The Ultimate Viral Marketing

"What on earth is this..."

Ayun ran a hand through her hair as she scanned the community posts. While there were people who were favorable toward Group Sound, there were just as many detractors. At least the communities frequented by younger crowds were relatively mild; in the older, more conservative forums, the reactions were mostly flat-out denial, as if they had witnessed some form of blasphemy.

Normally, she wouldn't have planned to waste her time reading these kinds of forum posts. Her plan for the evening was to crack open a can of beer at home, watch her girls' performances, wind down for the day, and prepare for tomorrow.

However, a DM from someone who was clearly a Group Sound fan had completely ruined her evening plans.

Hearing this bizarre news, Ayun couldn't hide her sheer bewilderment. It wasn't like they were some organized idol fandom, so she had no idea why this person was bringing this to her attention.

But after reading the community posts the sender had linked, Ayun realized exactly what they meant.

Suyun's guitar skills, overrated?

Suyun's guitar skills, overrated?!

Ayun immediately resolved to fight back and reached for her keyboard, but paused right after. How was she even supposed to respond?

To be completely honest, Ayun didn't really know how guitar skills were measured. She was the type who just listened and went "Ooh~" if it sounded good.

How should I respond?

Thus, Ayun decided to start by releasing live videos. She didn't know much, but she figured that watching the live performances would surely reveal Suyun's true worth.

The problem was that there were very few fan-recorded live videos. The only official recordings available were from MMA 2025, Music Letter, and a few others.

Counterarguments were only effective when backed by a variety of sources; recycling the same few clips over and over would lose its impact...

Ayun reached out to other fans to find more live footage, but the responses were disappointing.

This was the unintended side effect of Suyun's extraordinary guitar skills.

Whether they were recording or just watching, everyone preferred to lower their phones and absorb the music with their ears rather than staring through a screen.

Ayun had never once felt anything but immense pride in Suyun's playing, but at this exact moment, she couldn't help but feel a tiny bit frustrated.

I mean, why does she have to play so ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠well that people forget to record...

While the Group Sound fans were anxiously stamping their feet, an unexpected helping hand arrived.

Whether it was perfect timing or pure coincidence, no one knew. But with these clips, the Group Sound fans launched a defensive campaign to turn the tide of public opinion.

Thanks to their efforts, the internet landscape, which had been overwhelmingly hostile toward Group Sound, began to shift as the defenders slowly pushed back.

Ironically, the controversy brewing within the communities actually began to draw new people to Group Sound.

In online communities, a single spark can ignite a massive blaze. If someone posts, "Ha Suyun is so bad," twenty people will reply, "Who is Ha Suyun?", fifty will reply, "No, she's not," and thirty will think, I don't know who Ha Suyun is, but I should check out her music.

It was playing out exactly according to someone's design.

It's fascinating how this is playing out.

That day, Manager Jung Yuyoung—who had been promoted to Team Leader, but Suyun still thought of her as Manager—had said, "I have a fun idea!" and told her to look forward to what was coming.

Suyun had waited to see what this "fun idea" was, but when nothing happened, she had eventually lost interest.

Yet, before she knew it, the topic of Group Sound and her own guitar skills had taken over a corner of the internet. To a degree that she couldn't fathom.

"What are you doing?"

"Ah, just browsing the internet for a bit."

Manager Jung Yuyoung suddenly appeared nearby. Speak of the devil, and he shall appear—was this one of those situations? Since the mastermind herself had shown up, Suyun decided to satisfy her curiosity.

"Manager Jung."

"Yes!"

"Um, a while ago you mentioned there would be something fun happening. Is this what you were talking about?"

Suyun said, spinning her monitor around to show her.

Narrowing her eyes to scan the community posts, Manager Jung replied cheerfully.

"Ah~ this! I see it's finally reached this stage."

"Is this really it?"

"Yes! Isn't it fun? They're expanding and reproducing the topic all on their own."

Manager Jung laughed as she spoke. Her tone strongly implied that everything was going exactly as planned, leaving Suyun with no choice but to ask.

"How did this even happen?"

"Well... here's how it went! Suyun! Do you know what the highest... the absolute peak of viral marketing is? Yes, the 'ultimate viral marketing'!"

"The ultimate viral marketing?"

What could possibly be 'ultimate' about viral marketing? Suyun stared at Manager Jung with a thoroughly baffled expression.

"The ultimate viral marketing is when people get targeted by it without ever realizing they're being marketed to."

"Is that even possible in this day and age?"

"Of course it is. All those people on your screen are the ones who fell for it—thanks to me."

Manager Jung unlocked her phone and showed Suyun a few websites. Suyun stared at the screen for a moment, then looked back at Manager Jung, utterly shocked.

Familiar screens, familiar phrases. How on earth...

"I did all of it."

"You did all of this, Manager Jung?"

"Well, not all of it. I just lit the spark."

With that, Manager Jung excitedly explained how she had taken posts from music communities, added a 'slightly' malicious spin, and spread them across other forums... revealing that she was the one who had manufactured the entire controversy.

"I deliberately crafted arguments full of logical fallacies. The contrarians who just want to oppose everything took the bait hook, line, and sinker. They went around shouting, 'Group Sound is overrated! Ha Suyun is a fraud!' only to get absolutely pummeled by the general public."

"I mean..."

Dumbfounded by the absurd explanation, Suyun couldn't help but look at Manager Jung in a completely new light. Was this what a true viral marketing and PR expert was capable of?

"Normally, malicious rumors need a focal point. You know, like those notorious cyber wreckers. When there's a figurehead leading the charge, people who just vaguely dislike someone will rally behind them. But in reality, that figurehead..."

"...was you, Manager Jung?"

"Exactly. Well, technically me and my team. So now, those haters have nowhere to go but run."

"...Does anyone else know about this?"

"Team Leader Ko knows too."

"What on earth do PR departments at major agencies even do?"

"Hmm... a bit of everything?"

Suyun sat there completely dazed, listening to things that defied her common sense. To the bewildered guitarist, Manager Jung handed a sheet of paper. A paper with writing on it.

"What is this?"

"Time to play some Whac-A-Mole!"

The paper listed two schedules. One major terrestrial broadcast show, and one massive YouTube channel. Both were prominent enough that even Suyun had heard of them.