Chapter 102
Chapter 102
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 102
Chapter Title: Teaser and Turmoil
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Park Ji-ham couldn't sit still, fidgeting restlessly.
He paced from the living room to the kitchen and the bathroom, his eyes glued to his phone.
“Ji-ham.”
“Yeah?”
At Haru’s call, Park Ji-ham stopped in his tracks.
“Let’s just sit and wait. You’re going to circle the house a hundred times at this rate.”
“Okay.”
Park Ji-ham sat down on the sofa.
But his fidgeting didn't stop.
He bounced his leg and fiddled with his hands.
*Ding.*
The moment the notification sounded, Park Ji-ham snatched up his phone.
“I got a message.”
“Hurry up and check it.”
“Okay.”
Park Ji-ham took a deep breath before checking the message.
I watched his expression.
As he read the message with a serious face, a smile blossomed.
“What did it say?”
Only then did Lee Ho-jun ask him.
“The senior artist said it’s good to go as is, without any revisions. And that he wants to talk about the song later.”
“See? I told you so.”
The smile never left Park Ji-ham’s lips.
“Yoon-seul.”
“Yeah?”
“Thanks. You’ve helped me so much since RED CUBE. If it weren’t for you, I would’ve hidden my songs away from everyone and never let anyone hear them.”
His words of gratitude made me feel a little awkward.
“But how do you always know?”
Park Ji-ham asked, looking at me as if I were a marvel.
*It’s because I knew the future.*
Since I couldn't tell him the truth, I just shrugged my shoulders in response.
“So, our comeback song will be your song, Ji-ham. Congratulations, composer Park Ji-ham. You’re going to be the one making the most money among us.”
Haru said with a laugh in his voice.
“Huh?”
“They say you get royalties when you compose a song.”
It seemed Park Ji-ham hadn't thought that far ahead.
“Ah. Right. I never even considered that I’d be able to receive royalties.”
“You’re going to be the richest among us now. Treat us to lots of good food. You get royalties separately even before the official payment settlement, right?”
“Is that so?”
“Yeah. It was in the contract.”
“You’re a foreigner, yet you read those things so carefully. I just assumed it had nothing to do with me, so I didn’t read that part.”
“You have to read contracts thoroughly. I was basically tricked into debuting with ‘Red Ten’ before.”
“Tricked?”
Jung Eun-woo asked, his eyes wide.
“Ah, did I not mention it? That agency had me sign an unfair contract. That’s why I was stuck promoting with them for six years.”
It was shocking.
I was amazed at how nonchalantly he could say something like that.
“An unfair contract?”
“Yeah. The profit-sharing ratio was terrible. Plus, they worked me to the bone. No one knows how much I suffered as a foreign laborer.”
It was a form of self-deprecating humor.
“Anyway, let’s do well in our next promotions, too.”
***
Out of nowhere, a new post appeared on Creatin’s official account, which had previously been filled only with news about *Twisty Puzzle*.
[Creatin - FESTIVAL COMEBACK TEASER]
It was a comeback teaser.
↳What is this?
↳They said they were going to the company a lot lately, so they were preparing for a comeback? I thought they were obviously preparing for *Twisty Puzzle*.
↳Wow. These guys are relentless. They were killing it on stage in *Twisty Puzzle* while also preparing for a comeback?
↳I hope they get a song that’s a perfect fit for them this time.
↳Honestly, *Twisty Puzzle* proved that Creatin’s poor performance last time wasn't their fault.
A high school girl who was enjoying *Twisty Puzzle* naturally clicked on Creatin’s comeback teaser.
The first thing that caught her eye was the thumbnail of Creatin’s leader, Jae-hee, smiling brightly amidst a shower of confetti.
His hair, which had been black until recently, was now a brilliant blond.
“He is handsome.”
—NA NA NA NA
Just as the title suggested, the melody had a bright feel.
A well-decorated room came into view.
The walls were purple, and there were balloons and decorations everywhere.
It looked like they were having a party.
The members of Creatin were eating and having a good time.
Then, Jae-hee gave a playful grin and stood up from his seat.
He picked up a dart and popped a balloon.
Confetti burst out from inside the popped balloon.
Creatin smiled brightly as they were showered with confetti.
—I’ll invite you to this place
It was a part that highlighted a soft, clear voice.
After that one line, the teaser ended.
[I thought it was for *Twisty Puzzle* and was surprised to see it was a teaser.]
↳But I like the concept?
↳Me too. It suits them well. The clothes are just bright knits, sweatshirts, and striped T-shirts, so it gives off a student vibe.
[As long as it’s not teaser-bait, I think it’ll be good? Their last song felt a bit too mature for their age? Should I say it made them look older? There was a bit of that.]
↳This is why it's so important to wear clothes that fit you.
↳But I didn't expect a teaser to drop so suddenly.
↳I think the schedule was moved up because of RE-V’s comeback.
↳I think so too. Sigh… Why do our boys’ schedules always have to change because of RE-V? Didn’t their comeback get delayed last time because of RE-V too?
↳But that's just a suspicion, we don't know if it's true.
[The boys said they were having a comeback soon, but then JR suddenly dropped the bomb that they signed a contract during RED CUBE, and all talk of a comeback disappeared. That was a little suspicious from the start, right? But then there was no word even after *Twisty Puzzle* started, so I was like, this is weird??? I figured they’d have their comeback after *Twisty Puzzle* ended… That’s what I was thinking. But then a teaser suddenly drops before *Twisty Puzzle* is even over? It’s too suspicious. Why do our boys always have to have their schedules changed because of RE-V? I really hate RE-V.]
↳What? You hate RE-V for this?? If you’re going to hate someone, hate the company. What did our boys do wrong?
↳??? Our boys even performed with them on *Twisty Puzzle*, and this is what we get in return?
↳Wow. This is ridiculous.
↳You wouldn’t be saying that if you were in our shoes for once.
↳So selfish.
A full-blown fight erupted on social media between Creatin’s fans and RE-V’s fans.
[Seriously. Why are Creatin fans suddenly dragging us into this? This is so annoying. What did we do? What did our boys do wrong? If you’re mad, go complain to the company, why are you taking it out on our boys? What do they even know? Did they go and beg the company or something? I’m the one who’s more annoyed after getting dragged into this for no reason.]
↳Seriously! That’s what I’m saying! Why are they suddenly dragging our boys into this mess?
↳Sigh… They even helped with the *Twisty Puzzle* stage, and this is the treatment they get.
↳So you just think whatever you want, flipping your opinions like a switch.
↳How can people be like that? We even posted a picture on our account encouraging people to vote for Creatin. So we even went and ‘liked’ their stuff when we could have just watched.
↳lol bragging about pressing ‘like’?
↳Who’s bragging? I’m saying we were thinking of you guys in a good way, and then you betray us.
It seemed this battle of words would not end easily.
[Creatin fans are coming in here with their baseless theories, what is this lolllllll Get a grip. This isn’t helping Creatin at all. If you hadn’t said that, we would’ve streamed for them since they’re from the same company and seem close to our boys.]
↳True. I was actually going to stream for them, but now I won’t.
↳lol why would we stream for them. Not when they act like this. They’ll just blame our boys again if anything happens.
↳lol I’m definitely not watching. If my algorithm recommends it? I’m clicking off immediately.
[RE-V fans’ ego is insane. You think we’re gonna flop if you don’t stream for us? lol we’re doing fine without help from other fandoms right now, thanks?]
↳Right. As if we can’t chart without their help.
↳But you couldn’t. You’ve never done it, so what are you talking about lollll
↳‘Fine’ my ass. You guys aren’t popular. You’d think they were a number one artist.
↳You guys only got number one once.
↳Have you even gotten it that one time? lolllll You can’t even chart, what are you talking about lollll We hit number one as soon as we debuted.
↳Still a bunch of flops.
↳Does that make you feel better? You’re flops too lollllll We’ve escaped our flop status! You’re still flops! Talk after you beat our first-week sales with your next album, okay? You’re releasing your album with the money RE-V earned. Be grateful. You couldn’t have had a comeback without us.
***
While scrolling through social media, the members of Creatin discovered that their fans were fighting with RE-V’s fans.
“Hyung, did you see this?”
“Yeah. I just saw it too.”
“Haa… This shouldn’t be happening.”
“I know. It’s true that our comeback schedule was changed because of RE-V, but they don’t deserve to be hated for it.”
Kang-jun’s eyebrows furrowed in distress.
“If Yoon-seul hadn’t recommended us for *Twisty Puzzle*…”
Oscar trailed off.
“We can’t just leave this as it is.”
“Exactly.”
“What should we do?”
Creatin fell into deep thought.
They couldn’t let the people who had helped them so much get into trouble.
“How about we upload a post? Emphasizing that we’re on good terms with RE-V.”
“Let’s try that for now. We have to do something.”
“Right.”
Creatin picked up their phones and put their heads together.
After a long while, they lifted their heads.
“Ah.”
Having kept their heads down for a long time, they let out groans from the pain in their necks.
“This should be enough, right?”
“I believe it will be. Our fans aren’t bad people.”
“Yeah.”
Creatin checked the post they had just uploaded one more time.
[Hello, this is Creatin. We were so surprised when we logged onto social media. We saw that our Agers were arguing with BRAVEs. We are very cautious about bringing this up. However, we couldn't stand by and watch RE-V get hurt any longer. The truth is, it was RE-V who helped us get on *Twisty Puzzle*. We’ve been receiving so much help from them since then. So, Agers, we would be grateful if you would stop the arguments. Our teaser came out today, so let’s focus only on that. Okay?]