Chapter 22: The Idols' Technique That Never Fails

[Why are you doing this patchwork?]

[↳Ratings…….]

[↳To be honest, without Jeong Hae-won, Kuk Sun-a wouldn't have had such a big hit.]

[Thinking about it, Hae-won was quite young back then…….]

[Oh, Kuk Sun-a was eighteen at the time, still so young ㄷㄷㄷ]

[Perla is harder than expected; the oldest member is twenty.]

[Even if Hae-won had a personality explosion, if the editing was done well, she wouldn't have been criticized this much.]

[↳Ratings are coming out, they wouldn't have done it if not.]

[↳After two years, she does seem a bit pitiful.]

[↳↳She did have a personality explosion, but the criticism was excessive.]

[But that's one thing, why should Perla fans be blamed for accepting her?]

[↳That's one thing, this is another.]

[What's this, Round 1?]

[Is this allowed???]

[Kuk Sun-a is carrying the ratings here too ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ]

[↳The number of comments is more explosive than the views.]

[Wow, she's really a pro at stirring things up ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ]

* * *

Self-produced variety show, first round.

While searching the second floor of Light Company, Min Ji-ho said to his teammates Shin Ji-won and An Ju-won:

"Hey, seniors. Say something. It's a broadcast."

Min Ji-ho spoke, but both were burning with competitiveness and remained silent.

Feeling the obligation to do the broadcast, Min Ji-ho looked at the camera filming him and said:

"Can't we change teams? These seniors really don't talk much."

"Ji-ho, keep looking."

In response to Shin Ji-won's words, Min Ji-ho retorted:

"Of course, I have to do the broadcast. Since the seniors aren't doing it, I have to."

After Jeong Hae-won mediated, the small conflicts definitely decreased. But without a mediator, emotional arguments quickly flared up.

Min Ji-ho grumbled and then picked up the walkie-talkie connected to the other team.

"This is 42. Can you hear me?"

-...This is 14.

"Hae-won senior, did you find anything there?"

-If I found something, would I tell you?

"Ah, but is the broadcast footage okay? Here, the seniors don't talk and they criticize me."

-You must have been showing off.

In response to Jeong Hae-won's words, the other two laughed. Jeong Hae-won continued:

-Still, since Ji-ho is a junior, you guys should take care of him.

"Did you hear that? Take care of me."

Min Ji-ho turned off the walkie-talkie, and Shin Ji-won replied:

"You're nagging even in such a short time."

"It's his personality, that's all."

An Ju-won agreed and gestured to the two.

"But come here."

The other two ran over and saw a letter in An Ju-won's hand. An Ju-won read it:

"June 14, 2043, Team Leader Han Hyo-suk, Dr. Kim. We have finally succeeded in the three-year technology development. Since you are not in the company, the related documents are stored in the A section of the archive room."

Before he finished, Min Ji-ho ran to the archive room door and said:

"Seniors, there's a lock and a four-digit password."

"Password?"

When An Ju-won asked, Shin Ji-won, holding the document, replied:

"Isn't the password in this document?"

"Oh, as expected, Ji-won senior is smart."

Min Ji-ho only marveled, not wanting to read the text, while Shin Ji-won and An Ju-won unfolded the paper and started reading from the first line. An Ju-won asked:

"Should we try 2043 simply?"

"Sure, let's try it."

Min Ji-ho pressed 2043 as the password, and the lock opened.

"Wow. Exciting."

Min Ji-ho threw the lock away and entered the archive room.

Inside the archive room, in section A, Shin Ji-won found a box on the shelf and opened it, revealing a letter and an iPad inside.

Shin Ji-won took out the iPad and muttered:

"It's been 20 years, yet they're using an old model."

An Ju-won laughed. Meanwhile, Min Ji-ho started reading the letter on top of the iPad.

"Three years have passed since the Earth was covered in ice. The unconfirmed material layer in the atmosphere is getting thicker. Last month, our research team developed a new material that can withstand more than an hour outside the protected area. Now we must acquire First Company…… What? In 2043, you can't go outside?"

"The Earth is doomed."

An Ju-won muttered, then noticed Shin Ji-won continuously pressing the iPad's password and continued:

"What are you doing? It's deactivated."

"Exactly. If you keep getting it wrong, the deactivation time will get longer. If they keep getting it wrong, it will be locked for a long time."

Min Ji-ho muttered from the side:

"I'm glad I'm on the same team as this senior."

"Is the Earth doomed because of him?"

An Ju-won also agreed.

Soon, Min Ji-ho stood up and said:

"Seniors, there's tape on the box. Let's seal everything."

"Even if I think about it, it seems the Earth is doomed because of our company."

An Ju-won said and reluctantly followed the other two to tape everything.

* * *

In the end, Light Company had to remove the tape from each drawer.

Fortunately, they managed to open the archive room door before time ran out.

In section A, Hwang Saebi handed the letter to Jeong Hae-won and took out the iPad, asking:

"Should we try any password? Maybe 2043?"

Before he could read the letter, Jeong Hae-won was stopped by Hwang Saebi:

"No, let's press the password only if we're sure. If they taped the box, they probably tried the iPad. If Shin Ji-won pressed the password, it would be deactivated."

Park Sun-jae laughed and said:

"Wow, that's something Ji-won senior would do."

"Ah, but we can't forget to choose a host."

As soon as Han Hyo-suk said this, Hwang Saebi looked at Jeong Hae-won and said:

"Me. Please, me. I'm really bad at arguments. I won't appear in any scenes, right? So just make me the host."

Because he was so desperate and everyone knew Hwang Saebi hated arguments, all the members agreed with his suggestion.

After the exploration time ended, the members returned to the first floor. Jeong Hae-won, who had left first because the camera was uncomfortable, turned to Han Hyo-suk, who was following down the stairs, and asked:

"Did you get the walkie-talkie?"

"Oh, right."

Han Hyo-suk quickly turned around to get the walkie-talkie. Hwang Saebi said:

"Hyo-suk, you never leave things behind or make such mistakes when I'm not around."

"But why do you do it when I'm here?"

"You rely on me. When I'm not around, you're very cautious, but lately you've been completely relaxed."

After this conversation, the seven members soon gathered in the conference room inside the building to start the meeting.

There, the first episode of the new self-produced variety show series ended.

* * *

From the reactions of the company employees, it seemed this self-produced content was quite well-received.

I was worried that if the reactions were too negative, all the hard work would be for nothing, but it was said that there was no need to worry about the next week's upload.

Meanwhile, Min Ji-ho and the UO dance team and I completed the choreography for "Turn On the Light."

After running through it once to show the members, Min Ji-ho and I, as well as the dancers, were exhausted and collapsed.

The members were quiet, and Shin Ji-won was the first to speak:

"Are you telling us to do this?"

I replied:

"Yeah, you should do it when your knees and stamina are at their best."

"Isn't it too intense? Saebi senior probably doesn't have the stamina for 3 minutes and 30 seconds."

In response to Shin Ji-won's words, Hwang Saebi said:

"Yeah, I can't do it."

"Then you need to exercise."

"Are you serious? It's ridiculously intense."

Despite grumbling, Hwang Saebi stood up and immediately started learning the choreography, and the other members did the same.

Fortunately, all the members were quite smart. They couldn't immediately memorize the movements, but they learned the choreography in their heads quite quickly. However, the choreography was difficult, and by the time we had barely memorized the movements, it was already past midnight and 6 AM.

Min Ji-ho said:

"Let's run through it once and then go eat gukbap."

And we ran through "Turn On the Light" for the first time.

Although I'm trying to change fate, I still can't predict the success of Firstlight. "Turn On the Light" is to my taste, so it sounds good to me, but I don't know how the public will react. I'm prepared for it to sell less than last time.

But one thing is certain: the members will definitely enjoy this stage.

Min Ji-ho, with a face that clearly wanted praise, asked:

"But it is cool, right?"

To this, surprisingly, Han Hyo-suk replied:

"When we perform this in front of the fans, the thrill will be incredible."

"Right? The reaction will be good, right?"

Then Hwang Saebi asked me:

"Are you really going to stand on stage, even if you cover your face?"

"Yeah. It would be better if I don't cover it."

In response to my answer, Hwang Saebi sighed in relief. Since I joined, he has been checking with me almost every day. It seems he really hates leading the team.

Well, whatever happens later, for now:

"Let's enjoy our activities. The most important thing is the Sunrises…… Hey, can we give the fan club a nickname?"

The fan club name for Firstlight was decided as Sunrises at the beginning of the year. But because it was hard to pronounce, neither the members nor the fans used it much.

Han Hyo-suk muttered