By Zephyria [How to Prevent the Death of Genius Idol Sung Se-han.]
I glanced up at the red sentence.
[Inferiority Score has decreased by -1.]
[Inferiority Score has decreased by -1.]
[Inferiority Score has decreased by -1.]
…
…
[Here is Lee Tae-kyung’s current Inferiority Score.]
[Congratulations! 58 points!]
I closed my phone and hurried out of the practice room.
Where do I file a complaint about the Status Window? There’s no way my inferiority is that high.
Well, it probably doesn’t matter. I can just make it 0 before our debut album comes out.
Finally, the content video announcing our group’s name was released.
⌜Hello! I’m the leader, ‘Gun.’ Today, all five of us members have gathered to greet you as a complete group. Okay, let’s all say hello together!⌟
⌜Hello!⌟
⌜Hello. Nice to meet you, fans!⌟
Gun-woo Hyung, sitting in the middle, smiled prettily and greeted us energetically, just as he had practiced.
⌜We want to express our sincere gratitude for the tremendous response you’ve shown each time a member has been revealed. Thanks to you fans, we’re preparing our album with even more confidence!⌟
I, sitting to the left of Gun-woo Hyung, held up the script as if to show off and continued with the next line.
⌜Hello! I’m ‘Tae-kyung.’ Thanks to the great interest many of you have shown in my cover video, it has now reached 1.5 million views. I….⌟
⌜Wow! Tae-kyung Hyung! Congratulations!⌟
⌜Congratulations, Tae-kyung.⌟
The members applauded, even though it wasn’t in the script, so I stopped speaking with an embarrassed face.
⌜Tae-kyung Hyungnim, I watched 100,000 of those views.⌟
⌜What?⌟
Even the staff burst out laughing at Soo-in’s completely unexpected ad-lib.
⌜I really watched it a lot! I’m Tae-kyung Hyungnim’s number one fan, so….⌟
⌜Hahaha! Our youngest! Thank you so much.⌟
I ruffled his hair because he was so cute, and Soo-in’s ears quickly turned bright red. It was admirable that this shy kid had made an ad-lib.
Jeong-min, who had been pouting on Gun-woo Hyung’s right, raised his hand and spoke.
⌜I want to tell the fans. The official youngest member of the group is me, ‘Jeong-min’! My birthday is the latest, you know?⌟
⌜Yes, Jeong-min is the youngest member with the latest birthday. Okay, let’s continue.⌟
Thanks to Soo-in, the atmosphere on set seemed much more relaxed. I leisurely turned the script and checked the next line.
Originally, the script mentioned Sung Se-han’s comments on the cover video and the articles about it. But at my request, those parts were completely revised in the current script.
⌜Yes, finally! We’re here to announce that we’ve decided on a group name. Thankfully, many of you gave us your opinions. The members and staff gathered together to discuss the five names that made it to the final shortlist!⌟
⌜Wow! I’m really looking forward to it!⌟
⌜I wonder what the name will be?⌟
My hands trembled as I turned the script.
⌜But before we announce the group name, I’d like to personally mention a name that impressed me. Many people voted for this name, saying it suited us: ‘Twinkle’….⌟
My hands trembled, and my throat tightened.
‘Twinkle’ was the name of our old fandom. We wanted each other to be shining presences for each other.
Even after our debut, when we were walking a dark path, our fans became a shining light, just like that name.
But in the end, we failed to become the people they wanted us to be.
⌜Ah, that… this name is… special to me….⌟
⌜Tae-kyung Hyungnim.⌟
Soo-in suddenly put his arm around my head, stopping me from speaking. And the moment he patted my back, I burst into tears.
⌜Ah….⌟
I was so embarrassed that I covered my face with both hands, but the tears wouldn’t stop. Soo-in, who was hugging me to hide my face from the camera, slightly turned his shoulder.
⌜Tae-kyung Hyungnim, it’s okay to cry.⌟
Thump! I slammed the laptop shut and jumped up from my seat.
“Ah, what the heck? I asked the director to delete this scene…!”
Gun-woo Hyung and Ho-soo, who had been watching the video with me, were holding back their laughter.
“Calm down, Tae-kyung. The director probably thought this scene was better.”
“Tae-kyung Hyung, I think this scene is good too. I bet the fans will like it.”
“That’s not the point!”
My face was burning, and I couldn’t stand it.
“Who cries while announcing the group name! Anyone would think we’d won first place with our debut song, damn it!”
Even as I paced anxiously around the practice room, Ho-soo couldn’t wipe the smile off his face.
“Tae-kyung Hyung, I guarantee it! Tae-kyung Hyung’s cover video views will only increase. You just wait and see!”
“What about the embarrassment? Ah, Soo-in is more like a Hyung than I am. Ugh….”
“Tae-kyung Hyungnim, I’m sorry….”
Soo-in, who had brought me a bottle of water, hesitated and offered it to me. Seeing his dejected face, which didn’t match his physique, made me laugh again.
“I’m not mad at you, you idiot. I’m just embarrassed, me.”
“Hyung! Hyungs!”
Jeong-min, who had been looking at his phone alone in the corner of the practice room, ran over.
“Now! The number of members in our fan cafe has exceeded ten thousand! I just took a screenshot!”
“Wow, really?”
“Let me see!”
While the members huddled together to check the number of fan cafe members, I quietly stepped back.
I’m going crazy. My throat is sore again, and I’m starting to feel choked up.
How many members did our old fan cafe have? Eight hundred, maybe nine hundred? Anyway, it never exceeded a thousand. And the number of fans who actively posted on the bulletin board was also small.
The current members are happy to see the number of ten thousand members, but they probably don’t know how amazing that number is as much as I do.
*
The fandom name reveal video, which was uploaded at 12 PM, received a much better response than expected.
The members, who were continuing their busy afternoon schedule without a break, recharged their tired bodies by looking at the comments whenever they had a chance.
“Look at this! Tae-kyung Hyung, I told you the reaction would be good, right?”
“Half of the comments are about Tae-kyung Hyung crying! I should have cried too.”
I knew the youngest members weren’t trying to tease me, but I couldn’t help but feel ashamed every time they mentioned it.
“Hey, how long are you guys going to tease me?”
When I slammed my hand on the conference room table, Jeong-min made an exaggeratedly surprised expression.
“How could we tease Hyung? You’re the member who chose our group name!”
“That’s right! Many people said that the team name ‘Sky Blue’ suited Hyung, so it got the most votes!”
“No, that’s….”
I tried to deny it but just swept my hair back. It was true that the team name ‘Sky Blue’ had received the most votes, and it was also true that after the name was decided, comments started pouring in saying that they were happy that a team name that suited us so well had been chosen, so I didn’t really have anything to say.
“Our kids are so kind.”
Gun-woo Hyung, who had been quietly watching, suddenly said. I looked at my younger brothers, who were making awkward expressions, and nodded.
“I know it well. How kind our kids are.”
Even when we had to accept the reality that our debut album had flopped, the youngest members endured it silently. Deep down, they were worried that their Hyungs would be upset, so they smiled brightly in front of us. For these guys….
“Hey, guys!”
The person who opened the conference room door and poked her head in was Jang Ju-mi, the A&R Team leader.
“Team leader, you’re here?”
“Ah, Team leader. Our meeting isn’t over yet….”
We were supposed to film a short content video tonight, but the members hadn’t agreed on anything yet.
“Guys, do you know who’s here right now?”
Team leader Jang Ju-mi asked with a meaningful expression. We looked at each other and shook our heads.
“Who’s here?”
“Don’t tell me… we’re going to start filming the content right now?”
Team leader Jang Ju-mi, who had been covering her mouth and laughing, craned her neck and looked out of the conference room.
“Ah, there he comes! Se-han! Over here!”
I stared blankly at Team leader Jang Ju-mi and then jumped up.
“Se-han is here?”
“Se-han is…?”
“Tae-kyung Hyung didn’t even know…?”
The surprised members all looked at me, but the most bewildered person was me.
No, was it okay for Sung Se-han to come and go from our company as he pleased? I looked at Team leader Jang Ju-mi with a dazed expression.
“Ah, look at me! You guys talk. I’ll be right back!”
Seeing the Team leader wave her hand and disappear busily made me even more confused. Well, if Team leader Jang Ju-mi didn’t say anything, it must be okay…?
The moment I tried to take a step, Sung Se-han, dressed in an all-black suit, suddenly appeared through the open door.
“Se-han….”
Thud. Se-han, standing in the doorway, flung the half-open conference room door wide open. And then he scanned the inside of the conference room.