The Novice Idol’s Sudden Transformation

‘What on earth is this?’ Such was Han Doyoung’s first impression of Kwon Yohan, the day he joined the debut lineup.

After two members who were confirmed in the pre-debut left, the idea of giving the eliminated members a chance at a revenge match began to emerge. It was a ploy to both fill the missing spots and generate content.

A new member was suddenly recruited before that idea could be put into practice. The fellow, with a strikingly handsome face that would stand out in any group, was unbelievably… a complete novice.

‘You’ve never learned to dance?’

“…No, I haven’t.”

Han Doyoung was uncharacteristically flustered by his guarded reply.

‘Why is he so confident?’

It wasn’t a large group of ten or so members; there were only five, so there was a limit to how much they could ‘hide’ him. The scheduled debut date was truly just around the corner. The songs and choreography were almost finalized; they were in the stage of swapping parts around to enhance their overall completeness.

He couldn’t dance. He couldn’t rap. His singing, at least, was somewhat better. While not exceptionally skilled, he possessed a distinctive vocal color and could, at the very least, hit the right notes and maintain rhythm.

While he could simply avoid rap parts, what on earth was he going to do about dancing?

‘From what I’m seeing, even if you practiced yourself to death, it still might not be enough.’

Kwon Yohan replied, his eyes filled with a fierce determination.

“Then I’ll just practice myself to death.”

It was the first time the fellow, who had been cautiously observing his surroundings like a small animal thrown into an unfamiliar environment, showed such intense emotion. Yes, to be an idol, you need this kind of fierce resolve. Han Doyoung decided to believe his words.

A slight sense of challenge also stirred within him. He thought, ‘I’ll drive this guy to his absolute limit and pull him through.’

The start was smooth. Though his stamina often failed him, leading to long breaks where he’d sink to the floor, Kwon Yohan silently endured the grueling schedule, staying in the practice room until dawn. The novice, who initially knew nothing and couldn’t even perform basic steps, gradually began to display something resembling dance.

It was simply that his proficiency was woefully insufficient given the tight timeframe.

Nestled among exceptionally skilled members, his shortcomings became glaringly obvious by comparison. At best, his skills were on par with a middle school talent show. Still, it was a significant improvement from his initial state, so they believed they could somehow make him less conspicuous, even if it meant ‘hiding’ him as much as possible. In the confirmed debut single’s title track, Kwon Yohan’s part consisted of merely one line.

Despite his efforts to maintain a positive outlook, his heart simply wouldn’t follow suit.

‘Ah… this isn’t good.’

Checking the recorded practice video, Han Doyoung let out a deep sigh. The level of completeness was too low, all because of the newly added ‘filler’ member. Given their group’s strong concept, any noticeable imperfections would drastically break the audience’s immersion. Did no one else grasp the gravity of the situation?

For now, there was nothing to do but push him harder in practice. But where had he gone?

“Where did Kwon Yohan go?”

“Hmm… he said he couldn’t make it to practice today.”

“What?”

“He said something came up at home.”

Something. At home.

His temper flared, yet it was a reason he couldn’t openly express his anger. Han Doyoung uncharacteristically suppressed his frustration. It was possible someone had passed away, and he couldn’t very well demand he come to practice immediately.

However, his patience had its limits.

“He can’t come out today, either?”

“So it seems.”

“Does that even make sense?”

It had been a full week. While a short period in itself, the situation was entirely different when their debut was less than three months away. The fellow hadn’t returned to the dorm and had simply disappeared.

Kwon Yohan finally showed his face exactly ten days after his absence from practice.

“I’m sorry.”

His apology, delivered with a face that clearly showed signs of hardship, made him seem somewhat pathetic. ‘So he really did suffer a loss,’ the members concluded inwardly, deciding to let it pass without a word.

But the problems continued, relentlessly repeating.

“He just filmed his part and left?”

Even at the music video shoot.

“Could you wake Yohan up for me?”

“His room was locked.”

“Ah, then I’ll wake him.”

Even at the dorm.

Even after their debut and the start of official activities, his individualistic behavior persisted. On set, he would occasionally do only his part and then vanish, and his participation in practice was erratic. Perhaps realizing that the excuse of ‘something came up at home’ no longer worked, he didn’t even bother to offer explanations anymore.

Han Doyoung was utterly fed up with how he would pretend not to hear and simply avoid the situation whenever his attitude was called into question.

Han Doyoung finally exploded.

“I can’t promote with Kwon Yohan anymore. I bet the other guys feel the same way.”

Bursting into the CEO’s office without warning, Han Doyoung spoke, and the CEO responded with an awkward smile, seemingly trying to appease him.

“Ah, come on. Don’t be like that. Can’t you guys just coax him along? Thanks to Yohan, you’re living in such a good dorm right now.”

“What’s the point of a nice place if we just sleep there anyway? We don’t need it.”

“Tsk… It’s not like I’m saying this because I’m not bothered by him. But if I just kick him out, my position will become very difficult. Understand?”

The CEO narrowed his eyes and added.

“If he thinks he can’t do it, he’ll drop out. If you really can’t work with him, you can make him leave on his own.”

‘Is he telling us to bully him out? Has he lost his mind?’

“Ah, yes.”

Nothing was going right.

After much deliberation, Han Doyoung decided to stop worrying about Kwon Yohan. Constantly stressing over him would surely lead to high blood pressure. It was better to let things go when possible than to collapse from a stroke.

‘He’ll figure it out himself.’

Judging by the response to their debut single, it seemed unlikely he’d last in the group with such a fragile mindset.

****

The fellow, who had been causing so much trouble, suddenly changed his attitude recently. Han Doyoung perceived two major transformations.

First, he danced well.

He had abruptly gone from a clumsy middle-schooler level to that of a professional trainer. Since Han Doyoung’s eyes couldn’t be mistaken, it meant an impossible, unrealistic change had actually occurred.

The sheer unreality of it led to a barrage of bizarre thoughts tormenting his mind. ‘Had I finally gone mad, driven by my intense desire for a perfect stage?’ he wondered. ‘Or was this bastard’s amateurish behavior all an elaborate charade? Had he been deliberately twisting the members’ guts all this time, all for some extreme conceptual act?’ ‘If so, how should I kill this bastard?’

His extreme thoughts subsided after a few days. Regardless of the reason, it was an overwhelmingly positive change. The performances he hadn’t been able to fully enjoy due to stress were now truly exhilarating.

Second, he no longer locked his door.

The clear signals of his previous isolation had vanished. Lee Seon could now simply burst in without even knocking, never receiving a single reproach. Even the group chat, where his number used to disappear without a trace, saw him occasionally join conversations or confirm messages, though he wasn’t actively participating.

Most notably, he almost never disappeared without revealing his whereabouts anymore. On holidays, he would quietly stay cooped up in the dorm. While Han Doyoung wondered about his habit of spending an entire day sleeping, this too was a positive change.

Was it truly alright to accept these changes so simply?

“Hey, Kwon Yohan!”

His heart plummeted as he watched Kwon Yohan collapse abruptly, like a puppet with its strings cut.

Yoon Jihyuk, standing right beside them, spun around urgently with a similar expression. He gripped Kwon Yohan’s hand, his voice tight with alarm.

“Yohan. Yohan?”

There was no way the unconscious fellow would regain his senses just from that.

Yoon Jihyuk, who had squeezed Kwon Yohan’s hand and then shaken his shoulder several times, showed none of his usual calm demeanor. As he moved to lift Kwon Yohan into his arms, Han Doyoung stopped him.

“Instead of carrying him away, we should call the production staff first.”

“Ah… right. You’re right.”

Only then did Yoon Jihyuk gently lower Kwon Yohan onto the bedding.

“I’ll be back. Keep an eye on him.”

After roughly pulling open the door and rushing out, his frantic footsteps echoed inside for a considerable time.

Han Doyoung, who was barely holding onto his composure, gazed intently at the unconscious Kwon Yohan. Come to think of it, he hadn’t had many opportunities to observe Kwon Yohan this closely. During conversations, his gaze was always drawn first to Kwon Yohan’s boldly sparkling eyes.

Han Doyoung reached out and touched Kwon Yohan’s cheek.

“Why are you so cold?”

His cheeks, which had been burning just days prior, were now as cool as if he’d been left out in the cold.

Soon after, Lee Seon, who had just finished showering as the last one, and Choi Seung-beom, who had been outside and sensed something amiss, entered the room. Lee Seon, oblivious, strode forward and asked.

“Hyung, what are you doing there? Did you suddenly develop a strong affection for Maknae?”

Han Doyoung clicked his tongue, responding to the clearly teasing remark.

“He collapsed.”

“What?”

The fellow rushed over and immediately felt Kwon Yohan’s forehead. Then, startled by the unexpectedly cold temperature, he quickly withdrew his hand.

“What’s wrong with him?”

“How would I know that?”

Choi Seung-beom quietly assessed the situation before speaking.

“Hyung went to the staff dorm, right?”

“Oh, right.”

They were not doctors, and with no knowledge of why he’d collapsed, there was nothing they could do. All they could do was wait for others to arrive, in the slightly heavier air.

And before long, Yoon Jihyuk returned.

“Should we check his condition first?”

Accompanied by several production staff.

But then…

‘That’s an incredibly furious face.’

He was smiling, yet veins bulged on his tightly clenched fists. It looked as though he might punch the production staff at any moment.