Chapter 101:
Chapter 101
You’re going to leave the fandom now.
-Wow, did it leak?
-I listened out of curiosity, and the only thing I’m sure of is that Lee Ju-hyuk is a genius.
-You’ll fall behind if you consume the leak.
-Everyone?? Don’t press the heart on the leak and send it to the agency??
“What is this…?”
Cho Tae-woong, who was surfing the web on his bed after finishing practice, jumped up.
“Hey, did our song leak?”
“Really?”
Kim Joo-young, who was lying down, and Ian, who came in after washing up, approached Cho Tae-woong’s bed and looked at his phone screen.
“Is it really a leak? What’s with the open chat room?”
“Did someone spread another weird rumor?”
“Let’s take a screenshot and send it to Dong-soo hyung first.”
To their surprise, it was not a rumor but a reality.
Cho Tae-woong, who uploaded the screenshot to the group chat room with the manager, received a reply.
(Park Dong-soo) ?? – 23:09
(Park Dong-soo) They found out three hours ago and they’re looking for the distributor now – 23:09
(Park Dong-soo) Guys, don’t worry about it and just rest for now. The company is checking on it – 23:10
***
[Official] Awi, song leak… “We will take legal action against both primary and secondary distribution”
“What a bolt from the blue…”
The director, Seo Su-ryeon, rubbed her head.
The fans’ protest calls were already ringing intermittently, and the fax was jammed.
The truth is, idol song leaks are common. When they rise to the ranks of popular idols, leaks become a norm. Ironically, it also meant that Awi’s popularity and interest had risen a lot.
Seo Su-ryeon sighed as she looked at the leak timeline that the company staff had organized.
“I feel weird that there’s no bad reaction to the song in this situation… So, where did it leak from?”
“The staff are investigating right now.”
The suspects were either company staff or distributors or broadcasters.
As Awi’s growth had boosted the company’s size recently, the newly hired company staff were the most suspicious part.
“Did the choreography video not leak?”
“As far as we’ve checked… no.”
They had to send the audio file and choreography practice video to the broadcasting station for pre-review before the comeback.
So most of the leaks were sneaked out through the broadcasting station’s review room.
“It would be better if it leaked from the broadcasting station… If it’s our staff…”
Seo Su-ryeon sighed.
Broadcasting station leaks would end with just a warning from the broadcasting station, which had more power. But if it was a company staff member, they had to catch them quickly because they could leak again next comeback.
“How are the kids?”
“They said they would do it perfectly since it leaked. They’re living in the practice room right now.”
“It would be better not to worry… Ah, the article came out and made things worse.”
“We have to think of it as a blessing in disguise. There’s also a saying that leaks make things better.”
It depends on the case, but usually male idols are more fandom-oriented than mass-oriented, so leaks don’t have much impact on them.
“They have to have a good entrance…”
The problem was that Awi’s music had gained more attention since ‘Side Effect’. Seo Su-ryeon frowned slightly.
-Wow I downloaded the leaked file
└Do you like consuming leaks?
└Reported. Get ready to go to the police station^^
-This song is good?? But my bias has no part?? Why does Chong-in have so many parts?
└Look at him proudly suffering from the leak ?? Byung-hun, you’re here!
└This bastard is a fanboy. Take off Tae-woong’s badge.
└└I’m not a fanboy.
└└└I’ve seen you before. You guys can’t do anything. Your oppa only knows Pinky Lady^^
Fortunately, Awi’s fandom was in a good mood except for a few people who listened out of curiosity.
-Guys, don’t mention the leak and report it quietly.
-Who posted on the fan cafe? Let’s push them with life memes.
Awi’s members knew the group’s search term prevention nickname well enough to surf the web, and a few fans who heard the news of the leak went to report it quietly without mentioning it to anyone.
It would have been nice if it stayed buried until the comeback day, but the reporters who smelled it wrote articles and ruined the fans’ efforts.
***
And the reporters who bit the bait showed up at the comeback showcase.
“With the debt issue and now the song leak. It feels like there are a lot of controversies this year. How do you feel?”
Park Dong-soo, who was listening from behind, touched his head.
He had checked the reporters’ questions in advance and filtered out anything that seemed wrong.
It was purely the reporter’s own decision.
“Who is that bastard?”
As Park Dong-soo went out to check the reporter’s ID, the members tried to keep their expressions under control.
“Damn it.”
Jin was always absent when he needed him. He could see the cross mark on the reporter’s seat, which meant he was somewhere in this space.
Did he know how embarrassing it was to be in the same industry?
“Say something?”
Ian, who was in his second idol season, didn’t care if the article came out weird or not.
As he reached out after a short hesitation, the microphone he was trying to grab was already in Juhyuk’s hand.
Seeing the quality of the question, Juhyuk smiled faintly on his lips, knowing that he would write an article about his attitude if he frowned.
“Bitoo has already made a statement through the agency, and I have nothing to say about that. It’s not my fault, right?”
As the reporter tried to ask another question, Juhyuk continued.
“As for my feelings… Actually, I was physically and mentally exhausted during the tour, but I was able to overcome it thanks to the members. The fans’ event also helped a lot.”
Then Ian took the microphone. He stared at the reporter who asked the question and said.
“We were already aware of the leak, and since it was leaked anyway, we practiced hard to improve the stage performance.”
The reporter who asked the question sat down with a displeased face.
“Please refrain from sensitive questions for the sake of the artists.”
The showcase MC, who received a whisper from Dongsoo Park, lightly warned him.
After finishing the press showcase in tension, AWY went into the waiting room. Juhyuk staggered and fell on the makeshift bed that had been spread out in advance.
“Are you okay, hyung?”
Seodam Park looked at Juhyuk with a worried face. He was under pressure to make such a career high after his previous work did so well.
“…I’m fine.”
“Can we check the music chart later?”
“We have to… How are you guys?”
“Actually, we’re dying too. We barely ate any support food because we felt like throwing up.”
It was amazing that they had achieved this much in their two years of debut.
“We won’t rank low, right?”
“Honestly, I don’t think we’ll rank low. Is it just me?”
“Actually, me too.”
But of course, human greed had no end.
They weren’t worried about going down from here, but they wanted to go up more desperately.
“Do you think we’ll make it into the top three this time?”
“I’m aiming for second place.”
“First place is impossible?”
“Impossible.”
Ian shook his head. The first place was still occupied by Media’s song that came back a month ago.
“Is it seven o’clock?”
“Just a moment… Yes!”
It took quite a long time to refresh because of the crowd.
“Huh?”
This time, there was no need for a dramatic presentation from below.
AWY’s album jacket was already visible on the first screen.
NEW!) AWY – We are We are
Entered at second place, 83 thousand users entered. It was a figure they had never seen before.
“Second place!”
“Awesome!”
The members jumped up and made dolphin noises.
Seodam almost threw his phone and Juhyuk’s face brightened up in relief.
The phone in his hand kept ringing. It was because of the congratulatory messages from his acquaintances who checked the ranking.
‘When did mom check…?’
Ian turned off his phone for now. The celebration time with the members was more important.
“We’re crazy!”
“If Media wasn’t there, wouldn’t we be first?”
“That’s right!”
“Wow, we’re crazy. How far are we going to go?”
The staff and employees of the agency who were there applauded AWY.
“Guys, congratulations!”
“Thank you!”
Kim Juyeong and Kim Myungjin, the road manager who high-fived him, looked at Dongsoo Park in the corner and said.
“Team leader, what’s wrong?”
“This… Don’t you think we’re rising too fast?”
“It’s good if we rise. People will say you’re being greedy if they hear you.”
“Good… It’s good, but.”
Only Dongsoo Park sighed while feeling good. It was a result of two years. Of course, he felt good as a manager. Securing music meant catching three rabbits: music, album, and fandom.
“It’s almost two years now. The kids are doing great. Good…”
Dongsoo Park stared blankly at the air and said.
He was afraid of how the members would change due to their rapid growth. He never knew when someone like that reporter would pop up.
He had felt this way when he was the road manager for Black Rush. In the end, Kim Young-hyun couldn’t endure and the group went on a temporary hiatus.
“Dong-soo hyung! We’re second! Did you hear?”
“We couldn’t have done it without our managers.”
He wasn’t worried about the members’ changes. They were always ambitious and knew how to give credit to others.
“Did you finally realize how important this hyung is?”
“Ah hyung, you’re our eighth member!”
It was probably needless worry. Park Dong-soo decided to enjoy this moment and let go of his anxiety.
***
After finishing their fan showcase, Awi was busy with music shows and fan signing events.
Friday was the busiest day of their schedule, from dawn to late night.
“Oh? I haven’t seen you before… Is this your first time?”
“Yes! I just became a fan recently!”
“Wow, when did you become a fan? I have to do well.”
“I saw the cut of Woo-sang’s unit on SNS! He’s so handsome!”
“Thank you.”
Ian put the flower crown that the fan gave him on his head and signed skillfully. His habit of looking into people’s eyes made the fan’s face flush to her neck.
[You guys must have over 40 chapters.]
‘Insane.’
The number of new fans was also increasing rapidly, and the fan sign cuts were also growing day by day.
“Ian, you’re doing well, but there’s one thing you need to fix.”
“Nuna’s heart?”
“Ack! How did you know?”
The fans’ jokes were all the same.
The reversal joke that made his heart drop when he first heard it was now familiar because there were too many people doing it.
“I feel a wall from you, oppa.”
“Perfect? I know.”
“Just accept it!”
Even Park Jin-hyuk, who ruined the group’s best eye candy, had to take it.
The fan jumped up and down from her seat and screamed.
The reason why the fans made these jokes was simple.
They had no questions to ask at the fan sign event, or they wanted to see the restless singer.
“I came with my boyfriend.”
“Boyfriend? Are you cheating on me, nuna? Who else do you have besides me?”
Jo Tae-woong’s cheekiness made the fan who was about to show him her hand mirror laugh out loud.
‘He’s the real deal.’
Ian, who was watching Jo Tae-woong’s otherworldly pseudo-romance, focused on the fan who just sat in front of him.
The fan said bluntly as soon as she sat down.
“Ian, I’m going to stop being your fan. I changed my bias.”
“What?”
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