A Vision of Red Blossom's Future
I'd met one of the failed idols. It was the girl who'd been wrestling with the audio equipment back in the practice room. Lina, if I remembered right. Never in a million years would I have guessed she was part of Red Blossom.
"The company told you to speak Korean, didn't they?" The tall woman standing front and center said something.
"It's fine. That ahjussi speaks English well."
Then why did she talk to me in English?
What kind of Grace was this unnecessarily detailed? How does it even know what country someone is from? It all sounds like Korean to me.
So only hearing Korean meant my skill was still lacking. Even a Grace needed to be used with proficiency before it could show its true worth. My knowledge about the Graces had just increased by one more lesson.
"Why are you calling him the article uncle? Do you know him?"
"I told you about the person who fixed the audio in the practice room. It's him. He just placed his hand on it and the sound started working perfectly."
They must have been talking about the repairman. So it wasn't a knight after all.
The stares were so intense I turned my head. The three people inside the office were looking at me with shocked expressions. Ever since yesterday, the only emotions they'd shown toward me were either laughter or surprise.
"You spoke English with Lina? Then your level must be pretty high?"
"Why didn't you put English conversation as a special skill on your resume? It was completely blank."
"A guy who's not afraid of knives is even good at English…."
It seemed they'd completely misunderstood.
"No, it's not… it's really not that impressive… I just handle basic conversation. In this global age, who would brag about something like that on their resume? Hahaha."
From their faces, it didn't look like I could laugh this off.
"Hello, Manager. I'm Ryu Yeoreum."
She was the leader and main dancer, Ryu Yeoreum. She was also active as an actress these days, so she was the only one with a schedule.
It's exquisite. A perfect half-and-half blend.
There was a clear difference between "pretty as a girl-group member" and "pretty as an actress," but she struck that balance beautifully. Her looks reminded me of Oh Yu-jin, who had reached her peak after transitioning from child actress to idol.
"Nice to meet you… I'm Song Sera."
It was the main vocalist, Song Sera. She seemed shy; she wouldn't make eye contact. I'd watched her singing video on MuTube yesterday, and her voice had been exactly my taste. If the group had succeeded, she would have become one of the most talked-about girl-group vocalists… It was heartbreaking in so many ways.
"Hello! I'm Red Blossom's Lina, as refreshing as a summer sea!"
It was the main rapper Lina whom I'd met in the practice room. She stood up, struck a pose, and greeted me like a proper idol. Her energy was great, but she had zero sense of the seasons.
"It's autumn right now…."
"Ah, my mistake. Hello! I'm Red Blossom's Lina, as refreshing as an autumn sky."
"You even have seasonal greetings?"
"I made one for every season. The other members say they're weird and refuse to use them."
It seemed like a combination of high tension and a touch of 4D personality.
Lina sat across from me and kept speaking in English. After listening to the Divine Spirit's explanation, I focused whenever she talked. Now I could catch fragments of English in one ear. It looked like my Grace was slowly upgrading.
"The leader told you not to use English earlier."
"But Manager speaks English so well. It's been forever since I've had a real English conversation. I love it. Please only talk to me like this when we're together, okay?"
That expression while begging was completely unfair.
"I'll do that, so use Korean for now. There are other people here."
"Hehe, I finally have a conversation partner~ Korean is way too hard."
Yeoreum glanced at me, then spoke to the team leader.
"You're not disbanding our team, right? We have a new manager now."
"Where did you hear we were disbanding?"
"Everyone at the company is saying it. More than half of us have already left. It's been ages since we've done any broadcasts or events… At this rate, I don't know if we'll end up disbanding."
Even after the team leader spoke, the three girls' expressions didn't brighten. I'd only been here two days and I could already feel the gloomy atmosphere. I couldn't imagine how heavy it must be for them.
The team leader quickly changed the subject, but the mood never improved. The completely empty schedule sheet killed any desire to talk about company matters, and with the team in this state, we couldn't properly discuss future activities, member recruitment, albums, comeback timelines—nothing.
We killed time with random small talk and sipping drinks.
"Onwoo, you sit next to him. Juwon, you'll drive the kids back to the dorm. You'll be going there often, so memorize the route."
"Yes, Team Leader."
When we reached the parking lot, an extremely worn-out van was waiting. After only seeing shiny celebrity vans, the sight of this one made it painfully clear what kind of treatment they received.
"It was fine until two members left, but they told us to use this since our numbers dropped. Still, it runs without any major issues."
The senior must have read my expression; he spoke with an awkward smile.
I was losing my mind. For real.
When I started the engine, the senior set the navigation.
"The address is already saved, so use it when you go alone. The entrance is complicated, so you'll need to set it a few times."
The address showed it was quite far from the company.
"It's pretty far from the company. Don't they usually get dorms nearby? So they can walk?"
"We used to have a dorm close by, but after the two members left and we stopped doing activities, we moved. We're not exactly a team that earns money for the company, you know."
Yeoreum answered from the back seat.
"Everything except dorm rent, food expenses, and basic living costs has been cut off. That's why we take turns doing part-time jobs. There are still things we need money for besides eating and sleeping… It's too much."
The complaints kept coming. The other members and the senior stayed silent, staring out the windows.
The atmosphere was seriously hard to adjust to.
"It's like this for now, but we don't know what the future holds. I'm still new, so I don't know how much help I'll be, but I'll do everything I can."
These were the first celebrities I'd met after joining the company. They were the people I—who had never been able to shine—needed to help shine. I didn't know how yet, but I desperately wanted to make it happen.
With that thought, I tightened my grip on the steering wheel.
"Manager."
"Yes?"
"You've been using formal speech this whole time. You can speak casually with us."
"That's right! It feels weird when Ahjussi keeps using honorifics with me."
Lina jumped in.
"Before that, I think Lina should fix her own words first. I'm not old enough to be called ahjussi."
"How old are you?"
"Twenty-seven."
"You're seven years older than me, so ahjussi is correct."
"I thought you were over thirty…."
Sera's quiet, shrinking voice delivered the bigger shock. Did I really look that old?
Don't just stay silent!
"Lina, stop calling him ahjussi from now on. Call him Manager or Manager Oppa. And Manager, please speak casually with us too. It makes us uncomfortable."
As expected of the leader, Yeoreum neatly organized everything.
I lost count of how many narrow alleys I had to turn down, just like the senior said. It was an old building with nightmare-level parking. The officetel had two rooms, a cramped bathroom, and no clear separation between the living room and kitchen. I set down the luggage from the car and let out a sigh. The space was hopelessly inadequate for three girls.
"We only sleep here on weekdays, so it's not that inconvenient. The kitchen is enough for us to cook simple meals…."
"Do you cook often?"
"We have to save on food and living expenses. We never know when the support will get cut."
She sounded less like a girl-group leader and more like a tenacious young head of household. How could she focus on her career while living like this? It was genuinely too much.
Suddenly, everything around me froze.
Enough with the Zen answers. This is the Grace of Prophecy, right? Show me quickly.
It seemed the more familiar I became with the Grace, the farther into the future I could see. The familiar screen appeared before my eyes.
Countless entertainment news headlines raced past at terrifying speed. Perfect all-kill on the charts. Seventeen music show trophies. Every word radiated the unmistakable scent of massive success.
A music show performance appeared. Five muses wrapped in brilliant lights and powerful instrumentals. Precise group choreography blended with each member's fluid dance lines, painting the entire screen in perfect harmony. They mixed refreshing winks and playful energy, then instantly shifted the mood into a sensual performance that stole the souls of everyone watching.
This is no joke. Now I understand why they blew up.
I thought I recognized the faces and hoped I was wrong, but it was Red Blossom. The group that had been on the verge of disbandment—achieving an all-kill? Seventeen music show wins? More than that, there were only three of them in reality. Why were there five people on stage?
The screen vanished after showing Yeoreum gripping the microphone, tears streaming down her face.
This is Red Blossom's future?