Chapter 82
Chapter 82
The reason even numbers are avoided when forming an idol group is because of dance formations.
Some people might be skeptical, wondering how mere formations could justify adding or removing members, but even they wouldn't dispute that an idol's main job is the stage.
In multi-member performances, the most preferred formation was the "V" shape spreading out from the center. The problem with this formation... was that in an even-numbered group, there would always be one member who got completely hidden behind someone else.
What fan would ever like seeing their idol blocked? Of course, there might be one or two you wouldn't mind seeing obscured.......
No, anyway.
Even outside of triangular formations, there were many configurations you had to give up with an even number.
"Wow, now it'll be so easy to split into teams of three! Nice~"
"Sanho hyung, you got a roommate now."
On top of that, it was a six-member group with three rappers, three vocalists.
Wasn't the rap proportion way too high? Unless we were a hip-hop team.
We didn't exactly have the kind of monster rap skills to pivot sharply into hip-hop, except for Kim Yuri.......
"Was this what you meant when you said you wanted to stand on the same stage with me again someday?"
"I wasn't thinking anything like that at all."
"Oh, really? I thought you followed me here...."
And having half the team be survival show contestants was a bit... excessive.
The one element Sora Seom could use to compete against the big agencies was precisely that it had no precedent, making it new.
Of course, most people were the type who wouldn't even glance at the unfamiliar taste if given a choice between flavors you know and flavors you don't.
But we had already grabbed some name recognition through <MAKE100%>, meaning people would come check us out at least once out of curiosity.
My original plan had been to serve the unfamiliar flavor to those who came in like that, steadily build up a niche fanbase, and then gradually expand the target audience.
But if half the members were already known.......
No matter how novel the environment, there would be a limit to new influx. Like a trendy fusion dish where you could already predict the taste without even trying it.
"Hey."
"Huh?"
"If you don't like it, just say so."
But even taking all that into account.......
"No, I like it."
"......."
Baek Gyeonwoo's joining was something I simply had to welcome.
It's just, a bit. I was scared, that's all.
'The fan reactions once they found out Baek Gyeonwoo gave up Youth to choose Sora Seom.......'
The time I returned to the company with Kim Sanho was well past midnight.
Once Kim Sanho's family history was revealed by the person himself, the dorm was swept up in an indescribable atmosphere.
―Hey, what kind of dog... I-I mean, I'm glad you got back safely.
―But why did you suddenly move there? Chungcheong-do is my territory, you know?
―Hyung, how tall are your eldest hyung and your other hyung?
So... it was a mix of worry, curiosity, and nonsense, an atmosphere I couldn't quite put into words.
Even if it was typical of Kim Yuri to deflect any situation with a joke, Jeong Sowol genuinely seemed curious.
Thanks to that, I learned the useless information that the eldest brother was 190 cm and the other brother was 175 cm, and I was able to set aside my guilt toward the shorter hyung and finally rest my tired eyes.
And the next day.
When I went to the practice room, Baek Gyeonwoo was there.
―......Why are you here?
I couldn't get an answer. Because the President came in right after and called for me and Kim Sanho.
We left the practice room behind, with Han Neuti looking even more flustered than me, Kim Yuri trying desperately to strike up some kind of conversation, and Jeong Sowol seemingly not thinking about anything at all.
As we followed the President's back up to the second floor, I maintained a serious expression. I had already sensed the President had called us to discuss matters related to Kim Sanho's contract.
Then, unable to hold back, I finally asked.
'You used to consult me on absolutely everything, so what was the reason you so suddenly and hastily signed Baek Gyeonwoo?'
My question basically boiled down to this.
―Baek Gyeonwoo... is here, I see?
The President spoke calmly.
―You said you asked him to debut together first.
―I did?
Honestly, I had a vague memory of saying something like that, but also maybe not.
'Was it during the third round?'
No, when was it.
I'd tossed out similar lines so many times I couldn't quite remember.......
―Didn't you?
―Ah, ......I did.
Anyway, I thought I probably had said it, so I hastily corrected myself. If I got too serious, it would put Baek Gyeonwoo in an awkward position.
If it had been some other trainee instead of Baek Gyeonwoo, I wouldn't have done this. I'm of the opinion that a shortage of members is better than a surplus, after all.
'But still, if it's Baek Gyeonwoo, well.'
It wasn't like there were zero groups that succeeded as a six-member act.
Just with me, Jeong Sowol, and Kim Sanho, the vocals were sufficient, and if absolutely needed, we could sub in Kim Yuri.
Plus, both Han Neuti and Baek Gyeonwoo were deep-voiced rappers, so their positions overlapped, that was all. It wasn't as though their images were completely identical either.
If I had to explain, Han Neuti's tone suited verse 1, Kim Yuri's verse 2, and Baek Gyeonwoo's verse 3.
You don't get it?
......Honestly, I don't really get it either. Just know that there's some subtle difference like that and move on.
And, weren't Baek Gyeonwoo and Han Neuti both officially recognized victims of the total edit-out treatment?
To say their images had been over-consumed... among fans, Baek Gyeonwoo was characterized as so timid he couldn't even make a single friend, and Han Neuti, before being revealed as Rei, was also famous as the timid character who couldn't say a word in front of the camera.
Having seen them for myself, I knew that was ridiculous.
Which meant even the fans knew nothing about the two of them.
Because there was nothing shown.
'Same goes for me.'
Thanks to being generously seasoned with evil editing, total edits, and angel edits all on my own, there was a reaction saying, 'Isn't it just four different versions of Seo Cha-gyeom on a rotation?' My character was that all over the place.
At this point, it wouldn't be far-fetched to consider the three of us shown on the broadcast and the three of us about to debut as completely different people.
No matter what, we wouldn't be able to fully shake the shadow of <MAKE100%>, but I'd already braced myself for that.
'If we use it as aggro... we could even make it work to our advantage.'
The conclusion was that there was nothing... no, nothing majorly problematic.
So the current situation was this.
"......."
"......."
Once the members' simple introductions were over, an awkwardness washed over the practice room.
Still, since I was supposedly the closest to Baek Gyeonwoo, I mustered the courage to speak first.
"Should we throw you a welcome party?"
Baek Gyeonwoo stared at me intently.......
And nodded.
"......Are you really doing it?"
"You said you would."
I thought it was about time I fixed this habit of just blurting things out and seeing what happened.
First, to take responsibility for the words I'd already blurted, I dragged Jeong Sowol into it.
"Sowol-ah, do you still have any congratulatory stages left?"
"Yes."
Jeong Sowol picked up his guitar.
"I have about a hundred or so."
"Just do one."
For reference... when I asked why it was a classical guitar a month ago, I was told it was because the only thing at his house was a classical guitar.
Anyway, Jeong Sowol finished tuning a few times and started singing right away.
If loneliness is the sea
I have been the sea since birth
Everyone except Baek Gyeonwoo had experienced this at least once, so they didn't seem particularly fazed by Jeong Sowol's unusual song choice.
And Baek Gyeonwoo... listened silently, and as soon as Jeong Sowol put down the guitar, he spoke.
"Foresight."
"......!"
"Gills acoustic remix version."
And then he delivered the final blow.
"I like it too."
The moment he heard that, Jeong Sowol grabbed the neck of his guitar with one hand and sprang to his feet.
He then hurriedly pattered over to me and whispered.
"Hyung."
"Yeah?"
"I like him. I think we can keep him."
Even though he'd already rolled in here on his own accord.
"Okay."
At that moment, Kim Yuri, who had been sitting in a full lotus position, stood up.
"Then I'll do a celebratory rap......."
"Don't."
"I knew you'd say that! But hear me out first."
Kim Yuri cried out with a somewhat desperate look.
"I... I haven't shown you anything yet!"
Was there a reason that had to be shown through a casual rap and not on stage?
We'd find out once we practiced together soon enough anyway.......
"He's got a point."
Unexpectedly, it was Han Neuti who cast an agreeing vote for Kim Yuri's opinion.
"Let's just say we were too disorganized up until now. Shouldn't we slowly start synching up on something? I still don't know a thing about what you guys are good at."
"......."
"......Ah, no, I'm not angry. Don't misunderstand."
"I don't think anyone thought you were angry, hyung."
Han Neuti's point was accurate.
Kim Yuri had been busy hunting down his work files and contacting the composition team right after joining the company, Han Neuti had been busy working on videos to upload to NeoTube, and Jeong Sowol and Kim Sanho were still in the personal training phase.
'From now on... six months.'
Within that time, we had to truly become a team.
I looked around at the members sitting in a circle and said.
"So, what should we start with?"
* * *
After the early termination of <MAKE100%>, the fan community.
[How's your bias's agency doing...?]
I won't say where (don't ask)
The company channel uploaded a video of my bias, but the quality is just... sigh... ;ㅅ; I'd rather they just uploaded a cover or did a live broadcast or something... The more work they do, the more my anticipation drops, it's a worrying phenomenon...
And is this a trait of shitty small companies? Debut is still a long way off, so why are they already revealing all the trainees one after another? Like this, no one's gonna care when they actually debut...
Comments
―Shitty small companies are always like that, only looking at what's right in front of them lol ㅠㅠ I get that they're doing it to hold onto fans since survival show interest cools fast, but still, put in some effort
└For real, I really don't want them to rush the debut, even if it takes a year, just please prepare perfectly and debut ㅠㅠ
―Right now every agency is just hanging up a banner saying "Our restaurant is open for business" and busily scooping up stones;;;
―Still, if that's the case, they're Tier 1. My kid has gone missing.
└They'll probably turn up later in a sighting account at some Excel academy
└You son of a bitch
Among the KES sharing updates on their bias and their bias's agency, the place garnering the most mentions was Sora Seom by far.
Partly because the highly popular Seo Cha-gyeom and Han Neuti were there at the same time, but also because their moves were extremely unexpected.
[Please, agencies, just do as much as Sora Seom at least ㅜㅜㅜ]
Stop booking schedules on some no-name channel and start by uploading covers or vlogs on NeoTube ㅠㅠ You should be collecting subscribers while people's attention is focused now...
And book some pictorial schedules... Pictorials come with previews, interviews, making-of videos, so the cost-effectiveness is decent, and compared to the B-grade sensibility schedules you're booking, it wears down the image less
Comments
―...This is my first time stanning a small company, is this industry always like this, with fans having to teach them everything from A to Z...?
└Yep
└They're sensitive as hell, so you have to phrase it nicely too.
―Pictorials have to be offered first for them to book them ㅜㅜ dammit
[How on earth is Sora Seom the one doing the best...]
It was just the other day those Sora Seom people were self-deprecatingly saying they couldn't even use the word "team" so they had to use terms like legal brain, marketing brain, planning brain ;; How did they manage it
[It's a bit of a shame Sora Seom banned fan support gifts right away]
The notice went up almost immediately so we didn't even get to start pooling funds... I had my eye on so many outfits that would suit Chaegyeom, what a waste~
Comments
―Didn't Rei get any support gifts?
└His were already in progress before he joined Sora Seom
└Why do Neuti fans have so much money... If he hadn't gone to Sora Seom, the fans might have just set up a whole company.
―Isn't Seo Cha-gyeom pounding the ground in regret right now? lol
└Why?
└Because he's missing out on support gifts ㅜㅜ
└What are you talking about... The notice says they accepted the trainee's opinion and banned them.
└Exactly, so back then he probably figured he'd be debuting anyway and said not to accept them... ㅜ Do you think he knew it'd turn out like this ㅜㅜ
[Sora Seom is annoying]
Rei and Seo Cha-gyeom fans are the main culprits who blew up Mebaek, and while everyone else is getting stuffed into groups, they're the only ones in a festive mood, it really looks tactless and boorish.
Comments
―Wtf are you talking about
―Ask your bias why they messed it up then
└OP isn't a pre-selected member fan, they're a project group nutjob, 100% lol
And regarding Baek Gyeonwoo, discussions like this were circulating.
[If Baek Gyeonwoo joins Giddeun, will you stan or not?]
Comments
―I'll probably just stan for the heck of it
―!!!!A divisive post targeting Giddeun and Baek Gyeonwoo fans!!!! Do not engage
―It's just going from a one-top to a two-top, whatever
―Yep, I'm gonna do a spin-off group with Gyeonwoo and Chaegyeom~♥
―Seeing Baek Gyeonwoo fans going "should we join Giddeun or not" is so freaking enviable, seriously. Someone else out there is debating whether to be an idol or a regular citizen.
Sora Seom and Baek Gyeonwoo.
What unified these two separate storylines.......
Was a single post.
[Baek Gyeonwoo Leaves Youth]