Chapter 199
Unlike the things that make our heads hurt,
Immediately after its release on November 1st, it immediately rose to the top of the Grapefruit chart Hot 100, which is full of music powerhouses, and gave off an unusual vibe.
By the end of the first week of activity, they had broken into the top 10 of the Top 100 chart, showing off their awesome power.
"At this pace, I think we can aim for a top 5 finish next week or the week after."
"That would be nice, but...."
"Um, that's right. I think the timing is a little vague."
Manager Hyung, who was briefing the members in the conference room of the Sigma Entertainment building, scratched his head with an awkward expression.
I knew exactly what part he was talking about.
"We've avoided other idol groups quite well, but we've come across so many solo artists who are strong on the music charts."
"It's exactly as Karis said. You know our album's performance is beyond words, right?"
The members all nodded.
Our second mini album set both a new record and an all-time record by selling 1.88 million copies in its first week.
It has once again set a career high, easily surpassing
Thanks to the overwhelming album performance,
However, since solo artists who are stronger in streaming than in album sales are releasing new songs, we are not able to take home that many trophies on terrestrial TV.
It seemed like we were riding the wave of popularity by winning first place at SBM, the only place we had not received a first place trophy during our
"We're always ahead in terms of album sales and broadcast participation scores, but the problem is this song. Right now, Hwanjo and Plea are lining up on the charts."
"We're a little behind here, that's what you mean."
"It's a shame...."
Yoo Minha rested his chin on both hands and let out a small sigh.
Everyone had high expectations for this album, so they probably wanted to collect even more trophies than they have so far.
But it is still too early to be heartbroken.
I cleared my throat and spoke quietly.
"It's only the second week, and the charts are still on an upward curve. There's a good chance we can turn things around this week and next week, so don't be too discouraged, Min-ha."
"That's right! And since we'd be active for 4 weeks this time, we'll definitely get better scores when we get there."
Kang Si-yoon reacted quickly and livened up the atmosphere by adding lively comments.
He's a friend who often causes trouble, but thanks to his quick wit, he's very good at appeasing his younger brothers in this way.
"Yeah, and there will be pre-recorded YouTube variety shows coming out soon. We can look forward to it."
"I think the sound source is doing really well to this extent."
Chae Eun-gyu nodded and smiled at our manager's words.
"Other idols couldn't even surpass senior Seo Joong-sik, but we made it through in one go."
"Just getting over the Wailing Wall is a great achievement."
"Hehe, that's true!"
Senior Seo Joong-sik, a solo singer whose songs have been out for over a year and are still ranked in the top 20 to 30 on the charts.
It is literally called the 'Wailing Wall' for idols making a comeback.
There is a famous saying among agencies that if you can't surpass senior Seo Joong-sik's songs, it will be difficult to expect first place in that promotion.
While everyone was feeling better little by little, I absentmindedly looked at Song Hyung-bin.
Although he was smiling while listening to the members' stories, his eyes held a slightly dark light.
'He doesn't show it at all during practice or on stage, but sometimes he feels anxious at times like this.'
What Song Hyung-bin experienced recently was extremely shocking.
Not just any ordinary sasaeng, but a sasaeng who had been stalking him since his trainee days.
Moreover, Song Hyung-bin's mind must be very complicated right now, thinking that even his home address might have been hacked.
Sigma Entertainment said they would do everything they could.
If we confirm that the person who sent gifts to Song Hyung-bin is following us again, they will take legal action regardless of the artist's opinion.
They even conveyed that they would be paying close attention to the deployment of personnel in case any damage could occur to his house.
Despite these measures, the sense of not being secure does not easily go away.
Rather, after experiencing something like this once, you will continue to feel wary that a similar situation may occur again someday.
Having encountered countless situations for the first time in my life in
When the assassin I had only seen in games, videos, and texts suddenly came after me, aiming for my neck.
At that time, as it was my first time experiencing an assassination situation, I developed the habit of keeping a close eye on my surroundings for a couple of months and not trusting anyone.
As such, humans are animals that tend to have a very difficult time when they encounter a new situation.
"Okay, then that's all for the briefing. If you have any questions, feel free to ask. There are no additional schedules for today, so you can go back to your dorm and rest. Everyone, thank you for your hard work."
"Yes~!"
As we left the conference room, Kang Si-yoon put his arm around my shoulder and giggled.
"But Karis, you even know the music charts really well? Why do you know them so well?"
"That's something you can figure out naturally if you do a little research."
"I've been saying this for a while now, but I think you speak Korean better than me. So when are you going to take the Korean language proficiency test?"
An idea that Kang Si-yoon suggested whenever my Korean speaking skills were mentioned.
I've been told countless times that I should go take the Korean Language Proficiency Test and film content that proves what my skills really are.
Every time that happened, I would just shrug my shoulders and try to brush it off, but suddenly a few ideas crossed my mind.
"Hmm...."
"Oh, what's up? You're thinking about it quite seriously now?"
"I just had a pretty good idea."
At the time when we were promoting our first album, a producer from a broadcasting station saw me speaking Korean and became very interested in it.
Characteristics of foreigners who speak Korean well, Korean language proficiency test, and broadcasting station PD....
I have a feeling that if I mixed these three things, I'd have some decent content.
'I should tell Manager Hyung about this later.'
* * *
Immediately after Sigma Entertainment posted an announcement regarding Sasaengs, the community heated up with related stories.
In particular, after the announcement was made, news spread that all of the members' daily fan manager activities had stopped, leaving Seleves, who had not yet been able to attend the official broadcast, at a loss.
―No, seriously, did they go around as a group?? Where would they completely eliminate the daily fan sale because some idiot did something? I'm so pissed off, I can't even say anything.
└It seems to be going well
└It seems like the sasaengs just blew it all up, so they got rid of everything ㅠ
└I already got my vacation approved, but seriously, Sigma, kill these bastards.
└If you guys keep doing sasaeng things, I'm going to completely cancel all the events and fan meetings... That's what they're saying... ㅁㅊ
└I'm just a good-natured Seleve who spends all day looking around and playing games. Why the hell do I have to suffer because of those crazy bitches?
└I admit it. I'll give you an up vote.
―They say that now you can't even take pictures with your phone while they are leaving work. They just yell at fans to put their cameras down as soon as they see them…?
└Our Seleste is not like that
└No, I don't know why they don't take legal action. Why don't they just sue? And up until now, cafes and other places have maintained order well.
└Even if you sue them, they won't be properly punished, and most of the time, they'll just settle and show leniency… And since these guys are still new, they might have just posted a notice as a warning.
└No, I won't touch you. I just want to say hello. Haha ㅜㅜ
A situation where innocent regular fans are bound to suffer.
Since the opportunity to see the members up close and even say hello briefly was taken away against their will, the fans' disappointment was bound to be great.
However, since Seleves are well aware of how serious the issues related to sasaengs are in the idol world, they tend to understand and move on to some extent.
Sigma Entertainment's quick response wasn't bad either. There were quite a few fans who said it was okay as long as there was no additional damage to the members.
But contrary to everyone's thoughts and wishes, Seleste's sasaengs had absolutely no intention of quitting.
Rather, they felt a sense of joy at the fact that interest was being shown to them.
In particular, the person who started this incident was very active in posting private tweets and causing a fuss on her own.
—No ㅅㅂ why am I blacklisted? ㅋㅋㅋ
—Song Hyung-bin should be sent to prison for treason. Everyone agrees, right?
—Hyungbin, I saw you for a few seconds at the airport and barely managed to say a word to you, I even woke up early in the morning, did my hair, put on makeup, and chose an outfit…
―I broke my savings and poured all my salary into sending you a gift, and now you're making me a bully…. ㅅㅂ ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
―I want to take back everything, starting with the money I spent on advertising and the cell phone headset.
A problem that can be seen as one of the characteristics of sasaengs.
It was a tweet that made it immediately obvious that the author was unaware that she was invading someone's privacy.
She said that she felt very unfair and that the agency and the idol were doing something wrong.
―That's so unfair. I've been following you since you were a trainee, and now you're acting all cocky just because you debuted? Haha... I guess I was wrong.
└ㅜㅜ Unni, please calm down first…. And Hyungbin didn't blacklist you on purpose; the company must have done it ㅠ He said that he couldn't wear the gift you gave him because he was busy…. And I'll go to the fan signing and keep talking about you ㅜㅜ
└Honestly, those words all sound like excuses… If he could wear them, he would have worn them a long time ago. I even put stickers with my name on each one so no one would get confused ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ He didn't even look at the letter and didn't reply to the PM, so it was proved that he read them
└Nonono Unni, Kang Si-yoon also asked me if the bracelet has a letter put secretly, and I think he saw that. But he said the company wouldn't let them do it.... They must've all read it since you worked so hardㅠ
└ㅠ When is the next fan signing?
└On the 12th!! Send me the details by then so I can tell Hyungbin well ㅠㅜㅡㅠ
But if there is another culture that arises from this dark culture, it is the act of privately criticizing each other.
―Heesoo must have gone crazy? She was blacklisted for pre-recording, and she said that if they were going to blacklist her, they should do it to other fans too….;; she was really loud in the middle of Ilsan
└She should have behaved better than that ꉂꉂ ( ˆᴗˆ )//
└My and her friends, all the Seleves hate her, but she herself doesn't know that fact...
└Heesu's skills are so pathetic... Who sent all the photos and numbers and even wrote names on them? ㅋㅋㅋ F*ck Of course they would find the list and blacklist them right away. She should have just covered everything up and hung around Golden Palace so she wouldn't have been blacklisted. ㅠ tsk
└Huh? That seems like a really clever idea.
Of course, since these tweets never surfaced, no one could have guessed what these crazy sasaengs were up to.
This situation stands in stark contrast to the wishes of those who wish for the members to not suffer any more.
As if all this was fun, the sasaengs started planning something while feeling dopamine and pleasure.
* * *
The activity has entered its second week.
We swept all the first-place trophies on cable music shows that always give favorable judgment to idol groups.
And everyone was slowly recovering from the fear of Song Hyung-bin's stalker.
"Oh my, today was tough too."
"Who wants to shower first?"
"I want to go first!"
It's time to return to the dorm and rest after finishing all of the day's schedule.
I smiled faintly as I watched the members throw on their outerwear and head straight for the sofa or bed, depending on their tastes.
"But since we went out, shouldn't we wash our hands and feet?"
"It's annoying, it's annoying. Hey, you should just lie down. Until Yubin comes out."
"Hmm."
The bathroom in the three-person room was monopolized by Heo Yu-bin first.
I also thought about just following Kang Si-yoon and going straight to bed, but I felt hungry for some reason.
"Siyoon, aren't you hungry?"
"Me? Well, I guess I could eat something if you told me to."
"I don't know if there are any snacks left in the kitchen."
"Oh, there's nothing in the fridge. I've been so busy lately that I haven't had time to go grocery shopping."
"Then I guess I should go to the convenience store sometime."
As I put my padding back on, Kang Si-yoon spun around on the bed and looked up at me.
"I just want one cookie."
"With what?"
"Please give me the popcorn I always eat, Karis."
"Don't be polite and speak only at times like this, Si-yoon. I can see through you."
"Tch. When I say something strange, you always say something, and when I say it properly, you also say something else―."
"Then I'll be back."
"Hey, listen to what I say until the end!"
I mercilessly closed the door and left.
There is a convenience store right in front of the dorm, so it is convenient to go there quickly.
I went out of the dorm wearing the black mask I always wear.
It felt good to go out for a drink alone and breathe in the night air for the first time in a long while.
Perhaps because it was late, the surroundings were quiet and a peaceful atmosphere was felt.
'But it's still cold, so let's hurry up and buy some food and come back.'
At that moment, I was walking towards the crosswalk in front of the convenience store.
My keen hearing picked up the sound of light footsteps approaching from behind.
'Who is it?'
The moment I quickly turned around to confirm the identity, a woman I had never seen before thrust her cell phone at my face.
"Karis~ Hello! I missed you! Where are you going? Convenience store?"
—