Chapter 121
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 121
Who exactly was Lia Purple?
They were a five-year-old group, seniors far above us in terms of tenure. However, in terms of fandom size and public recognition, we were currently ahead. They were also idols who had recently seen a surge in popularity thanks to a song climbing back up the charts via the algorithm.
Perhaps because they were in a phase where their management was being extra strict, their discipline was no joke.
"Hello! I’ll count us down! One, two, three! We are Lia Purple!"
"We are Lia Purple!!"
Their energy was intense.
"Ah, hello!"
"We are The Dawn!"
Caught off guard, my members got swept up in the momentum and shouted back with just as much vigor.
Good. Better than looking intimidated, guys.
"We apologize for calling you so suddenly! Since the announcement of our collaboration hasn't been made public yet, we have to be careful, but we felt we needed to speak urgently, so we came to greet you!"
"No, thank you for making time for us despite your busy schedule."
Just as I was about to sit down after the sequential greetings, the system window popped up.
[Choices:
1. How dare you summon me here? I hope you’re prepared.
2. Umm… Ho-yunie is happy to see you too.
3. Guys, our collaboration is doomed.]
Damn it.
I had been trying to cut back on the swearing lately, but looking at the way this system bastard acted, I couldn't help myself. It was clearly throwing these options out just to screw with me for no reason.
Since I absolutely couldn't pick the first or third options, it was basically telling me to pick the second one…
Gritting my teeth, I spat out the line in a rapid, mumbled blur.
"UmmHo-yunieishappytoseeyoutoo."
"…Pardon?"
"Nice to meet you."
"…Did I hear that wrong?"
I felt the members glancing at me, but I put on a thick skin, kept a straight face, and sat down.
Fortunately, the leader of Lia Purple stood stiffly and gave a loud greeting, allowing the moment to pass awkwardly.
"Congratulations on the massive success of your Kill the Lights promotions!! We mean it!!"
"Ah, well, thank you…"
Seong Ji-won, startled by Lia Purple’s constant 'military-style' discipline since we met, blinked his eyes wide and let out a bashful thank you.
But they weren't finished.
"We were also deeply impressed by Shining Star. The songs that followed, Ocean Train and Kill the Lights, went beyond just being good—they solidified The Dawn's universe even further!"
"……Th-thank you. I also enjoy listening to Lia Purple’s Headlight! I’m always amazed by the clean high notes…"
For the record, this was a real-life situation with no cameras around.
For a moment, I saw flashes of Lee Ji-hyeon’s usual fan-girl outbursts in them.
As Seong Ji-won took the baton from Lia Purple’s leader and began pouring out compliments with a touched expression, a heartwarming atmosphere filled the conference room.
Guys…
…Now is not the time for this.
We’re in serious trouble.
"—So, about our collaboration."
"Ah, yes."
The moment I brought it up, the heated atmosphere of "You’re the best," "No, you’re the best," turned somber in an instant.
Lia Purple seemed to already realize the gravity of the situation; they couldn't even meet our eyes and fidgeted.
"I heard we’re doing Let’s Spend This Night."
"…Yes. It was a huge hit for our senior labelmate, Woo-seo… and our CEO is pushing it very hard."
Translation: Hey, I’m really sorry, but we have to go through with this no matter what.
Even without her making such a distressed face, I understood perfectly. It seemed their agency was just as disastrous as Daepasung.
…Sigh.
Fine, for now… for now, okay.
I brushed my hair back and changed the subject to shift the mood.
"Then first… shall we give it a listen?"
Everyone nodded with nervous eyes. As the youngest member of Lia Purple ran to play the song, everyone listened with solemn gravity.
[Tonight, I’m going to show you
The secret I’ve been hiding
Ooh Hoo Let me show you
Don’t even think about running away]
"……Oh."
The song was better than I expected. There was a reason it was famous; Let’s Spend This Night had a rich melody and a solid progression.
Moreover, the initial beat wasn't as greasy as I’d feared.
"The melody really is good, even hearing it again."
Kang Yi-chae nodded his head slightly to the rhythm. Hearing a good song seemed to set his composer’s soul on fire, as his eyes began to sparkle.
Just then, Kim Seong-hyeon—who had been tense fearing the song would be weird—finally relaxed and took a sip of water to moisten his dry throat. He immediately spat it back out upon hearing the next lyrics.
[Every night I’m lonely
Please hold me tight (Ah-)
I want you to hold me close]
"Pfft!"
"……Whoa."
"Cough, cough… I-I’m sorry…"
"……."
Not just Lia Purple, but even our faces began to turn pale.
[Babe, Give me a Kiss Kiss!
Let me Bite Bite!]
…Oh…
[Babe Please come to me (Ah-)
I want to fill myself with you]
"……Cough, hic…"
How did this pass the broadcasting standards?
No matter how many times I heard it, I couldn't get used to it. I could clearly see the lyricist’s firm determination to cram every possible suggestive meaning into a song that could still pass for all ages.
There wasn't a single person in this room (including Kim Seong-hyeon, who was currently dying of a coughing fit) who didn't know what those lyrics meant. Of course, our maknae was always the exception.
While everyone else’s faces were ghostly pale, Jeong Da-jun alone clapped his hands and smiled brightly.
"Wow! The melody is so romantic and nice!"
"……."
"But what was that last part? What do they want to fill…"
"Da-jun!!"
I hurriedly covered Jeong Da-jun’s mouth and took a deep breath. Even with his mouth covered, Da-jun mumbled, "Do they mean filling it with love?" but the atmosphere had turned ten degrees colder, as if someone had turned on the AC in the middle of winter. Even I was at a loss for words.
"……What should we do about this?"
"…Change it. We absolutely cannot do it like this."
I thought, Yikes, this is a bit much, even when I listened to it alone, but listening to it with Lia Purple and Jeong Da-jun—who was a living natural monument of innocence for a teenager—made it insanely awkward.
When I threw the straight punch, Lia Purple’s maknae clenched her fists with an expression that said, That’s exactly what I’m saying, dammit!
"We tried to appeal to the company… but they said it’s difficult. They said there’s no other song as representative of our agency as this one. Um, by any chance… what does Daepasung think?"
Translation: Hey, I think we’re screwed. Can your company stop this?
"Our company doesn't have a different opinion."
Translation: Our company is a bunch of nobodies.
"……."
Having understood perfectly, Lia Purple fell back into silence.
Certainly, Daepasung—especially the CEO—had a habit of being subtly silent whenever things like this happened.
He probably got pressured by Lia Purple’s agency and took the song, but knowing I’d throw a fit if he told me in advance, he kept putting it off until the decision was finalized without a single prior notice.
I let out a sigh.
Is the cooldown over?
Even when a person decides to live a truly kind life, the world just doesn't help.
I was carefully choosing my words on how to handle this when Lia Purple spoke up first.
"Um… may I say just one thing?"
"Yes, go ahead."
The main dancer took a deep breath as if she had made a monumental decision.
"Whew. Everyone here… I think we all know each other's situations. So I’ll skip the preamble."
"……."
"If we do a concept like this, we… no, at least Lia Purple will be completely ruined."
"Unnie…!!"
"Therefore!"
Lia Purple’s main dancer squeezed her eyes shut.
"Let’s just dance like wooden dolls!!!"
At the main dancer’s overly blunt statement, the other members of Lia Purple looked flustered but soon agreed with tragic faces.
"First, let’s absolutely not touch each other. We’ll inevitably have to pair up to make the formations work, but let’s maintain a two-meter distance between people, keep conversation to a minimum, and let’s not even make eye contact!!"
"Right! Don’t even talk without your masks on!"
"Of course! That’s a given!!"
"…Quarantine protocols?"
Kang Yi-chae muttered at the words that sounded veeeery familiar.
But Lia Purple was dead serious. They looked like they didn't want to blow the opportunity they had finally gained through their chart climb.
At first glance, it seemed like a ridiculous suggestion, but…
No, it’s actually brilliant.
Honestly, I agreed with that opinion.
Even if the words themselves were a bit absurd and sounded funny, Lia Purple was being very wise.
"…Then shall we try practicing like that once?"
Seong Ji-won cautiously suggested, and with everyone’s agreement, we moved to Lia Purple’s agency practice room to rehearse…
[Every night I’m lonely]
"Is this about two meters?"
"I think it’s perfect!"
Perfect, my ass…
It was originally choreography where we were supposed to hold hands, but since we were standing two meters apart and just reaching out our fingertips like E.T. from that old sci-fi movie, it just looked bizarre.
"I’ll spin on my own!!"
"Then I’ll gesture as if I’m spinning you!!"
[Give me a kiss kiss
Let me bite bite]
The dance was supposed to proceed like a waltz where you spin your partner, but since we were far apart with only hands extended while the partner spun themselves, it didn't look like choreography—it looked like a dark mage controlling someone. Kang Yi-chae watched the scene and whispered quietly.
"Wasn't there… a famous old meme like this?"
"The dark mage controlling an idol from the audience?!"
"Ah, right!! That one!"
…Anyway, after the four-minute performance ended, no one could speak.
"……I-it should be fine, right?!"
"Of course!"
When Lia Purple’s leader spoke cautiously while checking the mood, Jeong Da-jun jumped up and gave a thumbs up. Seeing the other members trying their best to agree and clap made our situation feel somewhat pitiful. It was a suffocating sight.
Let’s cut it here.
"…Seniors, shall we take a short break?"
"Let’s do that!"
Everyone in Lia Purple nodded like crazy. I felt like they were living a tough life too.
"I’ll be out for a moment."
"Yes, see you soon!"
I replaced a greeting with a slight bow and walked out of the building to get some fresh air.
Actually, this was a bit of a habit. I used to organize my thoughts while smoking outside.
I rubbed my mouth and muttered.
"……What should I do?"
I honestly thought it was wise to construct the stage according to Lia Purple’s opinion, but seeing how it was actually turning out, I was having second thoughts.
This is… well…
"What do you call this?"
Ding!
[A Bluetooth circus troupe?]
"Ah! Right, that."
Exactly. I snapped my fingers and nodded at the perfect description.
This won't deliver the impact.
Setting the impact aside for a moment, let’s look at the best-case scenario.
First, the priority was not getting caught up in a scandal.
Perhaps the dance, with its extreme avoidance of physical contact, might earn public sympathy, or maybe it would go viral as a funny video.
I could already hear the mockery people would spout after seeing this Bluetooth circus.
[Ah
Guys
I get it, I get your sincerity
└ Man, you can really see their determination not to have a scandal lololololololololol]
[But if they’re gonna do it like this, why even have a collab? lol It’s uncomfortable for both the performers and the viewers.
└ I’m satisfied though.
└└ Okay.]
"…Wait?"
Now that I think about it, this isn't so bad either?
Pushing aside the strategy of injecting hype through a year-end stage, I thought playing the pity card to the public wasn't a bad method at all.
However, there was one thing bothering me.
Ding!
[^^]
[Seo Ho-yun-ssi]
[What are you thinking about?]
Right, this damn quest.
It told me to show overwhelming quality.
But I couldn't show overwhelming quality with this circus troupe. I plopped down on the stairs behind the building and ruffled my hair with one hand.
"Thinking about you."
[…Yes?]
"Thinking about how I’m going to bury you one day."
[Lol, shall I show you the quest again?]
The system window snidely caught onto my thoughts with uncanny precision.
[Quest Re♡Ar♡rived♡
Successfully complete the collaboration stage with a sexy concept!
Boast overwhelming quality to the public.
Success: 5,000 Points
Failure: Slight decrease in Dance stat
(B+ ➝ C+)]
I let out a short groan. No matter what I thought, it was telling me to come out with a SE! XY! CON! CEPT! that the public would acknowledge. I buried my face in my crossed arms and chuckled softly.
"Which mountain do you want to be buried in? Pick one within Gyeonggi-do."
[Lololololol]
[Think about me again soon♡]
Look at it disappearing right after saying what it wanted. This tiresome system window.
Sighing at the forced nature of it all, I sent a text to Lee Ji-hyeon. It was an urgent request for help.
[Me: Lee Ji-hyeon-ssi]
Before I could even finish the next sentence, the '1' disappeared and a reply came from Lee Ji-hyeon.
[Planning Team Lee Ji-hyeon: Lia Purple?]