Whether it’s a girl group or a boy group, idols have what’s known as a “tier” system.
Now, it’s not like there are official rankings declared by some authoritative body. But it’s not completely without influence either.
From the devoted fans who adore the idol scene to industry insiders, everyone has an unspoken understanding of which groups are where in the hierarchy.
Album sales, views on Vtube music videos, and name recognition that even ordinary people would know—there are various criteria for determining these tiers. When all those criteria were applied, Midkiss was just barely scraping through the third tier.
Once upon a time, they were lurking at the bottom in the fifth tier, practically buried in the depths. Ask someone who knows their idols well, and they might respond with, “Wait, there was such a group?” only to react with an “Oh, them!” after hearing a song.
The fact that Midkiss had climbed up from that position was nothing short of remarkable. They may not be mainstream enough for the average person to know, but at least within the industry, their name was known.
From the very start, their early fans—who were practically their cheerleaders—were overjoyed.
They had endured so much, being called idols who weren’t even idol-like, and being less recognized than a run-of-the-mill social media celeb.
And honestly, they weren’t entirely wrong in their criticisms. Maybe that was why the damage was worse, as quite a few people from Midkiss’s fandom, ‘Lipsync’, had drifted away.
For Mijin, a 25-year-old student on leave, the reason she stuck with Midkiss wasn’t something grand. She just felt a strong resemblance to them in their struggle to climb up somehow.
But no matter how it happened, where they are now is what really matters. The success of the group she had cheered for over the years kept flooding her brain with dopamine.
It felt like the catharsis of an underdog team suddenly taking down a powerhouse.
As they say, “Strike while the iron is hot,” and lately, the agency that often came up short was finally on a roll, much to her delight.
“Way to go, my babies!”
That’s why Mijin cracked open a can of beer in broad daylight. These days, everything they did made her want to cheer, reaching a level where she didn’t even need snacks to enjoy it.
It was on another level.
– Sebi is down for a quick errand. She’ll probably be back soon.
– Should I show our fans what we’ve been practicing?
There weren’t zero snacks, at least. Currently, Midkiss was live streaming in real time through an app commonly used by idols.
Even amidst the busyness, their care for the fans was incredibly commendable.
As they broadcasted the scene of the Midkiss members dancing in the practice room, they had just passed the highlight part.
– Sisters, I’m here!
With Sebi’s voice, the door to the practice room burst open. Mijin, who considered Sebi her ultimate pick, was beyond thrilled to see her come in unexpectedly.
“What’s going on…?”
Mijin widened her eyes and stared at the phone screen. It was just barely showing a figure following behind Sebi.
– Sebi, you’re here?
– Sebi, we’re live right now, live!
– Who’s behind you…
– Oh, you’ve come! Welcome!
Due to the camera angle, the unfamiliar guest was not visible to the fans. However, judging by Midkiss members’ reactions, it was reasonable to assume that a very welcome guest had arrived.
– You’re live; it’s fine to wait till later…
– No! You came all this way, so just—
– Don’t go, Sister!
– If you’re okay with your face being shown, join in—
– First, let’s say hello—
Even though it was hard to hear what was being said in the distant chatter, it didn’t matter.
Soon, the unfamiliar person appeared in front of the camera that was showing the members.
– Hello, Midkiss fans… I’m, um, Kayak, a streamer who appeared in Midnight Talk with Sebi.
The turning point that shot Midkiss up the charts, the one who brought their song back into the charts, referred to as the honorary gallery master in Midkiss’s minor gallery.
Kayak showed up.
*
Before coming to the practice room, Sebi had given me a brief explanation.
Most of it was about the sisters. The main point was that everyone wants to see me, but there was also information about the sisters within it.
There are four others besides Sebi, with the oldest sister being twenty-one. The second sister is twenty. The two below her are nineteen, I believe.
Did they say they’re both nineteen?
So, when you think about it, they’re younger than my past self and even my current self.
“Sis, I really missed you so much.”
“What are you talking about? I missed you more.”
“I even told my sisters to subscribe to KayakTube and made them watch all the videos that were uploaded.”
“I catch your personal broadcasts too! I subscribed!”
“Why… are you watching my broadcasts?”
Even if you’re busy, why would you watch my broadcasts? Even if you weren’t busy, there’s really nothing to watch in my streams.
Most of the content leans heavily towards gaming. There are female viewers, but the basic base is quite male-dominated.
I’d think these friends would prefer watching dance, casual chats, or beauty VTubers instead.
“Just being here and looking at your face is fun!”
“True, true! But seeing you in person makes you even prettier.”
“Speaking of which, can’t you do some beauty content? It’s such a waste of your face.”
“Feel free to speak casually; we’re all siblings here. Hehe.”
Everyone was looking at me, and every time I did anything, I was met with real-time reactions. Thankfully, it’s much better than before. If an introverted person were in my place, they’d probably turn into a rolled-up squid by now.
If it had to be content, it would’ve been easier. Like, “We visited an active idol’s choreography practice room,” or something.
I didn’t expect things to turn out this way, so there was nothing I could do. If I had known earlier, I would’ve brought at least one editor along.
“Everyone has to stream, can’t I just stay in a corner?”
Originally, I planned to leave since I looked busy, but I just stayed in the corner when met with such a firm response.
I requested something big first, then asked for a smaller condition when turned down. It’s a classic negotiation strategy, but even that was rejected.
“It’s okay! Sebi is communicating, so it’s fine.”
“There are a lot of people who wanted to see Sebi since earlier. It’s not good if it’s just us.”
That seemed to be true; Sebi was holding someone’s phone, chatting away with her mouth open. Meanwhile, she kept glancing over here, winking occasionally—it was utterly distracting. She looked just like a student sneaking around while the teacher isn’t looking.
“You’re like a student secretly goofing off in class while the teacher is watching.”
“Oh, Kayak wants to show you. It’s the honorary gallery owner! Right? Hmm, you all know that too. Just a moment.”
Was my impression correct? The seemingly fine teacher was showing interest in this side as well.
Sebi tilted her phone slightly and approached to ask.
“Older sister, would you like to come out for a moment? The fans are really eager to see you.”
“…”
It wasn’t that I didn’t want to or felt rejected. Having done personal broadcasts, appeared on mainstream shows, and even been interviewed in the news, there was really no reason to refuse.
But I was perplexed. Why were they looking for me when they came to see their favorite celeb?
“Hello.”
[ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ]
[Older sister ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ]
[So pretty ㅎㅎ;]
[Please date me with marriage in mind]
[Thank you for saving Midkiss]
[Is there any plan for Kayak to appear in variety shows?]
[Who is this?? So beautiful]
[Could she be the 6th member of Midkiss?]
Sebi’s words that the fans really wanted to see me weren’t empty at all, as the reactions were indeed favorable.
But it was definitely a different vibe than the usual chats on my channel.
While my broadcasts didn’t have overly harsh chats either, this one felt more like the celebs broadcasting were hoping to receive positive feelings. It was really sweet, to be honest.
“Uh, um. Yes… I came here following Sebi. I’m seeing the other members for the first time today.”
[Are you close with Sebi?]
[Sebi and Kayak chemistry is insane puㅠㅠㅠ]
[Please try to get along with the other members too]
[You look adorable all flustered ㅋㅋ]
[You seem a bit awkward, what to do ㅠㅠ]
Even though I hadn’t said much, the crowd was cooing over me.
There might be a good management to prevent bad chats, but the truth is, this personal communication broadcast is mainly filled with die-hard fans. So, it was only natural for such an atmosphere to form.
While I was watching this unusual chat style unfold, those sitting down began to rise one by one.
Among them, the oldest sister and leader of the group asked me.
“Older sister, it must be boring just sitting there. Would you like to learn a dance?”
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