Chapter 72

"Contact accident?"

Adjusting his slipping glasses, Yun Seok-hwan asked,

"What do you mean by that?"

"There was a contact accident at a nearby intersection with a truck."

"Are the people there? Are they hurt?"

"No, it's just a minor scratch between the vehicles, but the other party is making a fuss, grabbing their neck and all."

"…We got caught in a bad situation."

Yun Seok-hwan clicked his tongue.

Even without saying anything, the scene played out in his mind.

This kind of thing often happened when managing idols.

But now wasn't the time to feel sympathy for the manager.

"This is a problem."

While he was calculating whether the incident might affect NewBlack, the team leader from the event organizer rushed over with a panicked look on his face.

"Sir! Mr. Yun!"

So flustered that he didn't even have an umbrella, the team leader panted.

"I heard the general situation, but now Tinspirit can't come because of the contact accident."

"What about the others? Can they help?"

"They've all left, so there's no one left except NewBlack. Some have already entered the tollgate. We just asked Song Bo-hyung to come, but it will take at least 30 minutes…"

So, it was a question of how NewBlack could help.

Embarrassing.

Under normal circumstances, he might have thought positively, but today's situation was complicated.

First, the rain.

If the kids, who were already drenched, were made to stand longer, they might catch a cold and affect future schedules.

Moreover, the audience composition was the worst.

Middle-aged and older people who were not friendly to idols, and Tinspirit fans who had endured the unpleasant weather to wait for their singer.

If they mishandled this, they might end up doing a good deed and still get criticized.

But it wasn't easy to simply back out.

With no other singers left, and the organizer's staff being regulars, it was hard to reject their request outright.

"Alright."

"Really?"

"I'll talk to the members."

"Thank you! Really!"

The team leader, who had grabbed his hand, ran off into the rain.

He seemed extremely relieved.

The warmth left on his hand made him feel a bit sad, but only for a moment.

His mind was blank.

But his heart was lighter than before.

Because he wasn't making the decision alone; he had members to discuss with.

"Let's narrow down the list."

They went back to the songs they had prepared for their broadcasting activities.

There weren't many.

1. Something

2. Between

3. Night Sea

That was all.

"These are all of them."

"It's decided then. Three songs."

"No, Between is basically a remix of Something. If we play them back-to-back, the audience will get annoyed."

"We did both at our Music Card event, didn't we?"

"Jiho, back then we had a long talk segment."

Naturally, Between was the one to be cut.

The recognition gap was too wide.

While Something still ranked above Fireworks, Between was barely seen on the music charts.

Moreover, they had practiced Something extensively for their event appearances.

"So, what should we play for the remaining song?"

"Like the acoustic version of Fireworks at the showcase, but… we just finished Fireworks."

"We need to avoid the idol vibe as much as possible."

I said.

"Because of the rain, the schedule is messed up, and we're following Street Boys and Blinks. The audience is older and will likely be bored. More idol songs won't help."

"Hmm…"

While the members were pondering, Jiho seemed to have an idea.

"Speaking of which, I remember something."

"What?"

"You used to say that timing and atmosphere are important for a performance."

Indeed, in my haste, I had forgotten the three key factors I usually considered for a performance.

I thought hard.

Late at night, slippery floor, and an audience bored by idols.

What else?

Ah.

That's it.

"Seok-hwan, who's the next fill-in?"

"Trot singer Song Bo-hyung."

I almost exclaimed.

A good idea came to mind.

Of course, there was one thing to confirm first.

"Min-gi, can you get the USB from my bag in the car? It's in the black pouch. The black box next to it, don't touch it, no, never mind. Just the USB."

While Min-gi ran to the car, I briefly explained my idea to the members.

Fortunately, they reacted positively.

"Not bad."

Even the most critical Ri-hyuk gave a positive response.

I handed the USB with the MR to the staff and gave them some instructions.

We confirmed one last thing.

"Yes, Mr. Song Bo-hyung's manager, ah. He's driving himself? When will he arrive? Yes, about 15 minutes? Yes, we'll wait. Yes, the sooner he arrives, the better."

Seok-hwan gave us a thumbs-up after the call.

Now everything was ready.

We might not have the best quality performance, but we had to try.

And.

"Thanks, guys."

Before going back on stage, under the umbrella held by the two managers.

"Thanks to you, I…"

"Hey, we don't have time for mushy stuff. We can talk later."

"Right."

"Huh? I wanted to hear it."

"Let's talk after the event, okay?"

"…Really disappointing, really."

I rolled my eyes at the giggling members but soon joined in their laughter.

It helped ease the tension.

We shouted a small "Fighting!" and went back on stage.

* * *

The atmosphere at the event was not good.

MC Jung Hyo-jin, who was hosting, swallowed hard at the cold atmosphere after announcing that Tinspirit would be a bit late.

Most people looked dissatisfied, and the idol fans scattered throughout the venue were particularly irritable.

The family visitors who had come out for a day trip complained.

"When will this end? Who are these kids?"

"They must be the ones who were here earlier."

"Idols again?"

Among the idols who appeared today, only Tinspirit was well-known to the general public.

Especially for parents with teenage children.

Tinspirit was as popular as TNT in their age group.

So, the audience had endured the performances of unknown rookies in anticipation of seeing famous idols in person.

But even that was delayed.

The elderly were particularly unhappy, muttering that they should play some trot music instead of these strange young kids.

Of course, the most intense emotions were felt by another group.

"Oh, what is this? Really."

Tinspirit fans who had taken a bus for an hour from Seoul were on edge.

Especially the hardcore fans who had set up their cameras to take photos for the fan site.

Some aggressive fans wanted to raise their voices at the organizers but held back when they saw the PBS and Gyeonggi TV cameras around.

They didn't want to tarnish the fandom's image.

Especially after the incident at a department store event where a fan had insulted a rookie girl group.

While everyone was silently venting their anger on social media, chaos was brewing in the front row.

"…"

Under the best view from the tent, the mayor's aides and bodyguards were restless.

"The event management is really…"

His wife's tight grip on his arm stopped him, but Mayor Kim Young-geun couldn't hide his discomfort.

What was this?

They hadn't prepared for the rain, the singer was late, and the lineup had four consecutive idol groups.

This was his first event with the citizens since taking office.

He had been elected in June and promoted from a city councilor to mayor.

He thought there was nothing more unpleasant at the beginning of his term than hearing that this festival was worse than the previous mayor's.

The bodyguards quickly bowed when the mayor turned his head, but he was looking at the audience.

Clearly bored and annoyed faces.

'Can this be salvaged?'

Even if a group like Teaspoon came, it wouldn't improve the atmosphere.

He clicked his tongue and looked back at the stage.

Despite the rainy and blurry weather, an idol with striking looks calmly walked onto the stage.

Please.

Even if they didn't perform well, just maintain this atmosphere.

Mayor Kim frowned.

'Why are only two of them on stage?'

Just as he wondered if the others had left, soft music began to play from the stage speakers.

He found it strange.

Because the music wasn't an idol song.

Rather, it was a warm, soothing melody.