"Did you pick the kids up?"
"Yes, we’re moving right now!"
"Today’s radio is live, so you can’t be late. Feed them in the car."
"If Sion gives them kimbap again today, I think it’ll be chaos···."
"If it has tuna in it, it’ll be fine."
Sanghyeok watched the scene of the bustling office for a mont.
Raon, who never took the phone away from the side of her face whenever he saw her today, was compulsively checking Iam’s schedule and coordinating other appointnts.
"Special MC for next week’s stage? Just a mont. I’ll report it right away and call you back."
"I’ll send you the form regarding the advertisent inquiry. I’ll respond as soon as I get a reply."
"An interview before the appearance? Yes, then, I think tomorrow between 12 and 3 should be possible—would that ti work for you?"
Not just Raon—every employee at KJ Entertainnt was working hard enough to have sweat on their hands and feet to support Iam’s activities.
'This really is one extre to the other.'
During the rest period, it was so leisurely that there were more than enough employees who ca to work, drank coffee, and chatted, but the mont promotions started, it got this busy. Sanghyeok wondered if the entertainnt business was just like this, but—
- We’re a special case. Normally you have to support the agency artists’ promotions in rotation.
Hearing Raon’s explanation, the answer ca back that it was just because KJ Entertainnt was a typical small-to-mid agency with only one group.
And Raon even added that, normally, as a small company, it would be normal not to be that busy even during a promotion period.
That was right. Even though KJ Entertainnt only had one idol group, starting with the employees, the overall scale absolutely wasn’t small.
And yet the reason it was this busy was because Iam had hit it big.
In fact, Iam’s results right now weren’t even enough to be covered by the phrase “hit it big.”
[Iam’s new song DON’T BLINK hits No. 1 on the audio chart!]
Last promotion, the audio chart had only reached a peak rank of 3rd, but this new song hit a peak rank of 3rd on the first day, then after music shows it hit 1st, and it didn’t look like it had any intention of coming down from the top.
And that wasn’t all. Album sales had already sailed past 90,000 in preorders alone, and for first-week sales—the first-week record that logs sales over the seven days after release—it set a brand-new girl group first-week sales record at 150,000.
'Is this why they call the entertainnt business gambling?'
- Out of the idol groups that debut in a year, less than 10% survive to three years later? Then we just have to be in that 10%!
With a mindset of “as long as it’s not ,” countless new agencies poured in, certain that their own idol would survive.
And among them, the agencies that survived made high profits and once again dragged new agencies into the swamp of this antlion pit—the idol world.
Now, KJ Entertainnt had beco that main character.
Since the new song release, event booking calls and advertisent booking calls were coming into the company nonstop.
It felt like they could recoup the production costs that went into this coback with album sales alone, and yet money-making opportunities kept pouring in.
If it really kept going like this, Sanghyeok was imagining happily that even next year, even if they included the initial investnt costs, it wouldn’t be a loss.
Because of that, even KJ dia, the parent company, called with an encouragent call in a completely different voice from when he’d asked for production budget support in the past, saying they believed in them.
'It’s awkward to help, too.'
Separately from all that, Sanghyeok had been fairly busy handling various company tasks before promotions started, but once promotions started, the CEO had nothing to do, which felt frustrating.
Even if he wanted to help, the work was all specialized work he couldn’t do in soone else’s place, and it was obvious he’d just get in the way, so all he could do was watch.
'Ah, co to think of it.'
Watching the busy employees for a mont, Sanghyeok suddenly realized that today was the day Iam’s YouTube self-produced content went up, so Sanghyeok returned to his office, sat down at his desk,
and when he went to Iam’s YouTube channel—saved in his bookmarks—and clicked the newest video,
'It already has this many views?'
Even though it couldn’t have been up for long, it already had tens of thousands of views.
And the top comnt caught Sanghyeok’s eye.
↳Is this an idol?
Sanghyeok couldn’t refute it.
***
[Typical girl idol hand skills on this peninsula]
(A scene of Lee Sion smiling like it’s nothing and handing Raon a card)
↳This is insane lol how did Lee Sion even think to swap the card?
↳Hey! It wasn’t swapping, Lee Sion said in an interview it was a mistake
↳For real, it was just a small mistake. Sion, next ti be careful when you steal
↳Was Raon always that kind of character? lol this is hilarious, after talking to Lee Sion on the phone the face turned red and never ca back
↳If it were , if my agency idol threatened holding the company card, I’d be like that too
↳No, if it’s going to be like this just go on X Running Man lmao
Iam’s self-produced content was popular to begin with, but the videos uploaded this ti had especially high public interest.
Starting with “Iam’s New York Big Commotion,” planned and uploaded as two parts, and even fan content that included music video filming behind-the-scenes and the guerrilla performance footage.
Even though three videos were uploaded at the sa ti, all of them had views going completely wild.
And that was because—
- KJ, release the U.S. guerrilla performance footage!
A low-quality stage video full of hand shake that one audience mber in the U.S. fild on a smartphone had ridden the algorithm on YouTube and blown up, so there were a lot of people who wanted to see the original.
And as if answering those people’s wishes, KJ Entertainnt’s content team stayed up all night editing, and thankfully uploaded the videos along with Iam’s coback without being late, and the response was explosive.
[I got actual chills at the end]
(A scene where Lee Sion gets grabbed by Raon and smacked on the back)
「They said the crazy company card was just being held?
This isn’t a script?
How can Lee Sion fool everyone?」
↳Lee Sion does it
↳Even while watching the video, even if it was a prank, I kept thinking, can you really use the company card that recklessly lol
↳When Lee Sion pulled the company card out of the chest area, Raon and the content team’s faces were hilarious
↳Looks like the mbers didn’t know either, except Seo Ryujin
↳Just, Lee Sion, this bastard can act. Lee Sion should beco an actor
↳At the end, riding in the sa car with Raon and whining the whole ti about getting hit, honestly I was cheering for Raon
[The person who needs to be reevaluated at this point]
(A image of Lee Sion’s mother attending the Agbaek Final Round concert)
「Raised Lee Sion for 19 years」
↳There isn’t anyone still slandering Madam Sukja, right?
↳No but why do people call Sion’s mom Madam Sukja?
↳Lee Sion said “Madam Sukja” in an interview
↳Crazy bitch...
↳If only, when she got misunderstood as a mom obsessed with studying at first, how unfair that must’ve felt
↳I still rember Lee Sion shalessly lying at the Agbaek Entrance Ceremony saying Lee Sion had only been studying
↳Only studied (while beating up 7 delinquents)
Maybe because the contents of the released videos were so shocking, they were already getting passed around as images all over all kinds of communities.
Starting with people pasting Lee Sion and Raon’s faces onto a cops-and-robbers photo,
[Typical girl idol mindset]
(A scene of Lee Sion being interviewed by the content team)
「- When did you swap it?
- Please say it wasn’t swapping, it was a mistake.
- ···Then, when did you make the mistake?
- What is that look?! It really was a mistake! This ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) is unfair, unfair!」
↳The way of thinking itself is different from ours
↳???: Why do we have to go find you? You co to us
↳(shaking the company card)
↳Hey, there’s a nice expression like “relocation,” and you’re calling it swapping
↳Is the production team a Wei fanboy**?
↳Aren’t Shu fan** bastards shaless by default?
The video of Lee Sion’s quick hand skills (it took the content team two days to notice) was drawing huge attention.
Of course, the video that captured the guerrilla performance stage that made Iam’s New York trip a big topic also drew huge attention.
- I’m Zionist!
↳Uh... it’s S, not Z
↳Seriously, what bastard nad the fan cafe Zionism
↳Honestly it rolls right off the tongue though
↳If they hadn’t changed it to Sionism, KJ Entertainnt would’ve gone under a long ti ago
↳Let’s all be Yours!
There were so many foreign-language comnts in particular that KJ Entertainnt even held an ergency eting about whether they needed to seriously target an overseas fandom.
And then—
"This is a problem our pride is on the line for."
"Yes!"
"We will make this content succeed no matter what."
Those reactions woke KJ Entertainnt’s content team up.
The KJ Entertainnt content team, made up of a total of seven people including Team Lead Lee Hakyoon, had recently been suffering humiliation after humiliation.
[If you think the content team is coasting, please upvote]
「Not once has it ever gone according to the content lol
Every ti it ends, Lee Sion and the mbers just do everything on their own
All you have to do is carry a cara and go around filming the kids
Honestly the content team has it sweet, agreed?」
↳Mom! When I grow up I want to be KJ Entertainnt’s content team!
↳If you can’t be funny with Lee Sion, isn’t that your problem?
↳These days the other mbers feel even worse than Lee Sion
↳That’s a bit...
↳Even the CEO and producer are funny, honestly it’s a sweet gig
'This is unfair, unfair!'
When Hakyoon rembered the community post Hakyoon had read, the words Lee Sion had said during the interview ca to mind on their own.
From before, people had kept saying that Lee Sion was a cheat key and that Iam’s in-house content was basically powered by Lee Sion.
- But isn’t that true?
Honestly, from the content team’s writers to the caran to the editing staff, everyone agreed with that, so they admitted it was a sweet gig without resistance.
But Hakyoon was different.
"We can’t just take this lying down!"
Hakyoon, who joined KJ Entertainnt’s content team with Park Hyungsoo’s recomndation from MPlay, had been full of enthusiasm at first.
At first, Hakyoon had planned to film cute content that fans liked like other idols, and make a variety of content that could show off the mbers’ charms.
But the opponent was Iam.
They were clearly doing reaction content, then suddenly they fought among themselves and it turned into a chicken-leg fight.
They told them to make chocolate, and the usually calm Seo Ryujin’s eyes flipped and it transford into a disgusting-food content.
They were filming Lee Gahyeon’s extre part-ti job, and then Lee Sion barged in, and it beca a dealing-with-a-nightmare-custor content.
And this ti, the New York content that the content team had spent three whole days in etings to make, they got dragged around properly by just Lee Sion.
Of course, up to now, Hakyoon had been letting it slide while feeling sothing was off, thinking that as long as it was fun, that was all that mattered.
But—
"Just once··· just once, I want to see Lee Sion get startled···."
"Team Lead···!"
Hakyoon wanted, just once, to make Lee Sion—who had been utterly destroying their content like it was none of Lee Sion’s business—run according to the plan even one ti.
The taming of Lee Sion that even the ratings demon Kim Miyoung, and Park Hyungsoo, the demon of capitalism who followed after, had failed at.
"This ti it’ll work for sure!"
"That’s right, Team Lead! This ti, no matter how much it’s Sion, Sion won’t be able to escape!"
"We need to make the mbers realize that we have writers, and we have a script!"
So, taking advantage of the one rest day they had during this week’s promotions, Hakyoon and the content team prepared their decisive plan.
"Lee Sion, this is your first ti with the military, right?"
A Marine Corps camp content.
***
"Nice weather."
"We’ve only been promoting for a week, but it feels like it’s twice as hard as last promotions."
In a cool car with the air conditioner on, looking at the scenery outside through the window was a true luxury.
After the coback, running around like crazy between music shows, radio, and variety programs, and the mbers promoted without even sleeping properly, without even eating properly.
- Stop with the kimbap! Please, at!!!
- It’s dawn, this is the best we can do. How are we supposed to eat at in the car at this hour?
At first I ate it happily, but if you spend a whole week eating kimbap in the car in a half-asleep haze, you can feel the coup gauge filling up without realizing it.
Still, it seed like the company didn’t have absolutely zero conscience.
"It’s our one rest day, but I didn’t expect we’d film beach water-play content."
"If we had schedules even through today, we might’ve collapsed!"
"Don’t throw Lee Sion into the water today!"
"That’s right, Sion! Why do you try to throw people in every ti you see water!"
Saying we must be tired from promotions, the content team planned in-house content for us where we’d eat sothing tasty and rest while playing various mini-gas at the beach.
'Should I start with throwing Ryu Ayeon in, and Lee Gahyeon, maybe?'
Maybe because they were excited about a rest day after a long ti, the mbers were chattering about what we’d eat for lunch and what gas we’d play once we got there.
Among them, Lee Gahyeon and Yuri rembered throwing them into the sea during the last competition trip content and warned in advance not to do it this ti, but—
Unfortunately, I couldn’t listen to that.
- It’s true it’s content with a “rest” vibe, but we can’t just play around, so Sion, at the sea··· you know, right?
- Request received.
Because after the New York incident, the content team had completely given up on controlling , and beforehand, only told today’s schedule and asked to cooperate.
It was just a light request anyway—at most, grab a few people and throw them into the sea, or steal the at side dishes during lunch and run—so I accepted without hesitation.
And lately, the mbers haven’t been feeling how precious I am, so there was a need to plant a sense of caution into them again.
"Oh! The sea!"
While I was thinking in my head about how to throw Ryu Ayeon into the sea, Yunkyung’s voice rang out, and when I looked out the window, the sea really was visible.
"Wow, there’s mudflats too."
"Can we dig up clams there?"
"The sea is pretty!"
Maybe this was our destination, because the car left the main road and headed toward a parking lot that looked near the beach.
'What’s that building?'
But strangely, for sothing on a beach, it didn’t look like a cafe, and an extrely eyesore-looking building caught my eye, and it annoyed for so reason.
"We’ve arrived! You can get out now."
Before I could think about it any deeper, the content team urged us to hurry and get out of the car.
**Wei and Shu are two of the “Three Kingdoms” states; “Wei fanboy” / “Shu fan” ans a biased partisan in Three Kingdoms talk.
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