Chapter 77

I'm suddenly wide awake.

To the point where the sight of my siblings entering the studio feels surreal.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

As I asked this, I helped Lee Hyuk, who was sprawled on the floor, to his feet.

The kid, who would normally grumble about getting dirty and how I’m a bad older brother, was now just standing there with his mouth agape.

Of course, I was in the same state.

“You’re saying we’re the top candidate?”

“Yes.”

“Us?”

“Yes.”

When I looked at the other two guys standing next to Biju, they nodded their heads repeatedly.

Judging by Jung-hyun’s expression, it seemed to be true. He’s really bad at lying, after all.

I stared at Lee Hyuk in a daze.

“You mean we’re the top candidate?”

“Yeah.”

“...”

“...”

A moment of silence followed, and then we all let out a loud cheer and hugged each other.

We even did a circle dance.

Entangled and cheering like monkeys around a bonfire, we eventually calmed down after a while.

“Brothers, it’s a rare happy day, let’s have a celebratory drink.”

“Yeah, let’s drink.”

“I’ve been wanting to drink this every time I saw it in the fridge.”

With a pounding heart, I opened the grape juice from the studio fridge.

It was something I couldn’t touch because our PT instructor would threaten to add an extra set of squats every time my BMI got worse.

But when would I get to drink it if not on a day like this?

I took a sip of the sweet juice and then asked about the details.

“So, what happened?”

“It’s a combination of various circumstances.”

Biju explained why we became the top candidate.

Showtime.

Showtime is a cable music show that records every Tuesday in Sangam-dong.

Unlike other programs, Showtime has a unique rule.

Artists who don’t perform on the day are excluded from the top candidate list.

“It’s because of the typhoon, right? The damage is significant.”

“Typhoon?”

What does that have to do with being a top candidate?

“The autumn girls are ending their activities early due to the typhoon. There’s a line in their song, ‘A heavy rain sweeps through your heart,’ and the agency is worried it might cause controversy.”

I pulled out my smartphone and searched for the autumn girls.

Sure enough.

- The autumn girls, who have achieved a triple crown with three consecutive weeks at number one on music shows, have ended their activities early due to the typhoon ‘Jajebi.’ The agency SNH Entertainment stated, “Given the current situation with many people affected, the lyrics seem inappropriate”...

There was also a heartwarming story about a member from the affected area who would volunteer for recovery efforts.

The comments were positive.

After reading the article, I understood why the top candidate list was empty.

Usually, in typical music shows, you can win first place even if you don’t perform on the day, as long as you have the points.

This is when the hosts sometimes look up into the air and say, “Congratulations!”

The autumn girls will likely be top candidates on the three terrestrial channels and K-Net this week, except for Showtime, where they will face a fierce battle with Daydream, who are making a comeback on Thursday.

I understood that much.

“Do we have the scores to be a top candidate?”

“It’s a close call.”

Biju said.

“Thanks to the live camera footage, our music video views and chart rankings skyrocketed over the weekend. The PR team says it seems to have been reflected.”

“Ah...”

It all came back to that event.

At first, it seemed absurd, but then it made sense.

The top spot was vacant, and we surged up to third place over the weekend.

“We’re top candidates...”

The realization started to sink in.

My heart raced.

A pleasant shiver ran up my neck and cheeks.

Being a top candidate, I felt like I wanted to spread the news to everyone in the neighborhood.

I should call Mrs. Kim soon...

While I was lost in these thoughts, Lee Hyuk, who had been expressing his joy by rubbing his cheeks, suddenly seemed to remember something.

“Ah.”

“What’s wrong?”

Why is he looking at the grape juice like it’s poison?

“There’s something we forgot.”

“Forgot?”

“Remember the fan signing event? We made a promise that if we became top candidates, we’d wear mascot costumes and dance in Myeongdong.”

Ah, right.

“...”

Everyone blinked.

“...”

Thoughts raced through my mind.

Midsummer.

Outside temperature 33 degrees.

A stuffy and humid mascot costume.

Crowded Myeongdong.

Our faces started to pale as we imagined the hellish scenario.

“...”

After a moment of silence, I cautiously spoke.

“Should we just be happy for now?”

“Yeah, bro. It’s a good day.”

“Right, it’s not us now but our future selves who will suffer.”

We tried to steer the conversation back to a cheerful atmosphere, but the image of the mascot costume was already dancing in our heads.

* * *

The next day.

As we arrived at the HBS Sangam Tower, we were greeted with warm congratulations.

“Congratulations on being a top candidate!”

“That’s great.”

“How does it feel to be a top candidate? We want to experience it too.”

Junior artists with similar seniority congratulated us as we passed in the hallway.

“Thank you, we’re really overwhelmed. We suddenly became top candidates at the end of our activities.”

With twice as many people paying attention to us as usual, we were four times more cautious with our words and actions.

Especially in front of the other top candidates.

The senior artists who were also top candidates with us today were the girl group Misty and the solo artist Joanna.

The atmosphere was friendly.

With the autumn girls, who had swept the trophies for three consecutive weeks, and the ballad singer Jung Yun-hyung, who was in second place, ending their activities, the top spot on Showtime was up for grabs.

Those who would usually be in third place were now the top contenders.

Regardless of their desire for the top spot, everyone seemed to be enjoying this sudden good fortune.

After making a round of greetings, I felt drained.

At least, being a top candidate meant we could use the VIP waiting room alone, which was a relief.

While getting our makeup done for the upcoming recording, we felt a strange emptiness and looked for our manager.

“Min-ki, when is the manager coming?”

“He’s busy.”

“Is he always working? We haven’t seen him since yesterday. Is something not going well...?”

“Don’t worry too much.”

The road manager smiled while looking at his phone.

“I heard the situation is good.”

Our manager hasn’t been seen since yesterday.

He said he was out on business, but it’s unusual for him to be away for so long.

I couldn’t figure it out.

Was there a variety show we could appear on?

He wasn’t creating a new variety show.

The youngest member couldn’t contain his curiosity and asked Min-ki.

“Are you not going to tell us what it is?”

“He said to keep it under wraps until it’s confirmed. I want to tell you, but it’s a bit... Wait until tonight. By then, it should be clear.”

Despite the youngest member’s persistent questioning, the manager shook his head.

It seemed the negotiations were almost done, and now it was just a matter of the final deal.

I was curious about what our manager had been working on for a month and what news we would hear tonight.

“Aah, I’m excited.”

The youngest member stretched and smiled.

“I feel so good. The manager’s doing well, and things are going smoothly for us too.”

“You were so worried yesterday. You’re smiling now, our youngest.”

“I’ve let go of my worries.”

We couldn’t help but laugh.

Yesterday, he had been chasing us around all day, asking, “Will we be number one tomorrow?” “Can we be number one?” “Can we at least be second?”

I thought he had a good reason to be worried.

While the makeup artists were finishing up, Lee Hyuk shuddered and clicked his tongue.

“Really, I couldn’t sleep because of him last night. He kept rolling over and whispering, ‘Number one, number one, number one,’ like a ghost.”

“Yesterday, he was that eager.”

“What about now?”

“I’ve completely let go.”

I chuckled.

“Can you really let go? It’s natural to be eager.”

I couldn’t sleep after talking to Mrs. Kim last night.

Honestly, it’s impossible not to be eager.

It’s the top spot, after all.

Even if we got lucky to be a candidate, it would be a lie to say we don’t want to be number one.

I’m excited and hopeful.

But on the way here today, we all made a promise.

Being a top candidate is already a great honor, and we can’t control the outcome. Let’s enjoy the day.

Let’s share this good fortune with the people around us and our fans as we wrap up our activities.

“Guys, we have fan letters.”

“Oh.”

The fan manager appeared and handed Min-ki a new black eco-bag.

We took out the letters inside.

Colorful envelopes.

Letters from fans who visited the studio.

“Wow...”

Exclamations of amazement escaped our lips as we read the fan letters.

“Bro, look at this. Someone drew a really cute caricature. There are several versions, hahaha! Look at the Piraluku version of Lee Hyuk. It’s so cute.”

“I want to see.”