Chapter 364: 1st Competition (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 364: 1st Competition (1)
I didn't hesitate to voice my doubts.
"Why am I the only one given such a heavy responsibility?"
"Because with great power comes great responsibility."
"Giving out demerit points was that much power?"
"Is there any greater authority in a school than that?"
Lee Cheong-hyeon, rhythmically tapping his shoulder with a ruler, mimicked the expression of a worn-out, weary teacher.
"Hyung, I think you'd make a great Ethics teacher. What do you think?"
"How about a three-panel t-shirt for the outfit? It’s our school teachers' favorite look."
"There are tons of those in Dongmyo. Should I go buy some?"
Jeong Seong-bin, Lee Cheong-hyeon, and Kang Gi-yeon cornered me without a moment's rest.
Is a normal teacher not an option? You know, like an Art or Music teacher—someone you don't see that often.
Despite my strong expression of disapproval, I ended up as the Technology teacher. It seemed the time had come to show off the sawing skills I’d honed during practical training.
"Let's... ask them to get me a prettier outfit. And add some more details."
At my words, the guys excitedly opened up Dotion. I could only hope the dedicated team wouldn't grow to hate me too much.
Fortunately, the dedicated team didn't hate me.
In fact, everyone was fired up. The Dotion notification window was exploding.
Ju-gyeong
[@Iwol How did you end up as the Technology teacher?]
I-wol
[@Ju-gyeong I have no idea either.]
My title was the intimidating Student Dean, but I had no intention of actually shouting on stage. What Spark wanted to show was a slice of happy school days.
Once I uploaded the reference videos, I felt like I’d crossed a major hurdle. But there were still 170,008,000 peaks left to climb. I had a long way to go.
Won Chae-hee was temporarily burnt out on her life as a fan. It was because of the fandom being poked and prodded from all sides ever since Idol Dynasty Annals began.
Even though she wasn't the type to speak out at the forefront, Chae-hee felt the fatigue. It had already been over ten days since she last logged into her private account.
She knew it wasn't Spark's fault. But she was disillusioned by the ugly reality of it all.
She loved them, so she worked hard to edit and post photos, but she needed to do something about the way her faith in humanity was evaporating from her life.
At least I can heal by looking at the boys...
The biggest driving force that kept her supporting Spark was the fact that they never ignored the fans' hard work, nor did they slack off on their main jobs.
Spark wasn't one of those "We do everything for you, so why are you like this?" groups.
Just looking at a few famous FanTube videos...
≫ Spark really lives life to the fullest
Makes me reflect on my own laziness
≫ The boys are working so hard to save money
To follow their example, I turned off my data and watched this on subway Wi-Fi
└ Isn't it usually the other way around?
...Comments like these were a common sight.
And that wasn't all. In an idol scene where "dead fish eyes" issues cropped up every other day, Kim I-wol’s quotes were constantly being added to and circulated through all sorts of communities.
≫ The Idol Textbook: Kim I-wol’s Quotes (Revised Edition)
.
.
.
[NEW!] No matter how long our waiting time is, it’s nothing compared to how long the fans wait. Even my family doesn't watch over my commute.
[NEW!] There are many idols people can like, but Sparklers are the only ones who like us.
└ What's with the revised edition? LOL Is it really a textbook? LMAO
└ I feel like we should start calling this a legal code instead of a textbook now.
└└ LOL
└ The Great Teacher I-wol, Minister of Idols and Promotional Ambassador for the Ministry of Employment and Labor, publishes a textbook every time. What’s up with the people who don't read it and just say, "Oh, really?"
└└ The updates are so frequent they just can't keep up.
└└└ Teacher has been saying since last year that if there are no fans, there are no idols.
Won Chae-hee, who usually dropped a fandom as soon as it became tiring despite her years as a fansite master, couldn't bring herself to leave Spark for this very reason. It was the surrounding circumstances that pissed her off, not her idols.
So, Chae-hee wrote another application to attend the recording of Idol Dynasty Annals today. For someone like her, who possessed the big data on "applications writers love," filling out a few lines of a story was a piece of cake.
She didn't know why they didn't give priority to the fan club, and she didn't know why they were taking these things when it wasn't even a radio show... but if she wanted to see Spark’s faces even once, she had no choice but to comply.
They better not run things like this when Spark has a concert later. Checking the box for Spark as the group she supported, Chae-hee prayed fervently that UA wouldn't learn the wrong lessons.
A few days later, Chae-hee received a text informing her that she had successfully been selected and providing the recording schedule. Her cannon bag, always ready to go, welcomed its master.
The outdoor waiting line in the middle of July was hideously hot. They had tried to form the line in the shade, but the narrow passage with no breeze and the heat radiating from the surrounding walls and metal plates practically boiled the people standing there.
Waiting to get a number, waiting after getting the number, waiting inside to test the voting devices, and now waiting for the recording to start...
A sense of waiting more intense than going to the bank during a lunch break dominated Chae-hee. Even though she was used to long waits to the point of exhaustion, she couldn't shake the feeling that she was throwing her time onto the pavement.
At least her body began to show signs of life when Yur and Polo appeared. There was a time when Chae-hee had liked them quite a bit. If MYTH hadn't spouted that bullshit about opening a new era of K-pop with a boy group that would surpass Hellas, she might still love them.
Why the hell do they keep talking about a "new era" when the founding members already opened it? That was the last thing Chae-hee had posted on her private account before deleting it.
Has it really been that many years already?
When Parte, the junior group she had so fiercely opposed, actually debuted, she hadn't even known the news, so it must have been quite a long time ago.
After picking all those fights with the fans, MYTH’s junior group projects had run aground several times. After fumbling for years, they finally managed to put out Parte. Forget a junior group; they almost ended up being a "nephew" group.
That's what happens when you shoot yourself in the foot...
Trying to piggyback a new group onto a successful one was a long-standing tradition among large agencies. Naturally, the fans of the senior group didn't welcome this behavior.
≫ Our boys basically built the MYTH building, so why are there so many bastards trying to hitch a ride? FUCK ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ
I'm so pissed. Is this a bibimbap restaurant? Everyone’s trying to take a scoop.
└ LOL Bibimbap LMAO
└ Old fandoms always make it so obvious... Why is the repertoire always the same? I've never seen a fandom that doesn't claim "our boys built the building."
└ Seconding the above. "I paid for at least one window" << This one too. LOL. Hey, stans, your influence isn't that big... Get some self-awareness...
└└ Why? Because it's a fact, you prick... If it weren't for Hellas, the MYTH idols who haven't hit their 7th year would still be in a basement practice room...
└└└ So I'm asking why that's all thanks to Hellas? From Lims to the girl group line, everyone did well, and Parte won the Rookie Award as soon as they debuted.
└└└└ Yeah, if it weren't for Hellas, your oppas wouldn't even be able to go on world tours. ^^ There were cases of one or two overseas performances, but Hellas was the first in Korea to tour n-number of countries. They almost went bankrupt because they kept bringing in expensive actors without knowing their place, and Hellas's world tour profits covered all of that. If it weren't for that, the juniors wouldn't have even debuted, let alone gotten a push.
└└└└└ What's with the comment saying the money I spent isn't even worth a window...? Is it just because you're a budget fan that it looks that way to you...?
└ Let's ignore them from here on. Don't feed the trolls.
It made her heart ache to think that Spark would one day face a similar situation. If UA, of all places, forgot its place and started acting up by putting out a junior group, she’d want to send a protest truck.
However, the ridiculousness arrived sooner than expected, without any warning.
Isn't Parte's concept a bit too similar to Spark's last one?
While her own agency was still staying quiet, another agency had shoved its foot in, asking to hitch a ride.
The atmosphere on-site wasn't great. There was no reason for the audience's mood to be good at a survival show recording.
But it wasn't terrible either. Thanks to the fact that the first episode hadn't aired yet, there hadn't been any reason for people to get on each other's nerves.
The Parte and Spark fandoms, who had been in a war of nerves since Season 1, desperately tried to treat each other like invisible people. Perhaps the production team thought a dogfight might break out, because they had placed the fan sections for each group as far apart as possible, so they didn't have to face each other except during entry.
She let the program introduction go in one ear and out the other. The explanation would be in the broadcast anyway; right now, it was important to take in as much of the stage as possible.
"...Second team, please come out!"
After the mediocre first stage, it was the next group's turn. Chae-hee craned her neck while clapping politely. Cheers erupted from the Parte fandom, who had been assigned the section right in front of the stage.
Even as she saw the silhouettes of Parte walking out in a swarm, she didn't do anything rude like stopping her applause. It was because the very old adage—that the fan is the face of the singer—was engraved in her soul.
However, that sentiment didn't last long.
"What the...?"
The Sparklers whispered in low voices as they saw Parte. A staff member made a gesture with their index finger, asking for silence.
No, but seriously.
They're way too similar to Spark.
For the stage where Spark covered Parte's song, the volleyball-themed Desire had used outfits to show a 3:3 team match.
And the Parte in front of her eyes were wearing complementary-colored tracksuits in pairs of four. It seemed to be a concept like an inter-school competition.
But what did it matter if it was professional athletes versus a school sports club?
The important thing was that they were presenting similar items to what their opponent had done before—and in the very same episode! Wearing similar outfits!
No one opened their mouths further for fear of being kicked out of the audience, but it could be felt through the skin. The Sparklers were incensed.
"This is quite different from the image Parte has shown until now. Is there a reason you tried a new change?"
"We haven't had many opportunities to show experimental stages, so we wanted to take this chance to show the fans various sides of Parte!"
Then why the hell are you showing your fans a Spark rip-off...
Anger surged. It felt as if the bitterness of the past, when she had loved Hellas, was returning.