“Give me your phone.”
I took Big Sejin’s smartphone and skimmed one of the articles.
It was the ultimate clickbait article, with a headline calling Park Moondae a junk stock.
========================
Park Moondae, who participated in the previous season of <Relisted! Idol Incorporated 2> as an ordinary contestant with no qualifications or prior experience before winning the competition, encouraged the contestants to have the same experience, saying that “there are times when you can break through your limitations.”
……
A representative of the program said, “The charm of watching is that in a program where everything is left to the viewers’ choices, there is no way to know who will win,” adding, “We are grateful to TeSTAR for readily agreeing to appear.”
……
========================
“Hmm.”
I roughly understood.
‘This really is an article planted by the Idol Inc. side.’
That was because even though it was written as though it were conveying Park Moondae’s story, I wasn’t actually the focus.
‘They want to emphasize the dramatic entertainment value of Idol Inc.’
They wanted to sell the unpredictable fun of a program where someone who came in without any meaningful background could suddenly win, almost like a biotech stock.
But I didn’t think that was a particularly good idea.
‘They’re exaggerating a bit too much, aren’t they?’
My first ranking had already been within the Gold range, and during the grade evaluation, I had received Platinum outright.
After that, I steadily followed the standard path while appearing in teams that consistently generated buzz, and then won at the end after my family circumstances were revealed.
In other words, I had been a textbook audition-show contestant.
I wasn’t someone who represented Idol Inc.’s supposedly distinctive style.
‘They’ve gotten pointlessly high on their own hype.’
They could have simply focused on reminding people what made auditions entertaining, but apparently the production staff had developed some strange pride in this train-wreck audition show.
‘These guys seem to have lost some of their edge too.’
I wondered if ruining even-numbered seasons was going to become a jinx.
‘TeSTAR definitely needs to pull out.’
As long as we were artists under T1, openly clashing with them would cost us too much.
So I needed to establish enough justification that we could comfortably turn down any future offers for repeat appearances or collaborations.
First, though, I should check the fallout from this article.
“Thanks.”
“Okay~ Didn’t feel too bad, right?”
“Yeah. It’s fine.”
First, the fans’ reaction.
I returned Big Sejin’s smartphone and began searching on my own phone.
“……”
Then I was caught off guard.
—Those f*ckers at Ruined Inc. made us hear about all the blood sweat and tears our kid poured into Sleep is for the Dead only through oral legend, then showed us three seconds of it in the new season lol
—He was speaking so calmly but the content really made me feel how much affection and passion Moondae has for this work.. I got emotional and suddenly became the tragic woman with a backstory on Line 4 of the subway
—The thought that with Moondae’s personality he definitely hid it because he didn’t want the fans worrying hurts so much I’m so glad I bought Moondae stock I’m so glad he debuted
—Park Moondae f*ck I love you so muchㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠThere is no leaving the fandom except through death
Wow, this was kind of… embarrassing.
Even people who had lost interest after Idol Inc. and the survival show ended were pouring out new posts again.
Apparently, something about it had struck a chord.
I had expected half the people to be irritated because they hated Idol Inc., and the other half to simply be happy to see our faces.
Instead, people were gathering in greater numbers than I’d expected.
‘This is a good thing… right?’
It felt somewhat awkward, but it wasn’t bad.
I decided to accept it.
‘Then next… the general public reaction.’
There was basically nothing here.
Comments on entertainment articles were disabled anyway, and since the focus of the article itself was promoting Idol Inc., the response was overwhelmingly directed toward the program.
Most of the reactions about me rather than the program were simply things like, He said something nice.
I could gather negative reactions too, but I wasn’t sure there was any point.
They were about this level.
—Huh it just sounds like a generic comment to me why is Tnet acting like that
—They’re hyping him way too much lol
—I mean he’s a middle-school graduate and was an ordinary person so I think it would’ve been hard for him to debut without Idol Inc.
—He gives off exactly the kind of grew-up-the-hard-way vibe audition shows love
The people writing stuff at this level probably didn’t even recognize it as hate comments, since there weren’t any direct insults.
It was just thoughtless nastiness, so there was no reason to care.
‘Done.’
It irritated me that they had used me and worn down my image for no reason, but since the fans liked it, I could call it even.
I should just quickly prepare to cut ties.
I shrugged.
But as I was about to turn off my smartphone screen, I absentmindedly checked the newest reply under the SNS post I had been looking at.
It was a post sharing an article titled “Park Moondae’s Wise Advice on Idol Inc. Season 4.”
—If you actually had a proper conversation with Park Moondae he’d probably be dumb as a brick ugh… just spew any random bullshit and act profound and the company does the media play for you~
‘Oh?’
There was something subtly strange about the tone.
This didn’t feel like an ordinary hate comment from someone who simply disliked me.
I could see keywords that seemed designed to artificially steer the discourse.
‘Dumb as a brick?’
That wasn’t an expression that naturally tended to follow Park Moondae around.
And this wasn’t even the line of attack that would hurt me most.
‘It’d be more effective to connect Idol Inc.’s fairness to T1’s media play.’
So somehow, it felt like there was a different purpose behind this.
‘Wait.’
I checked the account.
Event participation and shared humor posts.
The timeline was sparsely filled with generic remarks like “When is lunch~” and “I want to go home from work.”
‘Hmm.’
I tried several searches combining keywords like Park Moondae, ignorant, and middle-school graduate.
That let me confirm the existence of several similar accounts.
Profiles and usernames that looked ordinary, sharing statements that revealed neither a distinct personality nor interest in any particular topic.
‘They’re good at this.’
Next, I searched SNS using completely different keywords.
[Golden Age Hanguk University]
A flood of results appeared.
The most widely shared post was titled “Idols overflowing with rich young lady / rich young master vibes.”
‘Not this one.’
I looked for a more minor post that had been shared less often, then checked the accounts that had reposted it.
[Compilation of Hanguk University Celebrities]
…Scattered among them were those same bland account profiles I had just seen.
‘Found it.’
I gave a short laugh.
Now I could be sure.
‘Looks like the Golden Age side is starting their operation.’
The thing Choi Wongil had told me about.
—They were saying they wanted to push that hyung with this, like, rich young master image. And they said they were going to use Park Moondae hyung as material too…….
Just as expected, that company wasn’t directly comparing me with Golden Age’s Hanguk University member.
‘Instead, they grouped everyone together.’
Idols like me who had weak academic credentials and backgrounds but high recognition were quietly getting reverse-viral marketing aimed at them.
At the same time, they were embedding the image of that Golden Age member by placing him on lists of highly educated celebrities from wealthy families.
There was definitely demand for that kind of image.
They were expanding the board so they could suppress backlash as much as possible while effectively raising his perceived status and image.
‘They’re good.’
Well, I wasn’t particularly anxious or angry.
Wasn’t this the kind of thing most entertainment agencies did?
It was just…
Tiring.
‘I already have plenty of other things to worry about.’
From my Status Abnormality to the new season of Idol Inc., there were already piles of things I needed to deal with.
And if these guys escalated what they were doing, cleaning it up would probably become even more troublesome.
So I should simply end things with this agency now.
‘Let’s see.’
Just as I was about to call up a list in my head, someone abruptly spoke to me.
“…What are you looking at so seriously?”
It was Bae Sejin.
“Oh, monitoring.”
“Really? Then… nothing happened, right?”
“Yeah, well…….”
Bae Sejin looked conflicted for a moment, then quietly said,
“…Tell me if you’re worried about something. I’ve still been working in this industry for a long time…….”
Apparently, being cooperative in front of the cameras had given him some confidence, because now he was even trying to play the older-hyung role that didn’t suit him at all.
‘I appreciate the effort, but….’
This wasn’t really a situation where I specifically needed Bae Sejin’s help.
Still, it would probably be better to explain.
This involved scheduling, after all.
I told him the most straightforward method I had thought of.
“I’m thinking of going on a show. I want to schedule something that can air as soon as possible.”
“A show? Why are you suddenly going on a show?”
I gave a short laugh.
“There are people online calling me stupid. I was thinking I might go on something where I have to use my head.”
“W-What? What kind of bastards are making noise like that!”
Apparently empathizing too strongly, Bae Sejin huffed in anger and paced busily back and forth several times.
Then, after a moment, he suddenly stopped as though something had occurred to him.
“…Right! I know that writer!”
“What?”
“The writer from the educational-programming department!”
Bae Sejin’s eyes blazed.
“The writer for the drama I filmed this time said they worked together on a variety show before. Wait!”
Then he grabbed his smartphone and began furiously sending messages and making calls.
For reference, it was currently eight thirty in the evening.
“…….”
What the hell was happening?
“Yes, yes… Writer. Ah, no. The role I played… isn’t why I’m calling. Um, I’m sorry, but by any chance…….”
Bae Sejin somehow managed to finish the call while concealing how uncomfortable he was, then clenched his fist and turned toward me.
“It worked…! They said they’ll try to get you a shoot that can air as quickly as possible!”
“…….”
I answered calmly.
“Thank you.”
“It-It’s nothing…!”
“But what program is it?”
“…?!”
Apparently realizing that he had just used his connections to request a specific program without even asking whether I wanted it, Bae Sejin’s face went pale before turning bright red again.
“Uh, it’s educational, but closer to variety… Um.”
“Yeah.”
“…It’s The Past Is Calling.”
Ah.
“That sounds good.”
“…Right?!”
Yes.
It sounded perfect.
I had seen The Past Is Calling occasionally too.
The format sent the cast to locations recreating particular periods in the past and had them solve incidents.
And in between, they seemed to preserve their educational-program identity by making the cast solve logic or history quizzes.
Most importantly, unless it was a special episode, the historical setting the cast visited was…
within Korean history.
‘If I can’t take advantage of this, I’m an idiot.’
A former civil-service-exam student who had prepared for the PSAT and Korean history, surrounded by people who had dedicated their lives to arts and sports?
This was basically free.
“I’ll talk to the company and make sure the schedule gets coordinated properly. Thanks, hyung.”
“Y-Yeah!”
As praise and repayment, I made Bae Sejin some toast for a late-night snack.
“Hyung! I want some too!”
“Ask Sejin hyung for permission.”
Everything was going smoothly.
Read only on MUGEX
And then came the day of filming for The Past Is Calling.
I encountered someone I hadn’t expected in the cast.
“Hello, sunbaenim!”
The guy bowing deeply to me was…
Golden Age’s main vocalist from Hanguk University.
In other words, the guy who had done that whole ribbon-wrapped roast-chicken thing.
‘Oh.’
I smiled and nodded.
“Yes. Good to see you again. I look forward to working with you.”
“No, I’m the one who should say that. I truly look forward to working with you!”
The guy raised his head after bowing deeply, placed a hand over his chest, and said,
“My schedule was arranged very suddenly, so I came here extremely nervous. I’m really glad and honored that you’re here, sunbaenim!”
Would you look at that?
“So yours was arranged suddenly too. My appearance was only decided recently as well.”
“I see! For me, it was really almost the same day… Ah, I’m sorry. I’m talking about useless things again….”
“No. Conversation is good. Let’s both do well with today’s shoot.”
“Yes, thank you!”
Golden Age’s main vocalist soon left to greet the other cast members.
At almost the same moment, Seon Ahyeon returned from a quick trip to the convenience store.
“I-I’m back…!”
“Okay~ Ahyeon, let’s touch up your hair a little later!”
The educational-programming department had asked whether we could send one more member if possible, so he had volunteered and come with me.
As I organized the snacks Seon Ahyeon had brought, he smiled and asked,
“M-Moondae. Are you really looking forward to the shoot? Y-You look like you’re in a good mood….”
“Ah. Because this is funny.”
It really was.
The moment I hurriedly booked a variety show where I’d have to use my head, that guy booked the same variety show right afterward?
There was only one conclusion.
‘There’s a rat inside the company.’
I was already enjoying thinking about how I could use this.
Of course, first I needed to finish this shoot properly.
I unwrapped one of the chocolates Seon Ahyeon had given me.
‘Let’s see if it works against Hanguk University.’
A little while later, filming began without delay.