Chapter 176
Chapter 176
Translator: Penny
Chapter 176
Since their only fan song was a Christmas track recorded for a reality show last year or the year before, and with their hiatus extended due to overseas schedules, all the members agreed to release a proper fan song.
Having started preparations near the end of their "Other Side" promotions, they had plenty of time to meet the deadline.
Originally, they planned to release it on Reve's second debut anniversary. However, after considering everyone's opinion that the most touching gifts are those given as unexpected surprises, they decided to postpone the release date slightly.
This fan song was also intended as a kind of bait.
Since the song itself was produced in-house rather than outsourced, there was no risk of leaks during the production process. However, the audio file would pass through several departments before its official release, so watermarks were embedded in the audio to track the source of any potential leaks.
"And this," I said, waving the USB in my hand, "is a special version of the song I meticulously crafted for Schrödinger's spy accomplice—whether they exist or not, depending on whether I'm still with the Planning and Operations Team when the time comes."
Kim Dobin asked with wide-eyed curiosity, "What's on it?"
"You'll find out, you little rascal."
This was both a trap to definitively expose the leaker and a warning to others.
If Parachute wasn't the internal accomplice leaking the audio, then I would humbly accept the consequences for wrongly suspecting an innocent person.
What? Isn't a future as a slightly less fucked-up spy punishment enough?
Besides, with the watermark embedded, it shouldn't be too hard to trace the leak back to the department it originated from.
Still, for a supposed Regressor, the time I'd lived through had been utterly useless.
Before the regression, the company was in such dire straits that the Planning Director wouldn't have even considered parachuting in a crony. After we hit it big, my relationship with the company soured, and I stopped caring about their internal affairs.
And back then, there hadn't been any incidents like this music leak.
Wait a minute... I think I heard someone from the Operations Team got fired for leaking Seo Yehyeon's schedule and our comeback date...
Ugh, if I'd known I'd regress like this, I would've paid more attention!
Regretting the past, I handed the USB containing the bait to the A&R Team. With the baited hook cast, we waited for the bite.
"Whoa, it's already up."
Finally, the leaker had taken the bait exactly as we'd hoped.
Three days before the official release date, which had only been shared internally, a song titled "Reve's New Song" appeared on an illegal sharing site.
My heart pounding, I hit play...
"This isn't the original track—it's definitely the bait song. I can clearly hear the background music."
"Okay, that confirms the department responsible."
Humming a tune, I opened my email.
The anticipation of watching the leaker get screwed over far outweighed any anger over the leak itself.
"Time to file a copyright infringement report with Disney."
"Why is Disney suddenly coming up? Hyung, did you collaborate with Disney on that unfinished track?"
"No, I just used a Disney song as background music. If I upload it to the illegal sharing site, I want to see what happens."
Since the CEO was handling the final registration of this song on music streaming platforms, there was no risk of the bait track accidentally getting uploaded.
Seo Yehyeon shook his head with a strangely weary expression.
"No wonder the melody sounded so familiar..."
Chuckling, I opened the meticulously written email in English.
"Let's see how you handle Disney's judgment, which will chase you to the ends of hell. You'll pay the price for disregarding someone else's copyright."
How much damage did I suffer from that leak?
Well, Disney will make money, but I'll just consider it the cost of hiring a subcontractor.
A few days later, news broke that the leaker had been caught.
As expected, the culprit was the same industrial spy who had leaked information previously, sent by Shinwol Entertainment, where Altair worked.
When confronted with irrefutable evidence of leaking Come to My Universe and the revelation of an internal accomplice within the Planning and Operations Team, the leaker readily identified their collaborator.
Unsurprisingly, the internal accomplice turned out to be a "parachute hire"—the Planning Director's nephew.
Apparently, he couldn't stand seeing us, a bunch of younger guys, raking in money. When the spy approached him, he fell for it hook, line, and sinker.
This incident was only possible because even though our agency had grown in size, it still operated like a dirt-poor agency, cutting corners and running things haphazardly. The only silver lining was that the CEO finally seemed to feel a sense of crisis.
"A person isn't just one thing, huh?"
I'd assumed the Parachute employee had brought the Cherry Cake simply to promote his girlfriend's shop's seasonal cake, dismissing his allergy as trivial. But now that I knew his true motives, even the cake felt tainted with malice.
"Still, the cake thing was probably genuine promotion. If he'd really wanted to harm me, he would have hidden cherries inside a cream cake instead of bringing one with cherries on top and cherry-flavored cream." Ryu Jaehee shrugged.
[▷ Let's find the spy who leaked the music! ✓
▶ You have completed the quest: "Catch the spy who leaked the music before the next album promotion."
▶You have been awarded an Original Intent Score of 10 and a Random Ticket as compensation.
A notification window popped up, confirming the quest's completion.
Ryu Jaehee, who came up with the trap idea, received roughly 50% of the reward. I, who created the bait, got 40%. The CEO, who spent money on a detective agency to catch the spy, received the remaining 10%.
If it were up to me, I'd share the reward with the youngest member, but what could I do? The System was only accessible to me.
Not long after, Manager Hyung brought some welcome news.
"Did you hear? The Planning Director is resigning!"
"Oh, really? It's ridiculous that he's still clinging to his position after his 'Parachute' hire completely botched things."
"Oh, finally! The CEO's clapping robot is leaving."
The Planning Director had been with the agency since its founding, a long-time colleague of ours. Yet, the members showed little reaction to the news of his departure.
This was hardly surprising, considering he was the mastermind behind the CEO's stubborn insistence on pushing through his own misguided ideas, clapping along and boosting his confidence at every turn.
"I'm honestly more shocked that those lettering cakes weren't from a staff-connected bakery," Seo Yehyeon grumbled, frowning. "Why is he so obsessed with that cake shop anyway?"
Kim Dobin revealed the truth: "I was curious too, so I casually asked around. Turns out, the shop is just near the agency."
This was truly astonishing in a whole new way.
The leaked track was immediately taken down, and Reve's fan song, "You of the Four Seasons," was released as a digital single the very next day, ahead of schedule.
-Another leak? ᄋ3's music keeps getting leaked these days. Does the agency even plan on catching the culprit?
-OMG, they caught the culprit!
-Sigh, it was an inside job. ᄋ3 really pulls out all the stops.
-I heard they hid a Disney OST in the track. ᄋ3 must be determined to send the leaker to hell, lololol.
-Ah, OMG, the leaker got sued by Disney, lololol. Now he's threatening to sue LnL too, lol.
└If he hadn't leaked it on that illegal sharing site, he wouldn't have gotten sued by Disney in the first place... The version on streaming platforms doesn't have the Disney OST.
└It's the jerk who stepped on the trap card's fault, not the one who set it. What crime did the trap setter commit?
Fans, who had been furious over repeated music leaks, finally relaxed and enjoyed the fan song, buoyed by a steady stream of heartwarming news.
- Fucking hell, if our Reve wants it, of course we'll spend twenty more seasons together!
- It's so nice to hear a mellow song after listening to Reve's intense tracks all the time.
- I hope they perform it live at the concert ㅠㅠ
But beyond the fan song, there was another surprise the fans didn't know about:
Drop The Beat 3 (DTB 3), the hip-hop competition that had been dominating trends and boosting the stock of its participants to new heights.
[Wnet DTB3 Ep.9 Early Release]
[LilP vs. Yu Taeguen]
[Finally, only the final round of the epic quarterfinal match remains!]
[Who will be the last contestant to advance to the semifinal stage?]
[R-NZ: Oh, shxt!]
[BQ9: Is this real? It's actually working?]
Still shots of the stage, the rising fight money, and rappers tearing at their hair or widening their eyes flashed across the screen.
[And finally!]
[The moment to reveal the final two who will advance to the FINAL stage!]
[Host: Let's unveil the match-up bracket.]
The blurred bracket appeared, and the camera panned across rappers and producers, each covering their mouths in shock.
[G1: This is an all-time legendary bracket. Seriously, all-time legendary.]
[Raiseboy: Those guys are really sharpening their knives!]
[Moltick: Hmm, isn't D.I taking too much of a risk? I would never attempt something like that...]
[D.I: I'm confident I'll tear them all apart. Right, Ppi-a?]
[ Ah, of course. ] (Voice modulation)
The video cut to a shot of D.I, his face obscured, grinning as he put his arm around someone backstage. The scene faded to four silhouettes standing on a dimly lit, dark stage, and the video concluded.
DROP THE BEAT 3 SEMI-FINAL
This Friday at 10 PM
As the hottest survival show in South Korea right now, the brief glimpse of D.I's semi-final stage featuring a guest artist—a performance that positioned him as a strong contender for the win—had sparked considerable buzz.
- I wish D.I would go up against BQ9.
└ It would be a shame for either of them to lose in the semi-finals, but Wnet probably wouldn't pit them against each other.
└ Both of them deserve to make it to the finals.
- Moltick is too risky, isn't it? Seeing this, D.I must have brought in a real attention-grabbing jerk for the feature. I'm really looking forward to next week.
- Damn, he's tall. Who is he?
- Damn, they say he's an idol?
└ Are they trying to use him for the chorus vocals? I hope they brought in someone who can actually sing.
└ We're screwed. They say he's a rapper.
└ Has D.I gone mad??? Are they just throwing this performance away?
└ Is this for real? Or just a rumor?
└ I can already see how this idol rapper is going to ruin the stage. LOL. Trying to ride the idol's popularity, but the whole performance is going to get buried instead, right? LOL.
└ OMG, Yongcheol, you were doing so well! Why did you make this choice?
└ He's definitely stirred up a huge controversy.
└ Congratulations on the win in advance, BQ9 hyung!
└ Who would have thought our biggest rival would score such a massive own goal? LOL.
While some were criticizing the decision, others were buzzing with anticipation.
- DTB3 Episode 9 Preview (0:39): Isn't that Eden? Even with his face covered, his body is unmistakably Eden's!
- Recognized him instantly and immediately screamed.
- Are we finally going to see Yoon Eden's professional side?
└ Eden's main job is being an idol, though.
- He's been getting so much hate for being an idol lately. I hope our Top Korean Rapper tears up the stage to prove them wrong!
📝 Translator’s Note:
You may notice that certain lines or phrases in this novel appear both in their original Korean (or Hanja) form and in English translation.
This is intentional — these phrases are classical idioms, divine titles, or poetic expressions that carry layered meanings.
To preserve their original tone and authenticity, the raw text has been kept for reference, while the English interpretation is provided right before or after it. This helps convey both the literal and cultural nuance of the original work.
but if you guys dont want tha raw for future chapters or my future other novels u can just text me on discord and say so discord name Mr.Penny