Free Web Novel[First ad]
[TSP rookie girl group “LYNX” announces debut]
“Attention is growing after TSP, a powerhouse known for its girl groups, announced the debut of a new girl group. Prepared by TSP a full six years after debuting Mass Eye in 2010, the rookie girl group LYNX is a name that combines a constellation that means ‘observer’ with a link···.”
↳It finally dropped, our lynxes
↳lol even they thought it was funny they took it from a lynx constellation, so look at them bringing up some other meaning
↳When are they gonna reveal the members?
↳It’s TSP, trainee info leaks so much it basically already got out though?
↳What’s going to happen with Ryu Ayeon? Is she joining later?
↳If they do that, the fandom’s gonna riot. Adding someone later is legit dangerous
“No, why did they have to debut right now?!”
Jiyeon fumed as she read the article that had popped up online.
D-25.
That was how much time was left until the debut of Iam, the group Jiyeon supported.
But then she heard that TSP’s rookie girl group was announcing their debut through a music show a full week earlier, and there was no way she was not going to be mad.
And it made sense, because,
-Can our girls get first place?
↳Not easy. They’re a big company for a reason. A place like TSP has a company fandom, so the numbers are on a different level
↳Not easy. They’re a big company for a reason. A place like TSP has a company fandom, so the numbers are on a different level
↳It’ll probably come down to the song. Girl groups climb the charts off digital performance, so
↳Damn, then TSP has the advantage. Park Taesu will probably write their track
↳We just have to trust Raon
That was because the fandom had been running on hope, thinking that since there were no major competitors around Iam’s debut timing, maybe they could aim for first place.
-TSP got beef with us or what? If they debut a week earlier, we could end up getting screwed all promotion season, no?
↳For real. If the promo periods overlap completely, and we spend the whole time clapping for them before it ends, that’s a disaster
↳Other girl group fandoms are watching us with narrowed eyes right now, so this is basically setting us up to get mocked
↳But why are we assuming we’ll lose? If you look at it, our fandom is pretty big too
↳They’re well-known, but we don’t actually know the real fan ratio yet
↳Yeah, for music show rankings, it’s the fans who actually stream and buy albums that matter
↳I heard a rumor SY is debuting a rookie girl group too, but that’s probably just gossip, right?
↳No way. If that happens, this year is going to be a bloodbath freeweɓnøvel.com
Especially because Iam’s promotion period would overlap perfectly with theirs, Jiyeon and the rest of Yours were scared that if things went wrong, their debut promotions could end without a single first-place win.
‘At least Yours has it better than some.’
Yours, Iam’s fandom name.
The fan cafe Jiyeon used to run, Sionism, had been switched over into an Iam fan cafe and was now being actively operated.
Jiyeon did feel a little sad that the cafe she had poured so much love into had left her hands, but she was still satisfied.
For one thing, it had gotten so huge that managing it alone could easily eat an entire day, but now that KJ Entertainment was managing it directly, it was honestly a relief.
And more than anything,
-They’re doing business right. When KJ drops the album, I’m buying one extra
↳This is supposed to be a new company?
↳Honestly, if it were Yours, I would’ve assumed they’d run events and ads for a year, drain the hype, then toss them. Massive thumbs up
↳Big thumbs up!
↳I figured they’d do reality content since they’re from M-Play, but the way they’re pumping out self-produced content and updates is unreal
↳I believed in you!!! (I did not believe in you)
KJ Entertainment was showing an entirely normal—no, an excellent—example of how to run an idol agency, so Jiyeon had zero regrets about handing the cafe over.
Bzz.
At the phone notification sound, she turned on her screen and saw an Instagram message.
She opened it right away, and on the official Iam account she followed, a new post had gone up.
[Today’s Iam]
(A photo of Im Yunkyung on her knees with her hands raised, wearing a sketchbook around her neck that says “I am a traitor.”)
Please check today’s episode of Iam’s reality show, “Iam Story,” for the full details!
↳Yunkyung, what on earth did you do?
↳I don’t know why, but I feel like I know exactly which member made her do that
↳There’s only one person it could be lol
↳I love that they post updates like this every day
↳That looks like their dorm. Are they revealing it on today’s reality episode?
↳Reality shows are usually boring so I wasn’t expecting much, but why does Iam already feel like it’ll be fun? lmao
Jiyeon hurriedly hit the heart and checked the comments.
‘There are already this many comments.’
Even though she had come in the moment the notification popped, the number of hearts and comments was already climbing fast.
It was like proof of how much attention Iam’s official Instagram had been getting lately.
‘Posting daily updates with unreleased photos like this isn’t easy. Whoever’s running this, the sense is insane!’
The reason it was so popular was that every day, they shared unreleased photos of the members along with that day’s news.
When there was a broadcast related to Iam, they would announce it directly through Instagram like today, and when there was nothing scheduled, they would satisfy fans by giving small glimpses into the members’ daily lives—an official account that knew exactly what it was doing.
In a way, it was all very small stuff, but Jiyeon believed those were the things that had a huge impact on being a fan.
Fans did not want that much.
Just showing little bits of info about the members like this was enough to make them happy, yet so many places could not even do that—sometimes it really felt like they thought fans were suckers.
Some official idol accounts posted once a month at most, after all.
“Huh?”
While she was enjoying the comments, another post went up on Iam’s official account.
At first she thought it might be an upload mistake because they had never posted back-to-back like this, but then she saw it was not just a post—it was a video—and she had no choice but to tap it immediately.
Ding-dong-deng-dong.
As the video started, a familiar bell sound rang out.
‘That’s a school bell, isn’t it?’
A welcome sound signaling the end of class.
At the same time, the screen showed a classroom as the teacher left.
Among the girls getting up and chattering noisily at their desks, she saw seven familiar faces.
-Youth is hungry!
With the narration, seven schoolgirls kicked their chairs back and started running down the hallway.
‘What is this?! What even is this?’
Jiyeon stared at the members sprinting down the corridor with determined expressions, completely confused about what she was watching, when—
-Break through the hardship!
[Who told you to run in the hallway?!]
With the narration, a middle-aged male teacher holding a stick blocked the hallway, trying to catch the Iam members.
But the members slipped past him on both sides like the wind.
Soon they burst out of the school, reached the field, and ran straight across—fresh and bright, like something out of a sports drink commercial.
Thunk!
They reached the front gate, but the school’s main gate was tightly shut.
While the members froze, not knowing what to do, Lee Sion stared at them with a grim expression, gave a small nod, then kicked off and vaulted over the wall.
Lee Sion landed outside the school like an action hero.
But without a second to breathe, Sion ran again—only to stop in front of a building with an extremely familiar look.
Jingle.
Sion opened the door and went inside.
[Welcome! GU, always bringing you happiness!]
Sion bowed in greeting without saying a word, then tore through the convenience store like a storm, before dumping a mountain of items onto the counter.
[How much is it?!]
[With your 50% discount, all of this comes to 9,900 won!]
[Really?]
[Of course—if you use the GU membership app!]
-A youth that takes on challenges is beautiful!
-Install the GU membership app now and get the Iam after-school set 50% off! Don’t miss it.
“It was an ad?”
After watching the video all the way through, Jiyeon still could not believe what she had just seen.
***
[Breaking!! Lee Sion debuts as the bread runner]
(Iam GU convenience store ad video)
↳A redemption arc for a “school bully” (not actually) lmao
↳Honestly, Lee Sion’s face is more “the one giving orders” than “the one running errands,” agreed?
↳lol Sion beat all the tough kids with one fist back then, you think a school wall is stopping that?
↳You can tell Sion moves different, probably because it’s not the first time after that “Agbaek” escape
↳Also, Geum Shinyu and Im Yunkyung, the Youngest line, are cute even in the ad
↳GU’s got an eye for talent, making ads after recognizing Iam’s popularity
↳The ad itself is just a perfect match with Iam, vibes and all
“Hmm···so in the end, I did everything.”
“What are you talking about! Me and Ryu Ayeon worked our butts off filming this too?!”
“Yuri matched Sion’s speed and ran so hard her legs cramped up!”
“Wasn’t I pretty good at acting here? When I said, ‘Go on without me!’ the director praised me.”
“I thought filming an ad would be hard, but it was more fun than I expected!”
During a break in practice, we were all gathered together watching a video.
It was our first ad.
Lately, our schedule had been pretty intense.
To prepare for our debut album, we went back and forth to the recording studio whenever we could and recorded the songs that would be on the album.
-And nice to meet you. I’m Park Daehun, and I’ll be in charge of your choreography.
The choreography for our debut track, “Feels Like Something’s About to Start,” came out, and we were so busy learning it that we barely had time to breathe.
And while we were preparing the album, we had to juggle a bunch of other activities too.
“Seriously, I worked the hardest. So when we get paid for the ad, everyone should hand over 10% as tribute.”
“Are you a gangster?”
“Ah, I mean, contribute.”
“The captain really did suffer. You were on a wire and did a full spin in midair!”
One of those activities was filming commercials.
A few days ago, CEO Kim Sanghyeok suddenly called us into the meeting room.
At first I thought maybe our dorm IPTV bill had gotten too high, but it turned out he wanted to talk about an ad deal, and he started explaining everything to us.
-Iam, you’re going to start getting ad offers. For now, we’ll start by accepting proposals from companies you already have a good relationship with since Agbaek.
The CEO explained that we would film ads one by one, considering our promotion period.
So the first ad we filmed was a GU convenience store commercial.
‘It was actually pretty fun.’
The concept was a massive escape.
-What you showed during Agbaek, especially Sion, left a strong impression. So this time, we’re using a school setting···.
A ridiculous story where we escape the classroom during break, run to a convenience store, then use the GU membership app to buy an after-school Iam set and eat it.
For the record, the after-school Iam set was put together by us personally, each choosing one item from GU.
-You said you liked it, so we prepared it as a gift.
The staff handed us boxes of the after-school Iam set, and our dorm fridge ended up stuffed.
Maybe that was why.
Thanks to the unexpected gift, the members kept saying filming reminded them of the Agbaek escape, and we were able to film the whole thing while having fun.
And,
-Waaaaah!!! I’m flying!!!
I played a pretty important role in it.
-Sion will represent the group and vault the wall. You’ll jump the school wall, reach the convenience store, and order. For acting, just do what you normally do!
Because of that, for the wall-vaulting scene, I had to film like it was a movie action sequence—complete with wires.
-Have you ever done wire filming before?
-No?
-Then how did you do it in one take···?
Originally, it was dangerous, so they had a stunt double ready, but it looked fun, so I said I would do it myself, and I still remembered how the crew panicked on set.
They begged me not to, saying it would be a disaster if I got hurt, but I just had a feeling I would be fine.
‘I’ve done airborne training at the academy. This is nothing.’
To someone who had jumped out into empty air at 550 meters with nothing but a parachute, a little wire action was simple.
And when I finished the shot in one take without any help, the gathered crew started clapping and gasping in admiration.
“Someone like Ryu Ayeon, a total scaredy-cat, would’ve screamed like a little kid the second they hung her in the air.”
Smack!
“You keep calling me a scaredy-cat, so people actually think I’m scared of everything!”
Along with the burning sting on my back came Ryu Ayeon’s sharp voice.
Since ancient times, people who speak the truth get persecuted—I was, once again, feeling that truth with my own body today.
“GU’s official account reaction is amazing too!”
Just as I was bickering with Ryu Ayeon, Yunkyung came over with a bright smile and shoved her phone screen toward us.
-Iam’s ads are funny too lol
↳I watched it at first like, what even is this ad, but after I finished I was just stunned lol
↳This is 100% made by an Agbaek fan. They watched the escape video and built the concept off it
↳It’s so nice because it’s cheerful, unlike other girl group ads
↳For real, this only works because it’s Iam. When they sprinted across the field, you could feel that Agbaek passion
↳They’re lowkey good at acting lol. Why does Lee Gahyeon look so desperately emotional when she says, “Go on without me!”
↳The members’ faces at the end, acting all dramatic while helping Lee Sion escape, had no reason to be that serious, it killed me
Normally, ad videos do not get many comments, but our GU convenience store ad already had hundreds.
-I hope they film lots of ads
↳If they said they were filming with that useless Seiker, they’d probably show up for free lol
↳But why does our “No-Fun” one only make serious faces even in ads?
↳This ad fits their image perfectly. This is what an idol group with an average age around eighteen looks like!
↳Are you saying if it wasn’t for Gahyeon, you’d drop the “around” and it’d be exactly eighteen?
↳You’re the worst
When I skimmed more reactions, most of it was positive—people said it felt fresh because it had a kind of cheerful energy you did not see from typical idol groups, and that it reminded them of Agbaek. I could not help feeling happy.
‘Looks like we earned our pay.’
If a bunch of bad comments came out, wouldn’t I feel sorry for the advertiser who hired us?
Bzz.
While I was quietly satisfied, my phone buzzed in my pocket.
I pulled it out and checked.
[Unnie! When did you film an ad?]
It was a KakaoTalk message from Suyeon.
She must have been surprised after seeing the ad, and since I felt like bragging a little, I hit the call button right away.
As if she had been waiting, Suyeon answered immediately.
“You saw it?”
“Yes! It was so funny!”
“Because I carried it.”
“You filmed an ad too... Unnie, you’re really a celebrity now···.”
Suyeon whined, asking if I was going to get so famous that I would not even take her calls anymore.
“You better not pretend you don’t know me when you debut and blow up. Be my retirement plan, Suyeon.”
“If someone heard you, they’d think we were the surviving members.”
“What about Nayeon and Jihye? They’re doing well, right?”
“Yes! I’m on speakerphone, so they can hear what you said. They said they’re not letting you off the hook when they see you.”
Oh?
At Suyeon’s words, I smiled without realizing it.
After Agbaek, Suyeon, Yoo Jihye, and Park Garam had teamed up under Zero One, Kim Nayeon’s agency.
I had heard they were debuting as a five-member girl group, including one other member, and it sounded like they were just as busy preparing for debut as we were.
“Oh, right! Unnie, you’re going head-to-head with TSP this time.”
“Looks like it.”
“···Don’t lose. Show them what Agbaek alumni can do!”
She told me not to lose, said goodbye, and hung up.
‘TSP···.’
On the way to the company today, the members and I read the article about TSP’s rookie girl group debuting.
-I’m going to win.
Everyone knew Ryu Ayeon had been cut from TSP’s debut lineup, so they were watching her carefully, but surprisingly, Ryu Ayeon looked calm as she declared she would win.
I felt the same.
If anything, I was more excited.
Just like Liu Bei started from nothing and became a lord who fought proudly for the realm.
Hardship was what made it satisfying to take the top.
“Everyone, lines up in formation. Let’s match the full choreography again!”
Maybe it was because I felt energized after hearing Suyeon cheer.
I urged the members to practice.
There really was not much time left until debut, /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ and I wanted perfection on top of perfection.
