Free Web Novel"Hm~."
"Senior, you’re dying of happiness, aren’t you?"
Miyoung, humming without even meaning to, and Park Hyungsoo, MPlay’s PD, staring at Miyoung with jealous eyes. fɾeewebnoveℓ.co๓
"Wouldn’t you be happy if it were you?"
"Ah, I’m jealous. Give me Lee Sion too!"
"You’re making a boy group this time—what are you going to use Sion for?"
"Why isn’t she a guy?"
"You’ve finally lost it, huh?"
Miyoung shook her head at her junior Hyungsoo’s words and waved her hand like she couldn’t deal with him.
He was preparing the boy-group version of Agbaek Season 2, which people were already calling him an idiot for if he failed, and now he was asking for Lee Sion too—wasn’t that greed way too much?
'Still, I get it.'
Even so, Miyoung could understand how Hyungsoo felt.
[An idol reciting a declaration of candidacy on a variety show]
(A scene where Lee Sion takes the mic, goes to the audience seats, and makes pledges)
⤷This is what my girl group should be like
⤷Sion... now you’re even provoking other groups too
⤷But honestly, until Lee Sion stepped up, everyone was being careful so it was no fun
⤷agreed, once Lee Sion opened the floodgates you could really see the other groups catch fire too
⤷Variety is Iam
⤷The PD probably grinned ear to ear seeing Lee Sion’s declaration lol
Three Kingdom, Episode 1, which had gone up just yesterday.
To be honest, Miyoung hadn’t been placing huge expectations on Episode 1.
'This isn’t a normal variety show—it’s a competition program, so it’s normal for the reaction to come only after the main stage happens.'
And that was because Three Kingdom was, plainly, a competition between three girl groups that were currently the most popular, so Miyoung thought the reaction would come only after today’s filming—after the first mission—was broadcast.
But,
-LYNX please win!!!
⤷seriously, if Iam loses to VYNNIA I think I’ll be so pissed
⤷Lee Sion is so annoying I want to scold her
⤷no mentioning other group members
⤷Today, cut the mods some slack too, how are we supposed to hold this in?
⤷Haa... okay...
-If nothing else, VYNNIA can’t lose to Iam
⤷It’s kind of fresh how openly they’re saying they’re going to win like this
⤷Our girls need to show them why SY is SY so they come to their senses
⤷It’s just that the song is weird, people don’t know our girls’ skills are insane
⤷Even with a song where a lion and a snake are howling, it’s like this—if they sang Iam or LYNX’s song they’d be flying
⤷But seriously, I think it’s my first time seeing Kaella get provoked like that
⤷She’s always stiff like a rookie, but today she did look a little more relaxed
Surprisingly, Three Kingdom was drawing huge attention from the very first broadcast.
-Come back to us~!
-No, Director. Why are you singing a song that won’t even work?
-Miyoung, after all, you’re the one after me!
-Are you seriously insane?! If Senior Byungmu hears that, he’ll try to kill me!
Peak ratings for Episode 1: 3.4%.
MPlay had definitely been expecting a lot from the program, so they promoted it properly, and it was in a prime-time evening slot, so they thought it would be popular to some extent.
But neither Miyoung nor MPlay had expected it to pull ratings this high from the very first episode.
If you picked MPlay’s top three highest-rated programs this year, of course Idol Ground 100 held first place proudly, and second place was Iam’s own variety show, Iam Yours.
For Three Kingdom, which had only just finished its first broadcast, to take third place was something like a miracle.
And since the person who planned all three of those programs was Miyoung, it wasn’t strange that Kang Hyukjin—currently MPlay’s variety division director—shouted for her to come back the moment he saw her.
'It’s because of Lee Sion.'
When Miyoung thought of Director Kang Hyukjin’s reaction, she was once again realizing that all of this was thanks to Lee Sion, her niece.
Image.
If you think about why the perception got stuck that it’s no fun when idols appear on variety shows, it was all because of image management.
-If you’re not going to go fully into variety, then variety is a poisoned chalice for idols.
Usually, when a celebrity appeared on variety shows, it had the effect of making them feel familiar to the public and more approachable.
However, while that was nothing but a good thing for variety entertainers, for actors or idols, it could become a fatal drawback.
'Because idols are beings who plant fantasies in fans.'
Fans might like it at first because their favorite idol was on TV a lot, but before they knew it, it was common for them to quit being a fan because the idol appeared too much, or because the idol was too different from the image they had in their head.
Maybe that was why idols, even when they went on variety shows, often created what people called “no fun” situations, to maintain the image fans wanted from them.
Even idols who participated hard in variety at first, once they gained a certain level of recognition, it was normal for them to focus on image management after that. freewebnøvel.com
However,
[Stable as always today]
(A scene of Lee Sion snatching the mic from Seo Ryujin and going on a rampage)
⤷This is Iam
⤷I was yawning while Ryujin talked and then the second Lee Sion grabbed the mic I snapped right awake
⤷To survive in a survival show, mic work is basic
⤷Don’t give Ryujin too much crap—when Ryujin’s with other idols, Ryujin’s a super fun character too
⤷They’re the weakest only because it’s Iam—if it were another group, they’d push her as the variety member?
⤷That’s not it, I still can’t forget Seo Ryujin’s live broadcast
Iam was different.
Before, only Lee Sion was different, but lately, even aside from Lee Sion, Iam’s members were each playing major roles not only in their own content, but on radio and variety too.
Otherwise, why would the broadcast industry be so desperate right now just to book even one Iam member?
If their agency, KJ Entertainment, hadn’t controlled it, it was popular enough that all of Korea’s broadcast scene might’ve been dyed in Iam.
And yet, Iam, who should normally have severe image consumption as much as that.
But oddly enough, no matter how much the members fell apart and no matter how often they appeared on variety, Iam’s fandom didn’t get sick of it.
If anything, they wanted them to come out even more, and when Iam’s members suffered, or made funny scenes, they loved it.
'Come to think of it, it was like that from the start.'
Even before debut, they made a YouTube channel and uploaded their own content, and even the company, through content and broadcasts, spared nothing in showing Iam’s members’ real, and sometimes so real it could become a problem, sides.
Normally, it was the kind of thing that would make you blurt out, are you insane, but strangely enough, Iam’s fandom only grew bigger and more solid because of those sides, so from Miyoung’s perspective watching it, it was nothing but fascinating.
"PD, all the judges are ready."
"How’s the stage?"
"The filming team finished the setup, and we checked all the revisions that came up during rehearsal."
"Okay."
Miyoung, who had been briefly lost in thoughts about Iam, looked around the set at the staff member’s report that all preparations were complete.
A stage dressed up so much you wouldn’t believe °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° it was prepared in a short time—just like MPlay, a broadcast station specialized in music programs.
Today, since three teams had to do stages in a row, they needed staff who could do skilled stage installation and dismantling.
And in that sense, Miyoung felt reassured, because MPlay currently had the best talent gathered not only in Korea, but in Asia.
"Call the cast, and once they arrive, start filming right away."
"Yes!"
At Miyoung’s words, a staff member answered with sharp discipline and immediately ran off to call the performers.
Watching that, Miyoung steeled herself.
If Episode 1 drew buzz thanks to Lee Sion, then from Episode 2—where the competition began—Miyoung’s role in directing the stage mattered.
***
"Wow··· aren’t kids these days seriously too good?"
"Raon, when you say that, it doesn’t feel sincere."
"Huh?"
"Aren’t you worse than you were at debut?"
"Did you seriously come out today to bury me?"
Seyon was just watching Raon and Park Taesu, trading jokes while sitting at the judges’ table and watching the stage, with a smile.
'They’re both good on camera.'
For Seyon, he couldn’t even remember when the last time was that he’d appeared on variety like this, so it only felt unfamiliar.
But unlike Seyon, Raon and Park Taesu, sitting at the judges’ table with him, looked completely used to variety like this.
-Viewer voting will obviously happen, but wouldn’t it be a shame to decide the stage with only that?
Kim Miyoung PD came with the bold proposal that since three girl groups were going head-to-head, wouldn’t it be good for the evaluation to be done directly by the agencies’ representatives.
When he first heard it, Seyon tried to refuse, thinking it was nonsense, but with Miyoung’s relentless persuasion, he ended up accepting the judge’s seat.
You know it, this mood
Even if you pretend you don’t, your heart speeds up
You can push a little more
Today I’ll smile first
Watching the Three Kingdom stage he’d ended up participating in as a judge, Seyon was now thinking it hadn’t been a bad decision.
Because watching VYNNIA performing LYNX’s new song, "Lalala (La-Lala)," he was feeling a lot of new things.
"VYNNIA is really amazing. It’s a completely different feel from the music they usually do, so I thought it might feel awkward."
"The original song is good, so even if you just follow it as-is, the feel comes through."
"It’s so embarrassing if you praise us like that."
"Taesu, how do you keep making songs like this consistently?"
"Our kids and VYNNIA digested it well, that’s all."
Seyon nodded at Park Taesu’s words, but inside, he thought that wasn’t it.
'This kind of feel is definitely different.'
SY’s music was characterized by grand, complex structures that came from their representative producer, Yoo Hyunsoo.
Even if they brought in the latest music trending overseas, it was like they mixed and mixed it until they made SY’s own kind of music.
On the other hand, TSP’s music could be said to be Park Taesu himself.
Music that read the flow of the times better than anyone, and sometimes was so radical you wondered if this was right, but when time passed, it turned out that was the trend.
Maybe that was why, among the three groups appearing on Three Kingdom right now, LYNX was top when it came to digital results.
Lalala, when our eyes meet
I’ll run away, smiling
And seeing VYNNIA singing the killing part of LYNX’s new song Lalala, Seyon saw a new side of VYNNIA he’d never seen before.
'For the next album, should I leave it to Tenji instead of Hyunsoo?'
Because up to now, from their debut song to their comeback songs, they’d all been set as a strong female-warrior concept, so this cute and fresh side he hadn’t seen.
Especially Kaella, performing the part that had become a hot topic because LYNX’s Japanese member Sayu took it, was making the audience seats erupt with cheers as Kaella struck cute poses no less than the original artist.
"Ah, I reacted to their stage without even thinking."
"You crazy VYNNIA concubine! You can’t switch sides!"
"But both LYNX before and VYNNIA now··· they’re all good, though?"
Hearing the audience’s murmuring from behind, Seyon smiled without realizing it.
Three Kingdom split even the audience seats into three, seating each fandom together as if trying to make fans fight.
If it was a stage that even audiences who weren’t VYNNIA’s fandom responded to without realizing it, then viewers watching on TV would definitely be even more so.
Tap.
While Seyon was listening to the audience’s murmurs behind him, VYNNIA’s stage, before he knew it, came to an end.
"The Lalala stage VYNNIA showed us! Please give them a big hand, everyone!"
As if he’d been waiting for the stage to end, the main MC Jang Junseok, who’d been off to the side, came back onto the stage and smoothly led the audience’s response.
Waaaah!!!
And unlike Episode 1, all the attendees sitting in the audience seats clapped and responded to a certain degree.
Once the response died down a bit, Junseok lightly interviewed VYNNIA, who’d finished the stage.
"All right, then we’ll hear the judges’ evaluations of VYNNIA’s stage."
The interview ended, and at last it was time for judging again.
Seyon, who had to judge first, recalled Park Taesu’s evaluation from earlier today’s judging for LYNX, who had gone first.
-I can see why LYNX said before the stage that they could digest any color, and why they showed confidence. It was a stage anyone could see was really well done, and it was a level of completeness I can’t believe was prepared in a short time.
-Thank you!
-But if I have to pick one disappointing point, watching LYNX’s stage, I kept thinking, then where did LYNX’s color go?
-···.
-When I think of LYNX, the image that comes to mind is a cute and lively image, but when you did Iam’s song, "Feels Like Something’s About to Start," I was disappointed that I didn’t really feel that kind of vibe.
-···Yes.
Park Taesu had spat out cold and objective evaluations to the point it was hard to believe he was evaluating artists from his own agency.
Instead, an ironic scene played out where Seyon and Raon were busy saying good things to comfort LYNX.
'It can’t be helped. If you praise your own artists and criticize other groups, it’ll be a disaster.'
So Seyon prepared to evaluate VYNNIA’s stage in a way that went beyond objective and into critical.
"First of all, I enjoyed the stage. Lalala’s feel is very different from VYNNIA’s concept, so I was curious how you’d digest it, and it was a good experience to learn that you can do this kind of feel too."
"Thank you!"
Maybe they were truly moved by Seyon’s evaluation, because VYNNIA’s members answered loudly with their hands gripping the mic trembling.
"But in my impression, it was a bit too much. Of course it can be harsh to compare you directly to LYNX, the original artists, but if LYNX was natural, this stage felt like it was overflowing a bit."
At Seyon’s continued words, VYNNIA’s pupils started to shake as if the sky had collapsed.
"When you do your own song, overflowing energy is an important point, but when you do someone else’s song, I think it would be better if you also thought once about how taking away is necessary."
"···Yes!"
However, Seyon didn’t worry even seeing VYNNIA like that.
They were members who debuted after breaking through SY’s trainee system, which people called hell, so they wouldn’t be shaken by criticism at this level.
"I really liked it. The part Judge Seyon pointed out, for me, I actually liked it because I felt even more energy there. And as expected of SY, even while performing you don’t miss the tiny details, so I was suspicious that the two agencies besides our KJ secretly taught each other choreography!"
"I was seriously shocked too. The whole time I watched, I kept thinking, so Lalala can be this charming with a different feel from LYNX, and you used your expressions really well. It could’ve been too much, but from what I saw, I think it suited you plenty."
Thanks to the two judges pouring out praise one after another as if to comfort Seyon’s evaluation, the atmosphere that had gotten a little chilly warmed back up.
Soon, the judges’ evaluations all came to an end, and VYNNIA headed to the waiting bench in one corner of the stage where LYNX, who had performed first, was sitting.
"All right, now it’s the final stage order of the first mission of Three Kingdom’s cover-and-sing."
Then, from main MC Jang Junseok’s mouth, as he was left alone on the stage, came a line announcing the start of a new stage once again.
Tap.
In time with that, the stage lights went out.
A very faint light shining on the darkened stage. Along with video of flames surging up onto the stage, Iam—the team that would decorate the final stage of Three Kingdom’s first mission—was appearing.
