Chapter 365
Chapter 365
First of all, Mirinae’s comeback was a massive success.
In terms of drawing aggro, that is.
As expected, having a point of comparison set public opinion ablaze.
Humans naturally find things more entertaining when there’s a hierarchy they can measure on the same scale. Moreover, even if the groups occupied similar positions, their strengths differed, so evaluations were bound to vary from person to person.
In conclusion, people were talking.
‘It’s a mess.’
What was certain was that Mirinae’s comeback had been firmly etched into the public’s mind, reigniting interest and curiosity that had been starting to fade.
‘The noise marketing worked perfectly.’
Thanks to that, Mirinae’s digital chart performance was climbing with great momentum for the first time in a while.
The fact that the song targeted the US wasn't much different from before, but it seemed to benefit from being positioned as 'globally friendly'—similar to Pouty, who had successfully hit it big in the US—causing people to accept it like a pop song.
‘The song itself is good, too.’
I shrugged as I watched the heated battle of public opinion between the two.
‘TeSTAR has been completely left out of this conversation.’
Since two groups of the same gender from survival shows were pitted against each other, the room for us to be mentioned naturally vanished.
And because of The Grandson of That House… damn it, anyway, because that variety show had firmly established itself, TeSTAR’s buzz was burning bright in a different direction.
…The process was a bit different from what I expected, but I ended up close enough to the goal. I have to think of it that way.
Furthermore, the reaction overseas was surprisingly good.
Since we had agreed on a global strategy from the start, T1 had handed this variety show over to Netplus instead of their own OTT service.
And apparently, the results were great. The production crew even dared to send me a text personally, which said it all.
[Ranked 6th in the Netplus World TV Show category! It’s all thanks to how great everyone in TeSTAR is. Congratulations! (Smiling emoticon)]
[Moon-dae-ssi? Next time, we’ll really go to a hot spring. Please accept our apology and our love. T_T (Check Gift)]
Hot spring? I don’t believe them. To think my status as a sucker has been certified even overseas, I won’t let this… Anyway, the board was balanced exactly as I had envisioned.
‘And the media play has just kicked in.’
Even before the final episode aired, I had already contacted the company and finished coordinating the timing.
[TeSTAR, from Billboard double entry to variety shows... Where does their domestic and international power come from?]
[From Dotify to Billboard. How did ‘Grand Prize Idols’ TeSTAR’s two songs become hits?]
Our promotion period was nearing its end.
With our Billboard rankings dropping at a decent retention rate, this much would settle naturally without any backlash.
‘The fans will like it, too.’
Thanks to the likable image gained from the explosively influential variety show, now was the best time to spread the news smoothly.
‘Good.’
A few days later.
The status window appeared.
[Mission Clear!]
[Calculating rewards...]
I smirked. It’s always gratifying when things go exactly as planned.
It should have been like this from the start, but that damn variety show…
I cut my sigh short and looked at the status window again.
The sentence I expected popped up.
[Hyung!]
Right, I knew you’d pop out if I called for the status window.
Keun-dal.
“How have you been?”
We contacted each other occasionally, but the district office he was assigned to was quite busy, and I had been traveling abroad, so it had been a while since we’d had a proper conversation.
[Of course! Huge congratulations on clearing the mission!]
He’s the same as ever. I nodded as I watched the text multiply rapidly as if he were excited.
He’s the type to offer congratulations first.
[And I really enjoyed the variety show. Mung-ge was so cute… and the twist was hilarious! It’s so amazing how you thought of a story like that!]
“…….”
I kept my mouth shut.
The status window popup vibrated.
[D-Did everyone plan it together—]
“No.”
[I’m sorry….]
It wasn’t his fault, but it was now confirmed that I’d have to deal with everyone I met laughing their heads off for a while. I wiped my face with one hand and looked next to the popup.
The calculation was finished.
The reward goal I had written in was there, word for word.
[Reward Complete!]
[Reward: Strengthening the Status Window’s interference power]
This, at least, was extremely satisfying.
The status window popup shook up and down as if looking at it more closely, or perhaps out of confusion.
[Hyung, but why on earth did you want this reward…? Strengthening? Did you want to subdivide the items I show you? I could have done that anyway!]
“No.”
Why would I accept a difficult mission like breaking a record for something like that?
I raised a finger.
“Look closely. I’m not the subject.”
[Huh?]
“It’s the status window itself.”
That’s right. I had made the status window strengthening its own interference power the reward.
[Gasp]
“In short, I’ve strengthened your abilities as a status window. In a broad sense.”
To avoid getting caught by the system, I had deliberately used the vague phrasing ‘interference power’ without giving him the answer.
[W-Why?]
“Because I have a use for it.”
In order for this guy not to return to being a status window, the system eventually has to be eliminated. I called Kwon Hee-seung, Gold 2.
The current system holder.
“Wow, my bones ache.”
“Do we really have to do the V-App today? Can’t we do it tomorrow?”
At the tail end of their Japanese tour, ‘Spacer,’ the group Kwon Hee-seung belonged to, was groaning from the aftereffects of their first tour.
Of course, one individual, who believed he had gained a second chance at life, was still keeping his wits about him.
“Hey, hey. That lazy mindset is where the decline starts.”
“Ughhh.”
At Kwon Hee-seung’s words, the Spacer members moved, albeit sluggishly, accepting his point.
‘At least there are no more people with bad personalities in our team.’
Kwon Hee-seung shook his head inwardly.
‘It’s just that there are some kids who really don’t get along!’
Spacer had more members than TeSTAR. This remained true even after the departure of Chae Seo-dam, who had been Seon A-hyun’s school nightmare.
And when a team has many members, conflicts multiply exponentially if they aren’t managed properly.
It was… tough.
‘But we’ve made it this far!’
Although Spacer’s public recognition was a bit weaker than TeSTAR’s during the Idol Inc. re-listing season, their fandom was solid, as expected of a group from a survival show.
And Kwon Hee-seung was confident that he was performing his role as the self-proclaimed mental leader brilliantly!
“Come on, hyungs, dongsaengs, let’s do a good job today too!”
“Okay….”
Everyone was exhausted with their comeback just around the corner, but they showed their professionalism and the individual broadcast went well.
“See you again~”
“We’ll be back soon!”
After a simple mukbang, the members scattered to their respective hotel rooms.
“Oof.”
And just as Kwon Hee-seung was celebrating a successful day and patting his shoulders, about to fall into a deep sleep…
A call came in.
[TeSTAR Moon-dae Hyung????]
“What?”
So suddenly?
While some people preferred to just call first, this hyung definitely wasn’t one of them.
‘He’s a very calm, cool, and calculated hyung.’
It wasn’t that Kwon Hee-seung disliked Park Moon-dae.
He was a bit scary, but he was a good senior.
— It’s better to just stay out of it rather than fighting there.
— Don’t say things like that, even by mistake.
— I think it would be better to just separate their rooms.
Sometimes Park Moon-dae would ask about Kwon Hee-seung’s worries or how he was doing first, and whenever he asked for advice, Moon-dae would answer quite sincerely.
On the surface, he seemed to have a kind personality toward those within his circle. Kwon Hee-seung rubbed the bottom of his nose.
‘Well, he was like that since Idol Inc.’
He clicked his tongue, recalling the then-ordinary participant Park Moon-dae, who had calmly brushed off Choi Won-gil’s schemes while taking care of those around him.
Recently, he had even received an apology from Choi Won-gil, who had contacted him through Park Moon-dae, so Park Moon-dae really did have a big heart.
‘…And he was quite generous when he caught me almost talking nonsense on the radio.’
— If trouble happens, you just have to fix it. The problem is that you might not be able to fix it.
…Though that one fact was painful enough to send a cold sweat down his spine.
‘So I didn’t think that hyung would reveal his situation to those around him…’
Wait, looking at it now, could it be? Did he decide that out of concern for me, since I almost talked about our organization(?) publicly on the radio!
Or maybe he wanted to show me ‘this is how you should reveal it’ as an example.
The timing was perfect.
‘Wow, that’s so cool.’
Blinded by the majesty of a top-tier idol who had returned from the future, Kwon Hee-seung reached an absurd conclusion.
In fact, Park Moon-dae was now close to being his role model!
It wasn’t just because of the ‘Idol Meeting of Those Who Know the Future.’
‘He’s someone you can truly respect as an idol.’
Even the way he let himself lose in this variety show with that cool personality. It wouldn’t have been easy for someone that cool to do that.
‘Man, you really have to be good at variety shows to be a top-tier idol. He’s a living witness!’
Recalling those humorous and cute posts that had even flowed into his fans’ accounts, Kwon Hee-seung almost laughed.
Ring ring.
“Oops.”
While he was lost in thought for a moment, the ringtone had gone around once.
Kwon Hee-seung quickly touched the smartphone screen before it was too late.
“Hello, Moon-dae hyung-nim!”
— Yeah.
The usual calm voice came through the phone.
“What’s up?”
— I have something to check for a moment.
“Yes, sir~”
It seemed he would get straight to the point without any small talk. It must be urgent!
And then, Park Moon-dae asked an unexpected question.
— What exactly did you say your current mission was?
The mission he was carrying out as the price for gaining a new life from the future. The one Park Moon-dae said he had already finished. And the one that still remained for Kwon Hee-seung.
‘Why this all of a sudden?’
Still, Kwon Hee-seung gave an answer immediately. Even though it wasn’t an answer he liked himself.
“…Ugh, a self-produced album.”
Sob.
He didn’t know why he was drawn to something like this. No, was it that he wasn’t drawn to it, but it felt that way because it was given as a ‘mission’?
‘Either way, it sucks….’
An album where the whole team participates… usually, that’s something that happens after more years of experience.
They had managed to make it by participating a little bit here and there, but honestly, with the release right around the corner, he was worried.
“Actually….”
So Kwon Hee-seung honestly confessed his worries. It was because he trusted the counseling experience he’d had with Park Moon-dae so far.
— Right. That’s what it was.
Park Moon-dae replied in a calm tone.
But… there was a hint of laughter in it.
‘…Laughter?’
Why?
And then, he slowly continued.
— I think I can help you.
“Huh?”
Kwon Hee-seung blinked. And after a few seconds of silence.
“Gaaaaah!”
Something appeared before his eyes.
[!Status Effect: Make It Work]
— Is teamwork really the answer for idols?
: If the team fails to release a collaborative work within the period, it is a ‘Failure.’
Translucent gray letters with sparks flying.
It soon flickered and disappeared, but he had definitely seen it.
“T-T-That just now…!”
— I showed it to you for a second, the voice in the phone said calmly. — Your ‘mission.’
Kwon Hee-seung covered his mouth.
Aaaaaah!