Episode 111. Kickoff (1)
In the entertainment scene, survival programs hold formidable sway.
The moment a promising program appears, all buzz becomes the property of survival programs.
Established idols fret over preventing fan exodus, existing fans watch as their timelines fill with program-related issues, and the cast engages in a fierce battle of wits, trying somehow to land a knockout blow.
For the broadcasters' enormous advertising revenue, those involved spent emotion, time, and even money, repeating offense and defense until the program ended.
Of course, the early Awangsil didn't have that much influence. Nevertheless, viewers suffered every day.
≫ XX Why did I step into this mud pit
Got dragged in by the ankle thinking I'd see something good XX
Even I, who had never watched a survival program, knew all too well that viewers held hostage with the object of their support as collateral shed tears of blood.
I booked a meeting room at UA to coincide with the last day of my vacation.
And shoved all the Spark guys inside.
'It's shameless of me to say this after insisting we go on it, but you need to match your application motives with me.'
So that the team called Spark could solidify its 'stance toward Awangsil.'
Fans try to see their idol in a positive light no matter what they do.
If they're off-key on stage, fans worry if their condition is bad; if the choreography is intense, they praise them as cool while worrying about the idol's joints.
But if their idol enters a competitive system, the story changes.
Even though my head knows my kid is a hard worker who practices diligently, my heart grows anxious. Somehow it feels like they'll go off-key again at a crucial moment.
In an era where razor-sharp group choreography is essential, if the moves don't line up perfectly, fans get anxious.
It feels like that very section could be labeled '◯◯◯, the actual skill level of a group praised as a group-dance idol' and circulated at 0.5x speed at any moment.
They grow restless, hope for the best, and pray never to hear the words 'mistakes are a skill too,' making it impossible to watch the continuing stages with a peaceful heart.
And I have no intention of letting Sparklers experience that.
I'm already grateful just for accepting me into Spark; I can't put you through further hardship.
'My motive for applying is that I want to stand on more stages. The goal is to make every stage fun.'
'Isn't that obvious?'
I Cheong-hyeon asked back.
'Before answering, I want to ask everyone. What do you think a fun stage is?'
Then the guys each offered their own answers.
A flashy performance, singing a good song, something with a twist, something perfect.
Finally, Jeong Seong-bin, who had been listening to the members' answers one by one, spoke.
'Wouldn't it be a stage done well?'
'As expected of Seong-bin. Your understanding of the fandom is razor-sharp.'
A stage that lacks nothing no matter where it's presented.
A stage that anyone who sees has no choice but to acknowledge.
So a stage where there's no anxiety whatsoever, where you can simply watch comfortably, trust, and enjoy.
'You remember during Dosalm? In our country, being good at something has always led straight to enjoyment.'
And we plan to make every stage fun.
As if intuiting what would come next, the guys swallowed.
'Let's make a stage where no one can refute us even if we take first place, and if we don't take first place, others will find it strange.'
'......'
'Let's prepare with the determination to win no matter who we face. Enjoyably.'
And so Spark's concept was decided, very one-sidedly, as that of enjoy-gamers: 'doing everything they want without watching others' moods, but because they have skill, no one can really say anything.'
* * *
Having caught the last train of Awangsil casting, Spark became the youngest team on Awangsil. They were a piping-hot rookie who had debuted just barely three months ago.
"Spark is the youngest on our program; how do you feel?"
Perhaps because of that, the interview questions raised in the pre-meeting were largely related to career length.
Questions went back and forth about whether it was burdensome being the youngest, if there were senior groups they were close to, and so on.
At most, the age difference with those above them was barely a year.
I hadn't failed to talk about this part when we decided to appear.
Except for Jeong Seong-bin and I Cheong-hyeon, the rest are guys with rock-bottom social skills. They wouldn't do anything to get cursed at, but they're not the type to be overly obliging either.
Still, thanks to the smile training they'd had since trainee days, the proper posture of an idol was engraved in their bones.
Even now, the guys were continuing the interview harmoniously with the production staff.
This much is enough.
Unless they find someone they want to befriend on their own, I have no intention of telling them to deliberately act sociable just because they appeared on the same program.
Relationships are only important within the same group; they don't affect your results.
"I don't know which seniors I'll be with yet, but I intend to approach it enjoyably!"
Jeong Seong-bin answered.
For the record, that was a lie.
I had already shared with the members who I thought would appear based on what I remembered. Thanks to that, we'd had to practice separately pretending to be surprised upon hearing the news that we were the youngest.
First, Parthe, who would be the undisputed core cast of this season among a total of six groups.
An eight-member performance group that debuted last year.
'Let's try not to get entangled with Parthe if possible.'
'Huh?'
'I'm saying we should avoid them.'
The members were bewildered by my notice.
'Why are you reacting like that?'
'Isn't that too contradictory to what you said about aiming for first place, Hyung?'
I kindly explained to I Cheong-hyeon, who had turned aggressive before I knew it.
'I'm not saying to avoid them because I think we'll be compared.'
'Then why?'
'I'm saying to avoid them because getting entangled won't end well.'
The moment I finished speaking, Bak Ju-u averted his gaze. It seemed the memory of hearing Song Min-il's profanity medley while running along the Han River had surfaced again.
Even apart from the Song Min-il incident, Parthe had just as many rumors as Spark in the past. Even I, who knew next to nothing about idol affairs outside of Spark, could recall a few major incidents if I thought about it deeply.
Dating a sasaeng fan, two-timing, tax evasion, attitude controversies......
There's nothing more to say. For Parthe, nothing but the most objective evaluation is permitted. End of story.
As the next promising prospect after Parthe, there is Allover.
A group that showed good chemistry with Parthe and reaped the second-greatest benefits in Awangsil.
I couldn't remember this team at all, so I searched them again. And I found a face that made me wonder how I could have forgotten.
Turned out there was a guy who went to prison.
For a moment, I almost got confused and thought Awangsil was a program that blew up with controversies. So I decided that for this team too, nothing but an objective evaluation would be permitted.
Conversely, there were also groups with nothing particularly memorable. For those teams, I stopped at sharing just the group name.
'And Seniors Log, Sticky, and Verion will appear. We'll be the youngest.'
'How did you know this, Hyung......?'
'Thanks to meticulous analysis.'
They didn't seem to fully believe me, but whatever.
"What rank is Spark targeting?"
"They say dream big, so shall we say first place?"
Then I Cheong-hyeon smiled brazenly.
Jeong Seong-bin and Bak Ju-u also smiled brightly. I could see cold sweat trickling behind their backs, but since it didn't show on the outside, I'd give them extra points for that. I hope they work hard with this attitude until the final episode.
* * *
After the pre-meeting, we gathered again in UA's meeting room.
It was to prepare for the self-PR stage that would take place on Awangsil's first recording day.
The facilitator and concept proposer was decided to be me, who had actively wanted to appear on Awangsil. Thanks to that, I returned my entire first vacation and only made a PPT.
"Cheong-hyeon, did you press the record button?"
"Yeah. You can start!"
I Cheong-hyeon sent me an OK sign.
That guy, when his turn came to be secretary, immediately paid for an app subscription, saying he'd use the AI subtitle generation feature to write the minutes.
He'd said he'd fill in any lacking parts himself, so I told him to do as he pleased.
Anyway, what's important isn't I Cheong-hyeon's digitalization, so moving on.
"Then, on May XX, let us begin the concept meeting for the self-PR stage of Idol Wangjo Sillok. Everyone checked the agenda I shared beforehand, right?"
"Yes, I compiled the opinions the members uploaded and posted them in the group chat."
Jeong Seong-bin dragged the opinions from the message window and displayed them on the monitor. At the same time, Gang Gi-yeon, sitting near the door, turned off the meeting room lights.
"Half the opinions were to use Spark's unique youth concept, and half said image renewal was needed. Are the opinions each of you submitted still valid?"
"Yes."
"Yeah."
The guys nodded.
The screen was packed with the claims they'd sent by the deadline.
I told Jeong Seong-bin he'd worked hard, then scanned the monitor once more.
Je-ho
Summary: Desires new concept
Reason: Maintaining the same image continuously doesn't leave an impression
Seong-bin
Summary: Desires to maintain existing concept
Reason: Considering the nature of a self-PR stage, I think it's right to show the team's color
Ju-u
Summary: Desires to maintain existing concept
Reason: I think the current concept suits the members well
Cheong-hyeon
Summary: Desires new concept
Reason: The nature of survival programs requires leaving a strong first impression / an overly similar concept can feel boring / since many programs assign stages themed around fans, a youth concept is more appropriate for a fan-dedication stage
Gi-yeon
Summary: Desires to maintain existing concept
Reason: There must be a reason fans like the current concept → I predict there won't be much public rejection either
Backing it up with reasoning too. Excellent.
I Cheong-hyeon... I do feel like I've raised a tiger cub, but.
"From what I see, everyone seems to have made valid points. So I'm going to present a draft that combines these opinions as much as possible."
I immediately flipped the PPT screen.
The main theme for this stage appeared: 'A Rookie Idol's Bumbling Survival Program Entry.'