Chapter 53: Techniques of an Idol Who Never Fails

Minjiho still vividly remembered the day the group disbanded. The suffocating atmosphere at that time. The endless arguments among the adults.

The members were practicing in the rehearsal room, thinking that the group couldn't possibly disappear right after debuting. That's when an employee from VVV, their agency at the time, entered the room.

He said the group's activities were 'terminated.' At first, even the quick-witted members didn't immediately realize that 'termination' meant disbanding.

The members didn't say a word to each other. They didn't exchange meaningless words like 'let's meet again' or 'we'll be fine,' but instead packed their belongings.

Minjiho thought that if Jeong Hye-won had been there, they would have at least exchanged greetings. And he believed that they wouldn't have gone without contacting each other until they met again in TRV.

Looking back now, the name of the debut team, 'Boys,' originated from the first team mission that Jeong Hye-won planned. Jeong Hye-won had been pushed to a lower rank due to his vocal skills, and most of the members in that team were also given low ranks.

Later, Shin Hee-beom, who was in the same team, told him that there were a few participants who lacked both skill and enthusiasm, and he was almost furious throughout the filming.

At first, Minjiho thought Jeong Hye-won had an incredibly bad attitude, but when he saw the completed stage, he realized it wasn't the case.

Before the stage began, Shin Hee-beom said:

"Isn't the song symbolizing Kuk Sun-ah 'The King'? It means to claim the throne of debut. But we are a group of low-ranked members. We believe this place will be where anyone can sit on the throne, even ordinary boys. That's why our team name is 'Ordinary Boys.'"

Shin Hee-beom, who didn't have any notable special skills as an idol, managed to survive for a long time thanks to that statement. It became a symbol of Kuk Sun-ah.

Later, Minjiho learned from Shin Hee-beom that Jeong Hye-won, who was the oldest participant in Kuk Sun-ah and eager to debut, had him deliver the statement.

Anyway, after the team disbanded, Minjiho returned to his agency. It was a large agency with many top artists, and thus had many trainees.

The agency had Minjiho, whose popularity had risen, prepare for debut with the members of the team 'IMX,' whose debut was already confirmed. However, the members of IMX didn't welcome Minjiho back after his debut.

While Minjiho was preparing for Kuk Sun-ah, the members had become very close, and they were confident that with the agency's push and their own abilities, they could succeed. Most importantly, the stage they envisioned didn't include Minjiho.

[Brothers♥ Where are you?]

[Answer meeeeee]

[Am I the only one here?]

[This group chat is mine now]

[Really gone?]

[Answer me, please sniff sniff]

Minjiho tried to get along well with the members in the dorm and the rehearsal room, thinking this might be his last chance to debut.

But in the end, he left the agency. The agency let him go without any trouble, thinking it was a mistake to debut him with IMX.

After that, when Minjiho debuted again with First Light, he was eager to beat IMX and was on edge due to his declining trust in others, leading to constant conflicts with the other members.

While he was thinking about this, Jeong Hye-won stepped on Minjiho's sneakers, startling him out of his bad memories.

"Ah, why?"

"Everyone agrees, we do it. If even one person disagrees, we don't."

"…Really? But what if you die from exhaustion?"

"Why are you saying such unlucky things to someone who wants to do it?"

"I'm worried, that's all."

Minjiho said this while taking out his phone and posting in the group chat.

[Members!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Minjo has a wish!!!!!!!!!!!]

[Jaewon: No way]

[Listen well❤]

[Jaewon: Let's hear him out first]

[Leader: What is it?]

[Hyosik: Just say it]

[Seonjae: Where did the person who was texting go?]

Minjiho looked at his phone and chuckled. He wondered if he was always this excited when he wrote such exclamation-filled messages in the group chat.

"Everyone's going to do it!"

His expression was full of exclamation points.

Thinking about the upcoming concert and the new survival show made him feel dizzy. But seeing Minjiho so happy made me laugh uncontrollably.

"Is it that good? It's going to be very stressful."

"We don't have to win. I don't even want to survive for long. But I want to show that we can get along well with our members."

Ah… That's what he wanted to show.

Minjiho continued with a firm expression.

"But I won't do it half-heartedly. Since I suggested it, I'll dance until I die…"

"Calm down. Don't exaggerate."

Wow, I'm already tired.

* * *

[First Light, 'The Rising' appearance confirmed]

[????]

[Are you really going to do it?]

[There were a lot of talks about not doing it though haha]

[VMC must have really pushed for it to get a public broadcast slot]

[But didn't they say Jeong Hye-won has stage fright? Why are they appearing in another survival show?]

[Capitalism treatment]

[hahaha]

[Apparently, it was just a publicity stunt]

[The stage fright was because the fans of First Light were pushing for a new member]

[After all, Koreans are weak for emotions]

[But will First Light be good enough to appear here? The other confirmed teams are all rising stars]

[Well, it's about time for the 'level' talk]

[First Light's first-week sales were 70,000, which is a rising star]

[In today's inflated market, 70,000…?]

[But it's still a good physical sales number. It's hard for boy groups to get physical sales]

[Anyway, I think First Light has the highest individual recognition here]

* * *

On stage, I created my own routine to reduce the mental pressure. First, I always listened to the same music before going on stage.

The songs are two: Park Hee-young's 'I Love You' and my favorite idol Big Blue's 'I Know Too.' Listening to trot music always boosts my energy, and 'I Know Too' gives me a sense of ease.

Thanks to this, today marks the end of our regular album 1 activities.

On the last day, we finished with a mini fan meeting.

Looking back, I saw the staff installing cameras in the car we were in. The filming for 'The Rising' started right after our activities ended.

I glanced at the fans briefly and decided to focus on the tasks given by the show during the broadcast, trying not to speak much.

When we announced our appearance, KQS and our company were very pleased. Especially when we went to a KQS music show after the confirmation, the atmosphere was completely different from when we were being rejected. Broadcasting companies can be so fickle. Hehe…

"Hellos! We're leaving now! We'll miss you!"

As Minjiho said his final greetings, the fans were very disappointed.

At that moment, Hwang Saebi gave me a microphone and said,

"Say something. You haven't said anything."

"Ah."

I took the microphone. I thought about what to say, but there was only one thing I could say.

"Even though it's a cliché… Saebi really has no stamina."

"Why are you suddenly attacking me?"

Ignoring Hwang Saebi's confusion, I continued,

"Usually, he almost collapses, but when he sees the Hellos on stage, he immediately perks up. It's the same for Saebi, the other members, and of course, me. I realized that the Hellos are really the reason we go on stage and our strength."

I said this, put down the microphone, and quickly picked it up again.

"Ah, thank you."

After that, the mini fan meeting ended. While peeling off the post-it notes with the members, I turned around at the sound of a song.

-Should we hold hands tightly and wait for the sun to rise?

The Hellos were singing 'Clear Day' for us.

-You are my eternal sunshine. When I meet you in endless darkness and rain, the world is a clear day.

The other members were also taken by surprise and froze. I covered my mouth with both hands and crouched down, and Shin Ji-un immediately picked up the microphone.

"Hey, you're the Hellos. What if you sing for us?"

"First Light is a clear day too!"

Hearing the fan's response, the tears I had been holding back finally spilled over. It's over.

"Wow, the Hellos sing really well!"

"It fits the weather today. Thank you, Hellos."

Fortunately, the other members, who were barely managing to speak, were also crying or at least had red eyes. I said my goodbyes and quickly returned to the car.

There, I composed myself calmly. What bad fans, making me cry like that.

After regaining my composure, I belatedly remembered the cameras.

I thought all these scenes would be cut anyway, so it didn't matter. The problem was that the cameras were too close.

"There are so many cameras."

To avoid thinking about the cameras, I started counting them. Fortunately, the members returned and got into the car. Park Seon-jae sat behind me and said,

"Oh, now 'The Rising' starts?"

"Seems so."

"This must be a mission."

Park Seon-jae picked up the tablet on his seat.

As soon as he turned on the screen, two MCs who were worthy of the title 'legend' appeared: Lee Hee-se, the main dancer of a girl group that debuted in 2008, and Kang Yun-seok, the leader of a boy group that debuted in 2009.

"Ah, seniors."

"Wow, it's amazing. Hello!"

While we were amazed and looking at the tablet, the two took turns greeting us.

-Hello, I'm Lee Hee-se, Kang Yun-seok.

-For the next six weeks, you will be tested on your qualities as rising stars. What was the most common feedback we received from the members of each participating team, Hee-se?

-Not to exploit the labor of the fandom.

-That's right. We also empathized as idols and conveyed the same opinion to the production team. Therefore, this time, the judges will be randomly selected executives from a certain age group, independent of the fandom.

The age distribution appeared as subtitles: 20% each for teens to forties, and 20% for those over fifty.

No one said it, but everyone must have been thinking the same thing. It felt like a typical public broadcast approach.

-What is the first mission, Yun-seok?

Kang Yun-seok flipped a cue card and said,

-The first mission is one song, two teams. From now on, the members of the six teams will be divided into three groups, with two teams in each group. Each team will prepare a stage for one song.

I thought the first broadcast would be a safe stage to show the team's colors. As expected, a rookie broadcasting station doesn't know how to proceed smoothly.

I gauged the other five teams. There were two I wanted to avoid: MII, where Woo Ha-jeong is, and IMX, the debut team from Minjiho's former agency.

And personally, I didn't want to team up with INO.

There was only one reason I wanted to avoid INO: the number of members.

INO has 11 members… we have 7… The thought of consolidating 18 opinions into one made me sigh.

-First Light will be paired with INO for the mission.

Of course. The world doesn't revolve around my wishes, hehe…