Genius Idol’s Strategy to Conquer the Entertainment Industry

Chapter 246

The atmosphere surrounding the members was strangely heavy as we were on the verge of our second comeback since debut.

From what I saw, there were several reasons for this.

First of all, even the physically strong Kang Ji-woo was groaning from accumulated fatigue after each day’s work, a clear effect of the intense comeback preparation.

If it weren’t for that idol sports competition, it might have been more manageable.

Practicing for the cheering squad was one thing, but Ban Yo-han and Seo Moon-gyeol, who were on the basketball team, were completely exhausted after just one training session like yesterday.

The two were now lying on the only two soft sofas in the waiting room, enjoying the special consideration from the members.

“Why did I even agree to this…?”

It was telling that Ban Yo-han, with his handsome face showing signs of deep fatigue before getting his makeup done, looked so pitiful that even I felt sorry for him.

“Hyung, don’t regret it like that.”

“Yeah, don’t regret it. That’s not your character.”

“You heard Gyeon Seong-ha, right? Once you start something, you always see it through, even if people criticize you for it. That’s Ban Yo-han.”

“…Are you sure that’s a compliment or encouragement? Not just criticism?”

Mumbling about how it would be the worst if we didn’t win, Ban Yo-han checked the time and decided he couldn’t lie down any longer, so he slowly got up.

At the same time, I met the eyes of Seo Moon-gyeol, who was also getting up from the sofa, complaining why I wasn’t taking care of him too, and pulling off the blanket I had given him.

Through the so-called windows of the soul, I tried to read whatever he might be hiding by maintaining eye contact for longer than necessary. Seo Moon-gyeol tilted his head and asked.

“Why?”

“Nothing. How’s your body?”

Of course, Seo Moon-gyeol answered calmly.

“It’s fine.”

I was worried about the impact that the intense running in basketball could have on his knee, which the doctor had warned needed close watching. But for now, I could only observe until this activity ended.

The sense of helplessness from such situations seemed to be stressing me out as well.

The pressure was also significant.

The thought that we had to achieve results recognized by everyone in this activity, which was bound to receive more public attention due to various incidents, lingered in the minds of me and the members, whether large or small.

Moreover, since we wouldn’t be making a third comeback this year, this activity was practically tied to the rookie award, which could only be won once in the debut year.

I felt a bit sorry for the other groups that debuted this year, but with Huntred’s disgraceful exit, there were no other male rookie idol groups except Liftin that could compete with us.

In fact, even when expanding the scope to include female idols, we were definitely in the top three in terms of recognition and various indicators.

The person most psychologically pressured was Gyeon Seong-ha.

Apart from the aforementioned issues, Gyeon Seong-ha, known for his fragile mental state, seemed even more nervous as this was his first appearance before the public after the ridiculous school violence rumor.

“What if reporters ask weird questions about the past later…?”

“I’ll cut all those off, so don’t worry.”

“And you did nothing wrong.”

“Still, it’s true that I accidentally pushed a younger kid and made them fall…”

“The rumor spreader already made an apology video, and the explanation video was clearly communicated to the public. Even the reporters know it would be absurd to bring it up again. So don’t worry.”

Even Kang Ji-woo, who said that, seemed to be feeling some burden as a leader.

I was in a somewhat similar situation to Gyeon Seong-ha, but my concerns were a bit different.

More than anything else, I was now realizing the shocking fact that we would carry out this important activity with my song, just as the music video encoding had finished and was ready to be uploaded.

The sudden surge of pressure made me think it was a good decision not to release the song under my real name.

‘Let’s see… if this activity doesn’t meet expectations, I’ll be about 42% responsible, won’t I?’

The final blow was when one of the staff, noticing our low spirits, told us about the pre-order sales figures to boost our morale.

Whether it was because many new fans joined in the short time or the existing Aeri fans were determined to secure the rookie award for us, the pre-order sales for this album had already exceeded 100,000 and were heading towards 200,000.

“I thought I’d be just happy if the album sold well, but hitting the six-figure mark feels really… burdensome.”

“I get what you mean. Honestly, I don’t understand why so many people are already buying our album.”

“If you say that outside, people will think you’re ungrateful.”

“We’re just talking among ourselves, of course!”

“Anyway, it means they have high expectations for us.”

“What if they get disappointed after the music video and the songs are released?”

“What are you talking about? Did you already forget how amazing the reaction to the teaser video was the day before yesterday?”

“That’s it. Let’s practice the ad-lib section of the choreography one last time.”

As we were getting up, a vibration sounded somewhere in the waiting room.

“It seems like someone’s getting a call.”

“Oh, it’s mine.”

Gyeon Seong-ha’s phone was vibrating with an incoming call from an unknown number.

“Don’t answer it.”

Sensing it was a sasaeng, Kang Ji-woo, frowning, hung up the call on behalf of the frozen Gyeon Seong-ha.

The recent surge in sasaengs’ irrational approaches had also been a significant factor draining our energy.

It was not unusual for calls to keep coming to our cell phones, and the incident in the parking lot while we were in the car was just the tip of the iceberg.

Despite the apartment’s structure requiring a password to enter from the first floor, there had been numerous times when unidentified gifts were left right in front of our dormitory door.

Leaving them untouched, as dealing with them was difficult, one day the original shopping bag disappeared, replaced by another bag with a different logo hanging on the doorknob.

‘That means at least two groups of sasaengs are coming and going in front of our dorm.’

Because of this, Ban Yo-han, who was particularly sensitive about sasaeng issues, had been on edge lately.

Fortunately, the dorm contract was nearing its end.

Gwak Sang-hyun had subtly mentioned that we were preparing to move to a place with better security soon, so we were all trying to hold on a bit longer.

It would have felt like a fresh start if the weather outside had been clear.

Unfortunately, since the autumn rains started pouring a few days ago, the atmosphere had noticeably cooled, and our condition had only worsened up to the comeback day.

Even now, the rain continued to pour outside without any sign of stopping.

Unlike Liberation, which didn’t feel out of place in winter, or Dream, which was less seasonal, Again was a song with a purely refreshing vibe.

If the weather stayed like this, it felt like even a song that could potentially hit big might not.

“Wasn’t there any news about the rain stopping?”

“The weather forecast said it would continue until evening.”

“Aah…”

“Am I the only one thinking we should’ve made our comeback about 2 weeks earlier?”

After matching the choreography’s latter part once, Ban Yo-han sat down heavily in front of the mirror for makeup and responded to my remark.

“I think so too.”

“Me too.”

Contrary opinions came out immediately.

“But if we did that, we’d be dead.”

“That’s true.”

“It was already incredibly hard to prepare for this. How could we have pulled it two weeks earlier?”

“That’s true.”

Still, there was some lingering regret, as I pursed my lips and then straightened them. Seeing me, Kang Ji-woo gestured.

“This won’t do. Everyone, gather here and turn off the lights.”

Gyeon Seong-ha quickly went to turn off the lights.

While I swiftly took out the shared tablet Gwak Sang-hyun usually carried in his bag, the manager, who had been observing and checking on us, shook his head and turned to leave.

* * *

As Gwak Sang-hyun stepped out of the waiting room with an expression of exasperation, a staff member asked with a smile.

“Are they doing that ritual again?”

“Yes, they are.”

“They play so cutely, really.”

“But I can kind of understand. I watched it with them last time, and it really did make me feel so much better.”

Despite the many difficulties in preparing for the comeback, Orca, who usually overflowed with energy and often caused headaches for their manager Gwak Sang-hyun, wasn’t completely downcast.

In the dim waiting room where only Orca remained, Kang Ji-woo played the video on the shared tablet, and all the members focused intently on watching it.

“Ah… this is so good.”

“It’s amazing.”

“I’m not exaggerating; I’ve probably watched it a hundred times, and it makes me feel good every single time.”

They were watching the music video for “Again.”

The recent trend among the members of Orca was to watch the music video whenever they were having a tough time, feeling as if all the world’s pain was washed away by watching the video, filtering out faces they didn’t want to see.

The song “Again” had already been good when they first heard the guide recording version. Hearing it with Orca’s voices, which On Raon had in mind from the beginning while composing, made it five times better.

“How can we fail with this song!”

“We’re bound to succeed!”

“If we think it’s this good, the fans will love it even more!”

“Hey, the rain stopped!”

“This is a sign! It’s a sign from the heavens for our success!”

“Waaah!”

“Again! Again!”

The staff member, who had been peeking in through the slightly opened door to see what the members were doing, was so surprised by their high spirits that they quickly closed the door again.

“Mr. Sang-hyun, is it okay to leave them like that? They might not have the energy for the stage later.”

“…Just let them be.”

And thanks to the power of the ritual, they successfully completed the media showcase that afternoon at 6 p.m.

Finally, the music video for “Again” was released.