/
[Nugu Idol Tycoon is doing its best to avoid spoilers ^^]
“Ha…”
“Hoyoon-ah, we’re here.”
“Ah, yes.”
I followed the manager to the company. Whether we had a showcase or entered the chart, it was still an old building.
The manager continued to speak from next to me.
“Don’t worry too much. About meeting the president, I mean. I don’t think it’s a bad thing.”
The manager kept worrying about me. This guy, just looking at him, he was so pure
“The performance chart this time was very good, maybe he’s trying to give you a push?”
…The problem was, he was too optimistic.
I followed him into the president’s office with a smirk. The president was talking to someone on the phone, and when our eyes met, he smiled broadly as if he saw ‘rolling money’.
‘Is this what disgust feels like?’
“Oh, Hoyoon, you’re here?”
“Hello, president.”
“Wait a minute, I’ll get back to you. Ah yes, yes, sorry. Seo Hoyoon from The Dawn is here right now.”
Aren’t you smiling too much? Selling my name…
Feeling strangely uneasy, I slowly glanced at him.
‘Is it casting?’
The manager sat next to me and dropped his legs more nervously.
“H-H-Hoyoon-ah. Do you want some water?”
“…Manager, calm down.”
Maybe the manager was more worried than I was.
After waiting for a while, the president said yes, yes, and hung up. Then he looked at me with delight.
“Our Hoyoon, wasn’t it hard coming here?”
‘Our Hoyoon?’
“I was fine thanks to the president’s consideration. The manager took great care of me.”
“Hahaha! You’re still eloquent.”
To calm down the manager, I stealthily praised him in front of the CEO. The president seemed to be in a very good mood and he buried himself on the sofa lying across from me with a smile.
“I heard you entered the chart.”
“Yes, I was lucky.”
“You guys were really lucky this time. You have a good song, a good plan… And you entered the chart too. Among them, the best one is you, Hoyoon.”
“Hahaha.”
‘Quickly get to the point.’
I laughed like a robot.
“You don’t have to think about penalty fees anymore.”
“Yes, thank you.”
Even though he openly gave out compliments in front of me, I didn’t trust him. You know, life isn’t always that easy.
The president and I, hiding our inner thoughts, continued our conversation only with smiles.
“President, did something good happen today?”
“Oh, is it obvious?”
“Yes.”
“…”
“Very much so.”
To be honest, the manager was sweating profusely, but the president only laughed.
“I have two pieces of news for you. Originally, it would have been better if l called all the Dawn members, but—”
Neither of which would be a bad thing.
“First, your dorm has been set.”
“….”
I hardened. Originally, the kids’ debut was a year ago, so it should have been done at that time.
“You don’t have to struggle going back and forth anymore. In particular, Yichae said that it was difficult to live alone because he was far away from home, so I was worried.”
‘You didn’t care.’
“Dajoon is also a minor… After a lot of consideration, we decided to arrange a dorm.”
‘Hey, you didn’t care.’
“That’s a good thing. Thank you for your consideration.”
I answered automatically. When I recalled Jung Dajoon suffering from his red ankles, the president smiling in front of me looked even more pathetic.
But it wasn’t something I didn’t understand. I bet he didn’t even have the money to provide a dorm.
“At the same time, I talked to the planning team, and we decided to film the behind-the-scenes of the dorm and upload it on NewTube. You can go to the dorm right away starting today.”
“Wow, Hoyoon-ah, this is great!”
The manager clapped with joy. At the same time, my expression was calm. No, rather, I was disappointed.
‘I thought it was a casting.’
“Yes, I understand. I’ll tell the members separately, too.”
“Yes, please. Hoyoon is so reliable.”
Is this the end?
It didn’t matter because the behind-the-scenes of the music video shooting would be released gradually anyway.
The planning team worked hard, but the president butted in and made it sound as if he cared.
Well, it wasn’t a bad idea. I asked with a shrug.
“Is that it?”
“Aigoo, Hoyoon-ah. Don’t be impatient.”
The president smiled and tapped his phone.
“You’re invited to an entertainment show.”
“Entertainment show?!”
The manager spilled the water in his mouth. It was a scene that reminded me of the spilling orange juice video [1] .
“Ah, ugh, I’m sorry.”
“Manager, here.”
“Our kids are already doing entertainment shows…?”
The eyes of the surprised manager moistened. I pulled out the tissue from the table and threw it toward him.
“T-Thank you. Hoyoon-ah.”
“Yes.”
The manager sniffled, but my interest was completely directed to the president.
“What kind of variety show is it?”
Weekly Star, something like that was fine. We should be able to create some memes.
Entertainment, how many stars can rise with that? Entertainment was the realm of gods that could suddenly burn and wasted away your obscurity. It was also why I was in the entertainment department.
Weekly Star? Or a behind-the-scene shot? It wouldn’t be a popular ground-breaking broadcast, so it was probably a cable broadcast…
What’s popular on cable TV? As I was rolling my head, the president smiled and said.
“To be exact, it’s a survival show called ‘Shining Star’.”
“Survival show?”
I slowly clenched my fist. The president nodded.
“You know PD Jung Moonsun, right? A person who was famous for his audition contest programs. It’s a program that he worked hard on, but he dropped out to do another variety show so he said he’s looking for another producer. But it shouldn’t be bad if it’s still popular.”
“…”
“It’s like a program that selects debut members from among trainees. Similarly, they put boy groups with average popularity and ask them to compete. Among them, the first-place winner will be able to perform exclusively and participate in the next major competition.”
‘Wow…’
I guess I had lived a good life.
God gave me all these opportunities.
As I hardened my face to calm down my satisfied expression, the president glanced at me as if he was worried that I would say no.
“What is it? Are you worried?”
“P-President. The Dawn going to a place like that… Wouldn’t it be difficult? Half of the idol groups who went on similar programs last time ruined their image.”
“Ah, I’m actually a little worried. Usually, cable shows… They’re a little vicious.”
“They’re not just vicious! They’re famous for paying attention to the big agencies, lifting up their own idols, and making fun of other kids. There’s a group that disbanded because of the stitched-up trainee clips that made them look bad–!”
“Hmm, I think it’s a good opportunity to raise popularity. It certainly can be bad in the long run.”
The manager and the president had a heated discussion. As the negative opinion prevailed, the president rubbed his chin and asked me.
“So, what are you going to do, Hoyoon-ah? If you say no, I will respect your opinion.”
“No.”
I nodded slowly.
Devil’s editing? Image making?
“I’ll do it.”
Why should I be worried about that?
When I laughed, both the CEO and manager were startled. Plans had already piled up in my head.
“I really, really, really want to do it. I will persuade the members. Let me participate in Shining Star.”
“Oh, Is… Is that so?”
“It’s my first time seeing Hoyoon ask like this….”
“First, I’ll let you know their confirmation. I’m going to deliver the plan to the manager. But I’ll check with the members.”
“Yes.”
“Go in and rest. You did a great job today.”
I bowed my head and came out.
In my head, I was building up scenarios.
***
“Woo~ Pick a card.”
“…”
“A clear future~!”
“I’ll kill you.”
I was taking care of my daily necessities at home to live in the dorm.
After packing up my luggage, I was about to go to the dorm, but Seo Hojin was so silly that I had to hit him on the head. There was a sound bang! and Seo Hojin whined, saying that it hurt.
Even when I came out to the front door dragging my suitcase, I continued to nag Seo Hojin endlessly.
“Turn off the gas, and turn off the air conditioner if you don’t want to use it. Don’t just order delivery, cook some food.”
“You’re nagging…”
“Are you listening?”
Seo Hojin laughed even if I threatened him. This punk had been a little off lately. At first, he said he was proud of my idol debut, but now it seemed funny.
“Hyung, you’ve become popular, haven’t you? One of my classmates has hyung as a profile picture. They say you’re handsome.”
“Is that so?”
“That’s why I can’t send them a message anymore. I thought I was talking to hyung. It’s scary.”
Seo Hojin snickered. I looked at my pathetic dongsaeng and asked for one thing.
“If possible, don’t tell them I am your hyung, it just gets annoying.”
“I’ll do as you say.”
It was always like that. Even when I was PD, I was selling my face a little so I asked Seo Hojin to hide the fact that I was his hyung. Because there were always people who said that I did bad things (of course, I didn’t think differently) and picked a fight.
Especially when my dongsaeng was in middle school or high school.
Even PDs were like that, but it would be even worse for idols.
“Goodbye, hyung. Live well in the dorm.”
“Yes, idiot.”
“Low chances make you anxious~ there’s no need to be. I’ll lead you, dudum!”
My expression corroded. Seo Hojin was holding back his laughter and snickering. It seemed he was very excited because it had been a while since he had something to make fun of his hyung. I crossed my arms and said sarcastically.
“Hyung is going…”
“Yes, the genius idol is leaving now~!”
“Aren’t you going to drag it out because you’re sad?”
“…”
“Huh? Are you crying?”
This time, it was Seo Hojin whose expression corroded. When I mentioned that time I collapsed and him crying hard in the hospital, Seo Hojin shook his head as if the dark history made him dizzy. I came out snickering.
“Without hyung here, don’t wet your pillowcase~”
“Go, just go. Go away.”
As expected… It was fun to tease a sibling who was much younger than you.
“I’m leaving~”
“Go away!”
Looking at the slammed door, I put on my hat with satisfaction. I was going to head to the address of the dorm by bus or subway, but then I heard a song playing on the street.
[ I’ll say it again. This is the start.]
Oh?! It was our song.
I stopped and looked at the store. It was probably playing the top 100 songs on music sites.
That’s what it meant to hear our song on the street. It was still in the charts. A smile spread on my lips.
It felt good.
“What’s wrong with you…?”
“Oh, you!”
“Do I look like a singer that made it to the charts?”
“Kuh… I can’t see your face because it’s shining!”
Until these bastards made a fuss.
1. It’s apparently a very popular scene from a Korean drama