Damn Idol, Chapter 109
* * *
The process for registering a digital track is complicated, but when you look at the context, it requires two procedures.
First, register the singer.
Second, register the track.
Of the two, the first was the more labor-intensive and complicated process.
It was especially troublesome when registering a copyright holder for the first time.
But Sedalbaegil had released tracks on Coming Up Next, and they were already registered as copyright holders.
So registering the track was something that could be done in an instant.
As long as there was no external pressure from Ryan Entertainment.
Of course, if Sedalbaegil had registered the track when Yang Seokhun’s video blew up, even Ryan would have had no way to interfere.
But Sedalbaegil had missed the golden time.
It was only a week, but in the world of show business, a week was an enormous amount of time.
A national hero could become the target of the entire nation’s criticism, and someone being cursed out could become a hero.
“Ah, what a mess.”
That was why the person in charge at the Music Copyright Association was troubled.
He was not sure whether it would be all right to delay Sedalbaegil’s track.
To be honest, he wished such a complicated matter had never landed in his hands.
In any case, Ryan Entertainment would lobby the higher-ups through the Singers Association, not him.
‘It’d be nice if I just had a pretext…….’
After all, his job was secure, and as long as he had an excuse, the higher-ups would probably smooth things over well enough and move on.
The person in charge was thinking just that.
Then, out of nowhere, a courier delivery arrived.
“A courier? For me?”
When he received it, it said Sedalbaegil had enclosed the documents needed to register the track, “just in case.”
It was absurd.
They must have submitted it through the website or email anyway, so what reason was there to send the exact same thing by courier?
‘And how did they know I was the person in charge?’
Were they saying they were watching, so he had better behave?
If that was the case, it was enough to make him feel a sudden surge of defiance……
“Huh?”
That was when the person in charge discovered something.
The documents that had arrived by courier.
The document envelope holding them.
Stamped on that envelope was the symbol of an enormous law firm that most people in Korea would recognize.
When he belatedly examined the stack of documents, there was a power of attorney at the very top, along with a business card.
It stated that Sedalbaegil had appointed Attorney Choe Jiun of that law firm as their legal representative.
In that case, these were not documents sent by Sedalbaegil directly, but by the law firm.
But that made no sense.
Why on earth would a massive law firm that usually cleaned up the dirty work of conglomerates help Sedalbaegil?
Even if they were helping, what reason would they have to get involved in something as trivial as registering a digital track?
At that moment, one possibility flashed through the person in charge’s mind.
‘Did they give me a pretext?’
He searched Attorney Choe Jiun’s résumé on the internet.
Then, without another word, he approved Sedalbaegil’s track.
‘Insane.’
He was the son of a chief prosecutor and the grandson of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.
Just in case, he was about to call the number on the business card, but then hesitated.
He simply did not have the nerve to ask the son of a chief prosecutor whether he was truly Sedalbaegil’s legal representative.
Instead, he called the law firm, and the answer that came back was YES.
It was real.
Attorney Choe Jiun was Sedalbaegil’s legal representative.
No, just how much money did Sedalbaegil have to hire someone like this merely to register a track?
Whatever the case, he understood that large law firms were good at their jobs.
With a document envelope and a single business card, they had given him a pretext.
If Sedalbaegil had this level of backing, even the higher-ups would not be able to say anything.
That was what the person in charge thought, but he was mistaken about two facts.
First, the pretext had not been provided by the law firm.
Han Sion had provided it.
Because the whole thing had been Han Sion’s idea.
Second, Han Sion had not used Attorney Choe Jiun for the sake of registering a track.
He was drawing a bigger picture.
If, at this point, CEO Choe Daeho had learned of Choe Jiun’s existence, things might have turned out a little differently.
But that did not happen.
And so, Han Sion’s plan was proceeding, each piece fitting neatly into place.
* * *
As they entered the third week after release, the battle between Drop Out and NOP reached its most interesting point.
In the first week, NOP had won.
After all, NOP’s track had taken No. 1 on the weekly chart.
But that did not mean Drop Out had withdrawn without a fight.
They held firmly to second place, constantly watching for a chance to seize first.
If the charts had sided with NOP, the music shows had been split fifty-fifty.
The three public broadcast networks, plus M Show, made four authoritative music shows in Korea.
“NOP! Congratulations!”
The two groups split the music show wins, taking two each.
“Drop Out! Congratulations!”
In the second week, things entered a mixed state.
On the digital charts, Drop Out won.
They took No. 1 for the week, and they were also No. 1 on the daily charts for five days.
But on the music shows, all four sided with NOP.
It was a situation where both teams’ fans had plenty to say.
-The charts are the real public opinion, lol. Music shows just hand it out as an excuse to match the release date.
-NOP parrots have no conscience, lol.
Drop Out’s fandom cited the weekly chart as evidence that they had won, claiming that the music shows had simply protected NOP’s pride.
-You do know that logic applies exactly to week one, lol?
-When Washed-Out lost on the digital chart and split the music shows fifty-fifty, you said music shows were important, lol. Look at this hypocrisy.
NOP’s fandom showed the music show scores and asserted that they had won.
And so, in the idol scene, fierce conspiracies, schemes, politics, and brawls were unfolding……
-Music shows are fun these days.
-Yeah. I watched for the first time in a while, and Drop Out and NOP are still killing it.
The public simply enjoyed it.
Both songs had become public picks, so it was just fun.
It was also rare for top-tier boy groups to promote at the same time.
And so, the fateful third week arrived.
Starting this week, Drop Out would be wrapping up their music show promotions.
NOP, too, would finish their activities early next week and leave for overseas schedules.
In other words, the third week would be the last time the two teams clashed.
Some said it was Drop Out on the digital charts and NOP on the music shows, but that was not entirely accurate.
This week’s music shows were likely to be split half and half.
The music broadcasters did not want to antagonize major entertainment companies either, so they would probably reach an agreement among themselves.
The stations close to BVB would likely side with NOP, while the stations close to Double M would likely side with Drop Out.
So what truly mattered was the digital chart ranking.
-Hey, I’m looking forward to week three.
-Doesn’t it feel like Drop Out’s public pick power is a little stronger?
-Nah, they’ve been eating it up for four weeks, so if anything, it feels like their public pick strength has weakened a bit.
-Is that so?
-Yeah, this is right.
-Both songs have been going back and forth between No. 1 and No. 2 for a whole month, so they’re GOATs, lol. The atmosphere is brutal.
-If NOP hadn’t been there, Drop Out’s fandom wouldn’t be acting like this, lol.
-It’s probably the same for NOP, too. If they hadn’t released at the same time as Drop Out, they’d be supporting them while feeling totally satisfied.
-But seriously, Han Sion seems insane. How did he compose both songs?
-Only music-ignorant people obsess over composition. In the idol scene, arrangement is more important. That’s why even among producer members, top-liners and real producers are separated.
-Did you go on a temple stay or something? Do you not use communities these days?
-?? I didn’t. Why?
-Han Sion composed and arranged both songs, lol. What are you even saying?
-No, but why is Sedalbaegil so quiet these days? The tide has come in, so why are they sleeping on the boat?
-Lol, that’s why Sedalbaegil fans’ reactions are seriously hilarious.
-What are they saying?
-They’re raging that they need to beat up the company, but they don’t actually know what company it is, lololol.
-They’re crying because they can’t exactly beat up the members instead, lolololol.
-Maybe they’re preparing episode two of their own content or something, lol. But what’s Sedalbaegil’s fandom name?
-They don’t have one, lololol. This is also one of the reasons they want to beat up the company, but they still don’t know what company it is.
-Why do you know so much, lololol.
-Because I’m one of the people who wants to beat up that company.
-You crying?
And so, people’s attention began to focus on whether the victor of the third week would be Drop Out or NOP.
Amid that, talk arose about the ability of Han Sion, who had created both songs.
But when the lid was actually opened on the third week, something completely unexpected happened.
Sedalbaegil released Resume and declared their entry into the digital music war.
-;;;; No, why is the developer playing the game;;;
-Can we call this a rotten veteran vs. newbie developer matchup?
-But isn’t he not exactly a newbie, considering he won in another game tournament?
-Coming Up Next? Take Scene won that.
-Oh, right, lololololol. Sorry. Take Scene won.
-It does kind of feel like Sedalbaegil won, lol. While Take Scene has been preparing for debut, people have only been talking about Sedalbaegil.
-Didn’t they say Take Scene would debut within two or three months? They still haven’t debuted?
-The way I see it, they’re probably in the countdown, but Drop Out and NOP caused such a mess that they delayed it a bit, lololol.
-But there are probably tons of idols who delayed their comebacks to avoid this mess, lololol.
-Stay strong, Take fans. For reference, Tension and Weppeupeul are releasing in August.
-Hul, lololololol.
Even at this point, people were merely laughing and enjoying Han Sion’s position as the “developer.”
No one seriously thought Sedalbaegil would become a rival to the two groups.
But that was not the case.
Resume, which had entered the chart around No. 21 on the first day of release……
-Hul?
-What is this??
Rose to No. 1 the next day.
It was, in other words, the beginning of chaos.
* * *
It was an undeniable fact that we had missed the golden time for releasing the track.
However, the Sedalbaegil crew had forcibly seized the golden time that had already passed.
Not through an issue, but through skill.
To be honest, I was very surprised too.
Because I had not known whether the members could work this hard even after leaving a program called Coming Up Next.
Now I think I have to acknowledge it.
They were not people I had chosen, but people I had encountered by chance……
Sedalbaegil is special.
I am not talking about their talent as singers.
To be honest, when compared to the teammates I have met until now, the talents of Sedalbaegil’s members are on the lower end.
Even assuming their potential fully blooms, that does not change, except in Gu Taehwan’s case.
But their mentality is different.
I do not know how something like this happened.
I knew K-pop idols were diligent, but are they all like this?
If I were to leave Sedalbaegil behind and face another regression, would I be able to meet teammates like this again?
Honestly, I do not know.
I do not think so.
I used the expression that their potential fully blooms earlier, but until now, I have never met a teammate whose potential has fully bloomed.
The process of getting there is far too painful, and ordinary people are satisfied with a moderate degree of success.
Among those who formed teams with me, there was exactly one person whose potential fully bloomed.
Me.
The one running on the same hamster wheel within nonlinear time.
But……
Perhaps the Sedalbaegil crew might be capable of it.
The trust I had placed in people until now had betrayed me every single time, without exception.
But while recording Resume, I had that thought.
That I wanted to believe one more time.
No, that I should believe one more time.