Save a Failed Idol’s Life

Chapter 22

Bae Soojin

Translated by tam

Oh Yejun was sitting in front of the TV in the living room and playing with a game console when I opened the door and entered.

Sunwoo, who was quietly sitting next to Yejun and staring at the screen, turned around when he heard the door lock sound.

“We’re back.” 

Kyunghwa greeted with a well-organized expression as if he had made up his mind to overcome the painful things in the future.

I don’t know exactly what he’s thinking. Anyway, it was fortunate that a sense of owner spirit was planted in the team, saying, “This team needs me.”

‘It’s the same for any company….’

When is the most representative moment when a member loses motivation and decides to leave? That’s when they got the impression that they weren’t needed for this job. 

In other words, there’s no motivation other than to make them feel like they were needed for the position. 

‘It’s true that it’s difficult if you don’t actually have it.’

There was no other business that could give Kyunghwa a sense of responsibility with just a few words.

As I said, I was still an outsider and was in a position where there was still a lot left to learn.

It was close to impossible to lead the project while controlling these guys who gave me a headache just by looking at them.

“Let’s turn off the TV and gather in the living room. I have something to tell you about what came out of the meeting.”

While Kyunghwa laid the board first, I quickly added.

“Sunwoo, please go and get Son Seongwon.” 

I opened the laptop I had brought to the meeting to play the file I had emailed earlier. In the meantime, Sunwoo nodded.

“Yes, I’ll knock and call him!”

Even though Sunwoo is not very quick-witted, he can’t open Son Seongwon’s room.

I rolled my head and stared at the closed door to see how to solve that picky tyrant.

“Seongwon Hyung, Yise Hyung and Kyunghwa Hyung want to say about today’s meeting.”  

Sunwoo hesitantly knocked on the door with the back of his hand for a while. 

Seongwon, wearing a headset around his neck, walked out with a frown.

Yejun pouted his lips at the high-handed attitude of looking down at the members while sitting or standing on the sofa.

“You sit down too. Because it doesn’t seem like it will be a short story.”

What do you know? Of course, I can’t finish it short. 

I thought Oh Yejun, who was sharp in every case related to Son Seongwon, was also really great. 

That’s possible because he’s 22 years old and at the peak of his life.

As you got older, you couldn’t do that because dealing with each person you didn’t like was energy-consuming.

“Yeah, just sit down. I don’t think we’re going to stand and talk.”

When Kyunghwa pointed at the seat next to him with his hand, Seongwon snorted once with a disapproving expression.

Then he sat down with his arms crossed tightly as if he couldn’t help it.

They were dumbfounded at his attitude, but everyone knew it would do no good to be touched further.

“So what was the result?”

Oh Yejun asked, stretching his long legs outward as if he couldn’t wait any longer.

Kyunghwa first calmly opened his mouth. 

“First of all, the comeback schedule is the fourth week of October.”

So far, this is what everyone was expecting.

According to the replay video I watched last time, the average active period of Climax is 2 weeks. 

It meant that if the same procedure were followed this time, everything would be arranged as promised within the promised six months. 

It was a situation where we had two weeks to show results that were different from the previous ones.

“It means that everything will be sorted out in November.”

Seongwon spat out in a voice that didn’t feel the slightest bit warm.

“In summary, whether it will work or not…We don’t know yet….”

Sunwoo tried hard to correct it, but it was useless.

“For now, that’s what happened. I don’t think you need to worry about the preparation period because it’s going to be a digital single without a physical album release.”

“What?”

Yejun immediately raised his eyebrows when he heard that the actual album wasn’t coming out.

“What will happen to the album score if the album doesn’t come out?” 

“0 points. Because there are no CD sales to count.”

I naturally nodded my head at Kyunghwa’s words as if I knew, even though I didn’t know.

“Then practically…Shouldn’t we give up the music show rankings?” 

Kyunghwa hesitated a little before answering Yejun’s question.

“We’re actually…had never been nominated for the first place, so I didn’t know what the album score was….” 

Come to think of it, there was a story like this in the bad comments from the last album.

‘It’s hard to even count the first week sales of the failed idol.’

First week sales. I knew it was the total of albums sold the week after release. 

Even sales during that period represent a loyal customer base.

‘I did a search and found that Floss is also carrying out large-scale joint purchases by fans to increase first-week sales….’

Unfortunately, I couldn’t find a single person who would purchase Climax’s album jointly.

“It’s already difficult, but compared to other groups, you have to bear the penalty.”

Yejun blatantly showed disappointment. Sunwoo and Seongwon didn’t openly distort their expressions, but they couldn’t be happy. 

“Because there are many groups that won first place even without an album score….” 

“Do you think it would be us?” 

While Kyunghwa was trying to relieve the stiff atmosphere, Seongwon made things go wrong.

It was my turn to intervene, having been listening all along.

“Anyway, that’s how it happened. I heard about 3 sample songs, but one seems to have been rejected while preparing for another group. The other one was too low quality, so I picked the best one.” 

I turned the screen of the brightly lit laptop so that everyone could see it.

As soon as the meeting was over, the e-mail sent by the planning team staff opened with a few clicks, and the download started. 

“I don’t think the song is bad. I think Seongwon knows this song, too.” 

Then, in an instant, Seongwon’s handsome face frowned in question.

“What?” 

I pressed the play button at the right time and put my index finger over my lips as I did it. 

♩♬~♩♪-♩

Listening to Seongwon’s voice a little while ago, it was clear that he was slightly younger than now. 

Has it been some time since he recorded it? As soon as a short reasoning came to mind, Seongwon’s expression distorted.

“Where did you get this?”

Where did you get this? Of course, I got it from the planning team. I couldn’t understand why he was so sensitive right now.

“The planning team gave it to me. The other sample didn’t seem right, so I chose this one..” 

Then, Seongwon bit his lip with a very complicated expression.

“This…” 

This what? Shouldn’t you finish what you’re saying? As I waited for his next words with my eyebrows raised, Seongwon closed the laptop with his hand.

“What are you doing.”

Yejun shouted nervously before me.

“I can’t sing this.”

“What?”

“What?”

Everyone was bewildered by Seongwon’s sudden boycott declaration. Seongwon stood up as everyone looked up at him in shock, like a dog chasing chickens. 

“If you’re going to do this, I’ll leave.”

“Hey what nonsense are you talking about? Is group activity a joke? You have to explain it, you suddenly sat down with bullshit.” 

Yejun got up and growled like he was going to grab Seongwon by the collar right away.

Fortunately, he didn’t really grab his collar, so I could breathe a sigh of relief on my own.

‘I’m going crazy. Why is this b*stard suddenly like this?’

Play

Unmute

I read the atmosphere around me to figure out what the hell this was all about, and then I said in a low voice. 

‘System.’

Wang–! 

Posil waggled its tail happily as if it had been waiting for a long time. 

‘As expected, dogs are cuter than cats.’

I didn’t mean to do it in this situation, but it suddenly came to mind since Yejun was in front of my eyes. 

‘Replay service, can I use it now?’

[Would you like to purchase the replay service?]

[Yes/No]

It was a ‘yes’ without looking further. The surroundings instantly turned black and white, stained with darkness.

When my eyes brightened again, I was in a space that looked like a recording studio.

Wang–! 

When I lifted up Posil, who happily barked at me, I felt a solid frame, unlike the cat. 

Hehehe—.

Is it because I hugged it? Posil lifted its snout as if excited and tried to lick my chin.

‘Stay still. The service is playing.’

As I was hugging Posil, who had become quiet after being scolded, I heard the sound of something being thrown in the recording studio.

“I don’t understand what the manager is saying.”

It was Seongwon with a young face that made me wonder if he had just graduated from middle school.

“I know you are upset. Since the CEO’s instructions came out like that, there’s nothing we can do about it. I am sorry.”

Then, Seongwon strongly protested as if he couldn’t understand. 

“You said I passed the preliminaries. You said I would go on air from September.” 

“I said you could go on air. You know that we don’t have control over broadcast editing, so it’s not something that can be confirmed.”

What kind of broadcast are you talking about? When I wondered about it for a moment, Posil barked and turned my attention to the wall with its snout. 

[Teenager Singer Star]

[Scheduled to air from September]

“What should I think if you say that when I’ve done all the preparation for the music but can’t appear on the broadcast?”

“Since you are still young, there will be many opportunities, and you can go out next season instead of this season. Don’t make me look bad because you said something you don’t like when adults come later. I’m saying this because I want you to do well.”

‘Teenager Singer Star’ was a program where the guy who was the main vocalist of Floss went out and gained popularity. 

Looking at the situation, I don’t know what season Seongwon was in, but it seemed like he was preparing to appear. 

However, it failed due to some kind of issues between adults, and the prepared song was eventually discarded. I guess that’s the story. 

I put Posil down on the floor gently and looked at the file name in the editing program.

[Drink me]

Yeah. The file name was like this before. Since the first one was reused, I thought the second and third were still new drafts. 

Rather, it was a much older rehash than the first.

“The CEO is making plans for you to debut sooner or later. Don’t be too disappointed and wait a little longer.”

Seongwon, who still couldn’t let go of his anger, was left alone in the studio.

Is it because he’s young? He couldn’t control his anger, and soon I heard a sobbing sound.

‘If only there were things that could be solved by crying, life wouldn’t be this hard.’

Tsk, I clicked my tongue lightly while leaning against the wall.

If it’s a song with this background story, I didn’t understand why he acted like a cat whose tail had been stepped on. 

‘But you punk. You have to tell everyone what the story is so they will understand.’

And even if there was a story, I couldn’t change the song now. 

No more, no less, because I had been arguing with the team leader about what to do with this an hour ago.

It was the same that we couldn’t back down either.

‘How am I going to convince him of this now….’

[Replay Service – End of July 29, 18 years old]

I whistled lightly and returned to reality.