"There's three things we need to settle today," Casper said, pacing back and forth in front of his teammates.
After the positive interim evaluation, the team was undoubtedly in a good mood. However, when reality hit them that their performance was going to be in six days, the atmosphere suddenly turned serious.
"Now, I believe we have a strong foundation," Casper said. "However, like the mentors said, it would be useless if we don't focus on the other aspects too."
"So, the three things we need to settle are?" Daeho asked.
"First, Choreography," Casper enumerated. "But I believe it'll be the easiest to execute among the three. I am confident in my choreography skills, and I also know you've dabbled in choreography, Daeho."
"I have," Daeho confirmed.
"Good," Casper nodded. "The second one is Concept," he continued. "It's already been established that we're going to do a bright performance."
"Which is a good thing," Jangmoon pointed out. "It seems like June was right. The other four songs are on the gray line. They have the same vibes, and I can already feel their concepts intersecting with one another just from the sound of their songs alone."
"That's true," Ren agreed. "The Moombahton and Trap K-Pop songs definitely sounded similar to each other. Grunge Pop-Rock and Electro-Techno, on the other hand, have different vibes, but they're both pretty upbeat, with music drops as their main point. I believe we have an edge on this one."
"Yet it's a double-edged sword," Junen added. "If we can't execute it right, then it's going to bite us back."
Casper sighed and nodded. "Yes," he said. "Which brings me to the third point—Lyrics. I've done some research, and almost all songs under this genre talk about being cute, being in love, food, and a random sport nobody has ever heard about."
Jangmoon clicked his tongue. "Now that I think about it, you're right. Should we go the same route? I already have something about pussycats—"
"I think we should take a different route," Daeho quickly cut him off, causing Jangmoon to glare at him.
"Well, do you have any other ideas?" Jangmoon asked out of spite.
Daeho pursed his lips. "No idea. Maybe love?"
"Who has experience with love from us here?" Jangmoon retorted. "Do you guys have girlfriends right now?"
"Bro, you can't ask that question," Daeho countered. "We're aspiring idols. Fans are going to flame us to the ground with a mere mention of a girlfriend."
"What do you mean?" Jangmoon asked. "C-Jay mentioned a girl once, but he didn't even get any hate."
"Oh, trust me," Ren chuckled. "I bet everyone will rejoice if C-Jay manages to get a girlfriend."
Jangmoon pursed his lips before nodding enthusiastically. "You're right. My bad."
"Going back to the topic," Casper said. "What do you think we should write about? Do you have any other ideas, Ren?"
Ren let out a deep breath before shaking his head. "Believe it or not, writing is actually my weakest skill in music production. Mixing beats and rhythms has always been bliss to me, but I've never been a good writer."
Casper clicked his tongue. "I can make a really good rap, but most of the stuff I've written is something dark, cool, or borderline crazy. It definitely wouldn't fit our song."
"I think we're forgetting someone very important," Jangmoon chimed, causing his teammates to look at him. "June's a good writer."
June's eyebrows raised in surprise when he heard the compliment.
"I'm not," he denied.
"What do you mean?" Jangmoon asked. "You literally wrote the lyrics for 'Tie Me Up.' That song was a hit."
"Wait," Casper said, the thought finally hitting him. "You did! It was one of the best lyrics I've heard on the show. I heard the producers liked it very much, too."
"Where did you hear that?" June asked.
"Umm," Casper nervously muttered. "Just from someone."
In reality, he had been scrolling through June's topic on Navel, and that's where he learned it from.
June sighed and leaned against the mirror. "I don't even know how I managed to write those lyrics. I just got pretty angry those days—especially after you guys kicked me out of the team," he pointed out, causing Casper and Daeho to look at their shoes.
"So, I channeled that emotion and wrote something that came from my heart."
Jangmoon looked at June with wide eyes. "You're really cool, bro. You always manage to say the right words."
June scoffed. "I didn't even say anything significant. Putting that aside, I also think we shouldn't write something that's already expected of us."
"Then, what should we write about?" Daeho asked.
June placed his hand under his chin and hummed. Then, an idea hit him.
Maybe his past method would actually be useful this time around, too.
"Answer this question," June said. "What makes you happy?"
Silence resonated in the room after June asked the question.
"Woah," Jangmoon chuckled, breaking the silence. "I didn't think we'd be getting serious today."
"Just answer the question," June urged. "This was how I wrote my lyrics for 'Tie Me Up.' Even if we don't know what we want to write about just yet, I'm sure we all agree that we want to make the audience happy with our performance, right?"
They all nodded in agreement.
"So, for that to happen, we need to channel our happiness. I know it's been tough being in the competition, but maybe we can go back to the times when we genuinely felt happy…without any worries."
"Well, mine was when I won a soccer game during my Elementary years," Daeho said, starting things off. "It was just an inter-class game. The prize was a fake gold trophy, but being awarded first brought immense happiness to my heart. Being rewarded with chocolate right after was also unforgettable."
"I had a similar experience," Ren chimed, looking the happiest he'd ever been for the entire duration of the mission. "I won second on a singing recital and was in a bad mood afterward, but my aunt made me feel like I was the winner of the entire event. It was really nice."
Casper smiled after Ren's story. "I remember those times, too. When I was younger, my mom missed almost all of my events. However, one time, she actually came to my school play. I played a tree—a mere tree, but I was the happiest tree on the planet. Who knew that a parent's presence could do so much to your happiness?"
Jangmoon smiled and nodded in agreement. "Gosh, you guys are taking me back to my childhood. I also remember the time I got hurt while riding a swing and attempting a 360-degree flip. I thought my mom was going to scold me afterward, but she just bought me ice cream and told me never to try it again—because she didn't want me to get hurt."
As June looked at the group of guys, all having genuine smiles on their faces, he couldn't help but let out a small smile, too.
Somehow, there wasn't any envy in his heart. Even though he rarely got to experience what they had experienced, it still took him to the simple, happy times—when he was allowed to go to the candy store when he got satisfactory marks on his exams.
It seemed like being a child had been a happy time for all of them.
June paused as he repeated the thought inside his head.
Then, he looked at his teammates once more.
"Hey guys, why don't we take it back to the past?"
