47. Sense (3)
After finishing all the activities up to the 4th week, our schedule became a bit more relaxed since we didn't have any pre-recordings.
We were nominated for 1st place in the last week, but of course we didn't get 1st place.
'It's not often that you get 1st place right after debuting. It's regrettable, but there's nothing I can do.'
I wanted to do something like an event during that time, but I was blocked by Director Kwak In-hyuk's strong opposition.
What did he say....... He said that we couldn't just accept any schedule in order to increase the group's brand value.
'In short, he said that we should raise our value and go to places where we can make money.'
Director Kwak In-hyuk gave in because of Lee A-ram's incident, so I had no choice but to give in this time.
Anyway, most of the events that we can do as rookies are local events, and in those cases, there's a high chance that they'll cut our appearance fee just because we're a rookie, so I wasn't that disappointed.
Ah, but there was one thing I still regret. It was the videos taken by fans.
'In the past, there were a lot of direct cams taken at events.'
Before Planet became popular, they would perform as they were called, as expected from a former member of Mangdol. They didn't shy away from even the toughest jobs, from local events.
Watching trot performances while waiting for their turn to perform at events is now a memory.
'The fans have worked hard. They said they'd follow us to the local area.'
While reminiscing about the past, I recalled the faces of old Planet fans and shook my head.
Even though our music show activities are over, we can't rest.
Not only the members' individual schedules, but there were also a few fan signing events left.
We're still rookies, so we don't have many schedules outside of interviews... ... I think we'll get a lot of offers for NutTube variety shows during next promotions.
"Hey, what are you thinking?"
"Oh... is it already time?"
"Yep, there's only one minute left!"
After a long time, I sat on the sofa in the dorm and checked my laptop with the members.
The reason we gathered at the dorm like this was none other than because the teaser for Reality Jacon was released today.
'When I checked it in advance, the quality wasn't bad, but I wonder what the fans' reactions will be.'
Since the filming was so short, I was worried about how the footage would be chosen, but the results were pretty good.
The basic sense of the studio in charge of Jacon was good, and the content planning team in charge of related work gave me detailed feedback, so I didn't have to touch anything.
Thanks to that, the production and editing progress was completed smoothly, and Reality Jacon will be uploaded once a week starting next week, for a total of 6 episodes.
'Behind-the-scenes videos were uploaded when we were busy during promotions, so we didn't have a chance to watch them all together like this.'
The members, excluding me, were excited because it was our first time watching the video.
What's so great about it? Even though it's just a teaser, we've been waiting for the whole 30 minutes.
"Oh, it's uploaded!"
Notifications rang not only on the official NutTube channel but also on the idol-only platform YouTuber.
The title of the video appeared in the notification window.
[INT'LO (Intro) 'INTRODUCE' | Jacon Start! Intro's Free Playground TEASER]
Hwang Bo-kyun clicked on the Nuttube video while humming the Love Over song. I stared at the laptop next to him.
As soon as the logo of Jacon appeared, the atmosphere melted away. After the 8-bit dot sound from the Love Over music video flowed, the screen moved to the Jacon pre-meeting place. Subtitles appeared in the middle.
[One day in February, Intro pre-meeting]
[Everyone | Hello~ X7]
Intro entered the meeting room and welcomed the camera. Hwang Bo-kyun, who was the first to enter the meeting room, looked around and asked.
[Hwang Bo-kyun | Can I sit here?]
[Production crew | Yes, please feel free.]
As they sat down, each member was zoomed in and a simple caption and their names were written.
Everyone's name tags were attached and then disappeared, and the main topic came up.
[Production crew | As you know, we're all here because of your Jacon filming.]
[Yoo Young | Yes, yes.]
[Production crew | First of all, you know the topic is reality, right?]
[Baek Han-gyul | Yes! That's what I heard!]
[Production crew | Actually, that's not the end.]
[Baek Han-gyul's | Yes......?] [???]
It contains our bewildered expression of talking calmly with the production team.
In particular, Baek Han-gyul's wide-open eyes were emphasized, and a subtitle full of question marks was added next to his face.
[Production crew | Because it's no fun if we only do reality shows. We'll tell you more details on the day of filming.]
[Ryu Hyun-seung | On the day... ?] [0ㅁ0]
Starting with Ryu Hyun-seung tilting his head, a blue screen and retro font text popped up.
[What funny thing happened to Intro?]
As the subtitles disappeared, various clips poured out.
The first thing that came out was a scene from the main chef competition.
[Hwang Bo-kyun | Rock, paper, scissors!]
[??? | Eeeeek!!!]
[Screams erupt throughout the dorm!]
The members who are wondering what to do next.
[Seol Yi-soo | But. What are we going to do after eating all this?]
[Ahn Jung-woo | Now that I think about it... (beep-) I remember seeing that.]
[Intro looking for something to do]
Next are the production staff who are muttering.
[Production staff | I didn't know you really casted them.]
[Production staff | Can we just keep going like this?]
[Production staff | I don't know, I got permission to appear, so it'll be okay.] [Unexpected guest...?]
After all the aggro was dragged out by the omission of the subject, several scenes poured out quickly.
The cooking team and the grocery shopping team at the mart. Lee A-ram took down Hwang Bo-kyun's blanket and put it back on. Baek Han-gyul, who was half asleep, suddenly raised his upper body.
And then.....
[Production Team | This is... (beep)!]
A part of MT life passes quickly.
[??? | Oh my, the bachelors are so handsome.]
With 8-bit dot sound, only Kim Bok-hee's voice is edited in.
The screen shows the Jacon logo once again.
[Into's Playground, INTRODUCE]
[Please watch a lot♡]
When the short teaser video of about a minute ended, the members blinked quickly.
I looked at the SNS timeline that was quickly going up and tapped Baek Han-gyul's arm next to me.
"What's wrong?"
"Something... It's really crazy!"
"After all, it's a teaser."
I left them muttering amongst themselves and exchanging opinions, and checked the internet reactions.
- ????? They're giving Jacon all of a sudden like this?? Thank you??
- Crazyㅋㅋ I was depressed after Love Over ended its promotions, but they gave a Jacon right away. The blessings of Intro are endless
- At first, I was like, "Oh, it's another reality show, this won't be fun... But I'll watch it anyway because of the kids..." and then suddenly they pulled the aggro ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
- I know it won't be anything special when you actually look at it, but since they said there was a guest, I was curious, and I think I'm going crazy
- Wow, Young-i and Hyun-seung are good at cooking too...? What are these guys, really?
- What on earth did the kids do ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ What's that dialect in the middle ㅋㅋㅋㅋ
I felt relieved and straightened my shoulders at the timeline where ㅋ was running wild.
After checking the messages I just received, I replied and looked at the members. They were still talking about the teaser.
"I'm going to visit the company. Is there anyone who wants to come with me?"
"Company? Why all of a sudden?"
"I have to go to the MD(*goods) meeting and check if the fandom name is confirmed. We're also starting to work on the next album songs."
"Oh my, then me! I want to go too!"
"Me too, me too!"
"I can't take you."
It was a no-no to go all together and make things complicated. The people who were decided through rock-paper-scissors were Ahn Jung-woo and Baek Han-gyul. Ahn Jung-woo seemed to prefer resting at the dorm, but it was unexpected.
"Don't cause trouble, just listen to the results quietly and come back."
"Yeah."
"Yes, I understand!"
After arriving at the company, we headed straight to the conference room. In the conference room, CEO Son Dong-young was sitting with his signature dry smile.
I quickly checked the time, but we weren't late.
"CEO......?"
"Oh, you're here? Come and sit down."
CEO Son Dong-young pointed to the chair politely and spread his palm. It was a signal to not be on guard.
I hid my suspicious eyes and sat down. Then Ahn Jung-woo and Baek Han-gyul sat down one after another.
"I came because I wanted to personally tell you the results of the fandom name."
"Oh my, is that really true?!"
Baek Han-gyul jumped up and down, then sat back down quietly after remembering that the other person was the CEO.
CEO Son Dong-young spoke happily, as if looking at a cute child.
"The fandom name has been decided as Lever (LE'VER)."
"Lever...?"
Hmm.....
I nodded without saying anything. I had written down a few opinions, but they were all eliminated, so it was difficult to say anything.
CEO Son Dong-young, who had been observing me, laughed out loud.
"Haha, oh, sorry, sorry. I thought there were things that even our PD couldn't do. I didn't realize that you are still young because you were so good at everything you did."
"....."
My pride was hurt, but I didn't show it. CEO Son Dong-young, who had been laughing for a while, let out a deep breath while holding back his laughter.
"Should you go to the MD meeting now? I won't be there. Oh, after the meeting, go see Team Leader Lee Ki-ho. He must have had some kind of change in his mind."
"I'll definitely go. Thank you for letting me know."
I nodded, and CEO Son Dong-young's voice echoed above my head.
"You knew that Team Leader Lee would eventually come to our label, right? Thanks to that, my position has become awkward."
"If it was awkward, you should have stopped me earlier."
CEO Son Dong-young laughed in vain at the sly remark. I struck first before he could respond.
"And it won't be a big problem anyway, right? This team leader is a great person, but no company would keep someone who refuses to be transferred, no matter how good he is at his job."
The company has the authority to appoint personnel, but in the case of Team Leader Lee Ki-ho, since the job description including the work location was set in the employment contract when he joined, he could oppose the transfer.
This is a rumor that has been spreading since Team Leader Lee Ki-ho joined, and it is clear that the HR team was unable to force him.
Lime Entertainment's complacent thinking of trying to hold on to him since he is capable and then coax him into changing departments got in the way.
Perhaps that is why Team Leader Lee Ki-ho is currently in a very ambiguous position.
'This is why I decided that I could take Team Leader Lee Ki-ho away.'
Look at him continuing to work in the field even with that level of experience. It is not a good thing to take someone else's talent away, but Team Leader Lee Ki-ho can be seen as special because of this background.
He is capable, but it is difficult to use him as you wish. It would be a waste to give it to someone else, and it would be a headache to keep him.
Team Leader Lee Ki-ho was a great help to the label, including the work of Lee A-ram, who was a trainee. Moreover, he has been showing off his closeness with idols belonging to the label on a regular basis.
How will Lime Entertainment take this?
"As expected, you went to say thank you... You must have done it on purpose, knowing the situation."
"I wasn't sure. Anyway, whatever we do, the decision is up to Team Leader Lee."
Baek Han-gyul gave a refreshing smile and whispered softly to Ahn Jung-woo as if he didn't know what was going on.
"What, what is this conversation about? Team Leader Lee Ki-ho?"
Ahn Jung-woo, who had been observing the situation until now, shook his head and said, "Shhh."
"So Yoo Young is trying to get Team Leader Lee here."
"Wow... This is really bad."
........ I can hear everything, you guys. It was said grandly, but rather than causing trouble, it was about reminding us of Team Leader Lee's position.
'There's nothing bad for Lime Ente and Team Leader Lee Ki-ho.'
There had already been a large-scale movement when the label was separated. This was an indicator of how Lime Ente felt about the label.
That is, Lime Entertainment was able to deal with the headache by transferring personnel between companies (subsidiaries), and as Team Leader Lee Ki-ho........
"Anyway, you worked hard. It must not have been easy to bring Team Leader Lee on board. I can't tell you how much I feel secure having such a smart PD."
"I haven't done anything. And it hasn't been confirmed yet that Team Leader Lee will be joining the management team. I'll listen to the compliments later."
The most important thing in personnel transfers between companies is Team Leader Lee Ki-ho's own will.
And he can only be transferred if he agrees to it.
"Of course. Once it's confirmed, let's have a company dinner together."
I don't like company dinners.
No one among office workers welcomes company dinners.
However, unlike me, Baek Han-gyul looked back and forth between me and CEO Son Dong-young with a face full of anticipation.
"Can I have beef...?"
"Hmm? Of course. Korean beef is fine. Can't I buy that for the employees and artists who support our company?"
"Oh my! CEO, you're the best! Please, please! Let's have a company dinner together!"
"Haha, okay. I promise."
I think I chose the wrong person to bring. I bowed my head until CEO Son Dong-young left the conference room, expressing my condolences to the employees who were dragged out to the dinner.
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