Choosing a Leader
Lately the company had been in such chaos, and everyone had been so scattered, that the order of work had become badly tangled. The AR team leader thought of the mountain of tasks still ahead and wondered,
Do we really have time right now to film our own content like leader selection or position assignments in a properly dressed-up set?
The answer was no. In that case...
“Should we choose the leader right now, too?”
There was no helping it, so they decided to move fast. The employees who knew the situation agreed at once and sprang into motion.
“Should we film it, then? Even if it’s a little rough, we should upload video for something like leader selection. If we don’t, the fans will be really disappointed.”
“Right. Someone go get the camera from the content team. Who’s got a phone with decent video quality?”
“Me!”
“I do, too!”
“Oh. You two, film from different angles on either side. Mostly close-ups of the members’ faces.”
The members were flustered watching the staff prepare to shoot with such military precision. Woo Cheong shouted,
“We didn’t even put on makeup!”
“It’s fine. Better, actually. You look more natural, more manly, more handsome.”
Woo Cheong looked down at his own comfortable outfit, a long-sleeved tracksuit.
“And we’re dressed casually, too!”
“You came dressed appropriately. Fans will be curious about the members’ off-stage fashion, too.”
Uh, uh, uh...?
Was this right...? Was it really okay to do this?
Woo Cheong looked around at the members, still bewildered.
In fact, during the Idol Travel filming, they had already shown bare faces in dorm and practice scenes. But having those unvarnished faces sealed into an official video right before debut felt different.
“Lip balm! At least let me put on lip balm!”
Woo Cheong bolted out of the meeting room to find his lip balm, complaining that the autumn wind had dried out his lips. The other members also hurried about, trying to tame their rumpled hair at the very least.
Neoul did nothing and simply watched them lazily until one of the staff members caught him and forcibly brushed his hair for him.
Someone dragged the whiteboard from the corner of the meeting room over to the table. One employee wrote Class President Election on it in neat, rounded, almost cute handwriting.
With his lips now moist and smooth, Woo Cheong hovered in front of the whiteboard.
“Are we doing a class president election? What about calling it the boss instead of class president?”
“Oh. Should we just call him the chief?”
The staff member one-upped him, and Woo Cheong burst out laughing along with the staff, then was tugged by Ha On-ha into his chair.
“Cheongie~ let’s sit down now!”
The employee who had gone to get the camera returned not only with the camera, but with a string of content-team staff in tow. They couldn’t set up lighting, but shooting was ready in an instant beneath the LED lights on the meeting-room ceiling.
“Who wants to run the leader selection?”
“Me!”
Woo Cheong shot his hand up. After sitting down, he popped back up again and took over the space in front of the whiteboard.
“Everyone’s done class president elections at school, right? We’ll do it the same way, with anonymous votes written on slips of paper. Just go easy on us!”
After the staff explained the rules, the camera switched on. Since it was being filmed, Woo Cheong got excited and started tossing out impromptu lines in one smooth stream.
“All right! Class 5 of Year 2 at Indigo High School! Today we’re having a class president election!”
Baek Gi-yeom raised his hand.
“Who are you? Our homeroom teacher?”
“Yap yap! I’m Teacher Woo Cheong!”
“But why Year 2, Class 5 specifically?”
“Because our debut showcase is on the 25th!”
“Ohhh!”
“Wow! The debut date!”
“Not bad at all~?”
The members reacted enthusiastically, impressed. Woo Cheong hadn’t been given time to think ahead, but his reflexes were sharp. He wore a pleased expression.
“All right! Raise your hand if you want to be class president!”
Baek Gi-yeom threw his hand up high.
“I recommend Baek Yuri!”
Baek Yuri, who had been standing quietly until his name was called, jumped and turned to look at Baek Gi-yeom.
Woo Cheong asked,
“Why?”
“He’s diligent, takes care of other people well, and sets a good example for the team! He’s won a lot of model-student awards, too!”
Baek Yuri did not back down. He raised his hand in turn and said,
“I recommend Baek Gi-yeom.”
That was his counterattack.
“He’s always positive about everything and is better than I am at looking after people and caring for them. I think he’d be a good leader who boosts the team’s energy.”
It was absolutely not that Baek Yuri was trying to get out of the job. He genuinely thought Baek Gi-yeom suited the leader’s seat far better than he did.
Woo Cheong wrote Baek Yuri and Baek Gi-yeom’s names on the whiteboard.
Neoul also raised his hand a little. Woo Cheong asked,
“Neoguri-hyung, no, Gal Neoul, is there anyone you’d like to recommend too?”
“Yes.”
Neoul pointed to himself.
“I recommend myself.”
To Neoul, the word leader, or class president, translated as commander. It was a role like that of a king within a small band.
For Neoul, a king was a protector. One who guarded the Dragon Palace, ruled over his retainers and people, and protected them. And only the strongest among the sea could become king.
Humans are weak.
As far as Neoul could see, he seemed to be the strongest among the members. The mouth ulcer that had been bothering him had already healed cleanly, so it no longer hurt.
So Neoul decided he would step forward and protect and govern this little group himself.
“Oh! That’s great courage, going for it directly!”
Woo Cheong wrote Neoul’s name down as well.
“Then let’s hear each person’s pledge. If I become class president, what would I do! What kind of class president would I be! Just tell us that!”
Baek Yuri went first.
“Mm. I’d be a class president who listens closely to the members and communicates with them.”
Waaah~
Baek Gi-yeom stood up from his seat and said with a solemn expression. Unlike his face, his voice was full of mischief.
“If I become class president, I’ll buy meat!”
“Cattle, or pigs?”
“Cattle!”
Waaah!
The cheers grew loud and rowdy.
It was Neoul’s turn.
“I shall become a benevolent and strong class president and keep the members safe from malicious enemies and intruders that threaten Indigo.”
Malicious enemies and intruders...?
Was there any reason an idol team leader needed to be strong?
It didn’t sound like a line for a class president election.
Waaah~
Still, the members cheered anyway. Neoul said strange things all the time, after all.
“All right, let’s vote!”
The staff handed out paper and pens. The members wrote their names while covering the slips with one hand, folded them twice, and submitted them.
Neoul started to write his own name very openly, then copied the others and covered it with one hand instead.
Woo Cheong was given a vote as well, of course. After gathering the slips folded into quarters, he picked them up one by one.
“All right. Let’s open the first one!”
Woo Cheong unfolded the paper and held it up blatantly for the camera.
One precious vote for the cutest, most perfect big brother for class president!
It was clearly something Woo Cheong had written himself.
“Baek Gi-yeom! One vote! Not because I was swayed by the beef, but because a sturdy, bright leader sounds good too!”
“Waaah~”
Woo Cheong drew a stroke next to Baek Gi-yeom’s name like the first line of the character for correct, then picked up the next slip and unfolded it.
“Gal Neoul!”
The huge, crooked handwriting was unmistakably Gal Neoul’s.
“Is this really anonymous...?”
“Doesn’t everyone know exactly who wrote each one?”
But perhaps the staff liked the direct display better than having Woo Cheong read them alone, so they kept urging him on, raising their arms and drawing circles above their heads.
The final vote count was as follows.
Baek Yuri: 3 votes (Baek Gi-yeom, Ha On-ha, Lee Gal-chae)
Baek Gi-yeom: 2 votes (Baek Yuri, Woo Cheong)
Gal Neoul: 2 votes (Gal Neoul, Yeo Do-bin)
“Ah~ what a waste of beef!”
Ha On-ha had in fact voted for Baek Yuri, but he sighed as though he meant something else entirely.
“The class president of Year 2, Class 5 at Indigo High School is Baek Yuri! President Baek! A few words on how you feel, please!”
Woo Cheong held out the marker like a microphone. Baek Yuri smiled awkwardly and said,
“I’ve never been class president or student council president or anything like that while attending school, so thank you for choosing me. I’ll do my best to become a dependable leader the members can trust and rely on.”
“All right, applause!”
Waaah~
Clap, clap, clap!
While all the members applauded in cheerful harmony, Neoul joined in too, yet felt troubled.
Baek Yuri-seonsaeng as leader.
If the rabbit really was the one, he’d even offer his liver without hesitation—that utterly kind-hearted soul. But if an enemy attacked, would he really be able to respond?
A benevolent king earned trust, but a king was never a position that could be sustained by goodness alone. Sometimes one had to make terrifyingly rational judgments; one needed decisiveness; one needed keen insight as well.
And above all, it was a position that was always busy, full of burdens.
Of course, Neoul himself did not possess those qualities of kingship either...
Baek Yuri had the tendency to try to do everything perfectly. That was precisely why Neoul worried he might be crushed beneath the weight of excessive responsibility if he became leader.
It couldn’t be helped. Neoul resolved that even if he could not protect Indigo as its chieftain, he would take on the role of a close aide who eased Baek Yuri’s burden, and of a military retainer who protected Indigo.
* * *
Fortunately, things moved forward smoothly without any stumbling blocks. There were plenty of days when they stayed up all night or managed only a few scraps of sleep, but Baek Yuri made sure that Lee Gal-chae and Woo Cheong, who were still growing, got as much rest as possible.
As Neoul practiced dancing in front of a mirror, he asked casually,
“Lee Gal-chae. Have you grown taller?”
“...Pardon?”
“You seemed much smaller when I first saw you.”
“Lately... my knees have been hurting a bit. I think it must have been growing pains.”
Back in July, when they first met on Idol Travel, Lee Gal-chae had been 167 centimeters tall. By now, in November, he had grown to 172 centimeters. That was a full five centimeters in four months.
“When you’re growing that fast, you especially need to take care that your body doesn’t get misaligned.”
Baek Gi-yeom stressed the importance of keeping good posture and managing one’s frame, and taught them proper exercises whenever he had a spare moment.
Fortunately, the song and choreography were both completed in the first week. From there, the real issue was how quickly they could master them and move on to shooting the music video.
Woo Cheong and Ha On-ha balanced the choreography beautifully. Out of the three songs, one was easy enough for Neoul to follow without trouble, one was moderate, and one was difficult.
Ha On-ha stuck close to Neoul and Lee Gal-chae, teaching them dance one-on-two like a private tutor. Yeo Do-bin and Baek Gi-yeom were handled by Woo Cheong. Baek Yuri was so competent that no one needed to stay with him and coach him.
A week passed in a blur of work. And then...
“Everyone! The collaboration proposal we sent to Elya has come back with a positive reply!”
Elya was a brand that designed and sold sporty men’s clothing and bags. Its range included seasonal sportswear, casual everyday wear, sneakers, and practical yet stylish backpacks, side bags, hip bags, and sling bags.
Baek Yuri, who had brainstormed the music video scenario with the AR team, welcomed the news with a bright smile.
In truth, several other companies had already proposed advertisements first. But Indigo had passed over all the others and approached Elya.
First, the background of the first music video was school, the gymnasium, and the playground, so the products could be shown naturally without feeling out of place.
That point had played a major role in choosing Elya. Another advantage was that Elya's clothing design was clean and understated, meaning it could look completely different depending on how the wearer carried it.
Until now, Elya has mostly used foreign models with a more mature or macho image. And... they’ve mainly shown the model exercising, emphasizing functionality, so the consumer base has narrowed to men in their thirties and forties who go to the gym after work.
But for a men’s clothing brand, Elya has a pretty wide size range, doesn’t it? It’s a brand students and women can wear too, and it works well for matching couple outfits for men and women.
If they widened the customer base, the products would probably sell a lot better as gifts, too. Elya simply hadn’t been making proper use of its strengths.
Indigo would give Elya a youthful, fresh image and expand its customer base, while Elya would support the music video production budget. It was a win-win deal.
After the meeting, they emphasized these points and sent in the collaboration proposal. And even faster than expected, a positive reply arrived.
Thanks to that, they no longer had to worry about budget cuts and could raise the quality of the music video. Smiles bloomed across the employees’ faces.
* * *