The studio door opened, followed by a flat voice.
“Take it easy, kid.”
Crescendo gaze stayed fix on his computer screen as he waved his hand toward the voice.
“These guys give me all my ideas these days.”
“…You’re saying being a fan of Blue Sherbet gives you ideas?” Trezis laughed like he couldn’t believe it.
“What does it matter what I use for ideas? As long as it gets my brain working. They have so much going on these days, it’s crazy! I can’t help that they have more content than most girl groups right now.”
Trezis pulled up a chair and sat down.
“Like what?” He asked in a bored voice.
Crescendo finally looked at him and kept talking.
“You like Seong-ah Kim, too, don’t you? Her chemistry with Yoon-jung is amazing. After watching their videos, I can tell she works really hard. Five videos are already up, and they all have over 2 million views. The first one has 5 million.”
“What’s so special about them?”
“Come on, don’t you check social media or anything? Even if we’re a hip-hop label, you should at least know what’s popular in the industry. You’re the CEO. Yoon-jung has memes of herself going around right now. Frustrated face, shocked face, and her ‘are you kidding me’ faces all got turned into emojis.”
(T/N: Reactions from celebrities often become popular memes and emoticons in the Korean entertainment industry.)
“Isn’t ‘Tomorrow’s Idol’ super popular these days? It’s feels like the whole country knows about it. Jin-ah, Kid, and Min-seok are basically the stars of that show. It’s incredible. Tomorrow’s the final episode, and it’ll be live. Everyone’s going crazy about it.”
Crescendo smiled sneakily and squinted his eyes. Trezis frowned.
“What.”
“Hyung, who do you think doesn’t know you watch that show?”
“…!”
“You’re already Jin-ah’s fan after seeing her once, huh?”
Trezis protested in an almost angry manner.
“I may not look it, but I am a CEO! Even if we’re a hip-hop label, I need to know how the market works! But you, you little punk! You keep acting like you’re friends with them by using their names so casually! Like your close!”
“Pft!”
“Are you close or not?!”
“No. But I’ll have lots of chances to get close to them later. Since we’ll be working together.”
Crescendo smirked and looked back at his computer screen. Then, with a click, he went to a website he had bookmarked. The screen filled with an ultra high definition photo of Hee-yeon.
“Whoa…”
Trezis’s mouth and eyes opened wide at the same time. Crescendo nodded happily.
“The live fan videos are amazing, but the reception for the ads and photos are unbelievably good, too.”
“…Doesn’t she go on variety shows or music programs?”
“I knew that would be the first question. Fans are begging her to appear somewhere, but there’s no news.”
“What the heck is President Kang doing?!”
He finally understood what it felt like when fans got other people interested in their favorite celebrities.
“She could have been a great actress, too.”
“That’s always the second thing people say.”
“What the heck is President Kang doing?”
Crescendo cracked his neck and grinned widely.
“Now, our role is to help Blue Sherbet with their grand finale.”
“A group song?”
When Crescendo looked at him like he was being silly, Trezis cleared his throat awkwardly.
“I’m joking, man. I know you’re talking about Yumi.”
“President Kang asked if we could do an interview.”
“Got it. I’ll set it up soon.”
***
[Hyun-hee Lee, Jin-ah Choi. Fans going crazy over former HS trainees’ friendship.]
[Jin-ah’s team has the highest popularity among the 3 finalist teams. Teacher-student relationship? Trainee friends? Driving ‘Tomorrow’s Idol’ ratings through the roof!]
[The reason Jin-ah’s team never lost first place. Pay attention to Hyuk Kang!]
[Ratings flying high. Trainees who didn’t choose Jin-ah’s team are crying tears of regret.]
[Kid, Min-seok. Last chance! Can they turn it around? Fans say, “Absolutely!”]
[Golden Tree fans say, “Jin-ah’s team wasn’t always first. It was only that first time!”]
[Nail-biting three-way battle! Who will win?]
This was expected from the moment Min-seok and Kid joined and when they started creating drama with the trainees. Everyone knew the show would become this popular.
“Now, follow after me. Breathe in- and out!”
“Breathe in- and out!”
Today was special for us, too, but for Hyun-hee, it could change her whole life. Winning top place would be something she could use in her career for a long while. Second place couldn’t compare to the attention that you could get from winning first.
“Jin-ah, what should I do? I’m so nervous.”
“Hey! Stop being nervous. Just follow me, okay? Breathe in- and out!”
“It’s not working. Just because you tell me not to be nervous doesn’t mean I won’t be!”
“Then try not being nervous!”
“How does that even work?!”
Jin-ah spoke seriously. Hyun-hee stomped her feet nervously.
Regardles of what the show’s intentions were for them, Hyun-hee and Jin-ah became real friends. Hyun-hee didn’t call Jin-ah ‘sunbae’ whether the cameras were around or not. As a result, viewers loved it even more. Maybe this comfortable friendship was what made them more popular than the other teams.
I interjected. After several performances, dealing with these two had become super easy.
“Today is a live broadcast. Tons of people will be watching, right? And can you hear the cheers outside? When you get on stage, the audience will be crazy loud. If you mess up, that’s it. The audience will go stone silent, the show will be ruined, and you’ll become an embarrassing meme forever. Maybe you won’t even be a meme, but just disappear completely.”
Hyun-hee’s face went completely pale. As Jin-ah scrunched up her eyebrows and was about to yell, I pointed at Hyun-hee’s hands.
“Look, now you’re not shaking.”
Jin-ah looked over. Hyun-hee also looked at her own hands.
“Huh…?”
“I’m… not nervous anymore?”
I put my hands on their shoulders as they blinked in surprise.
“Even if you get kicked off here, you’ve basically won already. I’ve told you many times, right? More important than winning here—”
“Is making people remember you.”
I nodded at Hyun-hee’s answer.
“Go do great.”
“I will.”
A relaxed smile spread across Hyun-hee’s face. Nervous, then scared, then calm. She was all over the place.
“President Kang.” Jin-ah, who had been staring at the smiling Hyun-hee, turned her head. Now she was staring at me.
“What.”
“…Cheer for me, too.”
“For your solo performance?”
She nodded without saying anything.
To fill up the long live broadcast time and to keep the ratings high, each team had their video segments ready. Of course, Jin-ah, Min-seok, and Kid had to prepare their own performances.
“Are you nervous?”
“Um… yes.”
She didn’t look nervous at all.
“Go do great,” I said flatly.
“…That’s so boring.”
Well, I would have to be worried in the first place. I had other things to worry about right now. Worrying about Jin-ah’s solo performance was completely pointless. Of course, beating Kid and Min-seok would still be too hard for her.
***
The stage area was packed with people.
Even though they were supposed to keep out fan clubs, Min-seok and Kid’s fans somehow made up most of the crowd. Well, the TV crew wasn’t the FBI, so it was a bit much to expect them to check each and every person.
The good thing was that there was no public voting by the audience or viewers at home. The fact that it wasn’t a fan war was a big reason that viewers felt comfortable watching.
“Thank you for waiting, everyone!”
Joo-sung Kim, the host, made his appearance as the audience welcomed the start of the live show with cheers that almost shook the whole venue.
This was followed by long hellos and rules and who knows what else. Honestly, why not add a few more speeches while you’re at it? The audience was dying of boredom.
Soon after.
“Introducing the stars who teamed up with our Top 3 trainees! It’s time for Idol Solo Performances!”
After waiting so long, the audience cheered even louder than before.
The venue went dark and an interview clip played on the big screen. The first person to show up was Golden Tree’s Min-seok. As if everything before was just warm-up, louder cheers exploded.
You could definitely tell you were at an idol concert when you went to one. Just when you thought the cheers can’t get any louder, they did. Again and again. It was like magic. His popularity was nothing to laugh at. Heck, this wasn’t even a Golden Tree concert.
“Now that we’re at the final Top 3 performances, how do you feel?”
“Well. I feel awful.”
“Sorry?”
“Music can only be perceived individually, so our fans and other people might feel differently. But in my personal opinion, our team has never gotten first place.”
“Oh…”
A chill fell over the audience. I could feel a dozen eyes on me from behind. There was no way I was turning around.
The video kept going.
“So for the solo performance, I’m going to get first place no matter what. Both in my opinion and in the other teams’ opinions.”
Next was Kid’s turn. Kid’s fans screamed as loud as they could. The cheers were just a tiny bit louder than when Min-seok appeared on screen. I snuck a look back and saw Min-seok’s fans getting mad.
The competition that was happening online was happening here, too.
“Now that we’re at the final Top 3 performances, how do you feel?”
The question was the same. Kid wore his usual kind and warm smile.
“I feel great. The trainee I’m paired with is a hard worker, and I feel like I’m getting better, too. Well, my competition is pretty tough.”
“You’ve been getting lots of attention. It’s been on TV that you ask President Hyuk Kang for advice every time.”
“Haha. But he doesn’t give me advice when I ask. I think he only helped me during the first recording because he was surprised.”
Sharp stares pierced me from behind. There was no way I was turning around.
“But I’m going to get first place this time. There’s a reason I ask for advice even if I don’t get it. I can tell from his face whether I did well or if something was wrong.”
The sharp stares at my back became as warm as a spring breeze. Without thinking, my hand went to my face. Did my face show that much? No. That guy just knew me really well. We had been together for years, after all.
Then, it was Jin-ah’s video. Of course, the cheers were quieter compared to the other two, but for a rookie, this amount of cheering was amazing.
Jin-ah got the most out of being on this program. Everyone knew who she was now, and no one could doubt her skills anymore.
‘Tsk. She could have gotten first place if she did really well.’
Because of the big idol groups making comebacks one after another, her song ranking had been pushed way down.
“Now that we’re at the final Top 3 performances, how do you feel?”
“I feel great. I hope Hyun-hee wins. Oh, even third place is pretty high though. I’m happy with where we are now! I just wish we could do a little better. I’m not saying Hyun-hee absolutely can’t win, she… what was it… um… anyway, first place, third place, second place, they’re all worth something!”
Jin-ah spoke calmly, then added stuff quickly, then stumbled over her words, and finally smiled like a silly kid. With just one question, she made the audience laugh.
Amazing, really.
After Jin-ah’s video ended, the venue went dark again. Everyone knew what came next. The solo performances were about to start.
First was Jin-ah.
Second was Kid.
Last was Min-seok.
The three of them clearly showed why they had made it to the end, and the excitement was at its peak.
From what I could tell, Kid and Min-seok were about the same level, and Jin-ah was a little behind them. It was still too hard for her to be the best as a solo performer.
I wasn’t disappointed at all. After all, Jin-ah was just starting out as a new artist.
“Producer! Th-The ratings are at 13 percent!”
A staff member’s voice quietly reached my ears.
—
Thank you for the chapter!