Chapter 112
Chapter 112
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 112
Chapter Title: A Stolen Melody
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“Let's meet today's contenders for first place.”
The moment we debuted, we not only charted but also became contenders for first place.
“Hello, we are RE-V.”
The MC, smiling brightly, began the interview.
“The other contender for first place is Creatin, your senior group from the same agency. What are your thoughts on that?”
Just as the MC said, Creatin was a first-place contender even though their promotional period had ended.
Their popularity had exploded belatedly.
*'The agency's plan to avoid an in-house battle has fallen apart.'*
Twisty Puzzle had done well, but it was no match for RED CUBE.
That's why the company probably hadn't expected this.
Who would have thought Creatin would be vying for first place after their promotions were over?
*'This is great news for Creatin, but not for us.'*
If Creatin beats us and takes first place here, it puts us in an awkward position.
With neither Creatin nor us having a full album yet, if they outperform us in terms of results, we won't be the next group to have a comeback.
“To be honest, we're just thrilled to be nominated for first place right after our comeback. We're incredibly grateful to BRAVE.”
Lee Ho-jun answered calmly and well.
He didn't want to cause a stir by mentioning Creatin here.
“I heard the stage you'll be showing us today is a pre-release track. Could you give us a brief introduction?”
“‘LIKE’ is a bright and cheerful song that describes the confusion and happiness a person experiences when falling in love for the first time.”
“Then, if you win first place today, could you tell us your promise for the encore stage?”
“If RE-V wins first place today, we'll perform wearing the wings from our music video.”
I remembered how much BRAVE loved the wings after seeing the music video, so I made that promise.
“Wow. I can almost hear the fans' cheers right now.”
“I know, right?”
At first, during these first-place interviews, we were always so tense, but now we seemed quite comfortable.
After finishing the interview, we returned to our waiting room.
While everyone was resting and conserving their energy, a knock came at the door.
“Yes?”
The ones who entered were none other than Zero to the Boy and my former manager.
“Hello, we are Zero to the Boy.”
Seeing their faces, our members and manager looked displeased.
“Ah, hello.”
The manager stepped forward, subtly blocking my view.
It seemed like a gesture of consideration.
*'I'm really okay now.'*
My former manager can't harm me anymore.
Come to think of it, though he often cursed and raised his hand, he never actually hit me.
To the company, I was a product, and damaging that product would cause problems for his career.
“We have a favor to ask.”
The moment I heard that, I could guess what the former manager would say next.
A challenge video.
“Would you film a challenge video with our Zero to the Boy?”
The person asking had a very arrogant attitude.
He was spitting out the words nonchalantly with a bored expression.
*'And here I was, debating whether to even consider it if he had asked nicely.'*
It was obvious our manager was forcing a smile, trying to suppress his anger.
“In a way, these kids could have been in the same group as Yoon-seul.”
“...Excuse me! How dare you bring up Yoon-seul's name?”
Unable to hold back, the manager raised his voice.
Regretting his outburst, he placed a hand on his forehead and let out a deep sigh.
“Our boys haven't slept a wink since yesterday. It would be better to film the challenge another day.”
We had gotten plenty of sleep last night.
JR didn't push RE-V with an extreme schedule.
They said we needed proper sleep to pour all our energy into our performances.
So, the manager was essentially using a lie to reject their proposal.
“Please just consider it.”
“Right.”
The manager said nothing more, as if urging them to leave.
He just stared at them blankly.
“Goodbye.”
Zero to the Boy bowed to us and left the waiting room.
“What is with that guy? Is he insane? Wow.”
The moment the waiting room door closed, the manager started rattling off words.
“No. They did that on purpose. Why would they schedule their debut so close to ours? It was originally supposed to be earlier, and I can understand delaying it because of the Twisty Puzzle filming. But to suddenly change the schedule? And to match our comeback period?”
“Hyung, what do you mean?”
“Well, Yoon-seul, we figured you'd be uncomfortable constantly running into that guy. So we looked into it on purpose.”
Even though I'd said it was fine when he offered to schedule things to avoid them, it seemed the manager had been concerned.
“The reaction to Twisty Puzzle was so bad they said they'd debut them in three months, so I thought it would be fine. But as soon as word got out that we were having a comeback, LM dropped a debut teaser. No debut showcase, just a sudden music video and song release. It's just absurd.”
I'd been so busy lately that I hadn't been on social media, so I had no idea.
“And get this, their concept is exactly the same as GANGSTER-M's.”
Chills ran down my entire body.
*'The same as GANGSTER-M?'*
I immediately pulled out my phone and searched for Zero to the Boy's music video.
[Zero To The Boy - THUMBS UP]
This was an all-too-familiar song.
*'Wow. I thought for sure it would be the song GANGSTER-M's second lineup sang when they were first revealed.'*
The song that was supposed to be GANGSTER-M's title track but was shelved.
In disbelief, I played the music video.
The black screen slowly brightened, revealing a road that looked like it had a gray filter over it.
Colorful cars were lined up bumper-to-bumper on the road.
[Hmmmm.]
Someone appeared, humming and twirling car keys around their finger.
Even the outfit was familiar.
A red leather jacket and black pants.
[Gather 'round.]
It was so absurd I had to laugh.
There was no need to see more.
[My heart is beating fast.]
As Ji Hyun-soo opened the door of a red sports car and got in, the traffic on the road cleared.
The car sped off somewhere.
[NA NA NA NA NA NA.]
*'They've really lost their minds.'*
It was the exact song I was thinking of.
Even the music video was identical.
The ill-fated song that disappeared after Park Su-hyeol left the group, when we were preparing for a comeback as a trio, only for Yoo Jin-hyung to leave due to a premarital pregnancy.
I quickly turned off the video.
I didn't want to watch any more.
“Are you okay?”
“No. I'm not okay. They're insane. They must be.”
Usually, when the members asked if I was okay, I'd force myself to pretend I was, but today I couldn't even do that.
“This is a song I recorded. The music video is exactly the same as the one I shot. Of course it's the same as GANGSTER-M. This was originally GANGSTER-M's title track.”
It was no different from just recruiting a GANGSTER-M 2.0.
*'They're really doing something terrible to the fans.'*
I felt needlessly sorry for the fans.
LM did this to absorb the people who were fans of GANGSTER-M.
*'Can't they just let me go?'*
I had left LM, but the thought that they were still reaching for me felt disgusting.
I couldn't comprehend how they could be like this to the very end.
“Yoon-seul. Don't you dare go anywhere alone for a while. Stick with me as much as possible. Got it?”
I nodded at the manager's words.
*'I shouldn't have been worried about an in-house battle with Creatin.'*
* * *
Zero to the Boy sat in their waiting room, holding their breath.
They were wary of their manager.
“Hey.”
“Yes?”
“You guys didn't do anything wrong to Seo Yoon-seul, did you? Like, say the wrong thing?”
“We just exchanged greetings. We weren't that close to begin with.”
“Then why is he acting like that all of a sudden? That brat used to just tremble without saying a word whenever I yelled.”
The manager sat on the sofa, biting his nails.
“No, wait. Come to think of it, he's been crazy ever since that live broadcast.”
Zero to the Boy said nothing.
They knew that if they spoke up at a time like this, the manager would just snap, “Don't be a distraction and shut up!”
“Ah. If we can't film this, the CEO won't let it slide.”
The manager started shaking his leg nervously.
The higher-ups had insisted he film a challenge with Seo Yoon-seul, saying they needed to absorb GANGSTER-M's fans into Zero to the Boy's fandom.
*'I don't want to listen to the CEO's nagging anymore.'*
Ever since GANGSTER-M completely fell apart, the CEO's irritability had grown, and the manager's stress was at its peak.
“Hey.”
“Yes.”
“When RE-V is done with their stage, you guys wait in the hallway and act pathetic.”
“Act pathetic?”
At the question from Zero to the Boy, the manager scowled and rolled his neck.
“You never get it the first time. It's so frustrating. Go to Seo Yoon-seul and beg. Tell him that if we can't film this, both you and I are dead to the CEO, so please, just film it. We have to achieve our goal one way or another. Got it?”
“Yes.”
“Cling to his pants if you have to. Make it so he has to agree because he's conscious of people watching. If you don't get this done, you're in big trouble. You think it's over just because you debuted? You saw GANGSTER-M, right? A group can disappear in an instant. You might think you'll be fine because you're still young, but the world doesn't work that way. An opportunity like RED CUBE? That kind of thing doesn't come around easily.”
The manager limited their potential, making sure Zero to the Boy wouldn't get any funny ideas.
“So don't get any funny ideas. Just do as we say. If you do, we can at least prevent you from ending up like them.”