Chapter 122
"I suddenly had a good idea!"
"Huh?"
There is one day left until the first recruitment for Seleste's official fan club, Seleve.
After finishing all our schedules and returning to our dorm, we gathered in the living room and discussed the schedule for our debut commemorative café.
Suddenly, Yoo Min-ha raised his hand and smiled ominously.
"Haha, I find it a bit scary when Min-ha laughs like that now."
"Eun-gyu hyung, you're starting to realize it now. Do you know how scared I was? "
"Why, what happened? "
Song Hyung-bin, who was sharing the same room with Yoo Min-ha and Kang Si-yoon, trembled with exaggerated gestures on purpose.
"He made me watch basketball anime all the time before I fell asleep. After I finished watching the anime, he said he wanted to buy the comics and put them on display in our dorm. He said he liked that too, so he told me that we should definitely go to the domestic exhibition that will open later."
"Isn't that a good cultural life?"
"While we're at it, Eun-gyu Hyung, can we switch rooms? "
"I will decline that! "
"Uh?"
Chae Eun-gyu suddenly got rejected by Yoo Min-ha without even saying a word.
The reason was simple.
"If you can't organize your clothes, you'll never be able to share a room with me! "
"What if we randomly decide on a roommate later? If Eun-gyu Hyung is Min-ha's roommate, he will die."
"If that's the case, then there's nothing we can do. We have no choice but to train Eun-gyu Hyung-nim."
"Tra, training? "
The story was suddenly drifting in a strange direction.
I was reading tips on how to make a delicious Americano on my phone, and I cleared my throat to change the topic.
"Min-ha, didn't you have something to say? Tell me quickly what your good idea is."
"That's right! You know what one thing Koreans hate the most? "
"What is it? "
"The first is when a person suddenly stops talking in the middle of the conversation...."
As Heo Yu-bin became silent, Yoo Min-ha tilted his head.
"Why don't you say more? "
"...."
"Oh, you mean you hate being interrupted the most?"
"Okay, okay! So, Min-ha, please, what was your good idea? "
"Ah! That's right."
With Kang Si-yoon's re-intervention, Yoo Min-ha was finally able to express his ideas.
"We had a lot of live broadcast viewers back then."
Everyone nodded.
The number I checked in real time was 70,000, but when the broadcast ended, our manager said that the peak number of viewers had gone up to 90,000.
"I think there will definitely be a lot of people who will join the official fan club, so I thought it would be nice to hold an event or something like that later as a way to show our appreciation."
"Isn't there already a kit sent when they join the fan club?"
"Aside from that, we will randomly draw winners at the official cafe! "
Yoo Minha clenched his fists, his eyes sparkling.
Seeing his passion run wild, I felt like there would be steam coming out of his nose.
"For example, if Karis Hyung-nim leaves a post on the public forum, one of the Seleve who commented on it would be chosen, and a special gift would be sent to them! "
"Oh, something like a Polaroid? "
"Yes! If such a surprise event were to be held in the public cafe, it would naturally be promoted, and more people would use the cafe."
I nodded after listening to Yoo Min-ha.
Certainly, it's a good idea to take advantage of the surprise.
If such an event is held, the number of Seleve visiting the official cafe will naturally increase.
"It sounds like a good idea."
"Hearing Min-ha's words, something occurred to me."
Song Hyung-bin looked closely at the plan for the debut commemorative event cafe.
"There are MD items in the souvenir shop here. They are a lot more expensive than I thought."
[MD = merchandise; postcard]
"Yes, I was surprised because some of them were much more expensive than I thought."
"Yeah. So I thought it would be nice to have a promotion like that, where people who spend over a certain amount get a special gift."
If you purchase over a certain amount, you will receive a special gift.
For Seleves who will spend money, this means that they get a 100% additional reward.
If there is certainty, it will naturally feel like the money they spent is not going to go to waste.
If that happens, the phenomenon of final sales increasing will be created.
"I think it would be good if it wasn't too ambiguous. We are giving it out as a special reward, but if it doesn't meet the fans' expectations, it could backfire."
"I thought the Polaroid photos we were talking about earlier would be the best. They're different from regular album photo cards, and they're also photos we took ourselves."
"It would be great if we could even sign there."
As Chae Eun-gyu added, the pinnacle of idol goods, the signed Polaroid, was completed.
There is probably no one among the members who does not know how much signed Polaroids are valued by fans.
Kang Si-yoon also nodded while looking at the event plan for the debut commemorative cafe.
"I think it's a good idea. Signed Polaroids are only given out on special occasions, right? Since the debut anniversary café event is a once-in-a-lifetime event, I think it's a good idea to give it to them to commemorate that."
"Because it's our first debut."
It was concluded that special items would be provided through the official cafe guerrilla event and the commemorative cafe MD shop.
Now the only thing left to do is decide which Polaroid to take and give.
"How about using the event cafe this time? Making coffee and cake like this is something I will probably never do again."
"Then, should we go to a cooking class and wear an apron and take pictures?"
"Hahaha! Can I take a picture wearing a baker's hat? "
"If you want to push forward with a funny concept, I won't stop you, Siyoon."
"Karis, let's take a picture wearing a hat together."
"I refuse."
"Can't you at least pretend to agree? "
"No."
In a short period of time, many things were going smoothly.
In the morning, we listen to the progress of the debut song and slowly prepare for the schedule.
In the afternoon, we take a cooking class or have time to discuss if there is anything else we can do at the cafe to celebrate our debut.
After finishing the intense survival game, everyone was probably tired, but no one showed any sign of being tired, and they happily worked on the task.
I suddenly raised my head as I remembered someone who was not in the living room.
As expected, he was still repeating the same task in the kitchen.
"I'll go to the kitchen for a moment."
"Oh, are you checking Yoon-chul? "
"Yes."
While we were discussing in the living room, Ji Yoon-chul was quietly making a tiramisu cake alone in the kitchen.
He chose the most difficult menu, so he has been practicing steadily at our dorm whenever he has time.
Today seemed to be the day of decoration practice, a time he had a particularly hard time with.
"Yoon-chul. How are things going? "
"... I want to tell a lie."
"So you're saying things aren't going well? "
"Yes."
Ji Yoon-chul looked down at the plate with a gloomy expression.
The flower-shaped decoration that was supposed to go on top of the tiramisu cake had been reduced to an unrecognizable lump of whipped cream.
It seems like he's having trouble handling the pouch.
"... I don't know how to deal with this without a teacher."
"If it's too difficult, I can help you on the day of the cafe."
"No."
Ji Yoon-chul, who always answered slowly, cut me off abruptly.
His eyes were filled with determination.
"Since it's my choice, I want to do it as much as I can on my own. If I get help from Karis Hyung here... I think I'll feel so sorry for the fans."
It was an answer that allowed us to see Ji Yoon-chul's mental strength.
Even though he is the youngest among us, he always tries to do his best at whatever he is assigned to do.
'He may seem blunt on the outside, but he really thinks of his fans and has a great sense of responsibility for the work he does.'
I nodded slowly.
"Don't push yourself too hard, Yoon-chul. There's still plenty of time left."
"...Yes."
"Let's watch a video on how to use a zip-lock bag before we go to bed today."
"Great."
* * *
On the day we were scheduled to attend the cooking class, Manager Hyung laughed out loud as he gave each of us a Polaroid camera.
"Have you been thinking about what kind of event you guys would like to do together all night long? "
"Of course!"
"As we talked about how we could make the fans happy, various ideas naturally came to mind."
Manager Hyung praised us, saying it was funny and great that we did what the people at our agency should have done.
He said that he would prepare about 10 Polaroid photos per person.
One for the official cafe event, and one for the MD shop event.
I squinted slightly as I fiddled with the Polaroid camera.
'I've never taken a picture like this before, so I don't know how to take a good picture.'
It felt different from a cell phone selfie.
While I was staring at the camera for a while, Kang Si-yoon tapped me on the shoulder.
"Hey, how about it? "
As declared at the dorm, Kang Si-yoon really did wear a white baker's hat.
One thing that pisses me off is that, surprisingly, the baker's hat suits him well.
Kang Si-yoon's refreshing facial features were better revealed when his bangs were neatly tied up.
"... Not bad."
"Don't say that in tsundere way. Just say that I look good."
"My pride won't allow me to do that."
"You spicy guy. Take a picture of me to see how I look. I'll take a picture of you."
As he spoke to me, Kang Si-yoon just took a picture of me without any particular reason.
He held the Polaroid up to the light and waited for the results.
Kang Si-yoon snorted after checking my photo.
"Oh, it's so unfair. Oh, it's so unfair."
"Why are you suddenly saying that? "
"Some people have to try to look good from every angle, but others just take random shots and they come out like a pictorial. The world is so unfair, I can't live with it! "
"Is it okay to take pictures like this, just like Siyoon took them? "
"Oh, if it's your first time using a Polaroid, it might be a little difficult."
First, I took a picture of Kang Si-yoon striking a pose.
I'm curious to see how the first Polaroid photo I took turned out.
After waiting for about a minute,.
"... You're surprisingly bad at taking pictures."
"I clearly said that it was my first time taking pictures."
"No, but still, can't you level it up?"
"My hands were just shaking a little."
"Oh, I'm screwed. If I don't get a picture today, it's Karis' fault. You took good pictures as a model, but as a photographer, you're a dud."
"Siyoon's face is like that, which is why it looks like that, so how can it be my fault? "
"You insolent bastard. I'll sew your mouth shut."
* * *
The recruitment period for Seleste's official fan club, Seleve 1, has ended.
Those who succeeded in joining the fan club by taking the last train witnessed an announcement posted the next morning.
[Notice on recruiting participants for the Seleste Debut Commemorative Event Cafe]
A huge piece of news has emerged that will make every Seleve's eyes pop out.
-