Chapter 131

[SAVEN's HAVEN Season 2] was so riveting that its viewership ratings rivaled those of regular variety shows, catching everyone’s attention.

And not just any attention; the teaser released alongside the reality show sparked anticipation for Seven’s upcoming title track, “Melody,” set to drop in three days.

But it wasn’t only Seven basking in the spotlight.

A buzz was forming around a growing topic.

It all started near the end of the broadcast with another advertisement alongside the preview for Episode 2.

“Do you remember the emotions of that day?”

As the black screen faded in, subtitles appeared, and the acoustic version of the title track “Fell for You” from DODOL3 softly played.

“A year ago, we met some girls.”

Transitioning with a fade-in, the screen revealed Do-hee and Kim Seo-yoon weeping as they embraced Kim Na-eun, tears streaming down their faces.

“A challenge towards dreams of the girls.”

This time, the Seven members, misty-eyed after winning the WMMA Rookie Award.

[Thank you so much from all of us Seven members, even for such a short time. To those who chose us… ]

“All of this was thanks to our fans!”

As the song changed to an uplifting tune, male participants appeared greeting the camera in the pre-meeting room.

[Hello, I’m a trainee of 1 year and 5 months]

[8 months trainee]

[4 years trainee]

“Starting anew with JUSTDOL Season 4!”

[2 years and 6 months trainee (beep—) here]

[I debuted in 2017 as (beep–) ]

[Practiced there for about 2 years]

“A challenge from 99 shining boys!”

The narration flowed from the popular freelance announcer Jin Tae-seop, who continued to MC this year, just like last year.

[Will you once again cheer for someone’s dream? Please choose your boy!]

“JUSTDOL4 premieres next Friday at 11 PM, simultaneously on Mwave & Netflix!”

Viewers dubbed this show something of a ‘male reality show’ and labelled it as ‘just a dude show.’

*

“Oh, it’s airing next week.”

“Right? It feels like a memory already.”

“Do-hee taking care of me on the first night at the dorm… she was too cute…”

“I took care of you?”

As the show ended and the new season’s advertisement played, a few members reminisced about last year.
A few members were reminiscing about last year as they began to talk.

“Right. It was me, Do-hee, Sara, and Se-yeon all in the same room. I wonder what Se-yeon is up to now. Ha-rang, have you been in touch with her?”

Hana Unni, recalling Se-yeon, who had shared the same room on their first day, asked Ha-rang Unni, who was also under the same agency.

“Well, kind of.”

However, Ha-rang Unni’s expression wasn’t as cheerful as usual.

“Why? Is something wrong?”

“She just said it’s tough being a trainee. I don’t want to bother her with contact…”

Thinking of last year naturally brought up memories of the participants they struggled with together.

“Yeah, it feels awkward to reach out. We all used to be so close…”

The emotional twinge after seeing the advertisement was likely because they overlapped with the contestants struggling this year and those who got eliminated last year.

Although we had successfully debuted, worrying felt almost pretentious, so we held back.

Still, I missed the Unnis.

For some reason, my eyes felt a bit misty.

“But the fans must be watching this a lot, right?”

“I think so?”

Separately from my churning heart, I had a premonition that the new season would involve hardship.

Just as we grew nostalgic remembering last year’s survival show through the ad, viewers would surely reflect on last year and emotionally invest in the new season.

Of course, the ads would come in various versions.

But the current ad seemed to project an image of us carrying on.

In fact, from the airing time of Seven’s reality program, it was pretty blatant.

[SAVEN's HAVEN Season 2] airs at 9:30 PM on Fridays. [JustDOL Season 4] follows at 11 PM on Fridays.

Viewers who tuned in to watch the Seven reality show would naturally transition into the next show, meaning they aimed to absorb the Seven fandom into the [JustDOL Season 4] audience.

The sudden decision to film Season 2 wasn’t random; it was planned.

From an advertising perspective, it made sense.

There couldn’t be a better keyword than Seven to attract early viewers.

Last year’s [JUSTDOL3] was a mega hit when it aired.

Not only did they debut, but they also swept all the rookie awards while hitting the charts twice in a row this year.

The problem was that things just kept intertwining.

If this situation were to end abruptly, it wouldn’t be a big deal.

But the longer it dragged on, the worse it would be for us.
The longer it drags on, the worse it is for us.

‘After all, the chance of fan leaks increases immediately.’

Currently, half of the fandom of Seven is female.

The male fanbase can be considered a stable group.

People are generally wired to be attracted more to the opposite sex than to the same sex.

Women fans who got into it through [JustDOL Season 3] found it easy to become invested in [JustDOL Season 4] as well.

I picked up my phone to check the music charts.

Such trends were already somewhat reflected.

—Daily Ranking

▲ 27【JUSTDOL4 – Blinding Light】

The title track for Season 4, which was previewed along with the participants’ performances a few weeks ago.

Even before the actual broadcast, it was clear that the song and stage reaction were rapidly rising, thanks to the legacy of Season 3 and the high level of interest starting out.

In the meantime, if [JustDOL Season 4] ends up being a hit, fan leaks would be almost guaranteed.

‘Sigh… maybe I should just not worry about it.’

Of course, one might wonder why it matters when we’re disbanding next year.

Having become a top-tier girl group, mainstream appeal is basically a given.

There won’t be any changes in revenue or daily life.

But this year’s goal is the grand prize.

If the goal is the grand prize, things were different.

We had to be in the spotlight all year long.

In fact, Shock Enter, which proposed the grand prize target, was skeptical from the start.

It felt like the whole idea of aiming for the grand prize was just an excuse to pack the schedule tight.

‘Right now, the focus is mostly on making money.’

With the members busier by the day, it felt like just doing their best each day was exhausting.

But I couldn’t give up.

I had personal ambitions too.

However, more than anything, since both the fans and the members would face separation next year as a foregone conclusion,

I made a vow to leave behind good memories so that when recalling the past, they would think of us as an all-time great group.

Thus, it was a day-to-day push for the members, both known and unknown, to do their best with the grand prize in mind.

Of course, aiming for the grand prize was utterly absurd for a group that hadn’t even been debuted for a year.

—K-pop’s best girl group ‘Coral Blue.’

—K-pop’s best and unrivaled boy group, NND (Night N DAY).

—The king of trot, Na Gang-Min, enjoying attention from middle-aged to elderly folks in Korea.

Those three were dominating the Korean music scene and charts.

Still, considering the current momentum and syndrome of Seven, it wasn’t completely impossible.
‘Well, I’m still ranked first in the personal brand reputation among girl groups.’

“Why is Do-hee grinning by herself again?”

The target wasn’t singular.

First, the Artist of the Year.

An award given to the most iconic artist of the year.

In other words, the award for the most popular singer.

This award had already split into two contenders.

NND and Na Kang-min.

To beat those two,

If you stopped a random citizen and asked, “Who is the most popular singer in Korea?”

You’d better hear “Seven” in response.

In other words, it meant no hope.

At least, we needed to be three times as experienced to have a chance. Unless NND gets drafted due to military service, or Na Kang-min simultaneously takes a break.

The second award, Album of the Year.

Likewise, it was set for NND or Na Kang-min.

It made sense since their albums always charted from their title tracks to the rest of the songs.

Sales in the millions as well.

Their fandom’s power was just too overwhelming to compete.

The third award, Record of the Year or World Icon Award.

Expected to be awarded to NND without a doubt.

It literally represented records and international popularity.

“Or maybe, with low probability, Coral Blue might win.”

Lastly, Song of the Year.

An award you could win by maintaining a single track in the upper chart for a long time. In other words, a highly popular award for girl groups.

– Annual Ranking

– 1【NND – You’re Pretty】

▲ 2【SAVEN – Unsatisfied】

Currently, Unsatisfied, also known as “Unseti,” is sitting at number two in the annual chart, so if it keeps climbing up the daily charts to number one, it’s definitely a shot.

The problem is that ‘Coral Blue’ is making a comeback soon.

Having never left the top of the annual charts since their debut, if they stumble due to getting caught up with Jido-4 in this situation,

If they falter even once,

They’ll miss out on the award.

“Hey, Ra-hee, why are you pretending to be serious again?”

“It’s because of you, it’s because of you.”

Kim Seo-yoon grabbed a pillow.

“Did you just say ‘you’?”

I started to wonder if I should just enjoy life too.

---

Support me by donating at least $10, and you'll have the right to request any novel from Novelpia (excluding 19+ content) using a newly developed tool.