A Shot at the Big Time
"Ah, this one." Suyun looked at Ito's phone, then nodded. "I know it. It's a great channel."
"Right? Everyone does promotions on the internet these days. I guess you could say music shows on TV have lost a bit of their edge."
The First Shot—abbreviated as Pasushuto—was a Japanese music YouTube channel, and the single most subscribed music-focused channel on the platform. Five years after its creation in 2019, it had reached ten million subscribers, and now it was rapidly closing in on twenty-five million.
And it wasn't just about the subscriber count. It boasted dozens of videos with over a hundred million views, and those with over ten million were too numerous to count. It was common for a video to hit a million views immediately upon upload, and there were many cases where album sales skyrocketed with the sentiment, "If it's on The First Shot, you can trust it!"
Furthermore, the channel's concept was capturing a one-take, single-shot performance. It was the absolute perfect stage to showcase live skills. In fact, many artists had proven their talent and made their careers by appearing on this channel.
In other words, there was no reason for Suyun not to appear on it. It more than satisfied all of her strict conditions.
But that raised a question. Why hadn't Suyun appeared on The First Shot yet?
Well, they have to invite us first.
The answer was simple: it wasn't that she chose not to, but that she couldn't. It wasn't because they weren't high-tier enough, nor was it because they weren't the target demographic. It wasn't even because they hadn't expressed interest.
But they had never received a clear response.
Actually, Suyun thought that made sense. Programs like Music Share were produced by broadcasting stations. And because broadcasting stations wore the mask of "the press," they at least tried to look fair or accommodate minorities. Even if they were taking bribes behind the scenes, like in the recent Music Share incident.
But The First Shot was a music channel run by a commercial enterprise. A channel whose purpose was to promote its own products alongside its own artists. To appear in such a place, one had to pay the operators in some way.
But Group Sound had nothing to give. They had no intention of paying promotion fees, nor did they have any collaborations with the parent company, let alone endorsement deals.
They were confident they could generate enough views and buzz. Kingdom was a massive hit, and its view count was still climbing. But with only that, they were bound to be pushed down the priority list. Because the operators had to feature their own artists first.
So, naturally, they kept getting pushed back, or they would only receive a vague "We will look into it" reply, and the appearance would fizzle out. Just like now.
"Come to think of it, Taka-san, you've been on Pasushuto a lot, haven't you?"
"Well, our company makes it, after all."
But when an opportunity like this arose, things changed. Suyun twirled her hair and looked at Ito. Right, this guy's agency belonged to *that* side. A label under the very company that manufactured audio equipment and produced The First Shot.
"If you're interested in appearing, I can talk to the company. Of course, it might not happen immediately just because I said so, but..."
Suyun figured those words were just a display of modesty. If he couldn't make it happen, there would have been no reason to bring it up in the first place. He was probably just managing expectations, just in case.
"For us, it's a channel we've always wanted to appear on."
"Oh, really? Then why... Ah, well, we do have a lot of artists. I suppose that makes sense."
"But, well. It's a bit difficult for me to decide everything on my own... I'll talk to the company first and get back to you."
"Good, good. Of course you should. I'll also feel out the people at my company. To see if it's possible."
Ito laughed heartily. He was glad they wanted to do it.
At least I can repay a bit of my debt.
The debt he owed from this project album. Of course, even though it was a project, they were in the same band, so there was no actual debt to speak of, but there was such a thing as a moral obligation. The obligation of quietly watching a kid, much younger than his own cousin, lead the project. Ito thought it was a relief he could repay it even a little like this.
"Taka-san, get us on it too."
"Yeah, us too."
"You guys handle your own stuff. You all have agencies, so why are you asking me?"
"Doesn't Suyun-san have an agency too?"
"Her case is a bit different."
Watching them bicker, Suyun messaged Manager Jung on her phone. She told him that an offer for The First Shot seemed likely to come through.
A few days later, after their appearance on The First Shot was confirmed.
"...So, we might need to adjust the schedule a bit for that part."
"Adjust the schedule..."
"Yes. Since we don't know how things will turn out."
Suyun said, taking a sip of her coffee. The Dutch coffee, diluted so much it was closer to coffee-flavored water than actual coffee, was perfect for drinking like water. In Japanese, you could call it her my boom.
"Was there anything else?"
"Anything else... Ah. They mentioned that if possible, they'd like to do at least one live performance."
"A live performance too? Hmm..."
Hearing Suyun's words, Manager Jung looked up at the ceiling, seemingly lost in thought. Watching his face, Suyun continued.
"Well, I'm fine with it, and they're fine with it. There's nothing bad about it from the company's perspective."
"Then shouldn't we do it? Even if it's small, it's still revenue. And if your identities are revealed through a live performance after being anonymous, it'll probably make you even more famous."
"But the kids..."
"What about the kids?"
"Ah..." muttered Manager Jung, his voice suddenly cut off by someone else barging in. Suyun turned around, feeling strangely like she had been caught red-handed.
The three of them had arrived.
"Is something going on?"
"Nothing at all."
"Then why were you talking about 'the kids'? Weren't you talking about us?"
"Ah~ well."
Suyun felt a strange need to make an excuse. There was no real reason to, but she felt compelled anyway. So, twirling her hair slightly, she brought up something they had never discussed before.
"I was thinking, before we leave Japan for good, shouldn't we go on a road trip or some kind of travel? It might be fun to turn that into our own self-produced content."
"Whoa! Holy crap, your instincts are insane! How did you even think of that? As expected of the great Suyun."
Predictably, Iseor muttered this, hugged Suyun, and began vigorously rubbing her head. Suyun frowned and tried to shake her off, but due to the laws of physics, her efforts failed to achieve their goal.
"Anyway, the reason we're gathered here... did Suyun-nim tell you all?"
"No."
"No..."
"She absolutely refused to tell us."
At their three-part response, Manager Jung looked at Suyun. Suyun shrugged. She hadn't told them because she thought it would be fun to surprise them for once.
"I don't know why she didn't tell you..."
"I just didn't tell them. To surprise them."
"Why do we need to be surprised?"
"It's more fun that way."
"You find the weirdest things fun."
Despite grumbling, the three of them focused on Manager Jung's mouth. Because they knew Suyun would never tell them. And the news that came out of Manager Jung's mouth was indeed enough to surprise them.
"You know The First Shot, right? Your appearance there has been confirmed."
"Really?!"
The words burst from all three of them simultaneously. It was that big of a deal. The First Shot was a channel that any musician active in Japan dreamed of appearing on.
"Wow, this really makes me feel like we've made it. The First Shot..."
"Isn't that... a place where only really famous people go?"
"Hey. We're already famous. How many people are more famous than us?"
"Probably more than the population of Tokyo? Those who are more famous than us."
"Even so... it just doesn't feel real, I guess."
"We've been doing this for over five years, and it still doesn't feel real? That's weirder. We've been on plenty of music shows in Korea too."
"This is... a bit different..."
"Is it because your heart belongs to Japan? Korean music shows are just whatever, but a Japanese First Shot finally makes you feel successful?"
"What are you even talking about..."
Watching the three of them trade banter and mock accusations as naturally as breathing, Suyun twirled her hair. Watching them get excited, tease each other, and play around was entertaining in its own way. But Suyun had another reason for keeping this a secret, besides wanting to surprise them.
"You know what kind of channel The First Shot is, right?"
"Of course. It's that concept where you record everything in one take, right?"
At Suyun's question, Iseor answered confidently, as if she knew everything. But before Suyun could even reply, Iseor realized something from her own words, and her face turned pale.
Even after just a year of living together, you can generally predict what the other person will say. After rolling around together for over five years, they knew exactly how the other would react in any given situation.
"Right. One take. But we can't just go on a show like that and perform half-heartedly, can we? We need to arrange the song. Polish it in various ways."
"Ah, I actually made a new friend recently, and we promised to go on a week-long trip..."
"I also have somewhere I need to visit..."
"Ah, I forgot to hang the laundry back at the dorm."
The moment she finished speaking, the three of them bolted upright. Iseor, always quick to act, was already reaching for the door, but 'for some reason,' the door was locked.
"Why won't this open?"
Looking at Iseor and the others, Suyun uttered the words they dreaded hearing most.
"Where do you think you're going? We have to practice."
The hour of retribution awaited them.
A few days later. At the shooting location of The First Shot.
"They're coming, they're coming."
"Hello~"
The studio, surrounded by the iconic white walls that symbolized The First Shot. Four women entered the waiting room set up simply next to it. The staff greeted them out of habit.
"Hello!"
"Hello~! Nice to meet you!"
"Nice to meet you."
"Hello."
The four women, who appeared strangely exhausted, returned the greetings with slightly different but similarly polite attitudes. Despite their obvious fatigue, they were humble and bright, unlike those who occasionally suffered from diva behavior.
"Wow, they're really pretty. That one could easily be an idol."
"More of a Korean idol vibe than a Japanese one, right?"
"Exactly."
There was no need to give them complicated directions. They all followed the staff's instructions, asking, "What should we do next?"
"They're all so nice."
"I know, right?"
The staff was quite impressed by their attitude. Most musicians who made it this far had strong egos. Even if they didn't show it in front of the camera, they often behaved poorly behind the scenes.
"Have you listened to their music?"
"I don't think I have."
"You haven't heard Waiting for You, Kingdom, or Faintly, But Surely?"
"I think I've heard at least one of them."
But that impression was strictly about their attitude. The people in this studio had witnessed countless artists perform right before their eyes, from the incredibly famous to the newly budding rookies. To them, the four women in front of them were just "polite people." They didn't view them as amazing artists or musicians whose music they desperately wanted to hear.
Just people they met through work. That was all.
"Please let us know when you're ready."
And that impression didn't seem likely to change.
After their makeup was done.
After the director gave the cue.
After the four of them took their positions.
"Let's go."
After the long-haired woman gave the signal.
Before the acoustic guitar in her hands began to ring out.