At the end of May of this year, TeStar became a flawless group both at home and abroad.
So what did Mirynay's leader, Park Minha, think of TeStar since she was their direct junior?
'Well… I just think of them as my sunbaenims.'
To begin with, she hadn't seen much of them recently. This was because, even in the company, the labels were created in separate areas so their movement lines did not overlap.
But there was one thing.
'… I envy them! I envy them!'
TeStar was able to escape from the hands of the disgusting general manager. In fact, there were no role models that she was more envious of than them.
… And there was a certain sunbaenim who contributed greatly to her thinking that way.
'… The fact that he mentioned the label and announced it during the awards ceremony… He must have done that on purpose, right?'
Yes.
This was Park Moondae, the main vocalist of TeStar and the person in charge of being the 'Soft Bean Rice Cake and Apple Rice Cake Puppy'.
Park Minha screamed internally.
'What kind of puppy are they even talking about!'
She didn't know what he was thinking, but when she came to her senses he was in the right place at the right time… Anyway, what did he want?
"… …"
'Thinking about it like this, he has the constitution of a heavenly idol.'
Anyway, it was scary.
Thanks to this, she almost broke out in a cold sweat trying to stop her own members who wanted to try to get along well with him because he was in a popular senior group.
'What if we all get in trouble because friendship with the opposite sex is the poison of idols?!'
She didn't know how such a scary person could look so harmless when the camera was rolling.
'… In reality, he seems a bit difficult to approach.'
With years of self-management and investment in stats (although Park Minha didn't know), Park Moondae was already engaged in his career that had a lot to do with cameras.
But even now, when she watched the videos he was in, it was scary how well the image of a friendly puppy fit him.
He was worthy of being a role model.
'… He's amazing. Really.'
So, she made her own resolutions.
'When the contract renewal season comes, we'll really do it right!'
She would protect this group by handling things clearly and never getting caught… !
However, as she was doing this for a while, she received a phone call from the person in question.
It was also very meaningful.
-Do you have any concerns these days?
"… …"
The moment she heard those words, all kinds of possible bad endings came into Park Minha's mind.
What? What?
'W-what is he thinking…?'
So, like a reaction robot, an acceptable answer came out.
"I worry just as much as other people do! Still, I am satisfied with my life as an idol where I can meet fans like this…"
-Hmm. Yes.
Park Moondae listened to the whole story without stopping.
Thanks to this, the repertoire for social life answers was quickly depleted.
'Ahh!'
The pressure to say more increased.
'Oh, please!'
We aren't in a relationship where we have to discuss concerns, right, sunbaenim?
Fortunately, Park Moondae gave Park Minha a hint just before he ended the conversation.
- Well then, I'm glad. But do you have any other concerns?
"… Well, when you say other concerns, what kind of things are you talking about…?"
-I was wondering if the company has been doing well recently.
"The company?"
-Yes. I don't know much about them recently because there has been some distance since TeStar became involved in an independent label.
Park Moondae described calmly.
-But it seems like they continue to run all groups centered around the United States. Since we are also active in that direction these days, what do you think about it as our hoobaenim?
"Ah."
If that was the case…
At that moment, Park Minha opened her mouth as if it were a conditioned reflex.
Because it was a problem she was really thinking about, and because there were a lot of things concerning her regarding that topic.
Even after speaking, she regretted it and thought, 'I was caught.' But it wasn't actually a trap. It was really a stepping stone to a good proposal for Mirynay.
Of course, it was true that Park Moondae caught her.
• * *
-… So, I am still working hard!
"Hmm."
I compiled information about Mirynay's current situation, which Park Minha explained in quite detail, and about the new group that I secretly obtained between the lines.
First of all, the current position was…
'It's ambiguous.'
It was stagnating.
She also had an idea, so instead of criticizing the company, she glossed it over, but she seemed to know that the momentum and controversy they had at the time of their debut had largely died.
It was understandable. As they continued to make music that would be popular overseas and focused their promotions on that, their connection with the domestic public would weaken.
'But the fandom is okay.'
Since their content was good and the quality of their activity capital was good, the inflow of the fandom itself was steady.
'It's patterned like that.'
In short, they had become fandom-type idols whose music had weakened slightly as public interest had declined, but whose album sales were still rising.
'At this level, they've settled down as successful idols anyway.'
However, if they managed to gain popularity just once, they could truly become a group that had it all, but the company would continue to target only the US, which would be upsetting.
Meanwhile, a new female idol came out from Youngrin's company.
And they hit the jackpot.
-That's right, there are a lot of people who are really good these days! We were thinking that we need to work harder too…
That was ultimately what this meant.
'They feel threatened because of their overlapping positions.'
A trendy female idol who was recognized globally, especially in Western countries.
Two similar images.
The problem was not only that their images overlapped in the American market, but also that the selling point in Korea was blurred.
And stronger latecomers would usually take their place naturally.
So maybe now was the right time, before the popularity moved towards the new female idols.
I crossed my arms with my smartphone between my neck.
'… It's okay.'
Mirynay had an established first-tier group image and strong album sales.
Rookie female idols, such as Powty, may have had a weak album currently, but their overseas music was strong, and based on their popularity, their domestic music sales were also on the rise.
Everyone had strengths and weaknesses.
'The game is perfect, so it's easier to plan.'
There was nothing more fun to watch in a fight than seeing similar positions being traded back and forth.
I came to a conclusion. But there was one more hurdle left to go through.
'Because it's someone else's business.'
The intention of the parties concerned.
I waited, agreeing with what Park Minha said, and when it was over, I opened my mouth again.
"Yes. Thank you for telling me. And I have one more question."
-Yes?
I asked slowly.
"Do you think it would be better for more people to be interested in the group's activities, even if things get a little noisy?"
-… …
She knew what it meant when things got 'get a little noisy'.
'It means being criticized.'
Of course, the lower the popularity, the less criticism there was.
Speech, hand gestures, plastic surgery, past photos… The question was whether you would rather have a stable current situation than feel the pain of having your brain beaten by absurd rumors.
'For those who have experienced
I waited.
But after a while, a firm voice came from the phone.
-Of course.
Good. She had guts.
I passed the conclusion that I was satisfied with.
"Then can the company proceed like that?"
-Uh, how?
Like this.
From the very next day, articles began pouring in on the entertainment front.
• * *
[Rookie Powty's unprecedented global success… 'A record for a girl group'?]
[Powty, surpassing Mirynay, 'No. 1 in search index']
[Mirinay's comeback preview, were they conscious of the 'monster rookies'?]
The articles sometimes mentioned it explicitly and sometimes concealed it, but in the end, the tone was the same.
'Didn't Powty beat Mirynay as soon as they debuted?'
The article was filled with content that subtly predicted Powty's superiority.
And of course, noises began to come out in response.
All kinds of extreme clamor.
-Fuck, get out of my head
-If they're going to do this, please give Youngrin a comeback… They're obsessed with their rookies. These crazy bastards, did they forget who built their building for them?
-But objectively, isn't it true that their results are better than Mirynay's? Why is it so bad?
└Stop the hate.
└Okay, you want to believe that it's hate.
However, there was one thing in common.
Everyone naturally believed that Youngrin's company would have taken the lead in this promotional material-style article.
The play of sniping at senior celebrities in similar positions was a traditionally effective method of raising awareness.
Of course, unless Youngrin was an idiot, she would have been planning to issue a similar press release, and it was confirmed that this was indeed the case.
When an employee of our company contacted the media, they said that the agency had already promised to hand over the content for publicity purposes first.
Thanks to them, it was comfortable.
-It's not bad? It would be perfect if we just changed the subject.
The employee said that in a slightly excited voice.
Therefore…
'This is helping.'
I nodded.
It was a kind of donation.
Didn't I play a role in helping? It was something the company should be thankful for.
Well, the person they were trying to snipe at was TeStar, not Mirynay… It was obvious.
I coolly lowered the smartphone screen.
There was an uproar as articles were being taken from all sorts of places.
"Good buzz."
Mirynay's fans may have been a little tired, but it was better to talk about a hot topic rather than something that was mentioned as dead and stagnant.
Because rivalries were good for motivation.
'Even Mirynay is making a comeback soon.'
I hoped this became a hot topic domestically.
-Yes. I like the song!
She seemed confident.
I laughed and threw the smartphone.
Now all I had to do was wait until Mirynay made a comeback and the results came out.
'When the time comes, the company will put out a press release about our record… The mission results will appear within two weeks at the earliest.'
Then, as long as there were no other incidents, this obstacle could be overcome.
'It's neat.'
I stood up, stretching lightly.
"Ah."
There was one more thing to take care of. Until the results come out, TeStar had to lead with an image that had nothing to do with these guys.
To help with that… An independent activity that was both topical and inspiring was needed.
What could it be?
'A popular solo entertainment show.'
Coincidentally, the entertainment production crew that had been sending us Hotteok requests in the US contacted us again.
It was the right time.
• * *
"Hello~"
"Hello!"
"Oh my, TeStar, please sit down quickly! Oh my!"
A few days later, we were called to a meeting for a new entertainment show.
"If you look at the title…"
When I looked at the presentation materials, even the logo was already drawn out.
〈The House's Grandson〉
I could feel it from the naming sense.
'It must be a fantastic composition.'
It was actually better because it definitely felt like they were going to make us do something stupid.
Several familiar writers explained this with excited faces.
"You'll go down and cook a little food and tend to the garden… We have prepared something that is truly healing."
"Ahaha. Yes!"
Of course, it was probably a trap. The members looked at each other and nodded their heads.
'What is it?'
'I think they'll give us training to do.'
'That also makes sense.'
Were we going to ride a fishing boat because we would be in the countryside this time?
But the writers persevered.
"Ah, this time! Definitely not fishing! You're going to have some fun with mini-games… Anyway, absolutely not."
Okay. Let's pretend to be interested.
"Really?"
"Yes!"
The author strongly affirmed this. We tried to smile and nod, but before we could, the author added something.
With eyes burning brightly with resentment.
"Or you can sue us, really!"
"… …"
Sue?
An embarrassed smile appeared on Ryu Chungwoo's face. The other guys had similar expressions.
'Hey, I think they're serious.'
Were they really going to create a simple healing program that would soothe the tired hearts of modern people?
"Because you guys are idols, you can combine some professional knowledge and make it meaningful! And show performances to the residents… "
Kim Raebin was amazed.
"… ! I think that would be a really meaningful opportunity!"
"Hm, sure. It has a good purpose."
Bae Sejin was looking through the data again with a somewhat relieved expression, and Seon Ahyeon was taking notes.
Everyone was in a peaceful mood.
"… Yes."
And I looked back at Keun Sejin.
The guy was desperately trying to smile, but the moment our eyes met, the corners of his eyes trembled.
'Okay.'
There was going to be a problem.
'This sounds like pure healing.'
These production crew members had lost their true sense of entertainment.