Chapter 410: Season's Greetings (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 410: Season's Greetings (2)
[The Rowdy Records of Hwaro High School's Hobby Discovery Club]
Won Chae-hee couldn't believe her eyes.
However, her eyesight was as sharp as ever, maintaining the same prescription from last year’s health checkup. Not even a blur filter could obstruct her vision.
The mock-up image for the desk calendar clearly featured Spark in school uniforms.
Every item had its own little caption: a desk calendar and photo book for club members made with photos of their year-long activities, a diary to organize their activity plans, and even activity commemorative cards for "etiquette shots"—described as a must-have for any polite student.
The sample page of the desk calendar was what truly stood out.
On the November 3rd slot, the words "My Birthday" and "Je-ho, who’s going to know it's your birthday if you just write it like this?" were written in Choi Je-ho’s and Kim I-wol’s handwriting, respectively.
They have this kind of comedy routine every birthday?
If she didn't see the remaining five pages, Won Chae-hee felt she might turn into a creature consumed by jealousy.
The diary also radiated sincerity. Anyone who had ever bought a professional diary would know—this internal layout was strictly designed for actual use.
The club member list even mentioned that the recipient could choose to write in their own name or "Sparkler." It seemed the empty "Honorary Member" slot was reserved for the fans.
Following a set of polaroids said to be taken by the members themselves, there was a notebook perfect for keeping an activity log.
[Exchange Diary written among Hobby Discovery Club members (6p)]
[To. Honorary Member Rolling Paper (2p)]
I have to see that exchange diary.
And that was that. Won Chae-hee immediately clicked the "Add to Cart" button.
The pinnacle of paper goods was the photo cards. There were four sets in total: school uniform, casual clothes, summer vacation, and the drama festival...
Is the drama festival concept 'What I Want to Say'?
...Pre-released previews showed a white-haired Kim I-wol smiling while holding a toy crown, and Choi Je-ho with a gift ribbon tied around his face with a chain.
How could anyone not buy Lee Cheong-hyeon as the script-reading Blue Bird? No Sparkler could ignore Park Ju-woo smiling with his chin resting on a windowsill set, Jeong Seong-bin sitting among the jewels from the music video, or Kang Gi-yeon adjusting his soldier’s hat.
Name tags and student IDs were staples for a student concept, so she just checked the designs and moved on. There was a time when she thought as long as the photo looked good it was fine, but she’d seen far too many companies mess up even a simple student ID that only required a white background, a few lines of text, and an official seal.
The tin case description noted "contents included." Wondering if they were giving out candy, she looked closer and saw a photo of a paper note folded into a traditional letter shape.
[Notes written to the Honorary Member, collected one by one during class]
[Guess who sent which one!]
It was an element that truly made one feel like they were in the same class as the members. These boys clearly weren't sticking to a "studious student" concept.
Though they did work incredibly hard on that group project. Then again, if they were the type of students who cared deeply about their school conduct records, they probably wouldn't have joined something like a "Hobby Discovery Club" in the first place.
After the certification stamp—to be stamped by the Honorary Member once the club activities were faithfully completed—and a deco kit to decorate polaroids, there was...
[Animal’s_pArk Round and Squishy Flint Dolls]
...Dolls of the members reimagined as animals.
They included dolls in the Season's Greetings?
Won Chae-hee hurriedly scrolled down to check the price. Usually, dolls and acrylics cost whatever the company felt like charging.
The price for the set, which included six 5cm-tall, pebble-shaped doll keyrings with specific animal ears or features, was 50,000 won. It was on the pricier side for a Season's Greetings, but even then, it was only a difference of about five to ten thousand won.
The dolls didn't look cheap, either. They followed a "flint" concept that matched the "Hwaro" (Furnace) High School theme and the group name "Spark," while adding the mascot-like cuteness of the amusement park characters from With List.
The interesting part was that Lee Cheong-hyeon’s doll wasn't an eagle. He had been turned into a fennec fox with wide, pointy ears.
While she was briefly wondering if Kim I-wol, a die-hard member of the Harpy Eagle faction, had finally succumbed to production costs...
Won Chae-hee searched "fennec fox in the world" on a portal site, just in case.
Unsurprisingly, the exact result she expected appeared.
[Foreign Media Selects the Fennec Fox as the #1 Cutest Animal in the World]
There was a reason the ears were made as big as fans. Kim I-wol had been desperately worried that people might mistake Lee Cheong-hyeon for a regular fox instead of a fennec fox. Won Chae-hee let out a dry laugh as she saw "Fennec Fox" written in huge letters under Lee Cheong-hyeon’s name.
Naturally, Kim I-wol avoided the catastrophe of being turned into an octopus doll. Of course, while turning the other members into eye-smiling chinchillas and beaming fennec foxes, if he had released a "Katsuobushi Edition" for himself, he wouldn't have escaped being pelted with stones by fans.
≫ More than anything, the dolls are freaking amazing
I think people would've bought them even if they sold the full set of six for 40,000 won and called it a good deal
└ With an otaku's sense of money, that's definitely how they'd react lolll ㅠㅠ
≫ Dolls are only expensive when you make them individually. If you simplify the design and mass-produce them, they might not have huge margins, but they won't be a loss leader either
I'm already excited because I'm seeing something cute after seeing so many dolls with "free-spirited" facial features
└ Why is only one of Je-ho’s bear ears yellow?
└ They say it's honey
└ Please
└ Just how deep did he dip himself into the honey pot?
≫ The amusement park mascots in that world are so cute
Give Korea an amusement park where the mascots are a cat, a bear, a parrot, a chinchilla, a fennec fox, and a baby lynx
└ Look at how only the dance line's animals are fierce
The symbolic animals were different from the ones used since last year’s fan meeting, but most Sparklers were happy to accept them. Anyone would rather have a bear or fennec fox doll over an anaconda or harpy eagle doll.
The headbands they're wearing in the May photo must be these animal headbands.
Won Chae-hee stared intensely at the blurred screen. She felt she knew the identity of the fluffy things perched atop the members' colorful hair.
She scanned the details page from the top once more. Perhaps because it was her second time through, she could see the overall flow she had missed while skimming.
The notebook containing the group project activity report, the group photo of them wearing commemorative headbands at the amusement park, and even the concept photo cards of them preparing for the drama festival.
Did they spend two years preparing just to release one Season's Greetings?
It was unbelievable.
The final component, a large poster, showed Spark standing side-by-side in front of an old gym storage door.
Hobby Discovery Club
(Secret Hideout)
The handwritten paper stuck above the members' heads caught her eye.
You guys... if you keep acting like this, you're really going to end up as Tier 1 idols...!
"The reaction to the Season's Greetings is incredible. Have you guys seen it?"
Ju-gyeong asked. Jeong Seong-bin and I nodded.
≫ Where can I watch the Mission Spark where they went for job training?
≫ It was worth praying for a Happy Ending
I finally get to see Spark playing in the water
I'm sorry, Earth. Thank you for forgiving humanity
≫ Their timing with the oars is art
The hideout is everywhere. They're doing music shows for a digital single, and now Season's Greetings and a concert
└ We were always rowing, even when the tide wasn't in
└ Opportunity isn't something you wait for; it's something you greet
It was impossible not to see it. Isn't it true that the more praise you hear, the more exciting it gets? No one could put their phones down.
"It's all thanks to the company's support. Thank you."
"You were saying in the meeting room that you knew exactly how much margin was left, so stop acting coy."
"Haha, but there really is a margin!"
"I never showed you the unit price table, so how did you know?"
Because I used to be the one making those tables. And I spent four years learning about market prices and profit margins. My only regret is that instead of picking an expensive vendor and draining Department Head Nam’s budget, my conscience got the better of me, and I struggled to find the optimal price range.
"What about Cheong-hyeon? Is his CSAT prep going well?"
Ju-gyeong’s voice turned cautious.
With only two weeks left until the CSAT, we had excluded Lee Cheong-hyeon from all duties except official activities. He was currently treating the studio like a study room, focusing entirely on last-minute cramming.
One unfortunate thing was that Kang Gi-yeon had given up on the CSAT. After our appearance on Thursday's music show was confirmed, Gi-yeon willingly decided not to take the exam, reasoning that the team couldn't afford to have two members missing.
Gi-yeon
[I'm sorry, Sparklers]
[I wanted to be the foundation for your grades...]
The Bubble Pop message he sent after making the decision was a masterpiece. I can still vividly see his dejected face when he realized that those who don't take the exam aren't factored into the grade cutoffs.
"It would've been better if he had more time, so it's a shame we couldn't take care of him sooner."
I wanted to say he was working his heart out, but I held back. There was no point in raising people's expectations and putting more pressure on Lee Cheong-hyeon. The only things that matter to a test-taker are the allowance and chocolate they'll get after the exam, and the student ID that guarantees nationwide discounts.
"You said you were going to make him a lunch box. What did you decide on?"
"I'm going to prep it in advance, keep it in the rice cooker, and just pack it early in the morning. We have to leave before Cheong-hyeon does."
"The menu? Is it fried tofu rice balls again?"
"I'm thinking of making it a tradition this time."
"Isn't he the last one to take the CSAT?"
I almost said that I might take it one day, but I stopped myself. In a house with a test-taker, you don't talk about retaking the exam—you don't want to chase away the good luck.
Even after finishing the discussion about equipment rentals, there was still much to discuss. Jeong Seong-bin took the lead on most of the activity schedules for this week and next. I just sat there and listened. Feeling a bit like a free rider, I busily took the meeting minutes next to him.
"...That should cover the concert-related items. Any additional opinions? From within the team?"
"Ju-woo is really looking forward to the audio equipment. He’s been looking up concert videos of senior artists all by himself."
Jeong Seong-bin mentioned Park Ju-woo, who watched videos on his phone every chance he got.
"Actually, we've decided to mobilize the entire audio team. There won't be any audio issues. I can say that with confidence!"
"What about the on-site safety inspection?"
"We've selected a firm and signed the contract. Separate from the personnel management for entry and exit, we'll conduct a set inspection before the rehearsal and the concert."
At broadcasting stations, a mere idol can't request a safety inspection, so I had to keep my eyes peeled every time we did a music show. Even with a firm hired, I planned to follow them to every inspection site.
"You guys just focus on practicing. Got it?"
Ju-gyeong’s words were incredibly reassuring.