Chapter 26
Chapter 26
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 27
Chapter Title: Rising to the Top
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Day 6.
Ladies' new song "Valhalla" had dropped to 17th on the daily chart.
-Ladies' new song totally bombed.
-Bombed my ass— their album sold like crazy.
-Fandom circlejerk lol. The song itself bombed, that's a fact. Look at the daily rankings lol, 17th lmao.
-Even the fan cafe's saying the new song sucks and has issues, so yeah, it bombed.
-Frfr, Ladies fans are in a bad state, the vibe is rough.
Fans weren't idiots.
As the internet advanced and idols got closer to their fans, fans became more savvy and knowledgeable about everything.
They knew not just every member's profiles and personal details, but also the agency's situation, related staff, and even managers.
-Ever since Ellis left, the open chats and top boards were already worried, even if they didn't show it publicly.
-Why?
-Ladies' core is Ellis lol.
-That make sense???
-Ellis handled all the planning for Ladies from start to finish + Taein kept dumping shit on them consistently.
-That's how Ladies operated lololol.
-Frfr, Ellis gritted her teeth and blocked as much of Taein's shit as possible—that held up until the last album.
-They toned down the cringey concept a bit and blocked interference on songs and choreo as much as they could, forcing the album out.
Ladies' fans knew how much Ellis had invested in raising the group and how much she'd blocked Taein's meddling.
-Ah, so that's why it turned to shit right after Ellis left?
-Yep.
-And on top of that, Jeong Yeongdo—the king of shit—is handling total producing = total disaster lololol.
-Who's Jeong Yeongdo?
-The guy who produced SPEED, Heaven and Earth Creation, Pink Ribbon back in the day lol.
-Weren't those big idols back then? Jeong Yeongdo's the one who turned Taein into a major agency.
-Then he produced Icarus, Psychic, In Air.
-Ah... So he's the guy who built Taein up and nearly tanked it.
-In simple terms, a has-been who was hot back in his prime lolol. That guy's handling Ladies? Lmao.
No Ladies fan—or any Taein artist fan—could not know Jeong Yeongdo.
No matter what anyone said, he was the one who made Taein a major agency, top 3 in Korea.
And he was also the one who turned it into a has-been agency.
-The problem is, he's got pull in the company thanks to building it up this far lol. And he meddles like crazy in every group that comes out.
-If the co-op's chairman is the cancer, then this fucker's the cancer at Taein.
-All the cancer's named Jeong.
-Lololol, I was gonna get mad at the Jeong hate, but hearing about the co-op and Taein, got nothing to say.
Ladies' fandom knew the album's song quality, outfits, and concept were all a mess because of Jeong Yeongdo.
They hadn't said anything publicly for Ladies' sake, but with their first full album's title track falling outside the top 10, they started raising their voices.
They hated seeing Ladies get hate, so they planned to spill the tea and let Jeong Yeongdo take the heat.
Once people learned about Jeong Yeongdo properly, they started bashing him, but Ladies' damaged reputation didn't recover.
Instead, someone else was reaping the benefits.
-So Hadas is the group Ellis made with zero interference?
-You see Kim Beomsin's interview? Said he trusted Ellis completely and gave her full control.
-Said he listened to the song, thought it was good to go, and didn't meddle at all.
-Fair enough.
-Their concept, choreo, songs—nothing lacking.
-Know this? The choreo team is a dance crew killing it in the US.
-Fr, looks like after escaping Taein, she went all-in on Hadas.
-But fr, the song's good.
-Yup, agreed.
It was Hadas.
The fact that Hadas was an idol Ellis had produced with full effort, free from Taein's meddling, drew massive attention.
With great songs and skills to match, the initial negativity about using Ladies' hype for clicks flipped in an instant.
Matching the buzz, Hadas's song hit 3rd on Mango's daily chart—the biggest streaming site—on day 7, and even took 1st elsewhere.
Uploaded music videos and live clips shot up YouTube views fast, even hitting trending.
Now people were calling it the mid-tier idol miracle, or a monster rookie after ages.
As Hadas's popularity skyrocketed, Ladies—who'd timed their comeback to crush them, or more precisely, Jeong Yeongdo—hurriedly dropped their second title track.
Was the second title track the game-changer savior?
The result...
-Didn't listen to the full album, but the second title's dogshit too lololol.
-Jeong Yeongdo ruined this one too?
-Listened to the second title, now I get what "Jeong Yeongdo ruined it" means lolol.
-What the hell's Taein doing? Not kicking out this cancer who's past his prime?
-He built the place, so firing him would be awkward—promote him to a honorary role and bring in fresh blood for the field lol.
-Taein's execs are cancer themselves, so no way that'll happen? Lolol.
-Then they flop lol.
It soaked up all the criticism and flopped spectacularly.
Ladies' second title barely scraped into daily streaming top 20 after day one—a miserable result.
Whether to totally screw Ladies or to ride the wave, Hadas followed their first album with a second digital single.
The very song where Yeonwoo elevated trot into art.
Title: Rising.
A song that perfectly captured Hadas's skyrocketing fame, like it was made for them.
* * *
"I was wrong."
Jiyeong said to Yeonwoo.
Yeonwoo sat on the bed, tuning his guitar with a totally unfazed face, not even replying.
Seeing that, Jiyeong flopped down beside him, kicking her legs.
"Aww, that face pisses me off!!"
"Why, Aunt?"
"Why's my nephew's life so easy? Huh?"
"I worked hard too. It wasn't easy."
"Some people work hard and still fail!"
"It's not just me. You got us the choreo team, Ellis Aunt worked hard on production, Hadas sisters gave their all singing and dancing. That's why we succeeded."
"Look at this little guy talking all pretty. What doesn't our Yeonwoo have? Take it all! Take everything!!"
Jiyeong lunged at Yeonwoo, peppering his cheeks with kisses. Yeonwoo recoiled in disgust, pushing her away.
Jiyeong grinned at him, then said,
"But you're not writing songs? Haven't seen you at it lately."
"I'll think about it once the studio's done."
"Think about it?"
"Lately, playing guitar's more fun than writing songs."
Like any 6-year-old, Yeonwoo's interest had cooled fast.
Was it because he'd hit the peak too young and easy?
Suddenly scared he'd never write again, Jiyeong scooted close.
"No way—a guy can't lose interest that fast!"
"It's not losing interest, Aunt. There's just too much to do. Gotta play guitar, piano, go to kindergarten, friend's birthday party, and tomorrow Dad's taking me to the playground, so I made plans to meet friends there."
"Ah... I see."
Unlike Jiyeong, who was basically unemployed, Yeonwoo was a very busy six-year-old.
"And I've written too many. Won't force it till something new hits me."
"Huh? Too many songs? You mean practice ones?"
"No, finished ones. Fifteen on your computer."
"F-Fifteen songs?!"
Jiyeong's eyes went wide. No wonder—she was shocked.
Unlike before, when he'd hoard even sketches, Yeonwoo deleted anything unfinished.
So how good were the finished ones? By his standards, they had to match Kim Beomsin's "Cold Night" or Hadas's "Fly High" to stay in his folder.
Of course, not public taste, so not all #1 material, but completion-wise, that level.
Fifteen of those?
"Even I'd stop writing if I were you."
By adult standards, the folder named Shin Yeonwoo was a gold mine—open it, money pours out.
"So what'll you do with them?"
"Hmm... Send them to people I wanna give to."
"Already got someone in mind? Like Uncle Kim Beomsin?"
"Nah. Gotta look around slowly. Oh, one’s for Hadas sisters."
"Ellis said let's work together more later—perfect. I'll send it next time."
"Yeah."
Yeonwoo nodded, then paused.
"Right, and one’s for Grandma."
"Grandma? A song for her?"
"A song that can only be played on Grandma's piano."
"She'll love it."
Heo Ok would love it, sure. But retired forever, so it'd never see the light of day.
Wait.
"You're giving to Hadas, to Grandma—but nothing for your aunt?!"
Yeonwoo looked at Jiyeong.
His face screamed "oh crap."
No reason to feel slighted, but she did anyway.
"Ugh, so unfair. I'm a music person too. No song for your aunt."
"There is."
"There is?"
Her face lit up instantly. Yeonwoo said flatly,
"Pick one from the rest—not labeled for Grandma or Hadas. It's yours."
"Whoa, my nephew's the best!!"
Jiyeong smooched his cheek and bolted to her room.
Yeonwoo smirked at her retreating back, then checked his guitar strings.
"Whew..."
After final tuning, Yeonwoo glanced out the door.
No sign of Aunt coming back.
Still not safe, he locked the door, pulled out his smartphone, and opened Mango Player.
Hadas's second song "Rising" had been out a week now.
Yeonwoo checked the real-time chart first.
Mango Real-Time Chart
1. Rising [Hadas]
#1.
Daily chart?
"#1!!"
He yelped in surprise, clapping a hand over his mouth, then checked weekly.
1. Rising [Hadas]
3. Fly High [Hadas]
"Hehe."
Yeonwoo beamed.
His songs held weekly #1 and #3—how could he not be thrilled.
Plus, Kim Beomsin's "Cold Night" was still top 10 weekly.
"I'm the best."
Yeonwoo grinned, praising himself, then schooled his face.
Didn't wanna look like a baby showing off.
With a cool, matter-of-fact expression—like it was expected—Yeonwoo headed out.
He went to the master bedroom, where Grandma read, and casually said,
"Grandma, my songs hit weekly #1, #3, and #8."
Heo Ok set her book down, looked at him, and beamed.
"Good for you. How well does our Yeonwoo write that his songs top among so many."
"No big deal."
Yeonwoo tried playing it cool like an adult, but his flushed ears and cheeks betrayed his excitement.
His nose twitched holding back a grin at Grandma's praise.
Heo Ok smiled wider at how cute he was, pulling him into a hug.
It was the moment filled with his favorite scent in the world—Grandma's.