Chapter 35 - Let's Make One

“Singing is!”

“Stamina!”

“Singing is!”

“Strength!”

To the chant, the five idols raised and lowered their legs.

Right now, they were lying on the floor and doing leg raises.

As the exercise time grew longer, all of them were trembling their legs, but Trainer Tae Jong-soo maintained a cold expression and continued to make them exercise.

“Just like that, hold your legs up.”

“Ugh…”

“Waaah…”

Even when the members made tearful faces, Tae Jong-soo didn't even bat an eye.

He spoke in an indifferent voice with his hands clasped behind his back.

“Everyone probably knows that the diaphragm is important when singing.”

The diaphragm is a membrane that serves as the boundary dividing the chest and the abdomen.

It is made of muscle, and by contracting and relaxing, it regulates the pressure in the thoracic cavity, greatly affecting breathing.

Since the sound of a song ultimately comes from breathing, the diaphragm must function properly for vocal ability to improve.

“That's why there are many people who, under the pretext of training their diaphragm, just sit still and only do abdominal breathing. However, there has never been anyone who showed a dramatic change from that. At least, that's how I see it.”

Tae Jong-soo said, walking between the members who were trembling their legs.

“It's only natural. Ordinary people, when they train their muscles, they lift dumbbells, they lift barbells, they do weight training while straining with all sorts of exercise equipment. But the diaphragm gets trained just by sitting still and breathing? Does that make any sense?”

“……”

“Of course, since the diaphragm is a muscle inside the body, it's impossible to train it by applying a load to it. However, it is possible to supplement the diaphragm's strength in an indirect way.”

Tae Jong-soo placed his hands on his neck and abdomen and raised his voice.

“The sternocleidomastoid and scalene muscles holding the rib cage from above! The rectus abdominis and oblique muscles covering the abdominal cavity from below! If you train these muscles and become able to handle the thorax and abdominal cavity freely, it's no different from having directly trained the diaphragm!”

There are very few cases where a single specific muscle acts alone when moving the body.

Other muscles also generate force while playing a supporting role.

Therefore, the logic was that if it's not easy to train the diaphragm directly, you can substitute it by training the muscles that work together with it.

The sternocleidomastoid and scalene muscles that act on the movement of the thorax.

The rectus abdominis and oblique muscles that create pressure in the abdominal cavity.

By training these muscles together, you can produce an effect similar to directly training the diaphragm.

The reason Tae Jong-soo is making the members do leg raises right now is also to train their rectus abdominis.

If the function of the rectus abdominis is strengthened, they will become able to control their abdominal pressure more freely.

It's a way to cultivate the ability to sing with so-called 'core power'.

“Alright, now lower your legs.”

“Phew…”

“Hwaah...”

The members let out sighs of relief as they lowered the legs they had been holding up.

“We've trained the lower rectus abdominis with leg raises, so next we will train the upper rectus abdominis with crunches! Everyone, get into a sit-up position!”

“……!”

Everyone's eyes widened.

Some of them even turned their heads to look at the corner of the practice room.

With gazes pleading for salvation.

“Let's all work hard.”

“……!”

However, there was no salvation that the members wanted.

Baek Hyeon-woo, who was watching from the corner, instructed them to continue training without any change in his expression.

If Baek Hyeon-woo came out like that, everyone had no choice but to do as they were told.

“Raise your upper body while shouting the chant. Be conscious of your abdominal pressure too. Okay?”

“Yes…!”

“Good, begin!”

The members all did a sit-up at once.

“Singing is!”

“Stamina!”

“Singing is!”

“Strength!”

Is this really idol training?

The hell training continued endlessly.

***

“They all have grit.”

After letting the exhausted members rest, Tae Jong-soo shared his impressions with Baek Hyeon-woo.

“If it were other idols, they'd be like, 'Ah, let's just rest a little~', 'Sir, can't we just stop here for today?'”

“You're good at imitating the way they talk.”

Seeing Tae Jong-soo, with his bear-like physique, make a cute voice, Baek Hyeon-woo chuckled.

“At times like that, the managers are supposed to say a word... but usually, the managers are the ones who say more. Telling me not to make their kids work too hard.”

“Catering to an idol's mood is also a manager's job, so I suppose they have no choice.”

“I understand that there's a risk that if you force them to do what they don't want to, the agency will later make a fuss about abuse or what have you... but persuading them well so that they practice hard should also be the manager's job.”

Saying that, Tae Jong-soo looked at Baek Hyeon-woo.

“Seen from that perspective, Assistant Manager Baek is really reliable.”

“Because I believe in pursuing the best method without compromise.”

Until now, Baek Hyeon-woo had been making the Newstarz members do high-intensity training.

This was because he thought that a basic physical foundation must support them in order to show the best performance.

That's why he was able to empathize with and cooperate with Tae Jong-soo's methods.

Baek Hyeon-woo is not a music expert, but the theory of raising vocal ability by stably controlling the movement of the thorax and the pressure of the abdominal cavity was easy to understand.

Because in the study of physical therapy, there were originally treatment methods that controlled the neck's sternocleidomastoid and scalene muscles, and the abdomen's rectus abdominis and oblique muscles, to restore respiratory ability.

“From now on, I will take charge of their physical strengthening, so I'd like to ask you for full-scale vocal training.”

“I'll improve everything from their breathing to their vocalization, so trust me and leave it to me.”

There's no need for Tae Jong-soo to be present every time they do strength training like today.

If he just grasps what kind of training needs to be done, Baek Hyeon-woo can also do it.

Therefore, Tae Jong-soo must put more effort into the full-scale vocal training.

How to produce sound and how to express it when singing, those are parts that only Tae Jong-soo can teach by utilizing his expert skills.

“Seeing them today, the kids are working really hard. So I'm looking forward to it.”

Tae Jong-soo said in a confident voice.

“By the Night-Bomb Festival, let's create a masterpiece.”

***

DP Entertainment Headquarters.

Team Leader Jeong Do-woon, who was sitting in the rest area next to the studio, frowned.

“Trainer Tae Jong-soo is with Newstarz?”

Tae Jong-soo, who is famous as a vocal trainer, has decided to train Newstarz.

That piece of intel had just arrived.

“Don't tell me that bastard did this too...?”

“Team Leader, what's wrong?”

At that moment, a voice was heard.

Seong Hae-won, the leader of Choux-pop, was walking over from the direction of the studio.

“Did something happen?”

“It's nothing. Don't worry about it.”

“It's nothing, but your expression is that sour? Stop making me curious and just tell me.”

“Tsk…”

Jeong Do-woon clicked his tongue at Seong Hae-won's urging.

“You know Trainer Tae Jong-soo, right?”

“Yes, you mean the person famous as Lyeo-woo's vocal trainer, right?”

“I heard that person has agreed to train Newstarz.”

“What?”

Seong Hae-won's eyes widened.

“Isn't he someone who doesn't do girl group training?”

“Yeah, but I heard he's with Newstarz this time.”

“Did his policy change, perhaps?”

“I don't know. Maybe...”

Jeong Do-woon said in a stiff voice.

“The manager who newly joined Haram Entertainment might have done something.”

“Ah, you mean that Baek Hyeon-woo-ssi?”

Jeong Do-woon flinched in surprise at Baek Hyeon-woo's name.

“How did you know that name?”

“I heard it from Da-yeon.”

“Ah…”

Black D's main vocalist, Da-yeon, had clashed with Newstarz's Kim So-yeong at the 'Idol Weekly' recording a while ago.

At that time, Baek Hyeon-woo had cut in and humiliated Da-yeon.

“She was grinding her teeth, saying she would definitely get her revenge.”

“She still hasn't come to her senses...”

Jeong Do-woon clicked his tongue.

It would be a big problem if she couldn't forget her grudge and caused trouble again later.

“That manager named Baek Hyeon-woo, he's not an ordinary person, is he?”

“I heard he's CEO Baek Yeon-ah's nephew, and that he's someone who came here after working in the medical field.”

“The medical field? Is he a doctor?”

“I haven't been able to confirm that far yet. But is there any reason for a person with a doctor's license to bother playing manager in the entertainment industry?”

“I wonder?”

“It seems TVX's PD Seo Dong-cheol is also completely taken with that Baek Hyeon-woo. I heard he meets Baek Hyeon-woo to get treatment every time his wrist hurts.”

“Oh, that's amazing?”

Even Seong Hae-won knows well how cold a person Seo Dong-cheol is.

To think he's that close with such a person...

“Are you saying that Baek Hyeon-woo-ssi also recruited Trainer Tae Jong-soo this time?”

“It seems like it. There's no reason for Tae Jong-soo to help Haram Entertainment. Baek Hyeon-woo must have done something in the middle of it again.”

“If that's true, then he's a really capable person.”

Seong Hae-won said, crossing her arms.

“Team Leader, that manager named Baek Hyeon-woo... can't you scout him to our DP?”

“What?”

“If he's that amazing a person, wouldn't he be a help to our company too? So please use your authority as Team Leader to scout him.”

Jeong Do-woon was at a loss for words for a moment.

He had never once had such a thought.

“No, I told you he's CEO Baek Yeon-ah's nephew. Why would a person like that come to our DP?”

“Wouldn't he come if you offer him a lot of money? Honestly, the prospects of working at our DP are better than working at Haram.”

“That's true, but...”

“Above all.”

Seong Hae-won made a V-sign with her fingers next to her face and gave a sweet smile.

“It's better to be our Choux-pop's manager than to be the manager of a second-rate group like Newstarz. Isn't that right?”

“……”

A cute expression that exuded charm as an idol.

However, what came out of her mouth was a remark so cold it was cruel.

In front of her fans, she shows a perfectly packaged image as a bubbly idol, but on the inside, the one who looks at the entertainment industry more coldly than anyone else was Choux-pop's leader, Seong Hae-won.

That's why Jeong Do-woon also often consulted with Seong Hae-won when contemplating various strategies.

“As expected, Hae-won is no ordinary idol.”

“That's a compliment, right?”

“I wonder.”

Jeong Do-woon said in a calm voice.

“We'll be seeing his face at Night-Bomb soon anyway, so I'll try talking to him once.”

“Ah, come to think of it, we're scheduled for a showdown with Newstarz at Night-Bomb.”

“Though in reality, it's not a showdown but us one-sidedly crushing them.”

They say that at the upcoming Night-Bomb Festival, Newstarz will show their reborn image as a 5-member idol group.

Jeong Do-woon, who heard that news, consulted with Seong Hae-won and decided to have Choux-pop participate in the Night-Bomb Festival.

To use Newstarz as a stepping stone and raise Choux-pop's status even higher.

“Since Newstarz's turn is right after ours, a comparison is inevitable. In the end, we will stand out more.”

It's not that he particularly intends to crush a competitor in advance.

Because he has never once thought of Newstarz as a competitor until now.

Still, because of their past ill-fated relationship, they are a bit of a bothersome existence.

He just wished they would disband quickly and disappear from the entertainment industry... that was the extent of his perception.

“You never know, right? Maybe Newstarz's skills will suddenly get way better and they'll show a better performance than us.”

“Don't say things you don't mean. There's no way their skills would improve that quickly.”

Even if they recruited a new main vocalist, and even if they received vocal training from Tae Jong-soo... it's impossible to improve their skills so much in such a short period of time.

In the end, it will take the form of Choux-pop one-sidedly crushing Newstarz.

“From Haram Entertainment's perspective, it will be a bitter situation, but it can't be helped.”

Right now, Newstarz is in a situation where they need to widely publicize that they have been reborn as a 5-member group.

If, because of Choux-pop, their first stage fails to make a big impression and is ignored by the public... they might really disband soon.

“Team Leader.”

Right at that moment.

A voice was heard from the direction of the hallway.

Jeong Do-woon turned his head at the distinctive, chilly voice.

“Joo Ga-hee, are you done with your part?”

Joo Ga-hee.

The main vocalist of Choux-pop, who quit Newstarz right before their debut and moved to DP Entertainment.

She, who would have to play an important role at the upcoming Night-Bomb Festival as well, was walking over, holding her phone in her hand.

“What's this?”

“What?”

Joo Ga-hee held out her phone.

“Why are there so many articles like this? What happened?”

“……!”

The moment they checked the portal site news displayed on the internet browser, Jeong Do-woon's and Seong Hae-won's eyes widened.

***

“CEO-nim, the internet articles came out more sensationally than I asked for?”

“I pulled some strings, hehe.”

Haram Entertainment CEO's Office.

There, CEO Baek Yeon-ah, Team Leader Park Yeong-ho, and Baek Hyeon-woo were gathered and checking the internet news.

“It's a fact that DP Entertainment and that Joo Ga-hee kid screwed us over big time. It's all based on facts.”

The articles that were currently pouring out from various media outlets were ones that dealt with the trouble related to Joo Ga-hee in the past.

Joo Ga-hee, who is currently affiliated with DP Entertainment and gaining popularity as the main vocalist of Choux-pop, was originally scheduled to debut in Newstarz.

However, Joo Ga-hee harbored dissatisfaction when she didn't receive the treatment she wanted, and suddenly left Newstarz right before their debut.

In the aftermath, Newstarz's debut was almost canceled, and even after that, they suffered many difficulties while being active as an incomplete 4-member system.

However, this time, Newstarz has succeeded in filling Joo Ga-hee's empty spot after 3 years, and is scheduled to showcase their reborn image as a complete 5-member group for the first time at the Night-Bomb Festival.

For reference, Choux-pop is also scheduled to participate in the Night-Bomb Festival, and the showdown between the two groups, who have a bad history with each other, is drawing attention.

To summarize, that was roughly the content.

“The fact that Joo Ga-hee was originally a member of Newstarz is something you can find with just a little searching, but there has never been a time when the media reported on it so extensively like this.”

“Because there's no one who would benefit from making this widely known.”

Just as Team Leader Park Yeong-ho said, if the story related to Joo Ga-hee got out, it would be a loss for both Newstarz and Choux-pop.

Newstarz is the victim, to be sure, but it's no good if an image of them as a half-baked group whose main vocalist deserted them spreads.

That's why they had been keeping it hushed all this time, but now the situation has changed.

“Newstarz has now been reborn as a complete 5-member group. So now we can confidently reveal the trouble we had in the past.”

“Yes, rather, by making this widely known, we can establish a distinct 'narrative'.”

There was a narrative to this story.

It's the narrative of a group that took a huge blow due to a traitor and went through a difficult time for a long while, and is now trying to take a new leap by welcoming a new member.

Even a situation where they get to go on the same stage and compete with a higher-ranked group that the traitor joined.

There's no way people would just leave such a juicy narrative alone.

“We're going to consistently put out follow-up articles so that the buzz can be maintained until the Night-Bomb Festival. A lot of people will be paying attention to Newstarz.”

They have to gather the interest of as many people as possible.

To do that, Haram Entertainment was in the middle of an aggressive promotional campaign, even laying bare their ill-fated relationship with Joo Ga-hee.

“By the way.”

At that moment, Baek Yeon-ah turned her gaze to Baek Hyeon-woo.

“Hyeon-woo-ya, do you know what the most important thing is in a situation like this?”

“Preparing thoroughly?”

“No, it's not creating any incidents that would spoil this atmosphere.”

Baek Yeon-ah's gaze was serious.

“We can't do anything about DP Entertainment's media play. But there absolutely must not be any incidents caused by our side.”

“If we cause trouble in a state where the attention on us has risen like this, the damage will be great.”

If things go wrong, we might even have the chance to compete at the Night-Bomb Festival taken away.

Managing the members to prevent such a thing from happening was also Baek Hyeon-woo's job.

“But CEO-nim, Newstarz are such good kids that there's no way they'll cause trouble.”

Like smoking cigarettes.

Or abusing their power on their manager.

Or ostracizing a specific member.

Or having committed school violence in the past.

The kids who were the furthest from such bad deeds were Newstarz.

“Even good kids can cause trouble.”

“What kind of trouble?”

“Dating.”

Baek Yeon-ah said in a serious voice.

“No matter how good the kids are, they can still date.”

“……”

Dating itself is surely not a bad thing, but an idol singer's dating life is treated as if they've caused a huge accident.

This was an unavoidable reality of the idol industry.

“Honestly, I think dating is a personal freedom. Even if they're idols, they have the right to date. But at the very least, they shouldn't get caught by others. Being an idol is a job of showing an image, and if you're secretly dating and get caught by the paparazzi, that image shatters.”

Saying that, Baek Yeon-ah turned her gaze to Park Yeong-ho.

“That's why I told them to tell their manager in advance if they're going to date. So that we can prevent problems from arising as much as possible.”

“Yes, you did.”

Park Yeong-ho nodded.

“But kids who honestly reveal their dating lives are rare. Who would want to talk about that.”

“Yeah, most cases are that they hide it even from their manager until it blows up big later.”

How about the Newstarz members.

Is there anyone hiding a boyfriend like that?

“So, I was thinking... How about Assistant Manager Baek having a talk with the kids?”

“Me?”

“Because those kids will be able to speak more honestly to you than to me, Assistant Manager Baek.”

Their ages are closer, and it was a fact that Baek Hyeon-woo had a friendlier relationship with the members than Park Yeong-ho did.

“Just as the CEO-nim said, now is a time to be very careful. So I'd like you to do a check, Assistant Manager Baek.”

“If they say they're seeing someone, what should I do?”

“What do you mean, what should you do.”

After exchanging a glance with Baek Yeon-ah, Park Yeong-ho said with a bitter expression.

“You have to tell them to conduct themselves properly.”

***

‘What my aunt and the Team Leader said is right.’

Baek Hyeon-woo was lost in thought while holding the steering wheel.

‘During an important time like this, I have to block anything that could become a problem as much as possible.’

Dating rumors or anything else, a controversy must not break out.

Having judged it to be so, Baek Hyeon-woo spoke to Laura, who was sitting alone in the back seat.

“Laura, just a moment.”

“What is it?”

Baek Hyeon-woo found a place where he could stop the car and pulled the van over.

And he moved to the back seat where Laura was sitting.

“Because I want to talk a bit.”

“Here?”

“Because it's a conversation that others shouldn't hear.”

“……?”

He looked over the confused Laura carefully.

It's something he was feeling anew, but Laura's looks were certainly outstanding.

Silver hair, blue eyes, white skin... he could understand why the fans praised her for her goddess-like beauty.

Even if Laura did nothing, other men probably wouldn't have left her alone.

“Do you by any chance have a boyfriend?”

“What?”

Laura's eyes widened.

“Why are you suddenly asking that?”

“I'm asking seriously.”

Since it was a problem that couldn't just be vaguely glossed over, he asked in the most serious voice possible.

“Even if it's not someone you're seriously dating... is there anyone you're just seeing or have a crush on?”

“No, I told you last time. I've never once...”

“Because I wanted to check again.”

Laura could play innocent here.

However, Baek Hyeon-woo is able to check the status window.

If he observes the fluctuation of her Mental Condition, he can confirm how agitated Laura is.

If he questions her closely, he should be able to find out the truth.

“It's an important matter, so please answer honestly.”

“Wh-Why so serious all of a sudden...”

Right at that moment.

The flustered Laura gasped.

“Huh? Is that what this is?”

“What do you mean?”

“O-Oppa, are you out of your mind?”

Laura urgently looked around.

Confirming that they were inside the car where they could avoid people's eyes, Laura pressed Baek Hyeon-woo.

“You said with your own mouth that you strictly separate public and private matters, and now you're doing this? I also have a professional mindset as an idol, you can't do this. R-really, you can't.”

On the status window, Laura's Mental Condition could be seen rapidly fluctuating up and down.

“S-Since when on earth did you start feeling that way? Please tell me that first.”

Laura crossed her arms and made a coy expression.