These lewd things are idols?: Episode 56

Episode: 56

"What time is it?"

[The current time is 6:30 AM, Master.]

"Wow."

It was fortunate that I woke up on time, but in another sense, I was sitting up, unable to fully gather my senses.

I felt like I could fall back asleep if I let my guard down.

“I was way too excited yesterday. Drank way too much.”

No, to be honest, it wasn’t so much that 'I' was excited; my friends who met up with my group were the ones who were insanely pumped up.

The problem was that we partied hard until 4 AM.

The only saving grace was that my main task was taking care of the 'Always' crew, so I didn’t need to go straight to the office.

“Hah. Ugh.”

I shook my head as I caught a whiff of my own breath.

The smell of alcohol was overwhelming.

Even in my groggy state, my hand naturally reached for my smartphone.

Honestly, I don't think humans can live without their phones anymore.

[Group Chat]

I checked the chat to see if everyone got home safely.

The group chat was filled with photos from last night, and all the personal messages had been delivered.

[Moon-kook: If you need clothes, let me know.]

Didn’t Moon-kook say he worked for a fashion company?

I had been feeling a bit weird about wearing the same clothes every time I went on music shows or shot music videos.

Maybe I should ask him for sponsorship suggestions later if there’s something that catches my eye.

[Seo Jong-hak: Hit me up if you need anything for a music video or whatever. I’ll send a food truck over. For the 'Aways' crew!]

This guy... Well...

[He works at a food company.]

“Ah, right. But damn, these guys never offered me anything before, yet they’re falling all over themselves to spoil my team?”

I had a feeling, but...

[Choi Kang-gyu: Coffee truck ready 24/7! Just give me a three-day notice.]

“Wow. Look at these suckers.”

Now I understand why nightclub owners make so much money.

All it took was one night of fun, and now they're hooked.

“Food truck, coffee truck, and even clothes. I’ll just call them for the music video shoot.”

Our company’s budget is already tight as it is, so forget about food trucks...

We might even have to provide our own outfits.

[Actually, it’s not just your company. Only big corporations can afford to pour millions into music videos. Smaller companies are all like that.]

“But we still need to make it happen.”

The miracle of creating something beautiful on a shoestring budget?

It sounds wonderful in theory, but in reality, expensive music videos always look better.

“Ah, right. There are more messages above.”

Curious, I scrolled up and found that all three of them had said the same thing.

[Let us know as soon as your album drops.]

“I'm wide awake now. Completely awake.”

I'm so grateful, but it's also kind of annoying.

Thanks to them, I managed to shake off the grogginess and get myself out of bed.

Bubble, bubble...

As I walked into the living room, I saw Seong Se-ri with her hair all messy, stirring something in a pot.

“What are you doing?”

“Making bean sprout soup.”

“I was going to make that.”

“I came out to check the kitchen because I thought the team leader might be doing something, but since no one was here, I just started.”

“Thanks.”

“Your friends all made it home safely, right?”

“Yeah, I think so. And they told me to let them know when the album comes out. They’re offering to send food trucks, coffee trucks. It’s a whole thing.”

At my words, Seong Se-ri burst out laughing.

“No, after hanging out yesterday, I realized something—your friends are really pure-hearted. I think one of them might even be a lifelong bachelor?”

“Two of them are lifelong bachelors.”

“Wow. National treasures. That’s crazy. Are there really people who’ve never had a girlfriend by the age of 29?”

“Stop! There are more of them than you think. Words like that can hurt someone, you know.”

Yeah.

"Calling them 'national treasures' was a bit much."

Like this.

As I was chatting with Seong Se-ri, I saw the others gradually crawling out, one by one, drawn by the noise.

“Good morning, Team Leader.”

Hee-ju, who had nearly sent my shoulder to the ER last night, looked completely unbothered.

“Do you even remember what you did yesterday?”

Hee-ju nodded.

“Yes. I think it was a happy time.”

Does she really consider slamming her head into my shoulder a happy moment?

“Oh. Oppa.”

Then I was startled by the sight of Gil Min-seo, who looked absolutely terrible.

As I rushed over, Min-seo grabbed my hand with tearful eyes.

"Ugh... Oppa, please pat my back."

“Geez! You scared me! Alright, let’s go to the bathroom.”

Da-young seemed unfazed as well.

She had slight dark circles under her eyes, though.

“Didn’t you sleep?”

“My head’s pounding from the hangover, so I just ended up watching dramas on Noflix.”

“Alright! Everyone, let’s have some refreshing hangover soup and get ourselves together. We rested enough yesterday, so we need to go full throttle starting today.”

At Seong Se-ri’s words, the eldest sister of the group, everyone moved in sync, setting up the table for breakfast.

I realized that it had become natural for us to spend so much time together.

“Oh, right. Listen up while we eat.”

I played the song that composer Kim Gi-bok had sent, which I hadn’t had the chance to mention yesterday.

[Endless]

[Pineapple]

Two songs.

If 'Radiance' felt like an overture, 'Endless' had the feeling of concluding that journey.

And 'Pineapple' seemed like a refreshing, light-hearted concept song.

I hadn’t listened to them yet, though.

-♬♪♬♪

“Huh?”

The girls, now fully sensitive to music as trainees, all reacted the same way.

“Is this a song by Composer Kim Gi-bok?”

“Yeah. You can tell just from the intro, huh? He sent it yesterday.”

The melody and chord progression were still pretty good.

Compared to 'Radiance' and 'Endless', 'Pineapple' was somewhat easier in terms of difficulty.

However...

“Ah! The guide was recorded by the composer himself again.”

“It’s really hard to listen to.”

Even though Composer Kim Gi-bok, a man, kept recording and sending us guides for female songs, it was honestly a bit rough for those of us who had to listen to them over and over.

“Hehe.”

Even Min-seo, who usually had something positive to say, could only laugh awkwardly, which said it all.

As I gulped down a refreshing bowl of bean sprout soup, Seong Se-ri asked.

“We’re heading to the composer’s studio today, right? It would be a crime to let these great songs go to waste.”

“Of course. I’ll contact the composer soon. The songs seem fine, right?”

“They’re more than fine, they’re good again this time.”

In fact, 'Radiance', 'Endless', and 'Pineapple' each had slightly different concepts, but they shared one common trait.

There was no trace of 'sexy' in any of them.

It wasn’t that they were entirely covered up without any exposure at all.

There were elements designed to make the girls look attractive, but nothing overtly sexual or suggestive was present in the songs or the choreography.

Naturally, the music video would be shot with the same approach.

“When I was a trainee, it was all about being sexy.”

“Well, just a few years ago, that was still the trend, and even now, many agencies still push the sexy concept.”

Sexy concepts that walk a fine line are the most provocative, after all.

“A lot of girls cried because of it. They idolized their favorite celebrities, but once they became trainees, the adults kept making them undress and do provocative dances. But at the same time, those who were desperate to succeed were willing to do anything to make it.”

“What can you do? There’s demand for it, so it sells. From the agency’s perspective, it’s a survival strategy.”

We continued chatting when I noticed Min-seo excitedly searching for something.

“What are you doing?”

“Oh, I was just checking if anyone filmed our performance at the bar yesterday and uploaded it on MeTube or SNS. I want to watch it again.”

Everyone leaned over to peer at Min-seo’s phone upon hearing that.

"Is it there?"

"No. Hiiing."

Minseo responded in a disappointed voice.

"Ah. What? I'm sure there were a lot of people filming us yesterday."

Lee Da-young explained logically.

"It could be that the algorithm didn’t pick it up. Or maybe not much time has passed yet. Someone might be editing it to upload later. Or they just couldn’t be bothered to upload it."

"Then let's upload it ourselves. Oppa, did you record it by any chance?"

With Min-seo's hopeful gaze on me, I naturally lifted the bean sprout soup.

"Wow! This is refreshing."

"I'll give you some more, Team Leader."

Hee-ju quickly stood up to pour more bean sprout soup.

Hmm.

I didn’t really want more.

"Thanks, I'll enjoy it."

"You're welcome."

After we finished tidying up.

I contacted Composer Kim Gi-bok and was about to head to the studio.

Ding-.

A text message arrived on my phone.

[There is a meeting today.]

[The participating teams are as follows.]

The participants included the ‘Budget Team’ and ‘Management Team 4,’ which I lead.

And, unfortunately, Park Joo-yong's team as well.

[Time: 11:00 AM]

[Location: 4th floor, Conference Room 3]

[The CEO will also be attending, so please be seated at least 5 minutes early. The meeting will cover the progress of the girl group currently preparing for debut and discuss the budget for the music video. If there are any issues, please think about the causes and possible solutions.]

"Team Leader?"

"Huh? Ah. Today, you guys will need to start recording on your own. Don't bother the composer."

"Why?"

"Ah. There's a meeting scheduled. I'll finish it quickly and return to the studio. Don't worry. Seri, you're the oldest and the leader, so take good care of the others. Got it?"

I lightly tapped their heads to remind them not to overwork themselves and stepped on the accelerator.

"Ugh, I'm going to have to see that annoying face again today."

Vroom-.

I’ve been happy not seeing or hearing him for a while.

* * *

"Ah. I got here way too early."

I was worried that I might get stuck in traffic on the way from the studio to the company.

I also have a habit of arriving 10 minutes earlier than the scheduled time.

Maybe that’s why I ended up arriving almost an hour early.

The meeting is at 11:00 AM.

But I got here at 10:00 AM.

"Sigh. Damn it."

I'm already feeling anxious, worried I might run into Park Joo-yong.

[Are you still scared of Park Joo-yong?]

It’s not that I’m scared of shit.

I avoid it because it’s filthy.

It’s not about fear, it's just that I hate having anything to do with that scumbag.

I haven’t run into him much recently, which makes it worse.

When you work at a management company, you realize this.

Surprisingly, aside from the celebrities you're in charge of, you don't often run into other people from the same company.

Maybe that’s why I haven’t seen the Oasis kids in a while either.

[The choreography for Radiance was intense, so we scheduled the practice times during off-hours. And the company is going under, so there aren’t many trainees left.]

Yeah.

Hey, but saying it like that makes me feel sad.

Going under, huh.

But still, it’s the company I work at.

Damn it.

'Since I’m here early, should I go see the Oasis kids?'

Just as I was muttering that to myself and heading toward the second-floor practice room.

"Huh?"

From just that sound, I could already smell something familiar.

"Team Leader Kim. Long time no see."

Yoon Won-seok, this bastard.

How does he always manage to find me like a ghost whenever I come to the office?

At this point, I suspect not only Hee-ju but also this guy has my location tracked on GPS.

"I'm busy. Let's just go our separate ways today, Won-seok."

Cute and affectionate Oasis kids, or Yoon Won-seok, who mooches coffee off me every day.

There was no need to hesitate.

What’s the point of looking at another guy’s face?

I waved him off coldly and was about to get on the elevator.

"Don’t you want to hear about Team Leader Park’s big mess?"

At that moment, I got off the elevator and asked.

"Want me to buy you some jokbal (pig's feet)?"

I really want to hear it.

That story.

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