Chapter 35
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Translator: Wjin
Chapter: 35
Chapter Title: Building the Idol Team
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"First, check if they have any tattoos. Small ones are fine... You know what I mean, right?"
Recalling Team Leader Min's words, Jin-seong entered the practice room and shouted.
"Everyone out!"
"Where to?"
Jin-guk asked, eyes wide round.
"Hae-jin's here, so we need some team bonding!"
"Ooooh! Sounds good!"
Jin-guk cheered, though what he was expecting was anyone's guess.
But the place they headed to was the bathhouse.
Smooch.
Jin-seong shrugged as he sipped his banana milk. No tattoos on anyone, at least.
"Wh-what's that for?"
Hae-jin twisted her body, covering herself with her hands as everyone stared.
"'Cause you're pretty."
"Huh?"
Jin-seong smirked as Hae-jin blushed and backed away. Jin-guk sidled up next to him, holding a bottle of sikhye.
"Bro, these kids are all skin and bones. Don't we need to put 'em through some special training?"
"I was thinking the same thing."
To Jin-seong's eyes, Hae-jin and the others were way too frail. Dancing required strong legs to hold up, and some choreography needed muscle power too, so they had to build up their basics.
"Especially Hae-jin over there. She needs to bulk up first."
Not fat, but packing on about 5kg of muscle would make her look a whole lot better.
"Should we draw up an exercise schedule?"
"Yeah, just enough to keep 'em from keeling over."
"Kuhuhu. Got it. I'm already pumped. Training with you back then was a blast, right?"
Whatever boot camp hell those two had survived, Hae-jin shivered in the hot bath, chilled by their vibe.
"Ooooh..."
Something big had happened. Number 11 Author's story had gone paid—and landed at third place.
First was predictably The Yakuza Family's Youngest Son, but Number 11 hitting third was historic.
'Did I help make this happen?'
I remembered it taking longer for Number 11 to hit these numbers back when he was locked up. Physically joining us had come way later too.
'Good for him.'
The more famous he got, the harder it'd be for that demon to reach him. Number 11 was free now.
Of course, he had to maintain it. Plenty of stories flared bright then crashed.
I gave him a call.
-Y-yes! Author! No, President!
"Congrats."
-It's all thanks to you, President! Haha!
At this rate, first-day paid sales would hit 4,000. At 100 won per chapter, that was over 200,000 won easy.
Serializing daily without breaks meant 600 days, more if he wrote faster.
"You uploaded three today—got any backlog?"
-I tried pumping out four or five a day like you, but couldn't keep it up! Still got three in reserve, so starting tomorrow, two steady.
He was doing great. Unless you'd been canned like me for ten years, cranking out over 100 a month was brutal.
I encouraged him, hung up, and headed out.
Up on the rooftop, Jin-seong and Jin-guk were in full swing, causing a ruckus.
Team Leader Min spotted me and brought someone over.
"Ah, you made it today."
Min smiled at my reaction.
"Say hi. This is the president."
"Hello! I'm Ryu Hae-jin!"
The much younger Hae-jin I knew would win an audition show eight years from now.
Her story—ruined teens by a shady agency, early 20s lost to army and setbacks—had blown up on air.
'She looks like a flower deer.'
Riding a delivery bike, leg mangled in an accident, limping onstage—it was heartbreaking.
'That future's gone now.'
With Hae-jin on board, I'd done all I could.
"President! Have a seat!"
The rooftop samgyeopsal party had become our company's initiation ritual.
Sizzle. Watching the meat grill still got my heart racing. I'd thought my appetite had shrunk, but ten years of gaslighting ran deep.
Ye-jin came up after finishing work.
"President."
Team Leader Min asked me.
"Decided on a team name?"
A few days back, he'd tasked me with it.
"Came up with a few, but wanted your input."
Casual setting, but everyone was here—time for president mode.
"Meta, Dive, Deep—combinations, or initials like D.D. or DM for easy calls. Something that fits our vibe."
Question marks popped in their eyes. Meta or DM weren't terms yet.
Min stroked his chin, tilting his head.
"Not a bad feel? DM? Rolls off the tongue weirdly nice."
Not Direct Message, but DM would be everywhere in ten years.
Meta-Dive made MD smoother, but knowing the future gave options.
'Eh, Google was a typo anyway.'
The famous misspelling from googol to Google was legendary.
What mattered? Hits fix everything.
'Maybe invest in Google?'
Stocks weren't my thing, but I knew a few survivors from ten years out.
'Not crypto wild, but safer.'
Shifting thoughts meant more on my shoulders.
"Cheers! Drink up!"
"Eat 'til we drop today!"
The awkward newbies loosened up with booze, grinning. Jin-seong and Jin-guk led the festival vibe.
Min let loose too, clinking glasses with Ye-jin, no nagging.
Suddenly, watching them party, a thought brushed by.
'Next work with these guys?'
My novels went webtoon straight off the bat. Soon dramas, movies—mass exposure.
'If it hits, build a fandom before they debut.'
Didn't need epic length. Back in captivity, Team Leader jerk forced Coyote Ugly on us.
Female lead rising from nothing to singer—chest-tightening stuff.
He probably picked it to "awaken" us, but now it sparked. Input matters; it always pays off.
"Drunk push-ups?"
Jin-seong was character gold, no matter what.
"Sweet! Gotta fight muscle loss!"
Jin-guk had edge too, great for charm.
"...Why push-ups, exactly?"
The singer-songwriter scowled, baffled—perfect contrast.
'Ji-min, was it?'
Three already sparked fun frames; two more meant a full story easy.
'Se-chan and Hae-jin as supports.'
Bromance overload for female readers?
Occupational hazard. Moonlit night, and I'm plotting.
'Plain won't cut it.'
But the floodgates were open.
'Audition show—those five form and debut.'
Under Memento Mori Entertainment—company promo too.
Eyes met Ye-jin's mid-thought. So I asked.
"Enter corp—next month, right?"
"End of next month."
"Next month..."
StoryWorld was male-skewed; guys debuting wouldn't build male fanbases.
"Why?"
"...Brainstorming next work."
"Next work?!"
Ye-jin bolted up, rushing over. Tail wagging behind? Booze haze?
I chuckled, summed it up. Min nodded.
"If it goes like you say, we could pitch a real audition show to PDs."
Ten years on, auditions and trot floods bored everyone—but now? Prime time.
Ye-jin chimed in.
"So next one's idols? Modern fantasy?"
"If we label it, yeah."
She furrowed her brow slightly.
"F-five guys as mains... Sell?"
I knew the worry. BL niche, idol fic dismissed as fanfic.
"That's why I called you."
Grinning, I continued.
"Chocolate Page, make contact."
StoryWorld was hot, but male-reader heavy, insider platform.
Chocolate Page differed. Big corp, webnovel push incoming, chasing female readers too.
Nine days post-rooftop, Ye-jin's email hit Chocolate Page's exec meeting.
"So, Memento Mori? What specifics do they want?"
"Fresh idea. Webnovel/webtoon with pre-debut idols as models. Could draw agency interest."
"Any success stories like this?"
Wouldn't hit top agenda sans "Memento Mori" clout.
Team Leader Hwang stood.
"Breaking it down: Exclusivity lift post-launch, big promo at idol debut."
Some faces soured.
"New platform?"
Hwang shrugged.
"Female 19+ focus, from what I hear."
No clash with big corp's tame markets.
"Ah, okay."
"That much? Fine..."
Vibe positive. Hottest new author shopping work? No-brainer.
Agenda-packed, Hwang pushed concise close.
"Romance authors under Memento Mori too—worth pursuing."
Someone asked.
"Viable? No big idol-protagonist hits."
"Three smashes, all male-skewed though."
"Exclusivity lift—legal risks later?"
Hwang smiled faintly.
"Win-win either way."
Could elaborate, but webnovel ecosystem talk would fly over heads.
He drove it home.
"Done right, one work holds male and female readers."
Idols, auditions—possible? Amid tilted heads, Hwang mused.
'Might pioneer a new genre...'