"Thank you."
With that, the shooting was finished and Jun stepped down from the stage, receiving congratulations from other idol groups. Someone from the dance crew then took out her smartphone and everyone took a group selfie with the trophy.
One should say the trophy was quite stylish. The bottom was the same as other trophies but the middle part was in the shape of letters stating music core (in English). The top part was in the shape of Show (in English) and below it written are Korean letters of the word 'show'.
Then, the manager dragged him away from the group, taking him to the side where he posed a few stills for the photojournalists and others. He was also asked a few questions like how he was feeling to win a show on his debut song, his experiences while shooting the mv, the rumors about his group debut, how he felt about achieving 100 million views or topping the music charts, etc…
Once he was done with everything, he parted ways with his dance crew and started returning to the dorm with the manager.
On the way, he took a selfie with the trophy and sent the message to his group mates, his sister, his cousin (Han Bobae), his female friends like Yuju, Eunha, and Noze, and his male celebrity acquaintances like Kim Jong Kook and YG, and friends like Yeongue and Na Jaemin.
Upon sending to the last one, Jun suddenly realized that he has more people inside his inner circle than he expected. As the congratulations poured from every side, he couldn't help but like this feeling and kept a smile on his face all the way.
The vehicle reached the dorm by 6:30 P.M.
"Jun-ah, we have a dinner meeting with CEO Hwang and an investor. So, don't forget that and keep your stomach at least half-full. And I'll pick you up by 8 o'clock. So, get ready by the time." Manager Seon said to Jun as he got down from the vehicle with a couple of large pizza packages in his hands.
"Where are you going?" asked Jun in response.
"I have a lot of work to do, from going through the contracts to talking to the producers. Your group debut is also only seven weeks away. Unless it becomes successful, the company won't assign more managers. So, I might have to take that job too. Not to mention, you all have individual careers too." Manager Seon helplessly smiled. While all the groundwork related to the activities of the solo idols will have to be done by their agencies, the managers will be the ones who will be doing the actual work, from meeting the producers to the sponsors.
"Thank you for the hard work." Jun bowed in appreciation. Manager Seon waved his hand and drove off to the headquarters building.
Jun then walked through the gate and entered the house only to find it empty again. No one was there in the living room to welcome him.
"Hmm, is everyone in their room, or didn't they return?" Jun wondered. He went to the group chat and typed: I'm home.
For a while, no one replied to him. Jun first went to check on Daniel but his room is empty and so are the others. That means he is alone.
By the time he returned from the shower, a series of replies were on the group chat, stating that Daniel suddenly had to meet his middle school friends from Busan, Suga and Hanbin were having a meeting with a producer, and Eunwoo received an offer for a role in a TV drama. So, he went for a private audition.
Jun's face was crestfallen a bit as he expected to eat with his housemates when Daniel told him to buy on the way from a certain restaurant as a treat. Just those two pizzas cost him more than 350$. More than money, he just wanted to celebrate his success with them before anyone else.
Since that isn't possible and he can't do anything about it, Jun put them in the fridge, intending to reheat them in the oven later, and then put his focus on something else as he sat on the bed.
"Aria, open the unclaimed rewards."
The holographic screen appeared right away with the option.
*Ding! Choose the talent between Soccer and Voice Imitation.
"Well, this is actually an easy choice to make. No matter how I think, the latter has a far more benefit to me."
From Jun's point of view, if there was any use in playing soccer, it is probably getting closer to Kim Jong-kook. Other than that, soccer is practically useless for Jun. No, to play soccer with Kim Jong Kook and join his club, he doesn't even need terrific skills with the ball. After all, they only play futsal and none of them are great at it anyway.
Considering Jun was already a gym buddy with Kim Jong Kook, the latter might even treat him like a younger brother if he has the talent with soccer too. However, he doesn't want to do it.
He might admire Kim Jong-kook but the latter was no Tzuyu. There's no reason for Jun to work hard in order to achieve or solidify his friendship with him. Not to mention, he was a baseball lover. He would rather go and play at those batting centers rather than run all around the field to chase the soccer ball.
On the other hand, voice imitation could be useful for his career.
In variety shows, idols would always have to showcase talent. As for what he was good at, Jun is extremely good at singing, he is ambidextrous, he has enormous strength and will probably good at athletics, and he is good at cooking.
All of those talents are useless in shows like running man or happy together. Singing might be useful but it won't entertain the viewers. That's why voice imitation will be his ticket to the variety show world.
He had seen Actors and idols doing impressions in running man. So, if he can cultivate his talent to the highest level, imitating the voices of comedians to villains, Jun was sure that he will surely receive several calls from directors. And who knows when this will be useful in real life too.
"Anyway, let's not waste time and see what this can do."
*Ding! Voice Imitation talent has been added to your character.
"Aria, Open Character stats"
Jun found his voice imitation talent was at 6.1 points. That means he'll be fairly good at it once he practices.
Having enough time and nothing else to do, he decided to watch one of the running man episodes, although this time, it is not for passing time. "People would imitate actors but on the contrary, I will try to imitate a couple of them in their own show. How cool would that be?"
Jun continuously practiced for a whole hour. Somehow, his voice imitation stat already rose by 0.1 points in one hour.
Soon, he was picked up by his manager. Perhaps, Seon Jin Cheol didn't have any idea about the absence of members. Or maybe, he received the news from them. Or maybe, he was just too tired to even talk about something because of overwork. Whatever the case, he was too silent all the way they reached the restaurant, which looked like a traditional type from architecture to the dishes.
He waited for atleast 15-20 minutes in the private chamber until the CEO arrived with a familiar Japanese middle-aged fellow. It is the same guy he met a while ago, one of the executive directors of Softbank Group. However, this time, the investor was quite active in conversing with him until the end.
Jun could only respond to him in Japanese, showcasing his fluency. On the other hand, the Korean interpreter of Yukawa Saburo was now translating his conversation with Jun to the CEO of Genesis Entertainment instead.
At the end of the dinner, Yukawa Saburo said to Hwang Bo Kyung, "CEO Hwang, I believe SungJun-san would do well in our market."
As the interpreter translated to Bo Kyung, the latter smiled in response, "After his next album, we planned to release the Japanese version as well before planning for the concert."
Her words took Jun by surprise as he never heard of it before. Even his manager who was aware of his complete schedule didn't say anything about it. Maybe, it was decided on a whim or something? He wondered.