Exposed Idols on the Music Show (2)
"The CEO… sir?"
"…Yes. It could be a merger and acquisition, or any number of other possibilities…. But given that a specific individual is buying up the shares, it might well be an attempt to swallow the agency whole."
"…Then what happens?"
"We can't predict that either. Only that person knows their own intentions. Still… I'm worried about Sepia."
A man who looked every bit a department head at a major conglomerate wore a grave, heavy expression.
"If they seize control of the company and restructure the business, Sepia could be in danger. I truly hope this never comes to pass, but there's even a risk of disbandment."
Gulp.
Disbandment. The word made my fists tremble.
That was the one thing I was thrashing and clawing to prevent no matter what….
"Isn't there any way to stop it?"
"…At the individual level, it looks difficult. This was a company whose market cap used to sit just under 15 billion won, and even after it ballooned to 40 billion they're still buying. Factoring in the stake, the capital behind this is enormous. Whether it's truly a private individual or another corporation using one as a front, countering it would require tens of billions in cash at minimum. …It's no easy feat."
Only then did a remark flash through my mind.
'There's a faction buying up shares in that company….'
'The CEO needs a large sum of money right now….'
That was what Baek Pan-su and Bu Ra-jang had told Eunchae last Sunday.
The reason the CEO had kept needing cash finally clicked into place.
And to raise that cash, Eunchae was now….
Even so, it still wasn't enough. The crisis was real.
"There are roughly two other options, however…."
"Other options? What are they?"
"The first is simply… for Sepia to succeed. If Sepia generates meaningful revenue, even a new CEO wouldn't dare dismantle them lightly. Simple, but certain."
"I see…."
"And the second…. This is something I would personally need to discuss with the CEO before moving forward, but…. Manager, would that be all right with you?"
He glanced at me sidelong.
I couldn't quite read the look in his eyes. About half of it seemed sincere.
As a securities firm employee, he couldn't ignore profit entirely. I figured the other half was that.
Whatever his true motives, with no other options on the table, anything that might help the CEO even a little would also be a path for Sepia.
At the very least, this man wouldn't actively harm them.
From my position—where Sepia mattered more than the CEO—there was no reason to refuse.
"Understood. I'll speak with the CEO about it."
"No, Manager. Please focus on Sepia. I'll handle the contact myself."
"…Ah. You will?"
"Yes. I only asked because I wanted to hear your resolve."
"……Pardon?"
"Manager. Are you prepared to do whatever it takes to protect Sepia?"
I felt like I'd heard a similar question once before.
And just as then, my answer hadn't changed.
"Yes. Of course."
"Sepia, Sepia, fighting!"
The girls chanted their cheer and climbed onto the stage.
It wasn't the actual broadcast—just rehearsal—but costumes and choreography had to be identical to the real thing.
After so long away from music shows, tension showed on their faces, yet the moment they stepped onstage it vanished completely, replaced by the polished presence of a fourth-album idol group.
"Hello! I'm Harin of Sepia!"
"Hello! I'm Eunchae of Sepia!"
"……I'm Sarang!"
"……I'm Se-a!"
Each girl called out her name loudly and bowed at the waist.
Costumes and makeup were identical to the main broadcast, but large name tags were taped across their chests and backs.
Staff usually used those to track blocking. Network employees didn't memorize every idol's name and face by heart, after all.
From the waist down they wore the exact skirts planned for the show.
…And, as contracted, no undershorts.
The girls had immediately complained about the lack of undershorts, and some had even connected it to my earlier demand that they wear specific lingerie, growing suspicious—but there was nothing they could do about it.
Still, the skirts weren't the completely free-flapping kind, and everything would be properly edited for the actual performance. Everyone except Eunchae had more or less accepted it on those grounds.
But.
If they had ever seen the view from below the stage, they never would have accepted it.
As their manager I stood right under the stage, roughly first-row audience level, to watch them prepare. Even knowing the situation in advance, I was still shocked.
……Everything was visible.
The moment they stepped even slightly toward the front of the stage, it was an open display. The stage was… far higher than I'd expected.
From here I could even confirm exactly what color panties each of them was wearing.
If someone filmed a fancam from this angle and uploaded it… it would get taken down for indecency long before it ever became a viral exposure scandal.
"Take one, Sepia starting!"
The moment the track kicked in, the girls moved into their prepared blocking and launched straight into the choreography.
Past the opening and into the chorus, the signature dance they'd prepared began.
Innocent-concept idols, yet the moves were lively and quick, laced with a touch of allure.
Every spin, every jump sent the skirts fluttering, panties fully on display.
The tight fit meant that when they turned their backs, even the curve of their asses showed clearly.
The staff beside me couldn't keep their mouths shut.
"Holy shit. Sepia's gone insane."
"…They're not wearing undershorts, right? I'm not seeing things?"
"They'll put them on for the actual broadcast. No way they'd tank the show like that."
"When we shoot later, stick to upper body. Cut the full-body shots."
"…They're not selling, so they're pulling every desperate stunt. Crazy bastards."
"Right? Making the kids do this."
"Fancams are definitely going to catch it…. Aigoo. I don't even know anymore."
Then someone tapped another staffer's arm and pointed at me.
When our eyes met, they all cleared their throats and scattered.
Even as they fled, I caught the looks—contempt, pity, a whole mix of them.
I clenched my jaw and endured it.
I endured the sight of the girls fluttering their skirts and flashing their panties in front of so many people.
I endured the endless whispering behind me without listening.
Because I had to protect Sepia.
If the ad money we earned this way could protect them even a little…
Then I could endure every insult and every shred of shame.
I believed the girls felt the same.
Just as Harin had.
Just as Eunchae had.
For Sepia, we all had to endure a little.
Standing here was our dream—mine and theirs.
"…That was Sepia! Thank you!"
In the end, we finished the entire main recording of the music show in those same outfits.
Fan reactions were better than expected, and no one muttered the way the staff had.
No one openly announced they were staring up the skirts and ruined the broadcast with a scene.
But the people filming fancams, and everyone watching Sepia from the front rows, all stayed silent—yet every single one of them saw.
The panties and ass lines that peeked out when the skirts lifted while they shook their hips.
The triangular panties flashing inside the flipped skirts on every jump.
The underwear visible from certain angles whenever they bent at the waist or tilted their bodies.
Even the poses where they crossed or slightly parted their legs left the insides of the skirts completely exposed.
People who hadn't been holding cameras pulled out their phones one after another the moment they saw it and started shooting.
I had no idea how far it would spread…. Officially those photos and videos would never surface.
But quietly, under the table, they would circulate among people.
After the performance we all gathered in the waiting room.
"Great work, everyone!"
"Thank you for your hard work!"
The girls' greetings were followed by a brief round of congratulatory applause.
We weren't heading home yet. We still had to go back onstage later for the first-place awards ceremony. We'd been scheduled early, so plenty of time remained.
"How is it? The reactions so far…."
Harin asked me with worried eyes.
After every performance I would compile the reactions flooding communities, SNS, and YouTube and read them out to them.
"Hang on. I'll read them straight."
"Ooh~. I'm excited!"
"Please…. Please don't let them be bad…!"
Sarang and Se-a clenched their fists and stared holes through my mouth.
Eunchae, though… stood a little apart, staring only at the floor.
Her expression looked like she'd committed some terrible crime.
I looked at my phone and began reading the reactions one by one.
"'Sepia's new song seems pretty good. Fits their image well.'"
"Ooh~!"
"Next?"
"'Heading straight to stream it lmao. Didn't even know they dropped a new song.'"
"See? I told you the promo was lacking."
"'The dance is way more intense than I expected. Ope—'"
I stopped mid-sentence, words dying in my throat.
"Ope—?"
"Ah, no. That's all."
I couldn't bring myself to read the rest aloud.
Only then did the full weight of what we had done finally sink in.