Becoming An Idol Wasn’T On My Plan [EN]: Chapter 175

175.

“What is it this time?”

A whisper into my ear, careful not to be overheard by our manager in the otherwise silent car. Usually, Chae Hamin would be sitting next to me, but he must be tired today because he’s sprawled out on the widest back seat.

“There’s going to be a chain of scandals among actors in about five months.”

Sensitive issues in Korean society, like debt or abuse of power, are going to erupt like a flurry of snow. Why do these issues always surface all at once? Is it because when one breaks, reporters rush to expose others before the initial investigation gets buried?

“Wow… is there a list?”

“It’s in my head. Isn’t hyung [older brother or male friend] the one with the widest network among us?”

“Well, yeah… that’s true. But I hardly know any actors.”

“Hmm, that guy.”

“Who?”

“Park Woo-jin.”

Ryu Iden immediately frowned as if he’d heard something he shouldn’t have.

“Is he already causing trouble?”

“It’s not that he’s causing it… more like he’s getting caught up in a typhoon.”

It seems Park Woo-jin is being careful when it comes to matters where his own neck is on the line, rather than leading a group. When I asked the Oracle [referring to his ability to foresee events], there wasn’t much to it. It’s clear he has some human decency.

“Anyway, I think you should just be careful since you’re likely still in contact with Park Woo-jin, given your personality.”

Ryu Iden pouted as if he’d been caught.

“They say you should keep your enemies close.”

“…I realized that when you were reading *Romance of the Three Kingdoms* [a classic Chinese novel] last time.”

“You have no idea how impressed I was after reading that.”

Be quiet. If you’re going to talk about life while discussing *Romance of the Three Kingdoms*, you’re at least in your thirties.

“Anyway, I’ll share the list later.”

Ryu Iden nodded and scribbled something on his phone.

— Survival Lecture for Celebrities, Lesson 1: Befriend Ji Dong-hwa.

“…What are you writing?”

“Later, when we get juniors [younger or less experienced colleagues], they’ll ask for advice, right? I’m going to tell them to become friends with you first.”

Why are you creating troublesome situations? It’s already a headache taking care of the people around me.

“That sounds like a difficult task.”

“Right? I’m worried they might give up on being celebrities altogether, but it’s high risk, high return. There’s so much to gain from being friends with you.”

There was a rustling sound from the back seat. It’s the sound of a rabbit coming out of its burrow.

“It wasn’t hard to become friends with Dong-hwa. Dong-hwa is so kind and accommodating. He doesn’t even show that he hates mushrooms.”

“That’s just for you. You have no idea how hard I tried to become friends with Dong-hwa at first! We even worked out together, huh?”

“…If that’s what you call effort, then your approach was completely wrong.”

Ryu Iden kept talking to Chae Hamin as if he couldn’t hear me. I quietly hoped that Ryu Iden wouldn’t do such things to his juniors.

* * *

Screech. Screech.

I am currently cutting paper. Using a ruler and a sharp cutter knife.

“…Dong-hwa, can’t you just tear it with your hands?”

The other members asked me not to come near them, so Chae Hamin sat far away on the living room sofa and muttered.

“Then it’ll become like puzzle pieces.”

There aren’t many crazy people who would try to assemble paper scraps cut evenly into the shape of letters like a puzzle, but hand-torn paper is more likely to make people think, ‘Oh? Should I try to put it together?’ So, I’m cutting the paper within an error range that is visually indistinguishable.

“…What could it be that makes you do this? You’re a truly incomprehensible friend.”

Not many people are as easy to understand as me, Hamin. I find you even harder to understand.

“Come to think of it, you cut paper like that before too. I briefly saw the word ‘rabbit’ and you told me not to look.”

Ah, that.

“Seriously, why do you have so many secrets? I have nothing to hide.”

Then, Chae Hamin continued to grumble, recalling every memory of being betrayed in *Detection* [likely a TV show or movie they were in], repeatedly saying he was disappointed.

Regardless, I kept slicing the paper endlessly.

Bang, the door burst open. Who opens the door so violently? I don’t even need to look, it’s the dinosaur.

“Hyung, hyung, look at our music chart results.”

Oh dear, Hyun-jae……. He stood there with a tablet in one hand, looking anxious.

Bang, the door burst open again. This time, it’s definitely the dinosaur.

“Dong-hwa hyung! Look at this! Crazy, look at our results!”

Oh dear, Iden…….

Seok-jun leisurely strolled in through the already open door, expressing his excitement with unknown steps, like something out of a primitive tribal rain dance. Get those steps from the primitive tribal rain dance out of here.

Screech. I made another cut with the cutter knife. Amidst the chaos, they were keeping the promise I asked of them: ‘Don’t come into the kitchen.’

Chae Hamin jumped up from his seat and ran to Lee Hyun-jae, sticking close to him to see the results. The current time is about 12 AM. Since it’s based on cumulative performance, it’s been about six hours since the release.

“Wow… what, mph.”

Ryu Iden blocked Chae Hamin’s mouth as he tried to say something.

“Curious? Huh? You, the lawless human who occupied the kitchen!”

Don’t talk like you’re occupying the headquarters during a student general meeting. I asked you a favor. There’s a huge difference.

“If you want to know what rank we are, you’ll have to come out of your utopia! You evil composer!”

“Wow… Dong-hwa not carrying his phone is such a disadvantage.”

No, it’s not, what are you talking about.

I was about to get up from my seat, but I saw the pile of paper that still had a long way to go. Well, it’s not a big deal if the members are watching anyway.

I stood up from my seat and walked out of the kitchen on my own two feet.

“Look at this, what rank did we get?”

I was slightly surprised when I read the words on the phone Ryu Iden held out.

“…In the 30s?”

“Yeah. For a male idol group to get this result six hours after release? This is a done deal. This time, we might skip winning first place on music shows and even get first place on the music charts?”

Ryu Iden was chugging down kimchi soup with gusto. Why is he making such an excited face about something that we’ll only know after we see the results?

“This is all thanks to Chae Hamin.”

“That’s right. It’s all thanks to being drunk on non-alcoholic beverages.”

“That’s right.”

“Hyung-nim [a respectful term for older brother or senior], thank you.”

“Stop it already! Please! Stop bringing that up. Everyone has a past they want to hide!”

Oh, Hamin, your vocabulary has improved. You’re not quite a doctor, but you could be called a master’s rabbit [an idiom meaning someone who has learned a lot].

* * *

There are various sites that discuss idols in general. However, there are often groups favored by specific sites, or groups treated as public enemies. Fan cafes are a collection of like-minded people, but there are things that cannot be said there. Therefore, they become internet nomads, occupying specific sites and expressing their thoughts without reservation.

This place is occupied by those who have sold their souls to Dione Entertainment. It is mainly frequented by fans from Blue Jack to the recent Hoppin. Of course, they don’t necessarily like each other just because they’re from the same entertainment company, but at least coexistence was possible.

And in this place where hardcore Dione stans [superfans] gathered, one Luminous wrote a post and ignited a fire.

[Idol Scene After Blossence’s Comeback]

1. Seems to have established themselves in the second tier

2. Could reach the first tier with one big hit song

3. Then HighSix should come down from the first tier

Comments

└Caught a Lumnut [a fan of Luminous]..^^└└I think they came to diss HighSix, not Luminous ㅋㅌㅋㅋㅋㅋㅌㅋ [laughter]└It’s not important whether Blossence becomes first tier or not, the only fact that remains is that HighSix is washed up└└Are you a little angry because Blue Jack hasn’t had a comeback?└└HighSix is up for contract renewal soon

[Let’s give up on dissing Blossence with music charts]

Even if you complain that it’s bad, you can’t argue because of the music chart rankings Comments└Me, with Dione’s blood flowing… Did you stream *The Time Waiting For You* [likely a song title]?

└Now the only hope is Hoppin. Hoppin has to tear up the music charts to get some Dione뽕 [Dione hype/buzz]└└That’s right. Dione needs to do their job. How could they not get first place during their debut when they picked such good kids?└Honestly, is Ji Dong-hwa some kind of strategic weapon raised by Nietzsche [another entertainment company]? His performance is insaneㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ└└Honestly, I want to hate him, but when I see him working… I think, ah… he’s the real deal…

└I feel a bit more affectionate towards Ji Dong-hwa because of the Mok-hwa profile picture

└ㅋㅋㅌㅋㅋㅋㅌㅋㅋ [laughter] Seeing brothers within idols is something different└└ㅋㅋㅌㅋㅌㅋㅋㅋㅌㅋㅋ [laughter] When I see Blossence, I just think… ah… they’re brothers…

The war between Timers [Blossence’s fandom name] and Bluetooth [another fandom name, likely for another group] has a long history. As a result, there is often an unknown tension between the fandoms of Nietzsche Entertainment and Dione Entertainment, but suddenly, the members of each group appeared as brothers. Unlike Romeo and Juliet, who were not recognized for their love because they were from enemy countries, they are family members proven at the genetic level.

However, even so, Hoppin’s fandom, Wishes, were hoping. A comeback that overlapped in a strange way. The fact that brother groups would compete for the top spot was a very obvious fact. That’s why they have been called by different names in history, such as nobles, true bones [a Korean social class], powerful families, scholars, and golden spoons [born into wealth], and in the idol scene, they are called ‘Dione.’ Wishes wanted to show the world that they were born different from the start.

[Did you see Hoppin’s comeback teaser?]

I saw it and died on the spot.

Comments

└Who did they pick as the composer this time? They only played the beginning, but is it okay to be this hard? It’s so good, I feel like I’ve lost the rhythm of my K-pop└└What kind of feeling is that ㅋㅋㅌㅋㅋㅋㅋㅌㅋ [laughter]└(This comment is only a soul.)

└This is it, let’s get first place

└└But ta-da! When you see the real thing, they’re armed with incomprehensible concepts and incomprehensible songs!

└└That day, Lee Young-hyun’s head will be broken in my hands.

└They changed the composer

└└I think they got a foreign song

└└Whatever it is, isn’t it proof that they’re finally working…? And a few days later, when the actual MV and showcase were released, the Hoppin fandom exploded. In a positive sense.

[I have a question for those who have been Dione stans for a while.]

Please just tell me which direction Sinclair lives in. I’ll bow to them.

Comments

└Is the first song real? This should be seen as the ultimate weapon Dione has raised.

└I feel defeated because they understand the kids’ voices better than I do. Ah… I’m just an ordinary person…

└I nodded again when I saw Sinclair’s name in the arrangement… Did you also care about our kids’ concept…?

└Who did the best among the following? 1. Dione who works hard 2. Sinclair who is just sleeping └└22222222222└Wow… but it’s so amazing…. A company the size of Dione is using a rookie composer’s song as the title track…

└└Answer: Understandable when comparing the quality with the B-sides

* * *

“Two, three!”

In front of me, Diki, no, Jin-han, shouted loudly.

“We the hope! Hello, we are Hoppin!”

Is there any need to be so polite? We’re brother groups in the dictionary definition.

“Oh, hello!”

While Ryu Iden started talking to Diki, I quickly checked the costumes. Thank goodness, really. Dione’s past groups’ costumes were often bizarre, but at least now they look normal.

Kim Hyun-jin and our Mok-hwa were sparkling their eyes, and Jin-han was sparkling his eyes even more seriously. His will to ‘please talk to me, then I will somehow continue the conversation’ seemed too strong.

However, it’s too bothersome for my personality to accept Jin-han’s request, so I silently handed each of the Hoppin members the cookies I had bought in advance, smiled, but didn’t say a word.

As I turned around and tried to sit down and rest, a loud voice rang out from behind.

“S-Sunbaenim [a respectful term for senior]!”

Ah, bold.