Chapter 122
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 122
[Planning Team Lee Ji-hyeon: Lia Purple?]
…She’s like a shaman.
I let out a small chuckle and waited a moment.
[Planning Team Lee Ji-hyeon: First of all]
[Planning Team Lee Ji-hyeon: Absolutely]
[Planning Team Lee Ji-hyeon: DO NOT touch them]
[Me: lol]
I sent the reply, implying, Do you think I’m crazy?
That was something both Lia Purple and I were already well aware of.
What I wanted from Lee Ji-hyeon was a way to take this "Bluetooth Circus" and rub some kind of concept onto it to make it look halfway decent.
[Me: You know what I’m asking for, right?]
[Me: Ah, I’m really, really looking forward to it this time too.]
[Planning Team Lee Ji-hyeon: Heh.]
Ji-hyeon’s reply paused for a moment.
She wasn't the same Lee Ji-hyeon who used to stand before the team leader with sparkling eyes, excitedly pouring out the settings she loved.
She had leveled up. In the dark attribute, of course.
[Planning Team Lee Ji-hyeon: Um… Ho-yun.]
[Planning Team Lee Ji-hyeon: To be honest, I’ve been so busy lately that I’m pretty tired... T_T;;]
[Planning Team Lee Ji-hyeon: And my bias’s event started again... I totally failed my pulls last time... T_T]
[Planning Team Lee Ji-hyeon: To get even one SSR of our Heavenly Aviator, I think I’ll need to do at least 100 pulls… and even that won’t be enough to fully limit break him…]
What is she talking about…
…Is she asking for a bonus? I barely managed to decipher it.
I didn't care whether she pulled cards for the game she liked or not, and I didn't even understand half the words she used, but I was willing to grant her wish for now.
Not with my money, of course. With the company’s money.
[Me: I’ll talk to the CEO.]
[Planning Team Lee Ji-hyeon: Is a double bonus possible too?]
[Me: Lol, what do you take me for?]
[Me: Of course I’ll make sure you get your bias.]
[Me: No matter how many copies it takes. ^^]
[Planning Team Lee Ji-hyeon: Ah!]
[Planning Team Lee Ji-hyeon: I will organize everything and email it to you ri~~ght away! ^^! As expected, talking to The Dawn’s top visual is so quick and easy. You’re the best, the best~!]
“Lee Ji-hyeon is fun, isn’t she?”
I chuckled and turned off my phone.
It was definitely worth establishing my position within the company through the Jeong Da-jun incident and then periodically acting like a psycho to solidify that foundation.
As I stood there, pleasantly greeting the slightly chilly breeze and congratulating Lee Ji-hyeon on finally awakening since joining the company, I felt a presence behind me.
“What is it?”
“…Ah.”
Thinking it was one of my members, I turned around with a blank expression, only to see Lia Purple’s main dancer fidgeting with her fingers, looking like she was debating how to approach me.
“A-ah, hello!”
“Hello.”
Even though there was no one else around, she seemed just as anxious, glancing around and letting out small breaths. Anyone watching would think she’d stumbled upon a crime scene.
“U-um… I’m sorry. This must be frustrating for you. I came out to apologize because I felt like we were causing trouble for you because of our agency.”
“Not at all. It’s not Lia Purple’s fault.”
“That… well, still, it must be uncomfortable for The Dawn.”
If they were going to make us collaborate in the first place, I wished they would at least stop pushing the sexy concept.
Lia Purple’s main dancer lowered her gaze and spoke in a slightly dejected voice.
“…I know we’re basically a ‘Bluetooth Circus’ right now.”
So she knew.
“We can’t help it! I’m really sorry! If we have to choose between getting into a scandal because we touched while trying to make the stage look pretty vs. being mocked for being a Bluetooth Circus, it’s definitely the latter!!”
“It is the latter, for sure…”
“Right??!!”
She was the one who said it, but her face turned pale as if she’d realized there was truly no hope after actually trying to match the dance. When I gave a slight nod of agreement, the main dancer scratched her cheek and brought up what she really wanted to say.
“I’m not saying this so you’ll understand, but… actually, in our second year after debut… a rumor broke out.”
I knew. It was a scandal.
It was a fatal issue for an idol. Not only was it untrue, but because she had been linked with a male idol who was quite famous at the time, the fallout was incredibly vicious, making it hard to recover.
“Victory is Mine… you know it, right? Ah, of course you do. Seo Ho-yun, you were famous back then…”
“Yes, I know.”
“When we appeared on it in the past, we… we only briefly greeted the group we were paired with and walked past, but it was edited strangely and uploaded.”
Just thinking about it seemed to exhaust her, as the main dancer shuddered.
“Rumors spread that we were deceiving fans by having couple items with a member of that idol group. Ah! Of course, we did have those items, but actually, a few of our members just bought them together because they were pretty. …We were actually doing quite well after our debut, but after that, we failed miserably.”
Mhm, I knew that too. When I searched for Lia Purple, it still showed up in the related search terms.
They probably tried to clean up the related searches in their own way, but back then, all sorts of crude words had appeared alongside them, and it wasn't much different now.
“Didn’t you clarify that it was a rumor?”
“We did, of course.”
She let out a deep sigh.
“But… who would care after that? We just flopped.”
I suppose so. That’s just how this market is.
People pounce like predators looking for prey when there’s something to criticize, but no one listens when someone tries to explain.
The Lia Purple member gave an awkward laugh and scratched her head.
“We’re a group that barely survived because a song luckily climbed back up the charts early this year. We really think of this as our last chance…. So, I hope you understand that even if we react oversensitively like we’re following quarantine protocols, we don’t have any bad intentions at all!”
“I see.”
“Our girls are really desperate! A-actually, Sumin is a really good dancer!”
“Yes.”
“Silly’s voice is like honey! If you listen to her recent drama OST, you’ll see…!”
And so began Lia Purple’s main dancer’s love for her members (which I interpreted as fangirling), which went on for quite a while. I responded with appropriate interjections, but after five minutes, I started to get a bit tired of it.
“…You really love your members.”
= Stop it.
“They’re my little piggies who never listen to a word I say, but I do love them! We aren’t particularly close to other groups, and we’re especially sick of being caught in scandals just from a single greeting, so we just end up hanging out with each other…. Ah, yes. Sorry.”
Only then did Lia Purple’s main dancer realize she had gotten a bit too heated and shut her mouth.
Wow…
She must have been seriously burned. But I agreed with her. That’s why we were currently proceeding with a choreography that had absolutely no touch…
As I was pondering, my phone rang again. Lee Ji-hyeon had already finished organizing and sent the email. I checked it briefly and burst out laughing.
[Email Subject: Sending you ‘Emergency Escape Number One’]
“Ah, this is actually hilarious.”
“Pardon?”
Having unexpectedly found someone with the same sense of humor, I suppressed my laughter and opened the email. It said that since it seemed urgent, she was sending just the basic concept for now and would send a cleaner version later.
I opened the file and skimmed through it. Seeing that the content wasn't much different from the direction I had in mind, I nodded and looked at Lia Purple’s main dancer.
“Still, it’s a bit of a waste, isn’t it?”
“…Excuse me?”
“It’s a year-end stage.”
Leaving Lia Purple’s main dancer hovering beside me with a mix of awkwardness and apology, I organized my thoughts on how to phrase this nicely.
Okay, good.
“Shall we change our route?”
It would be such a waste to let this opportunity of a year-end stage pass by just because we’re scared of scandals.
“…What? Ah, our song is already decided, so we probably can’t change it.”
“No, I’m not saying we should change the song.”
I put on that specific smile that my members absolutely hate. The so-called harmless and kind smile.
“Shall we change the concept a bit?”
* * *
What are we going to do about this?
Lia Purple’s maknae crouched in the corner of the practice room with a hollow expression.
They’re our juniors, but The Dawn is so popular lately… if we even get linked to them, aren’t we literally going to pass away from this world?
Even if they maintained a distance of two meters during the collaboration stage, she could bet her arm that if they performed a sexy concept—and to a song by Lia Purple’s agency senior at that—the criticism would become literal arrows piercing right into Lia Purple.
No, no. Criticism is fine. I’m used to it because I’ve been cursed at so much anyway… I just hope we don’t get linked this time…!
People who are going to curse will curse anyway. She just hoped they wouldn't get caught in a weird flow and have a scandal break out like last time.
Wow, back then, I really thought the world was ending…
Lia Purple’s maknae dazed out seriously before looking around at her members. Most of them seemed to be having similar worries, as their expressions were gloomy.
Just then, from the other end of the practice room where he was talking with The Dawn members, Seong Ji-won was drinking water when his eyes met hers. Reflexively, Ji-won’s eyes crinkled into a smile as he held out a new water bottle.
“Would you like some water?”
“Ah, th-thank… you… Gaaah!!”
She had no ill will, but when her finger almost brushed his while trying to take the bottle, she reacted with almost allergic intensity. As she clutched her heart, which was pounding with tension, and backed away, Seong Ji-won lowered his eyebrows slightly and smiled.
“I-I-I’m sorry.”
“Haha…. It’s okay.”
He then slid the water bottle toward her and sat a bit further away, tapping the floor rhythmically with his finger. He was likely reviewing the choreography.
Watching him, the maknae felt a bit of admiration. She wondered how he could even think of reviewing choreography in this situation.
“…Wow, that’s impressive.”
“Pardon?”
Gaaah!
She had told herself to be careful, but she’d blurted out her thoughts immediately. When Seong Ji-won turned to look at her, she desperately made an excuse.
“Ah, no. I just thought it was impressive. I knew you were famous for practicing hard… but you seem to be working hard even in this situation.”
She was 100 percent sincere, but the more she spoke, the more it sounded like she was being sarcastic. Just as she was about to wish she could sew her mouth shut, Seong Ji-won gave an ambiguous smile.
“It is on my mind, it is… but…”
“…….”
“It’ll be fine anyway.”
“…Huh?”
It was a cryptic feeling.
Kang Yi-chae, who had been sprawled out a little distance away, lifted his upper body and ran a hand through his messy hair.
“Ah~, it’s about time he showed up, right?”
“If he said he was going out for some fresh air, it’s a hundred percent.”
The Dawn members each added a comment, making her feel even more like she was in a maze. Regardless, Kang Yi-chae rummaged through his pocket, pulled out a candy, put it in his mouth, and crunched it.
“Who do you think he’s pestering this time?”
“Either the Planning Team or Composer Cheong-beom.”
“Probably the Planning Team. I heard the composer went to the US recently.”
“Eh? Why?”
However, her question was soon resolved by Seo Ho-yun, who returned with Lia Purple’s main dancer a moment later.
Seo Ho-yun spoke nonchalantly.
“Let’s have a quick meeting.”
“Sure, sure~.”
When everyone gathered in the center of the practice room, Seo Ho-yun spoke up.
“I think it would be good to reorganize the concept first.”
“You’re calling off the sexy concept?”
“No, not that…. I was thinking of layering another concept on top of it.”
The words that came out of Seo Ho-yun’s mouth made them think, What kind of crazy talk is this? but with every word he added, they were gradually drawn into his logic.
“Pardon?”
The reaction that started with that…
“…No, you’re right??”
…changed into that.
Based on Lee Ji-hyeon’s concept and drawn in by Seo Ho-yun’s brilliant silver tongue, Lia Purple and some of The Dawn members (namely Kim Seong-hyeon and Jeong Da-jun) looked at him as if possessed.
“It’s clearly a good song and a precious opportunity to stand on a big stage, so it would be such a shame to just let it pass like this.”
Certainly, doing it that way would allow them to keep the song’s concept while avoiding being swept up in a scandal.
It was like killing two birds with one stone.
Seo Ho-yun finished his explanation while declining the candy Kang Yi-chae offered.
“—…So, how about we do it like that? The lyrics are perfect for it, too.”
“Yes!!”
“Let’s do that!”
Everyone nodded in excitement. Especially Kang Yi-chae, who popped the candy Seo Ho-yun had rejected into his own mouth and looked excited as he scribbled down how to arrange the music.
“Then let’s go with that. I’ll see you again in two days.”
“We look forward to working with you!”
“Yes, looking forward to it.”
Seo Ho-yun gave a light greeting and stood up with The Dawn. Beside him, Kim Seong-hyeon nudged Ho-yun and asked.
“It was Lee Ji-hyeon, right? So, what did you give her?”
“I don’t know, something about a card game illustration. If she wants it that much, can’t she just take a screenshot?”
“Hey, she probably wants to own it.”
Kang Yi-chae chimed in from the side. “If you put it that way, couldn’t people just print out our photocards too?” “Ah, I guess it’s that kind of feeling,” they whispered as The Dawn left the practice room.
Lia Purple’s maknae, who had flopped down alone in the busy practice room, finally recalled what The Dawn members had been saying and muttered blankly.
“There’s a reason why The Dawn is so popular…”
It was a strange thing.
“There really was a way out.”
Without knowing that the breakthrough was the price of a mobile game gacha bonus for Lee Ji-hyeon, she was purely impressed by Seo Ho-yun.
.
.
.
And Seo Ho-yun, who had proposed that breakthrough, faced a crisis in an unexpected place.
It was because of the news the manager delivered in an excited voice as soon as they got into the van.
“Ho-yun!! Some really, really good news arrived! They said Yoo Ji-ah and Min Ji-heon were each nominated for the Best Actor and Actress awards at the Acting Awards! To celebrate, they’re doing a special Please Take Care of the Camera performance, and you’re going to be part of it!!”
“…What did you say?”
“I mean, the three of you—Yoo Ji-ah, Min Ji-heon, and you—are going to do a special performance at the awards ceremony!”
“…….”
Seo Ho-yun was absolutely appalled.
A performance with Min-gro?