Mirror Therapy and the Ticket War
A few days before the concert, a rumor began to circulate among Group Sound fans. It wasn't a rumor cooked up by some corporate manager who loved plotting conspiracies, nor was it spawned by malicious trolls driven mad by inferiority complexes. It was a rumor that had grown organically among the fans themselves—which only made it more powerful.
"This Group Sound concert in Korea will be their last, and we won't see them perform here again for at least a year or two!"
Naturally, when this theory was first floated, people immediately pushed back: why would a rising rookie band do something so self-destructive to their business? But that counterargument was quickly dismantled with highly persuasive logic.
"Look at other idols. Once they start debuting overseas, do they ever perform in Korea? They might kick off a world tour with a single domestic concert, or maybe play a festival, but they barely do any Korean promotions."
"I guess that makes sense... But wait, why do you think they're debuting overseas?"
"Listen. Didn't they just hold a guerrilla fan meeting in Japan recently? And my Japanese follower told me that when they went to Tower Records the other day, our girls' albums were already stocked. As imports. If they're doing that, it means a Japanese debut is basically a given, right?"
"Oh...? Really? Wait, is that actually true? Why does this sound so convincing?"
Group Sound's Japanese debut wasn't exactly a top-secret classified affair. Any rock band fan—heck, anyone with even a passing interest in music—knew the drill. Almost every Korean artist, once they achieved a certain level of success, expanded overseas. The domestic Korean market was simply too small.
Therefore, everyone knew Group Sound would eventually head to Japan. They just didn't know when.
Most people had assumed, They're still rookies and have plenty of room to grow in Korea, so they'll take their time before going to Japan~
There's no concrete proof, but honestly, they've already hit all the major milestones they can in Korea. Booking a massive venue like Jamsil requires years of building up a legacy, so just like typical idols, I feel like they'll focus on their Japanese debut and we won't see them for a year or two.
I could be wrong, but my gut says I'm right. If you miss this Gymnastics Arena concert, you probably won't see them for years.
With all the normies flooding in from 'You, Me, and Our Pure Era', 'The Session', 'The Life', and 'In Search of Korean Rock', even if only 10 to 20% of them decide to go to the concert, it's going to be an absolute bloodbath.
Everyone was chilling because it's 10,000 seats compared to the 5,000 that sold out in five minutes, but now is not the time to relax. If you want to go both days, you'll need to sweat blood during ticketing.
From a single 5,000-seat show to a 6,000-seat two-day run (3,000 seats per day). And now, the capacity had expanded to 20,000 seats. Fans who had initially rejoiced, thinking they would finally be able to attend a concert, were thrilled that Group Sound was growing and moving up in the world... but on the other hand, they wailed, asking why on earth the band was growing so fast.
Ever since those rumors started spreading, suspicious posts began popping up on the community boards.
It was a hilarious sight—no one was fooled, yet everyone was trying to deceive each other. In this desperate manner, Group Sound's fans were preparing for the upcoming ticket war.
"I've never done anything like this in my entire life," Choi Iseor said.
"You say 'entire life,' but you've only been alive for twenty years," Ha Suyun replied, twirling a strand of her hair.
She looked as if she wanted to say something else but decided to keep her mouth shut. Since this was a daily occurrence rather than a one-time thing, Iseor brushed the odd feeling aside without much thought.
"But is there anyone here who has done this before?"
"I... have a bit of, experience..." Jung Hyun-ah mumbled.
"With what?"
"Lim Young-woong... and, Na Hoon-a... concerts..."
"I bet you failed, right?"
"No... I, have never... failed..."
"You've never failed?!"
At Hyun-ah's shocking revelation, Yoo Seoha immediately bombarded her with questions. Iseor was just as stunned. Never failed? What kind of madness was this? A ticketing genius was sitting right next to them.
"I'm... pretty good at this sort of thing..."
"Well, look who's suddenly acting all smug," Iseor said, glancing over at Suyun.
Suyun was currently watching the staff busy themselves with preparations. They were setting up webcams on the computers, checking the internet cables, and thoroughly testing the entire setup.
To think a day would come where we try to buy tickets to our own concert...
When Team Leader Jung Yuyoung had first brought it up a few days ago—
"We're going to film a ticketing video to help promote the concert!"
—Iseor hadn't been able to hide her excitement. This was the kind of content only 'wildly successful idols' got to do.
However, she hadn't expected the content to be filmed quite like this. She had imagined the four of them, completely clueless about ticket reservations, struggling hilariously together to create a fun video.
"It seems... none of you have any experience..."
"Why would we have experience with this? Having experience is weirder, isn't it?" Iseor replied, slightly dumbfounded.
But instead of answering, Hyun-ah let out a sly, knowing smirk. It was from that exact moment that her tone of voice shifted.
"Well... since you don't know... I will slowly, teach you..."
"Hey, why are you talking like you're about to impart some legendary, forbidden knowledge?"
"If you don't know anything, just follow my lead..."
With her chin tilted upward, Hyun-ah spoke with far more fluency and confidence than usual. Watching her, Iseor shook her head.
"It's a bit annoying how cocky you get the moment we touch on a subject you actually know about, Unni."
"It's not being cocky... It's just that the expert, naturally... has to lead the way..."
"Listen to her. 'Lead the way.' That's low-key infuriating."
"If you're mad... what are you gonna do about it..."
An attack from a completely unexpected angle. While Seoha trembled with rage and Suyun looked utterly dumbfounded, Hyun-ah was thoroughly enjoying her temporary position of absolute authority, launching verbal jabs in every direction.
The Setup.
"Shouldn't we go to an internet cafe for this?"
"Actually, only amateurs go to internet cafes... As long as your home internet line is good, you're fine..."
The Timing.
"They said it starts at six, right? So we just log in at six?"
"That can't be right. Shouldn't we log in at least a minute before?"
"Excuse me, but basically... you need to open at least four different browsers... and instead of six, you log back into all four of them around 5:57... and then you hit refresh at exactly 5:59 and 58 seconds..."
The Sections.
"Seoha, where are you going to aim for?"
"I'm going for the first floor."
"The first floor... is where amateurs try to go... The best strategy... is to target seats near the restricted-view area, or Section 8 and 9 on the second floor..."
Four computers lined up in a row.
Ten minutes left.
While the cameras rolled, Hyun-ah hovered behind the other three, offering an endless stream of unsolicited advice. Iseor glanced at Suyun, who was staring at Hyun-ah with furrowed brows. Hyun-ah was literally backseat-driving every single aspect of the process.
"Wait, if it's going to be difficult anyway, isn't it better to just aim for the first floor?"
"That's not better, that's just foolish..."
"She is being incredibly annoying right now."
Despite hearing their complaints, Hyun-ah's lips curled into a smug, condescending smirk.
But Iseor had just heard something even more impossible to let slide.
"Hey, you're usually exactly like this."
"What kind of creative nonsense is that?" Suyun scoffed.
"No, seriously. You usually have that exact same vibe."
"Me? Like that?" Suyun asked, looking utterly scandalized.
But Iseor felt the exact opposite. How could she not know she acts like this every single day? It makes no sense.
"Take this opportunity to get some mirror therapy."
"What on earth..."
Suyun twirled her hair in frustration at Iseor's words. And the moment Iseor finished speaking, Hyun-ah sidled up to Suyun and began chattering away.
While Suyun was undergoing this intense "mirror therapy," Hyun-ah's backseat driving continued.
"Open... the server time website... No, not that one... Wow, you really don't listen..."
"Hey! Why don't you just do it all yourself?!" Seoha snapped.
"One minute left!" a staff member called out.
At Seoha's irritated outburst and the staff's warning, Iseor sat up straight and stared at her monitor. Four browser windows were open, just as Hyun-ah had instructed.
The clock ticked down. Tick, tock.
Why am I so nervous over this...?
With that thought, Iseor stared at the server time website.
55 seconds, 56, 57, 58...
Refresh four times.
"It's six o'clock! Ticketing, start!" Team Leader Jung Yuyoung's energetic voice rang out.
Iseor snapped her head up and stared at her screen.
The monitor in front of her displayed a beautifully crisp, blank white page.
"Uh, mine isn't loading?"
"I'm in...!"
The triumphant voice echoing through the room belonged to Hyun-ah.
The staff gasped. "Seriously?" "You're in?!" They crowded around Hyun-ah's monitor.
"I told you... I could do it...!"
"Oh, I'm in too."
Hyun-ah's voice, which had sounded as if she had just conquered the world, was instantly drowned out by a calm voice next to her.
Suyun was already navigating the payment screen.
"Wait, how...?!"
"You should have accumulated more good karma in your daily life," Suyun remarked, spouting advice completely unrelated to her own lifestyle as she rapidly entered her information.
The two of them raced through the steps like competitors in a sprint.
Iseor clenched her fists and stared at their monitors, her heart pounding. Who would win?
The legendary ticketing master, the newly crowned annoying expert, Jung Hyun-ah?
Or the legendary band-member-exploiter, the traditional master of sarcasm, Ha Suyun?
"I don't think either of them will make it..."
"Surely at least one of them will?" the staff whispered from behind.
Suddenly, the screens flickered.
The first to fall was Hyun-ah.
An error occurred during payment processing.
"Aaaaaargh!!"
Hyun-ah let out a massive shriek—completely uncharacteristic of her usual quiet self—and clutched her head with both hands.
While the staff groaned, "Ah, so close~" Suyun immediately threw a sharp jab from the side.
"Hyun-ah, you were talking so big about being an expert earlier, huh? You see, you have to live a virtuous life."
"Ugggh..."
As she spoke, Suyun was already on the final step of the payment process.
Payment method: Bank Transfer.
Seat: First-floor front row.
"Whoa, is she actually going to succeed?!"
Amidst the rising excitement, Suyun declared triumphantly, "See? I told you earlier that aiming for the first floor was the better move. The second floor? People overthink things. They assume everyone will rush for the first floor, so they target the second floor instead. But me? I used reverse psychology and went straight for the most competitive front-row seats on the first floor. This is real strategy. This is thinking outside the box..."
Suyun clicked her mouse.
The screen changed.
And on her monitor, the exact same message she had just mocked Hyun-ah for appeared.
An error occurred during payment processing.
"...is what I mean," Suyun finished lamely.
"Pwahahaha!!!!"
"Ahahaha!! Oh my god, that's hilarious!!"
"Ah... what do I do... pfft, why is this so funny? *snort* *wheeze*..."
"Well, it was certainly thinking outside the box," Iseor muttered.
After Suyun's arrogant voice was completely drowned out by the roaring laughter of the staff, Iseor shook her head. She couldn't even begin to imagine how hilarious this would look once it was uploaded to YouTube.
> Queue: 25,603 people
Only the massive queue number that appeared after refreshing the page offered a grim, silent comfort...