Chapter 30

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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 30
Chapter Title: The Competitor's Appearance (2)
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“There are eight members, and their age range seems similar to ours.”

“I thought the age range would be a bit higher since it’s been a while since MYTH debuted a boy group… but it’s not?”

Jeong Seongbin and Lee Cheonghyun spoke one after the other.

MYTH was a major agency, leagues above UA.

As such, MYTH had a massive pool of trainees. They would have had more than enough talent to pick from, even if they only wanted young, skilled members.

It seemed their reputation as a powerhouse of idols wasn't for nothing; even the usually unflappable Park Juwoo looked quite serious.

‘Is this the power of a major label?’

Then again, it was hard for most groups to make a name for themselves in real-time before their debut.

Dozens of idol groups appeared and disappeared within a single year.

It was so bad that sometimes, over a hundred teams would debut in one year alone.

The market was that oversaturated, and a unique aspect of the K-idol scene was the certainty that a generational shift would eventually occur within it.

In a market already rife with fierce competition, a group from a major agency—one that anyone could see had the highest potential to lead the next generation—was about to debut?

‘It’d be weirder not to keep an eye on them.’

Reading the article, I saw that the photos and stage names of the soon-to-debut members had all been revealed.

They were so well-prepared, with profile pictures and everything, that it wouldn't have been strange if they already had a fandom.

‘It’s not like there aren’t agencies that promote their trainees before debut.’

Moreover, a company like MYTH, which had been in the idol business for a long time, had its own distinct identity and values, which also became a marketing tool.

Because of this, they had a strong fandom that followed the company itself, not just a particular group.

In other words, they started with a built-in base of fans who would support ‘any idol that continues the MYTH legacy.’

Judging by the atmosphere, it seemed everyone had figured that much out.

Their quick-wittedness wasn't bad, considering no one was saying anything naive like, ‘I’m so jealous they’re debuting from a major agency!’

I scrolled down the article and said.

“Well, we’ve already lost in terms of numbers.”

“What?”

“It says they have eight members.”

The ‘one of them has to be your type’ strategy was their victory. The risks of managing that many people were their problem, so I set that aside.

“So how are we going to win?”

“Win…?”

“If we’ve lost in headcount, we need to find another way. If we competed on height, our team, with Choi Jeho, would probably win.”

After committing the article's contents to memory, I closed the browser window.

“I know what you’re worried about, and I get that it’s a realistically very important issue.”

“…”

“But let’s not get discouraged before we’ve even competed.”

I, too, believed in setting realistic goals, but considering that about half the members were feeling their self-esteem drop, I changed course to boosting morale through warm encouragement.

“You need to think about winning to feel motivated to do anything.”

“That’s true. Hyung, should we come up with some personal talents, then? If we each practice three, we could even do a personal talent medley!”

“I don’t think overwhelming them with quantity is a good method. If they practice three each, Parte will come out with twenty-four personal talents, won’t they?”

“Gasp, you’re right!”

“Why did the conversation go there…?”

Choi Jeho, who had been watching the back-and-forth between me and Lee Cheonghyun, wore a dubious expression.

I was merely reviewing the members’ opinions from a very objective standpoint; I couldn’t understand why he looked so puzzled.

“The best method, in my opinion, is to improve our skills. If you have skills, you’ll always have a fighting chance, one way or another.”

I knew all too well how those skills had protected Spark for seven years as they weathered storms of controversy.

If a moment ever came when Spark needed to focus on something, they would probably have to choose their skills until the very end.

And the next most important thing after skills is the title of ‘scandal-free clean zone.’

Well, talking about that now would be a waste of breath, so I’d work on instilling that discipline gradually.

“Anyone have any objections?”

Since it was a group activity, I figured I should at least hear their opinions, but there were no disagreements.

“Alright then, to win not just the tallest member award but also the average height award, everyone go to sleep. Wake up early tomorrow and improve your skills…”

…I trailed off as a chill ran down my spine.

Something felt ominous. I had a very bad feeling.

It was like when Department Head Nam doesn't tell you the meeting time changed, so you show up at the conference room at 4:00 only to find it started at 3:30…

‘The monthly calendar!’

I hastily pulled out the hologram calendar I had long forgotten about since the debut date was moved up.

Today’s date was marked with ‘Parte Debut Plan Revealed,’ and tomorrow’s date was…

[Release Press Materials Announcing (???)’s Debut Lineup]

There it was, the ‘press material release’ schedule—the very one that, in the past, had been distributed two years before their debut, drawing all sorts of unwanted attention and leaving them with no hype left when they actually needed it.

My god.

I should have assumed this issue would also be moved up. I had been too complacent.

Had my discipline slackened in Department Head Nam’s absence? If so, I needed to overhaul my mindset.

“Hyung! The manager says they’re releasing our debut press materials tomorrow too!”

“Tell him to stop it immediately.”

“What?”

“Tell him I’d rather hold up a banner that says ‘Congratulations on UA’s First Idol’ at our debut!”

* * *

After that, we wasted about an hour communicating with our manager through a PC messenger.

Manager Chanyoung

[Why? You’ll get way more articles when you debut ^^ If you’re already getting shy about this stuff, what are you going to do later? lol]

The manager had interpreted our opinion that the press release was too early as the kind of humility a wise man shows.

I was so frustrated I was about to fall over backward, but Park Juwoo caught me. It was a sight to behold, one that could bring a tear to your eye.

I thought I’d earned a first-class certificate in ‘keeping your mouth shut when you lack seniority,’ but I was sorely mistaken.

If I let this situation pass, I knew I’d be kicking myself right before our debut. I couldn't stay silent in a situation like this.

Me

[Manager-nim, I’m offering my opinion very cautiously, but if our debut schedule isn’t firmly set, wouldn’t a press release be premature? In Parte’s case, they’re scheduled to debut next month, so…

See More]

[Manager-nim, I thought some supporting data might be necessary, so I’ve compiled a report on the promotional articles and debut schedules of groups that debuted in the last year. I couldn’t conduct a full survey due to time constraints, but as a sample survey…

See More]

[20XX_Group_Debut_Marketing_Article_Sample_Survey.png]

Manager Chanyoung

[I’ll talk to the company…!]

In the midst of all that, I still didn’t have Webcell installed, so I had to work on a shared sheet that I could access online and send a screenshot.

The work environment was just too poor. I should have asked for a program license while I was at it.

“So you stayed up all night waiting for a reply?”

“Yeah. They decided not to release the press materials.”

“You’re really something else.”

Something else?

If the company had insisted on distributing the materials, they would have seen what ‘something else’ really looked like. It was a shame.

I had been prepared to stand next to the person-in-charge’s desk for two hours if necessary, just like I used to when I needed Department Head Nam’s approval.

“If I can save our impact by pulling one all-nighter, it’s not a bad trade.”

“You ruthless bastard.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment on my strong survival skills.”

Everything turned out as I wanted, so in the end, it was perfect.

Incidentally, a hidden task also popped up. This damn system.

+

[SYSTEM] ‘Hidden Task (Block the Press Release)’ has been completed.

▷ Reward: EXP (5)

▷ Accumulated EXP: 65

▷ Accumulated Points: 0

+

It seemed that stopping the press release at all costs had been the right move.

Honestly, shouldn’t the system just tell me these things? Even if I had two hearts, they both would have dropped.

Especially since this was a task directly related to achieving my KPI. Was this a joke?

Besides, I’m a man of weak constitution, so I don’t handle these sudden events well. They should show some consideration for a jaded office worker.

Following the example of Kang Giyeon, the king of self-management, I mechanically chewed on a piece of plain bread without even a spoonful of jam and spoke to Choi Jeho.

“You and Juwoo head to the practice room first.”

“Why?”

“There’s somewhere I need to stop by.”

Today, I had to go to the Artist Management Team.

Since I didn’t know what UA might pull next, I needed to make the first move.

As Assistant Manager Kim Iwol’s… no, Intern Kim Iwol’s first project.

Of course, considering my narrow perspective, which knew of no idols besides Spark, I had it checked by an expert beforehand.

‘A concept?’

‘Yeah. It’s something I’ve been organizing on my own, and I thought it would go well with Cheonghyun’s song.’

‘What kind of concept is it?’

‘I picked something that I thought would suit you guys well.’

‘A realistic youth drama…?’

Jeong Seongbin wore a dubious expression.

It was understandable. In the past, Spark had debuted with a traditional youth concept and had nearly faded away without a trace.

It seemed they were well aware of their own visuals. None of them really had the face for a ‘youth’ concept.

However, my primary goal was to deceive the eyes of UA, which insisted on a traditional idol concept, and push my own.

To do that, it was best to slightly alter Spark’s original debut concept.

Fortunately, my idea was judged to be a bit classic but potentially good depending on how the details were handled.

‘Given the nature of the task, I should probably go to the Planning Team… but I should go to Jukyung first, right?’

The only ways for a trainee to communicate with the company were through the manager or Min Jukyung.

I was afraid that bypassing this would make me look like I was ignoring the chain of command, so I decided to follow the proper procedure for now.

I’d heard ‘you’re crossing the line’ from Department Head Nam five times a week, and that was enough.

The one silver lining was that UA viewed a trainee’s proactive attitude favorably.

Thankfully, Min Jukyung listened to my bold proposal without any sign of annoyance. She was a wonderful talent, the likes of which you rarely see in this day and age. I could only hope UA was paying her a generous salary.

Min Jukyung said as she flipped through the proposal I had printed out.

“You’ve come up with a plan?”

“Yes. But I wasn’t sure who I should ask for advice.”

“Usually, you’d go to the Production Division. The Planning Team and the Album Production Team are both there. But well… I have a meeting with the CEO this week, so I can present it to him then!”

The speed at which the proposal was moving up was also extraordinary. So UA really was a small-to-medium-sized company.

“How did you think of making something like this?”

“I just wanted to try and do something.”

“I’m not on the planning side, so I don’t know the details, but it looks like you’ve got all the basics covered. You must have worked hard.”

I had followed the format of UA's concept proposal template for all the basic items; it would have been a problem if it *didn't* look like it had the basics covered.

Still, since I couldn’t exactly say, ‘Because I got my hands on some valuable documents,’ I decided to just offer a quick greeting and leave.

“I’ll be counting on you.”

“Okay. Good luck with your practice.”

Fortunately, Min Jukyung, a busy modern professional, didn’t hold me back any longer. Thanks to her, my morning’s planned business report went off without a hitch.

After that, it was the usual routine of practice.

“Sorry to interrupt your practice, but Iwol, can you come out for a moment?”

That is, until Min Jukyung called me out right after lunch break.