Certainly, I had met Bae Sejin in the body of Ryu Gunwoo.
'All I did was cheer him on in front of the sink to avoid the situation.'
There were times when I doubted whether Bae Sejin remembered the experience impressively.
However, I never suspected that he would remember Ryu Gunwoo's appearance.
There must be tens of thousands of fans who had seen this guy's face, but he remembered the face of a fan he had only seen once? The one who even wore a hat?
However, if he pointed with his finger and exclaimed, it meant that he was saying 'I know him'. There was no doubt about it.
'Hoo.'
Still, I guess he couldn't hear the bizarre situation where 'Ryu Gunwoo' called me hyung because I was wearing earphones. Good.
As soon as I guessed the situation, I immediately opened my mouth. Naturally.
I had to talk to the guy in my smartphone.
"Hyung, I'll call you back."
-Uh… ? Uh…
I couldn't let Bae Sejin ride the flow. I cut it off once and let it go.
However, Bae Sejin moved first. He grabbed my arm and sighed.
"You… You found him!"
"… !"
"That…is that the guy you saw in the video?"
At that moment, I understood the situation correctly.
'Ah. Was it like that?'
Right. I remembered now. Bae Sejin accompanied me when I checked Ryu Chungwoo's video.
He must have remembered after seeing it carefully several times back then.
… Or he remembered doing crazy things like breaking into a co-worker's home on holiday night and rummaging through family videos.
I barely answered.
"… … Yes. That is him."
"As expected!"
Bae Sejin looked at 'Ryu Gunwoo' on the screen with knowing eyes.
'Even so, he has good eyesight.'
The video was filmed when I was quite young, and the content inside had changed, so the impression would be different, but he still managed to find out.
-Excuse me… Shall I say hello?
No, just stay still.
I took Bae Sejin's question while glancing at the screen.
"How did you find him?"
"Because there is someone in Chungwoo hyung's family that he contacted."
In order to prevent more questions and answers from saying unnecessary things, I explained the situation in more detail.
I finished with this.
"You know, when the two of us went out for a short break a few days ago. Then we met and exchanged contact information."
"Hmm, yes."
That… It looked like he didn't even know that Ryu Chungwoo and I went out that day.
'Well, he's not Keun Sejin.'
Even though Cha Eugene was his roommate, he was the one who didn't come out of the room often.
In any case, the situation seemed to be entering a calming phase. I nodded and opened my mouth.
"I was going to tell you the news because hyung went with me to check Chungwoo hyung's video. Thank you."
"That… No. What did I do? Anyway, that's good, uh… Tell me if there's anything I can help with…"
Bae Sejin spoke gibberish, but soon acted very socially.
He said hello as soon as his eyes met Ryu Gunwoo on the screen.
"So this is you… … Kuhm, hello."
-Yes? Yes… !
Even if he answered, I could only hear it in my earphones, so why was he saying hello?
-Ah, even if I say this, he can't hear me over there, right?
I guess he knew now.
"… What is he saying?"
"Wait a minute."
This was what happened anyway, it would be neat if they exchanged greetings briefly and then hung up.
I deliberately looked at the screen and spoke clearly.
"Hyung. We couldn't get the conversation across… If you don't mind, I'll unplug the earphones now."
It meant to prepare.
-… I got it!
His tone changed, probably because he thought he wouldn't make a mistake this time. And his expression changed… Was he copying me?
The guy eased his face and spoke in a firm voice.
-Hello. I am Ryu Gunwoo.
It didn't suit him.
"Yes, um, I am Bae Sejin, who is in the same group as Moondae."
As soon as communication started, Bae Sejin returned to his true self, as if the first greeting was a lie. He was quite shy.
Still, it was welcomed that the atmosphere had calmed down. It was because the guy on the screen also greeted him politely enough to be excessive.
It was a good sense of distance. They should continue like this.
-Yes. I'm cheering for TeStar a lot. Congratulations on the grand prize.
"… … Thank you."
However, Bae Sejin answered a beat late, and with a strange expression, he got away from the smartphone camera and whispered to me again.
"… Does that person work in broadcasting?"
"… … ?"
What kind of nonsense was this?
"No. Why?"
"Just… Somehow, the face looks familiar… …"
Bae Sejin stopped talking and stared blankly at the guy who was still copying me on the screen.
"… … "
It was a very significant sign.
I opened my mouth right away.
"Hyung, then I'll see you next time… "
"Wait a moment."
Bae Sejin raised his hand and brought up the words with an air of uncertainty.
"Have we met a few years ago? … It was at a performance hall, and we talked about getting an autograph in front of the sink…"
"… !"
No, that was no surprise. I needed to calm down.
'He's not sure.'
I had to check if the situation overlapped and if he thought of it.
But the guy on the screen didn't do it anyway. He could have answered 'I don't know what you're talking about' without much conscience....
-Oh… ! In the bathroom… …
"… …"
Why was he so excited there?
'Is this because he experienced it while he was still the resonance?'
I watched the two excited guys with cold eyes.
On the screen, 'Ryu Gunwoo' reacted excessively, and thanks to this, Bae Sejin was immediately convinced.
"..!! I knew it!"
-Wow, I was wondering if you would remember…
"… Of course, I remember. I was really grateful for that."
Bae Sejin seemed to be a bit conflicted, but eventually added a word.
"A lot… It gave me a lot of strength. Thanks to that, I had a lot of good conversations."
-Hmmmm, that's right.
What was he proudly squinting his eyes at?
It was absurd, but he continued with a slightly excited tone.
-I thought you would have been very happy to hear it… !
"… … "
Ryu Gunwoo at that time?
Don't tell me he was playing along with this guy….
'Did he hear?'
I was speechless and looked at the screen.
Keundal was twitching the corners of his mouth with a happy face, perhaps forgetting to manage his expression. Bae Sejin seemed to be embarrassed and cleared his throat from the side.
"Hmm, yes. I am also happy to greet you like this. I couldn't even give you an autograph back then…"
"… …"
Yes, well… It was good that this little thing had helped Bae Sejin so far.
It wasn't a big deal, and it was a small joke, so it would be better to wrap it up here and move on than to realize it later and make a fuss.
I smiled.
"We will give you a signed album when the next album comes out."
"Oh, hmm, that will work."
-I'm really looking forward to it…
"That is an honor."
The atmosphere slightly relaxed. To be precise, Bae Sejin alone began to let go of his shyness.
'It looks like they're chatting like this.'
There might be loopholes in this conversation if they continued talking, so I sorted out the conversation this time.
"Hyung, I heard that we also have training tomorrow. I guess we wasted too much time.
-… ! That's right Sorry, I'll hang up now.
"Ah, yes. Well… Yes. Thank you."
Keundal quickly recognized the signal this time, and the call ended like that.
Tiriling.
Staring at the disconnected screen, Bae Sejin muttered with a mysterious face.
"… He was a real fan of our group."
"… …"
Wouldn't it be weird if I didn't ask here?
"Do you two know each other?"
"It's not like we met… As a fan, he was cheering me on… … … No, I didn't know he was the person you were looking for until now because I only looked at him for a few seconds! I knew you were looking for him, but I didn't know…"
"I guess so. We don't remember the faces of every person we meet."
"Yeah, yes."
Bae Sejin sighed with a slightly relieved expression.
"Still… It's interesting. You and I both got help from the same person… I didn't know that we could have something in common like this. I also think that human connection is real."
"That's right."
"Ahem… It's a bit strange to hear that the person who said such a good thing to me in the beginning is still cheering for me…"
"It must be because hyung has been doing well since back then."
"Is, is that so? Hmmm, it's not to that extent… Thank you."
"What?"
Bae Sejin seemed to be excited now.
"Well, wouldn't it be nice to say this on variety shows? Right?"
"… …"
Let's stop there.
"There is also a way to keep it as a memory among us. More than that, hyung, the reason you called me…"
"Ah, ah!"
Only then did the guy's complexion change, and he got to the point.
"That's right, I got a call from the company… !"
Hmm.
'It's a type of contact that Bae Sejin ran to find me?'
It wasn't like they were trying to overturn the declaration of surrender. I crossed my arms.
"The company?"
"It's not our company… It's the company above it!"
Bae Sejin shouted with a slightly excited face.
"I got a direct call from T1 Entertainment!"
"… !!"
It was the parent company's appearance.
I followed Bae Sejin into the room. A few people gathered in the room ahead of us, as if Cha Eugene had also been ordered.
"I came home!! As you warned, we got out quietly without being noticed by anyone on the AR team!"
"Well, yes."
When Kim Raebin, who had gone to the studio for the last time, joined, the briefing finally began.
"It's nothing else, but an offer came."
"An offer?"
Ryu Chungwoo explained briefly.
T1 Entertainment sent an email directly without going through the agency. On the side of the person in charge who talked about the problem of the dedicated team last time, the opinions of the board of directors were sent directly…
I rubbed my chin while listening to the words, and then summarized them in a light sentence.
"Therefore… It means they'll create a label for us directly under them."
"Yes."
Not under their subsidiary, T1 Stars, but as a direct affiliate of the real T1 Entertainment.
'They're crazy.'
It was an incredibly generous offer. It was said that they even sent a plan to reorganize the settlement structure and explained how profitable we were.
"Then, what about our current company?"
"There was no mention of it."
It was understandable.
Originally, even if we set up a label, planning and activities would be carried out independently anyway, and the accounting structure such as sales processing would belong to T1 Stars.
'It means that our sales will continue to be captured by this company.'
Because it was an affiliate label.
However, if this happened, the relationship with the agency would come to an end.
It was a literal transfer.
They would even carry out all the dedicated teams, so the company would be hit hard because there was an emergency.
However, there was no need to worry about retaliation as the parent company was raising its fist behind the scenes.
"If it goes like this… We can leave that company!"
"Oooh."
The perfect escape timing that could only be dreamed of.
It must have been a cool situation, and there were already people clapping their hands…
'Hmm. It's not good.'
I twitched my eyebrows.
This was an unconventional treatment from anyone's point of view. It was a big deal and a change in affiliation that anyone who was even slightly interested in the entertainment industry would judge TeStar as the right people for T1.
That is why it was exactly the problem.
'Don't get too involved with the T1 image.'
T1, like a large company that ran an octopus-eating business, was said to have trashed its image.
Even in the culture business, there was a lot of talk about 'ruining the industry's ecosystem' with a strategy to suck up aggressive KPOP represented by the TNet channel.
But the image of a business sign that T1 pushed for?
It would be the worst if it stuck to us.
'It's not just about benefiting from large companies, it's about becoming the main player in T1's entertainment business.'
Even at the Rookie of the Year award, they were the tyranny of a major broadcasting company, and there was a high probability that T1 would stick to us.
If something happened in the future, it was perfect for being framed as the strongman or the perpetrator.
'That's not all.'
There was one most important reason.
'… We shouldn't get caught in the image as if the company is entirely on our side.'
In business, not everything could suit everyone's taste. Obviously, problems would arise.
It was the same with the idol business.
Then, when a problem arose, there was also a place of responsibility… If the company started off by feeding us well and respecting us, we would end up taking all the aggro.
-T1 is T1
-Ah fuck, let my kids go
Instead of saying this.
-ㅋㅋㅋㅋ Guys, please do it properly.
- Pretend that the members who didn't promote this time don't have brains and take your hands off next time, okay?
The number of people saying this would increase. Absolutely not.
'Being completely associated with T1 is an image that does not align with our interests.'
The moment this was broken, even if the company made a mistake, they would think they were the same as their idols, and instead of trying to protect them, a crazy situation could arise where they blamed the idols as well.
It was a handshake In the long run.
"… …"
"What do you all think? I… I think it's okay!"
"Me too."
The problem was, I didn't know if I was going to be able to convince these guys who were already excited just because I thought that way.
'Honestly, the reason is a bit dirty.'
Wasn't it too much to say that we shouldn't make it easy for people to blame the company for reasons like that?
I saw at least three guys who wouldn't be persuaded by these words.
'… It would be perfect if there was an emotional cause.'
At that time, Kim Raebin quietly muttered with a drooping voice next to me.
"Then, some members of the AR team will completely change their affiliations and break up… …"
This bastard… He was well-spoken.
This was it.
"Um, can't we just bring them all?"
"That will be difficult. I don't think the agency will come out so lightly."
I answered as if I was deliberately conclusive.
"Even if we take out a dedicated team, it would be a huge blow to the agency, so it would be difficult to get other people out."
"Umm…"
"Well, then… What about those who can't go with us?"
"They will be working in a more difficult environment than before."
Kim Raebin's face turned pale. I crossed my arms.
"But we don't have to be forced to stay for them. Because everyone lives their own lives."
"Yes… …"
It was then. Seon Ahyoen carefully raised his hand.
"Th-then…"
"Yes?"
"Then why don't we just stay here and drive out all the bad guys? I-is it impossible…?"
I answered calmly.
"It will be hard to get rid of them."
"Y-yes. It's as I thought…"
It was then. Ryu Chungwoo opened his mouth.
"By the way, can't we make it so that they don't do bad things in the future?"
"… !"
"Right?"
Surprisingly, this guy was also good at backing up, too. I nodded.
"That works."
"Oh~ I like that. Let's fight!"
Cha Eugene immediately changed his stance. It was befitting of that guy. And Bae Sejin mumbled his words.
"Not bad…"
Yes. I thought this would be his taste too.
"Then let's consider this as well."
A pretty good response came back.
'Okay.'
I clasped my hands.
"Then, until everyone is completely convinced of one side… Let's wait and see."
"When?"
"Since the conversation has already progressed, I think it will be okay."
I turned to the guy sitting next to me.
Keun Sejin.
"As he said last time, when we win all the grand prizes, we will have more say."
"… !"
In other words, until those guys got more restless.
Keun Sejin opened his eyes wide, then smiled.
I laughed along too.
"Let's wait until then."
After that, TeStar received a total of 32 award trophies during the awards season at the beginning of the year.
And 5 of them were grand prize trophies.
Our deal started moving at that point.