Chapter 409: Season's Greetings (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 409: Season's Greetings (1)
At the end of every year, there’s a specific piece of merchandise that idols release like an annual ritual. It’s a set containing a calendar, photocards, a diary, posters, and more—the Season's Greetings, or "Sig" for short.
And today, the info for Spark’s Season's Greetings is scheduled to be posted. For the past hour, I’ve been sitting with my hands clasped, praying fervently that there isn't a single problem I might have missed.
Ever since the weather started getting chilly, the Season's Greetings that UA used to put out in the distant past had been flickering in my mind. Though it’s a memory from a long time ago, I still haven't forgotten the shock I felt back then.
≫ Summary of Spark’s Season's Greetings Contents
Wall Calendar
One set of Photocards
Keyring with the group name
Undated Diary
The End
└ This is f*cking trash.
└ I don’t even know where to start...
└ What kind of company only gives 5 photocards in a Sig? LMAO. Everyone else gives 20 or 30 and even includes a binder to put them in.
└ An undated diary? hahahaha Are they planning to put the leftovers in next year’s Sig too?
└ Surprisingly, that’s highly likely. The cover is vinyl... they’ll probably just swap out the paper inside.
└ Throw away the wall calendar and give us a desk calendar. My living room wall is already taken over by the one from the insurance company.
└└ The insurance calendar wins in size, font, and fast delivery...
≫ Who doesn't know that the agency's "pursued aesthetic" is cost-effective management?
Just don't make it so obvious.
What consumer wants to feel like a total sucker?
Seriously, what is the agency doing, being the first to spread rumors that their fans are absolute pushovers?
└ Can't we just not buy it? We should boycott this.
└ A normal company would come to their senses and lower the price or fix the contents if people didn't buy, but not UA. If revenue drops, they just cut the next investment even more... This is the result of that cycle.
└ Are other singers' Sigs like this too?? This is the first time I've seen it this bad.
└ The other artists' ones are a bit better... I don't know if they just see idol fans as suckers or if they spend the budget based on seniority, but none of the Sigs from the other artists last year were this crappy.
└ They don't even release Sigs for all their artists anyway ㅠ Looking at how UA usually operates, they're probably patting themselves on the back thinking, "We gave them a Sig because they're idols!"
≫ If you hate working that much, just quit.
I’m going to ruin my mood for the New Year just by buying and using this Sig.
└ Give us a desk calendar or a daily tear-off calendar. Is that so hard to understand????
└ I’m most curious about why they even did a survey if they were going to do this.
└ For real...
That was why, this year, every single employee on the dedicated team worked themselves to the bone to prepare. Field reports from those who visited factories to check prototypes and production status piled up every week.
We also put an immense amount of effort into building up a library of photos. Spark has been preparing for this year’s Season's Greetings for a full two years. I can’t even count how many times I bickered with the company over this since they were rookies in their first year. I broke into so many cold sweats last year trying to stop them from printing merch, arguing that we finally had enough data to release a proper Sig.
‘We spent a fortune on the double title tracks, and now an additional expense? We’d be lucky if both didn't end up looking mediocre.’
Fortunately, the situation was different this year. The concert had been planned since the beginning of the year, so the budget had been set aside early, and the final album was released digitally, significantly reducing production costs. We had secured enough funds to upgrade the components at least twice.
I’m not unaware of the company’s position on needing to turn a profit. However, one must be wary of viewing fans solely as consumers. The affection a fan sends to an idol transcends the loyalty shown by a typical customer.
Affection for an artist often defies common social logic. Fans willingly endure things that others would call "paying for suffering." Furthermore, they even had a tendency to avoid speaking up even when treated unfairly.
≫ If this isn't a defect, what is?;;;
I applied for an exchange because it was defective, and this is what they sent as a replacement.
Should I report them to the Consumer Agency... I'm getting more and more annoyed.
└ Filing a complaint about merch doesn't really do much ㅠㅠㅠ I guess fans aren't considered consumers.
└ It’s ridiculous that I paid for this and now I have to beg them to please exchange it;;;;
≫ Why is it my responsibility if the ticket was lost during delivery?
It’s not like it was cheap; it’s over a hundred thousand won. If it disappeared before it even reached my hands, shouldn't they resend it? It’s all registered in the system, is it that hard to check and note the exception?
Just how incompetent are they that they can't do anything from the moment the ticket is issued??
└ It was lost mid-delivery and they won't re-issue it?
└ Yep. I even got the documents proving it was the courier's fault and sent them, but they still said no hahahahaha
└ It must have been a pain to prove fault, and even that didn't solve it...?
└ I wouldn't even be this upset if I had at least touched the ticket hahaha I'm gonna cry.
≫ Do they not do inspections after making merch?
The defect rate is insane, and what’s with the ink smudging as soon as you write on the memo pad?
└ The memo pad can't even function as a memo pad~ hahahaha ㅠㅠㅠㅠ
└ These bastards definitely made it just for display after hearing that fangirls hoard merch for their collections.
Fans who buy low-quality merch, fans who purchase albums even when they aren't satisfied. These actions always end with "doing it for them" rather than just "doing it."
There was only one reason they did something they didn't have to do: because they liked their idol.
I know a little bit about how vast that affection is. When I see people becoming fans of a photographer just because they edit photos of the same idol; people who hand out handmade props for free without any conditions; and people who, just for a meeting of those with similar interests, spend days individually wrapping snacks and making sure to bring merch of the other person's favorite member.
≫ I find fansite masters the most amazing.
Staff search all their bags, and even at venues where filming isn't banned, there are so many security guards screaming at them. Their mental strength to not give in + the financial power to buy insanely expensive cameras... It's incredible.
└ There are occasionally people who go into debt to buy cameras, but you can't be a fansite master just because you have a camera... Following schedules, taking photos, editing, and holding exhibitions—you can never do all that without love.
≫ "Donating in the Star's Name": Meaningful Fandom Activities Drawing Attention
Fans joining forces to donate in the name of their favorite star is no longer a rare occurrence. Many fans are choosing "donation" as a way to celebrate various anniversaries, such as the star's birthday or the fan club's founding date. This practice... [Want to read more? Click the ad]
Anyone who has observed idol fans would know just how far someone can go simply because they like someone. And that it’s not just one or two people, but countless many.
The only thing that makes all of this possible is affection. A love that, once it naturally forms one day, becomes difficult to tear away.
Nam Ju-a, who had received this unconditional love from her family her whole life, gave unconditional love to Spark, and shared inexhaustible love with fellow Sparklers, believed that such affection existed in everyone’s hearts.
Since Dad is a good person, he must be the same outside. If they're fans, they must truly feel joy doing these things. They must be happy watching Spark.
Some said that such delusions clouded her vision and blurred Nam Ju-a’s judgment. They asked why the simple fact of liking the same idol could offset such ridiculous excuses.
But "proxy stanning" showed me that there are those who pour out that much love without reason or reward.
Once you see it from the sidelines, you have no choice but to accept it. When you hear that some people wait for a long time on a cold night street just for a "leaving work" path they might not even see, and others hand out prepared heat packs to those standing in the cold with them.
Once you realize that these things happen very frequently, and as if they are only natural, you can never go back to the time before you knew the depth of that affection.
Whether I understand it or not doesn't matter. Because they exist regardless of my understanding.
Ironically, that massive love even poured onto me, who was watching from outside the league. So, I simply thought I should give it back.
‘I want putting in effort to become our basic attitude in everything, not just for special events. Because no matter what we do, we can’t give back as much as we’ve received.’
Because I knew it wasn't easy to repay, I worked even harder. The Season's Greetings was the result of that, and—shamelessly—a sort of request for them to love Spark next year as well.
Whether the sincerity we poured in would be meaningful would be decided by the fans' judgment.
Won Chae-hee hadn't bought next year's calendar yet. She planned to take a look once Spark’s Sig info was posted and then decide. She had fallen for Spark deeper than expected, so she would likely pay for it regardless, but she held onto a sliver of rationality and waited.
‘I wonder what the components will be.’
The worst Sig Won Chae-hee had ever seen was an "ugly Sig." How could they take such handsome faces and release merch that threw all aesthetic sense out the window, and then expect to sell it for money? It was an incident that filled her with the prejudice that everyone in entertainment agencies was a salary thief who saw fans as suckers.
‘If you’re too lazy to work, then just give up on the money.’
You desperately want to earn money but hate working? Then get lost! Do you think fans' money just comes out of a faucet?
It was hard to suppress the anger that surged whenever it was time to spend money. Perhaps it was because she knew her future self would end up paying even if it was moderately ugly, her hands trembling all the while.
Speak of the devil. The Sig info was posted at noon that day. The preview image was a light beige overall, giving the impression that while it wasn't incredibly trendy, it would at least cover the basics. To be precise, that was the hope she held.
[Hwaro High School Hobby Discovery Club Activity Souvenirs]
A title with a suspicious concept appeared—similar to their debut album, yet heading in a slightly different direction.