Chapter 121
Chapter 121
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 121
Chapter Title: Laying the Groundwork
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-Ask us question! Welcome to Answer’s official fan cafe!
The official fan cafe was open, and many people who had come across the group through broadcasts, social media, their Tube channel, and N Live were flocking to it. Among them, the most noticeable fans were…
-Became a die-hard fan during the last performance for the troops! Reporting for duty. Victory!
-Huh? ‘Victory’? I’m from the 79th Regiment, 1st Battalion.
-Whoa, lots of people saw the military tour performance. Good to see you, comrades! Sound off!
-Hey, you above. That’s not the right call. Civilians should stay out of this.
-LMAO, ‘comrades.’ We call guys from the next company ‘sir,’ you know?
-These slackers joining fan cafes to simp? This is why we need to take their phones away.
-The company commander is disappointed in all of you.
-What are you talking about? I was discharged last year.
-The company commander apologizes.
-I’m an actual company commander. I’ll allow the simping for Answer. Just keep the latrines clean.
-Dude, gross. You wanna die? Is there a moderator here?
“Aish. These guys have no fear, huh?”
Choi Yoo-jun grumbled as he read the fan cafe posts, but I silently continued writing the announcements.
Announcement 1. [Following the Fan Cafe Opening, an Official Fan Club Inauguration is Planned]
Due to planning and production issues with the welcome kit, the fan club inauguration has been slightly delayed. (Even now, the members of Answer are busy signing autographs for the merch.) Therefore, the fan club inauguration will be held in conjunction with the upcoming showcase.
Initial Membership Fee: 20,000 KRW (includes welcome kit)
Annual Renewal Fee: 10,000 KRW (includes renewal gift)
The welcome kit is worth more than the membership fee. We will make money through broadcasts and events, not merch. We ask for your enthusiastic participation and continued interest.
※ The showcase has a capacity of approximately 550 people. Entry will be determined by a lottery among registered fan club members.
Announcement 2. [We are accepting submissions for the official fandom name]
We are looking for a witty name that fits Answer’s fandom. Please submit your suggestion with the name in the title and the meaning or reason for it in the body of the post. We will select the final candidates and put them to a vote. The person whose submission is chosen will receive a small gift.
“…Phew.”
Now that I’d started it, there was more to do than I had expected. I also needed to break into acting to raise Ro-si’s individual recognition.
“For now, Yoo-jun, you can be the fan manager.”
“A fan… manager?”
“You don’t know what a fan manager is?”
For a guy who spent years as a trainee trying to become an idol, he was surprisingly clueless.
“It’s a manager who handles communication between the fans and the artists or the company. They also manage the fan cafe and various events, things like that.”
“Ah… that kind of thing?”
“Yeah, it’s something you like, right?”
“Huh? I do?”
“You did a great job during Answer’s first live stream.”
“Ah! You sawwwww?”
“Yeah, I saw.”
Choi Yoo-jun smiled sheepishly, as if recalling his own excited behavior.
“Just handle the office work until we hire someone officially. On days you don’t have a schedule.”
“Got it. So for now, just manage the cafe?”
“Yep. I’ll give you a list of schedules that need fan support, so just post those.”
“Understood!”
“And don’t go picking fights with the fans.”
“Hehehe. I’m a good boy now. Have a good one.”
“Alright.”
I headed to the president’s office, as both Manager Ji and Director Lee Sun were out.
*Knock, knock.*
“C-come iin!”
Despite his words, the president’s voice was flustered.
When I opened the door, I saw President Park Jae-yong sitting in his chair with a very tense expression.
“Aish, you scared me… *Phew… hoo*.”
“Why were you so startled?”
“No reason. So, what’s up?”
“The manager and the director aren’t here. I was wondering if we have a fan manager? For Kim Sung-hoon, since he’s so popular and all.”
“Hmm? Ah, the fan club president?”
He couldn’t possibly mean the fan club president was acting as the fan manager, right?
“…Don’t tell me the fan club president is working as the fan manager?”
“Yeah. She’s good at it. So we’re paying her a salary.”
“……”
This company, for all its experience, seemed to be a collection of every possible risk factor.
“These days, the trend is to hire a dedicated fan manager. There are even professional training institutions for it.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes. After a few fan club presidents caused some major incidents back in the day, professional fan managers have been handling communications.”
“I see… Ours was doing a good job, so we just let her be. So, you’re saying Answer needs a fan manager?”
“Yes. I’ve been so busy I hadn’t even thought about it. For now, I’ve asked Yoo-jun to handle the office work on his days off.”
“Hey, good call. I was already planning to hire a dedicated stylist for Answer since they’re getting busier. We can hire them both at the same time… We don’t need a dedicated makeup artist right away, do we?”
“With four members, one person wouldn’t be nearly enough anyway. It would be better to stick with the salon for their main makeup and have the stylist help with touch-ups.”
“Let’s do that. We’ll just give them a little extra allowance. I’ll tell Director Lee.”
“Understood. I’ll be on my way then.”
“Oh, right! About that Rhythm Saber deal, they agreed to your terms.”
“Ah, did they?”
It looked like my incentives were going to be several times higher than my base salary. With all the CF deals, album sales, and game DLC sales, I was looking forward to this month’s paycheck.
“That’s good.”
“Try to look a little happier.”
“I said it’s good. I’ll be going now.”
“Uh, w-wait.”
Now what?
The president called out to me with a deeply troubled expression and stood up from his seat.
“……?”
I was puzzled by the kettlebell in his hand.
“So… as you know, I’m very interested in vocal training techniques. Right?”
“Of course. Aren’t character and vocal skills the two things you value most, sir?”
“So, about that… singing while doing kettlebell swings, how exactly does that help improve vocals?”
“……”
Had he been practicing this ever since he saw Seol-ah’s vocal training? I almost laughed, imagining President Park Jae-yong agonizing over this for so long.
There was no way a normal person could achieve the targeted level-up by doing a system-generated development quest, no matter how much they tried. I couldn’t just feed him some plausible-sounding nonsense that would lead him down the wrong path. I had to be diplomatic.
“That’s not a method that works for everyone. Seol-ah had a bad habit in her vocal technique. Her high notes sounded airy, like she was losing breath. I had her practice at the exact moment she was engaging her core muscles to fix that.”
“Ooh… like stimulating the diaphragm or something? Anyway, I get it.”
A smile of realization spread across President Park Jae-yong’s face.
*Hmm, that’s not what I intended.* I hoped the president wouldn’t end up wasting his time on some useless training regimen.
* * *
“Great work, everyone!”
“Thank you for your hard work!”
The members of Answer cheerfully greeted the staff after wrapping up their Smile Ice Cream commercial shoot.
“Excuse me, Director!”
“Yes, Seul-bi.”
“…Can I take some of these cone ice creams?”
“Hahaha! Take as many as you like.”
Seul-bi grabbed a coffee carrier bag that was rolling around in the van and began stuffing about ten cones into it.
“You pig.”
“None for you.”
“Aww.”
“What was that? That’s gross. You said you’re not a kid anymore.”
Ro-si watched Yi-na’s playful attempt to wheedle Seul-bi with a bitter expression.
[Ro-si’s Self-Esteem: 33/100]
[Warning: If self-esteem drops below 30, she will not be able to perform to her full potential.]
Although they filmed individual angles as planned, Ro-si’s solo shots seemed to wrap up just a little bit faster than Seol-ah’s or Seul-bi’s.
It was a subtle difference, but even in this moment, Ro-si’s self-esteem was slowly declining.
“We can watch *Best Idol* today.”
“Yeah! They said the part where Seol-ah unni and Min-jun oppa do CPR is airing today.”
Once in the van, Seul-bi started passing out the cones, but Ro-si shook her head.
“Why? Eat it before it melts.”
“No, it’s fine. I ate a lot during the shoot.”
“I’m fine too. Let’s head out.”
I wanted an ice cream, but I didn’t want to leave Ro-si to sit there blankly by herself.
“Yum… I can’t imagine a time before mint choco.”
“The true taste of ice cream is vanilla, I tell you.”
“…Seul-bi unni, your taste buds are totally like a grandma’s.”
Yi-na’s comment made Seul-bi chuckle. She seemed to have matured since resolving the position issue with Ro-si.
“By the way, we did get the stock from our contract, right?”
“We wouldn’t be shooting a commercial if we hadn’t.”
Seol-ah nodded as if she understood.
“Why? Did the commercial feel good?”
“Yes. It felt good.”
“Yeah. And this new cone flavor is delicious.”
“…But why don’t they make low-calorie ice cream?”
Ro-si said with a gloomy face.
“That’s true. They have zero-calorie coke and soda, but not ice cream.”
“No, they exist. You just haven’t looked for them.”
As Seul-bi responded to Ro-si, Yi-na, who had immediately started searching, spoke up.
“I mean places with good accessibility, like Smile or Latte Ice Cream. Why don’t they make it?”
“Probably because the base ingredients for ice cream, besides sugar, are so high in calories that it doesn’t fit their concept. I’ll mention it when we renegotiate with Smile later.”
“Smile wants to renegotiate? We just shot the commercial today.”
“No, I’m just confident they will. Ice cream sales will go up because of Answer.”
“Pfft. Realistically, how much can a model really affect sales? That sounds like wishful thinking.”
*Yes. They sell a lot.*
I thought with a smirk at Seul-bi’s words.
We were nearing the dorm.
“Whoa, whoa! It’s out.”
“What is?”
“This is a hit piece on Your Girl.”
“Ah? Reporter Shin is working hard. Heh.”
The Answer members chattered excitedly.
“This is so satisfying.”
“I thought they’d block it completely and the article would never get out. How’d they manage to publish it?”
“Should I drop a hint in the comments?”
“Shh! Don’t you dare! We could get hit back.”
“The timing is insane. Right on the broadcast day.”
“We’re here. Let’s head up.”
“Wait a sec. Oppa, you should read the article too. It’s fun.”
The Answer members’ eyes sparkled, anticipating my reaction.
Might as well give them what they want.
I clicked the link Seul-bi sent and went to the article.
[Attack on a Mentor]
-An unbelievable incident occurred on the set of a popular variety show. It is rumored that Group A, from a major entertainment agency, got into a physical altercation with their mentor, who had been in charge of their training and most of their debut choreography.
Multiple broadcast industry insiders have come forward, revealing that the four-member group and their mentor’s team were seen grabbing each other’s hair and wrestling on the ground. This confirms that this incredible event is more than just a rumor.
As we’ve seen with celebrities who are instantly canceled over past school bullying incidents, character is now prioritized over talent and ability. It remains to be seen whether these individuals, who engaged in a brawl with their own mentor, can exert a positive influence on the industry.
-So who is it?
-If you’re going to write an article like this, isn’t it better not to write it at all?
-Right. Innocent people will get caught in the witch hunt. There are so many four-member groups.
-Let’s see. 1. Popular variety show recording. 2. Major agency. 3. Four-member group. 4. Training and debut choreography (likely rookies). 5. ‘Mentor’s team’ means a dance team. Conan, let’s go!
-I have a pretty good idea who it is.
-Isn’t the only variety show that had a dance team and a group on together the *Best Idol* rookie special?
-Oh, so it’s a four-member girl group?
-Ah, the suspense is killing me.
-The only four-member groups there were Answer and Your Girl.
-Well, just subtract the one from a major agency.
-Answer is from a major agency too.
-Since when is the washed-up JD a major agency? They were big once, that’s all.
-No way. Who decides what a major agency is? In my opinion, JD is a major agency.
-There’s the one who’s already made up their mind. Don’t feed the troll!
-LMAO, been a while since I’ve seen ‘Don’t feed the troll.’
-Does anyone with a pulse get to be a reporter these days? What’s with using acronyms for school bullying? The readability is awful.
-Are you seriously complaining about one acronym? Then instead of ‘anyone with a pulse,’ why don’t you write ‘whether a person is suitable or not’?
-The world is an inconvenient place because of complainers.
-If you’re uncomfortable, sit up straight.
-I just sat up straight because of the comment above lol.
I turned to the Answer members and grinned. They nodded in satisfaction and got out of the van.
I went up to the dorm with the members.
“Ro-si, can we talk for a moment?”
“Again?”
Ro-si’s face was filled with tension.
*Why are you so nervous?*