“I will try hard to make the world brighter with even better songs going forward. Thank you!”
After Do Wook, KK’s acceptance speech ended.
There was a mix of members crying and members barely holding back tears. When Do Wook finished his acceptance speech, the members gathered around Jung Yoon Ki and hugged each other.
The sight of the six members gathering together and sharing the joy of winning the grand prize touched people’s hearts.
***
After the TBN Award Ceremony was over, HIT Entertainment held a lavish company dinner for KK, who received the grand prize.
HIT Entertainment’s President and Vice President came and gave KK encouragement.
KK was the first grand prize winner from HIT Entertainment.
The president also couldn’t hide his pride and complimented Production Director Kwon Heung Jo, who oversaw KK. It was as if the compliment dam had broken and even the Rookie Development Team Leader Im Sung Ahn was called over and complimented.
Although Team Leader Im Sung Ahn had planned out KK with Production Director Kwon Heung Jo with a big picture in mind, she hadn’t expected that it would go this well.
With a pleased expression, Team Leader Im Sung Ahn looked over at the KK members, who were sitting at the table in the center of the restaurant.
“The results are already out, so it might be too late for me to say this, but…”
When Team Leader Im Sung Ahn started talking, Team Leader Shim Joon, who was next to her, asked what she meant.
“I remember when I first saw Kang Do Wook at the audition.”
“Ah, it was you who picked Do Wook. If you hadn’t picked him back then, you really would have been kicking yourself and regretting it.”
“There was no way I wouldn’t pick him.”
Team Leader Im Sung Ahn spoke firmly. Team Leader Shim Joon smiled as he poured water into a glass.
“True, he’s someone you can’t not pick.”
“I thought that he’d be successful no matter what. From the moment I saw him.”
Team Leader Shim Joon nodded his head. He also recalled the time when Do Wook first came up with the idea of putting the piano intro into ‘Brave Only Child’’s song.
Do Wook was involved from the moment their debut song ‘Sorry but I Love You’ was born.
“A blessing fell onto our laps. It’s true of the other members too.”
Manager Oh Baek Ho, who had come after greeting the stylists and other younger staff members, joined in on their conversation as he sat down in a seat.
“Me too. In my time as a manager, this is the first time I’ve had such easy kids.”
Team leader Shim Joon laughed at what Manager Oh Baek Ho said.
“I heard that at first, you said to the Director, ‘I just got the Monster kids in line. Rookies again?’”
Quite a long time had passed since then. Manager Oh Baek Ho frowned at Team Leader Shim Joon’s words.
“Well. That was then.”
Manager Oh’s frown made Team Leader Shim Joon freeze a bit. They didn’t have a particularly strained relationship, but Team Leader Shim Joon instinctively freezes up whenever Manager Oh Baek Ho frowns.
It wasn’t that Team Leader Shim Joon was weak, but that Manager Oh Baek Ho’s aura was particularly strong.
“By the way, it seems like there will be quite a change within the company this time.”
Team leader Shim Joon deliberately changed the topic and glanced at the HIT Entertainment President, Director Kwon Heung Jo, and Department Head Jo Anna who were sitting at the table next to him.
“The HR person told me that all three of our names were brought up. Salary negotiations are coming up for all of us, right?”
Manager Oh Baek Ho and Team Leader Im Sung Ahn slightly nodded their heads at what Team Leader Shim Joon said.
Considering KK’s success, it was natural to expect that the people in charge of KK would get a raise and a promotion.
“It’s not a very big company anyway, so I’m not expecting much,”
Manager Oh Baek Ho replied. Team Leader Im Sung Ahn refuted, saying that was not the case.
“It’s going to become a big company now.”
Rookie Development Team Leader Im Sung Ahn’s eyes shined as she said that.
Recently, Team Leader Im Sung Ahn had started a new rookie development project with the help of Production Director Kwon Heung Jo.
For now, KK alone was enough, but it was time to diligently prepare for the future. KK’s popularity made HIT Entertainment’s name very well-known, which led to lots of trainees coming in.
It was Team Leader Im Sung Ahn’s plan to strike while the iron was hot.
Even if they started now, the team would not be able to make its debut until 2 years later at the earliest anyways.
Team Leader Im Sung Ahn’s gaze then went back to where the KK members were.
‘The memory of success is extremely important.’
She did not believe the idea that failure is the mother of success. It was her belief that only success breeds success.
In that regard, HIT Entertainment had acquired half of the key to success. They had made it halfway already as long as they could hold on to it without messing up.
The members, who had not been able to eat properly because they had to attend the award ceremony, were scarfing down the meat. Gu Chul Min and the coordinators shook their heads at the members, thinking it ‘absurd’.
They had lost count of how many servings they’d already had.
“Ah, I haven’t eaten a lot lately because we were dieting, so this is the most I can eat. I’m disappointed in myself, man.”
Jung Yoon Ki grumbled as he put down his chopsticks.
“Wow, Yoon Ki, you’re such a noob.”
“What, punk? I’m not the one who bawled like a baby.”
“I saw you cry too!”
“Why you…”
Ahn Hyung Seo busily moved his chopsticks pretending not to hear Jung Yoon Ki after ruining his mood. Jung Yoon Ki also picked up his chopstick again and ate the acorn jelly that was served as a side dish.
Suk Ji Hoon was stuffing his mouth with meat, so he didn’t say a word.
“People might think the company starves you guys if they heard you.”
“It’s true they starve us,”
Suk Ji Hoon said in response to Gu Chul Min after taking a bite of his wrap.
The members’ rehearsal and diet was controlled so they’d look good on camera. It was understandable they might have some feelings of sorrow built up.
“By the way, I didn’t get a mention in your acceptance speech.”
When one of the coordinators said that, Jung Yoon Ki, who was drinking water, hesitated. He had mentioned so many people and couldn’t remember if he had left them out or not.
“He often even forgets the lyrics of the songs. Please understand.”
The coordinator laughed at what Ahn Hyung Seo said, unsure if he was helping or taking a jab.
“By the way, what is the new dream Do Wook mentioned?”
“Isn’t it brightening the world with songs?”
This time Jung Yoon Ki answered Ahn Hyung Seo’s question. Do Wook’s words had been vague, so Ahn Hyung Seo was feeling a little uncertain.
“Actually…”
As expected, Do Wook, who had been dying to eat, had finished two bowls of steamed rice. Do Wook put down his spoon and started to talk.
The members and the people sitting around them perked their ears up when Do Wook spoke.
“It won’t be until much much later, but in the future I’d like to do production as well.”
“Production?”
When Jung Yoon Ki asked back, Do Wook nodded.
“Yes. I want to be involved from the start, from putting together the members…”
“What? Are you abandoning us?”
Ahn Hyung Seo asked playfully in a loud voice. Taken aback, Do Wook shook his hands, gesturing that that wasn’t what he meant.
“No, KK of course…”
Park Tae Hyung looked at him, his gaze asking ‘really?’. Do Wook couldn’t help but feel more flustered. Jung Yoon Ki laughed as he stopped Ahn Hyung Seo and Park Tae Hyung.
Jung Yoon Ki, who had briefly been lost in thought, said with sincerity,
“I’m curious about that too.”
Ahn Hyung Seo smiled and weighed in,
“I know. Do Wook, if it’s you you’ll do well. I think you would be able to do it even now. Then will you be the youngest producer?”
“Well, it’s too soon right now…”
“No, if it’s you, I think you could do it even now. Still, let’s stay together for a long time.”
“Of course,”
Do Wook said in response to what Ahn Hyung Seo said. Other people also gave words of encouragement to Do Wook, saying they were looking forward to it. The atmosphere was very warm.
Kim Won, who had drunk all the alcohol people around him had offered him, was sprawled out on the table. Gu Chul Min looked after Kim Won.
“I think from here on out is what’s really important. We need to be more careful and…”
Although Kim Won was lying down, Do Wook spoke sincerely to the members about his concerns.
Going down is always much easier than going up. It was easy to slip if you stepped just a little wrong.
It’s not over even once you reach the peak. It was much harder to continue to stay there for a long time. There were too many eyes on you and too many people waiting for you to fall.
“Oh you. Can’t you just have fun today?”
Do Wook scratched the back of his head at what Suk Ji Hoon, the youngest, said. He didn’t mean to nag the members.
“I’ll be careful. As you said, we have to keep going for a long time. I just think that you could stand to be a little less cautious.”
Park Tae Hyung also nodded his head cautiously.
“Ok…Do Wook.”
There wasn’t a single person there who didn’t know Do Wook had put in the most effort to get them to where they were. Everyone was united in believing in and following Do Wook.
They didn’t make it this far on their own, so the members firmly believed that, just as it took everyone’s efforts to get them to where they were, they couldn’t make a mistake that would cause them to fall. They didn’t want to hurt anyone.
Do Wook looked at each and every member’s sincere gaze and smiled.
Then, Kim Won, who had been lying down on the table, jumped up and grabbed his glass.
“Let’s toast, cheers! Cheers! I am soooo happy!”
“Ah, I think you need to be a little less excited.”
The other members all laughed at what Suk Ji Hoon said.
***
After pleasantly laughing and chatting at the company dinner, the members returned to the dormitory.
Even though they were exhausted from the nonstop rehearsal that had gone on until yesterday, they all had a hard time falling asleep.
Manager Oh Baek Ho was going to take the trophy to the office, but Kim Won asked to sleep with it for just one night and brought it home. Kim Won was the only one who was sleeping, snoring and hugging the trophy.
Jung Yoon Ki and Suk Ji Hoon were lying on their respective beds and replying to the congratulatory messages that were flooding their phones.
Do Wook, who had just finished washing up, and Ahn Hyung Seo, who was posting on the fan cafe, were in the living room. Park Tae Hyung was watching a rerun of the TBN Awards, which was broadcast live earlier.
Do Wook, who was drying his hair with a towel, asked Ahn Hyung Seo, who was holding his phone in his hand,
“Are you posting on the cafe?”
“Huh? yeah. But the vibe of the cafe is off. Is it ok to post?”
“The vibe?”
Do Wook was not able to check his phone as usual today because of his busy schedule.
Do Wook sat down as he asked and checked his own phone. When he opened the app, the portal site popped up. KK was, of course, the top trend.
KK, KK grand prize, Kang Do Wook, Ahn Hyung Seo, Sa Bang Shin Hwa….what stood out among the search topics were M2M and Choi Eun Ho.
Choi Eun Ho, who was added as a new member, definitely caught the public’s eye.
‘As expected…’
Do Wook thought as he clicked on the article on the main page. Articles about KK’s grand prize was the main topic. Most of the comments were congratulating KK.
Do Wook smiled happily at the picture in the article of them embracing.
As he was looking through the comments, a strange comment caught his eye.
-They went around pretending to care about their fans lolol this always happens once people get famous
-Please don’t spread rumors
-It’s not a rumor. The picture has been circulating everywhere lol
-KK has a trash personality too? lol
-Still, they didn’t beat up someone like Seo Jun did lol
-Did something happen?
-It’s spreading around the community right now lol
Do Wook frowned and accessed the large community site where idol-related news are posted first. Sure enough, the top three ’best’ posts were all about KK.
The top post, fortunately, was a congratulatory article for KK’s grand prize. When he clicked on it, it was an article that listed KK’s successes so far and explained that KK deserved the grand prize.
However, the second top post was a post asking the KK members for an explanation. Do Wook clicked on the second post without wasting any time.
A picture of a torn letter and a pile of carelessly tossed gifts popped up as soon as he clicked it. Some of the gifts had a picture of the KK members on it.
< KK THROWS AWAY FAN’S GIFT LOL IS THERE AN EXPLANATION? >
-What the heck is this?
-Is this true? Really? Really?
-Our boys wouldn’t do this…it’s probably the manager’s fault
-How do you know they’re not like that~ Did you know Seo Jun was like that? lol
-The fans must be very disappointed. I’m not even a KK fan and my heart hurts
-I’m…really…at a loss T.T Do you think this is real? I hope it’s not T.T T.T T.T
-How can it not be true~ That’s all evidence from the KK fan site today~
-The difference between the acceptance speech and this photo…;;
-It’s the manager who tossed it, i don’t understand why you’re cursing out the members
-You think the manager threw it out for no reason? There’s no way the members didn’t know
-HIT Entertainment, fire that manager!
-Wouldn’t the members be aware of this too? I think that’s a fan letter that the members had already seen
-This is so surprising
-Other fans are purposely coming here and doing media manipulation
-What do you mean, media manipulation. It’s clearly something they deserve to be criticized for
-I haven’t seen any singers who look down on their fans do well
Something strange was going on. Do Wook stopped Ahn Hyung Seo, who was trying to carefully write a post on the fan cafe. He then immediately called Manager Oh Baek Ho.
—
Next chapter: The person behind the post is found but KK’s trouble is far from over