Read. Relax. Revel

    Face Genius Idol Takes Over the Entertainment Industry – 34

    Self-Produced Content (2)


    The members moved in sync, keeping an eye on each other’s movements. With a clattering sound, Jinwoo tripped, causing Dongju, who was beside him, to fall as well.

    “You should have moved this way.”

    “Sorry, hyung.”

    Shin checked on the two fallen members to ensure they were okay and handed them water. They were all drenched in sweat as if they’d been in the rain. They had practiced so hard that they didn’t even feel the cold.

    “Thanks.”

    “Wow. I’m exhausted.”

    Seunghyun helped Dongju, who had lain down on the floor, to get up. Once they started resting, they just wanted to keep resting endlessly. It was better to finish practice quickly.

    “Hey, is it okay to go all out like this for self-produced content?”

    Dongju complained in an exasperated voice, sounding like he was about to collapse from exhaustion.

    “Are you going to do it half-heartedly when it’s something the fans will see?”

    When Jinwoo, with his characteristic upright demeanor, said this, Dongju got up, squinting from the glare of Jinwoo’s earnestness. Although Dongju could argue with Shin, Jinwoo was a different story.

    Jinwoo was too morally upright to openly rebel against.

    ‘It makes me feel like I’m the bad guy.’

    So, Dongju changed the subject. He didn’t want to get nagged by Jinwoo, even if what he said was right. The emotional impact varied depending on who was speaking.

    “But Black’s choreography is quite difficult, huh?”

    “It’s definitely different when you try to do it properly rather than just for fun.”

    Despite his words, Shin confirmed that their synchronization was quite good after just a few hours and smiled brightly. It seemed like another fun piece of self-produced content was on its way.

    “Minho.”

    “Yes, I can do it.”

    Shin wanted to see Minho’s skills this time, so he asked Minho to handle it. It was a simple music edit, but since Minho also composed, Shin hoped he would add his unique flair.

    “Then I’m counting on you.”

    Minho smiled confidently, as if to say, “Leave it to me.” He was also very confident in this area.

    “Guys! Come out for a minute!”

    Hearing the voice from outside the practice room, Shin stepped out first. There, he saw CEO Jo Junseong holding a giant teddy bear.

    “What’s this?”

    “Great! Everyone, follow me.”

    Following CEO Jo Junseong, who placed the teddy bear in the middle of the practice room, they were surprised. The CEO’s office was filled with neatly wrapped gift boxes of various sizes.

    “What’s all this?”

    “These are gifts from your fans.”

    As soon as they heard that, everyone excitedly carried the presents back to the practice room. It was an unexpected early Christmas.

    ‘Or is it a late Christmas?’

    Shin prioritized the letters from fans over the gifts. Picking out those addressed to him, he decided to read them at home.

    ‘I’ll read them while filming a video too.’

    Fans would probably enjoy such a video more than anything else.

    “But these gifts look pretty expensive.”

    When someone commented, Jinwoo was holding a luxury wallet. Just by looking at the leather, it was obvious it was expensive, and the brand name engraved on it confirmed it.

    “Right.”

    While they were at an age where they’d be happy with just food, the expensive items made everyone feel a bit overwhelmed.

    If it had been something like a paddle, they’d have joked about how their moms would love it, but these were all high-end items, making them feel unworthy.

    The gap was stark compared to the local specialties they had received as gifts before.

    “Shouldn’t we return these?”

    “Yeah. Where did they get the money to send such expensive stuff?”

    If it had been Black, they would have accepted it without hesitation, but Space members felt apologetic to their fans since they weren’t on TV often. They couldn’t help but feel that they were receiving too much for what they had done.

    Shin had a hunch about who had escalated things to this level and, with a wry smile, came up with a solution.

    “First, we’ll post a thank-you video. And for verification, we can just use these items in our daily lives and show them off. How about we also discuss with the CEO to hold a fan meeting where we thank the fans and do some volunteer work together?”

    “It would be good to suggest to fans that instead of spending money on expensive gifts, we could all donate together.”

    Jinwoo added to Shin’s suggestion. Everyone reacted positively to the idea of volunteering. Rejecting gifts wasn’t polite, so the duo’s idea seemed reasonable.

    “Ah! And one more thing. Remember that receiving such gifts is not a given. Keep that in mind.”

    As Space gained popularity, they’d risk losing their humble beginnings, but it was important to keep it in check, especially early on. Even if they rejected the gifts, fans’ sentiments were different.

    Nodding at Shin’s words, everyone relaxed and started looking at the presents.

    They decided to enjoy the high-end gifts, possibly for the last time. Shin particularly liked the sneakers for practice.

    * * *

    -“Collected Everything Fans Would Want to See!” Space Cover Dance

    ㄴ They really nailed it. Their synchronization is impressive.

    ㄴ They make stuff like this nowadays?

    ㄴ No, right now only Space does this.

    ㄴ Seeing idols directly cover other idols’ dances instead of leaked practice choreography is fascinating.

    ㄴ Their dancing is so-so, but Maru dances the best.

    ㄴ But why is the video quality so good? It’s the best among their recent uploads.

    “This kind of stuff is so interesting.”

    Dongju, looking at the laptop screen Minho showed him, found it fascinating. Every time they uploaded self-produced content, the number of members in their fan cafe increased in real-time.

    Even though the speed at which fans reposted was fast, the first uploads were always on the fan cafe, causing many to join just to see it there first.

    “We’ve surpassed five thousand members.”

    Just the other day, they were happy to have over 1,500 members, and now the number had doubled. Moreover, more and more female students approached them at festivals, saying they were Space fans.

    Seeing fans, who he had only seen online, appear in real life frequently excited Shin.

    “Are we going to have too many fans showing up when we volunteer?”

    “No way, it won’t be that bad. Besides, we’ve already accepted applications.”

    Amidst this, the upcoming charity event performance boosted the excitement of all the Space members.

    As soon as Shin boarded the van, he pointed the camcorder at everyone, and they all smiled familiarly at it. However, Jinwoo, who had been smiling the whole time, suddenly had a puzzled expression.

    “What’s up?”

    Jinwoo quietly pointed outside the window, showing the cloudy weather. Shin immediately took out his phone to check the weather forecast. There hadn’t been any updates yesterday.

    ‘Nothing’s changed much.’

    Although it was cloudy, the sun was supposed to come out in the afternoon. He thought it would just be cloudy for a while. However, reality wasn’t so kind.

    Shooosh—

    The heavy rain that greeted them upon arrival left them speechless. They hadn’t considered the possibility of rain for an outdoor concert, and now it was chaos.

    There was some shelter on the stage, but the performers were positioned to get soaked.

    “What do we do now?”

    Dongju’s hopeful gaze toward a potential cancellation made CEO Jo Junseong laugh awkwardly.

    “I’ll go check things out. Stay in the van.”

    “Okay.”

    CEO Jo Junseong opened an umbrella from the van and walked into the event venue. Shin put down the camcorder he had been holding and looked out the window.

    “If it keeps raining, will they cancel?”

    “Well, I doubt they’ll cancel….”

    Shin’s skeptical remark left everyone in shock. It was hard to believe the event would continue in such heavy rain.

    “Unless all this equipment is privately owned, it’s probably rented.”

    The equipment was safely covered to avoid the rain. Extending the rental for just one day would cost a lot, especially for music-related gear. Hence, they would likely go ahead with the event.

    ‘And with the audience already here…’

    The charity event had sold tickets for 12,000 won each. Around the venue, vendors were selling umbrellas and raincoats.

    Seeing people already walking around in raincoats left the Space members stunned.

    “But watching a concert like this could be fun.”

    “Yeah, it’s all part of the experience.”

    While Dongju and Jinwoo saw it positively, Minho quietly shook his head, showing his disapproval. The weather was perfect for catching a cold, which made him uneasy.

    Seunghyun had already steeled himself for the rain, so Shin decided to wait for CEO Jo Junseong to return before saying anything.

    “So, we can’t film with the camcorder now?”

    “It’s not waterproof.”

    Although it wasn’t waterproof, the latest model camcorder had notably good quality. It was a gift from fans specifically for self-produced content, so they had to use it.

    ‘For someone who claims to be from a regular household, they sure spend a lot.’

    Shin shook his head, thinking about the wealthy fan with the username “First Male Fan.”

    Thud. The door opened as CEO Jo Junseong, who had been discussing with the staff, got into the front seat.

    “For the rehearsal, we’ll have to wear raincoats. According to the weather forecast, the rain should stop in the afternoon.”

    CEO Jo Junseong got out of the van again, opened the trunk, and took out raincoats and umbrellas. These items were essential for regional festivals.

    The Space members put on their raincoats and used the umbrellas provided by CEO Jo Junseong as they walked.

    Since other idols were also attending the event, this time, their waiting room was inside a building. This allowed them to wait comfortably before the rehearsal.

    “Looks like we’re seeing Black again.”

    “I guess it’s because we debuted around the same time.”

    “It’s good for us.”

    Black was a group heavily promoted by DK Entertainment. For a small agency like Hanul Entertainment to be following close behind was almost miraculous.

    Because of this, DK Entertainment was subtly paying attention to Hanul Entertainment. In this world, luck was a skill, and they were watching to see how far their luck would take them.

    “But the stage is smaller than I thought.”

    “It’s about the same size as the one at the Golden Chili Pepper Festival.”

    These were their impressions after seeing the “Charity Concert with Flowers” stage. Having danced on even smaller stages before, they could now gauge the spacing just by looking.

    ‘It’s good that the rain will stop, but I’m worried.’

    Even if they wiped down the stage, it would still be slippery. Not getting hurt was the most important thing, so Shin watched anxiously and noticed the event staff having an urgent conversation.

    ‘Wait, why does this look familiar…?’

    He wondered why this scene reminded him of the Golden Chili Pepper Festival. It looked similar to when they were told Han Jiyoung would be late.

    Just then, his phone started ringing. Seeing the screen, Shin let out a sigh.

    [Mission: Receive more than half positive reactions from Black’s fans.]

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