Iseo's Live Tour Dream (Not Quite Shattered)
Iseo's dream of a live tour had seemed dashed like that. But Jeong Yuyoung, the manager, apparently thought the idea itself was solid, so she decided to produce content in a slightly different format. A membership live Q&A.
"Yes, we've got a question. 'What cosmetics does Suyeon use?'... Talking about that here might turn into an ad, so I'll pass on specifics."
He tilted his head slightly.
The chat window filled with messages like that. But he couldn't tell them. How could he, when he didn't even know? He barely did makeup himself—only when he had to, following what Hyein had taught him—and when products ran out, he just asked for the exact same ones again.
Saying "I don't know much about cosmetics" would sound weird, though, so it was better to skip it.
"I know what Suyeon uses. I saw it when we went on that trip. Mostly Shiseido stuff, right?"
"...How do you know that so well?"
"'Cause I just do."
He stared at Iseo in disbelief. She hadn't shoved the products in his face or advertised "I use Shiseido!!" or anything. How the hell had she spotted them?
To the chats demanding product names, he replied, "I'll let you know if there's a chance," then read questions for Iseo and Seoha.
"Hmm, did we ever talk about this? 'In the fashion showdown between Iseo and Seoha, who won?'... Yeah, I remember them bickering in some thrift shop during the Japan trip... Did you guys actually compete?"
"We agreed to respect each other's turf. It'd never end otherwise."
Iseo answered brightly to his question, without a trace of her earlier snarling, teeth-baring vibe.
"Right. If we kept going, I'd win anyway. Someone who just chases trends without any style has no roots..."
"What'd you say?"
The two started squabbling again.
"Wearing those tacky patterns like some auntie who shops at Dongmyo flea market..." "Oh yeah? If you check Twitter for your outfits, all those weird psycho menhera types are copying that shit—it's not original!"
As the harsh barbs flew, he swiftly yanked their mics and moved to the next question.
"Let's read the next one. 'Is it okay to just leave them like that?' Nah, they're always like this, no big deal. Kids grow up fighting, right? That's how it is."
"Suyeon... Hyeona's younger than you... And you always talk down to me and Hyeona..."
"My mental age is higher, so it doesn't matter. Next question. 'Inspired by Suyeon, I'm practicing guitar—how many hours a day to get good?' Well... Asking how many hours to practice isn't the right question. It's more like how many hours not to practice."
Without noticing Hyeona's stare—like she was looking at a madman—he kept going.
"For example, skip about two hours a day, and spend the rest on guitar—that's when you'll start improving. At first, your hands might hurt, so memorize the fretboard, use a grip trainer, do imagery training, or build stamina with exercise. I use a finger grip trainer at school... There's one just for fingers. Plus a high-tension rubber band from IronMind for hand flexing, and a regular hand gripper. Three in total..."
To demonstrate properly, he rolled up both sleeves. His forearms were clearly ripped, veins popping.
As the chat exploded in shock, he mimed playing guitar.
"Guitarists all have massive forearms. Stroking builds them up inevitably. Iseo's probably jacked too. Oh wait, she's chubby, so maybe not..."
"What?!"
The argument had apparently ended, and suddenly Iseo lunged. Smashed by her (womanly) bulk, he flew back, thinking: I need to grow fast, even if it's just puberty.
After wrapping their own content shoot.
A long-overdue meeting. Propping his chin, he eyed the PPT. The agenda looked packed with promising stuff. Flipping through the handouts from a staffer, it wasn't just hype—there was real substance.
"Hello, thanks for gathering today... Before diving in, a few quick things. First up: our initial settlement."
"Already?"
"Not already... We've got album sales, streaming revenue, and a few gigs."
Go Kyungmin answered Iseo's abrupt question, pointing to spots in the materials.
"Unplugged album sales, Hyeona's college fest fee—decent haul. Plus Music Letter and odds and ends... But not huge amounts. After deducting MV production costs, etc. Check the settlement sheets for details..."
Seoha tore open her envelope right away.
"Sweet, upa for dinner tonight."
Pitying her mutter, he couldn't help but say, "I'll treat to beef tonight."
The others chimed in wanting in, Hyein half-teary yelling "Let's do a team dinner!!" amid the chaos... but Go Kyungmin pressed on unfazed.
"And as mentioned before, we have concrete plans for the live tour, so let's go over them."
The next PPT slide showed special cities, major metros nationwide. Even some smaller ones.
"Special and metro cities are basics, plus one per province based on scale. Suncheon: 400 seats. Changwon: still negotiating."
"A real nationwide tour," Hyein murmured.
Go Kyungmin nodded, flipping to confirmed venues and dates. Some spots were TBD—still in talks.
"Yes. Profits won't be huge—might even lose money short-term, as I told the boss before. Overall black ink, but some shows will bleed. For example..."
A pop-up window: a confirmed venue in some city. Decent size, but the photo screamed rundown—more hall or theater than stage.
"Even small-scale, selling out's tough. Why do it? Visibility, like I said."
National tour for broad promo across ages, even at a loss. Great if it worked, but would it?
"But will a tour really spike buzz? Could just be a few articles and done..."
"I'm aware. A flop tour's budget waste. So we've prepped two things—one final tweaks, one recent offer we slotted in."
Next slide: The others went "Ooh." He didn't, but damn if it didn't feel weighty.
He lit a cigarette. Smoke swirled mockingly, like it was taunting him—stuck in the office, unable to escape work. Pissed, he chucked it off the balcony, stomped it, cursed as he binned it. Then lit another.
Pure madman behavior.
"Team Leader Park Sehyung? Not heading home?"
"Kid, how with work piling up?"
"Whatever. Tomorrow's fine."
"Don't be ridiculous," Sehyung grumbled, slumping at his PC. Empty lineup slots stared back. Headliners filled, but sub-headliners below? Gaps.
Not headliner caliber, but can't bump down either... Need that mid-tier sweet spot.
Park Sehyung ran programming for a storied rock fest. No longer pure rock, but evolved for mass appeal. Famous for spotting indie gems yearly. Self-praise, but he claimed 30% credit—his instincts nailed it.
Problem: instincts dead this year.
Can't promote from bottom, demote from top. Scout new blood? Sub-headliner weight doesn't grow on trees...
Overseas acts? He rummaged files—no dice. Hard to find, harder to book now.
"Whatcha doing?"
"Didn't you leave? Filling blanks. Headache..."
He showed his deputy the monitor: gaping sub slot, general lineup holes.
"What about those kids you mentioned contacting?"
"That was just talk—they're not that level. Told 'em general lineup, but they passed. Some schedule crap. Dunno."
"Drawing a blank too..."
Deputy crossed arms. Sehyung waved her off.
"You got nothing either. Go home. I'll stick."
"Oh... Wait! Thought of some. Group Sound. How 'bout them?"
"Group Sound?"
He scratched his chin at her suggestion. Not like he hadn't considered.
Group Sound: hottest in Korea's band scene right now. Sound not brutally heavy—fits. But he hadn't called because...
Too green.
Handful of official tracks, maybe twenty. Famous, sure, but thin catalog. Could they satisfy rock fest crowd?
Topic-wise, sub-headliner value. But the gap was Friday's—not Saturday. Friday's prime: headliner as fest face, sub as mass-famous or rock vet. Wrong band there? "They lost it? Fest's doomed."
But worth the gamble.
Hottest act as sub? Adventure to some— to him, success odds higher. Viable shot...
"Yeah. Let's bring 'em in."
He muttered.