SCT-Novel Chapter 149: Gocheok (4)
Chapter 149: Gocheok (4)
It was the ‘AI Simulation’ app that sent a message to Kang Rojun, who had stopped walking. Si-hoo, who turned his body toward Rojun with interest in his eyes, spoke to him.“Rojun, what are you doing??”
Kang Rojun answered casually, as if it was nothing special.
“Oh, let me check this. Go on ahead.”
“Okay, got it.”
The members were walking away, and Rojun lifted the corners of his mouth as he checked what was displayed on his phone.
-[You have achieved the title mission ‘If I touch it, it’s my side job!’]
-[The title ‘Side Job Tycoon’ has met the conditions and is enhanced by +1!]
-[As the title ‘Side Job Tycoon’ has been enhanced, one bonus coin is added to the mission reward.]
-[Congratulations! The title ‘Side Job Tycoon’ has reached +5!]
The title ‘Side Job Tycoon’ had been enhanced to +5. Having seen similar notifications before, Kang Rojun muttered softly.
“Title evolution.”
As he recalled the evolved title ‘World Star’, the ‘AI Simulation’ displayed an additional notification.
-[Title evolution is now available.]
-[Would you like to awaken the title ‘Side Job Tycoon’, which has reached +5, to the title ‘All-Round Entertainer’?]
‘All-Round Entertainer’? With a deepened smile, Kang Rojun pressed ‘Allow’ without hesitation. He had experience with this already, after all. In any case, the texts on the phone screen quickly changed.
-[Congratulations! The title ‘Side Job Tycoon’ has successfully evolved to the title ‘All-Round Entertainer’!]
-[The evolved title can be enhanced up to +10, and the number of bonus coins increases to 2!]
And.
-[With the acquisition of the evolved title ‘All-Round Entertainer’, the passive ‘Limit Breakthrough’ has been generated!]
Just like last time, a passive was added. Last time it was ‘Overwhelm’, but this time it was ‘Limit Breakthrough’. Just then, Rojun tilted his head in confusion.
“Ugh!”
A sudden, intense pain in his wrist. It was twice as strong and longer than the usual tingling. His wrist throbbed intensely. Was something wrong? Fortunately, the pain gradually subsided, and Kang Rojun relaxed his furrowed brow and looked down at his smartwatch.
“What, shit. That scared me.”
Probably. No, 100%, it was the most intense tingling sensation he’d ever felt. The reason was obvious: either the just-evolved title ‘All-Round Entertainer’ or the passive ‘Limit Breakthrough’. The ‘AI Simulation’ had injected something into Kang Rojun’s body. Strangely, his head was now filled with previously unknown or unfamiliar knowledge.
“……”
It was a bizarre feeling. Still the same Kang Rojun, but completely different from a few seconds ago. Rojun quickly moved his fingers and accessed the ‘AI Simulation’ app.
It didn’t take him long to find the changes.
-[User: Kang Rojun / Age: 24 / Height: 185.8 / Desired Occupation: Idol / Coins Owned: 1,143]
-[Passives: Overwhelm / Limit Breakthrough]
-[Titles: (Evolved) All-Round Entertainer / (Evolved) World Star / Global Genius+2 / Instrument Master+1]
-[Side Jobs: [1] Screenwriter, [2] Actor, [3] Lyricist, [4] Composer, [5] Producer]
-[Global Languages: [1] Japanese, [2] English]
-[Instruments: [1] Acoustic Guitar]
His height had grown a bit again. How long was he going to keep growing? And the newly added passive and evolved title. As expected, the new side job was ‘Producer’. His recent participation in producing for ‘Vanguard’ must have been a factor. Rojun immediately tapped on the new passive ‘Limit Breakthrough’.
-『Limit Breakthrough: You shall achieve endless growth』
-『The limits of user Kang Rojun will be unlocked.』
As he read the explanation, Kang Rojun thought,
‘Limits?’
As if realizing something, he quickly tapped on another part of the app. It was Rojun’s current stats.
-[Appearance (150/150)│Singing Ability (73.8/150)│Rap (70.2/150)│Dance (71.4/150)│Eloquence (37/150)│Acting (38.2/150)│Lyrics Writing (150/150)│Composition (45.1/150)│Arrangement (0/150)]
The maximum value for all abilities had increased to 150 points. As soon as he saw the answer, Kang Rojun muttered quietly.
“So this is why it’s called Limit Breakthrough.”
In short, the ‘AI Simulation’ app had opened a path for Kang Rojun to go even higher than before.
‘This is insane. Even Lyrics Writing hit 150 points. Wait a second, how much more amazing does that make me at 150 points?’
Simply looking at the ‘Appearance’ stat told the story. He had thought 100 points was the maximum, but there was more beyond that. His height kept increasing too. Based on experiments so far, even a skill in the 70s was quite significant. But he could grow to twice that?
‘…With 150-point stats mixed with learning- wow, shit, this is fucking crazy.’
To be honest, Rojun couldn’t even begin to imagine it right now. He could only estimate slightly based on the already maxed-out stats like ‘Appearance’ and ‘Lyrics Writing’. Moreover, what stood out in the stats was that ‘Composition’ was rising faster than expected.
‘From now on, I’ll be earning 18 coins per Daily Mission. Nice, nice.’
Kang Rojun’s smile reached his ears.
-Swish.
With light steps, he headed toward the restaurant.
Later.
After finishing their meal, Kang Rojun and the members resumed their recording session. With the title evolution, Rojun’s directing became even sharper, and by the time it was Si-hoo’s turn after Kang-min, it was late afternoon. In the end, the recording for ‘GreenBee’ couldn’t be completed in one day.
“See you all tomorrow! Take care of your throats!”
Following the producer’s advice, the ‘Vanguard’ members gathered again in the recording studio the next morning. Si-hoo’s solo recording wrapped up around noon. Then group recording for Si-hoo, Kang-min, and Do-kyung began, and it was late afternoon when it was Rojun’s turn to record.
However, Rojun’s recording didn’t take long.
“Hmm, it sounds like the best to me. How about you, Rojun? Satisfied? Unsatisfied?”
“Let me try one more time.”
“Okay.”
Although Kang Rojun repeated it a few more times on his own, it all wrapped up in about two hours, fairly fast compared to the other members.
And so, the recording for ‘GreenBee’ was completed.
However, the song recording process was only about 30% complete at this stage. Next up after ‘GreenBee’ was ‘Windveil’, composed by Si-hoo. This time, Rojun, Kang-min, and Do-kyung would record first, with Si-hoo directing. As Kang-min and Si-hoo entered the booth, they both let out sighs.
“Phew- I’m dying of thirst.”
“My point exactly. I swear I’m gonna learn composition for real.”
Still, Si-hoo’s directing was gentler than Kang Rojun’s.
“Kang-min. You know that part just now? It was too fast. Let’s try slowing it down a bit.”
“Got it, hyung.”
If one had to compare, Kang Rojun was the whip, and Si-hoo was the carrot. Either way, the recording for ‘Windveil’ took longer than ‘GreenBee’, but it eventually finished. The ‘Vanguard’ members, Manager Kim Ki-baek, the management team, the A&R team, and others gathered to listen to the songs recorded with the members’ actual voices instead of the guides.
-♬♪
Of course, it wasn’t 100% complete yet. There were still things left like instruments, chorus, or mixing, etc., but the staff looked thoroughly satisfied. The final song, ‘Flying Bell’, composed by Song Min-geun, was scheduled to be worked on next Monday when he came into GN Entertainment.
Before anyone noticed, it was already January 29. Only two days remained in January.
Meanwhile, the official fan club of ‘Vanguard’, called ‘Guards’, was frantically celebrating.
-Wowwwwwwwwwww Vanguard just hit 2 million followers on Instagram!!!
-The vibe is insane, seriouslyㅠㅜㅠㅜㅠㅜㅠㅜㅠ
-Wow… Already 2 million?? Isn’t that a record??
‘Vanguard’ fan accounts on social media were also in a frenzy. The official Instagram account of ‘Vanguard’ had set a new record.
[@Van_guard official]
[Posts 14]
[Followers 2.011 million]
[Following 2]
In less than two weeks since opening, they had surpassed 2 million followers. It was the fastest growth among all domestic idols, and the media immediately picked it up.
《Vanguard, fastest K-pop group to reach 2 million followers》
《Official SNS account surpasses 2 million followers, ‘Vanguard’ sets a new record! / Photo》
With Kang Rojun’s ‘Like a Kaleidoscope’, the official fan club launch, and other activities, the already hot ‘Vanguard’ was heating up even more.
《[StarTalk] ‘Vanguard’ hits 2 million followers in under two weeks after official SNS launch… Fastest among idols》
《“They haven’t even debuted yet?” ‘Vanguard’ hits 2 million followers during debut process, an unprecedented record》
As expected, GN Entertainment kept feeding the flames that had heated up, and Kang Rojun and the members, after seeing the news on the official SNS, were busy checking out Instagram.
“Wow- already 2 million……”
“What happened while we were recording the song??”
“There are so many Japanese comments!”
“There are English ones too?”
And just like that, a hectic weekend arrived. Manager Kim Ki-baek called Kang Rojun out separately from the practice room.
“Rojun, um- there’s somewhere I’d like to go with you for a bit.”
Rojun nodded and followed along. Kim Ki-baek and Kang Rojun took the elevator to the underground parking lot. As Rojun tilted his head, wondering why they were in a parking garage, Manager Kim Ki-baek suddenly stopped walking.
And then.
-Swish.
He pointed at the car in front of them with his index finger. A weak smile was added as a bonus.
“This is the lyrics fee we talked about earlier, Rojun.”
Rojun’s gaze was already locked onto the white car in front of him.
“This car… is mine?”
“Yes. It just came in this morning, a brand-new, freshly delivered car. From now on, it’s yours.”
Soon, Manager Kim Ki-baek handed the car key, marked with a B logo, to Kang Rojun. Rojun, eyes slightly widened, grabbed the door handle of the shiny white foreign car and opened it. The interior was filled with the scent of a new car. Kang Rojun slowly ran his hand over the steering wheel. Deeply moved by the foreign car he had gotten for the first time in his life, something he never thought he could ever own.
‘Damn, that new car smell is killer!’
While Kang Rojun was completely immersed in the new car for a few dozen seconds, Manager Kim Ki-baek came up beside him. He leaned toward Rojun through the open car door and murmured.
“The dream car you mentioned, Lamborghini? You’ll be able to have that soon, too.”
February 1st, Monday, GN Entertainment.
Around late morning, composer and broadcaster Song Min-geun entered GN Entertainment. Naturally, it was to record ‘Flying Bell’, the final song of ‘Vanguard’. The ‘Vanguard’ members, who already had connections with Song Min-geun, greeted him with deep bows.
“Hello!”
“Good morning.”
Song Min-geun waved warmly in return.
“Long time no see, everyone. Now you’re a full-fledged group called ‘Vanguard’? I’m seriously so proud.”
Song Min-geun patted the shoulders of Kang Rojun and the other members. Rojun’s eyes drifted toward Song Min-geun’s stomach as he watched him.
‘Did he gain more weight again? He said he was dieting, but looks like he didn’t at all.’
Just like that, Song Min-geun and the ‘Vanguard’ members began recording ‘Flying Bell’, while GN Entertainment’s in-house choreography team on another floor finished working on the videos they’d filmed, even while gasping for breath.
“Where’s ‘Vanguard’ now?”
“They should be in the recording studio.”
“Then call Manager Kim Ki-baek and send over the choreography videos.”
This meant that the choreography for ‘GreenBee’, ‘Windveil’, and ‘Flying Bell’, all debut songs for ‘Vanguard’, had been completed. These choreographies would soon be delivered to the ‘Vanguard’ members.
“This afternoon, we’ll be doing a choreography demonstration in front of the ‘Vanguard’ kids, so let’s practice a bit more.”
A few hours later.
A white van was driving through the Gangnam area. Inside sat an actress with fair skin and long hair tied in a single ponytail. The beauty mark next to her nose stood out, it was Choi Rina.
“Agh- I’m hungry. Oppa, don’t you have anything to eat?”
While whining on her way to the salon before schedule, the phone on her thigh vibrated lightly.
-Vrrrr.
It was a notification from a subscribed YouTube channel. Perfect timing. After wrapping up a short conversation with her manager, Choi Rina immediately tapped the notification. The screen showed a familiar YouTube channel.
[Channel name: Vanguard]
[Subscribers: 4.93 million]
[Videos: 13]
The ‘Vanguard’ channel she had subscribed to long ago. Then she thought,
‘Yes- starting my day with Rojun’s face!’
She put in her earphones and played the newly uploaded video.
-Vanguard TALK EP.3｜Vanguard
The ‘Vanguard’ members, dressed fairly casually, greeted the camera with bows.
-[“Two, three!”]
-[“Hello! We’re Vanguard!”]
Starting with center Kang Rojun, followed by Si-hoo, Kang-min, and Do-kyung, each gave brief greetings. Choi Rina, whose lips kept twitching up in a smile, glanced at her manager.
‘Rojun… is his visual getting even stronger?’
Just then, Kang Rojun spoke calmly on screen.
-[“We’re currently focused on practice and we think we’ll be able to meet you all soon. Today, we’re here to share some news about Vanguard’s debut showcase. ‘Vanguard’ will be holding its debut showcase at Gocheok Dome.”]
Choi Rina’s eyes widened.
‘Huh??! Go, Gocheok Dome??’
She muttered aloud without realizing.
“Wow, amazing.”
At that moment, tens of thousands of people were watching the video simultaneously.