—Flash on!
The participants shot intense glares at the camera as all performances came to an end.
– Aaaaah!!!
– Cha-hoon!!!
– Shi-hwan aaaaah!!!
– Baek-hwi aah!!
And then the high-pitched echoes of female fans rang out.
“Hey, but that guy’s pretty good, isn’t he?”
Amidst the deafening decibels, Seo-yoon Unni’s voice clearly stood out.
‘Is this diction?’
“Hey. Can’t you hear?”
‘Maybe I should make Seo-yoon Unni rap when I compose a song later…’
“Hey! Can you not hear me?”
‘Hmm… could be good.’
“5, 4, 3, 2…”
“Right? He’s pretty good.”
“Geez…”
I ignored Seo-yoon Unni’s sharp words and stared at that guy who was panting heavily on stage.
He definitely seems like he would be popular with the girls.
Unexpectedly good singing skills.
Not a terrible dancer, either.
And of course, he’s handsome.
So infuriating.
Riding the coattails of being a childhood friend, ugh.
Honestly, even without the childhood friend title, he would’ve gained popularity.
“Did they send a useless kid from a big agency like ZY out here in the first place?”
A reasonable deduction.
“…? You were saying he definitely couldn’t do it.”
“Me?”
“Yes.”
“Come on.”
“…Sigh. Let’s not go there.”
As all the participants went offstage, the cheers that had been calling for them shifted.
– Hana! Ha-rang! Chae-rin!
– Ye-eun, look over here!
– You guys!
Since the start of the live broadcast, calling for us when the participants were absent had continued.
‘Are they here to see us… or the participants…’
– Do-hee!!! You’re so pretty!!!
Still, I turned my head and glanced at the source of the voice, waving my hand slightly.
“Yes, that’s me!”
Just then, grand and tension-filled background music began to flow through the venue.
—Live broadcast Just choose your idol Season 4 Final Round!
And on stage, the majestic MC Jin Tae-seop shouted.
—This is the Olympic Gymnastics Arena. We’re here with ten thousand Chuser-nims in the audience!
Blue lights flashed onto the stage, revealing the participants all at once.
The concentration of attention and the booming background music created a sense of tension not only for the participants but also for the viewers.
“And among that tension, the one who comes in first is this Do-hee. That would be me.”
“Don’t get cocky.”
“That’s how I am.”
Kim Seo-yoon sighed dramatically, clutching her head.
“Haah…”
“Jealousy, I see.”
—Now, all that’s left is the final announcement.
According to MC Jin Tae-seop, holding onto his cue cards, all that remains today is the announcement of the [Jodil Season 4] debut team.
*
Beside me, the MC’s voice boomed.
The MC’s voice echoed powerfully.
“With 99 trainees in fierce competition, here is the final ranking!”
The tightly wound contestants were only staring blankly at the ranking seats placed in front of them.
“Who will be the final protagonist to debut, and who will debut in first place? Without delay! We will begin the final ranking announcement to determine the center right now!”
And I was no different.
My heart felt like it was about to explode.
“Ah, there’s a bit of a hold-up! Let’s take a quick commercial break! Haha.”
At least during the brief moment when the camera turned off and the MC was facing boos and jeers from the audience, I could catch my breath.
“If I get picked today, I’ll make offerings to every single deity out there without caring about the religion.”
My mouth blurted out nonsense to release some tension.
Hyun approached and tapped my chest lightly.
“Wow, Baek-hwi, are you seriously doing the panic dance? That’s a solid safe choice. Of course, I’ll be making contributions as well—adding a ritual on top!”
“A ritual? You’re too irreverent, you’ll be eliminated.”
“That just shows how desperate I am…”
But even joking around with the guys didn’t help much; my heartbeat still refused to calm down.
‘Whatever happens, I just want it to be over quickly… Ha-ah…’
-Baek-hwi! Let’s debut!!
The only thing helping me was the voices of the fans from the audience.
I looked down at the stage and smiled.
And while gazing at fans shaking their slogans all over the audience, my gaze was inexplicably drawn to one side.
‘……’
My heart, which had barely calmed down, started racing again without a break.
There was someone waving back at the fans.
If I had seen their face, my heart might have burst.
‘Oh, right.’
It was just a fleeting moment, but I naturally turned my head to look at a fan holding up my slogan.
Honestly, I didn’t even know when I started liking them.
Probably since I was five, when I barely have any proper memories left; I’ve liked them vaguely since then.
I reaffirmed to myself that I had to debut.
I waved at the fans, smiling.
*
[Who is Kang Si-hwan, the final 1st place in [Battle Season 4]?]
[The much-anticipated [Battle Season 4] has concluded over three months]
[The final debut name of [Battle Season 4] is ‘I-NO-US’]
[Who are the final debut members of [Battle Season 4] alongside Seven?]
“If it was going to be like this, they should have reinforced it earlier…”
Manager Oh Hyun-soo sighed heavily.
“Ha-ah… Once the boys come in, a majority will likely be diverted over there.”
Manager Da-hong’s expression wasn’t bright either.
“Oh, of course, Da-hong will stay and manage you all. No need to worry about that.”
I had already anticipated that we would be sharing a meal with the new idol group formed from Season 4.
It was only natural to guess that I would be joining a new idol group under the same roof.
Shock Entertainment was established for that purpose and was a company looking to gradually grow its presence in that way.
However, the problem was that I had assumed they would hire new staff specifically for that division.
“I still think I’ll be in charge of both teams,” I said.
The manager bowed his head apologetically.
“We’re fine with it… but won’t you have too much on your plate? It must be tough for you…”
Hearing my words, Oh Hyun-soo, the manager, lifted his head and suddenly his eyes reddened.
“Our youngest… How are you so kind-hearted? I’m not usually one to cry, but tears are welling up…”
…Wow, Do-hee was so good at acting.
“No, manager, don’t you still know? That’s just her acting.”
“Please don’t slander my sincerity.”
In the meantime, Kim Ye-eun Unni blinked and stared at me intently.
“Whoa…! It’s acting…!”
What’s up with her?
“Do-hee.”
Sara Unni gently grabbed my sleeve and shook it.
“Can you act for me too…?”
What’s up with her again?
And it’s not acting.
“Thanks to you, I’m feeling pumped!”
Ah, so it’s indeed acting, right?
“Manager, so are you not hiring anyone new?”
Hana Unni asked.
“Oh, I was about to ask. It’s like a leader moment for Jeon Ha-rang.”
“I’d find it way scarier if you became the leader rather than Do-hee.”
Chae-rin Unni threw shade at Ha-rang Unni again.
“Heartbroken…”
The manager glanced over the raucous members and smiled.
“Of course, we’ll be hiring new people. However, we’ll be looking for seasoned professionals at the level of supervisor or team leader. So, we probably won’t be stuck together like before. I’m sorry for being so skilled!”
“Wow, is the manager feeling the Do-hee virus too?”
“…? That’s slander beyond reason. How far can I tolerate this?”
“But I’ll stick around until the end of this tour, so don’t worry! Let’s cheer up and get ready for the rest of the tour! Fighting!”
“Yes!”
Thus, our meeting ended on a light note, but I could vaguely guess what was going on.
The higher-ups at the agency or perhaps the head office had chosen a new group.
It seemed like the perceptive Hana Unni and Chae-rin Unni were somewhat aware too.
‘After all, there’s only six months left…’
They probably never intended to increase numbers in the first place.
Other agencies wouldn’t bother with renewal contracts for a group that’s got only six months left.
However, since Seven ranked among the top three girl groups in popularity, they surely didn’t want to get flack from fans and were hastily recruiting now.
Moreover, having seen the new group manage to pack an Olympic gymnastics arena before even debuting, there wouldn’t be any regrets.
It was likely that a boy group of that level would easily surpass 1.5 million in initial sales.
It’ll be a breeze to overcome.
Of course, I wouldn’t feel any regret either.
Once the tour ends and the upcoming awards ceremony is over, really only a few months will be left.
But there was one unchanging thought that made me hesitate.
I wanted to leave good memories for the staff and fans I’ve become close with.
So, I didn’t want to just let go and do nothing.
I directed my steps toward the A&R team.
“I’ll take care of it.”
*
In October, all that was on Seven’s agenda was the tour.
[231007 Seven Singapore Concert Preview]
[231014 Eun Se-ra Bangkok Concert Preview]
[231021,22 Yokohama Concert Preview]
There was even a video behind the scenes from Chae-rin’s birthday party on October 22nd that came up as concert content.
But it wasn’t just that they were abroad.
[Seven Elegantly Arrives in South Korea [HD Photo]]
[Seven Do-hee Lee, ‘Friendly Greeting to Fans Who Came to Meet’ – Chosun Photo]
They occasionally flew back to Korea during the tour.
However, fans had no idea what the members were doing in Korea.
Perhaps that’s why some fans started expressing their worries in the fan community.
– It’s not long before they come back… I’m worried there won’t be any breadcrumbs throughout the tour ㅠ
– No need to see, but these jerks at Shock Entertainment probably pulled Seven’s staff away to focus on something else, making it hard to create new content.
└ For real, LOL (photo) Just looking at the job listing shows how short-staffed they are… and with 11 members in that group, they must be really stretched thin.
In fact, behind-the-scenes content from the tour had been continuously uploaded, so it was a bit early for such comments. It hadn’t even been a month yet.
The issue was that fans had become accustomed to daily updates from Seven.
Of course, this background included the members who had pushed themselves into a tight schedule.
Moreover, with less than six months left on Seven’s contract, it was hard not to feel anxious.
Even so, fans couldn’t bring themselves to work the remaining Seven members to the bone.
So, the last resort was this.
– Should we go to an overseas concert?
– Who wants to join for the Tokyo tour! Seven tour, let’s go!
– (photo) I already bought my ticket, I’m going ㅠㅠ I need to make some memories like this.
└ I’m jealous ㅠㅠ I acknowledge your effort.
└ Actually, my girlfriend and I are going to Japan for a couple’s trip and to see Seven, lol. It’s great that the yen is cheap.
└ Damn it.
And internally, this was viewed as a pretty reasonable (?) solution.
But it only took a day for public opinion to turn upside down.
[Seven’s November Comeback, Third Comeback Scheduled for This Year]
Because the comeback schedule was announced at a timing that even the fans didn’t expect.
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