The Conditions for Becoming a Kind Idol Leader 6
He stared at the screen as if he could bore straight through the glass, but the only Bubble message visible on Go Young-in's phone was that one.
He kept scrolling down and down, but no new message appeared.
That was really all there was. He hadn't written anything after that.
Shit... seriously? No, think about it. What if this was back when Bubble had only just started accepting new artists?
"Do you have anything else you want to say?"
"What else am I supposed to send?"
"Is this how you usually text people?"
"Yeah. Probably?"
"...Really?"
Section 20: A kind idol leader will gladly help the members when they need it.
...Was a "kind leader" really just code for a babysitter? Unbelievable. Was he supposed to be spoon-fed this, too?
The last Bubble message Kyeon In-woo had sent was thirty minutes ago.
The one before that had been a month and a half earlier.
Go Young-in had long since run out of energy trying to explain that not everyone in the world was willing to put up with this. Quietly, he turned on the camera on the phone he was already holding.
Of course, most fans loved it when an artist dropped by without warning, but this was still paid content. If the idol didn't show up as often as they'd expected, or if the replies felt half-hearted, there were always some who started cursing.
Go Young-in gestured for Kyeon In-woo to move aside and framed him in the camera.
"Hold still for a second."
The angle was decent, his face was bare but his skin looked fine, and the filter wasn't too heavy.
He wasn't styled for a shoot, but he'd pulled his cap low enough over his head. Good enough, probably.
Maybe the two years he'd spent doing this hadn't gone to waste after all, because without being told, Kyeon In-woo looked straight into the lens and struck a pose.
Well, look at that. He has at least a shred of conscience.
If I'm doing this much work, you could at least pretend to cooperate properly.
But honestly, if In-woo just posted things on his own, I wouldn't need to do this in the first place.
Afraid he might keep pestering him about this, Go Young-in brought it up casually.
"Wouldn't fans like it more if you took and posted the photos yourself?"
Stop waiting for someone else to take your picture and do it yourself, you brat.
"It's still better than Pyo Jae-ho. That bastard doesn't listen even when you tell him to. I at least pretend to listen."
Kyeon In-woo smirked, his tone irritatingly smug.
At that, Go Young-in's gaze finally drifted toward Pyo Jae-ho, who was sitting in the very back.
Taller than Kyeon In-woo, with a face that practically had blunt written across it.
He was the only underage member of Zero One, and the youngest.
Just then, Pyo Jae-ho lifted his eyes from his laptop and rolled his neck while Kyeon In-woo's words reached him, one eyebrow twitching.
"As long as we show it through music, it doesn't matter."
What is he even talking about?
He wasn't wrong that music should be the way they gave back, but being an idol was not a job where music alone was enough.
Go Young-in had only heard one sentence, and already he was afraid of what would happen if Pyo Jae-ho kept talking.
Don't tell me he...
The very cause of that impending headache, Kyeon In-woo, only shrugged, making a little gesture that clearly said he wasn't getting involved.
This asshole?
Go Young-in, already sick of seeing warning windows, forced his tone into something that wouldn't sound like he was picking a fight.
"...Even so, you should at least make a bit of an effort. We're not just a group that does music and nothing else."
"I don't get why I have to say things that add no value. Instead of wasting time on that, I can just focus on the work and get better results. In the end, what fans want from us is good music and good performances."
Pyo Jae-ho looked genuinely unable to understand why that was a problem. Why would anyone choose to become an idol with a mindset like that?
"That's not wrong, but not every fan likes idols only for that."
"Idols are artists in the end. If you're a musician, you should be good at music first."
...
...
Silence again.
Go Young-in had only just realized it because he'd been too distracted to care before, but fans already had a rough sense of Pyo Jae-ho's personality.
Kyeon In-woo at least did things properly when he bothered to do them, but Pyo Jae-ho...
If Go Young-in had known that, he might have grabbed the back of his own neck and keeled over.
Honestly, better not to say anything.
For the sake of his own peace of mind, Go Young-in decided to focus on the task at hand again.
Click, click. Normally, when he took selfies for upload, he ended up shooting several and still not getting one he liked, but this brat looked good even when he half-assed it.
Still, he didn't actually half-ass it. Don't waste that pretty face like it was disposable.
After taking pictures of In-woo, he snapped a few selfies of his own as well. He planned to post those separately on social media.
It was their second anniversary, and he still hadn't even managed a proper greeting.
He chose one of the shots he'd taken and sent it to Kyeon In-woo.
After receiving the photo, Kyeon In-woo caught on and uploaded it to Bubble.
Go Young-in glanced sideways to make sure the post had gone up properly, then wrote his own separate post for social media.