Episode 172. Roundtable (1)
The official meeting title was “The 1st Spark Fanmeeting Planning Meeting.”
But in my mind, the meeting name kept getting warped into the “Great Escape Committee for Totally Boring Fanmeetings.”
I had no intention of sitting through another fanmeeting where both fans and idols looked like they had absolutely nothing to say. We were going to prepare this properly.
The one saving grace was that the Spark guys had shown enormous enthusiasm for preparing the fanmeeting.
I’d figured at least one or two of them would suggest handing the fanmeeting off to a dedicated team, but everyone had stepped up saying they absolutely wanted to prepare it themselves. It was unexpected.
That was the reason we were currently sitting together on the practice room floor, scrap paper and laptops spread out around us in a haphazard mess.
Jeong Seongbin scanned through a list of past idol group fanmeeting contents and spoke up.
“First, we absolutely have to include a Q&A with the fans, right?”
As expected, he was a guy who knew a thing or two. Survey forms, Q&As, and post-it questions were all indispensable channels of communication.
“Looks like a lot of them do cosplay too. Like characters from movies or animations….”
“Ah, I was looking at that too.”
Gang Giyeon chimed in agreement to Bak Juu’s words.
“Costuming is nice. It feels like a real event, so I think everyone would love it.”
I Cheonghyeon showed interest as well. Judging by his choice of words, this guy didn’t seem to know exactly what cosplay was.
“It’s probably not just putting makeup on your face.”
When I added that, a question mark appeared on I Cheonghyeon’s face.
I Cheonghyeon’s face colored with surprise after receiving a sheet of paper from Bak Juu.
“What is this? You dress up exactly like the character?”
“That’s right. It’s beyond what you imagined, isn’t it?”
“That’s insane! I really want to do this!”
Seeing this reminded me of something someone had said on social media a long time ago.
What was it again. A highly developed muggle is indistinguishable from an otaku……?
“We’ll sing too, won’t we? I was thinking, if we rearrange *With List* acoustically, I think the vibe would be perfect. It’s autumn, what do you think?”
Then I Cheonghyeon lamented the fact that there wasn’t a single person on our team who could play acoustic guitar.
“Acoustic guitar is perfect for this vibe!”
“If we had a guy who could play that, we wouldn’t be idols, we’d be a band-dol,” Choe Jeho grumbled.
At that moment, Jeong Seongbin awkwardly stepped up.
“Um… If the chords aren’t too complicated, I can probably play it.”
So there was a guy who could play it. It felt like I could hear the sound of a blowtorch igniting Bak Juu’s ambition toward becoming a band-dol. I glanced over, and sure enough, his eyes had gone wild.
“Then I’m doing this? Got it? It’s approved!”
“Yeah, yeah.”
Jeong Seongbin smiled and calmed the excited I Cheonghyeon down.
“We should have Giyeonie do the random play dance that was a hot topic on Ahwangsil again too.”
At my words, Gang Giyeon’s face turned red.
But this was a fact. Ever since he tore up the random play dance that one time, Gang Giyeon’s recognition had skyrocketed.
His fancams from other performances had risen too, so there was no way we could let this content go to waste.
“The eldest hyungs should each do something too, right?”
I Cheonghyeon said, shaking a ballpoint pen with a provoking tone.
“Sorry, but don’t lump me together with Choe Jeho. I consider our connection in this life to be over now that we know we’re the same age.”
“He thinks he’s all that.”
Choe Jeho muttered without backing down. Only the good-hearted Jeong Seongbin tried to patch up the relationship between the two of us.
“Come on, why are you two like that? You usually get along fine.”
“I can’t be sure of that. Those hyungs don’t say a single word to each other in our room.”
Lee Cheonghyeon’s ruthless whistleblowing had burst that bubble pretty quickly.
But I wasn’t joking—I really didn’t want to get entangled with Choe Jeho.
For starters, my stats were far too lacking.
I knew the generous fans were trying to package us as “eldest hyungs with different art styles,” but the intensity of our visuals was on entirely different levels.
It was the same with skill. Even when we moved exactly the same way, Choe Jeho had something called dance lines, while all I ever heard was, “Our Iwol always has such sharp angles!”
The reality that even though I practiced hard to catch up to the members, I turned into a snail the moment I stood next to Choe Jeho—it was so sad I couldn’t stand it.
And this was closer to my true feelings…….
Ever since recovering my memory data, he had become uncomfortable to me again.
It meant the anger I had felt toward Choe Jeho when I first regressed kept coming back to mind.
Truthfully, Choe Jeho wasn’t guilty of anything. If he had committed a sin, it was only the sin of standing out so much that he caught the eye of Department Head Nam’s daughter, too.
Besides, my negative emotions were currently being blocked well by the system. If that weren’t the case, my emotions wouldn’t have stopped at merely finding Choe Jeho uncomfortable.
Being with him made my heart feel strangely heavy, so for the time being, I wanted to avoid creating any situations where I had to cooperate with Choe Jeho as much as possible.
“Or we could do something like a balance game. Making Iwol-hyung the main dancer vs. sending Juu-hyung on a solo variety show.”
“Our Giyeonie has a talent for making balance games.”
I gave Gang Giyeon’s idea a round of applause. Bak Juu’s face turned deathly pale.
* * *
“Guys, the physical sample of your fanclub kit is out!”
“Really?”
At Manager Jugyeong’s call, we threw aside our practice and went up to the conference room. On the table sat a large navy-blue box.
Despite the dark navy background, it didn’t feel dark at all—colorful flames were printed on the box, evoking a festival.
The small flames dotted around the “A” in Spark’s official notation “spArk” like a Ferris wheel suited the design as well.
There were plenty of cute contents inside, too.
The fans had earnestly requested that since they didn’t use stickers carelessly, we absolutely had to include two of each—one for collecting and one for using—so inside, neatly arranged, were member-specific signature + handwritten message stickers, the group activity reports from *Flowering*, and six cuts of life from the *With List* era. On the group activity report’s name field, the very last space was left blank so fans could fill in their name or nickname.
“Photos…… no pixelation, no smudges on the postcards…….”
While the other guys were busy admiring the kit, I alone was busy searching for defects. This was all because I’d gotten into the habit of filming proxy unboxing videos of my deliveries.
“Wow, the diary really…… looks practical.”
I Cheonghyeon’s voice, which had been excitedly flipping through the diary, suddenly became calm.
“Right? I’m thinking of switching to this too.”
Gang Giyeon even asked Manager Jugyeong if he could receive the diary too by joining the fanclub.
Of course, I had worked hard collaborating with Eumjisarang to make it pretty without sacrificing practicality! I had chosen each and every inner page with the thought that it was a diary I would use!
If you guys use it, we’ll become idols blatantly trying to recruit fanclub members with our obvious ulterior motives!
There were various other things inside, but personally, I was fond of the 12-type photocard set we’d poured our hearts into. It was a set of cards where all six members were each divided into an idol version and a daily life version.
To make the daily life version cards, I’d had to empty out my entire external hard drive.
Among them, I’d definitely pick Gang Giyeon smiling refreshingly among soap bubbles as my number one.
The coolness from the fountain spraying his face and the warmth felt from the sun coexisted, you know? Rainbows showed in both the soap bubbles and in the person’s face.
If I had submitted it somewhere other than UA, that photo of Gang Giyeon definitely would have won Photo of the Year. Be grateful, UA.
“Now we’re really getting a fanclub.”
Jeong Seongbin’s voice trembled. Even without looking, I could tell he was deeply moved.
“That’s right. Everyone must be busy, but let’s push a little harder until the fanmeeting. Fighting!”
“Fighting!”
Everyone shouted energetically.
My heart pounded. It was a different kind of tension than at a fansign.
* * *
Won Chaehui. 27 years old. A K-pop veteran who once possessed a glorious career as a fansite master, but who had turned away, resolving never to step foot on the idol scene again after her bias attained club VIP status.
It was not long ago that this woman had taken out her sealed camera again.
The emergence of a handsome man who overwhelmed the laws of physics. The appearance of world-shaking visuals heralding a new era—Won Chaehui felt that her old self had died, and that a new self had been born.
“For now, I’m just testing the waters. These days there are guys whose personalities are XX straight from their rookie years, after all.”
Won Chaehui repeated this to herself over and over.
And so she filled out the application form for the newly opened fanclub recruitment, waited for the kit, and the day the kit arrived, she instantly replaced the diary she’d been using for half a year, plastering the cover with members’ handwritten stickers.
She needed to fix her habit of spending money the moment she got hooked. It really wasn’t easy.
“The company had a bad reputation, but they’re doing their job now, I see.”
Still, the 1st generation Sparker kit was excellent overall. It meant she didn’t regret buying it.
How much crappy merch had passed through Won Chaehui’s studio apartment trash can? She’d sighed the moment she saw them and thrown them all away, and changing her camera lens had been a better use of money.
When the fanmeeting notice was posted, she scoured every corner of a community she once frequented as regularly as eating meals, digging through even the deepest threads about Spark.
Whether or not they had any history of flaking on the day of a schedule, whether they frequently gave half-hearted reactions……. Most idol fans who had grown tired of spending time, money, and emotions on such things probably felt similar to Won Chaehui.
Fortunately, Won Chaehui’s worries were unfounded. So Won Chaehui attempted ticketing for the first time in a while, displaying her skills. Her skills at attending every event of her idol as a fansite master were still intact.
And the moment the seats sold out.
≫ @minamhunter
Did anyone succeed in getting fanmeeting tickets?
Bang
Anyone?
A famous Spark fan’s post appeared on Won Chaehui’s timeline.
≫ @minamhunter
No wonder getting into Ahwangsil audience was so easy
I must have used up all my luck for life back then
≫ @minamhunter
Guys, meaningful events like fanmeetings are supposed to be held at Gocheok Dome
Otherwise it violates the such-and-such law
I’m going to set UA on fire
└ Are you the one breaking the such-and-such law, by any chance?
≫ @minamhunter
There’s no one around me who got tickets, how did this happen??
Are our kids already superstars????
I believe those going will leave generous reviews with fiery loyalty. Please, really please
SNS was hot, perhaps because the competition had been fierce.
“I should go…… and try to snag a few decent photos.”
Life as an idol fan was narrow and harsh—how could one survive without helping each other? Watching the famous fan’s lament, Won Chaehui decided to display her spirit of philanthropy.