Holy Idol [EN]: Chapter 175

175. One-Top

“Who leaked the article?”

At Representative Lim’s question, the staff exchanged glances. No one stepped forward to claim responsibility. No one.

“Correction. Who let it slip?”

Representative Lim rephrased the question. His expression transformed like a compressed rocket, his anger soaring immensely, like a rocket just before launch.

But again, no one answered. It was inevitable. They didn’t know themselves.

Many had shared this amazing story with those close to them, or whispered among themselves. They hadn’t called reporters to reveal it, but one never knew. The staff became disheartened, wondering if someone might have overheard the story in the process, or if they had made a slip of the tongue.

“Listen up, listen up, listen up, everyone!”

Enraged, Representative Lim banged on the whiteboard, each strike pushing it further back until it slammed against the wall. He stepped back, panting.

“There’s no way twelve advertisers would conspire to use Woo Yeonwoo in their ads all at once! While things are still being discussed verbally, while it’s still uncertain whether it will even happen, are you saying twelve advertisers simultaneously called reporters for a press conference? No way!”

Some advertisers were shrewd. They would spread rumors in advance, then make a final decision on whether to sign a contract based on public opinion. Or, they would subtly leak their position to the media to shake up an unresponsive party, hoping to induce them to change their mind.

But for twelve brands to use this method simultaneously? Unthinkable. Moreover, it wasn’t like one or two brands released articles first. They all came out together, didn’t they?

Right. The fact that these articles appeared together is strange. It wasn’t one article per advertisement; one article covered all twelve brands. Anyone unaware of the situation would see it as an article commissioned by LLL Entertainment, based on information they provided.

“But what do we do? It’s already a hot topic.”

“Already? How long has it been?”

“People react fast, you know. It’s already trending all over the real-time search rankings.”

“Similar articles are popping up one after another. ‘Advertisers’ Top Pick,’ ‘The Hottest Trend,’ ‘Rising Star’…”

“There’s even an article analyzing Yeonwoo’s popularity. It says the reason for his popularity is that he provides vicarious satisfaction to people who can’t properly express themselves in an atmosphere where they’re always watching others.”

The staff simultaneously thought, “Interpreting dreams better than the dream itself.”

Representative Lim sighed and slumped into his chair, pinching the bridge of his nose.

As Representative Lim, he couldn’t help but feel perplexed. This was clearly a good thing, but the company hadn’t yet decided which of the twelve offers to accept. They were planning to carefully consider the image of the celebrity ‘Woo Yeonwoo’ and various contract terms.

Moreover, appearing in twelve advertisements simultaneously could give the image of a ‘trendsetter,’ but the fresh image would decline rapidly. If handled poorly, people might get tired of him.

“Hoo. What’s the public reaction like?”

“It’s generally positive. Most people are saying, ‘It was bound to happen sooner or later.'”

“Even people who don’t watch TV know Woo Yeonwoo. In terms of buzz, he’s the most popular right now, so they’re acknowledging it.”

“What about WA fans?”

“They like it, but they’re also worried.”

* * *

[Secret Post Yeonwoo, our leader ㅠㅠ The rumor about twelve ad offers, is it true? Congratulations! But I hope you (don’t get upset by me saying this ㅠㅠ) take good care of the other members. I think WA is different, but if only one person is doing well, the team can easily fall apart… We’re happy as you succeed, but the members right next to you might feel uneasy. It’s not because they’re bad people, but that’s just how people are. So, I hope you take good care of the other members, especially during times like these… Sorry for meddling. Always supporting you.]

One fan left a long message as a secret post on their SNS account. They were such a passionate fan that they would show up to support him at music shows seven out of ten times.

Rembrary scratched his head as he read the fan’s post. What to do? It already feels like the atmosphere has turned strange.

Last night, news broke like a sudden raid that Rembrary was receiving love calls from advertisers, and this news spread quickly across the internet. The awkward atmosphere that existed even before the article was published became even more strained after the article came out.

Everyone was holed up in the agency’s practice room, practicing the title track’s group choreography due to Jongwoo’s urging that they should practice even harder during times like these, but no one seemed to be burning with passion.

“Is there even a point in practicing this?”

At Taein’s cynical remark, the members who were taking a break all turned their heads toward Taein. Taein threw the towel on the floor, kicked it, rested his arms on his knees, and turned his head sharply toward the door, away from Rembrary.

“We have to practice.”

Jungseo tried his best to soothe him with a blunt voice, but it was no use.

“What’s the point of practicing? Even if we perfectly synchronize the group choreography and create an amazing performance, it’s just to cover up Woo Yeonwoo’s lack of dancing skills, isn’t it? People like him so much even though he can’t dance, so is there even a need to work hard on dancing in the first place?”

“Taein.”

“Ah, I’m right. Even if we practice really hard now and perfectly synchronize the group choreography, later, after he transitions to acting or goes solo, they’ll just say, ‘Woo Yeonwoo used to be an idol, right?’ and use it as background footage.”

Taein, enraged, stormed out.

Rembrary put down his phone, lifted his gaze from the post the fan left, and stared at the door that slammed shut. With Taein gone, the atmosphere became even more awkward.

“I’m going too.”

Keshi quickly got up and chased after Taein. Keshi and Taein are usually the two with the worst relationship. Right now, he would rather chase after Taein than stay here.

Hyegeol, who had been watching the older members, hesitantly got up and silently followed them.

The dance instructor, who returned a while later, was flustered when he saw that only two people were left in the practice room and asked.

“What’s going on? Where did the other three go?”

After learning about the situation, the dance instructor called Jongwoo, and Jongwoo, fuming, searched the building and found the three scattered members.

Keshi was crying on the veranda while talking to Yulri on the phone, Taein was in the small garden in front of the agency, which was decorated for walks, with a troubled expression. Hyegeol was caught playing games in the lounge.

However, Jongwoo couldn’t severely scold the three members who were dispirited in their own ways. In the end, Jongwoo lightly scolded them and left the children to the dance instructor.

Instead, before returning to the dorm. He called Rembrary separately, not the other members, and asked him not to boast about filming many advertisements in front of the other members as much as possible.

“Jongwoo. Should I tell you the best way to resolve this situation?”

“Is there such a thing?”

“Reject all the advertisements that have come in this time. That’s all you have to do.”

“Reject them all after the article has already been published? We’ll get a bad image for doing annoying noise marketing again, right? Besides, there’s nothing wrong with you filming a lot of advertisements in itself.”

Jongwoo sighed and patted Rembrary’s shoulder, telling him to go to the car. Then, after pausing for a moment, he called Rembrary back and asked.

“Wait a minute. Yeonwoo. Let me ask you something.”

“What is it?”

“I, of course, don’t think it’s true, but I still feel like I have to ask.”

“Why are you hesitating so much?”

“You…”

You?

“You’re not still in contact with that person who offered to sponsor you before, are you?”

“I’m not. Didn’t I tell you right away?”

“Okay. I was just asking in case, just in case. I didn’t think so either.”

It wasn’t a lie. No matter how great a sponsor is, they wouldn’t be able to give you twelve advertisements all at once. It was such a sudden thing that I just asked for now.

“Yeonwoo.”

“What is it this time?”

“I can’t openly say you’re doing well because of the other kids, but I feel sorry to you for that.”

“?”

“It’s an achievement you earned by working hard. I’m sorry for making you worry about the kids, but it’s a good thing for you, so be proud of it. The company is also panicking because the article suddenly broke, but everyone was ecstatic when the offer first came in.”

“Is that so?”

“Yeah. You too, call your brother and brag. And your parents.”

* * *

Rembrary accepted Jongwoo’s advice, sent a text message to Woo Yeonwoo’s mother after returning to the dorm, and then called Woo Sungwoo. Of course, he didn’t call Woo Sungwoo to brag.

“Is this your doing?”

He only called to protest.

A sigh was heard over the phone.

[I was against it. It wasn’t me.]

“Cancel it.”

[Canceling it now will only damage your image. Rumors will spread that it’s noise marketing, or that something happened to you and it was secretly canceled, or something like that.]

“Are you still releasing that kind of article?”

[Just accept it for now, and don’t renew the contract later. That’s the best way.]

“No matter how hard you try, I will never work with Nakru.”

Rembrary said firmly and pressed the end call button. The calling display flickered briefly on the phone screen and immediately returned to the home screen.

Rembrary squatted on the veranda and checked SNS [Social Networking Service]. Strangely enough, the atmosphere was also chaotic among the fans.

Some fans were happy that Rembrary was gradually becoming a superstar, some were afraid that the gap within the group would become too large, and some were worried that it would become a one-top group if the agency didn’t push the other members quickly.

In the meantime, some fans who argued that ‘Woo Yeonwoo should abandon Wild Animal and work as a solo singer and actor’ and some fans who argued that ‘Woo Yeonwoo’s identity is in Wild Animal, and he wouldn’t have become popular if he hadn’t been in Wild Animal. Now Woo Yeonwoo has to take care of the members’ had been fighting in the comments for three hours.

‘Should I stop this or watch it…’

But as he sighed and watched the fans fight, he heard the sound of the veranda door sliding open. It was Keshi coming out to the veranda.

When their eyes met, Keshi flinched for a moment. Rembrary lowered his gaze back to his phone. He just thought he came out for some air.

But the sound of footsteps got closer. When the sound of dry sand crunching on the concrete came right up to him. Rembrary turned the phone screen black and looked up. Keshi was standing awkwardly right in front of him.

“Why are you doing this?”

When Rembrary asked, Keshi hesitated, then turned around and looked inside the living room. And after looking at the next veranda, he sat next to Rembrary.

Why is he suddenly acting friendly… As Rembrary looked at him in bewilderment, Keshi quickly suggested.

“You found the blackmailer before, right? I’ll tell you who it is. Instead, let’s film one advertisement together.”