Episode 135. In-house Revenge (1)
In the end, I failed to figure out the identity of the countdown until the very day the numbers disappeared.
'Like anything serious would happen.......'
On the rooftop, I merely beat the cushions the production crew would sit on, thinking to myself.
How many crises could possibly befall an idol who had just debuted? The controversy had already blown up, and work had been consistently overwhelming both before and after debut.
Wait. Then isn't every day just a crisis for me? I was suddenly overcome with doubt about life.
Worried that a mishap might occur where someone would get a nosebleed and collapse during filming, I had been meticulously checking accumulated fatigue levels since morning.
I personally massaged the others' shoulders and checked their conditions one by one. They all seemed overly burdened, but none looked particularly sick.
I had come into the office at the crack of dawn, hanging around because I thought something might blow up there, but there wasn't even a hint of that. It literally meant things were as usual.
I'd done my best within the areas I could check, and there was nothing wrong?
Then this was no longer my responsibility. No matter what came out and ruined things, I had something to say for myself. That was it.
"Hyung, the directors will arrive in ten minutes!"
Since I couldn't kick the system, I had been beating the cushions when Gang Giyeon delivered the news to me.
Without even a moment to brood further over the ominous number, I picked up an armful of cushions and headed for the stairs.
* * *
Today's meeting facilitator was me.
I wanted to stop appearing on broadcast, but my position was the producing member, so it turned out this way. Next time, I need to transfer to a position where the letter P isn't even involved.
Still, I had prepared diligently for today's meeting.
Because the time had come to collect the breadcrumbs Spark had scattered until now.
"Then, before the meeting for the final competition, let us review past concepts."
The image Spark had shown so far on Idol Wangjo Sillok followed the flow of history.
The fresh rookie idol on the self-PR stage represented the founding of Joseon.
The sports competition in the first round hinted at the factional debates that had long persisted in Joseon history, and the Milky Way stage in the second round implied science and technology, including the Cheonsang Yeolcha Bunyajido.
Then what remains?
"Everyone, you all remember our program's name, right?"
"Ahwangsil!"
"Correct. If Spark has reenacted historical flows and events until now, now is the time to leave them as records."
I told them. Spark would become the identity of Ahwangsil.
When I turned the PPT slide, images of old historiographers and photos of the Joseon Wangjo Sillok appeared.
"As you all know, the Joseon Wangjo Sillok is a record that comprehensively covers various facts of the Joseon era, and its significance runs deep. Therefore, in the final competition, as historiographers, we intend to deliver to the public exactly what we have seen and learned on the Ahwangsil stage, without omission or embellishment. Any objections?"
"None!"
"None."
Everyone agreed refreshingly. And for good reason—this meeting was only being held because of filming; Spark had been designing its stages with this in mind from the very beginning.
It was an idea planned even before Ahwangsil filming, so from their perspective, there was nothing new.
Instead, they had to nail down the details. From here, the meeting continued in full serious mode.
"We're wearing hanbok for the final competition, right? What style are we going with?"
"Maybe clothes like a yusaeng rather than full seonbi attire......"
"That all sounds good, but depending on the design, you can see the dance lines or not see them at all. I think we need to review this part in advance."
When leader Jeong Seongbin pointed out the topics for discussion, Bak Juu and Gang Giyeon each offered their opinions.
"We need to pour a lot of effort into the final competition anyway, right?"
"......?"
"I thought we shouldn't waste time on reference research, so I already laid out the big framework. If we can just align our opinions, let's pick the final version today and hand it over to the production team."
I opened the shared sheet I had prepared in advance.
We usually shared it in folders, but today, considering we were filming, I split the sheets into one file, organizing costumes, props, lighting, media art, and so on. Upon seeing that, one camera turned its direction entirely toward the projector.
"We'll decide the color scheme last after looking at the color sheet. We're going to move quickly, so I'd appreciate prompt decisions."
"No second round of voting or anything?"
"None. Pick whatever catches your eye the first time. That means the options are all good enough to stand out at a glance."
At my words, I Cheonghyeon shook his head in slight exasperation.
Despite having mentioned a second round of voting, the voting ended swiftly. They used to be the type to order five dishes at a Chinese restaurant, but now they seemed to have developed an eye for weighing various factors and picking the best option.
What should I call this. I felt like I was watching a well-raised junior.
* * *
"Good work, everyone!"
"You worked hard!"
With the writers' greetings, the meeting filming ended. My blood sugar was plummeting.
Was this really the daily life of an idol? It was no different from my time at Hanpyeong Industries. Come to think of it, aren't highly developed idols basically just office workers?
"Hyung, you look exhausted?"
"Really? Did it show during filming?"
"Not that, but it shows a bit when the camera's off."
I Cheonghyeon said, pointing under my eyes. I guess I'd need to get fat relocation surgery once Ahwangsil was over.
I rubbed under my eyes and replied.
"I guess it's because I've had back-to-back meetings. I'm hitting a sugar crash."
"The meetings aren't the problem; it's because you don't sleep."
Choe Jeho chided me as he pushed the chair back into place.
Who would want to organize materials after intensive training and practice? I love taking long naps, too.
It was so unfair I could cry, but I couldn't show it. The production crew hadn't left yet.
I was holding the conference room door to make it easier for them to move when a writer approached and spoke.
"Iwola, who comes up with your ideas?"
"All our members do it together!"
"No, I mean the main idea. I was wondering which department handles setting the flow for your self-PR stages and such."
"We really plan them ourselves. The company mainly checks for feasibility."
"You guys plan them? The company doesn't?"
"Yes!"
At my words, the writer's expression grew inscrutable.
Do you not believe...... me? This time, would it be Spark as a whole getting caught up in a concept-thief controversy and receiving evil editing, not just me?
Worry surged.
At this point, I had no choice but to hand over Spark's weekly meeting records to prove our innocence......
"I see. We'll probably do a Season 2 next, and I think the format will need to change quite a bit from this season."
"Is that so?"
I asked back, pretending I didn't know, but in a way, it was obvious.
The difference between a pilot program hastily made to capitalize on the survival trend and a program that has become seasonal is huge. They'd need something different.
"So I thought if UA had a separately affiliated variety writer or planning team, I could ask you to introduce me to some talent...... but that's not the case?"
"The planning team usually helps a lot during comebacks. We just said we wanted to handle the competition ourselves."
I would have felt more secure if the accounting team had helped, but that was a shame.
The writer, who had been sighing, suddenly raised her head. Then she looked around and asked in a small voice,
"Right. Is PD Yu Hansu here?"
"Yes, he is."
"I heard he doesn't handle idol-related work at all now? He doesn't have any ongoing projects, right? There are so many rumors going around......"
So the rumors in the broadcasting industry are that fast. It seems Yu Hansu being 'X'ed has become gossip even outside UA.
I had been thinking he was unusually hard to see around the company lately; so he had been laying low because rumors had spread like this. He should have acted with moderation from the start.
'Judging by her tone, she doesn't seem like she wants to give Yu Hansu work...... Is she just curious?'
I wanted to say that work wasn't his problem anymore and that he should count himself lucky if the company didn't sue him.
But I couldn't do that. I'm an idol, an adult, and a member of society. It was enough that I had gotten that man blacklisted in the industry.
"Ahaha....... I'm not sure."
"Oh, no. I asked about everything under the sun. This is awkward to answer, isn't it? Sorry."
Fortunately, the writer was considerate of my position. Looking at my awkward smile, she even said, 'Anyway, you're such a good kid.'
She probably thought I was being considerate of Yu Hansu. Even though I was the one who had sent Yu Hansu to his downfall.
"And your second-round competition stage was a huge hit, right?"
"Really?"
"It went viral like crazy. Doesn't UA do separate monitoring?"
"I usually do it, but I couldn't right away because it overlapped with the intensive filming schedule."
"The response is no joke. The cinematography was so good that the thumbnails and fancams all came out beautifully too."
Praise poured down. I felt somewhat embarrassed.
"That's a relief. We all prepared hard for it."
"But you're the producing member, right? Everyone's been saying how scary kids are these days. They're praising you young ones for having such great sense."
"You're overpraising me. I still have a lot to improve."
No matter how capable I was, could I match an active professional? Besides, I refused to hog the credit for the ideas alone.
As I hurried to send the writer off, my eyes met someone at the end of the hallway.
It was Yu Hansu, who had been the subject of conversation just moments ago.
'Speak of the devil.'
Judging by his movement, he seemed to have been coming this way, but he stopped either because he saw someone he knew or because the conversation turned to him.
Yu Hansu stopped in his tracks and didn't move. Then he silently watched me and the writer.
"Iwola, what are you looking at?"
"Ah, I thought someone was passing by. Guess not!"
I urged the writer to go on her way. When I turned around again, Yu Hansu had already disappeared.
It took quite a while just to send off the production crew. With so many people and equipment to take care of, vehicles coming and going on the Ahwangsil side took half the day.
Still, after safely seeing the filming team off, the tension finally eased belatedly.
I was stretching and about to head down to the practice room when I heard someone calling me from afar.
"Iwola!"
"Yes, Assistant Manager."
It was the assistant manager from the General Affairs Team.
Since it was someone who wouldn't have reason to call me deliberately, I wondered what this was about.
"Did you happen to do any prop-making activities during the meeting today?"
"No. You're talking about the meeting filmed by Ahwangsil, right?"
"Yes, yes, that."
Prop-making out of nowhere?
The assistant manager, receiving my puzzled gaze, added,
"It's nothing major. I had to get a toolbox and went to the warehouse, but some of the equipment was missing."
"We didn't use it, but if the Ahwangsil filming crew needed it, an employee might have lent it to them. Shall I ask?"
"I wonder if we'll be able to find it....... Anyway, could you ask around through Chanyeong or whoever? If it's gone, we need to buy new ones."
"Yes, I understand."
The assistant manager left, saying she would check the conference room once more.