Inki Music, the last schedule of the week.
As always, we had to share the waiting room with KICKS. Maybe it was because of yesterday’s confrontation. There was only a chilly atmosphere between the two groups.
“Hyung, don’t you think they had a fight among themselves?”
Ryu Jae-hee whispered into my ear.
The previously tight-knit group now seemed to be on edge, and it was quite satisfying to watch.
“It’s the fate of those who bond over backstabbing.”
I replied indifferently as I stood up.
“Where are you going?”
“Bathroom.”
I shoved my hands into my pockets and strolled away.
As I washed my hands at the sink, I noticed a familiar face in the bathroom mirror.
It was someone I’d been in the same room with just five minutes ago.
Before I could pass by, KICKS’ parachute approached me first.
“Long time no see, Yoon Eden.”
“Greeting someone you’ve been in the same room with just five minutes ago as ‘long time no see’ seems off, don’t you think?”
“Having a one-on-one conversation like this is a long time, isn’t it?”
“Even back then, when I called you a parachute, we weren’t alone, were we?”
Before the regression, when this parachute guy revealed the truth to me as a whistleblower, it had surprised me.
Before leaving Newborn, Gyeon Ha-jun had been so angry about being kicked out of the debut team that he had called him a parachute to his face.
Of course, objectively speaking, he was indeed a parachute.
“Let’s put the past behind us. And having experienced it firsthand, I find that people who curse you upfront like you are better than those who do it behind your back.”
I wasn’t surprised because I had heard this before the regression.
If the guys who badmouthed everyone else didn’t talk behind the parachute’s back, who would? It was no wonder he sided with me when I insulted him to his face.
“So, what’s your business?”
I asked, shaking the water off my hands. The parachute got straight to the point.
“Who was the whistleblower who told you about the backstabbing?”
It’s you, both in the past and the future.
But even if I told you, you wouldn’t believe it, and I’d risk being seen as crazy, so why should I bother?
“Why are you asking? Didn’t I already tell you about the whistleblower protection law?”
I smirked, raising an eyebrow. The parachute smiled, squinting his eyes.
“Because I’d like to be friendly. If someone has the guts to whistleblow, then they’re probably one of the few sane ones in our group, aside from me.”
Well, congratulations on being the only sane one in KICKS, parachute.
“Even if you know, nothing will change.”
Because it’s you.
Living with the hope that there’s another sane person out there to keep from going crazy among the abnormal ones isn’t a bad way to live.
“By the way, did you know that Choi Hyun-min is spreading rumors about you online?”
“That jerk has always picked fights with me at every chance he gets. Now, does he think I’m an easy target?”
I muttered, not hiding my displeasure. The parachute shook his head briefly.
“It’s not that he thinks you’re easy… He was forced to switch to a rapper position because you left. It’s more of a grudge. Ever since you left Newborn, he’s been cursing and badmouthing you constantly.”
I had joked about his rapping skills being similar to Seo Ye-hyun’s before the regression, wondering why he was assigned as a rapper. Now I knew the backstory.
He used to flaunt his vocal skills and look down on rapping, so seeing him humbled was quite satisfying.
Snorting with derision, I responded sarcastically.
“Tell him to keep spreading those rumors. If he wants to see his underage smoking photos all over the internet.”
I had stumbled upon those photos while idly browsing my phone gallery.
I hadn’t expected to still have photos taken during our trainee days, but they seemed perfect for leverage.
As he was still a minor, leaking them now would definitely cause a scandal.
I vividly remembered the conversation we had while laughing and leaning against the wall behind the Newborn building.
[This jerk smokes openly while I’m too scared to even try it as an underground rapper. What guts.]
[That’s because you’re a coward.]
[Hyun-min, if you keep acting up, I’ll leak these photos and ruin your debut.]
[But if we debut together, you’ll go down with me. Good luck.]
Who knew that a photo taken for a playful threat would become a genuine piece of leverage?
And besides the underage smoking photo, I could also ask some DJ friends at a club in Gangnam to get pictures of his idol clubbing activities. I remembered how he became a club rat as soon as he turned twenty.
As I was about to pass by and head back to the waiting room, the parachute suddenly held out his phone.
“Can I have your number?”
I raised an eyebrow, and the parachute smiled.
“It seems like you’re not updated on the rumors he’s spreading. How about becoming Whistleblower No. 2? I really want to be friends with you.”
“It’s not like we’re a victims’ alliance or something…”
Grumbling, I still entered my number.
‘60% to find out what KICKS is saying and planning behind our backs.’
‘40% curiosity about whether the parachute will make the same demand as he did before the regression.’
As I was about to save the number that appeared as a missed call, I paused.
“Your name?”
I didn’t feel obligated to remember his real name, unlike other KICKS members, since we hadn’t spent much time together.
Looking at me, surprised that I didn’t know his name, the parachute took my phone and entered his name.
[Jeong I-seo]
Since I had many contacts saved, and his name wasn’t particularly memorable to me, I added a note in parentheses to ensure I wouldn’t forget.
[Jeong I-seo (KICKS Parachute)]
If we went in together, the rest of the KICKS members would definitely give us suspicious looks, so I went into the waiting room first.
As soon as I sat down on the waiting room sofa, Ryu Jae-hee tugged on my sleeve and whispered in my ear again.
“Did those guys borrow money from Ha-jun hyung and not pay him back? Why do they go silent every time Ha-jun hyung opens his mouth?”
“They’re all guilty of something. Anyway, what happened?”
“They were laughing about how we can’t act tough without you, and then Ye-hyun hyung got pissed and scolded them. They argued a bit, but when Ha-jun hyung said something, they shut up. It was something like that.”
“Why don’t they ever learn?”
I shook my head and leaned back comfortably on the sofa. Just then, the parachute came into the waiting room.
A glance showed that no one was friendly to the parachute. It made sense why he cut ties with them and joined us.
We waited in that uncomfortable atmosphere until we were all called for the 1st place candidate interview.
“Hello! Welcome to the fifth week of November, live on Inki Music!”
“Here are today’s 1st place candidates: KICKS’ ‘Time’s Up,’ REVE’s ‘All Right or Night’, and Jinse’s ‘Another You.'”
Since the last ballad singer didn’t appear on music shows, only we were called as 1st place candidates.
“Let’s meet today’s 1st place candidates! Please say hello to the viewers.”
“Two, three! KICKS the world! Hello, we are KICKS!”
“One, two, Dream of me! Hello, we are REVE!”
Following the script, we exchanged brief words, sang a short part of the chorus, and performed a point dance. The interview ended quickly.
Inki Music’s 1st place is the most valued among the three major music shows, as it’s judged based on fandom, public appeal, and buzz, the most objective indicators.
If we lost 1st place to KICKS here, people would surely say that KICKS was the real winner.
The stage outfits and hair, with a strong school uniform feel, showed how much the coordinator had prepared.
“Let’s win 1st place cleanly today.”
Hearing my words, the KICKS leader, loud enough for us to hear, encouraged his members.
“Guys, you know Inki Music’s 1st place is the real 1st place, right? Let’s do well today.”
In the second week of our comeback, the fifth week of November, REVE successfully held onto the 1st place title on all three major public broadcasts, never yielding to KICKS, as even the KICKS leader acknowledged the true 1st place.
* * *
In the third and final week of activities, the first week of December.
We had to concede 1st place to KICKS on W Countdown and Music Camp, but by winning 1st place on the remaining two public broadcast music shows, we wrapped up our activities.
Total album sales reached 180,000 copies.
Though it didn’t seem impressive in an era where rookies easily sold 100,000 copies in their first week, in this period, these were pretty good numbers.
“But hyung, was first-week sales that important? Isn’t total sales more important? I heard people buy albums weekly for music show rankings.”
At the celebration dinner for completing our activities safely and REVE’s first 1st place win, Ryu Jae-hee whispered.
“It’s not important. Total sales are more important, as you said.”
For now. I swallowed the last part and picked up the fully cooked beef from the grill.
Come to think of it, from around REVE’s 4th or 5th year, first-week sales suddenly became important.
Previously, first-week sales weren’t particularly significant, but then there was a push to increase them, resulting in numerous fan sign events during the first week.
This led to cases where first-week sales were 300,000, but total sales were only 350,000.
So, my memories from then probably made me unconsciously place more importance on first-week sales.
“Our LnL family, thank you so much for trusting and following this poor CEO all the way here. Let’s all work together to become a growing LnL…”
Wow, this is longer than our 1st place acceptance speech.
But honestly, we never really trusted and followed him. If we had, we’d be stuck in the same failed idol path as before, having a small dinner with ten people at a samgyeopsal restaurant.
While the CEO’s speech, which still hadn’t ended, continued, I sipped soju and looked around the bustling restaurant.
There were more agency staff now than there were just a few members and staff before. Recently, we even moved to a new office.
I still didn’t know why our dorm move kept getting delayed, though.
I could only hope our reality show aired soon to reveal our poor semi-basement dorm conditions to the world.
“Alright, our REVE leader, the MVP! Let’s liven things up with a toast!”
At the CEO’s urging, I grabbed my drink and stood up.
In my seventh year with LnL, I knew the CEO’s favorite toast by heart.
“Thank you to everyone who worked hard during our activities this year. Please continue to support us for the rest of the year. When I say ‘We!’ you say ‘Are we!’ We!”
At my lead, a loud response echoed through the restaurant.
“Are we!”
I clinked glasses with the REVE members and downed the drink.
Every time we do this toast, I can’t help but think, are we, indeed.
***
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