Cheating way through to Stardom chapter 54- You don’t need to know everything in the world

I turned my head towards Yoo Hajin.

“Hyung, you’re here.”

“Yeah. What happened to Seungjoon’s face? And why is Dowon crying?”

“Did you fight? Who won? Since Dowon is crying, does that mean you lost?”

Damn it. Be quiet. Shut up, you monkey.

“They each have their own reasons. We didn’t fight.”

“Why are you dodging the question? What’s going on? Why are you like this?”

It wasn’t worth answering.

“Minjae hyung, let’s start the meeting.”

Kang Minjae shook his head as if he couldn’t help it.

“Alright, everyone sit down. Jaeyun.”

“What’s going on! Tell me why!”

I kept my mouth shut. It was really annoying.

Kang Minjae started speaking slowly.

“The reason we’re in the meeting room today is because of our debut mini-album.”

Ah, he’s talking about the recording from the other day.

“The title is ‘Faust.'”

I was familiar with the process of how the song came to be.

Faust.

‘A man tempted by the devil.’

Well, it looked fine if done well.

Just then, Ki Jaeyun asked,

“What’s Faust?”

Damn it.

Yoo Hajin replied,

“It’s a play by Goethe, you don’t know?”

“Who’s Goethe?”

“Jaeyun, do you not know ‘The Sorrows of Young Werther’ either?”

“Why is Young Werther sad? Did he get dump by an ex?”

Good grief. His lack of knowledge was tragic. Well, it’s not like you can’t live without knowing.

‘It’s amazing he got that much right.’

Even if he seemed ignorant.

I shook my head and said,

“Don’t let him do interviews. We’ll be branded as an ignorant group.”

“Hey! What do you know?”

“I know it well. In the end, he gets redeemed.”

Kang Minjae smiled.

“The original is very philosophical, but we’ll be covering it very broadly and shallowly.”

I nodded. Well, I’d tried it once, but it was boring. No matter how well it was adapted.

“So, any opinions?”

While everyone was lost in thought, the meeting room door opened, and Director Joo and the chubby manager walked in.

“Hello. Good morning. Oh.”

Director Joo looked puzzled when she saw me with a nosebleed and bruised Seungjoon.

“Did you two fight?”

For a moment, Director Joo and Ki Jaeyun seemed on the same level.

Seungjoon spoke first.

“No, we didn’t.”

“We have different reasons.”

“Cut it out. Your bodies belong to the company now. How dare you get hurt?”

Good grief.

“Very sorry.”

“You don’t look sorry at all. Well, never mind. The nosebleed will stop. Seungjoon, if your bruise isn’t gone by the time we shoot the music video, we’ll apply foundation in centimeter-thick layers.”

What’s foundation?

“Anyway, our precious Minjae, Minjae, Kang Minjae, has made a song that I think will be a huge hit. I listened to the recording yesterday and it was so good.”

Director Joo sat at the head of the table and turned on the computer.

“My expectations are through the roof. What will you do! I’m so excited I can’t sleep!”

You seem very excited, Director Joo.

“Right? Manager Heo?”

The chubby manager scratched his head.

“You know I don’t really know about these things.”

“Ah, right. Anyway, I couldn’t sleep. I thought hard about what concepts would be good.”

A black harness appeared on the screen. Curious, I saw a row of singers wearing harnesses across their chests.

‘Why are they wrapping their bodies in leather straps?’

I tilted my head in confusion, but it seemed others knew what it was.

Kang Minjae spoke.

“Is that a harness?”

Wait a minute.

“A dog leash?”

For people?

“Oh, there’s a version for people too.”

That’s not the point. It’s not about there being a version for people.

What are they using it for?

Are they going to make us look like slaves and put us to work in a field?

Ki Jaeyun said,

“If you search for harness, you find a lot of interesting stuff.”

So he did search for it.

Director Joo laughed like a madman and said,

“Doesn’t it go perfectly with our concept?”

I quietly turned my head.

‘I don’t know what it is, but it doesn’t seem like something pleasant if you dig deeper. That harness.’

Let’s just let it go. I don’t need to know everything in the world.

Kang Minjae said,

“Sounds good. But won’t it look hot since it’s summer?”

“We’ll put you in tight short sleeves. So starting today, if you don’t take care of your bodies…”

Director Joo ominously commanded,

“You’ll be demoted to trainees.”

So we have to manage our diet and exercise.

‘Well. It’s inevitable.’

It’s what every celebrity has to do—body management.

Director Joo poked at me and the other members.

“Cha Dowon, Lee Seungjoon, Kang Minjae, and Yoo Hajin, maintain your current shape.”

Aha.

The only one left out was Ki Jaeyun. As the eyes focused on him, he made a startled excuse.

“Why, why! What’s wrong with my body!”

“You’re out!”

“I need to eat to dance!”

“Who said not to eat? Just eat healthy food. Jaeyun.”

“Oh, until when?”

“For the next seven years. Then the contract ends, so eat as much as you want.”

Wow. Director Joo is tough.

“That’s too much!”

“What’s too much is your body! Do you want to be the only one with a potbelly while the other members look cool? Hajin is the leader, right? Hajin, you take charge.”

Yoo Hajin smiled kindly.

“Yes, Director. Jaeyun, from today, no burgers or fried chicken, got it?”

“This must be a dream. My bacon mozzarella deluxe combo giant burger!”

That’s a specific menu.

“Now, about the music video. Last night, I was thinking about the harness on my bed, and I realized. For Zenis!”

Director Joo pointed at me.

“We have the ambitious Cha Dowon!”

I frowned. What’s she getting at? And when did the Director knew about my nickname?

“I trust your acting, Dowon! You’re the protagonist!”

Ah, so that’s what she meant.

“What role?”

“A handsome high school student who seduces his brother’s lover.”

“Just a jerk.”

Director Joo laughed like a witch.

“Trash is always interesting, no matter the time or place!”

‘Is that so? Well, considering how popular trashy dramas are, you might be right.’

“I’ll do my best. Let me know as soon as the script is ready.”

“Of course. Just make sure not to get hurt before then, okay? You’re the hope of our trashy drama, Dowon!”

I didn’t particularly want to be the hope of a trashy drama. Then Yoo Hajin spoke up.

“For a story music video, what about us?”

“There are a few supporting roles, and there will be a dance video.”

Ki Jaeyun shouted.

“That’s unfair! Are you saying Cha Dowon is the main character?”

“Then Jaeyun, do you want to do it?”

“I can do it well too!”

The three members, excluding me, shook their heads immediately.

“No.”

“No way.”

“We’d be ruined.”

It was dismissed by a majority vote.

I smiled and said, “Everyone has their strengths. Minjae is a great producer, Hajin is a leader with a good voice, and Seungjoon excels in rap and atmosphere. As for me, acting is my strength.”

“Well said. Dowon is right. Let’s all do our best in our respective fields and not covet others’ roles!”

At that moment, Ki Jaeyun clenched his fist and slammed it on the table.

Bang-

“And what about me? What am I good at? Praise me too.”

Annoying kid.

“You’re good at dancing, but if you eat a dozen bacon mozzarella deluxe combo giant burgers, that talent might transfer to another member.”

Director Joo covered her mouth and laughed.

“Do I really have to say it myself, Ki Jaeyun?”

Figure it out yourself.

“I said praise me too! Don’t leave me out!”

So childish.

As I shook my head, Yoo Hajin patted my shoulder.

“Our youngest is Dowon, but Jaeyun seems more like the youngest.”

Don’t compare me to someone like him.

“Alright, let’s wrap up the meeting. Oh, and the most important thing. I had my fortune read.”

Wait, the fortune is the most important thing?

“I went to a very famous fortune-teller. This person is very accurate.”

More famous than the renowned Yeonhwa shaman from Seongnam?

“They said if we see blood, we’ll be hugely successful.”

What kind of fortune is that?

“Are we supposed to perform a ritual?”

“No, they said blood will flow naturally.”

What is this nonsense?

At that moment, red blood started dripping onto the table.

‘The tissue I had stuffed in my nose must have come loose.’

As I stuffed my nose with a tissue someone handed me, a strange silence filled the room.

The first to scream was the manager.

“Blood! Blood! Director, there’s blood!”

“Oh my gosh! It’s real blood!”

“Ze, Zenis is going to hit it big! Just like the prophecy, blood is pouring out! Dowon, bleed more! Pour it out!”

Look at this person.

“That fortune-teller is really something! Wow, I got chills!”

I got chills too. From how ridiculous this is.

‘Why do people believe this stuff?’

Is there nothing else to believe in that they resort to fortune-telling?

They could have just used that money to buy food. What a waste.

Kang Minjae said, “Just let it go. It’s the director’s hobby.”

“A constructive hobby. I guess shamans need to eat too, right?”

Just like how my family did. Although the renowned shaman Cha Yeonhwa from Seongnam was the real deal.

Kang Minjae smiled and got up from his seat.

“Since the meeting is over, I’ll go work on the arrangement. See you later in the dance practice room.”

“Oh, and the choreography is coming out today.”

“I know. I’ll see you later.”

As Kang Minjae left, I also got up.

“I’m going to work out too.”

“Aren’t you overdoing it with blood pouring out?”

“I’m fine.”

Staying here is more of a headache.

I looked at the clock and saw that an hour had already passed.

I went out into the hallway and pulled out the tissue that was stopping the bleeding.

‘Seeing blood means success?’

Well, if it works, it works. I shook my head and walked away.

***

The song title was ‘Faust,’ but the music video was a trashy drama.

After checking the cue sheet, my feeling was, well, this is…

‘Wow. A dysfunctional family.’

And like a typical Korean music video, there was a twist.

‘The story is from the woman’s perspective.’

A woman dating an ordinary guy goes to his house to meet his family because of marriage. There, she meets a high school boy.

The woman falls in love with the boy at first sight.

‘If you’re going to fall for someone else, don’t get married in the first place.’

But the woman marries the boy’s brother and moves into the house.

‘This is ridiculous!’

The woman keeps encountering and secretly watching the boy in the house. She can’t take her eyes off him and eventually hugs his clothes tightly.

‘What a dangerous woman.’

Of course, there was an essential twist.

While the boy naps on the living room sofa, the woman hesitantly approaches him. Despite her hesitation, she eventually kisses him. The boy wakes up from the unfamiliar sensation, and the woman, startled, tries to run away. But the boy grabs her arm and pulls her back.

“And then they kiss deeply.”

The music video ends like that.

“Unbelievable.”

I looked at the ceiling.

‘So, the boy was seducing her too.’

His brother’s woman, no less.

‘What’s he planning to become when he grows up?’

The outfits in the cue sheet were all school uniforms.

“Is this okay?”

Isn’t this going to get censored?

A dysfunctional family with a trashy love story. No matter my personal feelings, one thing was certain.

‘It’s provocative, so people will watch it a lot.’

The composition was fresh, and it was bizarre enough to leave a strong impression.

I didn’t know how they aimed the age group of the fans, but it seemed like it would be broadly liked.

“Director Joo is amazing.”

She mixed immorality well without any exposure.

‘Is this Director Joo’s talent?’

No wonder she’s called a witch.

I shook my head while looking at the scenario board.

‘But this is almost a gamble.’

This is a role that can’t be done with mediocre acting skills.

“I can do it, though.”

No, I might be the only one in Zenis who can pull this off.

I smiled slyly. I covered my mouth, chuckling, and lay down on the bed.

‘Come to think of it, what were Zenis’ music videos like before I came back?’

The summer dance track featured swimming. It somehow felt oddly outdated.

“It’s like saying that changed into this.”

When asked to choose between the pre-regression and post-regression music videos, of course, it was this one.

It was when they were looking at the storyboard and script again.

After washing up, Lee Seungjoon came into the room.

“Are you okay with the bruise?”

“I’m not sure if it’s because of my mood, but I feel much better.”

Of course you would feel better. You used cheat codes.

“The swelling’s gone. Makeup should cover it up.”

“Well, that’s a relief.”

“I’m packing in advance. We’re moving tomorrow.”

Oh, right.

I got up from my seat. Lee Seungjoon pulled out boxes and said,

“Aren’t you excited about moving?”

“Well, not really. It’s just a hassle.”

I sighed softly as I organized my things. Was it yesterday? I heard to move residences while practicing choreography.

“But still, we have a new member.”

“Oh, Ki Jaeyun lives with us too?”

It’s going to be noisy.

“We’re moving to a bigger and nicer place.”