Spectating a Feud
Friday morning, the third week of September 2027.
Even though their ensemble practice wasn't scheduled until the afternoon, Ha Suyun had arrived at the office early, driven by sheer habit. She casually deflected the staff's playful teasing—remarks like, "Aren't you late today, Suyun?" and "Should we dock her pay?"—before sitting down at the table that had practically become her designated spot and plugging in her laptop.
"Suyun!"
"Yes?"
Suyun turned her head toward Manager Kim. He had recently been promoted to fill the vacancy left by Section Chief Jung (now Assistant Manager Jung), who had moved back to Korea after successfully wrapping up the platform project.
"We just got a call from headquarters regarding some business. Do you have a moment to take it?"
"Ah, yes, sure."
He usually just calls my cell. Why is he suddenly using the office landline for business? Suyun wondered. She figured he was probably trying to re-establish proper corporate protocol now that Assistant Manager Jung was in Korea. She took the receiver from Manager Kim.
"Hello, this is Ha Suyun."
"Yes, hello. This is Ko Kyungmin. Have you been well?"
"I have, thanks to you. When is the live production staff arriving in Japan?"
"Hmm... Assistant Manager Jung will likely head over early the week after next."
After exchanging a few more pleasantries, Team Leader Ko cleared his throat, preparing to get to the point.
"Suyun. About that..."
"Yes, go ahead."
"Would it be possible for you to perform live in Korea next Wednesday? If the whole band can't make it, even just you alone."
"Excuse me? Next week? In Korea?"
"Yes. Korea."
Suyun pulled the receiver slightly away from her ear and stared at it as if Team Leader Ko's face were projected onto it. What kind of absurd request was this? She glanced at Manager Kim standing beside her, but he only shook his head, looking just as clueless.
"Uh... you know what our schedule looks like right now, don't you? We only have a month left before the live tour."
"I am well aware."
"But a sudden live performance... I mean, what kind of performance is it even? What's the song?"
Suyun racked her brain. If they were asking for a live performance, was it some kind of promotional event? But they were currently preparing for a Japanese tour; it made no sense to suddenly book a university festival or something similar. If a request like this had bypassed the usual channels, was it perhaps a government-sponsored event? If it was the Korean government, then at least it wouldn't involve Kingdom.
"It's regarding... Lean on You."
But the title that slipped from Team Leader Ko's lips was entirely unexpected. In fact, it was a song she had barely even thought about since handing it over.
Suyun fell silent. Team Leader Ko quickly continued.
"Ah, you might not be aware. It's the song you gave to Aurora."
"...And you want me to perform that live? Out of nowhere? Why me?"
Suyun was utterly baffled. Why? She had only written that song to appease her mother and make some quick cash. She had handed it over to Aurora without a second thought. Why on earth did she need to perform it live now? Setting aside whether she was willing, she couldn't even grasp the logic behind it.
"Okay, I think I get the gist of it."
After a brief explanation, Suyun held the phone to her ear while pinching the bridge of her nose. The situation was incredibly convoluted, but to summarize...
Aurora's agency had bought a song hoping to take down a top-tier idol group, but the rival group's new release was so incredibly good that Aurora was now in danger of getting crushed. Consequently, they were desperately reaching out to anyone who could help.
Well, up to that point, it wasn't particularly shocking. It wasn't a common occurrence, but it was a plausible industry drama. What actually stunned Suyun was the identity of the "purchased song" and the rival's "new release."
She had written both of them.
Whether it was Aurora's Lean on You or Various's Blind Sight, both tracks had come from her own hands.
What in the world is this?
Of course, Suyun hadn't placed any restrictions on when the songs could be released. How the buyers chose to use them was entirely up to them. Therefore, she bore absolutely no moral responsibility for this bizarre clash... yet she couldn't help but feel profoundly dumbfounded.
It wasn't even "Su versus Yun," so what on earth were they doing?
Suyun cleared her throat and spoke.
"There's really no reason for us to do this. Even if we have a bit of time left, our live tour is right around the corner. Traveling to Korea, rehearsing, and everything else would eat up at least two or three days."
"That is true."
"And even if it's billed as a collaboration, we'd essentially just be acting as their backing band. Since it's a music broadcast, we can't expect to play a major role like we did with Meteor. I don't see any reason to go."
Giving them the song was more than enough. Anything beyond that was unnecessary—that was Suyun's final verdict. She felt a bit sorry for Harin, who was a passionate fan of hers and was desperately trying to beat Various, but she had no desire to cast aside her own schedule to go play volunteer worker.
"I understand your perspective. However, they've offered a set of terms. Perhaps you should at least hear them out."
"Terms?"
Suyun twirled a strand of her hair, fully prepared to reject whatever they offered. But the moment the numbers left his mouth, her response was instantaneous.
"For that much, we should head out immediately."
"So you'll do it?"
"I mean, if they're offering that much, of course we have to do it. It's not like they're asking me to go on a variety show, laugh like an idiot, and do some weird dance. They're paying a university festival-level appearance fee, so we're going right now."
At Suyun's sudden about-face, Manager Kim stared at her, his mind racing with questions like, Just how much did they offer to make her react like that?
Suyun lowered her voice slightly as she continued.
"But we're splitting that four ways, right? It's not all going to me, is it?"
"Suyun..."
"I'm kidding, I'm kidding. Who could be such a thief?"
Suyun chuckled. For about two seconds, she wore the exact smile of someone who would gladly be that thief.
Monday, 18:00, the fourth week of September.
Just as a similar meeting had taken place in a certain corner of Seoul at this exact time last week, the staff of Square Entertainment and the members of Various gathered in a conference room with the exact same purpose.
Of course, this side was far more relaxed. They had a solid foundation to rely on, and their actual performance metrics—first-week sales, digital charts, and physical album sales—were already proving their dominance.
Though they weren't in peak condition due to the rushed preparations, they possessed an absolute confidence that the other side could never catch up. And the primary source of that confidence was their title track, Blind Sight.
Public reception of Blind Sight was nearly on par with Pretty Prime and Wanna get it, the very tracks that had propelled Various into the upper echelon of the idol world. Considering those two songs were widely regarded as defining hits of their respective release years, it was clear just how highly Blind Sight was being valued.
But that confidence was about to crumble, mirroring the exact panic that had struck another agency just a week prior.
"We have a major problem."
The PR Team Leader practically leaped out of his seat and bolted from the room the moment the song finished playing. The Various members whispered anxiously among themselves, while the rest of the staff fell into a panic, muttering, "What do we do now...?"
They had trusted their own song implicitly. But the blow to this agency was far more severe. Various had structured their entire comeback strategy on the assumption that Aurora wouldn't even be a threat. Operating under the assumption that they would easily sweep the number-one spot on all three major broadcast networks for two consecutive weeks, they hadn't invested heavily in promotional marketing—even after Aurora had practically declared war.
But now that the cards were on the table, the quality of Aurora's song was easily on par with theirs... if not outright superior. How had this happened?
"Did they seriously get that... what's-her-name to write for them again? The composer of Meteor."
"Looking at the style, it has to be her... It is. Seriously, what kind of connection do they have that they keep getting songs from Ha Suyun? Damn it, other agencies can't even get a meeting with her."
"If she's this good, why doesn't she just use these songs for her own band? Why does she keep giving them away to other people?"
"I heard a rumor that she has hundreds of songs like this sitting on her computer. Apparently, she just sells off the ones that don't fit her band's style."
"Does that even make sense?"
As the staff vented their frustration, a terrifying realization dawned on them. They had already proudly declared to the public: We have conquered Korea. We don't need to appear on music shows or do heavy promotions. Our class transcends all of that.
If a latecomer suddenly swooped in and utterly dominated them after such a declaration...
"Should we ban the girls from using the internet for a while?"
If that nightmare scenario became reality, the sheer volume of mockery that would flood the internet was unimaginable. As Various's road manager muttered the thought aloud, the members of the group visibly flinched.
"Are we going to have to do more promotional schedules?"
"I don't even know if that's possible since we already rejected almost everything. But seeing how Team Leader Kang just ran out of here, he's definitely trying to scramble something together..."
"Wait, what is this?!"
In the middle of their frantic conversation, a staff member let out a sharp cry and began tapping furiously on his phone. A KakaoTalk notification chimed simultaneously across everyone's devices, sharing a newly published article.
The band that had shaken the very foundations of the Korean music market before departing for Japan—and was now causing an even greater sensation there, sending shockwaves all the way back to Korea. The band whose name was now recognized by young and old alike...
Group Sound.
"...Isn't this cheating?"
Even if it was a one-time collaboration, the news of such a powerhouse entering the fray was, by any metric, an absolute disaster for Various.
Early morning, the day of the pre-recording.
"It's starting to get chilly, unnie."
"Yeah, it is."
Harin stepped outside for a breath of fresh air after completing her final stage checks. She had heard that the members of Group Sound would be arriving in a few minutes, and she wanted to greet them personally.
I still have no idea how they managed to pull this off...
A flood of emotions washed over her, but Harin pushed them all aside. Even if they had things to discuss, her absolute priority right now was to deliver a flawless performance. That was the bare minimum courtesy she owed to Group Sound for agreeing to share the stage with them.
"Is that them?"
"Oh..."
As they watched, a familiar red Mini Cooper pulled up in front of the venue. It was a car Harin recognized instantly from Group Sound's behind-the-scenes content. Four young women piled out of the vehicle, their faces instantly recognizable.
"Suyun...! Iseor, Hyun-ah, Seoha...!"
"It's been a while."
"Hello!!"
"Long... time no see..."
"Aigoo, look how long it's been!"
After a heartwarming reunion, the staff began unloading the instruments from a trailing van. The members of Group Sound and Aurora chatted animatedly—mostly with Aurora doing the talking—as they walked toward the waiting rooms, taking advantage of the brief window before the equipment setup was complete.
However, they were forced to halt just outside the door. A massive crowd had gathered in the hallway outside Aurora's waiting room.
"Did something happen?"
At Suyun's muttered question from the front of the group, the whispering crowd turned around. They were mostly other idol groups scheduled to perform on the music show that day.
"Oh my god... it's really them."
"No way, no way."
"Excuse me, could we get your autographs?"
Suddenly, the idols swarmed Group Sound like ordinary fans meeting their biases, chattering excitedly.
"What is going on here?"
"Is this okay?"
"We're so sorry, but they have to head inside to prepare right now! Everyone, we'll have plenty of time later!"
As Harin frantically stepped in to shield the flustered band members, the rest of Aurora watched in awe. Because they were so close with Group Sound, they often forgot, but Group Sound had reached a level of artistry where even active television idols lined up just to get their autographs.
Cream Entertainment's gamble paid off spectacularly.
"Choi Harin! Yoo Su-ryeon! Lee Yoon-seo! Kim Si-yeon! Park Hye-na!"
"Group Sound! Group Sound! Group Sound! Group Sound! Group Sound! Group Sound!"
"Thank you so much!!"
Bolstered by Group Sound's god-tier playing (though "money-tier" would probably be a more accurate description of Suyun's motivation) and a brilliant band-style arrangement, Aurora successfully wrapped up their recording.
As eyewitness accounts of the pre-recording flooded the internet, news articles quickly followed, heavily featuring Group Sound's name alongside Aurora's.
These articles spread rapidly across online forums, KakaoTalk group chats, Telegram channels, and even BAND—the community app favored by the older generation. Although Group Sound hadn't launched a formal promotional campaign in Korea, the Korean versions of I'll Wait for You and Faintly, But Surely had been released. Much like in Japan, these songs held a powerful appeal for middle-aged and older listeners.
All they had done was perform a single collaboration stage. Yet, the sheer weight of the name "Group Sound" began to tilt the scales of public opinion, mobilizing a massive, dormant force of the general public that Various and Aurora alone could never have engaged.
And the ultimate verdict was about to be delivered.
Friday, 17:00, the first week of October.
On the stage of the weekly broadcast music show, the entire industry held its breath, waiting to see if a true "giant killing" was about to unfold.