The Ripple Effect

Since the awards show was broadcast live on YouTube, the reaction to Aurora's stage swept the internet immediately. The responses fell mostly into two categories, the first of which was all about Aurora.

The main repertoire used by Aurora's anti-fans to slander them was, "Their skills are trash." This was because when they won first place on a cable music show early in their debut and did an encore live performance... their lack of skill at the time was laid bare for all to see. With Aurora drifting wildly out of tune and off-tempo, people branded them with the label "backing-track-only group."

After that, Aurora ground their teeth and worked tirelessly to improve their skills. However, every time they stood on a music show stage, the pressure of thinking, I have to show them this time...! made them nervous, causing them to crack. As this cycle repeated, "bashing Aurora" became a sort of sport within the idol fandom. Jumping on this bandwagon, malicious anti-fans even uploaded edited "MR-removed videos" to make them sound worse.

Aurora had hoped that the encore live performance of Meteor would erase the perception of them as a "talentless group," but it hadn't worked out well. They only received sarcastic remarks like, "I guess they practiced only that one song for a whole year ^^."

But what Aurora showed at this MMA was, by anyone's standards, incredible skill and an overwhelming stage presence.

Feeling threatened, malicious fans of other groups and trolls diligently roamed the online communities, muttering things like, "Aurora is actually terrible, that was just pure luck." However, most of them were swiftly routed. After all, even the general public had ears.

And the second category of discussion was about Group Sound.

No matter how much Group Sound was rising in popularity and how they had sold out Jangchung Gymnasium, they were ultimately a rock band. In the Korean music market, where K-Pop reigned supreme, they were bound to be a minority. Since they had appeared on public broadcast, some might recognize their faces, but not many could match those faces to their songs. Even if people listened to their music because it was good, simply listening to a song didn't instantly turn someone into a fan, nor did it immediately translate into recognition and public awareness for the artist.

However, the collaboration with Aurora instantly propelled Group Sound's position in the Korean music market into the mainstream scene.

Surpassing all the idols, soloists, and foreign artists who performed at the MMA, their video soared to the top of the trending list. First it was Aurora's fans, then the MMA viewers, and then the general public who browsed trending videos... In this manner, the view count began to skyrocket in an instant. The fact that these numbers rose so rapidly without any organized "streaming projects" meant that the general public was genuinely watching the video.

As a result, Group Sound had achieved a level of public recognition that surpassed even the aftermath of their documentary broadcast.

Since it was an awards ceremony wrapping up the year, the main topics of discussion should have been who won which award, who took home the Grand Prize, who won the Top Excellence Award, and who was left with a consolation popularity award. However, even though Aurora only won a single category-specific popularity award for Meteor... with just their live performance of the song, they and Group Sound stole the entire spotlight.

And the aftermath didn't stop in Korea.

Across the sea, in a place where rock and bands still stood strong and held a place in the mainstream despite the onslaught of K-Pop... Through Aurora's fans, the reaction began to ripple across Japan.

"Ugh, I'm dying."

Suyun stretched her arms high toward the ceiling. She felt a satisfying pop in her joints, making her feel as if she had suddenly grown taller. It was probably just her imagination, though.

But it was true that she had been sitting for long enough to feel that way. The work on their next EP, tentatively titled Graduation Ceremony, was finally in its closing stages. They hadn't finalized the track order or the exact titles yet, but the bulk of the work was done.

While she was sitting there, her phone rang. Suyun picked up the receiver.

"Hello, this is Ha Suyun."

"Is there anyone else who even uses that phone, Suyun? You don't really need to say your name every time..."

"Hello, this is Ha Suyun."

"Sigh, fine. Anyway... this is ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Kim Hyun-ji from the general affairs team. I figured you'd expect this, but we received another offer... Do you need the details?"

"Just send it to me via messenger. And please let them know, as before, that I'll review it and won't contact them if it doesn't seem like a good fit."

"Got it~"

The call disconnected, and a few seconds later, an internal messenger notification popped up. Suyun twirled a strand of her hair and looked at the attachment. It was a song request email from a well-known agency. Since she had already received dozens of these offers, she simply dismissed it.

Maybe I shouldn't have given them that song in the first place. No, actually, I shouldn't have agreed to perform live...

Offers had been trickling in ever since the release of Meteor and the Love Dance DIVE EP. But after MMA 2025, they came so frequently that she felt like saying, "Since I'm always at the office anyway, why don't you just give me my own phone and computer? It'd be easier to handle the calls myself."

Most of the offers could be summarized as: According to industry rumors, 'Meteor' and 'August Night' were just discarded tracks from your vault, and you have plenty more where those came from. Please, let's work together just once.

It's not like I'm a professional composer. I only did it to clear my head and save Team Leader Jung's face, so how did things turn out like this...

Suyun leaned back in her Steelcase chair (she didn't like Herman Miller because it felt too stiff) and ran a hand through her hair. Lately, the sheer volume of contacts was becoming exhausting. Whether it was song requests or variety show offers, it was getting to the point where she wanted to quickly finish the EP, release it, run the concerts, and then turn off her phone and completely disappear for a rest.

As she lay back in her chair, letting out a long yawn, Iseor appeared at the office, looking around. The moment their eyes met, Iseor dashed over to her, looking for all the world like a puppy wagging its tail.

"Suyun!"

"What."

When Suyun replied listlessly, Iseor suddenly stopped and put on an exaggeratedly hurt expression. But when Suyun's deadpan face didn't budge, Iseor rushed over and slapped her on the shoulder.

"Ow, that hurts."

"I slapped you to make it hurt, so of course it hurts!"

"Why are you hitting me?"

"Because a friend came to say hi, and you looked at me like I was some annoying door-to-door salesman!"

Iseor said this while mimicking the expression Suyun had just made. It was the exact look Suyun's mother used to give her father when he stumbled home drunk from the five-day market back in her past life.

"Well, to be fair, you kind of are..."

"You're so mean!"

Another slap. Suyun rubbed her shoulder and glared at Iseor. But Iseor met her gaze without flinching. Suyun let out a deep sigh and asked, "So, what is it today?"

"Hey, are we going to be on any TV shows or anything?"

"Why the sudden interest in TV? What happened to put such silly ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠ideas in your head..."

"What do you mean, 'silly ideas'?"

Ah, slip of the tongue. Suyun stroked her chin and muttered, "Well, you know..." to brush it off.

"Anyway, why the sudden interest?"

"Well! Yesterday, my little brother was being so...!"

The story Iseor launched into was practically a grand epic. She went on and on about what happened at school yesterday, what she was thinking while eating lunch, how she went home and saw her younger brother, what she said to him, and how he responded...

"So, what's your point?"

"My brother said that you, Suyun, appear in all these famous places, but I never do. He asked if I was actually super unpopular, like a mere passenger on a bus! I got so mad that I beat him up, and he ran to his room shouting, 'Fact check: people resort to violence when they run out of arguments.' So I just yelled back, 'I'm going to be on a show like that really soon!'..."

But since there were no actual plans for such an appearance, she had come to ask.

Hearing this, Suyun stared at Iseor with a truly pathetic look. Iseor withered under her gaze.

"I mean... yeah... I know it's for my own selfish greed... but still, shouldn't I get to appear on those kinds of shows too? And it's not just me. It'd be nice for Hyun-ah and Seoha to get famous too..."

"You should focus on getting famous through your music. If you try to take shortcuts with that kind of mindset, nothing good will come of it."

"What are you talking about? Who only does music these days? Everyone goes on YouTube and TV!"

Suyun thought there were plenty of people who did just that, but she decided not to argue. In this situation, pointing that out would only earn her another slap from Iseor.

"Anyway, I was just wondering if we had any offers! If we did, I was going to say I'd work super hard... but if we don't..."

"It's not that we don't have any... Let me check. I usually filter most of them out myself."

"Why would you filter them out?!"

Iseor clung to her like a praying mantis eyeing its prey. Buckling under her weight, Suyun opened the files she had organized. Most of them were indeed not worth appearing on.

"Ah, right."

"I get some individual offers, but there's no reason for me to go on those, nor do I want to. And offers for the whole group are pretty rare."

As Iseor backed away, looking dejected, Suyun stretched her aching body. Her joints felt stiff, as if she had been carrying heavy sacks of rice.

"Well, if we get an offer for a band-focused music variety show, I'd consider it. It would be good for you guys to get some broadcast experience to build up your recognition. That way, whatever happens in the future, more paths will open up for you... Ah, my phone is ringing. Hello, this is Ha Suyun."

Suyun interrupted her train of thought to answer the call. It was Deputy General Manager Jung Yuyoung.

"Ah, Suyun! You probably just spoke to the office, but we just received another offer today!"

"Another one? Good grief..."

"No, this one is actually good! It's a great opportunity. By any chance, would you be interested in appearing on a variety show with the Aurora members? A joint appearance."

"A joint appearance?"

Suyun looked at Iseor as she spoke. Hearing the voice leaking through the receiver, Iseor's face was instantly lighting up. It was an incredibly exquisite timing.

"Aaaah! Unni!"

"Iseor!"

Harin and Iseor ran toward each other as if they were family members reuniting after a lifetime apart. However, while Harin went in for a warm hug, Iseor went straight for a full-body tackle.

Harin was sent flying back with a wheeze.

"Are... are you okay?"

"Of course she's not okay. What do you think?"

While Hyun-ah and Seoha helped Harin up, the other four members of Aurora approached.

"She's fine. Our leader is incredibly sturdy," one of them said.

Suyun watched the spectacle with a look of utter disbelief before slowly walking up to them.

"Hello."

"Oh! Uh, hello!"

The moment they saw Suyun, the Aurora members collectively gasped. Suyun raised an eyebrow at their reaction, which only made them take a step back with startled squeaks.

What on earth is wrong with them...

"Ah, you don't have to say it. I think I know."

"You... you know?"

"Yes. She's the only one who doesn't, since she's the perpetrator. You guys really went through a lot back then..."

"We almost cried, seriously. Really, really. It was the first time in our lives we've ever worked that hard."

"I still see it in my dreams."

"Even though it's been days, when that time of day comes, I feel like I have to run to the practice room and start dancing..."

"What are you guys even talking about?"

Suyun looked at them with a bewildered expression.

Whispers of "As expected, the perpetrator has no idea..." drifted among them, but Suyun had absolutely no clue what she had supposedly perpetrated.

"Alright, everyone! Let's wrap up the greetings. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠We'll grab some lunch, and then we'll head to the filming set to get briefed!"

One of Aurora's staff members stepped forward to announce.

The program was called Silence Retreat. It was a two-day, one-night YouTube variety show, and one of the main contents on the channel of Producer Jung Tae-young—whom they had previously bonded with during their busking show days.