Chapter 436
Chapter 436
The stage collapsed during the pre-recording of VTIC’s charity concert.
And a top-tier junior idol group almost got crushed by it.
Looking at these facts alone, there seemed to be no way for VTIC to avoid the onslaught of people who were thrilled to find a reason to bash them.
‘But they avoided it.’
No, they didn't just avoid it; they sublimated it into a viral sensation.
[Uh... Yes.]
I immediately began searching on my smartphone.
I set the timeframe from the day of the accident to the present and started tracing back from the most recent public opinion...
“…….”
[Oh, ohhh....]
The guy sharing my vision marveled as well. I rubbed my chin.
‘They shifted the frame.’
They had established a public enemy.
The broadcasting station.
========================
[Is it okay for broadcasting stations to act like this? - Kim Se-hwa’s Tok-Tok]
‘The stage collapsed. But no one was hurt, so there is no problem.’
If I were to summarize SBC’s position regarding the collapse that occurred on the SBC stage set on October 9th into two sentences, it would be that.
The behavior of terrestrial music broadcasts—which focus more on hierarchy than substance, where one can only go home after bowing to the PD—remained unchanged even at the moment of the accident.
…….
========================
This was possible because what fell wasn't a stage set installed by the VTIC concert staff, but a lighting fixture fundamentally managed by the station itself.
This maneuver was executed exquisitely: right after the initial shock of the accident had swept through, just as the talk of responsibility was surfacing and VTIC was on the verge of being criticized.
It was only a matter of time; in fact, if that stage had collapsed just a few hours later, it would have been VTIC getting hit by the steel frame!
It was officially recognized that regardless of who the organizer or the performers were, anyone could have been hurt, and they had only narrowly avoided a disaster.
And the point of contention became solidified.
If you clearly divide the victim and the perpetrator in an incident, only the perpetrator needs to take responsibility.
And since broadcasting stations already had a legendary track record of power abuse in the music industry, this narrative worked perfectly.
They garnered sympathy by tapping into the existing resentment toward the power trips and indifference of music shows, and even touched upon social issues like the outsourcing of stage maintenance personnel and safety insensitivity.
Then, people who wanted to chime in began whispering stories that had no real basis but looked like evidence, as if they were verifying the claims.
Thanks to this, something rare happened on the internet.
Several fan communities of VTIC and TeSTAR had even planned a joint statement to increase their influence.
‘The VTIC fans were intentionally acting even more outraged.’
Since they could be the ones disadvantaged the moment the arrows turned back toward them, they were more proactive in being friendly to other performers' fans while tearing into the broadcasting station.
Add to that the anger over their last event before enlistment being ruined and the panic that VTIC could have been the victims, and they had more than enough justification.
In this way, VTIC was completely removed from the scope of responsibility and positioned as a victim.
‘Clean.’
The way they manipulated public opinion so subtly and quickly that not a single trace of instigation remained was truly the skill of a veteran.
But there was a problem with this.
‘It becomes awkward for the terrestrial station to continue with this concert.’
Since the public opinion frame was set broadly as "the attitude of the station's higher-ups is the problem from the start," it was impossible to just cut off a lower-level manager as a scapegoat. The higher-ups at the station must have been quite offended.
In the end, they would incur that resentment, and the fate of the charity concert itself would become uncertain.
It was a bold move that, if handled poorly, could make it difficult for all the artists under the agency to appear on that station.
If it were a group planning to be active, it wouldn't be an easy choice to make, but...
‘These guys are going to the military.’
With 18 months of leeway, they must have calculated that they could quietly reconcile with the station within that time.
And as for the immediate charity concert... they handled it like this.
These guys boldly canceled the terrestrial broadcast.
The reason given was "disruption in progress due to the accident" citing schedule issues, but in reality, it was no different from striking first and declaring a boycott.
Saying, you guys messed up big time.
‘They’re reinforcing the frame.’
The fans of the performers, who had been fuming, reacted favorably, feeling refreshed. No, it wasn't just the fans; the general public who were interested all liked it.
In an internet ecosystem where the first advice given when fighting with a friend is to cut them off, this "refreshing" meta was bound to work.
And here, the build-up appeared once more.
The broadcast of the charity concert wasn't canceled entirely; it just moved exclusively to an internet platform. And it was accompanied by flashy advertisements across WeTube and various social media.
At first glance, it seemed like a loss because the target audience was reduced, but by making such a huge scene, they actually drew more attention.
Specifically, from the WeTube wreckers.
[Top K-POP Idol Agency Teaches Broadcasting Station a Lesson!]
[LeTi’s Class Verified~ From the stage collapse to now, explained in 1 minute]
[So where can you watch the VTIC charity concert? Right here! | Issue Talk]
After things like this hit the trending videos, donation boxes and pre-release videos immediately appeared on that platform.
The attention drawn by the stage collapse led to the charity concert itself becoming a hot keyword, and the donation amounts were skyrocketing.
‘And they’ll use those donation amounts for more media play.’
It was a virtuous cycle. I nodded as I looked at a few recent media play articles.
This was the work of someone who had done this many times.
[Wow, I didn't know the concert was proceeding safely through this method. That's amazing!]
Keun-dal, who had been following my search path and commentary, marveled via a pop-up. However...
“It’s more than that.”
[Pardon?]
A good deal? Surviving safely? It wasn't at that level.
I tapped the smartphone screen with a bitter smile.
‘These guys made a massive profit.’
[????]
Do you know what this platform is?
‘It’s their own platform.’
It belonged to them.
[!]
It was a live platform where LeTi held a 50% stake.
With this stunt, they hooked a massive number of new users into this platform. And they were the type of people who wouldn't have joined through regular promotion.
Furthermore, it naturally increased the platform's brand recognition.
‘LeTi made an enormous profit.’
As a platform operator, no less.
[B-but just because the agency profits doesn't mean the group profits...? Right? Like with your agency, Hyung....]
Oh. He’s already deduced that far?
‘Correct.’
I readily agreed.
He was probably thinking of the time T1 Stars did something useless while trying to diversify their revenue.
But unfortunately, this case was different.
[Wh-what’s the difference...?]
‘LeTi isn't T1 Stars.’
Their situation was completely different from TeSTAR’s. In terms of seniority and attributes. I muttered expressionlessly.
“VTIC has practically swallowed LeTi whole.”
[Ugh?]
VTIC were the ones who held a significant amount of LeTi’s stock when they renewed their contracts.
To use a medieval fantasy analogy: if TeSTAR was a foster child adopted in a hurry, those guys were the legitimate eldest sons of that agency.
Based on my experience of debuting in LeTi—even if it was a fake world—I knew for sure. That CEO thought of the group as more than just a money-maker.
‘He was over-invested, like a gamer empathizing with his game avatar.’
VTIC had started in an environment where it wouldn't be strange for the company to care more about VTIC’s brand value than the company’s own profit.
Because of that, they hadn't even debuted a junior male idol group to succeed them yet. It was an absurd amount of influence.
Just look at how T1 Stars tried to induce a transfer between TeSTAR and Spacer. There must be plenty of people at the top who want to do that, but they fended it all off?
It meant that one person was firmly holding the decision-making power.
…Cheong-ryeo.
‘As long as that guy is blocking it, I won't see a male idol group with a similar concept to VTIC coming out of LeTi.’
Unless that bastard becomes part of the management and makes one himself.
Anyway, it was a move that could never be pulled off unless one could use their agency like their own hands and feet. And it was a gain. Cheong-ryeo would continue to use this platform well. For a long time.
[...Hyung, can't TeSTAR just go independent and start our own agency?]
Don't talk nonsense.
[Yes.]
If we could control things from behind the scenes like that, maybe, but the moment idols set up a company under their group name, it’s a path of hardship and adversity.
TeSTAR needs more time and experience.
For now.
I scrolled through the screen once more and shrugged.
Anyway, that was enough for the public opinion on the charity concert. Next was the public opinion about me.
[Ah, an article came out saying you were taking a short break!]
As a result of looking through it, although there was some worry, most people deduced that I wasn't posting on SNS because of the atmosphere, thanks to the articles saying I was barely injured.
“…….”
Right, well... I’ll try my best to take some.
Now, let’s move to the next step: the smartphone’s original function, communication.
‘Quite a lot.’
Missed calls from various people had piled up early on when the phone was off, but there were almost none after a few days. It seemed the rumor that I was resting had spread through the grapevine.
However, there was one contact that came in consistently.
It was a pile of text messages.
‘It’s not even surprising anymore.’
Is this... some kind of proof of survival?
I looked at the photos of dog walking that had accumulated over several days, then called the person who sent them.
After a short ring, a voice suddenly spoke.
-
“Yeah.”
I adjusted my grip on the smartphone and spoke casually.
“The doctor told me not to use my phone, so I lived away from it for a few days.”
“How about you?”
Checking first.
“The building incident. Do you remember it?”
Actually, I had speculated that everyone except me might lose their memories of that time since the collapse never happened.
However, all of TeSTAR remembered.
I wondered if other groups were the same, since it was a unique situation to say it was just because they escaped with me... Well, an immediate answer came from this guy.
“Ju-dan too?”
That means he does. Got it.
“I was asking to try and deduce how you remember.”
Cheong-ryeo replied in a voice that sounded quite intrigued.
“I was thinking maybe it’s because everyone was infected with an error in the fake world before.”
That power that ignored system laws, created by Seon A-hyun’s trait.
If that still remained, it would make sense that they were treated as exceptions.
“Yeah.”
The guy readily agreed.
The conversation flowed well without much tension. For once, this guy wasn't being annoying. Hmm.
‘...Could this also be the effect of the internet detox?’
Is it contributing to my mind becoming lax... No, that can't be it. It’s probably just because I owe him my life.
Since I remembered, I opened my mouth.
“And.”
It was something I should have said on the day it happened.
“Thanks.”
“Thanks for finding the key back then. I survived because of you.”
But there was still no answer from the other end. It was as if he was at a loss for words.
It had been a long time since I’d seen this guy so shaken.
And the reply that came a step late was also short. He sounded like he didn't quite know how to respond.
Hmm.
‘Is it because it overlaps?’
If this guy had died several times trying to get through that chaotic mess, he must have had new feelings about this incident being resolved safely.
It must have been the first time for him to see a Status Effect failure situation resolved by his own actions.
If there had been long-standing resignation, it was enough to be somewhat resolved.
‘Hmm.’
I nodded.
“So, about that.”
Anyway, it’s undeniable that including this bastard, even Ju-dan was helpful in the escape.
Normally, I would have just taken the benefit and drawn a line, but since these guys are going on a hiatus for the military anyway, I can do this much for them.
‘I have no intention of being in debt.’
And I have no intention of letting them have all the fun themselves.
Since we prepared for it, shouldn't we take what we can get?
“The main broadcast for the charity concert hasn't happened yet, right?”
I continued with a grin.
Even while staying in this pension where people were eagle-eyed to see if I was properly ‘resting,’ I thought of something I could do.
And a few days later.
A notice appeared on VTIC’s official account.