Chapter 8
Year-end Evaluation
After the first day of lessons, life went on as usual.
I could sense a change in the way the kids treated me, but it was definitely a positive one.
How should I put it?
At first, I felt like a complete outsider, waiting in front of a sign that said ‘No Entry!’. But now, I felt like they had allowed me to enter their fence.
I was glad they were nice.
But the peacefulness of my daily life was shattered by a new event.
In early December.
While we were practicing our choreography, the door of the practice room opened.
As soon as they saw Director Jo Kyu-hwan’s face, the youngest quickly turned off the MR.
“Hello, Director!”
“Uh, yeah.”
Director Jo greeted us lightly and smiled.
“Wow, you guys smell like sweat. You must have been practicing really hard. I came down to tell you something. It’s nothing big, so relax.”
He handed us a paper.
“Your year-end evaluation assignment is out.”
“Really?”
Everyone took the paper and gathered around Kim Bi-ju.
The paper was printed in a neat official format with an announcement.
【 2013 Joint Year-end Evaluation Announcement 】
-Location: Taehwa High School Auditorium
-Date: 2013. 12. 28 (Sat)
-Participating Agencies: DNS Media, Lemon Entertainment, Hwai Entertainment, Big Brother Company, Oullim Entertainment
-Assignment: A performance that combines two different songs with one theme
-Please inform the parents of the trainees in advance, as the traffic situation around the venue may be chaotic on the day.
Unlike the others who looked tense as they read the announcement, I was clueless.
What is a year-end evaluation?
I knew about the monthly evaluation.
If a normal high school student takes a mock exam every month, then an idol trainee takes a test called a monthly evaluation.
It’s the same as a test, except it’s not about math, English, or Korean.
It’s also the same in that you get stressed depending on your score.
The only difference is that if you mess up a mock exam, you don’t get kicked out of high school, but if a trainee’s monthly evaluation results are stagnant for two or three months, they get their contract terminated right away.
If you don’t improve, you get thrown away. That’s the life of a trainee.
When I was at TJ Entertainment, I had to take several of these evaluations every month.
A small one every two weeks and a big one every Thursday.
The subjects were different each time.
Sometimes it was individual, like ‘You have a weak high note, so master this song’.
Sometimes it was team-based, like ‘Make your own choreography and compete with each other’.
I guess the ‘performance that combines two different songs with one theme’ written on the paper was one of those test subjects.
What I didn’t understand was why they did the monthly evaluation publicly.
And with other agencies.
Is it like a showcase?
A showcase is a term for a stage that is used for promotion.
It’s like showing them in advance and seeing their reaction, like the word showcase means.
I heard that one of the four major agencies, MOP, does this kind of thing and shows the trainee stage to the public.
Well. Anyway, that’s not important. I needed information.
What is a year-end evaluation?
As I looked at the trainees who were scanning the announcement, I picked the one who had the loosest mouth.
“Ue? Yeohalheongao? (Huh? Year-end evaluation?)”
“Yeah.”
During the break, Wang Ji-ho, who was munching on the chocolate bread I bought him, asked.
“Is this your first time hearing about the year-end evaluation?”
“I only know about the monthly evaluation.”
“Oh, this is when we do the monthly evaluation with the nearby agencies every six months. The one we do in December is called the year-end evaluation.”
“Is it similar to the MOP showcase?”
“It’s different. MOP invites the general audience, right? Our year-end evaluation is when we invite the trainees’ families or acquaintances.”
“Isn’t it better to have the general audience?”
I shivered, and the youngest agreed.
“I know, right? It’s so embarrassing to mess up or rap in front of your parents.”
I felt like crawling into a hole just thinking about singing and dancing in front of my grandmother.
While we were gloomy about the bleak future, Wang Ji-ho chewed on his chocolate bread.
“But there’s another real reason why we have to do well on the year-end evaluation.”
“What is it?”
“It’s because it’s a competition between the agencies. We and DNS are the biggest, so we have a rivalry. If we debut a girl group, they also debut a girl group, and so on. The year-end evaluation is also like that.”
“Is it like a Korea-Japan soccer match?”
“Kind of.”
Wang Ji-ho drank his milk and continued.
“Besides, we got totally crushed in June. If it was soccer, it would be like 7 to 0. The atmosphere was no joke. The CEO didn’t even greet us for a few days.”
“Our CEO?”
“Can you believe it? But it’s true.”
“Do we have to win this time?”
“Yep.”
“But you guys are amazing. Did DNS do that well?”
“From what I remember, the guys over there did really well. Maybe they’re in the debut group this time?”
Wang Ji-ho showed me some articles he searched on his smartphone.
-‘Lavender Rose’ brother group debuts… 9-member ‘Street Boys’
-DNS Media rookie ‘Street Boys’, first appearance with debut reality show
-‘LaRose junior group’ Street Boys, debut story revealed with K-Net reality show
The description said they were a hip-hop concept 9-member boy group.
They were aiming to debut in April and currently filming a reality show to be aired on K-Net.
“Are they our competitors?”
“Yep.”
“Why are they filming a reality show before they debut?”
“Isn’t that so enviable? If they do this, fans will flock in.”
I nodded.
From the perspective of the general public, it’s a 0.1% rating program that they don’t even know about, but it’s different for idols.
If you’re from one of the four major agencies, you’ll get recognition just by sending them out, but for small idols, this is a big deal.
I tapped the arm of the youngest who was looking at the internet articles with envious eyes.
I bought another chocolate milk for the youngest, along with drinks for the other members, on our way back to the practice room.
We sat around in a circle, each holding a drink.
It was time for a strategy meeting.
We had to discuss how to prepare for the year-end evaluation assignment: a performance that combines two different songs with one theme.
“DNS did hip-hop last time, right? How about we go for a strong concept too?”
“Hyung, they have four rappers on their team. You’re the only rapper we have. If we go for an intense concept, we’ll be at a disadvantage.”
“Hmm… but don’t you think Jung-hyun has a point?”
Kim Bi-ju said.
“What if we try a strong concept too? If we do a soft concept like last time, we might lose.”
“I don’t know. If we challenge them head-on, we’ll be in trouble.”
“I think we can do it.”
“This is not an easy problem, you know.”
They calmly debated.
The first step was to decide what concept to do before choosing the songs.
Three of them were actively expressing their opinions, while the youngest and I were watching the situation.
The youngest was playing with his phone, not caring about anything, while I was deep in thought.
Something didn’t seem right.
They all seemed to be barking up the wrong tree.
***
-DNS guys…
-DNS did the same concept as last time…
-We have to overpower them with vocals…
Was it because of the defeat in the first half of the year?
DNS Media came up in every sentence they said.
This was not something that could be solved by fighting.
The year-end evaluation felt like a survival program.
A war to defeat the rival and claim victory.
Maybe they wouldn’t have been so obsessed with this idea if it wasn’t for the fact that their families were coming to watch and the painful loss last time.
They seemed to be driven by the obsession to do better than the other side.
And I felt it too.
But the reason I kept silent was because of seniority.
I had the most experience, but I had only been at Lemon Entertainment for less than two weeks.
It was awkward to butt in.
It was like a newly appointed captain joining the discussion of the senior sergeants.
“Guys, we have to decide quickly.”
Seo Ri-hyuk banged the floor.
“It’ll take more time if we have to do the arrangement too.”
“Didn’t the director say he would do it for us?”
“The director and the engineers are all busy because of Yoon Chan-hyuk sunbae’s album.”
“So we have to do everything ourselves.”
“And if we add the choreography, we’ll have only two weeks of actual practice time.”
“Then let’s decide soon.”
“Did anyone hear what DNS is doing?”
The year-end evaluation topic was a performance that connects two different songs. In other words, singing different verses from different songs.
Choosing the songs was a challenge.
They looked at us as they racked their brains.
“Do Ji-ho and Woojoo hyung have any opinions?”
“I’m fine with whatever you guys do.”
The other three pairs of eyes turned to me.
“I have an idea, but…”
“Yeah? Just tell us.”
“Sorry to say this, but I think the way you guys are doing it is wrong.”
The atmosphere suddenly quieted down.
Seo Ri-hyuk’s eyes narrowed and his tone became sharp.
“What’s wrong with it?”
“From what I heard, you guys are only talking about what DNS is doing.”
“So?”
“Beating the rival is important, but this is not a survival program. I think we should consider the essence of the stage.”
They didn’t seem very friendly.
They looked at me as if to say, ‘What do you know?’
But I had no choice.
If we went on like this, we would go in a weird direction and ruin everything.
“I think we should think about the audience first.”
“The audience?”
“The reason we stand on stage is because it’s fun, right? And our goal is to make the audience happy.”
The goal of every entertainer is to please the public.
“Before we decide on the performance theme or the songs, we should analyze the audience’s preferences first.”
I had thought about this a lot since I was young.
How can I increase the sales of my grandmother’s restaurant?
If you want to run a food business, you have to think about the nearby market, what people eat these days, and what kind of customers come to the store.
That was the gist of what I wanted to tell them.
Don’t sell fish stew just because the next-door restaurant does well. Think about the customers who come to your store first.
Kim Bi-ju smiled.
“That makes sense.”
“It does.”
Seo Ri-hyuk’s eyes were still sharp.
“But that’s too vague. Who doesn’t know that we have to please the audience? The important thing is a concrete plan.”
“I have an idea.”
“Yeah? Let’s hear it.”
I told them my plan.
It was what I had in mind since I heard the topic.
A stage that would showcase our charm and satisfy the audience.
They had different reactions.
“I like hyung’s idea.”
“It’s not bad, but isn’t it a bit vague? It’s either all or nothing.”
“I’m fine with it as long as I get a rap part.”
“It’s too difficult. I like the idea, but it will take at least two weeks to arrange this. And only Jung-hyun hyung and I know how to do it among us.”
There’s a solution for that.
“I know how to arrange.”
“No.”
Seo Ri-hyuk said again, frustrated.
“It’s not just about knowing how to arrange. It’s too hard, don’t you get it? If you know how to arrange, you should know how difficult this is. By the time you finish, the year-end evaluation will have already started.”
“One day.”
“What?”
“One day is enough.”
A silent tension filled the air.
They all looked at me with expressions that said, ‘What is he talking about?’
They might not understand from their perspective.
They might think I’m just being overconfident and blabbering without any evidence.
But I had a reason for what I said.
I had studied hard for two years, not only for the college entrance exam, but also for the music composition major.
Seo Ri-hyuk narrowed his eyes at me.
“Are you serious?”
“Of course I am.”
I said with a smile.
“One or two days will do.”
“That’s nonsense-”
“Then do you want to bet with me?”
Seo Ri-hyuk hesitated for a moment.
“A bet?”
“Yeah. If I can’t finish the arrangement by midnight tomorrow, I’ll buy snacks for a week.”
“Wow, really?”
The youngest, who had been silent like a stone, lit up his eyes.
Jung-hyun and Bi-ju looked at this scene with interest, but they also seemed tempted by the offer of a week’s worth of snacks.
Seo Ri-hyuk paused, wondering if this was some kind of trap, and I gave him a gentle smile.
“It’s a bet you have nothing to lose.”
“What’s the condition?”
“Huh?”
“What do you want?”
“Simple.”
I answered.
“If I win, you’ll let me plan the performance for the year-end evaluation.”
“…”
“It’s a bet you have nothing to lose, right? Isn’t it?”
“Yeah, it’s a no-lose bet.”
The youngest, who had his eyes on the snacks, agreed, and the senior line quietly watched what the younger one would do.
After some deliberation, Seo Ri-hyuk answered.
“Okay.”
I smiled as I saw him.
I guess hiding and waiting is not my style.
If I’m in the game, I’ll take the lead.