Chapter 50
Chapter 50
Translator: Penny
Chapter 50
"You should cry when tears come, not just because you're supposed to."
I replied nonchalantly, taking a swig of beer.
"Why? Aren't you happy, Hyung? If I were you, I'd be bursting into tears of joy just thinking about the royalties coming in."
Royalties. Kim Dobin's words brought a bitter smile to my face.
Does he even know how much I earned in royalties before the regression?
Before the regression, I ranked among the top 10 royalty earners in South Korea.
So, if I thought about the royalties I'd lost due to this forced regression, tears would indeed come to my eyes.
Not from joy, but from frustration and rage.
This damn forced regression had given me back the joy of performing on stage, only to snatch away my hard-earned income and royalties.
What a goddamn perfect equivalent exchange.
For someone like me, who had once possessed such a past, the copyright royalties I was now receiving felt like mere pocket change.
"And it's our first number one! Aren't you surprised, Hyung?"
"Not really... I always believed we'd reach number one."
An awkward, heartwarming atmosphere suddenly filled the room.
I wanted to correct them: I didn't trust your abilities; I trusted the big data from before my regression.
But being a human with learning capabilities, I knew that being brutally honest would diminish my Original Intent Score. So I kept my mouth shut and let the members bask in the joy of their first number one.
To put it bluntly, we got lucky this time.
The song by KICKS, our main competitor for the top spot, was undeniably inferior in quality to ours.
Thinking about how our rival team, who were also nominees for 1st place before the regression, must have felt hearing our song, just as thrilled as I am now, I felt a sudden surge of resentment and chugged the rest of my beer.
If we had stuck to our original January comeback schedule, the song wouldn't have been buried as miserably as it was before the regression. But we wouldn't have even dreamed of becoming nominees for 1st place, let alone winning.
Since I couldn't be sure if the Item Selection Ticket would keep offering chart items from before the regression, I knew I couldn't rely on such luck next time.
For this comeback, we were pressed for time, so we simply reused the guaranteed formula for success from before the regression. But the USB only contained a limited number of songs, and there was only one song specifically tailored to the members' skills and vocal ranges.
And it's only now, in this timeline, that idol culture has gained mainstream popularity and male idol groups have risen to dominate the mainstream.
By Reve's fifth year, idol culture was gradually becoming more niche, with the mainstream shifting from male idols to female idols.
This was why our chart-topping reverse climb and number one ranking were only possible at this specific moment in time.
Although TikTok and private messaging hadn't yet emerged, the fact that male idol songs could once again easily reach the top of the charts suggested that the System was at least willing to end the regression.
If we had been told to debut as rookies under some shitty small agency in our seventh year, I would have regressed infinitely at least a thousand times.
Maybe I should focus more on producing for our next comeback. Should I ask G1 for a collaboration?
As I sat lost in thought, propping my chin in my hand, a beer can was suddenly thrust in front of me.
"Thinking about remixing again? Put the work aside for today and just enjoy celebrating our number one."
Seo Yehyeon handed me a beer can and said casually, "Here." But his gaze awkwardly avoided mine, as if embarrassed, so I scratched the back of my head and accepted the can.
Staring intently at the beer in his hand, Seo Yehyeon hesitated before adding, "You've never doubted the success of your music, right? What's worrying you?"
His comment completely missed the point of my concerns, and I chuckled as I popped open the beer.
"Of course I've never doubted the success of my music. But the track I'm working on now is a KICKS song, not mine."
"If you arranged it, it's practically your music too, right?"
"Pfft! Well, you're not wrong."
For the first time in a while, our conversation flowed comfortably, free from the usual tension.
So, the problem wasn't me after all, but that guy.
"That's it, Hyungs! Exactly like this! Just talk like this!" Ryu Jaehee interjected, clapping with a proud expression and an overly emotional tone. I immediately scowled.
Seo Yehyeon's brow furrowed deeply as well.
"You're making me want to fight you right now."
"Oh, seriously? Thanks for reminding me how cringeworthy our conversation was, Jaehee."
"Hyungs, why do you guys live like this...?" Ryu Jaehee asked, his eyes drooping dramatically in a tone of exasperation.
Even when I try to be nice, that brat still complains.
"Enough. Let's have a toast. Youngest member, give us a toast!"
At my request, Ryu Jaehee neatly clasped his hands together and extended them toward me.
"If the gods would grant me a can of beer, I'd give the most epic toast ever—"
"Stop messing around, Jaehee. Don't stir up trouble. Minors should keep their mouths shut and stick to juice."
Instead of placing a beer can in his hand, I ruffled his hair roughly.
"Aww... I was going to give a toast that would totally kill the mood."
"Go ahead. If the atmosphere gets too gloomy, you'll be the one choking on your chicken, not me."
"Alright, everyone! Let's do the simplest and most spirited toast! When I shout 'Reve,' you all shout 'Fighting!'"
Ryu Jaehee, holding his glass of orange juice high, leaped to his feet and started the chant.
"Reve—"
"Fighting!"
Five voices boomed through the cramped basement dormitory.
Unlike before, when their shouts had been completely out of sync, this time their voices coalesced into a surprisingly unified cheer.
Three beer cans and two juice glasses clinked lightly together.
The two growing boys squabbled over who would get the last piece of chicken, while Seo Yehyeon stubbornly chewed on pickled radish, refusing to eat anything else.
Gyeon Hajun, trying to mediate the dispute, caught his eye. He chuckled softly and brought the beer can to his lips.
This scene was quite different from the past, when they had been so weighed down by an invisible, pitch-black future that they barely had the energy to care for each other. Well, it wasn't bad.
"Reve's 'All Right or Night' takes first place on Music Center for the fifth week of November! Congratulations!"
Pop! Confetti rained down from above. Having already secured first place yesterday, everyone maintained a composed expression.
Well, everyone except Kim Dobin, who was bursting into tears again.
Ryu Jaehee, who had been so eager to give a first-place speech, naturally took the microphone and began listing names of everyone he knew, as if he intended to thank every person he'd ever met. I nudged his side gently, signaling him to keep it concise.
Even with over twenty names mentioned, our CEO Kim Nodam's name was conspicuously absent.
It was pure coincidence that we ran into KICKS in the hallway while moving to greet the CP after the encore performance.
With no one else around, KICKS glared at us with eyes full of animosity, as if we were their sworn enemies.
Seo Yehyeon muttered loud enough for them to hear, "Wow, look at those murderous glares. You'd think we stole their trophies."
"Yehyeon Hyung, keep it down. What if they hear you?"
"Hmph, did I say anything wrong? Let them hear. We have nothing to be ashamed of."
"Hyung, are you good at fighting?"
"We have Yoon Eden, don't we?"
This guy even outsources his fights now? What does he rely on to act like this? I thought. Turns out, he doesn't even trust himself.
"Yeah, Yehyeon Hyung. Just let it go."
I patted Seo Yehyeon lightly on the shoulder as I spoke, his eyes turning to me with betrayal, as if he had firmly believed I would take his side.
"They're pissed that a group that only got famous through sheer luck beat them to number one," the KICKS Leader sneered, throwing back the words he'd said at the festival before their comeback.
The KICKS Leader's face twisted into a grimace. "Acting so arrogant just because you raided an empty house?"
Just then, Gyeon Hajun, who had been silent until now, spoke up.
"Yunseong Hyung, even if we couldn't even raid an empty house, why is the Leader putting down his own group in front of the members? It'll just demoralize the members who worked so hard."
His voice was soft and genuinely concerned, but the barbed words made my eyes widen.
Was he always this kind of person...?
He's usually the one trying to stop me, not joining in these petty power struggles.
KICKS, who knew Gyeon Hajun as a quiet, conflict-averse person, stared at him in stunned silence, clearly not expecting him to throw a stone at them.
The firm grip of Gyeon Hajun's hand on my arm revealed his motive for this sudden action: he had moved first to prevent me from jumping into the fray.
During my seven years in the entertainment industry before my regression, I had learned the hard way that thinking before acting was crucial. But Gyeon Hajun, unaware of this, still remembered me as the impulsive rookie who acted first and thought later.
I mentally applauded Gyeon Hajun for his unexpected talent in freestyle dissing, which had driven the already tense atmosphere into the ground. I smirked crookedly, inwardly cheering him on.
"What a shame. Since you guys lost, I can't admit that Reve only got famous through sheer luck. Make sure you win next time so I can acknowledge it. Good luck."
I even struck a casual fighting pose, which made the KICKS Leader's glare sharpen further.
He was about to retort when footsteps approached, and he immediately clamped his mouth shut.
As the murmuring voices grew louder, I casually broke the tense standoff by strolling away first.
Before passing by, I leisurely scanned the KICKS side and made eye contact with Parachute.
Though he'd been a whistleblower before my regression, in this reset timeline, he was merely an awkward acquaintance—nothing more, nothing less. As I tried to look away, Parachute flashed a deliberately friendly smile. My eyebrows twitched involuntarily.
What's with that?
- Ah, I really wanted to get our kids a first-place win before the year ends...
- OMG, what a freaking party! KICKS fans are calling the whole group a "Rival Pick" and tearing down their own artists. Why is this fandom lumping everyone together and acting like this?
- No chance for first place next week either, right...?
└ Yeah... ㅠㅠ Their album release was a whole week later, and the gap in digital scores is widening now... ㅠㅠㅠ
- Even if we can't get our kids to #1, let's at least make sure they win the Rookie Award.
- If we lose both the #1 spot and the Rookie Award, I'll seriously have no face to show the oppas...
- Now that WAMA voting is over, let's focus all our energy on voting for Nauen and Sildi for the Rookie Award! Go go go!
└Yeah, WAMA doesn't even matter these days. Everyone will just dismiss it as a label-driven pick anyway. Winning the Rookie Award between those two is the only way to avoid backlash.
└True. "That fandom" is already patting themselves on the back, claiming the WAMA voting ended in the first week of their comeback, and gearing up to discredit the results.
-Wait, is it true Narak and Hapjuk were in the original KICKS Debut Team?
└I don't know about Hapjuk, but Narak was supposedly close to Yunseong from One Chance.
└Why did he leave? If Narak had stayed, their songs wouldn't have been overshadowed. Such a shame.
└He didn't leave, he got kicked out, right? ㅋㅋㅋ Who in their right mind would voluntarily leave Newborn for a small agency? ㅋㅋㅋ
📝 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