Six Days Until Debut
A call came through on Lilith's smartphone. Checking the number, she answered at once.
"Long time no see, Director Brick. What are you calling about?"
"Lady Lilith. I trust you have been well."
"Well? You're using words like that now? Me, I've been doing fine. Look, Director Brick. Could you just get to the point? My phone's still blowing up with calls… I'm pretty busy right now."
"I—I see. Lady Lilith. That… girl group debuting soon—you know the one?"
"Pobitz?"
"Yes. Pobitz. Would it be possible to meet with them? Ah—not that I want to meet them… The CEO of the clothing company Alled wishes to see them."
The clothing company Alled.
It was a firm famous for luxury apparel in District 6700—and a sponsor of Director Brick's KRC broadcasting station.
Lilith's voice dropped.
"Director Brick. Is this a sponsorship deal?"
"Just once. Entertain him just once. Not only will Alled give them advertising work, our station will push Pobitz as hard as we can. We'll schedule programs for them… and I promise you a number-one music show win."
"Director Brick…. I didn't take you for this type…. I'm very disappointed."
"…Lady Lilith. This isn't the first or second time something like this has come up, is it? Just once is all it takes. One time, and we gain so much. That CEO has been raising hell at me—no, making demands. He's even threatening me. Please, help me out here."
"You know I'm lenient about sexual entertainment, right? But that doesn't mean I send people out the second someone asks. Entertainers are not prostitutes."
"Why are you being like this? You've handled things fine until now."
"I don't demand sexual tribute from my artists. I only propose it. The ones who've done it so far chose it of their own will, for the sake of success. Director Brick. What do you think of Pobitz? Do they look like they need outside help?"
"…I'll grant they're impressive. Their visuals alone have the industry on fire. But visuals have limits. You know how filthy Alled's CEO can be. That man will absolutely dump shit all over Pobitz's path forward."
"You think we'd be afraid of that? Director Brick. Do you know who I am?"
"Haa…. As if I wouldn't know Representative Lilith. Please don't take offense at this proposal—consider it positively."
"I'm already offended. The proposal is rejected, of course. Tell Alled's CEO yourself."
Click.
Lilith ended the call. She picked up a pen and wrote the name of Alled on a sheet of paper. Seong Yujin had asked her in advance to note down any companies or individuals who demanded sexual entertainment beforehand.
I wonder how Producer Seong will react? He doesn't seem to have an ordinary relationship with the members…. Is this some kind of blacklist? Or is he planning to go in and handle it physically?
Either way, it didn't matter. Lilith was simply looking forward to a new kind of stimulation. Even if the entertainment industry got wrecked as a result, that was fine by her. She had already enjoyed everything there was to enjoy. Little by little, she was starting to grow bored of this side of things as well.
Another call came in. An unknown number. Lilith answered with a bright, cheerful smile.
"Yes, this is Lilith! How did you get my number?"
"This is Valentine, CEO of Renaissance. I'm truly sorry for calling so late. I was so anxious I had to reach out to Representative Lilith directly. Our Renaissance…"
It was an advertising offer.
After that, Lilith's smartphone kept lighting up without rest. That night, she only managed to leave work at two in the morning.
D-6 until Pobitz's debut
There were women who seethed at the news of Pobitz's debut.
They were the trainees belonging to Lilith Entertainment. For anywhere from a few months to more than three years, they had thrown themselves into practice with nothing but debut on their minds—only to be left high and dry the moment Pobitz appeared.
They could not contain the rage welling up from deep inside. Normally, once an idol group debuted under a single entertainment company, the next debut gap ran three to five years. In other words, their own debut had been pushed back, and they were looking at another three to five years of waiting.
Leaving for another agency would have been the smarter move. But walking away from a major firm the size of Lilith Entertainment without a second thought was not easy. There was a reason majors were majors. The resources they commanded were on a completely different level from mid-sized agencies.
So what they chose instead was to protest upward. Going straight to the representative was still too much, even for them, so they sought out the A&R team leader and demanded answers.
Contrary to their expectations, however, they ended up listening to the A&R team leader's own complaints.
"Haa. I only found out about Pobitz's debut yesterday through an internet article myself. Representative Lilith still hasn't given us a single word of notice. I asked Director Colin… and apparently Pobitz are kids the representative scouted from outside. They're running them as a separate team. I'm the A&R team leader, and they didn't even give me a heads-up. Don't you think that's a bit much?"
"Team Leader. Then what about our debut?"
"Yours? You'll debut on schedule, around next year."
The debut schedule had not been canceled. The trainees could at least take some comfort in that. It did nothing to cool their anger, though.
"Who even are those girls? They just show up out of nowhere and debut…. Are they that special?"
"I don't know either. But they are special. You've seen their photos, right? Their visuals alone are enough to make your legs shake. Anyway, just keep living like you always have."
The trainees trudged back toward the practice rooms. Their hearts felt a little lighter than before, but the fury and irritation still lingered. Then they discovered Pobitz using a practice room. All four of them, with their outstanding looks, were drilling an intense dance track.
The moment the trainees saw the song and the choreography, their faces twisted in unison.
That's one of the songs the company gave us!
It was one of the tracks they had been told to practice, with the possibility it might be used for their own debut.
How dare they steal our song?
Rage flooded to the tops of their heads, and the trainees lost all capacity for cold judgment. They stormed into the practice room Pobitz was using.
"What the hell are you?!"
"……?"
Pobitz stopped practicing and looked at the trainees who had suddenly barged in. Eleven trainees in total stood with their arms crossed, glaring daggers at the group.
Miryeong stepped forward with a bright smile.
"Hello! You're Lilith Ent trainees, right? You must not have heard yet… starting today, this practice room is reserved for us—Pobitz. Please use a different one."
"This practice room is ours. You go find another one. And who do you juniors think you are, staring down your seniors? Eyes down!"
The trainee barked in a sharp voice. Her vicious eyes and twisted mouth were more than enough to intimidate most people. Not a single member of Pobitz flinched.
Miryeong smirked. The smile in her eyes grew steadily colder.
"Seniors? Aww, no. We're debuting next week… and I hear you lot aren't debuting until next year? In the entertainment industry, seniority starts from debut. That makes us the seniors."
The trainee bit down hard on her lip at Miryeong's mocking tone.
"You've got some nerve. You think you can act like this and still debut in one piece?"
"Planning to interfere with our debut? You're just trainees. Even if you go whining to the A&R team, they won't listen."
"Ha. I'm going to expose your character to the public. What do you think the fans will make of you? You won't even get to debut."
"That's the best threat you've got? Pathetic. Should I go tell Representative Lilith~? That talentless trainees are bullying us~? Then you'd be kicked out on the spot, right? Aww. Kinda feel sorry for you. No—wait. It might actually be good news for the representative. Better not to have idols with trash looks and trash personalities, after all."
"You done talking?!"
"What if I am?"
Crack.
The trainee's hand cracked across Miryeong's cheek. Miryeong's head snapped to the side. She slowly turned her face back. The smile was gone. She pressed a hand to her reddening cheek. It burned.
Crack!
Miryeong's palm smashed into the trainee's face. The force was so vicious the girl dropped onto her rear on the floor. When she lifted her head, a thin line of blood ran from her mouth.
"Ah…. I didn't mean to go that far… but I just can't stand getting hit. You okay?"
"Y-you think you're walking away from this?! Girls!"
The other trainees stepped forward. Miryeong did not back down. She rolled up her sleeves and prepared for a fight.
That was when Yuria moved to the front.
"That's enough. If this escalates, it won't just be trouble for us—it'll be trouble for you as well. Our debut is already locked in, so for us it would end at a scolding…. But you could genuinely be expelled. You threw the first punch, but I can't exactly say our youngest was entirely in the right either… so let's end it here."
The trainees flinched. Yuria's charisma seized control of the atmosphere. The trainee Miryeong had slapped shot back to her feet and shouted.
"Snap out of it! We're the victims here! Those bitches stole our song! If they hadn't shown up, we might have debuted! Are you going to keep getting robbed by them for the rest of your careers?!"
Just as the others began to rally behind her words and pour out their rage—
Snap.
The sound of fingers snapping cut through the air, and every trainee froze mid-motion. Their eyes lost focus and drifted, unfocused. Yuria turned to look at Elena.
"You cast an illusion."
"If I hadn't, Ju Seo-hyeon would have stepped in. Then things would have gotten far messier."
Ju Seo-hyeon, who had been rolling her fists and gearing up for a brawl, quietly unclenched her hands the moment every gaze turned her way.
"It would be best to alter their memories and send them away before this grows any larger."
"Alter their memories? What for? These girls are already overflowing with jealousy and spite toward us. Even if we rewrite their memories, they'll come pick another fight soon enough. In a situation like this, the correct move is to take them by the throat."
Elena pulled out her smartphone with awkward, unpracticed motions and worked the screen. She switched on the camera function and snapped her fingers.
All at once, the trainees began stripping off their clothes and dancing. Even without music, their choreography locked together in perfect unison.
"For trainees, they dance rather well."
With a video that would end them the moment it leaked now in hand, Elena beamed from ear to ear.