have you always been negotiating and taking blows for us behind our backs?”
“No, not at all.”
Was Park Jitae even capable of talking without swearing? Wow, I really can’t get used to it.
I desperately wished that somebody, anybody, would pull me out of this sticky situation.
— Knock knock!
“I’m coming in,”
When I turned to face the door in response to the knocks, Producer-hyung was entering the room with a folder under his arm.
“Hello, Producer-hyung.”
“Producer-hyung?”
“Hyung, are you the person in charge of us?”
“Hello.”
“Yep, yep. Yoon, Jitae, Sunho, Rion, hello to y’all.”
“Producer-hyung, you have to say hello to Suan-hyung over here, too! Why are you excluding him?”
“He’s right. Suan just missed the chance to say hello because he gets shy easily. Please approach him first as the older person, hyung.”
Me? Shy? Is something wrong with him?
“Hey, you’re good at arguing when it comes to everything else. Why can’t you even stand up for yourself? Hyung, you also know that he’s just like that because he’s clumsy at expressing himself. Why are you ignoring him?”
Now what’s up with this kid? It’s giving me goosebumps.
“You’re in the wrong here, hyung.”
“Did you go mad as a group? This morning, Suan was saying weird stuff as well. I’ve also already said hi to your beloved Suan and saw his face and everything this morning, so if you still have a problem with me, I’ll be watching you in the recording studio. Got that?”
That’s exactly what I want to ask! They keep acting strange, as if they all ate something they weren’t supposed to eat!
“”””Yes.””””
“At least your answers are nice and loud. Today, we’re meeting not as friends, but as iridescent and a producer. I’ll be in your care for a while.”
His smiling face was overlapped with that of a devil.
“”””We’ll be in your care.””””
I was the only one who nodded as I waited for him to continue.
“Before we assign you your individual parts, we’ll decide on the leader first. I was hoping that Yoon would volunteer to be the leader as the oldest member. What do you guys think?”
“Sure!”
“Let’s do that.”
“I think Suan would be a better fit than I.”
“I also vote for Suan-hyung.”
Quietly leaning into my chair, I was thinking about how to go about terminating the contract, not really listening to what was on the table. Then I heard my name being brought up for the leader position.
“I don’t want to (debut).”
What good is it for me to take on such a hassle? I’m going to quit as soon as I earn enough money to pay the forfeit, anyway.
“All right. Yoon is the leader, then.”
“Yay!!”
“Congratulations.”
“Yoon-hyung, don’t be too easy on the kids.”
“Okay. I’ll be in your care for the next 7 years.”
“That’s good for you.”
“Yeah. Thanks, Suan!”
The way he thanked me with such a bright face just because I had commented to congratulate him made me feel awkward.
“Since we have a leader now, I’ll assign you your positions. Yoon will be the leader and the lead vocal, Jitae will be the main rapper, Suan will be the main vocal, and Sunho and Rion will be the supporting vocals.”
“”””Yes.””””
“I have an objection.”
I don’t want to be the main vocal. Until I earn my forfeit, I’d like to be an invisible person.
“On what?”
“I don’t want to be the main vocal.”
“Lee Suan, does this seem like a joke to you?”
“No, I’m being serious.”
“Explain your reason. Unless it’s reasonable enough for me to accept, we’ll go with the positions assigned by the higher-ups.”
“Seo Yoon-hyung has a high voice range and a gentle but clear voice. I think that it would bring out his voice better if he sang the strong climax rather than the starting verse as the lead vocal. Because of this, I believe that he’d be better as a leader and the main vocal. Park Jitae, as you said, would be great as the main rapper, as his strength lies in his rap that utilises his husky voice to give strong punches to his lines.”
Out of the members who sat and listen, Seo Yoon-hyung gave a warm smile. Park Jitae looked away as he pulled his cap down towards his face, his ears flushed in embarrassment.
“Oh Rion has a very unique timbre, and has a wide voice range despite his deep voice. If he sang the introductory part of the song, even those who are listening for the first time would be drawn to it. I think he would also sound good if he raps as if he was speaking out the lyrics, so I would like to recommend him as the lead vocal and the supporting rapper. Relatively speaking, Ryu Sunho doesn’t particularly have a wide vocal range and has a normal voice compared to the other members. However, I believe that his voice could blend in the best if he sang with other people. He is also the fastest learner when in comes to dance and has outstanding choreographing skills. Therefore, I think that it would be great if he was a supporting vocal as well as our choreographer.”
As I spoke, Oh Rion looked down and fiddled with his phone. Ryu Sunho stared at me with an expression and eyes that reminded me of Puss in Boots. I felt as if my face was going to wear off.
“And?”
“I’d like to be the supporting vocal. Since I have a clean voice, I think I’d suit singing the chorus.”
“I can definitely understand the strengths of the other members. We wanted you to be the main vocal, however, because you have the highest and widest vocal range as well as the nicest voice out of all the members.”
“I’ll be the supporting vocal.”
I want to be a ghost. Heck, screw vocals; I want to quit everything. If you try to push me any further, I’ll quit even if I have to take out loans.
“Let’s go with the positions suggested by Suan. I’ll try to convince the higher-ups.”
When I looked around, everyone was listening carefully and nodding. Producer-hyung added as he pulled out a pen began to write something down on the papers that he brought.
“I see that you’ve been watching them during their practices after you heard that they will be on your team, Suan.”
“No.”
I shook my head in denial. I never took interest in them during our days as practising candidates. Even back then, the members weren’t good enough.
“It’s difficult to find such strengths just by listening to and watching them only once or twice, though, is it not?”
“I watched them for a long time.”
For seven long years. I swallowed that final sentence and decided to be sparse in my words. I had only realised that they were outstanding compared to other idols only when I switched over to rapping.
“Yeah, yeah. Seems like you’ve really watched them long and hard. Then use that determination to analyse and memorise these lyrics as well! We decided on your debut date with little breathing space, so we’d have to jump right into recording and choreo as early as tomorrow.”
On the sheet of A4 paper that Producer-hyung gave us was iridescent‘s debut song, “paradox”, just as it was in my memory. Back then, I had taken all of the parts, and the other members were recorded as if they were background singers.
I recalled that our debut song didn’t attract much attention because the lyrics didn’t suit the dreamlike melody. Since I’m here anyway, I’d like it if we could change the lyrics and choose a different theme so that it would gain more publicity…
“Listen to this song guide first.”
“”””Okay.””””
Producer-hyung pulled his phone out, connected it to the speaker, and played the recording.
“Wow, who recorded this guide?”
“I’ve heard this voice somewhere before…”
“Holy crap, his voice is ridiculous!”
“Isn’t this Suan-hyung’s voice?”