Chapter 125: Dispatch Duty (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 125: Dispatch Duty (1)
Yesterday evening, I turned on a live stream in the company meeting room to give a formal explanation.
I knew it wasn't the standard way to handle things. However, after weighing all the circumstances, I decided this was the best approach.
If I had left it to UA, they likely would have repeated their past mistakes—failing to properly explain any of Spark’s numerous controversies and only making things worse.
Moreover, given the nature of public opinion in the entertainment industry—where explaining one thing leads to people nitpicking every little detail—I didn't think a single written statement would quiet the storm.
Dragging out an unpleasant situation wasn't fair to Idol Dynasty Annals, the show I’m currently appearing on.
So, after thorough preparation, I spent a full hour proving my innocence, and…
“Don’t you think it’d be better if you tried for university again?”
“Are you telling me to quit the group and take the CSAT right now?”
“That’s not what I mean. Don’t you feel like it’s a waste?”
…I am currently under pressure from several of the guys, including Choi Je-ho, and the company staff, telling me it’s ‘not too late’ and that I should ‘try for college entrance again.’
They’re all acting like they’re doing this for my sake while trying to kick me out. I did wonder why they were putting up with me in the team for so long.
I expected public opinion to flock to the sensational keywords, but I didn't expect the people around me to get swept up in it too. Why are you guys getting baited by the clout I chased to lure others?
And do you think I don’t feel like it’s a waste? I’m the one who feels it most! My heart is practically bleeding!
≫ I knew I-wol was smart, but
S University… through regular admission…
No, but he couldn't go because he had no money… Haa
└ The way the chat froze as soon as this came up was legendary.
≫ I want to be happy that our boy didn't get any special treatment, but losing S University is too big a blow.
≫ XX, I’m so frustrated I could die.
He got dragged through the mud just for using a study room pass he earned with his grades.
It was literally nothing.
≫ But if your family is struggling, you get the National Scholarship.
└ If you’re a freshman, the scholarship comes after you pay tuition. So you have to pay the tuition first, but he couldn't afford that.
└ Both parents work, so why couldn't they pay?
└ 1. Not every office worker makes 4–5 million won a month. 2. He said he went independent as soon as he turned twenty because there was zero support from home. Period.
≫ Common_Idol_CSAT_Report_Card.jpg
└ Undeniable 1s across the board.
└ Taking some of this good energy.
└ Taking some of this good energy 22.
…Actually, I take back saying I’m the one who feels it most.
I had long since accepted my fate, but the fans were agonizing over my situation as if it were their own.
A South Korea united by college entrance exams—it’s truly touching.
“There’s no point in trying again. That was a day when my guessing luck was on another level.”
“Since you’re the one saying it, Hyung, it doesn’t sound like a joke…”
“Because it’s not.”
All the luck in my life was concentrated on that one CSAT day. It would be shameless to hope for such a miracle again.
Besides, even if I went back to university, I’d probably just end up with a 2.0 GPA again.
I’d juggle part-time jobs and studies, lose both my specs and my grades, apply to Hanpyeong Industry because they offered a 35-million-won starting salary for humanities majors, and ruin my life all over again.
It’s not that I don’t have regrets.
No, saying I ‘don’t have regrets’ isn't enough.
College admission was the first achievement I ever earned in my life. It was the first experience that gave me hope that I could actually do something.
How could I be okay with losing that? I’m just accepting reality because it’s something that can’t be undone.
‘I heard you went to S University? Then Assistant Manager Kim should be able to do this much alone, right?’
‘Assistant Manager Kim is just book-smart. You need to go back to school.’
…I’m also sick of hearing things like that. Dammit, that man never contributed a cent to my education, so why was he always picking fights over it?
Maybe I should have just gone into debt to get my financial analyst certification and joined a securities firm.
But considering most employees at Hanpyeong Industry were highly educated, things probably wouldn't have been much different at another company.
Anyway. While things hadn't been fully settled with the Parte side yet, at least there were no longer people openly insulting Spark and me. That was enough.
“More importantly, we have something more urgent right now.”
Today was the deadline for submitting the participant list for the Position Battle to the Idol Dynasty Annals staff.
The 3rd Competition of Idol Dynasty Annals is a Position Battle.
Each group selects representative members for three positions—Vocal, Dance, and Rap. Then, representative members from two random groups are paired together to form a unit.
They compete in a 2:2:2 format, and the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd places are determined by audience votes. Depending on the rank achieved, they receive bonus points for the final 4th Competition.
The reason we had done our best in the previous competitions was to secure the production budget for this 3rd one.
Now that we had won first place in the 2nd Competition and secured the budget, I didn't particularly want to drain our energy in the 3rd.
It would be difficult for Spark to win overall anyway, and my priority was the safe and healthy growth of these Spark punks.
Survival programs require an immense amount of physical stamina. You have to prepare a stage from A to Z in a short period, and because the preparation time is so tight, you have to squeeze out every possible second for practice.
If we could get support in areas like planning, arrangement, or choreography, it would be much less work, but UA didn't have the resources for that.
Thanks to that, the six of us had to literally grind our bones to get this far.
At this point, it wouldn't be strange if someone collapsed. Before that happened, Spark needed time to regroup.
“Gi-yeon, you haven't been to the orthopedic clinic once this month or last month, have you? Hand the Dance position over to Choi Je-ho and go get some physical therapy during this round.”
“I’m fine. It doesn’t even hurt that much.”
“You’re going to blow up once the Random Play Dance comes out anyway. Just go without worrying.”
“Who said I was worried about that?”
I try to secure some screen time for him, and he still talks back. I had zero intention of listening, so I just let it go in one ear and out the other.
“Then what about the Vocal position…?”
Park Ju-woo asked.
That was actually what I was worried about. Originally, I was planning to go.
I wanted to give the main vocals a rest, but the situation became awkward after the controversy broke out.
“Didn't you say you were thinking of going last time, Hyung?”
“I did, but the situation now is a bit… I wonder if it’s a good idea for me to go.”
As I deliberated, Jeong Seong-bin thought for a moment and spoke up.
“How about you go as planned, Hyung?”
“Me?”
“Yes. You probably had a specific vision in mind from the start.”
I didn't have such a grand vision; I just wanted you guys to rest.
“You’ll do great, Hyung. I believe in you!”
I don’t know about that.
No matter how I look at it…
≫ I told you that guy is greedy for screen time.
He must have Vibranium plywood for skin.
≫ ???: Oh, I can’t pass up this much buzz, lol.
…I feel like I’m just going to hear stuff like that.
Still, since I’m the one being carried by the team, I’ll play the sacrificial lamb this much. I’ll show off the steel vocal cords I’ve been tempering.
“Then all that’s left is Rap,” Jeong Seong-bin said.
The official rapper of this team is Lee Cheong-hyeon. I know Choi Je-ho and Kang Gi-yeon have received separate rap training, but they’ve never shown it officially.
However, after Lee Cheong-hyeon worked himself to the bone until the 2nd Competition, telling him to go out and rap again this time felt a bit…
“If it’s Rap, of course I have to go!”
Lee Cheong-hyeon shouted, his eyes sparkling. He even had his fists clenched tight.
“We also need to think about the final competition song in advance. Considering the work that goes into a song, wouldn't it be better to rest this round?”
The requirement for the final competition was a new song. Since it was a stage that required a preparation period, it had been announced along with the 3rd Competition format.
I reminded him of the final competition just in case he had forgotten.
However, Lee Cheong-hyeon’s stance was firm.
“Hyung, you remember we cut all the rap parts for the 2nd Competition, right?”
“Yeah.”
“And because of that, I had a really hard time singing for the first time in a while, right? I got scolded so much by Ju-woo Hyung that I cried buckets, right?”
“I did…?”
Beside him, Park Ju-woo looked incredibly wronged, but Lee Cheong-hyeon didn't care.
“I’m a great rapper, so I must have been really disappointed, right? I must have been sighing constantly, right? My desire to rap must have turned into a deep-seated grudge, right?”
“…”
“On top of that, if you don’t let me go when it’s a rap battle, I’ll be upset, right? I’ll cry, right? I’ll have to hold ice packs to my swollen eyes until the final competition rehearsal, right?”
“Stop. I’ll let you go.”
“An excellent choice!”
Lee Cheong-hyeon gave a thumbs up. I was already exhausted, and we had only just decided on the participants.
And a few days later, the partners for the participants we had struggled to choose were delivered.
My luck with group members has never been very good.
In high school, the kids who never participated would suddenly try to hitch a ride when it was time to review student records, claiming they had contributed too. In college, I spent my time realizing how worthless human conscience could be.
Because of my excessive part-time jobs, I had to choose my battles, and I chose group projects thinking I shouldn't be a burden to others—but in four years, not once did my group members choose to do the work.
And what about the military?
Even in that place where everyone was suffering together, there was always someone subtly pushing their work onto others.
Just when I thought I had finally escaped group life, I ended up at Hanpyeong Industry.
A team leader who stole my achievements to get promoted, an organization running like a disaster, and Department Head Nam, who would hand me a paper cup while I was bailing water out of a sinking ship, telling me that sailors these days have it so easy…
And today, I was getting new group members.
I swallowed hard and headed toward the third room I had been assigned to.
Get a grip, Kim I-wol. You’re used to shitty group projects.
Don’t go thinking you can have a decent human collaboration now!
Tears flowed deep within my heart.
When I opened the door…
“Oh?”
“Gasp, it’s I-wol!”
“Hello!”
Berion was there. Three of them, no less.
After the friendly greetings, the Berion members froze awkwardly.
Dammit, am I in charge of the socially adept MC role again? This is really going to fuel the suspicions that I’m obsessed with screen time.
It can’t be helped. I’ll endure it since they’re much younger than me.
“Sunbaenims, was there perhaps another group you were hoping for before I arrived?”
“No!”
“I really wanted to perform with the Spark members at least once!”
Whether that answer was sincere or not didn't matter. What mattered was that there were no awkward silences.
“And I-wol, you don’t have to speak so formally to us!”
Yeo Seong-chan, who was one of Berion’s vocal line and also their center, was even encouraging me to speak comfortably.
When I asked how I could do that to my seniors, Berion countered by saying that Korea follows the rule of seniority by age. In the end, we agreed to speak casually to each other.
“I really wanted to try a stage with you, Hyung. I can’t believe we got lucky like this.”
“With me?”
When I asked back, Yeo Seong-chan nodded vigorously.
“Yeah! Since it was the Vocal position, I thought Seong-bin or Ju-woo would come out and it would be tough, but…”
“Seong-chan, your mouth!”
Another Berion member desperately stopped the runaway Yeo Seong-chan. It seems Berion hasn't quite finished their 'watch your mouth' training yet.
I looked at the Berion members, who were already walking on eggshells around me, and gave a wide smile.
“Seong-bin and Ju-woo are our secret weapons, so we’re keeping them hidden.”
“Wow… Hyung, you have a plan for everything!”
Even if you have a plan, it’s the fate of a small-time agency for it to fall through, but whatever.
There wasn't much else to do after that. The footage to be filmed today was just the formed units getting to know each other and having some small talk.
‘I wonder which groups Choi Je-ho and Lee Cheong-hyeon got matched with.’
As I listened to Berion’s compliments about ‘this part of Spark’s stage was cool!’, I worried about the other two members’ luck with their group meetings.