The Malicious Member is Back! - Chapter 8
And then, a mocking message from X arrived, amused at my tragedy.
– X: I told you to act naturally ㅋㅋㅋㅋ
– X: It’s a good thing, like having both a sister and a brother-in-law –3-
– X: Stop doing useless things and check your skills!
I was about to start an epic keyboard battle with X when my fingers hesitated.
“…Skills?”
Even when I furrowed my brow and tried to remember, nothing specific came to mind. I knew about unlocking the guide because I got my first fan.
– X: You unlocked the guide and received a skill as a reward! Did you already forget? You’re stupider than I thought??
Oh, that’s what you’re talking about.
I continued to gracefully ignore the ringing chat window and entered the status window. Similar to before, a new entry had appeared in the skills section, <Idol’s Aura (F)>.
[Idol’s Aura (F): The atmosphere or energy possessed by someone who has become an idol to others. The rank increases as the number of fans grows.
Effect: Charm +1 on stage]
Looking at it this way, it felt like I had truly become a game character. It seemed to be a subtle factor causing a sense of dissonance with reality.
“Phew….”
I sneakily opened the door to check outside. My family was happily eating the snacks I had bought while watching a movie where robots were exploding all over the place. They had faces that looked genuinely happy.
Unawkwardly, naturally, as if we had always lived together.
“But how am I supposed to handle this?”
It’s been six years since I lost my family!
Dealing with family would be more difficult than making a debut again. I never dreamed of such a thing.
– X: Don’t do useless things and focus on your debut, okay? That’s what looks natural.
– Kim Chunyong: Yeah, find something useful to say.
– X: ;;
– X: I won’t say much. Just go to sleep.
– Kim Chunyong: Yes, yes
– X: -_-
Still, I followed X’s advice and went to bed. It was much better to prepare for tomorrow than to keep whining.
Above all.
[AG Entertainment Standard Trainee Contract in the Field of Popular Culture and Arts]
…The new agency I signed with was overly sensitive about such things.
The agency I originally entrusted with my career, QUINCE, was a pretty decent mid-sized idol-specialized entertainment planning agency.
I always practiced after school since the day I was street cast in the 2nd year of middle school. I did this until I turned twenty, spending about five years together after school.
“Chunyong, your gaze is excellent today!”
Dripping with sweat in the underground practice room, I naturally thought that I would become the main dancer of QUINCE’s 4th boy idol group.
However.
“What? It’s ridiculous to say something like this all of a sudden… It’s unbelievable, Manager. I’m twenty years old now!”
“Well, Chunyong. That’s how things turned out. You know I know you’re good. But the final decision is made by the executives. Hmm? I’m really sorry.”
“Even if you say that…”
In the final debut lineup of the new male idol group, I was dropped for the ridiculous reason that my image didn’t fit.
“…Haha.”
Even now, thinking back, it was a bitter laugh.
My image doesn’t fit? All of a sudden?
That’s right, in reality, I couldn’t help but deduce that it was to push in another trainee who joined later.
“Chunyong. First of all, they say the contract itself is easy to terminate… You know, this time, there’s a male idol survival program being hosted by August Entertainment, right? I think it might be worth trying there. You’ll have a good chance.”
After being kicked out of the debut group, I decided to participate in <Targeting Star> and signed with a new entertainment planning agency.
August Entertainment. Commonly known as AG Entertainment.
If you ask people what kind of agency AG Entertainment is, you’ll hear a standardized answer.
“Um, the solo singer domain. Choi Gaon, Kwak Taeeun, Ryu Junghyuk, Min Si Young. Aren’t they all from August?”
“Their actors are solid too. Seo Jung Wook, who starred in <Ghost’s Voice>, also moved to AG.”
“Compared to that, the groups feel a bit lacking. Lady Swan was with AG, right? Seeing them active solo these days, the members’ skills are evident, but back then, the planning was a bit…”
“Indeed, it seems like the group side is weaker. Could it be a lack of understanding?”
An upright, honest, and skill-oriented agency for actors and solo singers.
They don’t deal with anything uncertain. They pursue perfection.
That was the principle of August, an entertainment agency.
So, when they introduced their first girl group, ‘Lady Swan,’ August was very confident.
“Our swans are so talented; there’s no way they won’t soar, right?”
This statement was made by the CEO of the agency, Do Jaechan, on the day of Lady Swan’s debut showcase, and it turned into a curse.
Lady Swan seonbaes members never once topped any charts in the three years after their debut.
Instead, they swept awards as solo artists after disbandment.
This dealt a severe blow to Do Jaechan, who aspired to be the CEO of the top entertainment agency in Korea and even dreamed of being the CEO of a top-tier idol agency.
“…I can’t just back down like this. Who am I? I’m Do Jaechan!”
He never once considered the label of ‘failure’ for his career.
That’s why Do Jaechan, after six years of preparation, came up with <Targeting Star>.
Six trainees from his own agency, six from other agencies, and six individual applicants through collaboration with broadcasting stations.
A total of 18 trainees, with 6 from the agency, participated in a self-survival program for debut. When <Targeting Star> was first unveiled, it received criticism for being too transparent in its planning.
People pointed out that it seemed too obvious since there were 6 trainees from their own agency, and the debut group also consisted of 6 members.
Some questioned whether trainees from other agencies or individual applicants were merely being used for broadcast and if the real intention was to debut only their own trainees.
However, Do Jae Chan countered these suspicions head-on during the production announcement.
“When rocks collide, don’t the stronger ones remain? Our precious stones in the yard may play the role of being weaker. We will judge honestly. Me, carefully selected mentors, and all of you.”
Certainly, this statement could not avoid criticism such as ‘treating earnest trainees as expendable’ or ‘who can judge the measure of individual strength?’
However, the crucial point was that Do Jaechan kept his word because, despite signing with AG, I was another trainee from a different agency, and an individual trainee formerly with QUINCE, and I debuted together under Arrows.
The next morning, I paused my steps in front of the agency building, which I hadn’t seen in a long time.
Perhaps someone might say there’s nothing to fear because it’s just a building that was rumored to have had an imaginary accident. But it wasn’t out of fear; it was…
“What? Is that Kim Chunyong?”
This guy was lingering in front of the revolving door.
I sighed deeply, looking at the kid who openly scrutinized me, head to toe with an expression that didn’t match his cute face.
How can this be exactly the same as back then?
