The Birth of Pobitz
Elena arrived in District 6700 faster than I'd expected. I'd figured it would take her at least half a day, but she showed up in just an hour.
What surprised me even more was that she came straight to the practice room. I hadn't even told her the exact location.
"Didn't think you'd get here this fast. Don't tell me you actually wanted to be an idol all along."
"Don't be ridiculous. Once I've decided to work, I don't dawdle. As for the admission ticket — I found one in the family vault. Some guest who visited the house years ago left it as a so-called gift."
"A real gift?"
"You don't actually think it was a real gift, do you?"
A bribe dressed up as a gift, more like. I knew well enough that the higher your station, the more of those "gifts" came rolling in.
I gave a vague nod and looked Elena over carefully.
"You are Elena, right?"
"What a tedious question."
Elena's lips curved into a smirk.
The Elena standing in front of me looked a little different from the one I knew. She'd used illusion magic to alter parts of her appearance. Her hair was still short, but where it had been blue, it was now red. Her blue eyes had become a deep brown.
Her features had shifted slightly too — enough that it was hard to place her as Elena from her face alone. But that distinctive air of hers was pure Elena through and through.
"I can tell it's an illusion, but… aren't you a little worried? Is that really enough to hide who you are?"
"It's fine. A person's impression changes completely just from dyeing their hair. And not many people know my face to begin with. Outside of the nobility, commoners who would recognize me are… practically nonexistent."
Elena wasn't the type to step forward and rally the common folk. True to her title as the Illusion Duke, she cultivated an air of mystery.
Well, the fact that she was here meant she'd finished all her preparations. Elena was thorough — I didn't need to worry about her.
"By the way… Yuria. It's been a while."
Elena's eyes lit up as she looked at Yuria. The look of someone appraising talent. She still hadn't given up on recruiting her, apparently.
"Yes. It's been a long time, Lady Elena."
"You're the same as ever. And next to you… a fox."
Mi-ryeong stood beside Yuria. She hadn't bothered to hide her fox ears or tails, and she wouldn't hide them for her idol debut either. Beastfolk weren't common in Atlantis, but they weren't rare either. Mi-ryeong's fox ears and tails would become a selling point.
"I have a name, you know — Mi-ryeong. Well, I am a fox. But you're quite… unusual. You didn't just layer an illusion over your appearance — you wove the illusion from the inside of your body outward?"
"Oh? You noticed that? You're no ordinary fox."
"It's Mi-ryeong."
"Very well. Mi-ryeong. Any interest in working under me? I sense competence in you."
"No thank you. I'm not particularly fond of working."
"A shame."
Their brief exchange ended there.
"Girls, wait here a minute. I'll go grab Seo-hyeon."
I stepped out of the practice room.
Before I left, I caught a glimpse of them standing with arms crossed, eyeing each other. The atmosphere was downright frosty. I was curious what they'd talk about, but bringing Ju Seo-hyeon back took priority.
Ju Seo-hyeon, Yuria, Mi-ryeong, Elena. All four of them in one place! We're going to devour this entire entertainment industry!
Ju Seo-hyeon, who'd been tormented by me until dawn, was still sprawled out in bed asleep even though the sun was high in the sky.
I brought Ju Seo-hyeon back to the practice room.
The moment she saw the others, her eyes went wide. She couldn't hide her shock — and for good reason. Every woman gathered in that practice room was a beauty. Ju Seo-hyeon was stunning in her own right, but the women assembled here were on a level that could devour the entertainment industry on looks alone.
"Alright, girls. I brought the leader."
I gave the frozen Ju Seo-hyeon a push between the shoulder blades. She stepped forward with a dazed expression.
"I… I'm Ju Seo-hyeon."
"I'm Yuria."
"Elena."
"I'm Mi-ryeong. I'm the youngest, so take care of me, okay, Unnie Seo-hyeon?"
Mi-ryeong trotted over to Ju Seo-hyeon, took her hand first, and gave it a shake. Ju Seo-hyeon nodded awkwardly. Unlike Mi-ryeong, her communication skills left something to be desired.
Mi-ryeong's words had me reeling inwardly.
Mi-ryeong is the youngest?
As far as I knew, Mi-ryeong was hundreds of years old. Sure, she called Yuria "Unnie," but she was nowhere near young enough to be the maknae.
Just then, my eyes met Mi-ryeong's. She winked at me with one eye. I shook my head.
"Girls. Ju Seo-hyeon is the group's leader. Anyone have a problem with that?"
Honestly, the leader title was neither here nor there. I planned to be heavily involved with them myself. Giving Ju Seo-hyeon the leader hat was simply because I was building the girl group around her. She was how this whole group had started, after all.
"I don't particularly mind. Oh — being leader doesn't mean she has actual authority, right? Like we have to do whatever the leader says?"
Mi-ryeong was circling Ju Seo-hyeon, looking her over from head to toe.
"I don't know about other girl groups, but in ours, all of you are equals. You just listen to me."
"Hmm. If there's no real power in it, there's no reason to want the position."
Elena lost interest in the leader seat.
Just in case, I glanced at Yuria. She didn't seem like the type to care about being leader… but I wouldn't jump to conclusions. Maybe she'd surprise me and want it after all.
"I have no objections either. I don't know much about idols to begin with."
Yuria said calmly. In terms of idol knowledge alone… Ju Seo-hyeon probably knew even less. I just kept my mouth shut.
"Since Unnie Yuria and Unnie Tia both feel that way… we don't need to worry about it. Unnie Seo-hyeon can be the leader."
"…Feels like you're just dumping it on me because you can't be bothered."
Ju Seo-hyeon's instincts were sharp.
"…Unnie Tia?"
I found myself echoing the name as I looked at Elena. She answered without a hint of shame.
"It's an alias. You didn't actually think I'd perform under my real name, did you?"
"No, of course not. Obviously you'd use an alias. But Tia… it just doesn't suit you."
"You're simply not used to it yet."
Once the introductions were done, I called them all together.
There was something very important to settle.
"Now we need to decide on a group name. Anyone have a good idea?"
"Me! How about Fox Generation?"
Mi-ryeong jumped in with enthusiasm. I hated it. I hated it so much I spat on the floor without thinking.
"Ptoo."
"Seobang-nim! You didn't have to go that far! That's just mean!"
"…Seobang-nim?"
Ju Seo-hyeon's eyes narrowed as she shot me a look at the unexpected form of address. Right — the title issue needed sorting too.
"While we're doing girl group activities, call me Manager… no, Producer. That sounds better."
If they called me Seobang-nim or Master during official activities and a scandal broke out, things would get messy.
"Producer! Not bad. Honestly I'd love that title myself, but I'll yield it to Seobang— I mean, to the Producer."
"Thanks for yielding. And about that Fox Generation name you suggested… it's terrible. Tacky."
"Y-you're so blunt. Then what's the Producer's idea?"
"Me? I was thinking… Vagizodiac."
"Excuse me?"
"Vagizodiac. It's a word for constellation. I may not look it, but I'm the master of the Vagina Constellation. So Vagizodiac has a nice ring to it, and it suits you girls who shine like stars."
"……"
The atmosphere went ice-cold in an instant.
I had no idea why and just rolled my eyes around the room.
In that frigid silence, it was Yuria who spoke up.
"Producer. The word for the twelve constellations of the zodiac isn't Vagizodiac — it's Zodiac."
"Oh. Is that right. Then Zodiac it is."
"Producer! Zodiac has too many negative associations. There's a serial killer who went by that name."
"…If that's the case, nothing I can do. Then how about something that fits our pure concept — Virgin Flower? What do you think?"
"That name would prick our consciences if we used it."
Elena recoiled in disgust and looked around. She scanned each member one by one and asked:
"Is there a virgin in this room?"
"……"
"……"
"……"
Not a single hand went up.
An idol girl group, and every last one of them was not a virgin. Every one of them knew a man. That man, of course, being me.
"I don't have any other ideas… Come on, you guys throw out some suggestions too."
"Pruker's Women… how about that?"
Yuria offered. It was an extremely straightforward name. I liked it, but Elena shook her head in revulsion.
"The public has no idea what Pruker is. And if they found out, they'd be even more appalled… It's not suitable for a girl group name. Fox Generation would be better."
"…Is that so."
"What about Icewein? Pretty name, and it rolls right off the tongue."
"That's a type of wine. Using the name of an alcoholic drink doesn't seem appropriate."
Elena furrowed her brow but didn't argue further.
I turned my gaze to Ju Seo-hyeon. She was the only one who hadn't spoken up. The other members looked at her too. Finding every eye on her, Ju Seo-hyeon hesitated before opening her mouth.
"…Saber. That's about all I've got right now."
"Unnie Seo-hyeon! A girl group named Saber?! That doesn't suit us at all!"
"I think it's better than Fox Generation."
"What's wrong with Fox Generation?!"
"Fox Generation just… sounds too old."
"Sounds too old…"
Mi-ryeong hung her head, looking devastated. But she soon lifted it again and started rattling off every name that came to mind. Plenty of names came up, but none of them really clicked.
I was still fretting over what to do when the practice room door opened and Lilith walked in.
"Manager Seong! I saw your text. You said you've got all the members together? They're at least Ju Seo-hyeon's level, right?"
Lilith came barreling in mid-sentence — then her eyes flew wide as she took in the members clustered around me in the center of the room. She looked at Yuria, Mi-ryeong, and Elena in turn, then stood there with her mouth hanging open.
"Fantastic… Manager Seong! This is a total jackpot! Where the hell did you find women like these?! Just on visuals alone they're already top-tier! My gut is telling me! The second they debut, they'll blow up! Kyaaaaaaah!"
Lilith was over the moon. She was shrieking and bouncing up and down on the spot.
"CEO. There's something more important."
I honestly told her we still hadn't decided on a group name.
"Hmm? Still no name? As the CEO, I can't just sit on my hands. How about Pobitz?"
"Pobitz?"
"Forbidden fruit. Short for Forbidden Fruit. And since there are four of you — Four Beats. Not bad, right?"
Pobitz. Pobitz. Pobitz.
I rolled the name around in my mouth, then nodded. Looking around at the members, they all seemed to like it too.
"CEO, you've got some real talent."
Lilith smirked, planted her hands on her hips, and declared:
"Manager Seong! I'm CEO Lilith!"