Free Web Novel-From now on, we’re going to film YouTube content regularly.
Was it two days ago?
Producer Raon came to the practice room and warned us that going forward, we’d be filming at least one YouTube episode a week, and today was the first day of that YouTube content shoot.
‘That’s a familiar face.’
And in that YouTube crew, I even saw staff members I’d run into back when they were filming Idol Ground 100.
Maybe they got scouted or something, because they greeted us brightly, saying they were now the content team lead at KJ Entertainment—our agency.
After the quick hellos, Content Team Lead Lee Hakyoon gave us a simple explanation of what we’d be filming today.
“Just relax and watch the video, and talk mostly about the stories that didn’t make it into the broadcast—what people usually call behind-the-scenes stories.”
I was extremely flustered by the explanation that this “content” was basically just setting up a mobile TV in the practice room and having us sit around talking while we watched it.
But what else could we do?
Doing what you’re told is part of being an idol, isn’t it?
We moved over to the chairs placed in front of the TV and finished getting ready to film.
“Wait, why are there only four chairs?”
“If everyone sits in chairs, they won’t all fit in the frame at once, so four people will sit in chairs and three will sit on the floor.”
Seo Ryujin seemed to be wondering why there were only four chairs, but at the staff member’s clear explanation while helping set up, Seo Ryujin had no choice but to nod.
So we had to decide among ourselves who got to sit in chairs, and that part was very simple.
“Under the senior-citizen quota, Gahyeon gets a seat, and under the foreign-labor quota, Yuri gets one seat. The problem is the other two seats.”
“Captain, do we not have some kind of youngest quota?”
“Yunkyung, did you live in America or something?”
“No. I’ve only been to America on vacation during break.”
“Then you’re on the floor. Why are you even asking?”
This wasn’t some Western barbarian country. In the Land of Propriety in the East, the youngest person’s place was already decided.
It didn’t matter if Yunkyung puffed out her cheeks and protested.
Yunkyung and Shinyu were locked to the floor.
“Then for the three of us, by birthday order—”
“Hey, Ryujin-scrub, don’t do that.”
“What?”
And for the remaining two chairs, it was basically already decided too.
“Ryujin, have you ever watched the Olympics?”
“···Why are you asking that out of nowhere?”
“In the Olympics, when a match ends, the athletes who place first through third stand on the podium, and those positions are fixed.”
The gold medal is in the middle, the silver medal is to the right of the gold, and the bronze medal is to the left.
“So wouldn’t it be reasonable for first place, me, and second place, coward Ryujin, to sit, and third place to sit on the floor?”
“Y-You···you···!!!”
A furious Seo Ryujin pointed at me.
Maybe Seo Ryujin was so flustered Seo Ryujin couldn’t even get the words out, because Seo Ryujin’s hand was trembling.
Normally, Seo Ryujin would’ve already rushed me and delivered a shoulder-blade smashing, but right now was fine.
‘In front of cameras, Seo Ryujin is as gentle as a lamb.’
When a genius of strategy and tactics openly provokes someone, it’s because there’s something to rely on.
“I think Lee Sion said something right for once. I agree.”
“Ryu Ayeon···!”
The moment Ryu Ayeon agreed with me too, Seo Ryujin had no choice but to bite down on Seo Ryujin’s lip and plop down on the floor.
“Alright, we’re starting the shoot now!”
With everything prepared, the YouTube content shoot began.
They said the whole point was “naturalness,” so they didn’t even give us a script, but that didn’t mean we were just talking with nothing at all.
-Please say hello together!
“Hello, we’re Iam!”
On the staff member’s cue—waving a sign written on a sketchbook—we all looked at the camera set up in front of us and said the greeting in sync.
“Today we’re going to watch the scenes that became hot topics back on Idol Ground 100, and talk about the behind-the-scenes stories hidden inside those scenes!”
“Woooo!”
At Lee Gahyeon’s explanation, the other members clapped and played along.
‘This is harder than I thought.’
I was smiling wide and clapping along like everyone else, but it wasn’t as easy as I expected. fɾēewebnσveℓ.com
Maybe thanks to my experience on Idol Ground 100, cameras themselves felt familiar, but the pressure of having all seven of us filming together was there in a way I couldn’t quite shake.
And I kept thinking, Is this actually going to be fun?
‘Whatever. Worrying won’t change anything. We just have to do it.’
Deciding I should just do my assigned role well, I looked at the monitor with the others.
***
The Idol Ground 100 fandom was starving.
-Today’s Friday. Why isn’t there an episode?
↳Is Mplay out of its mind? Why are they only airing reruns under the name “special episode”?
↳If you’ve got nothing, then call the girls in and film a talk show or something!
↳My Friday dopamine is gone···
↳Did KJ lock them on a deserted island or what? Why hasn’t a single update been posted?
-Fuck···Their Instagram and Facebook are all deleted
↳Seo Ryujin’s Instagram was so good, why! Why, seriously!!
↳Now I understand the Sionists. We didn’t have anything from the start!
↳Let’s think positively. Debut is right around the corner, so the agency probably started managing them
↳Then at least make an official account, you have a conscience, right?
And it made sense.
They were about to lose their minds because ever since the Final Round, there hadn’t been any activities—no news at all—from the debut members.
At least there were occasional updates about other eliminated contestants, though.
[Among the contestants who didn’t make Idol Ground 100’s final lineup, is the biggest point of interest Kim Suyeon?]
[Signals that Zero One Entertainment, Kim Nayeon’s original agency, is trying to recruit Kim Suyeon!]
[Procedures underway to terminate Yoo Jihye’s contract with RBU! The agency claims there are no contractual issues]
[Park Garam’s contract expires and Park Garam makes a surprise move to Zero One, charging out to achieve the dream Park Garam couldn’t finish on Agbaek!]
The Idol Ground 100 fandom had been buzzing with talk about the four contestants getting the most attention among those who unfortunately failed to debut.
Kim Suyeon, Kim Nayeon, Yoo Jihye, Park Garam.
Those four placed 8th, 9th, 10th, and 11th in the final rankings and narrowly missed debut, and rumors were starting to spread that they’d be gathering under Kim Nayeon’s agency, Zero One.
-Zero One just lay down and hit the jackpot
↳For real. Honestly, with those four, the popularity and buzz wouldn’t even be that different from the debut team
↳Kim Suyeon’s an independent trainee so fine, but isn’t it kind of iffy that Yoo Jihye and Park Garam would be betraying their old agencies?
↳Are you RBU up there or what? Those bastards kept Yoo Jihye locked up and shelved for two years. If it goes to court, RBU would be the one paying money back, so they let Yoo Jihye go, and you call that “betrayal”?
↳Park Garam’s trainee contract was expiring anyway
On top of that, there were plenty of updates coming out about other contestants who’d appeared on Idol Ground 100, so people were farming that for discussion too.
But—
-It’s here!!!
What they’d been waiting for more than anything was news about Iam, the group made up of Idol Ground 100’s final members.
[Idol Ground 100’s project group is ready to launch!]
[Is the D-33 posted on the official Instagram account a countdown to the debut date?]
[Mplay schedules Iam’s reality variety show, “Iam Yours”]
[A hidden look at Iam members’ current updates! Revealed through their self-produced YouTube channel]
And right when public attention and fan interest were peaking, news about Iam started pouring out in an ambush.
-They already started styling? That’s insane
↳Who came up with Shinyu cutting the hair short? Crazy. So handsome
↳From now on, let’s just give pigtails to Yuri only. It fits perfectly
↳Did they change Seo Ryujin and Ryu Ayeon’s styling on purpose to contrast them? But it suits both of them
↳What the hell, why is Yunkyung so cute lol Total youngest-energy
↳Lee Gahyeon looks sexy with hair tied up···
↳Sion is still silver-haired. T_T Even seeing it again, that beauty isn’t human
Starting with the group photo of the members posted on Iam’s official Instagram account, and the D-33 that seemed to be marking the debut date, fans were losing it.
Since the prevailing expectation was that even if they rushed debut, it would still take at least two months, the idea of only one month was a huge shock.
That led to worries that they were going to throw something together and come back half-baked, but—
[I thought KJ was going to squeeze the girls dry and make them debut with some random song, but it doesn’t seem like that]
“Iam’s producer is Raon! This is seriously huge. Maybe because she used to be a singer, but the way she’s releasing info on schedule with the debut date, and calming fans down with variety and self-produced content is really good.
And according to rumors, they were already preparing the debut album even before the members were chosen, so that’s why it ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) can come out fast.
Is KJ out of its mind? Is this really a new agency?
Why are they so good at this?”
↳You watching, YH? Fuck. Even a new agency can run things smoothly like this, so why do you lock the girls in a jewelry box and never show them?
↳Raon is the producer? That’s so out of nowhere it’s almost shocking
↳But KJ really must have invested a lot. Looking at the info they released, the AR team is nothing but industry pros
↳They haven’t even debuted yet, and just setting up a YouTube team and releasing self-produced content already passes
Watching KJ’s moves afterward, the Iam fandom’s anxiety eased.
Especially—
[Iam: First Story]
They were watching the teaser for the first self-produced content video uploaded to YouTube, and the anticipation was through the roof.
-lol Lee Sion telling Seo Ryujin to sit on the floor because Seo Ryujin is third place, isn’t that insane?
↳I almost died laughing when Lee Sion asked Yunkyung if Yunkyung lived in America and then said you guys have no choices lol
↳Wait···Was it a survival show, not because they did variety, but because variety is just their everyday life?
↳Agbaek behind-the-scenes, told by them directly? Whoever planned it, that’s a genius-level idea
-(Lee Gahyeon’s face after getting a seat “under the senior-citizen quota” from Lee Sion)
↳Our Gahyeon is only twenty-two!!!
↳Someone please seal Lee Sion away!
↳Gahyeon is my top pick so I’m sad, but that completely dead expression is so funny I’m going to cry
↳And in the middle of this, Geum Shinyu is smiling like it’s fine even if Lee Sion says to sit on the floor lol
Just from the teaser alone, fans’ excitement grew at how close the members looked—like they’d already debuted and been promoting together for years.
***
‘Is this right?’
Kim Sanghyeok sank into deep deliberation while staring at the video file playing on the monitor—an absurd clip of a skull.
-It’s structured as two versions for self-produced content Episode 1. We’ll upload whichever one the CEO and Producer decide on.
It was because of a report Content Team Lead Lee Hakyoon had submitted.
The report itself wasn’t bad.
Rather than bringing only one option and asking for improvements, Lee Hakyoon had prepared two choices from the start, like a model employee saying, “Pick whatever suits your taste.”
The problem was the content.
‘Feels like I’m the main character in The Matrix, choosing the red pill or the blue pill.’
They were clearly the same footage, just edited differently, but the two videos Lee Hakyoon reported couldn’t have been more polar opposite in direction.
The first was a textbook, standard idol self-produced video.
It was a clean, pretty edit of the members watching Idol Ground 100 clips—smiling brightly, or sniffing and tearing up—exactly how those videos were “supposed” to look.
It felt similar to the idol content Kim Sanghyeok had mainly watched while studying before becoming CEO.
The second was an edit cut purely for fun and stimulation.
A video packed with provocative beats, like it was asking, Can you really watch this and not laugh?
-I personally want to recommend this one.
And Producer Raon’s pick, after watching both versions together, was the second version. fгeewёbnoѵel.cσm
‘This is what idols are supposed to be moving toward?’
Kim Sanghyeok was conflicted.
If it was purely about entertainment, Kim Sanghyeok admitted the second video was better, but the thought kept battling in Kim Sanghyeok’s head: But they’re idols. Is this really right?
-Idols don’t need to keep that old “mysterious” image anymore. People need something like a friend they can watch comfortably. On stage, they’re overflowing with charisma, but in everyday life, it’s a comfortable, natural vibe. A two-track approach.
Kim Sanghyeok had always had a plan.
Back when Kim Sanghyeok was a regular office worker at KJ Media, right on the verge of being promoted to deputy general manager, the moment the higher-ups suggested Kim Sanghyeok go over to KJ Entertainment as CEO for a while and “set the foundation,” Kim Sanghyeok began drawing a blueprint.
After being appointed CEO, Kim Sanghyeok studied the rapidly growing K-pop industry like crazy, and swore KJ Entertainment would build an idol group that could stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the industry leaders, referencing the marketing they’d shown.
Click.
Without a word, Kim Sanghyeok clicked the mouse and played the second video again.
And—
-Back then, Ryujin-scrub fought dirty, that’s why Ryujin-scrub won. If we go again, I can totally crush Ryujin-scrub.
-What? Dirty? Hey, scrub, if you’re so confident, why don’t you go again right now?
-Okay. Did you think I’d chicken out like Ryu Ayeon? I’m not backing down.
-I chickened out? You should be grateful you didn’t collide with me back then. If you’d faced me, both of you would’ve been eliminated in prelims.
-What’s with you guys fighting? You’re the same losers anyway. It’s not like you can beat Yuri either, right?
In the video, they were watching old clips, then suddenly started bickering, and then out of nowhere, the members began playing a chicken-fight in the practice room.
‘This is the future of idols···?’
Kim Sanghyeok couldn’t help doubting Raon, who had praised this video as the future idols needed to move toward.
At first, Raon’s joining had felt like reinforcements from heaven—Raon had a flashy past career, and the hidden career as a songwriter was impressive too.
Now, Raon looked like a demon about to smash Kim Sanghyeok’s future career.
But—
‘I need to learn.’
Kim Sanghyeok realized again that, in the entertainment business, Kim Sanghyeok was still a novice.
There was clearly a lot Kim Sanghyeok didn’t know, and Kim Sanghyeok believed that Raon, as the expert, had noticed and caught things Kim Sanghyeok was missing.
Click.
Placing a hand on the office phone, Kim Sanghyeok pressed 4 to connect to the content team lead.
“Hakyoon. As the CEO, I’ll take responsibility. Upload the second option.”
Kim Sanghyeok made the call.
