A Stage Worth Fighting For
Performing at the MMAs. Amidst a sea of countless music awards sprouting up, handing out trophies to themselves, and cheapening their own value, this was one ceremony that still managed to maintain its gravity as a mainstream music award show... one with enough weight that it had once been broadcast on major television networks. This was a fact Jung Yuyoung had shared with her.
"Most award shows these days have lost their prestige, except for the Korean Music Awards! But the MMAs or MAMAs are still decent. Even idol fans and the general public still give the MMAs some respect!"
"Is that so?"
To be honest, Suyun was someone whose memories aligned more with the era when the Korea Visual and Records Awards—now rebranded as the Golden Disc Awards—held the ultimate authority. She didn't know much about the MMAs or MAMAs, but since Jung Yuyoung said so, she decided to take her word for it.
"Anyway, we received an offer from Cream Entertainment... They're scheduled to perform at the MMAs, and they'll be singing Meteor and August Night. Their agency reached out to ask if we could join them on stage for those two songs!"
"Completely live?"
"Yes! Completely live! I know you're very sensitive about live performances, Suyun, so I asked them if it would definitely be live, and they said yes. They promised that if we agree to join, they'll push hard for us. They'll make sure the sound engineering is meticulously handled!"
Suyun twirled a strand of her hair. No matter how grand the award show, performing a live band set on a stage optimized for K-pop was nearly impossible. The difficulty of setting up the audio was pure hell. Because of this, Group Sound and Label Echo Sound had never even attempted to appear on music broadcast shows, despite the massive promotional boost it would bring.
To be precise, the agency and the other members had wanted to go on those shows, but Suyun had opposed it. She had told them that if they wanted to hand-sync, they would have to fight and defeat her first. (Though the moment she said that, Iseor had balled her fists and slowly stood up.)
But if they were guaranteed a fully live performance with proper sound engineering... There's no reason to refuse. Suyun twirled her hair again. It wasn't that she hated music shows; she hated the environment that made live performances impossible. If that issue was resolved, there was no reason not to appear.
Still... "If we appear on a show like that, won't we just look like a back-up band?"
"Ah! I see what you mean. Hmm... hold on! Actually, it'd be better if you came over here and took a look!" Team Leader Jung Yuyoung ducked into her office, then poked her head back out to call Suyun in. Stepping inside, Suyun saw what was displayed on Yuyoung's monitor—a drawing that looked like a concept sketch.
"Like this! They plan to structure the performance so that we become the highlight at a certain point!"
"Oh..."
The concept sketch showed them using only a portion of the stage at first, before utilizing stage gimmicks to shift the spotlight entirely to Group Sound. Looking at the perfectly organized proposal next to it, Suyun couldn't read their innermost thoughts, but she could tell that Cream Entertainment was dead serious about this.
"Well, it could just be fancy words, but they explicitly stated that this isn't a featuring or guest appearance, but a 'collaborative stage'! It shows they're really paying attention to the details. It feels like they're quite desperate."
"A collaborative stage."
Suyun recalled the events of late. While she had been nagging the girls and working on their EP, she had received countless inquiries regarding Love Dance DIVE. There were official offers sent to the agency, direct messages on social media, people calling her personal number through god-knows-how-they-found-it means, and even individuals lingering near the agency building.
They all wanted the same thing: asking about Meteor and August Night, inquiring if she had any similar songs, or offering to buy them. Combined with Iseor making a huge fuss and Seoha casually bragging, "I am now a Melon Daily Number One Owner," even Suyun—who listened to idol music purely for the music itself and couldn't care less about popularity—could sense the massive wave they were riding.
"Well, I don't know much about the contractual side of things. It'd be best if the agency handled that carefully. You should ask the other girls too."
"So...?"
"I think it's fine."
"Yes! Understood!" Having secured Suyun's approval, Team Leader Jung Yuyoung beamed, bowed, and immediately began making phone calls. Leaving her to her work, Suyun stepped out of the office. It felt like it had been a while since she last stood on a proper stage.
On the day of the meeting.
"Aaaah!! Hello!!!"
The moment Suyun and her bandmates entered the conference room, someone rushed forward and threw her arms around them. Though her face was obscured, the voice and behavior made it instantly obvious who it was: Harin.
"Hello~ Unni, you're making the Group Sound members uncomfortable. Get over here, quick."
"No!! This is my heaven, my world, my life, my everything..."
"Seriously, she goes crazy whenever she sees Group Sound. We should've listened to the director and left her behind."
"For real."
"What are you talking about?!"
While the Aurora members bickered among themselves, the Group Sound members excused themselves to head to the practice room before the meeting officially began. Even during that short walk, Suyun was cornered multiple times with questions like, "Do you happen to have any leftover songs?" and "I heard Meteor and August Night were actually made from your leftover tracks, is that true? Could we please request a song from you too?"
"My energy is completely drained."
"That's entertainment agencies for you! It's all about not letting an opportunity slip away!"
Suyun had already amassed a stack of business cards. Even external contractors had handed her theirs, resulting in a mix of cards from various companies. She briefly considered tossing them all into the trash, but thinking they might come in handy later, she slipped them into her phone case, which she used as a wallet.
"Can you seriously not carry a proper wallet? Every time I see that, you look exactly like my mom."
"Do you have any idea how convenient this is?"
"It's not a matter of convenience..." Iseor grumbled. Suyun wondered, Why is this even an issue? Meanwhile, they arrived at the practice room.
"By the way! Have you watched our performances?! For Meteor and August Night!"
"Uh..."
"I watched them!"
"Me too... I watched all of them..."
"The only person here who hasn't watched them is probably Suyun."
"Hey, I watched them too. What are you talking about?"
At that, Seoha shot her a look that practically screamed, Really? Shrinking back slightly, Suyun muttered, "Just Meteor." How on earth did they always know when she hadn't watched something?
"You're wondering how I knew, aren't you?"
"...Are you possessed by a demon?"
"It's obvious. You're just not the type to watch idol performances. You probably forced yourself to watch Meteor out of politeness, but for August Night, you definitely thought, 'Eh, I wrote the song anyway, why bother watching?' and skipped it."
Wondering how her mind had been read so perfectly, Suyun sheepishly looked over at the Aurora members. The girls were smiling awkwardly.
"Sorry about that. I'm just a bit... Well, all band people are like this."
"No, they aren't. It's literally just you."
"No, it's fine! You can just watch us now! It really doesn't matter if you haven't seen it yet. You're here to monitor our performance anyway, right?"
That was indeed the purpose. Group Sound had come today to monitor Aurora's performance for the upcoming MMA stage. Yet, with everyone else having watched the broadcasts, Suyun felt like the sole sinner in the room.
"Anyway, please take a seat over there! We'll begin!"
Feeling like a culprit, Suyun awkwardly sat down on the practice room floor. While the other band members plopped down right next to her, clinging to her sides, Aurora began their routine.
For the three songs Suyun hadn't touched, they delivered a powerful, high-energy performance. But for August Night and Meteor—the tracks she had composed—their movements shifted into a softer, more graceful flow.
"Wow, they're really good dancers."
After about fifteen minutes, the performance concluded, and the members of Aurora wiped away their sweat with bright smiles. As the other girls clapped enthusiastically, Suyun fell into thought. I don't know much about dancing, so I'm not sure if this is feasible, but... She had a grasp of the direction they needed to take. Suyun felt that the band should also incorporate some movement on stage, just as they had done before.
"So, how did the meeting go? Did everything wrap up well?"
"Yes! It went perfectly!"
Judging by Jung Yuyoung's cheerful voice, it seemed things had indeed gone smoothly. Iseor chimed in, "Did they try to pull any power trips on you? I heard big agencies do that all the time!"
"Nothing like that! They're actually the ones in the weaker position here. By having us on stage with them, they want to... how should I put it... boost their buzz! 'The talented idol group Aurora, performing alongside the masterclass band Group Sound!' *Pew-pew!* Something like that."
Yuyoung spread her hands dramatically, making sound effects with her mouth. While the members laughed at her antics, the Team Leader continued.
"So we managed to secure quite a few perks. Regarding our next EP... they've agreed to help us with promotions! We'll be learning some of their marketing know-how, and we might even be able to utilize their team for certain projects. They also promised to help us secure some broadcast appearances."
"You got us a lot of benefits."
"Of course! It's all thanks to you, Suyun! Your songs are just that good!" Yuyoung chuckled warmly. Seizing the cozy atmosphere, Iseor casually slipped in a question.
"So, what do we do now? Do we get to rest until D-day?"
"What are you talking about?"
Suyun looked at Iseor as if she were looking at a pathetic creature. Iseor looked utterly shocked.
"We have to practice. We haven't played those songs once since we recorded them. We also need to arrange them for a live stage and coordinate our performance with the idols. It's time to push ourselves again after a long while."
At Suyun's words, a faint groan of "Ugh..." drifted from Hyun-ah in the back seat. But Iseor was thinking of something else. We might be used to Suyun's brutal training methods, but those idols certainly aren't.
Rest in peace...
Back at her dorm, Harin, who had been grinning while scrolling through her phone, suddenly felt a shiver run down her spine. She had an ominous feeling that something terrible was about to happen...
On the day of the MMAs.
Ah, my heart is pounding.
The only thing that had sustained him through his grueling graduate school life was Aurora, an idol group that had debuted right around the time he started his master's program. It was his very first time fanboying over idols, but he had grown incredibly fond of these lovely girls. Perhaps it was because their journey mirrored his own transition into his doctoral program.
And today, for some reason... he felt even more nervous than on the day of his master's thesis defense. Was it because he would finally get to witness Aurora's long-awaited performance with his own eyes, even if only for a brief moment?
"Who's performing today?"
"Uh, Fables, Neon Night, Revolt, Wonder Kids... Ah, damn, how am I supposed to remember them all? For girl groups, there's Stella, Glow, uh... and Aurora."
"Do they give separate awards for girl groups?"
"I don't think so."
"Damn, then we might get swept by Aurora. Their latest EP chart performance was absolutely insane."
The girls standing right in front of him in line looked like college freshmen or sophomores. Judging by the way they conversed, they seemed highly knowledgeable about the idol industry. The graduate student, who only cared about Aurora and knew nothing about other groups, perked up his ears to listen.
So Aurora actually has a shot at winning an award.
That was his takeaway. The thought instantly brightened his mood. He decided to fully enjoy today's performance, and once he got back home, he would rewatch the broadcast over a long-overdue drink.
"Waaaaah!!"
As a popular boy group finished their performance, an earth-shattering roar erupted from the crowd. Most of the people around him screamed in wild enthusiasm, and the graduate student clapped along. It had been a performance worthy of such applause.
Wow, everyone is incredibly talented.
Of course, any idol group performing on this stage would be skilled, but they all seemed to have sharpened their blades specifically for this award show. While clapping in anticipation, a sudden wave of anxiety washed over him. Our girls are great too, but looking at the others, they've prepared some absolutely mind-blowing performances.
Moreover, although he wasn't an expert, he had read posts online saying that it was incredibly difficult to choreograph a performance for band music. He didn't know if that was true, but the thought made his heart sink. He couldn't help but worry if Aurora could outshine the other acts.
"Aurora is coming out."
But his worries proved to be unfounded. The members walking onto the stage wore bright, confident smiles. As a massive circular LED screen descended over the center stage, Aurora's performance was about to begin.