Chapter 300
Chapter 300
T-Holic. The top-tier group that had the idol industry in a chokehold before VTIC took over.
In short, they were the icons of the previous generation.
"M-Moon-dae, the first song you sang... it was by this person, right?"
"Yeah."
'Party in Me,' the song I performed for the rank evaluation on Idol Inc., was a solo track by a member of this very group.
‘They’ve been active long enough that they’ve been encouraging solo activities for years now.’
Most idols from their era had already gone their separate ways. However, this group had stubbornly managed to release a new album with every single member except one.
I watched blankly as T-Holic’s music video, sitting near the bottom of the YouTube Real-Time Trending list, began to autoplay. The thumbnail happened to be the member who sang the song I had covered.
[T-Holic - Let's Go M/V]
To be honest, it wasn't exactly sophisticated; the vibe felt like something from several years ago.
"Oh, T-Holic sunbaenims made a comeback~ Wow, it’s been a while. I used to cover their songs a lot in middle school~"
Lee Se-jin, sitting in the back seat, poked his head forward to show off his knowledge. Thanks to that, the attention shifted to Cha Yu-jin as well, but...
"Who? Umm... I don't really know them."
Perhaps because he was American, he didn't seem particularly interested in idols who were popular over a decade ago. Kim Rae-bin, however, looked genuinely shocked.
"You... don't know T-Holic sunbaenims?"
"That's right!"
"To be actively working as a K-Pop idol without an understanding of the background knowledge is unprofessional!"
"...! I know many K-Pop songs! It's just not a song I studied!"
Well, by the time K-Pop started making inroads into America, most of them were serving in the military, so the group was barely active. Cha Yu-jin had a point.
"I know the name! T-Holic sunbaenims!"
"That is insufficient!"
My ears were going to bleed. Lately, no matter what the topic was, the reactions triggered a chain reaction that turned everything into a chaotic mess.
I looked on apathetically as Bae Se-jin, sitting across from me, crumpled himself further into the corner and put on his earphones. Our activities were sailing smoothly, and none of the guys had any particular worries or were acting suspiciously. That was why they reacted so strongly even to trivial conversations like this.
‘I suppose they’ve also grown comfortable with each other.’
I watched them cut each other off and jump into the conversation without hesitation before I finally settled the situation.
The reality show was going to turn out well.
That was the end of my thoughts for the day. However, T-Holic’s comeback caused a much larger ripple than expected.
The first factor was nostalgia. To put it bluntly, nostalgia-baiting.
People in their 20s and 30s showed favorable reactions to T-Holic as they reminisced about their youth. Since a group album was released after several years with almost no members missing, it generated significant buzz amidst a wave of nostalgia and admiration.
Mixed with the glorification and longing for their own childhoods, even people who had disliked T-Holic back then began to show positive reactions.
‘Of course, if the song was bad, these sentiments would have vanished like a storm in a teacup.’
But that leads to the next factor. The second factor was T-Holic’s nature.
These guys... were hilarious.
From YouTube content reminiscing about past K-Pop to major network TV shows, these guys hit the jackpot every time they appeared on a variety show. It was thanks to their seasoned ability to maintain boundaries while not being afraid to ruin their image for a laugh.
Composure and wit.
‘I guess that experience doesn't go anywhere. You could say it’s the polar opposite of VTIC’s route, where every media exposure is finely tuned.’
They greedily took over content and gained momentum. Normally, the freshness would wear off, and they would either plateau or fade away, but a few lucky coincidences occurred. Several broadcast scenes became memes.
In the end, instead of their old image being drained of all its value, they succeeded in appealing to the younger generation by trending through the latest memes. Riding that momentum, they even created a YouTube channel to air their own variety show.
[We’re starting fresh on YouTube... The PPL-crazed maniacs | T-Holic’s Show Business Ep.1]
Furthermore, unlike their variety show buzz, T-Holic’s physical and digital chart performance wasn't exactly staggering. They were just respectably saving face. In the current K-Pop market, which had been inflated by expansion, their sales were at the tail end of the first tier.
Because of that, fans of current idols felt less of a need to keep them in check as competitors.
People began to consume them as a category different from existing idols. And eventually, amidst this momentum, T-Holic’s self-produced variety show became a massive hit in a short period.
It was a bad omen.
*
"……."
I checked the viewership ratings for T-Holic’s variety show, which had eventually been picked up as a regular program on CVN after its massive success on YouTube. Episode 1 could be attributed to the initial hype, but Episode 2 was the important one...
It was a shocking figure. It was on par with the flagship variety shows in CVN’s prime-time slot.
‘It’s excessive.’
They had struck during a vacuum where there were no trending dramas or variety shows, and they had succeeded beyond expectations.
"Oh~ T-Holic sunbaenims have some serious momentum."
Keun Se-jin, who was waiting for the next shoot just like me, shrugged and chimed in. I readily agreed.
"I'll say."
Of course, I didn't think it would last forever.
‘When something does better than it should, people who want to tear it down start appearing.’
It’s always interesting gossip when someone successful falls. The moment they get caught in even a minor slip-up, their momentum will be killed by controversy. Even if that doesn't happen, variety-based buzz doesn't have a very long lifespan. So, the lifespan of this trend... three or four months at most.
‘They aren't even competitors.’
In the first place, everyone knew that in terms of performance, it was embarrassing to even mention them in the same breath. However, the problem was that it was happening now.
‘We can't afford to lose the buzz for the second half of the year.’
TeSTAR sold well both digitally and physically, but we weren't the absolute top in either category to the point where a Grand Prize was guaranteed.
‘That would be VTIC and Young-rin.’
Therefore, to win the Grand Prize under the current evaluation system split between digital and physical sales, we needed a solid image of being the "trend." But out of nowhere, these guys were sucking up all the public attention.
‘And these guys are still officially classified as idols.’
In other words, the idols currently receiving the most public attention were... T-Holic.
‘It’s dangerous.’
Regardless of performance, if the value of the "current trend" category dropped and TeSTAR’s presence was diminished, it would hinder our chances for the Grand Prize.
I muttered as I turned off my smartphone screen.
"We need to work hard too."
"Right?"
Keun Se-jin lightly agreed. Seeing as he didn't brush it off with something like, "We're already working hard, what are you talking about?" it seemed he had caught on as well.
"Good luck for the end of the year~"
And then there were the guys who, even without knowing the details, just felt motivated and resolved to do their best.
"Mhm! I'll try to talk more on variety shows too...!"
"Indeed, since idols are total artists, I feel once again that we need various entertainer-like qualities in addition to album activities."
In that sense, this group had gathered members who were useful even in metrics not displayed on the status window. I’m talking about their mentality. It meant they maintained enough ambition to consider various variables and judge rationally even when they were clearly doing well.
‘Usually, people get carried away in this kind of situation.’
We were currently in the middle of a pictorial shoot.
"Yes, we'll proceed right away~"
"Yes!"
It wasn't just a regular magazine pictorial either. Through a partnership with a certain magazine company, we were creating a special issue that used TeSTAR’s photos, interviews, and advertisements from start to finish. I knew that this magazine, which was being produced with eight different covers—individual shots for each member plus a group shot—had already surpassed 800,000 in pre-orders alone.
"Oh my, you're so handsome~"
"Haha!"
There were no staff members saying anything unpleasant during the shoot. We were treated almost unconditionally like the ones in power.
‘It’s an environment perfectly suited for ruining a person.’
Especially for guys who had just turned twenty, it was the perfect setup to throw away social skills and manners. There were no penalties even if they acted like jerks to the people they worked with, so it was hard not to become rude or insincere when things got tough in a situation where there was no forced oversight. The difference between when they had energy and when they didn't would become extreme.
‘If you want to act like a piece of shit, you can.’
Yet, these guys were maintaining a level of energy that wasn't much different from their debut days.
"One more time~"
"Yes!"
For the group shot to be used as the cover, the guys huddled together in jeans and T-shirts. During the short break to change and refine the concept, Bae Se-jin muttered.
"...It reminds me of our debut."
"I know, right? It’s the exact same hair color as back then."
"I like red hair!"
The concept for this pictorial was TeSTAR’s journey from debut to the present. It was a concept fitting for the group that held the most successful boy group song of the year.
‘Has time really flown by like this?’
I looked back on the past few years with a strange feeling. I had gone through an unbelievable number of incidents, yet thinking back, it also felt like I had just done Idol Inc. last year. And it felt like the Magical Boy filming was just the other day.
Just before the shoot resumed, I unintentionally recalled the compliment I had deliberately given Bae Se-jin back then.
"Hyung, you're as good at photoshoots now as you were then."
"Ahem, you guys are doing well too."
And unlike back then, Bae Se-jin accepted the compliment readily and seriously.
‘Well, one thing has changed.’
Our psychological distance had decreased. We must have built up a certain level of trust after going through all sorts of things together.
"……."
"Oh~ Moon-dae-ssi, your expression is great!"
"Thank you."
Well, now wasn't the time to get sentimental. We were only a few steps away from the Grand Prize; I had to clear away any sudden falling rocks.
So, what was the best method? First of all, blindly benchmarking their variety show would be a foolish move.
‘If we release a reality show at this timing, it’ll only invite comparisons.’
There was no need to butt heads with a product of luck and experience that had even been scheduled as a regular program. Then, if I were to be a bit more clever...
‘Hmm.’
I pondered until the shoot was over and came to a conclusion.
‘Let’s use it to our advantage.’
If you want to catch a tiger, you have to enter the tiger's den.
*
T-Holic’s program was doing well. What that meant was that T-Holic’s trendiness was now essentially subordinate to their variety show. And the buzz of a program could be utilized by anyone who appeared on it.
In particular, if you were a guest, depending on the format, you could even become the protagonist of that program, surpassing the hosts—provided you were more buzzworthy than the usual episodes T-Holic had been leading. And if you were funny on top of that.
‘That would be the best.’
So, after discussing it within the group and analyzing the format of T-Holic’s program, I chose the two members who would have the strongest impact. Completely customized.
"I'm really looking forward to this!"
Cha Yu-jin.
"Since this is the first time I have been selected to appear on a variety show with such a small number of people, I will do my absolute best!"
Kim Rae-bin.
And... one person who hadn't been pre-booked for another variety show at the same time and could control these two.
"Right."
Me.
I took Cha Yu-jin and Kim Rae-bin with me to the filming set of T-Holic’s Show Business.