Chapter 7
Andy was late. It wasn’t his fault, but that didn’t matter.
Tae Oh had cryptically announced that he’d “put it off for long enough,” before heading for their shared bathroom.
His five-minute shower stretched beyond ten before Andy figured out what that meant.
The bathrooms were the only places he knew of at Sky Village with no cameras.
It took him banging on the door for a solid thirty seconds before Tae Oh got the message and wrapped things up.
Andy sucked in a deep breath as he rounded the final corner on his way to the main auditorium.
He was fine. He had to be. The camera team always took too long setting up before the morning shoots.
They wouldn’t all be standing around waiting for him.
He finally burst into the auditorium, thinking he’d head right for his seat unnoticed.
A hundred pairs of eyes all pointed his way at once. Shit.
Andy bowed as he rushed across the room, muttering apologies, his cheeks and ears burning. His ears? He almost never got that embarrassed. He hurried up the center aisle, taking his place in the last row. Min Jae, standing right across the aisle, quietly tutted.
Oh, hell no.
“Sorry again!” Andy called out, patting his stomach. “Overdid it on the curry last night.”
A beat, then the room burst into rowdy laughter. Even the ice king cracked a smile. After seeing Min Jae’s bloodthirsty glee, holding his name tag aloft at yesterday’s game day, Andy had given up trying to connect with him. If Min Jae only saw him as a rival, then a rival he’d get.
Andy dropped into his seat as Si Woo strode to the center of the auditorium’s small stage, back in his usual sharp, dark, tailored suit. Things were about to get serious.
“Welcome back, Dream Boys,” Si Woo began.
“You had your fun and showed the Dream Makers your charming personalities. Now, it’s time to get back to work.
It’s time for your first official mission.
” A dramatic musical sting hit, and the screen behind him lit up.
GROUP COVER BATTLE. “For this mission,” he continued, “you will be paying tribute to some of the most notable groups from their respective generations.”
The screen behind him flashed to life, displaying the gothic, edgy logo for H34RTB34T. A clip from a moody music video played—all rain, black leather, and heartbroken glares. “First up,” Si Woo announced, “the legends of angst, H34RTB34T, and their classic emo-rock ballad, Porcelain Heart!”
Andy ooh’d along with everyone else. A huge hit from his youth, and it wouldn’t be easy. The high note in the bridge was a killer. A certain trap for any vocalist who wasn’t at the top of their game.
The screen shifted to the futuristic, neon logo for 5alive.
A clip from their iconic music video played—sleek, sci-fi setting, neon blue lighting, and razor-sharp synchronized choreography.
“Next,” Si Woo continued, “from the icons who defined the 4th generation, 5alive and their legendary debut track, Synapse!”
“Yikes.” Jung Tae Woo, the number 4 ranked contestant, whispered. He leaned closer to Andy. “Their harmonies are insane. You'd need a team of five main vocals to pull that off.”
Next came the smooth, stylish logo for ELLRG. The clip showed a slick, mesmerizing dance routine. “You might also have the chance to take on the beat-heavy R&B classic from ELLRG, Fever Dream!”
The self-proclaimed dance master Song Dae Hyun immediately started tracing the song’s iconic point choreography with his hands.
Andy kept his eyes on the clip, already breaking down the moves.
The groove on that track was no joke. It looked easy, but every move was about isolation and control.
A sloppy dancer would just crash and burn.
The screen then showed the old-school, graffiti-style logo for G-Go.
Si Woo grinned, appropriately bashful. “This one’s my personal fave,” he admitted, “from my old group, G-Go. Our first breakout hit, Streetlight Serenade.” The room erupted in the loudest cheer yet, a mix of genuine love for a classic song and a savvy show of respect for the host. Andy quietly snorted.
Covering the host's song would be a high-risk, high-reward play.
“And finally,” Si Woo said, his voice dropping for dramatic effect as the sharp, aggressive logo for DAZ3 slashed across the screen. “From the winners of the last Dream Boy Project, their first all-kill smash hit, Kingmaker!”
Andy bolted upright. Kingmaker wasn’t just any song.
One of only two songs to score a perfect all-kill in the first half of the year it came out, it went on to score music awards from Korea to California and beyond.
Including it in the song list made quite the statement.
After all, this mission wasn’t just another cover battle.
It was an audition to be the next DAZ3. Things were definitely about to get serious.
“The top ten Dream Boys will be your team leaders,” Si Woo continued.
The screen flashed the faces of the top ten, Andy’s picture right next to Min Jae’s.
“They’ll be paired off in order to face each other in a song battle.
Team One vs. Team Two, Team Three vs. Team Four, and so on.
And the winning team from each battle will receive a massive advantage in the next global Dream Maker vote. ”
More gasps and hushed questions at the topic of eliminations. They were already a week in, and some of the contestants had apparently already forgotten they were in a competition.
"Leaders, you’ll now choose your teams," Si Woo concluded. "Remember, you could be assigned any of the five songs we've revealed. You need to build a versatile unit, capable of handling any concept, from a dark ballad to high-energy hip-hop. Choose wisely."
The draft began once all ten leaders joined Si Woo on the stage.
Min Jae went first, of course. He moved with the tempered efficiency of a long-time pro.
No hesitation. His first pick, naturally, was Han Woo Jin.
He went on to choose a series of performers known for their prowess more than their personalities.
As a budding all-rounder himself, he could’ve been attempting to fill in his gaps with technical specialists.
Especially the dancer he chose. Andy remembered his performance well.
The judges had called it nearly flawless, but Andy thought it lacked a little soul.
As he finalized his choices, he’d clearly assembled an impressive machine with parts guaranteed to function.
The weight of eighty pairs of hopeful, anxious eyes shifted onto Andy.
He’d been considering a similar strategy to Min Jae’s–building a team based solely on skills.
That had mostly worked well enough for him during the games day.
But the flaw in that strategy was too obvious.
It only worked in straight-up battles like the tug of war.
The song cover mission was closer to the three-legged obstacle course.
The winning team would need to be more than the sum of its skills.
You needed a strong heart to win over the Dream Makers.
“My first pick,” Andy confidently announced, “is Leo Chen.” Leo shot him a wide, grateful grin. Aside from being his new bestie, Leo would add a lot of flair to his team. One pick down.
Andy furrowed his brow as he scanned the eager crowd.
Not knowing the song his team would get made him start to second guess his strategy.
But, no. He needed to trust his instincts.
He often joked about making choices based on vibes.
But that was just his shorthand for building strong connections.
He’d tried connecting with Min Jae before the signal song but got shut down.
And it showed. It was only when Min Jae finally started working with Andy as a team–when they connected–that they had their breakthrough. Suddenly, his choices were obvious.
Kim Min Jun was a bundle of nerves with a voice of pure gold.
He’d joked around with Andy on Team Red several times, and Andy liked him.
Peak Phakphum, a Thai trainee, was an absolute firecracker rapper in at least three languages.
The rest of his choices were just as easy.
A couple of steady tenors to round out his vocal line.
A trio of agile dancers to fill out the back row.
And one of the younger contestants–who was always smiling and made the giant pants relay look easy–to round out his crew.
The draft continued with each of the leaders in succession, until the tenth-ranked Dream Boy, whose team was chosen by default from the remaining contestants.
Andy was humming with anxiety by that point, sure he’d made a giant mistake before reminding himself that his instincts hadn’t let him down yet. As long as they got the right song.
The ten teams quickly assembled in anxious clusters before the stage. Si Woo smiled and stepped forward. “Now that the teams are set, it’s time to assign your legendary songs.”
All nerves, Andy scratched at a sudden itch on his elbow until Leo subtly smacked his hand away.
The screen behind Si Woo finally shifted, flashing the matchups one by one.
Teams Nine and Ten would battle it out with Porcelain Heart.
Teams Seven and Eight were assigned Si Woo’s favorite, Streetlight Serenade.
Andy snorted. He definitely dodged a high-risk bullet on that one. Teams Five and Six got Fever Dream.