Episode 141: Remodeling (2)
A few days ago, I had lunch with Seo Yoon-je.
The conversation that passed between us that day couldn’t even be called important, not even as empty pleasantries.
Something about how Madam Moon Sook-hee was a little disappointed she hadn’t been able to meet Zia.
How, perhaps because of that, she was pestering her children to get married.
Just the kind of trivial everyday chit-chat that can come up at any meal like that.
From the moment we met until we parted, laughter never left the table, but I knew.
I knew what it was that Seo Yoon-je had ultimately held back and kept only in his heart.
‘Something like, “Can you really make it work with Chaekyung and Soyoung?” probably.’
There’s no question that the amount of trust Seo Yoon-je places in me is immeasurably huge.
It feels a bit awkward to measure the size of someone’s heart, but if I had to rank it, his position would almost certainly come right after Zia.
But the fact that Seo Yoon-je harbors doubts about Chaekyung and Soyoung’s talent is a separate issue from his trust in me.
Even though the roles in idol groups have diversified, at the end of the day the essence is still being a singer.
In fact, the more the entertainer or influencer aspects are emphasized, the more endless debates arise about whether they truly possess the core ability of a singer—“vocal skill.”
The importance of the vocal line is a foundation and bedrock that no group can ever exclude.
That’s why it’s only natural—not surprising at all—that Seo Yoon-je, who has devoted far more years to music than I have, would worry about those two.
If anything, it’s more surprising that he managed to hold back from asking the question until the very end.
‘If I think of even that restraint as part of his trust in me…’
Honestly, I’m happy.
I’m only human too.
How could it not feel good to know that, besides Zia, there’s someone else who believes in me this much?
Of course, if you asked whether I’ve never received this kind of absolute trust before, the answer would be no.
Even if not to the same degree as before my regression, there are still quite a few people who look at me with awe in their eyes right now.
‘But this feels a little different.’
Considering that the trust directed at me—both before regression and now—stems from “results,” it’s inevitable that Seo Yoon-je feels a bit different. He gave me his full, unwavering support—and continues to do so—based solely on hearing one song.
In that sense, Zia—who dedicated the precious start of her twenties, the decade that will decide the rest of her life, to someone like me—feels incredibly impressive all over again. A surge of boundless affection and respect wells up inside me, and a smile spreads across my lips, but…
“…”
Right now is not the time to let that smile show.
If I grin here, the mentality of those two rookies might shatter completely.
The two rookies who are silently avoiding my gaze are none other than Go Min-gi and Lee Ha-on.
And it’s understandable.
The sight of the MyWay trio cheerfully munching away on salads that would make anyone sick just looking at them is quite far from the “barely able to lift a spoon at lunch” order I gave.
Of course, Jin Ro-a and Kim Soo-jin are staring at the MyWay trio with looks of pure disgust, their faces slightly pale just like their expressions—but the fact that even they are continuing to eat without much trouble means Go Min-gi and Lee Ha-on’s mission can be considered a 100% failure.
‘As expected.’
Of course, I have absolutely no intention of scolding those two rookies.
I already anticipated this outcome the moment I gave the order.
Setting aside the fact that the MyWay trio’s stamina is far from ordinary compared to girls their age,
‘Min-gi and Ha-on just aren’t the type to push people that mercilessly.’
If I’d really wanted that level of intensity, I would’ve asked Sally instead.
Even though it’s been a while since Sally focused on dance, at the current level of just teaching basic movements, she’s by no means inferior to Go Min-gi and Lee Ha-on. More importantly, Sally is someone who can willingly become a demon when the situation calls for it.
In truth, this level is just about right.
They look fine on the surface, but their legs tremble intermittently—just enough to drain their energy.
Honestly, even draining them to this degree is a little troublesome for me.
I did need to sap some of their strength, but if they’re in a state where they can barely hold a spoon, how are they supposed to sing?
The goal isn’t to break them—it’s to break down the unnecessary tension and habits built into their bodies so they can accept new vocal techniques properly.
Especially for Chaekyung.
Her vocal habits are deeply ingrained from years of bad practice. To overwrite them, I need her body to reach a point where instinct takes over because conscious control is exhausted.
But if I push too far and ruin her condition entirely, then there’s no point.
So this much—enough to make their legs shake but still let them eat—is the sweet spot.
I quietly observed the five of them for a moment longer.
Jin Ro-a and Kim Soo-jin were eating mechanically, clearly forcing it down.
The MyWay trio—Nari, Chaekyung, Soyoung—were still bright-eyed and chatting between bites, though I could see the subtle fatigue creeping into their postures.
And Go Min-gi and Lee Ha-on… well, they were doing their best to look innocent while avoiding my eyes like their lives depended on it.
I let out a small, inaudible sigh.
“Alright.”
I finally spoke, drawing all their attention at once.
The table fell silent in an instant.
“Morning training wasn’t bad.”
Go Min-gi and Lee Ha-on visibly relaxed—until I continued.
“But from now on, we’re raising the intensity.”
I could practically hear their souls leaving their bodies.
“Starting this afternoon, vocal practice will be the main focus. And we’re going to fix some things—especially you, Chaekyung.”
Chaekyung’s spoon froze halfway to her mouth.
Her eyes widened, but she didn’t protest.
Good.
She knows.
She knows she needs this.
“We’ll start with breathing and posture correction. Then resonance and placement. No more pushing from the throat. We’re rebuilding from the ground up.”
I looked around at all five of them.
“And this applies to everyone. No exceptions.”
Jin Ro-a swallowed hard.
Kim Soo-jin gave a tiny nod, eyes determined.
The MyWay trio exchanged glances—nervous, but not scared.
They were ready.
Or at least, they would be.
I leaned back slightly.
“Finish eating. You’ll need the energy.”
Because from here on out, remodeling really begins.
The reason I gave Go Min-gi and Lee Ha-on the order to “half-kill them” was precisely because I knew those two would stop exactly at this level.
‘Well… I should probably apologize to Ha-on and Min-gi later.’
The way they’re glancing at me like scolded puppies is a little pitiful.
I’ll have to explain the whole situation and say sorry.
Judging by their eyes, they might even be thinking I won’t arrange anything for them now.
Even if the mission had been real, I would’ve kept the promise that brought them here anyway—but unfortunately, right now those two don’t know me nearly as well as I know them, so an apology is obviously necessary.
‘Of course, not right this second.’
If there’s a reason I’m putting it off… well, maybe their expressions are just poking at my mischievous side.
The fact that I deliberately recalled the conversation with Seo Yoon-je from a few days ago was also to hide that amusement from those two.
‘Anyway, at least the CEO can breathe a little easier now.’
Soyoung needs to follow the standard steps of vocal training for the skills I remember her having to come out properly, but Chaekyung is a little different.
Dramatic changes won’t happen overnight, but I’m confident that—at the very least—someone like Seo Yoon-je would notice the difference right away.
Just thinking about that makes my heart race for no reason.
The production team of Project Trinity, who assigned Chaekyung to D-Class.
The other producers who desperately avoided her.
The anticipation of being able to slap them all in the back of the head and crush their pride is definitely one thing making my heart pound—but there’s something even bigger.
‘The thought that I’ll get to hear that kid sing again… I can’t help it.’
No matter how much I’m her teacher, the senior who walked this path before her—I was still just one of the many fans who loved Chaekyung’s singing and voice.
***
Countless vocal trainers start their lessons with the exact same phrase.
“You have to open your throat.”
Singing ultimately comes down to the voice.
You have to open the pathway for that sound to come out so the volume can become rich—and only then can each person’s unique timbre truly shine through.
Most people’s throats are clenched because there’s no power in their voice.
That’s why simply learning to breathe properly—the foundation of that vocal power—can make a huge number of people instantly feel how different their own singing sounds.
But,
“Chaekyung, you have a more fundamental problem than that.”
Unfortunately, for this kid, that alone isn’t enough.
“You can’t control your own body the way you want to.”
A question mark practically floats above Chaekyung’s head.
Not being able to control your own body? It must sound incomprehensible.
But it’s true.
There are people like that.
For example,
“When you get a shot. If someone tells you to relax your butt, you have no idea how to do that, right? Instead, the more you think about it, the more tense it gets. So the soreness lingers even longer.”
“Ah…”
People whose bodies sink strangely in water even though all they have to do is relax—like those commonly called “beer-bottle floaters.”
The fact that they can’t consciously tense or relax specific parts of their body is exactly the chronic issue with Han Chaekyung.
“You’ve probably heard a thousand times that you need to expand your breathing. But what’s the point of expanding your breath a hundred times if your throat is already clenched so tight it’s practically strangled?”
The reason Chaekyung’s throat ended up in this state was almost certainly from lack of proper breathing.
When breathing didn’t work properly, she unconsciously started tensing her throat to produce sound—and that probably became a fixed habit.
Once that habit solidified, her throat stayed firmly locked, so to squeeze out sound that had nowhere to go, she had to put even more force into her throat.
That vicious cycle—damaging both her voice and her throat—repeated over and over until the early-days Han Chaekyung of Laira emerged: the one who only got small parts, relying entirely on looks and dance.
‘That’s exactly what I predicted.’
That was one thing that made me realize just how interesting Chaekyung really is.
‘Normally, people like that can’t even dance properly either.’
The inevitable endpoint for such people is what we call being a “body idiot”—someone whose body just doesn’t listen.
They don’t know when to put strength in and when to take it out, so they end up creaking along stiffly or flopping around limply.
But Chaekyung? She wasn’t like that at all.
‘She really had a peculiar constitution.’
She had all the perfect conditions to become a total body idiot—yet when it came to choreography, she was completely fine.
That was precisely her talent as an idol, and the potential I discovered in her.
‘Well… there was no helping it. Those people definitely weren’t unaware of it either.’
The trainers at Starlight were never incompetent.
They just cherished their careers a little too fiercely.
If they’d bothered to poke around at Chaekyung’s voice even a little, they would’ve quickly realized what kind of state she was in.
They simply chose not to take the difficult path.
I don’t particularly want to blame them for that.
‘Just reduce her parts. Simple.’
It’s far easier to hide flaws than to fix them.
Chaekyung was already charming enough with just her looks and dance, and Lee Hee-kyung’s push had more than enough power to cover up those shortcomings back then.
Chaekyung’s remodeling was something I could only attempt because I myself was receiving an even stronger push than she ever had.
If Laira hadn’t come under my influence, Chaekyung might have gradually seen her parts shrink until she eventually switched to rapping.
She didn’t lack rhythm entirely, and when they gave her rap parts for an image change, she actually handled them decently.
Of course, since she could only do what she’d memorized, she never would’ve become a proper rapper.
“So… what should I do…?”
And that’s when I appeared in front of that Chaekyung.
I, the one who figured out exactly how to grind her until the excessive tension in her throat muscles finally let go.
‘Her throat isn’t too damaged yet, and neither is her voice.’
The reason I never once made her sing after bringing her under my wing was precisely because of that.
‘If this kid tries too hard just to look good in front of me and overdoes it, everything goes to waste.’
Her current condition has the potential to become far better than the “Han Chaekyung of Laira”—how could I let my own hands ruin that?
‘Chaekyung’s habits?’
Right now, compared to when I met her before regression, they’re practically nonexistent.
Since the habits aren’t rooted too deeply yet, filling them in and properly building a new foundation might actually go faster than it would have back then.
“The method is simple.”
She’s someone who can properly control the strength in her body when she dances.
So what if we make her dance choreography while singing at the same time?
‘You’re asking if no one tried that before regression?’
Of course they didn’t.
Who would take that kind of gamble when they had zero faith in Chaekyung’s singing?
They could just fill it with heavily tuned MR tracks.
‘And it’s not something that would work after one or two tries anyway.’
Moreover, once a habit has already taken root, it doesn’t disappear so easily.
The reason I told Go Min-gi and Lee Ha-on to drain the kids—specifically Chaekyung—was exactly for this.
‘Until she doesn’t even have the strength left to tense her throat while doing choreography.’
Just like someone who never learned to use chopsticks properly can no longer manage their old sloppy way once they finally learn the correct technique.
Once this new way seeps into her body, she won’t be able to go back to singing the old way even if you asked her to.
That’s just how Han Chaekyung’s body works.
“Alright… shall we get started?”
Of course, the process won’t be entirely pleasant for Chaekyung.
But there’s no helping that.
I already told her before, didn’t I?
From here on out, it’s going to be hell.
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TL Note:
This novel has been completed.
Want to read ahead?
Chapters 142–178 are available on My Patreon (Premium Tier) together with 5 other novels.
Link: https://www.patreon.com/cw/Vritratls
[This series is in the “Regressed Idol” collection]
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